The Book of Ephesians

Welcome. Today we conclude our sermon series in the Book of Ephesians. It has been no small joy and blessing to walk through this book with you, and it is my hope and prayer that it has borne fruit in your life as it has in mine. Ephesians covers a lot of fundamentals, and much of Christian growth is a matter of returning to fundamentals again and again.

In fact, that is why starting next Sunday, we will launch a new sermon series on The Apostles’ Creed. We will be going line-by-line through one of the earliest Christian Confessions of Faith, and understanding why each line is so important for our understanding of Christianity itself and the work of the Lord Jesus in our own lives. We are trying something new with this series and that is that I will be sort of “team preaching” it with Neil Barham, so Neil will be taking about half of the sermons in the series and I’ll be taking about half, and so the series will be something like a relay race with Neil and I handing the baton back and forth. Which I guess is not really how a relay race works, but you get the picture, I trust.

But this morning we will finish the book of Ephesians, and I wanted to cap off the series by preaching the major themes of the whole book to you. And I’m going to try to do it in about 30 minutes, so let’s get going.

We will begin with what I think is the central sort of “theme passage” of the whole book, and that is Ephesians 1:7-10, which you can find on page [page number] in the Navy Blue Bibles in your pews.

Ephesians 1:7–10 (ESV)

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

This is the Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God!

B. Overview

My goal this morning is to give you a kind of “overview” of the book of Ephesians, looking back on our time together, but doing so at 40,000 feet to get a sense of the main ideas and themes and what we should treasure most from this incredible letter.

C. Sermon Prayer

Let’s Pray

Grant, Almighty God, that as you shine on us by your Word today, that we may not be blind, nor willfully seek darkness, and thus lull our minds asleep; but may we be roused by your words, and may we stir up ourselves more and more to fear your name and thus present ourselves and all our pursuits as a sacrifice to you, that you may peaceably rule, and perpetually dwell in us, until you gather us to your celestial habitation, where there is reserved for us eternal rest and glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Based on a prayer by John Calvin)

D. Backgrounds

So we all know that the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to Christians in a city called Ephesus. So what was this place?

Ephesus was a port city in modern-day Turkey and was a kind of cultural and religious hub of the Roman Empire. Certainly not the only cultural and religious hub, but it was one of the major ones.

It’s a city in ruins today, but you can observe how Christianity certainly lived to see days of great victory in Ephesus. This is carved into the stones that are the remnants of the Basilica of St. John in Ephesus, and it’s the image I used for the sermon series.

In Paul’s day, it was the center for the worship of Artemis who was the Greek goddess of the Hunt, the Romans knew her as Diana.

In fact, after being accused of criticizing the worship of the goddess, Paul gets dragged into the amphitheater and they’re all crying out “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

And it had a population of about 250,000 people. So in terms of population, slightly greater than the entire population of Baton Rouge.

And when Paul writes to the Ephesians, he is writing based on a previous ministerial relationship with them. Paul is writing to a church that he helped to plant.

We find this out in Acts 19, that Paul came to Ephesus, and ministered there for two years.

Acts 19:8–10 (ESV)

And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God...This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

This idea that both Jews and Greeks are hearing God’s Words and being transformed by them is a key theme in Ephesians.

So then what happens? Well, frankly, one of the weirdest moments in all the Bible, and that’s saying something.

Acts 19:13–17 (ESV)

Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.

So you have this really bizarre moment in Ephesus. Where there’s this group of traveling Jewish Exorcists. And they start to learn that apparently the name of Jesus (Iesous in Greek) holds power over the demons. And these guys try to use the name of Jesus to carry out their work of casting out demons even though they don’t believe in Jesus.

And what happens is really chilling. The demon responds “I know who Jesus is and I’ve heard of Paul, but who are you?” And they get the snot beaten out of them, and their clothes torn off and they have to flee naked and wounded.

And the result is that the name of Jesus is extolled, and then what happens?

Acts 19:18–20 (ESV)

Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.

Until Paul offends against the goddess Artemis, and that riot breaks out.

So what you are seeing here is a city under deep spiritual darkness. You have traveling exorcists, demon possessions, tampering with demonic forces through the use of magic, an impressive magic industry—those books added up to a lot of money. Along with great wealth from the Artemis Worship industry, enough to whip people into an ecstatic frenzy in the amphitheater for two hours. A paragon for spiritual darkness.

And so with all of that in mind, let us walk through Ephesians, keeping in mind that we can divide the whole book into two main sections

What God Has Done for Us (Chapters 1-3)

What God has called Us to Do (Chapters 4-6)

Chapter 1: Let Us Worship the Triune God!

After his customary greetings of Grace and Peace, Paul opens the letter with one of the longest sentences in the New Testament, and it is focused on the Triune work of God. We learn that we are blessed and chosen and predestined by God the Father. Redeemed and forgiven by the blood of Jesus the Son, and sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who guarantees our inheritance until we make it to everlasting glory. And that God the Father has secured for us a great salvation by raising Jesus from the dead, and seating him at his right hand in the heavenly places

Ephesians 1:21–23 (ESV)

far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

And that passage brings out the two main themes of Ephesians: The spiritual powers and authorities (which Christ rules over) and the Church (which Christ rules over and which is his body).

Chapter 2: Brought Near

In Chapter 2, Paul reveals the glory of God’s plan of salvation, especially as it regards bringing in the Gentiles, and declaring peace and tearing down the dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile.

And the first way Paul unites Jew and Gentile here is by uniting them in their sin. He says you were dead in your trespasses and sins, captive to those evil spiritual powers,

Ephesians 2:3 (ESV)

among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Underline “…whom we all once lived”

We were dead in sin, but God made us alive in Christ. Indeed,

Ephesians 2:8–10 (ESV)

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

And there we see the two main divisions of the book: What God has done, and what He calls us to do.

So what we learn about the powers and authorities is that they have lost. They’ve lost their authority over the children of God. And what do we learn about the church? That it is made up of saved, rescued, blood bought Jews and Gentiles.

Ephesians 2:18–22 (ESV)

For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

There we see again, Paul glorifying the Triune God. We are being made into this household of God the Father, Christ Jesus being the cornerstone, and this temple is a dwelling place for God by the Holy Spirit.

Chapter 3: Paul Announces the Mystery

Paul identifies the work that Jesus has given to him as preaching a mystery.

Ephesians 3:6 (ESV)

This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

This is the great mystery, revealed. It is not complex. But for first century Jews and Gentiles it was hard to believe intellectually and emotionally. But what God has done in Christ is he has taken two peoples and he’s made them into one family. This means that there is only one people of God, not two peoples of God. This means there is only One Israel. It is made up of two group: Gentiles who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, crucified, risen, ascended and reigning. And Jews who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, crucified, risen, ascended and reigning. If you want to hear more about that, come back for the Apostles’ Creed.

So the Gentiles have been brought in. Why? Because God is full of mercy and grace and love and has torn down the dividing wall in Christ by that same love, and we just spend the rest of our days striving to understand that love. Paul prays that the Ephesians

Ephesians 3:18–19 (ESV)

may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

And then we get to Chapter 4

Chapter 4: One Body, One Lord

Chapter 4 begins with Therefore

Ephesians 4:1 (ESV)

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

That word “Therefore” is the hinge on which the two parts of Ephesians turn. Paul is moving from what God has done to what he’s called us to be and do. And this is a matter of walking. Here is the glory of all that God has done. Therefore, walk like this.

And what Paul does in Chapter 4 is he links up our internal godliness with our external unity. He calls them to humility and gentleness and patience, to what end? So they can be

Ephesians 4:3 (ESV)

eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

And then you get the “Ones.”

Ephesians 4:4–6 (ESV)

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

He goes on to talk about many kinds of spiritual gifts given by the one ascended Christ through the one Holy Spirit, and all of this is so that we would grow up. You come to Christ as a little child “of my strength and wisdom spoiled.” But then he means for your to grow up. Not by yourself, but together with the One Body. We exercise gifting in the church so that we can bless each other and grow “into mature manhood” Paul says in verse 13, and

Ephesians 4:14–16 (ESV)

so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Do you see? Spiritual growth and maturity is a group project. You need a church for this. If you think Spiritual Growth is just a matter of becoming a sage by yourself in your study, Ephesians just sends a wrecking ball into that whole idea. We were meant to grow into maturity together. We are the body of Christ, and bodies grow up.

So what does this maturity look like? That’s what Paul spends the rest of the letter explaining. And for this, Paul loves to use the metaphor of walking. Back in Chapter 2, we were dead in the trespasses in which we once walked, and now here in Ephesians 4:1 we are urged to

Ephesians 4:1 (ESV)

...walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

And in order to do that we

Ephesians 4:17 (ESV)

...you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.

And someone might object at this point. “But wait, Paul. I thought you said that’s who we used to be?” Yes. And you’ll spend the rest of your life seeing that old man put to death and the new man raised to life. That is the Christian walk. You and I are called

Ephesians 4:22–24 (ESV)

to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

And from this point, Paul just starts laying out practicalities, and this pushes through the end of chapter 4 and spills over into Chapter 5.

Don’t lie, speak truth. Don’t get angry, make peace. Don’t steal, be generous. Don’t gossip, but encourage. Don’t get revenge, forgive. Don’t be promiscuous and don’t buy the lies of the Ephesian sexual revolution, but be self-controlled. Don’t get drunk, be guided by the Spirit. Do this by singing together and singing God’s word to each other.

In other words,

Ephesians 5:1 (ESV)

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.

You already know you are beloved children, that was chapters 1-3. So walk in that love.

Ephesians 5:2 (ESV)

And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

And so Chapter 5 is...

Chapter 5: Imitating God

We are called to imitate this love, to imitate this sacrifice to imitate this magnificent mystery of Christ turning two groups into one family, and Paul images this most spectacularly in the household. He says

Ephesians 5:22–23 (ESV)

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.

And he says further

Ephesians 5:25–27 (ESV)

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

So Paul has been painting heavenly pictures, and then in the most profound way, brings it back down to terra firma and says “Husbands and Wives, put that on display. And as you know he also includes parents and children and servants and masters.

And after laying that all out, with this glorious picture of Christ and the Church and our responsibilities to each other he says

Chapter 6: Stand Firm

O Church Arise, and put your armor on. Hear the call of Christ, our Captain. For now the weak can say that they are strong, In the strength that God has given.

With shield of faith and belt of truth, We'll stand against the devil's lies. An army bold, whose battle cry is “Love!” Reaching out to those in darkness.

Paul says

Ephesians 6:10 (ESV)

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

And as you might remember, Paul uses the image of Isaiah’s Messianic King, putting on the armor of Yahweh. So the Church, as Jesus’s body, is now fitted with God’s Armor to fight the battles before us. Together. Is Jesus fighting these battles or are we fighting these battles? We part of the point of Ephesians is that the answer is Yes. We are the body of Christ on earth, being fitted for this fight.

Ephesians 6:13 (ESV)

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

And does it not make sense, given what we say earlier in Acts 19, why Paul would say this? This was a church who had seen Jewish exorcists get the snot beat out of them for playing with demonic powers and authorities they did not understand. And this was a church that had been planted after they burned their books of magic as a way of putting off the old man and seeing the new man raised to life. So of course spiritual warfare would be a major theme of the letter. How could it not be?

If the Apostle Paul had written a letter to the saints of God in New Orleans, do you not think that the Voodoo would have come up? Same kind of idea here.

Paul spends much of the letter describing the body of Christ that God has put on earth, and he closes by detailing the war that she and she alone has been given to fight. Together. As a people. As a body. Under the banner of One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism.

Concluding Applications

1. You Must Know God

You must know and be in fellowship with the Holy Triune God of the Universe. You must know God the Father, confess the Gospel of Jesus His Son, and be filled and sealed with the Holy Spirit. You must know this God. In the words of the prophet Hosea

Hosea 6:3 (ESV)

Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.

You are called to know this God. Do you? Do you know this God? Do you know him as yours?

2. You Must Walk in His Ways

We are not saved by good works, but we are called to them, entrusted with them, and indeed the whole Christian life is a matter of this walking together. Sometimes it is said “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.” But that’s incomplete. It should rather be “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven, and growing as we walk together according to all God’s Words.”

Are you growing? Not are you perfect, but are you growing? Are you at war with your sin? Are you in the fight? Are you confessing your sins out loud? Are you seeing them more and more put to death by the Spirit, and placed under the feet of Jesus, where the rest of all enmity and opposition against him must go?

3. Your Household Preaches

And nothing was designed to preach quite like your household. Nothing was designed to illuminate this cosmos-rearranging covenant love between Christ and his Church like marriage and (to a lesser extent) the other structures of life and authority God has put in the world. So let them preach.

You want to know a really practical application for this one? Let me offer you this. If God has appointed your household to preach, then perhaps one of the most magnificent ways of sharing the Gospel is by inviting people into your home for a meal, and putting the glory on display. If God has designed your household to image the work of Jesus, don’t hide that under a bushel, but let your light shine.

4. The Body of Christ Goes to War and Fights Together

We worship together, we fellowship together, we eat together, we sing together, we pray together because we are the Body of Christ, armed with God’s armor and sword to fight together. Not to fight with each other, that takes Christ’s work of tearing down this dividing wall and mocks it. But to fight together as the body of Christ on earth, until the very last day.

And for that we have been given every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, and every bit of grace and peace and love that we will need for the good fight ahead.