Broken barriers : a study of Ephesians

Introduction

| Chapter we hapter

Chapter

Chapter

I

I

Ul

IV

THE MYSTERY OF SALVATION AND THE CHURCH

Vs. 1-2 Prologue

Vs. 3-14 What the Church has Done for Us.

Vs. 15-23 Paul’s Prayers for the Believers

GOD’S NEW LIFE IN CHRIST Verses 1-10 From Death to Life

Verses 11-22 A New Humanity in Christ Questions for Discussion

GOD’S GRACIOUS PURPOSE

Verses 1-13 Paul, The Apostle to the Gentiles

Verses 14-21 Paul’s Prayer that His Readers May Have God’s Power and Love

THE WORTHY LIFE

Verses 1-6 A Call for Unity

Verses 7-16 Special Gifts

Verses 17-32 The New Life in Christ Questions for Discussion

Chapter V-V1 THE CHRISTIAN WALK

Verses 5:1-20 Be Like God

Verses 5:20-33 The Christian Home

Verses 6:1-4 Duties of Children and Parents Verses 6:5-9 Slaves and Masters

Verses 6:10-20 Christian’s Spiritual Warfare Verses 6:21-24 Greetings and Salutations Questions for Discussion come to the city of Rome from Asia Minor on some business or perhaps to bring gifts from the Christians of Asia Minor to aid Paul with his expenses in prison. Tychichus may have left from Colossae. Paul wanted to send some word of exhortation to the church there and so wrote the letter to the Colossians. Then, since there was still time before Tychichus was to leave, Paul decided to expand the thoughts in the letter to the Colossians, and write a letter to be circulated to all of the churches in Asia Minor. Since Paul had spent a longer time at Ephesus than anywhere else in Asia Minor, it was only natural that when the letter got to Ephesus the church there would preserve it, either by making a copy to keep or by keeping the original and sending on a copy to other churches in the area.

Prologue

Let us now turn to the letter itself. The first verse is Paul’s own introduction of himself to the readers of the letter. He said that he was ‘‘chosen by God to be Jesus Christ’s messenger”’ (Living Bible). The choosing took place on the Damascus road. The sending out was done by the church at Antioch under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:2). In this first verse he also mentions to whom the letter was written ‘“‘to the saints who are also faithful in Christ Jesus’ (RSV) ‘“‘to God’s people who are faithful in their life in union with Christ Jesus’’. (TEV).

Then comes Paul’s wish or blessing for these people. ‘‘May God our father give you Grace and Peace’. These have been called the two great words of our Christian faith. Because of God’s generous heart of love, we who are so undeserving of redemption and forgiveness are saved. We have not earned nox deserved this free gift of God. Paul reminds us in Vs. 2:8 Grace is this gift of God.

Paul asks that his hearers may receive the peace which comes from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. In John 14:27 Jesus makes a great promise to his followers ‘‘Peace I leave with you, my own peace I give you”. The Greek word for peace is eirené which is used to translate the Hebrew word shalom which we use daily here in India. For the Jew shalom meant everything that was needed for man’s highest good. When Jesus said ‘“‘“My own peace I give you’ he was thus saying that he was giving his followers the same goodness which he had. Man’s highest good comes only through Jesus—this is why Jesus said “‘I am the way, 1 am the truth, I am the life’? (Jn. 14:6)

So Paul opens his letter by wishing the two greatest blessings it is possible for man to receive. God’s grace and peace as given through Christ.

A. What Christ has Done for Us:

The next section of this chapter (vs. 3-14) is one long meandering sentence in Greek. Paul’s sentence flows on and on because as he considers the meaning of Christ in his own life, he can not stop the joyous song of praise which pours forth from his heart. The reason for this was that Paul could never get over the amazing change in his life that had come after he found Jesus Christ. Paul knew that amazing things, wonderful things, happened to those who accept Christ. Let us look at some of these special things that come to us through Jesus Christ.

First of all Paul reminds us of the blessings that have come into our lives through Jesus Christ. In 1:3 he says, ‘‘ for in our union with Christ he has blessed us by giving every spiritual gift in the heavenly world.”’ There are two ideas in this verse that we - need to look at carefully.

First of all the idea of God’s blessing us. From Old Testament — times God’s people have understood that life without God’s blessing was life without real meaning. In Genesis 12:7 we read that God promised to bless Abram and in Genesis 17:4-5 we read of that promise being fulfilled in the covenant God made with the changed man Abraham. In I Kings 3 we read of King Solomon, shortly after his coronation going to the High Place at Gibeon to seek God’s blessing. Solomon asked for an understanding mind so that he could govern God’s people and God granted this blessing.

The story of Solomon reminds us that Paul taught that spiritual gifts are given by God so that we might better serve others. In I Cor, 12:7 Paul writes ‘‘to each is given the manifestation of the spirit for the common good.” (RSV) Again in Romans 12:6 he writes “‘having gifts that differ according to the grace given tous ~ let us use them: if prophecy in proportion to our faith; if service in our serving; he who teaches in his teaching; he who exhorts in his — exhortation; he who contributes in liberality; he who gives aid with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”

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From these two passages it is evident that Paul understood that the blessing of spiritual gifts was to be used for the whole church.

We must not disregard these blessings received from Jesus Christ. In Proverbs 10:22 we read that “‘the Lord‘s blessing is our greatest wealth; all our work adds nothing to it.”’ (Living Bible).

Another “‘special thing’ that God has done through Jesus Christ is to bring us to himself as his sons and daughters (Eph.1:5). Paul goes on to say that this was God’s pleasure and purpose. Because of God’s love for us through Jesus Christ we have been adopted into the family of God. Paul tells usin Galations 4:5 ‘“‘But when the right time finally came God sent his own son.”” He came as the son of a human mother and lived under the Jewish Law to set free those who were under the Law so that they might become God’s sons. This is why Jesus apehes me disciples to pray “Our Father who art in heaven.”’

Through Jesus mankind has been given the opportunity to establish a new, familiar relation with God. The Creator of the universe the punisher of sinners, the avenger and righteous God of the Old Testament revealed himself through Christ to be a loving heavenly Father seeking the salvation ofall. But Paul does not stop his torrent of praise with this thought, great as it is.

He goes on in verses 7 and 8 to remind us that “‘by ihe death of Christ we are set free and our sins are forgiven, How great is the grace of God which he has given us in such large measure.”

(TEV)

The word translated ‘‘set free’’ in the TEV and “‘redemption” in the RSV comes from a Greek word which means to ransom a prisoner of war oraslave. This is the word used in the Greek O.T. for God’s ‘‘deliverance” of Israel from slavery in Egypt and the cruel power of Pharoah.

Wherever this word is used in Greek it is used to speak of setting free a person from a situation from which he was powerless to free himself.

In Jesus’ day all of mankind was striving to save themselves from the despair and fear that living in a world they did not fully understand brought them. The most sensitive minds of the pagan world of that day, the Stoics, knew that they were gripped by something from which they were helpless to free themselves.

- Even Paul, that Hebrew of Hebrews, who had sat at the feet | of Gamaliel the most emminent rabbi of that time, thinking of his situation cried out ‘“‘wretched man that Iam, who will deliver me from this body of death?’ (Rom 7:24-RSV) Paul found the answer to this question as a Christian - ‘““Thanks be to See through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Paul found that what the law could not do Christ did do -redeem him from the body of death! Not for Paul only my friends -that fact of the First Century is stilla fact inthe Twentieth Century. Praise God! People are still finding redemption through Jesus Christ. Pick up any issue of Decision Magazine and you find thrilling testimonies as to how Christ has redeemed broken lives. Walk with me through the villages of Andhra Pradesh and listen to simple village Christians testify concerning the redemption they have found in Christ. People who were once regarded as no — people now have become the children of God.

I wish you could have been present at the Good Friday service in one of the Baptist Churches in Hyderabad and heard a prominent city doctor testify before more than 900 people present how Christ had redeemed and saved and brought healing to his life which had been meaningless for him up until then.

But these verses speak not only of redemption but also of forgiveness. One without the other is not enough. This is why Paul in his letter to Philemon plead with Philemon on behalf of Onesimus. Paul was ready to stand good for Onesimus’ redemption - to ransom him if necessary - but he knew that was not enough. Onesimus needed forgiveness as well as redemption so Paul wrote to Philemon pleading that he would forgive Onesimus and take him back, not just as a slave, but as his brother in Christ, If the relationship was to be restored forgiveness must be shown by Philemon to Onesimus.

Just so Paul tells us in these two verses, that because of ‘‘the riches of His Grace” redemption and forgiveness are given to us. by God through Jesus Christ. The two go hand in hand. When we come to God through Christ we are not only redeemed but our sins are forgiven. Its no wonder that Paul exhorts us in verse 6 “Let us praise God for his glorious grace for the free gift he gave us in his dear son!’ (TEV) As we continue reading we find Paul rejoicing for still another reason. He rejoices because through Christ Jews and Gentiles-indeed all of the people of the world - can join together in praising God for the salvation shown to all men. Paul elaborates this idea in the second chapter which we will deal with later. It is sufficient here to say that Christ with his own body has broken down the wall that separated men from each other (See 2314).

Through Christ people of the world are enabled to forget their differences and know each other as brothers and sisters. We have a demonstration of this in this meeting of the first Asian Baptist Congress which has brought together people from all over the world. Some of us learned in Sunday School a song that puts the matter plainly.

“Red and Yellow, black and white All are precious in His sight.”

Yes, Jesus loves all of the people of the world. Christianity thus became the first universal religion, As Paul says in vs. 10 “‘God’s plan, which he will reveal when the time is right, is to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth with Christ as its head.” (TEV)

This is the Good News our World needs today, just as it was the Good News needed in Paul’s day. For our world is divided. Nations are rising against nations—communist countries have taken to fighting each other! Unfortunately Christians have been fighting with one another for hundreds of years! If man is to survive on this earth he must become united with his fellow men. The world has become so small and the peoples of the world so interdependent that mankind can no longer afford the luxury of divisiveness which heaps-up tragedy upon tragedy.

Paul brings this magnificent sentence to a close by saying that the guarantee of our inheritance from Christ is the Holy Spirit which is given as a seal. ‘The Holy Spirit is the guarantee thal we shall receive what God has promised his people and assures us that God will give complete freedom to those who are his.” 1:14 (TEV). William Barclay puts .the matter plainly when he writes “The possession of the Holy Spirit is the seal and sign that a man belongs to God.”

The Jerusalem church understood this from the very beginning. - When the Christians in Jerusalem heard that many in Samaria had believed on Jesus as a result of Philip’s teaching and had been baptized but had not received the gift of the Holy Spirit they were alarmed and sent Peter and John. ‘When they arrived they prayed for the believers that they might receive the Holy Spirit...... Then Peter and John placed their hands upon them and they received the Holy Spirit.’ (Acts 8:15, 17-TEV). It was the normal thing for the early Christians to experience the power and the guidance of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

B. Paul’s Prayer for the Believers :

The final section of chapter J contains a beautiful prayer of Paul for the Christians to whom he was writing.

It was characteristic of Paul that he constantly prayed for his fellow Christians. In the first chapter of Romans as well as I and Il Corinthians he speaks of. remembering God’s people in his prayers. Do we regularly remember God’s people in our prayers? Are we concerned about the church in other places and other lands? Paul was, and he not only prayed but wrote letters to show his concern. :

In vs. 15 we find further evidence that his letter was not addressed to Ephesus alone. The words ‘‘ever since I heard of your faith in in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people’ implies a second hand knowledge of the people to whom he was writing but Paul’s knowledge of the Christians at Ephesus was first hand.

In this section Paul mentions several things for which he has been praying on their behalf—Paul had specific requests to make to God for the people for whom he prayed.

First of all in vs. 17 he says that he asked God, the heavenly Father, “to give the Spirit, who will make you wise and reveal God to you.” (TEV) Paul was certain that without the gift of the Holy Spirit no one could understand the scriptures nor really come to know God. So he asked for the gift of the Spirit for all who knew Christ.

Secondly in vs. 18 Paul says thathe is praying “‘that their minds may be opened to the light.”” John tells us in his Gospel that John the Baptist came to tell men about the light and in the 3rd chapter of John he reminds us that in Jesus ‘‘the light has come into the world”’ (Jn. 3:19). Jesus himself said that he was the light of the world. The light which Jesus brought helps us to know ourselves and something of the future he has called us to share.

Paul had a reason for praying thus. He knew that without the light which Christ brought, men were without hope. After coming into Christ’s light men not only are now filled with hope but know the richness of the blessings which God gives to his people through Christ. Secondly Paul knew that the light of Christ in our lives reveals to us how great is the power of Christ at work in us. Paul is so bold as to say that this power is the same power that raised Christ from the dead. In other words, it is God’s power and because God has willed it all things have been placed under the power and authority of Jesus Christ. And lest any should question this power Paul states boldly in vs. 21 that Christ rules from heaven and is above “all titles of power in this world and the next.”

Finally Paul closes the first chapter by reminding us of the wondrous fact that the church is Christ’s body and the completion of all things everywhere. I like the way the living bible puts this phrase “the Author and giver of everything everywhere.”

Paul says here what John said later in the prologue to his gospel: ‘Through him God made all things. God made nothing without him.” (Jn. 1:3)

nestions for Discussion :

AE aE HAN addressing Gentiles, so how would his approgdl differ from a letter written to Jews ?

-2. Here in Asia we are all members of the minority community. Our neighbours may be members of another religious community or they may pride themselves on being secular, scientific and free from the superstitions of religion. Let’s have some ideas of how you would address your neighbours ?

3... Paul prayed for the people. He thanked God for them and he prayed that they might have God’s blessing and power. How can we enrich our own prayer lives? A Christian who had been imprisoned for Christ’s sake said, ‘‘ How can a Christian ever leave the throne of grace without praying for all the Christians in the ‘world who are now suffering for Christ’s sake?’ Now, if you have had an experience that has changed and enriched your prayer life will you please share it with us?

4. Do you think Paul’s ideas were too difficult for the ordinary Christian to struggle with? It has been said, “‘ Just live according to the Sermon on the Mount and don’t worry about theology.’’ Do you agree? If not, what values have you found in studying Paul ?

CHAPTER II GOD’S NEW LIFE IN CHRIST A. From Death to Life

Paul begins the second chapter of Ephesians by contrasting the situation his readers were in before they knew Christ with the situation they now enjoy.

In verses 1 to 3 he describes the fate of all who live only according to their natural desires. Here he reminds us of how terrible life without Christ was for both the Gentiles and the Jews alike. In verse 1 he. speaks of sins and trespasses. The Greek word he used for sin is hamartia which means “ missing the mark.” What a description of life being lived by hundred of thousands of people alive today! Life lived without real purpose and outside the will of God misses the mark completely. This is to fail to be what God wants us to be, in short to be ‘spiritually dead.”” The second thing mentioned by Paul is “‘tresspasses’’. This translates the Greek word paraptoma which means. “‘to slip or fall”. Paul says that mankind has slipped from the path of righteousness has fallen away from the life God intended his people to live.

hist missing the mark’’, this “ falling away”? means but one thing: natural man is spiritually dead. The chief reason for the appalling condition of the world in which we live is the killing power of sin in the lives of so many of the world’s people. The stench of spiritual death pao over the world because of the corrupting murderous power of sin.

Elsewhere in Romans 7:24 Paul expresses the despair-of all men. ‘Wretched man that Iam! Who will deliver me from the body of death?” (RSV). There in Romans and here in Ephesians Paul points to the same answer — man cannot deliver himself from the power of sin in his life but God can and does through Jesus. The Today’s English Version puts it beautifully (2:45).

— * But God’s mercy 1s so abundant and his love for us is so great that while we were spiritually dead in our disobedience he brought us to life through Jesus. ”’

For Paul this was a surprising thing. In.Romans 5:7 he exalts! ‘But God has shown how much he loves us — it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us!” (TEV) According to Jewish teaching a man had to be deserving before he could experience the grace of God in his life. Those who were not deserving had no place in God’s salvation plan. Paul could not get over God’s grace at work in his life. In I Cor. 15:9,10 he wrote ‘‘ For I am the least of the Apostles—I do not even deserve to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted God’s church. But by God’s grace I am what I am.”’. (TEV)

No wonder that Paul speaks of God’s abundant mercy and his great love; he had experienced them in his own life! This is the crux of the matter of being a Christian — only when we actually experience God’s grace in our lives do we know what it is to be a Christian. And, as Paul found out for himself this experience comes only when we throw ourselves on God’s love and depend completely on His mercy.

Paul says that in our union with Christ God raises us up with him (vs. 6). God raises us from the life of degradation and shame to rule with Christ in the heavenly world. The resurrection of Christ from the dead is repeated in the life of the believer — God brought us from death to life through Jesus Christ. And what is the reason for all ofthis? Paul in vs. 7 says that this resurrection experience, this redemption from death to a new life is given by God to ‘“‘demonstrate for all time to come the extraordinary greatness of his grace in the love he showed us in Christ Jesus.”’ (TEV). Paul uses a strong word here variously translated ‘‘extraordinary greatness”, ‘“‘surpassing riches’’, ‘‘immeasurable riches”’, ““how infinitely rich’? to describe the measure of God’s grace shown to sinful mankind. Perhaps thinking of his own unworthiness, or considering the terrible sins that marked the world in which he lived Paul stood amazed at God’s grace. ‘...Where sin increased God’s grace increased even — more.”’ Rom. 5:20b (TEV). Truly the abounding grace of God astonishes all who are touched by it. Of one thing Paul was ~ certain — only God’s infinite grace could deal with the sin which he saw all around him. ;

Paul knew from his own bitter experience that man is saved not by good works but only by God’s grace. We can not earn our salvation no matter how hard wetry. This is why Martin Luther speaking of his experience in the Augustinian monastery said “‘if ever a monk got to heaven through his monkery I should have been the man,I would have been a martyr through fasting, prayer, reading and other good works had I remained a monk much longer. ”’

So Paul tells us plainly in vs. 8 “It is not your own doing, but God’s gift.”’ As far as salvation is concerned no man can boast he has earned it himself. Paul and Luther and a host of others found that they could not make themselves worthy of salvation in God’s sight. God knew this and out of his love sent Jesus Christ to do for man what man could not do for himself.

However, simply because man can not earn his salvation through good works does not mean that we should not do good works. In verse 10 Paul tells us that ‘“‘in our union with Christ Jesus he (God) has created us for a life of good deeds which he has already prepared for us to do. ”’

William Barclay calls this the ‘‘ Pauline Paradox”. Though we spend a life time trying to get right with God through good deeds we are unable to come to the place where we are deserving of God’s love. No child can deserve the love of his parents but that child can and should show appreciation for the love shown him by his parents. Parents _ long to see their children respond to the love they have shown to them by being the kind of children the parents want themto be. Exactly so with God. When he showed his love for us through Jesus Christ he hoped and desired that this love at work in our lives would compel'us to carry out his will in the world.

Jesus said “ If you love me you will obey my commandments. ”’ It is this love in our hearts that creates the desire to do good works to glorify God. It is this love that makes us men and women serving others for Christ.

‘Paul concludes this section of the chapter by reminding us that the change in our lives is made so that we want to be kind and considerate, loving and helpful in God’s work. He has created us fora life of Good works. Elsewhere in If Cor. 5:17 Paul tells us that when any one is joined to Christ he is a new being, the old is gone, the new has come.”’ (TEV) It is this new man who lets his light shine so that men hoes his good works, will glorify God.

B. A New Humanity in Christ:

We now come to the section (vs. 11-21) of the letter to the Ephesians which has been chosen for special study and meditation by those attending the First Asian Baptist Congress: At the beginning of this section Paul reminds us of the condition of the Gentiles before the coming of Jesus. The last part of the section speaks of the great change that came to the Gentiles who accepted Jesus Christ. Let us look at the vivid comparison he makes between the two conditions.

In their original situation Paul says that “ you were foreigners, and did not belong to God’s chosen people. You had no part in the covenants which were based on God’s promises to his people. You lived in the world without hope and without God.” (TEV) The Jews used the word “ foreigner’’ with the same utter contempt the orthodox Hindu used the word ‘“* Pharengi”’ (foreigner) a century ago. Some of the Jewish teachers went so far as to say that God created the Gentiles to provide fuel for the fires of hell. They avoided as far as possible all contact with foreigners; the foreigner was completely beyond the pale. The barrier between Jew and Gentile was absolute. So when Paul called the Gentile ‘“‘ foreigners’ he was saying the worst thing a Jew could say about any one. .

Secondly, Paul says that they did not belong to God’s chosen people. (vs. 13) Not only were the Gentiles estranged from God’s people, the Jews, but they were also estranged from God himself. Alienated from God’s people and from God—can we imagine any worse condition for men than this?

But Paul does not stop here in his description of the Gentiles before they knew Christ. He says that they “‘had no part in the Covenants which were based on God’s promises to his people.”

(vs. 12b, TEV) The Jews believed that the whole basis for their relationship with God was bound up in the covenants that God had made with Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David and others. They believed that without a covenant there could be no real relationship with God. So when Paul says that the Gentiles had no share in the covenants he was really saying that they had no chance of fellowshipping with God or receiving any kind of help from Him.

Alienated from God’s people and from God and with no share in the covenants added up to one thing for Paul. This is reflected in the closing part of verse 12 where Paul writes: ‘‘ you lived in a world without hope without God. ”’

Paul was not making an idle comment here; he was reflecting the basic attitude of many of the Greek philosophers and writers of his time. Sophocles, the great Greek dramatist reflected this attitude of hopelessness when he wrote :

Nor ever will thou find upon the open street of man, Or the secret places of the heart’s own love

One wind that blows true forever. ”’

Yes, it was true that the Gentiles of Paul’s day were without hope and without God. Just as many of the intelligentsia in Asia today have lost all faith in the old gods, so it was true in Paul’s day that many Gentiles were without hope because they had lost faith in the old gods and did not know the true God. In spite of their literary, artistic and philosophical accomplishments, the Greeks were a people living without hope. This is why some of the followers of Epicurus adopted as their motto ‘‘ Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we may die.”’ But the Jewish situation was different. In spite of all that had happened to them they were still the people with a great hope.

What a picture of desperation and despair Paul draws of the situation the Gentiles faced in his day! Honesty compels us to admit that this is a picture which portrays the situation that millions of people in our world face today. After two world wars and experiments with Socialism and Communism and Democracy many people are saying there is no hope for mankind. It is just a matter of time before we blow the world up with the bomb or make it unliveable with pollution or starve to death because of the population explosion. Truly man seems both hopeless and helpless to deal with his own situation!