Ephesians-To the Saints
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 1:1-2
A few months back I got a letter from a dear friend. She’s been through a lot in the past year and as part of her grieving process was reflecting on life. She wrote to me a long letter, with pencil, written on notebook paper. It was sent through the mail, delivered in an envelope with a stamp. Though writing handwritten notes was a common practice when I was in middle school, it’s been ages since I’ve not only written but received such correspondence. Because of that I appreciated her time and method of sharing even more. Most people don’t take the time for long handwritten notes. One of the reasons I think texting has become such a common way of communicating is that it’s efficient. Today’s verse may come across as brief and to the point, but on further reflection, we will see its rich content.
Our scripture today is a greeting, a standard form of starting a letter in the ancient world. Since Ephesians is a letter, we would expect a salutation. Though many modern readers may skip over these first 2 verses, the greeting establishes ideas we will see explained more fully as we continue to read through the book.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God
This letter was written by Paul, who was an apostle of Jesus[1]. An apostle is a unique role within the body. The apostles were commissioned by God to be his special messengers to establish the church. These men were sent with purpose by the risen Jesus with the authority to receive and declare special revelation. It’s a role we don’t have any more as that objective has been achieved.
Notice also that this role within the emerging church was established by the will of God. Later in Ephesians we will learn more about the body of Christ and the way it is to function. All members of the church have a role to fulfill that has been gifted them with intention by God. If you are a believer, you are meant to serve others in a unique way; God chooses what role you will have in His work.
To the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus
Often when we hear the word saints we are reminded of Catholic saints who are perfect men and women who did very extraordinary things. A BBC article[2] I read says there are only 4 easy steps to becoming a saint. First, the process starts 5 years after your death. Then you become an official “servant of God” after the church has investigated your life for proof of sufficient holiness and virtue. Beyond that, proof of heroic virtue and miracles must be established before this distinction.
In biblical terms, a saint is simply one living under the lordship of Christ. A Christian. Dear reader you are a saint if you have exchanged your sin for His perfection. You don’t need to go through a bureaucratic religious process to be a saint. You aren’t extraordinarily holy and virtuous but Christ was. You are covered in His righteousness[3].
The saints receiving this letter from Paul were described as faithful—seems like an easy thing to be but really when you think about it, it’s not always easy to trust and rely on Christ when your circumstances are hard. It’s often when we are most tempted to rely on ourselves or seek comfort with pleasures or distractions.
When I reflect on my own faithfulness, I’m confronted with the reality that I have not been faithful. Scenes play through my mind like when I’ve not told someone about my hope in Christ. When I’ve lost my temper or dreaded going to church. When I ate 3 more cookies when I was stressed instead of prayed. When I tried to solve a problem on my own instead of consulting God through prayer and searching His word for answers.
In times where I see my faithlessness, I’m conformted by the truth of 2 Timothy 2:13, “if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.” We are so united with Christ that He keeps us faithful. That is what it means to be in Christ, a term used often in Ephesians. Our salvation makes us one with God, which is such a mystery. We get all the benefits of unity and we are kept close to Christ by His faithfulness, not our own. We are in the process of becoming one who trusts, believes, relies on and is steadfast and loyal to Christ while He keeps us close until the day of our glorification. The day coming where we are made new and our struggle with the flesh, the sin nature is finally over.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
Reminding the recipients of the grace and peace of God in his letters was a common greeting used by Paul. It is always helpful to have a reminder of how God blesses us. His mercies are new each morning[4] and never expire. We are saved by grace, the unmerited favor of God, sins forgiven and living in the freedom and joy of a restored relationship with Him. We often think of peace as an inner feeling and it can be, but the peace Paul is describing is the status we have with God because we aren’t at odds with him, we are reconciled to Him. We have a status that grants us access to approach Him with confidence to draw near[5]. We are united with God as adopted children[6] when Christ’s redeeming blood covers our transgressions. This is the peace we are given and the grace we receive.
Questions for reflection:
1. Have you ever considered that God not only saved you, but gave you a place within the body of Christ to serve and love His church? Have you been using your gifting?
2. Do you struggle with the idea that you are a saint? What do you do when you are faced with your faithlessness?
3. How do the spiritual benefits of grace and peace given by God help us in practical ways?
Grace and peace to you!
-Rayna
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