Friday, July 25, 2008

Letter to the Ephesians -- Chapter 1

Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus begins in the usual manner of the Apostle Paul: “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 1:1-2). Paul begins by declaring that he is writing this letter as the called Apostle of Jesus Christ who did not choose his station in life, but was appointed by the very will of God. This is important for establishing his authority as a teacher and preacher of the doctrines of the Scriptures, unlocking and unsealing them thru the Key of David, Jesus Christ. Paul then directs this letter to the saints in Ephesus, those who are faithful in Christ Jesus, granting them grace and peace (reconciliation to the Father) from God and His Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Paul writes this letter not as a ground up dissertation and proclamation of the Gospel, but as a continued proclamation of the truth in order to sustain those who already have been made believers by the Word. The Gospel is relevant and completely necessary not only for those who do not know Christ but also for those who believe in order that they may persevere in the one true faith until life everlasting. Without the continued sustenance of the Gospel no man can remain in Christ as the world and the devil struggle to strangle and choke away our faith.

Continuing on Paul praises God for His work in our lives giving Him the glory, honor, and praise that He deserves from us at all times, in all places: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). In Christ we are undeservedly blessed with every spiritual blessing; in Christ nothing is missing or lacking, we literally have all that matters. If we truly let this reality sink in we will be compelled to also cry out in praise and thanksgiving with our lips, limbs, and lives at all times. “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight” (Ephesians 1:4). Paul praises God that our blessing does not rest on our shoulders in any way but that it is an act of God’s choosing in Christ Jesus before the creation of the world. While we couldn’t choose Him, God chose us in His Son: “God has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time” (2 Timothy 1:9). It is this astonishing truth of predestination that brings the full comfort of God’s grace. In the Cross of Jesus Christ you (you!) have been chosen by God. “From the beginning God chose you to be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:13). “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15:16). This is not just a pious wish of God’s (as if He was just hoping and wishing for us to save ourselves), no, these blessings of His are actual deeds of grace thru the work of Jesus Christ crucified. God has actually finished our salvation and carried it thru to completion: “Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD—with the first of them and with the last—I am he” (Isaiah 41:4). Thru Jesus Christ, in accordance with God’s will and pleasure, we have been loved and saved by God, from first to last (he started our salvation, carried it thru, and completed it). “In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves” (Ephesians 1:5-6). God has not simply offered us an opportunity at salvation, God has actually freely given us His salvation through the completed act of Jesus Christ’s incarnation, suffering, death, and resurrection. It is only “in Him”, in Christ Jesus, that these blessings of God’s are ours: “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding” (Ephesians 1:7-8). There can be no blessing for us apart from Jesus Christ; it requires the sharing in His work of redemption thru the shedding of His blood in order for us to have the favor and riches of God.

But now we ask: How do we come to be “in Christ” and “in Him”? How does what God ordained and chosen from the beginning of time come into our lives today? How is the work of the Cross distributed into my life? “And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ” (Ephesians 1:9-10). God has “made known to us the mystery of his will”, meaning that thru the knowledge of His Son the fulfillment of Christ’s work is put into effect in our lives. God’s payment for our sins is an objective reality and therefore He sets out to make this known: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). Does this mean that it is a simple “academic knowledge” of Jesus Christ that brings us these blessings? No. This “knowledge” is a special kind of knowledge, it is “a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time” (Titus 1:2). It is thru the knowledge of Christ that a faith and hope is put into action which clings to what has already been accomplished for us in the Cross. “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:11-12). God specifically chose that men would come to hope and to faith in Jesus Christ, realizing that He has done all there is for us to have the favor, salvation, and blessings of our Father in .

But again we ask: How does this faith and hope enter our lives? Do we bring ourselves to faith and hope in the blood of Christ? Is it an act of my will, a choice that is done thru my academic acknowledgement? Absolutely not. “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14). God has chosen to communicate to us the full blessings of Christ thru and by means of the Word of truth. This Word of truth is the only way that men can come to know Christ, hope in Christ, and seize hold of Him and His blessings thru faith. But how does this Word come to us? The Word of truth comes to us thru the preached and declared Gospel message of reconciliation, the promise of being clothed with Christ in Baptism, and the promise of partaking in the forgiveness of Christ thru His body and blood of the Lord’s Supper; simple faith hears, receives, and clings to these freely given gifts of life in Christ Jesus: “From the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14). “Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10). “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:4). “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him” (John 6:54-56). These means are the ways in which God has chosen to bring Jesus Christ’s merit and righteousness to us. God once and for all declared us redeemed, forgiven, and reconciled thru the Cross of Jesus Christ and by means of His Word and promises He has brought this truth to our hearts. Faith does not merit these blessings of Christ; faith simply receives them as the fulfilled accomplishments of Jesus Christ on our behalf. Jesus Christ died and paid for your sins when you were completely helpless and totally deserving of the eternal wrath of God; those who believe this have already received this blessing and reconciliation, those who reject this truth toss aside the free grace of God that Christ bought for them on the Cross. Let us pray that thru the Word of the Gospel we see how God has already given us everything we need in Jesus Christ, choosing us, calling us, and bringing us into fellowship and faith in Him thru the divine promises which pull us free from our lives of slavery to sin. “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (2 Peter 1:3-4).

Having established the loving choice and election of God in Jesus Christ Paul continues on to acknowledge God’s work in the Ephesians lives: “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers” (Ephesians 1:15-16). The faith which God had kindled in the hearts of the Ephesians (as seen thru their manifest fruit of love) caused Paul to continuously thank God and remember them in his prayers. Paul certainly did not want to take for granted the faith and love in the lives of the Ephesians and was therefore eagerly and daily cherished this precious work of God in their lives. Thru this Paul also illustrates the importance and great gift of prayer that we have been given in Jesus Christ. Prayer is an immeasurably powerful gift that we have been given in Jesus Christ where we may approach the Father boldly with thanksgiving, petitions, praises, needs, troubles, burdens, joys, etc. God Himself has attached His Word and promise to prayer: “I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:19-20). “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:13-14). “The Father will give you whatever you ask in my name” (John 15:16). “I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name” (John 16:23). “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer” (Matthew 21:22). “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24). We must stop doubting the power of prayer and behold the Word of God which both commands us to pray and also promises to fulfill our prayers that come in the name of Jesus Christ (clinging to what He has done on our behalf). “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:9-13). Apart from Christ our prayers fall on deaf ears because of our sin, “your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2), but now in the forgiveness and redemption of the Cross we have the promise that in Jesus Christ all our prayers are heard and answered for our ultimate good, “How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you” (Isaiah 30:19). God the Father will hear our prayer and will in turn for Christ’s sake give us the good gifts that we truly need in our lives. He does this for all who call upon Him in truth, that is, all who call upon Him in Jesus Christ of Nazareth as proclaimed and testified to in the Scriptures. “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them” (Psalm 145:18-19). From Paul we also learn to pray not only when things are “bad” but also when things are “going well”. “We constantly pray for you” (2 Thessalonians 1:11). “Pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). “Pray for each other” (James 5:16). “Brothers, pray for us” (1 Thessalonians 5:25). As Christians we need to realize that in reality there is never a time when we are not in complete need of God’s mercy and grace and that for this reason we need to continually, without ceasing, approach the throne of the Father thru Jesus Christ. “We have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God…Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:14, 16). Our time of need is at all times, for we can never rest content in ourselves, but must continuously rely on what God has done and is doing for us thru His Son, continually calling upon Him thru thick and thin.

Paul continues on to tell us what he has been asking and praying to the Father thru Jesus Christ: “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better” (Ephesians 1:17). The first thing we must always pray for and petition God with is the gift of salvation, knowledge, and faith in His Son. Because the greatest necessity in life is the spiritual wellbeing of our fellow man and ourselves, Paul is first and foremost asking God to bless the Ephesians with His Holy Spirit so that thru His work they may continue to grow in their faith, hope, and knowledge of Jesus Christ crucified. It is only thru the Holy Spirit’s work that the knowledge and faith in Christ is born and nurtured in our lives. “God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God…no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us” (1 Corinthians 2:10-12). We too should therefore continually pray for the Spirit so that thru His work our fellow men may come to see the truth of the Gospel. Without this truth everything else in life is absolutely meaningless and purposeless rubbish. “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18-19). In addition to knowing Christ better Paul also desires the Ephesians to truly understand the grace of God that has been given to them. He wants us to know and appreciate that we have not been called to a life of sin, but to a life of hope, love, and discipleship thru an act of grace. We can never trust in our own works, choices, decisions, or will but we need to see the incomparably great power of grace that brought us into Christ and into the faith that we now live. Thru his words Paul clearly hammers home our complete inability to save ourselves or even believe and call upon God. Our conversion is only made possible thru the surpassing greatness of God’s power thru the Cross, and it is He alone who overcomes all the obstinate resistance of our depraved flesh bringing us into the light of His redemption, sustaining our faith thru His Word.

Paul continues on to elaborate on this power of God which raised Christ from the dead and brought us to faith: “That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come” (Ephesians 1:19-21). The fact that we believe in Christ Jesus and are in Him is just as great a miracle as the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our rescue from sin is nothing we could have affected or chosen ourselves, it instead takes the very hand of God Almighty Himself pulling us out of the death and helplessness of our slavery to sin. It is no sham miracle that the man Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, and it is no sham miracle that we have been brought to faith and regenerated thru the grace of the Cross. Our state of faith and belief is a truly astounding miracle of the Triune God that we must not take for granted. In the same way that Christ was exalted above all things so too we have been lifted up out of the depths of our depravity into the authority and dominion of Christ: “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way” (Ephesians 1:22-23). God has appointed His Son Jesus Christ as the head of the entire Church, joining us to Him thru the propitiation of the Cross. “You crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet” (Psalm 8:5-6). Therefore in Him and by Him all things of this life are held together. Apart from Christ there is no life and we simply fall apart in the selfish depravity of our sinful nature; but in Christ there is perfect redemption, union, and peace, as we are held together thru the blood of His sacrifice. “All things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (Colossians 1:16-20). This unity in Christ Jesus breaks down all worldly and earthly barriers, joining us as one in His Church. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Let us pray that we daily come to appreciate this unity that has been made ours in the truth of Jesus Christ crucified and that by His grace and work which brought us to faith He continues to create and bring forth praise, prayers, and thanksgiving from our lips at all times. “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise” (Psalm 8:1-2).

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