An Apostle by the Will of God (1:1-2)

Most readers tend to skip over the salutations of the Epistles and regard them as unimportant, thinking they’re just Paul’s way of saying, “Hi there!” But the opening words of Ephesians (1:1-2) are not mere greeting; they contain some wonderfully deep Truth. Like a symphony, they are the “overture” of the Epistle; they intro­duce themes that will be emphasized many times.

One such truth appears in the words Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. The phrase “the will of God” is one of Paul’s favorite expressions, mentioning it four times in chapter 1 (vs. 1, 5, 9, 11). He never says it in a prideful way, but always in amazement that God could and would use him. Why was he amazed? Let’s just briefly ponder his life.

First, Paul was converted by the will of God, struck down on the Damascus road and brought to Christ. This is amazing, indeed, when we consider who he was before that conversion. As he wrote Timothy, he was “a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious” (I Tim. 1:13). A  “blasphemer” is one who slanders God, which Paul not only did but also compelled believers to do in his persecution of them (Acts 26:11). Further, he was a “persecutor” and an “injurious [person]”. The Greek for “injurious” (hubristēs) denotes a person who is driven by violence and contempt for others; to see them humiliated and suffering brings him pleasure. Jesus used the verb form to describe the mistreatment He would suffer during His arrest and trial (Luke 18:32). Acts 9:1 also declares that Saul was “breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord.” No wonder Paul was amazed by God’s will to convert him!

What a comfort this is! I have heard many people say, “Oh, I’m too great a sinner for God to save me.” But to that I ask, “Have you ever murdered someone? Have you ever dragged someone out of their home and beat them in the streets?” Fortunately, most people have not, but even if they have, God can save them.

Second, Paul was called by the will of God. God had something for Paul to do and called him to do it (Acts 13:2, “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them”). He was not self‑appointed or church‑appointed; he was called by the will of God. He later wrote the Corinthians that he was “called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God” (I Cor. 1:1), and that God had made him an able minister (II Cor. 3:6), and that God given him a specific ministry (5:18). True ministry is dictated by the will of God.

Third, Paul was commissioned by the will of God. He was commissioned to plant and confirm churches throughout the Roman Empire (Acts 13:3-4: “And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed”).

Again, Paul wrote in utter amazement, overwhelmed by the thought that God would use him. Is it not truly amazing that God uses sinful, unworthy vessels as us?

While there are no apostles today, men are still called to the ministry by the will of God. But even more basic than that, every Christian is called of God. Beloved pastor and devotional writer Harry Ironside recounts this incident: “A simple cobbler was being introduced to a rather dignified clergyman, and when the cobbler said, ‘I didn’t get your name,’ the clergyman replied, ‘The Reverend Doctor [Blank], by the will of God.’ The cobbler said, ‘And I am John Doe, cobbler by the will of God; and I am glad to meet you, sir.’”

The point is an important one. Whatever we are and wherever we are, we must recognize it as by God the will of God. As Paul says a few verses later, God “worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ” (vs. 11-12). And as he writes later, “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called” (4:1). As a Christian, if you are a rancher, a doctor, a lawyer, a soldier, a miner, or a homemaker, it is by the will of God. In short, whatever you are, it is by the will of God. It is that, therefore, that you are committed to, and it is from that position that you serve the Lord.