Milo

IMITATORS OF GOD
Ephesians 5

“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us” (Eph. 5:1–2).

There’s nothing flattering in a poor imitation.

Overview
Christians are to follow God’s example and live loving (5:1), holy lives (vv. 2–14), responsive to the Spirit (vv. 15–18) and to one another (vv. 19–20). Christlikeness is especially to be demonstrated by mutual submission in the Christian home (vv. 21–33).

Understanding the Text
“Be imitators of God” Eph. 5:1. The New Testament often encourages Christians to follow the example set by other believers. Here though we’re exhorted to follow the example set by God Himself. This would be impossible if it were not for one thing. We are His “dearly loved children.”
As God’s children we have a new heredity. His own life is planted deep within us. Because of this new life, it is now possible for us to actually be like God.
The verb is best translated “become” rather than “be.” It reminds us that the potential in us has to become actual. You and I have to decide if we will become what we are in Christ, or if we will settle back down into living a mere human life. God has given us all we need to become like Him. The choice is ours.

“Live a life of love” Eph. 5:2. Paul went on to define the decision we have to make. We can choose to live a life of love, and give ourselves to others as a sacrifice to God, or to live a selfish life.
It’s really a simple question. Will I set my heart to ask, “What can I do for others?” or will I set my heart to ask, “What can others do for me?” Will I be a giver? Or a getter?
The wonderful truth is that in giving we receive the most wonderful gift of all: the privilege of being like God, and bringing praise to His name.

“Not be even a hint” Eph. 5:3–7. God is characterized by holiness as well as by love. It’s because we represent Him that no hint of sexual immorality, greed, obscenity—any kind of impurity—are to be associated with Christians.
Some may laugh at the Christian as a prude. We’re not. Sex within marriage is rich, beautiful, exciting, and free. The off-color joke and sly innuendo that the world thinks of as so clever aren’t witty at all. They reflect a warped view of life and goodness, lie under the judgment and wrath of God.
Don’t, however, get the impression that the Christian goes around with a sour face, looking daggers at passing sinners. That’s why Paul mentioned love first (v. 1). If you live a life of love, you can be holy without being self-righteous. If your holiness isn’t beautified by love, holiness itself distorts the image of God.

“Live as children of light” Eph. 5:8–14. Light and dark are symbols John used more often than Paul. But Paul had a special reason for using them here.
I remember fishing once on Lake Saguaro near Phoenix, Arizona. My boys and I got on the lake when it was still dark. We motored up the familiar shore—and suddenly I was completely lost. Strange shapes that appeared to be unknown islands loomed out of the darkness. What could they be? Where was I?
Then, as the sun peeked over eastern cliffs, I saw what had happened. In the dark I’d missed a point and turned into a different arm of the lake than I intended. In the growing brightness I knew where I was, and where I should go.
That’s what Paul is telling us here. In the darkness it’s so easy to become lost. Wander into the realms of darkness, and we’ll lose all sense of reality, and not even know what to do. But if we choose that life of love and holiness that keeps us in God’s light, we’ll expose “the fruitless deeds of darkness.” We will know them for what they are, and we will also “find out what pleases the Lord.”
Walk in the light. Where you are and where you want to go will be clear.

“The fruitless deeds of darkness” Eph. 5:11. Some take this exhortation to mean Christians are supposed to run around busily pointing out others’ sins. Not at all. Paul explained what he meant by saying that we Christians are now “light in the Lord.”
What does a light do when it’s carried into a dark place? Why it exposes what’s there. In the light, you can see the true shape of things that without light are distorted shadows.
This is how we Christians expose the deeds of darkness. We walk into the room, living expressions of God’s love and holiness, and suddenly the true nature of immorality, impurity, greed, obscenity, and all other sins are exposed. People can’t pretend that “bad” is “good” when true goodness is present in the room.
Live as a child of light, and let the beauty of your life expose all that is ugly in this world.

“Be filled with the Spirit” Eph. 5:17–18. People of the world try to escape from the dreariness of their everyday existence by seeking an alcoholic high. Paul said find that escape through the Spirit. Let Him lift you. Let Him make life fresh and new.
You won’t even have a hangover!

“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” Eph. 5:19–20. This is one of only a few passages in the New Testament that pictures Christians gathering as the church. Each time the Scriptures suggest closeness and warmth, a rich participation with one another in a common life.
Picture yourself in the setting Paul knew so well. The family has gathered. Brothers and sisters, glad to see each other, crowd together in the room. Soon one starts a hymn. Then another contributes a song. Everyone’s heart is lifted and soon the room is filled with spontaneous prayer.
We don’t have many actual descriptions of such gatherings in the New Testament. But from this book alone we know meetings must have been just like this. We’re to be “rooted and established in love” (3:17). We’re to grow and build ourselves “up in love, as each part does its work” (4:16). How else could this happen if we did not draw close, sharing as a family, loving and praising together.
Don’t think such descriptions of Christ’s church are ideal, even in our age of sitting passively in the Sunday pew. Somewhere in your church there are brothers and sisters who meet, or would be willing to meet, as family. In a Sunday School class. A women’s circle. A home Bible study. Perhaps in your own home. The church still is the church. Really. And in the church, God has family for you.

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” Eph. 5:21. Somehow the designers of our English versions decided that verse 21 shouldn’t be attached to verse 22. These are carefully separated in most versions—even in the NIV!
I can’t imagine why. “Submit” (hypotasso) simply means to subordinate yourself to those considered worthy of respect. If we take seriously verses like Romans 12:10 (“honor one another above yourselves”) and Philippians 2:3 (“in humility consider others better than yourselves”), we’d all be quick to submit—not only to leaders, but to other brothers and sisters as well. Not only wives to husbands, but husbands to wives.
In fact, it’s only in the context of a body in which mutual submission is practiced by all that we can really understand what Paul said about husbands and wives in the rest of this chapter.
But never mind. It’s enough here to note that in Christ submitting isn’t an admission of inferiority. It’s simply an affirmation that others are valued and important enough to be heard, loved, and their needs responded to. In God’s peculiar way it is submission that makes us great.

DEVOTIONAL
Head of the Wife
(Eph. 5:22–33)
Paul said it quite plainly. The wife sets the example of submission. The husband sets the example of loving. Each makes it easier for the other by taking the lead in his or her own unique contribution to the Christian home.
I don’t know whether to be angry at the way some Christians twist this passage, or to weep. I’ve done each at times. Angry, when a husband misuses this passage as a club in an attempt to dominate his wife. Weeping, when a wife has surrendered her hopes and talents and even her identity in an effort to be obedient to what she thought Scripture taught.
Putting it most simply, Paul told us husbands that we are the heads of our wives “as Christ is the Head of the church” (v. 23). Paul went on to show that what this meant to Christ was that He “loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy” (vv. 25–26). Headship to Christ didn’t mean domination. It meant self-sacrifice. Headship didn’t mean “I’m boss.” It meant, “How can I meet your needs?”
That’s what it must mean for a husband who wants to be a Christlike head of his home. It means putting his wife’s needs before his own. It means doing everything he can to help her reach her full potential as a person and as a Christian. It means loving, self-sacrificially, as Christ loved.
So preach me no sermons demanding wives “submit.” Instead, preach me sermons calling on Christian men to love as Christ loved. If a husband gives this kind of love, submission will be joyous and free.

Personal Application
Being head of the home means accepting your responsibility to take the lead in love.

Quotable
“The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.”—Theodore M. Hesburgh

BECOMING MATURE
Ephesians 3–4

“So that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:12–13).

Love is essential to mutual ministry, and mutual ministry to spiritual growth.

Overview
The unity of Jew and Gentile in one body is an unexpected revelation (3:1–13). Yet, one family now, unified by love, Christ’s people experience His power at work in us (vv. 14–21). We are to maintain this unity and mature in Christ (4:1–16), as new men and women living together in love and holiness (vv. 17–32).

Understanding the Text
“The mystery made known to me by revelation” Eph. 3:1–9. A “mystery” in Scripture is a facet of God’s plan previously unknown, but now revealed. The Old Testament made it clear from the very beginning of the Jewish people that God intended to bless Gentiles (Gen. 12:1–3). The unexpected aspect of God’s plan was that Jew and Gentile would be united in Christ’s church, with each welcomed alike on the basis of faith (Eph. 3:6).
This feature of the Gospel antagonized many Jews, who thought of themselves alone as God’s chosen. If we’re not alert, we can fall into the same trap, and resent others who unexpectedly receive the grace of God. Let’s remember that the Gospel is God’s great equalizer. Scripture marks everyone as a sinner, so that anyone can be lifted up by grace.

“The manifold wisdom of God should be made known” Eph. 3:10–13. The word “manifold” might be translated “multifaceted.” God’s plan seems so straightforward when we read the Old Testament. He chose a people, promised them redemption, a Saviour King, and ultimate triumph. And history moved toward this fulfillment. Then, suddenly, the Son of God appeared as the promised King, was rejected by His people, crucified, and resurrected, and we realize that all along God intended far more for humankind than was previously revealed.
Don’t put God in a box, or try to squeeze Him into limiting categories. God’s plans and purposes are multifaceted, and each facet reflects His complex wisdom and love. The more we glimpse of that complexity, the more we should be moved to worship and to praise.

“I kneel before the Father, from whom His whole family . . . derives its name” Eph. 3:14. Paul immediately gives us an example of God’s complex wisdom. The church is the body of Christ: each believer is united to Him as Head, and thus to one another. But, Paul said, the church is also family. We derive that name, family, from the fact that we are also related to God the Father. And, if we are sons of the same Father, we must by virtue of our relationship with Him be brothers and sisters—family.
How complex the wisdom God displays in the church. No single image is capable of expressing what we have in Christ, or who we are (see DEVOTIONAL).

“Immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” Eph. 3:20–21. This benediction may well have been drawn from early church liturgy. If not, it must soon have become part of the Christian church’s affirmation of Christ’s great power.
These verses surely challenge us today. Sit down, and list the greatest work you can imagine that God might do in your life or the life of a loved one. Then ask Him, in complete confidence, to do it. You can have complete confidence, for our God is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.”

“There is one body and one Spirit” Eph. 4:1–6. Everything Paul wrote in this letter was based on the conviction that the body of Christ is one. “One Lord, one faith, one [Spirit] baptism, one God and Father of all” (vv. 5–6). Our lives also must express this conviction. And the way we express it is by affirming our love for other believers—even for those with whom we differ.
Paul reminds us, “Be completely humble and gentle.” Christians do differ, and differ on important matters. If we focus on our differences, convinced as we are that we are right and the others are wrong, we will become proud and judgmental. Only a humble spirit will free us to love without feeling the need to debate our differences. Only a humble spirit will maintain the bond of peace.
Don’t be proud. No matter how doctrinally correct you may be, if your attitude denies the oneness of the body of Christ, you are wrong.

“He led captives in his train” Eph. 4:7–16. The image is of the return of a conquering general, who liberally distributes the spoil he took from a defeated enemy.
Christ triumphant distributes gifted individuals to the church, not to do the ministry, but “to prepare God’s people for works of service” (v. 12).
Here’s another expression of the complex wisdom of God expressed in His design of Christ’s church. Growth toward maturity doesn’t depend on the ministry of leaders, but on the ministry of the laity, whom leaders are to equip! Here too we see an echo of Paul’s prayer in 3:14–19 (see DEVOTIONAL). Growth toward maturity takes place as the whole body “grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
The spiritual vitality of your congregation depends on becoming a loving, serving community of saints.

“Put off your old self . . . put on the new self” Eph. 4:17–24. In Ephesians 2 Paul led us to look at the raw material from which God has constructed Christ’s church. He showed us our deadness: the corruption of our original nature, and the futility of self-effort. And Paul reminded us that God “raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms.”
This imagery is picked up here in Ephesians 4. The “old self” is that person we were when ruled by “deceitful desires.” The “new self” is the astounding capacity God has given us to love others, to love God, and to set our hearts on service. The “old self” is selfish and self-centered. The “new self” is selfless and “like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Many different illustrations have been used to capture the implication of having an “old self” to put off, and a “new self” to put on. Some say it’s like a teeter-totter: when one side is up, the other must be down. Some say it’s like a path that forks in opposite directions, and each person decides down which he will turn. An old Indian is supposed to have said there were two horses inside him, one black, one white, pulling against each other. Which one won? The one he decided to ride.
Paul himself used an analogy. The old and the new are like cloaks a person wears. You put off one, and put the other on. This analogy has surprising force. Teens have always adopted clothing styles as symbols of how they see themselves. Research has shown that these symbols have great power in shaping adolescent behavior. Change the hairstyle, replace that pale, white makeup and the clothes that don’t match, and you change the way a teenage girl sees herself, and thus the way she behaves.
This is what Paul is saying here. Don’t see yourself in the old way anymore. Take off the old man, and hang it up like a suit of discarded clothes. Put on the new man, look at yourself in God’s mirror, and when you see yourself clearly, go out and behave like the person you now really are.

“Be kind and compassionate” Eph. 4:25–32. Just so there’ll be no mistake, Paul held up a mirror for us to look into. Here, he said, is the new man. He doesn’t lie. He gets angry now and then, but not enough to lose control and sin. Once a thief, he’s now hard at work on an assembly line. Once foul-mouthed, he now concentrates on saying loving, positive things that build others up. Instead of bitterness and rage, the new man is marked by kindness and compassion. Instead of brawling, the new man forgives others just as Christ forgave him—freely, generously.
Look closely in this mirror. The person you see—the honest, decent, loving, forgiving individual—is you! This is who you are in Christ!
So put this new man on. And take him with you wherever you go.

DEVOTIONAL
Knowing Christ’s Love
(Eph. 3:14–21)
I’ve recently been made aware again of how few people really know love. No, not love as something they give. Love as something they get. So many of us have never really been loved: loved for ourselves, loved unconditionally, completely.
I thought of that again as I reread this prayer of Paul’s for the Ephesians, and sensed his earnest desire that God’s people be “rooted and established in love.” The “love” Paul spoke of here isn’t the love of God, or love for God. His theme was family love—love for one another in Christ. And it’s vital that we understand why Paul prayed so fervently that God’s family members root and establish their relationship with each other in love.
Paul said that so rooted, we have power “together with all the saints” to grasp and know the love of Christ (vv. 18–19). So family love is a key to spiritual growth—“that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
Why is this? Partly at least because “love” is such an abstract, confusing term. All too often it’s a selfish term: “I love you” means nothing more than I want to use you to meet some physical or psychological need of my own. How different the love of Christ! Christ’s love is totally unselfish: His “I love you” means He was willing to give Himself to meet our own most desperate need.
How can we ever grasp or understand such love? God, in His wisdom, drew Christ’s people together and made us family. In the context of the family, a family that loves and cherishes, that nurtures and supports, that cares and shares, we are to learn by experience the width and length and height and depth of the love of Christ.
The first great calling of any congregation is not to build a larger building, to raise more money for missions, or even to evangelize its neighborhood. The first great calling of any congregation is to be family. Nurtured by the warmth of Christ’s love as this is expressed through brothers and sisters who care, God’s people are “filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” And Christ, filling our lives, will then reach out through us to win not just our neighborhood but the world.

Personal Application
The mark of a truly spiritual church is still, “See how they love one another.”

Quotable
Christ has no body now on earth but yours;
yours are the only hands with which He can do His work,
yours are the only feet with which He can go about the world,
yours are the only eyes through which His compassion can shine forth upon a troubled world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
-Teresa of Avila

GOD’S WORKMANSHIP
Ephesians 2

“Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ” (Eph. 2:3–5).

Considering what God had to work with, He’s done an amazing job!

Overview
God selected sinful, spiritually dead human beings as materials for His church (2:1–3). He gave us life and called us to good works, that His grace might be displayed (vv. 4–10). United now, Jew and Gentile form one building, with Christ the Cornerstone (vv. 11–22).

Understanding the Text
“Dead in your transgressions and sins” Eph. 2:1–3. “Death” is one of the most awesome and complex of biblical concepts. We understand biological death, and to a certain extent spiritual death is modeled on it. As the dead body cannot sense or respond to the material world, the dead spirit cannot sense or respond to God.
But spiritual death moves beyond this to imply corruption. As the physical body decays, so the spiritually dead become infested with all sorts of corruption. The spiritually dead “followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air [Satan].” The rotten flesh of the spiritually dead gasps and heaves in the grip of “the cravings of our sinful nature,” whose desires and thoughts the lost blindly follow.
Paul’s graphic portrait is horrible, and we may well draw back. But Paul wanted us to understand that this is the raw material from which God constructs His church! This mass of corruption is what God intends to use to display His glory and the beauty of His holiness.
It’s not nice. But it is important for us to be totally honest with ourselves and with God. Paul drew this portrait, and he said, “This was you.” He went on. “All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature.”
Thank God this is what we were, not what we are! And thank God that He saw fit to make me His own anyway.
I once worked with a man, not a Christian, who had chosen to marry a woman who had been a prostitute. I remember one of my coworkers telling me, “She’d do anything for Jim. He always treats her like a lady.”
We Christians are not to deny our past. We’re to remember, and to realize that in spite of what we were, God has loved us and made us His own. And He always treats us “like a lady.”
What a motivation to do anything for Him!

“Because of His great love for us” Eph. 2:4–7. The old song rightly says, “I’m not what I wanta’ be, I’m not what I will be, but thank God I’m not what I was.” Paul has reminded us of what we were. Now he tells us what we are, and will be.
What we are is persons who have been given the gift of life. He has “made us alive with Christ.” The Gospel message brought us to life, raised us up, and even seated us with Him in the heavenly realms! This last image is one of power. God, seated on heaven’s throne, is Sovereign over all. In Christ we are not only alive, but conquerors.
Never forget who you were. But never imagine you are still the same old man or woman. Addiction, depression, depravity, despair, low self-esteem, inconsistency, lack of self-discipline—whatever troubled you, was an expression of the old life that had established a grip on your personality. Now you have been raised with Christ to a vital, new life capable of breaking out of any bondage. Don’t look back. Look ahead, and realize that God has destined you to display “the incomparable riches of His grace.”

“By grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” Eph. 2:8–9. Many debate whether the gift of God here is the faith, the salvation, or the grace. In a sense, it makes no difference. Paul simply wants us to understand that our life in Christ is a miracle. We didn’t earn it; God gave it.
The TV last night reported on “sweat equity,” a new approach to home ownership. People who have no money for a down payment on a new home can contribute labor, while the bank or government finances materials. The work they put in on building their own homes is their “sweat equity.”
Well, verses 8–9 state that you and I don’t even have “sweat equity” in our salvation. We had no cash for the down payment. And there was not a single thing we could do to contribute to the work. God did it all, so that for all eternity you and I will stand as trophies of His grace, saved through no merit of our own.

“We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works” Eph. 2:10. Good works can’t contribute to our salvation. But good works are an outcome of salvation.
We have been given life to glorify God. And one way we glorify God is by performing good works.
What are “good works”? The Greek word here is agathois, which means “useful, helpful.” God has saved us and set us on a path filled with opportunities to be helpful to others, and useful in accomplishing His own purposes.
Again we sense the contrast between what we were, and what we are. Corrupted by sin, we could do nothing for God, for ourselves, or for others. Made alive by God in Christ, we are different. And we make a difference!
Never put yourself down. God has prepared useful works for you to do.

“In Christ Jesus you who were once far away” Eph. 2:11–13. Paul directed these remarks to Gentiles, who were isolated from the promises and covenants given to Israel. Christ, however, has changed their situations as well as changed them! In Christ God brings believers to Himself, and to each other.
The image of a living temple helps us here. A building is a construction: formed by fitting different kinds of material together. The cement foundation is laid, a wood frame is put up, plywood sheeting and plaster board are added. God’s church is also a construction, and this too requires that different kinds of material be fitted together.
What God has done in Christ is to draw all believers to Himself, and thus draw us into intimate relationship with each other as well. If you or I isolate ourselves from any of God’s other building materials, some beautiful aspect of His living temple may be marred.

“He put to death their hostility” Eph. 2:14–18. In New Testament times the Old Testament Law was a “barrier” between Gentile and Jew. And that barrier did create hostility: anti-Semitism led to frequent riots in ancient cities, and ancient Jews did look with contempt on Gentile neighbors.
Then Jesus died, and made Law irrelevant. Jew and Gentile alike approached God by faith, and through faith each had direct access to God the Father. Suddenly it became clear that the church is one, and that out of the two hostile groups God formed “one new man” which was called to live at peace.
How we need to learn that lesson today. Whatever there may be in any society that creates barriers, and arouses hostility, is irrelevant now. Blackness and whiteness are irrelevant now. Each approach God through faith in Christ, and from the two God is at work forming His “one new man.” Think of any groups who have inherited a tradition of hostility, and the Christ of the Gospel cries, “Peace.” Christ has brought you near to God through faith, and in bringing you near God He has brought you near each other.
Let’s realize what God is doing in His church. And let’s make peace.

“In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord” Eph. 2:19–22. Whatever may divide us, Christ brings us together. Whatever fears or suspicions arouse hostility, Christ brings peace. And we must let Him. For the “holy temple in the Lord” that Jesus is building today rises only as we, His people, are “joined together.”
Don’t let the partisan divide you. Don’t let the strident preacher of doctrinal distinctives isolate you from brothers and sisters whose faith is one with you, but whose beliefs may differ. And don’t let race, or age, or social status, or education, or wealth or poverty, drive you apart. Reach out for others, and hand-in-hand be built, “together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.”

DEVOTIONAL
Were, Are, and Will Be
(Eph. 2:11–22)
Christianity is a faith of contrasts. Often the contrast we emphasize lies between past and future. We were lost sinners. But we will be raised in Christ’s own image.
The “were” and “will be” of Christianity are exciting. But Ephesians 2 reminds us that there should also be a contrast right now, between what we “were” and what we “are.” Being a follower of Jesus is to make a dramatic difference in our present. What we “are” is to stand out as clearly as what we “will be” against what we “were”!
Here in Ephesians the “were” and “are” contrast is seen in our relationships. Human beings by nature are separate from Christ and, as strangers and aliens, are isolated from His people. In fact, sinful human beings find all sorts of reasons to separate themselves from others. We turn away from others because of race, of looks, of clothing, of customs, of wealth, of language. And we look down on others, supposing ourselves better than they. This is a “were” dimension of human beings separated from Jesus Christ.
How different those who know Jesus are to be. The cross has reconciled us to God, and brought us near to Him. And, in Christ, God has brought us near to all humanity, and especially those of the household of faith. We “are” one now with all believers. One in the Spirit. And by God’s grace, one in love, one in caring, one in honoring and respecting each other. We “are” being “built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.”
When you and I ignore those things that divide mere human beings, and because of Jesus reach out to others who are different from us, the contrast of what we “are” with what we “were” gives vivid witness to our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Personal Application
Real love for those who are different is evidence of God’s work within.

Quotable
“And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”—Peter Scholtes

Ephesians

INTRODUCTION
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians was written during his two-year imprisonment in Rome, about A.D. 61. It shares Paul’s vision of a Christian community united by love and a common purpose under the headship of Christ. Each believer, linked to Jesus by faith, is linked to every other believer as cells in a living organism. By living together in love, the whole body and its individual members grow to spiritual maturity.
This is both one of the most theological and most practical of Paul’s letters. It exalts Jesus as Head of the living church, and it exhorts each of us to “live a life of love” in all our personal relationships. Ephesians also includes a number of moving prayers, and passages which many view as elements in the liturgy of the early church.

THE TRUE CHURCH
Ephesians 1

“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” (Eph. 1:13).

Christ’s church is people, not buildings.

Background
Ephesus. When Paul wrote his letter the harbor of the aging city of Ephesus was nearly filled with silt, and its boast as the “landing place” of Asia was empty indeed. Yet Ephesus had one claim to fame. It was the site of the magnificent temple of Artemis (Diana), four times the size of the Parthenon of Athens, and held in reverence throughout “Asia and the world” (Acts 19:27). Tourists and worshipers flocked to Ephesus to visit the splendid shrine, which also served as a bank in which cities and kings deposited funds—and from which they drew loans.
Innkeepers, restauranteers, and tradesmen depended on the tourist trade that made pagan religion such an economic success in Ephesus.
So to the believers in this city founded on institutional religion, Paul wrote a letter conveying a vastly different vision. The church of Christ is a body, not a building. It is constructed of living, breathing human beings, not marble. And its vitality is seen not in the cash it contributes to a city’s economy, but in the love and purity that shine through its members’ lives.
In reading Ephesians we too are called to catch Paul’s vision of Christ’s church. Beside that vision even our greatest cathedrals fade to insignificance, as we realize that the building which thrills our God is the reconstruction of our lives to bear the image of His Son.

TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS

Overview
Paul greeted the saints (1:1–2) and then reviewed the role in their salvation of the Father (vv. 3–6), Son (vv. 7–13a), and Holy Spirit (vv. 13b-14). Paul praised God (vv. 15–16) and prayed for the Ephesians (vv. 17–19), as he exalted Jesus, the Head of His church (vv. 20–23).

Understanding the Text
“To the saints in Ephesus” Eph. 1:1–2. The word “saints” means “holy ones” or “set apart ones.” In the Old Testament, the Jerusalem temple and all utensils used in the service of God were holy, set apart to the Lord. Paul commonly greeted believers as saints. Here there is even more meaning, for Paul was about to display the great truth that today we ourselves are temple and utensil in one.
God doesn’t look for beauty in church buildings. He looks for beauty in church members.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord” Eph. 1:3–6. The Ephesians looked back in history and spoke of a meteorite that fell from the heavens, and was shaped into the form of the idol that stood in their temple. Paul looked back beyond history, into the very origins of the universe. There he saw God the Father, the Architect of our salvation, drawing up plans for the living church!
Like any architect would, the Father specified the materials that would go into His construction: He “chose us in Him before the Creation of the world.” God also specified how the materials would be worked: He chose us “to be holy and blameless in His sight,” to be “adopted as His sons.” The beauty to be displayed in our worked and polished lives will reflect through eternity “to the praise of His glorious grace” (see DEVOTIONAL).
People wondered at the great temple that graced Ephesus: at its design, at its pillars of marble, at its columns carved in the Doric style. Paul wants us to wonder at the church which God the Father Himself designed, carefully specifying its materials and defining just how they would be shaped to glorify Him.
Always remember, you and I have been chosen by God to display His grace and wisdom. Let’s gladly dedicate our lives to exhibit the beauty of holiness.

“In Him we have redemption through His blood” Eph. 1:7–13a. If God the Father was the Architect of our salvation, Christ was the Builder. He was the One who slipped into history as a Babe, grew up in dusty Palestine, taught amid noisy crowds, and bled on Calvary’s cross. In that great act you and I have “redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”
That awful work complete, Christ today has a right to stand back and look at the building He has erected. And He has the right to expect us to be to “the praise of His glory.” We are a costly building indeed, and Jesus has a right to expect us to be beautiful.

“Marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” Eph. 1:13b-14. The Holy Spirit has moved into the building that the Father planned and the Son built.
In New Testament times a “seal” was often placed on goods to be shipped or on a completed product, as a mark of ownership. That which bore the seal was protected, its future guaranteed. The owner would take full possession in his own time.
You and I, Christ’s living church, have in the Holy Spirit the mark of divine ownership. The Spirit is the sure guarantee of our future in God. And the Spirit in us enables us to live, today, to “the praise of His glory.”

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ” Eph. 1:15–19a. Paul praised God for the Ephesians, living stones in the church built by God. And he offered a very specific prayer.
One way to build our own prayer lives, and to direct our intercession for others, is to model our prayers on those found in Scripture. Here we see a prayer Paul offered with the intention of strengthening Christ’s church. What did Paul ask? That we might know God better (v. 17). That we might look beyond appearances, to see the church as God does—a people transformed to display His glory, unspeakably precious to Him (v. 18). That we might sense and experience the working of “His incomparably great power for us who believe” (v. 19a). I suppose it’s all right to pray for that addition to a new Sunday School wing. Or the funds to go on the radio. But if we want our church to truly be the church, the things Paul prayed for here are vastly more important.

“Far above all rule and authority” Eph. 1:19b-23. If we measure the church by the members of the body seen here on earth, we might well be discouraged. We’re weak. We’re undisciplined. We squint desperately with our spiritual eyes, and our spiritual ears are dull.
But the church isn’t to be measured by its members. We’re to measure by the Head. We’re to see Christ, exalted above every “rule and authority, power and dominion.” We’re to acknowledge Him as our living Head, respond to His guidance. And in His name, conquer.

DEVOTIONAL
Predestination and Praise
(Eph. 1:3–14)
Twin themes are repeated three times in these 12 verses, which tell the story of the construction of God’s living temple, the church.
The first of these themes is predestination: the idea that God marked out ahead of time those who would serve as living stones in His glorious temple. Paul said the Father “chose us in Him before the Creation” (v. 4). That “in love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons” (vv. 4–5). And that “in Him [Christ] 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” (v. 11).
Some resent this emphasis, and some fear it. But if we look at it in the framework of Paul’s imagery, as he pictured God the great Architect planning construction of the church and specifying materials, there’s nothing sinister here. And there is nothing that contradicts the broadest application of the Gospel. As one preacher succinctly put it, ” ’Whosoever will’ is elect. ’Whosoever won’t,’ ain’t.”
What’s usually lost in the debate over predestination is the other theme that is restated three times here. God the Father planned our adoption as sons “to the praise of His glorious grace” (v. 6). He drew us to Christ that we “might be for the praise of His glory” (v. 12). And His Spirit marks us as God’s own possession—“to the praise of His glory” (v. 14).
You and I can’t resolve the long debate over predestination. We probably shouldn’t even try. But as living stones in a building that God intends to reflect His beauty, we can make sure that we live “to the praise of His glory.”
I’m satisfied to let God resolve the paradox of predestination and free will. All I’m really concerned about is, is God satisfied with me?

Personal Application
Glorifying God beats debating predestination any day!

Quotable
“The church of Christ is not an institution; it is a new life with Christ and in Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit.”—Sergius Bulgakov

Esther

INTRODUCTION
The Book of Esther is set in the Persian capital of Susa. It tells the story of a vicious plot against the Jewish people that was thwarted by Esther, a young Jewish girl married to the empire’s ruler, Xerxes. This victory of the Jews over Gentile persecutors, which took place in the 470s B.C., is commemorated by the Feast of Purim, still celebrated in our own day.
The Book of Esther is unique for its failure to mention God. Yet its messages shine clearly through as the story unfolds. God did take providential care of His Old Testament people, even when they lived outside the Promised Land. And, God works through circumstance as well as through miracles.

DELIVERANCE OF THE JEWS
Esther 1–10

“If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place” (Es. 4:14).

The doctrine of providence holds that God quietly works through cause and effect in the natural world to supervise events. The Book of Esther shows how a series of “coincidences” combined to deliver the Jewish people from an early, organized effort to exterminate the race.

Background
The author of Esther is unknown. But the number of Persian loan words in the book, and the lack of similar Greek terms, indicates it was written early, between 450–300 B.C The events described took place in the reign of Xerxes, best known as the invader whose attacks on Europe were thrown back by the Greeks at Marathon. The feast mentioned in Esther 1 is probably the same feast mentioned by Greek historians as one Xerxes called to plan his conquest of the West.
The author is careful to let the story carry his message. He points to no event as the handiwork of God, and fails to criticize any of the questionable acts of either Esther or Mordecai. Yet through the story we see that God, even though unmentioned, sovereignly works out the deliverance of His people.

Definition of Key Terms
Providence. Providence is a term theologians use to express the conviction that God works out His purposes through natural processes in the physical and social universe.
In this universe every effect can be traced back to a natural cause. In the world of cause and effect there is no hint of miracles, and no need to bring God up to explain what happens. In the natural universe the most one can point to is coincidence: “What a coincidence that Esther happened to be queen just when Haman tried to exterminate the Jews!” Or, “What a coincidence that the king couldn’t sleep one night, and that the portion of the annals of his kingdom that were read to him recorded how Mordecai had uncovered a plot against his life.” The believer can say that God arranged the coincidences—the unbeliever scoffs because each event can be traced back to natural causes that “fully explain” what happened without reference to God.
The story told in the Book of Esther illustrates divine providence by identifying “coincidences” which led to the deliverance of the Jewish people from a plot to exterminate them. Because this is a book about providence, God is not mentioned. Yet the string of coincidences, leading so naturally to the deliverance, is so striking that His activity is clearly implied.

The God of the Old Testament is God of the Covenant. God is committed to care for His chosen people, Israel. Against the background of the covenant relationship of God with the Jews, the story’s “coincidences” testify to the fact of His providential care.
What you and I learn from Esther is that God is always at work in the lives of His people. The seeming “coincidences” that mark our lives are not simply products of cause and effect or of random change. The coincidences that mark our lives are ordained by God, and are intended for our good.

Overview
Esther was chosen as Xerxes’ queen (1:1–2:23). Her uncle, Mordecai, aroused the hatred of a high royal officer, Haman. Haman determined to destroy Mordecai’s whole race (3:1–15). Mordecai enlisted Esther’s reluctant help (4:1–5:14). Coincidentally Xerxes honored Mordecai for a forgotten service (6:1–14). Esther revealed she was one of the race Haman plotted to exterminate, and Haman was hanged (7:1–10). The Jews gained the right to protect themselves from their enemies (8:1–17). Many enemies of the Jews were slain (9:1–16), and Purim, celebrating deliverance, was instituted (vv. 17–32). Mordecai gained high rank in Persia, and used it to help the Jewish people (10:1–3).

Understanding the Text
“The king and his nobles were pleased with this advice” Es. 1:1–2:18. The first “coincidence” in the book is that of Queen Vashti’s rebellion against her royal husband. The author traces the reasoning of those who advised Xerxes to divorce his wife and choose a new queen. Vashti’s willfulness, and the reasoning of Xerxes’ advisers, cleared the way for Esther to become Queen of Persia.
God is able to use the free acts and the uncoerced reasoning of unbelievers to shape events.

“Two of the king’s officers . . . conspired” Es. 2:19–23. Mordecai thwarted a plot against Xerxes’ life. This act, though unrewarded at the time, was destined to loom large in the future.
Our own actions, and the responses of others to them, become elements in God’s providential plan. Let’s not worry if we are unrewarded at the time. Frequently God’s purposes are long-range.

“They cast the pur (that is the lot)” Es. 3:1–15. Haman reacted to what he felt was Mordecai’s insult by determining to exterminate the whole Jewish people. He turned to the occult to fix a day for the attack on the Jews. The lot fell, supposedly by chance, on a distant date, far enough off to give Mordecai and Esther time to counter his plot.
God is able to turn even evil practices to His good purpose.

“Who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” Es. 4:1–5:14 Mordecai enlisted the aid of a reluctant Esther. It was clear to him that God had placed her in a strategic place to influence Xerxes in favor of the Jews. Even Esther’s hesitancy, as she put off the confrontation and invited Xerxes and Haman to supper with her, played a part in God’s timing of events.

“What honor and recognition has Mordecai received?” Es. 6 Unable to sleep that night, Xerxes had the annals of his kingdom read to him. The reader “just happened” to read the report of Mordecai’s exposure of the plot against Xerxes’ life, and the king realized Mordecai had not yet been rewarded.
The next day Haman was himself forced to walk through the streets of Susa, leading one of the king’s horses on which Mordecai rode! Haman, furious and frustrated, sensed that his plot was going wrong.

“This vile Haman” Es. 7–8. That night at supper Queen Esther accused Haman of plotting against her and her people. The furious king ordered Haman’s execution—on the very gallows he had erected intending to hang Mordecai! Mordecai was permitted to write a decree in the king’s name granting the Jews permission to defend themselves if attacked. (The earlier decree was not reversed because by custom Persian laws once made could not be changed.)

“Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes” Es. 9–10. The Jews were successful in defending themselves against their enemies. Purim was instituted as a festival of deliverance. And Mordecai went on to achieve the second highest rank in Persia, which he used to aid his people.
The plot Haman had against the Jews had not only been thwarted but was turned around, so that its effect was to promote the welfare of God’s people rather than to harm them!

DEVOTIONAL
Look Back
(Es. 6–7)
It was only looking back that Esther and Mordecai could clearly see the hand of God in what had happened to them. It’s like that for us too. We seldom sense God’s hidden guidance or protection as events unfold. But when we look back, we see His hand more clearly.
My mother used to read a magazine called Revelation, edited by Donald Grey Barnhouse of Philadelphia. When I joined the Navy I went to a school in Norfolk, and then, because I had graduated high in my class, picked a duty station in Brooklyn, New York. It just happened that Dr. Barnhouse taught a Monday night Bible class in a Lutheran church in Manhattan. My mother, reading about it in Revelation, suggested I go see him. I began to go each Monday, and was stimulated to begin serious personal Bible study. I started a Bible study on my base, and soon sensed God’s call to the ministry.
Coincidences? Mom reading a magazine. Me, stationed in a city where the editor came weekly to conduct a Bible class? Through that class being moved to personal study, and then called to the ministry? The humanist would say, “Yes, nothing but coincidence. A different set of coincidences and you could have been launched on an entirely different career.”,Yet, looking back, I clearly see the hand of God, working providentially to draw me closer to Him, and guide me into my life’s work.
And there are so many more ways that, looking back, I can see the good hand of God, even in things that when I experienced them seemed like tragedies.
Perhaps this is the secret of discovering God’s work in your own life. Look back. Examine the coincidences that set you on each new course. And realize that God was at work in each, even those which at the time brought pain.
You see, the doctrine of Providence tells us that God is at work in the life of each of His covenant people. God’s activity may be hidden. But it is very real. Look back, and you’ll see it in your life. Look back, and you’ll find evidence of the constant love of your Lord.

Personal Application
God is at work on your behalf right now, through the coincidences of your life.

Quotable
“Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well.”—Abraham Lincoln