Ephesians 1:1-14
Notes
Transcript
Sermon
Sermon
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Background on Ephesus - this is where Paul got in trouble with the Silversmith, Demetrius
21 Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.
23 About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. 25 These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 26 And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”
28 When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s companions in travel. 30 But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. 31 And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater. 32 Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky? 36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. 40 For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
Temple
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:
Initial greeting from Paul. Very similar to others. He establishes that it was directly by the will and actions of God that he is an apostle of Jesus. Very authoritative
Its considered this is to the church at Ephesus. He says the saints in Ephesus. Weust says it was a circulatory letter for local churches there. (evidence is that it isnt to any specific situation like Pauls other letters, and early manuscripts may not have had “in Ephesus” in them.
Written by Paul while imprisoned in Rome
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
Notes are from Wuest volume II
This word blessed (eulogetos) is different from the word Jesus used in Beatitudes along with other places. This particular form of blessed is only used when referring to God in the NT. It has to do with reputation among the people, more than character or physical giftings.
Wuest says it can be fleshed out to mean “Let the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ be well spoke of or be eulogized.
David got the concept in Psalm 103:1
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
Midway through verse, he says God has “blessed us”. Its the same verb as the other blessed, just a different form. If this verb is only used of God, what gives?
But it is still about God. The God that is exalted chooses to exalt others by giving them spiritual blessing.
The God that has a great reputation and is worthy to be praised is doing the same for a certain group of people.
Do they deserve it? its not here, but no. This becomes really important in Ephesians 2 when he says, you were once sin but now not.
Once heard, Jesus got what we deserved so we can get what he deserved. Penal Substitutionary Atonement.
Re-Affirmed by SBC Here
https://www.sbc.net/resource-library/resolutions/on-the-necessity-of-penal-substitutionary-atonement/
What are the spiritual blessings?
Paul begins to name them. Not sure if this is a complete list but its here.
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
List:
Chose to be holy and blameless (v4)
Adopted as sons of the Father-shared with Jesus (5)
Provided Redemption (v7)
Provided clarity on the mystery of His will (v9)
Inheritance (v11)
Number 1 - Chose to be holy and blameless
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
Wuest says that part of the blessing of God is to be chosen by him.
3 ways of explaining it.
One question that comes to mind is it God’s choosing that is the action that causes us to be holy and blameless or Does he choose us because we are holy and blameless?
I have also heard brother david say before that those that believe are predestined to be conformed, as in, God is pronoucing that anyone that humbles themselves and believes in Christ have the assurance that they will become holy and blameless.
That is set apart and without any charges against them.
Number 2 is adopted as sons of the father.
5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
We have said that God doesnt chose us based on our credentials. It would mean hell for us.
So predestined either has to mean wholly chosen, or those that believe. So we will operate under the understanding that neither heretical and wont address it much anymore.
Lets focus more on the adoption.
How significant is this? Very...
I hear people say we are all God’s children. Is this true? I think the book of Ephesians really goes after this idea. Ch 2 mentions some people being children of wrath as in not God’s. But specifically here, why would you need to be adopted into Gods family if you are already a child?
This will be significant even more when we talk about inheritance.
We see God telling us that we have a permanent place in His family. Adoption are permanent. They cannot be broken.
Our current judicial system and child protective systems are not perfect. We know good people that are doing the best they can, but i dont think anyone would say the system is perfect. SO EVEN IN A NOT PERFECT SYSTEM, adoption is final and permanent. So how much more final do you think God’s adoption is that is based on his redeeming actions and his love.
WOW
This really hits me hard. It also brings me to that statement again. He got what I deserved and i get what he deserved.
Number 3 is provided redemption.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
This is the core of the spiritual blessing. The ability to be in the family of God instead of enemies of God, purchased and based on the very blood of the man making the deal.
Thankfully its based on the riches of his grace and not ours. Cause he is rich!!!
Two thoughts:
You are that bad. Despite how good we think we are, or how light our sin is, Jesus shed his blood for us, Jesus HAD TO shed his blood for us for it to be enough. SO we are that bad. People will push back about the state of mankind. Everyone agrees that things are broken and that everyone makes mistakes, but christians and not christians alike probably have trouble with their brokeness being sin thats worthy of Jesus’ death. Your childrens sin are requiring of Jesus’ death. Your sweet sweet grandmother, that you never could see hurting a fly, has sin and it requires the blood of Jesus.
God is that good. Dont you think it would just have been so much easier for God to erase and start over. But he found a way to keep his good name and still show love and grace to His people.
Number 4 is he provided clarity on the mystery of His will
9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
This was a huge blessing to the Israelites because there was so much mystery surrounding what in the world God was doing. But its also a blessing to us because there is now no guessing on how we are supposed to live and die and be with God and all thats in Scripture. We also know how he did it.
Since Adam and Eve, people have not had any trouble at all feeling isolated from God because they are, but the huge mystery has always been how to get back to him.
I may take some time here to slow down and make sure people understand the significance of having access to the gospel.
The people of israel knew God would provide a way they just didnt know how (Exodus 34:6-8)
6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” 8 And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.
People all around the world today still live in this mystery.
Do we take for granted that we do know the way to God through Jesus.
Number 5 is inheritance.
11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
So based on the wisdom and will of God, we are now part of God’s family, sons and daughters, with all the rights and benefits that means.
Honestly, i dont know what that inheritance will be. When we get to heaven, i have no idea what waits for us. But if we get the same benefits package as Jesus gets, wow, just think how great that will be.
So let me ask this question:
Do this apply to Paul, the church at Ephesus or us? How do you know?
12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
The logical progression is that its definitely not just paul, because he says even you. Then this letter wasnt written to just one specific situation in a church body, so its meant for many christians so theres no problem applying this to all christians.
Lastly, im thinking about illustrating verses 13-14 with this:
Take out a dollar bill and ask what Federal reserve note means.
I think its safe to say that the paper itself is representative of the term dollar and actually doesnt have a lot of value. i know they use special paper and maybe thats expensive. Maybe the ink is expensive, but if i go to a country that doesnt except dollars, is that dollar worth anything?
So if they paper bill itself has no value, why does it hold so much value?
(because it is used as currency in this country.)
Who says this dollar has value?
(us govt)
So money is only as valuable as the govt that issues it? would you say thats correct?
Then how valuable is our inheritance?
If its based on the giver not the actual gift
And how safe is our inheritance?
If its based on the giver not the actual gift
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