Notes on Ephesians

Ephesians

Paul preached the gospel in Ephesus for three years.  (Acts 20:31)  Many notable miracles took place there as well as the uprising regarding the worship of Diana whose image the people believed had fallen from the sky.  The silversmiths led by one Demetrius were upset at the loss of business as Christianity began to take a significant foothold at the expense of the worship of Diana.  Certainly Paul was concerned that false teachers were infecting the church but also the purpose of his letter to the Ephesians was to encourage them in their love for God.  He mentions this to Timothy in 1 Tim 1:5.  He had charged Timothy to remain in Ephesus to teach sound doctrine with the end being a "love which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."  These concerns are reflected in the Epistle to Ephesus as the focus of the letter is doctrine and love.

Introduction   Chap 1: 1, 2

V1:  Paul used to be called Saul.  Saul means great or tall while Paul means small.  It is no wonder he changed his name because being a Christian is to be humble.  Application:  In what ways do we need to change our names?  To what source of pride do we cling to?

He is an apostle by God's will.  As you look at his later letters he calls himself a sinner and then finally the chiefest of sinners (1Tim 1:15).  It is an amazing thing that as you get to know God better your view of yourself decreases because you see more clearly the standard by which you are measured.  Paul declares his apostleship because jealous believers came in refuting his authority.  An apostle is a commissioning messenger.  As such, Paul had authority to ordain elders.  (Acts 14:23)

V2:  Grace and peace are Paul's common greeting in all his epistles.  Grace always precedes peace, which make sense.  You can’t have peace without first having God’s grace.

 Basis for God's Blessing  Chap 1: 3-14

V3:  We have been (past tense) blessed with all spiritual blessings.  It is up to us then to appropriate them and to look for individuals in the body of Christ to exercise them as the need arises.  The words "in heavenly places" causes some confusion.  Jesus prayed that God's will should be done on earth as it is in heaven.  For God's blessings to be available on earth they must first be ordained in heaven.  Paul tells us here that spiritual blessings have already been determined.  We join with our Savior in praying that they be shown here on earth.  Another way to look at this passage is to remember that we are spiritual beings and our inheritance is in heaven which will come down to the earth one day.  In the mean time we need to focus on the promise of heaven and not on the circumstances of this world.  Application:  In what ways have you been focusing on your circumstances instead of on the blessings of God?

v4:  Now comes the statement that Paul makes that goes along with what Jesus said in John.  John 15:16  “You have not chosen me but I have chosen you.”  God has chosen us to "be holy and without blame before him in love."

V5 confirms the message of verse 4 by saying he had predestined us to be adopted by Jesus to Himself.  My belief here is that on the one hand we have a free will to choose right from wrong but God knows what we will choose.  It is like standing before two doors.  One says self/death and the other says God/life.  We are free to choose which door to go in but when we open the door to God and life there is a sign at our place at the banquet table reflecting our choice saying, "I knew you would." 

This does not preclude God's ability to woo us to Himself by the irresistible power of the Holy Spirit.  God is all powerful and He can choose someone who would otherwise go in the wrong direction.  Paul is himself a case in point.  God knew the road to Damascus experience would change his life.  God is sovereign and He can do what He wants and He wanted Paul.

When all is said and done and we stand with our crowns in glory I will eagerly cast my crown before Jesus who is the author and finisher of my faith. (Heb 12:2)

V6, 7:  God receives glory from exercising His grace.This is His grace in that we have been made accepted in His beloved church.  This has been done through Christ's blood shed for us for the forgiveness of sins.  By this He shows the riches of His grace and receives glory from His redeemed and all creation.

V8:  His grace to us is founded in His knowledge and understanding.  Our God is infinite in wisdom and knows the end from the beginning.  He knows what we will choose and what is required to choose Him.  Thanks be to God that He chose creation and redemption.  He chose us at the cost of His Son.  How can we fathom the depth of His love and grace?

V9:  It was His good pleasure.  Indeed we are created for His pleasure, His glory. (Isaiah 43:7)  The mystery of the blood of Christ being sufficient for the forgiveness of sins for all men was indeed a mystery hidden from the priests and scribes for centuries.  When Christ was revealed they did not understand and crucified the Lord of Glory. 

V10:  Now His will is known and we wait for the fullness of time when He will gather everything together in Christ.  Everyone on earth and in heaven will proclaim Jesus Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

V11:  Jesus will be Lord of all and we have an inheritance in Him.  We share His sufferings now and one day we will share His glory. (Col 1:24)

V12:  The fact that God has determined by His own will at His good pleasure to include us who believe in the inheritance of Christ adds to His glory.  Every provider is honored.  We honor our earthly fathers who have provided for us as children and even helped us as adults.  The one who picks up the check is honored.  Application:  If we are being included in the inheritance of Christ, shouldn't we love like He does and look to provide for others and sacrifice ourselves for others?  How have you sacrificed yourself for others?

V13:  Paul goes back to saying that we have a part in this salvation in that we trusted, having believed the gospel of salvation that was preached to us.  Having believed we are sealed with the Holy Spirit.  This passage seems to indicate that a second gift of the Holy Spirit is given after we believe.  The first gift of the Holy Spirit is that which enables us to believe in the first place. (1Cor 12:3)  Indeed there are gifts of the Holy Spirit spoken of in both 1 Corinthians and Romans and I see nothing in the scriptures that would say they are not for today.  Indeed they are given so that the work of the church may be complete.

V14:  Paul tells us that this gift of the Holy Spirit is a down payment of the inheritance that we will receive.  This is an encouragement for us as we struggle through the trials of life.  Application:  What gifts do you have and how are you using them for the glory of God?

Personal Redemption Chap 1:15 - Chap 2:10
V15, 16:  This verse contains a confusing phrase that some believe casts doubt on Pauline authorship of the epistle.  He says, "since I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus..."  Paul as noted before had quite a ministry there and would have known about their faith.  I believe that Paul had heard about their continuing and abounding faith for which he certainly would give thanks.  It is a wonderful thing to hear about the faith and faithfulness of your children.  I thank God all the time for my children and the fact that they walk with the Lord even though I certainly had a major ministry in their lives.

V17:  Paul having told us that they are always in his prayers now tells us what that prayer is.  We are to be given the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God.  To me this is what life is all about.  Ours is a relationship and not just a religion.  To know God and to be known by Him is life to us.  We should be continually growing in that knowledge.  Our infinite God will take forever to get to know. 

An important point here is that it takes the Holy Spirit to get to know Him.  He is revealed by His Spirit.  He is revealed in His Word and His Word is only opened to us by the Spirit.   1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither, can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

V18 and 19 reflect the extent of the promises included in our personal redemption.  We have wonderful promises listed here including our inheritance with Christ and God's amazing power working on our behalf.  Even the knowledge of the hope we have in Him is a gift from His Spirit.  Paul says our eyes have been enlightened to know the hope of His calling and the riches of His glory.

Application:  These are words to keep in mind as we face the trials of daily life.  Right now my wife is going through a lot of painful and expensive dental work.  Her temporary veneer to one tooth fell out Thursday and was repaired Friday.  It fell out again Friday evening and the resulting exposed tooth is very sensitive and painful.  It will be a rough weekend.  Praise God one day we will realize the portion of our redemption that delivers us from all such pain.  We cannot hope to imagine the enjoyment of the riches of His glory.

V20 and 21 reminds us where this power comes from.  The power that raised Jesus from the dead gives us the hope for life here and forever.  Jesus prayed before His passion that God would restore Him to the glory He had with the Father before the world began.  Here we see that God has done just that.  Jesus exalted, is above every principality and power and name that is to be named.

V22 and 23 puts Jesus over His church.  We are reminded that we are His body.  We are the fullness of Him on earth and through us Christ will fill all.  This will not happen until Christ's return but we have a joyous time to look forward to.  Heaven will come to earth and we will be actively engaged in building it for Christ.  Personal redemption means we are part of God's plans for the future.

Application:  We have work to do now as the Body of Christ.  The job is to fill all in all and that would include every aspect of life.  Christ is Lord of all and that includes academics, construction, medicine, politics, the military, the family and so forth.  We should be active in our communities being the salt and light we were intended to be.

Ch2 V1 and 2:  All of this is for us who once were dead in our sins.  Personal redemption means that He has made us alive.  We used to walk the way the world and Satan wanted us to walk.  Satan is the prince of the power of the air and works in the children of disobedience.  My old Pastor used to say that he was not surprised when sinners did evil because that was who they were.  It was more upsetting when Christians followed the world.  It is interesting to note that we should expect the world to be evil.  Application:  Take a look at your life.  Can anyone tell any ways in which you are different from the world.  Think about the movies you watch, the words you use, the pleasures you pursue.  How are you different?

V3:  We used to fulfill the lusts of the flesh and the desires of the mind.  Our natural tendency is to sin because of our sin nature.  For me it is a struggle between the flesh and the spirit for control over my mind.  People looking at me might admire what a wonderful Christian I am but God holds me to a higher standard.  I am to be concerned not just with my deeds but the holiness of my thoughts.

Application:  How do you measure up?  What is your thought life?  Could we hook up your brain to a billboard?

V4 and 5 gives us our answer and our hope.  God is rich in mercy and love.  He made us alive through the grace by which we are saved.

V6 and 7 just blow me away.  We sit together with Christ in the heavenlies.  That is our position even though we live here on earth.  His grace brings God great glory which will be shown in the ages to come.

V8 and 9:  Here is the passage for memorization.  We are saved through faith.  We are not saved through any of our works but it is a gift from God.  We have nothing of which to boast before God.  He gets all the glory which is only right.  We can't even brag that we believed because He enabled us to do so.  Thanks be to God.

V10:  Here is the why and the wherefore.  We were created and made alive in Jesus Christ so that we could do the works that He has ordained for us.  As the body of Christ we have work to do here and now.

Application:  What is God calling you to do?  How are you doing with it?

Corporate Redemption 2:11 - 3:21


Life of the Church 4:1 - 6:20


Conclusion 6:21 - 24