How does Paul announce the theme of his letter? Ephesians 1:9-10.
How can the message of Ephesians be summarized? From prison, Paul sets forth a vision of God’s Christ-centered plan for the fullness of time and the church’s role in it.
Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com
God has acted in Christ to initiate His plan “to unite all things in him [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:10, ESV), and He did so by creating the church as an entity composed of one new humanity of both Jews and Gentiles (Ephesians 2:14). Believers are called to act in concert with this divine plan, signaling to the evil powers that God’s ultimate purpose is underway (Ephesians 3:10).
As Ephesians 1:9-10, proclaims, the unity God has in mind is centered in Christ. So it is no surprise to discover that Ephesians is a Christ-drenched letter that everywhere praises the actions of God in Christ and celebrates the access of believers to the spiritual resources offered them in Christ. Paul employs the phrase “in Christ” and similar phrases more than thirty times, and everywhere lifts up Jesus. As you read the letter, watch for these phrases and stay alert to the many ways Paul focuses on Jesus.
Paul seeks to reignite the spiritual commitment of believers in Ephesus by reminding them that they are part of the church, which is at the heart of God’s plan to unify all things in Christ. When he uses the word “church” (Greek, ekkl�”sia) in the letter, he means the “universal” church or the church at large (rather than a local congregation).
A principal strategy he uses is to talk about the church, and he does so using vivid metaphors, four of which he develops in some detail:
- The church as a body (Ephesians 1:22-23; Ephesians 2:16; Ephesians 3:6; Ephesians 4:1-16, Ephesians 4:25; Ephesians 5:23, Ephesians 5:29-30).
- The church as a building/temple (Ephesians 2:19-22).
- The church as a bride (Ephesians 5:22-27).
- The church as an army (Ephesians 6:10-20).
Each one of these images, in its own way, reveals what God’s purpose and intention for His church is.
| In the church of which you are a part, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, God is drawing together a transnational, multilingual, multiracial, cross-cultural community (Revelation 14:6-7) that points the way to the fulfillment of His plan to unite all things in Jesus (Ephesians 1:9-10). How can we work in concert with God’s grand plan? |
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