The Book of Ephesians.
A New Life… Eph chp 1: 1-14.
Pound for pound Ephesians may well be the most influential document ever written. The explanation of the gospel and of life with Christ is powerful and direct, it’s a bombshell the kind of book that should really be marked… danger; contents are life changing.
In a way it’s the most contemporary book of the bible as well, it’s about us, it describes human beings and their predicament… but much more than this, it describes God reaching out to people to recreate and transform them into a new society.
This book promises community in a world marked by disunity, reconciliation in a place of alienation, and peace instead of war and so it’s as relevant today as it was all those years ago. Its sooooo exciting!
This extraordinary letter was John Calvins favourite letter, Samuel Coleridge calls it, “the Queen of the epistles, the distilled essence of the Christian message; truth that sings, doctrine set to music.” He’s excited and so should we be!
Most of the letter is about 2 things… power and identity. It describes the power God’s spirit gives for living, and it shows us who we really are. Who we are without Christ and who we become with Christ. This little letter is dynamite, its all about God and his work, Christ and the gospel, and life with the spirit.
Ephesians challenges and redefines any superficial understanding of the gospel, this gospel requires people to act, this faith works. Believers have a responsibility to make choices and to change the pattern of their lives. An easy believe-ism or a passive faith can’t survive this message, but with the grace of God the choices and the changes can be made, bringing new life.
So let’s set the scene a little…
Born in Jerusalem the church grew rapidly. Fanned by persecution, the gospel flame spread to other cities and nations. On 3 courageous journeys Paul and his associates established local churches in scores of gentile cities, and one of the most prominent of these was Ephesus.
Ephesus was a strategic city, the most important port on the main route from Rome to the east. The church was established in AD53 on Paul’s homeward journey to Jerusalem, he returned a year later and stayed with them for 3 years. [Acts 19:1 – 20]
A few years later Paul was sent to prison in Rome, and it was from here that he wrote the letter to the Ephesians probably about AD60 (about 7 years after he had visited them and established the church there). It wasn’t written to counter any heresy or even to confront a nasty problem, it was in fact a letter of encouragement, and it was probably intended to be a circular letter read by all the churches in the area.
So that’s a little bit about the background; have your bibles open and follow with me.
1. A New Life in Christ: incredibly blessed…
The opening section of Ephesians describes the new life God gives us in Christ. And I have to say it’s pretty incredible…
In V3 God the father is the source or origin of every blessing we enjoy. It’s His initiative; God himself is the subject of almost every main verb in these verses. Have a look with me…
It’s God that blesses us V3, God who choses us V4, God who destined us to be his sons and daughters V 5, God who freely bestows his grace V 6 & 8, and God who makes his will and purposes known to us V9 & 10…
Now the sphere within which these blessings are bestowed and received is the Lord Jesus Christ, in other words; those who are “in Christ” receive all these wonderful blessings. The term “in Christ” occurs 164 times in Paul’s writings while the term “in the spirit” occurs only 22 times and “in God” even less; only 3 times.
In the first 14 verses of Ephesians Jesus Christ is referred to, no fewer than 15 times, and the phrase “in Christ” occurs 11 times. Paul is trying to say something here! But so what… what does this mean… this new life “in Christ”? Follow with me…
1. V 3 & 4, 9 & 11 God’s purpose and election take place in Christ
Formerly we were “in Adam”, belonging to the old fallen humanity, now we are in Christ, belonging to the new redeemed humanity.
2. V5 God blessed us in time and chose us in eternity, adopting us as sons and daughters in Christ.
3. V 6 & 7 God’s grace and redemption are found in Christ.
4. V 10 All things in heaven and on earth are summed up in Christ.
5. V 12 & 13 Our hope is founded in Christ, people hear the word in Christ, and by faith are sealed in Christ. We are marked by the Holy Spirit and as such we belong to God in Christ.
6. In Christ we have new life.
This entire section V1-14 is an outpouring of worship to God for his wonderful blessings in Christ. God is being praised and the focus of that praise is what God has done in Christ and what is available to us in Christ. Have a look at what the rest of the NT reveals to us about our identity in Christ.
Our true identity is revealed in Christ…
· We are declared not guilty. Rom 3:24
· There is no condemnation. Rom 8:1
· We’re freed from the circle of sin. Rom 8:2
· We’re made acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1Cor1:2
· We are pure and holy. 1Cor1:30
· We will rise again. 1Cor15:22
· We are freed from trying to be good enough to be saved. 2Cor3:17
· We are brand new people inside. 2Cor5:17
· We are full of God’s goodness. 2Cor5:21
· We are one in Christ with all believers. Gal3:28
· We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in heaven. Eph 1:3
· We are holy, blameless. Eph 1:4
· We belong to Christ. Eph 1:5-6
· Our sins are taken away, we are forgiven. Eph 1:7
· We will live with Christ forever. Eph 1:10-11
· We are marked as belonging to God by the Holy Spirit. Eph 1:13
· We will sit with Christ in glory. Eph 2:6
· We have been given new lives. Eph 2:10
· We have been brought near to God. Eph 2:13
· We will receive great blessings. Eph 3:6
· We can come fearlessly into God’s presence. Eph 3:12
· We are part of Christ’s body, the church. Eph 5:29
· We have everything because we have Christ, we are filled with God. Col 2:10
· We are set free from evil desires. Col 2:11
· We will have eternal glory. 2Tim 2:10
Once we were separated from God, hopeless and godless, but now we are in Christ and that makes a difference, in Christ we are overwhelmed by blessing. I don’t know about you but I need to be reminded of that!
Every blessing of the Holy Spirit has been given to us by the father if we are in the son, no blessing is withheld from us, and that’s got to be good for you!
This is an amazing concept; you see in Christ we are incorporated into him, that is; Christ is the place where we as believers reside, the source in which we find God’s salvation and blessings, and the framework in which we live and work.
This is the real point of all this… transformation, first of all spiritually and internally, but worked out externally impacting us relationally and effecting us ethically.
Awareness of the presence of God and of living in Christ are the keys to life. Don’t forget where you are… you are in Christ. You live in his house and you are part of his family.
And that means that our lives are determined by the character of Christ and God; you see Christian ethics are grounded in our being in Christ. Rule keeping is not the issue, conforming to some external standard is not the issue, if you live in Christ, then Christ is our environment.
As such we live out of this environment, there’s a kind of inner definition that comes from being in Christ, and as we are empowered by his spirit our lives are transformed; we become holy and blameless… that’s the call, that’s the challenge.
Life from God results in a transformed life with God, being in Christ has to make a difference, doesn’t it?
Now this is not some eastern religious thought of absorption into the deity, but nevertheless being in Christ means we are united with Christ and as such he sets the perimeters of life and then makes available God’s provisions for life.
What we need for life is found in Christ, as Colossians says; Christ is all and all we need.
But without ignoring the importance of Christ being in us, the neglected idea of our being in Christ is much more significant. If we only emphasise that Christ is in us, that Jesus is in my heart, we define reality, and Christ is about one inch tall. If we realise we are in Christ, then he determines reality and encompasses all we are.
For Paul, faith is incorporation into Christ, a fellowship with him that determines the whole of life. You see Christianity is far more than believing certain facts, fellowship with Christ can not be reduced to belief in certain doctrines about Christ.
We need to be people who live like we know our geography; we are part of Christ.
As such we should always act in accord with who he is, everything we do and say, everything we think and feel; the good and bad… involves Christ.
We are Christ bearers, being in Christ is another way of saying; he determines our being… does that ring a bell; who or what determines your being? Is it Jesus… or is it someone else?
2. New Life in Christ: chosen and elected…
So; being in Christ means that we are incredibly blessed and being in Christ means that we are chosen and elected too… but what does that mean for us?
In V 4 – 6… Election means that the existence of the people of God can be explained only on the basis of God’s character, plan, and action, not on some quality in the people who are chosen. The initiative is always God’s, and it’s based on grace.
Let me explain… God’s character is best described as “God for us”, he is the one who has chosen us. God has and always will be this kind of God.
He is the God of the past, present and future, working in all three areas “for us”.
Our security rests on what HE did before the foundation of the world , on what HE did and what HE continues to do in Christ and in the spirit, and on what HE has promised to do in the future. God has intentionally chosen and planned to go to great lengths to achieve salvation for his chosen people.
This is not an afterthought, but the very essence of who he is. God is a gregarious God who created people for relation with him.
God values his people and draws them to himself in Christ, the focus is on his grace and has nothing to do with any arbitrary decisions from God about wether to chose some and ignore others.
We’ve got it all wrong if we assume that God’s election of us has anything to do with our own merit or accomplishment. Of course we have difficulty thinking that God might chose some and not others; this is not a God of love and compassion. This is cruel and calculating and pretty hard to stomach.
But this isn’t the focus here, the focus is on God at work, planning and drawing a people to himself through Christ. It’s a corporate thing. And if the focus is corporate and not individual and if people are elect only in and through Christ, then this text has nothing to do with our fear that God chooses some individuals and ignores others.
That is a nonbiblical conclusion about the result of election and the question; who is elect. The focus of the biblical text is on the cause of election… that Christians, live holy and blameless lives before God.
That God has chosen us is a privilege, but with this privilege comes responsibility… namely to live holy and blameless lives before him, to the praise and glory of his name. That’s a challenge and that’s the goal.
You know; people often pay too much for ideas like election and have nothing left to pay for other necessities like human freedom and responsibility.
Biblical ideas must always be held in tension with other biblical ideas.
Paul’s discussion here about God choosing has nothing to do with fatalism or determinism that diminishes human action and responsibility.
The temptation is to ask how much of salvation is God’s doing and how much is ours, but this I believe is misguided. It assumes that human beings and God stand in isolation for a start.
The truth is that salvation is entirely a work of God in which humans are totally involved. God is the one who works in and through us even as we choose him. What a glorious, gracious and wonderful God we have.
Consider this…
· Election is God’s grace in action.
· God chose Abraham and then Israel for a task; to bless all the nations of the earth.
· Jesus took on the task of Israel as God’s Elect One.
· People are elect in Christ for relation with God.
· While God chooses, people still have choice and are responsible for their decisions.
· Election demonstrates God’s favour, but it’s not a sign of superiority.
· Election always implies responsibility and demands action.
· The ultimate goal of election is the revelation of God’s character to the praise and glory of his name.
3. A New Life in Christ: adopted and changed…
So what’s the purpose of all this, well; if you have a look at V5 you’ll see that the emphasis on adoption shows that the purpose of election is relational.
God for no other reason than that he’s a loving God chose to adopt people into his family through Jesus Christ. As adopted sons and daughters of God we have many privileges and some demanding responsibilities.
Redemption, forgiveness and abundant grace are only the beginning.
These are privileges that we enjoy right now but it doesn’t stop here there are responsibilities too.
We were pre-destined to be his sons and daughters, for what purpose… to live holy lives that glorify God. It’s inconceivable that we should enjoy a relationship with God as his children without accepting the obligation to imitate our father and cultivate the family likeness.
As adopted children we experience immeasurable privilege, abundant blessings, wonderful grace and constant challenge as well. It’s all part of the package. Having heard all this I’ve got a few questions for you to think about…
- What does being in Christ mean for evangelism?
- What does being chosen say about us?
- What does it say about God?
- Are there people that are not chosen?
- What do you think about that?
- If we are in Christ how does that effect who we are and what we do?
4. A New Life in Christ: bringing glory to God…
Paul was writing all this as a prisoner in Rome, under house arrest and handcuffed to a roman solider. Even though his wrist was chained and his body confined, his heart and mind inhabited eternity.
He peered back before the foundation of the world V4 and on into the fullness of time V10, and grasped hold of what we have now V7, and what we ought to be now V4.
We too need to see time in the light of eternity, and our present privileges and obligations in the light of our past election and future perfection. And then like Paul life would lead to worship and we would bless God constantly for having blessed us so richly in Christ.
Life with God is not some minimalist approach to life; God’s spirit has brought us every privilege and every blessing. The fact that we are in Christ should bring us to our knees in worship and wonder.
You see there’s no doubt in my mind that we become what we worship because devotion shapes us. What do you worship and what are you becoming as a result?
What is it that you are devoted to and what is shaping you as a result?
You see everything we have and everything we are in Christ comes from God and therefore must return to God. It all begins with his will and ends with his glory.
Ask yourself this question in the quietness of your heart…
- Does your life begin with his will and end with his glory.
- Do your relationships begin with his will and end with his glory.
- Do your ethics begin with his will and end with his glory.
Lets just sit in silence for a moment or two and consider where we are at in Christ and come before the one who can offer us redemption and forgiveness and grace, the one who is for us not against us.
To the glory of God and in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
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