The book of Ephesians was written in AD 60 or 61 during Paul’s first Roman imprisonment, and is known as one of the four prison epistles. The others are Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. If we recall from Acts, Paul spent some time in Ephesus at the end of his second missionary journey, and more than two years on his third missionary journey. There were so many converts to Christianity on his third missionary journey, that Demetrius the silversmith, along with his fellow craftsmen became upset because their idol making business was suffering. As a result, they stirred up a riot, and led Paul to leave the city.
The book of Ephesians is one of the most highly esteemed of the Paulene epistles, and has been termed the crown of Paulinism. Unlike many of his epistles in which he addresses problems in the Church, Paul explains some of the great themes and doctrines of Christianity. It can be divided into two clear sections: in the first three chapters, he focuses on the essential doctrines of the Christian faith and all that God has given us through the person of Jesus Christ. In the second three chapters, he focuses on how we as believers are to act in light of these blessings. In other words, applying the principles taught in the first three chapters makes possible what he tells us to do in the second. Charles Spurgeon said the following about the book of Ephesians: “The Epistle to the Ephesians is a complete Body of Divinity. In the first chapter you have the doctrines of the gospel; in the next, you have the experience of the Christians; and before the Epistle is finished, you have the precepts of the Christian faith. Whosoever would see Christianity in one treatise, let him ‘read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest’ the Epistle to the Ephesians.”
Before jumping into the first chapter of Ephesians however, I want to first take a look at Jesus’ words to the Ephesians in the book of Revelation, because I think that it may be relevant for us as we study. It states:
“To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’ (Rev 2:1-7)
Often times we refer to the Ephesians as losing their first love, but here Jesus clearly says they left it. They left it because they got so caught up in doing for the Lord, that they forgot just to spend time with Him like they did when they were first saved. If we recall when we got saved, we were so grateful for what the Lord did for us in saving us and delivering us from the bondage of sin, we wanted to spend time with the Lord in the Word and in prayer. We did it out of love and gratitude.
Now, laboring for the Lord, weeding out sin and false prophets, and persevering are all good things. In fact, they were doing this because the apostle Paul had warned them before leaving them the second and final time. He warned them that savage wolves would come in among them, and even men who were part of them would attempt to draw the disciples away. So, it was not that these things were bad, but that they had neglected their primary motivation for doing them. If you or I find ourselves in the same predicament as the Ephesians in the book of Revelation, I’m going to submit to you that studying the book of Ephesians, the first three chapters in particular, is a good way to remind ourselves of what we have in Christ, and to renew our first love. According to Jesus, this is actually a matter of repentance; to go back and do the first works. Having said all this, let’s go ahead and jump into the first chapter of Ephesians.
He begins with a similar greeting to his other letters by identifying himself as the apostle Paul, and states that it is by the will of God. Paul was regularly challenged by others as to his apostleship, but he was specifically called by the Lord on the road to Damascus. He addresses the saints that were in Ephesus, as well as all the faithful in Christ Jesus, that’s you and me. He greeted them with grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. There is only one place we can get grace and peace, and that is from God the Father through the person of Jesus Christ. Without it, we are still God’s enemies and subject to His wrath.
The next 12 verses are actually one sentence in the original language, and helps set the tone for the rest of the book. Paul blesses God the Father, and this word is only used in connection with praise to God. He praises God because he has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. That’s not just some or most, but EVERY blessing. And, we don’t have to do anything to earn it; Jesus has done it all for us. That’s something worth praising God for! Some of these blessings are realized now, and some will be realized in eternity. Nevertheless, they are still all ours because we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. Next, he will list some of these blessings for us.
First, we are chosen. God the Father chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. This is quite incredible really: God chose us long before He created us, knowing everything we would do and not do, and He still did it anyway. This alone is a testament to His grace. He chose us that we would be holy and without blame before Him in love. We often see ourselves in light of our sins and failures, but in Christ, God sees us holy and without blame.
Second, He predestined us (marked us out beforehand) to be His sons by adoption by Jesus Christ. Predestination is connected to His foreknowledge: In Romans 8:29 it states, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” He knows ahead of time who will accept His offer of salvation. We have already seen Paul describe God’s love for us, and it is this love that compels Him to draw us to Himself. We know He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. So, as we can see, God foreknows believers, they are chosen by Him, and predestined to be adopted sons. Paul continues in Romans 8, “Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” Where our part comes is responding to God’s calling. In order to be a believer, we must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.
Third, we have been adopted. Under Roman law, after the adoption was complete, the adopted son had all the rights and privileges of a legitimate son in his new family, and completely lost all rights in his old family. He was seen as a new person to the degree that even his old debts and obligations were abolished as if they had never existed. That’s a pretty good picture of what we have in Christ. We are a new creation, and all our old debts of sin have been canceled.
Fourth, we are highly favored. The Lord has done all this for us according to the good pleasure of His will. In other words, He didn’t do it begrudgingly; He took pleasure in it. This gives glory to the grace of God by which He has made us accepted (highly favored) in the beloved. The word for “beloved” here is actually a verb in the original. It is the word agapao, and refers to God’s divine love that He gives to us even though we are unworthy of it.
Next, we have been redeemed, forgiven, and have become recipients of God’s grace. Paul states that in Jesus, we have redemption through His blood and the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace, which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence. The word redemption means a release effected by a payment of ransom. We have been released or set free from sin by the blood of Jesus. This grace given to us is not a small amount or just enough, but it’s abounding. God has done all this in His wisdom. It wasn’t the law that made men righteous, for the law can only reveal our sin. Paul said in Romans, “I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.” Any one of us who have tried to be righteous on our own quickly find out how impossible of a task it really is. It is the law that paves the way for the grace of God and shows us our need for a Savior. On the other hand, it is the grace of God through Jesus Christ that has made us free from sin (Rom 6:14).
Picking up in verse 9, “Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.” although there were certainly prophecies of the Messiah and Savior, the idea of salvation by grace through faith was not fully revealed until the time was right. The Bible doesn’t tell us why God picked the time that He did to send His Son into the world, but there are some observations worth noting. There were two relatively recent world empires that had conquered the known world, predicted by the Prophet Daniel, and they both made some major contributions that would aid in spreading the Gospel. At the time of Jesus’ birth, the known world was under the control of Rome, and it was a relatively stable and peaceful time in the empire. The empire had spread throughout much of Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East, and it had a great network of roads, kept safe by Roman soldiers. This greater ease of travel would have aided early Christians in spreading the Gospel, whereas it would not have been possible in other eras. Second, although Rome had conquered the known world, the Greek culture still prevailed. This meant that the common Greek was the trade language, and was spoken by most people in the empire, making communicating the Gospel possible to more people. Third, there was a great anticipation among the Jews that the Messiah would come. Fourth, the Jews had been under the Law for over 1,300 years, which was ample time for them and the whole world to see that no one could live up to its demands. The school master had done its job.
God the Father will gather together in one all things in Christ. This has the idea of uniting or adding numbers with the sum written at the top (Christ). In the end, God will add everything up, and those who are in Christ will be with Him, while those who are not will be judged.
Next, we have been given an inheritance. In verse 11 it states, “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.” This inheritance is Heaven. Jesus died in order that we would receive it, and via the grave or the rapture, we will. Peter said of our inheritance: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5) So, as we can see, it is incorruptible, undefiled, does not fade away, and is being reserved for us.
We have been predestined to it by God who works all things according to the counsel of His will. God always makes the right plans, and He always carries them out perfectly. This is to bring glory to God, for it is offered to those who first trusted in Christ (the Jews), and to the Gentiles.
Now, we get into the role the Holy Spirit plays in the salvation of nonbelievers. Nonbelievers, as a result of hearing the word being preached, are saved by trusting in Christ. After believing, they are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. In ancient times, a seal was a signet ring or stamp pressed into wax or clay, and signifies ownership and security. The thing being stamped is being marked for security and preservation. In other words, we are stamped with the Holy Spirit, meaning we belong unto God, being preserved by Him. Paul goes on to say that He is our guarantee or down payment until the redemption of the purchased possession. It’s like when you buy a house, you are required to put down earnest money as security you will pay the rest later. As the buyer, you can back out, but you may lose your earnest money. However, God never backs out on His end of the bargain. Remember, we are marked and preserved until the day of redemption, and the Holy Spirit lives inside us as God’s earnest or guarantee He is coming back for us. The author of Hebrews in quoting the Old Testament says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Heb 13:5)
Next, Paul says that after he had heard of their faith in the Lord Jesus and love for all the saints, he hadn’t stopped giving thanks for them, and praying that God would give them the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. He wanted them to know more of who God is. It’s important to note that the answers to Paul’s prayers are a spiritual revelation from the Holy Spirit through the written Word. David Guzek writes, “Our Christian life must be centered around this purpose – to know God as He is in truth, as revealed by His Word, and to correct our false, idolatrous ideas of who God is.” He wanted the eyes of their understanding to be enlightened that they would know all they had in Christ (i.e. the hope of His calling, the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints in verse 18. He also prayed they would know the exceeding greatness of His power toward us, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places. This is pretty incredible, for we have that same resurrection power inside of us through the person of the Holy Spirit.
The Father has seated Jesus far above all principality, power, might, dominion, and every name that is named, both now and in the ages to come. In other words, Jesus is ruler of all, including Satan and all the various demonic entities (He’s far above them). Remember, they are created beings, created by none other than Jesus Himself. Paul told the Colossians that Jesus disarmed the principalities and powers, and made an open spectacle of them, triumphing over them through His death, burial, and resurrection. (Col 2:15)
Lastly in chapter 1, the Father has put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head of all things to the Church. God gave Jesus to us as our head, we are His body, and He fills us with His blessings. Next time I hope to cover chapter 2.
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