A Letter to the Ephesian Christians
Memory text: With all wisdom and understanding, He made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. In him 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, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. Eph. 1:8-12
In the First Century, Ephesus was the capital of the Roman Province of Asia, what we call Asia Minor, Anatolia, or mainland Turkey. It was a large, cosmopolitan city of about 250,000, the fourth largest city in the Roman empire.
Ephesus was settled by the Greeks in the seventh century BC. According to myth it was founded by Amazon queens, and named after Amazon queen Ephesia. Under King Croesus (585-546 BC, an extremely wealthy king—hence the expression “rich as Croesus”)—construction began on the great Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Artemis became the patron deity, or protector goddess, of Ephesus; Artemis was the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, childbirth, care of children, especially female children, and chastity. Diana is the Roman version of Artemis.
“The city was famed for the worship of the goddess Diana and the practice of magic. Here was the great temple of Diana, which was regarded by the ancients as one of the wonders of the world. Its vast extent and surpassing magnificence made it the pride, not only of the city, but of the nation. Kings and princes had enriched it by their donations. The Ephesians vied with one another in adding to its splendor, and it was made the treasure-house for a large share of the wealth of Western Asia.” Sketches from the Life of Paul, p. 134.3
In 129 BCE, the Romans took Ephesus from the king Attalos of Pergamon. The Library of Celsus, its ruins still magnificent today, made Ephesus a center of learning and philosophy. The great theater, which could accommodate 25,000 spectators, was the largest in the Roman world. This enormous theater was at the center of the events related in Acts 19.
Paul visited Ephesus on his second missionary journey, which took place around 52 AD, speaking to the Jews in their synagogue:
“And he came to Ephesus, and left them there; but he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent, but took leave of them, saying, ‘I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing.’ And he sailed from Ephesus.” Acts 18:19-21.
On his third missionary journey, when Apollos went to Corinth, in Greece, Paul traveled west through the interior of Anatolia and arrived at Ephesus, immediately re-baptizing twelve believers. For three months, Paul preached the gospel to the Jews in the synagogue, but eventually they rejected him. Then Paul began preaching in the lecture hall of Tyrannus, continuing to preach Christ there for two years. Scripture records that “all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.”
Miracles were worked, demons cast out, “the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.” But when some non-believing Jews tried to cast out demons in the name of Jesus and Paul, they were soundly thrashed. It thus became very clear that the miracles and exorcisms Paul was working were not magic, but manifestations of the one true God.
A number of the new Christian believers had been hedging their bets, holding on to extremely expensive magic books, books that purported to interpret the words inscribed in mystic characters and symbols on the statue of the goddess Artemis; it was believed that when these words were uttered aloud, they could miraculously guard against theft, disease, and even death. But now these magic manuals were relinquished; their owners brought them out and burned them publicly.
A model of the third temple of Artemis-Diana at Ephesus
“When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas [at least $5 million dollars in today’s money]. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.”
Thanks to Paul’s prolonged stay in the city, Ephesus became a very important center of early Christianity, the largest Christian community in the Roman Empire.
As Christianity increased, idolatry decreased, and the makers of the idols felt threatened. The surest way to bring wrath down upon yourself is to come between people and their source of income. This principle is still in operation today.
A silversmith named Demetrius, who made a good living making figurines of Artemis/Diana and miniature models of her temple, decided it was time to put a stop to Christianity and the threat it posed to his income:
“About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: ‘You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business. And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.’”
This speech touched off a riot, and the rioters seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia, and took them to the Great Theater. Paul wanted to go to the theater and speak to the crowd, but the disciples knew it was too dangerous and would not let him go. Even some of the local government officials strongly urged Paul not to risk entering the theater.
Finally, after several hours, the city recorder quieted the crowd and spoke sense to them, urging them to disburse and pursue normal legal process against Paul, if they had a case to make:
The Great Theater at Ephesus, where the rioters of Acts 19 chanted “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians” for hours, until an official told them to go home.
“Fellow Ephesians, doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash. You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess. If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges. If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly. As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of what happened today. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.”
The fact that the city officials were on Paul’s side is a testament to his character and the Christian message he preached:
“Several of the most honorable and influential among the magistrates sent him an earnest request not to venture into a situation of so great peril. This proof of the regard in which Paul was held by the leading men of Asia was no mean tribute to the sterling integrity of his character.” Sketches from the Life of Paul, p. 144.1
“The decision of the recorder and of others holding honorable offices in the city, had set Paul before the people as one innocent of any unlawful act. This was another triumph of Christianity over error and superstition. God had raised up a great magistrate to vindicate his apostle, and hold the tumultuous mob in check” Sketches, p. 146.2
Paul stayed in Ephesus for over two years, from 53 to 55 AD. The letter to the Ephesians was likely written while Paul was under house arrest in Rome, between 60 and 62 AD. Paul’s “prison letters,” written during this time in Rome when Paul was awaiting an audience before Emperor Nero, include Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon; they are the most intensely spiritual of all Paul’s epistles. Paul’s letter to Philemon, although very brief and personal, demolishes the worldview underlying slavery.
Without further ado, we dive into Ephesians:
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. In him 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, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.”
So does Scripture teach predestination? Yes, it does teach the good kind of predestination, which is that God has predestined us to everlasting life. He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, meaning that He predestined us to be sons and daughters of God. God wants us all to be saved. (John 6:40; 2 Peter 3:9; Ezek. 33:11; 1 Tim. 2:3-4)
When God predestines us to salvation, He doesn’t just want us to be saved or hope we’ll be saved. God has made careful plans and provisions for us to be saved, at the center of which is the death of His own Son, provisions not fully within our present comprehension but which will be our study in eternity. (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8; Eph. 2:7; Maranatha, p. 365) God started planning to save us “before the foundation of the earth.” (1 Peter 1:19-20; Rev. 13:8) We were predestined in Christ “according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.”
And God hasn’t just predestined us to be saved, He has predestined specific “works for us to walk in.” “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Eph. 2:10. God has planned our life mission in advance; knowing us, knowing our background, our temperament, our education, and our life experiences—knowing all these things, God has placed before us exactly what He wants us to do. All we have to do is do it.
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.”
We do not have to wait for heaven to be with God. Isn’t that good news? God will be with us, right here in this world, right now, in the person of the Holy Spirit. (John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26;1 John 5:6-8) We are promised that Holy Spirit will abide in those who love God and obey His commandments. ( Acts 5:32;1 John 3:24) We do not invite the Spirit often enough into our lives and work; we should strive, by constant prayer and obedience, for the indwelling of the Spirit.
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
“Open the eyes of my heart, Lord” goes a familiar praise song, making the same request of God that Paul makes on behalf of the Ephesians. Paul is praying for us to have, and be governed by, spiritual discernment. This means to think, to judge, and to act not by the carnal mind but rather by the Spirit of God quickening our thoughts and sanctifying our emotions and desires.
The power available to every believer, Paul tells us, is the same power that raised Christ from the dead and elevated him “far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” We need only take hold of that power by faith. God is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” Eph. 3:20.
By Nature Deserving of Wrath
Memory Text: “Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.” Ephesians 2:3
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.” Eph. 2:1-3
Can we please stop pretending that there is nothing particularly wrong with human nature? I’m not insisting that we believe in original sin, or that we use the term “original sin.” But I do insist that we tell the truth about our race, about the nature of our race. Scripture is clear that we are born sinful and depraved. That is the human condition, the human predicament:
“Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.” Psalm 51:5 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
“The wicked are estranged from the womb; They go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.” Psalm 58:3 (KJV)
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Rom. 3:10-12 KJV
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6 KJV
“The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. Gen. 6:5-6 (New Living Translation)
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” Jeremiah 17:9 (New Living Translation)
“For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. All these evils come from within, and these are what defile a man.” Mark 7:21-22. (see, also, Mat. 15:18-19)
We are born estranged from God, sinful and desperately wicked. The bad things we do that defile us come from inside us, from our depraved nature. We are truly “children of wrath,” deserving of punishment from birth, just as Paul wrote to the Ephesians. Ellen White concurs:
In evicting them from the Garden of Eden, God told Adam and Eve “that their nature had become depraved by sin.” PP 61.4
“When man transgressed the divine law, his nature became evil, and he was in harmony, and not at variance, with Satan.” GC 505.2
“The inheritance of children is that of sin. Sin has separated them from God. . . . As related to the first Adam, men receive from him nothing but guilt and the sentence of death.” MR 246.1
It is important to get this right. As Christians accepting the biblical worldview, we understand that humans and human society are imperfect, and bad in many ways, because of sin, and the fallen, sinful human condition. That is the problem with human beings and human societies.
The problem is not from how society is organized, how governments are constituted, how property is owned, how domestic relations are arranged, the fact that people come in different shapes, sizes and colors, the fact that people were created, and are born, as either men or women, the fact that there are only two sexes, men and women, the fact that there are employers and employees, etc. None of that is the problem, and trying to rearrange those things, and using ever increasing quanta of governmental force and compulsion to rearrange those things, will never solve the problem.
The problem is sin, and there is one, and only one, solution to the sin problem, and He is Jesus Christ; He works on individuals, one person at a time.
If you don’t understand the depravity of the human condition, if you think people are basically good, or are capable of being made good by anything or anyone other than Jesus Christ, you have no defense against atheistic Leftist utopianism. And none of us expected it, but Leftist utopianism is still the most popular alternative to Christianity and the biblical worldview in today’s world. None of expected the dynamic of the French Revolution, as described in Great Controversy Chapter 15, to still be going on. But here we are.
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Eph. 2:4-10.
For as in Adam all die, even also in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Cor. 15:22. And not just made alive in Christ, but raised up in Christ and seated with Him in the heavenly realms. Because Christ is a human being, and all of us are represented to God the Father by Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ we are even now seated in the heavenly realms, because Christ lowered Himself to become a man, a human being, so that we could be save in Him.
In order that in the coming ages He, God the Father, might show us, the saved, the incomparable riches of His grace toward us in Christ Jesus. As we mentioned last week, we are going to need eternity to study and comprehend the plan of salvation:
“In eternity we shall learn that which, had we received the enlightenment that it was possible to obtain here, would have opened our understanding. The themes of redemption will employ the hearts and minds and tongues of the redeemed through the everlasting ages. They will understand the truths which Christ longed to open to His disciples, but which they did not have faith to grasp. Forever and forever new views of the perfection and glory of Christ will appear. Through endless ages the faithful Householder will bring forth from His treasures things new and old.” My Life Today, p. 360.
Certainly, no one will be boasting, during those eternal ages, of having saved himself by his own works, which are filthy rags, or even by his own paltry faith, but only marveling at the grace and mercy of God.
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Eph. 2:10
Lately, this text has been speaking to me very personally. I am amazed by how everything I studied as a young man—economics, history, capitalism, communism, the cold war—is suddenly and very unexpectedly relevant again just now, decades later. I thought that the cold was over; communism lost and free enterprise won, and atheistic Leftist utopianism was discarded into the dustbin of history. But no. Marxism is vastly more influential today than it ever has been since 1844, far more so that it was in 1988, just before the Soviet Union collapsed. Marxism now controls all of academia, most large corporations, and almost every significant American institution.
The same unexpected sudden relevance applies to the type of litigation I was involved with as a young attorney—medical malpractice, pharmaceutical products liability, adverse drug reactions, fraud in clinical drug trials. It is as though God took great pains to educate and prepare me for exactly what is most relevant right now. God knows the end from the beginning.
“Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Eph. 2:11-13
Where are we? Again, in Christ Jesus. If we are not in Christ Jesus, we are not saved. Doesn’t matter how often you go to Church, how well you study your Sabbath School lesson, how much tithe you pay. If you are not in Christ Jesus, you are without hope and without God in the world.
“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” Eph. 2:14-18
This is wild stuff, isn’t it? Jesus Christ made the “two groups,” the Jews and the gentiles, one. We are now one people, called spiritual Israel.
By the way, if you don’t understand the concept of spiritual Israel, you cannot properly interpret Bible prophecy. Every prophecy in Scripture that applies to the time after 34 AD and uses the term “Israel” is referring to the Christian Church. The Israel of God in prophecy is the Christian Church. Failure to understand the concept of spiritual Israel is what leads some of our more enthusiastic evangelical brethren into absurdities such as the idea that the temple at Jerusalem will be rebuilt and sacrifices will resume (as though they were not all fulfilled in Christ!).
But back to God making the Jews and gentiles one. How did Jesus do that? In His flesh, He set aside “the law with its commands and regulations,” the law of ordinances, the ceremonial law, the law of the sanctuary, the law of circumcision, the law of levirate marriage, the law of the feasts, the law of clean and unclean (yes, even that). There is no need for anyone, Jew or gentile, to try to observe any of that.
“So don’t let anyone criticize you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating Jewish holidays and feasts or new moon ceremonies or sabbaths. For these were only temporary rules that ended when Christ came. They were only shadows of the real thing—of Christ himself.” Col. 2:16-17 (LB)
And there is no need or cause for hostility between Jew and gentile because both are reconciled to God through the cross of Christ, and only through the cross of Christ. Not through circumcision, not through levirate marriage, not through keeping the feasts, not through keeping kosher, not through avoiding pork, not through anything but the cross of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Note also that Paul does not say he is making one nation (ethnos) out of the two nations (ethnicities), Jew and Gentile. That is what we would expect given the ubiquitous use of the word ethnos both for gentiles and, occasionally, for the Jewish nation. No, God is not making a new nation; God is taking the Jews and the gentiles and creating in Himself a new man (anthropon), a new humanity. Spiritual Israel is to be a different creature, a different breed. Because, as we’ve just seen, the old humanity is by nature deserving of nothing but wrath.
“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Eph. 2:19-22
There you were, watching a play written by Sophocles in your 25,000-seat theater, bringing offerings to your enormous pagan temple, four times the size of the Parthenon in Athens and dedicated to the glory of the goddess Artemis/Diana, hanging out in your grand library pretending to study Plato and Aristotle (or visiting a brothel through the connecting tunnel), trying to decipher the secret symbols of Artemis, and doing all sorts of silly pagan things.
But you listened to Paul’s preaching, you accepted Christ as your savior, and now you are just as much a child of God, just as much a fellow citizen with God’s people, as any Jewish believer in the Christ who comes from a long line of phylactery-wearing, Sabbath-keeping, dill-tithing Hebrews. You are a wild shoot that has been engrafted onto the olive tree of Israel, replacing one of the natural branches that was broken off. Rom. 11:17. Now you are part of a rapidly growing spiritual temple far grander than the temple of Artemis, a temple built on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ, a temple not for an idol of stone made by human hands, but a temple in which God Himself dwells through His Holy Spirit.
This Grace Given
Memory text: “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.” Eph. 3:8-9 KJV
Jews and Gentiles
Ephesians 3:1-13 is a continuation of the discussion in Ephesians 2:11-22 about Jews and gentiles being reconciled in Christ, and being melded into a new humanity, spiritual Israel.
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Eph. 2:13-18.
Through his death on the cross, Christ fulfilled all the ceremonial laws, everything that pointed to his death, and it was these things that separated Jews and Gentiles. Paul is saying they are now gone, nailed to the cross, so there is nothing to prevent gentiles having access to God the Father through Christ, and henceforth the Jews also must seek access to God the Father through Jesus Christ, not through the law, and certainly not through the flesh.
Because the barrier raised by the Jews was not just the law, but the flesh itself. With all due respect to Sammy Davis, Jr., you cannot convert to Judaism. Judaism is a racial heritage; either your mother was Jewish or she was not. If she was, you are a Jew; if not, not.
One of my friends from law school was Jewish (or so I thought) and one day when I went to study with her for the Texas bar exam, I noticed she had been crying. I asked what was upsetting her, and she told me that although her father was Jewish and she considered herself Jewish, her mother was not a Jew by birth but only by practice. Hence, some people were excluding my friend from some Jewish organization (I don’t recall the details) because of her mother. I was at first baffled and then so indignant, not to say furious, at the idea of a “religion” that was racial rather than confessional, that I fear I was little comfort to my friend in her hour of distress. I think I said something like, “why would you even want be part of club run by those people,” which was not the thing to say just then.
“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Eph. 2:19-21.
The new temple being built by and for spiritual Israel is not built on the flesh, nor on the law, but rather upon Christ Jesus Himself as the Chief Cornerstone. It is a spiritual structure, not a fleshly one, hence is not built on fleshly rites: “Take notice: I, Paul, tell you that If you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no use to you at all.” Gal. 5:2. Building upon your own flesh is not an option; rather it is a rejection of what Christ has accomplished for you in His flesh. Building on a foundation of law-keeping is likewise not an option: “You who are trying to be justified by the law have been severed from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.” Gal. 5:4.
The Stewardship of God’s Grace
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. Eph. 3:1-3 NIV
We all know how Paul was the apostle to the gentiles (Acts 9:15; Rom. 11:13; Gal. 1:15-16; 2:7), but what does Paul mean in saying that he was given, “The administration of God’s grace”?
The Greek word translated as “administration” in verse 2, and also in verse 9, is oikonomos, literally “home law.” It means:
A steward, manager, superintendent (who could be free-born, a freed-man or a slave) to whom the owner or head of the household has entrusted the management of his affairs, the care of receipts and expenditures, and the duty of disbursing the proper wage or allowance to every servant in the household, and even to the children not yet of age. (Strong’s G3623)
Oikonomos is translated as “steward” in Luke 12:42; 16:1, 3, 8. NKJV
A steward or manager is an agent with a fiduciary duty to his principal, which means he must manage the thing he has been entrusted with for the good of his principal, not himself. He must put his principal’s interests above his own. He has been entrusted with something important, and his fiduciary duty is to manage it according to the wishes of the principal who entrusted it to him.
Paul is saying that God has entrusted him, Paul, with the stewardship or management of bringing the gospel to the gentiles. He says this same thing again in First Corinthians, noting that stewards are fiduciaries who must be found faithful:
“Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. . . . but He who judges me is the Lord.” 1 Cor. 4:1-4. NKJV
Paul’s stewardship of the mysteries of the gospel for the gentiles will be judged ultimately by God, a much more fearful thing than any human court of law.
“In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” Eph. 3:4-6 NIV
Does Paul have special insight into the mystery of Christ? Yes, indeed! Very few of us have had a Damascus Road experience where Jesus audibly speaks to us and confronts us for persecuting Him. Paul had the original Damascus Road experience; God got his attention, as only God can. Acts 9:1-31. Yes, Paul had special insight into what God was doing in the building of His church. God told Ananias, “This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” Acts 9:15
“I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the stewardship of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.” Eph. 3:7-9 NIV
Despite having been personally chosen, and waylaid, by Jesus Christ, personally, Paul is not puffed up with pride; to the contrary, he calls himself “the least of all the Lord’s people.”
One would think—or at least I might think it—that Paul would consider the fiduciary responsibility of stewardship over bringing the gospel to the gentiles to be a burden, a weighty, and even unwanted responsibility, especially given that Paul was no gentile, and called himself “a Hebrew of Hebrews.”
But please note that Paul calls it not a responsibility or a burden, but grace, unmerited favor. This grace given to Paul was a joy and a privilege! When God calls you to undertake a mission or a ministry on His behalf, it is grace given you. Never run the other way like Jonah did. It is a privilege and a blessing, this grace given us to be co-workers with Christ Jesus. (1 Cor. 3:9-10)
This Grace Given
Decades ago I purchased a book entitled, “This Grace Given,” probably because the author’s name was David Read. David H. C. Read, to be exact, so I share his first and last names and one of his middle initials. I read the book in 1990 and then gave it to my dad, and was delighted to find it still in his library.
David Haxton Carswell Read (1910 – 2001) was a Scottish Presbyterian minister. He did well in seminary, traveled in Europe including extensively touring Germany, and succeeded in his first pulpit in Coldstream, Scotland, on the Tweed River. He was about to take a posting to a larger church in Edinburgh when war broke out, and he felt called to serve as a chaplain to the 51st Highland Division of the British Army, which was sent to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force.
David Read was taken prisoner in June, 1940, and spent five long years in POW camps. As they were walking into captivity, “A wise old colonel came alongside me in the march. ‘Padre,’ he said, ‘your work is just beginning.’ He was right.”
Read improved the time, preaching and lecturing continually, studying the Greek New Testament he had with him. His experiences behind the wire turned out to be a great education in human nature, one that could never have been afforded him at a comfortable parish in Scotland:
I felt as though God had said to me, “You’ve had a very limited experience of my great human family. You don’t really know how many of them think, how they talk, and what you mean by the words you use when talking about me. So I’ve dropped you in at the deep end. Swim around and you’ll learn more about human nature than you ever did at seminary.”
While at a POW camp in Spangenberg, Germany, Read began a series of lectures on the Christian faith. This led eventually to deep conversations about faith by everyone in the camp, including two committed and erudite atheists. “We had to delve into every theological book we had ever digested. Never again have I been forced to examine so thoroughly everything I profess to believe in, or listen to such frank and sometimes devastating criticism.”
Shortly after this series concluded, one of the guards asked Read if he had been lecturing on Christianity, and he replied in the affirmative. The guard turned out to be a Lutheran pastor, and as the conversation progressed (Read was fluent in German and French) the man stated that he worked in the censorship office and could send those lectures back to England, provided they contained no coded messages. The lectures were duly sent back to Read’s wife, Patricia, in England, and were published as a book, “Prisoner’s Quest.”
After the war, Read returned to Spangenberg and looked up the Lutheran pastor, asking him what happened to him after he left the POW camp. The man said he had been sent to Rommel’s Afrika Korps in 1943, and taken prisoner by the British within a month of arriving in North Africa. After he and some other prisoners complained that they had nothing to read, the British guards gave them a crate of books from the YMCA. “And the first book I saw was the one I sent home for you—Prisoner’s Quest.”
“As I look back in gratitude on the postwar years, it is clear that there was more grace to be given. It was given to me when I needed it to endure the agonies of readjustment (all of us found it hard to communicate with the “normal” world), and to reassess my task as a preacher. It was also given to me in the unexpected twists in the direct of my life, the first one leading me, wide-eyed and surprised, to the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York” where he served as the senior pastor for 33 years, from 1956 to 1989.
This memoir, one of some 27 books David Read wrote during his long ministry, was of course named after our memory verse in Ephesians three. Read notes that Paul as a “Hebrew of Hebrews” (Phil. 3:5) would not seem to be a natural “apostle to the gentiles,” yet he was God’s choice and God equipped him:
“When Paul wrote about grace being given to him ‘to preach among the gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,” these “gentiles” represented to him a people totally different from those with whom he had associated as a “Hebrew of the Hebrews.” For me the “gentiles” are the vast number of those for whom conventional Christianity has ceased to have a powerful appeal—perhaps has even become meaningless. The grace I seek is the ability to understand and then with compassion to interpret the gospel to all such people.”
God Reveals His Purpose
God has bigger plans than saving us sons of Adam and daughters of Eve. He has a universe to educate, including angels and the denizens of other planets, unfallen planets but populated with creatures who have free will just as we do, to vouchsafe that sin will never arise again. Christ died to save us, yes, but not only to save us, also to demonstrate God’s matchless love and beauty to the onlooking universe:
“His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.” Eph. 3:10-13 NIV
Christ put an end to all systems of priesthood and mediation between God and man other than Himself. Heb. 7:11-25. “There is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.” 1 Tim. 2:5. At this point, anyone trying to sell you on an earthbound system of priests and mediators is doing away with Jesus Christ. “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Heb. 4:16.
A Prayer for the Ephesians
“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Eph. 3:14-19.
Doxology
The word doxology is from the Greek doxa, which means “glory.”
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory (doxa) in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Eph. 3:20-21
God is not limited by our pitiful faith and modest petitions, or even by our constrained imaginations. He is able to do more than all we ask or even imagine, according to the power of the Holy Spirit that is work within us! To Him be all glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever (eon of the eons) Amen.
Instructions for Christian Living
Memory Text: “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, 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. 4:11-13 NIV.
Unity of Faith
Several times in Ephesians, Paul adverts to the fact that he is under house arrest in Rome because of the gospel of Christ. This gives him moral authority as a teacher of Christian principles, and he does not hesitate to use it:
“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Eph. 4:1-5 NIV
Christianity, unlike Judaism, is universal. It is not of the flesh and hence not racial. Everyone can be a Christian through faith, regardless of sex, race, nationality/ethnicity, and social or economic status. Jesus Christ overflows all the categories that we usually use to divide ourselves from each other.
But while it is universal, it is united, unitary, in belief: one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all who is over all and through all and in all. If we are not united in faith, if our religious leaders tell us doctrine is optional, and better dispensed with altogether to keep the peace, what unites us? Certainly not sex, race, nationality, or economic status. So if we are not united by faith, we are not the church. Rather, we are the target demographic that people selling religion are marketing to. We are cafeteria-style consumers of “religion.”
Was Jesus Really a Man?
We have each been given spiritual gifts to use as co-laborers with Christ, in building up His kingdom. Paul tells us that David was speaking prophetically of spiritual gifts in Psalm 68:18:
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says:
“When he ascended on high,
he took many captives
and gave gifts to his people.”
(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) Eph. 4:7-10 NIV
What are we to make of Paul’s parenthetical, stating that if Jesus ascended he must also have descended?
First, Paul takes for granted that David’s Psalm is a Messianic prophecy; he does not even bother to argue that point—which tells us all we need to know about people who deny that the Old Testament is about Christ. And this passage is not even the most obvious Messianic prophecy in the Psalms. (See, Psalm 22)
I think Paul is stating that, yes, Jesus really was incarnate as a man who lived and died and was buried, and then ascended on high. Why does Paul feel the need to advert to these facts here? My guess is that heresies originating in Greek philosophy about the nature of Christ were already starting to crop up, even though they would not be named, much less dealt with, for centuries. There would be no papacy for centuries, either, but Paul tells us that “the mystery of lawlessness” was already at work even his day. 2 Thess. 2:3-7.
The true doctrine is that Christ was fully man and fully God; how the human mixed with the divine is not fully revealed and remains a mystery. The misconceptions about Christ’s nature came in two main types: (1) Christ was not really fully human, and (2) Christ was not really God eternally pre-existent, but was created by the Father and elevated to the Godhead. Heresies of the second type have generally been filed, rightly or wrongly, under the rubric of “Arianism,” after Arius (c. AD 256–336), a bishop of Alexandria.
Misconceptions of the first type, which concern us here, have been called Docetism and monophysitism. Docetism—from the Greek dokeĩn “to seem,” and dókēsis “apparition, phantom”—held that Jesus remained always a spirit, and that his human form, his apparent bodily existence, was an illusion; He merely “seemed to be” human. Monophysitism (Gr: “one nature”) held that Jesus had only one nature, His Divine nature.
Paul’s argument—how does Jesus ascend if He did not, in fact, really descend to earth?—seems to be aimed at nipping in the bud any philosophical speculation of the type that would later be called “Docetism,” and “Monophysitism.” Later, the creeds of the church clearly rejected Docetism and monophysitism, as well as the idea that Christ was created. The Nicene Creed states that Jesus:
“ . . . came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary and was made man; He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered, died, and was buried, and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father . . . ”
It is an important spiritual point. Had there been no descent there could be no ascent for any of us. Had not He “who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” we would all be lost eternally. No ascent from the grave, no ascent to heaven.
Organization and Spiritual Gifts
Returning from Paul’s Christological aside to the topic of spiritual gifts (which was the reason he quoted Psalm 68:19), he says:
“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, 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. 4:11-13 NIV.
We are given different gifts because in any organized body, there will be a variety of tasks to be performed, and Christians should take up the task to which they are best suited by nature, inclination, education, life experience, and, yes, spiritual gifting. Thus, true spiritual gifting does not create disorder and chaos in the church, or in worship services. To the contrary, the spiritual gifting of the believers will create and enhance order and organization. Disorder does not honor God. (1 Cor. 14:33; James 3:16)
God’s purpose in giving us spiritual gifts is so that we all increase and mature in practical godliness, knowledge, and unity in the faith:
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Eph. 4:14-16 NIV.
Instructions for Christian Living
“So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.” Eph. 4:17-19 NIV.
This is language very similar to that found in the first chapter of Romans. “Futile thinking” and “darkened hearts” (Rom. 1:21), and being “given over” to “sexual impurity” (Rom. 1:24) were things Paul saw in the Romans, too. Rome and Ephesus, as the largest and fourth largest cities of the First Century Roman Empire, had a great deal in common.
Paul does not mention idolatry in this passage, but we know that idolatry was not only widespread in Ephesus, with the enormous temple of Artemis/Diana, but was a very lucrative industry. (Acts 19:23-27) The Ephesian Christians would have had no need to be reminded of the idolatry in their city.
But that was the old Ephesian; the new Ephesian Christians have been taught a different way of living:
“That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Eph. 4:20-24 NIV.
First, there is no such thing as a dishonest Christian, or a Christian who lies, steals, embezzles, or defrauds:
“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. . . . Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.” Eph. 4:25, 28 NIV.
Second, there is no such thing as an angry, unkind Christian:
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Eph. 4:29-32. NIV.
That is all self-explanatory. Except for this one:
“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Eph. 4:26-27
The footnote tells us that Paul is quoting from Psalm 4:4 in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. The underlying Hebrew, however, is more at, “tremble and do not sin”; apparently, the trembling is intended to denote, or rather is being caused by, a strong emotion. The translators of the Septuagint deemed that emotion to be anger, and I would argue that, by quoting them while he was under inspiration, Paul validated the Septuagint interpretation.
Have you ever been so angry that you literally shook? I have. I have noticed it in myself, and it has been pointed out to me that, in fact, I do shake when I am intensely angry. So Paul, and David before him, are speaking across the centuries directly to me.
What makes me tremble with anger? The same thing that made my namesake David tremble with anger: righteous indignation at the destruction of his nation:
“O sons of men, how long will you turn my glory into my shame? How long will you love worthlessness and pursue falsehood?” Psalm 4:3 TLV
David was disgusted that his countrymen loved what is worthless and devoted themselves to lies, to worthless idols and false beliefs. I feel the same way about some of my countrymen, the ones running our government just now. Why have they deliberately chosen to destroy our nation? Why are they destroying every American institution and tradition? The ideology they are devoting themselves to is a lie, and not a harmless one but rather an enormous lie about human nature and the answer to human problems. This monstrous lie caused the death of a hundred million people in just seven decades of the previous century—why does it continue to animate them? Are they hoping to kill a billion instead of a mere hundred million?
That is what makes me tremble with rage. But David has something to say about this kind of anger:
“Search your heart while on your bed, and be silent. Offer righteous sacrifices and put your trust in Adonai. Many are asking, “Who will show us some good?” May the light of Your face shine upon us, Adonai! You have put joy in my heart—more joy than when their grain and new wine overflow. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, Adonai, make me live securely.” Psalm 4:5-9 TLV.
I think David (and Paul by quoting him) was telling me, “Don’t let your righteous indignation at evil, which itself is not sinful, turn into sin by pitching you headlong into a despond of hatred and bitterness, which are sin (Eph. 4:31). Pray to God on your bed at night. Remember your own sins and claim the mercy and forgiveness that your Lord bought you with His sacrificial death. Thank God for taking care of you and your loved ones, and ask God to put peace and joy in your heart. If you do these things, you will have joy, the schemes of the evil ones notwithstanding.”
The Blessing of Patriarchy
Memory text: “Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.” Ephesians 5:22-24.
“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Eph. 5:1-2.
Incense was burned every day as part of the morning and evening sacrifices. (Ex. 30:7-8) Incense was also brought into the Most Holy Place during the Day of Atonement. (Lev. 16:12-13). Blood does not smell good, and there was a lot of blood connected with the sanctuary services. But the incense covered that unpleasant smell in both apartments of the sanctuary, and even overflowed the environs of the sanctuary and spread through the camp of Israel.
The incense represented Christ’s work of mediation on our behalf. What saves us is His blood, but the incense represents the sweetness of his mediation on our behalf, how pleasing His sacrifice is to God the Father, who accepts it joyfully and thereby accepts us. This is what allows us to “go boldly before the throne of grace.” (Heb. 4:16; Eph. 3:16)
“But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them.” Eph. 5:3-7
Many make an idol of money, or sex, or power. Idolatry does not mean that the thing we have put in the place of God is necessarily a bad thing; it is often a good thing. We can make idols of our honor, our reputation, our esteem in the community, our skill in our trade, our spouse’s love for us, our love for our children, our wide circle of friends. The problem is not the thing itself, but only that we have put it before God, and God says, “Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.” (Ex. 20:3)
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said:
“Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.” Eph. 5:8-14.
Is Paul calling for us to be muckrakers and gossips when he says, “expose the fruitless deeds of darkness”? Does he intend for us to be investigative reporters or private detectives, snooping out evil and publicizing it? No, that is not how it works. Rather, the exposing of the darkness is accomplished by the shining of the light. It is the contrast between the way we live and the way they live; if we live as children of light, the light that shines from us exposes the deeds of darkness. So we do not focus on fruitless deeds of darkness, we focus on the light; we focus on living as children of light.
What are we to make of the last three lines? They were likely an early hymn or poem known to both Paul and the Ephesian believers. The Greek words translated "sleeping” or “drowsing" (katheudon) and "dead" (nekron) share an “own” sound on their endings, so they rhyme.
“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Eph. 5:15-21.
Music is important. Praising God in song is central to worship. For many Adventists, church music is an afterthought, but that is not biblical. Musicians were part of Hebrew worship. The Levites, who were paid from the tithe, provided choral and orchestral music for the sanctuary services; some 4,000 Levites were set apart for this purpose. (1 Chron. 15:16-16:42; 23:2 - 26:32) Did you know that David himself selected 288 full-time skilled musicians to serve at the temple? 1 Chron. 6:31-48; 25.
Excellent music transports us to a higher realm; try the middle movement of Mozart’s concerto for Flute and Harp, K. 299, and see if you do not relate to Salieri’s comment about miraculous music and “such unfulfillable longing.”
“Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.” Eph. 5:22-24.
Here is a passage the Adventist Church has long been trying to write out of the Bible, but that takes some doing, because it isn’t alone. It is not a one-off. “Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.” Col. 3:18. “But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.” 1 Cor. 11:3.
“Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.” 1 Peter 3:1-6
There is no such thing as feministic Christianity. Feminism is of the other persuasion, the spiritual Egypt and Sodom persuasion. Just as many pagan religions had priestesses, almost every modern leftist revolution, including the one currently in progress in the United States, has prominently featured feminism, defenestration of traditional sex roles, and outright gender-bending. What makes Adventists think we can incorporate this blatantly anti-Christian phenomenon into our culture, worship, and doctrine? What makes us think we can claim Scripture as the rule of our faith and practice when we ignore the Bible’s clear teaching of patriarchy?
I do not exaggerate. I am an Adventist from birth, starting in the mother’s room, then cradle roll, then primary, etc. I was raised on the Sabbath School quarterly and Adventist Review. But it was not until I was in my twenties, and for the first time read through the Bible cover to cover, that I discovered passages like these, passages my church had carefully hidden from me:
“Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says.” 1 Cor. 14:34.
“A woman must learn in quietness and full submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman who was deceived and fell into transgression.” 1 Tim. 2:12-14.
How can anyone remain in doubt about the biblical model of male spiritual headship—that men should be in the leadership offices of the church—after reading this? And yet probably 85% of Adventist clergy are committed to ordaining women to gospel ministry, and having them serve as conference, union and GC presidents. This is profoundly discrediting to our church. We purport to be a people of the book, but that vain boast is belied by our embrace of feminism and female spiritual headship.
The SDA Church has a dilemma in which the clergy have embraced an unbiblical practice that many among the laity will never accept. The tactic of the last several GC presidents has been to hope that Jesus will return before we must confront this problem. But hope is not a tactic, and maybe it should occur to us that Jesus will not return until we start obeying the Bible with regard to something other than the right day of worship and the state of the dead. Just a suggestion.
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body. ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” Eph. 5:25-33.
A woman’s most deep-seated need is to be loved. Her second most deep-seated need is for security, first, security in her relationship with her husband and the father of her children, second, physical security and, third, economic security. A woman who is loved by her husband as Christ loved the church, with selfless, self-sacrificing love, is a blessed woman indeed. A man who loves his wife that way will be rewarded with her respect and submission, and he will be a blessed man. Those who will not follow Paul’s counsel here are throwing away happiness with both hands.
Why do you think Ellen White was so strong against alcohol? It was not because alcohol harms the liver. It was because a drunk husband and father cannot be the man Paul speaks about in this passage. He cannot be the lover, protector, and provider that God has designed him to be, and his wife will not give him the respect and submission God designed him to have. With an incapacitated and possibly violent husband, the wife will be saddled, as the only responsible adult, with the burden of being the head of household, a role that is stressful to her, and which she does not really want.
The model of patriarchy Paul spells out here is a model that, if followed, will be a tremendous blessing to both wife and husband. God specifies the rule of husbands and fathers not because He hates women, but because He loves men and women both, and wants us all to be happy. He has designed us as sexual beings to be joined together in marriage, a union that, when both husband and wife follow the Ephesians 5 model, will be “a little bit of heaven to go to heaven in.”
It is time for Adventists to stop kicking against the pricks and embrace God’s loving plan for men and women.
Put on the Full Armor of God
Memory Text: “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Eph. 6:11-12.
We left off last week discussing patriarchy, a word Satan has managed to saddle with a negative connotation, but which God intended to be a blessing to his children in this sin-sick world. There is no question that patriarchy, rule of the father, is clearly taught in the Scriptures. We as Seventh-day Adventists have a great work of self-reform to do in returning to this biblical model. How we Adventists came to have a feministic ethos—a very odd thing for a denomination with such a high view of Scripture—is discussed in this column from last December.
But now let us continue with Paul’s instructions for Christian living. Scholars have called these passages, which set out lines of authority and describes how Christians ought to behave in certain recurring relationships, “the household codes.” (See, Col 3:18-4:1; Eph 5:22-6:9; 1 Peter 2:18-3:7 and Titus 2:9-10).
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “’Honor your father and mother’—which is the first commandment with a promise— ‘so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’ Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Eph. 6:1-4.
Paul gives no indication that the Ten Commandment law has been done away with. To the contrary, his proof that it is right and proper for children to obey their parents is the Fifth Commandment, which Paul obviously considers still binding.
The Fifth Commandment is too often overlooked by contemporary first-world Christians, because it applies to us not only when we are young and growing up under our parents’ roofs, but also when our parents reach the age when they need care and assistance, and have become inconvenient to us. How we treat our parents at that age is a real revealer of Christian character. The good news is that there is a promise connected with it: long life. Honor the people who procreated you, and your life will be long, and, as Paul says, it will go well with you.
Parents have a complementary obligation: do not be tyrannical and “exasperate” your children. The father’s obligation to his children is not dissimilar to his obligation to his wife: servant leadership. If he loves, protects, and provides for his children, teaching them about our loving heavenly Father, and imparting to them, at the appropriate ages, all he knows that will be helpful to their spiritual, physical, social and economic maturation, their obedience to him will come naturally. They will not likely rebel against his authority (although we leave room for the “mystery of iniquity” and the fallen human condition).
There is a division of labor in parenting based upon innate gender differences: the mother is the nurturer and displays unconditional love; the father as the lawgiver of the home, sets the standards and enforces them with fair and predictable discipline. If the parents both carry out their roles as God intends, the home will be a loving sanctuary for parents and children both, where the children are raised “in the fear and admonition of the Lord.” Eph. 6:4 KJV.
“Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free. And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.” Eph. 6:5-9.
Paul gave the same advice to the Colossians. (Col. 3:22-25) This counsel applies to all of us who are employed; it makes no difference whether we are not paid (slaves), paid by the hour (“blue collar” workers) or salaried employees (“white collar” workers), we are to work as diligently and carefully as if we were working for Christ.
I am reminded of Paul’s description of himself as fiduciary entrusted with the gospel for the gentiles; he stated that he was much more concerned about answering to God than to any human court that would review his faithfulness. (1 Cor. 4:1-4) Here, Paul is saying that God is the ultimate judge of your work, your everyday labor, not any human employer. “The Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do.” You will ultimately have to account to your maker for your use of the time and talents He has entrusted to you. The great King of the universe will judge your work, so work as if for Him.
The obligation of the servant to obey his master is not dependent upon the master being fair or just. Peter says: “be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.” 1 Peter 2:18. “All who are under the yoke of slavery should regard their masters as fully worthy of honor, so that God's name and our teaching will not be discredited.” 1 Tim. 6:1. Notice that we are to regard them as honorable even if they are not. As with the wife’s obligation to be submissive to her husband, your obligation to your boss does not depend upon him being a Christian or a spiritual man. The servant, much like the submissive wife, can by sterling conduct bring credit to the gospel and possibly win the master to Christ. Titus 2:9-10.
As is usual in these “household codes,” there is a complementary obligation. The master or employer must treat his slaves “in the same way,” that is, as he would treat Christ Himself. Would you abuse, overwork, or punish Christ? Paul says, “don’t even threaten them,” which obviously rules out the harsh punishments, far worse than mere threatening, that a master could lawfully inflict on a slave back in the Roman Empire of the First Century.
Scripture is univocal, it speaks with one voice, about how a master is to treat his servants; he is to be fair and gentle, and never hold back wages. (Col. 4:1; James 5:1-6; Deut. 24:14-15; Lev. 19:13; Jer. 22:13; Mal. 3:5) Because ultimately you will be accountable to God in the day of judgment for how you treat your servants (Col. 4:1), and God will hold you to a higher standard than any earthly court would.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Eph. 6:10-12
Our struggle will always seem to be against flesh and blood. It always appears to be people who are the problem. Why won’t this or that conference president believe as I believe about female ordination? Why do the Leftists hate freedom? Why are they tearing down our traditions and corrupting our institutions? Surely it is at least our own flesh and blood that is the problem? Why do I so easily give in to temptation? Of course our struggle is against flesh and blood! What is Paul talking about?
Yes, there are problems with the flesh; we all are living in a fallen, sinful world, and we have inherited sinful propensities—a bent toward sinning—from our parents, all the way back to Adam and Eve.
But Paul says there is more going on than meets the eye, than what is on the surface. The ultimate reality that underlies the phenomena that we see and hear is a spiritual reality. There is spiritual warfare taking place behind the scenes. The darkness of this present age has an unseen source: the prince of the world, the god of this world, is Satan himself. (2 Cor. 4:4; John 12:31; Mat. 4:8-9) He and his shadowy hierarchy of demonic principalities have been on a rampage in this world. They are our foremost enemies, not flesh and blood.
Because our battle is a spiritual one, the weapons of our warfare are spiritual. Paul goes on to describe them:
“Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Eph. 6:13-17.
Notice that all this spiritual armor—truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation—is defensive in nature. It protects us from the attacks of the adversary. This is especially true of faith, which is our most important protection. If your faith is strong, you can withstand many heavy blows from the adversary without spiritual damage.
Note, also, that “the belt of truth” is intended to hold you together, so that you can “gird up your loins” (tuck your robe into your belt behind you) in preparation for battle. Truth is not to be wielded as a weapon, however tempting that is. The same goes for your righteousness and your salvation; do not try to beat people up with those.
The only offensive weapon is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. We are told that, “the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Heb. 4:12. “’Is not my word like fire,’ declares the Lord, ‘and like a hammer that smashes rock?’” Jer. 23:29. Allow the Holy Spirit to convict others through God’s word, the Scriptures. Here is your weapon fit for purpose.
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” Eph. 6:18-20
There is good reason why we have the term “prayer warrior”; prayer is at the heart of spiritual warfare. Prayer should be frequent, and the attitude of prayer never abandoned. During the Napoleonic wars, the allies (usually Austria, Britain, Prussia, and Russia) gradually gained an important insight: attack a French army when Napoleon is not with them; without him, French troops are no better than any others. But if you attack the French when the emperor is on the field, you’re likely going to get thrashed. Satan well understands this principle. He waits for you to separate yourself from Christ before he attacks, because he knows that if you are connected to your Lord, he will be rebuffed. Our only hope of victory and overcoming is to stay in constant contact with our Lord through prayer.
Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you. Eph. 6:21-22.
Tychicus is first mentioned in Acts 20:4, during Paul’s third missionary journey; he was one of Paul’s companions on the way from Corinth to deliver a gift to the church in Jerusalem. (Romans 15:25–26). Tychicus was a native of Asia Minor, or what is now Turkey, so Ephesus and Colossae were in his home country. In Colossians 4:7, Tychicus is called a “beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord.” We know that Tychicus accompanied Onesimus, the runaway slave who was converted to Christianity by Paul in Rome, back to his master, Philemon, in Colossae. (Col. 4:7-9)
Because Paul was under house arrest in Rome, he could not go anywhere. So he gave his letters to the churches in Ephesus and Colossae to Tychicus for delivery. Tychicus also carried news that was not necessary, or perhaps not prudent, to write down. Paul tells both the Ephesians and the Colossians: “Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. . . . I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts” (Col. 4:7–8).
What we know about Tychicus is good: he was a trusted messenger, faithful preacher, and loyal friend. Paul placed great confidence in him, sending him on important missions. As Paul mentions in both Ephesians and Colossians, Tychicus had the gift of encouragement, and was in that respect a model of elder: “He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it” (Titus 1:9).
Father in heaven, my prayer is to be more like Tychicus.
Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love. Eph. 6:23-24