Blueprint of the Church: Greetings

Notes:

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Introduction:

Blueprints for the Church

Scrolls that reveal the ideal.

All the plans are right there.

This letter is for church: For the church, for the building up, strengthening of, and construction of the CHURCH.

CtK: “I, heart, the church”

“Gospel Truth leads to Gospel living”

“A crash course in basic Christianity”

“Essentials”

“The Position and Practice of the Church”

“A Church alive in Christ”

Blueprints for the Church: Super exciting season for us!

10 Years birthday as a church plant, and, God willing, our last one as a church plant!

journey towards raising up our own elders and deacons.

Letter to the Ephesians provides a path forward… A plan to make sure our foundation is Christ, and Christ alone!

The Greeting: Big Picture

Standardized letter writing today:

Example of learning how to make a letter in grade school.

Send it to someone in your class.

Greco-Roman Stylized Letters:

Writer, addressee, greeting, prayer/wish for health, body, closing.

Example:

Juno,

To Gious,

Greetings,

I trust you are doing well and are healthy.

All the features are here:

Paul

To the Ephesians

Greeting

Other features: Huge blessing in this book:

Rest of chapter 1=2 very long sentences.

Concludes with Blessing of peace and love.

All the bear bones are present.

It’s got all the bear bones, but then some!

And it’s in the ‘but in some’ that makes these greetings so unique…

But now, imagine we did something like this to our standardized letter:

Mark, a Pastor of Resurrection Life Church, sent here by God’s will from Canada.

Etc., etc.

What’s extra reveals

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus

Paul shares with us his position in the church and his position as a disciple.

I’m an apostle:

Uniquely commissioned by Jesus for the task of evangelistic ministry.

Paul’s not trying to gloat, but he is asserting his authority:

II Corinthians 11:5-6: I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. 6 Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.

Paul’s making a larger point:

Eugene Peterson captures well these verses by this interpretation:

“But if you put up with these big-shot “apostles,” why can’t you put up with simple me? I’m as good as they are. It’s true that I don’t have their voice, haven’t mastered that smooth eloquence that impresses you so much. But when I do open my mouth, I at least know what I’m talking about.”

But more than asserting his position as a apostle, is his position in Christ!

Major them in this book: Where are you spiritually positioned?

We’ll come back to this.

“By the will of God”

Another major theme:

Paul became an apostle by the will of God!

Paul didn’t make himself an apostle of Jesus. Not part of Paul’s plans, or Paul’s knowhow: It’s was God’s Will!

God places people in their position in Christ! Again, major theme in Ephesians!

Examples of how God’s Will pops up in this book:

Ephesians 1:4-5: In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.

God has a will, and his will WILL happen!

We didn’t chose to be predestined or adopted. It was what? “according to the purpose of his will.”

Ephesians 1:7-9 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will…

Relationship between Old and New Testament: Mystery of what that whole sacrificial system was all about… His will is being made known through the sacrifice of Jesus, forgiveness of sins, and how the Gospel has changed everything for us!

Ephesians 1:11: In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.

Again, all about God’s purpose!

Ephesians 5:17:  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Ephesians 6:6: Bondservants/slaves, obey your earthly masters… “not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.”

God’s will has practical, real life effect on our lives!

God’s will runs throughout this book:

God’s will as spiritually positioning us in Christ.

But also practically positioned to live out a life in response to this grace.

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

In Ephesus:

Geographically positioned in a City

What does that City look like?

Large City 250,000 people

Third Largest City in the Roman Empire

Passive stadiums

Port City

Temple of Artemis: One of the 7 Ancient Wonders of the World (last week Babylon)

Acts 19:

Paul: 3 year stay

In the stadium:

“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

To the saints… who are faithful or who have faith…

“Saints”

“Faithful”

“Saint who has faith”

NOT Set apart versus Superiority or pious

Set apart, just like Paul’s set apart:

Paul: Apostle of CHRIST JESUS

SAINTS in Christ Jesus

“Saints who have faith”

Identified as saints not because of anything they did, but again, as we will uncover more next week, saints due to God’s will!

What makes them saints?

Faith! “And this is not from yourself,” as Paul writes in Ephesians 2, “this [faith] is a gift of God.”

If you believe, you are a Saint.

As holy as the Pope, as holy John Stott, Martin Luther, Ida Scutter, Billy Graham, Florence Nightinggale, William Carey, Hudson Taylor, May Ann Aldersey,

“In Christ Jesus”

Preached a whole seron

Jesus as Christ:

Anointed one

Christ=46x, 23x=the article in Greek.

“In Christ,” “In the Lord,” “in him,” or an equivalent 164x

Positionally in Christ: Snodgrass: “Ephesians focuses more on union with Christ and being in Christ than any other letter (36 times).”

Church is the authority because Christ is the Head of the Body.

Grace and Peace

The “Twin Blessings”

Something to grow into…

Saint because of God’s will.

Grace and peace are also blessings to GROW INTO!

Another major theme of this book:

If we do have salvation from God himself because of His will, because of the gift of faith, then what? It’s something we GROW INTO!

Application: Christianizing Life

Christians “Christianized” their letters:

Author, recipient, recipients relationship to Christ.

“Paul, to the Ephesians, greetings.”= “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.”

“Greeting” changes to “grace”

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Exactly worded in 7 other Pauline letters.

Christianizing versus Christianize.

Snodgrass: “Paul is not merely using nice theological words, but expressing his encounter with, and his life with, the God that confronted him on the Damascus road.”

How do you ‘own’ your faith like Paul did his?