Introduction

In this article we are examining the first three foundational blessings that unite us in our common position in Christ:

1. The past blessings of our election and predestination (1:4 and 5-6)

2. The present blessing of our redemption (1:7-10)

3. The future blessing of our inheritance (1:11-14)

These blessings comprise our common spiritual “roots”. An aunt of mine in England traced our family roots. She found that we came from a line of Spanish Jews who came to England during the Spanish Armada. That’s my family’s “roots” according to her research. The family of God has its roots – our blessings “in Christ”.

The first foundational blessing, then, that we share as believers, and for which we praise God, is…

I. The Blessing Of Our Election (1:4)

He (God) chose (elected) us in Him (Christ) (4a).

When political elections are planned, nobody knows what the outcome will be until all the votes are in. In a past eternity God called an “election” and he knew exactly what the outcome would be. In fact, he guaranteed it because...

1. The Nature Of Election Is… God’s Sovereign Choice

God chose us. He selected us, picked us out for himself. That’s the nature of God’s election – it is his sovereign choice. There were no other voters; God was the only “voter”. It was his election. Nobody forced him to make the choice; he made it freely, sovereignly.

Do you remember when you used to pick sides at school to play a game? It always seemed cruel to me that the best players were picked first and as the choices got fewer and fewer it was obvious and embarrassing that nobody wanted the poor players. But God chose us without reference to our inadequacies and he made no distinction between us - we are all equally precious to him.

So, the nature of election is God’s sovereign choice, and…

2. The Subjects Of Election Are… God’s Special People

God chose us, not anybody or everybody but us, the “saints” (1) - those who have been set apart by God to glorify him; those who have embraced him by faith. Out of all the people of all history, God chose us to be his sanctified people, to live to his glory, to be his special people, his united coalition, his church.

How we should praise God that, of all the people, he chose us! C.H. Spurgeon said that this “ought to make us on our very dullest moments sing for joy.”¹

3. The Foundation Of Election Is… God’s Beloved Son

God chose us in him, in Christ. Jesus Christ is the foundation of our election. Just as God has “blessed us” in Christ (3), so “he has elected (chosen) us” in Christ (4a).

Why and how did God choose us in Christ? What does this mean? It means that he didn’t choose us because of anything in us but because of everything we would have and be in our position in Christ. In ourselves, we were enemies of God by wicked works (wandering away from God; separated from him), but in Christ we are brought near to God, made acceptable to him.

Our election in Christ is founded on what God saw in a past eternity. He saw the work of Christ as complete and he saw us as righteous in Him. He saw Christ take our place, fulfilling the righteous claims of God against us. And it was on that basis that he could and did choose us.

To be in Christ means that God sees him as our surety. We are safe in him. Just as we might keep valuable documents in a safety deposit box which is all locked up and kept secure in the vault of a bank, so we are in Christ, our “safety deposit box.” We are inside him, safe and secure.

But there’s more about election in which we can and should rejoice…

4. The Time Of Election Was… God’s Past Eternity

God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world (4b). Our election wasn’t an afterthought. It wasn’t something God decided to do when he saw what we were like. Nor is it a question of God foreseeing the spiritual choice we would make. Rather, our election was before the foundation of the world - when the plan of atonement was conceived in the chambers of eternity; when Christ said, “Here am I; send me” (Isa. 6:8; Heb. 10:7), and God declared, “I have found a ransom” (Job 23:34).

As one commentator has said: “If already before the foundation of the world those destined for everlasting life were elected…then all the glory for their salvation belongs to God and to him alone.”²

5. The Purpose Of Election Is… Our Present Holiness

… that we should be holy and without blame before him (4b). God did not simply choose us for salvation but to change us so that we could live in holiness before him. God did not choose us because we were already holy, but in order that we should be and could be holy. Holiness and blamelessness are the fruits of our election to salvation.

The immediate purpose of election is that we should be holy and that we should be blameless. To be holy means to be separated, morally and spiritually, to God; consecrated wholly to God. To be blameless means to be without blemish in character and conduct.

The measure of this holiness is not man’s, but God’s, to be examined by God and be found faultless before him. As Christians, we must give evidence of our spiritual standing before God. Because we have been saved doesn’t mean that we can live any way we want. There are ethical implications to the Gospel, you know.

Let me ask you, how do you measure up to God’s standard? Are you living before God in submission to him, allowing him to conform you to his Son, transforming you “from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor. 3:18)?

So, the first foundational blessing is that of our election. Closely associated with election is…

II. The Blessing Of Our Predestination (1:5-6)

As John Phillips explains it, “Election has to do with the past and predestination has to do with the future.” ³ God chose us for a purpose – that’s predestination.

1. We Were Predestined For A New Relationship (5)

… having in love predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ for himself (4b-5a). We were elected (chosen) for salvation and on that basis we were predestined for sonship. In his unfathomable love toward us, God predestined us to a new relationship with him, the relationship of “adopted” children. He chose us for himself, to be in his family because of what Christ has done, a place to which we had no right or title (cf. Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:5).

Some families have both biological and adopted children. Sometimes, someone might ask, “Which one is adopted?” They make a distinction between the biological child and the adopted child. But God makes no such distinction. When God adopts us into his family, he treats us as his very own with no regard for the past.

Though we were born in sin and “were by nature children of wrath” (2:3), yet God takes us into his family and wipes out the past (Jer. 31:34). And further, he does something that no earthly adoptive parent can do - He gives us his own nature and character.

Thus, this new relationship is one which carries the dignity of sons and daughters. It imputes to us a new identification, a new status, a new family, a new appearance (Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18), a new nature, a new character, and a new inheritance. That’s what it is to be adopted into God’s family. We have a new relationship with God and God’s people.

So, how does this adoption take place? It’s by Jesus Christ for himself (5a). Through Christ we are reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:18, 20; Col. 1:21) and made part of his family, not because of any goodness on our part nor because of any obligation on God’s part, but because God predestined us to this relationship solely according to the good pleasure of his will (5b). It was a matter of God’s will and pleasure. God did what he wanted and delighted to do in us.

So, the question is: Is your behaviour consistent with your new relationship? Do you act like God’s adopted child? All parents want their children to exemplify their values and attitudes. Any child who does not do this misrepresents their parents and brings dishonour on the family. Let me challenge you to examine your lifestyle, your behaviour, your attitudes, your values and priorities in the light of your adoption into God’s family and in the light of your position of dignity as a son or daughter of God.

We were predestined for a new relationship and…

2. We Were Predestined For A New Occupation (6)

… to the praise of his glorious grace (6a). Our election by God coupled with his predestination of us to adoption is a summons to the praise of his glorious grace.

Surely, that should be our spontaneous response to God for his unmerited favour to us who are so undeserving. The final goal to which all of redemptive history points and to which we are predestined is the praise his glorious grace. This is the ultimate goal for which God has chosen us - to praise God for the excellence of his matchless grace by which he made us accepted in the Beloved (6b). Only by the glorious grace of God do we find favour before God and by which we are accepted in the Beloved. Our eternal standing before God is founded in his beloved Son, the one in whom the Father finds all his delight (cf. Matt. 3:17; Jn. 1:29; Matt. 17:5; 2 Pet. 1:17, 18).

III. The Blessing Of Our Redemption (1:7-10)

The first thing we notice is…

1. The Source Of Our Redemption Is… God’s Dear Son

In him (the Beloved) we have redemption (7a). Just as our election is in Christ, so our redemption is in him. He is the source and means of our redemption - it is in him. Because of what he has done and the relationship into which he has called us we have redemption in him. Redemption cannot be found in anyone else, “for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved”(Acts 4:12). Neither charitable deeds nor good living can earn your redemption. It has its sole source in the person and work of Christ - it is in him. And because our redemption is in him, no one can take it away.

We “have” redemption. It’s our present possession. If you have trusted Christ as your Saviour, you have redemption now – the present possession of eternal life. It isn’t future (not something we’re working for or hoping for) but something we now possess.

We didn’t and couldn’t do anything for it. It’s not “by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saves us”(Tit. 3:5). We couldn’t pay for it nor earn it. God has freely provided it for us in Christ, who “gave himself a ransom for many”(Matt. 20:28). Redemption is the freedom obtained by payment of a ransom. It’s a term that was used primarily for the release of slaves. In spiritual terms, redemption refers to our ransom from the curse of sin, from sin’s power and penalty (cf. Jn. 8:34; Rom. 7:14; 1 Cor. 7:23; Gal. 3:13).

The object of our redemption was to buy us back from sin’s slavery, to redeem us from Satan’s control and deception. The result of our redemption is our liberation. We’ve been emancipated - the price has been paid. We’ve been ransomed, and, as a result, set free from the bondage of sin - released from the tyranny of the law.

So, the source of our redemption is God’s dear Son…

2. The Means Of Our Redemption Is… Christ’s Blood

… we have redemption through his blood (7b). Christ has ransomed us from the slave market of sin. He paid the price to set us free by giving his life for us, by dying the death we deserved. And the evidence of the payment of that debt was the shedding of his precious blood. That was the mighty ransom price – his life, his blood. That was the utmost price that could be paid. It wasn’t the blood of a sacrificial animal as in the O. T. sacrifices (Lev. 17:11; Heb. 9:22). It was his blood, “the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet. 1:19).

Dr. Paul Brand in his book, “God’s Forever Feast,” writes: “I used to think it strange that the Bible keeps talking about the cleansing power of the blood. It seemed to me that blood was messy stuff. I needed to wash my white lab coats if they became stained with blood. Today, I love the analogy; it is so true of the body. The blood is constantly cleansing every cell and washing away all the debris that accumulates all the time.”

No animal’s blood could ever cleanse us from sin. Only Christ’s blood was sufficient to remit our sins. “Not by means of the blood of goats and calves, but by means of His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:12).

Have you ever thought about what this means, that God’s own Son shed his blood for your redemption, that he was willing to die to cleanse you from sin? “Scarcely for a righteous man will one die…yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates his love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:7-8).

How often do you thank God for your redemption? This will be our wonderful theme in heaven, when we will say: “You are worthy…for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Rev. 5:9-10). It is the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from all our sins (1 Jn. 1:7).

The means of our redemption is his blood and…

3. The Result Of Our Redemption Is… Our Forgiveness

Redemption would not be complete without forgiveness. The grand object of redemption is our freedom and the key to freedom is forgiveness. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our sins (7c).

Forgiveness is the complete removal (remission) of our sins (Isa. 44:22; Jer. 3:34; 1 Jn. 1:9). Through faith in Christ, we are forgiven (cf. Col. 1:14). Once we were bound by sin. We were held hostage by it, completely absorbed by it, unable to help ourselves because of it. Such was the power of sin over us that we were its prisoner, incarcerated in trespasses and sins. But through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, we are set free because our sins are forgiven.

We know the source of redemption, the means, and the result, but what was the reason? Why did God redeem us?….

4. The Motivation For Our Redemption Is… God’s Grace

… according to the riches of his grace (7d). Forgiveness and grace go together. Forgiveness is only offered to us by God because of his grace. Notice that it does not say that forgiveness was given to us “out of” the riches of his grace, but according to (in the measure of) the riches of his grace. Something can be given “out of” someone’s riches, but it may not be necessarily lavish because they may have limited riches, or because they may hold some back. But God has provided our redemption to the full extent of the riches of his grace - he has held nothing back.

Our forgiveness is according to the riches of God’s grace of which there is no end. The enormity of what he has done is reflected in the fullness of our forgiveness and the inexhaustible supply of his grace.

The motivation for our redemption is God’s grace, which he lavished upon us (8a). His grace is no mere trickle, no puny supply. Rather, he lavished his grace upon us. This is extravagant grace, outrageous grace, exorbitant grace, superabundant grace from God’s inexhaustible riches.

How is this abundance of God’s grace made manifest to us? … in all wisdom and insight (8b). In his matchless unbounded grace, God ransoms us from our sin. That in itself would surely be enough, but no, there’s more. He pours into our souls wisdom and insight. Why does he give us wisdom and insight? So that we can understand what he has done for us in Christ and so that we can live in the good of it. He has redeemed us and forgiven our sins, and now he floods our souls with the wisdom and understanding that go along with our new position in Christ.

So, the sequence of thought here is this…

1. The source of our redemption is God’s dear Son.

2. The means of our redemption is Christ’s blood.

3. The result of our redemption is our forgiveness.

4. The motivation for our redemption is God’s grace.

And finally…

5. The Consummation Of Redemption Is… Christ’s Headship

… making known to us the mystery of his will (9a). In God’s grace he has revealed the mystery of His will (which we can understand through the wisdom and insight he has given to us), that the consummation of redemption will be the universal and glorious headship of Christ.

What was formerly a mystery he has made known to us and he has given us the ability to understand it and appreciate it. That’s his grace!

God wasn’t forced to unveil this secret. He freely revealed it according to his good pleasure, which he set forth in Christ (9b). Just as it was the Father’s pleasure to predestine us to adoption in Christ (5), so it was his good pleasure to make known to us his eternal purpose (i.e. “the mystery of his will”) concerning the eschatological headship of Christ.

So, what is “the mystery of his will”? … that in the administration of the fullness of the times, he might unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth (10). This is the consummation of God’s plan of redemption. The redemption that Christ effected on the cross will culminate in his universal headship over all creation. God’s plan of redemption had in view our salvation and Christ’s ultimate headship over all things.

The fullness of time began “when God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law so that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4). That’s when the fullness of time began and it will end with Christ’s return in power and glory and judgment. And God’s purpose in all of this mystery which he has revealed to us is to unite all things in / under Christ (Col. 1:20; Phil. 2:9-11).

Everything centers on Christ so that everything in heaven and earth will ultimately be brought under His headship (See Rev. 20:4-5). This is the consummation of redemption. This is the event to and for which all redemptive history points and waits - the universal headship of Christ, when “every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Phil. 2:10-11).

IV. The Blessing Of Our Inheritance (1:11-14)

Paul continues to be overwhelmed by the wonder of God’s plan to unite both Jews and Gentiles into one people of God through the redemptive work of Christ. He continues to praise God for uniting us in Christ – a united position that is founded on our united blessings in Christ (the blessings of our election, predestination, and redemption), and now he turns to the blessing of our inheritance.

During the 1996 Major League Baseball season, Chad Kruder, a reserve catcher for the Chicago White Sox severely dislocated and fractured his left shoulder at a play at plate. After undergoing surgery, the White Sox placed him on the 60 day disabled list. That’s the kind of thing that makes a back-up player feel even less like part of the team. But quite the opposite happened.

Apparently, Chad’s team mates had a strong liking for him because each player put Chad’s # 12 on his baseball cap to show support for him. Chad was a member of the team whether he played or not. As you can imagine that meant a lot to Chad.

Later in the season, when he was able to suit up again, Chad showed his appreciation by putting the numbers of each of his team mates on his ball cap.

Unity is a beautiful thing on any team, especially the church team. That’s what Ephesians is all about – the unity of the church, that mysterious union that God has brought about, a union that is composed of some very different people.

The difference between “we” (11-12) and “you” (13) is a very important change in pronoun. Up to this point in the epistle, “we” has embraced all Christians. But now the “we” of v.11 are the Jewish Christians – those “who first trusted Christ” (12) – and the “you” of v.13 are the Gentile Christians who “also trusted” Christ.” Finally, v.14 embraces all Christians again, both Jew and Gentile.

This is the prelude to the elaboration in chapter 2, which shows how two entirely different, even adversarial people could be brought together as one body in Christ, into a “United Position in Christ” – one body (2:16), one family of God (2:19), one building of God (2:20). That such people can unite under one banner is nothing less than the work of God – hence the title of this series of articles: “United We Stand: The Mystery of the Church.”

Our “United Position in Christ” is based on “Our United Blessings in Christ”: The blessings of our election (3-4), our predestination (5-6), our redemption (7-10), and now the blessing of our inheritance (1:11-14).

Not only do we have spiritual blessings in Christ in the past (our election and predestination which God decreed in a past eternity), and in the present (our redemption which God effected in the present day of his grace), but also in the future (our inheritance which God has promised).

1. Our Inheritance Is Assigned To Us…By God’s Sovereign Plan (11)

After choosing us, God predestined us to adoption into his family and having been predestined, in him also we have obtained an inheritance according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will (11).

In him also we have obtained an inheritance (11a). An inheritance refers to the rights and privileges passed on to heirs. An heir is one who by virtue of his family status stands to inherit the rights and privileges related to that family by being named an heir. We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17). In him we have obtained an inheritance. Our position in Christ is the basis of our inheritance, just as it is the basis of our election and our redemption. Based on our predestined position in Christ, God laid up an inheritance for us as members of his family, before we ever existed.

Our inheritance is all part of God’s sovereign, eternal plan, just like our election and redemption. He made the plan and by his sovereign power he also carries it out. What God has planned, he has the power also to carry out and complete. He works out all things according to his own eternal purposes and will, according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will. Our inheritance is all of God, not of us. There is nothing that God has ordained that will not come to pass. He is not only the architect, he is also the builder, and nothing will delay, change, or stop his plans because he is all-powerful.

It would be one thing to know that we have all these spiritual blessings, but what good would they be if they don’t come to fruition? Sometimes people invest in schemes that never come to pass such as the scandal of “Greater Ministries Int’l Church”. This organization promised to double its donors’ investments in 17 months from profits in gold and diamond mines in Liberia and international trading in precious metals. The amazing thing is not that they made the promise but that people actually believed them! At least $100 million was reportedly invested in the scheme by over 15,000 Christians.

Sometimes people put deposits on things that they never receive. Either the company went out of business or they were “fly-by-nighters” who had no intention of delivering the goods. Older people are often ripped off by con artists masquerading as legitimate business people. Sometimes people lose money by investing in schemes that are fraudulent to start with. Other times the opportunity was genuine and the intentions were good but the other party just could not deliver on those good intentions.

But God will deliver our inheritance according to his purpose and will. Though my wife and I have taken great care to spell out clearly in our wills what is to happen to our assets, such as they are, in the event of our death, we cannot guarantee that our wishes will be carried out. Things may change between now and then; other people to whom we entrust the settling of our affairs may not act honourably; or, they may misunderstand what we want. But God himself settles his own affairs. He does not assign that responsibility to others.

Do you have implicit trust in God’s sovereign will? Do you believe that what God has promised he is able also to do? If you don’t trust God for the future, can you trust him for the past? Faith in the sovereign will and power of God is mandatory if you want to enter into the good of God’s promises and blessings now.

Our inheritance is assigned to us by God's sovereign plan…and…

2. Our Inheritance Is Secured To Us…With All God’s Chosen People (12-14)

The first persons whom God chose to trust in Christ were Jewish believers, we who first trusted in Christ (12a), that is, before the Gentiles trusted in Christ. “We,” Paul says (including himself) “have obtained an inheritance to which God has predestined us, not because of our national heritage, ancestry, or personal merit but because of his sovereign will.”

He says, “By God’s sovereign choice, he chose us, Jewish believers, as his very own people to live before him in holiness and blamelessness, and, in love, he predestined us to the relationship of adopted sons and daughters. As his children, we are his heirs with a glorious inheritance ahead of us. And the purpose of having been predestined to this inheritance,” he says, “is that we might be to the praise of his glory (12b). God’s purpose for our redeemed lives is to be living praises of his glory in our thoughts, words, desires, and actions. Just as predestination to adoption summons the praises of his people (5), so their predestined inheritance calls forth his glorious praise. It is part of God’s all-embracing, eternal, sovereign plan that his people should praise him.

But is this inheritance, then, only for Jewish believers? No! God’s chosen people also includes the Gentile believers. The Jewish believers were the first in order of time to trust in Christ (12a) – to have hope in Christ - and then the Gentiles were brought into the church (Rom. 1:16). In whom you (the Gentile believers in Ephesus) also trusted (13a). The Greek doesn’t finish the sentence here – “you also” what? Some think it is “in him you also obtained an inheritance.” Others think it is “in him you also trusted” (NKJV). Or, it could be “in him you also were sealed by the Holy Spirit” (ESV). Grammatically, any of these options are possible but “in whom you also trusted (or, hoped),” referring back to v. 12, seems to make the most sense.

On what basis were the Gentiles brought into the church? On the same basis as the Jewish believers, who first trusted in Christ. We have the same salvation and inheritance on the same basis as they do. What is that? Trusting Christ by hearing the word of truth, believing it, and being sealed with the Holy Spirit.

These Ephesian believers heard the word of truth (13a) from Paul. He visited them on his second missionary journey (Acts 19:1-10), only to find that they were still O. T. believers, who only knew John the Baptist’s baptism. They didn’t know that the One to whom John pointed had come and in whose name they ought to be baptized. As soon as Paul explained this to them, they were baptized “in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 19:5) and became Christians, as evidenced by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This was when they first heard the word of truth.

Like them, we also have “heard the word of truth” which is the gospel of your salvation. There are many false gospels in the world. The true gospel is the word of truth, not the word of error (1 Jn. 4:6). There are many voices in the world (1 Cor.14:10) all clamouring for our attention, all trying to convince us that they are telling the truth. The word of truth is the gospel - the gospel that reveals the truth about the human condition, that proclaims the consequences of rejecting Christ, that promises the only way of escape from judgement, that urges sinners to avail themselves of salvation now. It’s the gospel that Christ died for our sins, rose again the third day, and is coming back again.

The word of truth is the gospel of your salvation, “the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes (Rom. 1:16). Hearing the word of truth is not enough. They also believed in Him (13b). Hearing the gospel precedes faith in the gospel (Col. 1:5; Rom. 10:14, 17). If, after hearing, you believe the message of the gospel and place your trust for eternity in the person and work of Christ, then you are saved and brought into the church!

Some people hear in faith; others hear in unbelief. It is our responsibility to believe. God doesn’t do that for us. God sovereignly chooses some for salvation because if he did not choose some, no one would be saved, for “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23. “No one is righteous, no not one”(Rom. 3:10). For that reason, God exercises his sovereignty and chooses some to be saved.

But, there is another side to the equation – human responsibility. God has provided the means by which you may be saved – i.e. the atoning, substitutionary death of Christ. And God has appointed the means by which you can know this salvation in Christ – through the preaching of “the word of truth,” for “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). When you hear the word of truth, the gospel of salvation, you are responsible for how you respond to it. God isn’t responsible for that – you are. So, if you reject the gospel of salvation and, by doing so, reject Christ, you will be held responsible for that on the day of judgment. And Christ, who has been ordained to judge the world (Acts 17:31), will righteously condemn you to hell for your decision.

Some of you today might have become immune to the truth. You’ve heard the Gospel so many times that it’s just an old wives fable to you. Your conscience has been “seared with a hot iron” (1 Tim. 4:2). You are totally insensitive to the truth of the Gospel. You have no spiritual feeling.

Jesus said: “He who has ears to hear let him hear” (Matt. 11:15). Jesus’ message of the gospel of salvation is to those who hear in faith and believe: “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (Jn. 5:24).

Have you heard the truth of the Gospel and believed? Is you ear open today to the truth of God’s word? Are you ready to receive Christ? Don’t turn away today without trusting Christ. It is all rooted in him and his finished work at Calvary. It isn’t a matter of head knowledge - that won’t suffice on its own. It’s a matter of faith. Do you have faith in him? Have you trusted Christ? Have you taken what you have heard and made it the object of your faith? Have you recognized that you cannot save yourself and that Jesus Christ is the only One who could pay the debt of sin for you? Have you trusted him by receiving him as your Saviour?

Well, when we hear the word of truth and trust Christ for salvation, God in turn secures us for eternity. We are secured by the sealing of the Spirit: …“having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (13c). Our salvation is based on Christ’s finished work of atonement and secured by the indwelling (sealing) of the Holy Spirit. This is an allusion to the ancient practice of sealing documents to identify them, to secure them, and to authenticate them.

Sealing is similar to branding or engraving today which identifies the owner. Legal documents and ancient letters used to be sealed by impressing a symbol or name into hot wax, usually with a ring. Today, documents are sealed by embossing a corporation’s or individual’s name on the paper with a die-cut seal. Personal possession may be engraved with some sort of identification in case they are stolen or lost.

Sealing declares the document as valid, authorized and original. It ensures that only the person to whom it is addressed opens it. If the seal is broken an unauthorized person has opened it. Today shipments of cargo are sometimes sealed with a special tag. Only the customs inspector is authorized to break the seal. This ensures that the cargo is not tampered with while in transit. Animals sometimes have seals put in their ears or around their legs as a mark of identification.

Sealing, then, is a mark of identification, authority, and security. The Holy Spirit seals Christians. God the Holy Spirit himself indwells us to form a seal that cannot be broken. Sealing takes place when you believe: Having believed you were sealed. At the moment of genuine faith, the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised (cf. Jn. 14:16, 17; 15:26), takes up residence in us and seals us.

The Holy Spirit is the seal that identifies us as God’s people, as genuine believers, authorizes us to speak God’s word, assures us of our salvation through His inner witness (Rom. 8:16), and secures for us our salvation for eternity by indwelling us (1 Jn. 3:24).

The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance (14a). He guarantees (insures) our inheritance in Christ. God has “given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee” (2 Cor. 1:22). He is the down payment guaranteeing our inheritance. He is the first installment, the security deposit, of what’s to come. A security deposit, or pledge, makes an agreement valid and obligates the purchaser to complete his commitments.

The Holy Spirit is God’s “security deposit,” a sign of his pledge, his surety that he will keep his promise and deliver our inheritance (2 Cor. 5:5). What a God we have that he would give us such a guarantee!

When I worked in business most of the transactions I did, totaling large sums of money, were verbal. We accepted our customers’ word as true and that they would do what they said. Only in some instances did we require a deposit to guarantee that they would complete the transaction. God could have just given us his word and that would have been enough. But the One who cannot lie (Heb. 6:18) not only gave us his word, He also gave us his Spirit as the demonstration of his good and reliable intentions toward us.

Furthermore, God’s guarantee is unconditional. His guarantee is good until our redemption is complete: …until the redemption of God’s purchased possession (14b). Sometimes a down payment is conditional - if the conditions are not met the deposit is returned and the deal is off. Sometimes new products come with a guarantee. But they are usually conditional. For example, a new car guarantee is limited to a certain mileage or a length of time and usually excludes defects related to normal wear and tear. But God’s guarantee is not limited to time or conditions. It’s good until our redemption is complete at the coming of Jesus Christ.

Not only are we a marked people (marked by the Holy Spirit’s seal), but we are a redeemed people (1 Cor. 3:23; Rom. 14:8; 1 Pet. 2:9), redeemed with the precious blood of Christ (1 Cor. 6:20; 1 Pet. 1:18-19). But our redemption is not yet complete. We are still waiting for our bodies to be changed, to be glorified, to be redeemed body, soul, and spirit, to be translated into his presence, to be perfectly like Him. While we are waiting the Holy Spirit bridges the gap. He bridges the gap between what we already have in Christ (new life; spiritual blessings) and what we still anticipate (the fulfillment of all these blessings at Christ’s second coming).

So, the sealing of the Holy Spirit points to that future day (Eph. 4:30; Rom. 8:23) when faith will be replaced by sight, when our bodies will be transformed, when we will be freed not only from the power and penalty of sin but also from the presence of sin, and when we will express our gratitude to the praise of his glory (14c).

God’s ultimate purpose is wrapped up in this phrase, the praise of his glory” (or, his glorious praise). We were chosen in Christ “to the praise of his glorious grace” (6). We trusted Christ “to the praise of his glory” (12). And we are sealed by the Holy Spirit for the day of redemption to the praise of his glory (14).

Conclusions

Thus, the apex of Paul’s introductory doxology is reached. God has blessed us in the past, the present, and the future. In a past eternity God sovereignly decreed the election of his own special people. Down through the ages, he has been calling them to himself. Now he has chosen and called you and me through faith in Christ. Having chosen us, God also predestined us to adoption as his children.

In the present era of his grace, God put into effect his great plan of redemption through Christ’s work on the cross. And he has made known to us “the mystery of his will”, that at end, the consummation of the age, he will unite all things under Christ’s headship.

Finally, and most importantly, in the future, God will bring us into our eternal inheritance, the realization of all his promises and blessings, having been kept by the Holy Spirit for this very thing, even the eternal praise of God.

And those whom he has chosen and called he has unified into one body, the church. We are a part of his holy coalition that has been called out to worship him and that has been marshalled to serve him.

Let us never lose sight of what God has done for us in Christ. In Christ He has chosen us and predestined us to be his children. In Christ He has redeemed us, forgiven our sins. In Christ He has predestined us to an eternal inheritance. In Christ He has sealed us by the Holy Spirit until the completion of our redemption.

These are our common blessings in Christ which we enjoy together. How appropriate, then, that we should express our gratitude that, of all the people of the world, he chose us to salvation and adoption, to be part of his special people, the church; that in order to make this choice possible his Son had to die; and that all of this marvelous plan was conceived in eternity. May this challenge us to live “holy and blameless lives before him”, living as children of our heavenly Father ought to live, praising him for his “glorious grace”.

Don’t you find God’s grace amazing? That God would care about us? That he would plan for our salvation in a past eternity? That he would choose us to be the beneficiaries of his redemption. And that now he has given us the ability to understand the grand scheme of things, the grand finale to which history is headed and for which everything was planned, namely, the pre-eminence of his beloved Son. No wonder Paul started this doxology by blessing “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ.”

What is your response today? Out of a heart that has been touched by his grace, will you respond with a burst of praise for his glorious grace which he has made known to us in the Lord Jesus Christ? Together let us say with Paul: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (3). Together we must respond to the praise of his glory for he is worthy.

---

¹ C. H. Spurgeon, Quoting Spurgeon, ed. Raspantini, 45.

² William Hendriksen, Exposition of Ephesians, New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1979), 77.

³ John Phillips, Exploring Ephesians, An Expository Commentary (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1995), 33-34.

“You were dead…but God…made us alive together…with Christ”

Introduction

Continuing his theme of our “United Position in Christ,” Paul now moves on from “Our United Blessings in Christ” to “Our United Transformation in Christ.” Just as all believers are united together in one body through our united blessings of election, predestination, redemption, and inheritance, so we are also bound together by our united transformation – a transformation from spiritual death to spiritual life.

Transformation involves a complete change. Sometimes the change may be so dramatic that you can’t recognize it. It’s like decorating a house. If you decorate a room in your house the change might be so drastic that you would say: “It’s transformed.” Perhaps the room has changed from a dreary colour to a bright colour, from being painted to being wall-papered, from an old-fashioned look to a contemporary look.

That’s transformation! And that’s what God has done to us. He has completely changed us from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, from the lusts of the flesh to the power of the Spirit. The truth is this: Only by God’s mercy, love, and grace are we transformed from spiritual death to spiritual life.

Spiritual transformation involves radical change - a contrast between being “dead” (3) and being “made alive” (4-10); a change from what we were to what we are; a conversion from our old condition in the flesh (sin and degradation) to our new condition in Christ (a new life with good works).

All Christians experience the same spiritual transformation. We have the same “Position in Christ” not only because we share the same “Blessings in Christ” which bind our faith together, but also because we have experienced the same “Transformation in Christ.” We all had the same old life before we trusted Christ and we all have the same new life in Christ from the time of our conversion.

The flow of thought here moves from the reminder of our past condition of spiritual death (and its causes and effects) to the description of our present condition of spiritual life. Notice that…

I. Before We Knew Christ, We Were Condemned To Spiritual Death (2:1-3)

And you were dead in trespasses and sins (1). To be dead here means to be dead spiritually not physically. It means you have no spiritual life. You are alive physically but without Christ. It means that your life is dominated by trespasses and sins. So, how do you know if you are spiritually dead? What does a spiritually dead person look like? Paul says…

1. To Be Spiritually Dead Means That Your Behaviour Is Worldly (2)

Two activities describe worldly behaviour. First, you lived (walked) according to the course of this world (2a). Your walk refers to your moral conduct, your manner of life. Paul says: “Your lifestyle was characterized as being of this age (i.e. the age of fallen human existence), of this world (i.e. the world of sinful humanity) and, therefore, it is contrary to and apart from God.” It is a life that is entirely focused on self and not focused on God. It is a life that is “this-worldly” not “other-worldly.” The world is that system that is entirely opposed to Christ. It is a system that is under the dominion of “the god of this age” (2 Cor. 4:4). “All that is in the world…is not of the Father but is of the world” (1 Jn. 2:16). There is no compatibility, no point of contact, no similarity whatsoever between what is “of this world” and what is “of the Father.” Indeed, the former (the world) excludes the latter (the Father). The former is temporal; the latter is eternal. The former is physical; the latter is spiritual.

To walk according to the course of this world means that you live in accordance with the world’s standards and objectives; that you have adopted the value system of the world. “And that,” Paul says, “is what your life was like before you knew Christ.”

To be spiritually dead means that your behaviour is worldly. One activity that describes worldly behaviour is living according to the course of this world.

The second activity that describes worldly behaviour is that you lived… according to the prince of the power of the air (2b). Satan is the prince of the power of the air. He commands the principalities and powers - his emissaries, evil powers of the spirit world, powers which have enormous sway over and in the world. The ways of Satan and his emissaries are the ways of the world. He is the “father of lies” (Jn. 8:44) and so the world is characterized by deceit and corruption. He is a “murderer from the beginning” (Jn. 8:44) and so the world is marked by murder and violence. Satan is the “ruler of this world” (Jn. 16:11; see Eph. 6:11). Those who walk according to this world are in allegiance with the prince of the power (realm) of the air and are under his dominion.

To be under Satan’s dominion means that you are under the influence of his spirit, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience (2c). It means that your life is lived in submission to Satan and disobedience to God. The pre-Christian state (i.e. what you were before you trusted Christ) is one that is under the control of Satan and, therefore, one that is entirely contrary to the will of God (cf. 2 Thess. 2:9; Acts 5:3). And all of us lived under Satan’s control at one time. We were sons of disobedience among whom also we all once conducted ourselves (2c-3a). We all lived as they did in “trespasses and sins” (1). The nature and conduct of man in the flesh is universally the same - we are rebels against God (regardless of race, color, or ancestry). “There is no difference (distinction) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).

To be spiritually dead means that your behaviour is worldly. And…

2. To Be Spiritually Dead Means That Your Nature Is Corrupted (3)

Not only were we sinful externally in our worldly behaviour, but also we were sinful internally in our corrupt nature.

We Lived To Satisfy Our Sinful Appetites.

Just as we were all “sons of disobedience” (2), so we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh (3a). The lusts of the flesh are our sinful appetites and motives, the “works of the flesh” (Gal. 5:19-21), which are in opposition to God. All of us at one time patterned our lives after our natural desires. We all had this tendency toward evil things that bring our flesh pleasure with no thought of God in them, nothing spiritual only sensual. Our main pursuit was satisfying our own self-interests, fulfilling the desires of the flesh.

Those who live in the lust of the flesh also live to fulfill the desires… of the mind (3b). Fulfilling the desires of the flesh is not enough. They seek also to fulfill the desires of the mind, such that their entire being is occupied with their own sinful appetites. They do those things that appeal to the desires of the flesh and they occupy their minds with those things that appeal to their sinful imaginations. Their sinful pursuits are not limited to external behaviours but include also internal thoughts. Sin permeates even the hidden recesses of their minds. The mind by nature is alienated and at enmity with God (Col. 1:21) because it is puffed up with self-importance. By our natural minds we think we know better than God, just as Adam and Eve thought that they knew more than God in the garden. And where does such arrogance come from? It comes from the father of arrogance and lies himself, the devil.

So, to be spiritually dead means that (1) your behaviour was worldly and (2) your nature was corrupted. Because our nature was corrupted we lived to satisfy our sinful appetites. Also, because our nature was corrupted…

We Lived Under The Just Condemnation Of God.

Just as we were all “sons of disobedience,” so also we were by nature children of wrath, just as the others (3c).

As natural children bear certain traits inherited from their parents (looks, behaviour, beliefs etc.), so we bear certain spiritual traits, prior to knowing Christ, through an inherited sinful nature (i.e. because of original sin). This sinful nature predisposes us to walk in the lust of our flesh, which incurs the wrath of God (Jn. 3:36). Hence we were by nature children of wrath. By following our natural instincts which are derived from our inherited sin nature (our flesh) we were subject to the wrath of God and doomed to his condemnation. We were under the fearful wrath of almighty God. What is true of all humanity was once true of all believers. “We, believers,” Paul says, “were by nature children of wrath, just as the others, just like the rest of humanity. We were no different.”

Perhaps you’re still living for the flesh like the rest of humanity. Your life is characterized by “the world,” by the “lust of the flesh,” by “fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind.” Perhaps your life is wholly centred on yourself - you have no time for God, no time for eternity, no time for spiritual things. All you care about is the here and now, physical gratification. Your motto is “I will pull down my barns and build greater…eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die” (Lk. 12:18-19).

Remember, God holds you accountable. “Don’t be deceived, God is not mocked” (Gal. 6:7). There is a reckoning day coming. One day, God will say, “You fool. This night your soul shall be required of you” (Lk. 12:20). If your life ends up in disobedience to God you’ll be judged for it. He’ll say to you, “Depart from me; I do not know you” (Lk. 13:27). That’s the end result of continuing in trespasses and sins, of walking wilfully and openly in disobedience to God.

This, then, is the picture of us before we knew Christ. Because our behaviour was worldly and our nature was corrupted, we were condemned to spiritual death. If the story ended there, we would be cast into despair. But that was then and this is now. Before we knew Christ we were condemned to spiritual death, but…

II. When We Know Christ, We Are Transformed To Spiritual Life (1:4-10)

But God (4a) marks a sharp contrast. We know what we were transformed from. Now we see what we were transformed to. It’s the contrast between our “dead” condition as disobedient sinners and our “alive” condition as saints. When we hear but God, we can breathe a sigh of relief. He is the solution to our desperate plight. God’s intervention is the key to our spiritual transformation that has taken place. When we became Christians, God transformed us to spiritual life such that…

1. Our Spiritual Transformation Is A Marvel Of God’s Mercy And Love (4-6)

The God of wrath is also the God who is rich in mercy (4a). His mercy overflows from his supply of riches - it is abundant. God does not extend mercy begrudgingly, stingily. He lavishes his mercy on us out of his riches.

I read once about an angry tigress which had become trapped in an illegal wild boar trap in Kuala Lumpur, Malaya. She struggled for hours to free herself but could not. All conventional attempts to shoot the tigress out of the trap failed in the thick underbrush. Finally, five barbiturate capsules fired from Malaya’s only “mercy gun” by Game Warden Metcalfe put the beast to sleep and into a coma that lasted four days. That’s mercy!

God’s mercy too releases us from a trap - the trap of sin, from which we could not by our own efforts extricate ourselves. His mercy is not in the form of a gun but in the form of love - love that offered his own Son to be our Saviour, to take our place, to bear the consequences of our sin so that we could go free. That’s mercy! ¹

The God whose mercy is rich is also the God whose love is great. His rich mercy flows from his great love with which he loved us (4b). He held out his mercy to us because he loved us even when we were dead in trespasses (5a); even when we hated him without a cause; even when we were wholly abhorrent to him; even when we couldn’t so much as cry out for mercy; even when we were devoid of spiritual life! That was when God made known to us the marvel of his mercy and love. God’s mercy and love are a marvel in two ways…

First, God’s Mercy And Love Are A Marvel Because Of Our Transformed Condition.

He transformed our condition by making us alive. God has made us alive together with Christ (5b). It isn’t that God reformed our deadness. You can’t revive or reform a dead person. No. He made us alive! While we were still dead in sins he injected new life into us, a life that is from God and responds to God; a life that forms the basis of the intimate union of believers with each other and with Christ. He transformed our condition entirely by his grace, for by grace you have been saved (5c).

To be made alive is to be saved, saved from our old condition and transformed into the new. And to be saved is to be the recipient of God’s grace. God saw us in our pitiful condition, in rebellion against him, and yet showed to us his mercy and love. That’s grace!

So, first, our transformation to spiritual life is a marvel of God’s mercy and love because of our transformed condition. And…

Second, God’s Mercy And Love Are A Marvel Because Of Our Transformed Position.

He made us alive together and he raised us up together (6a) to a transformed position. For someone to be made alive after death necessitates resurrection. What good would it do to give a dead person life (if you could) without raising him from the dead? The one necessitates the other. ² We have been raised from the grave, loosed from our grave clothes, and set free. No longer are we confined to the tomb of spiritual deadness by the cords of sin. We have been raised from that old position, just as God raised Christ from the dead (1:20).

So, not only has God raised us up from our dead condition but he has also raised us up to a new position. He has enthroned us with Christ, made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (6b). He has given us the place of honour and power that he has given to his Son. We have been raised with Christ to the place where he reigns supreme, seated alongside him in his exaltation and power, sharing with him in his resurrection and victory. That’s the new position to which we have been raised together.

This is not referring to a future event only.³ This enthronement has already taken place in our union with Christ. What will take place physically at the end of time has already taken place spiritually through our union with him.

Our spiritual transformation, then, is a marvel of God's mercy. And…

2. Our Spiritual Transformation Is A Monument To God’s Grace And Kindness (7-10)

A monument is something visible and tangible that reminds us of a person or event – who they were or what they did. Our spiritual transformation is a monument to God’s grace.

It’s A Monument To God’s Grace In Our Future Resurrection (7).

The great purpose of our spiritual transformation is that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (7). Our resurrection with Christ will serve throughout the ages as a permanent monument, a permanent show piece, a permanent testimony, a permanent tribute, a permanent display of God’s grace and kindness, its vastness and its wonder.

Our spiritual transformation is a monument to God’s grace in our future resurrection and…

It’s A Monument To God’s Grace In Our Past Salvation (8).

For by grace you have been saved through faith (8a). Grace is the source of our salvation. By nature we were under the wrath of God but by grace we are saved by God. God's grace cannot be fathomed; it is beyond comprehension. The essence of saving grace is that it comes only from God and it is free. It is God extending his favour to undeserving humanity.

Imagine you have a six year old son whom you love dearly. Tragically, one day you discover that your son has been horribly murdered. After a lengthy search the investigators find the killer. Now you have some choices. If you used every means in your power to kill the murderer for his crime, that would be vengeance. If, however, you were content to sit back and let the legal authorities take over and execute on him what is proper (i.e. a fair trial, a plea of guilty, capital punishment), that would be justice. But if you should plead for the pardon of the murderer, forgive him completely, invite him into your home, and adopt him as your son, that would be grace. ⁴

Do you want to see the grace of God? Look at someone who has been born again, given new life in Christ. Look at someone whose life has been radically transformed by Christ. They are the eternal trophy of God’s exceedingly rich grace.

If, then, grace is the source of salvation, then faith is the means of salvation. By grace you have been saved through faith. Faith is the means by which God’s grace is appropriated. By faith, we not only passively surrender to God - submit to his lordship - but also by faith, we actively respond to his grace - trust him, receive his offer of salvation, repent before God and confess faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).

In no sense is salvation something that we can earn or merit, it’s a gift - not of yourselves; it is the gift of God (8b). God has extended to us a gift. What is that gift? What does “it” refer to – it is the gift of God? “It” is not limited specifically to faith as the gift of God (as you may think), since “it” is neuter and “faith” is feminine. Rather, “it” refers to the whole work of salvation, the entire previous clause – you have been saved by God’s grace through faith.

Since salvation is a gift from God there is no room for human pride. It is not of works lest anyone should boast (9). Both the work of salvation and the results of salvation are God’s work alone, not ours.

Our transformation to spiritual life is a monument to God’s grace in our future resurrection, in our past salvation, and thirdly…

It’s A Monument To God’s Grace In Our Present Condition.

We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (10). We are God’s re-creative workmanship in Christ Jesus. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away, all things are made new” (2 Cor 5:17). Just as our persons are God’s work, so also are our good works - not works for salvation but because of salvation. We are saved for good works and not by or because them. Good works are the fruit of salvation, not the root.

So, the result of salvation is that those who once lived for self (1-3) now live for God. Those who once “walked according to this world” now walk in good works (10b). There is more to salvation than just the forgiveness of sins. Once you’re saved, you’re called to a life of faith shown in good works. ⁵ In the end result, it isn’t only what we confess that proves the reality of our Christianity, it’s what we do. We have been transformed in thought, word and deed.

Is that what characterizes your life? Has your life changed? Is there a difference in how you think, speak, and act? The Bible tells us that unless there is a change, you have no right to think that you’re a Christian.

Conclusions

Christians are those who have been spiritually transformed, those who have been transformed from spiritual deadness to spiritual life, those to whom God shows his grace by offering them mercy, those who by faith receive God’s gracious offer through the work of Christ alone.

Christians are those whom God has made alive in Christ, raised and seated in heavenly places to participate in Christ’s victory over Satan, death, and hell.

Christians are new creations of God’s workmanship, those who display the work of God in their lives through good works which glorify God.

This is our united transformation in Christ. We have all been brought into the same spiritual blessings in Christ (ch. 1) and we have all experienced the same spiritual transformation in Christ (ch. 2). All because God, solely by his grace, intervened in our lives. This is cause for worship both here and in eternity. This is why we must prostrate ourselves at his feet.

When was the last time you thanked God for his mercy to you? How often does it touch your heart what God has done for you? Has your life been transformed by the power of God in Christ? Have you been raised from spiritual deadness to spiritual life? Do you know the grace of God in your life as expressed in his mercy toward you? If not, will you respond now?

John Newton was trained by his father for a life in the Royal Navy. But Newton mocked authority and ran with the wrong crowd. He went to Africa in his early twenties and made his living on the “Greyhound,” a slave ship that crossed the Atlantic. Newton poked fun at religion and made jokes about it. One day the “Greyhound” ran into a huge storm. Newton awoke to find his cabin filled with water. After working the pumps all night, he finally threw himself on the deck and pleaded: “If this will not do, then Lord have mercy on us all.”

Newton received mercy, together with the Greyhound and its crew. Later, he wrote “Amazing Grace” and other hymns. At the end of his life he said: “My memory is almost gone but I remember two things: I am a great sinner, and Jesus is a great Saviour.” That’s the language of one who has been transformed by the grace of God.

---

¹ Tom Olson, Now, quoted in “The Speakers Sourcebook II,” ed. Eleanor Doan (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1988), 256.

² Ephesians expresses our dead condition as a result of sin, not, as in Romans, as a result of our identification with Christ in baptism. Nevertheless our experience of being dead in sins, being made alive in Christ, and being raised from that spiritual death parallels Romans 6:1-11, Col. 2:11-13, Col. 3:1-4.

³ Contrast with Matt. 19:28; Lk. 22:30; 1 Cor. 15:51-54; 1 Thess. 4:17; 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 3:21; 20:4; 22:5.

⁴ Source unknown

⁵ See James 1:22; 2:14-26; 1 Tim. 6:18; Tit. 2:7; 1 Pet. 2:12

Introduction

What would you say to someone who claimed that Paul’s writings were fiction? Someone once told me that Paul fabricated the whole story of Christianity about the death and resurrection of Christ and that Christ is the Messiah. It’s just a fictional story by Paul, they said. Have you ever wondered where Paul got his teaching? Have you ever wondered about the significance of Paul’s ministry? Isn’t it good that Scripture gives us the answer?

We don’t need to be in any doubt about what he taught, where he got it from, or what its significance is. As the passage we are studying in this article shows, Paul’s ministry was unique in two ways:

1. Because to him God revealed the truth of the mystery of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

2. Because by him the truth of the mystery of the gospel of Jesus Christ was declared to us.

That makes his ministry unique - none other like it. This man who said he was “one born out of due time” (1 Cor. 15:8) was converted and commissioned into God’s service for a particular purpose. So don’t let anyone try to dupe you about the value and authenticity of Paul’s writings.

We find out about Paul’s unique ministry by way of a digression in Eph. 3:1-13. Sometimes digressions are confusing. Often the person forgets what they started out to say: “Now what was I saying?” But Paul’s digression here is full of significance. He begins a prayer, For this reason… (1), then digresses until verse 14 where he picks up his prayer again: For this reason I bow my knees (14). For what reasons did Paul pray?

1. Because of “Our United Transformation in Christ” by which we have been transformed from spiritual death to spiritual life (2:1-10).

2. Because of “Our United Relationship in Christ” by which a distant relationship has been made near (2:11-13), a hostile relationship made peaceful (2:14-18), and a foreign relationship made familial (2:19-22).

For those reasons, Paul breaks into a doxology of prayer. But before doing so he digresses into this explanation of the mystery of Christ as declared in the gospel, the stewardship of which was given to him. Paul’s unique ministry was the revelation to him and the declaration by him of the mystery of Christ. The first aspect of Paul’s unique ministry was…

I. The Revelation Of The Mystery Of Christ (2-6)

This is the vertical unveiling of the mystery, the revelation of God to Paul. For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles – since indeed you have heard of the stewardship of the grace of God which was given to me for you (1-2).

Paul was a prisoner, both literally and spiritually. He was literally a prisoner of the political and religious authorities, and he was spiritually a prisoner of Jesus Christ. The Jews had opposed Paul’s mission to the Gentiles and as a result he was now in prison (cf. Acts 21:17ff), but his imprisonment had a divine purpose – it was for them, …on behalf of you Gentiles. Paul was a steward of God’s grace on their behalf and for their blessing.

A steward is someone who takes care of someone else’s affairs or assets. Paul was the steward of this revealed mystery, this revelation that was given to him by God specifically for them. He had been commissioned by God to deliver to them the gospel of the grace of God. This was his unique ministry.

We are all charged with a stewardship – stewardship of our gifts, calling, opportunities, resources, time, and truth. Adam and Eve were given the stewardship over God’s creation. And, like them, we are all held responsible by God for how we discharge that responsibility both spiritually and physically.

Bernard of Clairvaux once wrote:

“Go out into the field of your Lord and consider how even today it abounds in thorns and thistles in fulfillment of the ancient curse. Go out, I say, into the world, for the field is the world and it is entrusted to you. Go out into it not as a lord, but as a steward, to oversee and to manage that for which you must render an account. Go out, I should have said, with careful responsibility and responsible care.” ¹

This responsibility reminds us of the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:12-30). Two servants used their talents responsibly but the other buried it in the ground. The master called him wicked and lazy. Are you exercising stewardship over what God has entrusted to you – your spiritual gifts, your assets, your time, your health, your relationships etc.?

Notice that the revelation of the mystery was unique to Paul for 3 reasons. Firstly, because…

1. The Channel Of This Revelation Was Through Paul’s Ministry (1-4)

…how that by revelation he made known to me the mystery (as I have already written briefly, concerning which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) (3-4).

Paul was the channel to whom God revealed the mystery, the truth that all believers, Jews and Gentiles, have been united together in Christ. God chose to make this mystery known to Paul uniquely and it was about this mystery that Paul has written briefly to the Ephesians (presumably referring to chapters 1 and 2), which when they read it, they would understand that his insight into the mystery of Christ was from God.

The second reason that the revelation of the mystery was unique to Paul was because…

2. The Time For This Revelation Was During Paul’s Ministry (5)

…which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets (5)

It was a mystery because, before it was revealed to Paul, no one knew it. The saints of previous ages did not know the full meaning and nature of God’s promise to Abraham that “in him all the nations shall be blessed” (Gen. 18:18; 22:18), or how God would make Israel “a light to the Gentiles that you should be My salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isa. 49:6). None of the O.T. saints had any concept of the church in which Jew and Gentile would be united in Christ. In fact it was incomprehensible to them even though their O.T. Scriptures teach it. ²

But now God had revealed this mystery to Paul uniquely and more generally by the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets – i.e. the men who wrote the N.T. Scriptures through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:20-21).

The third reason that the revelation of this mystery was unique to Paul was because…

3. The Substance Of This Revelation Was In Paul’s Ministry (6)

…that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, fellow members of the same body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ (6).

The substance of the mystery that was revealed by God to Paul has to do with the entire theme of this epistle, namely, the reconciliation and union of Jews and Gentiles into one body in Christ. The substance of this mystery is this:

1. That the Gentiles have the same legal status as the Jews: fellow heirs…in Christ (6a). Those who were once excluded from Israel as aliens, strangers, and foreigner (2:12, 19) are now equal in legal standing before God, will enter into the same inheritance (Gal. 3:29), and enjoy the same blessings and the same relationship to God in Christ.

2. That the Gentiles have the same family status as the Jews: fellow members of the same body…in Christ (6b). They are equal members not second class citizens, not visitors, not landed immigrants, not distant relatives but members of the “household of God” (2:19), “for by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free” (1 Cor. 12:13).

3. That the Gentiles have the same spiritual status as the Jews: fellow partakers of the same promise…in Christ (6c). They shared equally in all the promises of God in Christ, of present security in Christ, of eternal life in Christ, of future glory in Christ.

All these privileges are shared equally and fully by Jewish and Gentile believers…

1. By being in Christ – i.e. by being in union with Christ, formed into one community through “Our United Position”.

2. By the gospel – the message by which this mystery is proclaimed to us and by which we enter into its significance.

So, the first aspect of Paul’s unique ministry was the revelation of the mystery of Christ that was given to him. The second aspect of Paul’s unique ministry was…

II. The Declaration Of The Mystery Of Christ (7-13)

The first gift of God’s grace (2, 7) was the revelation of the mystery to Paul (2-3). The second gift of God’s grace was the declaration of the gospel by him to us. If the revelation to Paul by God was the vertical unveiling of the mystery, then Paul’s declaration to us is the horizontal unveiling of the mystery: …of which I became a servant according to the gift of God’s grace given to me by the effective working of his power. To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given (7-8a).

No wonder Paul is overawed with the grace and power of God that was effective in him (8a; cf. 1 Cor. 15:9-10). He seems to say: “To me of all people (can you imagine?) this grace was given.” By the gift of God’s grace (7a) he had been commissioned as a servant of the gospel, no longer a persecutor of the church. By God’s power (7b) he declared a message despite being imprisoned for it.

He was fully conscious of the task which he had been given and his own unworthiness of it. It was all of God’s grace and he was deeply grateful for it. Just so, we should all be grateful for the privilege of serving God. We do not deserve it. It is all of God’s grace.

Notice three characteristics of Paul’s unique ministry of declaration. Firstly…

1. To Proclaim To The Gentiles Christ’s Riches (8b)

…that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ (8b).

The riches of Christ are those described in chapters 1 and 2 - what he has done for us and who we are in him (1:3-14; 2:1-22): our spiritual blessings of election, predestination, adoption, redemption, our inheritance, our spiritual transformation, our unity in the one body, our access to God by the Spirit, our citizenship with the saints, our membership in God’s household.

Such riches are unsearchable, beyond understanding, too vast to fathom, infinite. That was what he preached among the Gentiles by God’s grace and through God’s power.

Second, Paul’s unique ministry of declaration was…

2. To Clarify To Everyone God’s Plan (9)

…to make all people see what is the plan of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ (9).

The purpose of Paul’s declaration of the gospel was to make all people see the truth – to enlighten everyone, to reveal, to clarify, to bring to light the mystery of this united relationship in Christ. What had long been hidden in the mind of the Creator God was now made known. Paul’s purpose was to open people’s eyes (Acts 26:17-18), just as his own eyes had been opened to the truth, and just as God himself has enlightened us by “shining in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). Like Paul, we too have a responsibility to enlighten all people through the gospel, to bring the light of God’s truth to those who are in darkness (cf. Isa. 9:2).

The purpose of Paul’s declaration of the gospel was to clarify God’s plan, a plan to reconcile the Gentiles to himself and to Israel through their salvation and unity, a plan that had been hidden in God from the beginning of the ages, a plan of how the God who created all things through Jesus Christ would re-create a new humanity, making us new creations in Christ and forming us into one community of faith, one new society, one new humanity.

Third, Paul’s unique ministry of declaration was…

3. To Display To The Evil Powers God’s Wisdom (10-11) ³

… so that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places through the church, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord (10- 11)

The ultimate intent of Paul’s declaration was cosmic:

1. That the hostile spiritual powers (the rulers and authorities in the heavenlies) would see in the redemption and unity of the church God’s many-sided wisdom.

2. That these hostile spiritual powers would see in the church the accomplishment of God’s eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, namely, that the death and resurrection of Christ is God’s means of reconciling people to himself and to one another in the church.

The church is God’s witness to the truth of this “mystery”. God has revealed the mystery to Paul, Paul has declared it to the church, and the church manifests it to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. These hostile spiritual powers, who now seek to frustrate God’s purposes by attacking the church and to denigrate God’s wisdom by puffing up their own human wisdom, are witnesses of what God is doing in and through the church. They are seeing the plan of God taking effect even now. Ultimately, the power of God which is currently displayed through the church will one day over throw them. And the praise of God which is currently rendered to God through the church will one say be rendered by them when every knee will bow.

The great purpose of the church is to glorify God by manifesting God’s wisdom to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places so that the entire universe will ultimately give glory to God for his unfathomable plan of redemption accomplished in Christ, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him (12). Evil powers do not have boldness to come into God’s presence but believers do because of our standing in Christ.

Conclusions

Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory (13). “Don’t be discouraged that I have been imprisoned for you” Paul says, “but rejoice that, despite my tribulations, God has used me to declare this glorious truth, the mystery of Christ.”

Now you know the truth about Paul’s unique ministry, a ministry that was unique because of God’s revelation to him, a ministry that was unique because of God’s declaration by him. Now we are called to declare that truth to others…

1. To those who walk in darkness and do not obey the truth that they may be brought into the glorious light of Christ and trust him.

2. To those whose eyes are blinded to the truth of Christ, so that their eyes may be opened and turned from darkness to light.

3. To the evil powers of the darkness of this world, who see our lives and who hear our message, so that they would cower in fear at the manifold wisdom of God and the eternal purposes of God in the church which he has accomplished in Christ.

Does your life and your message bear testimony to this? Does Paul’s unique ministry form the basis of your confidence and faith in Christ? Are you eager that others should know the mystery of Christ that Paul has made known to you?

We are stewards of this great mystery, stewards to make known to the watching universe that Jesus Christ is Lord of heaven and earth and that we, in the church, have bowed the knee to his lordship.

---

¹ Citation: Bernard of Clairvaux from Book 2 of On Consideration. Christian History, no. 24.

² Cf. Gen 12:3; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14 (Gentiles will be blessed by God); Ps. 72 (Gentiles will bless God); Isa. 11:10; 49:6; 54:1-3; 60:1-3 (Messiah will come to Gentiles); Hos. 1:10; Amos 9:11ff (Gentiles will be saved by the Messiah); Joel 2:28-29 (Gentiles will receive the Holy Spirit).

³ In Ephesians, the spiritual powers are evil forces who need to be subjected (cf. 2:2; 6;12)

This is a 7 part series in Ephesians 1:1-3:21 on “The Mystery Of The Church.” The epistle to the Ephesians is about unity in the church. In the first half of the epistle, the apostle Paul addresses the theological basis for Christian unity - a unity that has been established in Christ through our common roots, common transformation, and common relationship (ch. 1-3).

In the second half of this epistle, the apostle Paul moves from the doctrinal instruction on church unity to the practical instruction on church unity - a unity that revolves around our personal, family, social, and church lives (ch. 4-6).

So, from the first half of the epistle, we learn what the unity of the church is (or should be), and from the second half of the epistle we learn how we should put that unity into practice.

In 4:1-6, we are exhorted to demonstrate certain Christian virtues - virtues that “keep the unity of the Spirit” (3), virtues that are listed in verse 4-6 and developed throughout the rest of the epistle. We are called to a “Live Together in Unity” through our common calling, our common character, and our common confession.

The second half of this series on Ephesians 4:1-6:20 may be viewed here.