The Book of Ephesians: Overall Structure (Part 1)

I've been studying the book of Ephesians lately and I would love to share what the Lord has been showing me.

Structure:

The book of Ephesians is divided into two parts: Right Doctrine (chs 1-3) and Right Living (chs 4-6). Understanding this division is a key to the entire book. In the first three chapters, Paul wants the Ephesians to have right thinking when it comes to God, His plans and purposes. Once their thinking is on the right track, then Paul can discuss in the next three chapters how to live out the mindset he wrote about in the first three.

This is a common theme in Christianity. We do not begin with action. To be thorough, WE DO NOT BEGIN AT ALL! God begins... He acts first. And when He acts, it is first to act upon our mind. Think about your childhood for a moment. Was it ever frustrating to you when your mom or dad, desiring to get you to obey, gave short commands with seemingly no reason behind them? "Stay out of the street!" This command is perfectly understandable now, but if you were like me, you saw that the street presented a perfectly flat "playground" with which to play ball and tag and many other games. To the small child, the concept of staying out of the street seems cruel, because it seems that there would be great happiness in being in the street. Was mom or dad a tyrant for keeping you out of the street? Of course not. In fact, the rest of us would lock them away if they allowed it (unless you lived on a quiet cul de sac).

The problem is that you did not understand why the street was so dangerous. If I had rightly considered that a several thousand pound piece of metal was careening down it at 45 mph, I might have smiled to my parents and thanked them for their wise parenting. Is this a proper metaphor for how we deal with God? Partially... Do not get lost in this whole thing and miss a very basic truth. God does not owe you an explanation for life. He is God, you are not. He may act and be mysterious at times and you may never know why something occurred. By giving this illustration, I am not condoning unsubmissive questioning. Rather, I view God as the perfect father. Therefore, His commands very often have purposes behind them, which He declares to us ahead of time.

Jesus taught in a way that was very different than the Pharisees and other teachers of His time. One of the main differences was His explanations as to why we should obey a given rule. There are many examples, but I will give one for brevity:

In Mark 10, the Pharisees were trying to trap Jesus and asked him a question they thought was very difficult in the law. They said, "Is it lawful for a man to put away (divorce) his wife?" parenthesis mine. What did Jesus do? As an incredible teacher and God almighty, He gave them the reason for why they should not divorce. He takes them back to the story of Adam and Eve, declaring that God had joined them together and that His act of joining should never be separated by human hands. Then, when the disciples asked him for more specifics, He gave them. But notice something very simple from this passage: God did not say simply, "Because I say so." Would it have been right and just if He did? Yes. But He loves us enought to teach us why would should obey.

Paul picked up on this mode of teaching and became the primary proponent of it in the New Testament. For instance, in Romans he spends 11 chapters writing about proper theology. Ch 1-3 are concerned with our state prior to coming to Christ. Ch 4-5 is dealing with our initial justification. Ch 6-8 deals with our sanctification. Ch 9-11 is a parenthetical note dealing with Israel and God's predestination. Finally, in ch 12, we see Paul writing about how to live as a Christian. Paul made sure the Romans were thinking rightly about God before they were told how to act. The book of Ephesians follows this same format, but is divided almost perfectly down the middle into theological and practical. Do you see how God is communicating his love to us even through the structure He uses? What a wonderful God we serve!

Ephesians 1-3 --- Right Thinking

• Chapter 1 - What We Have Been Given "In Christ". Here is a wonderful way to start a book of the bible! Paul says in effect, "Look at what God has given you!" He specifically lists five things we have been given in verses 3-14: #1 - We have been adopted into God's family as His sons/daughters (v. 5); #2 - We have been redeemed through the blood of Christ (v. 7); #3 - God has made known to us His will (v. 9); #4 - God has given us an inheritance (v. 11); #4 - God has sealed us with the promise of the Holy Spirit (v. 13).

• Now there are skeptics who say, "The bible is just a bunch of rules meant to control people." That of course is absolute nonsense and usually spoken by people who have never read the bible. But look at the wonderful gifts that we are told about first thing in this book! The story of redemption always begins with what you first receive. This book is perfectly illustrating that concept in it's structure.

Chapter 2 - Our Previous State/ Our New Grace. Next, Paul explains where we were before God found us and then the transformation which was accomplished only by God and not according to our merit. Verses 1-3 list the way we used to live. We were "Dead in our tresspasses." He lists four sources for our sin in this subsection of verses: #1 - Cultural Influence (2:2); #2 - Satanic Influence (2:2); #3 - Our Fleshly Desires (2:3); #4 - Our Sinful Nature (2:3). Then in verses 4-10 Paul moves to the positive, clearly demonstrating that God accomplished this feat of our salvation. A common theme in this chapter is "By grace you have been saved." In verses 11-22 Paul addresses the "Circumcision" which were a group of legalists who said that the Ephesians needed to live by the Jewish law in order to be saved. He declares that they are attempting to accomplish their salvation "by human hands", which will never succeed. He closes those verses with a stunning declaration that God has accomplished all of this that we would all be brought together as one.

• Chapter 3 - The Mystery of the Gospel. Paul finishes his theological portion of the book with a discussion of what he calls a "mystery". It is important to see this word as the Greeks understood it and not our own twentieth century translation. If I hear the word "mystery" today, I think of dectective mystery novels or when someone does not understand something and they say, "That is a mystery to me." We use the word "mystery" typically to refer to something unknown. The word "mystery" in the Greek was more like a hidden knowledge that only a few had. For instance, mystery religions of that day were typically mystic communities where an initiated group were special worshippers of a certain god and worshipped him/her with greater fervor than others. As a result, they were given secret knowledge that the uninitiated did not have. It is this meaning that Paul knows the Ephesians understood. The "mystery", or secret knowledge he received was given to him through revelation (3:3). So what was this secret knowledge? It was the fact that God was bringing His elect from all nations and cultures into one people, His church. Now does this seem "secret" or "mysterious" to you? If it doesn't, that is probably because you have read it through a twentieth century mindset. But go back 2000 years and you will see a world that is factioned by religion, class, race, and gender. Tell a Jew that they need to now embrace and love Gentiles as brothers and sisters. Do you think you might get some backlash? I would think so. Tell a rich man that he should not only give to the poor, but welcome the poor at his table. At best he would look at you funny. These things just were not done. The beauty of the gospel is that the playing field has now been leveled. There is no means for boasting in anything other than the fact that you have been forgiven. And the poor and rich from every tribe and gender can all receive that forgiveness by coming to Jesus Christ.

Let's review what we have been given by God in the first three chapters of Ephesians: Adoption, redemption, revelation, inheritance, sealing by the Holy Spirit, power for living, salvation by grace from the death we once lived, seated in the heavenly places with Jesus, brought near by His blood, Jesus as our peace, citizenship with the saints in God's household. Notice that he has not mentioned a single rule or law by which we must live. That is not of primary importance. Comparatively, Christianity is first a receiving faith, second a thinking faith, third a doing faith. I must first receive of God before I can think rightly. I must think rightly about God before I can do anything for Him. As we continue in this overview of Ephesians, let us look at the fact that Paul's directives for living in chapters 4-6 in light of the first three chapters. Does God lay a heavy load upon us? Never. On the contrary, He will never be outdone in His giving! But in regards to the vast storehouse of blessing and power which He pours out upon us He asks of us one thing: Use that blessing! Use that power! Use the blessing to bless others. Use the power to live the life I have called you to live.

The Order of Christianity (Part I)

As I have been studying the bible recently, a common theme has come up which I believe is extremely important to address. This may not be new to everyone who reads this, but I am writing this to place a new emphasis on an often forgotten order to this faith we hold.

THE ORDER OF CHRISTIAN THOUGHT AND ACTION (Part I)

Is there a common order to how we come to God? As I have been studying the bible, it is clear that there is.

God always acts first.

God is the beginning of all things. He acted first in creation (Gen 1:1), revelation (Gen 1:3), salvation (Rom 5:8), and sanctification (Php 1:6):

1. Creation - God initiated toward us in that he created us. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." (Gen 1:1) This is a tremendous verse because it sets the theme of our existence up against God's. When he made us, there became two entity types in the universe: That which was Creator (God), and that which was creation (everything else). When we relate to God, we relate first of all as creation, understanding our place as inferior to the one who made us. This is humbling for us, as is revealed in the story of Adam and Eve. Man's sin, like Satan's, was to attempt to become "like God." We still bear the sins of our father Adam. This sinful nature still revolts against the idea that God is our creator and that he is first.
   However, if we, by God's grace, are able to move past the "horror" of God being greater than us, we are able to see a beautiful picture before us. Namely, that God has initiated toward us in a wonderful way. His creation of mankind in general and you and I specifically is a demonstration of his unconditional love for you and me. David understood this, and memorialized it in Psalm 139:13-14 "For You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well. (ESV)" David poetically describes the care with which we were made by the great Initiator. When you were born, did God already know the great sin you would commit against him? Yes he did. Did he have a right to destroy you for that sin on the spot? Yes, he had that right. But God persisted in patience, knowing he would love you despite that fact, and sending his son to die that you might be freed from the torments of an eternity apart from him. His creation of you and me was his first step in loving us.

2. Revelation - Did God have to reveal himself? Could he not have simply created the world and let it go? Deists believe that God is the "Cosmic Watchmaker". He created the ornately designed "watch" and then let it go, serving as an absentee ruler. But is this true? It most certainly is not. While it is not my intention here to go deeply into how we can know that, I offer one thought for those of you who have either had a skeptic tell you this, or perhaps are a skeptic yourself. The idea that God is not active in His creation is to say that God is not personal. By personal, I mean that God is not personally connected with the life of His creation. Think of someone you truly love. Are you interested in their life? You must be. You cannot have love without personal interaction of some sort. And deep love, like between husband and wife, parent and child, involves deep personal interaction. The absentee father has no relationship and therefore has no love. Did God create you with the ability to love? He did. Therefore does God have the ability to love? He must. By definition, God is all that you are and more. Otherwise he is not God. Do you have something God does not? Well then congratulations, YOU ARE GOD! But that is not true. He has everything you have, and He uses it better than you do. God is more personal than you will ever be. The bible declares that God loves perfectly by saying, "God is love." (1 John 4:16). Perhaps it could be said this way. God loves so perfectly that He embodies love itself.
   Now where did God reveal Himself in the bible? Everywhere. The bible itself is God revealing Himself to mankind. Without it we would know nothing about His character. We would only know about His creation. While there are certain things we can see from creation (Rom 1:26), this was not enough for a personal and loving God. He saw fit to inspire men to write truth concerning His character and purposes and then divinely placed it into your hands! Where in the bible does it say God revealed himself? Lets start in the very beginning. In Gen 1:3, God reveals himself to creation by speaking to it. In Gen 1:28, God reveals himself to man by speaking to him. It is important to understand that without this, mankind would have had no knowledge of who God was. But it was God who first revealed himself to man. It would have been impossible for man to first reveal himself to God, just as it would be impossible for man to first create himself. God has taken the first step.

3. God has acted first in salvation. Now what does this mean? It means you and I cannot save ourselves. Just like we cannot create ourselves and we cannot reveal ourselves to God; We cannot make ourselves right before Him. The bible puts it this way: Rom 5:8 "But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (ESV)" It is common to all biblical teaching that the gift of God's grace is given to those who do not deserve it and cannot repay it. That is why it is called grace. Grace means "undeserved favor". If this is still confusing to you, read Ephesians chapter 2 or the book of Galatians. So here you are, a sinner, going about your life... when all of a sudden God reaches down and saves you! You become acutely aware of His presence, and begin to desire His word. You understand that you are a sinner in comparison to Him. You learn that repentance is the door to a relationship with Him. You repent! The heavens open and you experience true love like you have never known. When did it all start? With God. He initiated it. The bible puts it this way: Eph 1:5 "In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will,.... (ESV)" What a wonderful relationship is based upon this understanding of God. You were not an afterthought. God did not love you because you were desirable. If you think he did, I have one question for you... What happens if one day in the future you are not desirable? You must now maintain a standard of living that the bible says you cannot keep up with. That is a terrible way to live! But luckily, that is not the case. God initiated His love upon you. You did not deserve it or even see it coming... but He saw it. He saw you and had pity on you and loved you, a poor wretch.
   Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.

4. Oh but it does not end there. God acts first in sanctification. This means that he begins a wonderful process of making you look more like Jesus. If I may say so, we have really messed this doctrine up! There are many who grasp that God first created us; only the atheists disagree. There are fewer who get that God first revealed himself to us; deists jump off at that point. Still fewer understand that salvation comes through God acting first upon us; Hyper-Arminians and Pharisees don't get it. But the fewest of all understand that once I am saved, It is God alone who sanctifies me. Paul's words to the Galatians seem to fall on deaf ears today: Gal 3:3 "Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" What is he saying? The Galatians learned to trust Christ for their salvation as an act initiated by the Holy Spirit. They knew they did not have any part in Him saving them, but that they were a product of His grace. But after that, some men came in and started teaching them that they needed to continue in the very Jewish law that enslaved them before they were Christians! They combined the two into one and said that they were saved by grace, but the process of growing must now be their own. Do you believe that? Don't answer too quickly... think about it. Do you ever grow frustrated that you are not growing fast enough? Have you ever sinned and then thought to yourself, "That is not like me to do that." Oh really!? You have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you to be sure, but you have not lost your sinfull nature in the process. You are still a wretch! You are only now a saved wretch, praise be to God. Therefore, it is VERY MUCH like you to do something sinful. Do you look down on others because of their sin, thankful that you do not sin that way? Be honest... I do not tell you these things to bring condemnation upon you, but to declare to you a simple and biblical truth. God initiates our sanctification. Consider this verse: Php 1:6 "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."
   Consider this: God will not allow your righteousness to enter heaven. He declares in vivid imagery in Isaiah 64:6 "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. (NIV)" The word "filthy rags" in that verse is translated more properly "menstrual rags." That is what God thinks of our own righteousness. Therefore, be content with God initiating in all things. He is the one who acts first. Your job is to live in praise of His goodness. Will you work and serve and give and love as a Christian? Of course! But never think for a second that any of this came from you. Recognize that you are using His power to accomplish His work.