Ephesians:

[Rob Morgan]

Ephesians:

Paul wrote this epistle to make Christians more aware of their position in Christ and to motivate them to draw upon their spiritual source in doily living: "walk worthy of the calling with which you were called" (4:1, see 2:'10). The first half of Ephesians lists the believer's heavenly possessions: adoption, redemption, inheritance, power, life, grace, citizenship, and the love of Christ. There are no imperatives in chapters 1-3, which focus only on divine gifts. But chapters 4-6 include thirty-five directives in the last half of Ephesians that speak of the believer's responsibility to conduct himself according to his individual calling. So Ephesians begins in heaven, but concludes in the home and in all other relationships of daily life. The two divisions are: the position of the Christian (1:1-3:21) and the practice of the Christian (4:1-6:20).

The Position of the Christian (l: l-3:21): After o two-verse prologue, in one long Greek sentence Paul extols the triune God for the riches of redemption (1:3-'14). This hymn to God's grace praises the Father for choosing us (1:3-6), the Son for redeeming us (1:7 -12), and the Spirit for sealing us (1: 1 3- 14). The saving work of each divine Person is "to the praise of the glory of His grace" (see 1:6, 12, 14|. Before continuing, Paul offers the first of two very significant prayers (1:1 5-23; cf. 3: I 4-21). Here he asks that the readers receive spiritual illumination so that they may come to perceive what is in fact true. Next, Paul describes the power of God's grace by contrasting their former condition with their present spiritual life in Christ, a salvation attained not by human works but by divine grace (2:1-10). This redemption includes Jews, yet also extends to those Gentiles who previously were "strangers from the covenants of promise" (2:12). ln Christ, the two for the first time hove become members of one body (2: 1l -22). The truth that Gentiles would become "fellow heirs, of the somebody" (3:6) was formerly a mystery that has now been revealed (3:1-13). Paul’s second prayer (3:14-2i) expresses his desire that the readers be strengthened with the power of the Spirit and fully apprehend the love of Christ.

The Practice of the Christian (4: l-6:24): The pivotal verse of Ephesians (4:1) draws a sharp line between the doctrinal and the practical divisions of this book. There is a cause and effect relationship between chapters I -3 and 4-6 because the spiritual walk of o Christian must be rooted in his spiritual wealth. As Paul emphasized in Romans, behavior does not determine blessing; instead, blessing should determine behavior. Because of the unity of all believers in the body of Christ, growth and maturity come from "the effective working by which every part does its share” (4:16). This involves the exercise of spiritual gifts in love. Paul exhorts the readers to "put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man" (4:22) "and put on the new man" (4:24J that will be manifested by o walk of integrity in the midst of all people. They are also to maintain a walk of holiness as children of light (5: 1 -21). Every relationship (wives, husbands, children, parents, slaves, masters) must be transformed by their new life in Christ (5:22-6:9). Paul’s colorful description of the spiritual warfare and the armor of God (6:.l0-20) is followed by a word about Tychicus and then o benediction (6:21-24).