I love being able to share with you about what has profited me most as well as the pitfalls to avoid according to Scripture. Isn’t it much better to learn in a classroom rather than a field trip? Reminds me of the Titus passage in Titus 2:3-5:
Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Titus 2:3-5 (NIV)
I am passionate about God’s Word and I am passionate about others catching the passion! The Word of God is not a trifle, a mere addon that we can take or leave at our discretion – it is a matter of life and death. If you treat the Scriptures as a thing of no consequence or as mere empty words, you forfeit life. Like Moses states in Deuteronomy 32:45-47:
When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. They are not just idle words for you--they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” Deuteronomy 32:45-47 (NIV)
I know what a difference it has made in my own life and I am confident it will in anyone else’s life who willingly and diligently seeks the Lord through His Word and applies His Truths to their hearts. God’s Word is living, powerful and effective and precious and profitable as well. Seriously, how can we transmit our faith and values to the next generation, be the salt God calls us to be in our culture and spheres if we remain ignorant of its Truths? I am reminded of the Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4-7 stating our responsibility (delight):
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NIV)
Scripture also tells us in 2 Timothy 2:15:
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)
I am also reminded of Ezra’s example in his time of His-story in Ezra 7:10:
For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel. Ezra 7:10 (NIV)
While we all may not have a grand audience, we do each have our own spheres of influence and God-works created just for us to do and we definitely want to be about His works. We must as believers recover our commitment to know the Truth, believe the Truth and live the Truth. This is important ladies!
INTRODUCTION TO EPHESIANS
“The divinest composition of man”; “the Queen of the epistles”; “the greatest…maturest… and most relevant for our times”; “pure music”; “the Grand Canyon of Scripture – breathtakingly beautiful and apparently inexhaustible to the one who wants to take it in”; these are all superlative quotes from saints regarding the Book of Ephesians, serving to whet our appetites for our study. Indeed it is Truth that sings, doctrine set to music by the pen of Paul and the Holy Spirit’s inspiration. It is important for us to remember that the Word of God is alive and that God continues to speak to us through it – as He has in every prior generation and will continue to in every subsequent one as well – amazingly, being just as applicable now as it has ever been and will continue to be. Further, there is nothing more necessary for the life, health and growth of the Christian than to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to us through God’s Word. Scripture tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16-17:
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)
All of Scripture – not just what we pick and choose – is God breathed and profitable. And don’t we all want to be thoroughly equipped, Amen? John Stott tells us:
“Our claim is that God has revealed Himself by speaking; that this divine (or God-breathed) speech has been written down and preserved in Scripture; and that Scripture is, in fact, God’s Word written, which therefore is true and reliable and has divine authority over men.” John Stott
Nobody can emerge from a careful study of Ephesians with a privatized gospel as Ephesians is the gospel for the church – Christ as our Head and believers are His body – all fulfilling their parts. Christianity was never meant to be a private matter – all of us going about in our own little worlds as if on islands. We need each other and we were meant to need each other - each of us adding our own giftings to the body in all of its various forms.
The church belongs to God and Ephesians begins with the work of the divine Trinity. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit all bring it into being - stressing the sovereignty of God in salvation and the eternal sweep of God’s great plan by which believers are lifted from the depth of sin’s depravity and curse to the heights of eternal joy and communion with God. Remember,
Paul tells us once we were dead in our sins – helpless and hopeless.
Ephesians sets forth God’s eternal purpose to create through Jesus Christ a new society which stands out in bright relief against the dark background of this world. It is still supposed to! We are not to blend with this world rather we are to shine like a city on a hill pointing others to our Savior – the Light of the world. The church is supposed to infiltrate the world NOT the world infiltrate the church. Which sadly, that is what is happening. Statistics speak to that. We are definitely blending. The church was made to shine. Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:14-16:
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV)
Again Paul writes regarding this in Philippians 2:14-16:
Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life--in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. Philippians 2:14-16 (NIV)
Further, God’s new society is characterized by life in place of death, reconciliation and unity in place of division and alienation, wholesome standards of righteousness in place of corruption and evil, and love and peace in place of hatred and strife. Again, John Stott states:
“The whole letter is thus a magnificent combination of Christian doctrine and Christian duty, Christian faith and Christian life, what God has done through Christ and what we must be and do in consequence.” John Stott
The author begins with the announcement of identifying himself as the Apostle Paul in the letter to the Ephesians, of course, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Charles Hodge writes: “The epistle reveals itself as the work of the Holy Ghost as clearly as the stars declare their Maker to be God.” This book is regarded by many as the crown of all Paul’s writings.
Paul is writing to God’s people in Ephesus calling them “saints”. These are not just the spiritual elite within the congregation but rather all of God’s people. Everyone “in Christ” qualifies as “saint” (whether we feel like one or not!). To be “in Christ” is to be personally and vitally united to Christ, as branches are to the vine and as members to the body, and thereby also to Christ’s people. Christians are adopted sons or daughters of God. – making us royalty, a prince or princess of the King. I find it so interesting that in Biblical times, you could never disown an adopted child yet you could disown a natural one!
It is impossible to be part of the Body of Christ without being related to both the Head and the members. To be a Christian is in essence to be “in Christ”, one with Him and with His people – a new creation. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
Paul was writing to the Church at Ephesus which was the capital of the chief province of Asia. It was located about one mile from the Aegean Sea, situated on the Cayster River not far from the coast. Its port was large and so it became the chief communication and commercial link between Rome and the East. Merchants flocked to it and it was a melting pot of nations and ethnic groups. It was the political and commercial center of a large and prosperous region. That is why the Apostle Paul spent so much time there and it was to them that he penned this letter.
The temple of Diana (also known as Artemis) was there and was considered to be one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was also important to the commerce of the city, for it was thought by the Mediterranean world to be such a sacred and impeccable institution that it became the chief banking establishment in all of Asia Minor. It housed the statue of Diana, believed to have come down from heaven. The temple was a depository for huge amounts of treasure and was in effect the bank of Asia. It was served by hundreds of the priestesses of Diana, who were temple prostitutes.
The great number of pilgrims who came to worship at the temple also bolstered the economy of Ephesus. The city’s population is believed to have exceeded a quarter million. It was to this that Paul came to proclaim the Truth and God was pleased to establish a faithful church here. It was to the Christians in this city, attempting to live for God in the midst of utter paganism that the Apostle directs his letter. Much akin to the United States, Ephesus was bustling with business, bankers, babies, and blatant idolatry. Sadly, so often when things are prosperous and going swimmingly well we forget God and begin to serve the lesser created things of nature. Proverbs 30:7–9 tells us:
Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God. Proverbs 30:7-9 (NIV)
There is nothing new under the sun, Amen? We make a mistake that proclaiming Truth was easier in Biblical times than now. Jesus and His message has never blended with the world.
Paul came to Ephesus briefly first with Aquila and Priscilla during his second missionary journey, but traveled on to Jerusalem by himself not long afterward. On his next missionary trip, Paul spent three years in Ephesus and saw that whole vast area evangelized. During those years he founded a strong church in the city. He had so much influence on the people there that a craftsman who manufactured silver shrines for Diana became concerned that the shrine - making trade would become obsolete and he incited a riot against him. If she were a god you would think she could have taken care of herself! Nevertheless, as a result of this riot, Paul left Ephesus and traveled to Macedonia. Upon a return trip to Jerusalem, he requested that the elders of the Ephesian congregation meet with him in Miletus, a city that was located thirty-five miles to the north, so that he could bid them his last farewell.
The words “in Ephesus” do not appear in several important Greek manuscripts. Consequently, many believe that this letter was not originally sent to the congregation at Ephesus but was meant to be a letter that would be circulated to the many of the Gentile churches in Asia. This would explain why Paul would completely omit any personal greetings to believers with whom he had spent three years, which was his normal practice. Scholars believe that it eventually became known as the epistle to the Ephesians because the church in Ephesus would have been the mother church from which the letter would have been distributed to the other churches in Asia. If this epistle were routed to other churches after the Ephesians read it, it may have gone to Laodicea and Colosse, for Paul in writing Colossians urged the believers there to “read the letter from Laodicea”, possibly a reference to the Ephesian epistle.
The book of Ephesians was written by Paul at about the same time that he wrote Colossians and Philemon, probably during his imprisonment in Rome around A.D. 60, approximately ten years since he had visited them. He wanted to share with these believers the great truths the Lord had taught him about Christ and the church. Though Paul was on trial for his life, he was concerned about the spiritual needs of the churches he had founded seeking to build them up in the faith. He wanted them to finish strong and we certainly want that as well.
The content of Ephesians is very similar to that of Colossians; both stress doctrine and give instructions in practical Christian duties. I love that because we are to flesh God’s Word out. Mere head knowledge is never enough – we sit, soak and sour. Ephesians was probably delivered by Tychicus, who also took Paul’s letter to the Colossians.
The major theme of this letter is that the church is the body of Christ. Ephesians 1:22-23 states:
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. Ephesians 1:22-23 (NIV)
I love that because believers are never found wanting. Also, believers in Christ are all parts of one body - the whole being the bride of Christ. Ephesians 5:25-27 tells us:
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. Ephesians 5:25-27 (NIV)
The key thought is that the body has individual parts that must operate as a unit. Again, Ephesians 4:16 states:
1From 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. Ephesians 4:16 (NIV)
When we do not do our part, the body suffers.
With Christ as the Head in Ephesians 1:9-10:
And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. Ephesians 1:9-10 (NIV)
Therefore, we are to seek unity in all our various ways as the church “rises to become a holy temple in the Lord” – as Paul states in Ephesians 2:21. Paul also tells us in Colossians 3:12-14:
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:12-17 (NIV)
This message of the church as God’s new creation and new community is of particular importance for those of us who call ourselves evangelical Christians. For by temperament and tradition we often tend towards rugged individualism. It is no wonder that “grace” and “peace” are key words of Ephesians. Hence his people are to be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Indeed it declares peace through grace.
Paul also spoke metaphorically of the church as a building, of which Christ is the chief cornerstone and Head. And of the Church Jesus tells us – it will stand – it will not be overcome – even by the gates of Hades:
“I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Matthew 16:18 (NIV)
The church is not going anywhere and each generation is responsible to do its part in shining His great light for the world to see. We are to be the beacon in this dark night in this time of His-story – all of us who are part of His body. It does not seem like we are shining as we should, Amen? Like I stated, we seem to be blending. Remember, we are each a part and we are each responsible for doing our parts.
The letter also focuses on what God did through the historical work of Jesus Christ and continues to do through His Spirit. The whole letter is a magnificent combination of Christian doctrine and Christian duty, Christian faith and Christian life, what God has done through Christ and what we must do in consequence. And its central theme continues to apply even today, in order to build His new society in the midst of the old. It tells how Jesus Christ shed His blood in a sacrificial death for sin, was then was raised from death by the power of God and has been exalted above all as Paul so eloquently writes in Philippians 2:5-11:
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross!vTherefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11 (NIV)
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes:
“Much of the trouble in the church today is due to the fact that we are so subjective, so interested in ourselves, so egocentric…Having forgotten God, and having become so interested in ourselves, we become miserable and wretched, and spend our time in the ‘shallows and in miseries’. The message of the Bible from beginning to end is designed to bring us back to God, to humble us before God, and to enable us to see our true relationship to Him. And that is the great theme of this epistle.” D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
It is so easy for us to get distracted by the temporal and lose our eternal focus causing us to lose heart. Sadly, this is exactly what happened to the Church at Ephesus when Jesus spoke to them in Revelation 2:1-7:
To the Church in Ephesus
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. Revelation 2:1-7 (NIV)
First love forsaken. I am reminded of the last verse in Ephesians which Paul penned to that church in Ephesus 6:23-24:
Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love. Ephesians 6:23-24 (NIV)
This begs the question for us: Have we forsaken our first love? Have our hearts become unguarded, calloused and cold? What is it that dictates our attitudes and actions? What is it that is precious to us and determines our priorities? I always ask people to look at their checkbooks and day timers (calendars) – how do you spend your time and your money - to see if it matches up with what we say we believe. Words can be cheap. Our actions are telling. Also, think about how do we spend (invest) our mind time – and the motivations of our hearts – as God is a discerner of all – nothing is hidden from His sight. Hebrews t4:13 tells us:
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:13 (NIV)
It would also serve us well to remember that every minute is irretrievable and valuable. If our treasure has become misdirected or excessive, then it has become a false love – it has become idolatrous. And we can do this with anything – even our wee ones. They are not to be on the throne of our lives no matter how much we love them. That is Christ’s position and He does not share His rightful throne with anything or anyone.
We are fully capable, like the Church at Ephesus, to have a love that has gone cold or a love that has gone wrong. The roots of desire run deep within the human heart, and these roots are very strong. We all gush with longings and cravings, continuously. Every Christian’s heart is occupied by two rival camps – the desires of the flesh and the desires of the Spirit. Paul writes in Galatians 5:16-17:
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. Galatians 5:16-17 (NIV)
Scripture tell us in Proverbs 4:23 we are to guard our hearts:
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)
To be sure, our hearts will deceive us and God is continually examining them. Jeremiah 17:9-10 states:
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.” Jeremiah 17:9-10 (NIV)
The heart is the source of motives; the seat of passions; the center of the thought process and the spring of conscience. It is the governing center of a person. It is composed of the mind (what we know), the desires (what we love), and the will (what we choose). How needful it is for us to pray and ask God to search our hearts. King David rightly prays in Psalms 139:23-24:
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalms 139:23-24 (NIV)
God’s heart abounds in love and steadfast faithfulness towards us. He wants us to understand and feel that the resources of his love towards us are not limited. You can drink at this mountain spring all day, year after year, generation after generation, and it never runs dry.
The whole letter of Ephesians begins with love and ends with love. And again is a magnificent combination of Christian doctrine and Christian duty, Christian faith and Christian life, what God has done through Christ and what we must be and do in consequence.
“Oh that I may be roused out of my slumber, and be watchful and ready against the coming of my Bridegroom...Even the wise virgins fell asleep. Let this be a warning to me, O Lord. Set thou a guard before my eyes, ears, and other faculties, lest the world again should enter through these avenues of the heart; if the spark be not speedily extinguished, it will soon break out into a flame: thus sin is of a progressive nature, and its venom spreads very quickly and very wide, unless it be stopped and opposed in time. Watch, therefore, over this unsteady heart of mine, O Thou Keeper of Israel; that as soon as it begins to wander from Thee, I may be alarmed to flee from sin as from a serpent. Give me grace to look upon every hour as my last; so that being ever wisely upon my guard I may meet Thee with joy when my time is run out, whenever it shall please Thee to call me hence.” K. H. Von Bogatzky
These are Beth’s personal notes, due to this fact sources are not often stated.