In Him we have
redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of
sins, according to the riches of
His grace which He
made to abound toward us
in all wisdom and
prudence, having made known to us
the mystery of His
will, according to His pleasure
which He purposed in
himself, back in the
dispensation of the
fullness of the times
He might gather
together in one all things in Christ,
both which are in
heaven and which are on earth -- in Him.
Ephesians 1: 7 -- 10
When one
takes time to study the book of Ephesians it will be found to be the most
profound and difficult of Paul's epistles.
It is also to be found that the book of Ephesians is the most spiritual
and devout, composed in an exalted and transcendent state of mind, where
theology rises into worship, and meditation into oration. The book of Ephesians, demonstrates a style,
one that corresponds to rhythmical flow and overflow and swells into
majesty. Ephesians is very involved and
presents to the reader some unusual combinations so it is good to ask the
question why is this so and how do we resolve this presentation? By presenting first the history then one can
come to understand why the Bible writer wrote the way he did and what was he
addressing to them that we can also apply in our lives. History tells us that the churches were
under great pressure and had a grandeur of ideas that was an amalgamation far
too often of cultic and false ideologies, therefore, Paul was under pressure
and furthermore we must remember that it was written in Greek, and often when
one studies Greek will find they Greek allows for long sentences and
parentheses. Take this for instance: in
chapter 1: 3 -- 14, we find a single sentence, it is long and in fact for English we put a period at verse 10, but this is not so in the Greek
manuscripts. We have one sentence with
no less than seven relative clauses, and by those relative clauses this
sentiment rises to a higher and higher level leading us to the very throne of
God. In English we say this sentence is
unquestionably heavy and cumbrous.
Martin Luther after reading and studying the book of Ephesians stated:
"the best and noblest books of the New Testament." Others have defined this book as it to find
a pistol glowing with the flame of Christian love and the splendor of holy
light. This epistle given to Paul by
means of the Holy Spirit inspiring Paul to write may cause for him to advance
this finest of the mystery of the Gospel and that it should be proclaimed in
all its fullness to the Gentile world even extending into our present age. It has been said that the first chapter or
Ephesians is rather difficult due to the fact that it is so great and so heavy and yet it has the most exact language making for a most discriminating
analysis, and even though we analyze what was written our analysis often is to
poor into weak to convey the force or connection of expression that Paul so
well wrote and his thoughts so profound.
This is why I entered into this discussion of Ephesians with some
trepidation and especially the subject of election and predestination. And yet those verses 3 -- 14 of the first
chapter of Ephesians are a preface for what Paul would later write in this
epistle. Therefore, it is important
that we take time to read the book, slowly, with determination, and if possible
have other writers present and their books and writings to give us some aid, and
if possible to have a Greek text, and a Strong's Concordance. Follow the rule that Paul set forth in 1
Thessalonians 5:21; test all things, and that's an imperative. How often we want God to be like us rather
than the other way around and bite us we want God to be "fair." Let's get one thing straight God is not fair
as a man considers fairness. Fairness
smacks of utopianism, communism, and socialism, an attempt to make all things
even an equal as though it is possible to bring balance to a human nature that
is fallen. Therefore, we hate the fact
that God would reject some and accept others and this is a doctrine is one that
goes against the very fallen nature of man and we desire God to be fair. To be fair or one must be free from
bias. Is God then free from bias? Does God have a bias? If God has a bias is it such a bias that
prevents Him to have a tendency or an inclination that prevents Him to have an
impartial consideration of the question?
The synonym of bias is prejudice, that means you have a strong
inclination of the mind or preconceived opinion about something or
someone. Does God have a prejudice or
preconceived opinion in regards to sin and the sins that men do and accept?
Paul tells us in the beginning of this epistle that God had predetermined,
that is, predestined His children to be adopted and this adoption is due to
the fact that He came to earth as the only begotten Son of God, true man and,
true God to spill His blood upon the cross to redeem those whom He has
predestined to be adopted. God is not
simply fair, He is just, and His justice must be satisfied otherwise He would
not be a just God and no fairness of any sort could be given to anything or
anyone. Paul is not writing to just anyone, no, he is writing to the Saints who were in Ephesus, and it is those to
whom he says that are predestined to be adopted by God into God's family and
this according to the His pleasure and it is by God Himself through His
grace. God has made His will known to us, by
revelation written by those whom He chose to inspire to write and we have that
written word, even though it may be in parts of manuscripts, we still have His
preserved Word and this word is preserved by God's providence. Let me remind this to all; we have more than
24,000 pieces of manuscripts both in part and whole to examine and study. No other literature has this much extant
manuscripts. Therefore, we can trust
what was gleaned from those manuscripts to determine what was written
originally by those who wrote the Bible and any argument against this is a very
poor argument because we don't even have anything close to this when it comes
to such men as Julius Caesar, or even Plato, and others.
God has made all wisdom and prudence to abound towards His children.
This blog
was to remind us that we are studying this epistle and when we come across
doctrines that are in opposition to what has been taught to us we must take
time to study and not just accept.
Therefore, tomorrow's blog will continue to discuss this subject of
election and predestination. I do
welcome any comments and there is a place for that and you're welcome to write:
for steel sharpens steel.
In His days Judah will be saved,
and Israel
will do well safely;
now this is His name by which He will be called:
THE LORD
OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Jeremiah 23:6
Jesus our Lord and righteousness
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