The Letter to the Ephesians

SONG OF A SINGING HEART  Read Ephesians 1:1-12

   Paul can hardly wait, as he begins this letter to the Christian people at Ephesus, to burst into a hymn of praise. His heart is filled with rapture; he is singing with heavenly joy because of the spiritual blessings God has provided true believers in Christ.

   To us [he says] the Father has disclosed the mystery of his original purpose, which was — and is — to head up everything in the universe in Christ. This will occur in the fullness of time. And we, who have been redeemed through his blood, adopted, and made objects of grace in the beloved, can be absolutely certain of our inheritance. Why? Because God wills it. He has predestined us to the praise of his glory.

MAY GOD TAKE YOU EVEN DEEPER  Read 1:13-23

   You Ephesians are included in this promised inheritance because you also trusted in Christ after hearing the gospel of your salvation, and were then sealed with the Holy Spirit. I am indeed thankful for the good reports of your faith in the Lord Jesus. I pray that God will lead you into a deeper knowledge of himself, by an inner spiritual illumination, so that you will realize the splendor of your heritage in Jesus and the meaning of God's call in your life.

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   Particularly I pray that you will appreciate the mighty strength God wrought for us in Christ, in raising him from the dead. For now Christ is in complete and universal authority, seated at the Father's right hand, commanding this age and the age to come, and head over all things to the church, which is his body.

REMEMBER HOW YOU USED TO BE?  Read 2:1-10

   You yourselves, my Asian friends, used to behave according to the fashion of the times, giving in to your deadly lusts and desires; in fact we all did, but God loved us so much that he made us alive with Christ to prove forever the exceeding riches of his grace. For it is his grace that saves us through faith, not anything we ourselves do. God gave us his salvation as a gift lest any man should boast. So a saved man is really his workmanship, designed in Christ Jesus to walk in good works.

JESUS CHRIST IS OUR PEACE  Read 2:11-18

   In the past you Gentiles were not only strangers to God, but were alienated from Israel, cut off from the covenant of promise and without hope. All that is now changed. Jesus Christ has, by reconciling us to God through his own blood, broken down the fence between Jew and Gentile — that is, between men of every race — and has become our peace by destroying the old enmity based on laws and ordinances.

WE ARE NOW IN GOD'S FAMILY Read 2:19-22

   So now we, as believers, are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's family. Together we make a well-constructed building, each part fitting into its place, forming a temple with Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.

GOD'S SPECIAL COMMISSION TO PAUL  Read 3:1-6

   You may have heard of God's special revelation of his mystery to me, which was previously not made known to men, but is now revealed to his apostles by the Holy Spirit. The disclosure was that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs with God's covenant people and so share in the promises of the gospel.

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UNSEARCHABLE RICHES TO GENTILES  Read 3:7-13

   So, although I am the least of all saints, I was set apart and given grace to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. In other words, I am now enlightening the Gentiles as to God's divine plan for them, which was, as I say, mysteriously hidden from past ages, but which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. In fact I am in prison right now on this account, but don't let it worry you.

WHAT GOD CAN DO THROUGH US  Read 3:14-21

   I want you to know that I am praying for you, asking God to strengthen you by his Spirit in the inner man. I long to see Christ actually dwelling in your hearts by faith. I want you to grasp the full dimensions of his love — its breadth, and length, and depth, and height — and be filled with all the fullness of God. Let there be glory in the church to our God who is able through Christ to do such great things — things beyond all imagining — according to the power that works in us.

THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT  Read 4:1-6

   So, as a prisoner in the Lord, I urge you to fulfill your vocation as Christians, with a consistent demonstration of humility, gentleness, loving forbearance and peaceableness. As there is unity in God's Spirit, so there should be unity in the body of Christ, which is his church.

THE DIFFERENTIATION OF FUNCTION  Read 4:7-16

   Yet, at the same time, we are blessed with differing gifts. When our Lord ascended into heaven, as the psalmist prophesied, he gave gifts to men [see Psalm 68:18]. These gifts of his grace have endowed some with the qualifications to serve as apostles; others as prophets; still others as evangelists, pastors and teachers. All of them are to work together strategically to build up the body of Christ and to bring us to mature manhood, so that we can withstand extremes of doctrine. By growing up into Christ and speaking the truth in love, we are able to function harmoniously and to make a strong, united witness as a church.

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YOU ARE TO PUT ON THE NEW MAN  Read 4:17-24

   This means, of course, that you are no longer to walk the vain path that other Gentiles have taken: alienated from God, blind, ignorant, licentious, with a craving for unclean things. For you have not so learned Christ. You were taught — if you listened — that you were to put off the old man — the corrupt conduct of your past — and put on the new man which, after God, is created in righteousness and holiness. This means a renewing of the spirit of your mind.

SEE THAT YOU SPEAK CONSTRUCTIVELY  Read 4:25-32

   Since we are members one of another, we should deal squarely with each other, curb our anger, stop stealing, work hard and give generously to the underprivileged. We are to keep our conversation positive and constructive and avoid grieving the Holy Spirit in anything. We are to be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake forgave us.

TEST EVERYTHING BY WHAT GOD WANTS  Read 5:1-13

   The Christian way is to walk in love, just as the love of our souls, Jesus Christ, did in offering himself for us. There is no place among you for fornication or covetousness or filthy habits or stupid talk; rather season your speech with thanksgiving. You know perfectly well that men with greedy hands and lecherous minds are not about to inherit the kingdom of God. Walk as children of light; test everything by what is acceptable unto the Lord, and have no fellowship with the children of disobedience — but rather expose them.

BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT  Read 5:14-21

   Christ tells us to wake up, to redeem the time, to give thanks to God for everything, to walk wisely in his light, and to be filled — not with wine, but with the Holy Spirit, singing and making melody to the Lord, and deferring to one another as becomes Christians.

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LOVE BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE  Read 5:22-33

   A special word to married couples: let Christ be the guide of your home. Wives, submit yourselves reverently to your husbands, as unto the Lord. The husband heads the wife as Christ heads the church. But as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it, just so you husbands are to love, nourish and cherish your wives as if they were your own bodies — which in a sense they are.

SOME TIMELY ADVICE ABOUT THE HOME  Read 6:1-9

   Now a word about your family. Children, here is God's prescription for your well-being: obey and honor your parents. Fathers, use discipline on your children but do not antagonize them. Slaves, consider yourselves bondsmen of Christ and let him motivate your obedience; you will find that he will also reward your service. Masters, you are to give up your threatening ways, for in the sight of your Master . . . in heaven you hold no superior status whatever.

PUT ON THE MIGHTY PANOPLY OF GOD  Read 6:10-18

   Now let me sum up: our hand-to-hand struggle is not really against men at all, but against diabolical, supernatural rulers of darkness. How then can we possibly stand our ground? By putting on the magnificent armament of God.

   First buckle on the coat of mail of righteousness with the belt of truth. Then cover your feet with the glad tidings of peace and seize the shield of faith. Snap on the helmet of salvation and take the sword of the Spirit — God's word — while engaging all the time in prayer in behalf of your fellow Christians. In this way you can quench every flaming arrow shot by the evil one.

A PERSONAL NOTE TO END THE LETTER  Read 6:19-24

   And don't forget to pray for me, Paul, that even in chains I may be bold enough to speak of the mystery of the gospel.

   Tychicus, God bless him, will tell you how things are with me. I am sending him to you to encourage your hearts. Peace to you all, and love, and faith in the unfailing grace of God.

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   Ephesians has been called the "Grand Canyon of the Scriptures." In the six chapters of this short letter are some of the most exalted utterances known to man. Yet such is the genius of the New Testament that anyone whose spiritual eyes have been opened can, regardless of background, grasp the substance of this "Queen of the Epistles."

   The paraphrase should help particularly in chapters 1 to 3 because Paul's Greek sentences are extremely long. Some call 1:3-14 a poem, others a prayer; but it needs careful, precise word study because it is all one sentence. The same is true of 1:15-23, 2:1-9 and 3:1-7.

   See if you can answer these questions: What is "the mystery of his will (1:9)? Between whom is the "middle wall of partition" broken down (2:14)? What ancient secret did Paul say was now made known (3:5)?

   Paul usually ends his letters with wise words of counsel designed to encourage Christian readers to "walk in the Spirit." In Ephesians he attains a level of communication that is unparalleled in the writings of his day. He sets forth the principle of interlocking strength through spiritual growth as the key to an effective church.

   In the final three chapters Paul reveals the secret of his own ministry. The cutting edge of his preaching, you will notice, is sharpened rather than blunted by his emphasis on love and peace. His strong moral emphasis is established not on the reformer's instinct — a penchant for informing others how they ought to behave — but on the supernatural ground of joy and thanksgiving. Note particularly his remarks about music.

   Nobody can read Ephesians and remain the same. It has the scent of eternity about it. The love of Christ dominates it. The way to heaven is clearly pointed out in 2:8 and 9. God grant that you may discover the length and breadth and depth and height of God's love as you study this superb letter.

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