Sunday 22 November 2020

Ephesians Study: 1: 3-14

Ephesians 1: 3-14 (ESV) 


Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fulness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 

11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. 

Paul’s style 

The first thing we notice in reading this passage is that it’s very dense. Paul packs a lot of big ideas into a very short space. There is a vivid intensity to the writing that his hard to see through. It’s as if he’s taken the whole of the Book of Hebrews and crushed it into 12 short verses. Huge ideas seem to tumble over one another in their excitement to be heard. 

The second thing we notice is breathlessness—especially if we are reading aloud, and especially if we’re using an older or a more formal translation. This is literal breathlessness. Verses 3-14 are written as a single sentence in Greek, though most translations break it up. As we read it, it can be hard to find a pause to breathe. 

  • Why would Paul open his letter with such a long sentence? 

There is a strong element of performance in this. As a Pharisee, Paul had probably been trained as an orator. While most of his Jewish peers would have been literate (not so much the Gentiles he’s writing to), they would not have had easy access to texts. Texts had to be hand-copied onto hand-made paper or parchment and were therefore very expensive. So, he engages with them through the spoken word. 

At the start of the letter, he seeks to grab the audience’s attention. 

In 6: 21, 22 it looks as if Tychicus is being sent to them with the letter. One can imagine him and Paul rehearsing how he was going to deliver it. 

What’s Paul Saying? 

We will have to break the section down into smaller pieces to get much sense out of it. 

William Barclay says: 

[The section vv.3-14] is so long and complicated because it represents not so much a reasoned statement as a lyrical song of praise. Paul's mind goes on and on, not because he is thinking in logical stages, but because gift after gift and wonder after wonder from God pass before his eyes. 

So, Paul, towards the end of his life, is writing to encourage and build up the young church at Ephesus, and he is still overwhelmed with excitement and amazement at what God has done. He’s like a kid in a sweet shop. He wants the receivers of the letter (including us, at 1900 years remove) to experience what he is feeling. 

We are Chosen: vv.3,4 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. 

Jesus said: John 15: 16: You did not choose me, but I chose you… 

If we chose God first, that would give us a position of supreme power, and it would reduce God himself to the level of a man-made idol. 

Isaiah 44: 13-17 
The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. 14 He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar, and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!” 

That’s ridiculous! 

God is not an idol, and cannot be reduced to a man-made representation. 

The only reason we get to ‘choose’ God at all, is because he is God! He made us to fellowship with him in purity; he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. 

  • What are the consequences for our faith that God chose us? 

God has chosen to bless us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places… 

We’ll talk about this more when we look at the first part of Chapter 2. He has chosen to ‘speak a good word’ to us. 

God has chosen us to be holy and blameless before him. 

Like priests… in fact, exactly like priests. 

  • How were OT priests chosen? 
  • How were they prepared for service (roughly)? 

They were different—separated—by birth and by function. When they were ‘priesting’ they were also physically distant because they were holy. 

In the modern Western church, we do not see ourselves as separate from the world. In fact, we have made an evangelistic point of appearing to be like the world. 

For the early church in a place like Ephesus, believers—saints—had no doubt that they were different. If they lived out the teaching in this letter, they would be startlingly different from their neighbours. This fact might well have cost them their lives. 

  • How important is holiness? 

God’s Plan: vv.5, 6 

In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 

We often allow ourselves to become hung-up on the word ‘predestined’, but actually, Paul is reiterating what he just said, that he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world

Where does this leave our free choice and our moral accountability? 

That’s a fair question, and a very big one. We are not going to do it justice here, but… 

God created us with a purpose—to be holy and blameless before him, and all that that entails. We bear his image, and we shine like lights in the world … but only in so much as we choose to. 

The prevailing situation on earth is that, without taking very positive steps to be disciples of Christ, we remain conformed to the pattern of this world. 

He chose us, but we must reciprocate that choice continually. This is why Paul repeatedly tells the people he corresponds with to live like this, not like that, as we shall see in chapters 4 and 5. 

I don’t want to go into the Roman practice of adoption, except to say that it was to do with inheritance rights. As in some cultures today, adults could be adopted and then groomed to become an heir (example: Julius Caesar and Octavian). 

God, our Father, has adopted us to be joint heirs with Christ. 

Gifts vv.7,8: 

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 

He has ‘lavished’ his grace upon us (I’m thinking of salt and vinegar on a round of fish and chips and the thought is making me hungry). He lavished his grace, but not carelessly. He did it with wisdom and insight (or discretion). 

As a result, we are we are redeemed or ‘saved’; our trespasses (moral sins) are forgiven

  • What does ‘redemption’ mean to you? 

The Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything vv.9,10: 

[He has made] known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fulness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 

If Ephesians has one single key verse (it’s debatable, but) I think it’s v.10 

What is the purpose of ‘all this’—of everything that has ever happened? If God is the all-wise, omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent Creator, his creation must necessarily have a purpose. 

Let’s park the idea of ‘things’ for a moment, and think of what is currently disunited … those are the things that he is in the process of uniting in Christ. Let’s think that through for a few moments. 

  • What divisions are we most aware of right now? 

Ethnic, religious, cultural, economic, political. Hurts, traumas, family rivalries, disagreements and dislikes. Arguments and disputes. 

And then the spiritual ‘things in heaven’… 

This is the mystery of his will. A ‘mystery’ in Scripture is something revealed that has hitherto been hidden. God is showing us something amazing. Barclay says: 

all history has been a working out of this process. Paul says that through all the ages there has been an arranging and an administering of things that this day of unity should come. 

Jews and Gentiles: vv.11-14 

11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. 

The word translated as ‘plan’ here is oikonomia—literally, household management or stewardship. This is what God has been doing since the Fall—and what the descendants of Adam should have been doing. 

‘We’ here refers to Jews. Paul is writing as a Jew, and we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory, so the Jews who believed in Christ got there first, and in him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. 

Actually, the Gentiles knew this already, because it was obvious to them. Having received the Holy Spirit and a hope in Christ, so that their lives made sense; it was the Jews among them who were struggling—and that’s why Paul put this in.

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