A Letter about Christ's Church⤒🔗

Paul wrote this beautiful epistle while he was a prisoner in Rome. He had been working in Ephesus for some time and apparently a sizeable church was found in this city at the time this letter was written. In this letter he speaks of the Church of Jesus Christ and the unity of the Church.

There is some debate about the address of this epistle. The most ancient manuscripts do not contain the words "at Ephesus" in the first verse. How­ever, most of the manuscripts do contain these words and it is quite certain that this epistle was ad­dressed to Ephesus and the surrounding territory.

Paul introduces himself as the writer and immedi­ately adds that he is an Apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God. He comes with the word of God and of Christ. His word is, therefore, not to be considered to be only the word of a man, but he comes with divine authority. His word is to be ac­cepted as the word of God, a word on which the hear­ers or readers may rely for their eternal salvation. He writes to those who have been separated by God for a definite purpose and believe on His name. Upon these he pronounces the blessing of God. His unmerited favor is given them (grace), and the inner peace which only God can give, is extended to them. This is the Church, the body of Christ, which has been set aside for His service and whose members enjoy a peace which no other people have ever re­ceived.

Except for the salutation there are no introduc­tory remarks: He at once begins with the body of this letter. He is ecstatic! His consuming passion for the gospel is perhaps more clearly stated here than in any of his writings. He heaps the many thoughts which come to his mind on top of each other. Here is a man who not only preaches the gospel but has him­self become totally captivated by it. The verses three to fourteen form one sentence! He is not able to make a simple statement concerning the gospel of Christ. As soon as he has said the one thing, many other thoughts crowd his mind. The redemption of God's people is not merely a fact — it is such a glorious fact that human language is not sufficient to express it.

Thanks for Every Spiritual Blessing←⤒🔗

He begins with his adoration of God. God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is the author of our salvation. No one will ever be able to give sufficient thanks to Him. Let men worship Him day and night as long as they live. He is the One who has sent His Son and He sent Him as an evidence of the great love wherewith He loved us. He is the One who has given us all the spiritual blessings. These are far more than material gifts. These are the blessings on which we live now and into eternity. These blessings are, therefore, heavenly in origin. All these bless­ings are ours "in Christ." How often he uses that ex­pression, especially in this epistle. By it he refers to our union with Christ. There are no blessings out­side of Christ. Believing on Him means to be united to Him. So he will also speak of the church in the fol­lowing chapters. That church has no existence by itself. Its union with Christ determines the nature and function of that church. Anyone who would know the meaning of the term church must study Ephesians.

Based on God's Eternal Choice←⤒🔗

To realize the nature of the spiritual blessings which we have in Him, the author now shows us the foundation on which these blessings rest. He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. This is election. This is not an abstract term for him, but it is throbbing with life. He chose us! This is not some­thing to be debated as to reason and method etc., but must be completely accepted as an established fact. Nor does election bring to mind an arbitrary will at work, but the gracious work of our heavenly Father! This choosing was done apart from us, i.e., we had nothing to do with it. He chose us in Him, in Christ, before the foundation of the world. His peo­ple were given to the Christ. In union with Him they have been chosen. He chose long before our lives began on this earth. He did not choose us because of anything in us or because He knew we would be­lieve, no, He chose us so that we would be holy and without blemish before Him in love.

Adopted Sons of God←⤒🔗

What a glorious thing that we have been chosen unto salvation! But, there is more. Our wealth in Him cannot be measured. He also foreordained us (or elected us) unto adoption as sons! Being saved has not only a negative aspect, that we will not suf­fer eternal punishment, it has many glorious posi­tive aspects. We are now sons of God by adoption. This is the clearest term the Bible is able to use to describe our relation to Him, but it is not wholly ade­quate. Scripture also speaks of us as "born of God" — adopted, yet born of Him. Peter even speaks of the divine nature being imparted to us. However, we understand the Apostle's terminology. As adopted sons we have all the rights and privileges of sonship. This adoption occurred through Christ. This was His good pleasure. God delights in the sal­vation of His people.

Salvation←⤒🔗

The election of God had as its purpose to save His people. This salvation was accomplished. However, the ultimate purpose of His election was "the praise of the glory of His grace." His goodness, His love, His grace is magnified by the election of His people. They may never lose sight of it. His goodness, love and grace is seen everywhere but most clearly in the salvation of His own. He has bestowed all of this on us freely in Jesus Christ. His grace is so great — and He has made us the recipients of it! We have in­deed tasted that God is good.

Bought by Christ←⤒🔗

As the multitude of thoughts crowd in upon each other as he is describing the glorious salvation which is ours, there is a slight change of emphasis found in verse 7. No, the shift in thought is too small to warrant a new paragraph, but he now emphasizes the work done by Christ in our redemption. Before this he had emphasized the Father's work in choos­ing us to salvation. Now he speaks of the fact that this redemption has been wrought through the blood of Christ. It is a redemption, i.e., a ransom has been paid. Our redemption has been bought! The Old Testament already spoke of the ransom which would have to be paid and Jesus spoke of the fact that He had come to give His life as a ransom for many. Silver and gold did not suffice as a ransom. The required payment was enormous — nothing less than the blood of the Son of God. But, have no fear, His payment was sufficient. Our trespasses were thereby forgiven! We were purchased unto Himself and no one else had any claim on us from that day on. By that payment He revealed the riches of His grace. And this grace is so great and so rich that it has not only purchased our redemption but it filled His people so that they receive all wisdom and prudence. He has not impoverished Himself when He paid the price of our sin. His riches know no bounds. There was plenty left so that He gave His gifts to His people. Their redemption is not only neg­ative, i.e., that they were freed from something, no, its positive side is so beautiful — He has enriched them so that they now have all things. He made these riches to abound to us. He gave them the wis­dom — the proper use of knowledge — and the in­sight into the wonders of salvation.

A Mystery Revealed←⤒🔗

This wisdom and insight are so necessary because He has now made known unto us the mystery of His will. Paul uses this term frequently in his letters. He does not mean something mysterious, but, rather, a making known those things which had not been re­vealed in former ages. The people to whom he is writing have received a far clearer revelation than former ages had received. These revealed things they must now understand and for that purpose He has given them an abundance of wisdom and insight. In the new revelation of the fulness of redemption He has made known His good pleasure. He rejoices in making known to His people the beauty of their salvation. His purposes now become clear. The Old Testament saints may have wondered at His pur­poses time and again. The saints of the New Testa­ment times will have a clearer view.

With the coming of Jesus Christ into this world and the work which He has done for our redemption, the purposes of God are realized. This coming of our Lord has brought the dispensation of the fulness of the times. The day of shadows is past. The mystery is now revealed. It is a wholly new and different age. All things are summed up in Christ. He is the One who draws all things together in the whole universe. So many things seemed to be separated before. Men were not able to understand that everything had a purpose. Christ is the One in Whom all things come together. All things are summed up in Him, that is, He is the Head of all things. The world which had fallen into sin and thereby ruined the orderliness originally found in it is restored in Christ. The Christ is of far greater significance for the world than the bringer of redemption in the narrow sense.

God's Heirs in Christ←⤒🔗

Christ has been made Head over all things for the benefit of the church and therefore the Apostle, to­gether with other believers, can rejoice in the fact that "we were made a heritage." The recipients of His redemption are also the heirs of all the other benefits found in Christ. God includes all the things which have happened in the past, are happening to­day and what will happen in the future in His all-em­bracing plan. He not only makes His plans, He also carries them out. Nothing can foil His plans. Nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. This gives stability and cer­tainty to the lives of believers. We were in that plan of God and He does everything according to the counsel of His will. He has a glorious purpose in mind: that we should be unto the praise of His glory. Here he refers to the purpose of all things as they were intended from the beginning of creation. He created all things to bring praise and glory to His name. This purpose seemed to be thwarted by the entrance of sin into the world, but all things are renewed with the coming of Christ. He reversed the disorder which sin had brought into the world. It has cost a huge price, but God's original purposes are realized! Those who fall heir to these benefits wrought by Christ have had their hope centered in Christ even before all things have been brought to their conclusion. Certainly, their faith is genuine, but all things have not yet been accomplished. Much more is still to come.

Heirs by Faith in the Gospel←⤒🔗

He has spoken of the fact that he, together with the believers to whom he is writing, are the heirs of all the blessings wrought by Jesus Christ. How can they know that they truly are such heirs? They had believed the word! That word is the truth! This is said because there were many false 'gospels' at that time as well as in our day. This word of truth was the gospel of their salvation! It is only through belief in the word of truth that salvation will be obtained. You were then sealed with the Holy Spirit of prom­ise, he says. This Spirit had been promised and all promises are realized in Him. The Spirit had authen­ticated the word which they had believed. In fact, their believing was already His work. The Spirit testifies within them to the truth of the gospel of sal­vation. The Spirit testifies of Christ. He gives assur­ances as well as the knowledge of the truth. He wrote the word — he is its best commentator.

The Holy Spirit — A Down-Payment←⤒🔗

At the conclusion of this section he calls the Holy Spirit "an earnest of our inheritance." The Spirit is the first instalment of our inheritance. The first pay­ment has been made and this is the assurance that the whole inheritance will become ours. We must remember: we are still battling sin, the second com­ing of our Savior must still come and the bliss of heaven still awaits us. But, the full salvation will come because we have already received the down payment! His promises shall surely come to pass. His purposes shall be realized. He will fully redeem His own possession. This is typically Pauline lan­guage. It is also the language of the first question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism. God made us. He bought us. We belong to Him.

Paul began this section with a doxology and ends it with the words "unto the praise of his glory." He is straining human language to reveal his thanks for what God has done for him through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. Salvation is so beautiful! We owe all to Another. How can men take it lightly!

Questions for Discussion:←⤒🔗

1. What is Paul's view of his office?
    
2. Is election of practical benefit for the believer? Is Christian doctrine always practical?
    
3. How much is involved in our adoption to be chil­dren of God?
    
4. What does it mean that He has summed up all things in Christ?
    
5. What does the phrase "in Christ" mean?
    
6. What does our inheritance include?
    
7. Can people be saved apart from believing the word?