Being the Beneficiaries in God's Will Now

[HKHaugan]

Ephesians 1

I’d like to suggest that Pauls’ letter to Ephesian believers may be a key epistle for today’s believers. Of course all of Scripture fits any age but sometimes the age demands direct response from believers and Ephesians fits the bill to help. The dynamics of Ephesian life was not unlike those of cities in our own time.

To get a feel for Ephesus you look at its history. It was a major commercial center in Asia Minor and as far as Paul was concerned was critical for the spread of the Gospel. Besides the city’s commercial function its central attraction was the Temple of Diana (Roman) aka Artemis (Greek), a touristy draw that created a large industry providing talismans and silver statues (Acts 19), an embedded economic icon in that area. It remained such even after its failed harbor, due to silting, reduced its economic importance.

We have to understand the economic climate of the time. Any town could not survive more than 2-3 weeks if besieged. Life was tenuous; disease and life expectancy were major issues. Add to that the atmosphere of their survival’s dependence on the fertility of vegetation, livestock and procreation of family. Natural disasters, like earthquakes common to the region, could wipe an area out in a matter of minutes. So it’s easy to see how mankind would develop elaborate religious systems based on fertility since it was perceived as central to their survival.

The Diana religion provided a perfect fit. Centered in the promise of the goddess providing fertility for its believers it had thousands of adherents. Its physical symbol was the presence of a supposed meteorite, around which the temple was built, believed to have been sent by the goddess. In reality it was a religion based on sexual exploitation. It had priestesses and courtesans that would do a tour of duty offering themselves in her temple. It’s easy to imagine that what happened in Ephesus stayed in Ephesus as is said today of Las Vegas. Human nature has not changed. One can envision people coming home from Ephesus with one of the Temple’s souvenirs and placing it on the mantel piece for their guests to see so they could say “Been there, done that, got the statue.”

Politically and socially, Rome held the power and the populations of its colonies were considered less human than Roman citizens. So it was all about working hard to become a citizen or at least cozying up to the local power structure which was controlled by Rome. Couple these with the tenuousness of life’s brevity and you have survival anxiety ruling the depressive atmosphere of the world. It was a ‘get-what-you-can-while-you-can’ time and hope was not a social commodity. It was time for a savior to appear and Jesus came at the right time for all time. Perhaps we can understand Jesus’ direct action toward Paul on the Damascus road.

It has some of the same flavor as that of the Lord meeting Joshua on the road to Jericho prior to the taking of that town after they cross the Jordan to enter the Promised Land. The parallel here is quite significant. In the Old Testament the Promised Land is the land of Israel. In the New Testament the Promised Land is the spiritual Kingdom of God in the heart of the believer who accepts Jesus as Savior and Lord. Both are entered by faith. Thus Paul’s emphasis on justification by faith as the major doctrine he brings to the forefront of his teaching in the last days of his life while imprisoned in Rome.

There are 3 major references to Ephesus in Scripture, Acts 19, Paul’s letter and Revelation. If you want to get a feel for what Paul faced Acts 19 is a start. It is also the first of the 7 churches John writes about in Revelation. So we have more information about Ephesus than any other of the towns in the New Testament except maybe for Jerusalem.

Now into the epistle itself.

It was written during Paul’s 2 yr. imprisonment in Rome about 60 AD. As you read it you can almost feel the intensity of his spirit facing two enormous kingdoms, the Empire of Rome in which, in its capital city, he is living physically and the Kingdom of God in which, in his heart, he is living as a faith born experience. Throughout all of his epistles you get the feel of the battle between the two that he is going through. This is what makes this epistle so contemporary. Its first three chapters are the Kingdom of God particulars and the last three chapters are our new life sharing them in the secular world. We should be feeling the same tension and how Paul understands it in the Holy Spirit’s revelation to him. Here in Ephesians is Paul’s most eloquent presentation of what God has accomplished through Jesus on behalf of mankind and the needed response on the part of the believer. Also we can see why Paul would do no other than appeal to the emperor in Rome to plead his case as a Roman citizen who believed in Jesus.

So Ephesians is best viewed as 2 sections, God’s action in Jesus, chs.1-3 and our response in chs.4-6. It’s in the first section that we get one of the most eloquently developed insights into the mind of God and His perfect will for mankind. It is evidence of the Holy Spirit’s impress on Paul. You get the same feel when you read his second letter to the Corinthians and he talks about being caught up in the third heaven. He is thinking and reasoning in a Kingdom perspective. If there is one thing about Paul it is the fact of his consuming spirituality that stands in the foreground of his writing.

So let’s start with 1:1 …Paul, Gk. Paulos, little. Saul, Heb., asked of God. Apostle, Gk., sent from. Then we have Gk. Christos, Gk. anointed one used for the Heb. Hamashia, messiah followed by, Jesus, one who saves, Heb. Yeshua, Jehovah is salvation. Let’s remember that Paul is an Old Testament man and for him Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament from Genesis-Malachi. Steeped in the ‘hamashia’ idea, the coming of the Messiah, all of what we call the Old Testament was a springboard for his understanding of Jesus. The word Lord was the substitute word for God, a holy name too holy to be pronounced, its original spelling and pronunciation lost in history because it was too holy to be used openly. Adonai, Lord, was used in its place thus when we see Lord in the Old Testament, think Jesus. Saints, Gk. ta hagia, holy ones---Holy is for God---holy is for those who are set apart for God’s service. Ephesus is a ,Greek name for, desirable.

Vs.2 Grace, xaris, grace,--- eirenay, peace from the Father, (think Gk. pater) ultimate authority and abba (Aramaic), loving, merciful and compassionate and the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The introduction sets the stage for all that he will say. Paul is establishing his authority, the elite standing of the believer and the bond of faith in Jesus that holds all of them together.

Vs.3 begins the panoramic view of the thoughtful, thought out, thought structure God provides for us to experience all that He has done for us. He begins a list of 9 spiritual specifics through to vs.14 to impress on the mind the spiritual horizon God has laid out before us. His intention is to bring the mind into the intellectual breadth of meaning, significance and purpose. If the mind can be reached and a logical sequence built then the next step is the heart and the need to build trust in God, trust in Jesus and then faith for the human spirit to leave its fear and walk in faith empowered by the Holy Spirit.

So in vs.3 the list begins with an overall blessing in which is contained blessings that are specifically named through vs.13. As you read note the intensity of Paul’s insights. He has been given these insights by the Holy Spirit and he knows their source so he lets them flow. He wants the reader to grasp how much the work of God has been a real work on their behalf. What Jesus has accomplished could only have been done by God the Son and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The list:
1. Vs.3 He blessed us---blessing is barakah, God’s touch.
2. Vs.4 He chose us in Jesus…to be holy and blameless before Creation!
3. Vs.5 He predestined us to be adopted as His sons in love.
4. Vs.6 He has given us grace, see vs.8 as well, to the praise of His glorious grace!
5. Vs.7 He has given us redemption through His blood
6. Vs.9 He has made known the mystery of His will…vs.10---to bring all things in Heaven and earth together under one Head, Jesus Christ.
7. Vs.11-12 He chose us to be the praise of His glory
8. Vs.13 We were also chosen to be included in Christ when we heard the word of truth
9. Vs.13b We were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance---to the praise of His glory.

Next we’ll spell out why this list is so contemporary.