Sender, Recipients, Blessing
[Verse 1]. Just as in the four previous letters, Paul presents himself here as “an apostle”. And just as in the second letter to the Corinthians he adds “of Christ Jesus by the will of God”. In some of the letters he also mentions a co-sender. He doesn’t do that in this one. God had announced to Paul, and to him alone, the mystery of the unity between Christ and the church. Considering the purpose of this letter, it must be plain and clear from which position Paul is speaking. That’s why he presents himself as an apostle, which means ‘sent one’. It means that he comes on behalf of Somebody else, a Superior, and he comes with a message of that Superior.
He is an apostle of Christ Jesus, Who is his Sender. To practice his apostleship, his eyes are continuously focused on Jesus Christ. By Him, Who is the glorified Man in heaven, he is also called to be an apostle [Acts 9:1-18]. The origin of his apostleship lies in “the will of God” and not in his own will or the will of whosoever. Any human appointment was excluded. God was going to use Paul as an apostle. And what God wants, will be done. The authorization of Paul as an apostle is, as it were, marked by the signatures of Christ Jesus and of God. What Paul writes is therefore clothed with the authority of two Divine Persons.
Just one more detail of the apostleship of Paul. There is a difference between his apostleship and that of the twelve. The distinction is in both the calling and the practice. The twelve are called by the Lord Jesus when He was on earth [Luke 6:13]. Paul is called by the glorified Lord in heaven [Acts 26:16-18]. To him the apostleship toward the Gentiles was committed and to the twelve the apostleship to the people of Israel [Gal 2:8]. The calling of Paul by the glorified Lord in heaven also clarifies the nature of his service. That is aimed at telling the church what her connection is with Christ in heaven. As it has already been noticed, that is the issue of this letter.
After the sender, we read about the addressees. It is not just ‘to the church in Ephesus’. There is a lot more. The believers there are addressed as “saints” and “faithful”. This tells a lot about their life as believers and about the spiritual condition of the church in Ephesus. That spiritual condition is significant in regard to what Paul writes in this letter. Could Paul, if he had to address them as ‘fleshly’ [1Cor 3:1], have spoken to them about such elevated blessings? If he had written the profound truths to the Corinthians, which he writes to the Ephesians, then there could have been two possible responses:
1. either they would simply not have understood what Paul was talking about and would have dismissed it as a speech of someone who has his head in the clouds;
2. or if they would have understood Paul intellectually, they would have surely become more proud. They already rejoiced in the many gifts they had received and these blessings came on top of that.
This makes clear that each church receives a letter that matches its spiritual condition. That condition is determined by the behavior, attitude and mind of the individual members of the church. That’s why this is also applicable to you and me as individual Christians. In order to fully enjoy the wonderful things Paul unfolds in this letter, you and I must be in a spiritual condition that justifies the qualification of ‘saints’ and ‘faithful’.
In the situation of the Ephesians these marks give a striking reflection of the condition which is necessary, not only to receive the message in this letter, but to understand it, to enjoy it and finally to praise God for it. The teaching in this letter will also shape further the practice of their faith life.
The qualification of “saints” indicates that the believers in Ephesus were set apart for God. Basically that counts for every child of God that he or she is sanctified, which means that he or she is set apart for God from the unbelieving world. For the Ephesians it was not only a position, but it was also obvious that in their daily life they were set apart for God. They did not join the world, but they were obviously distinct from it.
The qualification of “faithful” shows they were faithful to God and to the Lord Jesus. They did not deviate from the way God wanted them to go. The Greek word ‘faithful’ can also be translated as ‘believers’. The believers in Ephesus were faithful and that’s why Paul could write them this letter.
Also the addition “in Christ Jesus” is significant. This indicates that their sanctified and faithful life is anchored in the position they had in Christ Jesus. It was not about them, but about Him. Many times the term “in” Him appears in the letter. In this chapter you find it eight times. It is well worth the effort to check it yourself.
The letter is written to the church “at Ephesus”. In Acts 18-20 you can read a lot about this city. Paul proclaimed the gospel there. He stayed there for three years [Acts 20:31] and met with great resistance [Acts 19:23-31]. When he departed from there he did not leave them to their fate. He gave them after-care through Timothy [1Tim 1:3] and when Timothy could not stay longer there he sent Tychicus [2Tim 4:12].
He also experienced how at last the church in Ephesus deviated from the life that was in accordance with the special privileges it possessed. He personally felt the pain because among those who were in Asia and who turned away from him, there were also believers from Ephesus that was in the province of Asia [2Tim 1:15].
The last remark of the church of Ephesus we find in the letter of the apostle John in the book of Revelation 2 [Rev 2:1-7]. What John writes there, shows how the corruption started, the corruption that through the ages would penetrate the Christian church, a penetration which almost is complete now. It connects to what Paul predicted and against which he warned the church in Ephesus in Acts 20 [Acts 20:29-30].
He must have kept that in mind when he wished the saints and faithful “grace … and peace”. Not just grace and peace, but “grace … and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”. In Acts 20 he also had entrusted them to “God and the word of His grace” [Acts 20:32]. He knew that when it comes to holding on to the wonderful blessings which are reflected in this letter, the future did not look good. But what an encouragement for you and for me that grace will always be abundantly present.
When you live in a living connection with God as Father and with Jesus as Lord and Christ, you can be sure that you are surrounded by that grace. The result is that you will experience peace in your heart that will give you light in your darkest days. The letter begins and also ends with grace and peace [Eph 6:23-24]. Isn’t it beautiful to see that this letter is thereby enveloped, as it were, by “grace” and “peace”?
He is an apostle of Christ Jesus, Who is his Sender. To practice his apostleship, his eyes are continuously focused on Jesus Christ. By Him, Who is the glorified Man in heaven, he is also called to be an apostle [Acts 9:1-18]. The origin of his apostleship lies in “the will of God” and not in his own will or the will of whosoever. Any human appointment was excluded. God was going to use Paul as an apostle. And what God wants, will be done. The authorization of Paul as an apostle is, as it were, marked by the signatures of Christ Jesus and of God. What Paul writes is therefore clothed with the authority of two Divine Persons.
Just one more detail of the apostleship of Paul. There is a difference between his apostleship and that of the twelve. The distinction is in both the calling and the practice. The twelve are called by the Lord Jesus when He was on earth [Luke 6:13]. Paul is called by the glorified Lord in heaven [Acts 26:16-18]. To him the apostleship toward the Gentiles was committed and to the twelve the apostleship to the people of Israel [Gal 2:8]. The calling of Paul by the glorified Lord in heaven also clarifies the nature of his service. That is aimed at telling the church what her connection is with Christ in heaven. As it has already been noticed, that is the issue of this letter.
After the sender, we read about the addressees. It is not just ‘to the church in Ephesus’. There is a lot more. The believers there are addressed as “saints” and “faithful”. This tells a lot about their life as believers and about the spiritual condition of the church in Ephesus. That spiritual condition is significant in regard to what Paul writes in this letter. Could Paul, if he had to address them as ‘fleshly’ [1Cor 3:1], have spoken to them about such elevated blessings? If he had written the profound truths to the Corinthians, which he writes to the Ephesians, then there could have been two possible responses:
1. either they would simply not have understood what Paul was talking about and would have dismissed it as a speech of someone who has his head in the clouds;
2. or if they would have understood Paul intellectually, they would have surely become more proud. They already rejoiced in the many gifts they had received and these blessings came on top of that.
This makes clear that each church receives a letter that matches its spiritual condition. That condition is determined by the behavior, attitude and mind of the individual members of the church. That’s why this is also applicable to you and me as individual Christians. In order to fully enjoy the wonderful things Paul unfolds in this letter, you and I must be in a spiritual condition that justifies the qualification of ‘saints’ and ‘faithful’.
In the situation of the Ephesians these marks give a striking reflection of the condition which is necessary, not only to receive the message in this letter, but to understand it, to enjoy it and finally to praise God for it. The teaching in this letter will also shape further the practice of their faith life.
The qualification of “saints” indicates that the believers in Ephesus were set apart for God. Basically that counts for every child of God that he or she is sanctified, which means that he or she is set apart for God from the unbelieving world. For the Ephesians it was not only a position, but it was also obvious that in their daily life they were set apart for God. They did not join the world, but they were obviously distinct from it.
The qualification of “faithful” shows they were faithful to God and to the Lord Jesus. They did not deviate from the way God wanted them to go. The Greek word ‘faithful’ can also be translated as ‘believers’. The believers in Ephesus were faithful and that’s why Paul could write them this letter.
Also the addition “in Christ Jesus” is significant. This indicates that their sanctified and faithful life is anchored in the position they had in Christ Jesus. It was not about them, but about Him. Many times the term “in” Him appears in the letter. In this chapter you find it eight times. It is well worth the effort to check it yourself.
The letter is written to the church “at Ephesus”. In Acts 18-20 you can read a lot about this city. Paul proclaimed the gospel there. He stayed there for three years [Acts 20:31] and met with great resistance [Acts 19:23-31]. When he departed from there he did not leave them to their fate. He gave them after-care through Timothy [1Tim 1:3] and when Timothy could not stay longer there he sent Tychicus [2Tim 4:12].
He also experienced how at last the church in Ephesus deviated from the life that was in accordance with the special privileges it possessed. He personally felt the pain because among those who were in Asia and who turned away from him, there were also believers from Ephesus that was in the province of Asia [2Tim 1:15].
The last remark of the church of Ephesus we find in the letter of the apostle John in the book of Revelation 2 [Rev 2:1-7]. What John writes there, shows how the corruption started, the corruption that through the ages would penetrate the Christian church, a penetration which almost is complete now. It connects to what Paul predicted and against which he warned the church in Ephesus in Acts 20 [Acts 20:29-30].
He must have kept that in mind when he wished the saints and faithful “grace … and peace”. Not just grace and peace, but “grace … and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”. In Acts 20 he also had entrusted them to “God and the word of His grace” [Acts 20:32]. He knew that when it comes to holding on to the wonderful blessings which are reflected in this letter, the future did not look good. But what an encouragement for you and for me that grace will always be abundantly present.
When you live in a living connection with God as Father and with Jesus as Lord and Christ, you can be sure that you are surrounded by that grace. The result is that you will experience peace in your heart that will give you light in your darkest days. The letter begins and also ends with grace and peace [Eph 6:23-24]. Isn’t it beautiful to see that this letter is thereby enveloped, as it were, by “grace” and “peace”?
Verses that belong to this explanation: 1-2
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace [be] to you, and peace, from God our Father, and [from] the Lord Jesus Christ.
 | Author: Ger de Koning Rank: Author Posted on: 2024-04-30 Source: Title: Ephesians Author: Ger de Koning Copyright: kingcomments.com Note General: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the author or the publisher. |
All Christians must be saints; if they come not under that character on earth, they will never be saints in glory. Those are not saints, who are not faithful, believing in Christ, and true to the profession they make of relation to their Lord. By grace, understand the free and undeserved love and favor of God, and those graces of the Spirit which come from it; by peace, all other blessings, spiritual and temporal, the fruits of the former. No peace without grace. No peace, nor grace, but from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ; and the best saints need fresh supplies of the graces of the Spirit, and desire to grow.
Verses that belong to this explanation: 1-2
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace [be] to you, and peace, from God our Father, and [from] the Lord Jesus Christ.
 | Author: Matthew Henry Rank: Priest AD: 1714 Source: Title: Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible Author: Matthew Henry |
Observe, he applies the word through to the Father. But what then? Shall we say that He is inferior? Surely not. To the saints, says he, which are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus. Observe that he calls saints, men with wives, and children, and domestics. For that these are they whom he calls by this name is plain from the end of the Epistle, as, when he says, Wives, be in subjection unto your own husbands. Ephesians 5:22 And again, Children, obey your parents: Ephesians 6:1 and, Servants, be obedient to your masters. Ephesians 6:5 Think how great is the indolence that possesses us now, how rare is any thing like virtue now and how great the abundance of virtuous men must have been then, when even secular men could be called saints and faithful.
 | Author: John Chrysostom Rank: Bishop AD: 407 |
Ephesus is the metropolis of Asia. It was dedicated to Diana, whom especially they worshipped there as their great goddess. Indeed so great was the superstition of her worshippers, that when her temple was burnt, they would not so much as divulge the name of the man who burnt it. The blessed John the Evangelist spent the chief part of his time there: he was there when he was banished, and there he died. It was there too that Paul left Timothy, as he says in writing to him, As I exhorted you to tarry at Ephesus. 1 Timothy 1:3 Most of the philosophers also, those more particularly who flourished in Asia, were there; and even Pythagoras himself is said to have come from thence; perhaps because Samos, whence he really came, is an island of Ionia. It was the resort also of the disciples of Parmenides, and Zeno, and Democritus, and you may see a number of philosophers there even to the present day. These facts I mention, not merely as such, but with a view of showing that Paul would needs take great pains and trouble in writing to these Ephesians. He is said indeed to have entrusted them, as being persons already well-instructed, with his profoundest conceptions; and the Epistle itself is full of sublime thoughts and doctrines.
He wrote the Epistle from Rome, and, as he himself informs us, in bonds. Pray for me, that utterance may be given unto me, in opening my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Ephesians 6:19 It abounds with sentiments of overwhelming loftiness and grandeur. Thoughts which he scarcely so much as utters any where else, he here plainly declares; as when he says, To the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the Church the manifold wisdom of God. Ephesians 3:10 And again; He raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in heavenly places. Ephesians 2:6 And again; Which in other generations was not made known unto the sons of men, as it has now been revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit, that the Gentiles are fellow-heirs, and fellow-partakers of the promise in Christ. Ephesians 3:5
| Author: John Chrysostom Rank: Bishop AD: 407 |
Those whom he has called saintly he also calls faithful, because faith derives from the choice of our own minds, but sanctification we receive meanwhile from the abundance of the Sanctifier, not from our own will. As for his saying “faithful in Jesus Christ,” this is aimed at drawing a distinction that should be carefully noted. For there are those who have genuine faith but not faith in Jesus Christ. Someone who returns a deposit and does not deny another’s trust shows himself a faithful friend…. This person is indeed faithful but not “in Christ.” .
 | Author: Jerome Rank: Priest AD: 420 |
On of His Spirit, tending towards perfection, and preparing us for in corruption, being little by little accustomed to receive and bear God; which also the apostle terms "an earnest "that is, a part of the honour which has been promised us by God, where he says in the Epistle to the Ephesians, "In which ye also, having heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation, believing in which we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance."
 | Author: Irenaeus of Lyons Rank: Bishop AD: 202 |
On whose account I rejoice exceedingly, and have had the privilege, by this Epistle, of conversing with "the saints which are at Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus."
 | Author: Ignatius of Antioch Rank: Bishop AD: 108 |
When Jesus Christ elected Paul and made him an apostle, he elected him through the Spirit by the will of God or the power through whom God works his will. Let us therefore understand, as I often say, that the will of God is the very power, greatness and substance of the whole divine plenitude. Christ—that is, God’s Word which was in Christ—is the will of God. Those who consider this more closely will find that God and his will are inseparable. .
 | Author: Gaius Marius Victorinus Rank: Author AD: 400 |
In other letters when he writes to a church and its people he does not add “to the saints and the faithful.” But now, because he desires to keep them loyal to the holy Name, so that being sanctified they will not add anything superficially in excess of the Name, he calls them simply by this name: they are the faithful “in Christ.” .
| Author: Gaius Marius Victorinus Rank: Author AD: 400 |
He writes not only to the faithful but to the saints to show that they are truly faithful insofar as they have been sanctified in Christ. For a good life is worthwhile and is called saintly if it is lived in the name of Jesus. Otherwise it is polluted, because it injures the Creator.
 | Author: Ambrosiaster Rank: Author AD: 400 |
The listed verse explanations of the individual persons have nothing to do with the explanations of the other persons. This also applies to the Bible translations.
