I think it is fair to call Ephesians the
mountaintop of the New Testament.
This
is one of Paul’s loftiest letters. What I just said is not intended to
denigrate Paul’s other letters but to set Ephesians in place. Here’s an analogy that might help. We can
think of Galatians as “Christianity 101.”
Think of Romans as upper-level Christianity. Think of Ephesians as graduate level
Christianity. Don’t misunderstand, I am
not saying the new Christian should avoid Romans or Ephesians; but, if
mastering Galatians is like learning to play the scale on the piano, mastering
Ephesians is like learning to play a concerto.
By the way, Paul’s authorship of the letter
was not questioned until the eighteenth century. I’ve examined the arguments and see no
compelling reason for abandoning the traditional view. So, I’ll be referring to Paul as the author.
The letter was written somewhere between
A.D. 61 and 66 when Paul was under house arrest in Rome. A good number of scholars think it likely to
have been written during the earlier years of that period. It is one of “the prison epistles.” Philippians and Colossians are the two other
prison epistles.
Keep
in mind: When we compare Ephesians with Paul’s other writings we notice that
this letter is marked by some curious characteristics.
--Ephesians does not seem to address any
specific problems in the church. First
Corinthians and Galatians clearly address problems in those churches. This is one reason some have suggested
Ephesians was intended as a circular letter, a letter written to several
churches in the region.
--Ephesians used language that is seldom
found in Paul’s earlier letters. This
suggests the letter may represent the fruition of Paul’s thought. Still, Ephesians demonstrates continuity with
and advancement of Paul’s prior teachings.
Nothing found in Ephesians contradicts anything found in Galatians.
Keep
in mind: Paul is writing to a congregation that is made up of both Jews and
Gentiles. But unlike similar
congregations Paul has dealt with in Palestine, this may be one of the first to
be predominantly Gentile. This is why he
will write so much about what God was doing in Jesus Christ.
What is Paul saying in this letter? Here it is in a sentence: Through Jesus Christ, a gracious God has
created one new people to have fellowship with him and with each other as they
live for him and work for him in the real world.
As
we explore Ephesians, we are going to find a wealth of material, ranging from
hymns about predestination to warnings against drunkenness.
It is a lofty book; it is a practical
book. I invite you to read with me
Ephesians 1:1-2.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the
will of God, To God's holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Grace and
peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
******
Do you remember what the announcer
called Tonto who traveled beside the Lone Ranger in all those radio and
television adventures? He was the masked
man’s “Faithful Indian companion.”
What do we call Yellowstone Park’s
geyser that erupts with such regularity?
We call it “Old Faithful.”
Do you remember the words of
commendation Jesus is pictured as using when he speaks to those followers who
had invested their lives serving him? He
says, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
To
be called “faithful” is one of the greatest compliments any Christian or church
can receive. When Paul called the Ephesian
church “faithful,” he was commending them for their consistent Christianity.
In an age when complaints about hypocrisy
still echo loudly whenever critics of the church gather, we need to pursue
consistency in out life together and in our lives as individuals.
Our consistency in serving Christ is linked
to the quality of our relationship with Christ.
I
WE
MAY EXHIBIT CONSISTENT CHRISTIANITY WHERE WE ARE
What kind of
place was Ephesus early in the seventh decade of the first century?
--Ephesus was a proud, prosperous city.
It was known for its belief in the occult, particularly its worship of
Artemis (the goddess of sexual drive; her temple dominated the city’s
skyline). Archaeologists have found
hints suggesting some in the city worshiped a serpent-god.
Add to this a reputation for materialism and
political intrigue. Acts reminds us that
the worship of Artemis was one of the major source so revenue in the city. Tourism was linked to her worship. But in the
middle of the first century a threat to the dominance of Artemis appeared.
Here’s the story.
Scarcely two decades after Pentecost,
Christian preachers arrived in Asia Minor.
Paul, Priscilla, and Aquila arrived to bring the gospel to those living
there. As a result of their work a
church was established.
A second visit from Paul and Silas, a while
later, led to a great revival and many more entered the church.
Because of their consistency in serving
Christ, that church began to impact the society. As has often happened, the Christians not
only made friends, they made enemies. A
man named Demetrius led a riot to protest the loss of revenue caused by the
Christians. Here’s the story as Luke
tells it in Acts 19.
23 At that time there was serious trouble because of the Lord’s
Way.[a] 24 A silversmith named Demetrius had a business that made
silver models of the temple of the goddess Artemis. Those who worked for him
earned a lot of money. 25 Demetrius brought together everyone who
was in the same business and said:
Friends, you know that we make a good living
at this. 26 But you have surely seen and heard how this man Paul is
upsetting a lot of people, not only in Ephesus, but almost everywhere in Asia.
He claims that the gods we humans make are not really gods at all. 27 Everyone
will start saying terrible things about our business. They will stop respecting
the temple of the goddess Artemis, who is worshiped in Asia and all over the
world. Our great goddess will be forgotten!
28 When the workers heard this, they got angry and started shouting,
“Great is Artemis, the goddess of the Ephesians!” 29 Soon the whole
city was in a riot….
In First Corinthians, Paul speaks of
“fighting wild beasts” in Ephesus. That’s probably not to be taken literally;
Paul is likely saying his opponents were, like wild beasts, out for his
blood. Being a Christian in Ephesus
wasn’t easy. Remember that Paul was writing to the church from prison. So, this
was a letter from one Christian in a tough place to other Christians in a tough
place.
It
wasn’t easy living for Christ under arrest in Rome. It wasn’t easy living for Christ in
Ephesus. But both Paul and the Ephesian
church lived lives consistent with their professions. They lived faithfully.
Most Western Christians have never known what
it means to live as a religious minority.
The Ephesian Christians knew.
Reading stories like this raises important
questions. How much threat does today’s
church pose? Does it threaten the
profits of the pornographer, the drug-dealer, the unfair business?
Don’t miss my point. In the past few months I’ve talked with
people who were boycotting Walmart and talked with people who were boycotting
Target. The funny thing is, each would
shop at the other believer’s boycotted store.
Such boycotts probably have a place—I’m not enough of an economist to
know how effective they are. But what
happened in Ephesus wasn’t the result of a boycott organized by the
church. The threat to the business of
people like Demetrius resulted from lives changed by the gospel. Do we understand the importance of the gospel
to the church’s effectiveness?
Just as important, do we understand that if
men and women could live faithfully in Ephesus, we can live faithfully right
here, right now?
II
WE
MAY EXHIBIT CONSISTENT CHRISTIANITY
IF
WE BUILD ON THE RIGHT FOUNDATION
The capacity of the men and women in
Ephesus to live as consistent Christians was rooted in their relationship with
Christ. They were “in Christ Jesus;”
Paul used the phrase “in Christ” as a synonym for a Christian. The term speaks
of a vital and vitalizing union with Christ.
It’s crucial to understand, before you
can live for Christ you must be “in Christ.”
The experience of natural birth puts you “in
Ephesus” (or some other geographical locale where you may live. Only the experience of spiritual birth puts
you “in Christ.” This is what Jesus
meant when he told Nicodemus, “"Very truly I tell you, no one can enter
the kingdom of God unless they are born of water [experience human birth] and
the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”
Back in the day, I was an avid reader of
Superman comics. The myth has been
tweaked from time to time but here is the story as it was told then. Kal-el, the infant who would become Superman,
was born on Krypton. It was a planet
with a red sun. Kryptonians were
brilliant people but did not possess super powers. Kal-el’s scientist parents, knowing their
planet was about to explode, sent their infant off in a rocket designed to keep
him alive until it could reach a planet where he could survive. Earth’s yellow sun gave the infant Kryptonian
the powers that make him Superman.
Now, here’s an analogy. Unless you are “in Christ,” you are still in
the old world. You have no power to live consistently for him. Being “in
Christ” brings you into a new world where everything is different.
Being “in Christ” carries a further
implication. It means both to be in communion
with Christ and in the communion of Christ.
No Christian can live in a spiritual vacuum
with out vital contact with other believers.
The believer who refuses fellowship with others cannot expect to live
consistently for Christ. In the same way, the church with an impaired
fellowship cannot expect to make an impact on its “Ephesus.”
Are you having trouble living consistently
where you are? Are you trying to do it
alone? Do you need to get into a
fellowship of those who are “faithful?”
III
WE MAY EXPECT CONSISTENT CHRISTIANITY TO
BEAR RECOGNIZABLE FRUIT
Though
Paul is going to elaborate, the marks of consistent Christianity are summed up
in two words: “grace” and “peace.”
What does “grace” involve?
It implies a willingness to confess our sins
and accept forgiveness. We might ask,
“Who doesn’t want to be treated graciously, who doesn’t want to be
forgiven?” Those who are unwilling to
admit wrongdoing. But until we are
willing we bear a weight of guilt. Grace
frees us from that burden.
Grace also implies a conscious dependence
upon Christ for spiritual empowerment.
We cannot live consistently without his power working through us.
How does “peace” fit?
Peace is a consequence of our new relationship
with God through Christ. We know inner security because we have accepted the
grace God has given. We have abandoned
the notion of earning God’s favor and simply accepted his acceptance.
Peace gives us security as we face the
threatening world around us; we have peace because we know God’s preserving
grace in our lives.
Be sure you are in Christ, then you will know
the grace and peace that allows you to live consistently for him in this
world. Become part of a church that
maintains a vital relationship with Christ, a church that lives consistently
for him.
Conclusion
There is a darker side to the story of
the Ephesian church.
The Book of Revelation, written some years
after this epistle, contains a brief message to the church at Ephesus.
In the message, Jesus commends the Christians
for many things—their doctrinal purity, their moral lifestyle, their
perseverance in the face of persecution.
But all is not well. Here’s what he says:
”I have this against you: The love you had at
first is gone.”
Something eroded away the quality of their
relationship with Christ and, consequently, with each other. That threatened their very existence as a
church.
Consistency must be consistent. The once faithful church was failing to be
faithful in the richest sense of that term. It was a church that many might
have admires but it has lost something priceless—love.
Maybe this is why once effective churches are
no longer effective. They are busily
acting religious but their activity is driven by tradition. It is not driven by love. They have no
appeal. They are not making a difference.
But Jesus told that church, just as he tells
us, there is a way to come back. We can
remember, repent, and return.
