EPHESIANS:
Living in the Heavenly Places
by Jim Gerrish
DEDICATION
This work is affectionately dedicated to our grandchildren.
All scripture quotations in this publication are from the holy Bible, New International Version, except where noted (published by Zondervan Corporation, copyright, 1985).
Copyright © 2006 Jim Gerrish
INTRODUCTION
Ephesians has been called "Queen of the Epistles;" "the Holy of Holies of the New Testament;"(1) and "the most sublime and majestic expression of the Gospel."(2)
PART ONE
EPHESIANS: THE THEOLOGY
CHAPTER 1
A
LETTER TO THE SAINTS
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the
will of God, To the saints in Ephesus,
the faithful in Christ Jesus: Ephesians
1:1
When we
open the book of Ephesians we are
immediately introduced to the revelation
of several mysteries long kept secret by
God. Now in the last days these divine
mysteries have been revealed to the
apostles and prophets of the Lord. Paul
speaks more about this in Ephesians
3:4-5 where he says: "In reading
this, then, you will be able to
understand my insight into the mystery
of Christ, which was not made known to
men in other generations as it has now
been revealed by the Spirit to God's
holy apostles and prophets." Now
it is also plain that these mysteries
are made available and clearly revealed
to the church of God, yes, even to the
least of God’s saints.
Unfortunately, we Christians have not
always troubled ourselves to understand
these revealed mysteries. In addition we
sometimes, quibble, argue, doubt and
even deny the glorious truths given us.
Over the centuries our theologians have
also been prone to much disagreement
over the New Testament, so it is not at
all surprising that they would disagree
about Ephesians. There are some who even
doubt that Paul wrote the book as here
stated. These propose that it was
written at a later date by a person
writing under Paul’s name. Such
speculations do not do much for the
faith of God’s dear ones.
Admittedly, these type things were done
in the past. Yet, while we see many
pseudonymous works appear before and
after the Apostolic Era, there really
seems to be no evidence of this type
writing in the New Testament.(5)
Obviously on two occasions Paul names
himself as the author of the book (1:1
and 3:1). In addition, it is clear that
Ephesians was indisputably accepted by
the early church as a genuine letter of
Paul.(6)
Obviously, should Paul not be its
author, we would have a book on our
hands that qualifies only as a deceitful
fabrication.
Here Paul calls himself an apostle. To
be an apostle is to be sent forth, and
in Paul’s case the sending forth was
from the Lord himself (Gal.1:1). Paul
was sent forth as an apostle to the
Gentiles. We Gentile believers can thank
and praise the Lord that he saw fit to
include us in his great salvation plan
before the earth was ever formed.
When Paul addresses the saints here (1:1)
he is not speaking about pious stained
glass figures in some cathedral window
or perhaps someone who has been
beatified by the church long after his
death. He is speaking of real people –
folks just like you and me. The
believers in Ephesus were called
"saints" because they were
"set apart" by the sanctifying
and saving work of the Redeemer. They
were separated from the world unto God
for his purposes even while they were
still alive on the earth.
The root word in the Greek language for
being a "saint" or being
"set apart for God" is the
word hagi. There are apparently
two meanings to our being set apart or
sanctified. First there is what
theologians call ‘positional
sanctification’ (2 Thess. 2:13). This
is something God does for us from the
beginning, and it becomes effective when
a person places his faith in Jesus.
Second, there is the sanctification that
continues as a process until the day we
depart this life to be with the Lord.(7)
This is a work carried on by the Holy
Spirit who lives within us and it also
includes the washing of the Word of God
on a daily basis as we see in Ephesians
5:26 and in 1 Peter 1:2.
Now we need to take note of a very
important expression used in Ephesians
and elsewhere in the New Testament. The
oft-used phrase "in Christ"
seen here (1:1) has been called
the "cornerstone and
foundation" of Paul’s theology.
It is said that this expression or its
equivalent appears one hundred
seventy-six times in the writings of
Paul, appearing thirty-six times in
Ephesians alone.(8) One
writer claims that without doubt, the
phrase "in Christ" is the most
important expression in this letter.(9)
Over the years I have sought to better
understand what "in Christ" is
all about. Once in a Jerusalem sermon I
illustrated it with a beautiful silver
vase and with a lump of clay. In order
to picture "in Christ" I
placed the unsightly lump of clay,
representing us with our sin, into the
beautiful silver vase, representing
Christ. No longer could the lump of clay
be seen, but only the beautiful vase.
That’s the way it is with us
Christians. Neither we nor our sins are
visible any longer because we are hidden
in Christ (Col. 3:3). God looks upon his
Son and is well pleased with what he
sees (Matt. 3:17; 17:5).
We observe that these saints mentioned
here are described as
"faithful" (1:1).
Faithfulness involves obedience, or some
sort of fitting response to this great
grace of God that is poured out upon us.
Perhaps Paul illustrates this well when
he speaks of the "obedience of
faith" in Romans 1:5 and in 16:26.
Obedience is really the "flip
side" of faith. But in line with
the thinking of Ephesians, we see that
our salvation, which includes faith, is
not something of ourselves, but is also
a gift from God (Eph. 2:8).
When the church "in Ephesus"
is spoken of in this passage it
introduces us to a rather perplexing
problem. Apparently the identification
of Ephesus did not appear in the oldest
manuscripts of the book. It has been
pointed out that the ancient and best
manuscripts, Aleph and B (Vaticanus),
do not contain the words "in
Ephesus." These words were not
present in Origen’s copy, and the
heretic Marcion even called the book
"the Epistle to the Laodiceans"
(cf. Col. 4:16). As late as the fourth
century Basil speaks of some manuscripts
that had no name in the address portion.(10)
Many have concluded from this that
Ephesians was a circular letter. It was
sent by Paul with Tychicus at the same
time he sent Colossians, and Philemon
(Eph. 6:21, 22; Col 4:7-9; Phm.1:12-24).
Paul was in prison at the time that he
sent these so-called "prison
epistles" (Eph. 3:1; 4:1; 6:20).
All this information would date the
letter of Ephesians to the period of
around AD 60-62.
Churches receiving the "Ephesian"
manuscript were expected to insert their
names in the blank space left for the
addressee. Ephesus was the fourth
largest city in the Roman Empire and the
capital city of Asia. It was a city of
great Christian influence and the
logical point of entry that Tychicus
would have taken into Asia. Thus the
letter soon became attached to the great
city.
An interesting and supporting fact is
that Ephesians is lacking the warm
personal greetings that we usually see
in Paul’s letters. This is especially
strange when we consider that Paul
visited the Ephesians on several
occasions. He paid a visit to the city
on his second missionary journey (Acts
18:19-21). On his third missionary
journey he actually stayed many months
in Ephesus making a total of three years
there (Acts 20:31). Paul remained longer
at Ephesus than he did at any other one
place preaching the gospel. (11)
Then, as he returned to Jerusalem
from his third missionary journey, he
met with the beloved Ephesian elders at
Miletus (Acts 20:13-38). We know that
Paul had many dear friends and
associates in Ephesus so it is almost
unthinkable that he would not send
greetings to them, unless of course he
was treating this manuscript as a
circular letter.
Some commentators see a very close
connection between Ephesians and
Colossians and that the writer of
Ephesians used much of Colossians. For
instance, Ephesians consistently uses
‘church’ in the universal sense
found in Colossians.(12)
It has been said that "75 of the
155 verses of Ephesians are found in
Colossians."(13)
It seems conclusive that Colossians was
written first and Ephesians patterned
after it.
Ancient letters commonly included
prayers or thanksgivings in their
headings. Biblical letters followed this
pattern as we see here: "Grace
and peace to you from God our Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ" (1:2).
As we consider the words
"grace" and "peace,"
we note that it is always important that
they appear in this order. In other
words, we must have grace before we can
have peace.(14)
In classical Greek, the word
"grace" (charis) had
reference to a favor given freely with
no expectation of return. Such a favor
was always given to a friend and never
to an enemy. The Greek scholar, Wuest,
comments: "Right here charis
(χαρις)
leaps forward an infinite distance, for
the Lord Jesus died for his enemies
(Rom. 5:8–10), a thing unheard of in
the human race."(15)
OUR
PRESENT BLESSINGS IN THE HEAVENLY REALMS
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
This
passage must be one of the most
incredible scriptures in the whole
Bible. It is wonderful news for poor,
tattered and torn saints of God. What is
being said here seems almost
unbelievable. He tells us that
"every" spiritual blessing in
heaven is now available to us. We simply
must take some time and focus on this
important passage.
A
few decades ago theologians began to
speak of "realized
eschatology," or the possessing of
last things or eternal things at the
present moment.(16)
Paul is likely speaking here of this
very thing. Even while we live on this
earth we are able "in Christ"
and through him to possess
"every" spiritual blessing in
the heavens. After all, heaven has
nothing better to offer us than Jesus
who is now fully given to us, and who is
actually living within us.
So
we see here that this great blessing is
already available. It is not something
we are waiting for or something we are
hoping and praying will be given. In
fact, Paul’s Greek usage here
"points to this blessing or
prospering of believers as having
occurred in eternity past."(17)
We can conclude that by our position in
Christ we are even able to participate
and enjoy the benefits of the world’s
future redemption gained for us through
Christ’s atoning death.
The
expression ‘in the heavenlies’ is a
very prominent theme of the Book of
Ephesians. We moderns through our
technology can now have some faint
understanding of what is possible for us
in Christ. Today a person in a far off
land, via computer, can speak with his
own family members and actually see them
as he shares in the blessings of his
home country.(18)
This is obviously only a bit of virtual
reality when compared to the heavenly
reality that we already experience in
Christ.
We
Christians must now stretch ourselves
and begin to operate in the spheres of
human and divine, visible and invisible.
We are citizens of heaven (Phil. 3:20);
with our names written there (Luke
10:20); and our Father is also located
in heaven. Therefore as Colossians
3:1ff.mentions, it is important that our
attention and affection always be
centered on heaven and upon heavenly
things.(19 )
All
this may bring about a great struggle in
our lives if we allow it. In one sense,
"Christians always have a double
life and a double address."(20
) Some writers have mentioned
this underlying tension as being a
struggle between the ‘already’ and
the ‘not yet.’ It is a tension
between what we already enjoy in Christ
and what we still have not fully
attained. However, we should rejoice in
the fact that for real believers the ‘already’
now far outweighs the ‘not yet.’(21)
Much
later, in the Book of Revelation, we are
surprised to see that in the last day
there will be a large number of
overcoming saints who will rise up and
fully grasp that which we see here in
Ephesians. We learn that they will face
the Antichrist. We also learn that they
will even have a part in casting Satan
down from his heavenly position (Rev.
12:11). The secret of their success is
that they will learn to partake of the
power and blessings of heaven even while
they live out their lives upon earth
(cf. Rev. 3:21; Rev.12:5; 14:1-5).
CHOSEN BEFORE
THE WORLD BEGAN
For he chose us in him before the
creation of the world… Ephesians 1:4
Paul now continues to
deal with the great mystery that has
been hidden with God for ages. That
mystery is now fully revealed and
waiting for all of us to understand it.
It is the mystery of being "in
Christ" or "in him." We
have already spoken of this briefly but
Paul wants to go deeper. Up to this
point I fear that the church has not
understood this mystery very well. For
instance, even as a pastor I once looked
upon the position of being "in
Christ" as a sort of goal that
mature believers should seek to attain.
Obviously I had woefully misunderstood
this expression. The glorious truth is
that our position of being "in
Christ" or "in him" is
something we believers had before the
world was ever formed. Yes, we were
already chosen "in him" before
there was a world (cf. Matt. 25:34).
This glorious fact should greatly
encourage us in our sometimes pitiful
efforts at Christian living. So far as
God is concerned our salvation is
finished in Christ. It is a "done
deal." Truly it was finished and
even sealed before the world was formed.
In
this passage we also see that "In
love he predestined us to be holy and
blameless in his sight" (1:4-5).
This is likely not just a reflection of
sanctification but also a reflection
upon the great doctrine of
justification. Through justification God
has declared us "blameless,"
"not guilty," and
"acquitted" of all our sin. In
Romans 5:18 we read: "Consequently,
just as the result of one trespass was
condemnation for all men, so also the
result of one act of righteousness was
justification that brings life for all
men." In 2 Corinthians 5:19 it
is said "that God was
reconciling the world to himself in
Christ, not counting men's sins against
them." Hebrews 10:14 goes on to
make plain that by the one sacrifice of
himself, the Lord has made us perfect
forever. This "forever"
justification is made effective in our
lives the moment we accept Jesus as our
Lord and Savior. However it was a fact
in God’s mind eons ago.
The
popular theologian, Dr. J.I. Packer,
says: "Justification is decisive
for eternity, being in effect the
judgment of the last day brought
forward."(22)
Paul sums it up another way in Romans
8:30: "And those he predestined,
he also called; those he called, he also
justified; those he justified, he also
glorified."
There
is no question concerning when this
blamelessness and holiness originated.
It originated before the foundation of
the world. Although it was obviously God’s
intention to change the moral character
of his people, yet in this verse he is
not speaking of our achieving this moral
perfection but of God crediting it to
us.(23)
All
this mystery is based upon God’s
foreknowledge. In
Romans 8:29 we read: "For those
God foreknew he also predestined to be
conformed to the likeness of his Son,
that he might be the firstborn among
many brothers" (cf. Jn. 6:37).
Here
we cannot escape the mysterious
Christian doctrine of election. There
are obviously many views on this subject
and folks of faith are prone to heated
discussions concerning it. The writer
and Bible teacher, Warren Wiersbe,
reports what he once heard a seminary
professor say: "Try to explain
election and you may lose your mind. But
try to explain it away and you may lose
your soul!" This same writer also
remarks that this glorious election is
not something that we are to publicize
among unbelievers. He regards it rather
as a "family secret" that
belongs to the saints of God.(24)
PREDESTINED!
he
predestined us to be adopted as his sons
through Jesus Christ... Ephesians 1:5
We
see here that we were predestined to be
adopted (cf. Rom. 8:29). It is likely
that the adoption mentioned has
reference to the Roman custom and not to
the Jewish one. In such adoption the
person received all rights and
privileges of the family into which he
was adopted. This was without reference
to any merit on the part of the child.(25)
The popular commentator, Barclay,
adds concerning this adoption:
When
the adoption was complete it was
complete indeed. The person who had
been adopted had all the rights of a
legitimate son in his new family and
lost
completely all rights in his old family.
In the eyes of the law, he was a new
person.
So new was he that even all debts and
obligations connected with his previous
family were abolished as if they had
never existed.(26)
It is the good pleasure
of God’s will that we be adopted as
his sons. This adoption has very little
to do with our modern idea of adoption
since it pictures the person as being
placed in the position of adult sonship.(27)
We
must understand that this adoption,
election and predestination is not based
upon our goodness or even upon our
future good works. We are certainly not
able to brag about our worthiness to
receive this position. The great
reformer, Calvin, says of this glorious
predestination, "If men should
evade every other argument, election
shuts their mouth, so that they dare not
and cannot claim anything for
themselves."(28)
As
we see here, when we truly get a grasp
on what God has done for us, there is
nothing left for us to do but to praise
the Lord who has made it all possible.
In
response to all that God has done we
will want to agree with Paul that grace
is truly glorious and praiseworthy (1:6).
This freely-given grace makes heaven and
earth rejoice (Rev. 5:12-14). This
abundant grace should make us want to
give glory to our Father, as the
Westminister Shorter Catechism has it:
"What is the chief end of
man?" "Man’s chief end is to
glorify God, and to enjoy Him
forever."(29)
REDEMPTION AND
FORGIVENESS
In
him we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of sins,
in accordance with the riches of God's
grace… Ephesians 1:7
When
we speak of redemption in the Bible we
necessarily speak about blood. Blood was
very sacred to the Jewish people of
Bible times. In Israel, blood was
reserved only for sacrifice, and the
sacrifice of animals was a sort of
virtual reality picturing a greater
sacrifice that was to come in the
future. God remarks on the importance of
the blood by saying: "For the
life of a creature is in the blood, and
I have given it to you to make atonement
for yourselves on the altar; it is the
blood that makes atonement for one’s
life"
(Lev.17:11). Virtually all
sacrifices required the blood of slain
birds and animals. Hebrews 9:22 develops
this by saying: "In fact, the
law requires that nearly everything be
cleansed with blood, and without the
shedding of blood there is no
forgiveness."
In
Psalm 40:6-8, the Bible speaks of the
true reality or the all-sufficient
offering of Christ in these words: "Sacrifice
and offering you did not desire, but my
ears you have pierced; burnt offerings
and sin offerings you did not require.
Then I said, `Here I am, I have come--
it is written about me in the scroll. I
desire to do your will, O my God; your
law is within my heart.'" Here
the Lamb of God is saying to his Father
that he is ready to make the eternal
sacrifice for the sin of humankind.
Indeed, he did make that sacrifice on
Calvary as he shed his precious blood.
That blood was shed forever and is
available to this very day as a covering
for our sins. Very much in line
with the thinking of Ephesians we see in
Revelation 13:8 that this Lamb was slain
from the creation of the world. By this
we realize that God solved the sin
problem long before it ever began.
Thus
Jesus has made the necessary blood
sacrifice for us and we have redemption
through his blood as stated here. We can
now enter into fellowship with God by
believing and accepting this sacrifice
for ourselves.
Unfortunately,
today much religion has become a
bloodless thing. We now have a bloodless
Judaism, and surprisingly a near
bloodless Christianity. In the Christian
world the whole idea of blood sacrifice
has all but disappeared in the last two
or three generations. A recent quote
from a feminist theologian, Delores
Williams, illustrates this trend. She
says: "I don’t think we need
folks hanging on crosses and blood
dripping and weird stuff."(30)
We have almost quit singing and
preaching about the blood and the cross.
This modern and postmodern trend is
troubling since it is only the blood of
Jesus that takes away our sins.
The
forgiveness mentioned here is the word aphesis,
which means ‘cancellation’ of sins.
Other similar words used by Paul are charizomai
(pardon) in Colossian 2.13 and paresin
(passing over) sin as in Romans 3:25.(31)
As Psalm 103:12 says: "as
far as the east is from the west, so far
has he removed our transgressions from
us."
What
a great and splendid salvation the Lord
has given us. Paul even says that he has
"lavished" it upon us (1:8).
Some may think it unwise for God
to do such a thing but here the
scripture says that God did it with all
wisdom and understanding. In other
words, God knew what he was doing.
Ephesians
assures us the secret is now out. Paul
says that God has now "made
known to us the mystery of his will
according to his good pleasure, which he
purposed in Christ…"
(1:9). The mystery God
has revealed is unlike the many ancient
"mystery religions" or even
the secret societies we have today where
only a chosen few are initiated. This
mystery is available for all Christians
to fully understand and enjoy.(32) 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 states that
although this mystery has been hidden
for ages (cf. Rom.16:25) it is now
revealed to each of us through the Holy
Spirit who lives within us. The mystery
is that Christ is to be the head of
everything.
THE DIRECTION OF
ALL CREATION
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
1:10
It is a common
teaching of many philosophers today that
our world is heading nowhere. They tell
us that all is vain, empty and
meaningless. Our philosophers probably
got this idea from their precursors, the
Greek philosophers of long ago. It was
their concept of history that it was
going on in a meaningless cycle.(33)
Such is not the biblical idea of things.
"It was a common Jewish belief that
history was moving through many stages
to its climax, when everything would be
put under God’s rule."(34)
In other words, history is going
somewhere. In fact, it is all
"coming to a head" and that
head is Christ.
We
see this most clearly in Daniel’s
vision of the system of Gentile world
governments. It is particularly in
Daniel where we see the idea of the
coming kingdom developed.(35) Daniel pictures the four Gentile
world empires, Babylon, Media-Persia,
Greece and Rome, as they came into
being. This corresponds precisely to the
time that the sovereign nation of Israel
disappeared from the stage of world
history (586 BC). We have now spent the
better part of three millennia under the
control of godless Gentile world
governments. We can know from Daniel
that all these governments will fall in
the last days, and that they will all
fall at the same time (Dan. 2:35). Thus
all the godless principles of these
governments are still around and are
affecting us. They will continue to do
so until the end of the age.
Daniel
makes clear that these governments are
all experiencing a continual devaluation
as time goes on. They devalue from gold
to silver to bronze and finally to a
mixture of iron and clay. At last they
will be headed up by the grossly evil
Beast or Antichrist. At this low point,
a rock from the mountain (Zion) will
crash into this evil system and totally
destroy it. The rock (Jesus) and his
government will then grow into a great
mountain filling the whole earth (the
Kingdom of God). At this time of
heavenly victory the government will be
gained by Christ. He will become the
head of everything. Surprisingly, when
this happens he then shares this great
authority with his dear saints (Dan.
7:18). The Bible says that they shall
reign forever and ever. We see that all
this glorious kingdom development will
be put into effect when "the
times will have reached their
fulfillment" (1:10).
Thus
we learn that all things in heaven and
in earth, will ultimately be gathered
together in Christ. Some have referred
to all this as "cosmic
reconciliation." As this plan
progresses, all divisions will be done
away with in Christ. This includes the
deep divisions that have separated Jew
and Gentile in the past. It even
includes the division and alienation of
humanity from God. It includes the
alienation of earth from heaven.(36) Paul in Romans 8:18-22 remarks
concerning this:
I
consider that our present sufferings are
not worth comparing with the glory that
will
be revealed in us. The creation waits in
eager expectation for the sons of God to
be
revealed. For the creation was subjected
to frustration, not by its own choice,
but by
the will of the one who subjected it, in
hope that the creation itself will be
liberated
from its bondage to decay and brought
into the glorious freedom of the
children of
God. We know that the whole creation has
been groaning as in the pains of
childbirth
right up to the present time.
Thus there is a divine
plan and there is only one plan. All
things in heaven and earth will be
brought into alignment with that vast
plan. This is why we were chosen and
predestined (1:11), that
we might be laborers together with God
in his great plan. All this information
should certainly change our perspective
on life. We Christians have a part in
God’s eternal plan. We can help bring
other lives into conformity with that
plan. Is there anything more important
than our laboring together with God in
his plan?
Here
in verse 11 we see the words "In
him we were also chosen." This
brings into focus for the first time
something we will see a lot in
Ephesians. It is likely that the
"we" used here and in the next
verse refers to the Jewish believers and
the "you" in verse 13 refers
to Gentile believers.(37)
We thus understand that there are two
distinct people groups in the divine
plan. There are Jews and Gentiles. The
rift between these two groups in Bible
times was often so great that there was
almost no crossing it. However, we will
see in this book that the sacrifice of
Jesus has bridged this gap, making it
possible for these two groups to have
unity and peace. This is a big step in
God’s plan for cosmic unity and
restoration. Indeed it is a step so big
that many Christians are still
struggling with its implications even to
this day. This great plan of God has all
been enacted that we all might be "for
the praise of his glory" (1:12).
GENTILES INCLUDED
And you also were
included in Christ when you heard the
word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation. Ephesians 1:13
God’s
great plan of salvation was first
extended to the Jews exclusively. In
Deuteronomy 7:6 God says to Israel: "For
you are a people holy to the LORD your
God. The LORD your God has chosen you
out of all the peoples on the face of
the earth to be his people, his
treasured possession." We see
just how special this choice is in Psalm
147:19-20: "He has revealed his
word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to
Israel. He has done this for no other
nation; they do not know his laws."
Of
course this sovereign divine choice of
Israel was not just made so God could
play favorites with people. It was made
for God’s redemptive purposes so that
his salvation could go out to people all
over the world. Here we see this
salvation now arriving to all Gentile
people. We note that salvation comes as
people hear the word of the Lord, the
gospel of salvation. All this is spoken
of in Romans 10:17: "Consequently,
faith comes from hearing the message,
and the message is heard through the
word of Christ." Now through
the preaching of the gospel
"we" (the Jews) can be
expanded to include "you" (the
Gentiles).
We
have been speaking so far of the great
doctrines of election and
predestination. One might think that
with such doctrines the church would be
able to relax into a sort of determinism
regarding salvation. Obviously this is
not to be the case. John Stott remarks
concerning this: "Let no one say,
therefore, that the doctrine of election
by the sovereign will and mercy of God,
mysterious as it is, makes either
evangelism or faith unnecessary."(38)
God in his great love and
foreknowledge gives humanity the free
will to either accept or reject his
offer. Of course there are no surprises
in the kingdom of God. God has known
from the beginning those who would
accept and those who would reject his
grace. The Bible says: "God’s
solid foundation stands firm, sealed
with this inscription: ‘The Lord knows
those who are his’" (2 Tim.
2:19).
Paul
assures these new Gentile converts: "Having
believed, you were marked in him with a
seal, the promised Holy Spirit"
(1:13). This is a seal
that every believer must have. The seal
that God gives us believers stands for
several things. It stands for security
(Matt. 27:66; Eph. 4:30), for our
authentication and approval (Jn. 6:27),
for our certification of genuineness
(Jn.3:33), and for our identification of
ownership (2 Cor. 1:22; Rev. 7:2; 9:4).(39)
We
see in scripture and especially in the
Book of Revelation that terrible times
will come in the last days. To prepare
his dear people for such times the Lord
seals them in their foreheads (Rev.
7:3). This seal reminds us of how Noah
was sealed in the ark. The Bible says
that Noah’s ark was sealed both
without and within (Gen. 6:14). He was
so protected that God destroyed the
whole world with Noah and his family
still in it. We learn that in a similar
sense the Hebrew children were sealed
and protected in Egypt. We see in Exodus
9:4 and 11:7, that they and their
animals were protected and delivered
from the great plagues that fell upon
the land. God made a difference between
his people and the people of Egypt (Exo.
8:23). They were also later kept safe
from the death angel. They were sealed
by the lamb’s blood.
Perhaps
it is for such reasons that Paul later
warns us in Ephesians: "And do
not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with
whom you were sealed for the day of
redemption" (Eph. 4:30).
THE DOWNPAYMENT
MADE
who is a
deposit guaranteeing our inheritance
until the redemption of those who are
God's possession-- to the praise of his
glory. Ephesians 1:14
The
deposit guaranteeing our inheritance is
here called the arrabon. This was
originally a Hebrew word that seems to
have come into Greek usage through
ancient Phoenician traders. In the
Modern Greek language it is still used
of an engagement ring. Of course in
ancient trade arrangements it was seen
as a deposit, a pledge, a down payment
securing the eventual purchase. (40)
Apparently
this same ancient word is still used in
Modern Hebrew. In Israel when an
apartment is leased it is necessary to
find a couple of guarantors or arravim.
These insure that the renter will make
good on all his promises. Such a thing
is necessary in Israel due to the great
demand upon real estate and because of
the extremely high prices.
The
basic idea of the arrabon is that
it is more than an earnest. It is
actually a sample of what is coming in
the future.(41)
We
can understand by this that since the
deposit itself is spiritual, the rest of
our inheritance will also be spiritual
in nature. The Bible says that "God
is spirit" (Jn. 4:24). The
totality of our heritage is of a
spiritual nature and in the spiritual
realm because God is spirit. Just as
Paul challenges us in Ephesians, we
simply must gain a set of spiritual eyes
or ‘eyes of the heart’ so that we
might see and appreciate this heritage.
The
expression "God’s
possession" used here (1:14)
reminds us of some of the special
language God uses regarding his people
Israel. As we saw earlier in Deuteronomy
7:6 God says of Israel: "The
LORD your God has chosen you out of all
the peoples… to be his people, his
treasured possession." The word’s
"treasured possession" is the
Hebrew expression "am segulah."
It is a phrase often heard in Israel
even until this day. We see the word
"segulah" used again of
Israel in Malachi 3:17: "‘They
will be mine,’ says the LORD Almighty,
‘in the day when I make up my
treasured possession. I will spare them,
just as in compassion a man spares his
son who serves him.’"
In
1 Peter 2:9 we see that this special
favor accorded Israel has now been
showered upon the saints of the New
Testament, including Gentiles: "But
you are a chosen people, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a people
belonging to God, that you may declare
the praises of him who called you out of
darkness into his wonderful light."
With
these things in mind Paul has not ceased
giving thanks and praying for the
church, thanking God for the faith and
love of his new people the Gentiles (1:15-16).
Apparently it was Paul’s practice to
pray diligently on a daily basis for all
the churches, even for those Gentile
churches he had never visited (2
Cor.11:28; Col. 2:1).
TURNING THE
LIGHT ON
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
Book of Ephesians is a book of prayer in
that "more than any other New
Testament epistle, it has the character
and form of prayer."(42)
It is therefore not surprising
that Paul inserts a lengthy prayer at
this point. He also prays later.
When
we observe how Paul prayed for people we
realize how shallow our own prayers have
become. Often when we pray, we quickly
go down our prayer list saying something
like this: "God bless Joe and Suzy
Doaks; God bless John and Mary Smith,
and on we go. Paul didn’t pray that
way. He prayed for people that the eyes
of their spiritual understanding would
be opened. When Paul prayed spiritual
things happened. Christians grew to the
measure, stature and fullness of Christ
and triumphant Christian churches sprang
up everywhere.
We
Christians must remember that we are
grafted into the old olive tree of
Israel (Rom 11:17-18). We remember that
the olive tree is the tree of oil, of
light and thus of revelation. This
ancient tree visually represents the
spiritual heritage into which we are
grafted (cf. Zech. 4:1-3; 11-14).
Thus,
through Jesus we have been placed into
the revelation tree. The True Light is
now shining. It is a shame that
sometimes we seem to have so little of
this revelation. Unfortunately, the
Bible says in Proverbs 29:18: "Where
there is no revelation, the people cast
off restraint." This is surely
a picture of our society and world
today.
When
I was a small child I used to wonder why
some church buildings were abandoned and
the roofs were falling in. Now I
understand that these churches simply
ran out of revelation. If there had been
revelation people would have driven for
many miles to attend those small country
churches. Let us think for a moment
about what revelation did for the early
church. In order to do this, let us use
our imaginations a bit.
Perhaps
one day in a certain early church a
young man stood up and said,
"Brothers, the Lord has given me a
revelation." The brothers may have
said, "That’s wonderful Paul,
please share it with us!" Paul may
have proceeded with that excited group:
"Brothers, you may not believe
this, but the Gentiles are going to
become fellow heirs with us Jews in the
gospel" (Eph. 3:2-6). We can
imagine that Paul may have been greeted
with a frosty and embarrassed silence.
One of the Jewish elders may have
finally cleared his throat, then stood
up and chided Paul with words something
like these: "Brother Paul, now you
have just gone too far." But had he
really gone too far?
Can
we even imagine what the last two
thousand years would have been like had
Paul not received and acted upon this
glorious revelation? Because of it the
early Jewish church exploded into the
Gentile world and the gospel has now
gone out to all nations, even coming to
each of us.
In
our churches today we do not need new
programs. We need a new revelation from
God. We need to pray for each other just
as Paul prayed here that our spiritual
eyes might be opened and that we might
receive that life-giving revelation.
Here
Paul also stresses the importance of our
understanding the hope that is given us.
He says: "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…" (1:18).
We are living in a hopeless world. Our
pagan philosophers have drained almost
every drop of hope out of our society.
Everywhere around us we see cynicism,
pessimism, depression, and increasing
suicide. We are surrounded by a sea of
hopelessness. We must remember that the
Christian message is one of hope. We
Christians enjoy the hope of eternal
life, the hope of a bodily resurrection,
the hope of Jesus’ appearing or the
"blessed hope," and even the
hope of a glorified church. There is
also the hope of his calling as we see
here. There are many more elements of
hope in our lives because of Jesus. We
see in Romans 15:13 that we are to
"overflow with hope by the power of
the Holy Spirit."
In
1954 the young aspiring American
evangelist, Billy Graham, was able to
visit Sir Winston Churchill. Of course,
Churchill was Prime Minister of Great
Britain, a hero of World War II, and a
leading world figure. But Churchill was
very despondent concerning his future
hope and hope for the world in general.
He asked the young evangelist, "Do
you have any hope?" In answer to
that question Graham pulled his New
Testament out of his pocket and
responded: "Mr. Prime Minister, I
am filled with hope." Graham then
began to recount the gospel of hope to
the famous Prime Minister.(43)
Then
Paul goes on here to use a very strange
and interesting expression when he prays
for us to have spiritual eyes to see "the
riches of his glorious inheritance in
the saints" (1:18). How
amazing that part of the riches of his
inheritance is in people! If we really
understood this statement we should
never again be able to look at our
fellow saints the same way as before.
They are part of our heavenly treasure.
They are precious! After all, the
scripture does say: "O God; you
have given me the heritage of those who
fear your name" (Psa. 61:5).
Psalm 16:6 also says, "surely I
have a delightful inheritance."
In
order to see some of the treasures God
has given us we have only to look around
us. The following story is related
concerning the wealthy publisher,
William Randolph Hearst, who collected
art treasures from all over the world:
One
day Mr. Hearst found a description of
some valuable items that he felt he
must own, so he sent his agent abroad to
find them. After months of
searching, the agent reported that he
had finally found the treasures. They
were in
Mr. Hearst’s warehouse. Hearst had
been searching frantically for treasures
he
already owned! Had he read the catalog
of his treasures, he would have saved
himself a great deal of money and
trouble.(44)
Today we search for all
kinds of blessings and treasures but
some of the greatest treasures may be
sitting in the church pew near us.
Unfortunately today many of these
bountiful spiritual blessings remain
hidden from us. We must refocus our
lives to see and appreciate spiritual
things. Indeed it is spiritual truth and
sensitivity to that truth that really
blesses people.
POWER APLENTY
and his
incomparably great power for us who
believe. That power is like the working
of his mighty strength… Ephesians
1:19
Wow!
Do we really believe this? Do we have
our spiritual eyes open enough to see
this great mystery? This mighty power of
God is part and parcel of our heritage
in Christ. It too is already given to us
in him. Because of this it has been said
that "there never needs to be a ‘power
shortage’ in the Christian life."(45)
What
a collection of "power" words
we have in this verse. First we have the
Greek word dynamis from which we
get ‘dynamite’ and ‘dynamo.’
Then we have energeian, from
which we get ‘energy.’ Next, we have
the word kratous, or power that
overcomes all resistance. This is a
power that leads to dominion. Finally,
in this same power-packed verse Paul
uses the word ischyos, which has
more to do with the idea of strength and
might.(46)
We
see that this great power is the same
power "which he exerted in
Christ when he raised him from the dead
and seated him at his right hand in the
heavenly realms…" (1:20). In
our wildest imagination can we picture a
thing like this? The same awesome and
glorious power that raised Jesus from
the dead and seated him at God’s right
hand in heaven is available for us to
help us live our daily lives here on
earth (cf. Rom. 8:11). It was this great
power that enabled us to believe and
gave us new birth in Christ. It is also
this great power that shields us until
the day of redemption (1 Pet. 1:5). The
same power will someday raise us
believers from the dead and give us new
and glorified bodies.
The
coming of the kingdom of God in Jesus
brought the most dazzling and incredible
power display this world has ever seen.
When John the Baptist was once wrestling
with doubt he sent some of his followers
to question Jesus and verify whether or
not he was the coming one. Jesus didn’t
give a direct answer to John. Instead,
he replied, "Go back and report
to John what you hear and see: The blind
receive sight, the lame walk, those who
have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear,
the dead are raised, and the good news
is preached to the poor" (Matt.
11:4-5). This power display was to be
proof enough to John that Jesus was
really the expected one and that the
kingdom had come. In fact, much of Jesus’
ministry, possibly a third or more, was
spent in doing these power works. Jesus
particularly cast out numerous demons
and he presented this as proof that the
kingdom of God had indeed come to earth
(Matt. 12:28).
The
really astounding thing is that Jesus
expects his followers to participate on
a regular basis in these same power
displays. He once said to his followers,
"As you go, preach this message:
‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse
those who have leprosy, drive out
demons. Freely you have received, freely
give" (Matt. 10:7-8). Alas,
today we try to preach the gospel
message but the evidence of God’s
glorious power confirming it is often
missing from our presentations.
We
see that through this great power God
raised Jesus from the dead and seated
him at his own right hand in the
heavenly realms (1:20). What a
display of power before angels and
principalities. Not only was Christ
raised from the dead and lifted up to a
heavenly position but he was seated at
the right hand of the majesty on high.
The position at the right hand of God is
a position of favor and authority.
Ephesians goes on to state that he was
seated "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" (1:21).
In
Philippians 2:9-11, Paul also expounds
upon this position of power and
authority that belongs to Jesus: "Therefore
God exalted him to the highest place and
gave him the name that is above every
name, that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, in heaven and on earth
and under the earth, and every tongue
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father."
Jesus is above all powers, all angels,
all principalities, all demonic forces,
and above everything else in the
universe. All belongs to him and indeed
by his powerful word he holds all things
together (Col.1:17). Abraham Kuyper, the
great Dutch statesman, theologian and
reformer, once remarked: "there is
not a thumb-breath of the universe about
which Christ does not say, ‘it is
mine.’"(47)
Absolutely
everything is placed under his feet.
God is in the process of seeing
to it that all enemies in the heavenlies
and in the earth come bowing to him. In
Psalm 110:1 it is written: "The
LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right
hand until I make your enemies a
footstool for your feet.’" Not
only is he the Lord of everything but he
is also "to be head over
everything for the church" (1:22).
Indeed
we see here that the church "is
his body, the fullness of him who fills
everything in every way" (1:23).
From Jesus the church receives
light, life and intelligence. We
believers are complete in him and filled
full with his grace and gifts. The
church makes up his visible fullness on
earth. The church
is the first evidence, the living proof
that God is actually bringing all things
together under the headship of Christ
(cf. Eph. 1:10).
The church
shares everything with her Lord (Eph.
CHAPTER 2
A PLACE IN THE GRAVEYARD
As for
you, you were dead in your
transgressions and sins… Ephesians 2:1
This
verse makes a rapid transition to our
condition before we knew Christ, or to
the condition we all were
"BC." We were dead and there
is not so much to be said about a dead
person. "A corpse does not hear the
conversation going on in the funeral
parlor. He has no appetite for food or
drink; he feels no pain; he is dead.
Just so with the inner man of the
unsaved person."(49)
This condition indeed applies to the
whole human race. The reformer, Calvin,
in commenting upon this state says:
"we are all born as dead men."(50)
There is no part of our fleshly being
that has survived the fall spoken of in
Genesis. We are defiled and dead in our
mind, emotions, conscience, will, etc.
This is known by theologians as the
doctrine of ‘total depravity.’
We
are actually surrounded in our world by
millions of ‘living dead’
(cf.1Tim.5:6). Outwardly these folks
often seem to defy this truth, in that
they are full of energy, plans, hopes,
and dreams. Yet in the place where it
matters most, in that inner spiritual
person, they are dead and lifeless.(51)
They cannot breathe spiritual air; they
cannot feast on spiritual food; they
cannot comprehend or respond to
spiritual truth or spiritual blessing.
Someone has described them as being like
dead fish being carried down the river.
UNDER THE SPELL
in which
you used to live when you followed the
ways of this world and of the ruler of
the kingdom of the air, the spirit who
is now at work in those who are
disobedient. Ephesians 2:2
In
our natural condition we were completely
under the spell of the ‘wicked prince’
who is called here "the ruler of
the kingdom of the air." From
other places in scripture we know him as
the Devil or Satan. With his host of
evil spirits he keeps the world in line.
He keeps its people chained and
following after his diabolical plan.
The
people in the ancient world almost
universally believed that the heavenly
realms were above the earth, that they
were turned over the earth in an almost
bowl-like fashion. They felt there were
several different levels of heaven
(usually from three to seven) and that
while God and angels occupied the upper
levels, Satan and his angels occupied
the lower level.(52)
The lowest level was called aer
in the Greek. This locale is described
as a realm that is misty, obscure,
cloudy and dark. This particular realm
is thickly populated with the evil
spirits which exercise a great control
over this evil age in which we live.(53)
In
Mark 4:4 Jesus refers to these spirits
as the "fowls of the air;"
evil spirits that are ever-ready to
snatch the Gospel from unsuspecting
hearts and minds. It is clear that this
whole world remains under the control of
this evil one who is called in 2
Corinthians 4:4 "The god of this
age." So we can see that just
as the children of God have one head in
Christ, the children of the wicked also
have one head in Satan.(54)
We
see that this spirit "is now at
work in those who are disobedient"
(2:2). With this statement we must
ask if it is possible for Satan to work
at the same time in the lives of all
disobedient people throughout the world.
We must remember that Satan is a created
being. He certainly cannot be compared
to God who is omniscient and
omnipresent. This fact accounts for the
necessary hosts of evil spirits who must
do Satan’s bidding for him as they
work in the lives of the unfaithful.(55)
Later in Ephesians Paul says: "For
our struggle is not against flesh and
blood, but against the rulers, against
the authorities, against the powers of
this dark world and against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly
realms" (Eph. 6:12). It is by
this host of spirits that Satan both
controls the world and even seeks to
harass the saints of God.
Paul
then says: "All of us also lived
among them at one time, gratifying the
cravings of our sinful nature and
following its desires and thoughts. Like
the rest, we were by nature objects of
wrath" (2:3). The Bible
is replete with evidence that we were
all under God’s wrath and that we were
all dead in our trespasses and sins (2:1
& Col. 2:13). It is precisely at
this point that the Gospel comes to us
with the hope-giving word,
"but."
COMING ALIVE!
But because of his
great love for us, God, who is rich in
mercy, made us alive with Christ even
when we were dead in transgressions-- it
is by grace you have been saved.
Ephesians 2:4-5
This
whole section of Ephesians (2:1-10) has
been viewed by many as the most
expressive and beloved passage
describing our salvation to be found in
the whole New Testament.(56)
We
see here that our God is rich, and one
of the things he is richest in is mercy.
He is called a God of mercy. We might
understand mercy simply as God’s great
love in action. When he appeared to
Moses, he declared his name before
himself in these words: "The
LORD, the LORD God, merciful and
gracious, longsuffering, and abounding
in goodness and truth" (Exo.
34:6 NKJ). We see that in mercy he led
his people forth out of Egypt to their
habitation (Ex. 15:13). Perhaps one of
the most repeated themes of praise in
the whole Bible are the words, "His
mercy endures forever." In
Psalm 136 alone, this refrain is
repeated 26 times.
Of
course, the greatest act of mercy that
God has ever demonstrated was to send
his Son to die for our sins. In Titus
3:5 we read that "he saved us,
not because of righteous things we had
done, but because of his mercy."
Mercy was such an important thing to the
early Christians that they often
included it in their greetings. We see
this in 1 Timothy 1:2 and
in a lot of other places: "To
Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace,
mercy and peace from God the Father and
Christ Jesus our Lord."
Ephesians
points out that we Gentiles were not a
people. We were beyond hope and
strangers to his covenant yet God had
mercy upon us and saved us. He
transferred us from the realm of death
to the realm of life. Paul continues
with this: "And God raised us up
with Christ and seated us with him in
the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus…"
(2:6).
If
we could but understand Ephesians, as we
have said before, it should permanently
change our lives. We would cease groping
around in the earthly realm and be
exalted to the heavenly realm where
Christ dwells. In Colossians 3:1-2 Paul
says: "Since, then, you have
been raised with Christ, set your hearts
on things above, where Christ is seated
at the right hand of God. Set your minds
on things above, not on earthly
things."
We
saw in Ephesians 1:20 that Christ is
seated at the right hand of God. But
here we once more see clearly that we
are seated there with him. Yes, just as
Christ is seated with the Father on his
throne, we who are "in Christ"
are also seated with him! This is
mind-boggling information. We saw in
1:21 how Christ is seated "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." We
remember how Jesus says in Matthew 28:18
"All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me."
Now we must ask, doesn’t this also
apply to us? Aren’t we also seated far
above Satan’s authority?
With
all this in mind we Christians should
begin to deal with life here on this
earth from a "throne
position." God wants us to begin
ruling for Christ at this present
moment. We see this in Romans 5:17: "For
if, by the trespass of the one man,
death reigned through that one man, how
much more will those who receive God's
abundant provision of grace and of the
gift of righteousness reign in life
through the one man, Jesus Christ."
The
concept of ruling and reigning for
Christ is difficult especially for those
of us who live in western democracies.
Nevertheless, we see this kingdom
concept throughout the teachings of
Jesus and we finally see it become
reality in the last days.
In
the Book of Revelation we are given some
glimpses of a large overcoming group of
saints, both Jewish and Gentile
believers, who are ruling for Christ
regardless of the horribly difficult
situation around them. In Revelation 1:6
we begin reading the promises that make
such overcoming possible. We read that
Jesus Christ "has made us to be
a kingdom and priests to serve his God
and Father. In Revelation 3:21 Jesus
says "To him who overcomes, I
will give the right to sit with me on my
throne, just as I overcame and sat down
with my Father on his throne." In
Revelation 5:10 we read again: "You
have made them to be a kingdom and
priests to serve our God, and they will
reign on the earth." Indeed the
Book of Revelation virtually ends in
22:5 with these words about God’s
saints: "And they will reign for
ever and ever."
Yes,
we Christians are destined to rule with
Christ. We are "in him" and
with him always. "Everywhere in the
New Testament, the close connection of
the believer with Christ is affirmed. We
are crucified with him. We die with him.
We rise with him. We live with him. We
reign with him. We are joint heirs with
him. We share his sufferings on earth,
(1 Pet. 4:13), and we share his glory
with him on his throne (Rev.
3:21)."(57)
We must stop looking at ourselves as
earthlings, as defeated and half-dead.
Christ has removed our "grave
clothes" and given us our
"grace clothes."(58)
TROPHIES OF GOD’S
GRACE
in order that in the
coming ages he might show the
incomparable riches of his grace,
expressed in his kindness to us in
Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:7
Someone
might ask us why God would create
humankind when he was fully aware that
his glorious creation would result in
the awful fall of Genesis. One answer is
that God had determined to give humanity
a greater dignity than even creation
could bestow upon it.(59)
Barnes,
the popular commentator of the past two
centuries sums it up this way:
"There will be a countless host who
were once polluted and lost; who were
dead in sins; who were under the power
of Satan, and who have been saved by the
riches of Divine grace--a host now happy
and pure, and free from sin, sorrow, and
death--the living and eternal monuments
of the grace of God."(60)
Yes, God has determined that we the
redeemed become living trophies of his
great grace. These trophies will be
displayed in the heavenly realms as a
witness before angels, authorities and
powers forever and ever.
Can
we even imagine such a picture? God
fully intends to ‘show us off’ in
the heavenly places because of his great
grace to us! Just think, little Raggedy
Ann and Andy, poor little Cinderella,
will at last be exalted to the heavens,
arrayed in garments of God’s
righteousness, showered with heavenly
splendor and blessings, graced with
eternal life. It is just too much for
our mortal minds to comprehend!
Paul
mentions here the expression "the
ages to come." We ran into this
expression in 1:21 and now we see it
again. In the Greek language the word is
aion from which we get our eon
and it can mean "age, world
order or eternity." As we look back
in Ephesians 1:21 we realize that the
New Testament sees the times as being
divided clearly into two different ages.
This is important for our understanding
of Ephesians, Revelation and the rest of
the Bible. There is the present evil
age, largely under the control of Satan,
and the age to come where Jesus will
rule supremely. There are a number of
scriptures that speak of this division
(cf. Matt. 12:32; Mk. 10:30; Gal. 1:4; 2
Cor. 4:4).
Interestingly
a very similar distinction is made among
the Jewish people to this day. They
speak in Hebrew of "ha olam ha
zeh" (the present age) and "ha
olam ha ba" (the age to come).
The latter is to be a period of heavenly
and earthly bliss similar in many ways
to the Christian concepts.
SOLA GRATIA
For it is by grace
you have been saved, through faith-- and
this not from yourselves, it is the gift
of God not by works, so that no
one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
Here we are
told that our salvation is solely by the
grace of God. The Latin words "sola
gratia" (grace alone) made up
some of the watchwords of the great
Reformation. It is still true today that
grace alone is the way of salvation. We
can add nothing to it. We cannot add our
works as a means of salvation, for our
works are like filthy rags in God’s
sight (Isa. 64:6). We cannot even lean
upon our own faith or take any credit
for it.
It
has been customary to interpret this
verse as saying that our faith is not of
ourselves but is a gift of God. While
this interpretation of the Greek is
incorrect as often used, there is a way
in which the statement is correct in a
larger sense. Our whole salvation,
including our faith, is a gift of God.
It in no way comes as a result of our
works. (61)
Paul
then adds: "For we are God's
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to
do good works, which God prepared in
advance for us to do" (2:10).
From the Greek word poiema (workmanship)
used here we get our word
"poem." God seems to be saying
by this that we are his masterpiece, his
work of art, his beautiful poem.(62)
We
note that God has prepared in advance
the works we are to do on this earth. So
it’s true in a very real sense that
all our works were arranged before we
existed and perhaps before the world
began. In light of this there is
certainly no way that we can take credit
for them. The good works are predestined
and we ourselves are predestined. We
notice that God is working in our works.
In Philippians 2:13 we are told: "for
it is God who works in you to will and
to act according to his good
purpose." We see here that even
our will to accomplish good works is not
of ourselves but is from God.
GOD’S NEW
CREATION IN CHRIST
Therefore, remember
that formerly you who are Gentiles by
birth and called
"uncircumcised" by those who
call themselves "the
circumcision" (that done in the
body by the hands of men)-- Ephesians
2:11
Now
Ephesians returns to the theme that has
been repeatedly introduced to us. We saw
it earlier in the "we" (Jews)
and the "you" (Gentile)
statements made by Paul. As we mentioned
before there are but two people groups
and only two groups in God’s great
plan of the ages. We all must fall into
one group or the other. First, we have
God’s ancient covenant people, the
Jews, and second, we have the Gentiles.
Here
Paul gives a description of the
"uncircumcised" Gentile
condition, and that condition is
shocking. In describing it
he says: "remember that at that
time you were separate from Christ,
excluded from citizenship in Israel and
foreigners to the covenants of the
promise, without hope and without God in
the world" (2:12).
One writer describes this condition as
"Christless, stateless, friendless,
hopeless and Godless."(63)
In
Bible times there was such a wall
between God’s holy people, Israel, and
the Gentiles that it could scarcely be
breached. God had actually commanded
that his people not mingle with the
Gentiles or intermarry with them lest
they become defiled by the very
prevalent Gentile idolatry. We know from
the Bible that it was impossible for a
Gentile to approach the temple
sanctuary. In fact, there was a wall
affixed with appropriate warnings to
Gentiles. Two notices from the temple
have actually been discovered, one in
1871 and another in 1935. These notices
read in Greek: "No foreigner may
enter within the barrier and enclosure
round the temple. Anyone who is caught
doing so will have himself to blame for
his death."(64)
Jews
and Gentiles were separated in many
other ways. Jews could not eat common
Gentile foods like pork and shellfish.
In some ways this was merciful since
Greek islanders often ate such foods as
octopus, snails, eels, and lizards
(65)
Jews could not travel or trade on the
Sabbath. In time, many rigid ideas
developed among the Jews concerning the
Gentiles. Some Jews began to feel that
Gentiles were merely created to fuel the
fires of hell. For some, the feelings
were so strong that they were not
allowed to aid a Gentile woman in labor,
since such an act would help bring
another Gentile into the world. Should a
Jewish boy marry a Gentile girl a mock
funeral was usually held for the boy by
his family.(66 )
Some of these feelings persist to the
present. For instance, some orthodox
Jewish families today still hold mock
funerals for their children who convert
to Christianity.
It
is interesting that the language used in
2:12-19 is the normal Greek and Roman
political language. The Greek (politeia)
used here and translated as
"commonwealth" or
"citizenship" is the normal
term for describing political realities.
In other words: "Fellowship with
God is termed citizenship in the
political entity of Israel."
(67)
BUT NOW…
But now in Christ
Jesus you who once were far away have
been brought near through the blood of
Christ. Ephesians 2:13
Fortunately for
us Gentiles we see the glorious words -
"But now…" It is only the
blood of Jesus that permanently changes
our lost and hopeless Gentile situation.
It is only the blood of Jesus that
covers our sin and places in the safe
and glorious position of being "in
Christ." This position seems to be
the key for our new covenant
relationship and citizenship in God’s
kingdom.
It
has been suggested that we can make
sense of this passage only as we recall
Paul’s theology relating to covenant
and promise found in Galatians 3:15-18.
These verses make clear that it is the
"seed" (singular) and not
"seeds" (plural) of Abraham
who will inherit the promises. Of
course, Paul sees that the seed is Jesus
Christ. Since it is only Jesus who now
holds the promises, it is only as we are
"in him" that we can inherit
these promises. This
is just "another reminder here for
us that Jews and Christians are
eternally connected. Christians cannot
tell their story apart from the story of
Israel…we cannot configure our story
in such a way that elevates Christians
above Jews." (68)
Paul
goes on to exclaim, "For he
himself is our peace, who has made the
two one and has destroyed the barrier,
the dividing wall of hostility,"
(2:14). We must realize that
peace used here is not just the
cessation of hostility. It is a
comprehensive term for salvation and
life with God. Also, not only is the old
physical barrier gone that used to stand
at the temple, but the spiritual barrier
is now gone in Christ. This is great
news for both Jews and Christians. There
is no longer a dividing wall between us.
We are now one covenant people. It is a
sad, sad story that almost two thousand
years have now passed and neither the
Jews nor the Christians seem to realize
this glorious fact.
I
remember as a child on the farm that we
used to make a quick pasture for our
cattle by stringing up an electric
fence. Initially the fence didn’t look
too imposing to the cattle. However,
when Old Bossy stuck her nose to the
fence we knew she wouldn’t do it
twice. The cattle became so respectful
of the fence that even after it was
taken down they would scarcely cross the
place where the fence once stood. We are
still like that today in our
relationships with Gentiles and Jews. We
don’t seem to realize that Jesus took
the fence down almost two thousand years
ago.
So
Jesus has become our peace. What a great
peace God has given us! We see this
great peace reflected in Paul himself.
Paul had been falsely charged with
taking a Gentile into the temple area at
Jerusalem. He was arrested and viciously
accused by the Jews. At last he was sent
as a prisoner to Rome. Now as Paul sits
under house arrest in Rome he can still
speak of "peace." Still from
his pen can flow the glorious book of
Ephesians, which reflects no bitterness
as he speaks of the final unity of Jew
and Gentile.
Now
Paul gives us the mechanics of how God
is bringing forth his new creation or
his new man. He is doing it "by
abolishing in his flesh the law with its
commandments and regulations. His
purpose was to create in himself one new
man out of the two, thus making peace,"
(2:15). In regard to the law it
is not unusual to hear Christians say
that Christ is the end of it. However,
we know from the whole counsel of
scripture that this is not the case. The
Bible tells us in Psalm 19:7 that "The
law of the LORD is perfect." In
Psalm 119 alone we have three separate
verses (144, 152 & 160) telling us
that the law of God is eternal and will
not pass away. So what has Christ
abolished in his flesh?
We
know for a fact that Jesus did not
abolish the moral law. One would be a
fool today to rob a bank or commit
murder because those Old Testament moral
laws are still powerfully in force. Yet,
while Jesus did not abolish the moral
law as a standard of behavior he did
abolish it as a way of salvation. He
abolished its condemnation. It might be
rightly said that Jesus did abolish the
ceremonial law with all its rules and
regulations. He abolished it by
fulfilling all the types, patterns and
shadows in himself. There is no longer a
need to offer sacrifices, participate in
ritual washings, etc. In the cross he
fulfilled all types and shadows of the
Old Testament ceremonial system.
"This
then, was the achievement of Christ’s
cross. First, he abolished the law…as
a divisive instrument separating men
from God and Jews from Gentiles.
Secondly he created a single new
humanity…Thirdly, he reconciled this
new united humanity to God."(69)
Paul
summarizes it: "and in this one
body to reconcile both of them to God
through the cross, by which he put to
death their hostility" (2:16). In
reality this hostility or enmity was
twofold. It was an enmity between Jews
and Gentiles but it was also an enmity
between man and God. Now in Christ it is
all put aside.
We
see that "He came and preached
peace to you who were far away and peace
to those who were near" (2:17). After
Jesus was resurrected the first words he
spoke to his apostles were "Peace
be with you."(70)
In one of our assemblies in
Jerusalem it was customary for the
members at times to "share the
peace." At such times the members
embraced or extended the hand of peace
and blessing to those around.
Interestingly that particular assembly
was made up of both Jews and Gentiles
and had focused on bringing the two
together since the mid1800s. What a
marvelous thing Christ has done!
"Early
Christians called themselves a ‘third
race’ or a ‘new race.’ Early
Christians recognized that they were not
Jews, not Gentiles, but one new man
embracing all who are in Jesus."(71)
It is almost beyond the scope of our
human understanding to picture this new
man that Christ has created. As we
mentioned earlier we see our best
pictures of this new creation in the
Book of Revelation. We see that he is
made up of Jews and Gentiles (Rev.
7:1-9). We read that this new man is
partly responsible for the fall of Satan
out of his heavenly abode. In Revelation
12:11 it is said: "They overcame
him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and
by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much as
to shrink from death." This new
creation is then pictured as standing
victoriously with the Lamb on Mount
Zion. We observe that these are
undefiled, that they follow the Lamb
wherever he goes (Rev. 14:1-5).
What
victory! What glory! What unity with
each other and with God! This great
unity is a spiritual thing. Paul says
"For through him we both
have access to the Father by one
Spirit" (2:18). While
the word "access" (prosagwghn)
used here sometimes had reference to an
audience with the king, it is more
closely related to the temple ideas of
access to God as we see in Hebrews
6:18-20; 10:19-22.(72)
We observe that the same Greek
word used again in Ephesians 3:12.
Today
"access" has gotten to be a
very important thing in our computerized
world. If we have proper passwords we
can gain access to all sorts of places
and programs on the web. If we do not
have proper passwords we are soon
discouraged to see "access
denied" flash upon our screen. So
it is in God’s kingdom. Those who know
Christ the Son have immediate and
eternal access to God the Father. It is
just that simple. As the old saying
goes, "It is not what you know but
who you know that counts."
GOD’S NEW HOUSE
AND TEMPLE
Consequently, you are
no longer foreigners and aliens, but
fellow citizens with God's people and
members of God's household… Ephesians
2:19.
Now
Paul is progressing to an even deeper
idea, the household of God which indeed
grows to become the glorious spiritual
temple of God. Still, all this is based
upon the position of being "in
Christ" or "in God."
Moses once spoke of this in prophecy as
he said in Psalm 90:1 "Lord, you
have been our dwelling place throughout
all generations." How
interesting that God is in search of a
dwelling with man and man is in search
of a dwelling with God.
Paul
goes on into the construction of this
dwelling place. He says that it is:
"built on the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus
himself as the chief cornerstone"
(2:20). It is clear in scripture
that the Old Testament prophets were
deeply involved in this building.(73)
In 1 Peter 1:10-11 we read that the
prophets of old searched intently and
with great care as they examined the
grace that was to be given us. Also,
this new building and its cornerstone
were spoken of so clearly by Isaiah who
said: "See, I lay a stone in
Zion, a tested stone, a precious
cornerstone for a sure foundation; the
one who trusts will never be
dismayed" (Isa. 28:16). We
might mention that these cornerstones
were often massive load-bearing stones.
Some of the gigantic ashlars in the
Western Wall at Jerusalem are around 200
tons in weight. Actually some found in
the Holy Land have weighed upwards to
570 tons.(74)
A
number of interpreters see Paul’s
words here as a reference to New
Testament rather than Old Testament
prophets. While we do not have many New
Testament prophets mentioned by name it
is undeniable that the apostles moved in
a great prophetic anointing. Some of the
clearest and most astounding prophetic
visions in the whole Bible are those
shared by Paul here in this book of
Ephesians.
We
see that Jesus Christ is the chief
cornerstone of this new spiritual
building. Some have seen Christ as the
‘keystone’ or the topmost piece that
holds the rest together. Still it is
noted that this does not really fit the
image, and would imply that Christ has
no place in the building’s beginning.(75)
It would also not fit the image
of Isaiah 28:16 that we have mentioned
above, where Christ, the cornerstone, is
laid in Zion as a sure foundation.
BEING BUILT
TOGETHER
In him the whole
building is joined together and rises to
become a holy temple in the Lord. Ephesians
2:21
We should
note that the participle "joined
together" (synarmologoumenē)
used here and in 4:16 denotes that the
parts of the building are skillfully
fitted together and not just thrown
together.(76) It
is also of note that the Gentiles who
were once forbidden even to enter the
temple area are now made vital parts of
the temple itself.
The
ideas of "we" and
"you" have now become blended
together since the "you" has
been included in the holy temple too.
Paul says: "And in him you too
are being built together to become a
dwelling in which God lives by his
Spirit" (2:22).
We
must take some time to reflect upon this
glorious new temple that Christ is
building. Many people ask today if the
new temple (third temple) is being
constructed yet in Jerusalem. Obviously
it is not, and to begin construction on
it in the natural sense would probably
result in a Third World War with the
Moslems. Yet, in another sense, we can
say with all boldness and confidence
that the temple of God is being built.
It has actually been under construction
for a long time. The only problem is
that the new temple is not so visible in
that it is a spiritual complex.
In
1 Corinthians 3:16, the Apostle asks: "Don’t
you know that you yourselves are God’s
temple and that God’s Spirit lives in
you?" In this passage and in
many others like it, the Bible uses
"you" in the plural and not in
the singular because it is only together
that we make up God’s temple. Simply
put, God’s truth "is not
apprehended by an individual in
isolation but with all the saints."(77)
We remember too that Jew and Gentile are
now made one together.
Thus,
the new temple is being built of people,
believing people. In 1 Peter 2:4-5, we
read: "As you come to him, the
living Stone—rejected by men but
chosen by God and precious to him—you
also, like living stones, are being
built into a spiritual house to be a
holy priesthood, offering spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God through
Jesus. At long last, the words of
Jesus to the Samaritan woman are being
completely fulfilled. He said to her "Yet
a time is coming and has now come when
the true worshipers will worship the
Father in spirit and truth, for they are
the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
God is spirit, and his worshipers must
worship in spirit and in truth"
(Jn. 4:23-24).
Thus
as living stones we are all being built
into a spiritual temple. The problem
with living stones, however, is that
they wiggle around a lot and get all out
of place. Sadly, a temple stone out of
place becomes little more than a
stumbling block. As the great spiritual
temple of God is formed, certainly our
brothers and sisters would appreciate it
if we would find our place in that
temple and lay our lives down so the
building can proceed. There is another
problem, and that is the matter of our
fitting together. We sometimes have
rough edges that keep us from joining
well with one another. These need to be
knocked off somehow. Fortunately, God
has people in the body who are skilled
at knocking off these rough edges. Thus,
we really need each other, even if we do
not feel this to be the case.
This
assumes relationship. In Matthew 5:23-24
we read: "Therefore, if you are
offering your gift at the altar and
there remember that your brother has
something against you, leave
your gift there in front of the altar.
First go and be reconciled to your
brother; then come and offer your
gift." The matters of being in
one accord and having unity are
absolutely essential for the temple’s
functioning, because the new temple is
made up of people. They are the stones
and the walls. They make up the altar,
and even the new Holy Place. They are
the ministers, the Levites and the
Priests (1 Pet. 2:5). We read in Romans
12:1 that they even become a holy
sacrifice to the Lord.
Many
years ago it was my privilege to be
associated with a dear old pastor, Bro.
Jim Nochta. He was a special man with a
loving heart and a keen gift of
prophecy. I learned much from him, but
in time, a breach developed between us.
Finally, in my pride and
self-righteousness, I broke fellowship
with this dear man of God. Several years
later, the Lord demanded that I go back
and try to heal this breach. I did so,
and what a wonderful blessing ensued.
After my deep and sincere apology, God
established a bond between us far
greater than any bond we had before. We
regularly corresponded about spiritual
matters until God took this dear pastor
home. I am so thankful that the Lord led
me to heal this breach in the body.
Surely, there are many other breaches
that need healing with all of us. It is
a necessity for the functioning of God’s
holy temple.
The
new temple that God is building is holy.
In 1 Corinthians 3:17, Paul says: "If
anyone destroys God’s temple, God will
destroy him; for God’s temple is
sacred, and you are that temple." The
idea behind holiness is that of being
set apart for God. Of course,
un-holiness includes all spiritual and
fleshly defilements. God wants a people
pure in heart, pure in mind and body to
make up his holy temple. Later in
Ephesians 5:3-4, we will be given some
very practical advice concerning this: "But
among you there must not be even a hint
of sexual immorality, or of any kind of
impurity, or of greed, because these are
improper for God’s holy people. Nor
should there be obscenity, foolish talk
or coarse joking, which are out of
place, but rather thanksgiving."
In
Hebrews 10:19-25, we have one of the
greatest challenges in the world. It is
the challenge not only to enter and
become fully part of God’s temple but
to actually enter the Holy of Holies
where God dwells. This was unthinkable
in biblical times. Only the High Priest
entered this place, and he did it only
on the Day of Atonement each year. For a
common person to enter would have almost
certainly meant death. Now we must
understand that this Holy of Holies has
become an intensely spiritual meeting
place. It is a place that we can only
enter in fellowship with others, in
Spirit and in truth.
Now
the perfect Lamb has been slain for our
sin, that is, Jesus (Yeshua), our
Messiah. Now the veil has been rent, and
the way is fully opened for our
entering. The author of Hebrews tells us
that we can now have confidence to enter
through the veil by his blood (Heb.
10:19-20). We see in scripture that
access to God is made possible only by
the blood of the Lamb. Our guilty
consciences have now been sprinkled with
the blood of Jesus (2:22), just
as the holy priesthood was sprinkled
long ago (Lev. 8:30; cf. 1 Pet. 1:2).
We
are then challenged to draw near, but it
is stipulated that we must have a
sincere heart (Heb. 10: 22). There are
some other things necessary. We must
come in full assurance of faith (v. 22).
Like the priests of old, we must wash
ourselves in pure water. In Temple
times, the laver for washing was made of
the looking-glasses of the ministering
women (Exo. 38:8). This is undoubtedly a
picture of the word of God. James
possibly alludes to this when he says,
"Anyone who listens to the word but
does not do what it says is like a man
who looks at his face in a mirror and,
after looking at himself, goes away and
immediately forgets what he looks
like" (Jas. 1:23-24).
Again
we are reminded of our proper
relationship with the body of Christ,
which makes up this temple. We must spur
other people to good works (Heb. 10:24).
Also, we must not give up meeting
regularly with God’s people (v. 25).
We should take seriously the matter of
encouraging each other, especially as we
see the day drawing near (v. 25).
Encouragement is a wonderful thing. We
can all remember times when someone
"made our day" by giving us a
little word of encouragement. Let’s
find the good points in each other and
compliment each other on these. Let us
learn to encourage one another by using
the Word of God (Rom.15:4).
Truly,
the temple of God is rising and is
nearing completion. True sacrifices are
even now being offered to God. There is
already the sound of pure worship going
up to his ears. Perhaps some have not
yet fully become a part of this
magnificent structure, but for sure,
many others have. Now, we must each
decide if we are going in all the way,
even into the Most Holy Place. Our
success in entering will depend not only
on our relationship with the Lord, but
on our daily relationship with the other
members of his glorious body.
CHAPTER 3
GETTING A GRIP ON A GREAT MYSTERY
For this reason I,
Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for
the sake of you Gentiles—Surely you
have heard about the administration of
God's grace that was given to me for you…
Ephesians 3:1-2
Through
the Book of Ephesians so far Paul has
spoken in an almost breathless
excitement. He even strings his remarks
with commas and not periods, giving us
some of the longest sentences in all of
literature. He has already shared
several mysteries but he longs to share
more. He begins to pray here, but is
detracted by the glory of one great
revelation. He simply must stop his
prayer and share that glory more fully
with us.
We
should note that Paul is now a prisoner
because of God’s great revelation to
him (3:1). He could have lived as
a Jew among the Jews with little
problem. He could have lived comfortably
among the Gentile Christians. But he
could not live very well among either by
openly proclaiming the great divine
secret in his heart. It was this great
truth that made up the essential gospel
that he preached. It was this great
truth that brought his imprisonment and
finally resulted in his death.
Truth
is like that. When we really get hold of
it, we will find that truth is difficult
to handle. When we really find truth,
the real truth, it will cost us plenty.
If we take a stand for the truth in this
truth-denying age it will probably cost
us some friends, even some church
friends. It may cost us some business
associates, or it could ultimately cost
us our lives. Yes, truth is such a rare
commodity that, in its refined form, it
is powerful enough to kill us. Marie
Curie helped discover the secrets of
radium, but that discovery cost her
life. She died from her long exposure to
the mysterious substance.
In
previous chapters Paul has been leading
up to the full revelation of this great
mystery that God entrusted to him. Now
when we speak of mystery in our western
culture we generally think of something
that is dark, obscure or even puzzling.
The Greek word mysterion has
nothing to do with these ideas.(78)
Mysterion (3:3) has to do rather
with something that has been hidden by
God for ages but is now revealed for all
to understand. We must realize that in
Christianity there are no esoteric,
hidden, mysteries that are reserved for
the spiritual elite.(79)
All of God’s revealed truth is
available to all of us. As Deuteronomy
29:29 puts it, "The secret
things belong to the LORD our God, but
the things revealed belong to us and to
our children forever."
Here
Paul wants to make a clarification. He
wants us to know that he has already
introduced this mystery. He speaks of it
as "the mystery made known to me
by revelation, as I have already written
briefly" (3:3). No
doubt he is probably making reference
back to Ephesians 2:11-22, where he has
already spoken about it and developed
the mystery to some degree.
PAUL’S
UNDERSTANDING OF THE MYSTERY
In reading
this, then, you will be able to
understand my insight into the mystery
of Christ, which was not made known to
men in other generations as it has now
been revealed by the Spirit to God's
holy apostles and prophets. Ephesians
3:3-5
It is
important that we understand the
critical role of the original apostles
and prophets in the matter of
revelation. Most had been with Jesus in
the flesh. They had heard him speak of
wonderful things. Others like Paul had
received powerful revelations of
Christian truth. On one occasion Paul
was caught up to the heavens and heard
unspeakable things. In 2 Corinthians
12:2-4, he tells of this great spiritual
experience: "I know a man in
Christ who fourteen years ago was caught
up to the third heaven. Whether it was
in the body or out of the body I do not
know-- God knows. And I know that this
man…was caught up to paradise. He
heard inexpressible things, things that
man is not permitted to tell"
(cf. Acts 26:12-18)
It
seems that Paul is almost teasing us by
dangling this great revelation before
us. By this time he almost has us
breathless. We are almost standing on
our tiptoes asking, "For heaven’s
sake, what is this great mystery?"
At last he gives it to us in capsule
form so that no one can miss it: "This
mystery is that through the gospel the
Gentiles are heirs together with Israel,
members together of one body, and
sharers together in the promise in
Christ Jesus" (3:6). The
first thing we note about this mystery
is that there are a lot of "togethers"
in it.(80)
God’s
hidden plan was always to make a new
creation out of Jews and Gentiles. His
great forever plan was to make of the
two one new human race, one new
household, one new and glorious temple
where he could dwell and reveal his
presence forever. This is his plan in a
nutshell.
In
some ways this is not a new plan at all,
but an old, old plan. The Bible had
taught for ages that God would seek the
Gentiles and that non-Jews could join
with his people Israel. We see in
passages like Genesis 12:3; 22:18; and
28:14 that the blessing of Israel was to
go out to Gentile nations. Actually the
prophets talked a great deal about
Gentiles joining with Israel and about
Israel being a light to the nations (Isa.
56:6-7; 49:6). We immediately think of
Rahab the Harlot at Jericho who united
with Israel (Josh. 6:17-25), and Ruth of
Moab who actually became a mother in the
messianic line (Ruth 4:13-22). These
women were surely types and shadows of
what was coming. Also many non-Jews
fought valiantly in David’s army. Some
were in very high positions of authority
(2 Sam 15:18-22;18:2).(81)
Yes,
Israel was quite used to the idea that
God would bless the Gentiles and that
certain Gentiles could even unite with
the nation and become a part of it. What
is new here is that Jews and Gentiles
will now be joined together to form a
new humanity, to form one new body. We
should note here that Jew and Gentile
together will form this new humanity.
Some have spoken of this miracle in a
generic sense where God will just draw
all nations together into a new unity.
Such an idea has some truth in it but
almost totally omits the Jews and their
vital part in this unity.
Now,
how are we handling this new and
mysterious plan of God? Certainly the
Jews have not handled it very well. They relentlessly persecuted Paul
and even to this day many Jews mistrust
Paul more than they mistrust Jesus.
Today, a lot of Jews wish to keep a safe
distance from Christians altogether and
that with some good reasons. Actually
for many Jews, they are probably no
longer even aware of Paul’s great
mystery.
The
church has not handled it well either.
In the early centuries of Christianity a
subtle anti-Semitism began to slip into
church theology and into preaching. As
early as the second century famous
church fathers like Ignatius, Justin,
Irenaeus and Cyprian began to make
inflammatory statements about the Jewish
people. Irenaeus, the renowned Bishop of
Lyon (AD 130-202), actually declared the
Jews "disinherited from the grace
of God."(82)
The gangrene spread and was reflected in
the great Council of Nicea in AD 325,
where the Jews were referred to as
"polluted wretches…blinded in
their minds…most odious fellowship…parricides
and murderers."(83)
The
infectious plague continued through the
centuries. Probably the greatest
preacher early Christianity produced was
John Chrysostom (347?-407). Yet, he
viciously attacked the Jews. For his
great oratory he was called the
"Golden Tongue" but he used
his golden tongue to call the Jews
"most miserable of all men"
"lustful rapacious, greedy
perfidious bandits." This great
preacher ended by saying "I hate
the Jews."(84)
The
dark, dark pages of Christian history
bear witness that we have not understood
Paul’s mystery and neither do we
understand it today. Christian history
is full of Christian crusades against
the Jews, blood libels, repressions,
expulsions, inquisitions and murders.
Finally the great Martin Luther with his
raving against the Jews set the stage of
the Nazi "final solution."
Luther said that their synagogues and
schools should be burned, their houses
destroyed, prayer books taken away and
that their money be confiscated.(85)
Adolph Hitler was happy to oblige
and fulfill all of Luther’s wishes.
Today
after a guilty church has stained its
hands with the blood of millions of
Jews, we are farther than ever from
learning Paul’s mystery. In much of
the church today there remains a
persistent and unexplainable coolness
and hardness toward the Jewish people,
often even toward messianic Jews.
Strangely there is a similar hardness
expressed toward the new nation of
Israel. We have just not understood. How
vastly different the history of
Christianity would have been had we
understood.
It
is time to make this our prayer:
Heavenly
Father, open our eyes to see this great
mystery that the church has
somehow lost. Let us see that Jews and
Gentiles must now come together and
become one new creation in the Messiah.
Show us how to become good stewards
in understanding and sharing this
mystery, regardless of the personal cost
to us.
And please forgive us Heavenly Father
for all our hateful attitudes toward the
Jewish people and toward Israel. In the
name of Jesus our Messiah we pray.
Amen.
PAUL – JUST A SERVANT
I became a servant of
this gospel by the gift of God's grace
given me through the working of his
power. Ephesians 3:7
Paul has
just dealt with some of the most
astounding mysteries in all of creation.
He has reeled them off to us as if he
were reciting the "A-B-Cs."
Such a spiritual genius should want to
bask for a while in the glory of all his
revelations. Instead, Paul’s desire is
just to be a servant. The servant (diakonos)
in New Testament times was merely a
table waiter who was totally at the
bidding of his customers.
The
Lord had long before taken care of Paul’s
pride by giving him a loathsome
"thorn in the flesh," lest he
become lifted up over all these very
revelations (2 Cor. 12:7). So Paul is
now just a servant, and becoming a
servant is such a necessary thing in the
building of God’s great body and
temple. We remember that Jesus became a
servant to Israel and to us. He was even
willing to become a suffering servant,
to take up the shameful cross and to die
upon it so that he could raise up this
new temple (Mk. 14:58).
We
see here that the apostle has been so
thoroughly dealt with by God that he
almost loathes himself. He says: "Although
I am less than the least of all God's
people, this grace was given me: to
preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable
riches of Christ…" (3:8).
Here he does something impossible
linguistically. He takes the Greek word elachistos
meaning "least" or
"smallest," and turns it into elachistoteros,
meaning "leaster." It has been
suggested that he might have been
playing on the meaning of his Roman name
"Paulus," which does
mean ‘little’ or ‘small’ in
Latin. Tradition has always held that he
was a person small of stature.(86)
Paul
has been given the task of proclaiming
the "unsearchable riches of
Christ." This great assignment
and great grace were given to Paul by
God. It was not something he attained by
his own efforts or discovered by his own
wisdom. In his letters Paul makes it
plain that the revelation he received
was given by the Lord and did not
originate through the agency of man
(Gal. 1:11-12). He even says in
Galatians 1:15-17 that he was set apart
from birth for this task as we see
spelled out further in Acts 9:15-16.
The
"unsearchable riches" conveys
the ideas of "unfathomable" or
"trackless." Someone has
described it as if we were exploring
what we thought was a lake and suddenly
realized it was but an outlet opening
into a vast sea.(87)
These unsearchable riches cannot be
explored by humans unless God chooses to
reveal them to us.
Paul’s
task is "to make plain to
everyone the administration of this
mystery, which for ages past was kept
hidden in God, who created all
things" (3:9). The
word "administration" (oikonomia)
is taken from two Greek words, oikos
(house) and nomos (law). It is
from this that we get our word
"economy." The word in Greek
means "the law of the house"
and it refers to the matters of
stewardship and management.(88)
Paul
was charged with the stewardship of
dispensing the Gospel to the Gentiles.
We see him use the same word in 1
Corinthians 9:17: "I am simply
discharging the trust (oikonomian)
committed to me."
The
Apostle has the task of making this
mystery plain for all to see. The normal
word for preaching or evangelizing is
not used here but instead we have the
word photizo. The idea behind
this word is to "turn the light
on," or to have the eyes of the
heart enlightened as we saw in 1:18.(89)
"It was given to Paul to bring to
light the arrangement, the way this
mystery was administered, namely, the
admission of the Gentiles on equal terms
with the Jews."(90)
Obviously
we could all sit in a completely dark
room and guess about what items of
furniture were there. We could also
guess about the color of the drapes and
carpets, or even how large or small the
room actually was. However, when someone
comes to the door and switches on the
light all the guesswork is over.
Everyone can see plainly. So it is with
the great mysteries of the Gospel. The
light is now switched on. All we have to
do is open our eyes and take it all in.
GOD’S
MANIFOLD WISDOM THROUGH THE CHURCH
His intent was that
now, through the church, the manifold
wisdom of God should be made known to
the rulers and authorities in the
heavenly realms… Ephesians 3:10
The first three chapters of Ephesians
illustrate for us the biblical
centrality of the church. It has been said that
"Ephesians gives more attention to
and makes loftier statements about the
church than any other letter."(91)
We begin to realize that one of the
purposes of God all along was to show
forth his great wisdom through the
church. When we look at the confusion,
bewilderment and defeat we often see in
the church today we may wonder how God
could show anything through us. Still
God chooses to work in spite of our
weaknesses and even in spite of our many
failures.
This
wisdom of God is described as
"many-colored," or
"variegated" (polupoikilos).
God’s wisdom, as shown throughout
the creation and the church, quietly
weaves a beautiful and glorious pattern.
No doubt, parts of this pattern are the
many nationalities and skin colors that
are brought together through the
sacrifice of Christ.
We
realize by Paul’s statement that God
is in a sense ‘showing off’ his
beautiful church to a host of spiritual
beings. We see in 1 Peter 1:12 that even
angels long to look into the things of
our salvation. Indeed they are created
to be ministering spirits in regard to
this salvation (Heb. 1:14). Paul speaks
of the angels watching the activities of
the assemblies (1 Cor. 11:10). In 1
Corinthians 4:9, he even speaks of
himself and the other apostles as being
made spectacles before the angels.
As
one commentator put it, "the
history of the Christian church becomes
a graduate school for angels."(92) The cosmic intelligences,
principalities and powers in heavenly
places are surely watching and learning
from the church. "Thus it is
through the old creation (the universe)
that God reveals his glory to humans;
but it is through the new creation (the
church) that he reveals his wisdom to
angels."(93)
We
might wonder what kinds of things the
angels are learning from the church.
Wuest suggests that they are pondering
all the mysteries of redemption. He
suggests that it is only in the church
that angels are able to come to an
adequate comprehension of God’s great
grace.(94) In
regard to evil angels who may be looking
on, we may wonder what wisdom they can
gain. For one thing, they may be
learning that Satan, their leader, has
no wisdom.(95)
What
a paradox it is that "unsaved men,
including wise philosophers, look at God’s
plan of salvation and consider it ‘foolishness’
(1 Cor. 1:18–31). But the angels watch
the outworking of God’s salvation, and
they praise his wisdom."(96)
With
these things in mind we must always be
careful to praise our glorious God just
as the angels do and to rejoice in the
works of his hands, including perhaps
his most mysterious and important work,
the church itself. We must remember to
lift our voices in witness to our great
God. There is a very real sense in which
"without our voices the truth
remains hidden and even unreal."(97)
God
is instructing both men and angels
"according to his eternal purpose
which he accomplished in Christ Jesus
our Lord. In him and through faith in
him we may approach God with freedom and
confidence" (3:11-12).
Paul
has all the marks of a great soul.
Although he is in prison he dared not
think about himself. His concerns
centered in the believers scattered in
the province of Asia. We can imagine
that if we were in Paul’s place we
would have had to share some small
complaints about the cold cell, the
chafing chains, or the poor food.
Instead, Paul has this request: "I
ask you, therefore, not to be
discouraged because of my sufferings for
you, which are your glory" (3:13).
It is amazing that Paul is
concerned only about their possible
suffering and not about his own.
ANOTHER GREAT
PRAYER
For this reason I
kneel before the Father, from whom his
whole family in heaven and on earth
derives its name. Ephesians 3:14-15
Paul now resumes the prayer which he
left off in 1:23 and possibly started
again in 3:1. The Greeks rarely knelt to
pray, and it was actually not so common
for Jews to kneel.(98)
We know that in the Old Testament, Jews
often stood in their prayers but
particularly in the New Testament,
Jewish believers knelt. The Hebrew root barak,
which has the meaning of blessing,
praising or thanking God, also has
"kneeling" within the scope of
its meaning. In fact it is from this
same Hebrew root of "blessing"
or "praising" that we get berek,
the work for knee. One writer remarks
here that when Paul bowed his knees it
must have been quite an experience for
the Roman soldier who was chained to
him.(99)
It
has been noted that this prayer of Paul
greatly resembles Solomon’s prayer of
dedication for the temple (2 Chron. 6:1
ff.). We see that Solomon also knelt
down before God and before the
congregation of Israel. Just as Solomon
dedicated the old temple Paul now
dedicates the new one.(100)
We cannot help but
notice Paul’s preoccupation with
spiritual requests rather than natural
ones. While Paul’s first prayer had
centered on enlightenment, the focal
point of this new prayer is on love.
Unfortunately, today much of our praying
seems to focus on the natural things
rather than on the spiritual ones that
Paul dealt with.
Paul
mentions that the "whole family
in heaven and on earth derives its
name" from the Father (3:15).
This family surely includes the
saints on earth and the saints in the
heavens. Some see this family as also
including angels who are termed as our
"brethren" (Rev.19:10) and the
"sons of God" as we see in Job
38:7.
As
his prayer continues Paul gets on with
his requests regarding inner spiritual
things. He says: "I pray that
out of his glorious riches he may
strengthen you with power through his
Spirit in your inner being…"
(3:16). In our materialistic
age we would naturally think that God
would give us some quick cash or some
other material benefit from all his
glorious riches Here we see that
strength and power deposited by God in
our inner beings is much better for us
and even more profitable in the long
run. This is indeed the true riches.
Since this transaction is made through
the agency of the Holy Spirit we realize
what a very rich deposit the Lord has
already given us by the indwelling of
the Holy Spirit in our hearts.
Next
Paul prays "that Christ may
dwell in your hearts through faith"
(3:17). The word for
"dwell" used here is katoikēsai.
This word is made up of oikeō,
which means "to live in as a
home," and kata, the word
for "down." Thus what we have
here is the idea of settling down and
being at home.(101)
This should be the desire of our hearts
that Christ would feel so at ease with
us that he wouldn’t just visit us on
occasions as some wayfarer might do, but
that he would feel comfortable enough to
move in with us and stay permanently.
Paul
goes on: "And I pray that you,
being rooted and established in love,
may have power, together with all the
saints, to grasp how wide and long and
high and deep is the love of Christ…"
(3:17-18). The apostle has
been praying that God would give us this
inner spiritual power. Now we see that
one purpose of this spiritual power is
that we might grasp the deep love of our
Master. Actually real love
requires a lot of inner strength. When
we love with God’s love, it causes us
to reach out to other people who are
many times unlike ourselves and
sometimes even repulsive to us. Jesus
wants us to be "rooted" and
"established" in his love. One
writer has described the great
dimensions of God’s love in this way.
God’s
love is wide enough to include every
person.
God’s
love is long enough to last through all
eternity.
God’s
love is deep enough to reach the worst
sinner.
God’s
love is high enough to take us to
heaven. (102)
The great apostle desires us to "know this love that surpasses knowledge-- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God" (3:19). The following third stanza of Frederick Lehman’s beautiful and modern hymn, The Love of God, was actually composed in 1096 by a Jewish songwriter, Rabbi Mayer, of Germany. The stanza so well expresses the cosmic dimensions of God’s love with these words:
Could
we with ink the ocean fill and were the
skies of parchment made,
Were ev’ry stalk on earth a quill and
ev’ry man a scribe by trade
To write the love of God above would
drain the ocean dry,
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
tho stretched from sky to sky. (103)
How can we know the love
that surpasses knowledge? This has been
called a ‘glorious contradiction.’
Yet by knowing Jesus, who is the
fullness of the Godhead bodily (Col.
2:9), and by being in him, we are filled
with fullness of God. What a thought! It
is likely for this reason that this
prayer of Paul is sometimes called
"the boldest prayer ever
prayed."(104)
Paul
closes his great prayer saying: "Now
to him who is able to do immeasurably
more than all we ask or imagine,
according to his power that is at work
within us, to him be glory in the church
and in Christ Jesus throughout all
generations, for ever and ever!
Amen" (3:20-21). In
our requests to God we see that we are
not bound just by what we can ask. God
is able to do more than we can even
think or imagine.
NOTES ON PART ONE
1.
Peter Pett, Paul’s Letter to the
Ephesians: A Commentary, Internet
Resources, introductory remarks.
2. David
Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible,
(www. StudyLight.Org 1997-2003),
introduction.
3. C. F.
Pfeiffer & E. F. Harrison, The
Wycliffe Bible Commentary: New Testament
(Chicago, Moody Press, 1962),
introductory remarks.
4. Lewis R.
Donelson, Colossians, Ephesians, 1
and 2 Timothy, and Titus,
(Louisville, Westminster John Knox
Press, 1996), p. 61.
5. Harold W.
Hoehner, Ephesians, The Bible
Knowledge Commentary, (Wheaton, IL,
Victor Books, 1983-85). Introductory
comments on Ephesians.
6. Hoehner,
Introductory comments.
7. K. S. Wuest,
Ephesians in the Greek New Testament:
Wuest's word studies from the Greek New
Testament, (Grand Rapids,
Eerdmans,1997, 1984). Remarks on 1:1-2.
8. James Burton
Coffman, Commentary on Ephesians:
Coffman Commentaries on the Old and New
Testament, (Abilene, TX, Christian
University Press, 1983-1999). Comments
on verse 1.
9. Allan
Turner, Commentary on Ephesians,
Internet resources. Comments on 1:1.
10. Wuest,
comments on 1:1.
11. Albert
Barnes, Commentary on Ephesians:
Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament.
www.studylight.org.
Introductory comments.
12. Pheme
Perkins, Ephesians, Abingdon
New Testament Commentaries,
(Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1997), pp.18
& 52.
13. Francis
Foulkes, The Epistle of Paul to the
Ephesians, Tyndale New Testament
Commentaries, (Grand Rapids, MI,
Eerdmans 1956, 1981), p. 20.
14. Pfeiffer,
comment on 1:2.
15. Wuest,
comments on 1:2.
16. Anthony A.
Hoekema, The Bible and the Future,
(Grand Rapids, William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co., 1979), pp.17-18.
While the
position of Realized Eschatology has
long been associated with C.H. Dodd,
Hoekema prefers to call it
"inaugurated eschatology."