Ephesians 1:
1:1-2 - 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
In this letter magnifying God’s grace, Paul introduces himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in doing this he lets everyone know he is (1) speaking the words of the King. (2) With the authority of the King. This is unbelievably important both in Paul’s day and our day of people needing to understand why the message that’s about to be proclaimed is worth listening to. Paul is essentially saying, “I speak for the King, these are not my words but His. This letter holds the weight of God’s authority.” He addresses the letter to the saints in Ephesus and he appropriately greets them as “the faithful saints in Christ Jesus” with his trademark “Grace to You.” Ephesus was a mess. It was one of the most wicked cities the world had ever seen. It was extremely sexual as the center of Artemis worship, obsessed with magic, full of idolatry. If you were to go visit Ephesus today, you would get off the docks of the Mediterranean sea and still find the ancient carvings on the stone that gave directions to the brothels. The city was a rotting cesspool of sin. Paul writes the letter to the saints in Ephesus. Saints were called to be holy, to be set apart, in the midst of one of the most wicked cities of the ancient world. The believers in Ephesus would’ve received this letter in their small house churches of 20-40 people, and passed it around to the other churches… not one huge megachurch gathering. Paul wishes grace and peace upon his readers. The grace of God given to you was totally undeserved, you were headed for God’s wrath and an eternity in hell, yet He graciously offers us salvation in Christ. The peace of God restored your relationship with God Himself through the work of Christ. Grace and peace show up 16 times throughout the letter. Paul wants them to see all that they’ve been given in Christ. Paul’s “grace and peace” greeting, therefore, is full of theological brilliance, but even more so, it’s a perfect opening summary and reminder of the Christian faith.
Christianity is all about grace. We are saved by grace alone. And all of history and redemption is to the praise of the glory of God’s grace.
Christianity also is the fulfillment of the shalom Old Testament peace. The longed-for shalom peace comes to fruition and is experienced, now and forevermore, in Christ in the gospel. And this peace is greater than any pax the Roman Empire (or our America) can offer.
And where does this grace and peace come from? “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Only from God the Father and through the accomplishments of the Son do we have such grace and peace.
We can sum up Christianity accurately and succinctly by saying it is shalom through grace through the Lord Jesus Christ. This, I believe, Paul knew, and so out of all the Christian terms he could’ve used (love, mercy, glory, faith, hope, etc.) he chose his two terms “grace” and “peace” carefully.
Christ Jesus? You probably already know that the word “Christ” is a title. It means "the anointed one" from the Hebrew title “Messiah.” See Luke 4:18-22. Paul thoroughly emphasized Jesus' position as “the Christ" … being the special person appointed by God. He did this because other people were named “Jesus” as well. See Acts 17: 2-3. Plus, Paul proved that Jesus was the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham that by …”one of his descendants (a seed) …that people of all nations could be blessed,” …not just one nation. See Genesis 22:14-18. (this is an assumption)
1:3-14 (3-4) - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
It was Macbeth who said, “Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, and signifying nothing!” There are many people who live this way, feeling like there is nothing significant, no deeper meaning, no transcendent purpose to live for. Paul is telling the believers in Ephesus that they don’t have to live that way. The reality of being “in Christ” gives your life unbelievable significance and meaning, and enables you to partake in every spiritual blessing. Spiritual blessings are accessible because God chose us, adopted us before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless. Sinning is failing to give God glory, attempting to make God revolve around us when we’re supposed to be revolving around Him. It’s like approaching things wrongly, like those who once thought the earth was the center of the universe. God created us for Himself, for His happiness. He’s chosen us to be holy and blameless so the church will bring Him pleasure. When we pursue His pleasure, we position ourselves to experience the blessings of God, which have already been preordained for us. Paul is completely captured by the reality that we are “in Christ.” He uses the phrase (in Christ, in Him, in the beloved, etc.) 11 times in this one sentence! We are blessed from eternity to eternity only because of what Christ has done and by being found in him. In the Greek language, this passage starting in verse 3 and continuing through verse 14 is all one sentence! It’s as if Paul starts talking about all that God has done and just keeps going and going and going. In this passage, Paul will show the Ephesians the: Work of the Father in the Past (5-6).
1:5-6 - 5 He predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
We can do this (experience the blessings of God) because God predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ, thus Paul introduces us to the mysterious doctrine of election. God has predestined to save a people, those who believe the gospel are chosen in Him. God’s election isn’t abstract, it’s centered in the person and work of Jesus. The focus of the book of Ephesians is on the corporate church, not the individual Christian salvation. (see 1:22-23; 2:14, 16, 22; 3:10, 21; 4:16; 5:32) therefore the choosing and election to which Paul refers to is not for individuals to eternal life but regards God’s choice to establish a group of people (the body of Christ) in the Beloved One whose purpose is to live godly lives and reflect His holy character in a sinful world. This election defines the corporate identity believers share because of their relationship to Christ. Those no longer “in Adam” but “in Christ” are predestined to be adopted by God. The Greek and Roman concepts of adoption at play in the ancient world would’ve impacted how they heard what Paul just told them. Even though the Romans were now in power, Greek culture was still influential and in Greek culture they put a premium on the human body. They considered that babies who had any deformity or imperfection were not worth keeping. “The offspring of the good are reared, but the offspring of inferior parents as well as deformed offspring will be secreted away” (Plato).
(Aristotle said)“As to the exposure of children, let there be a law that no deformed child shall live”. So, how do you recognize a newborn that is worth rearing… its mother has spent the period of pregnancy in good health, it has been born at the due time, when put on the earth it immediately cries with proper vigor, it is perfect in all its parts, members, and senses, its ducts are free from obstruction and the natural functions of every member are neither sluggish nor weak… conditions contrary to these indicate the infant not worth rearing” (Soranus of Ephesus, a famous gynecologist). So if the baby did not meet these standards, Roman law allowed you to take the baby to the city dump and leave it there to die by exposure to the elements. Ephesus was a major port city, a center of wealth and commercial traffic. Because of this it become a major center of slave trade. Now it’s important to recognize that slavery wasn’t racial back then like we tend to think of it now, so the question is, where would they get slaves? Many would go to these city dumps and choose a rejected baby to take home and raise to be a personal slave, or sell them off. So where some in the ancient culture may have taken an imperfect and blemished child to become their slave, Paul says that God adopted us not as slaves but as holy and blameless children! •In the Roman world, the decision to adopt was binding. In Roman law, the father had ultimate power, he could even choose to disown or kill his own son… but because YOU chose a child for adoption and paid the price, once you completed the process it was permanent. And with this adoption came certain legal consequences: such as a member of a new family. •a new name. •legally you were a new person… even your former debts were canceled. •made an equal heir. •inherited the family business. *When Paul says that God chose us for adoption, the cultural imagery conveys a God who chose us, blemished and imperfect, to be holy and blameless children, with a new family, new name, new life, new inheritance, and new purpose! This blessing, as well as all the others, comes to us in Christ!
1:7-10 - 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
Work of the Son in the Present (7-10) We have redemption through the blood of Christ. Redemption signifies a freedom from imprisonment and bondage (Ex. 21:8; Deut. 7:8). In particular, it was often used to describe paying a ransom to purchase freedom. Slave - If someone was a slave in the ancient world, their only hope of freedom was that someone would redeem you by paying a ransom price. Prisoner of War - If you were taken as a prisoner of war, for all intensive purposes you were considered dead. The only chance you had was someone back home journeying to wherever you were taken and paying a ransom price for your freedom. *In all cases, redemption signified delivering a man from a situation which he was powerless to liberate himself from, paying a penalty that he could never have paid. Paul makes clear here the redemption price to be paid was Christ’s own blood. Why blood? Because the judgment for sin is death (Rom. 6:23) and shedding blood means taking life. (Duet. 12:23). We are liberated from the just judgment of our sins by God, we’ve been forgiven. Christ came making a way for us to know not the judgment and wrath of God, but the love and grace of God. Paul says that we have redemption, present tense. The idea is that redemption is something that happened to us in the past, earned by Christ’s death and resurrection, and yet we are called to live in the present reality of that redemption. The sinless Son of God had to die to pay for our sins so we might have forgiveness and God’s grace richly poured out on us. We are forgiven of our sin and set free from its bondage and we are called to live in that freedom. But God doesn’t save people just so they can go to heaven when they die. He saves them so they can transfer kingdoms, leaving the kingdom of darkness for the kingdom of Christ, their new King. Through God’s wisdom and understanding he has planned to bring everything together in Christ, to bring all history under his rule. In Christ, things in heaven and on earth are unified so that we might be aligned under God’s reign living transformed lives for His pleasure.
1:11-14 - 11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Work of the Spirit in the Future. If you are in Christ, you’ve been sealed with the Spirit of God, signifying three things: 1)Belonging: It was a common practice in the ancient world to mark animals (and even slaves) with a brand, the mark of their master, showing who they belonged to. This idea of belonging and ownership is central to the heart of God. He makes it obvious throughout His Word, He redeems people so that they might belong to Him. Ex. 6:7… calls them out of Egypt to be His people. Jer. 30:22… redeem them after judgment to be His people. Isa. 43:1… you are mine. Titus 2:14… redeeming a people for His own possession! 2) Authenticity: In the ancient world, when a king wanted to authenticate a decree, he would mark it with a seal. He’d put hot wax on it, then stamp his signet ring in the wax (his seal) showing that the decree was authentic. This is from the King, it can be trusted, it’s the real deal. The Spirit is the mark of authenticity on the believer! This authenticity is two-fold: Inward testimony of the Spirit - Rom. 8:16. The Spirit bears witness that we belong to God. For the believer, there is an inward assurance that we actually are who we say we are, children of God, this inner assurance comes from the witness of the Spirit, who is the seal! Outward testimony of the Spirit - Gal. 5:22-23. The Spirit produces fruit in the believer. James makes clear that real faith always yields works. If you are a believer, the Spirit of God dwells in you, and He is at work conforming you to the image of Christ. 3) Security: The Holy Spirit is a guarantee of our inheritance, he provides security in knowing what will come to us in the future. The phrase “deposit guaranteeing our inheritance” in v. 14 is translating a term that refers to a down payment. You make a down payment to show that you have money and to promise future payments of an even greater amount. The Spirit of God is the down payment, God is promising that there’s even more to come, the Spirit in us is the guarantee. This is good news on two levels; first, you can’t lose your salvation because the Spirit in you is a guarantee of your future heavenly inheritance, and second, what we’ve experienced now is just a small taste of what is to come.
Per - William Barclay “Paul is saying that the experience of the Holy Spirit which we have in this world is a foretaste of the blessedness of heaven; and it is the guarantee that some day we will enter into full possession of the blessedness of God… The highest experiences of Christian peace and joy which this world can afford are only faint foretastes of the joy into which we will one day enter. It is as if God had given us enough to whet our appetites for more and enough to make us certain that someday he will give us all.”
Eph. 1:15-23- Thanksgiving and Prayer
15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love[f] toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
(15-16) In the middle of Paul’s excitement about what the Ephesians have through the cross of Christ, he tells them he has never stopped thanking God for them and then shares this prayer with them.
(17) First, he prays that God will give them wisdom to effectively apply the divine truth to the twists, turns and dangers of everyday life. Paul goes on to say that this wisdom is tied to knowledge of God.
(18) He prays that the eyes of their heart may be enlightened so they may know what is the hope of their calling and what wealth of God’s glorious inheritance. When you are adopted into God’s family, your life has a customized purpose. God himself has called you. Not only that, but you’re spiritually wealthy…there is no spiritually poor people in God’s family. Paul wants the Ephesians to be aware of what’s available to those in God’s family because many Christians are living spiritually poor lives while sitting on a pile of spiritual wealth. Remember every spiritual blessing is banked in a deposit box with your name on it.
(19) Finally, Paul prays the Ephesians would understand what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe. Notice he didn’t say he wants them to know God’s power, but the immeasurable greatness of His power. He wants them to know he can change things in their lives in ways they can not even imagine. We’re not supposed to be average human beings, as believers in Jesus you are a candidate to see the working of God’s immeasurably great power in your life.
(20-23) What does this power look like? It’s the power God used in Christ by raising Him from the dead and seating Him atHis right hand in heaven subjecting everything under His feet. Jesus is now seated above every ruler and authority, power and dominion. God the Father has appointed His Son as head over everything for the church which is His body. So, if your circumstances are bad…remember that God’s immeasurably great power raised Jesus from the dead and that same power of resurrection is available to you.
After painting this unbelievable picture of what has been accomplished for you “in Christ” Paul wants to see them appropriate these truths into their lives. So he prays for both their mind and their heart, that they might understand the depth of their salvation. He points out to the Ephesians that the same power that was at work in Christ’s resurrection is at work in our lives. In the midst of the occult practices in Ephesus, the prominence of sorcery and magic, and the Temple of Artemis, Paul wants the believers there to know that Christ is more powerful than all of it. There is nothing in the evil supernatural world they need to fear because God has put all things under Christ’s feet, he is greater than all rule, authority, power, and dominion.
