Ephesians (Page 2)
Racial Reconciliation – Part 4 (Ephesians 3:1)
In order to better understand Ephesians, we must first turn to why Paul is imprisoned and the circumstances leading up to his arrest in Acts 21-22.Rumors upon his return to JerusalemPaul was returning to Jerusalem with money for the poor Jewish believers there. This money had been collected from different Gentile churches (1 Corinthians 16.) When he arrived in Jerusalem the elders tell him that the Jews have heard rumors that he has rejected Judaism and the Bible. They wanted…
Racial Reconciliation – Part 3 (Ephesians 2:20-22)
As Paul continues to address the racial tension between Jews and Gentiles he has told us in verse 19 that in Jesus Jews and Gentiles are on the same standing before God and part of the same family.The house is built on the Apostles and prophetsPaul now uses the idea of a household as a building to drive home his point. Like all the many parts of a house are brought together to build a dwelling place so now all…
Racial Reconciliation – Part 2 (Ephesians 2:16-19)
As we saw last week, Paul is now addressing racial reconciliation, specifically between Jews and Gentiles. He has told us that Jesus is our peace, and that Jesus has broken down the wall between us so that now anyone has access to God through Jesus and your race or ethnicity does not matter. God judges us on the basis of Christ, not race.One body reconciled to GodGod had a two-fold purpose in the death of Christ. He reconciled us to…
Paul’s Prayer (Ephesians 1:17-18)
Wisdom Paul knows that God is a good Father Who gives good gifts to His children. Because of this He asks the Father to give the Ephesians wisdom. He wants them to understand the world around them and how God has ordered it. He wants them to know how to conduct themselves in this world and make wise decisions in light of what God has revealed. Revelation of Jesus He then prays that God might reveal to them knowledge of…
What Truly Matters (Ephesians 1:15-16)
Wherefore In light of the spiritual blessings that are in Christ Paul draws a conclusion: faith in Christ is what matters. If we truly believe in the spiritual blessings that are in Christ we will seek only one thing, genuine faith in Christ. Inheritances, the economy, popularity, family relationships, acceptance by our neighbors, financial success, business success, etc. does not really matter if there are spiritual blessings in Christ. What we value shows a lot about what we truly believe.…
Co-Heirs with Christ (Ephesians 1:11-14)
The Apostles have an inheritance Paul now turns his attention away from the Ephesians and speaks about himself and his co-laborers. By God’s grace he has been predestined for an inheritance. This was God’s plan for Paul and the Apostles. God purposed to give them a wonderful inheritance. God is glorified by the Apostles God has saved Paul and the Apostles as a display of His grace. This work He has done so that He would be glorified. This was…
God’s Eternal Plan (Ephesians 1:10)
God has purposed and administered all of timeAs we have seen, God purposed in Himself before the foundation of the world to save His people. Here we read that God’s purposes stretch farther than that. Not only did God plan our salvation before the foundation of the world, He is currently watching over all things and directing all of time to His desired end. The word translated “dispensation” comes from a Greek word meaning to administer or steward. God has…
The Infinite Wisdom of God (Ephesians 1:8-9)
God has poured out His grace upon us Paul here continues this thought of God’s extravagant grace poured out on us. It was not just poured out in forgiving us; it has also been poured out in God revealing His wisdom and prudence to us. God’s wisdom God has shown us how wise He is. The word for wisdom here is “sophia” from which we get the word “philosophy” (love of wisdom.) Who could conceive of such a glorious plan…
Rich in Grace (Ephesians 1:7-8)
In Him As Paul continues to tell the Ephesians about how blessed they are he keeps using the phrase “in Him” or some variation of it. He is trying to hammer into our heads that we are not blessed in who we are or what we have done; we are only blessed in Christ. All of our blessings flow from Him. Every blessing is only found in Jesus. Redemption The next blessing we have in Christ is redemption. Redemption simply…
Adoption (Ephesians 1:5-6)
In love Paul uses the phrase “in love” to connect how God has chosen us before the foundation of the world with God predestining us to adoption. God has done all of this because of His great love for His people. He predestined us to adoption The word predestined literally means to determine beforehand. Before the foundation of the world and before we had ever done any good or evil God determined that He would adopt us. In the process…
Chosen by God (Ephesians 1:4)
Paul has just told Christians that they are blessed with spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ. What are these blessings? Chosen Paul immediately begins by talking about predestination. So often predestination is a source of controversy or confusion. However, Paul sees predestination as a source of comfort. We are so inclined to view salvation as us choosing God, but here Scripture tells us that our salvation was brought about because God chose us. People who are proud and successful…
Truly Blessed (Ephesians 1:1-3)
As we learned in the background of Ephesians, the church at Ephesus was facing financial loss and persecution. The more faithful they were to the Gospel the more their economy dried up. The more faithful they were to Christ the more their neighbors hated and persecuted them. The more they followed Jesus the harder things got. The closer they walked with the Lord the more their blessings disappeared. Wrong theology This brings us to a major paradox of the Christian…