1-8-23

Ephesians Chapter 1

 

God changes names to indicate a new God-sized purpose. Examples in the Bible:

  • Abram (father) becomes Abraham (father of many)
  • Sarai (Princess) becomes Sarah (Mother of Nations).
  • Jacob (Deceiver) becomes Israel (struggle with God)
  • Hoshea (Salvation) becomes Joshua (Lord is salvation)
  • Simon (Reed) becomes Peter (Rock)

“The Book of Ephesians is the Grand Canyon of Scripture that displays the Majesty of a Saviour that calls finite humanity to participate in His eternal purpose as His Church.”

~ Ruth Paxson[1]

The meaning of the salvation work of Jesus Christ is the freedom of people from demonic spiritual authorities that keep people from fully obeying Christ.[2]

Outline of Ephesians[3]:

Letter Opening, acclamation of praise, and thanksgiving (1:1-23)
Salvation by Grace through faith (2:1-10)
The unity of the Jews and gentiles in the renewed Israel (2:11-3:13)
Paul’s Prayer for the Ephesians (3:14-21)
Paul’s exhortation to unity and maturity (4:1-16)
Put of the old and put on the new (4:17 – 5:20)
Christian Houses in a pagan city (5:21-6:9)
Withstanding opposition from the powers (6:10-20)
Letter closing and benediction (6:10-24)

Four results of Paul’s Ministry at Ephesus:

  • A split in the synagogue community which led to further opposition.
  • The burning of the magical scrolls used by various kinds of sorcery.
  • A decline in the worship of the goddess Artemis. This had economic repercussions.
  • The breaking down of the cultural and social barriers between Jews and Gentiles.

Today’s Passage – Ephesians 1:1-3, NLT:

“This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus. 2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. 3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.”

AN EXALTED CHRIST HAS MADE US WEALTHY!

Only as we go deeper into Christ, and He goes deeper into us will we really understand how rich we are!

  1. The wealth GIVEN .

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing …” (1:3).

  1. The BLESSER : He is our Heavenly Father who has blessed us for the sake of His son Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ wanted to share even His Oneness with the Father with us!

” I pray they will be one, Father, just as you are in me, and I am in you. I pray that they also will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me.” John 17:21, NLT

 “Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!” John 17:24, NLT

  1. The BLESSED : Two pronouns tell us that we are qualified for this blessing!
    • “Our Lord Jesus Christ . . . ”
    • “. . . who has blessed us”
  1. The BLESSING : When is the blessing ours? The tense of the verb is “NOW!”
  1. The Wealth DEFINED  :  “…with every spiritual blessing …” We are body, soul, and spirit.

(Neil T. Anderson, Freedom in Christ)

“Now, may the God of peace himself cause you to be completely dedicated to him; and may your spirit, soul, and body be kept intact and blameless at our Lord Jesus Christ’s coming.” I Thess. 5:23, CEB

Practical Blessings in Ephesians through the Holy Spirit:

  • Our inner life will be strengthened by His Holy Spirit. (3:16)
  • We will grow up. (4:15)
  • As a community we will be perfected and built up. (4:12)

 

  1. The wealth MEASURED   . “… with every spiritual blessing …”  Jesus Christ is the Blessing, and we can be renewed every day![4] Every spiritual blessing for our past, present, and future.
  1. The LOCATION  of the wealth. “… every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms …”  This phrase is only used five times in Ephesians (refer 1:20; 2:6, 3:10; 6:12): Where Christ is, there we are! We exist in two realities, heaven and earth.

 

IT IS TIME TO WAKE UP!

 “But everything exposed to the light is revealed by the light. Everything that is revealed by the light is light. Therefore, it says, Wake up, sleeper! Get up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.  So be careful to live your life wisely, not foolishly.  Take advantage of every opportunity because these are evil times.”  Ephesians 5:13-15, NLT

 

“If I were the Devil” Paul Harvey, 1965

“If I were the devil … If I were the Prince of Darkness, I’d want to engulf the whole world in darkness. And I’d have a third of its real estate, and four-fifths of its population, but I wouldn’t be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree — Thee. So, I’d set about however necessary to take over the United States.

I’d subvert the churches first — I’d begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent, I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: ‘Do as you please. To the young, I would whisper that ‘The Bible is a myth.’ I would convince them that man created God instead of the other way around. I would confide that what’s bad is good, and what’s good is ‘square.’ And the old, I would teach to pray, after me, ‘Our Father, which art in Washington…

And then I’d get organized. I’d educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting, so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting.  I’d threaten TV with dirtier movies and vice versa. I’d pedal narcotics to whom I could. I’d sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction. I’d tranquilize the rest with pills.  If I were the devil, I’d soon have families at war with themselves, churches at war with themselves, and nations at war with themselves; until each in its turn was consumed. And with promises of higher ratings, I’d have mesmerizing media fanning the flames.

If I were the devil, I would encourage schools to refine young intellects, but neglect to discipline emotions — just let those run wild, until before you knew it, you’d have to have drug sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door.  And in His own churches I would substitute psychology for religion and deify science. I would lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls, and church money. If I were the devil, I’d make the symbols of Easter an egg and the symbol of Christmas a bottle.

FINAL QUESTIONS:

  • To those who do not know Christ, it is time to get connected Christ.
  • For those who know Christ, what false ways of thinking have you held onto that has kept you from Him and from enjoying all His promises for you?

 

 

 

References:

“Εὐλογέω, Εὐλογητός, Εὐλογία, Ἐνευλογέω,”. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Edited by D. LITT. Gerhard Friedrich and Geoffrey W. Bromiley, D.D. 10 vols. Vol. 2, Grand Rapids, Michigan: WM. EErdmans Publishing Company, 1964. Tenth Printing, March 1980.

Ephesians. Word Biblical. Edited by and Ralph P. Martin David A. Hubbard & Glen Barker. Vol. 42, Dallas, Texas: Word Books, 1990.

“Eating Sweets in Church | Mr. Bean Official.” In Mr. Bean, 2007. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZMgP2ai79Q.

Al Soto, Betsy Vanderpool, Bill Morecraft, Marc Saget, Matt Morecraft, Nancy Mathis, Coleen Johnson … Trish Thompson Editor. “Bayside Teaching Team Meeting.” Placerville, CA: Bayside Church oi Placerville, Thursday, January 5, 2023.

Best, Ernest. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on EphesiansEdinburgh: T & T Clark International, 1998.

Bird, N.T. Wright & Michael F. The New Testament in Its World. First Edition ed. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Academic, 2019, 2019.

Christian, Parimal. “Salvation-Deliverance from the Supernatural Powers: A Register Analysis of Ephesians 1-3 and 4.” 2020.

Gromacki, Gary. “The Plan and Power of God the Father in Ephesians.” The Journal of Ministry and Theology  (2015).

Paxson, Ruth. The Wealth, Walk, and Warfare of the Christian. Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1939.

Harvey, Paul. ““If I Were the Devil”: A Warning to America from Paul Harvey.” Springfield, IL: Illinois Order of Police, 1965. https://www.ilfop.org/if-i-were-the-devil-by-paul-harvey/.

[1] Paxson, R. (1939). The Wealth, Walk, and Warfare of the Christian. Old Tappan, New Jersey, Fleming H. Revell Company.

 

[2] Christian, P. (2020). Salvation-Deliverance from the Supernatural Powers: A Register Analysis of Ephesians 1-3 and 4.

  1. 5.

[3] Bird, N. T. W. M. F. (2019). The New Testament in Its World. Grand Rapids, Michigan, Zondervan Academic.

  1. 469.

[4] Al Soto, B. V., Bill Morecraft, Marc Saget, Matt Morecraft, Nancy Mathis, Coleen Johnson … Trish Thompson Editor (Thursday, January 5, 2023). Bayside Teaching Team Meeting. Placerville, CA, Bayside Church oi Placerville.

 

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