Ephesians 3-6

Ephesians 3
1-13 Paul's Ministry to the Gentiles

• Paul was a prisoner for their sakes.
  
• God commissioned Paul to minister to them.
• The "mystery" was revealed to him, and he is passing it on to them.
• In former times this mystery was not known
• But now it has been revealed
• What is it? That the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise of Christ Jesus through the gospel.
• Paul is a servant of this gospel
• Though he is the least of all saints, this mission -- this grace -- was given to him.
• The mission? To make everyone see the mystery that had been hidden for ages
• In the church the wisdom of God is made known -- the unity of Gentiles and Jews in Christ -- this is God's eternal purpose -- and the revelation of this great mystery.

Note: This is one of the most thrilling passages in all the New Testament to me -- that in Christ -- and only in Christ -- can the world achieve true unity. We are such a divided people -- by race, by color, by education, by social status -- you name it, we divide over it. Yet in Christ, we can be united. It took literal ages for God to bring this about in Christ, but at the right time, He did. It is up to us to carry on Paul's mission of translating this message of unity so others will know it's possible and also desire it. See Love a Good Mystery? for an article I wrote on this several years ago. It's still one of my favorite topics.

14-21 Paul's Prayer

• Paul is also overcome with gratitude for this message of unity -- and he falls on his knees in praise to God.
• He prays on behalf of the Ephesians, that:
• they'll be strengthened through God's Spirit
• that Christ will dwell in their hearts -- through faith
• that they will be rooted and grounded in love. Love is the key to this unity.
• that they may have the power to understand the immensity of Christ's love -- which surpasses knowledge.
• To God be the glory -- who is able to accomplish far more than we can ask or imagine. How weak our faith, how feeble our attempts, how flimsy our excuses.
  

Ephesians 4
1-16 Unity in the Body of Christ

• Paul begs them to lead a life worthy of their calling -- again a call to unity through these means:
• humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love
• making every effort to maintain unity
• There is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. There can no more be more than one body or one faith than there can be more than one God.
• Christ gives us grace in the same amount as his own gift -- the resurrection from the dead.
• Those gifts -- the abilities of apostles, prophets, etc. -- were given for the building up of the church.
• The ultimate purpose? Unity of the faith, maturity, attainment of the full stature of Christ.
• There is no reason to be immature, heeding false doctrine.
• We work together as a properly working body whose members nurture each other for the purpose of full-grown maturity.

17-32 The Old Life and the New

• To do this, you have to leave the Gentile life behind, with its ignorance and worldliness
• Clothe yourselves in your new selves -- in righteousness and holiness
• This is the new life:
• Putting away lying; anger that leads to sin; stealing; evil, destructive talk - it grieves the Holy Spirit, with which you have been marked
• Also put away bitterness, wrath, slander, malice
• Instead, be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving

Ephesians 5
1-2 The New Life

• Imitate God, live in love
• Your example: Christ, who loves us and give himself up for us.

3-20 Reject Pagan Ways

• This includes fornication, impurity, greed; obscene, silly, and vulgar talk.
  
• Replace such talk with thanksgiving
• Remember - impure people do not inherit the kingdom of Christ
• Be not deceived:
• The words of the disobedient that want to influence you are empty
• Don't associate with them
• You're now children of light, the fruit of which is things that are good and right and true.
• Your task now is to expose the unfruitful works of darkness
• Characteristics of wisdom:
  
• Using your time wisely
• Understanding the will of God
• Expressing your joy not with wine, but with singing to one another, always giving thanks.

21-33 The Christian Household

• Be subject to one another
• Wives, be subject to your husbands - as the church is subject to Christ
• Husbands, love your wives
• As Christ loved the church, and made her holy for himself
• As you love your own bodies
• Leaving your father and mother and cleaving to your wife

Ephesians 6
1-9 Children and Parents, Slaves and Masters

• Children, obey your parents in the Lord; honor your father and mother
• Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger
• Slaves, obey your earthly masters, as you obey Christ
• Not only while being watched, but as slaves of Christ, from the heart
• Serve with enthusiasm. Lip service not acceptable here.
  
• Masters, realize you and your slave both have the same Master, who shows no partiality

10-17 The Whole Armor of God

• Finally -- be strong -- in the strength of God's power -- putting on his whole armor
• Our struggle is against the cosmic powers of darkness, so it takes spiritual armor.
  
• Belt of truth
• Breastplate of righteousness
• Whatever shoes prepare you to proclaim the gospel of peace
• Shield of faith, to quench the flaming arrows
• Helmet of salvation
• Sword of the spirit, which is the word of God
• Note: If any one of these is missing, it makes us vulnerable to destruction. We must make sure we carry the truth, that our lives reflect the righteousness of God, that we prepare ourselves, build our faith, that we're walking in the light, and that we carry -- and know how to use -- the word of God.

18-20 The Value of Prayer

• Pray at all times in every prayer and supplication. Even fully clothed in armor, we must depend on prayer
• Keep alert - persevere in prayer for the saints
• Pray for Paul, that he wold make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. Even Paul needed prayer for his continued boldness in making known the mystery of the gospel. (There's that emphasis again on the mystery.) He's in prison as he writes this, a "victim" of his own boldness, yet he still solicits prayers so that he will keep his courage.

21-24 Personal Matters and Benediction

• Paul is sending Tychicus to inform the Ephesians of Paul's welfare and to encourage their hearts
• Paul's blessing:
• Peace to the whole community
• Love with faith from God and Christ
• Grace to all who have an undying love for Christ
  

Ephesians 1-2

Ephesians 1
1-2 Salutation

• From Paul the apostle to the saints in Ephesus
• Grace and peace from God and Christ

3-14 Spiritual Blessings in Christ

• Bless God who has blessed us. Bless is an interesting word. Even here it has 2 different connotations, perhaps meaning both "give thanks to" or "give glory to" and just "give."
• And how has he blessed us?
• With every spiritual blessing
• By choosing us even before creation
• By destining us for adoption
• With redemption through the blood of the Beloved
• By making known to us the mystery of his will
• By giving us an inheritance
• By marking us with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit. I see this as a seal that's placed upon us in baptism. Something spiritual -- and Spiritual -- happens in that instance besides getting wet -- something we cannot see, an action of God that he takes because we are submitting to his will.
  

15-23 Paul's Prayer

• The Ephesians have a reputation for faith in Jesus and love toward all the saints. As I read the Bible, I notice this theme again and again. As a Christian, I must strive to achieve a balance of devotion to God and a demonstration of love to others. Christ emphasized this in his instruction as recorded in Matthew 25: Inasmuch as you do it to one of these, you do it unto me. We serve God by serving others. Yet mere altruism doesn't make us acceptable before God. We must also depend on his grace and his goodness to cover our sins. He can't even look at us as long as we're in sin. He can't see our good works unless the blood of Christ is cleansing us from all our sins (1 John 1:7).
  
• Paul's prayer:
• Unceasing thanks for the Ephesians
• That God would give them
• A spirit of wisdom and revelation as they come to know God
• A knowledge of the hope -- the riches of the inheritance -- and the greatness of his power
• About this power:
• God put it to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead
• Christ is above all authority -- above every name - in this age and the age to come. You can't get more comprehensive than that.
• All things are under his feet - he is the head of the church, his body. So much emphasis here. Christ -- not any person on earth -- is the head of the church. And he has only one body.

Ephesians 2
1-20 From Death to Life

• What we were before (even if in our eyes we were good enough):
• Dead through sins
• Following the course of this world and the ruler of the power of the air
• Living in the passions of our flesh
• Children of wrath by nature, like everyone else
• BUT God:
• Made us alive together with Christ
• Raised us up with him
• Seated us with him in heavenly places
• Grace and works together (Here's that theme again)
• We are saved by grace, not by our own doing -- to prevent boasting
• BUT we are created (by grace) in Christ Jesus for the purpose of doing good works.

11-22 One in Christ (Reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles)

• You Gentiles by birth were:
  
• called the uncircumcision (by those who were circumcised)
• without Christ
• aliens from the commonwealth of Israel
• strangers to the covenants of promise
• without hope -- without God
• BUT now you have been brought near by the blood of Christ
• BUT now:
• Both groups are one
• The wall of hostility has been broken down
• The Old law has been abolished
• Both Jews and Gentiles have access in one Spirit to the Father
• And now you are full-fledged members of the household of God:
• Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets
• With Christ as the cornerstone
• As a temple, joined together -- growing together into a dwelling place for God. This is a picture we as the church should always have in our minds -- we are the temple, and as we grow together in faith -- and good works -- we become more and more suitable as a place for God to dwell.