The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown (134 page)

UNIT-BY-UNIT DISCUSSION

I. Opening (1:1-2)

Ephesians begins with the three customary elements that introduce an epistle: (1) author, (2) recipient, and (3) greeting.

II. Body: Seated with Christ, Walking with Christ, Standing for Christ (1:3-6:20)

The body of the letter naturally subdivides into an indicative section conveying general theological truths regarding the recipients of the letter (1:15—3:21) and an imperative section (4:1—6:20) issuing a series of commands and exhortations on the basis of these realities. The key terms appear to be “sit,” “walk,” and “stand.”
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The first half of the letter lays the proper foundation by defining believers’ identity in Christ. On the basis of their spiritual status, they are in the second half exhorted to attain to the unity and maturity in the Spirit that are already theirs in Christ. In this way, as the key verse of the entire letter states (1:10), Christ, the centerpiece of God's salvation-historical purposes, will be restored to his rightful place of supremacy and preeminence in all things in the church and the cosmos.

A. Shared Spiritual Blessings in Union with Christ and Unity in Christ (1:3—3:21)
In this section Paul (1) unpacked the spiritual blessings that believers have in the heavenly realms in Christ (1:3-14); (2) prayed for his readers (1:15-23); (3) described conversion as a change from spiritual death to spiritual life (2:1—10); (4) portrayed the gospel-centered unity of the church (2:11—22); (5) highlighted his own role in this unity
as the minister to the Gentiles entrusted with the mystery of the gospel (3:1—13); and (6) ended with a concluding prayer and doxology (3:14—21).

The letter's lengthy eulogy (1:3—14) is one sentence in the Greek text, and in it Paul explained the spiritual blessings believers possess in Christ (1:3). These blessings center upon the work of the Trinity in the salvation of believers and elicit the praise of God's glory. God the Father plans salvation (1:4—5) for his glory (1:6). God the Son procures salvation (1:7—12) for the praise of God's glory (1:12). God the Spirit seals salvation (1:13) and serves as the down payment of the believer's inheritance for the praise of God's glory (1:14).

Paul followed the eulogy with an opening prayer for his readers (1:15—23) and concluded the section with a closing prayer (3:14—21). The opening prayer pleads that God would give believers a spirit of wisdom and revelation and that he would open the eyes of their hearts so that they would be enabled fully to grasp their hope in the glorious riches of his inheritance and his immeasurably great power at work in believers. Paul compared this power with the power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him at God's right hand above all rule and authority (1:20—23).

The next three sections portray the unity that God has created through the gospel from three different angles: (1) the heavenly angle where God gives life to the spiritually dead and raises them up so they are spiritually seated together with Christ in the heavenly realms (2:1—10); (2) the cross-centered angle that depicts the cross of Christ demolishing old barriers in order to create the church as the one new man and the one new building (2:11—22); and (3) Paul's apostolic ministry angle that highlights the role of Paul in bringing to light the mystery of the spiritual equality of Gentiles with Jews in the body of Christ (3:1—13). Paul's closing prayer and doxology again stress unity as he prayed for believers to be able to grasp the love of Christ “with all the saints” (3:18) and as he exulted in the God who is glorified “in the church” (3:21).

Ephesians 2:1—10 and 2:11—22 both use the “once-now” schema,
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which rehearses the readers’ condition before and after their conversion to Christ. Ephesians 2:1—10 speaks of the spiritual separation between God and men in soteriological terms, while 2:11—22 portrays this separation in the context of salvation history.

Ephesians 2:1—10 moves from the sphere of spiritual death and the status of unbelievers as “children of wrath” to the realm of spiritual life and the state of salvation. This ultimate “rags to riches” experience rests on God's amazing grace apart from any human works (2:4—5). Paul linked his earlier description of the experience of Christ (1:20—23) with the experience of the believer in Christ (2:6). The believers’ union with Christ means that just as he was raised up and seated at God's right hand (1:20), so believers are made alive with Christ, raised up with him, and seated with him in the heavenly places (2:6). The joy of this present experience can only be exceeded by the experience in the ages to come when
God will “show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness” to believers in Christ (2:7 NASB). Paul also stressed the unmerited nature of salvation as a gift of God's grace, which is received by faith (2:8). This salvation precludes human boasting because it is based on the work of God and not the works of man (2:8—9). Though salvation does not result from good works, good works flow from salvation (2:10).

In 2:11—12 Paul described the plight of his readers’ past. Paul called them to remember their former condition as Gentiles.
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Specifically, Paul stated that they were formerly separated from (1) Christ, (2) citizenship in Israel, (3) covenants of promise, (4) hope, and (5) God. But Christ has established peace and unity between Jews and Gentiles by abolishing the dividing wall through the cross (2:14—15) and by creating in himself one new man, the church (2:15), which is a united building or sanctuary for God's dwelling place in the Spirit (2:21-22).

Paul highlighted his apostolic ministry to the Gentiles and as the “mystery” of the gospel (3:1—13). God's “mystery,” formerly hidden and now revealed to the apostles and prophets, is the spiritual equality of Gentiles with Jews in the body of Christ through the gospel (3:5—6). God empowered Paul to bring his plan to pass (3:8—9), so that through the church God's wisdom will be revealed “to the rulers and authorities in the heavens” (3:10; see 1:21).

Paul's closing prayer (3:14—21) petitions God to empower believers so they will be able “to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and width, height and depth, and to know the Messiah's love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (3:18—19). Paul closed with a doxology to God as the one who works with power beyond all we could ask or imagine (3:20—21).

B. Walk with Christ and Stand for Christ (4:1—6:20)
The indicative section (chaps. 1—3) provides the basis (“therefore”; 4:1) for the imperative section. The two key words in this section appear to be “walk” (4:1,17 [twice]; 5:2,8,15) and “stand” (6:11,13,14). Hoehner's proposed structure of the “walk” section is pedagogically helpful. Paul called the church to walk in (1) unity (4:1-16), (2) holiness (4:17-32), (3) love (5:1-6), (4) light (5:7-14), and (5) wisdom (5:15-6:9).
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Ephesians 6:10-20 constitutes a call for believers to stand in spiritual warfare against the dark forces of wickedness by accessing God's power in God's armor (6:10-17) and in prayer (6:18-20).

Ephesians 4:1—16 highlights diversity in unity (4:1—13) in the church for the maturity (4:13), stability (4:14), and growth (4:15-16) of the body of Christ. Ephesians 4:1-6 specifically outlines
what
Christians are called to do (walk worthy of their calling as Christians);
how
they are to do it (with humility, gentleness, patience, loving forbearance, maintaining the unity of the Spirit); and
why
(because of the sevenfold “oneness” of the
faith). Ephesians 4:7—13 adds the observation that “oneness” does not imply “sameness.” Believers are not called to be “cookie-cutter” Christians, because Christ graciously gives a variety of gifts as the booty of his victory (4:7—10) for the sake of the church (4:11—12), so that the body will be built up and attain unity, maturity, and fullness in the faith (4:12-13).
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This unity and maturity will guard the body not only from false teaching (4:14) but also from false living (4:17—19). Christians must not walk in darkness like the Gentiles (4:17-19; 5:6-7), but must “walk as children of light” (5:8-10) and remain separate from dark deeds and expose them by bringing them into the light (5:11—14). They walk in light (5:6-14) and in wisdom (5:15-17).

Paul commanded Christians to be continually filled by the Spirit,
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which is contrasted with drunkenness (5:18). A series of dependent participles
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follows the command to be filled by the Spirit in order that the reader will see that “being filled” by the Spirit has effects such as whole-hearted praise (v. 19), thanksgiving (v. 20), and submission (v. 21). Paul developed the specifics of this submission in the form of a domestic code, which delineates the various roles and responsibilities of the members of the household (5:22—6:9).
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As a result of “being filled by the Spirit,” wives are enjoined to submit to their husbands (5:22), children to obey their parents (6:1), and slaves to obey their masters (6:5). Paul also stressed what Spirit-filled behavior entails for those in positions of authority: husbands are called to love their wives as Christ loves his bride, the church (5:28); fathers ought not provoke their children to anger but bring them up in the training and instruction of the
Lord
(6:4);
and masters should treat those under their authority fairly and not threaten them (6:9).

The last clarion call is for believers to stand firm for Christ (6:10—20). The text consists of three parts: (1) verses 10—13 provide an introductory admonition for believers to be strong in the Lord and to put on the full armor of God in light of the hostile forces arrayed against them; (2) verses 14—17 build upon (“therefore”) and reinforce the introductory admonition and further specify the pieces that constitute the “full armor”; and (3) verses 18—20 call on believers to access God's power in prayer for all believers (6:18), including Paul (6:19-20). The word for “stand” occurs three times (6:11,13,14) as a call to stand strong in God's power (i.e., the full armor of God) against the devil and the spiritual powers of wickedness.

Ephesians 6:10—20 serves as a climax for the letter.
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Therefore, the reader finds many earlier themes repeated and made more emphatic. The list of armor pieces that believers use in spiritual warfare (6:14—17) were already prominent in Ephesians: truth (1:13; 4:15, 21, 24-25; 5:9); righteousness (4:24; 5:9); peace (1:2; 2:14-18; 4:3); the gospel (1:13; 3:6); the word of God (1:13; 5:26); salvation (1:13; 2:5,8; 5:23); and faith (1:1,13,15,19; 2:8; 3:12,17; 4:5,13). The lexical and conceptual links between 1:3-14 and 6:10-20 are also pronounced, especially the cluster of key theological terms between 1:13 and 6:14—17. Importantly, as in the case of the command to be “filled with the Spirit” (5:18), the Ephesian “spiritual warfare” passage has important corporate as well as individual dimensions. Both individual believers and the church
as a whole
must be spiritually equipped to engage in spiritual warfare.
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III. Closing (6:21-24)

Paul concluded the letter with some brief references regarding his travel plans and a standard closing formula. He stated that he was sending Tychicus to inform the readers regarding Paul's personal affairs (6:21—22) and to encourage them (6:22). Paul closed the letter with a wish for peace and love from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (6:23) and with the grace benediction (6:24).

THEOLOGY

Theological Themes

The Lordship of Christ
The “[bringing back of] all things…together again under one head”
(anakephalaioo
, 1:10 NIV), the Lord Jesus Christ, is the central theme of the whole letter. God progressively brings about this realignment of proper authority and submission in two spheres: the heavens (1:3,10,20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12); and the earth (1:10; 3:15; 4:9; 6:3).
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Each realm has its own representative: the powers in the heavens and the church upon the earth.
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Therefore, God's subjection of all things to Christ becomes a progressive reality through Christ's supremacy over and defeat of the evil powers (1:19—22) and his gathering together of both Jews and Gentiles into one body (2:11—22).

Though the theme is the subjection of all things to the lordship of
Christ
, Paul stressed the unified work of all three members of the Trinity in bringing this goal to its fulfillment. This thematic theological center is expressed through four theological themes: soteriology, ecclesiology, ethics, and spiritual warfare. References to the united work of the Trinity emerge in eight passages: 1:4-14; 1:17; 2:18; 2:22; 3:4-5; 3:14-17;
4:4-6;
5:18-20.
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The first two passages (1:4—14,17) are related to soteriology; the next five passages (2:18, 22; 3:4-5,14-19;
4:4-6)
to ecclesiology; and the last (5:18-20) to ethics.

The Nature of Salvation
Ephesians 1:1—14 describes the salvific blessings in the heavenly realms that belong to all those in Christ. Paul unpacked these blessings in terms of the role that each member of the Trinity plays in the salvation of believers and bursts into doxology each time. God the Father plans salvation (1:4—6); God the Son purchases salvation (1:7—12); God the Spirit applies and seals salvation (1:13—14). Paul's prayer in 1:17 also involves the three persons of the Trinity, as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ gives the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to believers.

Paul also stressed the amazing power of grace in salvation. Ephesians 2:1—3 sets the stage for this remarkable work of God by painting the pre-Christian state of his readers in strokes both broad and black. They were spiritually dead in transgressions and sins, and this death involved walking to the enslaving tune of the world (2:2), the devil (2:2), and the flesh (2:3). They by nature rested under the terrible wrath of God, just like the rest of unbelievers (2:3).

The dawning of hope began with two simple words: “But God” (2:4).
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God gave life to Paul's readers even when they were spiritually dead because of his rich mercy and great love. Paul briefly interrupted his discussion with a statement about God's grace: “By grace you are saved!” Paul said almost the same thing three verses later (2:8), so why did he interrupt his flow of thought at this point? There appears to be a doxological rationale behind this intrusion. This act of God's amazing grace greatly amazed Paul because it is not merely the offer of life but the giving of life also. One should stand amazed that God gave this spiritual life even to the spiritual dead (2:5).
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