The term “systematic” means methodically mining a text for its teaching and harmonizing it with other passages on the same topic. This lesson studies the following topics: 1. Parables, 2. Prayer, 3. Ephesians, 4. The Gospel of John, 5. Revelation.
In order to develop a doctrine regarding the parables of Jesus, one must conduct a systematic study of every parable recorded in the gospel of Mathew in order to learn their meaning and purpose.
The Parable of the Seeds (Matt. 13:1-23)
In this parable a farmer sowed seed on four types of soil: a path, rocky ground, thorny ground, and fertile soil–with appropriate results. Discerning the meaning involved understanding the metaphors that were used, most of which were explained by Jesus in v.18-23: seed = GW re the KOH, understands = believes, healed = saved, ears = normal adult souls, hear = be good seed. The apparent meaning of the parable per v. 9 is thus, “Let all accountable souls be allowed to hear and be saved.”
However, this meaning is made problematic by what Jesus told his disciples between relating the parable and then explaining its meaning (v.10-11) regarding his purpose of speaking in parables: “The knowledge of the secrets of the KOH has been given to you (disciples), but not to them (the rest of the people).” Jesus said (in v.14-15) the people fulfilled Isa. 6:9-10, which says in part, “you will be ever seeing but never perceiving, for this people’s heart has become calloused… Otherwise they might… turn, and I would heal them.” In v.12 Jesus said, “Whoever has will be given more… and whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”
A person might interpret what Jesus said regarding the secrets to mean that he wanted them to remain unknown except by his disciples, but a few verses later in Matt. 13:34 it says that Jesus spoke in parables in order to fulfill “what was spoken through the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world”, which implies that he wants to share the secrets with the people.
Thus, unless these statements (Matt. 13:10-17 & 13:34-35) can be harmonized, one must choose between two contradictory interpretations: 1. Jesus purposefully hid knowledge from some while revealing it to others according to His will, or 2. Jesus allowed souls to reject saving knowledge or to accept it and be his disciples. Deciding which understanding to adopt necessitates considering the other parables of Jesus.
The Parable of the Weeds (Matt. 13:24-30)
In this parable a man sowed wheat seeds in his field, but his enemy came while folks were sleeping and sowed weeds among the wheat. When it became apparent that the field was contaminated, the owner’s servants asked whether they should pull up the weeds, and he told them to wait until the harvest, at which time the weeds should be burned and the wheat gathered into his barn.
Later in the privacy of a house Jesus explained the meaning of this parable, saying that the good seed was sown by the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed stands for those who belong to the kingdom, the weeds are those who belong to the evil one, the enemy who sowed the bad seed is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. At the end of the age the Son of Man will send angels to weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and everyone who does evil and throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, while the righteous will shine in the kingdom of their Father. Jesus concluded by saying, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
The mention of Judgment and the opposite destinies of happiness or hell indicates that Jesus employed parables as a means of pre-sifting souls by showing who would understand/believe or not. Some people opine that God/Jesus causes people to believe–or not, but notice that in Matt. 13:10-15 Jesus did NOT say that he prevents people from becoming his disciples or that he causes people’s hearts to be calloused, so let us be careful not to pre-sift ourselves by projecting our own hatred onto the all-loving Christ. The omnilove of Jesus is indicated by such Scriptures as Matt. 23:37, in which Jesus lamented over Jerusalem’s lack of repentance or rejection of his preaching (cf. Matt. 22:39, John 3:16, Rom. 5:6-8, 1Tim. 2:3-4). Note that Jesus explained the Parable of the Seeds in plain language and that the Parable of the Tenants passage indicated his enemies understood he was being critical of them.
Jesus said the KOH is like a mustard seed, which begins small and grows into a large tree. Similarly, Jesus compared the KOH to yeast, which works though the whole batch of dough. Verses 34-35 say that the purpose of the parables was to fulfill Psa. 78:2, which says they will reveal what has been hidden since the creation of the world. Thus, they might be read in connection with Matt. 5:13-16.
The Parables of the Hidden Treasure, the Valuable Pearl and the Fishing Net (Matt. 13:44-52)
The passage begins by saying that “these little ones” should not be despised, because their angels see the face of the Father in heaven. The little ones are those who believe in Jesus per v.6. Then Jesus tells a story about a man who owned 100 sheep and realized that one of them wandered away, so he left the 99 to look for the lost sheep. Jesus said that the man is happier about finding the lost sheep than about the fact the others had not wandered off, and He explained that this story illustrates how the heavenly Father is not willing for any of these little ones/believers to perish.
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matt. 18:21-35)
Jesus compares the KOH to a king who wanted to collect what his servants owed him. The first servant owed 10,000 bags of gold, but he could not pay, so the king ordered his family be sold to pay the debt. However, the servant pled with the king to be patient, and the king took pity on him and canceled the debt. Then the servant went out and found another servant who owed him 100 silver coins. He began to choke the man and demanded that he pay what he owed. The man begged him to be patient and promised to pay the debt, but the first servant refused to take pity and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay up.
Other servants saw what had happened and told the king, who called that servant in and said, “You wicked servant. I forgave your debt when you begged me to, so you should have had mercy on your fellow servant like I had on you.” Then the king handed the servant over to the jailers to be tortured until he repaid all he owed. Jesus concluded by saying, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat you unless you forgive your sibling.”
The Parable of the Workers (Matt. 20:1-16)
Jesus compared the KOH to a landowner who hired workers for his vineyard early in the morning at the agreed wage of one denarius for the day. About nine a.m. he hired more workers, saying that he would pay them what is right. At noon and at five p.m. he did the same thing. At the end of the workday the owner of the vineyard told the foreman to pay all of the workers he had hired one denarius each, so the ones who were hired first complained about not getting paid more than those who were hired last. However, the landowner declared that he was being fair, because he paid what had been agreed on, saying that he had the right to determine the pay scale and asking, “Are you envious because I am generous?” Jesus ends by saying, “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
The Parable of the Two Sons (Matt. 21:28-32)
This parable was told in the temple courts to the priests and elders. A father of two sons told one of them to go and work in the vineyard, but he refused at first before changing his mind and going. The father also told the other son to go work in the vineyard, and the son said he would, but then he did not go. Jesus asked, “Which of the sons did what his father wanted?” The hearers answered by saying the first son, so Jesus told them that tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the KOH ahead of them, because they did not believe the preaching of John and repent.
The Parable of the Tenants (Matt. 21:33-46)
Jesus told a parable about a landowner who planted a vineyard and rented it to some tenants, but when he sent his servants to collect his fruit the tenants maltreated and killed them, so he sent his son, whom they also killed. “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
The disciples replied that “he will bring those wretches to a wretched end.” Jesus then quoted the Scriptures, saying: “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone… Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed. Therefore, the kingdom of God will be given to a people who will produce its fruit. When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them, so they looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the people, because they believed he was a prophet.”
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet (Matt. 22:1-14)
The KOH is like a king who sent his servants to tell those who had been invited that the banquet was ready for them to come, but they refused the invitation. The king sent servants to the invitees again, but some paid no attention and went to work in their fields or places of business, while the rest abused and killed the servant, so the king was enraged and sent his army to destroy the murderers. Then he told his servants to go to the street corners and invite anyone they found, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. However, the king noticed a man who was not wearing wedding clothes, whom he had bound and thrown outside, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Jesus concluded with the teaching that “many are invited, but few are chosen”. Then the Pharisees plotted to entrap Jesus.
The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matt. 25:1-13)
Ten virgins took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom as he came to the wedding banquet. Five of them were foolish and did not bring any oil with them, while five were wise and took oil in jars along with their lamps. They fell asleep as they waited for the bridegroom, who did not approach the rendezvous point until midnight. When neared the virgins were awakened and trimmed their lamps, but those of the foolish virgins were going out, so they asked the wise virgins for some of their oil but were refused lest there not be enough and told to go buy some. As the foolish virgins were on their way to get oil, the bridegroom arrived at the banquet hall and went in with the wise virgins who were ready with lit lamps, and the door was shut. Later the foolish virgins arrived and sought for the Lord to open the door, but he replied, “I don’t know you.” Jesus ended by saying, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”
The Parable of the Bags of Gold (Matt. 25:14-30)
A rich man going on a journey called three servants and entrusted them with different amounts of gold. One servant received five bags of gold, which he invested and made five bags more. Another servant received two bags and he made an additional two bags. The third servant received one bag, which he hid in a hole he dug in the ground. After awhile the servants’ master returned and ordered an accounting. The first servant brought him the ten bags of gold, whereupon the master said, “Well done, good and faithful servant… Come and share your master’s happiness. The second servant brought the four bags of gold and likewise was commended. Then the third servant brought the one bag of gold, saying, “…here is what belongs to you”, and his master replied, “You wicked, lazy servant!… Take that bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags… And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The remainder of Matthew 25 is a sort of semi-parable about sheep and goats, because it lacks the typical introduction saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like…”. In conclusion, it should be evident that Jesus taught using various literary techniques including parables, metaphors and irony, which means stating a truth in a way different from what might be expected, akin to paradox. For example, in Matt. 11:16-19 Jesus quoted a jingle: “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.” Both of these lines employ irony. Then Jesus said: “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard…'” Again, irony is employed to teach the point that “Wisdom is proved right by her actions.” Thus, truth is conveyed using figurative language as well as literally.
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Ephesians
A systematic study of Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians is selected because much of it is on the very topic of learning God’s Word (LGW).
EPH 1:1a, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.”
Questions prompting commentary might include: Who was Paul? What is an apostle? Why of Christ Jesus? How by God’s will? In order to answer the question, “Who was Paul?”, we need to consult the biography of Paul by Luke in Acts, which introduces Paul in 8:1 by saying that he (who was then called Saul) was present at the stoning of Stephen and giving his approval. In Acts 8:3 we learn that Saul began going to house churches and dragging Christians off to prison. Then in Acts 9:1-19a Luke relates how Jesus appeared as a light flashing from heaven to Saul as he was on the way to arresting members of the Way in Damascus, striking him blind and telling him to go into Damascus and await further instructions.
Jesus then appeared in a vision to a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, telling him to go place hands on Saul to restore his sight, saying “This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.” Ananias obeyed, and he told Saul to be filled with the Holy Spirit, whereupon Saul regained his sight and then was baptized.
The introduction of Saul/Paul continues in Acts 9:19b-30 by saying that Paul began preaching in the Damascus synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God and proving (probably by citing OT prophecy) that Jesus is the Messiah or Christ. Some Jews conspired to kill Saul, but he escaped and joined the disciples in Jerusalem after Barnabas vouched for him. Saul debated the Grecian Jews but they also plotted to kill Saul, so the brethren put him on a ship to Tarsus.
Regarding why Paul could claim to be an apostle, in the Gospel of Matthew the followers of Jesus are called disciples (learner) in 5:1 and 8:21&23, but in 10:2 they are called apostles (missionaries) before Jesus sent them out to preach in Galilee. In 1Cor. 9:1 Paul referred to an apostle as one who has seen Jesus, and in 1Cor. 15:7-9 he admits to being the least of the apostles (his name means “little”) because he was the last one called or commissioned, although in 2Cor. 12:11-12 he said he was not inferior. In 1Tim. 2:7 and 2Tim. 1:11 Paul said that he was appointed a herald and an apostle (and a teacher). Returning to Eph. 1:1, we see him saying his apostleship was the will of God.
EPH 1:1b Paul addressed his epistle “to the saints (in Ephesus), (and) the faithful in Christ Jesus.”
The term “saint” means set apart or sacred, referring to those who are saved because of faith in Christ, which is why they are called faithful and in Christ Jesus. Ephesus was the capital of the Roman province called Asia, which was located on the western side of modern Asia Minor across the Aegean Sea from Athens. None of the best early manuscripts have the words “in Ephesus”, which supports the view that this was a circular missive. Some ancient texts say to the saints in Ephesus AND the faithful in Christ, also possibly indicating that the epistle is meant to circulate among all of the churches in Asia Minor that Paul founded (cf. Acts 19:1 & 20:31), although sometimes in Scripture “and” is used as an equals sign rather than as a plus sign.
EPH 1:2, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Grace means gift or unmerited favor, and in a Christian salutation means God’s blessing. Peace means the cessation of war, which in this context refers to fellowship with God, as in Rom. 5:1, “This is why Paul wrote in 1Tim. 2:5, “There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.” Describing God as Father implies the Sonship of Jesus through whom saints may call God “our Father” (cf. Matt. 6:9). Thus, in Rom. 8:29 Paul called Jesus “the firstborn among many brothers”.
Calling Jesus “Lord” implies his deity as the Son, as indicated by Heb. 1:2-3a. which reflects John 1:1-3 & 14. Calling Jesus “Christ” in Greek is the word for “Messiah” in Hebrew, meaning the Anointed One, referring to the One God anointed or chose to provide the possibility of salvation for humanity by the sacrifice of Himself on the cross (Rom. 3:25, Heb. 9:26&10:14, 1John 2:2).
EPH 1:3, “Blessed/Praised be the Father/God of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all/every spiritual blessings in the heavenly realms in Christ.”
The OT says that God is worthy of being praised (2Sam. 22:4, 1Chron. 16:25, Psa. 48:1), and Psalms says it is fitting for people to praise God (33:1), because He is good (34:8) and forgives those who confess their sin (32:5). Praising is akin to thanksgiving (Psa. 100:4) for God’s blessings of love and justice (Psa. 101:1). The primary blessing is heaven, and spiritual blessings includes the fruit listed in Gal. 5:22-23 and other goodness. “Us” here and in the rest of the passage refers to those who are “in Christ”, which means oneness with Christ via faith as in Eph. 1:1b (cf. Eph. 4:13 & 5:31-32).
EPH 1:4, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.”
The reason God created the entire universe was to serve as the stage upon which to enact His plan of salvation (POS): setting apart human sinful souls whose faith satisfies the condition for crediting them with the righteousness of Christ, as in Rom. 3:20 (cf. Phil. 3:7-9).
EPH 1:5, “In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.”
God is love (1John 4:8, cf. Rom 5:5-8). and He preplanned those in him (v. 4) to be spiritual children by receiving the Holy Spirit and becoming co-heirs with Christ (cf. Rom. 8:23 & 9:4) per His will for saints to be holy, as in v.4.
EPH 1:6, “to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”
This harps back to v.3. and refers to God’s blessing (cf. Eph. 2:8-10), which is not merited but instead credited, as in v.4. by virtue of being “in the Anointed One or Messiah/Christ. “One” connoted God in Jewish scriptures ever since Moses wrote what is called the Shema (Deut. 6:4).
EPH 1:7, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the abundance/riches of God’s grace”.
This refers to salvation promised in the Law and Prophets because of Christ’s death on the cross, and to the redemption that is valued as spiritual wealth, echoing v. 5 and connecting with v. 3 as well as with the grace of God in v.6, even though some may reject it (cf. Eph. 3:8 & 16).
EPH 1:8, “that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding”,
This denotes generosity or fullness, and wisdom and prudence will be mentioned again in Eph. 3:10.
EPH 1:9, “and he revealed to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he himself purposed,”
This mystery/POS will be explained later in this epistle, and per God’s pleasure echoes or parallels 1:5, a technique used throughout this passage.
EPH 1:10, “to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.”
This refers again to God’s POS and mystery, explained later in Ephesians, and the time of fulfillment indicates God’s timing and would have mean the “last days” (in ACTS 2:17, 2TM 3:1 and 2PT 3:3) or “end of the age” (MT 24:3, 10, 19, 21, etc.), when all things are brought together under one head/Jesus, seemingly indicating world unification–but other passages indicate that “all” does not include God’s enemies (1Cor. 15:25). Christ’s first advent was for the purpose of creating his spiritual body/church, but his second coming will be on Judgment Day (Heb. 9:26-28)
EPH 1:11, “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.”
“Chosen” means saved by faith in Christ, including Paul, and predestined repeats the term used in v.5 to refer to “from creation” per v.4. according to God’s POS or will as in v. 9-10. God’s sovereignty is stressed by the repetition and means that God is in control of history so that His plan will be achieved as He determines.
EPH 1:12, “in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.”
This refers to Paul and other apostles or disciples of Jesus who received the Gospel before the Ephesians, whose lives should be a reason for praising deity because of the Christlike behavior/love.
EPH 1:13-14, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
The believers being addressed heard Paul’s Gospel and believed, so they received the Holy Spirit, who is like a seal stamped on a letter or an advance deposit on an account, guaranteeing their future in heaven, again so that God would be praised, echoing v.12. EPH 1:3-14 is one sentence in the Greek.
EPH 1:15-16, “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
Faith in Jesus as Lord implies love for all including fellow saved sinners. Paul exemplifies what he teaches in 1Thes. 5:17: Pray continually.
EPH 1:17, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord JC, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.”
Paul prays to the Father as Jesus taught in MT 6:9 (glory being mentioned again as a sort of a sub-theme). The Spirit of wisdom is not different from the HS, but rather continuing sanctification, because learning more about God takes a lifetime. Revelation beyond the Gospel must refer to doctrines that build upon the foundational Gospel (Eph. 2:20).
EPH 1:18-19a, “I pray also 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 the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.”
This reverence to the “eyes of the heart” must mean the enlightening of the mind, so that they may not remain in the darkened or ignorant of the hope of salvation or resurrection to heaven which Jesus has promised. Jesus said he came to call sinners (Matt. 9:13), that many are invited but few are chosen (Matt. 22:14), and that few find the narrow gate (Matt. 7:14). In Eph. 4:1 Paul will exhort those who are called to be worthy of it. Again the blessing of heaven is called a rich inheritance and also power.
EPH 1:19b-21, “That power is like the working of his mighty strength which he exerted in Christ when he raised him 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 title that can be given, not only in this age but also in the one to come.”
God’s power for believers is the same as His power when He resurrected Jesus from the grave and placed Him in charge of heaven–over all and forever on earth and in eternity in heaven.
EPH 1:22-23, “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be the head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”
This quote of Psa. 8:6 is found also in 1Cor. 15:27a, and it echoes 1Cor. 15:27b as well as Col. 1:15-19.
EPH 2:1-3, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins wherein you walked 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 the children of unbelief. All of us lived among them at one time, participating in the lusts of our sinful flesh and mind, and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest.”
Sinners are spiritually dead and bound for hell before being saved, when they practiced the morality of the ungodly that is the environment of sinners, and the ruler of the ungodly is the devil or Satan, who indwells atheists and works evil using them.
EPH 2:4-6, “But because of his great love for us, God, being rich in mercy, makes us who are dead in transgressions alive with Christ, saved and being saved by grace. And He raises us up with Him and seats us with Him in the heavens.”
God’s love and for all sinners (per Rom.5:5-8 and 1Tim.2:3-4) and mercy for those who repent transforms those who whose wages were is death (per Rom.6:23) into those who are alive because of faith in Jesus as Lord (per 2Cor.4:5 & Col.2:6). Conversion and sanctification are not by works (per Eph.2:8-10). The future resurrection when the saints will share Christ’s blessings is viewed as being present.
EPH 2:7-10, “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 not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
The purpose of God’s POS is that in the present (NT) age God might reveal “the incomparable riches” of eternal life in heaven, experienced as kindness because of the atonement of CJ. Such salvation or heaven is a gift received via faith. All we have is gifted by God per 1Cor. 4:7, and so salvation is not earned; faith is not meritorious. The reason for God’s creation of a holy humanity is so they will reflect His love to all manifested by good works, which are the fruit of the HS (Gal. 5:22-23) and a way of life in which we should walk.
EPH 2:11-12, “Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men)—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.
This is a flashback to before the salvation described in v. 7b-10, referring to all non-Jews (which brought forward includes Muslims), who are called “uncircumcised” by way of denoting the separation of Israel from the rest of humanity because of the laws promulgated by Moses. Physical circumcision signified obedience of the law for Jews, but for Paul it was a sign of faith and the righteousness of Christ that is imputed or credited to believers in Christ (Rom. 3:21-22, 4:3-24), including Gentiles, who had been separate from both the Old and New Covenants and thus without hope and without God in the world (except for what could be discerned from creation and conscience per RM 1:20 & 2:14-15).
EPH 2:13-17, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this 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.”
“In CJ” was the key phrase in Eph. 1, meaning “because of saving faith” the Gentiles are no longer separate from Jews because of the death of Jesus, which atonement had made moot the separation per two phrases describing the end of separation by fulfilling the reason for the separation: God’s POS was for the Law to prepare the way for the Gospel of salvation for all in Christ. God’s peace plan made possible fellowship with Him and with all people (restating v.15b-16). Christ’s death ended the separation of Jews from others, because God’s POS is for Gentiles as well as for the Jews (through whom Messiah was born).
EPH 2:18-22, “For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s 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.”
“Through him” = “in Christ”, and access to the Father means spiritual sonship and salvation, as in Rom. 8:1-2 & 14-17. “You” refers to Gentiles, and “God’s people” refers to the Jews, who during the OT dispensation were separated by the barrier mentioned in v.14; fellow citizens = the one new man in v.15. The analogy of one government is augmented by that of one family, built on apostolic preaching of the Gospel of Christ and on the prophetic teaching of the purpose of the OT Law of Moses, the foundation of both being salvation via faith in the ministry of Messiah/Christ, who is cited next. The crux of key part of God’s POS is Christ’s atonement. The analogies of one government and family are augmented by that of one edifice, which expands as new souls convert to faith in Christ and is deemed holy because each member is indwelt by the Holy Spirit per v.18. As in v.19, “you” refers to the Gentiles, who once were dependent on general revelation for salvation but now are joined with the Jews and the OT by the Holy Spirit as in v.18, which indicates the NT.
EPH 3:1-6, “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. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.”
This epistle should be read with Colossians, which refers to Paul being in chains (Col. 4:3&18). Paul’s assignment is recorded in Acts 9:15-16. Although his focus was the Gentiles, Jews were not excluded per Acts 28:17-23. This mystery was described in Eph. 2:13-22 and is mentioned also in Rom. 11:25 & 16:25 as well as in Colossians. The phrase “as I have already written briefly” could mean “as I have just written”, referring yet a third time to Eph. 2:13-22, which statement is paralleled by Rom. 16:25 & Col. 1:26. Rom. 16:26 indicates that Paul has the writings of the OT prophets in mind, as Jesus explained per Luke 24:45-47.
EPH 3:7-9, “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 God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.”
This reiterates v. 2. The reference to “the working of his power” is vague, but it might refer to the “Damascus Road” (cf. the comment regarding Eph. 1:1). Regarding “the unsearchable riches of Christ”, see the comment on Eph. 1:1&10. Riches will be mentioned again in Eph. 3:16 (cf. Col. 1:27, Rom. 9:23 & 11:33). “Everyone” must include the Jews, and “administration” must include revelation and explanation of the mystery (cf. Eph. 1:9-10 & 2:11-22).
EPH 3:10-11, “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 which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
“Intent” refers to the mystery in v.4-9, and “now” means now revealed as in v.5. “Church” refers to the body of Christ in 1:22-23 (cf. Col.1:24). “Wisdom of God” = the Gospel (1Cor. 1:17-24 & 2:7). This concept is found in Eph. 1:21 & echoed in EPH 6:12 & COL 1:16. The “eternal purpose” or POS was introduced in Eph. 1:9-10.
EPH 3:12-13, “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.”
“In him” is the thematic or key phrase introduced in Eph. 1:3, and by now it should be clearly understood that it refers to saving faith “in” the Lord JC (Eph. 1:17). Approaching God implies a saved relationship with God (as in Heb. 4:16 & 1John 3:21 & 5:14). Paul’s sufferings result from being a prisoner in chains per Eph. 3:1 & 6:20. Paul viewed suffering for Christ as a privilege (per Phil. 1:29-30) and an opportunity for learning how to be content in all situations (Phil.4:11-13).
EPH 3:14-17a, “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole 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.”
Paul prays for the Ephesians not to be discouraged, apparently continuing the line of thought that began in v.1, and kneeling indicates humility (cf. Phil. 2:10, Rom. 14:11). The exact meaning of this regarding the “name” is unclear. Paul referred to the riches of Christ in Eph. 3:8, 2:4 & 7 and 1:18. God’s power was cited in Eph 3:7 & 1:19, where it referred to raising Christ from the dead. The Spirit was mentioned in Eph. 3:5, 2:18 & 22 and 1:13. Christ’s indwelling is indicated in Rev. 3:20.
EPH 3:17b-19, “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, 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 fulness of God.”
Perhaps the context of this prayer is 1Cor. 13:1-13 or Rom. 5:5-8 or even John 13:34-35. “Power to grasp” means ability to understand, which Paul hopes all Christians will have. In Paul’s reference to the dimensions of love in physical terms surely means to portray the spiritual dimension of infinite divine love. Although the infinite or supernatural is beyond the ability of finite and fallible humans to comprehend, Paul prays for maximum maturity in this regard, and he tells how to achieve it in the next chapter. Maximum earthly Christ-likeness is viewed as being filled with the Holy Spirit. Again Rom. 5:5-8 may be helpful context—and persevering Spirit-filling should be assumed to be intended, as indicated in Eph. 6:10-18.
EPH 3:20-21, “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 in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”
“Him” is God the Father per Eph. 3:14 & 19, and “able” refers to omnipotence. Regarding “immeasurably more” than we can imagine, the human mind is not able to imagine alternate reality very well, which includes heaven. “His power that is at work within us” refers to the indwelling HS per Eph. 3:16. “Glory” in the OT meant goodness or praise-worthiness (Exod. 14:4, 1Chron. 16:24-36) and was manifested by light (Luke 2:9). “To him be” expresses Paul’s prayer that the Ephesian church would glorify God by reflecting the love of the Lord. “Throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” seems to restate 1Chron. 16:36.
EPH 4:1-3, “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.”
Paul also referred to being “in chains” in Phil. 1: 17 and Col. 4:3. The “calling you have received” is to be holy so God will be praised (cf. Eph. 1:4 & 12). Humility and gentleness are examples of a worthy witness found also in Col. 3:12 (cf. Phil. 2:3) and imply having concern for the welfare of others. Love and patience as well as gentleness and kindness are fruit of the Spirit (per Gal. 5:22-23), and God’s love is defined as patience (in 2Pet. 3:9) and kindness (in Rom. 2:4). “Unity of the Spirit” is what Jesus prayed for (in John 17:20-23) and what Paul urged also along with bearing with each other (in Col. 3:13-14, cf. Rom. 15:5). “Peace” is an expression of love urged also in Col. 3:15 and 2Cor. 13:11, requiring effort also in Rom. 14:19.
EPH 4:4-6, “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.”
The “one body” is the spiritual body of Christ mentioned again in Eph. 4:16 and elaborated in 1Cor. 12:12-27. The body is the dwelling in which God lives per Eph. 2:22, which is equated with the church of Christ in Col. 1:18 and called one body also in Col. 3:15. The “one Spirit” is the HS (Acts 2:4, 33, 38, etc.), who is “of God” and “of Christ” per Rom. 8:9, whose baptism and filling were manifested by speaking unlearned languages in Acts 2:4, boldness in Acts 4:31, joy in Acts 13:52 and love per 1John 4:12 & Gal. 5:22. “One hope” is heaven or glory through faith in the Gospel (Col. 1:23 & 27), which is the proper motivation for seeking salvation (Rom. 5:1-5, 8:18-25). “When you were called” may mean when they responded to God’s call and called on God or repented of atheism at their conversion (Rom. 10:9-13).
“One Lord” is God (Gen. 2:4 through Mal. 3:7), who is invisible as Spirit (Gen. 1:2, 1John 4:12, Col. 1:15), and who is incarnate as Jesus (John 1:1&14, Acts 16:31). “One faith” is in God as first manifested by Abraham (Rom. 4:1-25) and faith in the Son of God as preached by the Gospel (Rom. 1:1-6). “One baptism” surely refers to the baptism by the Spirit into Christ’s body (1Cor. 12:13), which is professed by the work or act of confessing Jesus is Lord (Rom. 10:913) and signified by the rite of water baptism instead of circumcision (Col. 2:11-13). “One God and Father of all” is the Shema (Deut. 6:4), and God is the Creator of all else that exists (Gen. 1:1) but the Father only of all who reflect His love (Deut. 6:5, Matt. 22:37) and receive the Spirit of sonship that makes believers co-heirs of heaven with Christ (Rom. 8:14-17). “Who is over all and through all and in all” indicates that God’s omnipotence includes omnipresence, so that nature is supernatural, echoing what Paul told the Athenians in Acts 17:24-28.
EPH 4:7-10, “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 led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.’ (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.)”
Paul had been citing things that are “one” or the same, and “but” indicates that grace is not always manifested in the same way. Paul cites Psalm 68:18 as indicating the incarnate Christ would descend to earth and then ascend to regain divine omnipotence and omnipresence (cf. Phil. 2:5-11). Some of the various gifts included in grace will now be listed.
EPH 4:11-13, “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s 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.”
Christ appointed apostles to preach the Gospel where they were sent (the term “apostle” means “one who is sent with authority to speak for the sender”). Because the other roles mentioned here are primarily found in the NT, it appears that the term “prophets” in this verse is akin to the role found in 1Cor. 12:28-29 rather than to the OT prophets (cf. Matt. 7:15, 22, 10:41 & 24:24). “Evangel” means good news, so this role is telling the Gospel, which is the English translation (cf. Acts 21:8 & 2Tim. 4:5). The Greek word for “pastors and teachers” indicates translating “and” as a hyphen: pastors-teachers in order to indicate the main role of a pastor should be teaching God’s Word. The purpose of all of these roles is to disciple believers for the good works mentioned in Eph. 2:10 (cf. 2Tim. 3:15-17), and the purpose of discipleship is to edify the body or church of Christ. Christ’s body is edified as it increases in spiritual unity, which was the prayer of Jesus (in John 17:20-23). Knowledge of the Son of God is achieved as believers learn God’s Word beyond how to be saved (cf. Heb. 6:1-2, 1Cor. 3:1-3, John 16:12-15). The attainment of spiritual maturity was Paul’s prayer in Eph. 3:14-19, referring to love as the indication of being filled with the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5, Gal. 5:6).
EPH 4:14-16, “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 men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into 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.”
One might wonder how Paul came up with this mixed metaphor! Perhaps tossed “twigs” and blown “leaves” would have been better? Hopefully he would not have in mind quarreling Christians, who should discuss Scripture regarding God’s love truthfully. Returning to the infants metaphor, Christians should become adults in every way, especially including unity as one body of Christ. Paul seems to know anatomy as well as theology. Paul again emphasizes love, like John quoted Jesus doing (John 13:34-35, 17:20-23, 1John 4:7-21).
EPH 4:17-19, “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, with a continual lust for more.”
Paul speaks of the atheist Gentiles, not the ones who have believed the Gospel. Like the Jews who reject Christ, they foolishly harden their hearts against learning God’s Gospel, which means they have no moral compass. Paul commands the Ephesian believers not to think that because they have received forgiveness and share Christ’s righteousness that this gives them license to sin.
EPH 4:20-24, “You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him 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.”
Apparently Paul was hearing that the Ephesians were not manifesting the fruit of Holy Spirit but rather thinking that because they were saved it did not matter how they behaved, which is aka cheap grace. So, at this point in the epistle Paul launched into a long sermon in order to correct this deficiency in their understanding of the Gospel, which stressed saving faith to the neglect of sanctifying faith or good works (cf. Eph 2:8-10). Paul called for them to be transformed by the renewing of their minds (cf. Rom. 12:2), and to become righteous in practice as well as because of being credited with the holiness of Christ (cf. Rom. 3:21-26, 4:18-25). In his epistle to the Philippians Paul indicated that we will not obtain perfection in this life, but it should be every Christian’s goal (Phil. 3:12-14).
EPH 4:25-28, “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 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. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.”
In this passage Paul begins to describe how the new self should behave. The first command is against lying to a fellow believer, but the pronouncement of Jesus against lying in John 8:44 precludes thinking that it is permissible to lie to unbelievers. The second command against anger echoes what Jesus said in Matthew 5:21-22 and precludes murder in accordance with the sixth of the OT Ten Commandments.
The third command reaffirms the eighth of the Ten Commandments against stealing and goes beyond it by commanding manual work and charity.
EPH 4:29-32, “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.”
This pericope seems to be centered on the command not to grieve God’s Holy Spirit, with the sentences before and following it explaining how this may be obeyed:
Being sealed with the Holy Spirit until redemption was mentioned in Eph. 1:13.
“Unwholesome talk” would include what Paul cites in Eph. 5:4: obscenity and coarse jokes.
A word for “building others up” is edification, as in Rom. 14:19 and 1 Cor. 14:4-5 & 17.
Just as the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) may be viewed as forms of love, so also the list in verse 31 are forms of malice or hatred, the opposite of which is described in verse 32a, culminating with being forgiving, like God.
“In Christ” is the theme of Eph. 1:3-15, which means having faith in Jesus as Lord.
Being like God is synonymous with being “imitators of God” and loving “just as Christ loved” in the next verse.
EPH 5:1-3, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 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.”
Paul indicates that God practices what He commands, which was demonstrated by Christ’s atonement, and those who claim God/Christ is Lord will likewise be loving, ideally living without committing sins such as fornication and avarice. (Cf. Matt. 7:21, 22:37-40.)
EPH 5:4-7, “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 man 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.” Paul encouraged thanksgiving throughout the year (as in 1Thes.5:18).
“Nor” indicates that Paul continues to describe didachaic doctrines which build on kerygmatic faith in Christ (cf. Eph. 2:8-10). The elimination of obscenity is akin to what he said in Eph. 4:29, which includes three types of expletives: f, s and gd. Surely Paul does not mean occasional slips of the tongue will condemn a soul to hell, but rather that we should cooperate with the HS in eliminating such bad habits (Phil. 3:12-15). “Immoral” typically means fornication, as in Eph. 5:3, and “greed” refers to lust for money (Matt. 6:24, 1Tim. 6:10). Souls who continue to commit such serious sins after supposedly repenting need to examine whether their faith is genuine (1Cor. 11:28, 2Cor. 13:5). Avoiding associating with such people will help an immature Christian not to succumb to temptation (1Cor. 5:11). “Empty” words that deceive in this context would seem to refer to what Paul said in Gal. 5:13: “Do not use your freedom [forgiveness because of saving faith in Christ] to indulge the sinful nature.”
EPH 5:8-12, “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, for it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.”
“Darkness” signifies atheism as in John 1:5, which produces evil fruit including murder and lies (John 8:42-44). Believers in Christ are the light of the world (Matt. 5:14) to the degree they reflect the Light of God’s Word (John 1:1-9) by means of good/right behavior and sharing the Truth that teaches what pleases the Lord (Rom. 12:2). This refers to doctrines that build on the Gospel foundation (Matt. 28:20, John 16:13, Col. 2:6-7, 2Tim. 3:15-17, Eph. 2:10). Darkness is reproved and the world enlightened when the Light is not hidden (Matt. 5:14-16). Paul leaves it to the readers imagination what sort of shameful sins unbelievers commit behind closed doors.
EPH 5:13-16, “Everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is the light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: ‘Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”
Paul cited physical light as a metaphor in order to teach a spiritual truth, which is stated after interjecting a saying that must have been current at that time, apparently urging unbelievers to wake up or repent and allow Christ to shine through them (cf. Matt. 5:14-16), because Paul’s conclusion was to live carefully and wisely, because evil can occur at any time. In the words of 1 Peter 5:8, “Be self-controlled and alert; your enemy the devil prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour.” As a P.S. to Ephesians 5:13-20, one might look at Romans 13:11-14, “The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber… and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”
EPH 5:17-18, “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.”
The contrast between foolishness and wisdom echoes what Paul wrote to the church in Corinth (in 1Cor. 1:18-25 & 2:6-16), and it is clear in both passages that the Lord’s will first and foremost is for sinners to repent of debauchery or sin and receive the Holy Spirit or mind of Christ by believing the Gospel. Paul indicated (in Eph. 3:16-19) that being filled with the Spirit is manifested by the fullness of God’s powerful love. Those without God feel empty and often fill the void with wine or other drugs that can cause slow suicide.
EPH 5:19-20, “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Some people view the ability to compose good music as given by God and thus appreciate Paul commending both old hymns and contemporary Christian music. It might be noted that he did not condemn the enjoyment of secular songs, although of course they should not advocate ungodly beliefs and immoral behaviors.
EPH 5:21-24, Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your husbands as 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.”
The correct interpretation of this passage hinges upon keeping in mind the command for mutual submission, which agrees with the teaching of Jesus (in Matt. 20:26-28 & 23:11) that the greatest in the kingdom of heaven will be the servant of all, just as he did not come to be served but to give his life. With this understanding, we can see that Paul envisions a perfect marriage in which the husband is spiritually mature or Christlike. When the husband is NOT like Christ, perhaps the statement of Peter in Acts 5:29 (“We must obey God rather than men”) applies.
EPH 5:25-27, “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.”
Continuing to keep in mind the mutual submission mentioned in v. 21, we understand that husbands should love their wives sacrificially, just as wives should love their husbands. The purpose of such love goes beyond romance to motivate spiritual and moral completion, comparable to the atonement of Christ. We note the connection of water baptism with Spirit baptism or God’s Word (cf. Col. 2:11-12). “Radiance” reminds readers of the glory of God that is signified in Scripture by light (e.g., Luke 2:9), “without blemish” refers to the OT foreshadowing of the lamb of God/Messiah (as in Lev. 22:21, cf. John 1:29), and “holy and blameless” describes the incarnate Christ (in Heb. 7:26-28).
EPH 5:28-30. “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 his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body.”
In the same way that Christ loves his church body, a husband should love his wife, considering her to be his own body. In 1Corinthians 7:3-4 Paul said that the husband and wife should view their bodies as shared for “marital duty”. There are two teachings of Jesus that seem to be related to these passages: Matthew 19:6, which says that the husband and wife are one; and Matthew 22:39, which says to love your neighbor as yourself. Christ feeds his church body via the Holy Spirit’s teaching of God’s Word, which is spiritual food (Matt. 4:4, 1Cor. 3:2, 1Pet. 2:2).
EPH 5:31-33, “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.”
Paul quoted Genesis 2:24, which does not specify the reason, but it can be inferred that it is for the purpose of creating the body we call “family” and that Paul compares this institution to the spiritual family we call “church”. Again, the meaning of “one flesh” is indicated by Jesus in Matthew 19:4-6, but the meaning indicated by Paul is that Christ is united with believers spiritually or via the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
“However” refers back to Eph. 5:21-25 with the implication that a loving husband will be respected by a loving wife, so there should be no division either in the family or in the church body (Rom. 16:17, 1Cor. 1:10, 11:17-19, 12:25, Eph. 4:4).
EPH 6:1-3, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” is the first commandment with a promise—that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
Children should obey their godly parents. When parents give ungodly commands, perhaps the situation is comparable to the spousal situation cited previously and the statement of Peter in Acts 5:29 also applies in this case. This also is similar to the relationship between Christians and government described in Romans 13:1-5.
Paul referred to the fifth of the Ten Commandments (Exo. 20:12). Righteous living tends to result in prosperity and long life, as stated also in Deut. 28:1-13.
EPH 6:4, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”
Fathers probably can include mothers and thus mean “parents”. The first priority for parents should be to have a relationship with their children that is loving, so the children will want to learn about God and cooperate with both their godly instructions and God’s teachings in Scripture.
EPH 6:5-8, “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 like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.”
The instruction for slaves is essentially the same as that for Christians, wives and children, implying that Christ, spouses, parents and masters are godly, loving or respectable, so that cooperating with their commands is done willingly and joyfully (and that Acts 5:29 is operative when commands contradict GW).
EPH 6:9, “Masters, treat your slaves in the same way [as Christian parents should treat their children and husbands treat their wives].
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.”
Just as the status of slaves was comparable to that of wives and children (and citizens), so also the status of masters was comparable to that of husbands and parents (and governors). Both sets of people should be Christians who love others with the love of Christ. Those who have social advantages on earth are no better than the poor or disadvantaged in God’s eyes. Ideally, governors would rule by consensus.
EPH 6:10-13, “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. 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.”
Having begun the epistle of Ephesians by indicating eleven times that God’s eternal purpose was for souls to be in Christ (Eph. 1:3-13), Paul concludes by encouraging believers to remain in the Lord. We saw that the power Paul has in mind is love (Eph. 3:16-19). Standing against the devil is akin to the urging of James to resist the devil by submitting to God (Jam. 4:7). Thus, the schemes and struggle must refer to temptations to hate/sin prompted by demons described as rulers, authorities, powers and spiritual forces, and when temptation happens, the spiritual struggle/war is waged in the way God has provided, which is represented by physical armor.
EPH 6:14-17, “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.”
In this passage Paul told the Ephesians how they could stand firm or be strong in the Lord, comparing spiritual weapons with physical armament, citing the need for truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation and the word of God or Holy Spirit. The order seems to be arbitrary, because the student of Paul’s teachings might have expected faith in the gospel of salvation to be first and identified with truth or God’s Word, followed by righteousness and love as believers become mature or more like Christ (Eph. 4:13-16).
EPH 6:18-20, “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 saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, 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.”
Paul alludes to the kinds of prayers for various occasions. Prayer is simply talking to God. The power of prayer is God’s, and believers should not talk as though God would not act if they did not pray. There are about five main kinds of prayer:
1. The kerygmatic prayer that is necessary in order for a sinner be saved and walk with God is confession (1John 1:9, Psa. 32:1-5).
2. When a believer confesses sin and is refilled by the Spirit, he/she experiences divine love, joy and peace (Gal. 5:22-23), which prompts prayers giving thanks. Jesus led a prayer of thanksgiving during the Last Supper (1Cor. 11:23-24). Paul frequently expressed thankfulness for believers he had helped to convert and who had helped support his ministry (1Thes. 1:2, Phil. 1:3), and he instructed believers to “Pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances.” (1Thes. 5:17-18)
3. A type of prayer akin to thanksgiving is praise, which expresses love and glory to God for who He is and what He means to us. Numerous Psalms express this type of prayer (from Psa. 9:1-2 to Psa. 150:1-6). Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice [prayer] of praise.” Revelation 5:13 refers to prayers of praise in heaven.
4. A fourth kind of prayer is petition, which may be the most used and least understood type. The Lord’s Sample Prayer (Matt. 6:9-13) includes a series of petitions. In Philippians 4:6 Paul taught: “By prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
5. A petition in which we ask God for something on behalf of another person is called intercession. We have noted that Paul frequently interceded for others (Eph. 1:16-18, Phil.. 1:3-4&9, Col. 1:3&9), and he asked believers to pray for him (Eph. 6:18-20, Col. 4:3-4, 1Tim. 2:1, 2Thes. 3:1), so perhaps intercession should be our most frequent type of petition (Eph. 6:18b).
EPH 6:21-24, “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. Peace to the brothers, 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.”
After ending his message in Ephesians by comparing spiritual faith to the physical armor of the soldiers who guarded him, Paul concluded his epistle by mentioning its carrier, Tychicus, who is also named in Acts 20:4, Colossians 4:7-8, 2Timothy 4:12 and Titus 3:12.
Then Paul gave his blessing/prayer/desire for the recipients to have peace, faith in God/Christ and enduring love. At this point, we know from Eph. 2:8-17 that Paul viewed saving faith as synonymous with peace with God (cf. Eph. 4:3-5), and he viewed love as the primary work/gift resulting from God’s grace (Eph. 2:10, 3:16-19 & 4:7-15).
This concludes the systematic study of Ephesians.
The Gospel of John
John 1:1-5. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
John employed metaphorical/figurative language to express ultimate/spiritual reality. The Word is described as a person who is both God and with God simultaneously, who co-created all things that are not God, and who is incarnate in Jesus as the Son of God in John 1:14-18, thereby implying that God is a Binity of God and Word/Son.
The Word metaphor is not used to explain how God created, but only that creation was through Him or by His will, including life. The Word is further described as being the source of life, which is referred to by another metaphor for the Word, “light”, also meaning divine truth or the Gospel in some Scriptures (e.g., John 8:12 & 1John 1:7), which has guided humanity to salvation throughout history, although darkness–opposition to God/the Word–tries to overcome it.
John 1:6-9. “There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.”
The man sent from God to testify and witness in hopes that everyone would believe God’s light was John the Baptist, whose testimony included these points:
1. Jesus is the Lamb of God, who atones for the sins of all souls. (John 1:29&35)
2. Jesus is the Son of God. (John 1:34)
3. Jesus will baptize his followers with the HS and fire/judgment. (John 1:33, Matt. 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16-17)
4. Jesus remained filled with God’s HS. (John 1:32-33, Mark 1:10-11, Luke 3:21-22)
John 1:1-9 is echoed in John 8:12.
Revelation
A systematic study of John’s Revelation is a fitting conclusion to this lesson on the topic of learning God’s Word. The passages are not quoted, so the reader will need to have a Bible handy to see what the commentary is referencing.
Rev. 1:1-9. Jesus Christ sent his angel to John, possibly meaning the Holy Spirit referenced in the Gospel of John (John 15:26). He was sent to the author of that Gospel, who was suffering with patient endurance on Patmos. John described the message as the word of God and as prophecy about what will happen in the near future. The recipients of John’s written testimony are seven churches in the Roman province of Asia, the area adjacent to Patmos that is known as Asia Minor.
John described the divine co-authors of the message as the eternal God and as JC, the first to be resurrected and the ruler of earth, who has atoned for sins and made his followers to be a kingdom and priests of God the Father. Then John said JC will return to earth and everyone will see him, apparently including those who crucified him, and everyone will mourn. The pericope concludes by quoting the Lord God as describing Himself as eternal and the Almighty.
Rev. 1:10-20. John described himself as being “in the Spirit” without defining what that meant, but he heard a voice telling him to write a message to the churches, and he saw the son of man (cf. Dan. 7:13) with a sword coming out of his mouth (Rev. 19:21, cf. Heb. 4:12), who identified Himself as the eternal One/Being (I AM, Exo. 3:14), who was Resurrected as Judge. The seven lampstands and stars that were mentioned represent the churches and their angels (Rev. 2:1), who will be the addressees of the messages in next two chapters.
Rev. 2:1-29. Each of the messages to the churches is prefaced with statements saying the angel is delivering words from God and the Son of God. The church in Ephesus is commended for its persevering faith despite persecution, for its good deeds and for not being deceived by false apostles including the Nicolaitans, but it is reprimanded for falling short. This failure is not specified, but perhaps it is along the lines of how Paul described the faults of the Jews in Romans 10 and 11.
The church in Smyrna also is warned that Jews from the synagogue of Satan will imprison and persecute some of them for ten days, and they are urged to remain faithful until death, so they will not be hurt by the second death (Rev. 20:14).
The church in Pergamum, described as the place where Satan is enthroned, is commended for remaining faithful, even when a believer named Antipas was executed. However, they are told to repent of tolerating the teaching of Balaam, which included idolatry and sexual immorality, and the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
The church in Thyatira is commended for its love, faithful perseverance and increasing good deeds, but it is reprimanded for tolerating a woman named Jezebel who claimed to be a prophetess and was leading people to commit sexual immorality and idolatry. Her adherents are threatened with suffering and death unless they repent, by Him who searches the hearts (Rom. 8:27 & 2:16) and repays evil deeds (Rom. 2:5-11).
This pericope is concluded by the JC saying he will share the authority given to Him by the Father with those who endure until the end.