Sermon Tone Analysis

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will:

To the faithful saints in Christ Jesus at Ephesus.,d

To the faithful saints in Christ Jesus at Ephesus.

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

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

It is God’s will that the Church (faithful Ephesians) receive the grace and peace of God (our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ) through the apostles(hip of Paul).

SAM AND STEVE FALZONE

INTRO: The book of Ephesians as a primer on the form and function of the church.

Not just historically, but also today.

“No part of the New Testament has a more contemporary relevance than the letter to the Ephesians.”

(Ralph P. Martin)

Relevancy of E:

Pursuit of the Spiritual (Note: 6 spiritual blessings, beginning next week)

Ch. 1:15-19, Prayer for spiritual insight

chapter 2

Thousands of denominations.

But Paul calls us to ecumenical unity—not across lines of orthodoxy, but with those who are doctrinally orthodox.

Death to life

Ch. 3 — Missional Emphasis

Ch. 4 highlights the work of the church members in light of the calling of church leaders to call all people out of the pew and into the work of Christ in the world.

Chs. 5 and 6, Paul offers theological insight and immensely practical advice for marriage, parenting, working, and just for living life in the middle of the craziness we call planet earth, where there are spiritual powers of darkness that war against the Kingdom of God and against all that is good, right, and holy in it.

In reading Ephesians, ‘it’s not difficult to see direct relevance to the Christian life today.

Racial tensions still lie unresolved in local neighborhoods as well as on a giant scale in South Africa.

Human beings are still menaced by fear of the unknown and uncertain future, and they find solace, in the face of life’s problems and the threat of death, in the occult and in superstition.’

(Ralph P. Martin) The book of Ephesians gives us answers, not just for daily living, but also for many of the large scale social problems Christians are called to confront.

No part of the New Testament has a more contemporary relevance than the letter to the Ephesians.

it is not difficult to see some direct relevance to the Christian pulpit in our day.

Racial tensions still lie unresolved in local neighborhoods as well as on a giant scale in South Africa.

Human beings are still menaced by fear of the unknown and uncertain future, and they find solace, in the face of life’s problems and the threat of death, in the occult and in superstition.

Ralph P. Martin, Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon, Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Atlanta, GA: John Knox Press, 1991), 1.

Ralph P. Martin, Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon, Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Atlanta, GA: John Knox Press, 1991), 2.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will:

To the faithful saints in Christ Jesus at Ephesus.

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

(WHAT’S TRUE)

Part of the text most people ignore…

Lots of little things, but I want to distill it all into…

ONE BIG IDEA: It is God’s will that the Church receive the grace and peace of God through those who God sends.

We will begin our discussion with…

The Will

…of God.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will: (Ephesians 1:1a)

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

What God wants.

What is Gods will?

(2 or 3 senses)

What God wants — rarely

Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

()

Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017),

Paul didn’t choose to be an apostle because God thought it was a good idea.

What God decrees or permits (not necessarily approves) (things that don’t honor God like the fall are part of his permission) (there’s a whole discussion to be had here—not sure it’s easy to separate the two):

Paul’s missionary journey to Ephesus (, “I’ll come back to you again if God wills.”)

ILL: As I reflect back on my own history as a Christian, I see a lot of this type of God’s decree occuring in my life even when I thought it was choices I made.

More things are part of God’s decree than I think we realize when we look back through life.

Paul’s own apostleship is by God’s will, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will.”

Expression of God’s will through Paul: "To the faithful saints in Christ Jesus at Ephesus.

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

(1b-2)

Who is the church?

Saint==holy one OR one who is set apart.

Saints =~ Members of the church for all intents and purposes

Authentic saints, i.e., those who are faithful — Identifying with the church does not make you holy; faithfulness makes you holy.

(i.e.

faithful saints points to the universal church not merely the local body.)

It is God’s will that the church receive…

The Gifts

…of grace and peace through the apostles.

Expression of God’s will through Paul: "To the faithful saints in Christ Jesus at Ephesus.

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

(1b-2)

There are two gifts: grace and peace.

Who get’s them?

In my statement I said the church, but here it says ‘the faithful saints.’

Who is the church?

I believe the church is the collected, faithful saints.

Saint==holy one OR one who is set apart.

Saints =~ How do we see people being set apart?

They become members of local churches for all intents and purposes.

Authentic saints, i.e., those who are faithful — CAVEAT: Identifying with the church does not make you holy; faithfulness makes you holy.

(i.e.

faithful saints points to the universal church not merely the local body.)

‘Going to church’ is proper for those who are faithful saints, but going to church does not make you a ‘faithful saint.’

CAUSE: Grace—Greek conceptions

CAUSE: Grace (justification or sanctification—further grace?)

Graces of justification, sanctification, glorification

J God calls you righteous (too many people stop here and don’t move on to S and thus will not receive G)

S you are becoming righteous

G you are finally righteous

Graces are free—things you cannot accomplish on your own and therefore must be graces/gifts you did not earn.

EFFECT: Peace—Jewish/Hebrew conception

shalom, peace with God or reconciliation

J. C. Laansma

Not centered on the doctrinal, ifications, but focussed on the narrative of scripture

Outline the creation (shalom), fall (breaking of shalom, decay/entropy), Jesus (promise of shalom—salt slows decay/entropy), Christian life (should be experience of shalom), eternity (realized shalom)

CAUSE AND EFFECT

Not two ways of communicating the Gospel (ex.

Easterners and Westerners).

It’s Both: The Gospel is bigger than we think it is.

NT usage draws on the concept as the

Either might be a pathway to a conversation about the fulness of the Gospel.