Introduction to Ephesians

 

Introduction to Ephesians

 

Ephesians 1:1-2

 

 

This morning we are beginning a new study from the book of Ephesians, and I can't think of a better book to study in our first days as Grace Community Church. The theme of Ephesians is God's grace, expressed through a community of people called the church, so I think we will find it particularly relevant for us.

 

 

I.                   Background on the letter to the Ephesians

 

Ephesus was one of the major cities in Asia Minor and as a main trade route between Rome and the east, it enjoyed financial and political importance. It also prided itself as the "Temple Warden of Artemis" - because its temple for the goddess Artemis (or Diana) was considered to be one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

 

Paul visited the city on his second and third missionary trip where he preached and taught there for almost three years.

 

There the church flourished and grew in spite of serious opposition. You might remember in Acts 19 how some silversmiths were afraid that people turning to Christ might bite into idol sales so they started a riot. But the church flourished and there was a deep affection Paul held for the church. When he says goodbye to the elders of Ephesus in Acts 20, there are many tears and Luke says they have to tear themselves away.

 

The character of the letter

 

Ephesians letter was written by Paul about ten years after the church was founded and while he was in prison. Although it is lacking the personal warmth of some of Paul's letters - it has none of the affection that is found in Philippians or the personal greetings that fill the last chapters of Romans, the Ephesian letter is a beautiful book - it has been called the crown of Paul's writings. Paul apparently felt the church was mature enough to handle some of his deepest and richest doctrinal teaching. It is considered by many the most mature of his writings.

 

II.                Preparation for the Book of Ephesians

 

We are only going to look at the first two verses, but first, there are two things I want to prepare us for as we begin this journey through Ephesians:

 

1. This is a high altitude book - it takes us to peaks of revelation about God and His purposes in the church that are breathtaking. This atmosphere is God-centered and that is refreshing to the soul.

 

In the first three chapters it gives a panoramic view of the riches of God's grace to His people, and in the last three chapters then instructs us in the walking out of that grace in our daily lives. In a sense, we learn how to withdraw the riches of grace God has given.

 

1. Expect mystery. We will come face to face with the mystery of God's eternal purposes in salvation. Doctrines like election and predestination will, in words of CJ Mahaney, "bump us up against mystery." Expect to bump up against this mystery.

 

1.  
   1. Embrace the truth that there will be mystery you won't understand. There are truths directly stated in the scriptures that cannot be fully understood and sometimes even seem to contradict each other. To think we can fully explain it all will inevitably lead us to reducing both God and the Bible to our size.

 

"I bless God for a religion which I cannot understand. If I could perfectly understand

it I would not believe it to be divine; for I should be sure it did not come from the

infinite God if I could grasp it and comprehend it."  ~ Spurgeon

 

Accept that there will be mystery. Mystery humbles us. Some of what we look at will be issues that have long been debated among Christians. We need to walk in humility with doctrine.

 

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   1. It is not doctrine that divides true Christians, but pride. Christian brothers can hold different beliefs on issues that are not central to the gospel and hold them strongly and clearly, yet love one another. That must be our goal!

 

III.             Ephesians 1:1-2

 

Notice that in first two verses, as in all the book, that God's will, God's initiative, and God's work is emphasized.

 

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God...

 

Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ, not because he took that title upon himself or was appointed by any man, but by the will of God.

 

There were men who were appointing and promoting themselves as apostles in Paul's day. Paul writes to the Corinthians about what he calls the "super-apostles" -a sarcastic term that Paul may have coined -is found only in 2 Corinthians and nowhere else for hundreds of years. These men loved to commend themselves and each other, but did not have the commendation that mattered most. For Paul, the only commendation that mattered was the commendation of God.

 

Paul was an apostle by will of God so he speaks with the full authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. The church was to receive this letter as the very word of God - very words of Christ. As an apostle - he was a messenger.

 

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus

 

This letter is addressed To the saints who are in Ephesus...We don't use the term "saint" very much anymore - many of us think of the Catholic Church definition of a saint: an especially holy group of men and women who are 1) dead and 2) believed to work miracles in answer to prayer.

 

Saint meant "holy" or "set apart" but it was not primarily as a reference to their level of sanctification, but that they were made holy - set apart - by God. Set apart as belonging to God. Church, we have been set apart by God and we belong to God. We belong to God...

 

I remember a lonely time as a young man many years ago. I did not live at home anymore and did not have close family nearby. I was staying with a family but did not belong to that family. I had friends, but I can remember some cold, rainy days going down by the water and feeling so alone because I longed to belong to a family of my own.

 

Those moments on those rainy days reflected something deeper than just longing for close family. We are born with deep loneliness that no relationship on earth can fill. We are born feeling like there is a home we have never experienced. We are created for relationship with God. The glorious news of the gospel is that through Jesus Christ we have been set apart to belong to God.

 

We are set apart as belonging, not as property, but as children. We see as a glimpse in this word, holy, that we will hear over and over in this epistle: we are loved by God. Before we were created, we were loved by God. How awesome is that?

 

But we must realize that this does not speak to us merely individually. The Christian next to you also belongs to God. He or she is a child of God. The faithful in Christ Jesus. We are a community - a new society - a family - created by God as part of His great salvation plan. Christianity is not a solo act. We are a community project - we need each other.

 

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   1. Saints is a plural word!

 

The word saint is always used in the plural - saints - except once, in Phil. 4:21 when it speaks of "every saint". We cannot separate God's work in saving individuals from His plan to build a people - the church.

 

One of our chief evangelical blind spots has been to overlook the central importance of the church. We tend to proclaim individual salvation without moving on to the saved community...Nobody can emerge from a careful reading of Paul's letter to the Ephesians with a privatized gospel. For Ephesians is the gospel of the church. ~ John Stott[1]

 

The book of Ephesians is written to the church and about God's eternal plan worked out in the church - to create a people unto Himself. As Peter writes, we who were once not a people have been made a people. We are a community. The church is not you, it's not me. It is us. Plural. We. This is God's design.

 

I was recently in a context with extended family who have not been attending a local church for many years. They are genuine believers and they have strong convictions, but unfortunately they do not have a strong conviction about being committed to a church. So their children have grown up without a strong conviction or a connection to a local church. As one of their daughters got married, it was sad to see no local church there to rejoice or to help them walk out marriage. There was no pastoral relationship to care for or counsel her or her husband. There was no context to grow spiritually in God's Word, the spiritual gifts, or in doing life together with other believers.

 

When we left, I was so grateful for the local church my family enjoys. We would be missing so much of what God has for us if we were not a part of a local church.

 

On this first full Sunday as Grace Community Church, may we be mindful that the church isn't a good

idea. It's God's idea. Imperfect, yes. Full of sinners. Absolutely. But we need each other in our spiritual

walk - God never meant for us to "go at it alone". Saints is a plural word!

 

God did not create us to "go at it alone" in life and especially in our spiritual life. Life finds its meaning in relationships - first in our relationship with God and then in relationship with one another. We need outside perspective and insight or we get weird and out of balance.

 

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   1. community isn't based on what we do - based on what God has done

 

In political circles, there is a lot of talk about being a community organizer lately. But we need to see that the community of the church isn't something we organize.

 

When we think of community, we often can think thoughts like, "what can we do to build community?"

or "are we becoming a community?" In other words, we think community is based on what we do rather than on what God has done.

 

We can't begin with what we do - we need to begin with what God has done. It is God's saving grace that binds our lives together in community. This shifts our perspective away from the misconception that we need to create community to recognize that God has already created a community of believers and we are to walk out that community by living life together as believers in Christ.

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

God our Father has given His people infinite grace through Jesus Christ. We who were once God's enemies have been reconciled through the work of the cross, and we now have peace with God and with one another. We have received grace and we have received peace.

 

Hetty Green is one of the most famous of American misers. When she died she had an estimated wealth of over 100 million dollars. Yet she lived as a miser all her life. It is reported that she ate oatmeal most of the time, heated over radiators to save money. When her son Ned broke his leg she tried to have him admitted as a charity case. When they recognized her she left the hospital vowing to treat his leg herself. His leg contracted gangrene and had to be amputated. Later in life she suffered from a hernia but refused treatment because it cost $150.

 

She was rich beyond imagination, but she lived as if she had nothing. Her wealth was not tapped into. That can be the way it is for Christians. We are wealthy beyond our imagination in the grace of God, but we can live as though we're poor. It is a tragedy when churches are filled with rancor and bitterness, or legalism and judgmentalism when the atmosphere of the church is to be the same wonderful grace and peace that was purchased for us on the cross. It's like eating cold oatmeal when we should be feasting on God's rich table of grace. We are rich in grace and peace with God. Paul prays that we withdraw that grace and peace and experience it in our daily lives and in the church.

 

Grace Community Church, may that be our prayer as well. That the grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ will be upon us. Let's pray.

 

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[1] John Stott, The Message of Ephesians, pg. 9