Studies in Ephesians #1
Studies in Ephesians 1:1-14
Ephesians 1:1–14 (NIV)
1-2 “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
I think Paul was a special case. He was special because his conversion came about by a direct act of God upon his person.
He recounted that event to King Agrippa. Acts 26:13–18 (NIV) “About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ “‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’”
He was an Apostle by the will of God alright!
Paul spoke primarily to Gentiles and unless you are an ethnic Jew, you fall into that category. I love this about Paul. He was kind of grabbed by the shirt collar and taken out into the wilderness to be schooled by Holy Spirit. When he was finished with his classes, he had a deep understanding of exactly what Jesus had done at the cross. I’m so glad that Father tasked Paul with telling us all about it.
This passage in Ephesians helps us see and understand part of the amazing truth Paul was taught by God Himself. He starts right out in verse 3.
3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”
Father has given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. In 2 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV) Paul says something similar. There we find, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ.”
We have been placed in Christ. These blessings are in Christ. Later in Ephesians we find that “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:6 (NIV)
It can be easy to gloss over this. We are in Christ. Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father as we read in Ephesians 1:20 (NIV) “…he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms”. Spiritually, we are in the most secure place imaginable. We have no need to be concerned about our spiritual condition. This is one reason why nothing can separate us from the love of God as we read in Romans 8:31–39 (NIV)
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.
34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Here in Romans 8 we find additional insight into the scope of the blessings being discussed in our passage in Ephesians. Just look at this incredible list.
God is for us, so who can be against us?
God gave us Jesus
Out of the kindness of His heart God will give us all things
No one can bring any charge against us that will matter to God
God chose that all of us who believe would become His children
God has already justified us (nullified any charges that were against us)
No one can condemn us (there is no condemnation for us according to Romans 8:1)
Jesus intercedes for us whenever the enemy brings any accusation
Nothing whatsoever can separate us from God’s love
That’s some list, and it is only part of the “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” we’ve been reading about. We are safe and secure in Christ, and nothing can possibly change that.
Now let’s pick up Ephesians 1 at verse 4.
4-6 “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”
Many people balk at the idea that we who have been born again are holy and blameless, but scripture boldly makes that statement. Father chose us (all who will believe, according to John 3:16) in Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world. He chose that we should be holy and without blame before Him, or as the NIV says, “in His sight.”
Some would assert that this is talking about our state at some future time. That we will be holy and blameless when we all get to heaven. That idea is untenable to me for two reasons. First, we are in Christ and Christ is in us. Scripture is abundantly clear on this point. Second, we are talking here about how God sees us.
This raises questions in my mind. First, if our new spirit is not holy and blameless how can we be in Christ, how can Christ be in us, and how can we be said to be one spirit with God, as 1 Corinthians 6:17 tells us we are? Can anything imperfect exist in Christ? The answer is “no” because if there were any imperfection in Him, He would cease to be God.
Second, and this is something that bothered me as a young boy, if God sees us as holy and blameless but we are not actually holy and blameless, are we saying that God is faking Himself out? That is an idea I simply cannot swallow.
Consequently, I am convinced that we are indeed holy and blameless at the core of our being right this very moment.
The next wonderful blessing Father has given is adoption as His own children. Adoption makes us part of His family. Spiritual rebirth seals the deal by causing us to share in His nature. 2 Peter 1:4 (NIV) makes this point in saying, “…he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature…” Additionally, John points out in 1 John 3:9 that God’s seed is in us.
We are the children of God, not just in name, but in likeness. 1 John 4:17 (NIV)tells us, “This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.” As God’s children who carry God’s seed, we inherit godly traits. These include things such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. You know; the fruit of the Spirit.
Let’s continue and look at Ephesians 1:7-10
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.”
We have been redeemed—bought with a price, as 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (NIV) reminds us when it says, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” The price was the perfect and beyond-sufficient blood of Jesus.
Hebrews 9:22 (NIV) makes it clear that, “…without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” The blood Jesus shed paid the wages of our sin—death—and made forgiveness possible for all of humanity. That’s why we just read that the forgiveness was “in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.” The blood of Jesus is far more than enough to take away the sins of the world. That’s some serious riches of undeserved favor. That’s the ridiculous grace of our wonderful God.
The blessings did not stop there, however. He also “made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.”
In Ephesians 2:14–16 (NIV) we find this amazing news. “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.”
What does that mean, you ask? Paul answers that question in Galatians 3:26–29 (NIV).
Here is what it says, “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
God’s will was that all of humanity, not just the Hebrew nation, should be able to know Him. This revelation came in the form of Jesus Christ. It was foretold by the prophets, but fulfilled at just the right time. Galatians 4:4–7 (NIV) elaborates on this.
Galatians 4:4-7
“But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.”
This is good news indeed. Again we are told that we are God’s children and now, that we are His heirs. Indeed, Romans 8:17 (NIV) agrees in saying, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ…”.
Now let’s look at the last few verses in this part of Ephesians 1.
11-14 “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
God works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will. This should not be taken to mean that He is some sort of puppet-master in the sky who controls every detail of every moment on earth. That is not the personality and character God has shown us in Jesus Christ. He gave us the freedom to choose. We can accept what He offers, or we can reject it. The choice is ours. We can believe Him, be reconciled to Him and accept the intimate personal relationship and eternal life He offers. Alternatively, we can say no to that and live on our own terms. Like all choices, each of these alternatives has consequences, of course.
We know that God is love, so we can base our response to Him on that characteristic. When we believe, our text tells us that we are “marked in Him with a seal.” We are not used to seals these days. We have “lickem-stickem and peel-and-stick.” Those who can food know about seals, however. So do auto mechanics and those who work in the judicial system. A seal prevents anything from getting out from, or being introduced into, the compartment it protects. Holy Spirit is such a seal for us. He is the guarantee of our inheritance. Nothing can get n and diminish it, and we cannot be taken out.
He is also referred to as “a deposit.” Any of us who have bought or sold a home are familiar with deposits. They are often called “earnest money.” Deposits are money paid in advance to show that we are earnest about completing the transaction and are not going to back out just because we got cold feet. Holy Spirit is a deposit for us.
Having a seal and a deposit are necessary for us. We are here on earth in this fallen temporal world where we no longer feel at home, and why should we? Look what Jesus said about us in John 15:19 (NIV) “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” While we are here, we live by faith and not by sight. That can be challenging.
Knowing that Holy Spirit is our seal gives us peace when the world or our enemy shakes the container and threatens to pull us out or make us fall. Knowing that Holy Spirit is our deposit gives us something to hold onto when things look gloomy, and we are tempted to doubt our future wellbeing. God the Holy Spirit lives in us guaranteeing Father’s promise as we dwell in Christ Jesus by faith until the day we see Him as He is.
We have indeed been blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
