Ephesians 1 : WHAT DOES GOD THINK OF THE CHURCH?

 

What does God think of the church?   For the next three Sunday mornings we want to ask this question with the help of the first three chapters from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.  John Stott has written a helpful commentary on Ephesians in my generation. Here is what he says in his introduction:  

“Nobody can emerge from a careful reading of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians with a privatized gospel. For Ephesians is the gospel of the church. It sets forth God’s eternal purpose to create through Jesus Christ a new society which stands out in bright relief against the sombre background of the old world. For God’s new society is characterized by life in place of death, by unity in place of division, by wholesome standards of righteousness in place of the corruption of wickedness, by love and peace in the place of hatred and strife, and by unremitting conflict with evil in place of a flabby compromise with it …The realities of loveless-ness and sin in so many contemporary churches  are enough to make one weep, for they dishonour Christ, contradict the nature of the church, and deprive the Christian witness of integrity…. For the sake of the glory of God and the evangelization of the world, nothing is more important than that the church should be seen to be God’s new society. Towards the fulfilment of this vision [Paul’s letter to the] Ephesians gives us a strong and steady stimulus.” 

So, no matter what you think of the church, or what past experiences you may have of the church- listen now to what God thinks of the church, and may your minds and hearts be warmed and challenged by this!

 EXPOSITION

We begin at 1:1a: “Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God”.  These first few words are weighty.  This letter is not about Paul and his private opinions. He is merely an apostle, a messenger boy and elsewhere a slave[1] of Christ Jesus by the will of God.   He carries a weighty message, from nowhere less than the throne room of the Universe – ‘from Him who fills all in all.’  (1:23). The recipients of this message is the church at Ephesus: “To the saints who are at Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus.”  (1:1 b)  He tells us 4 things about them:

(i)                 They are saints – literally, ‘holy/ set apart ones‘. They are God’s holy, set apart, people in Ephesus. This was the church of Ephesus. This is you Eastside!

(ii)               They are faithful because they are actively trusting in Christ Jesus as Saviour and Lord.

(iii)             They are in Christ Jesus - a key phrase in this letter. To be in Christ means to be personally connected to Christ as branches are connected to a tree and as members are connected to a body. To be in Christ means to be on our way to heaven.

(iv)              They are the people of God at Ephesus, the Roman capital of the province of Asia – a busy commercial port, long silted up since then, and now a heap of ruins. They, like you and I, are part of a local church in a given location. Every Christian has a human address and a divine address; Paul's friends were people who lived in Ephesus, and they were in Christ Jesus.

All this tells us something about what God thinks about the church. The rest of chapter 1 is an amplification of what God thinks of the church (1:3-14), followed by  a heart-warming prayer  of thanksgiving  in 1:15-23

A.     1:3-14

In the original Greek this section forms one long sentence. Paul's mind is just carried away as he thinks about the work of God in the church.  Notice the continuous reference to ‘us’ and ‘we’.  Paul uses the words “in Christ,” or their equivalent, fourteen times. He wants us to understand that all grace, all salvation, all blessedness is in Christ. 

Let’s break this up into sizable chunks as Paul teaches us what God thinks of the church: 

1.                  He thinks of God's blessing. God chose to bless the church now, in this world with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places i.e. with the blessings which are to be found only in heaven – godliness, Christlikeness- bearing the fruit of the Spirit.

2.                  He thinks of the fact that the church was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (1:4) and predestined in love (1:5) and according to His purpose (1:11). Whatever God has set His deliberate love upon from before the foundations of the world must be surely of supreme importance to Him. You can have no small thoughts of the church. You dare not despise the church of God (1 Cor.  11:22).

3.                  He thinks of the purpose of God's choice (1:4):  God chose the church to be holy and blameless[2]. The idea of the holy means to be separated from that which is common. God has chosen Christians to be different from the world.  And yet God does not yet take us out of the world- He makes us different in the world. He chose us to be blameless - a sacrificial word. Under Jewish law only an unblemished / blameless animal could be offered.    One of the spiritual blessings of being a Christian is that through Christ’s perfect sacrifice, whereby He dies the death we should have died, in our place, we become blameless. God sees us blameless in Christ. Let that sink in.

4.                  He thinks of the status of the church – adopted children (1:5): The church is God’s family, consisting of legally adopted members. Adoption happens when children, once not part of a family are legally adopted into a family.  Under Roman law the person who had been adopted received all the rights of a legitimate child in their new family. The value of the church is seen in the adoption of her members as children of  God. Through adoption we receive a full standing a legitimate children. We receive the spirit of sonship (Rom. 8:15). God's children are called a "holy people" – Kings kids! (1 Peter 2:9). 

5.                  The church was redeemed (bought) through the blood of Jesus (1:7-10). The value of the church is seen in the great cost with which she was bought. We assess the value of an object by what it costs. God bought the church by the blood of His own Son (1 Jn. 4:9). Christ gave Himself up for her (Eph. 5:25)

6.                  The church is at the heart of God's plan (Eph.1:9,10).She is the mystery of His will (1:9 see also  3:3,4,6) Out of the ruins of fallen humanity,  from all races, languages  and nations God is building a people for Himself (Eph. 2:15). The church alone has a wonderful purpose and central place in the plan of God. Through her He displays His wisdom  to the world  (Eph. 3:10-12).

7.                  The church will receive a wonderful inheritance (Eph.1:11-18). The church alone has the promise of eternal life and the hope of living in the eternal presence of God. The Holy Spirit is our guarantee for this. We are co-heirs with Christ, and though we must share in His sufferings now, we will also share in His glory! (Rom. 8:17,18).

8.                  The church alone enjoys the personal and powerful ministry of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1: 13,14).          

9. The church has a glorious head, the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph.1:22,23). He is altogether glorious, and the church (as His body- the glorious bride) therefore shares in His glory (Eph. 4:15,16  5:29,30). The glory of the church cannot be understood apart from the glory of her head.

CONCLUSION

Stop having small thoughts about the church. Knowing what God thinks about her, we must make it our supreme ambition and goal to make the church look good. We must treat her like a bride – dress her, adorn her  like a bride is supposed to  look  for her wedding day. And where  do we start ? Right here where we are planted!

I want to encourage all of us to rethink our views of the church in the light of his text. In Chapters 4 and 5 we have previously  seen  what  the church of Jesus  is meant to look like:

• “Worthy of the calling  to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit  in the bond of peace” (4:1-3), in one confession of faith (4:4-6)
• We have seen that the church is meant to be a unified community in which the grace of God is poured out. God has given members gifts for ministry. He has given her leaders to be equipped and encouraged to use those gifts (4:7-12) and to become mature- to grow up into Christ, each part working properly, growing the body of the church up in love (4:13-16). All this  is demonstrated  by the new life which we live in  4:17—6:9.
• We stop living like  the gentiles in the futility of  their minds… alienated from the life of God (4:17-20)
•     We put off our old selves (4:22) and put  on the new self (4:24). We put off lies  and we speak the truth (4:25); we  control our anger, and give the devil no foothold. (4:26,27); we stop stealing, but work honestly (4:28);  We stop our corrupting talk and build each other up (4:29). We let  bitterness, anger, wrath go; we are kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave us. (4:31,32); we become imitators of God (5:1); we put behind us sexual immorality, impurity, covetousness… we walk as children  of light  and not as sons of disobedience  (5:3ff). Our relationships  are affected   by our careful walk (5:15)  - we become better husbands and wives (5:22-33); our family (6:1-4) and work relationships improve  (6:5-9).
• And all this because we have been changed by the grace of God – and through learning  Christ (4:20)  we know now what God  thinks of the church, and therefore  by His empowering  (we were raised from the dead –cf.  2:1-10) we have received the ability to make the church what God has designed it to be.   
• Are you a Christian?  Then you  know  what is before you. Stop thinking of the church as optional and dispensable.  Serve God by serving her. Make her look good. In Jesus’ Name and for His sake. Amen.

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[1]  Rom 1:1; Phil 1:1; Tit 1:1

[2]  Gr. amomos

PSALM 25 “Good Theology and Prayer”

 

SUPERSCRIPT:  A Psalm of David. 

Good theology is fundamental to prayer. God  responds to His own handwriting. Show God His handwriting!

This Psalm, like so many Psalms is a personal prayer to God. It clearly is a prayer attributed to his later years, for he prays in 25:7 “Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions…”. 

This is  an acrostic poem.[1] The 22 verses of this Psalm in the original begin each begin with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This is an aid to memorisation.

We are not sure what the occasion is. He has to deal with his enemies (vv.2,19) as well as his own sin (vv.7,11,18) and  vulnerability (let me not be put to shame vv.2,20) and  personal trials  such  as  a sense of loneliness, affliction, a troubled heart, distress (vv.16-18).

We do not discern a particular structure in this prayer.  If we follow the Psalm we   see the following …

1.   25:1-3  David confidently trusts in God when assailed by  his enemies.

2.  25:4-5 David desires to be led in the way of truth.

3.  25:6-7  David desires that God would deal with him in mercy.

4.  25:8-9 David reaffirms his belief that God will guide those who trust Him.

5.  25:10  David  affirms God’s covenantal kindness

6.  25:11  David asks to be pardoned of  his sin.

7.  25:12-15 David affirms that God will instruct and guide those who fear Him.

8.  25:16-21  David pleads  with God for deliverance from all trouble.

9.  25:22 David pleads for God’s redemption of Israel, the people of God.

If we stand back and survey the Psalm as a whole, this is actually a wonderful study in praying the attributes of God – reminding ourselves of who God is and what He is like. God’s attributes are the characteristics which define God, which explain what God is like.  

The attributes of God gleaned from this Psalm are the following….

1.      God can be trusted. (v.2)

2.      God is faithful (v.3)

3.      God speaks truth (vv.4-5)

4.      God is  a Saviour (v.5)

5.      God’s  is merciful and  covenantally loving (vv. 6,11)

6.      God is good and upright (v.8)

7.      God is forgiving (vv.11,18)

8.      God is  the instructor of the  God fearing (vv.12- 14)

9.      God is our deliverer (vv.15,17)

10.  God is gracious (v.16).

11.   God is the guardian of our soul and our refuge (v.20)

In prayer  remind  yourself of  God’s attributes. The better you know God the more confidence and boldness  you will  show in  your prayer. There are a number of subjects, which flow freely from David’s heart. Remember that this is a prayer, and prayer does not always follow a structure. It is like water gushing from a spring and running from the heart and the lips. This is a wonderful study in heartfelt prayer to God. Let’s learn from David. Let’s see how this Psalm helps us to find our rest in God when we travel on this highway called life, through many perplexities and against the background of our own sinfulness, vulnerabilities and personal trials. 

David  faces  two common sets of troubles: the trouble that comes from  the outside and the trouble that  comes from within. Troubles without and fears within! (2 Corinthians 7:5)

1.   Troubles  without

David is struggling because his life or his reputation is in danger. He is facing real enemies -  See verses 2 &19. David’s life is far from being a tame existence. Your life as a Christian  is not a tame existence. You will be familiar with the pounding heart and the sweaty hands as you must face life in a fallen world.

2.  Fears within

 (i)           David is struggling with loneliness and inward afflictions. See v.16. The trouble is felt in his heart. He feels distressed  v.17

(ii)          David feels the inward weight of past sin  (vv.7,11,18), and  far from  forgetting the sins of his youth he vividly remembers these.  Look at verse 17 again:  "The troubles of my heart are enlarged."

Outward and inward trials have the ability to deeply unsettle our souls. The ground under our feet seems shaky. We feel as if we lose our bearings. We feel uncertain. We feel as if God is far away.  What do we need  most at such a time?

Prayer! 

There are at least 18 petitions in this Psalm.

The definition of  a petition is to make a request. So when we come to God in petition we are asking Him to do something - either for ourselves or others.  [See the petitions in the Lord’s prayer  - Matthew 6:9-13]

Petitions

·         Let me not be put to shame…

·         Let not my enemies exult over me …

·         Make me to know your ways O Lord… teach me your paths; lead me in your truth and teach me…

·         Remember your mercy…  and your steadfast love …

·         Remember not the sins of my youth… 

• etc.

David comes to God with his outer  and inner challenges and he pleads with God to help him, to lead him in His ways, his paths, his truth (vv.4&5) 

WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM  DAVID’S PRAYER ?

David’s prayer rests on...

·         the nature of God’s character (see attributes)

·          but in particular God’s mercy and steadfast love (v.6)

·         The fact that  God  loves and instructs  the contrite sinner (v.8)  in heart – the humble (v.9); those who fear God receive His instruction, friendship  (vv. 12,14).

RESULTS 

Faith in God as expressed in prayer  is the way  to  spiritual stability. Faith is informed by good theology. 

The counsel that you hear in Psalm 25 is . . .

1.     Being a man woman of God does not  exempt you from  outward and inward trouble.

2.    When you are assailed from without and within  you should come to God in prayer  and petition and bring all your struggles with no hesitation.

3.    Be prepared to wait on God for the answer to your prayer (vv.3,5,21) Waiting on God implies acceptance of His timing in His wisdom.

4.    Be  completely humble and transparent  before God. Confess sin.  Fear God

5.    Stand on the revealed character of God. Learn to know His attributes. Pray them.

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[1] Other acrostic  uses are found in Psalms 34; 37; 111:1-10; 112:1-10; 119; 145.  Proverbs 31:10-32;  the Lamentations of Jeremiah, except the last chapter. In the Psalm before us, the general order of the Hebrew alphabet is observed, with the following exceptions: the two first verses commence with the Hebrew letter א ('), the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet; while the second letter, ב (b), is omitted. The Hebrew letters, ו (w) and ק (q), are also omitted, while two verses begin with the Hebrew letter ר (r), and at the close of the psalm, after the Hebrew letter ת (t), the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet - another verse is added, beginning with the Hebrew letter פ (p). We cannot account for these variations.

Ephesians 6:5-9 MASTERS AND SLAVES - EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES

 

The early Christian church, like ours and many other churches today, consisted of a multi-faceted spectrum of people:  male and female, young & old, married and single, rich and poor, Jews and gentile – that is, multicultural. The church in those days was also composed of slaves.  There are millions of slaves in the world today and so we can’t ignore this subject. Global estimates indicate that there are as many as forty million people living in various forms of exploitation known as modern slavery. Mauritania, an African nation  was the last nation to abolish slavery in 1981. However, it did not pass a law criminalizing the practice until 2007. The Global Slavery Index for 2018 estimates that 90,000 people in Mauritania are living as slaves. [1]

Slavery in ancient Rome played an important role in society and the economy. Besides manual labour, slaves performed many domestic services and not a few were employed in  highly skilled professions. It is estimated   that slaves   at the end of the 1^st century BC   consisted of  20 to 30 percent of Italy's population.[2] Roman slaves came from all over Europe and the Mediterranean, including Gaul, Hispania, North Africa, Syria, Germany, Britannia, the Balkans, Greece, etc. Slaves were considered property under Roman law and had no legal personhood. Unlike Roman citizens, they could be subjected to corporal punishment, sexual exploitation, torture and summary execution.

All this raises a major question:  Why does the Bible not condemn slavery ouright?

The Bible does not specifically condemn the practice of slavery. It has a subversive  approach to this problem. 

We find this grand principle in Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male or female, for you are all one in  Christ Jesus.”  The Bible sees all of mankind as equal, all having been created in the image of God. Galatians 5:1 says, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery”. The Bible affirms the  principle  of freedom- although it is freedom from the slavery of sin that is envisaged here. I remind you that this is a greater evil, for its has eternal consequences. 

So the Bible does not  condemn slavery  outrightly,  but it certainly to regulate it [3],and through aprocess of sunversion  eliminate it.  The Bible gives instructions on how slaves should be treated (e.g. Deut.15:12-15; Eph. 6:9; Col. 4:1). What we will see here in our text is that Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, addresses both slaves and masters, showing how their faith should radically change the way in which they relate to one another. Charles Hodge observes that as both sides treated one another in this Christian manner, “first the evils of slavery, and then slavery itself, would pass away as naturally… as children cease to be minors.” [4]  Our Christian faith works different to politics. The Christian faith does not work primarily with outward circumstances. It works with the heart. By changing one heart at a time the Christian faith would gradually and systematically exterminate slavery.

Christianity gave slaves an equal place in the church. Paul’s letter  to Philemon  concerning a runaway slave Onesimus  confirms that. We are not surprised then to read in church history that leaders such as Gregory of Nyssa (c.335- 395AD) and John Chrysostom (347-407 AD) called for good treatment for slaves and condemned slavery.[5] According to tradition, Bishop Clement of Rome (35–99 AD), Bishop Pius of Rome (?-154 AD) and Bishop Callistus of Rome  (?–222/3 AD) were all former slaves. Writing after the legalization of Christianity by Roman authorities, Augustine (354–430 AD), bishop of Hippo in North Africa described slavery as being against God's intention and resulting from sin.[6]   The Gospel brings about a massive change in society. It is the gospel, changing one heart at a time, which led to the abolishment of slavery in the 19^th century.  So we see that Paul  doesn’t begin by crusading against this form of injustice. He begins by spreading the gospel.  The Gospel is the antidote to the virus of sin. Please note that Paul  did not support slavery. He spoke of “enslavers”  as ungodly and sinful  (1 Tim.1:9-10). He told slaves, “If you can gain your freedom, do so” (1 Cor. 7:21).   

Slavery is not a good thing, for it robs people of their God given freedom.  In our own country, Namibia, an unnamed tribe in the 1800’s sold members of other tribes into the hands of Portuguese traders and into slavery and into suffering. The gospel preached by  missionaries like Martin Rautanen (1845-1926)  who lies buried in Olukonda ultimately undid this horrible  social evil.

THE LOGIC OF EPHESIANS

Paul in Eph. 1 expounds the glorious way in which God brings people to salvation. In Eph. 2-3  he shows how Jews and Gentiles are joined by the gospel  into one body- the church. And in Eph.4-6 he focusses on the quality and nature of these relationships in the context of the church.  Having discussed the subject of unity and purity in God's church (Eph.4), he narrows the focus  down to three kinds of relationships, where stresses and  strains are easily felt in God's body:(i) husbands & wives (Eph.5:22–33) (ii) parents & children (Eph.6:1– 4) (iii) slaves & masters (Eph.6:5 – 9).

Slaves/ masters – employer/ employee relationships     

How were Christian slaves to behave, now that they belonged to Christ, and yet often continued to work for harsh masters? And how were Christian masters to behave towards their slaves? Again, the overarching principle is mutual submission out of reverence for Christ (5:21).  And again we see the biblical logic that if a man began to apply his faith, then the inevitable result would be that he would become a better master or slave. Ultimately a master would have to consider whether it could be God's will to own another human being.

1.      6:5 – 8 Duties of slaves/ employees to their masters/ employers

a.        Slaves/ employees are called  to obey their earthly masters/employers.  The word here (Gk. hupakouo) translates literally “to get under and listen”.

b.      They are to do so “with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart”.  Fear and trembling -with respect to whom? There is only one we should fear and before whom we should tremble. It is God! The fear and trembling before man or circumstances is never commended in Scripture.

c.       Why do they do this? Answer: 'as you would Christ'.  All authority is ultimately from Him (read 1 Peter 2:13 - 15;18ff  for commentary). The Bible sees the Lord God ultimately as the One who establishes and tears down authorities. He even allows wicked rulers and masters to rule for a while to accomplish His purposes[7].  Evil rulers/ masters cannot last, and in due course they will be punished for the evil they do. This does also not mean that slaves/ employees must approve of tyrannical methods or that they must  melt with fear before their masters. No! This fear and trembling relates to the fact that they have an assignment from Christ, and in submitting (as long as it does not contradict God’s clear commandments[8]) they actually submit to Christ.[9]  Slaves/employees should recognize that they must conduct themselves properly before their employers because Christ commands them to do so. What about Christian slaves with non-Christian masters? In Titus 2:9-10 Paul taught them to care more about the salvation of their masters than about their own slavery. It would be far worse for a non-Christian master to suffer in hell forever than for a Christian slave to endure a few bad years. The main concern was not just social and political equality but to lead people to salvation and make them brothers and sisters in God’s family.

d.      Paul urged Christian slaves to focus more on the privilege of belonging to Christ than on the problem of being in slavery. The great duty of Christian employees today is not to insist on their human rights (etc.) more than honour Jesus in their work. Teachers should teach with that in mind; Doctors should treat their patients with Christ's compassion; shop assistants should serve customers as if they served Christ; accountants should audit books with diligence and care as if they did that for Jesus – “not by way of eye service, as people pleasers, but as bondservants (slaves) of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as  to the Lord and not  to man… ”(6:6,7)

e.      “…knowing that whatever good one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or free.” (6:8). God is going to reward our work. Remember this principle. If we are not adequately rewarded in our vocation having served for Christ’s sake, remember that we will be rewarded by our heavenly Father.

f.        What is the point of such an attitude?  It certainly is a most unusual. It assumes humility. A humble, Christ-like spirit opens the heart's door to hard hearts. Observe the attitudes of slaves like Nehemiah, Daniel or Esther in relationship to their pagan Kings. These kings thought highly of  them.

 

2.      6:9 Duties of employers to employees

Christian masters/employers are given three principles:

(i)                 Treat your slaves/ employees with respect. If you wish to be respected, respect, them; if you expect service from them – serve them. It is an application of the golden rule (Matt. 7:12-14).

(ii)               Do not threaten them: As parents are not to provoke their children, so masters are not to threaten their servants. A relationship based on threats is no relationship at all.

(iii)             Knowing that Jesus is Master of employer/master and also the employee’s/slaves  Master, and that there is no partiality with Him, levels the  ground for both.

CONCLUSION

The times when Christians had the greatest influence in society were not when they were concerned with politics and social change first and foremost, but when they proclaimed the gospel of the forgiveness of sins and the coming kingdom of God.

The gospel changes hearts. This has great significance for how we conduct ourselves in our respective roles. Slaves/employees serve their masters honestly and ethically. Masters/ employers treat their slaves/ employees kindly, remembering that they are accountable to Christ. When Christ sets individuals free from sin, the impact ripples throughout entire societies and nations. Wherever people trust in Jesus and take to heart his words, “You have only one Master and you are all brothers,” slavery shrivels and discrimination dies.

As new creatures in Christ both should remember that this life is passing. All believers are pilgrims in this world looking forward to their true home in heaven with Christ our Saviour in a new world free of prejudice. This provides a radical new understanding of relationships that is different from anything worldly philosophies have to offer. May Christ’s kingdom come. May His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen!

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[1] https://globaljustice.regent.edu/2021/01/slavery-still-exists-today/

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_ancient_Rome

[3]  In the same way the Bible does not  endorse divorce , but regulates it e.g. Deut. 24 1-4

[4] Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians [Eerdmans, p. 370)

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_ancient_Rome#Early_Christianity

[6] AUGUSTINE : The City of God (Book 19 ), Chapter 15 - Of the Liberty Proper to Man's Nature, and the Servitude Introduced by Sin. “The prime cause, then, of slavery is sin, which brings man under the dominion of his fellow [sinful man] ... But by nature, as God first created us, no one is the slave either of man or of sin.

[7] as illustrated in the prophecy of Habakkuk

[8] E.g. Acts  4:19.20

[9] Note that this is true for all   three these relationships described here