WEBVTT 00:00:02.410 --> 00:00:07.769 Rose Kennedy, like many very wealthy people perhaps, 00:00:08.009 --> 00:00:11.730 is a little bit eccentric. Her former secretary 00:00:11.730 --> 00:00:16.629 says that Rose insists on using the back of envelopes 00:00:16.629 --> 00:00:20.789 for notes rather than buy a notepad. And then 00:00:20.789 --> 00:00:23.530 when she wants to put together pieces of paper, 00:00:23.629 --> 00:00:26.609 she uses straight pens so she doesn't have to 00:00:26.609 --> 00:00:30.070 buy paperclips. She's afraid she's going to run 00:00:30.070 --> 00:00:33.920 out of money. She does not live according to 00:00:33.920 --> 00:00:37.179 her wealth, does she? And in doing that, she 00:00:37.179 --> 00:00:40.000 is like many Christians who do not live according 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:44.119 to their spiritual wealth. The book of Ephesians 00:00:44.119 --> 00:00:47.320 is written to such people. I invite you to turn 00:00:47.320 --> 00:00:50.359 there with me. We're going to begin studying 00:00:50.359 --> 00:00:53.820 today through the book of Ephesians. The book 00:00:53.820 --> 00:00:56.359 of Ephesians is the best -worn book in my Bible. 00:00:58.280 --> 00:01:01.000 I dropped in a street one day and a car ran over 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:05.680 it right through the middle of Ephesians. A tire 00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:09.719 trend, looks like Goodyear perhaps, goes through 00:01:09.719 --> 00:01:12.739 several chapters, and there are other reminders 00:01:12.739 --> 00:01:15.200 of not leaving my Bible on the top of my car 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:20.299 again. But it's not for that reason that we're 00:01:20.299 --> 00:01:22.799 studying through the book, because it happens 00:01:22.799 --> 00:01:25.859 to be the best -worn book in my Bible. It is 00:01:25.859 --> 00:01:28.159 because it is a book that talks about the wealth 00:01:28.159 --> 00:01:31.319 of believers. I want to study the book so that 00:01:31.319 --> 00:01:34.439 all of us who are God's children might know the 00:01:34.439 --> 00:01:37.739 riches that are ours in Jesus Christ and then 00:01:37.739 --> 00:01:42.500 might live accordingly. I suppose if a survey 00:01:42.500 --> 00:01:44.739 were taken, the book of Ephesians would be one 00:01:44.739 --> 00:01:48.000 of the top favorites in the New Testament, perhaps 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:52.620 along with Philippians and Romans. It is an epistle 00:01:52.620 --> 00:01:55.909 of the church. Not the Baptist Church or the 00:01:55.909 --> 00:01:58.209 Lutheran Church or the Methodist Church, but 00:01:58.209 --> 00:02:02.450 the Church, capital C. It is an epistle that 00:02:02.450 --> 00:02:05.609 tells us about the origin of the Church, its 00:02:05.609 --> 00:02:11.069 nature, and its glorious destiny. Even the first 00:02:11.069 --> 00:02:14.270 two verses of the epistle are significant, for 00:02:14.270 --> 00:02:17.050 they set the stage for what is to come later. 00:02:19.150 --> 00:02:21.729 When I was in high school, I enjoyed being in 00:02:21.729 --> 00:02:25.280 some dramatic productions. One thing I learned 00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:29.479 as an amateur, very amateur actor, was the importance 00:02:29.479 --> 00:02:32.900 of the props on a stage. Because the props give 00:02:32.900 --> 00:02:36.340 you the context in which to work, so that you 00:02:36.340 --> 00:02:40.919 yourself can be an effective communicator, and 00:02:40.919 --> 00:02:44.000 so that the people who are watching you are able 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:47.020 to put your comments into some kind of a meaningful 00:02:47.020 --> 00:02:50.590 setting. Well, it seems to me that in verses 00:02:50.590 --> 00:02:53.449 1 and 2, the Apostle Paul sets the stage for 00:02:53.449 --> 00:02:56.849 us. And in setting the stage for the book of 00:02:56.849 --> 00:03:00.050 Ephesians, he answers several vital questions. 00:03:00.669 --> 00:03:03.689 The first one is, who wrote this book? Who is 00:03:03.689 --> 00:03:08.310 the author? Now, that is disputed by some, usually 00:03:08.310 --> 00:03:11.310 by those who are of a more liberal persuasion. 00:03:12.389 --> 00:03:16.469 Yet there is no reason to seriously doubt the 00:03:16.469 --> 00:03:19.650 author. which has been widely and traditionally 00:03:19.650 --> 00:03:23.150 accepted. That is, the author who states he wrote 00:03:23.150 --> 00:03:27.229 the book, the Apostle Paul. The Apostle calls 00:03:27.229 --> 00:03:30.669 himself, in verse 1, by that phrase, an apostle 00:03:30.669 --> 00:03:35.810 of Jesus Christ. You see, he was not just anybody. 00:03:36.889 --> 00:03:41.129 He was not just a kid from down the block. He 00:03:41.129 --> 00:03:45.219 was an apostle of Jesus Christ. An apostle is 00:03:45.219 --> 00:03:50.400 one who was sent out from a person or an organization 00:03:50.400 --> 00:03:55.699 with a mission to accomplish. It is a person 00:03:55.699 --> 00:03:58.639 who was commissioned to do something in particular. 00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:03.539 It is a word that is used, the capital A, of 00:04:03.539 --> 00:04:08.199 the Lord Jesus himself, in Hebrews 3 .1, where 00:04:08.199 --> 00:04:11.699 we are exhorted to consider the apostle. and 00:04:11.699 --> 00:04:14.479 high priest of our confession, Jesus Christ. 00:04:15.199 --> 00:04:19.339 For he is an apostle in the sense that he was 00:04:19.339 --> 00:04:23.259 sent from the Father. As we read this morning, 00:04:23.420 --> 00:04:28.000 as the Father has sent me, even so I have sent 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:31.600 you. So he was an apostle. He was sent from the 00:04:31.600 --> 00:04:34.439 Father with a mission to fulfill in the world. 00:04:34.939 --> 00:04:39.279 That is the redemption of man. It is a word also 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:42.040 used in the New Testament more broadly and in 00:04:42.040 --> 00:04:45.540 a general sense of those who were sent out from 00:04:45.540 --> 00:04:49.519 churches on various missions. They were commissioned 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:53.660 to do this or to do that. They were apostles 00:04:53.660 --> 00:04:57.420 in that broad and general sense, and there were 00:04:57.420 --> 00:05:02.560 many of those. But it is used most notably in 00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:05.839 its narrow sense, its specific and technical 00:05:05.839 --> 00:05:10.670 meaning, that it was used only of 14 people. 00:05:12.069 --> 00:05:18.730 It was used of the 12. One of those was a betrayer 00:05:18.730 --> 00:05:23.410 and committed apostasy. It was no longer counted 00:05:23.410 --> 00:05:26.889 among them. There was one added, which makes 00:05:26.889 --> 00:05:30.790 13 people. And then it was used of the Apostle 00:05:30.790 --> 00:05:35.949 Paul himself, and he is the 14th. Only 14 people. 00:05:36.779 --> 00:05:40.139 can be called apostles in this technical and 00:05:40.139 --> 00:05:43.660 rather narrow sense of its usage, the official 00:05:43.660 --> 00:05:46.899 sense in which it was used. There were certain 00:05:46.899 --> 00:05:49.639 qualifications for apostles laid down in Acts 00:05:49.639 --> 00:05:54.439 chapter 1 when Messiah was chosen by the will 00:05:54.439 --> 00:05:57.319 of God, we believe, to replace the departing 00:05:57.319 --> 00:06:00.740 Judas. In the first place, there was a qualification 00:06:00.740 --> 00:06:06.449 of gender. They would choose a man. Women were 00:06:06.449 --> 00:06:10.990 not apostles. And then they were to choose one 00:06:10.990 --> 00:06:15.310 who associated with the Lord Jesus from the time 00:06:15.310 --> 00:06:18.850 of his baptism until his ascension. And so there 00:06:18.850 --> 00:06:22.870 was a qualification of association. Not just 00:06:22.870 --> 00:06:25.649 any disciple was qualified. It had to be someone 00:06:25.649 --> 00:06:30.410 who was with Jesus and the twelve he originally 00:06:30.410 --> 00:06:34.000 chose for the most of that period. the three 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:36.660 -year period from his baptism until he ascended 00:06:36.660 --> 00:06:40.600 back to heaven. And then there was a third qualification, 00:06:40.959 --> 00:06:44.300 a qualification of circumstance. The one chosen 00:06:44.300 --> 00:06:49.060 had to have seen face -to -face the resurrected 00:06:49.060 --> 00:06:54.339 Christ. As I said, Matthias was chosen in answer 00:06:54.339 --> 00:07:00.500 to those qualifications to replace Judas. The 00:07:00.500 --> 00:07:03.420 Expositors Bible Commentary has a helpful note 00:07:03.420 --> 00:07:08.279 regarding apostles. It reminds us, an apostle 00:07:08.279 --> 00:07:12.079 then was not an ecclesiastical functionary, not 00:07:12.079 --> 00:07:15.639 just any recipient of the apostolic faith, nor 00:07:15.639 --> 00:07:19.660 even a bearer of the apostolic message. He was 00:07:19.660 --> 00:07:24.939 a guarantor of the gospel tradition because he 00:07:24.939 --> 00:07:29.120 had been a companion of the earthly Jesus. and 00:07:29.120 --> 00:07:32.160 a witness to the reality of his resurrection 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:37.000 because the risen Lord had encountered him. And 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:41.060 so an apostle was one who guaranteed the message 00:07:41.060 --> 00:07:47.360 of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul received 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:50.579 his commission, as he himself said it, as one 00:07:50.579 --> 00:07:54.300 born out of due season. 1 Corinthians 15, verses 00:07:54.300 --> 00:07:58.329 8 through 10. He looked upon himself as it were 00:07:58.329 --> 00:08:03.509 prematurely born. He did not have the advantage 00:08:03.509 --> 00:08:07.089 of the other men who were with Jesus for a period 00:08:07.089 --> 00:08:10.829 of time and were nurtured before they became 00:08:10.829 --> 00:08:16.129 apostles. He was converted and appointed an apostle 00:08:16.129 --> 00:08:20.829 all at one time. And so he says, I'm like one 00:08:20.829 --> 00:08:25.220 who was born out of due season. In Acts chapter 00:08:25.220 --> 00:08:28.699 9, we have the record of his journey toward Damascus 00:08:28.699 --> 00:08:34.379 when the risen Christ confronted him and gave 00:08:34.379 --> 00:08:37.500 him his commission, more fully announced a little 00:08:37.500 --> 00:08:40.159 bit later in the city of Damascus through Ananias. 00:08:42.159 --> 00:08:46.799 Paul, an apostle, he had to argue for that office. 00:08:47.360 --> 00:08:49.720 There were some who tried to steal it from him 00:08:49.720 --> 00:08:52.539 by saying that he was not a genuine apostle. 00:08:53.580 --> 00:08:56.259 In fact, that was prominent in the city of Corinth, 00:08:56.399 --> 00:08:58.960 and one of the reasons that he wrote the second 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:02.399 book through the Corinthians. The office of apostle 00:09:02.399 --> 00:09:09.980 connotes both authority and accountability. An 00:09:09.980 --> 00:09:13.200 apostle of Jesus Christ, he says, or actually, 00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:16.580 more technically, an apostle of Christ Jesus. 00:09:17.179 --> 00:09:19.279 Now, I point that out because there are some 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:22.080 people who are a little confused about the name. 00:09:23.570 --> 00:09:27.809 Jesus Christ is not his first and last name. 00:09:30.250 --> 00:09:33.870 If you had a telephone book from Nazareth in 00:09:33.870 --> 00:09:35.789 that day, you wouldn't look up Christ and try 00:09:35.789 --> 00:09:40.090 to find Jesus then. Christ is not his last name. 00:09:40.210 --> 00:09:43.269 Christ is a title for him, for the office that 00:09:43.269 --> 00:09:47.190 he holds as the anointed one of God, a fulfillment 00:09:47.190 --> 00:09:50.429 of Old Testament prophecy. And so more technically, 00:09:50.669 --> 00:09:53.570 the Greek text reflects what the... The New American 00:09:53.570 --> 00:09:57.230 Standard Version says an apostle of Christ, Jesus. 00:09:57.990 --> 00:10:04.289 Christ, the office bearer, named Jesus. He says 00:10:04.289 --> 00:10:06.990 he is an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will 00:10:06.990 --> 00:10:11.090 of God. This was not Paul's doing, nor was it 00:10:11.090 --> 00:10:14.309 any other's. He did not seek this office. He 00:10:14.309 --> 00:10:17.750 did not usurp it from another. There was no one 00:10:17.750 --> 00:10:20.409 who nominated Paul so that they all voted and 00:10:20.409 --> 00:10:23.090 said Paul should be an apostle. He wouldn't have 00:10:23.090 --> 00:10:26.830 accepted the nomination anyway. Rather, he was 00:10:26.830 --> 00:10:32.710 collectively, sovereignly chosen by the Lord 00:10:32.710 --> 00:10:36.690 Jesus Christ himself. Paul reflects this when 00:10:36.690 --> 00:10:39.389 writing to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1 .12. He says 00:10:39.389 --> 00:10:44.830 that he put me into service. I'd like you to 00:10:44.830 --> 00:10:47.429 turn back a few pages to Galatians chapter 1 00:10:47.429 --> 00:10:50.970 and notice how Paul emphasizes this. in the epistles 00:10:50.970 --> 00:10:55.870 to the Galatian churches. Right in verse 1, he 00:10:55.870 --> 00:11:03.570 says, Paul, an apostle, not sent from men. In 00:11:03.570 --> 00:11:07.769 other words, it was not men who sent him on his 00:11:07.769 --> 00:11:11.909 mission, nor through the agency of men. It wasn't 00:11:11.909 --> 00:11:15.570 even a man who announced to Paul that he was 00:11:15.570 --> 00:11:19.409 going to be an apostle. But rather, he says, 00:11:20.809 --> 00:11:24.289 through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised 00:11:24.289 --> 00:11:28.110 him from the dead. In other words, he does claim 00:11:28.110 --> 00:11:32.549 that he was appointed an apostle directly by 00:11:32.549 --> 00:11:37.110 Jesus Christ with no mediation on the part of 00:11:37.110 --> 00:11:42.809 anyone else. He is fully an apostle, one sent 00:11:42.809 --> 00:11:47.289 by Jesus Christ on a mission. In verse 15 he 00:11:47.289 --> 00:11:51.259 says that when he who had set me apart even from 00:11:51.259 --> 00:11:57.899 my mother's womb called me. Notice that the Apostle 00:11:57.899 --> 00:12:00.899 Paul says that even from the time of his conception, 00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:09.059 God had set him apart as an apostle, even in 00:12:09.059 --> 00:12:16.620 those years when he was an enemy of Jesus Christ. 00:12:18.570 --> 00:12:22.230 when he blasphemed, when he sent saints to prison, 00:12:22.409 --> 00:12:26.570 when he injured others. Even then, though he 00:12:26.570 --> 00:12:30.429 was not yet converted, God in his sovereign purpose 00:12:30.429 --> 00:12:35.110 had already called Paul to be an apostle. And 00:12:35.110 --> 00:12:37.190 when the day came for the announcement, Jesus 00:12:37.190 --> 00:12:40.210 met him on the road to Damascus and said, Paul, 00:12:40.549 --> 00:12:45.570 here is your assignment. Remember, Paul had said, 00:12:45.610 --> 00:12:50.019 Lord, what will you have me to do? In a moment, 00:12:50.120 --> 00:12:52.720 he was born not only of the Spirit of God and 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:56.139 of the family of God, but he was given his assignment 00:12:56.139 --> 00:13:01.320 as an apostle. This is an example of God's sovereign 00:13:01.320 --> 00:13:05.379 will, which acts apart from human desire and 00:13:05.379 --> 00:13:08.700 effort, and which will be exposed even further 00:13:08.700 --> 00:13:13.879 in this book of the Ephesians. The apostle, as 00:13:13.879 --> 00:13:18.539 he writes this, was imprisoned in Rome. one sent 00:13:18.539 --> 00:13:21.440 on a mission, but who at the time of this writing 00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:26.620 in about 62 A .D. was under house arrest in Rome, 00:13:26.820 --> 00:13:31.200 and he calls himself in this book a prisoner 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:36.159 of Jesus Christ. Are there any apostles today? 00:13:37.480 --> 00:13:40.980 Are there those who have the same authority as 00:13:40.980 --> 00:13:44.659 did Paul? Well, the answer to that is emphatically 00:13:44.659 --> 00:13:49.149 no. There are not apostles today. Now, we may 00:13:49.149 --> 00:13:52.850 use the term in its broad sense, as did the early 00:13:52.850 --> 00:13:57.870 church, referring to missionaries, for example, 00:13:57.970 --> 00:14:01.529 that are sent out on a mission to establish the 00:14:01.529 --> 00:14:04.210 local church, to preach the gospel in foreign 00:14:04.210 --> 00:14:08.970 lands. They are apostles of a sort. But in this 00:14:08.970 --> 00:14:11.789 official and technical capacity, no, there are 00:14:11.789 --> 00:14:15.899 no apostles today. The apostles passed from the 00:14:15.899 --> 00:14:19.279 scene by the end of the first century. They laid 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:22.919 the foundation, and when they had done their 00:14:22.919 --> 00:14:27.019 work, they were gone. There were certain signs 00:14:27.019 --> 00:14:30.659 that accompanied the apostles. In writing to 00:14:30.659 --> 00:14:33.559 the Corinthians, Paul says, the signs of a true 00:14:33.559 --> 00:14:37.799 apostle are done among you. Signs, wonders, and 00:14:37.799 --> 00:14:42.700 miracles. He claimed that he was proved. to be 00:14:42.700 --> 00:14:48.139 an apostle by the signs of his ministry. And 00:14:48.139 --> 00:14:50.159 therefore they should receive him as an apostle. 00:14:51.320 --> 00:14:53.799 It's interesting that by the time the book of 00:14:53.799 --> 00:14:56.700 Hebrews is written, not too many years after 00:14:56.700 --> 00:14:59.940 this, that the writer suggests that those who 00:14:59.940 --> 00:15:04.840 had received those signs from the Lord had already 00:15:04.840 --> 00:15:08.279 passed. The signs were waning. Now why would 00:15:08.279 --> 00:15:11.960 that be? Why would the signs and wonders and 00:15:11.960 --> 00:15:16.240 miraculous gifts be on the decline? For two reasons. 00:15:17.659 --> 00:15:20.440 First, because the foundation was laid and the 00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:22.899 apostles were being phased out and those signed 00:15:22.899 --> 00:15:29.039 gifts were especially for them. And secondly, 00:15:29.179 --> 00:15:31.799 the signed gifts were being phased out because 00:15:31.799 --> 00:15:35.259 they were a part of the early first century church. 00:15:36.719 --> 00:15:39.100 Now, it doesn't mean that God doesn't do miracles 00:15:39.100 --> 00:15:43.340 today. He does. But they are not signs of an 00:15:43.340 --> 00:15:46.299 apostle. There is not a man who does them, and 00:15:46.299 --> 00:15:50.340 by doing them proves that he is an apostle. There 00:15:50.340 --> 00:15:54.059 are no apostles today. You say, how does one 00:15:54.059 --> 00:15:57.399 prove that he is a preacher today? By what he 00:15:57.399 --> 00:16:02.669 teaches. In 2 John 10, we are instructed... to 00:16:02.669 --> 00:16:06.750 receive a person according to his doctrine, according 00:16:06.750 --> 00:16:11.509 to his teaching. It is the doctrine, the teaching 00:16:11.509 --> 00:16:15.629 that he communicates which authenticates him 00:16:15.629 --> 00:16:18.090 as being a genuine representative of Jesus Christ. 00:16:18.809 --> 00:16:21.950 So I again say, no, today there are no apostles. 00:16:22.210 --> 00:16:24.889 And the signs of an apostle are no longer with 00:16:24.889 --> 00:16:29.950 us. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will 00:16:29.950 --> 00:16:34.850 of God. This brings us face to face with the 00:16:34.850 --> 00:16:38.350 doctrine of inspiration. You'll recall that in 00:16:38.350 --> 00:16:41.629 2 Timothy 3 .16 it says all scripture is given 00:16:41.629 --> 00:16:45.990 by inspiration of God. That is, it is God breathed. 00:16:46.730 --> 00:16:51.149 The idea is that the Lord superintended those 00:16:51.149 --> 00:16:56.370 who wrote. So the heart they wrote were the very 00:16:56.370 --> 00:17:01.899 words of God. William Hendrickson. the commentator 00:17:01.899 --> 00:17:05.160 I especially appreciate, has a helpful note regarding 00:17:05.160 --> 00:17:09.380 this. He says what he writes is in very fact 00:17:09.380 --> 00:17:15.039 the product of his own meditation and reflection. 00:17:15.700 --> 00:17:19.319 It is both a spontaneous utterance of his heart 00:17:19.319 --> 00:17:25.079 and a careful composition of his mind. The gold 00:17:25.079 --> 00:17:28.400 that pours forth from his heart has been molded 00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:32.500 into definite, and one may say artistic shape 00:17:32.500 --> 00:17:38.420 by his mind. But this heart and this mind are 00:17:38.420 --> 00:17:42.819 so thoroughly Spirit -controlled that the ideas 00:17:42.819 --> 00:17:47.319 expressed and the very words by means which they 00:17:47.319 --> 00:17:51.900 are conveyed are also, and in a sense were first 00:17:51.900 --> 00:17:56.140 of all, the ideas and the words of the Holy Spirit. 00:17:57.279 --> 00:18:03.000 Hence the word of Paul, is the Word of God. That 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:08.799 is the miracle of inspiration. The Apostle Paul 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:12.539 claims to write the very words of God, and he 00:18:12.539 --> 00:18:16.079 does, as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will 00:18:16.079 --> 00:18:18.759 of God. But to whom did he write? That's the 00:18:18.759 --> 00:18:22.240 second major question that he answers. Now there 00:18:22.240 --> 00:18:25.059 are those who differ on this as well. And so 00:18:25.059 --> 00:18:27.460 I think theologians only argue, well, you may 00:18:27.460 --> 00:18:31.410 be right. You may be right. But you see, there 00:18:31.410 --> 00:18:35.869 are some ancient manuscripts which do not contain 00:18:35.869 --> 00:18:40.170 the words at Ephesus in the first verse. They 00:18:40.170 --> 00:18:43.970 simply say Paul an apostle. I better get to Ephesians 00:18:43.970 --> 00:18:45.950 here before we start the series on Galatians. 00:18:46.369 --> 00:18:49.769 Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of 00:18:49.769 --> 00:18:53.210 God to the saints and the faithful in Christ 00:18:53.210 --> 00:18:58.119 Jesus. Yet there are other manuscripts that contain 00:18:58.119 --> 00:19:02.440 the word at Ephesus. And so scholars have tried 00:19:02.440 --> 00:19:05.220 to understand why some manuscripts don't have 00:19:05.220 --> 00:19:08.440 the word, some do. The best explanation seems 00:19:08.440 --> 00:19:12.740 to be that this letter was intended by Paul to 00:19:12.740 --> 00:19:17.619 be a circular letter. It was an encyclical written 00:19:17.619 --> 00:19:21.900 to several congregations. In other words, he 00:19:21.900 --> 00:19:25.410 would write it to the Ephesians. But the instructions 00:19:25.410 --> 00:19:28.829 were to pass the book around to the churches 00:19:28.829 --> 00:19:34.990 in that area, to Colossae, for example, to Laodicea, 00:19:34.990 --> 00:19:38.470 to Hierapolis, and to the other cities where 00:19:38.470 --> 00:19:40.670 there were churches founded where Paul had never 00:19:40.670 --> 00:19:44.470 been. And so some of the copies say at Ephesus, 00:19:44.529 --> 00:19:46.490 and some have no name in them because they were 00:19:46.490 --> 00:19:49.990 passed on to other congregations to be read there. 00:19:52.119 --> 00:19:55.980 In Colossians chapter 4, verse 16, we have something 00:19:55.980 --> 00:19:57.900 of an example of this, if you want to look at 00:19:57.900 --> 00:20:01.559 it. It says, and when this letter, this is a 00:20:01.559 --> 00:20:05.380 Colossian letter now, when this letter is read 00:20:05.380 --> 00:20:09.460 among you, have it also read in the church of 00:20:09.460 --> 00:20:13.599 the Laodiceans. You see, Paul tells them to pass 00:20:13.599 --> 00:20:17.829 the letter on, the Laodicea. And then he says, 00:20:17.930 --> 00:20:20.509 and you, for your part, read my letter that is 00:20:20.509 --> 00:20:25.410 coming from Laodicea. Now, there is no epistle 00:20:25.410 --> 00:20:29.369 of Paul to the Laodiceans. So either we don't 00:20:29.369 --> 00:20:32.130 have that book today, it was not one of the inspired 00:20:32.130 --> 00:20:35.569 writings of Paul, or it was, and I think this 00:20:35.569 --> 00:20:38.150 is accurate, it was the book that we call the 00:20:38.150 --> 00:20:41.029 letter to the Ephesians. Paul was telling the 00:20:41.029 --> 00:20:43.329 people in Colossae to expect this letter eventually 00:20:43.329 --> 00:20:47.039 to come from Laodicea to them to read it. Please 00:20:47.039 --> 00:20:50.900 see, it was a circular letter. Now, it was not 00:20:50.900 --> 00:20:53.140 written, therefore, we think, to a particular 00:20:53.140 --> 00:20:56.279 congregation, as were most of Paul's other letters. 00:20:57.660 --> 00:21:00.619 However, we are told to whom it was written. 00:21:01.400 --> 00:21:09.059 He says, to the saints. Who are saints, anyway? 00:21:10.319 --> 00:21:13.200 This is a word used nine times in Ephesians. 00:21:13.619 --> 00:21:17.019 We better understand who they are. Well, there 00:21:17.019 --> 00:21:19.099 are those, of course, who believe that the saints 00:21:19.099 --> 00:21:23.700 are a particular group of ancient people. This 00:21:23.700 --> 00:21:28.059 is usually the understanding of those who come 00:21:28.059 --> 00:21:31.660 from the Roman Catholic tradition. According 00:21:31.660 --> 00:21:33.619 to their teaching, there are certain people who 00:21:33.619 --> 00:21:37.960 are canonized, who are declared by a council 00:21:37.960 --> 00:21:42.799 to be saints, to be elevated to a higher position 00:21:42.799 --> 00:21:46.420 than other believers. What has happened is that 00:21:46.420 --> 00:21:49.819 the council has examined their lives, and they 00:21:49.819 --> 00:21:53.680 have been found above reproach. And in addition 00:21:53.680 --> 00:21:58.500 to that, there are at least two miracles, proven 00:21:58.500 --> 00:22:02.319 miracles, so -called, that could be accounted 00:22:02.319 --> 00:22:05.759 for by this particular ancient person who has 00:22:05.759 --> 00:22:09.740 been long dead. And as a result of that, they 00:22:09.740 --> 00:22:14.680 are said to be canonized to become saints. Is 00:22:14.680 --> 00:22:17.960 that what a saint is, according to the Bible? 00:22:18.299 --> 00:22:22.400 Well, the answer is no. The word saint is used 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:25.440 differently in the Bible. Indeed, the word saint 00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:33.079 simply means those set apart. A saint is one 00:22:33.079 --> 00:22:37.920 who is set apart by God for his use. He is separated 00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:42.640 out from the rest. It does not refer to a select 00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:47.089 group. of Christians, but rather it refers to 00:22:47.089 --> 00:22:51.589 all Christians. All genuine believers are called 00:22:51.589 --> 00:22:56.450 saints in the Bible. Vernon McGee, in his own 00:22:56.450 --> 00:23:05.289 unique way, presents this. How many of you ever 00:23:05.289 --> 00:23:09.049 listen to Vernon McGee? I'm glad that you do. 00:23:09.650 --> 00:23:11.910 He is a Bible teacher worth listening to, and 00:23:11.910 --> 00:23:15.259 I've lost his quote here. Ah, here it is. It's 00:23:15.259 --> 00:23:18.759 in my file in the back of my Bible. This is what 00:23:18.759 --> 00:23:21.880 Vernon McGee has to say. He says, there are only 00:23:21.880 --> 00:23:25.920 two kinds of people today, the saints and the 00:23:25.920 --> 00:23:30.240 ain'ts. If you're a saint, then you're not an 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:33.519 ain't. If you ain't an ain't, then you're a saint. 00:23:35.299 --> 00:23:37.740 Well, in his colloquial way of saying it, that's 00:23:37.740 --> 00:23:42.079 right. You see, either one is a saint or one 00:23:42.079 --> 00:23:47.940 is not. This is a Godward description of a Christian. 00:23:48.380 --> 00:23:53.200 As God sees you, you are a saint, one set apart 00:23:53.200 --> 00:23:58.160 by him for his holy use. There is a corresponding 00:23:58.160 --> 00:24:01.000 phrase, though, that says to those who are faithful 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:04.960 in Christ Jesus. Now, is Paul referring to just 00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:09.319 a few saints who are faithful? No. This latter 00:24:09.319 --> 00:24:11.380 phrase really is a fuller description of the 00:24:11.380 --> 00:24:13.700 word saint. He is saying to the saints, that 00:24:13.700 --> 00:24:17.339 is, those who are full of faith in Christ Jesus, 00:24:17.480 --> 00:24:22.359 the believers in Christ Jesus. Not a class of 00:24:22.359 --> 00:24:24.880 Christians in mind here, but all of the saints, 00:24:25.059 --> 00:24:28.640 the believers. And notice that he describes Christians 00:24:28.640 --> 00:24:32.180 in this manward aspect as those who are believers 00:24:32.180 --> 00:24:38.640 in Christ Jesus. Now that phrase is used 27 times 00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:42.140 in the book of Ephesians. It is the most significant 00:24:42.140 --> 00:24:46.539 phrase in the whole book. In Christ or in Christ 00:24:46.539 --> 00:24:52.680 Jesus or in him can be found at least 14 or 15 00:24:52.680 --> 00:24:55.519 times right here in the first chapter alone. 00:24:57.660 --> 00:25:00.599 I believe that the theme of the book of Ephesians 00:25:00.599 --> 00:25:06.319 might be this. What it means to be in Christ. 00:25:08.240 --> 00:25:10.619 I think that's what the book is all about. What 00:25:10.619 --> 00:25:15.900 it means to be in Christ. That phrase, in Christ 00:25:15.900 --> 00:25:22.720 Jesus, expresses location or position. Or it 00:25:22.720 --> 00:25:26.480 might be said it expresses identity. It means 00:25:26.480 --> 00:25:32.000 that one is no longer in sin and in Adam as he 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:36.880 was born, but now through a change. He is identified 00:25:36.880 --> 00:25:42.819 with his position in Christ. It is a significant 00:25:42.819 --> 00:25:48.539 phrase. That work, changing us from in Adam to 00:25:48.539 --> 00:25:51.940 in Christ, comes about by what is called the 00:25:51.940 --> 00:25:55.640 baptism of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 00:25:55.640 --> 00:25:59.900 12, 13, it says, For by one Spirit we were all 00:25:59.900 --> 00:26:05.220 baptized into one body. It's interesting that 00:26:05.220 --> 00:26:08.400 the phrase baptism of the Holy Spirit is never 00:26:08.400 --> 00:26:12.619 used in the sense of a command. We are never 00:26:12.619 --> 00:26:15.420 commanded to be baptized with the Holy Spirit, 00:26:15.500 --> 00:26:19.119 not once in the New Testament. Nor should we 00:26:19.119 --> 00:26:22.400 expect that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is 00:26:22.400 --> 00:26:27.579 something that happens after one is saved. We 00:26:27.579 --> 00:26:30.660 were all baptized by one Spirit into one body, 00:26:30.720 --> 00:26:36.279 says Paul. All of us. Not a few of us. All of 00:26:36.279 --> 00:26:39.440 us who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ at 00:26:39.440 --> 00:26:43.700 that same moment we were saved were placed into 00:26:43.700 --> 00:26:47.519 Christ Jesus. That is the work of the baptism 00:26:47.519 --> 00:26:51.619 of the Holy Spirit, placing us into, identifying 00:26:51.619 --> 00:26:57.799 us with Jesus Christ. It seems to me that this 00:26:57.799 --> 00:27:03.759 praise in Christ is developed through the book 00:27:03.759 --> 00:27:08.500 in two directions. In fact, in your worship folder 00:27:08.500 --> 00:27:10.539 on the back of it, I believe, you have a suggested 00:27:10.539 --> 00:27:14.420 outline for the book, and you see the three directions 00:27:14.420 --> 00:27:20.480 that I have in mind. What does it mean to be 00:27:20.480 --> 00:27:23.920 in Christ? Well, he tells us. First, in chapters 00:27:23.920 --> 00:27:27.140 1 through 3, he talks about our calling in Christ. 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:30.819 He tells us about our riches in Christ Jesus. 00:27:31.539 --> 00:27:34.740 And then chapters 4 through 6, our conduct in 00:27:34.740 --> 00:27:38.450 Christ. how we are to live in light of who we 00:27:38.450 --> 00:27:43.670 are. In chapter 1, verse 18, he talks about the 00:27:43.670 --> 00:27:48.690 hope of his calling. And beginning next week, 00:27:48.710 --> 00:27:51.369 we'll begin to see what the hope of his calling 00:27:51.369 --> 00:27:55.890 is in your life and in mine. And then in chapter 00:27:55.890 --> 00:27:59.430 4, verse 1, he says, walk in a manner worthy 00:27:59.430 --> 00:28:03.569 of the calling with which you have been called. 00:28:04.589 --> 00:28:07.809 And so he's going to talk about our calling and 00:28:07.809 --> 00:28:11.069 then our conduct in the light of it, as those 00:28:11.069 --> 00:28:15.410 who are in Christ. Now there's a third question 00:28:15.410 --> 00:28:18.430 that he answers, and that is, how does he write? 00:28:18.910 --> 00:28:21.930 Well, he writes in the context of two words, 00:28:22.390 --> 00:28:27.309 grace and peace. Grace is a word that is related 00:28:27.309 --> 00:28:31.089 to the common Greek greeting of that day. If 00:28:31.089 --> 00:28:32.769 you were to pass someone on the street, they 00:28:32.769 --> 00:28:37.000 wouldn't say hi. Hello? That doesn't really mean 00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:40.119 a whole lot anyway, does it? What even means 00:28:40.119 --> 00:28:44.279 less is, how are you? Today we greet each other 00:28:44.279 --> 00:28:46.279 with those words. But in those days, they would 00:28:46.279 --> 00:28:50.599 say, grace to you. If you were Hebrew, you might 00:28:50.599 --> 00:28:54.900 say, shalom, peace to you. And so Paul takes 00:28:54.900 --> 00:28:56.859 those two words in greeting them, and he says, 00:28:56.900 --> 00:29:00.400 this is the context of my writing. Grace, peace. 00:29:01.420 --> 00:29:04.680 And he gives fuller meaning to them. Not just 00:29:04.680 --> 00:29:06.500 the common greeting of that day, but he says 00:29:06.500 --> 00:29:12.279 grace is God's favor demonstrated toward undeserving 00:29:12.279 --> 00:29:17.019 sinners. Grace is spontaneous, unmerited kindness 00:29:17.019 --> 00:29:22.259 from God bestowed upon the guilty sinner. Grace 00:29:22.259 --> 00:29:27.819 is the means by which alone God saves us. For 00:29:27.819 --> 00:29:33.420 by grace are you saved, through faith. You see, 00:29:33.460 --> 00:29:36.519 it is faith that secures it to us, but it is 00:29:36.519 --> 00:29:41.799 grace that provides it. Salvation is by grace 00:29:41.799 --> 00:29:45.140 and by grace alone. The adding of any works to 00:29:45.140 --> 00:29:50.160 grace nullifies the whole concept. Grace to be 00:29:50.160 --> 00:29:55.420 great must be given freely. There is a concept 00:29:55.420 --> 00:30:00.069 of grace, but it is unbiblical. The concept goes 00:30:00.069 --> 00:30:02.630 something like this, that God gives grace to 00:30:02.630 --> 00:30:07.049 you when you do certain things. You do certain 00:30:07.049 --> 00:30:10.029 rituals or keep certain sacraments, and as you 00:30:10.029 --> 00:30:12.109 do that, God gives you a little bit of grace, 00:30:12.109 --> 00:30:14.269 and you can sort of store that away in your sack. 00:30:15.190 --> 00:30:18.349 And the hope is, the hope is that someday when 00:30:18.349 --> 00:30:20.710 you get to heaven, you will have accumulated 00:30:20.710 --> 00:30:23.650 enough grace for the things you've done in your 00:30:23.650 --> 00:30:26.700 life. So that when you are standing before God, 00:30:26.799 --> 00:30:29.359 you can put grace on one side of the scale and 00:30:29.359 --> 00:30:31.400 your life on the other. And the grace is going 00:30:31.400 --> 00:30:33.460 to outweigh the works of your life and you're 00:30:33.460 --> 00:30:39.180 going to get into heaven. You hope. But that 00:30:39.180 --> 00:30:41.920 whole concept ruins grace. You see, God doesn't 00:30:41.920 --> 00:30:45.779 give us little pieces of grace. And he certainly 00:30:45.779 --> 00:30:48.779 doesn't give grace in response to our work. That 00:30:48.779 --> 00:30:53.240 nullifies it. God saves by grace and he gives 00:30:53.240 --> 00:30:56.160 it freely and he gives all that we shall ever 00:30:56.160 --> 00:31:00.880 need to us. It speaks here about the riches of 00:31:00.880 --> 00:31:07.240 his grace. And then peace. Not merely the absence 00:31:07.240 --> 00:31:11.759 of guilt or the absence of turmoil in one's life, 00:31:11.980 --> 00:31:15.539 but peace in the biblical sense is fullness. 00:31:17.000 --> 00:31:22.400 The Hebrew word shalom means prosperity. It connotes 00:31:22.400 --> 00:31:29.599 the smile of God upon a person. It means spiritual 00:31:29.599 --> 00:31:33.799 wholeness. That's what peace is. And we can never 00:31:33.799 --> 00:31:37.640 know peace apart from grace. And notice that 00:31:37.640 --> 00:31:42.099 grace precedes the peace. For grace has not done 00:31:42.099 --> 00:31:45.299 a work, there can be no peace in a life, my friend. 00:31:46.380 --> 00:31:50.940 It is grace first and then peace that follows. 00:31:51.460 --> 00:31:55.019 Grace is the fountain. Peace is the stream that 00:31:55.019 --> 00:31:59.160 flows from it. It seems that we are working ourselves 00:31:59.160 --> 00:32:02.700 back into a day like the later 60s or early 70s 00:32:02.700 --> 00:32:05.099 with a lot of demonstrations around for this 00:32:05.099 --> 00:32:10.160 cause or that. In these demonstrations, there 00:32:10.160 --> 00:32:13.960 are commonly banners. A few words that you almost 00:32:13.960 --> 00:32:17.720 always find in a demonstration are love and peace, 00:32:18.019 --> 00:32:22.460 right? Love and peace. When was the last time 00:32:22.460 --> 00:32:28.460 you saw a banner that said grace? Now, love and 00:32:28.460 --> 00:32:30.420 peace, as it's used in most of those markers, 00:32:30.539 --> 00:32:33.420 has nothing to do with the Bible's concept of 00:32:33.420 --> 00:32:36.640 love and peace. But my point is that people don't 00:32:36.640 --> 00:32:41.890 like to talk about grace. That's not a common 00:32:41.890 --> 00:32:45.789 expression, because you see, grace means man 00:32:45.789 --> 00:32:50.109 is helpless. And yet where grace has not done 00:32:50.109 --> 00:32:52.890 a work, there can be neither love nor peace. 00:32:53.950 --> 00:32:57.710 Both of these are rooted in God our Father and 00:32:57.710 --> 00:33:01.410 the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the provision 00:33:01.410 --> 00:33:05.269 of grace and peace has been made on our behalf. 00:33:06.269 --> 00:33:09.349 God becomes our Father through regeneration. 00:33:10.430 --> 00:33:14.809 He imparts to us new life and his family likeness 00:33:14.809 --> 00:33:18.329 so that we can honestly look into the face of 00:33:18.329 --> 00:33:22.710 God and say, Our Father. We can say as Paul did 00:33:22.710 --> 00:33:27.809 in Galatians, Abba, Daddy. We have that intimate, 00:33:27.970 --> 00:33:32.869 personal, familial relationship with God because 00:33:32.869 --> 00:33:37.990 of regeneration. Those who are God's children 00:33:37.990 --> 00:33:41.880 know grace. and peace through the Lord Jesus 00:33:41.880 --> 00:33:48.680 Christ. I want you to consider with me the difference 00:33:48.680 --> 00:33:51.519 that an encounter with the Son of God makes. 00:33:52.579 --> 00:33:56.900 It changes a man like Saul of Tarsus, ruthless, 00:33:57.400 --> 00:34:07.160 sincere, and zealous, but a murderer to become 00:34:07.160 --> 00:34:15.769 Paul the Apostle. By the will of God. Consider 00:34:15.769 --> 00:34:18.989 the calling of God and what a difference it makes 00:34:18.989 --> 00:34:24.650 in your own life. Called from being a sinner 00:34:24.650 --> 00:34:28.849 and under condemnation to being a saint of God 00:34:28.849 --> 00:34:33.769 with eternal life. Called from your destiny of 00:34:33.769 --> 00:34:38.079 hell to a destiny of heaven. Think of the difference 00:34:38.079 --> 00:34:41.840 that the calling of God has made. He has rescued 00:34:41.840 --> 00:34:46.019 you from your poverty and calls you to be a prince 00:34:46.019 --> 00:34:55.719 in his family. Oh, the grace of God. We have 00:34:55.719 --> 00:34:59.900 set the stage. And I trust it in the weeks to 00:34:59.900 --> 00:35:02.300 come as we begin to look at the riches that are 00:35:02.300 --> 00:35:08.329 ours in Christ Jesus. And we'll begin to live 00:35:08.329 --> 00:35:14.309 in light of those wishes. Are you today a recipient 00:35:14.309 --> 00:35:17.409 of grace? Do you know the meaning of peace in 00:35:17.409 --> 00:35:21.670 your life? Have you trusted the Lord Jesus Christ 00:35:21.670 --> 00:35:26.190 so that you are a saint? You are a believer, 00:35:26.289 --> 00:35:31.409 one who is in Christ Jesus, identified with him? 00:35:33.070 --> 00:35:36.510 If not, will you make that decision today, soon? 00:35:39.519 --> 00:35:44.760 Let's pray together. Father, I pray that you 00:35:44.760 --> 00:35:49.199 will show each one of us what it means to be 00:35:49.199 --> 00:35:53.039 a saint and a believer who is in Christ Jesus. 00:35:56.980 --> 00:36:00.179 Help us to understand the calling in our lives 00:36:00.179 --> 00:36:03.079 and then what the conduct of our lives should 00:36:03.079 --> 00:36:08.969 be in light of it. Deliver us from taking for 00:36:08.969 --> 00:36:16.869 granted words like grace and peace. Father, I 00:36:16.869 --> 00:36:18.989 pray if some friend be here today who is not 00:36:18.989 --> 00:36:22.389 a child of God, you would work in the heart of 00:36:22.389 --> 00:36:26.369 that one and draw him to yourself. May there 00:36:26.369 --> 00:36:28.469 be faith that would be issued from the heart, 00:36:28.550 --> 00:36:33.710 receiving the Lord Jesus Christ, believing on 00:36:33.710 --> 00:36:41.590 him. and the salvation of the soul. These things 00:36:41.590 --> 00:36:42.869 we pray in Jesus' name.