Ephesians Chapter 1
(Bible Study Time 3-20-05)
(Bible Study Time 3-20-05)
The past few weeks we have been doing a few lessons as an introduction to the book of Ephesians. We looked at the fact that Ephesians is one of the Apostle Paul’s prison epistles. We saw that the prison epistles of Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians stand apart from Paul’s earlier epistles as being those letters which were written to the Church of our present age, namely, the Church which is the Body of Christ.
Then we saw last week how Paul first visited Ephesus at the end of his second missionary journey, but he was only able to stay for a short time. After a quick visit to Jerusalem and Antioch of Syria, he came right back to Ephesus and spent nearly 3 years in Ephesus preaching and teaching the gospel of the grace of God. Paul saw many people come into a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he helped them grow in grace and in their knowledge of the Lord Jesus.
Ultimately, Paul left for Macedonia and Greece, but on his way back to Jerusalem, he stopped at Miletus and called for the elders of the Ephesian church. When the elders arrived, Paul told them that they would see his face no more because he was going to Jerusalem where he would be greeted with chains and tribulation. Before he said his final farewell to these precious fellow laborers in Christ, the Bible says: (Acts 20:37-38)(NKJ) They all wept freely, and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.
When Paul got to Jerusalem, he was arrested and ultimately taken to Rome where God revealed to him the mystery concerning the Church which is the Body of Christ. Paul was given the task of revealing this mystery to the world, and he did so in his letters to Ephesus, Philippi & Colosse.
In Ephesians, Chapter 1 we read: (Eph 1:1_23) (NKJ)
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:
Paul considered it a great privilege to be called as an apostle of Jesus Christ. This was a very unique privilege for Paul. He was not one of the twelve who walked the earth with the Lord, but he had personally seen the Lord on the road to Damascus, and he had received his calling directly from the Lord. There on the road to Damascus, Paul asked the Lord, "What do you want me to do?", and the Lord said, "Arise and go into the city and you will be told what you must do." Then the Lord told Ananias to go find Paul and lay hands him because God had called him as a chosen vessels to bear witness for God before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.
Well, Paul considered it a great privilege to be called as an apostle, but this book of Ephesians focuses, not on Paul, but on God and all that He has done for the faithful in Christ Jesus. This is especially true of this first chapter, where in the first verse, Paul says that he is an apostle by the will of God. In verse 2, he says, "Grace to you and peace from God." In verse 5, he says, "We were predestined to adoption as sons according to the good pleasure of God’s will." In verse 7, "We have redemption and forgiveness according to God’s grace." In verse 9, "We now understand the mystery of God’s will, according to God’s good pleasure which He purposed in Himself." In verse 11, "God works His master plan in accordance with the counsel of His own will." In verse 12, "We were called so that we would be to the praise of God’s glory." In verse 18, we need to know the "hope of God’s calling and the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints." In verse 19, we need to know "the exceeding greatness of God’s power", and in verse 20, "Christ is now seated at God’s right hand." Indeed, this first chapter is all about God, and what we as believers have as a result of God’s grace.
This epistle is written to the saints at Ephesus. A saint is one who has been sanctified or set apart by Jesus Christ. A church or an ekklesia is a gathering or an assembly of those who have been set apart and called out. A person becomes a saint by exercising his or her free will. Those who chose to believe in Jesus Christ are at that moment of faith set apart by God. They are justified and sanctified by faith in the cleansing power of the shed blood of Christ. If a person is not a saint in this life, they have no hope of becoming a saint in the next life. To be set apart by God and given eternal salvation, one must chose to believe in Christ at some point before they die for it is appointed unto man once to die, and then the judgement.
This epistle is written not only to the saints at Ephesus, but to all of the faithful in Christ Jesus for it is written to the Church which is the Body of Christ. In the Church, the Body of Christ, there is no distinction made between Jew or Gentile, male or female, rich or poor, young or old. All people come to God on the basis of their faith in Jesus Christ and His shed blood. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but we who believe in Jesus have been justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
To all the faithful in Christ Jesus, Paul says:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace is the free and undeserved love and favor of God. In this expression "Grace to you" we see the apostle’s true concern for the welfare of his dear friends at Ephesus as well as for all the faithful in Christ Jesus. He wants only the very best for them as they experience all of the very best of God’s blessings. He wishes them grace and peace from God for there can be no peace apart from grace, and there can be no grace apart from God.
We, as believers today, have been justified freely by His grace, and (Rom 5:1)(NKJ) having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (Phil 4:7)(NKJ) and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, is able to guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
The peace of God is a powerful force. It is a powerful offensive weapon, and it is a powerful part of our defensive armor. When people see someone who has genuine peace, they become curious. They want to know what it is that gives them that kind of peace even in the midst of trials and difficulties. When the demons of Satan see that kind of peace in a believer, they scurry for shelter. They know they have already lost the battle for they can not compete with the peace that surpasses all understanding.
The peace of God is powerful enough to give direction to those who follow Christ. Colossians 3 says: (Col 3:14-15)(NKJ) But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts.
When we let the peace of God rule in our hearts, Satan can not discourage us. Satan finds no success in his efforts to tempt us. Satan can not lure us into an attitude of pride. The peace of God will defeat the devil because it will convict us when we are tempted. It will lift us up when we are discouraged. It will humble us when pride gets a foothold.
Paul told the Ephesians, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Then he said:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
When we study the book of Ephesians, we are walking on high and holy ground. This is the first of five times that Paul alludes to the heavenly places in this short letter. In this verse we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. In verse 20, Christ is now seated at God’s right hand in the heavenly places. In verse 6 of chapter 2, we as believers are raised and seated in Christ in the heavenly places. In verse 10 of chapter 3, our witness is to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. In verse 12 of chapter 6, we battle against the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.
The book of Ephesians sets the members of the Church, the Body of Christ, apart from the Church of the Old Covenant as seen in the Old Testament scriptures, and it sets us apart from the Church of the New Covenant as seen in the Acts period, for it not only teaches that our realm of blessing is in the heavenly places, but it teaches that our blessings are spiritual in nature. We have no claim to physical health or physical prosperity, nor do we set such things as our first priority in life. Like Paul, we press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:14)(KJV).
There is nothing in this world that can compare to the spiritual blessings that are ours in Jesus Christ. Seven of these blessings are laid out for us here in this first chapter. In verse 4, we have been chosen in Christ. In verse 5, we have been predestined to adoption as sons. In verse 6, we have been accepted in Christ, the Beloved. In verse 7, we have been redeemed through the blood of Christ. In verse 9, we have been instructed in the mystery of God’s will. In verse 13, we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. In verse 14, we have been given an inheritance in Jesus Christ. These are blessings which money can not buy. And these are blessings that do not fade with time. Paul said, "God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
As members of the Church which is the Body of Christ, we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. God, being all knowing and all powerful, is the only one who could possibly have the ability to give people absolute freedom of choice when it comes to salvation, and still at the same time know exactly what choice they will make even thousands of years before their birth. And this is exactly what God has done for us. Whom He did foreknow, He did also predestinate, and whom He did foreknow, He did also chose in Christ before the foundation of the world.
The Greek word for chose means to select. It involves choosing on the basis of preference. It is the same word that is used by the Lord when Mary was sitting at His feet listening to His word, and Martha came in complaining that she needed help serving the guests. The Lord said that Mary had chosen or selected the better part. Well, God selected us not because of what he saw in us, but because He saw us in Christ.
We were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, which means we were chosen in Christ before the laying down of the foundation of the earth. This points to the eternal nature of Jesus Christ in that Jesus Christ was with the Father in the beginning before the creation of all things. We were chosen in Christ so that we could be holy and without blame in God’s sight. There is no holiness within us, and the blame of our sin can not be laid off onto anyone else. We are seen as holy and without blame because we are seen in Christ.
Every person stands without excuse before God because Jesus Christ gives light to every person that comes into the world. It is God’s will for every person to be saved.
(John 3:17_21) (NKJ)
17 "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, but men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 "For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
21 "But he who practices the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."
Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life, and those who come to the truth, walk in the light of Christ.
I Jn 1:6-10 (NKJ)
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
If you have not come to the light of Jesus Christ for cleansing through His blood, I pray that you will do that today. Only then will you be able to look back and see that you were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blame in the sight of God.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
No comments:
Post a Comment