Ephesians Series: Introduction-The Themes of Grace and Peace in the Ephesian Epistle

Grace is also a major theme in this epistle since the noun charis (χάρις), “grace” appears 12 times in this epistle (Eph. 1:2, 6, 7; 25:, 7, 8; 3:2, 7, 8; 4:7, 29; 6:24).

Grace is all that God is free to do in imparting unmerited blessings to those who trust in Jesus Christ as Savior based upon the merits of Christ and His death on the Cross.

It is God treating us in a manner that we do not deserve and excludes any human works in order to acquire eternal salvation or blessing from God.

Grace means that God saved us and blessed us despite ourselves and not according to anything that we do but rather saved us and blessed us because of the merits of Christ and His work on the Cross.

It excludes any human merit in salvation and blessing (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5) and gives the Creator all the credit and the creature none.

By means of faith, we accept the grace of God, which is a non-meritorious system of perception, which is in total accord with the grace of God.

Grace and faith are totally compatible with each other and inseparable (1 Tim. 1:14) and complement one another (Rom. 4:16; Eph. 2:8).

Grace, faith, and salvation are all the gift of God and totally exclude all human works and ability (Eph. 2:8-9).

Titus 3:5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds, which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. (NASB95)

The unique Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross-is the source of grace (2 Cor. 8:9) and He is a gift from the Father (2 Cor. 9:15).

Jesus Christ was full of “grace and truth” (John 1:17) and the believer receives the grace of God through Him (John 1:16).

It is by the grace of God that Jesus Christ died a substitutionary spiritual death for all mankind (Heb. 2:9).

Therefore, the throne in which Christ sits is a “throne of grace” (Heb. 4:16).

Hebrews 2:10 But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. (NASB95)

The message of God’s saving act in Christ is described as the “gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24), and the “word of His grace” (Acts 20:32; cf. 14:3).

Ephesians 1:3-14 teaches that believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are the recipients of three categories of grace: (1) “Antecedent” grace: The Father’s work in eternity past. (2) “Living” grace: Our spiritual life and its accompanying invisible assets. (3) “Eschatological” grace: Resurrection bodies and our eternal inheritance.

Therefore, since God has dealt graciously with the believer, the believer is in turn commanded to be gracious with all members of the human race, both believers and unbelievers (Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:13; 4:6; 1 Thess. 3:12).

A Christian is someone who is a “partaker” of the grace of God (Phil. 1:7) and he is to live by the same principle of grace after salvation (Col. 2:6; Rom. 6:4).

Grace is the Christian’s sphere of existence (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; Col. 1:2).

The believer who rejects this principle is said to have “fallen from grace,” (Gal. 5:1-5).

The believer is commanded to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18).

The believer experiences the grace of God while in fellowship with God, which is accomplished by obedience to the Word of God.

The grace of God has been manifested and revealed to the entire human race in time through the following: (1) Unique Theanthropic Person of Jesus Christ (2) Salvation work of Christ on the Cross (3) Word of God (4) Holy Spirit’s various salvation and post-conversion ministries.

In relation to the unbeliever, God the Father’s gracious provision of salvation based upon faith in the merits of the Person and Work of Christ on the Cross-is revealed by the Holy Spirit through the communication of the Gospel.

In relation to the believer, the Holy Spirit through the communication of the Word of God reveals all the benefits of God the Father’s gracious provision for their salvation.

The Spirit of God through the communication of the Word of God reveals all that the Father has graciously done and provided for the believer to do His will.

Therefore, we learn about the grace of God by listening to the Spirit’s voice, which is heard through the communication of the Word of God (Colossians 1:3-6).

Peace is also another major theme in the Ephesian epistle since the noun eirēnē(εἰρήνη), “peace” appears 8 times in this epistle (Eph. 1:2; 2:14, 15, 17 twice; 4:3; 6:15, 23).

God as to His divine nature and essence is peace (Rm. 15:33; 16:20; 1 Th. 5:23) since and He brought about through His Son’s death a reconciliation between Himself and the other two members of the Trinity and sinful humanity.

The sinner appropriates this peace treaty through faith alone in Christ alone (Acts 10:36; Rm. 5:1; Eph. 2:14, 15, 17).

This reconciliation is presented in the gospel message that God has made a peace treaty with the entire human race and the terms of that peace treaty is accepting the Gospel message through faith alone in Christ alone.

In relation to the unbeliever, the gospel is God’s victorious proclamation of God’s love in delivering the entire human race from sin, Satan, his cosmic system and eternal condemnation and has reconciled them to Himself through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

This reconciliation with God and deliverance and victory over sin, Satan, his cosmic system and eternal condemnation that God accomplished through His Son’s crucifixion, burial, death, resurrection and session is received as a gift and appropriated through faith in Christ (John 3:16-18; Acts 16:31; Romans 5:1-2).

The peace treaty is the direct result of the spiritual and physical deaths of Christ on the cross since they propitiated the holiness of God that expresses itself in righteous indignation against sin and sinners.

Therefore, they broke down the barrier, which separated man from God and is composed of the following: (1) Mankind commits acts of sin (Isa. 64:6b; Rom. 3:23). (2) The penalty of sin is spiritual death (Rom. 5:12; 6:23a). (3) All are born spiritually dead at physical birth (Gen. 2:17; Rom. 5:12; Eph. 2:1). (4) Man’s relative righteousness cannot compare to God’s perfect righteousness (Isa. 64:6a; Rom. 9:30-33). (5) The character of God demands that our personal sins be judged (Isa. 46:9b; 64:6b; Rom. 8:8). (6) Man’s position in Adam as a result of the imputation of his sin (1 Cor. 15:22a).

The Removal of the Barrier: (1) Redemption resolves man’s problem with sin (1 Pet. 1:18-19; Eph. 1:7; Titus 2:14; 1 Tim. 2:6a). (2) Unlimited Atonement also resolves man’s sin problem (1 John 2:2). (3) Expiation resolves man’s problem with the penalty of sin, which is spiritual death (Col. 2:14). (4) Regeneration resolves man’s problem with being born spiritually dead (John 3:1-18). (5) Imputation resulting in justification resolves the problem of man’s relative righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 4:1-5; Gal. 2:16). (6) Propitiation resolves man’s problem with the perfect character of God (Rom. 3:22-26; 1 John 2:2). (7) Our position in Christ resolves man’s position in Adam (1 Cor. 5:22b; 2 Cor. 5:17).

The Author and thus Initiator of the peace treaty is God the Father (2 Cor. 5:18a; Eph. 1:3-7; 2:14-16).

Man was totally helpless to make peace with God (Rom. 3:10, 23; 8:5-8; Eph. 2:1) since he was the enemy of God because of his sin and rebellion but God reconciled man to Himself through the death of His Son (Rom. 5:6-10; Eph. 2:1-5).

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Mediator of the peace treaty (1 Timothy 2:5).

The Lord is the peacemaker (Eph. 2:14) since this peace treaty took place was accomplished through Him (2 Cor. 5:19a; Eph. 2:14-16; Col. 1:22; 1 Pet. 2:24).

God offers the entire world a full pardon of their sin through faith in Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:19b; Acts 13:38; Eph. 1:7; 4:32b; Col. 1:14; 2:13; 1 John 2:12).

Therefore, the terms of the peace treaty are to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31; John 3:16, 36).

The peace of God is accomplished in the believer in three stages:

(1) Positionally: The believer has peace with God because of their eternal union and identification with Jesus Christ, which they received through faith alone in Christ alone.

(2) Experientially: The believer can experience the peace of God by being obedient to the Word of God.

(3) Perfective: The believer is guaranteed that they will experience permanently the peace of God in a resurrection body.

By “positionally” I mean that God views the believer as being at peace with Him as a result of faith in Christ and their eternal union with His Son, which sets up the “potential” to experience this peace in time.

It also sets up the “guarantee” of experiencing permanently this peace when the believer receives their resurrection body.

After conversion, experiencing the peace of God is only a “potential” since it demands obedience to God whereas the believer is “guaranteed” that they will experience the peace of God permanently in a resurrection body.