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Introduction

Ephesus was in a region called “Asia” in New Testament times. We call that region Turkey today. We read of some of Paul’s experiences there in the book of Acts, including the stir over its famous temple of Artemis that Paul’s ministry provoked. Of that temple, the Encyclopaedia Britannica says, “The temple was destroyed by invading Goths in 262 CE and was never rebuilt. Little remains of the temple (though there are many fragments, especially of sculptured columns, in the British Museum).” By contrast, the effects of Paul’s ministry do remain. And we even experience those effects ourselves when we read this letter.

In Acts 18-21, Ephesus is referenced a dozen times.

In Acts 20:17-38, Luke records a substantive exhortation Paul gave the elders of the Ephesian church.

In his letter to the Colossians (which is about two-thirds the size of his letter to the Ephesians), Paul’s writing follows the same pattern – that is, theology first, then practical application. Stated another way, Paul stresses the truths of the gospel in the first half of the letter and then spends the rest of the letter giving instructions for daily living based on those truths – such as, “Husbands, love your wives” and “Children obey your parents.”

In Revelation 2:1-7, the risen Jesus Himself addressed the church in Ephesus.

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Ephesians 1

Eph 1:1-2 – Paul is beginning this letter in a typical way.

Eph 1:3-4 – The messianic plan was in place from the beginning – even before the foundation of the world. John agrees.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:2 He was in the beginning with God.
John 1:3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

Eph 1:5-6 – Yes, God predestined us to sonship with Him in heaven even though we were temporarily detoured by our sins to Sheol/Hades. The grace of Jesus Christ, like GPS, accommodated our wrong turn by re-routing our course so that we will still end up at the original intended destination.

Eph 1:7-8 – However extravagant our sins, His grace has been even more extravagant – a point Paul would make elsewhere in very personal terms. (emphasis added)

1 Tim 1:13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief;
1 Tim 1:14 and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.

Eph 1:9 – God makes mysteries in order to reveal them in due time to the open-minded (Mysteries and Revelations).

Mark 4:22 “For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light.”

Eph 1:10 – This is the administration in which we live – the kingdom of God. (The Kingdom of God Is Here and Now) Note that this kingdom (administration) only includes the heavens and earth – no more Sheol/Hades. That’s because it’s a new heavens and earth that was brought in at Jesus’ glorious coming. (Jesus Christ Has Already Come Again) This change from a three-tiered, two-dimensional (physical and spiritual) universe to a two-tiered, two dimensional universe is described at length in the book The Biblical Case for Everyone Going to Heaven.

Everything – and I do mean everything – is now summed up in Christ. Everything is summed up in Christ as it once was summed up in God.

Acts 17:28 for in Him we live and move and exist…

That is, as mankind once lived, moved, and existed in God, so it now lives, moves, and exists in Christ. For Christ is the garment of humanity God wore when He reclaimed His creation.

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Contrast this verse with Phil 2:10 (and see the accompanying BSN note) which depicts the three-tiered universe that was in place from Genesis to the Second Coming.

Eph 1:11 – In other words, we have the inheritance of sons because God practices what He preaches and keeps His promises. He figured out a way to get us our inheritance even though we had disowned it and proven ourselves unworthy of it. And He figured out a way to do it without making us spoiled brats. That is, through Christ He shows us how to become worthy.

Eph 1:12 – Indeed, “the first to hope in Christ” did prove themselves to be worthy because they were the greatest generation of all. May we learn from their example.

Eph 1:13 – It’s through this simple means that we gained entrance into this bountiful new life: someone told us the message of truth about Jesus and we believed it. That’s it! That’s all we did to gain awareness of this glorious inheritance.

Eph 1:14 – The Holy Spirit is just the down payment on this inheritance. Being led by Him, we will find our way into all the rest of it. Let us seek to be fully – not partially – redeemed from sin. Let us do right to the max!

Eph 1:15-17 – The believers in Ephesus were…believers. Yet they had not “arrived,” which explains why Paul was praying so regularly and thoughtfully for them. Why shouldn’t we pray as regularly and thoughtfully for believers we know – first and foremost for our wives and children?

Eph 1:18-19 – Even though we’re believers, we still need our eyes opened to many things. There is SO MUCH MORE of Jesus to be seen than we’ve seen so far. Let us not give heaven any reason to think the following toward us. (emphasis added)

Heb 5:11 Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

Eph 1:19-21 – We live in that age “to come” – that is, the “administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ” – Eph 1:10.

Eph 1:22-23 – As Christ was given to the church in New Testament times, so He is given to the family in this the eternal age. Let His gift to you and your family not be in vain.

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Ephesians 2

Eph 2:1-2 – Having reminded the Ephesians in the first chapter of this letter about the gospel he had preached while among them, Paul now reminds them of the lives they used to lead before their acceptance of the gospel.

Eph 2:3 – Paul quickly assures the Ephesians that he is not labeling them alone as sinners. Rather, he and every other man in the world suffers from the same condition.

Eph 2:4 – Can there be a better “but” than “But God”? ***** God doesn’t just have mercy – He’s “rich” in it. And His love is not just “love” – it’s “great love.”

Eph 2:5 – Without Christ, we are dead men walking.

Eph 2:6 – There’s a seat waiting for us in heaven. How good a seat it is depends on how we live down here. The more like Jesus we become down here, the better seat we’ll have up there. Do you not care what seat you get when it’s a show you really want to see?

Eph 2:7 – The grace He’s showing us now is the beginning of an eternally steady flow of kindness. After all the unkindness of men, we are understandably eager to seek and find all the kindness God wants to show us.

Eph 2:8-9 – In the midst of God’s grace there is the ever-present temptation on earth to start taking pride in the good works that His grace has inspired and supported in us. We must fight that temptation whenever it arises, for we would still be wallowing in sin were it not for His grace continually lifting us out of it. See from another letter how Paul views his good works in the context of God’s grace. He sees them inextricably woven together with God’s grace as the primary ingredient.

1 Cor 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

Therefore, Paul also says

1 Cor 1:31 so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”

That is, Paul boasts not in what he does but rather in who God is.  And therefore, we don’t boast in any of our good works. We boast only in Him who gives us the grace to do them. As Lord Himself taught us through Jeremiah (emphasis added)

Jer 9:23 Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;
Jer 9:24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.

Again, that’s where Paul grounded himself – not in his good works, of which there were many more than we’ll ever accumulate – but in the One who has inspired and enabled his good works.

Phil 3:8 …I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…

Therefore, let’s you and I glory only in the awareness of Him who is wonderful beyond measure.

Eph 2:10 – This is a perfect summation of the point Paul has been making. He started the chapter with our being “dead in our trespasses and sins” and now notes that we are “His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” That’s a lot of progress! And it’s God’s grace that brought it about.

Eph 2:11-18 – Paul now turns his attention from God’s redemption of the Ephesians to consider the broader landscape. That is, Paul wants the Ephesians to see where they fit in God’s overall plan. Paul is a Jew and the Ephesians are primarily Gentile, so Paul wants to go over again how God saves both Jews and Gentiles. It seems the church at Ephesus has escaped the contamination that was afflicting the churches of Galatia – that contamination coming from false teachers who claimed that Gentiles should start keeping the Law of Moses just like the Jews, beginning with circumcision. Absent from the Ephesians letter are all the warnings against pursing circumcision and the Law of Moses we saw in the Galtians letter. Jews did indeed call the Gentiles the “Uncircumcision” but the Ephesians could see that God was showering His grace on uncircumcised men just as freely as He was on circumcised ones. Likewise, with the coming of the kingdom of God (Jesus Christ Has Already Come Again), He has granted sonship to every human being – not just those who believe in it. Is it possible to receive such an inheritance without knowing it is yours? Absolutely.

Hos 1:10 Yet the number of the sons of Israel
Will be like the sand of the sea,
Which cannot be measured or numbered;
And in the place
Where it is said to them,
“You are not My people,”
It will be said to them,
“You are the sons of the living God.”

Not all sons are obedient yet, but all are sons. As Paul wrote earlier in this letter, it is for this that we were all predestined from the beginning.

Eph 1:5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,

The Presbyterians aren’t wrong to believe in predestination; they’re just wrong to think they’re the only beneficiaries of it. (Everyone Is Going to Heaven) “Mike, do you mean to say that a man can resist Christ’s mercy all his life and still end up in heaven?” Yes, but his seat there won’t be as good. And his joy there won’t be as great because of the regret he’ll feel. If that doesn’t seem like enough punishment to you, please read this essay: Does It Bother You That Everyone Is Going to Heaven? It’ll only take a minute. Literally.

Eph 2:19-22 – Jesus is the cornerstone, and the apostles (the New Testament) and the prophets (the Old Testament) are the stones built on Him. You and I have a place in that structure, too. Notice how Paul and Peter, though having different personalities and very different backgrounds, see what God is doing through Christ so similarly. Notice also by all the “all caps” sections in this passage, that the apostles’ ideas are built on the ideas first proclaimed by the prophets. (See “all caps” explanation in NASB features.) Peter below is quoting from Isaiah, Moses, Hosea, and the Psalms.

1 Pet 2:4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God,
1 Pet 2:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1 Pet 2:6 For this is contained in Scripture:
“BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone,
AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
1 Pet 2:7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve,
“THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED,
THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,”
1 Pet 2:8 and,
“A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.
1 Pet 2:9 But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
1 Pet 2:10 for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.

Your family is “the spiritual house” – the microcosm of what He is building in the world. Make Him the cornerstone of your family, with you (like the prophets) and your wife (like the apostles) laid on that cornerstone, and the children as living stones built on top. That is, be a co-laborer with Him in making your house a house of the Lord.

Josh 24:15 “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

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Ephesians 3

Eph 3:1 – When Paul says “For this reason,” he’s referring to what he wrote in the previous two chapters (Chapter and Verse Divisions). Paul had begun the letter by reviewing the salvation that God had wrought in Christ for the whole world. As he continued in the second chapter, he reviewed how the Ephesians had been in a sinful state but were redeemed by believing that gospel. Paul went on to give context to the Ephesian redemption by reviewing how they were part of the Gentile ingathering that went along with the Jewish ingathering that was taking place all over the world. In this chapter, Paul will go on to speak about his role in all this. In doing so, Paul seems to be engaging in some preventive maintenance just in case the false teachers who worked against him and his gospel in other places (such as Galatia and Corinth) made their way to the church in Ephesus. ***** Paul was a “prisoner” from the end of Acts 21 all the way to the end of the book. Thereafter, he was probably a prisoner for most of the rest of his life. However, the cage could not keep the canary quiet.

Eph 3:2 – Paul now begins explaining his role in the Ephesians’ redemption. He takes no special credit; he just wants the Ephesians to know how this thing God’s plan of redeeming the world is working. It’s important for us to know and understand it, too. Just as a farmer can only farm successfully if he understands and operates within the knowledge of God causes things to grow through seedtime, harvest, etc., we can only play a productive part if we understand how the messianic plan is working in our time – which is, of course, the eternal age. ***** Paul refers to himself as a “steward,” a point he has made elsewhere, such as…

1 Cor 4:1 Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
1 Cor 4:2 In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.

Eph 3:3 – God intends for His mysteries to be revealed (Mysteries and Revelations). We are all stewards to whom He has entrusted them to dispense to our families. As far as what Paul “wrote before in brief,” recall… (emphasis added)

Eph 1:8 …In all wisdom and insight
Eph 1:9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him
Eph 1:10 with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth…

Recall also that Paul briefly mentioned his hope that God would continue revealing things to them about Himself (Mysteries and Revelations). (emphasis added)

Eph 1:16 do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;
Eph 1:17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.

This ongoing revelation is just part of the way God works. That is, just as sunlight is dispensed to us gradually, so His revelation of Himself comes gradually.

Prov 4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
That shines brighter and brighter until the full day.

First, we see Jesus as a man. If we take him seriously as a man, we’ll come to see Him as the Son of God, and if we continue to take Him seriously as the Son of God, we’ll eventually come to see Him as God. 

Eph 3:4 – What a wonderful thing that by referring to Paul’s letters we can come to understand his insight into the mystery of Christ! This is just what Jesus promised would be the case.

Matt 10:41 “He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward…”

That is, when we receive Paul as a apostle of Jesus, we receive the revelation Paul received. The same is true with everyone who wrote something that is included in the New Testament (Mysteries and Revelations).

Eph 3:5-6 – It was only through the blossoming of the messianic plan in the 1st century AD that the full sharing in Jewish riches by the Gentiles was made known. The Old Testament prophets had long prophesied that the Gentiles would benefit from association with Messiah and with Israel, but no one had foreseen that a Gentile would be on the exact same footing with God as a Jew was. That was an amazing revelation, far beyond any human expectation. Especially after two thousand years of preferential treatment of Jews (they having many promises from God and the Gentiles having none).

Eph 3:7 – Paul had been made a minister according to God’s grace. Paul certainly hadn’t earned God’s favor by persecuting follow believing Jews like Stephen (Acts 8:1-3). It was all grace.

1 Cor 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
1 Cor 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

Eph 3:8-10 – The devil had no access to the plan of God; otherwise, he wouldn’t have inspired the crucifixion of Jesus.

1 Cor 2:6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away;
1 Cor 2:7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory;
1 Cor 2:8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;

Satan was not privy to God’s plan. (Satan is not a participants in God’s mysteries and revelations; he’s only an observer – “things into which angels long to look” – 1 Pet 1:12.) He could only learn about the plan as it unfolded while he watched from heaven, for, after all, that was his perch until he was cast out of it within a decade or two, three at the most, of Paul’s death. Later in this letter, Paul mentions the evil forces in heaven; the passage from Revelation shows how those evil forces were cast out of heaven at the Second Coming. (emphasis added)

Eph 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

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Rev 12:7 And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war,
Rev 12:8 and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.
Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
Rev 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.

Eph 3:11-12 – As Luke can be thought of as Mark’s Gospel written for Gentiles, and as Matthew can be thought of as Mark’s Gospel written for Jews, so Eph 3:11-12 is written to Gentiles communicating the same general thought as Heb 4:14-16 is communicating to Jews – both from Paul about confidently finding the grace of God in prayer.

Heb 4:14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
Heb 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
Heb 4:16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Eph 3:13 – Paul’s tribulations in his service to the Gentiles, especially since Paul was a Jew, was substantive evidence of how God cared about Gentiles as much as He cared about Jews.

Eph 3:14-19 – Paul’s continuing prayers for believers indicate that accepting X is only the beginning. There is so much more we have to learn from Him. Given the difference in his tone, it seems Paul had fewer concerns about these Gentiles than he did those Jews to whom he was addressing his letter to the Hebrews.

Heb 5:11 Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

Eph 3:19 – Re: “the love of Christ” see #TGTC.

Eph 3:20-21 – What a thing to contemplate: that God is able, not just to fulfill our wildest dreams, but to do “far more abundantly beyond” our wildest dreams! ***** It’s also awe-inspiring to contemplate that we are one of the generations Paul had in mind when he wrote this sentence.

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Ephesians 4

Eph 3:1 – Having spent the first half of the letter revisiting the gospel Paul preached in Ephesus, he will now spend the rest of the letter reminding them of how they should live in the light of this good news from God. ***** Paul mentions again that he is a “prisoner” (Eph 3:1). Perhaps it would cause them to take what he was writing even more deeply to heart. ***** Remembering the parable Jesus told about a man who came to a wedding feast without being appropriately dressed, let us not live before the Lord as ingrates. Let us rather live “worthy” of the invitation (“calling”) we received.

Eph 4:2-3 – This is the way a family ought to live – a way that is worthy of the host and the invitation. You and I have the privilege of leading our families into the feast He has prepared for all people to come. It is for this very reason Jesus ordered the devil to let us go.

Ex 5:1 And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’”

Yes, it is a feast that is “in the wilderness,” meaning this world is not always a friendly place – especially for a feast to the Lord. But we nonetheless celebrate it.

Ps 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.

Eph 4:4-6 – Paul uses the word “one” seven times in this stretch. If three-in-one was a thing, I think He would have mentioned it. (300 Reasons to Worship Christ and Not a Trinity)

Eph 4:7-10 – From heaven…to…earth…to…Sheol…back to…earth…back finally to…heaven. He had a round-trip ticket. He only started making a real big deal about it until after He’d completed the journey. But that’s just the way wise men are.

1 Kin 20:11 Then the king of Israel replied, “Tell him, ‘Let not him who girds on his armor boast like him who takes it off.’”

Thus the gospel that was implicit in the Old Testament became explicit in the New Testament.

Eph 4:8 – Paul is here quoting Ps 68:18. See related BSN note on the quotation. ***** See BSN note on Acts 26:18 regarding transition from Satan’s captivity to the Lord’s.

Eph 4:11-13 – The apostles had a one-generation job description. I’m no apostle; I’m just one of the brothers…like you. As your brother, I’ve given you this book to equip you to lead your family for Jesus Christ. I read and practice it, too. I don’t feel worthy to write it…but Jesus nudged me.

Eph 4:13 – Re: “the fullness of Christ” see #TGTC.

Eph 4:14-16 – Jesus is exhorting us: “Grow up!” The body of Christ you are called to serve is not a church but rather a family – your family.

Eph 4:17-19 – You cannot allow yourself to think like other men think. Otherwise, you’ll get the results other men are getting.

Eph 4:20-24 – The focus in this passage is the same as the focus in the previous passage: the “mind.” We must adopt the mind of Christ. It does us no good to have the mind of Christ (which is found in the Bible) if we don’t use it.

1 Cor 2:16 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.

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Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

The mind of a man is the battleground. It is there that the war between good and evil is won or lost. The key to controlling the mind is controlling the will. And the key to controlling the will is submitting it to your Father’s will.

Matt 6:10 ‘…Your will be done…’

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Matt 26:39 “…yet not as I will, but as You will.”

Therefore, it all comes down to this: How much do you love and trust your Father in heaven – the One who hung on a cross for you when you weren’t even looking His way?

Eph 4:25-29 – If your mind is right, your words will be true… and edifying to others. We need to be sensitized to just how corrupt our speech has been – how self-serving, how deceitful in so many ways. Even the great Isaiah admitted to needing to have his mouth washed out with soap.

Is 6:5 Then I said,
“Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I live among a people of unclean lips…

But the Lord had a solution for him.

Is 6:5 …For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”
Is 6:6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs.
Is 6:7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.”

We have something to cleanse our mouths that Isaiah did not have. He had a vision but we have the New Testament which lays out the words and deeds of Christ, spoken while in the flesh like we wear. And because He only spoke truth, we also have His mind…for He often explained Himself.

Therefore, let us get a grip.

Getting a Grip on Your Life by Getting a Grip on Yourself

_{1 (1 Th 4:1-8; 1 Cor 9:24-27)
2 (Jas 3:2)
3 (Luke 6:45)
4 (Luke 22:41-42)
5 (Matt 6:10)
6 (Luke 6:46; Matt 26:39)}

Eph 4:30-32 – Seek for your family be full of the Holy Spirit. As Paul and the other apostles labored with and cared for their churches, men labor with and care for their families. That starts with men getting a grip on themselves, but it doesn’t end there. It ends with the family being a full-time dwelling place of God’s Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is for holy living. Holy living is for God and not self.

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Ephesians 5

Eph 5:1-2 – As they say, “Whenever you see a ‘therefore,’ you should try to understand what it’s there for.” Paul uses this word often; it appears ten times just in this one letter. When he uses it, he’s trying to show the connectedness of his thoughts. When we’re reading a chapter that begins with the word “therefore,” we just to need to refresh our memories of what he had been saying in the previous chapter. (Chapter and Verse divisions) ***** As far as imitating God as beloved children, you see Paul demonstrating by the way he lays out this instruction that we cannot really be expected to imitate God without imitating Jesus. That is, God is invisible. He came to earth to live as one of us so that we would have an example to imitate. How could we follow in the steps of someone we cannot see? Thus we are instructed to imitate God by imitating Jesus. #Hints ***** The Law of Moses describes offerings, sacrifices, and aromas associated with an earthly tabernacle, but in the new covenant we worship with our very lives.

Rom 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

This is a fulfillment of what Jesus had told the woman at Jacob’s well in Samaria.

John 4:20 “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”
John 4:21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.
John 4:22 “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
John 4:23 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

We don’t need a tabernacle or temple because the entire heavens and earth have been converted into God’s temple through Jesus Christ. Satan had stolen it through his successful temptation of creation’s lords, Adam and Eve. Through Christ, God recovered it and cleansed it. Satan still defiles from earth, but no longer from heaven. We should keep him underfoot. In Jesus Christ the words of Isaiah are fulfilled. And Jesus is the Lord. May we tremble at His word.

Is 66:1 Thus says the LORD,
“Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.
Where then is a house you could build for Me?
And where is a place that I may rest?
Is 66:2 “For My hand made all these things,
Thus all these things came into being,” declares the LORD.
“But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.

Eph 5:3-4 – Paul makes clearer what we should do (imitate Jesus) by specifying some of the things we should not do.

Eph 5:5 – The churches gathered to receive apostolic teaching as ongoing preparing for the coming of Christ as King (the Second Coming). Church was thus a temporary gathering place to await the coming of the kingdom of God. So, for example, Paul’s instruction in Eph 5:1-2 was instruction for people preparing to live in the kingdom of God, which is everywhere and at all times – not like church which was a periodic gathering. Thus the churches of the New Testament were foreshadowed by Moses’ Feast of Booths, in which the Jews resided in temporary shelters. “Something greater than” the church is here: it’s the King and His kingdom.

(Jesus’ use of the expression “Something greater than…” is recorded in five places in the NT: Mt 12:6, 41, 42; Lk 11:31, 32).

Eph 5:6 – It’s either blessing or curse, deliverance or wrath, salvation or judgment. There is no Switzerland or demilitarized zone with the kingdom of God. We’re either in or out, and outside is a dangerous place to be. Inside is a place of Passover (another feast).

John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Eph 5:7-10 – If we are “trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord,” we are demonstrating that being a disciple of Jesus is a trial-and-error process. Like science, it involves a textbook, experiments, and occasional discoveries – some of them groundbreaking.

Eph 5:11 – Since the apostle Paul wrote both Ephesians and Galatians, we might assume that “the unfruitfulness deeds of darkness” are the same as “the deeds of the flesh” (Gal 5:19-21) – especially since Paul in Galatians contrasted “the deeds of the flesh” with “the fruit of the Spirit.” That is, he labels neither “the deeds of darkness” or “the deeds of the flesh” as “fruit.” This view also adds color to what God had in mind when He commanded, “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen 1:28; 9:1; 35:11, etc.). God can multiply goodness, but evil only metastasizes.

Eph 5:12-13 – Evil thrives in darkness.

John 3:19 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
John 3:20 “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
 John 3:21 “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

The Lord is sunlight, which is a disinfectant.

Mal 4:2 “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings…

Eph 5:14 – When Paul says, “It says,” he could be referring to an amalgam of OT verses (such as Is 26:19; 51:17; 52:1; 60:1), or perhaps a hymn of the early church based on such scriptures. ***** A “sleeper” is someone who is spiritually “dead” (as Paul put it in Eph 2:1). When the Son rises, it’s time to wake up and smell the coffee!

Eph 5:15-16 – As the C. T. Studd poem says, “Only one life, and soon ’twill be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.”

Eph 5:17 – Verse 10 speaks of “what is pleasing to the Lord” and this verse speaks of “the will of the Lord” but they are obviously talking about the same thing. What lord wills to be displeased? In verse 10 Paul speaks of “trying to learn” and in this verse he speaks of actually “understanding,” which simply implies that our trial-and-error process is not always supposed to result in error.

Eph 5:18-21 – The feeling people seek in getting drunk can be achieved without the hangover by following Paul’s prescription here. Every man should seek to establish the environment for his family to match this description.

Eph 5:21 – Re: “the fear of Christ, where we’ve been accustomed to seeing a reference to “the fear of God” or “the fear of the Lord,” we now see reference to “the fear of Christ.” This is progression toward the revelation of Christ as God Himself. #TGTC

Eph 5:22-33 – This part of the chapter begins and ends with instructions to the wife. In between comes instructions to the husband. When I became engaged to be married, my father told me, “It’s gonna be you and her against the world.” For over half a century now, that statement has proven true and helpful over and over again. The only way I could improve on it would be to explicitly add the Lord to the equation, but Solomon beat me to it.

Eccl 4:12 And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

I have nevertheless written a book titled The Honor of Marriage which will go into more detail about the wonder I have discovered in marriage both in the Bible and in life. I must say that there has turned out to be much more wisdom and benefit in God’s design of marriage than I ever imagined. I’m still in awe.

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Ephesians 6

Eph 6:1 – Let us see a linkage between the instructions for husbands and wives in the previous chapter to the instructions for children in this one. It is not necessarily an obvious linkage, so I want to emphasize it.

One way of describing the responsibility of raising a child is that we as parents are given roughly two decades to prepare a child to make the most important decision that can be made – the decision about whom to marry. Throughout all those years you are teaching a child daily how to make good decisions so that when it’s time for the decision about marriage to be made, it can be a high-quality decision. In that sense, all child-rearing is premarital counseling. That said, I’m not encouraging you to teach calculus to kindergarteners. Each subject is introduced as the student is ready. You start with subjects like sharing, contentment, service, compassion, forgiveness, redemption, and so on. Each block builds on another. The more sensitive subjects can be taught closer to the time that specific knowledge will be needed. The final product – that is, the child who has become fully grown – is a worthy marriage partner. It’s all about making that new family a success. Otherwise, the father and mother are just producing a burden for someone else to carry.

Eph 6:2-3 – One of the things we learn from sustained Bible reading is that commandments and promises are twin themes of God. Occasionally, they come together as in the fifth of the Ten Commandments. (Honoring father and mother is the commandment, long life is the promise.) God loves us, so He often speaks in commandments because they give us direction, and also in promises because they give us hope. Aren’t direction and hope two things that every human needs? Consider also the connection between the two – that direction gets us going while hope keeps us going. Hope (embodied in promises) is about where we’re going to end up, direction (embodied in commandments) is about how we get there. Even when a promise is not explicitly attached to a commandment, there is always one implied. For God would not command us to do something unless it was for our good.

Eph 6:4 – Fathers, let us not “bring our children down” with our discipline; rather, let us “bring them up” with it. A steel hand in a velvet glove is for lifting them up, not putting them down. When they’re young, they can be motivated by their fear of displeasing you. But once they approach or reach the teenage years they become less intimidated. That’s when you have to rely on their desire for your approval in order to prevail with them. And the only way to do that is to make sure they learn when they’re younger how wonderful you can make them feel when they obey you. There’s a balance to be achieved. You have to expect enough from them so that they mature as they try to please you, but not demand so much that they become easily discouraged and give up even trying. This balance has to be calibrated regularly because children and circumstances are always changing – even from one day to the next at times.

Eph 6:5-9 – Jesus did not send His apostles to make us all into social justice warriors. That is, the apostles did not assign believers the task of eradicating slavery. Slavery was a social institution started and maintained by human beings, not God; it was only abandoned with the coming of the Industrial Revolution and the creation of machines to take on the bulk of slave labor. And even then, the human race let go of it slowly and grudgingly. It was the effect of Christ’s work on human hearts, including men like William Wilberforce, that nudged society to a conviction that slavery needed to be abandoned. ***** Even without slavery, we still have employer-employee relationships which allow us to practice principles that can be extracted from exhortations like these from Paul.

Eph 6:10-17 – Life is a battle. We need weapons. God supplies them. Reading the Bible every day is how you keep your gear in good shape. Satan wants your children. If you’re not prepared to fight for them, you’re probably going to lose them. Your most important weapon is the word of God. Reading your Bible every day with eagerness sharpens that sword. That makes you like our Leader in battle. As He won us, may you win your children.

Rev 1:16 In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.

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Rev 2:16 ‘Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.’

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Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.
Rev 19:12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.
Rev 19:13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.
Rev 19:15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.

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Rev 19:21 And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

Eph 6:18-20 – Prayer is a military maneuver. I break it out here to emphasize the point that we should pray for God to speak boldly to us in our private devotional reading of the Scriptures. Part of our maturation as men is to look to the Bible not just for sugary treats, but for ample portions of protein – that is, “solid food.” Let us not fall victim to arrested development due to inadequate nutrition.

1 Cor 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ.
1 Cor 3:2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able,
1 Cor 3:3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?

Eph 6:21-22 – Looks like Tychicus has the duty of delivering and reading this letter to the believers in Ephesus since Paul is imprisoned and can’t visit in person (Eph 3:1; 4:1).

Eph 6:23-24 – Everything this side of heaven can be corrupted – even love. Look around you and see just how much our current society has corrupted it. Don’t tolerate any corruption of love in your heart.

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