Supporting Texts: 2 Kings 6:13-18; Matthew 19:27; Luke 24:45-49; Acts 16:14; Romans 10:9-10; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Philippians 4:8; 1 John 3:18.
What we know as the book of Ephesians is a letter written by the Apostle Paul through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to a local church in a region known in the first century as Asia Minor. By local church, I mean an assembly of born-again and redeemed individuals who routinely gathered together with others who lived near them to worship the Lord Jesus Christ and to encourage one another to grow in their faith. Since Ephesus was a large city, and since, as far as we know, the church did not own any physical property or buildings, the Christians of this church gathered in large homes and rented spaces to conduct their ministry. While we do not know how many smaller groups there were, we know there were several elders of the church who were responsible for it.
These people of Ephesus had grown up in a pagan world and had grown up worshiping the pagan gods of the region. The city of Ephesus boasted the worship of Artemis and had constructed a temple to Artemis which dominated the religious life of the city and the surrounding area. The temple of Artemis at Ephesus was listed as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world because of its magnificent architecture and artwork. The temple and the pagan religion associated with it dominated the lives of the people of Ephesus. It controlled their lives through the rituals and festivals and their lives were regulated by the religious calendar. Many of the people from the city earned their livings in one way or another from the temple of Artemis and its pagan religious practices.
What we must understand is that this comparatively small band of Ephesian Christians, having received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, had come apart from this pagan religion, and separated themselves to worship God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Their faith in Christ now dominated their lives instead of Artemis and they were undoubtedly seen as peculiar to those still held captive by that pagan religion. They endured ridicule and persecution from their neighbors and even their own families for not following the crowd and for turning away from false religion. They were now witnessing to those same people about their faith in Christ. These first-generation Christians were establishing Christian homes and raising their children to follow Christ. Paul’s letter to them was designed to help them, to encourage them, and to instruct them how to live a faithful and godly life.
To unfold his instruction to them, he first identified two characteristics of the Christian life. These two aspects are found throughout the New Testament and it instructs us, as it taught these first century Christians, about two essentials of Christian living. Next, he explains how believers in Christ grow in their faith, calling upon them to use “the eyes of their heart” and then shows three absolutely necessary results that are graciously granted to believers as they develop their spiritual maturity. Finally, Paul introduced his foundational theme of the epistle, and that is the great provision given by God’s grace to enable and empower the Christian life. First, let us look at two essential characteristics of the Christian life.
PAUL’S PRAISE FOR BELIEVERS. Ephesians 1:15
Good News About God’s People. The first item of note is that Paul had heard news about the Christians living among demonic paganism in Ephesus. Paul had served as a pastor of this church, but that had been several years earlier. By now, many more people had come to faith in Christ and there were a number of people Paul did not personally know. We must remember that Paul wrote these words while in prison in Rome, hundreds of miles away from Ephesus. There were no cell phones or iPads or social media platforms for Paul to gather information. So how did he hear about them? Obviously, during his imprisonment, people who had traveled from Ephesus, communicated either directly or indirectly to Paul about the Christians in Ephesus. They told him about the church – the people, and their spiritual condition. What they told him made Paul rejoice.
These former pagans had so thoroughly embraced the Lord Jesus Christ that they had completely abandoned their former habits and were immersed in serving their Savior. Paul had heard about other churches. He heard about the Corinthians, but they were filled with internal strife and spiritual immaturity. But about these believers from Ephesus, he heard two priceless characteristics that caused him to rejoice because they pointed to the genuineness of their salvation.
Faith in the Lord Jesus. First, they had faith in the Lord Jesus. This faith speaks about their initial faith in believing in Jesus as their Savior as well as their continuing faith in following Him as their Master. I know this because the text emphasizes that Jesus is Lord, so that not only is saving belief in view but also the Lordship of Jesus as the object of that belief. “Lord” indicates the sovereign deity of Jesus Christ. Jesus, who is God, is the One who rules as God. Jesus is at one and the same time Savior and Lord – there is no separation. We remember that to the Romans Paul wrote, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteous-ness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation” (Romans 10:9-10). Clearly, to receive Jesus as Savior also means receiving Him as Lord.
This obviously means that Christians must submit themselves to Jesus as Lord. It means giving up the ownership of our lives to Christ and living a life yielded to Him. In the nineteenth chapter of Matthew’s gospel, a rich young man asked Jesus how to obtain eternal life. The young man thought he was good enough, but Jesus told him that he must “sell your possessions, and come and follow Me.” After the young man went away, Jesus said, “It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus continued, “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible”” (Matthew 19:24-26). To this the disciples responded, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You” (Matthew 19:27). They understood, as should we, that we must give ourselves completely to the Lord. Jesus is not accepted in parts – first as Savior and then as Lord – Jesus the Savior is Lord. Neither is Jesus followed in parts. The fact that Jesus is our sovereign Lord begins at the moment we receive Him as Savior and neither aspect will change throughout eternity. We are to obey all that He commanded us. These Christians from Ephesus came in saving faith and they continued to live by faith.
Love For All the Saints. As is always the case, we are saved by faith alone, but true faith always leads to a Christ-like life. These people loved one another. They served one another in Christian love. There is no favoritism in true, spirit-filled love. With a servant’s heart, we must love all the saints, especially the ones we know. Sound theology is not a substitute for genuine love; sound theology calls us to love and empowers our love.
The Apostle John wrote, “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.” And, “Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions” (1 John 3:14, 18) (NASB and NLT). In the New Testament, true spiritual love is defined as an attitude of selfless sacrifice that results in generous acts of kindness done to others. Faith and love must be kept in balance. These Christians in Ephesus had the right balance and for that Paul was thankful.
PAUL’S PRAYER FOR BELIEVERS. Ephesians 1:16-20
A Petition for Believers. Prayer is one of the great challenges of the Christian life. In our day the lack of prayer is, perhaps, one of the church’s greatest weaknesses. Prayer forces us to turn our attention from the natural world around us to the supernatural world of God’s presence. Unquestionably pastors and other church leaders must spend time in prayer. But for what should we pray? What subjects should dominate our prayer? In these few verses, we gain insight into Paul’s prayer as a pastor for the church of the Ephesians.
What first occupied Paul’s prayer is that it was directed to God who is the Father of glory. He petitioned God for Him to give believers true comprehension and appreciation of who they are by virtue of their salvation in Jesus Christ. He wanted God to give them wisdom and revelation so that they would begin to have some idea of how amazing and unlimited are the blessings that already belong to them because of their new and eternal relationship with Jesus. Instead of frantically searching and pleading for what God has already given them, Christians must recognize God’s great spiritual resources for their lives. There is a story about the multi-millionaire, William Randolph Hearst. In an art catalogue, he found a painting by a master artist he greatly desired. He hired an expensive agent to locate and purchase this enchanting work of art. After many months of painstaking search, the agent found the painting. Imagine Mr. Hearst’s surprise to discover that he already owned the masterpiece and it had been stored in one of his warehouses for many years. It is a matter of profound sadness that so many Christians become trapped seeking things they already possess. They want something extra the ordinary Christian life seems to be missing. They speak of getting more of Jesus or more of the Holy Spirit or more power or more blessings or a deeper life as if God’s riches were locked away in a safe that requires a key they don’t possess. But God has already given us “all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3).
Paul wants us to have a spirit of wisdom. This is not so much the Holy Spirit, but a special disposition of wisdom, the fullness of godly knowledge and understanding: all that the sanctified human mind is capable of receiving. Also, he wants us to have God’s revelation, in this we recognize that all spiritual knowledge must come by His revelation, not by our own intelligence. Through the spiritual revelation of God’s Word, God imparts His knowledge to us.
Illuminating the Eyes of the Heart. This revelation requires God’s illumination. Of course, this requires reading and studying the Bible and meditating on it, but it is only through God’s spiritual illumination that we can understand His Word and apply it to our lives. Let me offer you some examples of God’s spiritual illumination. In the Old Testament book of Second Kings, we find an unusual story of the prophet Elisha. There were great tensions in the northern kingdom of Samaria and they were being threatened by the Syrians to their north. In chapter six we find in verse fourteen that the king of Syria sent an army to find and capture Elisha. Horses, chariots, and a great army surrounded the prophet’s city. Elisha’s servant was terrified. “What shall we do?” he asked. Elisha made what appeared to be a bizarre statement, “Do not fear, for those with us are more than those who are with them.” Can you imagine the servant’s reaction? “What are you talking about Elisha? There are only two of us and there are hundreds of them!” So, in verse seventeen, Elisha prayed, (and watch carefully), “O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” See what? Suddenly, “the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:15-17). They had been there all along, but without God’s supernatural intervention, the servant would not have seen them.
Another illustration is found in Luke 24:45. Even after three years of personal instruction from the Lord, the disciples still required supernatural illumination. Jesus told them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” But look what comes next: “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45). These men were acquainted with the Old Testament and probably even thought they knew it well. But true spiritual understanding requires divine illumination. God must open our minds to understand the Scriptures. One more illustration: According to Acts 16:14, Lydia was a worshiper of God, but she was not yet a Christian. Notice carefully that it was because “the Lord opened her heart” that she was able to “respond to the things spoken by Paul.” Even our salvation requires God’s intervention and illumination. I want God to open the eyes of your heart so that you will know!
The Purposes of Wisdom and Revelation. For what purposes does God open the eyes of our heart? Three areas are listed. In Scripture the heart is the center of knowledge, understanding, thinking, and wisdom. And it is here God wants us to know the hope of His calling. We typically use “hope” as if we mean “wish,” but the majority of times it is used in the Bible it means “confidence.” God wants us to have supreme confidence that He called us to salvation. This is the greatness of God’s plan: when He saves, He saves completely and eternally. We have been elected, adopted, redeemed, and forgiven. These truths drive our confidence and security in Christ. Second, He wants us to understand the riches of the glory of His inheritance. This refers to our future. In the near future, the Lord will raise believers in a physical resurrection. All believers from the Church Age will be part of this resurrection. God will inherit those whom He has purchased at a great price according to the riches of His grace. Paul wrote in verse fourteen that the Christians’ inheritance is their final redemption from the presence of sin. What a glorious inheritance that will be!
In the present, God wants us to know about His great power that He intends to work within us through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Here Paul uses four words for this spiritual energy that is available to all believers. First is power! This power of God is directed toward believers. The second word is “working” which, in the original language, is the word from which comes the English “energy” showing that God’s power is energetic. The third word is “strength” which is a power that overcomes resistance, and the fourth word is might which is God’s essential strength which He provides. This magnificent accumulation of words for power underscores the magnitude of God's “great power” available to Christians. This power is always available and we use it under God’s illumination. You may ask, how great is this power? Verse twenty tells us that it is the same power used by God in Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. In His grace, that same power and spiritual strength is available to believers.
JESUS’ PROVISION FOR BELIEVERS. Ephesians 1:21-23
Jesus: The Sovereign Authority. The ascension of the Lord Jesus to the right hand of God involves His being exalted above every order of authority, human and angelic, whether in the present age or the future age to come. The words rule and authority, power and dominion show the infinite scope of His complete authority. As we read in Philippians, “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).
In addition, God’s power in Christ is seen in His placing all things under Christ’s feet. Whereas Adam lost his headship over Creation when he sinned, Christ was made Head over all Creation. This will be fully realized in the future. The book of Hebrews tells us, “For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him” (Hebrews 2:8).
Jesus: The Head of the Church. God’s power is also seen in Christ in His appointment of Christ as Head over the church. Though the final manifestation of Christ’s comprehensive authority over all Creation will be in the future, He is now Head over the fellowship of believers. This is the first time the church is specifically mentioned in Ephesians. The church is His body. By “His body” we mean the universal church consisting of all believers from all generations, which is the fullness of Him who fills all in all. The Lord Jesus, who is the Head of the body, fills the church with His blessings.
Christ’s authority is presently being exercised in the church, among those who are true believers, as it has been since the Day of Pentecost. In many ways we see His authority in action and in many ways, He is ruling in ways not so easily observed. But we must know that He is in absolute control of His church and all that it does.
Every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is a functioning member of His eternal body. Every Christian in this room is a part of His body: none are excluded. Right now, the body, the church, is nearing its completion. When the church: the body of Christ has been completed, with every member who was elected before the foundation of the world redeemed, then Jesus will return in a moment, as the Bible says, in the twinkling of an eye. In that eagerly anticipated event, those Christians who have already died will rise from their graves and then the living Christians will be instantly transformed, and in the glory of Jesus Christ, all will stand sanctified and glorified with Jesus. The church looks forward to that moment. Remember, the point of Paul’s prayer is that we might comprehend how secure we are in Christ and how unwavering and unchangeable is our confidence of eternal inheritance. God’s great power is presently operating to bring us to His glory.
If you have never received Jesus as your Savior, He is calling you to receive Him. Wait no longer. Jesus will forgive your sin and grant you eternal life in His forever family. Call on Him right now.
