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.