Ephesians 1:1-10/Unity with Christ

"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

This has been the concentration of my study for the past week or two. I am going through this passage more closely than I ever have. I've never been much of a note taker, but I have started doing so with this passage. This is a synopsis of a few themes I've noticed.

This passage is very repetitive. I say that in an entirely non-derogatory way. I keep finding myself writing down the same or similar thoughts over and over again, but I think that was the point for Paul. Notice how many times he uses the phrase "in him" (Christ), or an equivalent to it. The letter is addressed to "the faithful in Christ Jesus." We have been blessed "in Christ" with all spiritual blessings. We have been chosen "in him." We have been adopted through "Jesus Christ." "In him" we have redemption and the forgiveness of our trespasses. All this has come about because of the great purpose of God, "set forth in Christ." This is only the first ten verses! The whole chapter is like this. If you read the book of Ephesians and don't understand that Christ is the means used by God to convey His grace, you're just reading it wrong!

Truly, the key phrase of this first chapter, and of the book in general, is "which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth." This is the central idea behind the Gospel. We are covenantally united to Christ. This unity brings with it a myriad of blessings, which flow from the familial connections that it implies. Being a part of Christ means that we are part of the Father's family. As children of God, we are entitled to all the blessings available in Christ, which are enumerated throughout Ephesians and the rest of the New Testament.

Broadly speaking, the first chapter of Ephesians carries an extremely passive tone, as far as humanity is concerned. We are on the receiving line of everything God is doing through Christ. All the blessings we have received are through Christ and because of the father's will and his purpose. Salvation is all about what God is doing. Faith is the hand that receives these innumerable blessings. Paul never once tells us that God is so madly in love with us that He's just begging us to have faith. No, his plan of salvation was fool-proof, if I can put it that way. He didn't leave it to chance. He ensures that His plan of salvation is effectual by changing the hearts of those whom He predestined according to His purpose. The Father is not waiting for people to unite themselves to Christ. He is uniting them.

Our eyes should be in line with Pauls, staring at Christ and the Father.

"Father, Forgive Them"

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Forgiveness is hard. Forgiveness is really, really hard. It’s difficult to forgive others who have genuinely harmed or offended us. It’s easy to say , “I forgive you,” but it’s extremely difficult to feel it–to make peace in our hearts with the injustices that others have perpetrated against us. It just doesn’t feel right. Sin should be punished! Wrongs should be righted! Right?! It’s difficult to forgive others when they ask for it. It’s even more difficult to forgive them when they haven’t asked for it–when they don’t even recognize what they’ve done to hurt us. As our Savior hung upon His Cross, He asked the Father to forgive those nearby–those who were unwittingly contributing to the greatest injustice in the history of the world. These thieves, soldiers, and standers-by had no idea what was happening. They had no idea that the jealousy of the Jews had placed Christ on that Cross...

The Real Presence & Paedocommunion: A Deeper Rift Between Reformed Churches

You're going back to Rome! Theological disagreements within the Reformed world, especially those of the last half century, often devolve into these sorts of accusations. As controversialists like Doug Wilson and Peter Leithart began to break away from the larger conservative Presbyterian and Reformed denominations, it became clear that the rift was deeper than semantics and systematic minutiae. Much like the Reformation four centuries before, the Table was a primary point of conflict. What does it mean? Who may partake? What do we call it? These questions, along with a few more, divided Reformed brethren as the physical elements of our religion reflected deeper conflicts. Good men began to understand that the problem wasn't just in our logos, but in our pathos and ethos, as well. Paedocommunion (hereafter PC) has been one of the hottest points of contention. PC has always been normal to me as I grew up with it. I underst...

"The More Things Change..." or "Joe Biden Doing Joe Biden Things"

1 Samuel 2 relates the story of Eli, the well-meaning high priest whose only flaw (apparently) was his refusal to discipline his sons. These sons, described as worthless men , utilized their position to abuse the people and indulge their lusts with impunity. Eli's dereliction of duty brought his otherwise noble career in service to God's house to an ignominious end. There are, of course, important differences between Eli and Joe Biden. Joe Biden is not a religious leader (though he is a practicing Roman Catholic ), nor would I consider his record to be otherwise spotless. However, similarly to Eli, Biden's pardoning of his own worthless son, Hunter, will prove to be his legacy. His long (and I mean loooong) career in politics will likely be overshadowed, even in the eyes of those who previously respected him, by this one shameless act. By pardoning his son despite promising not to, Biden has yet again demonstrate...

Always Reforming

Search This Blog