God's Plan Is Eternal - Ephesians 1:1-14

As we begin our study of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, I confess that I do so with considerable temerity. There are only six short chapters with a total of 154 verses in the Epistle. I have more commentaries on Ephesians than any other book in the bible. I have one set of commentaries that contains eight books with over 3200 pages all devoted to Ephesians and in addition I have at least five other books by different authors. Needless to say, I have a concerned interest in this book and I am not alone. If Paul is one of your favorite authors, you will be pleased as you study his epistle to the Ephesians. If you love God’s Word to man kind, you will enjoy reading this epistle.

It is difficult to write and talk about the book in a controlled manner because of its greatness and its sublimity. Most of the commentary authors have tried to describe this Epistle in regards to its importance to the New Testament as a whole. One said that it is “The crown and climax of Pauline theology.” Another said that it is “The distilled essence of the Christian religion, the most authoritative and most consummate compendium of our holy Christian faith.” [Please read this quotation again, slowly and study it carefully—it is rich.] I surely can not compete with these writers who write as eloquently as these have written.

We have just completed a study of Corinthians where Paul discusses the plan of salvation and tells about many problems that he had with the church at Corinth. However, in this epistle he seems to write from a heavenly perspective; as he says himself it is from ‘heavenly places.’ The results are that there are very few controversies; all he seemed to want to do was let us know of the wondrous and glorious works of God the Father and Christ the Son. Martin Luther says that it is the most important document in the New Testament. I personally can not say that one book is more important than another, it is all inspired by God and there is not an idle word or thought included. I believe all are of equal importance—but I do recommend that you study this book in more depth, because you will find “all you need to know in order to be saved and this writing is the heart and soul of the gospel. There was only one purpose for the Lord’s earthly life, and untimely the death of Jesus Christ. “He came to seek and to save all souls that were lost.” HOW? It is “By His grace and our faith, both given to us by Jehovah God”.

Paul started writing this letter by listing the only two claims to fame that he possessed. First, he wants everyone to know that he was an apostle of Christ, and then he wants all to know that his appointment or call to be an apostle came from God, in a miraculous way. He was blind and was made to see; he was Saul in the hands of Satin and became Paul on a mission for Jesus Christ. Paul is the most productive, and effective of all apostles.

I am thoroughly convinced that most of the problems we face in our homes, in our churches, in our government and country are brought about by only one reason. Far too many do not believe that the Bible is God’s book, and many believe that they can pick and choose the parts that pertain to them. Our thinking must always start with God and not with ourselves. The tragic errors that became our nemeses beginning in the 1950’s came about when the governing majority became so interested in ourselves, overwhelmingly subjective and egocentric and forgot that God is in command, not man. The message in the Ephesians epistle, and in the entire bible from Genesis to Revelation, is God’s plan designed to bring us back to Him, to humble us before God, and help us see our relationship to God.

Paul eloquently develops the theme which brings us face to face with God, what and who God is, and what he has done for us; he emphasizes the glory and greatness of God as the Eternal One, the everlasting one, and absolutely the ONLY ONE—and He is still ALIVE AND WELL.

This great theme appears constantly in the various phrases which the Apostle Paul uses. Here are examples, and I quote: “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of His will’—‘Having made known to us the mystery of his will, according to His good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself’—‘In whom we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will’—‘God the eternal and everlasting God, self-sufficient in Himself, from eternity to eternity, needing the aid of no-one, living, dwelling in His own everlasting, absolute and eternal glory.” Man can not start by examining his own needs; we must start with God’s ability to meet our needs. Stop; listen; I believe you must be able to hear through your mind’s ear God speaking to you right now as he did to Moses of old when He said; “Take off thy shoes from off thy feet for the ground whereon thou standest is holy ground.”

Oh listen, dear Christian friends, as the bell tolls against public prayer, against the Ten Commandments, establishing laws that are erasing or omitting God’s name, both the proponents and those that do not stand against such actions are treading on holy ground.

Surely you are interested in how you are forgiven. Paul says that we have redemption through the blood of Christ. There is no Christianity without ‘the blood of Christ. It is central, it is absolutely essential and there is nothing without it. Salvation depends on the person of Christ, but in particular, his death, His shed blood which is his atoning substitutionary sacrifice.

The teaching of the New Testament Epistles is directed only and solely to Christians, that is, believers in the Lord Jesus Christ; just ordinary church members. This means that this epistle is directed to us, today. What is a Christian? The Apostle Paul describes a Christian in three main terms. He says we are “Saints” because he wrote this book to the saints at Ephesus. You may say, “Well, I am surely not a saint.” But if you are a Christian, you are, because you have been “set apart”—you have been separated; and that means you are separated from the world in general. You are ‘in the world’ but not ‘a part of the world.’ The Old and New testaments say that we are ‘God’s own people’—‘a chosen generation’—a royal priesthood, ‘an holy nation, and a peculiar people’—we are God’s particular possession and interest. Therefore a Christian is a man primarily who is segregated from the world. We are cleansed inwardly. Cleansed from sin because sin is what separates us from God. Only His blood can cleans anyone from sin.

The second meaning of saint is the term—‘faithful.’ This kind of faithfulness means that we are ‘exercising our faith.’ It is a believing faith. One must believe that God is…that Christ lived, died, and was resurrected. A Christian must truly believe these specific truths that are based on Christ. A Christian…a saint has an unwavering faith [belief] in the God head. You know in your heart of hearts that Jesus was God’s only son; that he became man and dwelt among us…that He was both human and deity…and that he died on the cross to pay the price for man’s sin. “The wages of sin is death.” Someone must pay the debt. Christians believe that Christ paid our sin debt and that we do not have to die in our sins.

The third definition of a saint or Christian is contained in the phrase “In Christ Jesus.” We belong to Him. We are united or joined to him; Paul says that “Ye are the body of Christ”. In Romans six, Paul says that when Christ was crucified we were crucified with Him; when he died we died with him; and in Ephesians he says that “God hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ. I am, and you are a member of the body of Christ. I am not my own but was bought with a price… [His blood paid the price]…He is the head and I am one of the members of his body…All of our blessings come because we are in Christ.

Three of my greatest blessings are GRACE, PEACE AND GLORY. Paul tells us that these are ours because of who we are in Christ. The two greatest words with the most importance to Christians are grace and peace. The human mind cannot comprehend the meaning of grace, and I can not fully explain to you all that it means. It is at a minimum “unmerited favor’ and that means that it is favor that you receive but to which you have no right or title in any other way, other than through Christ. It is his love come down to man—and it is all for free.

The peace blessing is not peace from war—or calm rest—or a quiet mind and spirit. It is all of these, but more because it is an inward feeling or condition that can not be explained. In war, I will not loose; in illness I will not die; in pain I will overcome; in distress I will be comforted; in loss I will realize gain. Paul even said that “For me to die is gain.” It means union even after separation; it means reconciliation will prevail over any kind of separation. Romans 5—“Therefore being justified by faith, we have PEACE with God.” We can have within us “The peace of God which passeth all understanding.”

Oh! How I hope and pray that this feeble effort has made you feel better about the fact that you are a Christian. I fear that I have only scratched the surface and that you will still completely miss the depth of meaning that is contained in the words Christian…saint…believer… and being God’s chosen and set apart child of the one and only Jehovah God.