We are glad that Henry Vander Kam, the pastor of the Doon, Iowa, church is making a good if gradual recovery from a heart attack and can begin these new studies.
OUR GLORIOUS REDEMPTION
Lesson 1
Ephesians 1:1–14
A Letter About Christ’s Church
Paul wrote this beautiful epistle while he was a prisoner in Rome. He had been working in Ephesus for some time and apparently a sizeable church was found in this city at the time this letter was written. In this letter he speaks of the Church of Jesus Christ and the unity of the Church.
There is some debate about the address of this epistle. The most ancient manuscripts do not contain the words “at Ephesus” in the first verse. However, most of the manuscripts do contain these words and it is quite certain that this epistle was addressed to Ephesus and the surrounding territory.
Paul introduces himself as the writer and immediately adds that he is an Apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God. He comes with the word of God and of Christ. His word is, therefore, not to be considered to be only the word of a man, but he comes with divine authority. His word is to be accepted as the word of God, a word on which the hearers or readers may rely for their eternal salvation. He writes to those who have been separated by God for a definite purpose and believe on His name. Upon these he pronounces the blessing of God. His unmerited favor is given them (grace), and the inner peace which only God can give, is extended to them. This is the Church, the body of Christ, which has been set aside for His service and whose members enjoy a peace which no other people have ever received.
Except for the salutation there are no introductory remarks. He at once begins with the body of this letter. He is ecstatic! His consuming passion for the gospel is perhaps more clearly stated here than in any of his writings. He heaps the many thoughts which come to his mind on top of each other. Here is a man who not only preaches the gospel but has himself become totally captivated by it. The verses three to fourteen form one sentence! He is not able to make a simple statement concerning the gospel of Christ. As soon as he has said the one thing, many other thoughts crowd his mind. The redemption of God’s people is not merely a fact—it is such a glorious fact that human language is not sufficient to express it.
Thanks for Every Spiritual Blessing
He begins with his adoration of God. God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is the author of our salvation. No one will ever be able to give sufficient thanks to Him. Let men worship Him day and night as long as they live. He is the One who has sent His Son and He sent Him as an evidence of the great love wherewith He loved us. He is the One who has given us all the spiritual blessings. These are far more than material gifts. These are the blessings on which we live now and into eternity. These blessings are, therefore, heavenly in origin. All these blessings are ours “in Christ.” How often he uses that expression, especially in this epistle. By it he refers to our union with Christ. There are no blessings outside of Christ. Believing on Him means to be united to Him. So he will also speak of the church in the following chapters. That church has no existence by itself. Its union with Christ determines the nature and function of that church. Anyone who would know the meaning of the term church must study Ephesians.
Based on God’s Eternal Choice
To realize the nature of the spiritual blessings which we have in Him, the author now shows us the foundation on which these blessings rest. He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. This is election. This is not an abstract term for him, but it is throbbing with life. He chose us! This is not something to be debated as to reason and method etc., but must be completely accepted as an established fact. Nor does election bring to mind an arbitrary will at work, but the gracious work of our heavenly Father! This choosing was done apart from us, i.e., we had nothing to do with it. He chose us in Him, in Christ, before the foundation of the world. His people were given to the Christ. In union with Him they have been chosen. He chose long before our lives began on this earth. He did not choose us because of anything in us or because He knew we would believe, no, He chose us so that we would be holy and without blemish before Him in love.
Adopted Sons of God
What a glorious thing that we have been chosen unto salvation! But, there is more. Our wealth in Him cannot be measured. He also foreordained us (or elected us) unt o adopt ion as sons! Being saved has not only a negative aspect, that we will not suffer eternal punishment, it has many glorious positive aspects. We are now sons of God by adoption. This is the clearest term the Bible is able to use to describe our relation to Him, but it is not wholly adequate. Scripture also speaks of us as “born of God”—adopted, yet born of Him. Peter even speaks of the divine nature being imparted to us. However, we understand the Apostle’s terminology. As adopted sons we have all the rights and privileges of sonship. This adoption occurred through Christ. This was His good pleasure. God delights in the salvation of His people.
Salvation
The election of God had as its purpose to save His people. This salvation was accomplished. However, the ultimate purpose of His election was “the praise of the glory of His grace.” His goodness, His love, His grace is magnified by the election of His people. They may never lose sight of it. His goodness, love and grace is seen everywhere but most clearly in the salvation of His own. He has bestowed all of this on us freely in Jesus Christ. His grace is so great and He has made us the recipients of it! We have indeed tasted that God is good.
Bought by Christ
As the multitude of thoughts crowd in upon each other as he is describing the glorious salvation which is ours, there is a slight change of emphasis found in verse 7. No, the shift in thought is too small to warrant a new paragraph, but he now emphasizes the work done by Christ in our redemption. Before this he had emphasized the Father’s work in choosing us to salvation. Now he speaks of the fact that this redemption has been wrought through the blood of Christ. It is a redemption, i.e., a ransom has been paid. Our redemption has been bought! The Old Testament already spoke of the ransom which would have to be paid and Jesus spoke of the fact that He had come to give His life as a ransom for many. Silver and gold did not suffice as a ransom. The required payment was enormous—nothing less than the blood of the Son of God. But, have no fear, His payment was sufficient. Our trespasses were thereby forgiven! We were purchased unto Himself and no one else had any claim on us from that day on. By that payment He revealed the riches of His grace. And this grace is so great and so rich that it has not only purchased our redemption but it filled His people so that they receive all wisdom and prudence. He has not impoverished Himself when He paid the price of our sin. His riches know no bounds. There was plenty left so that He gave His gifts to His people. Their redemption is not only negative, i.e., that they were freed from something, no, its positive side is so beautiful—He has enriched them so that they now have all things. He made these riches to abound to us. He gave them the wisdom—the proper use of knowledge—and the insight into the wonders of salvation.
A Mystery Revealed
This wisdom and insight are so necessary because He has now made known unto us the mystery of His will. Paul uses this term frequently in his letters. He does not mean something mysterious, but, rather, a making known those things which had not been revealed in former ages. The people to whom he is writing have received a far clearer revelation than former ages had received. These revealed things they must now understand and for that purpose He has given them an abundance of wisdom and insight. In the new revelation of the fulness of redemption He has made known His good pleasure. He rejoices in making known to His people the beauty of their salvation. His purposes now become clear. The Old Testament saints may have wondered at His purposes time and again. The saints of the New Testament times will have a clearer view.
With the coming of Jesus Christ into this world and the work which He has done for our redemption, the purposes of God are realized. This coming of our Lord has brought the dispensation of the fulness of the times. The day of shadows is past. The mystery is now revealed. It is a wholly new and different age. All things are summed up in Christ. He is the One who draws all things together in the whole universe. So many things seemed to be separated before. Men were not able to understand that everything had a purpose. Christ is the One in Whom all things come together. All things are summed up in Him, that is, He is the Head of all things. The world which had fallen into sin and thereby ruined the orderliness originally found in it is restored in Christ. The Christ is of far greater significance for the world than the bringer of redemption in the narrow sense.
God’s Heirs in Christ
Christ has been made Head over all things for the benefit of the church and therefore the Apostle, together with other believers, can rejoice in the fact that “we were made a heritage.” The recipients of His redemption are also the heirs of all the other benefits found in Christ. God includes all the things which have happened in the past, are happening today and what will happen in the future in His all–embracing plan. He not only makes His plans, He also carries them out. Nothing can foil His plans. Nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. This gives stability and certainty to the lives of believers. We were in that plan of God and He does everything according to the counsel of His will. He has a glorious purpose in mind: that we should be unto the praise of His glory. Here he refers to the purpose of all things as they were intended from the beginning of creation. He created all things to bring praise and glory to His name. This purpose seemed to be thwarted by the entrance of sin into the world, but all things are renewed with the coming of Christ. He reversed the disorder which sin had brought into the world. It has cost a huge price, but God’s original purposes are realized! Those who fall heir to these benefits wrought by Christ have had their hope centered in Christ even before all things have been brought to their conclusion. Certainly, their faith is genuine, but all things have not yet been accomplished. Much more is still to come.
Heirs by Faith in the Gospel
He has spoken of the fact that he, together with the believers to whom he is writing, are the heirs of all the blessings wrought by Jesus Christ. How can they know that they truly are such heirs? They had believed the word! That word is the truth! This is said because there were many false ‘gospels’ at that time as well as in our day. This word of truth was the gospel of their salvation! It is only through belief in the word of truth that salvation will be obtained. You were then sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, he says. This Spirit had been promised and all promises are realized in Him. The Spirit had authenticated the word which they had believed. In fact, their believing was already His work. The Spirit testifies within them to the truth of the gospel of salvation. The Spirit testifies of Christ. He gives assurances as well as the knowledge of the truth. He wrote the word—he is its best commentator.
The Holy Spirit – A Down-Payment
At the conclusion of this section he calls the Holy Spirit “an earnest of our inheritance.” The Spirit is the first installment of our inheritance. The first payment has been made and this is the assurance that the whole inheritance will become ours. We must remember: we are still battling sin, the second coming of our Savior must still come and the bliss of heaven still awaits us. But, the full salvation will come because we have already received the down payment! His promises shall surely come to pass. His purposes shall be realized. He will fully redeem His own possession. This is typically Pauline language. It is also the language of the first question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism. God made us. He bought us. We belong to Him.
Paul began this section with a doxology and ends it with the words “unto the praise of his glory.” He is straining human language to reveal his thanks for what God has done for him through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. Salvation is so beautiful! We owe all to Another. How can men take it lightly!
Questions for discussion:
1. What is Paul’s view of his office? 2. Is election of practical benefit for the believer? Is Christian doctrine always practical? 3. How much is involved in our adoption to be children of God? 4. What does it mean that He has summed up all things in Christ? 5. What does the phrase “in Christ” mean? 6. What does our inheritance include? 7. Can people be saved apart from believing the word?
THE WEALTH OF BELIEVERS
Lesson 2
Ephesians 1:15–23
Paul has finally come to the end of the long sentence contained in the previous eleven verses in which he has extolled the salvation revealed by the Triune God. He has stressed the work of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. All these works must be seen by the people of God to appreciate the fulness and the beauty of the salvation which has been revealed.
Thanks for the Church
Paul had worked in this church at Ephesus for some time—but that was about four years ago. He worked diligently here and his labors were also crowned with success. Many had come to the faith in this important city. Its church is the first of the churches mentioned by John in the book of Revelation. When John speaks of this church in revelation 2, it had lost its first love. At the time in which Paul is writing to this people that love is still very much in evidence. Therefore he rejoices in the news he has heard from this church while he himself is in prison. Their faith in Jesus Christ is evident to everyone. They also live their faith because they show their love to all the saints. (The great danger which this church faces some years later when they have lost that first love is that their faith has then died.) Faith shows itself in love and by means of the true love one is able to deduce that the true faith is present. The Apostle rejoices in the good report he hears and that he is thus able to see the continuing work of the Spirit of God in them.
How often this Apostle mentions the fact that he gives thanks for the faith of the people he is addressing. This is genuine. When he looks back to the time when he came to Ephesus and compares it with the present time, there is indeed reason to rejoice and give thanks. It is true, Apollos had worked there, but his view of the gospel needed correction. When Paul arrived in this city some of the people admitted that they did not even know that Pentecost had come and that they had been baptized with the baptism of John. Paul had a great deal of work to do here and he was given two years to do it. Ah, how that work had been blessed! He is in prison now but he has time for prayer and does not forget this church.
Prayer for the Church
What does he pray for? No doubt he prays that the church may fare well and that it may be kept in the truth. This would be the natural prayer of this former pastor for this church. But, he tells us specifically what he prays for concerning this church. He makes it very clear to them to Whom he prays. He prays to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory. Strange isn’t it that he should speak in this way? Why doesn’t he say: I pray to God for you? Remember how he has emphasized the attributes of God in the verses 3–14. Every part of that revelation is important, and must also be recognized in the prayer life of His people. His people don’t just pray! Some have the idea today that God is standing at their elbow and is ready to do the bidding of the one who “prays” as though He is his servant. No, we come to the God of Jesus Christ. He is the Father of glory. Let there be awe in prayer!
Prayer for Vision
What does he pray for them? The content of his prayer sounds rather strange to us. He prays that God may give them His Holy Spirit so that they may have wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. Certainly, only the Spirit of God will be able to give such wisdom in the revelation He has given of Himself so that they may come to an understanding of Him. They do have this knowledge, but he wishes them to increase in this knowledge. All their knowledge of Him must come by revelation. Let them then work diligently with the revelation they have received and may the Spirit of God illumine their minds.
Paul continues his train of thought in verse 18, but again uses some strange language to make clear what he has in mind. He prays that “the eyes of their hearts may be enlightened.” That is the only way they will come to the proper knowledge of God and of His gifts. By the term “heart” the Scriptures refer to the core of man’s being. Now, to see with the heart and not only with the physical eye is the concern of t he Apostle in this verse. The “eye” of the natural man’s heart is blind. He cannot see anything but that which is observable by the physical eye. Believers are of a different nature. That which eye has not seen is nevertheless believed! They do not only live by that which the natural eye is able to see. The Spirit of God has given them a vision which others are not able to perceive. Only if the eye of the heart is enlightened will they be able to realize the hope of His calling. What does the natural man know about an inner call? Only if the heart’s eye is enlightened will he be able to under stand the riches of the glory of God’s inheritance in the saints. Together with all other believers they have this assured knowledge. This is the essence of faith! You can tell someone about the hope you have, but if his heart’s eye is not enlightened you are speaking in riddles in his estimation. The believer’s life is so much richer than he is able to imagine.
God ‘s Power
The believer is dependent on the enlightenment of the heart’s eye for all the spiritual benefits he receives. By that enlightenment the hope is real, the faith is placed on a solid foundation and the believer recognizes the tremendous power of God which has been exerted in order that we might obtain salvation. The power of God is usually spoken of in regard to the mighty works we see in nature. This is Biblical too. The book of Job speaks of the powers of God as they are shown in the mighty storms which rage over the earth and in His creation of powerful creatures, and His power displayed in the orderliness of all things. However, when we deal with the subject of salvation we usually emphasize the love and grace of God. This too is Biblical. Time and again the Bible speaks of the great love He had for those whom He had chosen and that their very choice revealed His grace. But, the power of God which has been revealed in the salvation of His people may not be overlooked. His power also makes our hope sure–no one shall snatch us out of His powerful grasp.
This power of God is shown especially in the fact that He raised Christ from the dead and caused Him to be seated at the place of power in the heavens. We may never become so accustomed to the knowledge of the resurrection of Christ that we fail to see the marvel of it. It seemed as though death would reign and have the preeminence as long as the world would stand. However, God reached down with His almighty power and raised Him from the dead, thereby conquering death for all those whose heart’s eye has been enlightened. It is also well for us to note how often Paul speaks of the exalted and ruling Christ of the present time. The church has not grasped this fact fully even to the present day! Several churches have to meet together on Ascension Day in order to make it worthwhile to have a service! What a shame! Paul becomes ecstatic when he thinks of Christ’s present position because that is the guarantee of his present safety and future goal!
Christ’s Ascendant Power
Christ, he says, is ascended far above all the powers you may imagine. No one can compare with Him. He is not speaking now of human rule but the rule of angels too. Human rule is often praised and its might revered. But, human rule and might is not found in the heavenly places nor is it named in both this world and the next. We know from the Scriptures that the angels are powerful and that their power and rule exceeds that of men so far that it cannot be measured. An angel stands on the threshing floor in David’s time and slays thousands in Israel and it seems as though nothing can stop him. Angels will have a prominent place at the time of the return of our Lord. But, Christ stands far above them all! God gave Him authority over all things. By virtue of the fact that He rose from the dead He says: All authority is mine both in heaven and on earth! No, He does not stand as a beggar before men to ask whether or not they will have Him! All authority is His and He exercises it! This makes the lot of the believer glorious. There is absolutely nothing which can prevent his hope from being realized. Surely, we must see Christ’s love and grace displayed, but we have a very warped view of salvation if that is our only basis of hope. Paul emphasizes both the aspects of love and power and we must do the same, or we impoverish ourselves.
Sovereign Head
Christ has all things made subject to Him and He has also been made the Head over all things. This is the complete picture of His absolute sovereignty. Now the Apostle tells us what is the immediate purpose of this sovereignty. He has been given all this authority for the benefit of the church. As I said before, Ephesians stresses the nature and importance of the church as virtually no other book of the New Testament. Later (5:25–33) he will speak of the Head-body symbolism. Here he speaks of the fact that Christ has received all rule for the benefit of the church. No one can, therefore, understand the history of the world apart from the history of the church. The church stands at the center of all things. That church is His body. This is already preparatory to the things Paul is going to say about the church in chapter 5. Much is made of personal salvation today—know Jesus as your personal Savior! Of course, this cannot be denied. But, the nature and importance of the church is minimized in many circles today! “You will not be asked to which church you belonged on earth”! Many seem to know that this question will not be asked. I think it might be one of the first questions asked! Did you belong to my body or not? Did you belong to the false church or the true church? Christ loves His church for which He gave His life. He loves that church so much that He rules everything in this world for the benefit of that church. We must get back to those things said about the church in the Scriptures and what is therefore said about her in the Belgic Confession.
The final words of this chapter give some difficulty. Paul has spoken of the church being Christ’s body and then adds “the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.” Let it never be said that Christ is not sufficient unto Himself. Yet, he here speaks of that church being the fulness of HIM, even though He fills all in all. The best interpretation seems to be as follows: Christ is presented here as the head of the church and the church is presented as His body. Keeping this figure in mind, the closing words of this chapter become clear. The head is not complete without the body, and, of course, the body also would not be complete without the head. In other words, the church is here spoken of as complementing the Christ! As Christ, as Messiah, He would not be complete without the church—His body. This again reveals the importance of the church.
Marvelous things have been spoken concerning the salvation of His people in this chapter and the important place of the church. These are the things which he will explain further in the coming chapters of this glorious book.
Questions for Discussion
1. How are faith and love r elated? 2. According to Paul, the believer sees things the unbeliever does not see. Can there then ever be a true discussion between them? 3. Why do we emphasize so little the power of God in our redemption? Do you think this might make a greater impression on the unbeliever than if we always talk about love? 4. The rule of Christ really began with His ascension. Why do you think believers generally pay so little attention to the Ascension of Christ? If we pay so little attention to it, do we preach a complete gospel? 5. How important is it to which church you belong? Should it be worth going a few extra miles to join one church instead of another? Someone wrote: the church is fellowship. What do you think of that?