1st Chapter of
Ephesians
Ephesians 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the
saints in
INTRODUCTION
This epistle begins in the same way as the letter to the Colossians. Paul asserts his apostleship as one conceded by God Himself, not by his own will.
What is the definition of an apostle? What are the qualifications? "Apostolos" = One commissioned to continue in a specified work. The primary qualifications are listed in Ac 1:21-22 when they sought a replacement for Judas Iscariot. Notice that only Judas is replaced. When an apostle has died as faithful, he continues to be an apostle in Heaven, not needing replacement on Earth, for their words continue to testify to the commission assigned by Jesus. In John 17:6-21 Jesus illustrates the commission given to these apostles, and how they were to impact others who were not apostles. In Mt 19:28 Jesus teaches how they will continue to be apostles even in Heaven, so nowhere do we see the church practicing a replacement for them, not even after James is martyred (Ac 12:2).
Why is Paul an apostle? He was
not one of the original 12, nor was he chosen after Judas was replaced! Paul
himself describes how he became an apostle by the will of God when he was on
his way to
Addressed to the saints, to the faithful in Christ Jesus. The holy and faithful are those who are truly part of the body of Christ, the church. This may not include others that thought of themselves as part of the body but were not of holy thinking and unfaithful in doctrine. The brethren are described as "saints" (hagios), which means blameless, sacred, pure, consecrated, and holy (from the root word "hagos", which means an awe-ful thing). They are also described as faithful (pistos), which means trustworthy, true and sure. None of these words mean "perfection" in the faultless sense. They denote perseverance and unwavering loyalty to the commission and commitment to Jesus.
Ephesians 1:2
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
God's will for the church is to receive His grace and peace always. He doesn't want to come to us with judgment or with strife, but mindful that His will for us is to receive His grace and so be changed, holy, peaceful people. "Grace" comes from the Greek word "charis", which means "unmerited favor" - a divine influence on the heart and its reflection upon life, usually producing gratitude, joy and pleasure because of the knowledge of being accepted by God as a son. Ro 5:1-21 explains this grace of God exquisitely. "Eirene", or "peace", is denoted as prosperity, quietness and rest. This is the kind of peace Jesus gives (John 14:27; John 16:33), which is not like the world gives.
Notice how the grace and peace are imparted to us by both the Father and our Lord Jesus. They are mentioned specifically as two distinct persons of the Godhead, as opposed to generally as God.
Ephesians 1:3
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.
Blessing = eulogia: fine speaking, i.e. elegance of language; commendation ("eulogy"), i.e. (reverentially) adoration; religiously, benediction; by implication, consecration; by extension, benefit or largess:--blessing (a matter of) bounty (X -tifully), fair speech.
God the Father, specifically, has blessed us with every spiritual benefit and bounty in His Son Jesus! Our blessings are in the Heavenly realm though; they are going before us into Heaven itself, which is why our focus needs to be on the life above and not on the one below, where there is no hope of spiritual blessing.
1- All blessings are in the Heavenly Realms (Eph 1:3)
2- Christ is in the Heavenly Realms (Eph 1:20)
3- Christians are in the Heavenly Realms (Eph 2:6)
4- Many powers exists in the Heavenly Realms (Eph 3:10)
5- Evil powers are in the Heavenly Realms (Eph 6:12)
Richard Bagget,
Remember from Colossians 1:16 we examined the realm created by God? Here is a visual representation:
So what are the Heavenly Realms in Christ?
A- All people are Spirits living in the Spiritual Realm
B- The Spiritual Realm is conflicted between the Christ and Satan
C- Christ is ruler of the forces of good
D- Christians are on Christ’s side – the Church
E- All spiritual blessings are for Christians
Richard Bagget,
The word blessing here is different from what Jesus used in Mathew chapter 5, which in the Greek is makarios: extremely well off and happy. These blessings we have in Christ, of spiritual nature, are benedictions and commendations on our behalf on God’s part, for choosing Him and being in Christ! As you will see, only those in the Body, the church, have this bounty. These are special consecrations (the devoting or setting apart of anything to the worship or service of God) and bounties (Liberality in bestowing gifts or favors; gracious or liberal giving; generosity; munificence) we possess in the heavenly realms, far beyond what your mind can comprehend at the moment. The Holy Sprit helps us understand those consecrations that have affected us I this world in the following verses:
The
Bounty of Consecrations and Commendations we have in Jesus:
Ephesians 1:4-
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
1-
Chosen
to be Holy and Blameless
PREDETERMINATION – THE VEHICLE OF ADOPTION
How does God choose us before even the creation of the world (kosmos: orderly arrangement)? Doesn’t this negate the freewill God gives us if we are “predestined”?
It is the vehicle of salvation that is established and predetermined, not the individual. The best translation of this is predetermination. God can know who will choose this vehicle since God is outside of time being Omnipresent. That doesn’t preclude our freewill; since it is by our faith we are saved. We have to make a choice, our own choice, and God does not make it for us. He has established a vehicle; however, for us to choose se we can be saved. That is the grace of God, that He has made a way for us to be saved. We need to choose it though!
This vehicle of salvation makes us holy and blameless (amomos: faultless, without spot or blemish) in His sight! It is a vehicle that will accomplish a transformation and a cleansing – a redemptive vehicle! “In His sight” implies God wants us to be aware He is watching over us and can see us. If we believe that, we will not be hypocritical in our Christian walk, instead we will:
1. Be more concerned about what the Lord sees and thinks of us rather than what the world sees and thinks. Sometimes we spend more time concerned about what people see than what God sees. Every morning we prepare ourselves to go out into the world… we make sure our hair, clothes, shoes, makeup, etc., is just right. Do we forget to prepare ourselves for what God will see?
2. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12). Being holy and blameless is a state and a process. Although we were washed in the blood of the lamb, we have to work to stay clean; we must put effort into it.
3. If God chose us to be holy and blameless than we should do as much as possible to not allow impurity into our lives. We have to be careful of what we watch on T.V., what we see in the movies, what kind of conversations we have (gossip), what we listen to (music), what desires we allow to grow in our hearts.
4. Heb 4:13 - God sees everything and it is to Him that we must give an account. We will not be giving an account at the end to our family, co-workers, friends, or even to our brethren in the church. Therefore we should be more concerned about what God sees than anybody else.
-- Kevin Booker, Long Island Church of Christ
Ephesians 1:4c, 5
In love he {4,5 Or <sight in love. 5 He>} predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—
2-
Predetermined
to be adopted as His Sons
Predestined = (pro – Horizo): pro = before; horizo = “horizon”, to mark out or bound, specify, declare; proorizo: to limit in advance, i.e. (figuratively) predetermine:--determine before, Foreordain, predestinate.
Several translations reflect Calvinistic like thinking in these passages concerning “predestination”, but we need to understand that it is really a predetermination of events or vehicles, not individuals, which is the mechanism of adoption – the price paid by Christ and the indwelling of the Spirit, not the voiding of our own freewill, as if God has already chosen those who will be with him and we have no control over it. As you can see, the Godhead is personally involved in all the aspects of our salvation, but our own wills must weigh in for that salvation to take place. God’s pleasure and will is that we choose adoption as that mechanism for redemption.
A- Adoption – a new relationship – sons by grace
B- The Agency of Adoption – the Body of Christ
C- The Reason of Adoption – the good pleasure of His will (John 3:16)
D- The Result – the glory of God
Richard Bagget,
Example of biblical predetermination in our world:
Say you are in NYC, at Penn station and you want to get to ground zero. You know there is a train “predestined” to go there, so you search on the subway map which train is it that is predetermined to get to ground zero. When you get on that particular train, you know now you also are predetermined to get to ground zero. So the predetermination was not on you, the individual, but on the vehicle appointed to get to a particular place at a particular time.
In Rom 8:29 we read: “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son” So those whom God foreknew would believe and be baptized were predetermined to me morphed into Christ's likeness! What is the importance of adoption? Why is that word used? Let’s see:
- When you are adopted, you have in its entirety the position of a child by birth, with all the rights and privileges pertaining to that.
- Gal 3:29 - 4:7 - “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham' seed, and heirs according to the promise. What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are 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 a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir” See Rom 8:17. So the whole purpose of adoption is for us to be given the full rights of sons! We all at one time were slaves to sin and needed to be redeemed from under the law. Once we become sons we are no longer slaves but instead heirs to the promise. If we are not adopted than we can never have a right to the inheritance!
- How are we adopted? - Gal 3:26-27 - “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” God adopts us through our faith in Christ when we are baptized.
-- Kevin Booker, Long Island Church of Christ
Ephesians 1:6
to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
Here’s the grace component of God’s foreknowledge. Because of God’s grace we can choose to be saved through the vehicle of adoption. The Grace part, which is what God predetermined, is God’s end of the bargain, His work. The next verse explains what God’s part was in the plan of adoption.
Ephesians 1:7
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace
3-
Redeemed
by the blood of the Lamb
4-
Forgiven
of our sins
Redemption = apo: reversal, completion, cessation, departure; lutron: something to loosen with, ransom; apolutrosis: (the act) ransom in full, i.e. (figuratively) riddance, or (specially) Christian salvation:--deliverance, redemption.
Our ransom, the price of sin, was paid in full through the
blood, the death, of Jesus. This ransom is the forgiveness of sins, what has
made us blameless and pure, because it was God’s will and desire (grace) richly
displayed on the cross of
Ephesians 1:8
that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
What was lavished (perisseuo : to superabound (in quantity or quality), be in excess, be superfluous, have enough and to spare, exceed) on us? His grace! With all wisdom and understanding! It was not something done because of pity, but in wisdom. It was not a whim, as if something He thought of last minute, but I was carefully executed and done in all His wisdom and understanding.
Ephesians 1:9
And he {8,9 Or <us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he>} made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,
5-
Chosen
to receive the greatest secrets of the universe
THE VEHICLE – THE CHURCH
Once redeemed through the vehicle of adoption, God reveals to us the mystery of His will, because He desires to tell us His secrets. What is the mystery? It is what He purposed in Christ. What did He purpose in Christ? The next verse has the answer.
Ephesians 1:10
to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment-- to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
The times he is talking about here is the time when the
church began to be the vehicle of our adoption by faith, 2000 years ago, when
in Acts
2:38 the doors were opened to the
All things in Heaven as well as on earth are brought together under Jesus in the church, which is His body as He is the Head. You cannot be under one head, Jesus, unless you are part of His body. This verse proves the church to be the universal vehicle of salvation, excluding any other religion or way of life in the universe.
The Plan of Salvation only received by Divine Revelation:
A- Dispensation (Oikonomia: administration; stewardship; “economy”) – it was planned and organized
B- When time reached fulfillment – under God’s control
C- Bringing all things under one Head – God’s plan
D-
A mystery can only be known by revelation
Richard Bagget, Sunset School of
Preaching
Ephesians 1:11
In him we were also chosen, {11 Or <were made heirs>} having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,
6-
Chosen
to obtain an inheritance
Here is how we were chosen to be heirs (inheritance: kleroo: to allot, i.e. (figuratively) to assign (a privilege):--obtain an inheritance): through God’s predetermined plan purposed in Christ as Head. You are made heirs by being part of the body of which He is Head. God will try to get you to find Him (Acts 17:24-31), determining the times and the places where you are so you can reach out to Him. He will use people, mostly His people to get you into His church, for it is in Christ that you are chosen. Outside of Him none can be chosen. Jesus is the predetermination, the predestination.
The church is made to be God’s inheritance
A- It is predetermined by the will of God
B- It is for the glory of God
C- The location is “in Christ”
D- God is working to this end
Richard Bagget,
Ephesians 1:12
in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
Now our very existence is for the praise and glory of God, since our hope is in Christ, and He is in us – the Hope of Glory! Here again is the mystery explained through the working of the church, whereas in Colossians it was explained from the perspective of the Preeminence of Christ.
Ephesians 1:13
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
7-
Marked
and sealed with the Holy Spirit of God
Into what were you included? When did you receive the mark? Here we can see the workings of the vehicle of salvation more specifically:
You are included in Christ, sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit when:
1- Hear the Word of truth, the Gospel that saves. How does it save?
a. Believe
b. Baptized (Acts 2:38): That’s when you receive the mark of the Holy Spirit
Ephesians 1:14
who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession-- to the praise of his glory.
The Holy Spirit is our down payment on Heaven – a pledge from God that we will receive the inheritance. Just like when you get on that train which is predetermined to go to ground zero, you receive a canceled stub saying you paid the price; but in our case, in Christ, He paid it all for us! We are God’s possession, again, to the praise of His glory.
We are predestined to be redeemed in Jesus! We are predetermined to receive an incredible inheritance!
Your inheritance will be given to you upon your redemption (Romans 8:23).
The Holy Spirit is our mark and our down payment:
A- Seal indicates an identifying mark
B- Sealing is in conjunction with obedience
C- The Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance of redemption
D- The progression is: heard – believed – sealed
Richard Bagget,
There is one phrase that is used three times in the first chapter that is important to explain. In verses 6, 12, and 14 -“ to the praise of his glory”:
- In all these verses Paul is explaining that God has done these things to give praise to His glory.
- What does glory (doxa) mean? - dignity, honor, praise, worship. Also defined as giving a correct estimate of something or of someone's worth. So when we glorify God, we are ascribing worth to Him and expressing who He is!
- God has done all the wonderful things listed in these verses to show who He his and how He is defined
- In verse 11 and 12 it says that we were chosen in order to be for the praise of His glory. Somehow we can give a correct estimate of God's worth by our lives! That is amazing! Before we came to Christ, when we were still in sin, we fell short of God's glory (Rom 3:23), meaning that we failed to reveal God in our character or actions. Now that we are in Christ and have the Holy Spirit living in us, God is able to reveal his character and qualities through our lives and actions.
-- Kevin Booker, Long Island Church of Christ
Ephesians 1:15
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,
Paul has heard from others who have testified to the faith and love of the Ephesian church. Their love and faithfulness was known throughout.
Ephesians 1:16
I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
PAUL’S PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH
The good news about the Ephesians causes Paul to be thankful in prayer (2Co 9:12). Their faith was expressed in deeds and manifested in love in such a way that other churches were touched by it. The work we do in love has the capacity of touching and affecting other brethren throughout the world.
Ephesians 1:17
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit {17 Or <a spirit>} of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians:
1- That the Father may give them the Spirit of wisdom (sophia) and revelation (apokalupsis: disclosure; manifestation), that they may know Him better (epignosis: full discernment; full acknowledgement)
We develop a more intimate relationship with God as His Spirit directs us in all wisdom through the Word in our lives. I believe to a certain extent that the Spirit helps us disclose certain things in our lives that may have been hidden. It is not a disclosure of the unknown, as the gift of revelation that comes from the spirit – the miraculous knowledge that was given to the apostle in the first century. This is something else Paul is speaking of here. I don’t believe he is speaking of the miraculous gift, since when he does it on other passages he always puts it within the context of the miraculous working of the Spirit. Paul here is speaking of how it is that the Spirit helps us mature and deepen our understanding of all the glorious riches we have in our eternal inheritance in Christ. He is talking about the disclosure and manifestation of God’s understanding in our minds as we uncover the truths of God through the His Word. The Spirit helps us understand these deep spiritual truths so that our discernment may be complete concerning God’s relationship with us. This, in turn, will increase our acknowledgement of His power and authority so that we completely turn ourselves to Him, resigning the worldly ways.
Some say that this passage is not applicable to us today because we have God’s Word, which is the full revelation and wisdom of God given to us by the Holy Spirit. Now we know that is true (2Tim 3:16,17; Heb 4:12,13; Ephe 6:17), but that doesn’t negate how the Spirit continues to work in our lives, even helping us understand the spiritual truths hidden in God’s Word (1Co 2:9-16). Without the Spirit of God you cannot understand spiritual truths, so the Holy Spirit to this day continues to help us uncover these truths that we may know everything we have in Christ. Not only in examining the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11) do we gain this understanding, but also in sharing and practicing what we learn (Philemon 1:6).
Ephesians 1:18
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
2- That their eyes of their heart (dianoia: deep thought, properly, the faculty (mind or its disposition), by implication, its exercise:-- imagination, mind, understanding) may be enlightened (photizo: to shed rays, i.e. to shine or (transitively) to brighten up (literally or figuratively):--enlighten, illuminate, (bring to, give) light, make to see), that they may know the hope, the riches of their inheritance
What are the eyes of our mind (heart in NIV)? Perhaps Luke 11:34-36 may shed some light into this. Our mind must think, imagine and understand from the perspective of light, not darkness, that we may look at our present earthly situation through God’s eyes of hope and righteousness and truth, and not our fleshly eyes that are full of greed and selfishness. Our heart needs to be open and transparent, receptive and yearning God’s word and the working of His Spirit in order for this to happen. If it doesn’t happen, Jesus says our whole body will be filled with darkness, and how great that darkness will be (Matthew 6:23)!
Those whose minds are enlightened know about their hope in Christ and understand the riches of their inheritance so they are not enticed and swept away by every evil desire.
Ephesians 1:19
and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,
3- That they may know the great power there is for those who believe
When you yearn for His discipline, allowing it to mold and cut through you, you will know the power at your disposal (Ephesians 3:20,21). There is great power for you if you believe. Didn’t Jesus say so (Mat 17:20)? Now the Spirit explains just what kind of power it is that is at work for us:
Ephesians 1:20
which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
JESUS – THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH – BY THE POWER OF GOD
This is the power that raised Jesus from the dead and holds all things together. This is the power of the Gospel (Romans 1:16,17; Ephesians 3:7)! The power that makes Jesus preeminent; that makes Him the Head of the Church!
Ephesians 1:21
far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
Here is a re-visitation of Jesus’ preeminence discussed in Colossians chapter 1. The power we have working for us is above anything on this earth and above anything in Heaven. He who gave Jesus His Title and His Power is the One working with us when we believe. Not only is this power above anything in this universe in this temporary age, but it is the power ruling the age to come. The Spirit is telling us to trust in God, for He is ruling from this age and the next. He is the One existing in the age to come and He wants us to come through with Him, through His vehicle, the Body of Christ, the Church.
Ephesians 1:22
And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,
God is the one who appointed. As head of the church Jesus overlooks everything and is responsible for everything. Don’t you think He is doing a good job? And look who he trusts to get the bulk of the work done! You! He chose you as the vehicle for the Good News of the redemption of mankind! Jesus is Head of the Church! If we don’t recognize the Body for whose it is and what it is and who is in charge, we stand condemned (1Co 11:29).
Ephesians 1:23
which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
The church is essential for you to belong to (2Peter 1:3). It is the body of Christ. He is the Head of the church. The church is not a man-made institution, it is a divine organism. It is the fullness (pleroma: copiousness, completion; repletion; plethora) of Jesus.
As the body is the fullness of Jesus, so Jesus fills everything up in this world. He holds the world together as we read in Colossians 1. The church, the body of Christ, is made to be God’s inheritance.
Four examples of the Power of God:
A- Raised Jesus from the dead
B- Exalted Christ
C- Subjected all things under His feet
D- Made Him head over all things for the church
Five areas of dominion given to Christ:
A- Seated at the right hand of God
B- Far above all rule, authority, power or dominion
C- Far above all names and titles
D- Over all things in the present and in the future
E- He is Head of the church
Richard Bagget,