Ephesians
All Bible
quotations are from the King James Bible.
Introduction
Ephesians is
the first of the four Roman prison Epistles.
The other three were Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon.
It was written about 61-62 AD which was approximately 2 years before the
home going of Paul by the Nero express.
Ephesus was also the center of the worship of the false goddess “Diana”
or sometimes called “Artemis.” Acts
19 gives the story of the struggle Paul had there with those who were adherents
to this false gospel. Ephesus was a
port city located in Asia Minor and on the Ionian Sea.
Ephesus was also a center for witchcraft and idolatry.
Port cities were well known for having many temples to false gods since
they were visited by many seamen from various countries and religious factions.
The term “in
Christ” appears ten times in this book.
The word “in” appears 105 times in 80 verses.
This is significant because it is emphasizing the believer’s union with
the Lord Jesus Christ. This book is
one of the strongest revelations of the believer’s position in Christ.
It is one of the meatiest books of the Bible.
In this study, you will find me quoting Paul or alluding to him instead
of the Bible in certain areas. This
is not to say that quoting Paul is any different than quoting the Word of God.
Paul wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and whether I say
Paul said or the Bible said, it is all the Word of God and there is no
difference. I just wanted to make
that point so no one feels there is a difference between the Word of God and
Paul’s discourses, they are one and the same.
The name Paul comes from the Latin which means “little or small.”
His previous name “Saul” meant “demanded or destroyer” which would have
fit him perfectly since his goal before salvation was to destroy the church.
Eph 1:1
Paul, an
apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which
are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Will - John
1:12-13 - Will may also be understood as “purpose or determination”
Will of God -
2 Cor. 1:1; Galatians 1:4; Galatians 1:15
The Sovereign
will of God for Paul was to become saved and to eventually become the Apostle to
the Gentiles plus he went on three missionary journeys where he founded many
churches in places like Ephesus, Colossae, Philippi, etc.
Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he also went on to write 13
books of the New Testament, 14 if you consider Hebrews to be one of his.
An apostle is defined as one who is sent and they normally received
messages directly from the Lord.
When the Bible was completed, the term “apostle” was widened to include all
those who bring the word of God to others
Notice Saints
and Faithful - This is because sometimes the saints are not so faithful.
We have it today in that 10% of the people do 90% of the work.
You can be a saint and not be faithful to the cause of Christ meaning you
may not be involved to the extent others are.
Some years
ago a friend of mine was visiting a large church out in Lancaster, PA and they
were having a mission service. They
took up a collection for the visiting missionaries and out of about 200 people
attending they collected $167.
These are the saints but not the faithful.
Once I was
doing a fund raiser for the Activity Center of America’s Keswick here in New
Jersey and was looking for volunteers to help.
I received all kinds of excuses why they couldn’t help, these were the
saints and not the faithful.
The key is
that you cannot be faithful unless you are committed or sold out to the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Eph 1:2
Grace
be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Grace is the
bestowing of something completely undeserved such as salvation and stemming from
that grace is the peace that passes all understanding.
The word
peace comes from the Greek word “Eirene” which means a cessation of hostilities.
True peace is when a person comes to know Christ as savior because then
the hostilities between God and that person has ceased.
Therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
(Romans 5:1) Since we
have peace with God, we may have personal peace in the middle of both turmoil
and tragedy.
Our Father is
a term which Paul uses to teach that the true believer has God the Father as
their eternal Father. It also shows that God is the universal Father of all true
believers around the world. The
word “our” is in the Genitive case making it a case of possession which means
God is ours and we belong to Him.
Many religions believe they can go right to the Father by bypassing the Lord
Jesus Christ and the Bible states in no uncertain terms that if you do not have
the Son, you do not have the Father.
Whosoever denieth the Son, the
same hath not the Father: but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father
also. (1 John 2:23)
He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath
not life. (1 John 5:12)
Eph 1:3
Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in
Christ:
Blessed = to
praise (eulogeo) a cognate of Eulogeo which means extol or speak well of.
We get the word eulogy from it.
A cognate is a word that is similar to another in root meaning.
5 or 10 words can be created out of 1 root word.
Hath blessed
= Aorist tense - (having blessed) It is a tense which speaks of a specific
action that does not reveal duration or completeness.
Basically this is the tense of ongoing action which in contrast to the
perfect tense which is the tense of completion.
Spiritual =
Notice the blessings are spiritual and not physical because the believer’s realm
is in the heavenly places.
And hath raised us up together, and made
us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
(Ephesians 2:6) Whenever we
look and expect physical blessings such as health, wealth and prosperity we are
looking in the wrong realm. It is
not wrong to pray for daily sustenance or for anything we might think we need
but it must be in concert with the will of God and we must accept his answer no
matter what it is. This verse states that we received “all spiritual blessings”
which means that God did not withhold anything from the true believers.
The charismatics claim that you can become saved but you receive the Holy
Spirit at a later time and the evidence of the receipt is that you speak in
other tongues. Tongues in the Bible
were legitimate languages that were spoken but the tongues of today are nothing
but satanic gibberish with no meaning whatsoever.
Eph 1:4
According as
he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in
love:
he hath
chosen - “eklegomai” which means to choose, select or elect.
Here is one of the verses free willers choose to ignore.
It states plainly that the true believer was chosen in Christ before the
foundation of the world. We did not
choose Christ, he chose us.
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen
you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your
fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he
may give it you. (John 15:16)
The reason a person cannot choose or accept Christ is because before
salvation everyone is spiritually dead which we will look at more in depth in
chapter two.
before the
foundation - “pro kataboles” - which means before the foundations or the
beginning. Before Adam and Eve, God
had already had the book of life filled in with the names of those He planned to
save.
And all that dwell upon the earth shall
worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world.
(Revelation 13:8) The beast that thou
sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into
perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not
written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold
the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
(Revelation 17:8)
Even in
business when a project is to be started, the people are picked to partake in
that project before it begins not after it is under way.
God’s salvation plan is like this.
He chooses those whom he is going to save and then elects them to go out
into the world and carry his salvation plan to the other elect.
Then shall the King say unto them
on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world:
(Matthew 25:34)
David was
chosen - He chose David also his servant,
and took him from the sheepfolds:
(Psalm 78:70)
The chosen
nation is the body of believers - Blessed
is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his
own inheritance. (Psalm 33:12)
Jesus told the Scribes and Pharisees that the kingdom of God would be
taken from them and given to a nation bringing forth fruit.
The nation of Israel would have its special status removed and they would
no longer be God’s people since they were in rebellion to him.
Therefore say I unto you, The
kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the
fruits thereof. (Matthew 21:43)
In 1 Peter 2:9-10, God confirms the fact that the body of believers is
called a nation.
But ye are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye
should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into
his marvellous light: {10}
Which in time past were not a
people, but are now the people
of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. (1 Pet
2:9-10)
The chosen
seed of Abraham and the children of Jacob are chosen.
Jacob is here spoken of as the true line of believers descending from
Abraham. O ye seed of Abraham his
servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen.
(Psalm 105:6)
Abraham’s
Seed - Genesis 12:1-3>>Genesis 13:14-15>>Genesis 15:18>>Genesis
17:6-8>>Galatians 3:7-9>>Galatians 3:16>>Galatians 3:29
Holy - Set
apart unto the Lord, sanctified.
When ye come together therefore into one
place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper.
(1 Corinthians 11:20)
The words “the Lord’s” is the Greek word “Kuriakos” which means “belonging to
the Lord.” It is used to describe
the church because that is where we get the “church” from.
Without blame
- (no blemishes) {4} These are they which
were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow
the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the
firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
{5} And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault
before the throne of God.
(Revelation 14:4-5)
Eph 1:5
Having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ
to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Predestinated
- appoint or determine before hand - Romans 8:29-30 - This doctrine is
reprehensible to those who hold to free will doctrines.
The simple reality is since people are spiritually dead, they are unable
to understand the Gospel on their own and respond in a positive manner.
If it was not for God predestinating a chosen people for Himself, then no
one would become saved.
But ye
are a chosen generation, a
royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth
the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous
light: {10} Which in time past
were not a people, but
are now the people of God:
which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)
We saw these verses in the Ephesians 1:4 but they are suitable for this
verse too.
Adoption of
Children - To place from one household into another and to be given full rights
as if we were born in Heaven.
Who hath delivered us from the power of
darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
(Colossians 1:13) God
has taken us out of the kingdom of Satan and placed us into the kingdom of
Christ. To redeem them that were under
the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
(Galatians 4:5)
Good Pleasure
- Good will or favor – It is speaking of the sovereign will of God which
produces salvation by predestination in all those whom he has named before the
foundation of the world. Those whom
he has saved has become married to his Son.
{4} Thou shalt no more be termed
Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be
called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy
land shall be married. {5} For as a
young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom
rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.
(Isaiah 62:4-5)
Hephzibah = ”My delight is in her” - Beulah=Married
Eph 1:6
To the
praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted
in the beloved.
Praise -
recognition or commendation
Glory of his
grace - What is the glory of his grace?
1. It redeems
2. It changes
us
3. It
resurrects us
4. It never
fails - eternal security
5. If we
fall, grace is there to pick us up
Made us
accepted - We did not make us accepted HE made us accepted - Job 42:9 - Really
means he made us objects of grace - Aorist Active Indicative