Verse 1 begins with “And You.” Who is he talking to? The Gentiles. Then he says in verse 3a, “all of us” and then “like the rest of mankind…” (3b). Paul covers everyone with these phrases. Paul is not about to describe some degrading segment of society, or some cannibalistic tribe somewhere. He’s talking about everyone. This is the biblical diagnosis of our sinful nature. Paul draws our attention to the depth of depravity, in order to magnify the mercy and grace of God in saving us; like a black back drop to a diamond, and he does so with two of the sweetest words in the Bible… “But God.” This is our biography. God’s gracious initiative and sovereign action stands in wonderful contrast to verses 1-3.
Today we are going to learn some important truths about prayer, with an emphasis on praying for knowledge and understanding. We need the Spirit’s help to grasp the greatness of God, the supremacy of Christ, the rich benefits of the gospel. What this means is that we are entirely dependent on Christ as a church. What makes us something significant – indeed glorious – is our relationship to Jesus. He fills the church with his presence.
This is a long (202 words), complex, and glorious sentence (one sentence in Greek) that oozes with God-centered worship. This is relevant for a variety of reason. Here’s one reason it is important: you were made for praise. And we must have the right object of worship.Humanity has never had a problem praising something or someone. In regard to functional idols (money, sex, work, etc), we like to take good things in creation (food, work, relationships, sex) and substitute them for Creator, turning those good things into god things, thereby committing idolatry.This is no small matter. Romans 1 says that this failure to worship God is at the heart of sin. Your sin problem is fundamentally a worship problem, and our hearts will only be satisfied when we begin praising Triune God. Since God the Father has chosen us, God the Son has redeemed us, God the Spirit has assured us. Let’s worship the Triune God. We were made for praise.
By way of introduction to the letter today, I want to take a look at the first two verses, and then look at the message of the letter. We will consider: (1) the author, (2) the recipients, (3) the greeting, (4) the message. What is interesting about the church in Ephesus is that even though it had an amazing history, the final mention in Revelation 2:1-7 about this great church is that they “lost their first love.” Sadly, as you look at the ruins of Ephesus you see that they never got their first love back. Have you lost your first love? Has your love for Jesus grown cold? Let’s pray for our love for Christ to be rekindled in this series.
Rejoice, for your father has an unbreakable grasp of you. God the Father has planned this adoption; God the Son has made this adoption possible; and God the Spirit has applied it to our hearts. May the truth of adoption radically motivate us, and personally sustain us, as we seek to care for the least of these.
