Ephesians

Ephesus was a seaport city, much like Corinth, but it was located in what is today Turkey. Being a major trade route it would have been a good place to preach, knowing that many who hear the gospel were transients who would take the message to wherever their travels would take them. The city was well known for its huge pagan temple to the Goddess Diana, also known as Artemis. You might recall in Acts 19:23-40 after Paul preached the Gospel to them the businessmen were upset because people were turning away from the pagan gods and this hurt their business of selling trinkets. It is a rather funny story. When the mob was shouting, it says, "most of the people did not even know why they were there" (v 32). 

Paul didn’t write this letter from Ephesus, but from Rome, where he was in prison. But prison isn’t what we think of prison today. He was really under what we would call “house arrest.” He was able to have visitors. Perhaps some local church members brought him soup and cookies, or a pair of socks and a few other comfort items.

Can you imagine the reaction of the church members, and Paul himself, when he was informed that he would be going to prison? They probably had a prayer vigil for Paul. People may have been in something of a panic. Paul may have been a bit stressed out, to say the least. But, one has to keep in mind Rom 8:28, which reminds us that "all things" work together for good . . ." Perhaps he thought, "I wonder how God is going to bring good out of this?"

Now, what good do you think might come from being under house arrest? Well, if you recall Paul's earlier letter where he described all of the hardships he has had to endure (2 Cor 11: 23 and on), perhaps this was Gods' way of saying, "I'm going to force you to take some time off, Paul. I am afraid that your have been burning the candle at both ends and you need a little R & R." (That's "rest and recreation" for you non-military types out here). Perhaps Paul was what we would call today a Type A personality. What good would Paul derive from being under house arrest? Well, how about being safeguarded from his enemies with three meals a day and free lodging? If he is anything like me, he probably loved to study, but didn't slow down enough to think deeply on some issues. Perhaps he needed some time to quietly meditate, something that he may have found difficult to do on his own.

Here is another advantage. When I enlisted in the Air Force I was promised job training as a pharmacy technician. But, if I flunked out of the program, they could assign me to whatever career field they wanted. At the time, if someone dropped out, the Air Force would train them as Security Police. Now, let's not say anything negative about the intellectual abilities of law enforcement personnel. One enlisted person I knew flunked out and he spent his four years stocking shelves at the Post Commissary. As you can imagine, he didn't have fond memories of his brilliant military service career. Well, in Rome, I imagine that being a guard was not a high point in anyone's military career either. Perhaps some who were trained as guards were those who flunked out of chariot driving school. Well, not only was Paul a captive, but so were the guards. I believe the Romans had an incentive program for guards to stay awake while on duty. Soldiers could be executed if they fell asleep on duty. So Paul would probably talk with the guards, which helped them stay awake and Paul would obviously bring up the Gospel. So even being in prison didn't hinder the spread of the Gospel.

As I said, Paul could have visitors and perhaps he heard from his visitors some disturbing trends taking place in the church that he needed to address.

Among his visitors was his representative, Tychicus. To him Paul gave this letter to circulate among the churches. So this is one of his prison epistles, along with Philemon, Colossians and Philippians. 

Since these were circular letters, he didn’t address a particular that was unique to a specific church. Rather, his message was more general.

What would you write about in a circular letter to the church? Perhaps he heard about some disturbing trends going on in the church. Can you name another apostle who wrote about problems in their churches? In Revelation 2 and 3 John wrote to churches in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey)expressing concern that some have lost their zeal, or that others had become cold and legalistic or have begun to follow false doctrines.

In this letter, Paul discusses God's overall goal for the church and the world. This is summaries in 1:20, which is to “bring all things in the universe together under Christ.” This unity of the world is to be preceded by the unity of the Church under the headship of Christ. So, as you can imagine, unity among church members, and family members, is addressed in this letter.

Let's look at a few key verses.

1:1 To the "saints." Paul uses this term quite often to refer to believers. We (believers) are saints. We don't have to die and be recognized as such by a church organization. So when someone asks who you are, you can add the title "saint" to the title brother, sister, parent, technician, sales representative, etc.

1:4 “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ.”

The idea of being “chosen” or “predestined” can refer to individuals or the church as a whole. God, who is not limited by time and place, knew, before the earth was created, what would unfold in history. He knew that there would be a group of people "called out" to be the church.

To be "holy" means to be "set apart for God in order to reflect his purity." This is not a matter of imputed holiness but actual righteousness. We are to be holy and blameless in his sight. How are you doing on that?

The term "blameless" means to be "free from blemish". Do you remember the Passover lamb? Could you sacrifice any lamb you wanted? Could you take a less valuable, sick or blemished animal to the Temple? No, it had to be strong and healthy, without blemish. This term is also applied to Jesus, who was without blemish, free from sin.

Do you recall a prophet in the Old Testament who condemned the Israelites for bringing diseased animals to the Temple for sacrifice? Take a look at Mal 1:6. What does it say to God when they took a lame, diseased, one eyed lamb to the Temple? Do we sometimes do that, also? Have you ever seen old broken down furniture at church or an old beat up piano with missing keys in a classroom? Where do these come from? Perhaps someone bought a new piano or furniture and thought, "Let's give this old junk to the church. It's good enough for them. We'll keep the best for ourselves."

1:7 the term "forgiveness" means to loose someone from what binds him. It stems from the verb which means, "to send away." When God deals with our sin, He sends it off into the wilderness. Does this bring to mind an image from the Old Testament? In Lev 16:20-22 it shows the scapegoat, on whose head is placed the sins of the people. The goat is then sent off into the wilderness. This was done on the Day of Atonement, the only Holy Day where the people were required to fast. When we were in the cult, we observed this Holy Day. To say the least, it was not our favorite Holy Day. When we are forgiven, out sins are "sent off." If God can say "good-bye" to our sins, shouldn't we do the same? In Phil 3:13 Paul tells us to "forget what is past push forward." I think Paul would have made a good psychologist. Stop dwelling on the past, start looking ahead. 

1:13-14 “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession-to the praise of his glory.”

The world "seal" is also used to refer to an engagement ring.

The seal is a guarantee! If you are a true believer, sealed by Holy Spirit, you are not going to become lost. If you are truly saved, you are sealed and your security is guaranteed. When people fall away or lose their salvation, it means, I think, that they were never really saved in the first place. Hence, you cannot lose your salvation, rather you never had it (see I John 2:19). Can you recall a group of people who thought they were saved, who even served in the ministry, who were not really saved? In Matt 7:22 Jesus said to these people, "Depart from me, I never knew you." Notice that he didn't say, "I used to know you, but not now." These people did not lose their salvation; they never had it.

1:23 ". . . his body the fullness of him who fills everything in everyway."

The body of Christ is another term for the Church. Here is what one commentator says about this difficult passage:

"The precise significance of these enigmatic words has been widely discussed and commentators vary considerably in their interpretations."

I like to hear honest scholars admit they they struggle with some passages, just like the rest of us. 

2:8-10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

This is one passage that should be highlighted or underlined in everyone's Bible. Did you notice the phrase, “to do good works, which God prepared in advanced for us to do”? Do you think that God, when he called us, had a list of "things to do" in mind for each of us? Imagine when we get to heaven we stand before Jesus and in his hand he has a clipboard with a list of all the things he wanted us to do. Some of the items have been checked off as “completed” and others are not. He looks over his glasses at you and says, “Doesn’t seem as if you were very busy down there? I don’t see many tasks checked off.” Perhaps, instead, our list will be completed and he will say to us, "Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

2:8 By grace . . . through faith. Notice the term "faith." Faith is not a quality, a virtue or a faculty. It is not something man can produce. It is simply a trustful response that is itself evoked by the Holy Spirit.

Many prosperity preachers think that faith is a power that we can use to manipulate God into doing whatever we want. It is not faith that heals, but the person in whom we have faith. You might want to go to the website of Watchman Fellowship and learn more about the health and wealth preachers, the Word Faith Movement and their false teachings.

2:15 “. . . by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations” (see Col 2:20-22).

This passage goes along with the Book of Galatians which teaches that the Law of Moses was temporary, for the Israelites only and only until the Messiah died. Notice from our study of Galatians that the word "Law" is singular. The Law of Moses is a package deal, you can't pick and choose which ones you want to obey (James 2:10).

3:6 “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body. . .”

The term “mystery” refers to something that is known now, but not known earlier. For instance, the whole idea of the church was foreign to Abraham and Moses. God's revelation was what theologians call “progressive revelation” where he reveals more to mankind as time went on. One of the mysteries was that the division between Jews and Gentiles would be removed.

I think Paul was simply amazed that not only Gentiles would become part of God's people, but that he, a half-blind, former persecutor of the church would become part of the “body of Christ” that he was once the enemy of. 

Imagine Paul on the road to Damascus. He is talking with one of his traveling companions and he is asked, "Where do you see yourself in twenty years?" Paul may have thought he would be quite high in leadership among the Jews. Perhaps he thought that going after these Christians would be a good career move and look very good on his resume. Now, he is probably amazed to think of himself as an Apostle of Jesus Christ.

Have you ever looked back at your life and felt the same amazement that you are where you are today, doing what you do today? 

I remember when I was teaching at the Minsk Bible College in Belarus. One weekend my interpreters arranged for us to take the night train from Minsk to Moscow. In Red Square we stood in line to visit Lenin in his tomb.  So here I am, a retired Army officer in Red Square. Before I could go into the tomb I was frisked by a young Russian soldier. Who would ever imagine such a thing: me, teaching in the former Soviet Union and being patted down by a Russian soldier.

3:14 "For this reason, I kneel before the father."

Standing was the normal posture among Jews but kneeling was not unknown. 

Speaking of praying, can you imagine God telling someone to stop praying? Well, He did. Do you recall when the Egyptians were coming after the Israelites at the Red Sea, and Moses is crying out to God for deliverance? God replies in Ex 14:15, Then the Lord said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on." 

Sometimes I hear people say, "We will pray for you." That's fine, but I think that praying for someone forces us to think about someone other than ourselves. When we pray for someone and reflect on his or her needs, oftentimes we find that we are the answer to our own prayers. Prayer can help us be less self centered.

I'm reminded of the patient in the hospital who is visited by her pastor who says to her, "we will be praying for you." She responds, "I can pray for myself, go to my house and mow my lawn." There is a time for prayer but there is also a time for action.

As we move onto chapter four, we find church unity and Christian living are the big issues.

4:1 ". . . live a life worthy of the calling you have received."

There has to be a balance between our profession of faith and our practice. Can you recall a group in the Old Testament that were outwardly religious but were not practicing godly ethics? If you go back to the Book of Amos you will find that God declares "I hate your religious feasts, I cannot stand your assemblies." Can you imagine God saying something like this to your local congregation? What was the problem here? They were outwardly religious, but their everyday practices were anything but godly.

4:2 "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. . . make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit."

Here Paul mentioned four traits: humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearance. The absence of these can destroy unity in the church. But what about in the home? Have you ever spoken to your spouse in a way you would never speak to your boss at work? Why is it that we sometimes think it is acceptable to be rude, critical, disrespectful to a family member, in a way we would never do to others?

Now why would Paul have to urge us to seek unity in the church? Because it is not natural for us to be united. Do you remember the church in Corinth? They were jealous of each other, had conflict and divisions among themselves. When Paul says that we should make every "effort," he suggests that it take effort, or work to remain united. This is not only true in a church congregation, but also in a family. 

Rather than seeking unity, we oftentimes seek our own way. We don't want to compromise with others, we want to win and in order for us to win someone else has to lose. This is why the term submission is used so often in this letter.

4:11-12 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature . . .” 

Now there is a lot in this passage. If you notice it is God who decides who does what. Some, but not all, were apostles; some, but not all were pastors, etc. Who gives out the assignments? Do you think that God might be better at knowing exactly what each of us should be doing than we know ourselves? 

The cult that I was in considered each of these titles to be a position of rank, with the title apostle being the highest in rank, then evangelists, etc. 

Rather than being a hierarchy, with positions from the top down, I think the titles should be listed horizontally, with the apostles being the first to reach out to a community, then the evangelist, and when there are enough people to warrant a shepherd, the pastor/teacher is recognized. The roles are different from one another, not superior to one another. Everyone should be working side by side, not one person over and above the others.

Now notice what the pastor/teacher is supposed to do. He is to get everyone else in the church engaged in some form of ministry, using whatever gift God has given him. I have often said that the pastor should not minister TO the people but WITH the people.

Also, you might recall, in Rom 12 Paul wrote that if someone has a gift, "let him use it." A pastor should not hinder anyone from using their gift.There are pastors who are so insecure that they feel threatened by anyone else in the congregation who has formal training and skills and who wants to be used in ministry.

The word that is translated “prepare” literally means, “to put right” as when a physician sets a broken bone. So a pastor is to take new believers, get them well, and then help them find their ministry. 

Now in the military, if you fake an illness to get out of duty, they call this malingering. Do you think some church members are malingering, sitting passively in church claiming that they are not ready for active involvement?

And, of course, there are church members with the attitude that they won’t get involved in any ministry because, “That’s what we’re paying the pastor to do.” In either situation Paul says that the church that doesn’t involve everyone in ministry is one that never achieves maturity.

Did you hear what Pastor Rick Warren told his 20,000 member church? He said that if you want sit here passively for the next ten years, you probably want to find another church because you’re not going to really feel comfortable here.

How many pastors do you think could get away with such a statement of honesty at their churches?

4:18 "They (Gentiles) are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of god . . ."

Jesus said that he was the "light of the world" in John 8:12 and John 12:46 says that we walk in the light. We are not in darkness. It is my understanding that when someone is initiated into Freemasonry, they have to go before "The Worshipful Master" and say, "I am in darkness and am in need of the light of Freemasonry." Now, is that something a Christian should be involved in?

4:23-29 “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor . . . He who has been stealing must steal no longer . . . Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up.”

The unwholesome talk that Paul refers to is probably malicious gossip and slander, which of course, divides the church.

5:11 "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them."

Paul says that we are to shun the fruitless deeds, not the people themselves. We don't withdraw from the world, but we do not adopt their standards, either.

5:18 “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery.”

The Bible does not prohibit the drinking of alcohol, only drunkenness. In the Frequently Asked Question section there is an article entitled Does the Bible Forbid the Drinking of Alcoholic Beverages?

5:18 ". . . instead be filled with the Spirit."

The present tense of this term means "go on being filled". This does not mean that we are to enter into a new experience. The verb here is passive, "Let yourselves be filled with the Spirit." We are to be led by the Holy Spirit. This is not a manufactured experience. This verse does not support the claim of some that an additional filling is essential for completion.

5:22 “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church."

Oh boy, how some men love to quote this verse as they “lord over” their wives. Perhaps they should read verse 23, also. Notice, too, that she is to submit to her husband “as to the Lord.” We submit to the Lord voluntarily. Likewise, she should submit voluntarily, not under coercion. And while we are at it, let's read the passage before this one. It says that we are to submit to "one another." In other words, we should compromise with one another.

In verse 33 it says that she should “respect her husband.” It always bothers me when I hear men speak of their wives as “my old lady” or hear wives speak mockingly and disrespectfully about their husbands. 

5:23 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her.”

Did you notice that Paul didn’t say, “Love your wives when she is lovable?” Nor did he say, “Love our wives when you feel like it.” This was a radical idea in Paul’s time when the women had an obligation to the man, but men had no obligation to the women.

Too often in our culture we wait until our feelings lead us to do something. Perhaps Paul is saying, do this and the feelings will follow. We do a lot of things we really don’t want to do, but we do it anyway. You may not have wanted to get out of bed, brush your teeth and go do work today, but you did it (I hope).

6:1, 4 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord . . . . Fathers, do not exasperate your children.” 

Why is the last passage directed towards the fathers? Perhaps it is because the fathers tend to be stricter with the children than the mothers.

6:11 "Put on the full armor of God."

Even though our victory is secure, we have to win it through battles. 

When Paul refers to the "belt of truth" being secured, he is suggesting that the soldier is prepared for action. To slacken the belt was to be off duty. We are not "off duty." In this passsage the only offensive weapon is the sword. How did Jesus fend off Satan during his temptation in the wilderness in Matt 4? He said that we should not live by bread alone but by every word of God (verse 4).

6:18 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions.”

To pray “in the Spirit” means to pray with the help of the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote in Rom 8:26, “. . . the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.”



Unity takes effort, in the church, the workplace and in the family. Imagine how the quality of our lives and the effectiveness of our ministries would be enhanced if we were more submissive; patient, gentle, kind, and forgiving to each other, not only in our workplace and church but in our homes.