Ah, good old Ephesians. I remember writing a major exegetical paper on the book when I was in seminary. Actually, I probably wrote several; it was part of one of our big-deal Greek classes. The indelible memory, however, was when I hurled the commentary (by dear Dr. Harold Hoehner) across the room one afternoon when I had used up all the time I'd allocated to the project, but I discovered I still had several hours of work yet to be done.
Reading the epistle this time was much less stressful.
I was struck by Paul's focus on the Gentiles in the church at Ephesus. He takes care to welcome them into the Body of Christ and make sure they understand that they are "full-fledged" members: That Christ ensured their immediate status through His salvific death and resurrection. There was no candidacy or probationary period. Once they came to believe they were saved through Christ, they were In.
What other group is like that? Don't we always make people jump through some kind of hoops before we accept them into whatever group we are in? That's the beauty of Christian faith. In fact, the definitive verse is Ephesians 2:8-9: "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."
We are "instantly" saved by our faith, and immediately transformed and reckoned righteous in status before God. However, we are still responsible for continual transformation.
This is one of those paradoxes; one of those "both-ands" that are key to understanding Christian life. Another aspect of the paradox is that we must "do" stuff to become transformed. Beginning in Ephesians 4:17, the epistle talks about how we should live holy lives as Christians--in our personal, private lives and in our relationships with the family, other believers and the world. For example, Paul writes, "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you. Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children." (Eph 4:31-5:1)
I don't know about you, but living that kind of holy life is a tall order for me.
Fortunately, it's more or less a done deal: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Eph 2:9).
A couple of my favorite passages are in Ephesians. They are especially wonderful for new Christians, but are uplifting and encouraging for everyone. Allow me to quote them here:
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 saints, 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. (Eph 3:16-19)
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his might power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes....Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with th breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. (Eph 5:10-11, 13-17).
So, as believers in Christ--regardless of our background--we are embraced in the "In Group." We even have our own uniform to wear!
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