Short Summaries of

Sermons on Ephesians

by Rev. Ralph Allan Smith

Paul's Greeting to the Ephesians

(Eph. 1:1-2)

Paul's letter to the Ephesians, like the book of Romans, is a virtual essay on theology. It is less personal than Philippians. It does not deal with theological controversy like Galatians and Colossians, nor does it deal with ethical problems in church life like the two Corinthian epistles. While the Thessalonian epistles deal with eschatological doctrines and their behavioral consequences, Ephesians concentrates on soteriology, the doctrine of salvation. Although not so broad in its treatment of salvation as Romans--which the reformers considered a perfect summary of Christian theology--Ephesians has its own distinctive emphasis that is vital to our understanding of the faith--the doctrine of salvation in relation to the doctrine of the church. The general structure of the book is also reminiscent of Romans. The first three chapters, as the first 11 of Romans, are concerned with doctrine after which, again as in Romans, there is an almost abrupt, but logical, shift to practical life.

Paul the Apostle

The greetings in letters during the Roman era were structured differently from modern American writing. Our letters end with the author's name, but in ancient Rome, the author identifies himself at the very beginning. Thus the first word of Paul's epistles, with the single exception of Hebrews, is invariably 'Paul.' In his letters to the churches, it is common for Paul to emphasize that he is an apostle by divine calling (Rom., 1&2 Cor., Gal., Eph., Col.). Only three letters are different. In the book of Philippians, he simply refers to himself as a servant of God, and in the Thessalonian epistles, he refers to himself together with Silvanus, and Timotheus by name only.

We must assume, therefore, that Paul had a reason for emphasizing his apostolic authority. We know that his authority was challenged by some who opposed him. Also, perhaps writing to the Ephesians the kind of formal letter that he did necessitated at least a clear statement of the source of his special claims to inspiration.

And about that there should be no doubt--a claim to apostolic authority was indeed a claim to special inspiration. Paul could not have stated it more clearly than he did to the Corinthians: 'If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant' (1 Cor. 14:37-38). An apostle is a fully authorized representative. The apostle was anointed with the Spirit of God in a special manner to enable him both to speak and act on behalf of Christ. When apostles spoke or acted ex officio, they spoke or acted with the full authority of the Messiah whom they represented. The miracles they performed were the means by which they were identifiable as Messiah's representatives. That is, they did the same kinds of works that He did (cf. John 14:12). Once the canon of Scripture was completed and the kingdom of God was transferred from the old-Israel to the new-Israel in A.D. 70, there was no longer any need for sign miracles or apostolic authority. Though God still gives us exceptionally gifted teachers from time to time, and answers our prayers by miracles when He wishes, we no longer live in the early age of sign miracles and infallible instructors.

Saints in Ephesus and Faithful in Christ

Paul describes the recipients of his letter by two important terms. They are first of all 'saints.' The word 'saint' in the Bible does not mean, as it does in the modern world, 'exceptionally holy person.' A saint is someone who enjoys a particular privilege--access to God's sanctuary. Under the old covenant God's people may be called saints, but they did not literally have sanctuary access. From the time man was cast out of the Garden of Eden, man was forbidden to re-enter the sanctuary. Even the high priest in Israel was not permitted to enter the sanctuary except under restricted conditions--which emphasized the fact of separation from God, not the privilege of access. The real 'saints' in the old covenant period were the Cherubim who took man's place as guardians of the LORD's garden-sanctuary.

In Christ, however, Jews and Gentiles have been reconciled unto God so that we now may boldly enter the true holy place in heaven. We are considered holy in Christ, even though in ourselves we are still far from attaining anything like perfect holiness. God sees us through our representative Who stands at His right hand to intercede for us. In Christ and by the grace of God alone, we, even we, are called saints!

The other title Paul uses for the Ephesians reminds us that it is not enough to assert our position in Christ. The Ephesians are also called 'faithful in Christ Jesus.' Their objective standing before the law of God as holy ones who were permitted to come into His presence was not contradicted by their daily lives. They were faithful to Christ as their Lord and Master. They did not, like some who professed faith in Christ, have to be asked: "[W]hy call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luk. 6:46).

Grace and Peace

The last words of the greeting are words of blessing that Paul bestows on the recipients of his letter. 'Grace' is a special word for Christians. Our whole salvation depends upon the grace of God. We were saved by grace in election when God chose us for no merits of our own. We were saved by grace in the death of Christ when God out of His perfect love gave His Son to die for us. We were saved by grace alone when the Holy Spirit of God opened our hearts to receive the truth without which we should never be delivered from sin. We are saved by grace daily as Christ intercedes for us in heaven and the Spirit of God works in our hearts to preserve us in the way of righteousness and truth. 'Grace' is the most Christian greeting there can be.

'Peace' expresses covenant blessing in its fulness. Paul is not saying 'may you be delivered from wars and fighting.' Peace is wholeness, a harmonious abundance of everything promised by God. Peace includes, of course, peace with God, peace of mind, and peace in our relations with others. But it also includes material blessing and the opportunity to enjoy it.

What we see here, by the way, is Christian culture. Greetings are part of cultural life. In most societies the words of greeting have had religious significance of some sort. We no longer know--unless I am mistaken--the origin our English greeting, 'hello.' But 'good-by,' like the Spanish 'Adios,' and the French, 'Adieu,' means 'God be with you.' Christian culture in Europe produced Christian greetings, just as Jewish culture today preserves the Jewish greeting 'shalom,' which means 'peace.' It is natural for us to have greetings that differ from the world around us, for our greetings, like all of our lives, should express our faith in God and our desire to bring His blessing and grace on one another.

Paul says that grace and peace come from a single source: 'God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.' By placing Christ together with the Father here as the source of all blessing--the Greek has one preposition, 'from' that refers to both Persons--Paul is indicating his faith in the equality of Christ and the Father. It is unthinkable that a man with Paul's theological training would, by accident, seem to ascribe deity to Christ. He naturally assigns Christ a place of equality with the Father because it is the habit of his worship and praise. It is to the grace of the Triune God that we owe our salvation. We look to Father, Son and Spirit to give us the fulness of covenant blessing that constitutes peace.