"And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure…to bring all things in heavens and on earth together under one head, even Christ.'' (Eph. 1:9-10)

The Apostle Paul opens his letter to the Ephesians with an explosion of praise to Father God for having blessed us, not with earthly blessings, but with every spiritual blessing that belongs to the heavenly realms of which we should not be a part of. But all this has been made possible because of Christ.

However, as Paul enumerates these tremendous blessings, he does so with no predetermined order, having jammed everything in one long Greek sentence from vv. 4-14. Knowing that it is rather confusing, allow me to attempt (as if it were possible) to simplify his thoughts as follows:

– It appears all the riches of God's blessings issue from "the mystery of His will" (v.9) which is "to bring all things in heaven and on earth under one head, even in Christ" (1:10).

– Of this will of God to bring "all things" under Christ, Paul and the first believers (Jewish Christians) were the first to have such a hope in Christ, as they were chosen and predestined according to the plan of God, the ultimate purpose of which is for "the praise of His glory" (1:11-12).

– Then the Ephesian believers (i.e. the Gentile Christians) were also included as they heard and received the truth — their equal status with the Jewish Christian is sealed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who acts like a deposit to guarantee their share in Christ until "all things" are redeemed (1:13-14), with the ultimate purpose which is "to the praise of His glory" (1:13-14).

– However, both the Jewish Christians (like Paul) and the Gentile Christians (like the Ephesians) receive such riches of blessings because of grace only:

– They have been chosen and predestined before the creation of the world. Thus it does not depend on works or merits, but purely on God's good pleasure who has given this grace freely.

– The means is the work of Christ, the One He loves us, offering redemption through His blood and the forgiveness of sins which makes us His sons through adoption. It "is the best way to describe this…because adopted children have their position by grace and not by right" (TNTC, Ephesians, 26).

– The purpose of such election is that

– we may be holy and blameless (1:4) and that

– "His glorious grace may be praised." (1:6)

With this praise to God, the Apostle Paul has opened our eyes to see beyond ourselves and even our salvation, to have a glimpse of the "cosmic and universal scope of His gospel". (Fee)

"And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way." (Eph. 1:22-23)

To speak of the church as the body of Christ "is a most revealing term for the church, peculiarly Pauline (2:16; 4:4, 12, 16; 5:30; Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 10:17; 12:27; Col. 1:24; 2:19)…It means more than saying that the church is the company of the disciples of Christ, the people of God; it expresses the essential union of His people with Him… the same life of God flows through all; and it speaks of the whole as functioning in obedience to Him, carrying out His work in this world" (TNTC, 74).

However, in this great prayer by Paul for the Ephesians, he refers to the church not just as Christ's body, but as that which should reflect the result of the "incomparable great power" of the Spirit and that being united with Christ as His body and with Christ as head over "all things", we might express "the fullness of One who fills all things in all things" (literal translation of v. 23).

"As the head over all things, Christ rules over all things, in both the heavenly realms and on earth. And, as head of all things, Christ is also the source of all things, including the church's life". (Bruce, NICNT)

It is important to note that God has appointed Christ to be head over all things "for the church" (1:22) and that means

– Since Christ rules over all things, the church, as His body, also has authority over all things. As much as the world hates us (Jn. 15:18ff) and we do face challenges and constant troubles, Christ has "overcome the world" (Jn. 16:33). Therefore we have no room for fear; the church should not live like losers, but conquerors (Rom. 8:37). All things are subject to His feet, and we, as His body, have authority too over all things. The only problem is that the eyes of our heart have not been opened to see the greatness of the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in and among us.

– Since Christ "fills all things in all things", we, as a result, lack nothing: Christ is the source of all things and we have His "fullness" — His attributes, His gifts and His power. This is why the Apostle Peter says, "His divine power has given us everything (again, the original words are "all things") we need for life and godliness through your knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness" (2 Pet. 1:3). Therefore, the church must live out this "fullness", especially in being "holy and blameless" (1:4).

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourself, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast." (Eph. 2:8-9)

It is often asked if Paul means that both grace and faith are not of ourselves, but gifts of God. Allow me to share with you the comment by Lenski which is shared by many conservative scholars, including Calvin and Bruce:

"Col. 2:12 states this directly: 'through the faith of the operation of God.' One often meets careless statements such as: 'Grace is God's part, faith ours.' Now the simple fact is that even in human relations faith and confidence are produced in us by others, by what they are and what they do; we never produce it ourselves. Even deceivers know that they must cunningly make their deceptions of such a nature that they may appear true and grand, and that they may thus produce faith in those whom they wish to deceive. There is no self-produced faith; faith is wrought by the saving grace of God. Salvation is received 'by means of faith.'…in this matter of being saved by God, faith is the trustful reception wrought in us by God, only this reception which is distinguished from the subsequent activity of gratitude and works of faith. On this account, faith is essential, and he who does not believe is lost because he does not by faith receive the salvation he ought to receive.

"…So important is this matter that Paul adds explanatory specifications: 'and this not from yourselves.' The neuter touto (this) does not refer to pistis (faith) or to xaris (grace), both of which are feminine, but to the divine act of saving us: this that you have been saved. Paul denies categorically that this is in any manner due to the Ephesians themselves. The source and origin (ek — from) is not in you; it is wholly and only in God. As little as a dead man can do the least toward making himself alive, so little can the spiritually dead contribute the least toward obtaining spiritual life." (Lenski, Ephesians, 423)

"And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." (Eph. 2:22)

In the introduction to the Book of Ephesians of this devotional material, I have mentioned that one of themes of the book is about "the place of the church in God's ultimate design". The passage that we have considered today (2:11-22) deals with Christ's death on the cross through which the enmity between men and God was abolished, and at the same time, the enmity between Jews and Gentiles was abolished as well . The purpose of this is that the church, now made up of both Jews and Gentiles, would "become a holy temple in the Lord (and)…a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit" (2:21-22). In other words, God's desire to build a temple in which He lives among us has not changed with the destruction of His physical temple (in AD. 70), and has become a reality through the church today.

These days, we have such an utilitarian mindset that we only think of the "work" of the church, and forget the basics which include who we are to God as a church — a holy temple in which God lives by His Spirit.

While Paul will go into more details of how we might build a church that is fit for His holy presence in chapters 4-6, here he lays down the criteria that define God's church, His holy temple:

1. Its foundation is the apostles and prophets: We have to remember that "foundation" is merely a metaphor, because elsewhere Paul says that only Christ is the actual foundation on which the church is built and the prophets and apostles are only builders (1 Cor. 3:10-11). Therefore, the apostles and the prophets are not strictly the foundation of the church, but their teachings are. This is therefore a very important distinguishing mark of a true church — the faith of Christ's church ought to be founded on the teachings of the prophets (which point to none other than Jesus as the Messiah) and those of the apostles who are the faithful witnesses of the risen Christ as the Son of the Living God.
2. Its chief cornerstone is Christ Jesus Himself. The context of this chapter is about the abolition by Christ in His flesh on the cross of the partition that separates Jews and Gentiles, and Christ as the cornerstone that "is placed in the middle of the corner for the purpose of uniting both" (Calvin). Therefore there is no peace apart from Christ who reconciles all men to God, and all Gentiles to Jews — forming a new holy temple in which God now lives by His Spirit.

This also speaks against the individualist mindset of modern Christians whose main focus is on themselves being the temple of the Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). As true as it is, Paul reminds us that it is God's desire that we be "joined together" and be "built together" to "become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit" (2:21-22).

"I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory." (Eph. 3:13)

The great theological themes in Ephesians have caused many scholars to compare this shorter epistle to the much longer one―Romans. However, I believe, one of the main purposes or even the main purpose of this letter is a practical and personal one: Paul was concerned that his imprisonment would be a great discouragement to the church in Ephesus and to those around it in Asia Minor, for they were all suffering from persecution in differing degrees. As a result, he asked Tychicus to be the bearer of this letter and to also encourage them by telling them the latest about his situation (6:21-22).

In addition to this, Paul uses the cosmic purpose of the gospel (chapter 1) and the tremendous grace bestowed upon the Gentile Christians (chapter 2) to impress upon them what a glorious ministry he has received from the Lord as the Apostle to the Gentiles. As a result, his imprisonment and sufferings are his glory and the glory of the Gentile Christians. (3:13)

However, in urging them not to be discouraged by his imprisonment, Paul also points out the glorious role the church plays not only as a witness to the earthly realms, but also to make known "the manifold wisdom of God…to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms" (3:10). Allow me to share the comments of F.F. Bruce in this respect:

"The 'principalities and powers' (not limited to the hostile forces) learn from the church that they too have a place in the plan of God. The reconciliation between Jews and Gentiles in this new creation is a token of the reconciliation in which they in their turn are to be embraced. In Col. 1:19-22, the cosmic reconciliation which God has planned is anticipated in the experience of the believers in Christ, whom 'He has now reconciled' — and the means of reconciliation in the one case as in the other is the saving work of Christ, who has 'made peace through the blood of His cross.' The church thus appears to be God's pilot scheme for the reconciled universe of the future, the mystery of God's will 'to be administered in the fullness of the times,' when 'the things in heaven and the things on earth' are to be brought together in Christ (Eph. 1:9-10). There is probably the further implication that the church, the product of God's reconciling work thus far, is designed by Him to be His agency (existing as it does 'in Christ') for the bringing about of the ultimate reconciliation. If so, then Paul, who is the direct instrument of God in creating the present fellowship of reconciliation, is indirectly His instrument for the universal reconciliation of the future." (Bruce, NICNT, 321-2)

What a glorious ministry the Apostle Paul has assumed which indeed, "far outweighs" his "light and momentary troubles." (2 Cor. 4:17)

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ." (Eph. 3:17-18)

As the Apostle Paul talks about his imprisonment for the sake of his ministry for the Gentiles, he obviously fears that the Ephesian believers who are basically all Gentiles will "faint" because of his sufferings (3:13). Therefore he kneels before the Father — a sign of reverence and earnestness — to petition for them with this famous prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21.

Apart from asking the Father to give them strength in their inner man (which is understandable, given their fear in the face of Paul's sufferings and theirs), he also asks the Father to enable them to grasp the full dimensions of the love of Christ. In so asking, it is important to note that:

1. The Ephesian believers have to be first rooted (like a tree) and established or founded (like a building) in love.
2. The word that Paul uses for them to "grasp" the full dimensions of Christ's love is one whose basic meaning is to "seize" or "apprehend" by force.
3. Such grasping of Christ's love is to take place together with all the saints.

Indeed, the best cure for fear is love, because "in love there is no fear" (1 Jn. 4:18). However, in order to know the love of Christ fully:

1. We need to first personally experience the sacrificial love of Christ on the cross. Many Christians have never been touched by the love of Christ on the cross. How then can they reciprocate His love? Lamenting on this phenomenon, Dr. Tozer says, "Christ may be 'received' without creating any special love for Him in the soul of the receiver. The man is 'saved', but he is not hungry nor thirsty after God." (The Pursuit of God, 12-13) Our true love for Christ is always a reciprocation of His love, and that is the meaning of being first rooted and established in (Christ's) love.
2. However, to really comprehend the love of Christ, we need to learn from sharing the sufferings of Christ and that's what Paul did. That is why the word he uses for understanding is not the one for pure intellectual understanding, but one that signifies "apprehension", which points to experiential knowledge.
3. As the Apostle John points out, we cannot love the God who is unseen without loving our brothers and sisters who are seen. As a result, Paul emphasizes that such a grasping of the full dimensions of Christ's love has to take place "together with all the saints".

"As a prisoner of the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." (Eph. 4:1)

Throughout the first three chapters, the Apostle Paul seeks to impress upon the Ephesian believers, who are mainly Gentile Christians, the amazing mercy of God in electing and predestining them together with the Jewish Christians to be His Church — those being called out "to the praise of His glory" (1:6, 12, 14). And in the first three chapters, Paul shows them the tremendous privilege and responsibilities of the church which include:

• The building up of a holy temple together as a dwelling place in which God lives by His Spirit (2:21-22);
• The manifestation of the wisdom of God to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms (3:10);
• As the body of Christ under whose feet God has placed all things and who is head over everything, we are to be filled with the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way (1:22-23).

However, the Apostle Paul urges them that in order to fulfill such a tall order, they need to "make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (4:3). Because of the cosmic scope of this calling, we tend to think of this exhortation in terms of the universal church. However, Paul makes it very clear that he is primarily talking about the local church, because he cites four important aspects that are keys to the maintenance of such a unity of the Spirit, namely complete humility, meekness, long suffering and forbearing with one another in love (4:2). All four aspects refer to the life within an intimate faith community.

Just imagine a local church in which there is a lack of humility — everyone thinks more highly of themselves and their opinions; a lack of meekness — everyone is prone to raise their voice and is easily excited; a lack of patience — demanding changes to be made in the church instantly; and a lack of forbearance with one another — unwilling to forgive one another's sins. Such a church certainly cannot be a holy temple in which God is delighted to dwell; it certainly cannot testify to the wisdom of God, but makes Him a laughingstock in choosing us before the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms; and it defeats Christ's purpose of redemption in making us His body which God desires to fill with His fullness.

On the other hand, if every local church seeks to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace, we will together rock not only the entire world but the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms with the testimony to God's wisdom and power in choosing us and predestining us before the creation of the world as His church.

"From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.'' (Eph. 4:16)

In emphasizing the oneness of this new creation in Christ, the church, the Apostle Paul recognizes that this oneness or unity is not automatic. For one, we are individual spiritual infants who need to grow not only in our own maturity but also in relation to the entire body of Christ. There is also the fact that Satan, although defeated by Christ through the cross, has yet to meet his final destiny and is actively working through deceitful teachings to stymie the growth of young and old believers.

It is with this in mind that the Apostle Paul urges the leaders of the church, namely the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and the teachers to use their gifts given by Christ to "equip the saints for the works of ministry" (4:12).

It is important to note that:

1. Paul does not say that only these leaders mentioned in Ephesians 4 have been given gifts. In 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12, he has already pointed out that all believers are given gifts. No believers are without gifts.
2. While "apostles and prophets" are the "foundation" based on whom the church has been established (2:19-22), it is implied that the rest of us — those subsequent to the Apostolic Age — should continue to build up their teachings. The evangelists, the pastors and the teachers are the key ministers who do the work of equipping so that "each part does its work" (4:16);
3. The task of the evangelists, the pastors and the teachers is a dual charge: "until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God" (4:13). This points to the teaching of not only objective truths but also of experiential knowledge of Christ which cannot be achieved by pure personal pursuit, lest the body of Christ, the church, fail to attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
4. Such a goal of attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ has to come about only "as each part does its work" and "in love" (4:16). While not all of us are gifted as leaders of the church, if we ignore our gifts and do not our part and, if we do not pursue growing in love, the church can never achieve unity nor become a mature body of Christ that can withstand the attack of the evil one.

Allow me to leave you with two questions:

– Do you know your "part" (or role) in the Body of Christ, the church?

– Is "love" the mark of your role in the church?

"Therefore I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do in the futility of their thinking." (Eph. 4:17)

The mind is indeed the battle ground of one's spiritual life. "We are what we think" is indeed a true saying. As a result, the Apostle Paul urges the Ephesian Christians who were Gentiles to stop living as they did before, and in so doing, he points out that their former lives were dictated by their thinking which was one of futility. Such a mind of futility, of course, is not confined to the Gentiles, but all who are separated from God. This is why Paul adds that he "insists on" it (the Greek word means to "testify" or "witness"), because that also describes Paul's former way of life apart from God.

Paul gives the following reasons (in 4:18) for describing the mind of all non-believers as a mind of futility:

1. Their understanding (or intellect) has been darkened: That means no matter how brilliant they might be intellectually and how high an IQ they have, they are incapable of thinking clearly in terms of things spiritual, i.e. things pertaining to God. Therefore, even all the great achievements that their minds might be capable of, as Solomon puts it, are but "vanity". (Eccl. 2:11)
2. Their hearts have been hardened: The word for "hardened' is the word "petrified" as in "rocks". That means the habitual dwelling in sins takes away any sensitivity not only to God, but even to the basic sense of "right and wrong". Even we Christians will find this to be true in ourselves. If we persist in resisting the conviction by the Holy Spirit of our wrong, soon we will be de-sensitized in our sinful habits. If this is true of Christians, how much more it is with non-believers.
3. Their ignorance is deep-rooted and has, according to the Apostle Paul, led to a "deep-rooted ignorance". The original Greek points to their "being" or the essence of their life is one where they are ignorant of their true condition.
4. They are alienated from the life of God. The way Paul puts it is that their darkened intellect, their petrified hearts and their ignorance of their condition have perpetuated their continued alienation from the life of God, pushing them farther and farther away from God.

The result of the above condition has caused the heathens to give themselves over to "sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity with a continual lust for more" (4:19). That means they are determined to do only whatever things that make them feel good which only leads to a bottomless pit that can never give them true satisfaction — that is how futile their lives are.

This sadly is the picture of the world before us which, even without the judgment of God, will plunge itself into complete self-destruction!

"Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving." (Eph. 5:4)

One would assume that the church being the community of saints would be a people of clean language. Such is often not the case, especially if you visit Christians in their work place or at their homes. Worse, some will even continue to speak, as Paul alludes to in Ephesians, obscenities, foolish talk and coarse jokes when they meet with other brothers and sisters whether in a social setting or at a church fellowship.

Paul is very stern with such behaviors and urges the church in Ephesus not to allow "even a hint" of anything impure or immoral; and he urges that anyone who disagrees with him in this respect is a "deceiver" with whom we cannot partner (5:6-7), i.e. not only are we not to serve together with such persons but we are not to get involved with them in such a "dangerous fellowship" (Calvin).

So what kind of speech befits the community of saints? Paul says that the community of saints should be marked by "thanksgiving". The word, "thanksgiving (euxaristía)" according to Calvin and Lenski is better translated as "talking about the grace of God". Indeed if we can see everything as given by God, and in the slightest gifts we give thanks to God:

– It would really reflect a life of constant reflection and self-examination so that we would not let any grace of God pass without being recognized in our lives.

– It would also enhance our faith in that the more we recognize that all is grace, the more we will trust Him in our times of need.

– It is then that we learn to give thanks even for "bad things" that happen to us, which makes our thanksgiving truly a "sacrifice of praise — the fruit of lips that confess His name" (Heb. 13:15). Frankly this is the mark of a "true thanks-giver" without which even if we give thanks a million times a day, we are only resounding gongs and clanging cymbals.