Ephesians
Pastor Gordon Crook
“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 1:1-2
As mentioned in the intro article, Paul begins this letter with his credentials and a greeting of grace and peace. The overall message that God gives us through Paul’s writing is one of grace and peace, brought to us through Jesus Christ. In order to keep us grounded, we must first know for certain that everything is from God by His grace.
Read Ephesians 1:3-6.
God deserves blessing from us for who He is and for what He has done. When we use the word “blessed” or “blessing” we think primarily of God giving us something. However, the Greek word used here is “euloge¯tos”, and refers to speaking praise about someone. We definitely need to praise God for the things that Paul is mentioning in these verses.
Notice these:
• He hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ
• He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world
• that we should be holy and without blame before him in love
• Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ
• He hath made us accepted in the beloved.
We will continue to notice more of what God has done for us as we go through this letter. Often times, it seems that Christians want to find the things that God demands of us so we can create a religion. Paul wants us to know the things that God has done for us and provided for us, as these are necessary before we can even think about something we might do for God.
Jesus did not come to create a religion. He did not come to put demands on humanity. He came to offer us something that religion and self effort would never avail. We need to understand these things, and Paul intends to open them up for us. We do well to ask the Holy Spirit that “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened.”
Consider that we “have been” blessed with “all” spiritual blessings in Christ. First, there is no mention of natural blessings or wealth here. God is far more concerned with our spiritual condition than our natural condition, because the spiritual condition has eternal implications while the natural condition is temporary. The statement is about something that is already done. And it is about something that is very complete. Jesus died once for all, to make provision for all we need. All spiritual blessings are provided for us already.
We need to understand the concept of being “chosen in Him before the foundation of the world.” It refers to the fact that God had always intended to bring us to Himself through Jesus. It was always God’s plan to bring human beings into fellowship with Himself through the sacrifice of Jesus. This is God’s choice, and we are blessed to be able to lay hold of this invitation.
I know there are some that will say that God chooses certain ones to be saved and others not. I cannot reconcile this teaching with the rest of scripture where God is clear that whosoever will may call upon the name of the Lord. I do understand that God knew those that would call upon His name, but His foreknowledge does not mean He chose some to salvation and some to perdition.
God’s choice of Jesus’ sacrifice to brings us into fellowship with Himself was more than just a symbol of some kind. It allows us to stand before Him “holy and without blame.” We certainly could never achieve this standing by our own effort. It is not a standing that depends on our ability to keep some rules or do something special. It is freely provided to us by God’s grace.
When Nicodemus came to talk to Jesus, he was told that he must be born again. Jesus talks about a new birth that brings us into God’s family. “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ.” The word adoption used here in the English translation is not referring to adoption as we understand it. We are not just brought into God’s family, we are born again into His family by spiritual birth. God doesn’t just drag the old creation into His family, he brings us in as a new creation in Christ Jesus.
All of this is according to the good pleasure of His will. God did all of this of His own accord, and for His own pleasure. Consider for a minute that bringing you into His family brings pleasure to God. So much so that He was willing to sacrifice His only begotten Son to do so. In all of this first chapter of Ephesians, I want you to notice how often Paul mentions “He,” “Who” and reminds us that God did all of this of His own volition which means that all praise goes to Him.
God did not owe us anything. We were the rebellious creation that turned against God to satisfy our own desires and will. We were God’s enemies Romans 5:8-10. We were not acceptable. We could not have fellowship with God or ever expect to enter into His presence. Even in that condition, God provided His Son to reconcile us. He made us “accepted in the Beloved.” We know who the Beloved is. God clearly tells us on the mount of transfiguration in Matthew 17 that Jesus is His beloved Son.
“Accepted” means that we now have access to His presence. Hebrews 10:19, Romans 5:2. I am not sure if we really understand the privilege this brings to us. In this world, people consider it a privilege to have access to the President or to some important person or entertainer. We have access to the Almighty, Eternal, Holy God. I hope you understand the immensity of this privilege and do not take it for granted.
Continued
