Have you ever seen a photograph and it took you a moment to recognize yourself? Our image of ourself is sometimes vastly different than what is captured by the camera; and by other people. As Paul writes to the Ephesians, it's as if he holds up a picture of the life of a Christian. Would the Ephesians recognize themselves in the photo? Would Christians across the ages recognize themselves as a follower of Christ? How about you, today, now; do you recognize yourself in Christ?
Ephesians 1:1-2
Paul began the letter by reminding them that he spoke with the authority of an apostle of Jesus Christ. This was important because Paul's apostleship was constantly called into question. He was getting ready to pass along some doctrine and some foundational beliefs to them. They needed to know these things came from God, not from a man.
Because this was by the will of God, the person who challenged and denied was rebelling against God. That's a big statement. Paul was saying, 'This is what I am, by the will of God.' Paul displayed a comfortable confidence in where he was in the Lord. We should each be able to say that; or at least be growing towards being able to say that. "By the will of God this is who I am, this is the calling on my life, and this is my ministry."
Paul established his authority to write to these churches, then he established the position of the people to which he was writing. He called them saints and faithful in Christ Jesus and offered them a blessing of grace and peace. This is the church of Ephesus, those saved by grace and living at peace with God.
Take note that Paul doesn't start the letter with any kind of personal greeting. We can probably tells us the letter was intended to be circulated to the other churches in the area after it was read by the Ephesians. This letter is a little different than some of his other writings because he wasn't writing it to make corrections. This letter was written to teach doctrine and theology. This was to grow them in their faith and maturity in the knowledge of the things of the Lord.
Paul had previously written to the Corinthians:
But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. (NKJV; 1 Corinthians 2:9-10; 1982, Thomas Nelson)
This letter to the Ephesians attempts to be the fulfillment of this passage. It doctrinally reveals the things God has prepared for those who love Him. We can keep that in mind as we go through this book because this is like Paul saying to the Ephesians, "Okay, you've been saints for a while now. It's time for you to understand all that is included in this relationship." Paul loads them up on doctrine and the tells them how to apply it to their life.
Now, in the original Greek, the language Paul wrote this letter in, verses 3 through 14 were one sentence. This long sentence sets the tone for the entire letter.
Ephesians 1:3
Ephesians 1:3-14 is one long sentence. Some believe it to be the longest sentence ever seen in the Greek language. As such, this creates debates on sentence structure in the translating of it to English.
In verses 3-14 Paul teaches us about who we are and what we have in our life as disciples of Christ. The first section outlines the blessings of the Father. Then in verse seven we see that in the Son we have certain things. Then, in verse thirteen, we see we are marked as His by the Holy Spirit. Each of these three sections has its conclusion marked with the phrase 'to the praise of His glory.'
The Father Blessed Us
Through the expression 'blessed be' Paul declares that the Father is worthy of all praise. He has then blessed us – which is to bring divine favor upon us. This divine favor is every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. Wow, this is a lot to consider. These spiritual blessings have their source in God, making all these spiritual blessings supernatural in origin.
As Christians, we each spend varying amounts of time thanking God for the blessings in our life. I'd say most Christians recognize that everything comes from God. But our focus tends to be on the temporal, we think of blessings as material things, the things of this world. Many times, we see these as things we worked for, smart purchases we made or even just getting lucky. But Paul is saying here that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. These spiritual blessings have already happened and continue to happen and they happen in the heavenly places and they happen through Jesus Christ.
These blessings come from the heavenly realm and should be viewed as our reality. We tend to identify our life in the physical; weight, height, where I live, what I drive, who my parents were, who I married, how many kids I have, where I work, how much I make and when I will retire. All these things are nice. They are the setting of our physical existence. But Paul wants us to open our eyes to our eternal life and to the heavenly realms. Our real life is spiritual and for now it is set in this physical realm. The real you is an eternal spiritual being that will live forever; for now, you are housed in a tent of flesh.
All our blessings come from God. Those blessings in our life might be our job, our home, and our family. All those come from God. Likewise, so does our salvation, justification, transformation and glorification. These are the blessings of the new you that was born in Christ. Our physical presence is here, we are saved by faith in Christ. It is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me. He abides in us. Our life in the flesh is now lived by faith. That faith is not in the flesh but in the Spirit. Then, just as He abides in us, we also abide in Him. We are sojourners here on earth, in the physical, but we are citizens in the heavenly realm. Our citizenship was granted when we trusted in Christ and we were born again. Because we abide in Him, we are present in the heavenly realm.
When David was in the wilderness, we can see his life was bound up in the Lord. He longed to worship Him.
1 O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.
3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
4 Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.
6 When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches.
7 Because You have been my help,
Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
8 My soul follows close behind You;
Your right hand upholds me. (NKJV; Psalm 63:1-8; 1982, Thomas Nelson)
Within the threats and darkness and barrenness of the wilderness, David had fellowship with the Lord. David trusted in Him and experienced the spiritual blessings in heavenly places in a barren and threatening land.
As Christians our citizenship is in heaven, our home is there. The heavenly place is any place where God is. When we have Christ in us, that heavenly place is present in our life. We are away from home for a while but we should remember where our home is and where our heart lies. Our heart, thoughts and all we do should be on real home and not where we temporarily reside.
This whole letter is going to force us to look beyond the physical and beyond what we see to the world we cannot see. It's going to sharpen our spiritual eyesight as we try to see our home.
Ephesians 1:4-6
He Chose US
God chose us before the foundation of the world. That's an amazing statement. Before verse 1 of Genesis 1, God chose us. This choice was made by God alone, for God alone, to the Glory of God alone. We didn't choose him, He chose us; that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. That is to say we were chosen that we would receive the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. Before creation, God knew we would be unrighteous and unholy. He knew we would need a savior. He chose us, in love.
- The Father loved the Son before the foundation of the world (John 17:24).
- God's plan of salvation through the Lamb was known before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20).
- John wrote of the names in the book of life that was written before the foundations of the world (Rev 13:8).
He chose us to be holy, set apart for His purpose and glory. We are to be without blame – this is a word that speaks of the sacrifices at the temple being inspected and found without blemish. The sacrifice was to be perfect, not just good enough. God chose us to be set apart and perfect, before Him in love.
In the beginning man lived in God's Garden paradise. The Lord walked among them, talked with them and fellowshipped with them. This is what He chose us for. Then it was broken.
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?"
(NKJV; Genesis 3:8-9; 1982, Thomas Nelson)
The questions echo through our soul, "Where are you?"
He Predestined Us
The idea Paul puts forth is that the Lord decided this beforehand. Our election is not based on who we are, what our name is, what family we are from or anything else. Our election is a sovereign decision of God, before we ever were.
It is predestined that we would be adopted as sons by The Son. Those who first read this letter had a cultural understanding as a Roman concept. A child wasn't an heir and part of the family until the father adopted him in. You didn't become part of the family when you lived with them, served them, loved them or anything else. It only happened at adoption. When we are born again in Jesus Christ, it is the good pleasure of His will that we become adopted sons. He chose us and adopted us. This means that believers who had previously been 'sons of disobedience' and 'children of wrath' had no further ties or obligation to their old father, the devil. The adoption into the family of God removed them from the previous father and placed them with a new one. Our adoption Father now controls our lives and property. We moved from having no inheritance, no future and no hope to being a son or daughter of the Most High God, with the full rights and privileges of a son.
The idea of predestination and adoption is used by some to teach that everything has already been decided; some are saved and some aren't. There is no acknowledgement of sin and repentance. There is no decision or change that testifies of the work done in a life. There is a denial of personal responsibility in this that is inconsistent with the bible. Predestination doesn't change your free will, it doesn't remove the responsibility from you to respond to the gospel.
God doesn't force his plan on anyone, He never did. God created us with free will. It is His design that we use that free will to love Him and glorify Him. Is the predestination and adoption available to all men?
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (NKJV; 2 Peter 3:9; 1982, Thomas Nelson)
The idea of predestination is only used in talking about God's people. The word is never used for unbelievers. If you are a believer, it was predestined as Paul said, according to the good pleasure of His will.
Some liken predestination and election as the perspective of a parade marching through time. God is looks down, from outside of time, and he sees the end from the beginning. As we stand in our place in time, it's like standing on a corner and watching the parade go by. Will you join it? Or not? A big float goes by when you step into the street. You see an open place on the float and someone helps you aboard. As you turn to sit down, you see your name on the chair. You were chosen when & where to step into the parade, however you chose to step out of your own will. What if you had not stepped forward? There would not have been a chair with your name on it. It was you, exercising your freewill, in spite of God's call to you. God had a place prepared for you. Everyone is called to the parade, but only a few will join it. Those that join, were predestined to do so.
God predestined us to salvation, by the mediation of the Son, to the praise of the glory of His grace. He 'made us' accepted in Jesus. This acceptance is the Greek word meaning made graceful, lovely or agreeable. By Jesus we become lovely, graceful and agreeable. Isn't that amazing? If no one else in the universe sees you as lovely, graceful and agreeable, God sees you that way if you are in Christ.
This isn't for our glory, but His. When we leave this flesh and enter into the heavenly realms, no one will glorify us for how good of a person we were. Everyone will be known as one who overcame their wretchedness through Jesus, to the glory of God the Father.
Ephesians 1:7-10
Paul spoke of the heavenly things brought to us by the Father through Jesus. In this section, we get to see the work of the Son toward us, to the glory of God.
Redemption
The idea of redemption is the purchase of a slave out of bondage to grant them freedom. If you are in Christ, it is because you have been redeemed. Jesus died, shedding His blood for the remission of your sins. He paid the debt you owed. In doing so, He purchased you out of the bondage of sin and death. He made you free.
Paul said in Galatians:
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (NKJV; Galatians 2:20; 1982, Thomas Nelson)
We are redeemed and our sins forgiven; and this is according to the riches of His grace. This is entirely consistent with God's plan and purpose. In Ephesus when riches were talked about it brought a picture to mind of the great temple filled with gold and precious stones and the priceless treasures of the kings and rulers. Paul draws our eye from worldly riches to something far greater and everlasting. These riches that come from God through Jesus begin with a saving grace extended to us. This was extended to us with all wisdom and prudence. We might think of this in this way:
Wisdom is to see into the heart of a situation and prudence is the understanding that leads to right action as a result."
This wisdom and prudence are like the envelope in which God abounding grace is delivered.
The redemption story is God's story. The mystery of His will is the unveiling of His salvation plan for mankind. This was part of the riches of His grace. In our redemption, this age-old mystery of God is revealed to us as it becomes a reality in our life. None of this made any sense to us when we were spiritually blind – it remained a mystery.
In the grand scheme of all of history, the people of Ephesus experienced an amazing thing. They were the early church, the beginning of the church. They were part of the spread of Christianity as the gospel went out to all the world. They were able to talk to people who saw and knew Jesus. They heard first hand testimony of what the messiah did and said and how He changed lives.
The mystery is now made known, Paul said. Prior to Christ, the plan was hidden in types and shadows. This is what we see in the Old Testament. This is what is seen in the law. It is types and shadows and prophecy. It's the anticipation of the revelation. In time, it all came to fruition, making sense. Suddenly the mystery was revealed, according to His purpose.
This redemptive mystery also came about in God's timing. The culmination of this mystery is in the dispensation of the fullness of time. This word dispensation carries a lot of religious baggage of men. It simply means the administration of the fullness of time. This fullness was a word used to describe the ship that was loaded, all the people and the cargo were aboard and it was ready to sail. The revealed mystery is that Christ, at the fullness of the times, when everyone is aboard will gather together everyone who is in Christ. Both which are in heaven and which are on earth. He will be the head of all things at the end of time. Another way of putting this is that every knee will bow to Jesus Christ whether they believe or not, whether they agree or not. All who are in Christ, he will gather. Those He does not know will be cast away into outer darkness.
Ephesians 1:11-12
Inheritance
To be in Him is to have obtained an inheritance. Just as our adoption was predestined, so is our inheritance. The two go hand in hand. This idea of inheritance follows the thought of the Lord gathering all the believers to himself. What a day that will be. We will inherit eternal life with our Lord and Savior. But look at this again. It says we have obtained it. We already possess this inheritance. It's ours today and we can live in that.
As believers, we know what we truly deserve. Yet, in Christ, we are chosen, adopted into great riches and then given an inheritance. We are sons and daughters of God Most High. Only He can do such a thing. Praise be to God. This He has worked to the counsel of His will.
Ephesians 1:13-14
We've seen the heavenly things brought to us by the Father through Jesus and then we saw the work of the Son toward us, to the glory of God. Now we see the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Sealed in Our Belief
The Ephesian church had come to know the word of truth. This is the gospel message, the good news of Jesus Christ. Those that believed this gospel of salvation were forever changed. As part of the riches of God's glory lavished on us, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit.
Everyone in those days knew what a seal was. Private letters, legal transactions, declarations, loans or other financial transactions all would be sealed. The seal was soft wax with the impression or mark of the owner in the wax. The seal implied ownership, security and a finality or action. It was a business, work or deed accomplished in their name.
The presence of the Holy Spirit is a mark of ownership or proof of ownership. His presence says a work has been done for us, is being done in us and will be completed very soon. He (the Holy Spirit) is the authentication of our redemption. You've experienced the same thing when you have something notarized. The notary presses their seal onto the paper, forever marking it. With their signature, they are authenticating your paperwork. For the believer, when we are sealed, it's like having a 'sold' sign on us because we've been purchase. The one who purchased us hasn't picked us up yet. However, He's coming back soon, any time now.
Guarantee of Inheritance
The Holy Spirit is the impression of our Owner pressed into us. He is Christ in Us. Implied in that ownership is our security in Him and there is a finality to that action. Jesus said on the cross 'It is finished!" The business was done, the transaction complete. The presence of the Spirit in our life is the mark of a completed transaction. When we trust in Jesus and we are filled with the Holy Spirit, this says that we are in Him and He is in us.
Het is the guarantee of our inheritance. The word for guarantee is translated earnest in the King James. Earnest is the down payment or a deposit; it's a placeholder for us until that day of redemption. When you pay earnest money, it's a promise that you are coming back to pay the rest at a later date. We, however, are bought and completely paid for. Christ will be swinging by to pick us up real soon. Then we will experience the full extent of our inheritance. Our redemption is full paid, it just hasn't fully played out.
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We see our position and promises in Christ to the praise of His glory.
Paul wanted the Ephesians to lift their eyes above the temptation of the world and work and worry of everyday life. Paul wanted to draw their spiritual eyes to the heavenly realm. He wants the same for us. There is so much more than many are missing out on. Paul is inviting us to grasp the spiritual blessings in heavenly places, explore them and enjoy them.
Salvation by grace is the greatest spiritual blessing. It's like a small pebble dropped in the center that continues to create a ripple effect that goes out in all direction creating other blessings that are the riches of grace. The ripple affect just keeps going and going, getting bigger and encompassing more and more as it goes. The riches of grace are all the other things that flow from your relationship with the Lord that was made available to you by salvation by grace. It's like a package deal, you can't break the package apart either. It's an 'all or none' affair. The whole package is available to each of us. The question is, have we received it?
God made a way in His sovereign will He made a plan for our redemption leading to glorification. But it takes action on our part to enter into that relationship and take that place before the Lord. It's right there before us, made available by Him. Jesus Christ took the first step, he entered fully into the relationship. Now, we have to exercise our will by entering fully into the relationship. Why is Paul telling all this to the Saints? After all, they are already believers, right? They knew all this as we know all this. Why is he telling us these things?
As followers of Christ, trying to walk in the Spirit in a physical world is difficult. We can get so caught up in the physical and the cares of this world that we can easily forget our place in heaven and we can forget our position with the Lord and the amazing thing that has already been done. We can't allow the plan of salvation or the gospel message to grow old and tiresome. We can't forget the love & grace that came from God. If we do, we'll slip right into the grip of this world and all its cares. And we'll lose sight of this amazing grace and the riches of grace and lose our first love like the Ephesians ended up doing.
And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard. (NKJV; Colossians 1:21-23; 1982, Thomas Nelson)
Ephesians 1:15-16
When we get our eyes checked, we often find out we aren't seeing all that well. We look at the chart and read it and think we did okay. Then, a different strength lens is applied and it all becomes clear. Not only can we see but we realized how little we saw before when we thought all was well.
With these blessings upon the life of a believer established, Paul adds a 'therefore' to make his point. The faith and love of the saints in Ephesus was renown. They had a reputation that was widely known and now written about. They were faithful in a pagan culture where the worship of Diana was not just something Ephesians did but it was part of their identity. To deny that identity was offensive enough to bring them to violence as we seen when the mob pursued Paul and those with him in Acts 19. The city was turned upside down when Paul said the trinkets Demetrius and others made were not gods. This had an effect on their prophets which came not only from Ephesus but all over Asia. A mob was assembled and they snatched Gaius and Aristarchus who were traveling with Paul.
Every culture across every age has its false gods embedded in the culture. These are the things that consume our time, talents and resources. False gods and their beliefs never seem to feel threatened by other religions and beliefs but only Christianity. When biblical beliefs counter the false beliefs, they evoke a response of passion and violence instead of faith and love. Those holding to the false belief aren't comfortable with others disagreeing. It seems that deep down they know their 'truth' isn't a truth at all.
The Ephesians Christians were counter culture in many ways, including their moral values. The immoral acts and wickedness that go hand in hand with false belief was alive and well in Ephesus. Standing apart as they did would have had an effect on their lives in many ways. Many of the jobs were crafts that required a loyalty to a craft guild that was built around a god or goddess. There is evidence of guilds for bankers, bakers, doctors, lawyers, carpenters, farmers, cooks, barbers, embalmers as well as those worked with linen and woolen goods. These were the social circles and social status of those workers. Christians who denied these gods of the guild would not work in the guild or have social standing.
All this is evidence that their first love is still intact at this point. Their faith drove them to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. They lived by the commandments of the Lord to love Him and love their neighbor. This was to be so, even if it had an effect on life and comfort, as it would have in Ephesus. This love Paul noted may have also been an acknowledgment that divisions between Jew and gentile believers were not prevalent as they were in other places.
From a prison in Rome, Paul heard of their faith in the Lord and love for all the saints. This faith and love were an indication of the work the Lord was doing in them. Paul gave thanks for them - not to them but for them. He was not patting them on the back for being special but thanking God for the work being done through them. The blessings of God were upon them.
Ephesians 1:17-20
The reputable faith and love of the Ephesians was an example and testimony to others across much of the civilized world at that time. It had made its way to the Roman prison where Paul was. Paul's prayer for them was that God would grant them a spirit of wisdom and revelation. There is some debate about what is meant here, but consistent with the context of their faith and love in a difficult culture, can we not see this as a yielding to the continued work of the Holy Spirit? Paul wanted them to have eyes that see and ears that hear the things of God over the steady barrage on our senses of the things of the world. He wanted them to grow beyond a basic and cursory knowledge of God. The spirit of wisdom is to see the spiritual reality of what is happening all around us. The spirit of revelation is the zeal or desire to tell others about it.
There is an enemy that seeks to destroy us. If we are in Christ, he's already lost. So, his goal is to keep you silent, hunkered down and out of his arena. He has many willing participants to aid in this. When we are yielded to the Lord and growing in Him, we are a witness to Christ in the culture. As such, the enemy will test us and pressure us and make us feel like outcasts. He and his minions will call us fanatics and religious nuts. They will use whatever means necessary to silence us. The other side of this is; if we are ineffective and not growing in the Lord, the enemy won't waste his time on you. Your lack of interest in the things of God and absence of zeal is consistent with the devil's desire for your life.
Paul desired enlightenment for the Ephesians and that their spiritual eyes were opened to these things:
- The Hope of His calling
- The riches of the glory of His inheritance
- The exceeding greatness of His power.
Why these things? How would this help the Ephesians? How will they help us? Remember this is Paul's prayer for them. It is not for health, wealth and happiness. It is not for easy lives filled with good times; pizza parties and game nights! He prays for a continued growth from the salvation they already had. They now possessed the spiritual tools to discern what was happening around them. They didn't war against craft guilds or being 'unfriended' from the social circles. The fullness of their born-again life wouldn't come from the wealth of Ephesus, the culture or its false gods. In fact, the fullness of their born-again life came from the heavenlies and the blessings already bestowed on them (v. 3-14).
Hope of His Calling
Paul wanted them to know the hope of God's call on their life. This seems to move the conversation from a general prayer for church and its spiritual health and so on, to a very personal status of the individual. The hope resides in a church only as much as it resides in the hearts of the people. We should not note here that our nation has lost its hope. We've gone off the rails finding hope in our feelings and following our heart; we wring our hands about sexuality, gender, climate and unimpeded promiscuity (ability to kill our babies). What is the meaning of life? Only to be happy for a time and then die? God made us eternal. God made us for Him. Man was made to walk in the presence of God and fellowship with Him. As we are His imagers, our life is to glorify Him.
Our hope is based in this restoration to our God. From our redemption we know that there is a day coming when is sin is done away; when this world will be cleansed with the fires of judgment. Our hope is not a deep desire for a good outcome, it is the present knowledge of eternity with Him; the greatest outcome. The realization of this hope grows in us as we further realize the brokenness of this world and the effects of sin. Through the Holy Spirit and our enlightenment, we can clearly see the irreparable damage of sin on the world and the inhabitants of this world. Those who trust in this world think they are moving closer to having it all figured out; we can see that they are getting further and further from the truth found in God.
The riches of the glory of His inheritance
Social status was a powerful thing in the culture in Ephesus. It remains so today. No one asks me what I think about the social issues of the day, yet they ask the Hollywood star who was a bartender just a few months ago. Now their word has weight because of social status. We see elected officials making constitutional decisions and we see they have little to know knowledge of the constitution (and they don't seem to care). People rise to instant stardom for making a fifteen second video about a cat or doing something stupid. Then, suddenly, everything they say has a power over the culture.
In Christ, we are sons and daughters of God most high. The reality of this also grows in our spiritual maturity. The finest riches of this world will do you no good as you gasp for your last breath or feel your heart beat for the last time. The enemy dangles the trinkets and baubles of this world to distract us, but we have far greater riches. We are of the family of God. As such, we have an inheritance of eternal life. We are forgiven and redeemed, washed clean from all our sin and shame. We are filled with the Spirit of God and given access to the knowledge of all things. We have defined purpose, motivation, destination and glorification. We are entitled to access to the Most High and His power.
The exceeding greatness of His power
A lost and dying world looks at the Christian life as weak and lifeless, lacking happiness and fulfillment. Many of us once looked on it this way. On the other side of salvation, we see the reality, the truth of real life and real joy and fulfillment. We see that old life now and one of deception, of chasing the wrong things and holding onto all the old baggage that just weighed us down and kept our eyes off the Lord.
His power will be directed toward us the same way it was used to resurrect Jesus. The same mighty hand that raised Jesus from the dead to overcome sin and death will resurrect us. This power raised Jesus to be seated at the right hand of the father. He was seated because He was victorious and His redemptive work was complete as His sacrifice was accepted by the Father. Because of this work, this same power is extended to us and our eternal life will be spent with Him.
We know in being Christ-like we will suffer in this world. We don't suffer as victims of the world. The nature of our suffering is deliverance from the things of the world. The world wants us to conform, we have however been transformed and want to share the transforming power of Christ with others. We aren't powerless in this endeavor. We aren't hunkered down just hoping to survive until Jesus comes. Our walk will end in victory. We can walk in the power of that victory as an overcomer today, and the days to come, until He comes for us.
Our lives are to be living and active, thriving and fruitful. We are in Christ and we are part of this mystery that is being revealed. We are living out a great adventure. It's scary sometimes, isn't it? It tests our faith, doesn't it? This great adventure twists and contorts us so fast at times it will reveal what you are holding onto. We bounce from highs to lows, sometimes in mere minutes. Our emotions and thoughts can barely keep up at times. When these tests come, we should find ourselves letting go of the things that are meaningless. And holding tighter to that which is everlasting.
Ephesians 1:21
Jesus is at the right hand of the Father. This is a place of power and authority. His far above all powers, named or un-named, across the ages. Jesus is a above the principalities; these are supernatural beings, both good and evil – but in this case Paul speaks of the evil powers. The powers of evil are those supernatural in administrative control. These principalities and powers are thought to be angelic or spiritual ranks. The might and dominion are the governing powers and lordships of evil, both human and spiritual. I think we are seeing the graying of the lines as the powers of this world continue to grow bolder. The demonic influence on the leaders of this world is becoming more visible and evident. For me, nothing shows this more than the celebration of those who passed a new abortion law. They clap and pat each other on the back; high five and cheer for the ability to kill millions of babies.
And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. (NKJV; Colossians 2:13-15; 1982, Thomas Nelson)
The powers of this dark and fallen world were disarmed. We were without hope and Jesus snatched us from under the authority of the prince of this world with his principalities and powers.
In the garden of Gethsemane at the Mount of Olives Jesus was arrested by the troops and officers of the guard. As they approached to arrest him, Peter pulled out his sword to fight and cut off the ear of the Malchus. Jesus said put away the sword because this betrayal had to happen. Then Jesus said an amazing thing. He told Peter He could have called 12 legions of angels in one prayer if he wanted to stop this arrest. A roman legion was 6000 soldiers. With just a prayer, Jesus could have called 72,000 angels to his side. That really would be an amazing show of strength. Remember, in 2 Kings 19:35 that one angel killed 185,000 Assyrians in one night. Imagine 72,000 fierce, battle hardened, angelic warriors with swords drawn and leaning forward, ready to go in flash. They were waiting on Jesus to give them just a little nod, just a sign. It never came, though, because the betrayal had to happen.
The point is Jesus sits far above these principalities and power and might and dominion. He sits sovereign above every name that is named. He was never at the mercy of Pilate or the priests or anyone else. All these men that led Him to the cross were serving God's purpose. They weren't taking His life, He was giving it for us.
This is not only true in the time and place of this letter. Not just in the world Paul wrote to the Ephesians but it is also just as true today in the world where we read the words of Paul. And every place, every time on earth and in heaven forever and ever. That's the power Paul was talking about. It's an all-encompassing, eternal power. This is the power behind Paul's prayer. That same power is in our prayers. I think we often times fail to believe that. Just as Jesus is the witness to the power of God, we are witnesses of that same power.
Ephesians 1:22-23
Paul gives us the picture of a conquering king putting his foot on the neck of the ruler he conquered. God put all things under His feet. All means all! He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Paul could have Psalm 8:6 in mind. Others see Psalm 119:1 when the Lord said, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." This idea shows up in Acts 2:35, Hebrews 1:13 and 10:13.
19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. (NKJV; Col 1:20; 1982, Thomas Nelson)
Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (NKJV; Phil 2:9-11; 1982, Thomas Nelson)
This is the ultimate show of power when the Father raises the Son, sets Him at His right hand and places Him over all things. He is the head over all things as He is head over the church. The church is His body. This fullness of Him is the end of all things, the fulfillment or completeness in everything.
This Ephesian church probably felt like a small boat in a large ocean, driven and pounded by the waves of the culture. It's even worse today as we are ever closer to the end and the world is post-Christian. The Lord's hand of blessing is slowly being lifted and turning people over to their desires. The church can feel overwhelmed.
Paul prayed to bring comfort and encouragement to Ephesus; a church full of people converted out of an old life, each with its baggage. Many came from a background of magic, the Artemis cult, astrological beliefs and worship of one or more gods. Paul wrote to a group of churches through Ephesus to help them develop a Christian perspective of real power. The fears and struggles carried over from their old life kept them from embracing and possessing all that God had given them.
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Proverbs 9:10)
It is growth as Christ followers that deepens our relationship. We come to know Him more – revealing to us how little we know, the potential for greater depth of relationship. The knowledge of God is not a fixed value, it is infinite. We can never fully know Him. Our relationship should never stall or stagnate.
As such, the Church will not be what it ought to be until the individuals grasp and live in the privileges and power appropriated to us. It is Christ who rules over all – and we are His church, His body, His presence of power in this world.
It is our day, today. We are the witness and testimony of Jesus Christ because the fullness of Him resides in us. He is the one who fills all in all.
Did it work? Can you see better?
Paul wanted to improve the spiritual eyesight of the Ephesian. By extension he wanted to help us also; to recognize yourself in Christ and Christ in you. He wants us to see the hope, inheritance and power of God at work in our life. We are the light and salt of this world. God is exalting us to His glory by the work of Christ. Can we clearly recognize Christ, even more than ever before?
©2010, 2017, 2023 Doug Ford
[1] Anders, M. (1999). Galatians-Colossians (Vol. 8, p. 88). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
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