According To His Kind Intention
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
V.1
O: Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God,
I: Paul, who was sent by Jesus, to do the work for Jesus and the gospel.
A: What we know about Paul writing this letter:
Time: It is most widely believed this was written somewhere around 60-61 AD, while imprisoned in Rome, in house arrest.
This is also the same time he was believed to have written his other prison epistles; Colossians, Philemon and Philippians
An Apostle of Christ Jesus:
This is Paul’s typical greeting, along with “bond-servant”
By the will of God:
We know Paul was called and are reminded of this in Acts 13:2
2 While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
In fact, we get the best description in Acts 13:4
4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went …
This was the will of God, not man, not some mission board, but God, He sent them out.
O: to the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus
I: This is written to the Ephesians, who are described as being faithful in Christ
A: We see Paul writing this to the Ephesians.
About Ephesus:
Ephesus has a big role of the early church, and even ancient Rome
One of the largest cities
Considered the most important city of Asia Minor
Was a political, religious, and commercial center
Housed the largest temple in the world, the temple to Artemis (One of the seven ancient wonders of the world)
Many of the early church had some part in Ephesus.
Timothy ministered there, we will see that when we get to the letters to Timothy
There is also strong evidence that the apostle John was ministering there as well.
Paul’s first time there was very brief. He came there right after he left Corinth, and instead of staying, he left Aquila and Priscilla there. (Acts 18:19-21)
It would actually be in Ephesus that Aquila and Priscilla would run into Apollos, who was preaching powerfully already in Ephesus, and they explained to him more accuratley the way of God. (Acts 18:24-26)
Paul would come back to Ephesus pretty quickly, in Acts 19:1. Here he began his ministry.
He found disciples who hadn’t heard of the Holy Spirit, so they received and spoke in tongues and prophesied.
Paul went into the synagague for 3 months, speaking boldly, until some started speaking evil of the gospel, so he went to the school of Tyrannus and reasoned daily there. He did that for 2 years.
We see what God was doing in Acts 19:11
11 God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,
We see the seven sons of Sceva try to imitate Paul
We see people and their lives changed, turning from their magic and burning their books and the word of the Lord grew mightly.
However, the silversmiths stirred the city up against Paul and the gospel, nearly causing a riot, in which after he finally left.
At this point, he would not go back to Ephesus again, but would call the elders of Ephesus to him when he was in Miletus. The last words he would say to them before writing this letter would be found in Acts 20:35
35 “In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
Then Paul prayed for them, knowing they would never see eachother again.
I can’t hep but think that this is the reason Paul would have to write this epistle.
When Paul is trying to encourage them in their faith, in their walk, it then becomes taken out of context, not in the heart that Paul was actually saying.
Paul mentions his work, working hard, that it is more blessed to give than to receive. But instead of taking that as an encouragement, instead of knowing what that means in its proper place, they begin to use that as a reason to work their way to salvation.
Things now become that we must work harder to be saved, we must give rather than receive to be saved.
You see how quick it can go downhill, that what is said
We will see what Paul says in Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
This is a reminder for all of us, salvation is through faith, not of your works.
But this is also the only church that gets a letter from Paul and Jesus. In Revelation 2:1-7
1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:
2 ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false;
3 and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary.
4 ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
5 ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.
6 ‘Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’
They had the works, they had perseverance, they had discernment, but they had left their first love.
Notice, leaving, not changing
A married couple may change in how they show affection towards one another, but they haven’t left their love for one another.
When you leave, you just stop trying altogether, you may still buy flowers and gifts, but there is no love towards one another.
This is the danger, that the Ephesians love didn’t change how it looked, they left their love altogether.
Their worship became about the music, the performance, not Jesus. Their works became about a list of to-do;s, not out of love for the One whom they serve.
They were trying to earn their salvation, not do works out of response of that salvation.
But look what Paul calls them here in Ephesians 1: Faithful
What a compliment to the Ephesians, those who are faithful in Christ Jesus
Unlike the Letter in Revelation, Paul isn’t calling the Ephesians heretical, he calls them faithful.
But they need correcting of a dangerous mindset that still infiltrates the church today… that my works help my salvation.
Which we learn, you can be faithful in Christ Jesus, but still need correction
Paul’s main theme, especially to begin, is: in Him
Where do you get your satisfaction? Is it in Him?
Where do you find your salvation? Is it in Him?
Where do you find your help in troubles? Is it in Him?
We look for all of this in other things, but Paul is going to make it very clear, it is in Him.
V.2
O: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I: This is what Paul wants us to experience from God, grace and peace
A: This is what Paul will continue to give us, that this is what God wants for us.
We will only find this in Him
Later, in the second half of this book, we get to see the practical ways to apply this truth, but we will always need to remember, it is in Him, and the things we will get to is wonderful instructions on how to deal with other people in this life.
When we follow God’s instructions, we find we will have peace instead of strife and conflict, like we have when we do it our way, in our own effort. Do it in Him!!
V.3
O: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
I: Let the Lord be spoken of with honor and glory
A: Blessed= eulogētos, the same word we get eulogy from
Means “well spoken of, praiseworthy”
God the Father, who is praiseworthy, well spoken of
Many like to look at God the Father as a God who isn’t worthy of praise, Who was harsh and judgemental. But Paul makes something clear… the God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament, that from the beginning all the way til now, God is worthy of our praise.
O: who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ
I: He has given us every spiritual benefit that extend into eternity in Jesus Christ.
A: For a good part of this chapter, Paul will be going into more detail of what this means, but where do the Spiritual blessings come from? God, from the Father.
Just as we read in James 1:17
17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
Paul calls them in the heavenly places, which simply means, these blessings are eternal, not earthly, but heavenly
In Christ:
These spiritual blessings are because of Jesus.
They are not found anywhere else but in Him.
V.4
O: Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world,
I: This is exactly as it is that we were chosen at the beginning, before the beginning
A: This was never God’s backup plan, this was always the plan.
That in Christ, we would be chosen, in Christ, we would have every Spiritual blessing
O: That we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
I: The Lord wants us to be set apart and be without blame in His presence because He loves us.
A: Here is the thing… God wants us to be Holy and blameless before Him. Why?
Because He loves us.
This isn’t restricting nor limiting, but liberating.
Think of 1 John 4:10
10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
The plan is that because He loves us, because we could never be holy or blameless before Him on our own, He sent His Son.
V.5-6
O: He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, (6) to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
I: We are children of God, because He loves us and made it possible.
A: We are predestined to be adopted as sons…
Not all people are children of God, even though, God wants all of us to be His children.
The only way to become a son, to be adopted, is through Jesus Christ. That is it.
Not by our works, our efforts, our good behavior, but by believing in the One, Jesus Christ.
Why has He predestined us?
According to the kind intention of His will
This means He has predestined all of us, but people have rejected the one condition that brings us into that adoption
Why predestine us to adoption?
To the praise of the glory of His grace
This is grace, that we would be called children of God
Which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved:
God’s plan was predestined according to His kind intention, to the praise of the glory of His grace, all in the Beloved, Jesus Christ.
Even though Paul isn’t calling them back to their first love like we read in Revelation, it is a reminder for all of us, today, that we need to return to our first love.
When we try to find what we need in family, career, even ministry, we need to return to what it is all about, and where we find all of our spiritual blessings in the heavenly places, and that is IN HIM!!
