God’s Church

If you would turn, please, to
Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians. I was the brunt of some kidding
around yesterday when there was a suggestion made that I would
be in John 16 today, and somebody said, not for several more years
yet. We are due to be in John 16,
but let me tell you how this little thing came up. Several
weeks ago, my brother Cliff was asking about the reading list
and maybe what books we haven’t read through, and it provoked
a good study for me. And I began looking at not only
our scripture reading list, but our preaching history. And I
realized that there are books that I have yet to preach, that
I purpose to preach if the Lord wills, Colossians and Galatians,
1 Thessalonians and 2 Timothy. I hope to get to all those before
the Lord takes me away. There are books that I may never
get to preach. And there are books through which
I’ve already preached. And whenever I finish a book
like Romans, I’m always a little bit wistful because I realize
I may never get to preach them again. We preach through Titus. in 2000. I don’t think anybody,
anybody in this room was here except us. Ephesians 2001, James
in 2002, 1 Timothy in 2003, 1 Peter in 2007, Philippians in 2009.
There is a lot of good scripture there, right? And so I began to look at maybe
how we could refresh some of those studies, even if we don’t
get to preach them through in their entirety, perhaps we could
yet review, if you will, refresh our memories and feast upon these
great epistles once again. And so what I purpose to do is
introduce reintroduce the book of Ephesians which we haven’t
been in for 17 years formally and reintroduce it today and
then in the course of six weeks preach from each of the chapters
of Ephesians again if the Lord wills. Paul’s epistle to the Ephesian
church is a fascinating study. Scripture records an amazing
account of the relationship that developed between the Apostle
Paul and the church in the bustling city and region of Ephesus. The history of Paul’s involvement
with the city of Ephesus is largely recorded in the book of Acts.
primarily chapters 18 through 20, and so if you would, tuck
something, a bulletin or something in Ephesians, but I want you
to turn to Acts 20, and we’ll get there in a few minutes. The story of Paul’s involvement
with the Ephesian church actually begins what is known as Paul’s
second missionary journey. But strangely enough, the start
of the relationship was delayed by God himself. It would seem
as if Paul was forbidden or that God didn’t want him to go into
what we now know as Asia. Acts 16 records it this way,
just briefly, don’t turn there. They pass through the Phrygian
and Galatian region having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit
to speak the word in Asia. So here’s Paul’s desire, his
intent to go into the region of Ephesus and God himself prevented
by means of the Holy Spirit him from doing so. Paul had purposed
to take the gospel to the region around Ephesus but for reasons
that God doesn’t provide Paul and his team were forbidden to
go there at that time. In some way the Holy Spirit had
forbidden what was essentially a left turn towards Ephesus and
instead ultimately Paul is divinely redirected. Paul would take him
to Europe and to the task of establishing churches in Philippi
first and then Thessalonica and Corinth as you know. Many months
would pass but nearing the end of that second missionary journey
Paul’s wishes and desires would come true and Paul, God rather,
would bless Paul’s efforts to take the gospel to Ephesus and
to that bustling city. Acts 18 records a very brief
visit to that city. You can turn back to Acts 18.
We’ll get to 20 in a moment. In Acts 18, he and his message
of the gospel, he brings his message of the gospel there,
salvation by faith in Jesus Christ, and he was warmly received. Look at verse 19. They came to
Ephesus and he left them there. Now, he himself entered the synagogue
and reasoned with the Jews. That was his habit. That’s where
he would start. And when they asked him to stay
for a longer time, he did not consent. But taking leave of
them and saying, I will return to you again if God wills, he
set sail from Ephesus. So enthusiastic was their welcome
that when Paul indicated his need to leave, They begged him
to stay, and Paul did not consent. Instead, he made them a promise
with an important condition. He said, I will return if the
Lord wills, if God wills. We make a lot of plans in our
lives, don’t we? We state a lot of intentions,
and we would be wise to humbly submit our plans as Paul did
to the Lord, if God wills. And so Paul’s relationship with
the Ephesian church had indeed been established. And by God’s
good providence, he would return in the course of his third missionary
journey, as recorded in Acts 19. The beginnings were small. Acts 19.1 tells us that he simply
found some disciples. So that brief introduction that
he had, that simple preaching of the gospel in the synagogue,
mind you, bore fruit. And now in Ephesus there were
some. He doesn’t tell us how much.
He doesn’t tell us how many. There were some disciples. God’s
work had done its work. There were those who had heard
and believed and had begun to grow in faith. This time he would
have, however, a long and rich ministry in that region. As verse
20 tells us, the word of the Lord was growing mightily and
prevailing. His very fruitful stay would
last several years. Ultimately, Paul would again
be called and compelled away from Ephesus, but the relationship
with Paul and the Ephesian church had now matured significantly. There’s a fascinating feature
that perhaps you’ve never noticed. There’s a relational triad woven
into the New Testament that you likely have never picked up on.
Embedded there in the narrative of Paul’s missionary work in
the New Testament, there is a subtle but significant relationship
involving three cities. Ephesus, Corinth, and Rome. Not only did Paul visit each
city and minister in each city, helping to establish viable churches
in each of those cities, he also wrote significant letters, as
you know, to each of those churches in those cities, letters which
we now know were not only for those particular churches in
that particular time, but they were written also for us, for
the spiritual health and guidance of the greater church from that
time forward, even until Christ’s return. The first leg of that
triad, the first leg of the triangle from Ephesus to Corinth, while
Paul was ministering in Ephesus, he wrote a letter to the Corinthian
church. In Acts 19, we find the apostle
in the midst of his third missionary journey, approximately A.D. 54 or 55. And we have recorded
there for us a great season of ministry there for Paul in that
region, as I mentioned. He gives indications of his intention
to travel elsewhere, namely Jerusalem. But we know that he stayed and
labored there in that region for some time. Acts 19.22 just
says, for a while. It was actually several years.
And we have a definitive mention of the place where Paul wrote
his first letter to Corinth in that letter itself. In 1 Corinthians
16, 9, he says to the Corinthians, I will remain in Ephesus until
Pentecost. While in Ephesus, Paul writes
to the troubled Corinthian church addressing, as you know, a variety
of doctrinal concerns. The second leg of the triangle,
the ministry, or the triangle, the triad, from Corinth to Rome,
occurs still later in Paul’s third missionary journey. Acts
20 records, verses two and three, if you’re now in Acts 20, We’re
going to begin to bleed into that area. In Acts 20, Luke records that Paul made a
three-month long stop in Greece, specifically Corinth. Because
of persecution, a murderous scheme that was planned by the Jewish
leaders, Paul’s time there was very short. But it was from Corinth
and under such duress that he writes arguably his greatest
treatise, the epistle to the Romans. That epistle too was
primarily addressed, which primarily addressed the doctrine of salvation.
Remember the outline that we had, sin, salvation, sanctification,
sovereignty, and service. The third leg of the triangle,
Rome to Ephesus, the connection of Rome to Ephesus, having written
to the Corinthians from Ephesus and then to the Romans from Corinth,
Paul completes this intriguing triad by writing to the Ephesian
church from Rome. Paul had for many years desired
to minister in the bustling metropolis of Rome. It probably was provided
him here in a manner not as he planned. God fulfilled this desire
but it wasn’t as he might have envisioned it. Paul, we know,
suffered multiple imprisonments. Both 2 Corinthians 6-5, 2 Corinthians
11-23 simply refer to multiple imprisonments, using the word
in the plural. And of those imprisonments, we
know that Paul was imprisoned at least once in Rome, and there
may very well have been a second imprisonment there. Paul’s imprisonment
there in Rome was more like a house arrest. It was more of a home
that he stayed where he was attended to by guards rather than a dark,
dank dungeon. And there in Rome, by God’s providence,
under the powerful authority of the Roman government, he was,
in a very real way, protected and enabled to minister. Paul’s
Jewish detractors were very limited in their efforts to undermine
his ministry. And in a remarkable turn of God’s
providence, even though Paul was a prisoner of the Roman government,
he was granted a great measure of freedom that allowed him to
preach and write. And we know that he wrote multiple
letters from his Roman prison, which are some of our favorite
books of scripture, right? Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon,
Philippians, and each of those four epistles provide us ample
evidence regarding the fact that Paul wrote them from prison. He does this by distinctly and
repeatedly referring to himself as a prisoner in the book of
Colossians. In his epistle to that church
in Colossae, he speaks of his imprisonment as current. It was something that he was
experiencing as he wrote. Colossians 4.18, he says, remember
my imprisonment. He calls to mind his current
condition in the mind of the Colossian believers as a means
of encouragement. Onesimus, regarding Onesimus
in his epistle to Philemon. Five times in that short one
chapter epistle to Philemon, Paul refers to his current imprisonment. And the amazing thing here is
that he repeatedly suggests that he was imprisoned by not the
Romans, not the Jews, but he was imprisoned by none other
than his Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul, Philemon 1, Paul,
a prisoner of Christ Jesus. He said, in essence, that this
was according to God’s sovereign will. Philippians also mentions
his imprisonment. Four times in his epistle to
the Philippians, Paul speaks of my imprisonment. He even mentions
his guards. And of his imprisonment, Paul
says that it was a shared experience with the Philippian believers.
Even the Christians who were with Paul in Rome were actually
emboldened, he says, by his chains. And then to the Ephesians, he
also mentions his imprisonments. He does so twice in this epistle. For this reason, I, Paul, Ephesians
3, 1, the prisoner of Christ Jesus. Ephesians 4, 1, the prisoner
of the Lord. And so we have these epistles,
these rich epistles, not the least of which was his epistle
to the Ephesians written from this captivity, and it was a
captivity. He was not free to leave, but
he was free to minister, and we are richer for it. I want you to ponder, though, the
recipients of the epistle. Because if you’re like most,
you read the epistle to the Ephesians, and it’s immediate that this
epistle was written to the church in Ephesus. But there’s a good
deal of evidence that this title is not even part of the original
text. And in fact there are no early
Greek manuscripts that even mention this city Ephesus or this region
Ephesians or either in the title or in the body of the epistle.
Nevertheless, there are strong reasons for associating this
letter with Ephesus. Most chiefly, the fact that the
majority of the early church fathers held this letter directly
tied to Ephesus, church tradition. The bottom line for me is that
given the fact that the title is not universally found in manuscript
evidence, I do find it reasonable to conclude that it was more
likely an epistle that was directed to multiple churches in the region
of Ephesus rather than to any one particular church. So we
are compelled to consider it as a circular, if you will. With
regard to the content, the cause and the content, and the cause
and the content are always directly related You read what you read
and you know why Paul wrote what he wrote. I love the way one
set forth the content of Paul’s writing. The epistle does not
appear to have been called forth by any particular circumstances.
If you read the book of 1 Corinthians, you know why Paul’s writing,
right? Now concerning, now concerning,
now concerning. Well, Paul did have a purpose
in writing to the Ephesians, but it wasn’t so plain, it isn’t
so stark as it is in his epistle to the Corinthians. Nor, he says, does it involve
any warning against the peculiarities of Jewish or Eastern philosophy.
So this isn’t an epistle that is writing to correct some developing
error, like he does in Galatians. But it was designed to set forth
the origin and development of the church of Christ and to display
to the Christian dweller under the shadow of the great temple
of Diana. The unity and beauty of that
transcendently more glorious spiritually temple of which Christ
himself was the chief cornerstone. In other words, Paul is writing
to Christians living in a heathen land, living in a godless society
who had cooked up all kinds of idols. And Paul is writing to
encourage them in the faith. Paul had a very unique relationship
with the Ephesian believers. And even though his relationship
with this church was strong, it was very unique. Very much
unlike a relationship that he had with almost any other New
Testament church. There were other churches with
whom Paul seemed to have a warmer relationship. Remember his epistle
to the Philippian church? I thank my God, Philippians 1,
in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy
in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation
in the gospel from the first day until now. He had a warm
relationship with the Philippian church. There were other churches
about whom Paul seemed to be more enthusiastic. Consider his
relationship with the church in Thessalonica. To the Thessalonians
he wrote, 1 Thessalonians 1, we give thanks to God always
for all of you, making mention of you in your prayers, constantly
bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness
of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the presence of our God and
Father. knowing brethren, beloved by God, his choice of you. For our gospel did not come to
you in word only, but in power and in the Holy Spirit and with
full conviction, just as you know what kind of men we prove
to be among you for your sake. He had an enthusiastic view of
the Thessalonica, the Thessalonian church. And there were other
churches that elicited a much greater measure of Paul’s concern. Remember just several weeks ago
when we read through Paul’s epistle to the Galatian church, he said
to them in chapter one, I am amazed that you are so quickly
deserting him who called you by the grace of Christ for a
different gospel. which is really not another,
only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel
of Christ. There were some churches about
whom Paul was exceedingly concerned, that they were slipping into
doctrinal error and maybe even apostatizing from the faith.
Paul’s epistle, or Paul’s, pardon me, Paul’s relationship with
the Ephesian church was different than all of those. It was unique. It was special. And when Paul
wrote to them, there were no expressions of deep affection. There were no heartfelt accolades
about their life and ministry. There were no grave concerns.
When all the facts are considered, the church in Ephesus seems to
be a church that solidified quickly and immediately got down to the
work of serving the Lord. It wasn’t a church with a whole
lot of problems and drama. And that seemingly affected Paul’s
relationship with them. His relationship with them is
almost business-like. It’s almost matter-of-fact. They’re
on their own. They’re a mature church. They’re,
if you will, alongside of Paul. But make no mistake, it was friendly
and it was a passionate relationship. were provided a glimpse into
that relationship in Acts chapter 20, which Paul records, which
records rather Paul’s final visit to that area. After a particularly
tumultuous period, Paul departed Ephesus for Macedonia. That’s
Acts 20 verses one through seven. And after a very brief, tour
of Macedonia and Greece, Paul heads for Syria. Paul is now
nearing the completion of his third and final missionary journey,
at least the last one that is recorded in the New Testament.
In the midst of that journey, which has taken him from Antioch
in the east, westward through Tarsus and Lystra and Laodicea
and Ephesus, Paul makes one final stop at Miletus. on the shore
near Ephesus, and there he beckons to him the Ephesian elders. In verses 15 and 16. Now Paul
knew that in all likelihood his ministry to the Ephesians was
over. As you know, Paul would continue
to serve them. He would continue to go on and
write a letter to this church from prison. But here on the
shores of Miletus, he sensed that his personal face-to-face
investment into their growth as Christians, their growth as
a church, it was coming to an end. It was drawing to a close
and he fully expected to be arrested in Jerusalem. His worldwide traveling
days were drawing to a close. And he calmly explains to his
Ephesian friends that they would no longer see his face. Paul
passionately wanted them to know that they would be fine. In a
very real way, they would be better off without him. I’m not
gonna read the entire address. I just wanna take you through
Acts chapter 20 in very brief fashion. The first thing he does
in verses 18 through 20 is kind of review his past ministry among
them. He tells them in verses 18 and
19 about his undaunted service among them. You yourselves know
from the first day that I set foot in Asia how I was with you
the whole time serving the Lord with all humility and with tears
and trials. Paul wanted to remind them of
his work among them. He wanted to remind them, secondly,
of his commitment to proclaiming the gospel. There in verse 20
and 21, I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that
was profitable in teaching you publicly and from house to house.
Secondly, the second major section there, Paul speaks trustingly
about his future. He’s going to Jerusalem. He believes
in his heart he’s going to be arrested, perhaps even martyred,
and yet He absolutely trusts the Lord. He has a faith in God
to proceed even into the unknown. Look at verse 22, And now, behold,
bound in spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what
will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly
testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions
await me. Nevertheless, Paul had a selfless
dedication to the work of God. an absolute commitment to God’s
Word there in 25 through 27. He had a compulsion to warn people
of danger, verses 28 through 31. And the third major section,
the very purpose for which I had you turn to Acts 20. I’ve entitled
this message, God’s Church, because that’s what it was to Paul. Ephesians,
the church in Ephesus, the church in the Ephesian region was God’s
church. It wasn’t Paul’s church. Paul
didn’t cling to it. Paul didn’t grasp hold of it.
Paul didn’t hold them down. They were God’s church and Paul
knew it. And I said in a moment ago, I said a moment ago that
in a very real way, they were better off without Paul. Here’s
why. Paul knows that he may never see them again. It’s possible
that he glided back through Ephesus in a portion that is not included
in our New Testament. It’s possible. But Paul knew
that it was also very possible that he would never see them
again. And look at verse 32, where Paul says, and now I commend
you to God This is a divine handoff. This is a handoff to divine resources
and Christians are always better off in God’s care than they ever
are under our own. Now I commend you to God and
to the word of his grace which is able to build you up and to
give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
It was God’s church and Paul knew it. So Paul departed from his Ephesian
friends He made it to Jerusalem, and as we all know, he was soon
arrested. His appeal to Caesar was the
mechanism that would ultimately take him finally to Rome. There
he was kept under house arrest. Years later, Paul was compelled
to write some of his beloved churches, Philippians, Colossae,
Ephesians. As one Dear brother, is it okay
that I look forward to meeting John Eady someday in glory? One
of my favorite commentaries, and it’s said of him that he
was as godly as he was scholarly. John Eady characterized the epistle
to the Ephesians in these profound words. From the metropolis of
the world where luxury was added to ambition and licentiousness
was bathed in blood, an obscure and imprisoned foreigner composes
this sublime treatise on a subject beyond the mental range of the
wisest of Western sages and dictates a system of brief ethics which
in purity, fullness, and symmetry eclipses the boasted morals of
Seneca and the more labored and rhetorical essays even of Cicero. Now unlike the Ephesian believers,
that first Sunday when his epistle came to town and was likely read
in the churches to whom it was given, Unlike those Ephesian
believers, they would not have had a copy of Paul’s letter in
their lap as we do. They would have listened. And
even though I might encourage you to follow along in your Bible,
especially if you don’t have a new American standard, not
that it’s better. I just don’t want you to be held
back. I don’t want you to be tripped up. If you have one of
the booklets, either way, if you sit back and listen, as long
as I don’t see you nodding off, I implore you to listen. First
and foremost, to the saints in the Ephesian region, Paul wrote. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus
by the will of God to the saints who are at Ephesus. and who are
faithful in Christ Jesus. Grace to you and peace from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every
spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Just as he
chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined
us to adoption as sons through Christ Jesus to himself, according
to the kind intention of his will, to the praise of the glory
of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the beloved. In him, we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to
the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us. In all wisdom
and insight, he made known to us the mystery of his will, according
to his kind intention, which he purposed in him with a view
to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times.
That is the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the
heavens and things upon the earth. In Him, also, we have obtained
an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose, who
works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that
we, who were the first to hope in Christ, should be to the praise
of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening
to the message of the truth, the gospel of your salvation,
having also believed, you were sealed. in Him with the Holy
Spirit of promise who was given as a pledge of our inheritance
with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession to the
praise of His glory. For this reason, I too, having
heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus, which exists among you
and your love for all the saints, do not cease in giving thanks
for you. while making mention of you in
my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in
the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your
heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope
of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance
in the saints. and what is the surpassing greatness
of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with
the working of the strength of His might which He brought about
in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him
at His right hand in the heavenly places far above all rule and
authority and power and dominion and every name that is named
not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put
all things in subjection under his feet. And he gave him his
head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness
who fills all in all. And you were dead in your trespasses
and sins in which you formerly walked. According to the course
of this world according to the prince of the power of the air
of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience Among
them we all too formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh Indulging
the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature
children of wrath even as the rest but God being rich in mercy
because of his great love with which he loved us even when we
were dead in our transgressions made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved
and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly
places in Christ Jesus in order that in the ages to come He might
show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness towards
us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved
through faith. And that, not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God, not as a result of works that no one
should boast. For we are His workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand
that we should walk in them. Therefore remember that formerly
you the Gentiles in the flesh who are called uncircumcision
by the so-called circumcision which is performed in the flesh
by human hands. Remember that you were at that
time separate from Christ excluded from the Commonwealth of Israel
and strangers to the covenants of promise having no hope and
without God in the world. But now In Christ Jesus, you
who were formerly far off have been brought near by the blood
of Christ. For he himself is our peace who
made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the
dividing wall by abolishing in his flesh the enmity which is
the law of commandments contained in ordinances. that in himself
he might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace,
and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the
cross by having put to death the enmity. And he came and preached
peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near.
For through him we both have our access in one spirit to the
Father. So then you are no longer strangers
and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and
are of God’s household, having been built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the
cornerstone in whom the whole building being fitted together
is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also
are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus, for
the sake of you Gentiles, if indeed you have heard of the
stewardship of God’s grace which was given me for you, that by
revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote
before in brief. And by referring to this, when
you read, you can understand my insight into the mystery of
Christ, which in other generations was not made to the sons of men,
has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in
the Spirit. To be specific, that the Gentiles
are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow partakers
of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which
I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which
was given to me according to the working of His power. To
me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given to preach
to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ and to bring
to light what is the administration of the mystery, which for ages
has been hidden in God, who created all things in order that the
manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the
church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places
This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried
out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and
confident access in faith to Him. Therefore, I ask you not
to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are
for your glory. For this reason, I bow my knees
before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on
earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according
to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through
His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your
hearts through faith. and that you, being rooted and
grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints
what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to
know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you
may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able
to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or think,
according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory
in the church, and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever
and ever. Amen. I therefore, the prisoner of
the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling
with which you have been called. with all humility and gentleness,
with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being
diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit and the bond of
peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were
called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and
in all. But to each one of us, grace
was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it
says, when he ascended on high, he led captive a host of captives
and he gave gifts to men. Now this expression, he ascended,
what does it mean except that he had descended into the lower
parts of the earth? He who descended is him who also,
he who ascended far above all the heavens that he might fill
all things. And he gave some as apostles
and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as pastors
and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of
service to the building up of the body of Christ until we all
attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the son
of God to a mature man and the measure to the measure of the
stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result,
we are no longer to be children tossed here and there by waves,
carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of
men, by craftiness and deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth
in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the
head, even Christ, from whom the whole body being fitted and
held together by that which every joint supplies, according to
the proper working of each individual part. causes the growth of the
body for the building up of itself in love. This I say, therefore,
and affirm together with the Lord that you walk no longer
as the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind being
darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God
because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness
of their heart, and they having become callous have given themselves
over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with
greediness. You did not learn Christ in this
way. If indeed you have heard him and have been taught in him,
just as truth is in Jesus, that in reference to your former manner
of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted
in accordance with the lusts of deceit. that you be renewed
in the spirit of your mind and put on the new self which in
the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and
holiness of truth. Therefore, laying aside falsehood,
speak truth, each one of you with his neighbor. For we are
members of one another. Be angry and do not sin. Do not
let the sun go down on your anger. And do not give the devil an
opportunity. Let him who steals, steal no
longer, but rather let him labor, performing with his own hands
what is good, in order that he may have something to share with
him who has need. Let no unwholesome word proceed
from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification,
according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace
to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit
of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let
all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander
be put away from you along with all malice. Be kind to one another,
tenderhearted, forgiving each other just as God in Christ has
also forgiven you. Therefore, be imitators of God. as beloved children and walk
in love just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us
an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. But do not let immorality or
any impurity or greed even be named among you as is proper
among saints. And there must be no filthiness
and silly talk or coarse jesting which are not fitting but rather
giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty
that no immoral or impure person or covetous man who is an idolater
has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one
deceive you with empty words for it is because of these things
the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore
do not be partakers with them. For you were formerly darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. For the fruit of the light consists
in all goodness and righteousness and truth, trying to learn what
is pleasing to the Lord. And do not participate in the
unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them.
For it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are
done by them in secret. But all things become visible
when they are exposed by the light. For everything that becomes
visible is light. For this reason it says, Awake,
sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Therefore, be careful how you walk. Not as unwise men, but
as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but
understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk with
wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,
speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord, always
giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, to God even the Father. And be subject to one another
in the fear of Christ. Wives, be subject to your own
husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of
the wife as Christ is also the head of the church, he himself
being the savior of the body. But as the church is subject
to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands
in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just
as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her,
that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of
water with the word that he might present to himself the church
in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
but that she should be made holy and blameless. So husbands ought
to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his
own wife loves himself, for no one ever hated his own flesh,
but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the
church. because we are members of his
body. For this cause, a man shall leave his father and mother and
shall cleave to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great, but I’m
speaking with reference to Christ and the church. Nevertheless,
let each individual among you also love his own wife even as
himself and let the wife see to it that she respect her husband. Children, Obey your parents in
the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother,
which is the first commandment with a promise that it may be
well with you and that you may live long on the earth. And fathers,
do not provoke your Children to anger, but bring them up in
the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Slaves, be obedient
to those who are your masters according to the flesh with fear
and trembling in the sincerity of your heart as to Christ, not
by way of eye service as men pleasers, but as slaves of Christ
doing the will of God from the heart. With goodwill, render
service as to the Lord and not to men. knowing that whatever
good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the
Lord, whether slave or free. And masters do the same thing
to them and give up threatening, knowing that both their master
and yours is in heaven and there is no partiality with him. Finally,
be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put
on the full armor of God that you may be able to stand firm
against the schemes of the devil For our struggle is not against
flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers,
against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual
forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the
full armor of God that you may be able to resist in the evil
day. And having done everything to stand firm, stand firm therefore. Having girded your loins with
truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel
of peace, in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith,
with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles
of the evil one, and take the helmet of salvation, and the
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, With all prayer
and petition, pray at all times in the spirit and with this in
view, be on the alert. With all perseverance and petition
for all the saints. And pray on my behalf that utterance
may be given to me in the opening of my mouth to make known with
boldness the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador
in chains. then in proclaiming it I may
speak boldly as I ought to speak. But that you may know about my
circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus, beloved brother and
faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to
you. And I have sent him to you for
this very purpose, that you may know about us and that he may
comfort your hearts. Peace to the brethren and love
with faith. From God the Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ, grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus
Christ with a love incorruptible. Would you bow in prayer? Our merciful God, We heard, as likely those Ephesian
believers first heard this epistle in its entirety. And Lord, we
know that if we are in Christ, there is something here for each
one of us. And even if we are outside of
Christ, there is the pure gospel of Christ preached and proclaimed
here in this precious epistle. Lord, we pray that you would
examine every heart and that you would prepare those who have
placed their faith in Christ for this table. Lord, we thank
you and praise you for the privilege that we have to humble ourselves
before Christ. It’s in his name that we pray.