Text Driven Tuesday: Ephesians 1

The Apostle, Paul, wrote Ephesians from prison in AD 60-62 to the saints. While the letter certainly made it to Ephesus, it may have simply been written “to the saints,” because “at Ephesus” is missing from three important early manuscripts. The tone of Ephesians is more generic than Paul’s other letters. The letter is about conversion, and what makes a true Christian different from worldly people.

Interesting…

In it, Paul juxtaposes the old and new man in Christ. We are no longer what we were. Thus, we behave differently than worldly people—particularly in relationship to one another. This letter is about why Christian unity is possible and achievable. It means much for our world today—where there exists a multitude of people all arguing against one another and “analyzing” other viewpoints with their agendas to disprove anything they disagree with. Such a way, I think, is a worldly religious dogma that disguises itself as somehow intelligent even though it benefits no one. Scripture offers a different, more edifying way—the way of God.

In Ephesians 1:1-6, Paul names himself as the author of the letter. He claims to be an apostle (or missionary) of Jesus by God’s will and not his own (cf. Acts 9:1ff). He writes to the saints. Remember, “who are at Ephesus” may not have been in the autographical letter. This letter is for people who are faithful in Christ Jesus. It is for Christians. Paul proclaims grace upon Christians from God and blesses God as the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ. The Father has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, I think referring to the eternal and everlasting life we receive consequent the cross. God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. His choosing did not depend on us. He chose us to be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption through Christ. He did so according to the kind intention of His will, not ours. So, our adoption is like Paul’s conversion on the Damascus road—stricken blind and useless even though he believed he was serving the kingdom of God. God adopted us to the praise and the glory of His own grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved—Christ.

Paul is working very hard, here, to make sure we know that God is the one who adopted us and we had nothing to do with it. God blessed, chose, predestined, adopted, and lavished His grace on us. He did so by His kind intentions and will. He did so freely, without requiring anything of us first. He did so for the purpose of the praise of the glory of His grace. Salvation is from Him, through Him, and to Him. Salvation does not depend on how good we are or anything we can do. It is by grace through faith. Paul’s argument overall depends on our understanding of this truth claim. I did nothing to be adopted by God into His kingdom, yet I felt it would be my work that expanded His domain… There’s something incoherent about that, isn’t there?

In Ephesians 1:7-14, Paul expounds on this claim. In Christ, all things have been summed up.

All things, as if my work has been revealed not to have mattered at all. It was always Christ who summed up all things, not me.

Everything that happened in history from creation to the moment of Christ’s crucifixion was meant in order to bring this grace to humanity despite humanity’s sin (cf. Ephesians 1:10). Consider a basic Biblical theology of redemption:

1. God creates the world and people (Genesis 1-2).
2. People pursue their own righteousness rather than God’s (Genesis 3).
3. The world is cursed through Adam because of his selfish actions (Genesis 3).
4. The world derogates into injustice, wickedness, and violence under the rule of people (Genesis 4-6).
5. God hates what people have done to His world and pours out His wrath (Genesis 7-8).
6. God promises never again to destroy the world on account of people (Genesis 8-9).
7. God intervenes so that the whole world does not become holistically corrupt, wicked, unjust, or violent again (Genesis 10-11).
8. God chooses a nation (Israel) for Himself through which He will bring the fullness of justice and peace to the earth (Genesis 12-Deuteronomy 34).
9. Israel fails to bring peace and justice to the earth as a nation, but God has promised to accomplish it through Israel and not by Israel (Joshua 1-Malachi 4).
10. The Messiah, God in the flesh (cf. Isaiah 9), comes as a descendant of Israel. Atones for the sin of His people and promises to save the world, not condemn it (Matthew 1-John 21; emphasis on John 3).
11. The Church takes the word of God to the world, making disciples of all nations, in order to see the kingdom of Jesus take over the entire world by way of peace, not violence (Acts 1-Revelation 21).
12. When the kingdom is fully consummated, Christ will dwell with His people on the new earth without crying, death, or pain (Revelation 22).

We can observe history and see the progress God has made despite the sinfulness of human hearts. Everything He has done the way He has done it, He has done in order to bring about peace, justice, and righteousness on the earth for His glory and the praise of His grace according to Paul—who, as a Pharisee (Acts 23:6), is an excellent Old Testament scholar. His intention in Ephesians is to get the church to start thinking this way. All things are summed up in Christ.

His work culminated and was finished at the cross. I can’t somehow finish it more as if He failed or lied from the cross…

There is a cohesive purpose to everything we have read in the Bible leading up to the writing of Ephesians to the saints. God is doing something real that all people benefit from. He is doing so despite people. He does not depend on us. He will accomplish His purpose for the earth by His own zeal (cf. Isaiah 9:7), and He will receive all glory as a result. So, when we ask, “Why did God do things that way?” The answer is always, “Because He is doing things such that we cannot mistake His work for something we have accomplished.” 

Why did God kill me?

So I would not mistake His work for something I accomplished…

The more we try to create a just world by our means, the more unjust the world becomes. We see it bear out. We would do well to submit to God as He accomplishes His work, which is best for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (cf. Romans 8:28).

As part of His holistic work, and if you are in Christ,

God chose you despite your imperfections, sins, and general selfishness.

In Ephesians 1:15-17, we read:

For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.

For this reason, because God has chosen us despite us, and because Paul has heard about the church’s faith and love, he never ceases giving thanks for the saints. Did you catch that? Paul’s gratitude for the saints depends not on their actions or level of sinlessness or anything that is of them except their faith and love. Paul’s gratitude for the saints is essentially unconditional. Why? Because God has chosen people despite themselves. Therefore, we choose others despite themselves. This is unconditional love and acceptance (not to be confused with unconditional support, which we don’t have to do). God does not support our sin. He does choose and accept us despite our sin.

That’s it. Because God unconditionally chooses and adopts us, we are unconditionally grateful for one another. 

Paul doesn’t approach the saints as if he has to be correct, superior, authoritative, accomplish any number of arbitrary goals, or anything else. He approaches the saints with simple gratitude for their simply being and Christ’s work in their lives.

There are no real generational divisions in the body of Christ. There are no real ethnic divisions in the body of Christ. There are no real theological divisions in the body of Christ. There are no real linguistic divisions in the body of Christ. There are no real administrative or practical or political divisions in the body of Christ. There are no real denominational divisions in the body of Christ. You don’t have to be “relevant” or trendy according to my own culture for me to be thankful for you. Our positive impact on the world in light of God’s overall work from Genesis to Revelation begins when we learn to be thankful for one another in Christ rather than always overly critical or demeaning or unjustly discriminatory. This is the way to the true peace, justice, love, and mercy in Christ that the world so desperately longs for—not through greater influence, power, programs, laws, or policies.

The way I was serving God and living the “Christian” life actually facilitated injustice, war, hatred, and non-mercy. We all start out this way. Even when we come to Christ, I think it takes time to learn to love justice and do mercy like we see in Scripture (cf. Isaiah 56:1; Jeremiah 22:3; Micah 6:8) . It’s not a problem caused by religion but by the entitlement of our depraved nature. Of course God has to kill us. To get what we so long for in the world—the justice, peace, love, and mercy we all crave. We must sleep. From Genesis 3 on, we are the bad guys. Only an unjust sort of god would let us live on like that indefinitely.

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