Ephesians 2, Peace with God

Paul is describing the position Christians have been given by Christ.

Ephesians 2:1-3, Objects of wrath

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

Everyone, regardless of religious upbringing, has a selfish "sinful nature", opposed to the plans of God.

Ephesians 2:4-7, Lifted up to heaven

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

But the Gospel is all about lifting up these strange selfish human creatures (like me!) to the riches of God. This passage has a lot to say about God's longterm plan -- there are ages to come in which we are involved in these "incomparable riches".

Ephesians 2:8-10, Saved by grace

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Salvation (relationship with God) is a gift made possible through the Messiah, Jesus.

Ephesians 2:11-13, Even Gentiles!

Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)--  remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

Even the pagan non-Jews, the Gentiles, can have this gift!  Most of the recipients of Paul's letter are in that category.

Ephesians 2:14-16, Peace, destroying hostility

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

The old human (going back to Adam), controlled by the flesh (and the law) has been redeemed and restored, turned into a new man.  The old hostility with Go and been replaced by peace.

Ephesians 2:17-18, Access to God

He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

And now, with that peace, comes free access to God and the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 2:19-22,

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

A new building, a new kingdom is being built, with Jesus as the foundation stone. We are part of it!

Ephesians 1, Powerful God, Powerful Savior

At this point in the calendar, we have gone through three of the four gospels and some of the New Testament letters.  Today we return to the letters of Paul, in particular his letter to the church in Ephesus.

Ephesians 1: 1-2, Greetings!

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

A standard greeting. Some ancient manuscripts do not include the destination, Ephesus.  It is possible (indeed likely) that this letter was meant to be circulated to a number of churches in the region, including Ephesus.  Some have argued that issues discussed here fit better with the church in Laodicea and it is possible that this letter circulated in western Asia Minor (now western Turkey, near the Aegean Sea) to cities such as Ephesus and Laodicea.

Ephesians 1: 3-6, Chosen by God
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Apparently God has planned us out long before even creation began!  All of this is part of a plan for which we are to praise Him.  Contrary to secret societies where one gained more knowledge and power as one rose within the ranks, Christians are immediately "blessed" with "every spiritual blessing".

Ephesians 1: 7-14, Redeemed and sealed
 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory.

If our lives were planned out before God's creation, then apparently our spiritual development was also!  This includes a "security deposit", the gift of the Holy Spirit, as promised by Old Testament prophets.

Predestination leads to lots of questions. For example, I have a number of good friends who, through sexual activity outside of marriage, suddenly discovered that a baby was on the way, even as the relationship began to break up.  So, one might ask, was this sexual relationship "ordained" long ago? (Indeed, in Old Testament times, we see the lineage of David going through the child of Judah (after he visits the Tamar, who plays a prostitute) and the child Solomon after David's affair with Bathsheba.

Certainly both the Old and the New Testament show that God redeems (turns into good) bad situations but any question about predestination quickly becomes complicated.

Ephesians 1: 15-23, Paul's prayer
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.  I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. 

That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,  far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

A strong prayer -- worth reviewing and praying through, for ourselves and others.  It includes a request for wisdom and spiritual power and returns to describing the attributes of the Messiah.

Timeline of Resurrection Appearances

This has been a busy and interesting weekend! But it means I have not had the time to prepare my planned notes on the resurrection appearances of Jesus, as reported in the New Testament.  I will see if I can update this tomorrow.

The New Testament records a number of appearances of Jesus after his resurrection.  I will try to summarize that here.

Luke 24 has the women visiting the tomb, followed by Peter.  Matthew 28 has the women seeing Jesus before they visit the Eleven. (It also records that they saw one angel.) Possibly we have two visits to the empty tomb. The first visit involves two women, both named Mary (Matt 28: 1-10). Mark (in Mark 16:1-8) records these two women visiting the tomb, along with a woman named Salome.

According to John, Mary Magdalene saw the empty tomb (with a stone rolled away.) She then told Peter and John about this. They go to the tomb, John first, but John does not go in. Peter does. (No angels are mentioned.) John believes that Jesus has risen from the dead. They leave the tomb and then Jesus appears to Mary (after she tells the disciples the tomb is empty) and Mary sees two angels, one at the foot and one at the head of the tomb.

Later that evening Jesus appears to a number of disciples, including two unnamed followers who are walking to nearby Emmaus.  A week later he appears when Thomas is with the others. This seems to all occur in Judea. Later (John 21, Matthew 28: 16-20) Jesus appears in Galilee, maybe twice.

Paul, in I Corinthians 15: 3-7, records that after appearing to Peter and the other disciples, at one time Jesus appeared to more than 500 followers, many of whom are still alive in Paul's day.

Here are some online sources that attempt to work through the various appearances.

From a Catholic scholar, a blog post.

This post, from biblestudy.org, even attempts to give precise dates, although leaving out the appearance of Jesus to Peter.  (The exact dates should be viewed with suspicion.)

I'll look at these other entries later, when I get caught up!
http://www.gfcto.com/articles/theological-issues/chronology-of-jesus
https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_814.cfm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-Resurrection_appearances_of_Jesus

Tomorrow we return to the study of Luke.