Superabundant Peace

Colossae contained a mixture of Greeks, Romans, Jews, and Phrygians. With these people came differing cultures, religions, and philosophical thoughts that contradicted the Gospel Epaphras (a man discipled by Paul) taught the Christians in the city. The Bible study titled Background of Paul's Letter to the Church at Colossae teaches about the forces and people that affected the Colossian church.

In Colossians 1:1-2, Paul introduced himself to the church at Colossae by telling about his calling by Jesus. He identified himself and Timothy as connected with them through Christ and as ones who had lived in Asia Minor, the region of Colossae. The Bible study called Identification helps us understand what Paul told the Colossians in these two verses. Paul’s and Timothy’s identification with the Colossians as residents of the region and as fellow brothers in Christ was significant because other people in Colossae caused the Christians of Colossae to question their faith.

Paul almost always began his letters with a prayer for the people to whom he wrote. His prayer of thanksgiving to God for the Colossian Christians in Colossians 1:3-8 shows Paul’s thanks to God for the growth of the Christians in Colossae. In the Bible study titled Thanksgiving in Colossians, his prayer expressed the believers there continued to grow in their faith and show their love for God and the saints. Paul remarked they bore fruit and matured in their faith. He identified Epaphras as their pastor and as one who told them the Gospel truthfully. Paul identified him as a “beloved fellow bond-servant,” who was a faithful servant on his behalf.

Paul’s prayer for the Colossians in verses nine through twelve included intercession for them. The Bible study titled Glorious Might tells us Paul prayed for the Colossians daily that they would grow in Christ so they would be well-pleasing to God. He prayed for God to fill them with the knowledge of His will with spiritual wisdom and understanding so they would bear fruits of good works. Paul prayed asking God to increase their knowledge of Him, strengthen them with all power, and give them steadfastness and patience. He ended his intercession by asking God to give them joyous thanksgiving to Him who qualified them to inherit eternal life with the saints and the Son in His kingdom.

The Bible study from Colossians 1:13-14, titled Snatched and Delivered, explains who the “Father” of verse twelve is. Paul said He is the One who will give them the gifts of verses nine through twelve that Paul prayed for the Colossians. He explained the Father rescued the Colossian believers and all who trust in Jesus for salvation. The Father snatched (rescued) them from the domain of darkness in which Satan immerses people, then transferred them to His Son’s kingdom. Through His Son, each believer receives deliverance (redemption) from his/her sins.  In verses thirteen and fourteen, Paul told what the Father can and wants to do. He began his segue to verses fifteen through twenty that contains his understanding of who the beloved Son is.

In verses thirteen and fourteen, Paul told the Colossian church what God did to answer his prayer for the believers there. With this study of Colossians 1:15-20, he told the Christians how God qualified them and all Christians to share in the kingdom of Light.  The beloved Son of verse thirteen is the One who redeems in verse fourteen. The Son’s role, characteristics, and activities in the Godhead also show his relationship to all people and to believers. In verses fifteen through twenty, Paul helps us recognize God considers Christians beloved, people who receive His pure love (agape) and who share it with others because Christ redeemed them and His Spirit lives in them. Colossians 1:15-20 is about Who Christ is.

Relationship to God

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” (Colossians 1:15 [NASB])

As we read verse fifteen, we must first recognize the pronoun “He” refers to the person in verse thirteen, to the Son. The Son of God is the image of the invisible God. Remember, the Son of God was Jesus, the embodiment of God, not just a likeness. Jesus was the incarnation of God on earth. This means Jesus was visible as God with us; whereas, in the past, God was invisible to our human eyes. God is spiritually visible to believers because of their faith. He gives faith to those who truly seek Him. This means faith and seeing go hand in hand. When a person seeks God, He gives them faith, and they spiritually see Him to trust in Him as their Savior. This faith and sight cause the believer to grow and live out their belief in Him so others can come to see and believe in Jesus, too.

The Son of God is “the firstborn of all creation.” This does not mean God created the Son. In Genesis, we read the Son was there during creation. He actively participated in creation. When Paul said “firstborn,” the Greek word he used was prototokos. Prototokos means preeminent (distinguished and peerless) over all created things. The Son is the image of God from all eternity, so he was preeminent over all creation. As the likeness of God, the Son was the firstborn King over all the kings of the earth. Because God gave humans freewill, He knew they would sin. He planned from before creation to provide a sufficient sacrifice for the sins of all people. God knew from the beginning the only sacrifice that would be sufficient would be one He offered for them. That One would have to be the sacrifice for all people. The only one pure enough is the One most pure, God through His Son. So, God came to earth to live in human form as Jesus, remain sinless, and die a sinner’s death. His death would provide redemption from the slavery to sin and death for each person who believes in Jesus as the Son of God. Jesus truly was born from the womb of a woman implanted by the Spirit of God. He was 100% divinity and 100% man. He was the Firstborn of God Himself.

As firstborn and pre-eminent over all things, and as the image of the invisible God, the Son was preeminent over all creation. God – Father, Son, and Spirit – created everything out of nothing, ex nihilo. Nothing existed before creation, so nothing was used to create all that exists. Everything that is and ever has been, triune God created ex nihilo, with His creativity, power, knowledge, and wisdom. The Son created all things ex nihilo. He was from before time, is throughout time, and will continue to exist when time ends when God’s new Kingdom, the new Jerusalem, comes to be. The Son is unified with God. This begotten Son of God, the human and divine Jesus, was the one the Jewish people awaited to be begotten among them. He is the image of God, was visible as God with us when He lived on earth and is preeminent over all creation as creator of life and as the firstborn from death, the re-creator of life for all who put their trust in Him.

Relationship to the Universe

“For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16-17 [NASB])

Notice first, the Son of God is the one “by” whom “all things were created.” This word “by” translates as “through,” too. Only through Christ is anything created, which includes any actual living thing and the Church. This brings forward what Paul said before, He is the firstborn of all creation. Without Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, the Church would not exist because redemption would not have occurred. Death - eternal separation from God - would still enslave each intelligent being.

Paul expanded what he wrote in verse fifteen to make sure the Colossian believers understood, the Son of God created all things on earth and in the heavens. The Gnostics thought material things, like the body, were evil and spiritual things, like angels, were good. Since the Son, as the image of God, created both, then both earthly and heavenly beings were good.

Next, Paul said the Son created what is visible and invisible. Each thing a person sees, the Son created. The material world is not bad and can lead a person to recognize someone greater than him/herself exists. A person can see the invisible with spiritual eyes, not the naked eye, once that person receives faith from God because of his/her seeking Him. The Son created all that is in heaven and on earth, what is visible to the eye and what only is discernible with the spiritual eyes God opens. Again, material and spiritual are good, though the Gnostics saw the material world as evil.

Paul continued in verse sixteen when he expanded what the invisible things are that the Son created and over whom He reigns as King. These beings are on thrones, have dominions, are rulers, and have authority. Like Paul expanded for the people of Colossae what visible things Jesus created, he expanded what invisible things He created, too. Paul wrote Colossians and Ephesians nearly the same time. Because he wrote in Ephesians 1:21 about all rule, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is not named, commentators think the thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities of Colossians are angels and their different levels of work. In Ephesians, God exalted Christ above all things and seated Him above all rule, authority, power, and dominion. These words from Paul in Ephesians 1:21 teach us angels are not more important than religious creeds or God. Paul used the terms - thrones, dominions, rulers, and authority - the Gnostics used at the time. The Gnostics used these words to convince the Colossians believers they needed more than faith in Jesus for them to have salvation, to be an advanced Christian. To the Gnostics who taught this, Jesus’ sacrifice was insufficient for salvation. So, they added their own philosophical reasonings and thoughts to what Epaphras proclaimed to the Colossians. By doing this, the Gnostics caused disturbances, confusion, and disagreements in the city and within the church. The main point in this verse from Paul is that Jesus greater than everything created since He created them. This includes angels. The Son of God is Lord of creation, not the angels. He created all creation, visible and invisible, in heaven and on earth. He is superior and His salvation is sufficient.

The Gnostics believed all matter, including the body, is evil and so resurrection from death is impossible as is the full incarnation of God in the form of Jesus. They did not believe Jesus was 100% divine and 100% human. The Gnostics said He was not equal to God or angels. They trusted in salvation by knowledge. This meant they considered themselves more advanced Christians. As more advanced Christians, the Gnostics considered themselves enlightened because they held advanced philosophical thoughts about life and spiritual things. For them, God was far off and spiritual beings of descending importance.  Angels who held positions as/on thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities filled the gap between God and people. Jesus countered all the thoughts of the Gnostics. He creates, sustains, saves, and is greater than all things. God elevated Him above them in His kingdom.

Paul further wrote the Son is before all things. He is prior. The Son of God, as one who created all things, came before everything that is. He also held all things together. The Son did not just create and then let each creation exist in chaos. He had a purpose for each creation and held them together with His power, knowledge, and wisdom for the continuation of the universe. The Son made each created thing unite perfectly into a whole He supports and keeps together. When a person believes in Him for salvation, He unites the person spiritually to be a part of the body of Christ. Only in the presence and power of Christ is everything He created unified and intelligible, not chaotic.

Relationship to the Church

“He is the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” (Colossians 1:18 [NASB])

When Paul said the Son of God was the head, he used this term metaphorically to refer to Jesus as the most prominent, the Master and Lord. Of what is Jesus the head? Paul said in verse eighteen He is the head of the body. A body without a head to guide it cannot happen. With this word, Paul spoke of the mystical/spiritual body. This body, Paul said, was the Church. The word church comes from the Greek word ekklesia, which means people called out from the world and saved from their sins and from death. These Christians are God’s and they make up the church. With Christ as the head of this body of believers, He leads them physically where to go, what to do, and what to think so they sin less each day as they grow in, through, and by Him. The believers grow to be more like Jesus as they journey with Him each day. The Son is the head of the church spiritually as He leads them into God’s kingdom, their eternal inheritance.

Paul continued to speak about the relationship between Christ and the church in this verse. He said the Son is “the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.” Because of Jesus’ resurrection, He is the firstborn from the dead just as He was the firstborn (preeminent) before creation and created all things. This means Jesus, as the firstborn from the dead, created the way for humanity to live after death through resurrection for all believers in Him. He is the beginning and chief or foremost of all things and life and the beginning of the church when He called the disciples to follow Him. John 1:1 says Jesus is the beginning of the new creation (redeemed Christians), physically, and spiritually upon their faith in Him. He then gives them the right to be co-heirs with Him in heaven with eternal life. That is what “firstborn” meant for Paul. He used the word prototokos here, too, meaning Jesus was preeminent and the first of the dead to be raised. Because of this, He will lead other people to become new creations formed in His righteous image. By each of these things, Jesus will be first over all things.

Up to this point in these four verses, Paul had said who the Son of God is and His relationship to God, people, and the church. He said Christ is pre-existent before creation. He is God incarnate and visible with us as “God with us, Emmanuel.” The Son is Creator, crucified, and resurrected. He is more than what the Gnostics taught and more than what the Jews believed. The Jews believed the Messiah had not come because they expected Him to be their warrior king to remove from them the rule of foreign leaders. With these ideas from Paul, we realize, the Son of God, Christ, is supreme in the universe, in the Church worldwide, and in the Colossae church. How can we know this is true? Verses nineteen and twenty tell us.

The Son, God’s Pleasure

“For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” (Colossians 1:19-20 [NASB])

With these two final verses in Paul’s Christology, he emphasizes verse fifteen and God’s good plans and pleasure. The first phrase of verse nineteen says, “It was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him.” This is an emphatic expansion of verse fifteen’s statement, “He is the image of the invisible God.” Remember in Colossians 1:10-11 when Paul prayed for the Colossian Christians to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. This manner worthy of the Lord means walking in a way God is well pleased or for His good pleasure. People can only walk in a way that pleases God when they trust Christ as their Redeemer; then the Spirit of Jesus who lives in them guides them. Christians will do good works that bring glory to Him and share the gospel of salvation to other people. For this section, The Father’s good pleasure was for the Son of God, Jesus, to have God’s full image, purpose, and characteristics in Him. Within Christ dwelled the superabundance (the fullness) only God has. The Son of God is fully divine. He has the purposes God has had from the beginning of time, to redeem humanity from Satan, his deceptions, sins, and death. The Son is the “image of the invisible God” because the “fullness (superabundance) of God dwells in Him.” (vs. 15 & 19)

Paul explained what God’s purpose is and why the Son came to earth in the form of a man. He came to be the Redeemer, Reconciler, Unifier, Sacrifice, and Resurrection so all people who believe in Him can be well-pleasing to God, that is to be made righteous and live their lives glorifying Him. Jesus came to be the superabundance people need to get out from the weight of the life they chose that led them away from God. He came to give them what they need to live for and with God during their lifetimes and for eternity. With faith in Jesus as the Son of God, Christians spiritually see the invisible God, then become people of God upon whom He bestows His superabundance, His fullness and good pleasure. The idea that divinity could live within a body totally went against the teachings of the Gnostics who believed the body is evil. They could not understand God made a way for each person to be made righteous, holy and not evil.

This superabundance of God included being made righteous, not because of what any person has done or could ever do, but because of His mercy and grace. Paul said forgiveness and reconciliation with God comes, “through Him (the Son) to reconcile all things to Himself.” God wants people to experience this fullness that comes from Him, this being made whole, redeemed, and clean. Verse twenty is the rest of verse nineteen. The Father’s good pleasure for His fullness to reside in the Son was so that through His Son, through His fullness, all of God’s characteristics, could reside in Christians once reconciled to Jesus, who redemption for all humanity. Did you catch that? God’s superabundance is available to us because of Jesus’ redeeming us. When people accept Jesus as the Son of God, He reconciles them to God.  He changes them from one state (sinner) to another (redeemed and cleansed). Jesus brings each believer into a state of harmony with God and gives them peace with Him.

It is impossible to have peace and harmony with God when we sin (rebel) against Him. Yet, because of God’s great love for us, He provided the sacrifice needed for us to be redeemed, made righteous, and put into harmony and peace with Him! That is reconciliation. Paul said this twice in verse twenty. Paul said Jesus reconciled us, which means brought into harmony. He also said Jesus made peace for us with His blood. The Son reconciled us to God with His blood. Because the Son of God is preeminent, His bringing harmony and unity through His blood to each person who believes in Him affected all creation, “whether things on earth or things in heaven.”

Thoughts to Consider

Jesus’ life on earth as the Son of God and the Son of man is more than a theological doctrine. His life, death, and resurrection provide the reconciling and unifying atonement for all creation. He was the firstborn, preeminent before creation, firstborn from the dead, and firstborn (preeminent) as the head and founder of the body of believers, the Church. The Son created our physical bodies, and He re-created us in His image, spiritually. The fullness of God truly, visibly and invisibly, rested upon the Son to cleanse humanity for God’s good pleasure. God planned for this from before He created anything. He is faithful and has superabundant grace, mercy, and love to make it happen. God is faithful to Himself, His plan, His creation, and His born-again sons and daughters.

Questions to Consider:

• Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God?
• Do you believe Jesus was 100% man and 100% divinity?
• What does it mean to you that the Son of God is the head of the body?
• Have you ever heard that Jesus will resurrect you? Does that cause more questions for you?
• What are your thoughts about the Son of God reconciling you with God and giving you peace and harmony with Him?
• Are you ready to stop rebelling against God and have peace with Him?

Today is the time for you to decide who the Son of God is for you? Will you believe in Him and be reconciled with God? Or, will you keep running away from Him and struggle?

For next week, read chapter one again, especially verses 21-23.

“And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach” (Colossians 1:21-22 [NASB])

A Birthday and a Callling

A Birthday and A Calling

Today marks 41 years to the day since I accepted Jesus as my Savior and Lord. I wasn’t naughty. If you lived in my home, you didn’t dare be naughty. I didn’t take drugs or drink alcohol. I made mostly A’s in school. I was working on being self-sufficient. It’s necessary in today’s world to take care of yourself because no one else would, right? Still, I was like most people; I ran from God as He pulled on my heart.

I don’t know of what I was afraid; I had experienced love in the church and from the church staff for years. No one in the church had ever hurt me, but instead showed and taught me about God’s love. I learned the endearing songs “Jesus Loves Me” and “Jesus loves the little Children” as a preschooler in church. I heard the stories of Jesus’ birth, Lazarus’ resurrection from the dead, Jesus turning water into wine, and His healing of people-the leper, the blind man, the woman who bled for years. Still, when God called to my heart and mind, I ran. When I say I ran, I mean I literally ran. I couldn’t tell you who was at the door, but I knew it was church people when the bell rang. I ran upstairs to my room, out the back door, and down the fire escape.

Why did I run? I really don’t know still. Maybe it had to do with that drive to be self-sufficient. Maybe I didn’t want to lean on anyone. It’s possible, the Father figure of God scared me, like my father scared me. I think the biggest reason I ran from God is why most people run. I was afraid of what He would ask me to do.

Remember all the stories in the Bible of which you’ve heard. God called Abraham to be His man. He told Abraham He would make him the father of a great nation, then told him to go to a land he would show him. God told Moses to go to Egypt and set His people free. God called Samuel while a little child and used him to be His prophet. He called Isaiah, convicted his heart of his sin, then sent him out to be a prophet. Jesus called each of the disciples to follow Him. They didn’t know they would follow Him to the cross. You get my point here. It seemed when God called people, He called them to sacrifice themselves, their lives, and their stuff. I had my whole life ahead of me. I was afraid of what God would call me to do. I was afraid. That’s how I re-entered my parent’s house at 14 years old.

I remember nothing else about that night except that I didn’t run from God anymore. My life started revolving, by my choice, around church-choir, youth group, Sunday School. I didn’t go to church anymore just for a haven or to be with people who loved me. I went to church to know God more. I couldn’t get enough of Him. When the youth played on a Friday night, I read my Bible on the church steps. When a special youth week occurred, I was there devouring the Word. During that week, I sensed God telling me I would be a minister’s wife. That was the second time I realized God was speaking to me. Then I remembered, when I was nine years old and in Sunday School, I felt God softening my heart for missionaries. My teachers taught about them that day and the page they gave me to color was about Thailand.

That fourteenth summer of my life one other thing happened that brought me to the foot of the cross. A young adult woman took an interest in me. She was ten years older than me, but she decided to include me in her life. This young lady picked me up and took me to the mall, to burger restaurants, to choir, and to church. One snowy day, we arrived at her apartment to sled down the hills around her apartment complex. After sledding, we made hot chocolate in her kitchen and then sat on the floor. After some quiet (remember, God was working on my heart), I asked her why she cared about me. I had never known her before she chose to care about me. Her response changed me forever. She said, “I love you because Jesus loves you and me.” My glass wall shattered! Why? Because someone loved me when she didn’t have to.  She chose to love me.

God’s love through Jesus Christ shattered my wall and I have never been the same. His love shattered my defenses of self-sufficiency and fear. I realized without Him I could do nothing. Paul said this positively in Philippians 4:13 when he said, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Jesus stated it explicitly in John 15:5. He said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

At that time, I realized I need not fear. God loves me more than anyone. His love wants only the best for me, so why should I fear what He may call me to do. The greatest Bible verse we all have memorized expressed God’s love. John 3:16 tells us how great God’s love is for us. It says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Since God loves me enough that He sent His Son to die for me (for my sins), and for the whole world for all time, then I can trust Him and not fear. David wrote about the coming Messiah throughout the Psalms. In Psalm 27:1, he declared his faith in Yahweh. He said, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread?”

At that point in time, when I was 14 years old, God told me He loved me enough to send His Son to die for me. He told me He is my light and salvation; I have nothing to fear. Through the Bible, God also told me that without Him, I can do nothing. Faced with these three absolutes, I realized my mortality, sinfulness, and need of the Savior and Lord. Without fearing to what He would call me in the future, I walked into His loving, open arms and gave my heart and life to Him. God gave me a new birthday, a spiritual birthday. Today, I say, “Happy birthday, to me. Thank you, Jesus.”

We don’t know to what God will call us. Neither do we know what we will face in the future without God. The future without God is unknown. A future with God, we understand, holds love, guidance, strength, and provision. There is nowhere we can go that God won’t find us. Likewise, there is nowhere God can send us that He won’t love, protect, provide, and guide us. What is fear? It is fearing the unknown. With God, nothing is unknown. We realize He loves us. That is what is important. I didn’t know where God would call me to walk or work in the future, but I trusted Him and His heart implicitly.

Where do you stand today? Are you afraid of the future? Do you feel unloved? God loves you now, just as you are. Go to Him and His love and you will never need fear what will come against you, or of being alone and unloved. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31 [NASB])

We know that God causes all things to work together for the good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Just as it is written, “For your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:28-39 [NASB])

Lord, God, I realize I am a sinner in need of a Savior. Thank You for dying for me and for Your forgiveness. Thank You for Your love that never gave up on me and never will give up on me. Please take my heart today and make it anew for Your purposes. I trust You and have no fear. You are God and know all things. Whom shall I fear? I am Yours for Your purposes. Amen.

More Than Created - Adopted Ephesians 1

Ephesians 1

            A few weeks ago, the church I attend began a forty-day study of the book of Ephesians. I have not been able to attend any of the studies so am studying on my own. I remember years ago studying the New Testament in seminary and am eager to learn afresh what God wants to tell me.

            As I began this study, I remembered that Paul’s letters begin with a greeting and introduction as to who he was. They often contain a preamble that lets you know on what he planned to teach. The book of Ephesians follows that same pattern, but I found or re-learned something in my current study. Chapter one includes a section on what God has done for the Ephesian church and a prayer from Paul for them. If you have not read Ephesians chapter one recently, I encourage you to do that now before you continue this study.

            As quick lists, here are the things Paul said God did and things for which Paul prayed for the Ephesian Christians and faithful followers of Christ.

            What God Did:

1. He chose us before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless. (vs. 4)
2. He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters. (vs. 5)
3. He freely bestowed His grace on us. (vs. 6)
4. He gave us redemption through Christ’s blood. (vs. 7)
5. He gave us forgiveness of sin because of His grace. (vs. 7)
6. He lavished His grace upon us. (vs. 8)
7. He made known to us the mystery of His will because of His kindness. (vs. 9)
8. He summed up all things on Christ on earth and in heaven. (vs. 10)
9. He gave us an inheritance because He predestined it based on His wisdom.(vs. 11)
10. Because He gave us this inheritance through His grace, we are for the praise of His glory. (vs. 12)
11. He sealed us with His Holy Spirit. (vs. 13)
12. He gave the Holy Spirit as a pledge of our inheritance because we believed and redeemed. (vs. 14)

What Paul Prayed (for the faithful)

1. That God would give wisdom, revelation, and knowledge in recognizing Him. (vs. 17)
2. That God will enlighten the eyes of our heart to know the hope of His calling, the riches of the glory of His inheritance. (vs.18)
3. That God will give us the surpassing knowledge of the greatness of His power towards us with the working strength of His might. (vs. 19)
4. That we will know these occurred in accordance with the working of the strength of His might, which He brought about in Christ when He (vs. 19-20)
   1. raised Him from the dead (vs. 20)
   2. seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places (vs. 20)
   3. far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named (vs. 21)
   4. to change this age and also the one to come. (vs. 21)
   5. He put all things in subjection under His feet (vs. 22)
   6. And gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (vs. 22-23)

            From the first section under “What God has done for His children,” verse 3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” As I read this, I wondered what the spiritual blessings were to which Paul referred. I can think of many things God has done, but what is a spiritual blessing? This led me to a discovery. Paul outlined these blessings in the eleven subsequent verses. Each of these blessings are God’s actions and thoughts toward us; we did nothing to get them.

In verse four we find that God chose us before He created humankind and the world, to be holy and blameless before Him. He chose to have an eternal relationship with us; that is why He created us. He created us for relationship. When Adam and Eve sinned against God by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they broke relationship with Him because He, in His holiness and purity, cannot be in the presence of evil. Yet, we learn from this verse, God chose us to be holy and blameless so He had a plan to renew our relationship with Him. Paul expands this teaching further in chapter two, especially in verse ten.

            Verses five through six carry on from this. Verse five says, “He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.” This affirms again that God chose us, He predestined that we would be His children one way or the other. God’s plans cannot be thwarted by humankind. God planned from the foundation of the world our adoption as His children. Paul began in the verse to explain how God planned to adopt us to bring us back into relationship with Him. He gave us a glimmer of what he spoke and developed later in his letter to the Ephesians. God, through Jesus Christ and because of the kind intentions of His will, provided a way for us to be cleansed from the darkness of our sin. This adoption and kindness of God comes from God’s grace. Grace is defined as God’s riches at Christ’s expense. We receive God’s riches, an inheritance, at because of Christ’s death as our substitute. Paul and all followers of Christ praise God because of His grace, which He freely gave us. We do not deserve this great kindness and love of God to remove our sins at the expense of the life of His Son. Nothing we can do makes us worthy of this grace from Holy God. Paul developed this teaching further in Ephesians 2.

Paul added more in this first chapter. He stated, “In Him (Jesus Christ) we have redemption (our death penalty redeemed by the death of a substitute) through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.” Because Jesus in His gracious love for us chose to die as a substitute for our death, which our sinfulness required, we can be made pure, one hundred percent clean from our sins. God’s forgiveness comes to us through Jesus’ death, His blood poured out instead of ours. This redemption and forgiveness is because of God’s great grace, His insurmountable and unlimited kindness and love. Paul used a word that describes the limitlessness of God’s grace. He said God “lavished” His grace upon us. Lavished means to be over and above measuring, to be abundantly overflowing. Paul talked more about the limitless grace and love of God in chapter three. He said he wants us to grasp how high and wide and deep is the “love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge so that we may be filled up to all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:18-19).

God, in wisdom and insight, “made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention” according to Paul in verse nine. Paul spoke more on this mystery in Ephesians 3, but summed up for us here what God’s will is – to bring all humankind back into a relationship with Him through the death, resurrection, and reign of Jesus Christ. God provided for us this way back to Him because of His love. He made it known to us because of His kindness and love. What good is a plan for others if they do not realize a plan was made for them. Paul continued to summarize God’s mystery by stating that all things on heaven and earth will be in subjection to Christ at the fullness of time, when He returns to earth. Then the kingdom of God will reign forever. Christ’s death was not just for us to experience now as a once off cleansing. His death and resurrection occurred so that we could have eternal life with Him when all things are under His gracious and wise authority and dominion.

Paul stated in verses eleven and twelve, “In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.” He reiterated it again for emphasis. God adopted us and they will receive a full inheritance with His Son as children of God. The inheritance we receive is eternal life with an unbroken relationship with the Father. This idea was not a backup plan after Adam, Eve, and humankind sinned. God foreknew humankind would sin. He predestined a plan for our salvation because of His love for us out of His unlimited mercy and kindness. Because we asked for forgiveness and accepted His love, He made us His children. We get to praise His glory – His excellence, magnificence, and majesty. Our word “doxology” comes from this Greek word translated as “glory.” We praise God for who He is and what He has done.

Paul said, in verses thirteen and fourteen, God sealed us in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise. He gave us the Holy Spirit in our hearts “as a pledge of our inheritance,” our redemption and eternal life with Him, “to the praise of His glory.” Paul preached this in His letter to the Ephesians. He praised God and taught the Ephesian Christians to praise God for what He did for them. The Holy Spirit is our pledge from God of our inheritance as His children. The Holy Spirit is not just our guide, comforter, and teacher, but is our pledge from God. How great is that?

To sum up God’s spiritual blessings for the Ephesian Christians according to Paul, God adopted them. We must be more specific though. God chose them before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless. He predestined them to be adopted as His children through Jesus Christ because of His kindness. God bestowed His grace freely on them. He redeemed them from their merited death by Jesus’ substituted death. God forgave them of their sins because of His grace. He lavished His grace on them. He made known the mystery of His will to them. God gave all things to the authority and dominion of Christ on earth and in heaven. He gave them hope in Christ. God gave them the pledge of His Holy Spirit as a sign of their inheritance. The Ephesian Christians and we did not do anything to acquire salvation and adoption. God did it all.

The second section of this opening chapter of Ephesians is Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian Christians. Keep aware as you will notice overlapping between this prayer and God’s spiritual blessings of His children. Paul prayed for the Ephesian Christians giving thanks for them and asking God to give them certain things. First, Paul asked God to give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. This means that Paul asked God to give them His knowledge in truth and instruction, which they did not have before they became Christians. He asked that God give the Ephesian Christians knowledge and practice for godly living and for teaching Christian truth to other people.

Second, Paul prayed that their hearts would be enlightened so that they would know three things – 1) what is the hope of His calling (vs. 18), 2) what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints (vs. 18), and 3) what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward those who believe (vs. 19a). Paul asked that they would be illumined or instructed because they are now of the household of God regarding what is their joyful expectation of eternal life. This is the hope that Christ gives to Christians, joyful expectation of eternal life. Nothing can take it away from believers. Paul developed this in Ephesians 4. He asked God to guide them to understand the “riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” He wanted them to realize the abundance from God’s grace of blessedness from having the promise that Christians will be with Christ in heaven. “Inheritance” in the Greek New Testament is kleronomia. Kleronomia is the eternal blessedness of the kingdom of God which occurs after Christ’s second coming, which adopted children of God will have for eternity. Christian riches come from our inheritance in Christ’s kingdom. The third thing for which Paul prayed for the Ephesian Christians was that they would know the exceedingly abundant greatness of God’s power toward those who believe. God does not just save them for that time; He saved them for eternity. His power is greater than anything that attempts to hold you back. This is what Paul stated in Romans 8:37, “But in all things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” The word used for “power” in verse nineteen is dunamis. We get our word dynamite from this word. It means strength and power; the ability to do something with great power. God having power is a great thing to know. What use is power, though, if not applied for something or someone. Here, in this verse, Paul stated God used this exceedingly great power toward those who believe. He saved them by His great love for them and He kept them safe by His great power. No one can ever snatch them from God’s hands. Read Romans 8:31-39 for more on this.

Paul continued in verse nineteen by stating that these three things are according to the working of God’s great power. The Greek word translated as “working” is energeia and is used only of superhuman strength in the New Testament. God’s power is greater than any person’s. This power is that which God brought about in Christ when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heaven. God exercised this power in Christ toward us who believe so that we could always have the hope of eternal life with Him. Paul developed this more in Ephesians 3:7 and 6:10.

The place of honor God the Father gave Christ by seating Him at his right hand in heaven shows the Son is a part of the Godhead and that He has all authority and power. Paul named those people and beings over whom Christ ruled. Christ reigns over all rule/rulers. “Rule” is the Greek word arche and means leader or magistracy. Christ reigns over all authority (exousia). Exousia means the command and power of created beings under which others must submit themselves. Christ reigns over all powers and dominions. “Power” is dunamis, which means the power which a person or things exerts and puts forth. “Dominion” is kuriotes, which includes the power of lords, rulers, and kings. Jesus reigns over all created beings who reign - human, angelic, and Satanic. Jesus’ power is greater than every being or thing, even death, because He is part of the Godhead. Paul further stated that Jesus Christ’s name is over every name that is named for all ages (aion – a perpetuity of time).

The Father gave the Son power over all things and beings. He put them in subjection under His feet, too (vs. 22). They do not have power over Christ. They must obey Him. The Father made Christ the head over all things to the Church. Jesus Christ is the foundation and the head of the Church. Paul said this in Colossians 1:18 and in Ephesians 4. In verse twenty-three, Paul spoke of “the fullness of Him.” By this he meant, the Church is the body of Christ. “Fullness” in the original Greek comes from the word pleroma meaning the body of believers who are filled to completeness with and by Christ’s presence, power, and riches. “All in all” in this verse means that Christ has redeemed some of all sorts; He does not restrict His redemption to just one kind of person. Christ redeems Jew and Greek, rich and poor, slave and free, which Paul explained in Galatians 3:28 and Colossians 3:11. Hence, verses twenty-two and twenty-three can be stated like this: “And God put all things in subjection under Christ’s feet and gave Him as the head over the Church, which is His body, who are filled to completeness with and by Christ’s presence, power, and riches and which Church is made up of people from all walks of life.”

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian Christians included that they would recognize and come to know Christ with a deep knowledge that led to godly living and Christian teaching. He prayed they would be enlightened and would know the hope of His calling, “the riches of the glory of His inheritance,” and the exceeding greatness of His power for and toward them. Paul prayed they would understand and know it was in accordance with the superhuman energy used of the strength of God’s might that raised Christ from the dead, seated Him at His right hand, and gave Him power over all things in heaven and earth. Paul prayed that the Ephesian Christians would know Jesus as the head of the body of Christ, the church, and would grow stronger in the knowledge of His presence, power, and riches.

After studying this, two questions arise. Do I show in my life what God has done? Can I say that Paul was praying these things over me? Paul wrote these things to the Ephesian Christians. Do they apply to every Christian? When I re-read the opening of the letter, I noticed in verse one that Paul addressed the letter “to the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus” [NASB]. I wondered if other English versions of the Bible translated it this way. I discovered most translations do state it in this way. Yet I found two that do not, Young’s Literal Translation and the Duoay-Rheims Bibles. The first was translated in 1898 by a Scottish Presbyterian who was fluent in several languages and was a printer. The latter in 1899 from the Latin Vulgate by the Catholic Church. This difference in translations piqued my interest so I had my scholar husband translate it from the Greek Bible. He translated it as follows: “Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ through God, to saints to the ones which are in Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.” Paul addressed the letter to the saints in Ephesians and to all faithful followers of Christ. He wrote the letter to all Christians “not only in this age, but also in the one to come” (Eph. 1:21). This means that God did these things for me. He chose me before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless. God predestined me to be adopted by Him according to His kindness and grace. He freely bestowed His grace on me and gave me redemption through the death of Christ. Through Christ’s death I have forgiveness of my sins. God made sure I knew the mystery of His will - He sent His Son to die for my sins so I would not die eternally. He gave me an inheritance because of His plan and for His purpose, so that I could have eternal life with Him and praise Him. God sealed me with His Holy Spirit who He gave as a pledge of my inheritance because He redeemed me for His own, for which all praise goes to Him. If God did this for me, He did it for all other faithful followers/Christians.

Questions arise now because of this. Am I living as if God has done these magnificent things for me and in me? Can anyone see in my words and actions God’s grace and call upon me? If Paul meant his words for all Christians/faithful followers of Christ, what does this mean for you? Are you living in a way that people watching you realize you are a child of God, one who inherits redemption and eternal life from Him?

Paul often began his letters by stating what he would teach the recipients. His prayer in Ephesians 1 tells us what Paul would be teaching the Ephesians. Paul did not aim to teach only the Ephesian Christians. He purposely set out to teach every Christian who read his letter or heard his letter read. Paul had a purpose in this letter. He wanted to correct false teaching, impart knowledge and wisdom (Christian truth), remind them of their inheritance and hope of glory, try to express the exceedingly great power and might of the Father and Son, the purpose of Christ’s death and resurrection, and the structure and building of the Church/body of Christ. This is what Paul prayed for the saints and faithful followers to receive from God. He recognized their weaknesses as Christians and wanted God to make them stronger. This recognition is what he prayed for them, wrote to them, and taught them. They needed more teaching regarding what the Father and Son did for humankind. Paul recognized this was a need for them and for faithful followers through the ages.

My questions returned repeatedly this week. I must consider if I am a weak Christian like some of the Ephesians. Am able to be mislead by false teachings? Am I growing in Christ, who is supposed to be my Head? Am I helping to build up the church? Am I holding on to the hope of my salvation? Am I willing to take steps of faith into areas that are outside of my comfort zone knowing my salvation is secure, that nothing can take me out of God’s hands? These are not easy questions with which to probe yourself. They can be painful.

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you must do this probing, too. Are you growing in your relationship with Christ? Are you reading God’s Word and studying it? Are you sure of your salvation and holding onto the hope of glory so that no matter what, you understand you are in God’s hands? Are you willing to take steps of faith from where you are comfortable? Have you considered that your growth or lack is what contributes to the stability of the growth of the church?

These are not easy questions to apply to your life. They were not easy for me either. Paul wrote to all Christians. What God did through His Son, Jesus Christ, applies to each of us.

If you are not a Christian, you have a decision to make.

Will you chose to recognize and follow the God who chose you and predestined you to be His adopted child?

If you are a Christian,

Are you growing in your relationship with God?

Can people see from your words and actions that you are a follower of Christ?

Begin there,

at the heart,

and let God’s words through Paul lead you to a closer relationship with Him.

It starts with a first step:

Will you accept God’s grace and give Him your life?