Welcome back to our sermon series thru Ephesians. We are left with one week to conclude our discovery theme.  Paul claims, as we heard last Sunday, that God has planned to make peace and create one new humanity in place of the two and would do this in the body of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:14-15). He managed to unify the divided humanity by tearing down the wall of hostility among them and bringing peace and harmony.  God fulfilled his promise through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.   
 
Now in chapter four through five, Paul encourages the Ephesians to be mindful of their calling and take the responsibility Christ has given them when he ascended to heaven. He called on the new converts to abandon their previous way of life and begin to exercise their newness. If the church wanted to survive and carryon the task of the gospel, it should remain united, pray for one another, and break from the past so that they could bring about the needed reconciliation and unity with God and one another.

Regarding the gifts, Paul claimed that Christ did not leave the church emptyhanded. He believed that Ephesians were rich in gifts to maintain the unity and continue the work entrusted to them.

Paul said, “Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.  Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ” (Eph 4:11-15).

A few things remain true in this passage as we have been learning from this book of Ephesians. Many converts from Ephesus, Colossae and throughout the province of Asia minor, were saved from temples and a handful of them were priests, priestesses, and temple attendants. They used to worship other gods.

In Ephesus, many of them were followers of Artemis, goddess of fertility. It was a custom for Men and Women to go seek fertility from the goddess when they failed to bear children. They would go and lay with priestesses and priests, believing that they would be made fertile after such encounters and able to bear children. There was no shame for it was considered part of worship practice. Taking someone’s belongings in public bathing places was widespread and people were known for failing to tell the truth. There was so much bragging as the society rallied around sports. As the church grew, as we have learned in many epistles, there were constant conflicts, disagreements and even quarrelling on how to deal with the matters of faith and the church.

As we can imagine, believers were filled with countless questions and looking for answers. We've left temple worships, now what? What shall we eat and not eat? What laws shall we keep? etc. The question remains how to live as Christians, how to worship, and how to maintain such changes. There were also more critical issues the new converts had to deal with. Sadly, there were no established church institutions, let alone denominations as in our time today.

The church, then as now remained thankful for gift of Paul.  He remained a resourceful person in those hard times, and his letters gave a better guidance for the new converts.

In his responses, Paul said new converts “must no longer live as the Gentiles live in the futility of their minds.” This is because, even if what to be known about God has been disclosed to them, Gentiles chose to darken their own understanding, harden their hearts and their ignorance alienated them from God. As a result, they gave themselves over to dissolution and lost all sensitivity of life. Paul went on and warned the new converts to avoid bragging and deceptions to transition into the new way of living. They were to do so by getting rid themselves "of all such things because that is not the way you learned Christ! (Eph. 4:20; Colossians 3:7-10).
As William Barclay said, “Paul has dealt with the great and eternal truths of the Christian faith, and with the function of the Church in the plan of God. Now he begins to sketch what each member of the Church must be if the Church is to carry out her part in that plan.”  
 
 Paul reminds Ephesians of the purpose of their calling and now they must discover their new way of life in their new selves "created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:23-24).
Paul took a universal norm where, when a person is initiated into a certain group, or decides to join a different society, such a person is mandated to oblige with the way of life such a society requires of them. Otherwise, as William Barclay says, if such a person fails that obligation and hinders the aim, such failure brings discredit on the name of the group. Paul tells the Ephesians the kind of life they must follow when they become Christians and experience the new life in the church of Christ.

I am reminded of the initiation ceremony of the tradition of the Anuak people and other African tribes. Among the Nuer tribes in Ethiopia and South Sudan, a young man's face is cut with six marks both sides (twelve in total), then that young man becomes a full man, earning "manhood" as soon as the initiation is completed. This practice was/is done without any anesthesia. The boy would be expected not to cry, shed tears, or even move his body during the procedure. It hurts and blood keeps pouring as the tip of the knife goes deep into the skin.

Also, when a group of the Anyuwaa young men are sprinkled with oil, they would be required to obtain a new name and vow to achieve a goal. For example, the group would commit to catching a young lion by hand, or a tiger, or an elephant etc. and bringing the young animal home alive. They would abide by certain terms. Failure to achieve such a goal would discredit the family and be a disgrace to the village.  

All these things remind us of how people leave a former life and commit to lead a new way of living. Paul calls on Christians then and now to “put on the new self (Colossians 3:10). This new life is not easy to tend to. It requires leaving behind something dear to us in our previous life. It's painful and hard to follow but one that we're encouraged to attain to, like the Nuer boys and the Anuak young groups strive to fulfill the demands of initiation. Yes, Christ has accomplished the salvific act on the cross. The new living requirement does not add to our salvation, rather it fulfills the purpose of unity as we imitate Christ Jesus.

As a new group seeking to build up itself, Paul encourages Ephesians to put forth Christian virtues to avoid separation and dissension in the church of Christ. He writes that the Christian church must clothe itself with the newness and get rid of their old humanity, which was subject to rage, falsehood, anger, theft, etc. 

For Paul, what is required of Christians and the Christian church, first, is the virtue of humility. Humility is the most important aspect of faith that they obtain from Jesus himself. It's about giving way to God to work through us, in us and with us. It is the virtue by which we are made conscious and acknowledge our calling.  It describes a course of action where a person looks to oneself to see where one has fallen short and needs to give ways to progress. "True humility comes when we face ourselves and see our weakness, our selfishness, our failure in work and in personal relationship and in achievement," William Barclay. Humility also is echoing our dependency on God in whom we now have hope (Ephesians 2:12).

 Paul added on saying, a Christian person must be gentle. The Greek term for "gentle” is being domesticated. This refers to an animal that has been trained and comes under control of the owner. Americans would understand Paul's intention in using this verb because Americans are good at this. They train their dogs to sit, dance, roll and even jump. Paul says a person in a Christian church must not only be self-controlled but be domesticated by God and listen to the instructions of the Lord. Christians must exercise patience as we continue to explore and learn from and about one another. We learn patience from Christ himself as we are called to faith (1 Timothy 1:16). For the church to survive and continue in the work of gospel, such virtues are important to keep for the sake of the unity. Paul said because Christians are called to "one hope, one body, one faith, one baptism and one God" (4:4).

Lastly, Ephesians and the Christian Church must exercise agape—a love that does not depend on anything less than putting others before us. "Agape, is that quality of mind and heart which compels a Christian never to feel any bitterness, never to feel any desire for revenge, but always to seek the highest good of every [person] no matter what he may be." William Barclay

Friends, Paul encourages us today as he urged the Ephesians to clothe ourselves with truth, speak tenderly to our neighbors and put away falsehood. We are told that everyone should strive to work to have something to share with the needy.

Paul addressed theft, immorality, falsehood, etc. in this passage because they were practiced in the Greco-Roman world and Paul knew that such a way of life was not healthy for the new body.  For example, stealing was a major problem in the Roman bathing places. Clothes and sandals were grabbed without any excuses. 

Now even if we do not exercise the 1st century practices, scripture reminds us of our weaknesses and to be mindful of such flaws as might lead us astray and not attain to our Christian living. Paul encourages his readers to change such habits and live as they were taught. He urged Ephesians to make Christ’s love and Christian virtues spring from their hearts to perfect the church of Christ.  

We are encouraged to listen and be patient with one another and maintain right anger, because the anger of a Christian person does not produce the righteousness of God (James 1:20 ESV). Let this be clear. Paul does not deny anger. It is something we are born with.

However, anger must not define us, and we should not be overflowing with it. Rather, we must get rid of bitterness and resentment and clothe ourselves in patience, gentleness, humility and choose to discuss and not let the anger last forever.

In doing so, we discover our Christian living in our mutual understanding.  As one body, we are encouraged to take care of the body as we take care of ourselves. The love of Christ to the church is compared to a love between a husband and wife. That Christians should love one another dearly; “For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, because we are members of his body.” (Eph. 5:29-30)

We can only succeed in our Christian living by committing to prayer and we are asked to keep praying. I also leave you with Paul's prayer when he tells them in his letter saying, "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:16-19)
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Friends, Christ has left us a great gift to sustain our unity and enrich our Christian living. Let us utilize such virtues as we continue to live our lives in the Church of Christ. Let us "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven us" (Eph4: 32). Amen!

Thru Ephesians: a sermon series
Ephesians 2:11-22; Jeremiah 23:1-6Sunday January 17, 2021

We are now in our third week into our sermon series thru the book of Ephesians. So far, we talked about discovering God's Plan and purpose in our redemption, our union in Christ, and finding life through dying to self as Christ exemplified by his death and resurrection.  

Last Sunday, we concluded our sermon with Scripture exhortation to live our new life as we are called; a life filled with conscious understanding of the love of God. The life that discerns the love of God as his fullness fills in us.  We were reminded of our secret co-existent nature with Christ. In that, through God's unyielding love, believers have constant fillings and never run out of hope, strength, and gratitude even in their state of fragility. We are called to experience and exercise "True love" like those in the Kingdom of Arendelle where everyone was given space to exercise their true selves, including Olaf the Snow man. (Frozen).

Picking up from where we left off last Sunday, we will now move on to the last passage of chapter two and beginning of chapter three. In this chapter Paul makes a dramatic turn of discourse. In chapter one and half of chapter two, Paul's emphasis has been to layout the relationship between God and humankind. He spoke of redemption and God's love that is beyond comprehension. He states that believers have received the immense blessings and God's gracious richness of heavens (1:3, 17). Paul maintains a better description of vertical actions of God and expected believers to praise and glorify him. 

Now Paul turns the table to the horizontal trend as the outcome and the fruits of the vertical actions of God. It is to say that after God had finished the first chapter and created relationship through adoption, he has now come to express the purpose of such actions.  Paul reminded Ephesians once again; that they were dead and were far away from the knowledge of God's promise. However, through Christ, they were brought near and called children of God. “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 3:6)

The promise of the physical sign of covenant through circumcision has now ceased and been replaced. And in this later day, God makes universal Covenant through the Cross, fulfilled in Christ, and effective only through faith. The work of the cross was accomplished in the blood of Jesus Christ and has brought oneness and formed a new humanity in Christ. This was the divine plan! God's eternal purpose was to "create in himself one new humanity" through the blood of Christ (v.14-15)

God's initiative has brought down the wall of hostility. In this new assembly, the old humanity has no place. God himself has desired to create a renewed assembly in the body of Jesus Christ. Thus, "it is Jesus' death that bring down the "dividing wall, that is, the hostility between Jew and Gentile" and that enables the creation of "one new humanity."

This passage describes ways in which the new life of believers differs from their old life (Richard Cousar):

1. Their identity has radically changed—to new self and new life in Christ.
2. Their alignments and loyalties are new—of God through Christ but not of the dividing world and worldly manners.
3. The destruction of the dividing wall has created a new era—where God becomes One and present in all and every one of us.
4. The death of Christ brought about a new situation for humankind—of peace, mutual understanding, and unity.

We discover our unity and treasure our diversity as we reflect on what Christ has done on the cross. In his three years' ministry on earth, Christ preached peace salvation, and unity as the essence and attributes of the Kingdom of God. Christ formed the church where he remains solely the head and the foundation. This also has been demonstrated in the Holy Communion where countless grains are made into one bread, and many grapes are mingled into a cup. As Paul states, " though we are many, we’ve all been mingled into one body in Christ. This means that we are all vitally joined to one another, with each contributing to the others" (Romans 12:15). The bread and grape juice represent our oneness and seamless unity as one body despite the color of our skins or geographical divides.

What is uniting us is bigger and more real than whatever is dividing us. We are divided over who makes Good Pizza. Between the giant New York Pizza with no topping and Chicago Deep Dish Pizza. We are divided over how we call soft drinks whether it is Soda or pop (as BodoJwok would always refer to diet Pepsi as white Soda). We are divided between the coasts. We treat ourselves as the left and the right, republicans, and democrats or maybe those in between. But at the end of the day, we are all members of God's family. We all show up at funerals and experience sympathy over indecent treatment of others.
  
Today as Presbyterians, we are observing this Sunday as Mathew 25 and Criminal Justice Sunday in the Spirit of
social justice icon Martin Luther King Jr. Today many Presbyterian pastors will be preaching on dismantleling racism, encouraging Race Relations and justice to enhance our efforts toward shared identity. The words of MLK are now alive and remain truthful to what he preached and predicted many years past.  He believed that there will be a time in America where racial divides are no more and America will see "the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of [Unity] brotherhood." Even if this partially is fulfilled in our lifetime, we are encouraged to work consciously until we see the church and human beings cherish their unity over diverse differences. 

​We are growing to the realization of our oneness and are exhorted to exercise such unity Now on earth. We find the meaning of life when we discover the deep meaning of our unity in Christ. Christians are encouraged to strive to do good work as the fruits of their faith and stay strong in faith. We are built in the house of the New Humanity whose cornerstone is Christ Jesus. "In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God" (vv. 21-22). 

We are called to peace, to care for one another as it is preached by Christ (Matthew 25:35). That horizontally all of us can treat one another as ONE and vertically come to the Father in praises through the "same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us." (vv. 17-18)

As Paul urges the Ephesians, this message speaks to us today reminding us of our unity; "I urge you to behave with all humility, and gentleness, and patience. I urge you to bear with one another in love. I urge you eagerly to preserve that unity which the Holy Spirit can bring by binding things together in peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called with one hope of your calling. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism. one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in all. " (Eph 4:2-6)
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I leave you with Paul's calling to the Romans when he exhorts them how to exercise their love and said, "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud but be willing to associate with people of low position" (Romans 12:9-16) 
As the humanitarian icon, Audrey Hepburn says, “The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.”  Therefore, friends let us hold on to what is "Good" as God continues to renew us unto eternal sanctification. We are one, voyaging to one destination, and Christ is our best friend who springs strength in our weary paths. He promises to keep us united until he comes again!                   Amen

Thru Ephesians: a sermon series
Ephesians 2:1-10; Luke3:10-18 
Sunday January 10, 2021

Today we are continuing with our exploration and discovery to learn the many important aspects of our reunion with Christ. We are not, however, on a "Bear Hunt" 😊 nor on an adventure to discovering a fairytale of the frozen girls when the gift of snow magic went wrong in the kingdom of Arendelle (Frozen Movie).  


Rather, we are trying to understand and be reminded of the Divine plan in our redemption; the will of God to bring us to life from our dead-selves.  It is about God’s love and how privilege with the gift of adoption makes us equal with Christ. Lastly, this sermon series reminds us of our spiritual endeavor to discern the transcendent power of God invested in the church and in the believers. How do we know? God himself has made known to us this mystery by the "wisdom and insight" that he "lavished" on us through Christ Jesus.


In chapter one and in our introduction last Sunday, Paul talked about our union with Christ and the great blessings that come because of our adoption to God’s family. That, in his gracious love, God has chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world to make us holy and blameless. And God has fulfilled his own good plan during the right time (v.4). Today, in chapter two, Paul assures the Ephesians, that our union with Christ is perfected through dying to Sin and making conscious disjunction with self trespasses.


"You were dead through the trespasses and sins…" (NRSV), Paul said.  Paul used a Greek verb that literally means being dead, ("νεκροὺς— nekrous") when he compares the state of Ephesians before they were believers. Paul's assertion and exhortation are inclusive by nature. When he talks about "You," he refers to the Ephesians (the Gentiles), and when he says "Us," he means his fellow Jews. For Paul, every ethnic group, and everyone, whether slave, the free, or the masters, the rich and the poor etc., were all dead spiritually and needed God's salvation. Everyone has sinned, has trespassed, has fallen short and does not meet the demands of God (Romans 3).


Paul reminded the Ephesians that they were spiritually dead before they were called and included into God's family. God has willed to rescue them from the state of destruction and disobedience. Now, Ephesians are alive through the power of God at work in them. The same power that has raised Christ from the dead, has resurrected them from their Spiritual death.
This Spiritual resurrection comes as a result of conversion and believers are able to discover the new life in Christ apart from the past life. Paul said that now because of conversion, a believer becomes a new creation, the old self is gone, and things becomes new (2 Cor. 5:16-17). Yet, the journey to perfection continues in Christian living unto sanctification.    


But what is the sin and trespasses that Paul keeps mentioning in this chapter and in most of his letters?  Sin is missing the point, the mark, and the intended core of divine purpose. It is an offense against God. For Paul, Ephesians were living in the state of conformity to the worldly manner before they became Christians. They were against God, missing the intended divine law. They were slaves to Satan and sin of the world.


Trespasses on the other hand, (Hebrew—"asham"), means willful debt by going beyond the required limit. This means willfully and consciously choosing "to pass beyond a limit or boundary. To go too far; to put any one to inconvenience by demand or importunity; to intrude; … to trespass upon the time or patience of another. " Easton's Bible Dictionary


In our corrupt state, scripture describes the unbelieving soul as:

1. Blind— "the god of this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. They can’t see the light of the good news that makes Christ’s glory clear. "(2 Corinthians 4: 3-4).
2. Slave to sin— You used to be slaves of sin. But now your obedience is heart deep, and your life is being molded by truth through the teaching you are devoted to! (Romans 6:17).
3. Lover of and under darkness—"But those who love the truth will come out into the Light and welcome its exposure, for the Light will reveal that their fruitful works were produced by God" (John 3: 19-20; Colossians 1:13).
4. Sick— "I have not come to call the ‘righteous,’ but to call those who are sinners and bring them to repentance.” (Mark 2:17).
5. Lost— the father says come my child, you are home now, Let’s prepare and celebrate, it's being found (Luke 15).
6. Alien and stranger— you are no longer strangers, foreigners, or guests, "but rather you are the children of the city of the holy ones, with all the rights as family members of the household of God" (Ephesians 2:19)
7. Rebellious and children of Wrath— " But God still loved us with such great love. He is so rich in compassion and mercy. Even when we were dead and doomed in our many sins, he united us into the very life of Christ and saved us by his wonderful grace!" (Ephesians 2: 3-5).

Scripture views human sinful nature as equal to physical death. My people of the Anyuwa have one saying, and "patha dhaanhnhø" when they refer to a person who, for any reason other than disability, fails to exercise self, knowledge, and ability. The Anyuwaa would say, Patha dhaanhnhø—meaning, he/she is not a person.  They are right. A person can be dead yet still living and that is the essential reference to our spiritual death--walking dead.    

​Paul said Ephesians were once departed from God and went too far and beyond God's boundary to the worshiping of Artemis. They were lost and needed help. They were like all of us because we had gone too far in our disobedience and suppressed the truth about God (Romans 1:18-19). Like them, we went out of God's presence and from God's circle and died of spiritual death like Adam and Eve (Genesis 2:17).

Isaiah said "All of us are like sheep. We have wandered away from God. All of us have turned to our own ways. And the Lord has placed on his servant, Christ the Messiah, the sins of all of us". (Isaiah 53:6) Peter echoed Isaiah and said all of us have trespassed like sheep that continually wandered away, but through Christ Jesus, now we have returned to the true Shepherd of our lives— to the “kind Guardian who lovingly watches over your souls” (1 Peter 2:25).

Paul exhorts Ephesians and all of us that, though we are now alive in Christ, we must therefore be dead to sin, to the need of the body, and to the will of trespassing. This is because you are no longer spiritually "Nekus", nor in the period of apnea, or have bradycardia, neither experiencing asphyxia (please allow me to use my medical terminology lesson😊). In Christ you are not unconscious, but dead to sin. Yet fully alive, with full heartbeat, sufficient of oxygen and breathing normally. God did this by grace through faith when we believed—"Nothing we did could ever earn this salvation, for it was the gracious gift from God that brought us to Christ!” (vv. 8-9)

Paul's message to the Ephesians and to us today is clear. He believes that through the saving power, God has expelled death that has occupied Christians before our conversion. Now God has instilled in us the undying life of Christ. Thus, Christians are alive because the fullness of God's grace is an unyielding stream of mercy flowing and keeps streaming in Christian's living daily.

Friends, it's true that the corruption was in us from birth and we expressed our disobedience through our actions and desires of our hearts. We have "lived by whatever natural cravings and thoughts our minds dictated, living as rebellious children subject to God’s wrath like everyone else."

However, God the father of love has shown us mercy despite our degradation and deprivation, falling short of God demands. God did this through Christ, in Christ, by Christ and with Christ as he himself is filled with grace and mercy. You are made alive with Christ’s grace and have been saved through faith as a gift from and of God   and " not the result of works, so that no one may boast” (v 9).
Some may ask how a renewed person continues living in the newness state with Christ. In another place, Paul presented his rhetorical question to the baptized Roman Christians how to exercise their Christian freedom. He asked, should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?  Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 

“Therefore, we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life"(Romans 6:1-4).  This is

Paul's best answer to the question of our Christian freedom to believers in all centuries.  
Christians must never forget where we came from, who we are, our present state and where we are going. The person who is in Christ is rightfully a child of God and is dead to sin and free from punishment because of the death of Christ (Romans 6:23). We discover life through death; dying spiritually to the desires of the world and we obtain a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Therefore, in our new life in Christ, comes an extended list of God's heavenly blessings to sustain us (Eph 1-2): 

1. The secret of the Adoption and the gift of redemption--Jesus Christ
2. The power of knowledge—knowing the mystery of God and the uniting power in church—unity in Diversity. 
3. The privilege to obtain an inheritance in heavenly realms and obtaining the transcendent peace of God.
4. The filling with his fullness (grace) and
5. The gift of praises and glorifying God.

The scripture exhorted us today to live new life as we are called; a life filled with conscious understanding of the love of God. The life that decerns the fullness of God and that his fullness fills in us.  Today we are reminded of our Christians life and the secret of our co-existence with Christ.  We live because of Christ, are filled with Strength, even in our state of fragility. This is the "True love" of Elsa, Anna and Olaf, where a Perpetual snow, keeps Olaf alive even in that tormenting summer in the Kingdom of Arendelle (Frozen).

Therefore, let us remain determined in our calling and committed to our journey to perfection. Let us be reminded that we have been raised with Christ and spiritually “ascended with him into the glorious perfection and authority of the heavenly realm, for we are now co-seated as one with Christ!" God's plan is to fill us with grace, because "He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things" (Ephesians 4:10).

​We are all like Olaf the snowman, but with God's grace pouring from above, we are made strong and surviving. The snow/cloud of mercy is following and covering us on our spiritual paths. The kingdom of Arendelle was a place for everyone and represents the Kingdom of God and the Church universal. With Christ raised on high, we will not runout of hopes, faith, joy, and strength, because the almighty Father, brings unyielding filling through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Ephesians 1:3-19
Sunday, January 3, 2021

Last Sunday, we concluded our last Sermon for 2020 and we reflected on God's covenantal assurance and deliverance for Israel from Isaiah 61:10-62:5. We also touched on Paul's message to the Galatians when he assured them of God’s comprehensive plan through Christ. Paul stated that God's divine plan and covenantal purpose was manifested through Christ whom God himself has sent. Jesus was born and made his dwelling among us and became one of us in order to make friends of us. The reason he was born through woman was to draw us near to himself and to redeem us from our fallen humanity.

The dawning light of hope shone on Christmas when the savior was born, and the light of salvation keeps shining throughout the world. In this process, Paul said, God adopted us in Christ and has blessed us with the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. In the renewed nature, a union with God is established and Christians are now made confident to call God their Father and freely appeal on his name. This means Christians are considered God's valued family members. Through this mystical adoption, God accepts Christians as children and no longer strangers. Therefore, Christians have access to God and have equal status with Christ (Galatians 4:4-7).

So, based on this conclusion, we are going to pick up from the book of Ephesians and explore this process of adoption in detail.  In the epistle to the Ephesians, Paul lays out God’s plan, purpose and how this mystical interweaving transformation process takes place. This is an important topic and has substantial elements about the mystery of our redemption. But for now, we will leave more details to the future sermons where we will be digging deeper as we continue with the sermon series—"Discovering Divine plan and Purpose thru Ephesians."

​Today, we will see Luke’s report about the City of Ephesus and Paul’s missionary journey to Asia Minor. Let us get to the historical background and then we will move on the to the theological   piece of the Epistle in the coming Sundays. As Max Turner said, “Ephesians is breathtaking in its theological grasp of the scope of God’s purposes in Christ…” 
Max is right. The city of Ephesus has a significant place in the first century Roman Empire. Ephesus was the capital city of the Roman province in Asia, present day Turkey. It was a bridge city between western and eastern Roman Empire and was counted among the best cities in the first century.  Ephesus was also a wealthy city, home of the main port and market center in Asia, said John L. McKenzie, S.J. It was the hub for religious, commercial, and political ground in her time.  

There were incredibly special things in Ephesus that made the city noticeable in ancient time. Ephesus was the home for the temple of Artemis. This temple was covered with marble and it looked brightly shining, representing the goddess of fertility, Artemis.  People flocks to Ephesus for rituals and feasts. The statue of Artemis was sacred, and business boomed for the sale of statues of the goddess Artemis.

Luke would describe an incident around the controversy between the followers of Artemis and Paul in the city of Ephesus in Acts 19:23-49. The followers of Artemis feared that Paul was going destroy their business by the new teaching he was bringing to the city. That people would turn away from the Artemis to follow Jesus. The business leader of the city by the name Demetrius called together a meeting to address the issue, and said, “as you have seen and heard, this man Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all. And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire province!7 Of course, I’m not just talking about the loss of public respect for our business. I’m also concerned that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will lose its influence and that Artemis—this magnificent goddess worshiped throughout the province of Asia and all around the world—will be robbed of her great prestige!”
 
Another noticeable feature in Ephesus was the "Great Theater of Ephesus" which was said to have a capacity of thousands of spectators during events. The theater was spectacularly rich, adorned with statues of great Roman emperors and famous citizens. People would come from all over the province to attend music performances, religious and political events, sports, including fights with animals and major celebrations carried out in the theater (1 Corinthians 15:32).

​Therefore, Ephesus was an important city for mission and has a great place in Paul’s heart. Paul stayed in the city for two years, an unusual practice for Paul to stay in one place for such a long time.  He saw the need and opportunity in the city of Ephesus and the whole province. Paul rented a hall called “Hall of Tyrannus” and taught people every day for two years (Acts 19:10).

Due to this extensive work of Paul, Ephesus became known to many Christians. While Jerusalem was the birthplace of Christianity and Antioch the mission center, Ephesus was considered the city of Christianity and evangelism for the churches in Asia.  The 7 Churches of Revelation were found because of the work done in Ephesus as the Spirit confirms through John. That “I know all that you’ve done for me—you have worked hard and persevered" (Revelation 2:1-2).  

According to Luke, Paul briefly visited Ephesus during his second Missionary Journey when the team including Priscilla, Aquilla and Timothy left Corinth for Ephesus. Paul did not plan to stay in the city nor hoped to do any extensive evangelism on that trip. But his mind was faced to Jerusalem and visiting churches he planted in his first journey. Staying for a short period of time and once reasoning in the Synagogues with Jewish leaders, Paul left Ephesus. Yet, on taking leave of them, he said, “I will return to you if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus” to Caesarea” and then to Jerusalem (Acts 18:18-23).

However, during his third Missionary Journey, as he prayed for, Paul went back to Ephesus and stayed there for two years, between A.D 56-58 as detailed in Acts 19 through 21:14. On this trip, Paul left Antioch taking routs through the interior regions of Asia minor to Ephesus. In his two years stay, Paul carried out extensive evangelism and teaching activities “that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks heard the word of the Lord” (Acts 19:20). John McKenzie says the Church of Ephesus was "praised for its orthodoxy and its perseverance in the faith…" 
I know these are boring historical details and I hate to leave them out of our series as well. I also don't want us to go home without getting out of the word of God this Sunday. I promise, I will not be preaching an African sermon today. So please bear with me 😊. 

Regarding the epistle, Paul sent this letter as an encouragement while Paul was now in the Roman prison room. The letter is believed to be written by Paul himself and between A.D 60-62 along with Colossians and Philemon. And Paul’s love for the Ephesians has been details in his last speech when he invited the elders to meet him in Miletus. “You yourselves know how I lived among you the entire time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, enduring the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews. I did not shrink from doing anything helpful, proclaiming the message to you and teaching you publicly and from house to house, as I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus” (Acts 20:18-21).

In this letter to the Ephesians, Paul introduced himself to his readers and claimed his apostleship, that he was call by God's will sent in Jesus Christ.  Paul wanted to brush off any doubts about his authority and calling. He claimed that he was indeed called by God and he has the right to address and encourage the Ephesian Church. Next, in the first three chapters, Paul presented the union of Christians in God through Christ. In the later chapters 4-5 he describes how this divine union is exemplified in human and familial relationship. In chapter 6, Paul exhorted Ephesians to put on the armor of God as they continue to live Christian life in Ephesus.

This is our takeaway from this tedious introduction. That the book of Ephesus brings to us a rich meaning of God's secret mystery and the process of redeeming humanity in Christ. God’s divine plan is choosing for himself people to bear his name, worship him as Lord and bear witness of his glory (Ephesians 1:12). Jesus exclaim this truth in the book of John 15:16—"you did not choose me, I chose you…" And in this election, God blesses us with union in Christ, the forgiveness of sins, and God makes Christians grow both in knowledge and strength (Eph. 1:17).

Second, Paul claims Christians are called to walk with God wholeheartedly in their Christian living. And our unity with Christ is exemplified by the mystical relationship between the church and Christ and as marriage between a husband and wife. Paul also encouraged the Ephesians to receive this mystery by faith and in continued seeking, he believes that Christians shall come to the full knowledge of God's love and grace in saving them.

Lastly, God did not set up Christians for failure. Rather, God equips Christians with spiritual gifts to help fight the devil.  Paul encouraged Christians in Ephesus and around the world to utilize God's armor. To stand tall and strong, Christians ought to fasten the belt of truth to support our back (waist) and tighten the breastplate of righteousness to guard our hearts from deceit (Ephesians 6:14). Like Roman soldiers who were in a constant struggle to keep or advance their empire, believers are in constant fight. Therefore, they must be ready at all the times so that they are able to stand all "strategies of the devil and are able to rescue many for Christ

Friends, we are called to believe in this truth and remain in believing. God's redemptive work is a mystery that can only be perceived in the hearts and through the eyes of faith. We cannot see our inner transformation through the sanctification in the power of the Holy Spirit. Christians are convinced and convicted of this renewing process. They can feel it, they can sense it, but because we cannot touch it, does not make it untrue as countless deny this fact in this world. This process of union in Christ is not and never been a tale, nor a parable, neither a joke. Rather, it is God's mysterious practical work. Even if we cannot logically prove our co-existence with Christ, we can perceive it by faith. 

Reformed theology recognizes this truth and believes that in Christ we have shared identity in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ through our baptism. “Because believers are joined to Christ in this mystical way, they share not only his experiences but also his very identity, so that the Father looks upon believers as though they were Christ himself, accounting them Jesus’ status and rights” (Galatians 3:26-29).

The big picture in Ephesians is God’s accessibility through Christ; that the church is God’s new humanity, a colony, established as foretastes of the renewed unity and dignity of human race. Therefore, the Kingdom of God is open for/to everyone who has faith and puts trust in God, both Jews and Gentiles.
Also, God sustains us in our struggle and Christian life as the Chronicles claim "The LORD keeps close watch over the whole earth and is ready to strengthen those who are devoted to him…” 2 Chronicles 16:9). God, even at this moment, is still seeking for people to receive his grace and invite Christ into their heart and make union with him. It is possible with God!

​Let us know that God has destined Christians for adoption and calls us his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us, the beloved (Ephesians 1:5-6).