[sunday meditations]

Ephesians 1.1-2

"Having previously labored among them for three years, Paul wrote a letter to the Church in Ephesus. Though we might expect the letter will be informal, a chance for friends to catch up, these introductory verses make it clear that Paul is writing with a purpose; he is speaking as an Apostle on behalf of Christ. Even though he had already instructed them and they were a healthy, thriving church, this letter opens like Paul’s other letters—not with tips for living and a focus on commands but with a heavenly greeting, announcing that God is gracious and peaceable toward them in Christ. Though they were a healthy church, the Ephesians still needed to hear Christ’s message of grace."

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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.

[Ephesians 1.1-2]

The ancient city of Ephesus was known throughout antiquity for its Temple of Artemis. To think of Ephesus was to think of the Temple of Artemis, in the same way that to think of Washington, D.C. is to think of the White House, or to think of Paris is to think of the Eiffel Tower. Acts 19 retells St. Paul’s founding of the church at Ephesus. He found a handful of disciples who had been following the teachings of John the Baptist; Paul baptized them and then started proclaiming the gospel in the synagogue for several months. When the Jews got fed up, he started preaching at a civic Hall. For two years the church grew, and it grew to such an extent that the idol-makers feared losing business because so many people were no longer worshipping pagan gods. They feared Ephesus would become like modern-day Detroit. Revelation 2.1-7 recalls Jesus’ words to the ancient Ephesian church, and he praises them for their endurance and adherence to the gospel. The Ephesian church, though not without problems, was strong and flourishing; it wasn’t overcome with division like the church in Corinth, nor under the sway of false teachers like those in Galatia. Paul writes to the Ephesians to remind them of the gospel.

Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. St. Paul emphasizes that he is sent by Christ (an Apostle), and he is an Apostle through the will of God alone. He was commissioned directly by Christ on the Damascus Road. Elsewhere he calls himself “one untimely born”: he’s a weird apostle, an add-on, “the 13th warrior.” An Apostle must be an eyewitness to Christ, and Paul had direct teaching from the risen Christ. The words in Ephesians are the words of Christ to the Ephesian church, and they are the words of Christ to us today. Often we treat scripture in a flippant, irreverent manner. We may more attention to Facebook statuses, Twitter tweets, and sports games like the Super bowl. We need to treat God’s Word with reverence and respect, for scripture is over us. 

Do we practice scripture? 

Do we allow scripture's hard sayings to correct us? 

Does our reason dictate our reading of scripture?

Or do we let our reading of scripture dictate our reason? 

Do we let scripture conform us to the image of Christ?

Or do we conform scripture to our own image?

To the saints… who are faithful in Christ Jesus. Paul addresses his letter to the "saints" in Ephesus. Saints aren’t "really holy people"; saints are the members of the church, not an elite, super-spiritual group. The faithful in Christ are believers in Christ. In six of Paul’s nine letters, he uses “saints” to describe Christians; even in Corinth, where there was chaos in the church—a man sleeping with his stepmom, drunkenness at the Lord’s Supper, taking each other to court, and behaving in a myriad of sinful ways that even pagans gawk at—Paul still called them saints. Sainthood isn’t about our “infused righteousness”, as if we have any of our own righteousness inside ourselves; no, sainthood is about what God has done in us, putting us sinners in His holy covenant and setting us apart. The Latin phrase simul iustus et peccator captures this beautifully: each one of us in Christ is simultaneously righteous and a sinner.

Grace and Peace… Grace and Peace are what we have in Christ. Lots of churches put foundational things, such as the gospel, behind them and focus on “tips for living” or instructions on moral improvement. Paul introduces and closes his letters in these greetings and benedictions of “Grace” and “Peace” regardless of the church’s health. 

These terms, Grace and Peace, capture what lies at the heart of the gospel: 

God is gracious towards us because of Christ; 

He is peaceable towards us because of Christ.