09 December

Bible In 365 Days                         

Ephesians 1-3

Ephesians 1

The theme of this letter is pre-eminently of the Church as the medium for the accomplishment of the divine purpose. Those addressed are described as "saints," and as "the faithful in Christ Jesus." These the Apostle greets in the words, "Grace to you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Grace is the river flowing from the heart of God. Peace is the consciousness of the trusting soul.

The letter itself begins with a great benediction in which the Apostle speaks as a member of the Church, declaring the blessedness of God and the blessedness of the Church through God. In dealing with the subject of the Church, he first writes of its origin. It is predestined to be "holy and without blemish," and that to the praise of the glory of the divine grace. The method of His predestination is threefold: redemption (Ephesians 1:7), revelation (Ephesians 1:8-12), realization (Ephesians 1:13-14).

This doctrine of grace creates in the heart of the Apostle desires for the saints which are constantly expressed in prayer. He prays that they may have "a spirit of wisdom and revelation," and this by having "the eyes of their heart enlightened."

All this in order that they may know, first, the vocation, and, second, the power. The vocation of the Church is here described as the "riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints." God has an inheritance in His people, and it is that of the Church as a medium through which His grace is to be manifested. The Apostle prays, moreover, that they may know "the exceeding greatness of His power." This he described as "the working of the strength of His might," and gave as supreme illustration the resurrection and ascension of our Lord.

Ephesians 2

The next subject is the edification or building of the Church. The materials of the building are found amid things which are absolutely opposed to the will and purpose of God. From this material God, who is rich in mercy, finds the material for His building. The process is that in Christ Jesus those found are made alive, are raised up, and made to sit with Him.

The purpose for which the building is created is then distinctly told in the words, "That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus". If the heart is overwhelmed by the splendor of the vision suggested, it is comforted by the declaration immediately following, "We are His workmanship."

Following on, the Apostle shows how these materials are to be unified into one building. Jew and Gentile are to be united in Christ. Though they were "far off," they are to be "made nigh." Thus Jew and Gentile are admitted into the one household of God.

Finally, we have the revelation of the foundation, ''Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the chief Cornerstone." It is evident that the geometrical figure in the mind of the Apostle was of a pyramid, for in the pyramid the cornerstone is the key to the whole structure. This can hardly be said of any other form of building. The building is then described as "a holy temple in the Lord," and its purpose that it should be "a habitation of God in the Spirit." The creation of the temple is the result of the work of Jesus. The incoming of the Spirit is making use of the appropriated temple according to the intended purpose.

Ephesians 3

God's dwelling in the Church is not finality. It is equipment for the fulfillment of the divine purpose. The Apostle claims a stewardship in the mystery of the Church, and declares the astounding fact that "unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the Church the manifold wisdom of God." In his Corinthian letter the Apostle showed that the Word of the Cross is the wisdom of God. Therefore, through the Church is to come the proclamation to the unfallen ones of the infinite Grace of God. Heaven will have much music, but none so full of infinite meaning as the song of the ransomed.

Called forth by the stupendous magnitude of his theme, the Apostle again speaks of the fact that he is praying for them. Through a series of consecutive petitions he reaches the statement of his final desire. It is "that ye may be filled unto all the fulness of God."

The doctrinal section of the letter ends with the doxology, "Unto Him, the glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus."  Thus the inherent blessedness referred to in the opening benediction (Ephesians 1:3) finds its expression in the Church and in Christ Jesus. So stupendous are the ideas developed in this letter that in the presence of them faith must stagger, save as it is recognized that God bestows power equal to the accomplishment of the great purpose. He is One "that is able to do," and that, moreover, "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think." Finally, he declares that this ability is "according to the power that worketh in us."

This doxology is full of a sublimity which is characterized by simplicity. "Unto Him be the glory," that is, the great purpose; "in the Church and in Christ Jesus," such the wondrous medium; "unto all the generations of the age of the ages," that the immeasurable duration.