Ephesians Introduction

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I am teaching with my son Graham at Highland this fall. Over the next several weeks I will post my notes. Some of this material is from previous sermons and published articles.

Ephesians Overview

Paul begins with a benefactory oration that is similar to an Old Testament berekah. “Blessed be God who blesses us.” God chooses, predestines, redeems, makes known, and seals us. In a trinitarian way, Paul proclaims that God blesses us all for God’s own glory. Andrew Root notes, “We speak of God’s being in and through God’s action…”[1] God is a minister as seen by what God does. God is a pastor at heart as demonstrated by the blessings God bestows on us.

  • Therefore, (1:15ff) Paul prays that we may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
  • And that power makes us alive in Christ by God’s grace (2:10ff).
  • And that power makes two one flesh so that in him we are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit (2:15ff).
  • Paul reminds us that he dedicated his life to this ministry (3:10) — through the church the manifold wisdom of God should be made known. And through the Apostles and Prophets, God still blesses the church today due to their ministry then (Eph. 3:5). These are the foundation gifts for the church.
  • So, Paul prays that we can apprehend God’s power so that in the Church God is glorified (3:14-21).

Christ is the giver of gifts to the body of Christ for a purpose (4:7).  At this point in the letter, the author has already asserted the place of Christ in the heavenly realms. Exalting Chris above all things, God appointed him as head over everything (Eph. 1:20-22). Now, in this position of authority, Christ shows care and concern for his people by giving gifts to his church. Christ blesses his body with individuals gifted to lead. Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers—these individuals are to prepare God’s people. They are the equippers of the Saints. Jesus’ leaders supply what is needed so that every member may be spiritually fit.

God equips through the overflow of blessings to us, because as noted earlier, God is a minister. “It’s possible that the act of ministry can do this because it correlates with God’s own being. It can give a dying person mercy, a calling. For another, a song of ministry can be the known and unknown tissue of life. This kind of action constitutes the fullness of God. In other words, what makes God God is the action of ministry. These actions reveal the very being of God. Even over and against the closed spin of the secular, the pastor is never far from divine action if the focus is on ministry.”[2]

Having ascended higher than the heavens, Christ gives leaders to his church for a particular reason. Leaders accomplish the “immediate purpose of equipping the saints and the ultimate goal of promoting the church’s growth to maturity.” Comparison with other Pauline passages describing giftedness highlights this corporate focus of Ephesians 4:11-16. While the author of both Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 addresses unity, he places primary emphasis on diversity, in order to establish the significance of each individual member’s contribution to the body. However, Ephesians 4 serves a different purpose. Undoubtedly, as Ephesians 4:7 attests, the author understands the diversity of Christ’s gifts, but in Ephesians 4:11-16, this diversity clearly fades into the backdrop of unity. The leaders listed in Ephesians serve the church on behalf of Christ for a sole reason, namely, to build up his body. For this reason, the author utilizes both body and building metaphors throughout his letter. These images accomplish more than simply describing the church; they point to Christ. In each case, the writer uses the imagery to portray the relationship between Christ and the church. Paul’s first mention of the church as a body, in Ephesians 1:23, ties directly to Paul’s claim of Christ as the head. Then, as Paul shifts to the picture of a building in Ephesians 2:20-22, he again asserts Christ’s identity as the chief cornerstone.

From his position of power and prominence, then, Christ gives leaders to his church for the purpose of maturing his body. As indicated by Ephesians 4:14, the church faces pressures that threaten to inhibit its growth and development. Christ provides leaders for exactly this situation. These leaders recognize the goal of their giftedness, specifically to facilitate the growth of the body into the fullness of the head.

Willingly, they dedicate themselves to teaching, training, proclaiming, preparing, serving, and building the community of faith; selflessly, they give of themselves so that the church might grow fully into the whole measure of Christ. Furthermore, even in the face of threatening pressures, rather than instill dread or panic, these leaders mature the body by cultivating an environment of love. Such dedication, therefore, fulfills Christ’s intent in giving the gift of leaders to his church.

Ephesians describes God’s glorious vision for the church and how God empowers the church to accomplish God’s intent. Therefore, we are called as the church to walk the worthy life. Therefore, here are concrete ways the church will act in the worldà5:1. Imitate God. “We speak of God’s being in and through God’s action…”[3]

  • Christ equips the body of Christ for works of service (Eph. 4:7-12a).
  • Works of service by the body of Christ produces spiritual growth (Eph. 4:12b-13).
  • Spiritual growth in the body of Christ results in unity (Eph. 4:14-16).

Here is the purpose for ministry. Ministry is to be carried out on all fronts until the church reaches unity. The unity of the Church that God establishes by the blood of his son is to be both attained and maintained by the body of Christ. So as God pours forth God’s essence into Christ, Christ pours forth blessing into the church, so that the unified and mature body of Christ, will pour forth blessing for the sake of the world.

Stay tuned for the unfolding of Ephesians as I publish my notes each week.

[1] Andrew Root, The Pastor in a Secular Age: Ministry to People Who No Longer Need God” (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2019), 169.

[2] Root, The Pastor in a Secular Age, 174.

[3] Root, The Pastor in a Secular Age, 169.