Ephesians 1 (Part 1) - Bible Study Time 3-20-05

Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians are Paul’s prison epistles to the churches. We refer to them as prison epistles because they were written while Paul was imprisoned at Rome, and they stand apart from Paul’s earlier epistles which we call the pre-prison epistles or the Acts period epistles.

The prison epistles are unique in that they were written after Israel’s New Covenant Kingdom program was set aside. They are, therefore, written exclusively to the Church which is the Body of Christ, the church of our present age.

During the Acts period, God was still offering the New Covenant Kingdom to the nation of Israel. As a result, many of the aspects of Israel’s kingdom program are detected in Paul’s Acts period epistles. In these epistles we see miracles, wonder and signs as well as the ordinances of water baptism and the Lord's Supper. All of these things are conspicuously absent from Paul's prison epistles.

In the book of Acts, we read that Paul first visited Ephesus at the end of his second missionary journey, but he was able to stay for only a short time. After a quick visit to Jerusalem and Antioch of Syria, Paul went right back to Ephesus where he spent nearly 3 years, preaching and teaching the gospel of the grace of God. Paul saw many people come into a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ while he was in Ephesus, and he was able to help them grow in grace and in their knowledge of the Lord Jesus.

Ultimately, Paul left for Macedonia and Greece, but on his way back to Jerusalem, he stopped at Miletus and called for the elders of the Ephesian church. When the elders arrived, Paul told them that they would see his face no more because he was going to Jerusalem where he would be greeted with chains and tribulation. The Bible says that before Paul said his final farewell to these precious fellow-laborers in Christ:

Acts 20:37-38 NKJV
37 . . . they all wept freely, and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him,
38 sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.

When Paul got to Jerusalem, he was arrested and ultimately taken to Rome where God declared through Paul His final judgment upon the Jews of that generation. In the last chapter of the book of Acts, Paul said, "Lo, we turn to the Gentiles," and this signaled the end of God's kingdom offer to the Jews of that generation.

With Israel's New Covenant Kingdom program set aside, God gave Paul the freedom to reveal the full truth of the mystery concerning the Church which is the Body of Christ, and these great truths are spelled out for us in Paul's letters to the Ephesians, the Philippians and the Colossians.

In Ephesians, Chapter 1 we read:

Ephesians 1:1 NKJV
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:

Paul considered it a great privilege to be called as an apostle of Jesus Christ. This was a very unique privilege for Paul because he never walked with the Lord Jesus while Jesus was ministering on the earth. However, he did personally see the risen Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus, and shortly after that Paul receive his calling as an apostle.

There on the road to Damascus, Paul asked the Lord, “What do you want me to do?” In response, the Lord said, “Arise and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.” Then the Lord told Ananias to go to Paul and encourage him because God had called Paul as a chosen vessel to be God's witness to Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.

Well, Paul did consider it a privilege to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, but this book of Ephesians does not focus on Paul; it focuses rather on God and on all that God has done for the faithful in Christ Jesus. In this first chapter, we find the following:

In verse 2, Paul reminds us that our grace and peace are from God.

In verse 5, Paul says that all believers were predestined to be the adopted sons of God.

In verse 7, believers have redemption and forgiveness according to God’s grace.

In verse 9, believers now have the opportunity to understand the mystery of God’s will.

In verse 11, God works His master plan in accordance with the counsel of His own will.

In verse 12, the calling of believers is to the praise of God’s glory.

In verse 18, believers are called to know the hope of God’s calling and the riches of the glory of God's inheritance in the saints.

In verse 19, Paul prays that we might know the exceeding greatness of God’s power.

Indeed, this first chapter is all about God and what we as believers have as a result of God’s grace.

This epistle is written to the saints at Ephesus, and it is clear that a saint is one who has been sanctified or set apart by Jesus Christ. A person becomes a saint by exercising his or her free will. Those who chose to believe in Jesus Christ are set apart from the rest of humanity. We are justified and sanctified by faith in the cleansing power of the shed blood of Christ.

If a person is not a saint in this life, they have no hope of becoming a saint in the next life. To be set apart by God and given eternal salvation, one must chose to believe in Christ at some point before they die, for it is appointed unto man once to die and then the judgment.

This epistle to the Ephesians was written not only to the saints at Ephesus, but to all of the faithful in Christ Jesus for it is written to the Church which is the Body of Christ. In the Church, the Body of Christ, there is no distinction between Jews and Gentiles, men and women, rich or poor, young or old. Today, all saints belong to the Church which is the Body of Christ, and the position of each member in that body is significant.

To all the faithful in Christ Jesus, Paul says:

Ephesians 1:2
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace is the free and undeserved love and favor of God. In this expression “grace to you” we see the apostle’s true concern for the welfare of his dear friends at Ephesus as well as for all the faithful in Christ Jesus. He wants only the very best for them as they experience all of God’s blessings. He wishes them grace and peace from God for there can be no peace apart from grace, and there can be no grace apart from God. Romans 5 says:

Romans 5:1 NKJV
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

And we know from the book of Philippians, Chapter 4, that:

Philippians 4:7 NKJV
7 . . . the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard (our) hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

The peace of God is a powerful offensive weapon, but it is also part of our defensive armor. When people see someone who has genuine peace, they become curious. They want to know what it is that gives that person peace even in the midst of trials and difficulties. When the demons of Satan see genuine peace in a believer, they start looking for other victims. They know that they have no weapon that can compete with the peace that surpasses all understanding.

The peace of God is powerful enough to give us direction in our lives. Colossians 3 says:

Colossians 3:14-15 NKJV
14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts . . .

When we let the peace of God rule in our hearts, Satan cannot discourage us. He cannot lure us into sin. And he cannot draw us into an attitude of arrogance or pride. The peace of God will lift us up when we are discouraged. It will convict us when we are tempted. And it will bring humility to resist the snare of pride.

In verse 3 of Ephesians 1, Paul says:

Ephesians 1:3
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

When we study the book of Ephesians, we are walking on high and holy ground. This is the first of five times that Paul alludes to the heavenly places in this short letter. In this verse we see that we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. In verse 20, Christ is seated at God’s right hand in the heavenly places. In verse 6 of chapter 2, believers are raised and seated in Christ in the heavenly places. In verse 10 of chapter 3, our witness is to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. In verse 12 of chapter 6, we battle against the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.

The book of Ephesians sets the members of the Church, the Body of Christ, apart from the church which we see in the Old Testament scriptures. And it also sets us apart from the church of the New Covenant which had the hope of Israel's earthly kingdom. Our realm of blessing today is in the heavens, and our promised blessings are spiritual in nature.

We have no claim to the physical health and wealth that was promised to the church of the Old Covenant Law. Nor do we claim the miracles, wonders and signs that were given to the church of the New Covenant during the Gospels and the book of Acts. We are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. We, therefore, press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Phil 3:14)

There is nothing in this world that can compare to the spiritual blessings that we have in Jesus Christ. Money can't buy them, and outward miracles can't guarantee them. Seven of our spiritual blessings are laid out for us here in this first chapter of Ephesians. In verse 4, we have been chosen in Christ. In verse 5, we have been predestined to adoption as sons. In verse 6, we have been accepted in Christ. In verse 7, we have been redeemed through the blood of Christ. In verse 9, we have been instructed in the mystery of God’s will. In verse 13, we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. In verse 14, we have been given an inheritance in Jesus Christ. These are blessings are a gift from God to all those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:4
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

As members of the Church which is the Body of Christ, we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. God alone is all knowing and all powerful. Therefore, only God would be able to give all people absolute freedom of choice and at the same time know exactly what each person’s choice would be. As we look at scripture, we see that this is exactly what God has done for us. Whom He did foreknow, He did also predestinate to be the Sons of God.

This points to the eternal nature of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was with the Father in the beginning before the creation of all things, and we were chosen to be in Christ at that time. There is no holiness within us, and the guilt of our sin cannot be laid off onto anyone else, but by God’s grace, we were given a position of holiness because we were positioned in Christ before the foundation of the world.

This does not, however, excuse those who refuse to believe in Jesus Christ. John said that Jesus Christ gives light to every person that comes into the world, and it is God’s desire that every person should be saved. John 3 says:

John 3:17-21 NKJV
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life, and those who come to the truth are challenged to walk in the light of Christ. I John 1 says:

1 John 1:6-10 NKJV
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

Those who see the light of Jesus Christ and accept the blood of Christ as that which cleanses them from sin can look back to the beginning of time and see that they were chosen to be in Christ before the foundation of the world so that they might be holy and without blame in the sight of God.