Paul’s “Psalm” of Praise

Before looking at specific verses, one should first look at Ephesians 1:3-14 as a whole. How truly enthralling this passage is!

First, the most amazing feature of this passage is that in the Greek it is one sentence. In one long, flowing sentence, Paul pours out his heart in praise to God for what He has done. He just goes on and on, moving from one topic to another. After some thirty years of knowing and serving Christ, Paul was truly carried away with these thoughts. Commentator William Hendrickson writes: “The sentence . . . rolls on like a snowball tumbling down a hill, picking up volume as it descends. Its . . . words, and the many modifiers which they form, arranged like shingles on a roof or like steps on a stairway, are like prancing steeds pouring forward with impetuous speed.”

To use an Old Testament title, we might observe that if anything could be called “The Psalm of Paul,” it is this passage.

Tragically, most modern English translations destroy the primary point of this passage by dividing it up into several sentences. The popular NIV, for example, breaks the flow with eight sentences  (even worse, two others use eighteen!). The tragedy of this is that the passage is purposefully one sentence because it presents one main thought, which is stated in verse 3: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The rest of the passage goes on to support that main idea. Dividing the passage into several sentences destroys this purpose by making all the separate sentences equal to each other. Verse 3 is no longer the main idea; it’s simply one among many and equal to all the others. As we’ll see in our next installment, the point of verse 3 is worship, and everything flows from that.

Second, this “psalm of praise” divides itself into three distinct parts. While Paul is captivated by what God has done, he has not lost control. As always, he still presents truth systematically. This great “psalm” (“doxology,” or “song of praise”) contains three “stanzas:”

·                    First Stanza (vs. 4‑6) – Focuses on God the Father and speaks of past ELECTION.

·                    Second Stanza (vs. 7‑12) – Focuses on God the Son and speaks of present REDEMPTION.

·                    Third Stanza (vs. 13‑14) ‑ Focuses on God the Holy Spirit and speaks of future INHERITANCE.

As we progress, we’ll see that each stanza can be separated into specific statements that express Paul’s thoughts.

Third, we also see that each “stanza” demonstrates that specific riches come from each specific member of the Godhead: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It is this truth that we shall examine as we progress.

Again, in one beautifully flowing sentence, Paul exalts God for what He has done for man in Christ. As one expositor writes: “The lofty terms in which he extols the grace of God toward the Ephesians, are intended to rouse their hearts to gratitude, to set them all on flame, to fill them even to overflowing with this thought.”

God’s Greatest Blessings

Ephesians 1:2a declares, Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. What a cordial and comprehensive salutation that is! This verse presents the two greatest, most comprehensive blessings believers possess. While God’s blessings are numerous, the greatest of all are grace and peace.

As noted in an earlier installment, grace is used 12 times in Ephesians and stands out as the key word. Ephesians details what grace really means: The unmerited favour of God toward man manifested primarily through the person and work of Jesus Christ apart from any merit or works of man (see 2:4-9). Grace cannot be earned or purchased; it can only be received.

But Paul adds another word—peace. The Greek word behind this (eirēnē) means “a state of tranquility; the opposite of rage and war; harmony.” It is important that we understand this word in light of the Hebrew word shalom. This is a common greeting which means not so much the opposite of war but rather the opposite of any disturbance in the tranquility of God’s people. Paul in essence “borrows” the depth of the Hebrew word and brings it into the Greek. So because we are “in Christ,” there is tranquility between God and man (compare I Tim. 2:5). There are at least two correlations to observe here.

First, the order in Paul’s writings is always grace then peace because peace is always the result of grace. In fact, we never find peace apart from grace in the doctrinal Epistles. The reason is that God does not give peace apart from grace; neither can we know true peace without accepting God’s grace through the person and work of Christ. Picture it this way: Peace is the stream that flows from the fountain of grace. Why has there always been war and why will there always be wars until Jesus returns to the Earth? Because there can never be peace until man accepts God’s grace.

Second, Paul here couples greetings from the Greek and Hebrew cultures. Again, the Greek word is rooted in Hebrew thought. This is truly amazing. Grace is distinctly Greek in origin and peace is distinctly Jewish. But Paul brings them together in perfect balance. Could a more meaningful Christian greeting ever be found?

But ponder something else: From whom do these blessings come? First, God our Father is the Source of these blessings. God is, indeed, sovereign, holy, and absolutely pure. But praise be to Him, He is also a Father; He comes to us as a loving Father and gives us these blessings. Second, the Lord Jesus Christ is the Means of blessing. God had to have a medium through whom He could bestow His blessings, and it is through Christ alone that we receive grace and peace. May we truly grasp this thought: Without Christ we cannot receive grace and peace. John 1:17 declares: “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” And Jesus Himself said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” It is, indeed, only through Jesus Christ that man can be saved from sin. This is not a popular view in our day, but it is still true.

Posts Suspended

My wife and I had a glorious gift given to us recently: a tour of Israel. Lord willing, posts will resume on June 24. 

“In Christ”

In our last installment, we examined the main significance of the words in Christ (Eph. 1:1) as being the object of saving faith. But what does this mean in practice? Is this just some mystical concept that has no practical purpose? Ponder four practical applications.

First, being in Christ means we are not self-sufficient but dependent upon Him. As in the analogy of the Vine and branches (Jn. 15:1-5), we are absolutely dependent upon Christ as the branches are dependant upon the Vine. We are totally helpless in ourselves. We are totally dependant upon God. He empowers us to do all things in Christ.

In our day, man is the measure of all things. We see it everywhere. Man is self-sufficient, self-directed, self-motivated, and self-centered. We constantly hear about man’s “self-esteem” and “self-worth.” But God says something a little different: “And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God” (II Cor. 3:4-5). Paul declares that he is nothing in himself, that he is insufficient for anything, whether it be ministry or personal living. He says that his “sufficiency” is God alone. The Greek for “sufficiency” (hikanos) speaks of something being adequate, or large enough. It’s used in Matthew 3:11, where John the Baptist declares, “He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear.” How we need this kind of humility and dependency in our day instead of the self-elevating philosophies that have captured the Church.

Here in Ephesians, Paul later writes: “My brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might” (6:10). To the Philippians he writes that well-known promise, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Isaiah the prophet likewise challenged God’s people: “They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (40:31).

What a challenge these verses are! May we stop trying to be sufficient in ourselves. Strength awaits us in Christ alone. Instead of self-sufficiency, may we have a Christ-sufficiency; instead of self-direction, Christ-direction; instead of self-motivation, Christ-motivation; instead of self-centeredness, Christ-centeredness; instead of high self-esteem, high Christ-esteem. To be in Christ means that only He is sufficient.

Second, being in Christ means that our assurance is in Him. A hallmark of cults and other false teaching is the total rejection of security. True Biblical Christianity is the only faith that teaches assurance of salvation beyond any doubt or question. Every other religious system teaches an uncertainty about eternal destiny. Only Biblical Christianity teaches that salvation has nothing to do with us, nothing to do with our works, but lies in Christ alone and what He finished on the cross.

Third, being in Christ means that our satisfaction is in Him. As Paul told the Philippians, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:11-13). To be in Christ means that He will meet our needs and that we are satisfied and content with that which He gives.

Fourth, being in Christ means that our authority is in Him alone. Because He is everything to us, His authority controls us, and it is through His Word, the Bible, that He accomplishes that. It is upon His Word alone that we stand.

What IS a Christian? (1:1) (2)

What does it mean to be a Christian? Paul’s specific two-fold descrip­tion is in Ephesians 1:1: to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus. We examined “saint” in our last installment.

Second, a Christian is a true believer in Jesus Christ. The phrase [the] faithful in Christ Jesus actually involves two things according to the Greek word behind faithful (pistos). The primary meaning is “exercising faith.” This is the act of putting our faith, trust, and commitment in Christ alone for salvation. Faith is not “religion” or just “believing in Jesus.” It is a total trust in Christ to save us from our sin. Paul calls the recipients of this letter “believers.” Just as they were not saints because they lived saintly lives, neither were they believers because they lived faithful lives. Rather the opposite was true: they lived saintly lives because they were saints by position, and they lived faithful lives because they had truly believed.

The second aspect of the word faithful, however, is “trust­worthy.” Not only has the true Christian put his faith in Christ, but he is now one who is trustworthy, consistent, constant, reliable, and faithful. God not only demands faith; He also demands fidelity. There is a great lack of faithfulness in Christianity today, faithfulness to the Word of God, the house of God, and service for God. We better take a look at our profession and see if it is true possession. The true saint, the true believer, will remain faithful. True faith is evidenced by practice.

It’s vitally important that we also understand the phrase in Christ Jesus, a phase (along with “in Him”) that occurs twelve times in Ephesians. Further, it’s so important that Paul uses it some 160 times in all his letters.

The main significance of this phrase is it definitively defines what the object of faith must be. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only object of saving faith. In our day, the word “faith” is used in a virtually meaningless way. Faith is made to be it’s own object. Thus we get the popular concepts of “my faith,” or “my faith helped me,” or “I have faith in faith,” or “I was so troubled that I lost my faith.” The problem with all these is that faith is made to be its own object. This is not only poor grammar, but it’s also ridiculous. What’s the point in saying “I drove,” for example, unless we say, “I drove my car.” “Drive” is the verb—“car” is the object. Likewise, faith is a verb, so without an object, the entire concept is incomplete.

So, any definition of faith is meaningless without a consideration of its object. In contrast to today’s “faith in faith” concept, saving faith has Christ Jesus as its object. While some people do go beyond “faith in faith,” they merely put their faith in other things (money, fame, etc.), but the only sure object is Jesus Christ. As Paul makes clear in this Epistle, salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone (2:4-9).

19^th Century London preacher Charles Spurgeon illustrated the importance of faith’s object by telling of two men in a boat. Caught in severe rapids, they were being swept toward a waterfall. Some men on shore tried to save them by throwing them a rope. One man caught hold of it and was pulled to safety on the shore. The other, in the panic of the moment, grabbed hold of what looked to be a more substantial object, a log that was floating by. That man was carried downstream, over the rapids, and was never seen again. Faith, represented by the rope linked to the shore, connects us to Jesus Christ and safety. Good works apart from true faith, represented in the story by the log, leads only to ruin. Many today are like that. They look to their works and think them more substantial than “just faith in Christ.”

What then is a Christian? This verse declares this: A Christian is one who has trusted totally in Christ as Savior and Lord and who has therefore been set apart from sin and set apart unto holiness of life and obedience to Scripture.

What IS a Christian? (1:1) (1)

What does it mean to be a Christian? Many today claim to be Christians, but are they really? While there are many definitions of “Christian” today, in Ephesians 1:1 Paul gives two very specific descrip­tions of a true believer: to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.

First, a Christian is a saint. How this word has been perverted! Pastor and author Warren Wiersbe correctly writes, “No word in the New Testament has suffered more than this word. Even the dictionary defines a saint as a ‘person officially recognized for holiness of life.’” Indeed, a common belief is that a saint is one who has died, one who has performed at least two miracles, and one whose life was “holy enough to be officially recognized by canonization.” But this is not what the Bible says.

The literal meaning of the Greek word behind “saint” (hagios) is “set apart or separate,” and is often translated “holy.” The true Christian has been set apart from sin as the rule of life and unto holiness as the rule of life. A saint is not dead, rather alive. Being a saint is not a matter of achievement or performance, rather a matter of position. It’s not based on what we have done, rather what we are in Christ. It is not dependant upon our works, but upon His grace.

Reformer John Calvin understood this: “No man, therefore, is a believer who is not also a saint; and, on the other hand, no man is a saint who is not a believer.” Likewise, Greek scholar W. E. Vine writes, “In the plural, as used of believers, it designates all such and is not applied merely to persons of exceptional holiness, or to those who, having died, were characterized by exceptional acts of saintliness.” In fact, Paul refers to believers as saints nine times in Ephesians (1:1, 15, 18; 2:19; 3:8, 18: 4:12; 5:3; 6:18). He wrote to ordinary Christians who were all declared to be saints. We can probably assume that saint was Paul’s favorite term for the Christian since he used it some 42 times in his Epistles. He loved saying, “Every one of you who has trusted Christ as Savior and Lord is a saint, one who has been set apart.”

Think of it in this way: You cannot be a Christian without being a saint, and you cannot be a saint without being separate from the world. Many profess to be Christians, but they habitually live in and of this world. But a true Christian cannot habitually live by the actions and attitudes of the world because he or she is a saint, a set apart one. A saint is not an ascetic who wears robes and lives in a monastery. A saint is one who has been set apart and now lives like it.

In other words, we are not saints because we are saintly; we are saintly because we are saints. Many Christians try to “be holy” by legalism; they keep a list of “do’s and don’ts” and call it “spirituality.” This is back­wards. What we do or don’t do does not make us spiritual. We are first spiritual in attitude, which is then evident in spiritual action.

So, the first thing that being a Christian means is that we are saints. We live a life that is holy because of our position of being in Christ. The two greatest evidences of true conversion are holiness of life (Eph. 4:24; I Thess. 4:17; etc.) and obedience to God’s Word (Jn. 14:15, 23; I Jn. 2:1-5). Those who do neither one are not saints. In our day of tolerance and generalization, words, definitions, and terminology have grown unimportant to many people. May this challenge us to exactness in our language. And a case in point is that when God speaks of saints, He speaks of all true Christians.

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.