Enthroned, we rule: Ephesians 1.1-2 finished

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).

and are faithful in Christ Jesus

Paul knows that Christians sin.  Nevertheless, he also knows that God considers those who follow Jesus by trusting in him and relying on him for the forgiveness of their sins and all other blessings to be faithful.  What is odd about this statement is not that Paul calls them “faithful,” but that he says they exhibit this behavior “in Christ Jesus.”

In the time before Jesus came, Israelites were to be faithful in the land of Israel.  When David became king of Israel, the people saw themselves as connected to him in a way that they described as if he himself were there land.  When an argument broke out among the twelve tribes of Israel over who should be King David’s escort, the ten northern tribes said to the tribe of Judah, “We have ten shares in the king, and in David also we have more than you” (2 Samuel 19.43).  Soon afterward, many in those then tribes were led to try to revolt against David by a rebel leader who called for independence this way: “We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; every man to his tents, O Israel!” (2 Samuel 20.1). Normally, one would speak of having a portion, share, or inheritance in the land of Israel. That is the place in which one was faithful. Because they see themselves as in some way connected to their king (or disconnected from him), these Israelites spoke of David as if he was a place in which they lived and had a home. He represented and incorporated the people in his kingdom.

Now the blessings of God are going out in a new way to all the earth. Rather than describing Christians as faithful in Israel or in Ephesus, Paul describes them as living their lives “in Christ.”  They are faithful to God in a new home that is provided by their new king, Jesus.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

When Aaron and his sons were established as a priesthood for Israel, they were given blessing to say at the close of worship:

Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, “Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

The Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them” (Numbers 6.23-27).

Paul regularly begins his letters with the essence of this blessing.  The second two lines describe how God is to bless and protect (“keep”) his people—by being gracious to them and thus giving them peace.  “Grace” describes God’s attitude and posture of favor on us.  “Peace” describes the gift we receive as the result of God’s grace.  In keeping with the message of the Gospel, God’s name here has changed from “Lord”—or YHWH in the Hebrew. God is now defined as the Father and Jesus.  Paul sometimes also explicitly mentions the Holy Spirit but here he is mentioned implicitly as the bond of peace (see Ephesians 4.1-5).

God is now “our Father.” When God saved Israel from Egypt he identified them as his firstborn son (Exodus 4.22).  Now that God has brought deliverance and glory to the human race through Jesus his son, all who entrust themselves to the Lord Jesus are given a share in his status as children of God and are adopted by him.

With God, Paul invokes “the Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul often quotes passages which translates the Hebrew name for the God of Israel as “Lord” in Greek and applies them to Jesus.  So the title “Lord” does include an implication that Jesus is God incarnate—God become man.  However, it is clear from the Paul’s preaching and writing that Jesus also acquired the title “Lord” by virtue of being raised from the dead.  In Jesus, God joined with humanity and suffered the worst of the curse on sin, passing through death to new life.  He is now Lord not simply as God but as the glorified and transfigured man who has been exalted by the Father to rule the cosmos with Him.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *