Thoughts on Ephesians part one (Spiritual Blessings Are Ours) Chap 1:3-14

It is good for us to look into the Scriptures to rediscover the truths about the faith we embrace. It is good for us to remind ourselves why we group together in this way, why we worship, and why we would bother to witness to a God who so many people see as irrelevant. Why is God so important in our lives? Why is Jesus so significant? How has the Holy Spirit become a reality for us? Such questions as these are addressed by the Letter to the Ephesians, firstly in quite a theoretical or theological way, then in the later chapters, in very practical and life-orientated ways.

Although Ephesians is a letter heavily influenced by Paul, because of the different vocabulary used in comparison with the earlier letters of Paul, and because of it being dated late in the first century (CE) after Paul’s death, it was more likely compiled by Paul’s followers and associates following his death. There isn’t any problem with this – in the time Ephesians was written, unlike now – it was commonplace for students to publish their work as if written by their teacher. However, because Ephesians so strongly reflects the teaching of Paul, it is still reasonable for us to simply respond to it as Paul’s letter.

Although this letter may have first been received in Ephesus, because of its general message applying to all believers, it was probably intended to circulate broadly around the various Christian communities. And thus, even 19 odd centuries further on, it is worthy of our close study. It teaches much about the nature of our relationship with God, and our cooperative connections in the church. It reflects on how we can invest our lives wisely, given the great inheritance we have been given.

In the original Greek, verses 3 to 14 are one long unbroken sentence. As beautiful and poetic as it is, we may need to break it up a bit to understand the full significance of these verses. In these verses we find a discussion about the full journey of gaining salvation and the great blessing that this brings to each of our lives. The context of this thinking is the worship and praise of God for what God has done for each of us through his love and grace.

Indeed it seems that the teaching here is suggesting that every necessary blessing required to be satisfied in one’s (spiritual) life has already been made available to all those who have come into union with Christ Jesus. This includes: the path to being deemed “blameless” (v.4), ie. being forgiven (with all guilt taken away) and wholly accepted by God on the basis of what Jesus has done for us; and the process of becoming “holy”, ie. the process through which we are being transformed toward our full God-given potential, and indeed into the image of Jesus, and being ‘set apart’ for God’s purposes.

In a circular and repeating pattern these verses cover at least three important areas of the process of our experience of salvation. These are:
· God knowing us and choosing us
· God cleansing us, and
· God gifting us.

We have talked many times about God knowing us intimately from the point of our conception, showing his interest, and participating in a hands-on way in our physical and personal development. But here we also have discussion about how we have been ‘chosen’ to be spiritually blessed and gain reconciliation with God. Not that we have been ‘chosen’, and that others haven’t! But rather that God has turned his heart to us, waiting for us to turn our mind to him. We don’t have to convince God to accept us, we don’t have to wonder whether God will decide to welcome us or not; God has already chosen the unchangeable path of positively responding to all who will turn toward him in faith! And this decision to ‘choose’ us is not just for a fleeting moment in time when we say “Yes” to God, but rather we are ‘chosen’ with all of God’s purposes for our lives for the whole of eternity in mind.

And thus in this beautiful text we read about God’s “glorious grace … freely bestowed on us in [Christ]” (v.6) and “the riches of [God’s] grace that he lavished on us” (v.7-8). When we needed it the most, God was ready, willing and able to favour us with his love, forgiveness and transforming spirit. God is available to be placed in a central position in our lives, to literally keep us on the straight and narrow path into eternity.

Another benefit we read in this passage is receiving “adoption as [God’s] children through Jesus Christ” (v.5), denoting that although we have been born of human parents, we are being taken up into becoming part of God’s family unit (alongside Jesus), with all the same privileges you would expect as a natural member of that family – which includes a share of any inheritance to be had. Some of us may receive a little something when our parents have both died, but we will usually have to wait before we receive such benefits. God on the other hand can’t wait to give us everything he has to share with us, it’s ready for us to enjoy and utilise now!

There is no doubt God has ‘chosen’ us, the question remains in a two-way street – have we chosen to follow him? With all the blessings available for those who so do, I hope you have been able to make this decision! These spiritual blessings are filled out somewhat for us in this same text under the further two areas mentioned earlier:
· God cleansing us, and
· God gifting us.

God cleansing us, in preparation for participating in his family includes the concepts of “redemption” and “forgiveness” (v.7). “Redemption” refers to the process of buying back that which has been lost to another interest. The Ephesians would have been familiar with the Greco-Roman practice whereby slaves were freed by the payment of a ransom. Such slaves were in bitter bondage to their particular masters, until a benevolent benefactor could sponsor their freedom.

God has bought us back from the ownership of whatever has entrapped us destructively or unhelpfully and separated us from him. There was a price to pay for such a transaction as this, and of course Jesus paid that price in full. So to be again in the company of God, we don’t have to buy our own way out of slavery, indeed we wouldn’t even have the capacity to do so, rather we just accept that Jesus has already liberated us.

“Forgiveness” refers to the letting go of the desire for retribution when an offence has been committed. Rather than bitterness and animosity building, tending towards destroying a relationship, forgiveness allows for a rethink in the context of understanding and mercy, and for the purposes of a more beneficial future. Again it is God’s grace expressed sacrificially by Jesus that opens the way toward forgiveness. As we truly regret the times where we have hurt others (or ourselves), acted inappropriately or unthinkingly, or generally gone in the wrong direction, then God, rather than condemning, and for the sake of the development of our ongoing relationship with him, forgives us.

However, the intentions of God have not concluded with the “choosing” and the “cleansing”, the great architect of life has even greater plans on the table for his people. This is the bringing forth and imbedding of spiritual qualities or “gifts” that will make God’s children effective in life, especially as they work together in bringing testimony to Jesus before the whole world. This is achieved by the giving of the Holy Spirit to all those who have placed their lives in the hands of Jesus.

We are given here in the opening to this letter, another glimpse of the communal activity of the Trinity. Although difficult to understand at times, we are given enough glimpses in scripture of the various persons and functions of a Triune God at work. The three facets of God work together in perfect unity to bring salvation to us. We read here of God’s great planning – God the architect of salvation; of Jesus sacrificing for the cause of redemption – Jesus the agent of salvation; and of the Holy Spirit guaranteeing our ability to stay on track and be fruitful – the Holy Spirit the seal of salvation.

What does it mean to be “marked with the seal of the … Holy Spirit” (v.13)? At the time “seals” were affixed to certain goods in transit to indicate particular ownership and thus protect or guarantee its contents for that owner. “Seals” were also attached to documents to prove their genuineness. You get the point! To be “marked with the seal of the … Holy Spirit” is to be deemed to be under Divine ownership, and also to experience a measure of protection over our well-being!! When in the human environment we’re a bit short on knowing what to do, the Holy Spirit of God reassures and guides us toward truth that will keep us in Christ.

Spiritual blessings are ours – praise be to God! God not only created us but has a plan and purpose for our lives. It would have been difficult for those in the “Old Testament” times to have understood all of what God was up to, but with the “wisdom and insight” [v.8] that only God sufficiently has, when the time was just right, Jesus came! In the same way, some of the circumstances around our lives are difficult to explain, yet in the fullness of time, God’s “wisdom and insight” will indeed be apparent. So often we can only recognise God’s powerful working in and around our lives in hindsight. However this should actually strengthen our faith in knowing that God is working his purposes out, and these are the only purposes that really count for anything.

And so when we read in verses 8-10 … With all wisdom and insight 9he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth … this calls to us in two ways:
(i) to be patient; that even though many areas of life look fragmented, and things don’t seem to add up, all things will be brought into proper relationship with each and every other thing eventually.
(ii) to be active; to participate in God’s mission in the world; to live in such a way that aids (rather than upsets) God’s purposes in the world. We can’t just be fatalistic about the world’s woes, rather do whatever we can to put things right (trusting God for the outcomes). When we are seeking to make decisions in our life, especially the bigger ones, then we should not only pray about these things, and seek specific guidance, but also look to the revealed purposes of God in the breadth of the Bible, and in this way we may just be positioning ourselves to be part of the solutions God is seeking to bring about in the world.

Verse 14 rounds out our passage, returning to the context of praise and worship it began with. Whereas we cannot actually make God any greater, the way that we live out our “redemption” and be known as God’s person can significantly enhance God’s reputation (the meaning of his “glory”).