By Randall L. Broad
The One Year Bible plan covers the six chapters of Ephesians in seven
days; yet commentaries on the epistle fill entire books because the letter
contains the most profound theology of the Apostle Paul and at the root of his understanding
there is a theme often overlooked.
The fall and the cross are a singular event in the will and purpose of God.
In Ephesians the overlooked theme underlying the entire letter is the restoration of unity; where all things are brought together under the authority of Christ. The most important struggle in human history is the redemption of the relationship between Man and God. The expressions “union, united, unites, and unity” are used sparingly throughout scripture; depending on the translation they can be found a combined forty-nine times in the entire Bible.
What is significant for us today though is the word ‘unity’ appears three times in this letter (vv. 1:10; 4:3; 4:13). It appears only four other times in the New Testament epistles: three other times it is used by Paul (c.f. Colossians 2:19, 3:14; and Romans 15:5) and once by the Apostle Peter (1 Peter 3:8). However, the lack of usage does not mean it is not an essential concept in the Bible–union and unity are the underlying principles of the doctrines of redemption, salvation, and deliverance.
When Adam and Eve succumbed to the lies of the serpent they destroyed the bond between man and God (Genesis 3:5) and all creation became divided against itself: beasts struggled against beasts; man struggled against man; and nations struggled against nations. The concept of unity and disunity underlies every narrative, prophecy, gospel, and epistle found in the Old and New Testament including the cross. Jesus did not die just to wash away our sins … but rather God washed away our sins so we would be holy enough to live in union with Him as Adam and Eve had once done.
Countless other narratives remind us those who were in union with God were blessed and those without God walked alone enduring the hardship, suffering, and struggle of the fallen world. Existence became a labor to survive in a divided and broken world where humanity could no longer hear God’s voice except through the cries of His prophets and others specially chosen to reveal His will and the promise of redemption. ‘Unity’, ‘unites’, and ‘united’ are all expressions of the same idea that point toward deliverance, redemption, salvation, and the restoration of the relationship between Man and God.
Today’s reading in the One Year Bible contains the first chapter of Ephesians and begins with a seemingly simple introduction and blessing:
1Paul, an apostle of
Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2Grace and peace to you
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 1:1-2
Yet the introduction is not as straight forward to scholars as it might seem to Pastors and believers. Though the first verse clearly declares Paul the author some critics suggest the internal evidence does not support this claim. In addition, the earliest preserved manuscripts do not contain the phrase “in Ephesus” calling into question the audience of the author. However the lack of a specific address explains the shortcomings of the internal evidence; especially the appearance the author did not know the Ephesians personally (vv. 1:15; 3:2; 4:21). It would also solve the mystery of why the wording is so abounding and the theology so high-minded. A letter intended for general circulation would be more carefully written, less personal, and contain higher levels of systematic theology.
Literary critics claim the writing style is solemn and laborious with long sentences and more compounding clauses and phrases than anything found in the Pauline Corpus–including seventy-five words not found anywhere else in Paul’s letters. However as William Barclay has noted in his commentary on Galatians and Ephesians:
That need not trouble us, for the fact is that in Ephesians Paul was saying things which he had never said before. He was traveling a road of thought along which he had not before traveled; and naturally he needed new words to express new thoughts. It would be ridiculous to demand that a man with a mind like Paul’s should never add to his vocabulary and should always express himself in the same way. [1]
In addition there is also the close resemblance to Paul’s letter to the Colossians in which fifty-five verses of Ephesians are written verbatim. Tradition holds both letters were written while the author was in prison and delivered by the same courier to their respective audiences. If this is true we can safely presuppose while in captivity and alone Paul would have more time to meditate and construct his thoughts into ideas which would express similar themes and common wording would not be an unusual characteristic of letters written from prison.
Yet there is still a profound distinction
between the objectives of Colossians and Ephesians. Colossians primary message
establishes the divine nature of Jesus Christ. Jesus is wisdom and knowledge
(Col. 2:3); all the fullness of God (2:9); and he alone is necessary and
sufficient for man’s salvation (Col. 1:14). Using much the same wording
Ephesians expands upon this language to show that through Jesus–and
particularly his death on the cross–all things are brought together
under the authority of Christ thereby restoring unity to creation and bringing
those who would believe back into union with God, with each other, and with
themselves.
Ephesians is usually broken down into two main sections: the summing up of all things in Christ (Ch. 1-3) and the ethical foundations of Christianity (Ch. 4-6).
Today we begin the first section–the summing up of all things in Christ:
3Praise be to the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with
every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before
the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he
predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with
his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which
he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of
God’s grace 8that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and
understanding, 9he made known to us the mystery of his will
according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be
put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all
things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
11In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the
plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his
will, 12in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in
Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13And you also were
included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your
salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised
Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until
the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:3-14
Unity on three levels underlies all of Paul’s letters but is overtly expressed in the Book of Ephesians. First is the unity between heaven and earth (vv. 1:1-2:10) as Christ has restored the relationship between man and God through the forgiveness of sin (v. 7) so that mankind can know … the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ (v. 9). Secondly is the unity of the believers (vv. 2:11-3:20)–Jew and Gentile–as they forge the new church in the body of Christ. This concern is rooted in the mission Paul was given on the Damascus Road to take the gospel to the Gentiles. Lastly, that all believers maintain “unity of the Spirit” (4:1-16) by the way they walk, that is by the way they live out the life of Christ in the world–including their worship (4:17-5:20); their Christian households (5:21-6:9); their own spiritual warfare (vv. 6:10-17) and finally through the power of prayer (vv. 6:18-20). Much of this will be covered in future posts but these three ideas and thoughts echo throughout all of the Pauline Corpus.
Our reading today covers the first of these
three concerns.
The language found in these early verses introduces us to the essential points Paul is making in the letter. We are blessed through Christ (v. 3); were chosen before the creation of the world (v. 4); were chosen according to His will (v. 5); were given grace through His Son (v. 6) and redeemed through His blood on the cross (v. 7) received salvation through His wisdom and understanding (v. 8) which was revealed through Christ (v. 9) for the purpose of bringing unity to heaven and earth (v. 10). Not through the law or the administration of the High Priest in the Temple but rather a new union forged in the body of Christ whereby–we were ‘chosen’ to receive ‘His grace’ through ‘His will’.
In later verses of Ephesians Paul will address the other two elements of divine unity–unity between believers and unity between the Spirit and the flesh but he ends the first chapter with an exhortation where he reminds his audience:
15For this reason, ever
since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s
people, 16I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you
in my prayers. 17I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,
so that you may know him better. 18I pray that the eyes of your
heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has
called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19and
his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the
mighty strength 20he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and
seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all
rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not
only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22And God
placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything
for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills
everything in every way.
Ephesians 1:15-23
Verse seventeen is a personal favorite of mine. It can serve as a powerful prayer for anyone because no matter where someone may be in their relationship with Christ or how much they know about scripture; we can all still go deeper. In addition, the sentence is perhaps the most open declaration of the triune nature of the Godhead. Paul asks … that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. In other words God in the form of the Son, the Father and the Holy Spirit are all revealed in this single sentence–this is a rare phenomenon in scripture (c.f. Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Peter 1:2). Throughout the narratives of the Old and New Testament we have a few examples of all three being present in the same passage or narrative (c.f. Romans 14:17-18; Luke 3:21-22; Matthew 3:16-17; John 14:16-17). We find many more instances where only two of the members are present in the story, the narrative, or the point the author is trying to make.
Yet the key to the entire sentence lies with the words “that you may know him better.” In other words that we may know Christ in our hearts and find hope in the inheritance (v. 18) and the power we receive (v. 19); the same power that raised Christ from the dead and seated … him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
Walk with the Lord …
Ephesians 1:17
(RLB230922)
© Copyright 2020: Randall L. Broad.
[1] Barclay, William. The Letter to the Galatians and Ephesians.
Revised. Philadelphia: Westminister Press, 1976: 64.
