Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Ephesians 1

There is so much in chapter 1 that we can get lost as we dig into it. Therefore, we need to read the chapter so we have an overall “feel” for what Paul is trying to teach us.

(1) This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.

  • Paul has by now been a Christian for nearly 30 years, has taken three missionary trips, established churches all around the Mediterranean Sea and spent three years in Ephesus.
  • chosen:
    • Acts 9:15: But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.
    • Galatians 1:15-16: But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles.
    • We’ll get a little more deeply into this idea of being chosen and predestinated in verse 4.
  • holy people (saints) Greek - hagios:
    • “Saints”, “holy ones” or “consecrated people”. The Greek word translated “holy people” here or “saint” in the King James Version simply means “one who is set apart” or “holy one.” Paul often used it to refer to believers. As believers, we are all set apart from the world and given a position with Christ for God’s purpose. In scripture, all believers are considered by God to be saints!
    • ”They (and we who believe) were “holy” because they belonged to him. Moses was told to remove his shoes because the area around the burning bush was “holy”. The temple had once been “holy” because it was the house of God. The altars were “holy,” because they were erected for the service of God. The sacrifices were “holy,” because they were offered to him. The priests were “holy” because they were divinely chosen to discharge the functions of the temple service. The Sabbath was “holy” because God had separated its hours from common use. The whole Jewish people were “holy”. So, what made the dirt around the burning bush holy all the way up to the magnificent temple being “holy” - the presence of God. So, what makes us “holy” - the presence of God in us and His separating us to Himself for His purposes - out of His love for us.
  • Ephesus: The most ancient manuscripts do not include the words “in Ephesus” - this was a “circular letter” for ALL Christians!
  • faithful (pistos) followers of Christ Jesus:
    • How would you like to be known as a “faithful follower of Christ”? Pistos means “believing, loyal, trustworthy” - referring to their walk as opposed to “holy” (hagios) which refers to their standing or position.
    • Paul writes to those who have faith, but what is faith? Faith has three parts to it:
      1. The first part is knowledge. You cannot trust in something about which you know nothing. You have to know whom it is you trust.
      2. Secondly, faith assents to what it knows. You don’t merely know who Jesus is. You agree that Jesus is who He says He is. You agree that Jesus is the Son of God. You agree that He died on the cross for your sins. You agree that the Holy Spirit has taken up residence in your life, setting you apart from the world.
      3. And thirdly, faith is trust. You not only know who Jesus is, and what you are to believe, you not only agree with that knowledge, but you also entrust yourself to Him. If you are at the top of a burning building, and cannot see the ground, and someone says to you, “Jump, and I will catch you. I have a large tarp which will cushion your fall,” what do you do? If you jump, then you are entrusting your life to that person, even though you cannot see him. Faith is always a trust in something that you cannot see.
      • So Paul is writing to people who have these three aspects of faith. It is not enough merely to know about Jesus. It is not enough even to agree that Jesus is who He says He is. Such knowledge and assent come up only to the level of the demons (Mark 1:23-26)! All three elements must be together. You cannot entrust yourself to someone about whom you know nothing. That is simply dumb. You must rather know about, agree with, and then entrust yourself to Jesus Christ - That is what a Christian is.
      • Hebrews 11:1: Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

(2) May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

  • grace - Greek = charis.
    1. Grace means “getting what you don’t deserve”.
    2. Mercy means “NOT getting what you do deserve”!

(3) All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.

  • Verse three is in many ways the theme of the letter---united with or IN CHRIST ---is the key.
  • every spiritual blessing:
    • EVERY blessing that is spiritual with nothing left out! Since these blessings are spiritual in the heavenlies, they are eternal and cannot be taken from us. Note that the word spiritual excludes earthly - we’re not promised riches or happiness.
    • These are spiritual blessings, which are far better than the material blessings promised to Israel. These blessings are ours in the heavenly places in Christ, they are higher, better and more secure than earthly blessings.
    • God has blessed us in the past with all spiritual blessings. In a sense, we will never be more saved than we are right now if we do indeed have faith in Christ.
  • the heavenly realms: Greek - en tois epouranios
    • The Christian lives in two worlds. We experience a combination of the ‘now’ and the ‘not yet’. Nowhere does Paul emphasize the heavenly, spiritual dimension more than in Ephesians.
    • Ephesians 2:6: For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.
  • united with Christ should be translated IN CHRIST.

(4) Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us IN CHRIST to be holy and without fault in his eyes.

  • chose us:
    • How did God love us and choose us before we were even born? Because He foreknew us. Notice that His motivation is love.
    • God planned our salvation. He had it planned even before the foundation of the world was laid down. God chose us. Paul says that we were chosen in order to be holy and blameless, not because we were holy and blameless.
    • If salvation is entered by a door, then above the door, on the outside is written the words, ‘Whosoever will may come’ (Revelation 22:17). Having entered, anyone glancing back reads these words from Ephesians written above the door: ‘Chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.’
    • Your salvation did not begin with your choice to believe in Christ. Your salvation began before the creation of the universe when God planned the history of redemption, ordained the death and the resurrection of his Son and chose you to be his own through Christ. BUT, how does this fit with John 3:16 (For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.)? Since God “inhabits eternity”, He can see our hearts in advance. Hypercalvanists teach that we have no choice whatsover and that God chooses some to be saved and some to be condemned! So, be very careful in how you interpret His choosing you. What has God chosen us for? Not salvation; but He has chosen us even before the foundation of the world (He knew that we would believe on His Son) for service - that we should be holy and without fault in his eyes.
    • Isaiah 49:1: Listen to me, all you in distant lands! Pay attention, you who are far away! The Lord called me before my birth; from within the womb he called me by name.
    • Jeremiah 1:5: “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
    • John 15:16: You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. Jesus said that He had chosen them to be disciples. For salvation? No, for service. Even Judas was chosen! For damnation? No, but like Pharaoh, who was a fit vessel unto wrath - after being given many chances to believe, refused, and thus was used for God’s purpose.
    • Acts 13:48: When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord for his message; and all who were chosen for eternal life became believers.
    • Romans 8:29-30: For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.
      • Notice the order: (1) He knew, (2) He chose, (3) He called, (4) He gave them right standing, (5) He gave them His glory.
    • 1 Peter 1:2: God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace.
  • without fault (blameless) Greek - anegklétos:
    • The word for ‘blameless’ is a sacrificial word. Under Jewish law, before an animal could be offered as a sacrifice, it had to be inspected (for 3 days!), and if any blemish was found it had to be rejected as unfit for an offering to God. Only the best was fit to be offered to God. We are to be an offering to God (Romans 12:1). Every part of our life, work, pleasure, sport, home life, personal relationships are to be offered to God - and are, therefore, to be pure and “holy”. Therefore, we need to carefully examine every aspect of our lives to ensure they are free of sin.
    • Ephesians 5:27: He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.

(5) God decided IN ADVANCE to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

  • adopt (Greek - huiothesia): Huiothesia was the legal term for appointing the heir to the inheritance. This adoption was a sort of will and the ancient form of the will was irrevocable and public. In Roman law, “When the adoption was complete, it was complete indeed. The person who had been adopted had all the rights of a legitimate son in his new family and completely lost all rights in his old family. In the eyes of the law, he was a new person. So new was he that even all debts and obligations connected with his previous family were abolished as if they had never existed.” (Barclay)
    • Exodus 4:22: Then you will tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son.
    • John 1:12: He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.
    • Romans 8:15-17: So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.
    • Romans 9:4: They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises.
    • Galatians 4:5: God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.
    • 1 John 3:2: Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.

(6) So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.

  • King James Version is closer to the Greek (charitoo): Ephesians 1:6: To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. Charitoo is also used in Luke 1:28 that Mary is “highly favored”.

(7) He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.

  • grace:
    • Grace occurs 150 times in the New Testament - Peter uses the word 10 times, John 6 times, but Paul 95 times! Grace is God’s favor to the undeserving.
    • There is a reason the hymn writer, John Newton (the self-proclaimed wretch who once was lost but then was found), called grace “amazing.”
      • The epitaph John Newton wrote for his tombstone reads: “John Newton, Clerk, once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the gospel he had long labored to destroy.”
    • According to Strong’s Lexicon, the Greek word charis means:
      1. The goodness and favor of God, and
      2. The kindness by which God exerts His holy influence upon us, but also
      3. The spiritual condition of one governed by the power of divine grace.
    • Grace is not just God’s unmerited favor, but also what it does to us and through us. This is implied when Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:10:
      • But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me - and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.
  • purchased our freedom (redeemed in the original). Greek - apolutrosis:
      • Jesus Christ redeems us from sin and death. But what is redemption? Redemption means that a price is paid by someone for someone else’s freedom.
      • In the Roman world, if a master wanted to set free a slave of someone else, he could pay that other master the full market value price of the slave, and the slave would be free. The idea also enters in here, though, that the slave is more than just belonging to the “wrong” master. He is also being held prisoner, and being held for ransom.
      • We miss the meaning of this word apolutrosis today because we don’t have public slave markets as in Roman days. But, I remember standing in the Old Slave Mart Museum in Charleston, South Carolina, and visualizing human beings being auctioned off like cattle and I shuddered at the thought and thanked God that our country no longer practiced such horrible sin.
      • Colossians 1:13-14: For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.
      • 1 Peter 1:18-19: For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
      • Revelation 5:9: And they sang a new song with these words: You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
  • blood:
    • The price that Jesus paid is His own blood, His life. Why does Paul say “blood” and not merely “death?” The answer lies in the Old Testament sacrificial system (Exodus 29:10-12). The blood of the animal had to be sprinkled on the altar. The blood of Jesus Christ redeems us from our sins. It redeems us from the condemning power of the law.
    • The blood paid for the sins of all but not all will be saved because many will reject the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord:
      • 1 John 2:2: He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.
      • John 8:24: That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I Am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.”
    • Exodus 24:8: Then Moses took the blood from the basins and splattered it over the people, declaring, “Look, this blood confirms the covenant the Lord has made with you in giving you these instructions.”
    • Leviticus 17:14: The life of every creature is in its blood. That is why I have said to the people of Israel, ‘You must never eat or drink blood, for the life of any creature is in its blood.’ So whoever consumes blood will be cut off from the community.
    • Deuteronomy 12:23: But never eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you must not eat the lifeblood with the meat.
    • Matthew 26:28: for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.
    • Acts 20:28: “So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock - his church, purchased with his own blood - over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders.
    • Romans 5:9: And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.
    • 1 Corinthians 6:20, 7:23: for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. … God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world.
    • Ephesians 2:13: But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
    • Colossians 1:14, 20: who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. … and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
    • Hebrews 9:12-14: With his own blood - not the blood of goats and calves - he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.
    • Hebrews 9:18-20: That is why even the first covenant was put into effect with the blood of an animal. For after Moses had read each of God’s commandments to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, and sprinkled both the book of God’s law and all the people, using hyssop branches and scarlet wool. Then he said, “This blood confirms the covenant God has made with you.”
    • Hebrews 10:4: For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
    • Hebrews 10:19: And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.
    • Hebrews 13:20: Now may the God of peace - who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood
    • 1 John 1:7: But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
    • Revelation 1:5: and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us.
    • Revelation 12:11: And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.

(8) He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

  • Knowledge (Greek - gnosis) refers to the information, understanding and skills that you gain through education or experience.
  • wisdom (Greek - sophia) is the practical ability to apply God’s truth to a definite situation and to act on what one knows and believes.
    • Proverbs 4:5: Get wisdom; develop good judgment. Don’t forget my words or turn away from them.
    • Proverbs 8:11: For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies. Nothing you desire can compare with it.
    • James 1:5: If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
  • Understanding (Greek - phronesis) refers to good judgment or the skill to govern our life in a careful, successful manner. This can be in the practical realm of living life. It is to be able to figure out the best decisions that will lead to the best results for our life.

(9) God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure.

  • mysterious:
    • Greek musterion (secret). Musterion occurs six times in Ephesians.
    • This term “mystery” does not mean something mysterious. It does not mean something that only a few people can know. It rather means something that was hidden before, but is now revealed. It means that people cannot find it out unless God reveals it to them. So, when was this secret revealed - by Paul in his prison epistles (Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon) after Israel was set aside in Acts 28:28.
    • Think of God’s plan as a large tapestry, very complicated. We can only see a small part of the tapestry. And, unfortunately, we are looking at the back side of the tapestry. The back side always looks like one big collection of snarls and loose ends. We think that there is no order at all. However, God will occasionally let us look at the other side for one quick glance. The front side of the tapestry is huge, orderly, and beautiful. What we have here is one such glimpse of the front of the tapestry.

(10) And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ - everything in heaven and on earth.

  • This is the goal of the ages. Sometimes, our lives seem to be in chaos and out of control, but if we’ve turned our lives over to God, we are living in His plan and not in chaos. Sin is a chaotic force in the world and in our lives. Sin brings all sorts of messes into our lives. We need help in this regard. We need Someone to come into our lives and bring the chaos into order, bring unity between God and ourselves where before there was disunity. That Someone can only be Jesus Christ.
  • What is God’s plan? God’s plan is to reunite all things in heaven and on earth in one Head, Jesus Christ.
  • So how can you know what God’s plans for your life are? Well, you must talk to God in prayer. You cannot find out what God wants for you unless you pray to Him. Secondly, we must read your Bible. God will never, ever lead us into a path that contradicts His written Word. God’s providence never contradicts His written word. We must have our senses trained by long and detailed study of God’s Word, such that we can tell if something is a temptation to do wrong, or a door opened by God. God’s will for us is part of this grand plan to reunite all things in Jesus Christ. Nothing that God directs us to do will ever conflict with that. This is His overarching purpose for the universe.

(11) Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.

  • united with Christ = IN CHRIST.
  • received an inheritance: Or we have become God’s inheritance. The Jews were promised an earthly inheritance. The inheritance for the Gentiles is heavenly:
    • Philippians 3:20: But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.

(12) God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God.

(13) And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.

  • Gentiles : Acts 26:17-18: ... I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’
  • heard the truth: Colossians 1:4-5: For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.
  • identified you as his own: Or he put his seal on you.
    • Ephesians 4:30 (King James Version): And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

      Above is a Roman Seal.
    • Just as those who receive a mark of the beast as described in Revelation, the believers also receive a “mark,” and that mark is the work of the Lord in each believer’s life that is carried out by God’s Spirit. You are a marked man or woman! You stand out because you have put your faith in Christ and you are sealed in His Spirit, which simply means that God is at work in you to conform you in the image of Christ as you enjoy eternal life in Him. Do you bear the mark of faith? Would someone looking at your life see your faith as active, vibrant and effective?
    • There is a certain finality to being sealed by the Holy Spirit. To assure that Jesus’ tomb and its contents remained undisturbed, Pilate ordered a large stone positioned against the entrance. A sloped channel assisted the guards in rolling the boulder. A deep groove cut in bedrock at the tomb’s entrance firmly settled the stone. At the urging of the chief priests, Pilate further secured Jesus’ tomb by placing a Roman seal on the stone, stationing four Roman soldiers at the entrance. To guarantee maximum security, every three hours fresh, alert (i.e., not sleeping as indicated in Matthew 28:13) guards would be exchanged. Of course, that seal didn’t work very well, given the fact that the power of God was inside that tomb, and unleashed the full force of resurrection power against that seal. Still, when the high priests put that seal on the tomb, the idea was to make it secure. How much more secure are we when we have the seal of the Holy Spirit! It is magnificently secure, absolutely secure.
    • A seal marks something off as genuine. People used to seal envelopes with wax, putting their signet ring into the melted wax, such that the mark of the ring would seal the envelope and seal the letter. The person receiving the letter would see the seal, and know that it could only come from that person. They knew that the letter was genuine. In the same way, when the Holy Spirit seals us, He testifies to our hearts and minds that we are genuine believers in Christ. This happens to every person who becomes a Christian. Every Christian has this seal. Are you sealed in Christ with the Holy Spirit?
    • This sealing takes place at conversion.
    • When I was little, my mother baked cake for the family and let me “lick the pan” after she was through mixing the batter. At supper, after we had finished the main course, the family “felt” the cake was going to be a real treat. But I had something better than a feeling to go on. I had a sample. I already knew the cake was delicious. In the same way, I know a little about how it’s going to be when we get to heaven because I have already gotten a taste of what heaven will be like.

(14) The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

  • guarantee:
    • The word guarantee (“down payment” - Greek - arrabwn) is used only in the New Testament of the Holy Spirit. He is our only down payment of coming glory; nothing else is provided - or needed. “The seal is therefore the Holy Spirit Himself, and His presence in the believer denotes ownership and security. The sealing with the Spirit is not an emotional feeling or some mysterious inward experience.” (Gaebelein) We have this guarantee until we are “completely purchased” by God through resurrection and glorification - again, all to the praise of His glory.
    • 2 Corinthians 5:5: God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.

(15) Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere,

  • Paul had heard about the Ephesians’ faith and love. Of course, he knew of it before hand since he’d spent three years there. So, this seems to indicate tremendous growth on their part since he had left them after the three years of teaching. Do you have a reputation for faith and love?

(16) I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,

  • pray: Notice the five things Paul prays for these Christians (and us) in verses 17 through 19:
    1. Wisdom
    2. Insight
    3. Growth in knowledge
    4. Hearts flooded with light
    5. Understanding His power

(17) asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.

  • Paul prayed that the converts to Christianity would know God better. How often do we pray for that? Our prayer lives are often limited to a shopping list for physical needs: sickness, surgery, grief at the death of loved ones, our bank account, job, etc. But how often do we pray something like this: “Lord, I pray that you would help me to know you better; I pray that my family would get to know you better; I pray that those who don’t know you at all would get to know you.”
  • grow: The Christian life is a journey not a destination. Don’t expect maturity and perfection from a young Christian - he or she is being molded by God, if he or she allows Him to do so. So, when you see a young Christian falling short, don’t be discouraged any more than the parent of a “toddler” is discouraged when his or her baby falls down while learning how to walk. The main point is GROWTH. But, if there is no growth, there is something seriously wrong!
  • knowledge - Greek, epignosis:
    • gnosis is abstract knowledge (academic or scientific knowledge) and epignosis is knowledge through personal experience (precise and accurate knowledge and full understanding resulting in wisdom).
    • This word “know” (epignosis) is not just intellectual but a personal and intimate knowledge of God and intimate awareness of His character and will.
    • epignosis (Strong’s #1922) is used 20 times in the Bible, only in 2 Peter, Hebrews and Paul’s later epistles. Here are a few examples:
      • Ephesians 4:13: This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
      • Philippians 1:9: I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.
      • Colossians 1:9: So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.
      • Colossians 1:10: Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
      • Colossians 2:2: … I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself.
      • Colossians 3:10: Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.

(18) I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called - his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

  • light: Satan blinds us to the truth and keeps in darkness.
  • hope:
    • The hope of His calling looks to the future. The believer has a glorious future of resurrection, eternal life, freedom from sin, perfected justification and glorious elevation above the angels themselves.
    • The hope of God’s calling is the rock-solid, resurrection-based, Spirit-affirmed, Spirit-sealed knowledge that God has called us to eternal life.
  • inheritance: This is God’s inheritance. God inherits His people. That is, we are His prized, special possession. God owns worlds, universes, planets, stars, black holes and many other things, but YOU are what He values most. Ephesians 2:10: For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

(19) I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power

  • power: Greek - dunamis.
    • God wants resurrection life to be real in the life of the believer. “The very same power which raised Christ is waiting to raise the drunkard from his drunkenness, to raise the thief from his dishonesty, to raise the Pharisee from his self-righteousness, to raise the Sadducee from his unbelief.” (Spurgeon)
    • Paul’s point is that God’s power is absolutely sovereign over false gods, over the demons, over sin and even over death itself. That’s how powerful God is. Do we believe that? Do we believe that God is more powerful than sin in our lives? Do we believe that God is more powerful than sin in other people’s lives?
    • Philippians 3:10: I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death
    • Colossians 1:11: We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy,

(20) that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

  • seated him:
    • The high priest could not sit down in the Holy of Holies.
    • We know that when we get to heaven, we will see Jesus, the God-man, seated on the throne. It is like when the brothers of Joseph get to Egypt, only to find Joseph their brother on the throne, and willing and able to do all things for them.
    • Colossians 3:1: Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.

(21) Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else - not only in this world but also in the world to come.

  • From other passages in Ephesians (Ephesians 3:10 and 6:12) we know that this refers to angelic beings, both loyal and lethal. We don’t completely understand the ranks of the angelic realm, but we do know that Jesus is raised above them.

(22) God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.

(23) And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.

NOTE: Sources and References are on line at: https://ephesians-blog.blogspot.com/2010/07/ephesians-study-references.html. Links to all our studies are at https://oakview-bible-fellowship.blogspot.com/

Posted by Oakview Bible Fellowship at 8:16 PM