Ephesians

Ephesians 2:1-10

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No Brag. Just Fact.

Ephesians 2:1-10

Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. – Ephesians 2:9 NLT

These first ten verses of chapter two of Ephesians are some of the richest, deepest and most profound words found in the entire Bible. In them, we have a succinct summary of the Gospel and its impact on the lives of men. Paul seems to be trying to get the Ephesian believers to understand just how marvelous this gift is that they had received. He has already told them that he prays for them constantly, asking God to give them spiritual wisdom and insight so that they might grow to know God better. He regularly prays that they understand the great power available to them because of Christ’s death and resurrection. Now he wants them to understand the unbelievable, radical nature of their salvation experience.

First, he reminds them of their pre-conversion condition. It is not a pretty picture, but it aptly and honestly describes the state of every human being who has ever lived – until they come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior. “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil — the commander of the powers in the unseen world” (Ephesians 2:1-2 NLT). Paul doesn’t mince words, because he wants them to understand just how bad things were before Christ entered their lives. They had been spiritually dead – completely incapable of doing anything good. In fact, they had been under the control of Satan himself, just like every other human being who lives apart from Christ. As a result, they were controlled by their sin natures, unable to do anything but give in to their own sinful desires and passions. And their sinful lifestyles placed them directly under the wrath of God. God is holy and righteous and must deal with sin in a manner consistent with His character. Sin is ultimately rebellion against God and His divine will. And as a righteous King, He must punish that rebellion.

But …

That word is incredibly significant. It sets up an incredible juxtaposition that vividly illustrates the amazing transformation that takes place in the life of the individual who finds themselves suddenly standing in a right relationship with God. Paul reminds the believers of the bad news, so that they might truly appreciate the good news. “But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) (Ephesians 2:4-5 NLT).

But God …

Notice those words. It doesn’t say, “But man…”  No, it starts with God, because the entire story of man’s salvation begins and ends with God. It was His plan. It required His Son. It is based on His love, grace and mercy. It depends on the power of His Holy Spirit. He is the one who gives new life. He is the one who extends mercy. He is the one who saves, forgives, redeems, and restore. It has nothing to do with us. All we bring to the relationship is our sin. We have nothing about us that even remotely deserves or earns God’s favor or love. He loves us in spite of us. God saves us by His grace, and we can’t take credit for anything. “Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” (Ephesians 2:9 NLT). And boast about it we would. Even now, with all we understand about God’s grace, we still try to take some kind of credit for our salvation. We somehow think we really did deserve it in some way. We were better than most. We had lived fairly decent lives. God looked down and saw something redeemable and loveable about us. But Paul says, “No!” Salvation is NOT a reward. It is undeserved and completely unmerited. It is the work of God – completely.

When it comes to man’s salvation, God gets the glory because God does all the work. He did for man what man could not do for himself. “So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7 NLT). We are, in a way, trophies that reflect the amazing grace of God. Every individual who has ever been transformed from death to life, from slavery to sin to freedom in Christ, from condemned to pardoned, is a testimony to the incredible grace, love, and mercy of God. “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” (Ephesians 2:10 NLT). No brag. Just fact.

Father, thank You for this timely reminder today. I need to hear this every day of my life. I need to be reminded over and over again of the reality of who I was before You chose to redeem and restore me to a right relationship with You. I was nothing. I was dead in my sins. I was a slave to the enemy and in direct rebellion against You. I deserved death. But You gave me life. I deserved condemnation. But You showed me grace. I deserved wrath. But You showered me with Your love and mercy. I once was lost but now I’m found. Thanks to YOU! Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Ephesians 1:15-23

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Limitless Power.

Ephesians 1:15-23

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 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. – Ephesians 1:19-20 NLT

Paul was a praying man. His letters are filled with the prayers he prayed on behalf of God’s people. They give a glimpse into his heart and into what he believed to be of highest priority when it came to the lives of the people of God. First of all, Paul continually thanked God for all those whom He had restored to a right relationship with Himself through faith in Christ. Paul did not take the salvation of a single individual for granted. He viewed it as the redemptive work of a gracious God, who was not obligated to save a single soul. But Paul was not content with their salvation, he knew that God wanted to bring about their sanctification. So he prayed to that end. He asked God to give them spiritual wisdom and insight so that they might grow in their knowledge of Him. They needed God to give them the capacity and cognitive ability to see Him at work all around them. It is one thing to read the stories of God’s interactions with mankind recorded in the Scriptures. But it is another thing to be able to see and experience the interactions of God in your own life as He interjects Himself into the daily affairs of each day. That is when we really get to know Him – experientially, not just intellectually.

Paul also prayed that the “eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18-19 NASB). Paul wanted them to see things from a spiritual, not an earthly perspective. He wanted them to develop the ability to see things from God’s point of view. Rather than focus solely on the things of this earth, they were to see things through a new set of lenses. Believers are to be people of hope. We have a future. We have an inheritance. And we have a power available to us that is unlike anything else in this world. It is the very same power that raised Christ from the dead. Paul describes it this way: “This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 1:19-20 NLT). Paul told the Romans that this power was not some disembodied energy source, but the Spirit of God Himself. “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you” (Romans 8:11 NLT). We have this incredible source of power living within us in the form of the Holy Spirit. And Paul prayed that all believers would come to recognize and rely on that power. We have not been left defenseless in this world. We have not been left to fend for ourselves. The very same power that raised Christ from death to life is available to us each and every day of our lives. And the Holy Spirit gives life to our mortal, earthly bodies. This is not just a reference to some future event when we will be give new, resurrected bodies in heaven. It is talking about the here and now. Jesus said that He had come to give us life more abundantly. The Spirit makes that possible. Jesus also declared, “Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’ (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)” (John 7:38-39 NLT). The Spirit within us is a source of power and life.

But far too often, we find ourselves still operating in our own strength and limited to our own feeble energy. We miss out on the abundant life that Jesus promised. We feel helpless against our own sin nature and can’t seem to put to death the natural, sinful passions that still well up inside us at times. All because we fail to recognize and avail ourselves of the power available to us through the Holy Spirit. So Paul prayed that we would understand this great power given to us directly from God. But Paul wasn’t interested in us having an intellectual understanding of the Holy Spirit. He wanted it to be practical, helpful, and life transforming. As believers we must wake up to the reality that we have God’s power within us. We have Christ, sitting at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us. And as members of the body of Christ, His Church, He has authority over us. In fact, Christ has authority over ALL things. We have an all-powerful heavenly Father who loves us and has His best in store for us, an all-powerful Savior who is some day coming back for us, and an all-powerful Holy Spirit who lives within us and is constantly transforming us into the likeness of Christ. Paul prayed that the reality of those things would become increasingly clear to us. Because when we discover the truth of those claims, we are able to live with hope, joy, peace, patience, endurance, love and power.

Father, I confess that far too often I live in my own feeble strength, then wonder why things don’t turn out quite like I was expecting. I fail to understand that this life was not meant to be lived in my own strength. If I could do it on my own, I wouldn’t need You and there would have been no need for Your Son to die. But He did. And I need the power that He has made available. As Paul prayed, I ask that You would give me spiritual wisdom and insight. Help me see You at work around me and in me. Help me understand, appreciate and tap into the power You have made available to me. Give me an eternal perspective that views the world through Your eyes and not mine. Never let me forget that Jesus is in control of ALL things, and I have no reason to worry, fret, doubt, or despair. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Ephesians 1:1-14

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Chosen By God.

Ephesians 1:1-14

 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.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. – Ephesians 1:4-5 NLT

Paul sat in a Roman prison, dictating his latest letter to yet another church, desiring to encourage them in their faith and strengthen them as they lived out that faith in daily life as a body of believers. Paul’s desire is to reveal to them the uniqueness of their position as believers and the necessity of their presence within the corporate community of Christ. It is important to remember that this letter is written to the church as a whole, not to individual believers. While there are certainly messages we can apply to our individual lives, Paul’s intent was to address the needs of the family of believers. He starts out his letter addressing them as “God’s holy people in Ephesus.” The Greek word he uses is hagios, which is usually translated “saints.” The Thayer’s Greek Lexicon defines this word as “things which on account of some connection with God possess a certain distinction and claim and claim to reverence.” It can also mean “to be set apart for God for His use.” So Paul addresses his letter to those in Ephesus who have been set apart by God for His use and according to His divine purposes for them. Paul does not want them to lose sight of the fact that God chose them and set them apart for a reason. Amazingly, God chose each and every one of the believers in Ephesus “even before he made the world” (Ephesians 1:4 NLT). “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” (Ephesians 1:5 NLT). In other words, the salvation of each and every individual in Ephesus was not happenstance or left up to each individual’s whim – this was the work of God. Think about it. If God had determined far in advance those whom would come to faith in Christ, then He would have had a plan in place for each and every one of them. We tend to think of the church as a motley collection of individuals with little or nothing in common except their faith in Christ. And while that may appear true on the surface, what Paul seems to be telling us is that there is a divine strategy or plan to what is taking place. God is adopting into His family those whom He has chosen, and there is a method to His seeming madness. Rather than question the fairness of it all, Paul’s response to this amazing fact is praise. “So we praise God for the glorious grace his has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son” (Ephesians 1:6 NLT). He is blown away at the grace, mercy and love of God. He is amazed at the forethought and planning of God.

Paul wants the believers in Ephesus to understand that their placement into God’s family and the local body of Christ in Ephesus was the work of God. He has placed each of them into His family and under the authority of Christ. They are no longer independent individuals, but interdependent members of Christ’s body. They have been united with Christ and with one another. God has placed His Holy Spirit within each one of them, and His presence is a guarantee that some day they will ALL experience God’s final redemption and ultimate glorification together. These same individuals will spend eternity together.

Like any group of people who have been drawn together under some common cause or mutual interest, they were going to find plenty of reasons for concentrating on their differences. They would discover more than enough causes to argue about and ample excuses to find fault with one another. They would find it easy to discover those things about which they disagree. So Paul’s intent is to remind them that God had chosen them and placed them together for a reason. The very fact that there were Jews and Gentiles in the same church was ample proof that this was a God thing. Their church was made up of rich and poor, slaves and freeman, educated and uneducated, old and young, and singles and married couples. And Paul knew that this diverse blend of individuals could be a recipe for disaster and disunity unless they constantly reminded themselves of their God-ordained unity in Christ. They had been chosen by God and set apart for His purposes and plan. The body of Christ is not about me or you. It is about US. It is about the body, not the individual parts. Together, we can and should accomplish the will of God. Together, we have what it takes to do what God has set us apart to do. This letter will drive home those messages over and over again as Paul promotes the value and necessity of the body of Christ in the life of the believer. We are His people, and we exist to accomplish His plan – together.

Father, thank You for this unique organism called the body of Christ – Your Church. Give me the ability to see it as a single organism with a single purpose, not as some collection of individuals who each have their own agenda and separate cause to pursue. Make the reality and necessity of the body of Christ come alive to me as I read this letter again with a critical eye and an understanding of Your purpose for Your church. Amen.

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org