Bible Commentaries
Ephesians 1

Verse 1

Ephesians 1:1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.

Here, Paul presents himself as “an apostle by the will of God.” In the book of Romans, he started by saying, “Paul, a bond slave of Jesus Christ, called an apostle.” In Ephesians, we see the sovereign will of a sovereign God being very prominent.

Now in Galatians 1:1-24 and in 1 Timothy 1:1-20, he writes a little more in detail concerning his call as an apostle. He was called by a risen Christ, and He’s called by the commandment of God. It’s an amazing thing that his command, his authority is from God. In fact, I would say that his message to us is dependent upon his authority as an apostle. If he is not a real apostle of the risen Son of God, then his message has no authority.

We see that the source of blessing is from the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here in the very introduction of the epistle we are immediately ushered into the presence of God the Father and God the Son.

May you today revel not only in His grace, not only in the peace He gives, but may we revel conti­nually in the presence of God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ.

Isn’t it a wonderful thing that the source of all blessing is from the God and Father of our Lord Je­sus Christ?

Verse 2

And then in verse 2, remember Paul is writing to all the saints of God and that takes in you and me as the “faithful in Christ Jesus.” He writes,

Ephesians 1:2. Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

As I have said so often, peace is always the re­sult of grace. Where there is no grace, there is no peace. How does Paul state it? “Grace be to you, and peace.”

Now in Ephesians we have the revelation of the church, the body of Christ. I have labeled chapter one, “Redemption.” In the first verses, three to six, we’re dealing with this question of “redemption.” And here we have the work of the Father in our re­demption.

By the way, it’s rather remarkable that from verse three down to verse 14 we have just one com­plete sentence. One thing runs into the next.

Verse 3

And you’ll notice as you read verses three to six, there are four great things that God the Father does for us in our redemption.

The first one is in verse three.

Ephesians 1:3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

Now, remember, I said the book of Ephesians is comparable to the book of Joshua in the Old Tes­tament, in that as Joshua brought the people of Israel into the land of Canaan, their occupation of it would come by possession. God said to him that every foot of ground they put their foot on would be theirs. They walked by faith.

God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ. Every spiritual blessing that God has for His people is ours. Not that He’s going to bless us, but that He—has—blessed us. All that He is and all that He has are ours. We possess this land by faith.

You remember in 1 Corinthians 3:21-23, where Paul says “All things are yours.”

Why? Because you belong to Christ; Christ be­longs to God. We have been blessed with every spiri­tual blessing in the heavenlies. Just as God said to Joshua—Arise, be of good courage; walk in and pos­sess your possessions. It’s all yours. I’ve given it to you. Now go and experience it—that’s what we have here.

He has blessed us. Oh, listen friends, we are rich; but too many of us Christians are living like paupers. All that I need in my life I find in Christ.

You know, every once in a while someone comes to me and says they want me to have certain experiences. And by the way, I’m not opposed to ex­periences. Thank God for every experience you have with God. We don’t have enough of them. But on the other hand, there’s a danger of trying to get some­body else to have the same experience as you have; and, my friend, it doesn’t work out. I have dealt with hundreds of people who have been deluded and disil­lusioned on this question. Somebody has a great ex­perience with God; and, because they have been so blessed and so happy, they want everyone else to have the same experience.

And so people try to get the same experience and some don’t. Most of them don’t and they get discouraged. It’s detrimental to faith. And, listen, no Christian has any more than you have in Christ. He hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ.

A preacher once said to me, “Mr. Mitchell, you know that God has more for you.”

“Oh,” I said, “I don’t think so. I have everything I need in Christ. Do you believe I’m a Christian?”

He said, “Yes.”

“Do you believe I have Christ?”

“Yes.”

“Then, sir, can you add to Christ?”

I have all things in Christ; I have not expe­rienced all things that I have in Christ. Indeed, I would say nobody on the face of the earth has yet experienced everything they have in Christ. It’s going to take eternity for us to experience all the blessings that we have in Christ. But that doesn’t al­ter the fact that He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. It’s a wonderful thing.

Go in and possess your possessions.

Walk with the Saviour, but don’t walk like a spi­ritual pauper. You’re rich. Draw on your bank ac­count in heaven. Draw on your resources in Christ.

Where do we walk?

In the heavenlies and the rest of the book of Ephesians will expand on this. We are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. Thank God for the blessings you’ve had; and, as you walk with God in His wonderful sovereign way, He will give you more blessings and the experiences He thinks you should have. And you will be satisfied with what He has given you.

Now, that’s the first one. The second one about the Father is in verse 4.

Verse 4

Ephesians 1:4. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and with­out blame before him.

I’m going to stop right here. The “in love” I’m going to leave until the next verse.

He hath chosen us before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blame. Time would fail me to go into Acts 15:18 or the 139^th Psalms 139:1-24 to tell you that God knew me before I was formed in my mother’s womb and called me by His grace. We’re chosen in Him before the foundation of the world.

Do you realize that the Lord of Glory saw you before there ever was a world? That back in the very counsel chamber of God, He saw you and He loved you and He made a plan to redeem you and to fit you for His presence? Will you not just sit down with me for a moment and meditate upon that?

According as He has chosen us in Him before— before—the foundation of the world, before there ever was a human race, before there ever was a world. Away back somewhere in eternity in the counsel chamber of the living God, He saw you and He chose you to be holy.

It does not say He chose you to be saved. Don’t read that in there and put words in there that are not there. He chose every believer to be holy. When? Before the foundation of the world.

That’s a great statement, isn’t it? In John’s gos­pel John 17:24, Jesus said—Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. Before the foundation of the world He chose us to be holy.

Now, I want you to think about that today. If I may change the wording—He chose you to stand be­fore Him, not only holy but without blame. He chose you to stand before Him so holy and without blame that no one could produce any evidence before God that you ever were a sinner. Way back in eternity He had you on His heart.

My, what an amazing thing. No wonder Peter could talk about it in the first chapter of his first epis­tle. Our Lord was a lamb slain before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for us who believe in Him that our faith, our hope, might be in God.

And if God had you in His heart before the foundation of the world, He has you on His heart to­day.

I’m talking to you Christians. God redeemed you, brought you to Himself, blessed you with every spiritual blessing, and He chose you. He put His hand on you and determined that you would stand in His presence in the ages to come, looking just like His Son, Jesus Christ. My friend, this is amazing, is it not?

Can I leave that with you today? Will you think upon it, meditate upon it, thank the Lord for it – and believe it!

Now the purpose of election is that we might be holy. The purpose of redemption is also that we might be holy. The purpose of election is also that we might be cleansed and that we might be kept. In 1 Thessalonians 4:7, we have this amazing verse—For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

And in the same epistle, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, we have this statement concerning the God of peace—And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

You see, I repeat it, my friends, the ultimate purpose of all election is to be holy. The purpose of redemption is to be holy. We’ve been reconciled and cleansed by the blood of Christ.

In Ephesians 5:26-27—That he might sanctify and cleanse it (the church) with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glo­rious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

You take the book of Jude, verse 24—Now un­to him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding great joy.

And way back in eternity, the full accomplish­ment of His gracious purpose was worked out. If God had not chosen us to be holy, we would never have chosen Him. Get this idea into your head and your heart, into your very wrinkles. People begin to tell me that they don’t believe that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, and they read into the verse that which was never the intention of the Spirit of God.

May I digress for a second. In all Bible study, try to see what the mind of the Spirit of God is and what He says. We are not to take a part of a verse here and a part of a verse there and build up a doctrine, but we’re to find what is the intent of the Spirit of God in giving it to us. The whole chapter is deal­ing with redemption. And I repeat it, in verses three to six, what part did the Father God have in our re­demption? He blessed us with every spiritual bless­ing in the heavenlies in Christ. He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blame.

And if that is the purpose of God, my friend, for everyone who trusts the Saviour, that purpose is going to be accomplished. Don’t try to limit the will of a sovereign God or the power of a sovereign God. Again let me say, if God had not chosen us to be ho­ly, I’m sure we would never have chosen God as our Saviour and Lord. Think about that.

Now we come to verse five.

Verse 5

We have the third thing that the Father does for the believer.

Ephesians 1:5. In love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.

Allow me to change the wording here. May I?—Having determined that we shall be adopted into His family as His sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.

He determined that we who put our trust in the Saviour would be His sons. It’s a question of adop­tion into the family of God as the sons of God. This is a relationship; this is a position. In love He determined to adopt us into His family, not as servants, not as angels, but as His sons.

You remember in Romans 8:14-17 we have a new relationship—For as many as are led by the Spi­rit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, where by we cry, Abba, Father. . . . And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.

In verse 29 of the same chapter, we have where God has determined that we shall be—conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

In Hebrews 2:9-10—But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God, should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Then He talks about those who are sanctified. Hebrews 2:11—For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.

That He might bring many sons unto glory He became the captain of their salvation through His suffering. You see, this is God’s purpose. Even the Apostle John speaks of this in 1 John 3:1-2 when he said—Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Adopted into the family of God as sons! Im­agine! I wonder if we people who profess to love Him, profess to know Him, if it ever really dawns on our consciousness that we are the sons of one who is called—God. He has determined to adopt us into His family as sons, according to the good pleasure of His will—not according to the good pleasure of my will, but according to the good pleasure of His will.

It’s the will of an omnipotent, sovereign God who picks up sinners, rebels, renegades, the ungodly, and He transforms them into saints. He forgives their sins; He blesses them with every spiritual blessing; He chooses them to be holy and then determines that they shall stand in His presence as His sons.

My friend, what a picture! What a blessing!

Has it ever dawned on you, that you can say, “I have been adopted into the family of God as one of His sons to stand before God, holy and without blame; that I’m one of those whom God has blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies?” And He does it not because I want Him to, but He does it because He wants to. He chose, He blessed, He de­termined that we should be His sons.

My friends, why don’t you and I just spend the rest of today—oh, yes, do our work—but way back in our hearts and our minds and our devotion revel in the fact that we, today and again tomorrow and through eternity, will be the sons of one who is God.

We have been brought into the family of God, an eternal family where death doesn’t even cast a sha­dow, into a family that’s eternal, into a family that’s beyond the understanding of angelic beings, into a family where we stand before Him holy and without blame as the sons of God. It’s according to His good pleasure. It’s according to His will.

Oh, friend, Christian friend, let us no longer live like paupers. Let us live here wherever you may be, wherever you may work, as the children of One who is God.

Revel in it. Meditate upon it. Rejoice in it.

And it isn’t anything I have done or would like to do, but it’s according to His will and good plea­sure that every sinner who puts his trust in the Sa­viour stands in His presence as His child.

Why not revel in that today?

Rejoice.

Say it to yourself.

Get down in the presence of God.

Cry out, “Abba, Father. I wonder and marvel that I’m Your son, Your child, eternally Yours be­cause I’ve taken Your Son, Jesus Christ, as my Sa­viour.”

Revel in that today, will you?

Verse 6

Now we come to the fourth thing with respect to the work of the Father in our redemption. We find it in verse six—

Well, how else could He accept us? You know, this is a wonderful thing. What can you and I do just to be in Him. I love those verses in John 14:1-31 when our Saviour said in verse 20—As my Father is in me, I am in you, and you are in me.

You have this also in John 17:1-26. Isn’t it a wonder­ful thing that we are in the One who is so pleasing to the Father? In fact, I would say that Jesus Christ is the only man who ever lived on the face of the earth of whom the Father said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” You find this in Matthew 3:1-17; Matthew 17:1-27 when He was baptized by John in the River Jordan and when He was transfigured on the Mount of Transfiguration in 17:5—This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!

Where does God see you? Where does God see me? In One in whom He is well pleased. We are ac­cepted in the Beloved. All that Jesus is before God, that’s where you and I stand. All that I need to stand before God, I find in Him.

You remember, Paul speaks of this in 1 Corin­thians 1:30 when he said—But of him are ye in Chr­ist Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.

Now I say this very humbly, we are accepted in all that Jesus is before God. Isn’t this an amazing thing? Sit down calmly and analyze this. Meditate upon it. Think of a Holy God, a righteous God, an omnipotent God. How can you and I stand before Him? There is only one place a man or a woman can stand acceptable to God and that is in Jesus Christ, the One who put away all our sins, having burst the bands of the tomb and defeated man’s greatest ene­my.

When you and I put our trust in Jesus Christ as Saviour, we stand before God in all the merit, in all the beauty, in all the righteousness of the Son of God, accepted in the Beloved. You know very well that Jesus Christ can come into the presence of His Father, acceptable. Nothing can in any way hinder His coming to the presence of His Father who is ho­ly, who is righteous, who is love.

And you and I can come with that same confi­dence, with that same boldness. Why? Because God has accepted us in the Beloved. He hasn’t accepted us in some religious rite. He hasn’t accepted us in some works that we do. He hasn’t accepted us be­cause we’re religious. No, we’re accepted in the Be­loved.

Here is a union that is perfect, that is eternal. All that Christ is before God is what we are. I say, there is enough truth here for you and me for the rest of our days to glorify God continually. There is enough truth here for you and me to dedicate our­selves and all that we are to God. How else can we stand? What else can give us hope? How else can we have peace with God if we are not accepted in the Beloved?

And again I repeat, God has confidence in just one man, that’s the Man Christ Jesus. God has abso­lutely no confidence in any flesh, neither yours nor mine—neither religious flesh nor good flesh nor bad flesh nor any kind of flesh. God has no confidence in the flesh. And Jesus could say, “I do always the things that please Him.”

And unless we are in Christ Jesus, we are not ac­ceptable to God.

You say, “Why, Mr. Mitchell, you’re making it very, very narrow.”

Yes, I am, because once I see what God is, that He is righteous and that He is holy, that God cannot deny His own character when it comes to the ques­tion of sin, then I know that sin must be punished. Jesus, His Son, came and bore your sin and my sin and took it away. He has made us accepted in the Be­loved. It is not that I have accepted God in the Be­loved. He has accepted me in the Beloved.

The action is on God’s part. He accepts us in all the merit and beauty and righteousness of Christ. Remember, Jesus said, “No man cometh unto the Fa­ther but by me.” And unless we are in Christ Jesus, there is no standing before God.

My friend, will you revel in this truth today— that you stand in the presence of God in all the merit and righteousness and beauty and sweetness of the Son of God?

Oh, what a wonderful thing this is. What assur­ance, what joy, what blessing, what hope comes into our hearts when we realize we stand before God in all that Jesus Christ is.

Won’t you revel in that today?

Now we come to the work of the Son in our re­demption. Whom the Father blessed and chose and accepted, the Son redeemed. So we have from verses 7 to 12 of chapter one the work of the Son in our re­demption.

Here we have the purpose of God worked out, the execution of His eternal purpose which He pur­posed in Christ to make us acceptable before God. And if God is determined that we are to be before Him holy and without blame, if God has determined that we are to be accepted in all that Christ is, then He must provide the things so that our acceptance and our fellowship with Him will be complete.

Now I want to make myself very clear before I take up this question of the work of the Son in our redemption. I want you to understand the purpose of God, the will of God before the foundation of the world. He has chosen us according to the riches of His grace; He has chosen us according to the good pleasure of His will; He’s declared that we shall be to the praise of the glory of His grace; He’s declared that we shall be holy and accepted in all that Christ is before him. Then He must work out that thing whe­reby you and I individually can come into the good of what He has already determined.

In other words, there must be a foundation for our faith. I repeat it, being a holy God and men being in sin, if we are to be accepted before Him, something must take place. His righteous character must be vindicated and our sins must be put away once for all forever. Before God can do anything for us and with us and in us, His character must be vindicated.

As a righteous God, He cannot let sin go by un­punished. And if we are to stand before Him, we must have a righteousness, we must have a holiness, we must be without fault; so it must be worked out somehow. We have it here in verses 7 to12—the work of the Son in our redemption.

Verses 7-8

Now we come to the second thing that the Son of God has done in our redemption. Let us read those words, please, in Ephesians 1:7—

Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace,

Ephesians 1:8 Wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence.

In whom we have redemption—we’re re­deemed from sin, redeemed from this present evil age, redeemed from the law and its curse.

You know how we used to sing that song, “Once for All”—

Free from the law, oh, happy condition.
Jesus has died and there is remission.
Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall;
Christ has redeemed us once for all.

I say it is a wonderful thing to have a redemp­tion that is pure, that is rich, that’s perfect and that’s eternal. And again, may I be allowed to quote from Hebrews 9:12—By his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemp­tion for us.

We have forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace. Here, I repeat, it is divine for­giveness. I think you must confess with me that there cannot be any sin in heaven. God’s holy character is unchangeable and sin must be put away forever. It is a wonderful thing that Christ Jesus bore all our sins, and when He bore all our sins, He must forgive all.

Do you believe that Jesus Christ bore all your sins in His own body on the cross?

You say, “Yes.”

Then how many did He forgive?

Why, He forgave all.

And if He bore all, how many did He put away? All of them.

He left none for anything else?

No, my friend, when He died to put away sin, He did a perfect job; and He forgave us all our sin. Psalms 103:3 says—Who forgiveth all thine iniqui­ties; who healeth all thy diseases. The same psalm, verse 12 says—As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.

It’s final. It’s complete. It’s eternal.

We have forgiveness according to the riches of His grace. You see, riches of His grace proceed from the cross. Oh, what a wonderful truth is divine for­giveness.

You know, when you and I forgive somebody, this is the way we say it: “Well, friend, I’ll forgive you this time, but never let it happen again.”

I’m so glad God doesn’t forgive us that way, aren’t you? Indeed, we pat ourselves on the back, we feel so holy and so righteous and so gracious when we forgive somebody their sins and then we tack on this thing, “All right, I’ll forgive you this time. I’ve forgiven you three times and I’m not going to for­give you any more.”

Bless your dear heart, you don’t even measure up to Peter. Peter said, “Lord, I’ll forgive a man sev­en times.”

The Pharisee said, “I’ll forgive a man twice.” The Law says, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

Jesus Christ said seventy times seven.

This is what we need today, forgiveness. We need a forgiving spirit, not a vindictive spirit. And how often shall I forgive my brother? Even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven me.

Oh, friend, listen. Won’t you revel in the for­giveness, the divine, perfect forgiveness on the ground of a Saviour who loved you and died for you.

Yes, revel in it.

Verses 7-12

Now just as there were four things concerning the Father in our redemption, likewise there are four things about the Son in our redemption. I say again, because man has lived in sin, he’s been disobedient, he’s been rebellious, he’s dead in trespasses and sins. Then he must become the object of His grace. And God in infinite grace has provided the ransom; for we read in verse 7—

Ephesians 1:7. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.

You remember, as we studied Romans 3:24 we took up this question of redemption; and I’m going to repeat a few things concerning that to refresh your memory. This word “redeemed” means to set free by the payment of a price. There are two things in­volved in redemption. There’s a price that must be paid; and because the price is paid, the slave must be emancipated, must be set free. As Romans 7:14 says, we were sold unto sin.

Ephesians 2:2 says—Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world. We lived then in the desires of the flesh and the mind. And 2 Corinthians 4:4 says—The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not. And when our Saviour came, He came to provide a ransom. In Matthew 20:28—Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

The same thing is found in 1 Timothy 2:6— Who gave himself a ransom for all. He came preach­ing deliverance. And I love those verses in Luke 4:18 when Jesus said—The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to bind up the broken­hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

You see, when our Lord came, He came preach­ing. He came delivering. He’s the only one who can deliver sinners from their sins. We who were slaves and sold unto sin must be emancipated. The price must be paid and the slaves set free.

So we find that the ground of our redemption is through His blood. Ephesians 1:7 says—In whom we have redemption through His blood.

Remember, Colossians 1:20 says we’ve been re­conciled or He made peace through the blood of His cross. In Hebrews 9:12—He entered once into the holy place with His own blood and there obtained for us an eternal redemption. God sees the blood of of­fering and is satisfied. In 1 Peter 1:18-20 we have— Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.

In Revelation 1:5—Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. In Revela­tion 5:9, we read—Thou . . . hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.

You notice the word that I am emphasizing is and the ground of redemption is “through” the blood of Christ; that is, through His work on the cross. I am well aware of the fact that there are those today in religious circles who don’t like to talk about the blood of Christ.

I’m reminded of a preacher who one time was preaching on the blood of Christ; and when the ser­vice was over a dear, well-dressed lady came to the pastor and said, “Pastor, I wish you wouldn’t talk about the blood of Christ. It is nauseating to ladies and gentlemen.”

He said, “Yes, that’s true, lady, that’s true.” And she said, “Oh, I’m so glad you see it.” “Yes,” he said, “I see it. But Jesus Christ did not die and shed His blood for ladies and gentlemen. He shed His blood and died for sinners that they might be redeemed from their sin.”

It’s not the value—let me put this very clearly to your heart and mind—it is not the value that men place upon the work of God’s Son at the cross. It’s not the value that men put upon the blood of God’s Son. It is the great value that God has placed upon the blood of His Son. Remember in Hebrews 9:22, it says—Without the shedding of blood there is no re­mission of sin.

There are those who teach that, when you talk about redemption by blood, it’s a religion of gore. They say that this is something that has passed down from the dark ages. This question of animal sacrific­es is abhorrent to the present day man, and some such statements are continually being made.

My friend, I don’t care what men say. I don’t care what value men put upon these things. I do know what the scripture says concerning the value that God has put upon the blood of His Son. God has put such a value on the blood of Christ that the sin­ner who comes and accepts the Saviour and that work which was accomplished for him has not only been redeemed but set free. He’s emancipated. And from what have we been redeemed? We’ve been re­deemed from sin.

You have that in Titus 2:14—Who gave him­self for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity. In Galatians 1:4—We’ve been redeemed from this present, evil world. In Galatians 3:13—Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. In Galatians 4:4—But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

Hence, we are no longer under the authority of sin, no longer under the authority of the world or of the law and its curse. We’ve been set free. We’ve been loosed eternally. For Hebrews 9:12 says—He obtained for us an eternal redemption. And I want this very, very clear. The character of God does not change and, if He has declared “without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins” my friend, this is a fact.

And how glad I am that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, came and shed His blood that you and I might be redeemed. As the Apostle Paul could say in Galatians 6:14—God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

In Him we have redemption through His blood. Won’t you today thank God, not only because He died for you, but because He put away yours sins and that the ground of your redemption is the work of Christ at the cross. And that God has accepted that work and emancipated you and me from sin and its guilt, from its bondage, from its power.

Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it;

Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed through His infinite mercy;

His child and forever I am.

Sing it today, will you?

When one thinks of the depths of the riches which God has portrayed and given to us in His Word, aren’t you and I ashamed of ourselves that we know so little of it? We appreciate so little of the riches of His grace. We live like paupers. The trage­dy is that we become indifferent to the wonderful grace and love of God. And the worst tragedy is not that we’re just indifferent but that we’re satisfied to be indifferent with our ignorance of the things of Christ.

I just pray that as we study together the book of Ephesians dealing in the first chapter with this won­derful redemption we have in Christ Jesus that the Holy Spirit will take the things of Christ and make them very real to you and me, that we might learn to revel in the love of Christ, that we might appreciate the wonders of His grace and the marvels of God’s purpose whereby sinful, rebellious man can be trans­formed from being a child of wrath into being a child of God, can be transformed from one who is a rebel into a saint, can be transformed from one who is afar off to one who is made nigh by the blood of Christ.

From verse 7 running right down to verse 12, Ephesians 1:7-12 we have the work of the Son in our redemption. We have been purchased with a price and have been emancipated. We are free to glorify God in all that we are and all that we do.

Verses 8-10

Now we come to the third thing. In verses eight to ten we’ve been brought into a fellowship with God; in the knowledge of His will and purpose.

Let us read these verses, talking about the riches of His grace—

Ephesians 1:8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

Ephesians 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

Ephesians 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.

He redeemed us. He forgave us; and not only that but He abounds toward us in grace in that He wants to share with us now His purposes. It pleases God to have us share the secrets of God.

I wonder if we Christians have ever begun to realize the tremendous place of importance, the tre­mendous position we have in Christ; the marvelous thing that God has done to bring you and me into a relationship, into a forgiveness, into a redemption, into an acceptance, into a standing before God in Christ where God not only gives us life and forgive­ness but He brings us right into His counsel chamber and wants to share with us the secrets of His counsel, of His purpose, of His will.

He has brought us into an intimacy in the very heart of God, where God wants to unfold before you the very secrets of His counsel. He wants to reveal to you His purposes and His will; for men, for the world, for the universe.

Paul mentioned some of them in 1 Corinthians 6:1-20 when he said—Don’t you know that we shall judge the world? Don’t you know that we shall judge an­gels?

Don’t you know that your body is a member of Christ? Don’t you know that your body is the sanct­uary of God? Don’t you know that you’ve been joined to the eternal God in such a way that He’s brought you right into His own heart? He’s brought you right into His counsel chamber and that He wants to make known to you and to me the very se­crets of His purpose?

Now what in the world is this, the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself? The mystery of His will is that God today is doing something new. This is a mystery hidden in God from past ages; the church of Jesus Christ made up of individual Jews and Gentiles. And He not only gave Himself to bring into being this church, but He gave Himself to us. I mean by that that Christ Jesus, God’s Son, and the believer have been made one. We’ve been made one in light, one in purpose, one in body; and this body is called the church.

The mystery of His will is that God should take men and women, Jews and Gentiles, and make them one in His Son. And there’s a time coming when He’s going to gather everything in Christ, whether it be in Heaven or on earth. Christ in that day will be revealed as the one who is pre-eminent. In the dis­pensation of the fullness of time every created intel­ligence in heaven, in earth, in hell is going to be un­der His authority. You also read this in Colossians 1:16-19.

Jesus Christ is going to stand out as Lord of Lords and King of Kings. One day, every eye shall see Him and they that pierced Him and all the kin­dreds of the world shall wail because of Him. Think of it! They will wail because of Him, when they see that the one who was supreme over all is none other than the one they have rejected, the one they have despised, the one they have cast out.

I say, is it not wonderful that God has brought you and me not only into redemption and forgiveness but into fellowship with Himself and His purposes and plans? In the ages to come, He is going to show forth the exceeding great riches of His grace and His kindness toward us by Christ Jesus. We can share with God in His future purposes.

Verses 11-12

We come to the fourth thing which the Son of God does for us in our redemption, namely, we have obtained an inheritance,

Ephesians 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, be­ing predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Ephesians 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

What a wonderful thing that we are partners with him in his inheritance. Did you ever stop to think of the wonderful inheritance you have in Him, in this one who is exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour? We are heirs of God, joint heirs with Jesus Christ. We have an eternal, complete, absolute inheritance in Christ. We have an inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled and that cannot fade away. We cannot be touched by the powers of hell and our inheritance in Christ can’t be touched by either men or hell.

Why does He do all this? As it says in verses 11 and 12, He determined this, not because of your faithfulness, but because of His sovereignty. The ul­timate purpose of redemption is the glory of God. In the last words of our Saviour, when He spoke of the fact that He had completed the work the Father had given Him to do, He asked for one thing—Glorify thou me with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

When I think of the revelation of God to us in this wonderful, blessed book, I wish and pray that the Spirit of God will take you and take me and en­large our capacity to receive the truth; that He would open our eyes to the wonderful truth which He has displayed in this book. May we have ears open to what He has to say to us personally. This is a new revelation that He had given to His people through the Apostle Paul.

We have in Ephesians 1:3-6 what the Father did in our redemption; and then from verses 7 to 12 we have what the Son of God did in our redemp­tion. The Son of God redeemed us and He forgave us and He brought us into fellowship with God that we might be to the praise of His glory and that the ultimate purpose of our redemption is the glory of God, who has been pleased to put His hand on you and me if we’ve trusted the Saviour. He’s brought us into this wonderful position of an inheritance in Christ, an eternal, perfect, complete inheritance that we might be to His glory and to His praise.

Verses 12-14

Now we come to the fifth aspect of redemption in the chapter and this is the work of the Spirit. Let’s read from the end of verse 12 through 14—

Ephesians 1:13 Who first trusted in Christ.

Ephesians 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

Ephesians 1:14. Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the re­demption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.

Now here we have the work of the Spirit of God in our redemption. That which was essentially ours by the will of the Father and instrumentally ours through the work of the Son is now experimentally ours by the work of the Spirit. Having trusted in the Saviour, we are sealed.

Now this is not a second work of grace. This is something that happens the moment you accept the Saviour. God declares that everyone who has put his trust in Him is sealed until the day of redemption. God declares before everybody that He has a pur­chased possession. He chose us. He bought us. Now He possesses us.

Or, if you take this passage, “The Father chose us before the foundation of the world” in verse 4. And then the Son redeemed us and that is in Ephesians 1:7. Now the Spirit of God seals us. Whom does He seal? Those believing—“in whom also you trusted after you heard the good news, the word of truth,” the good news of your salvation in whom also after you believed, you were saved.

The King James version says here, “After that ye believed.” You take any revision of the New Testa­ment and you will find it is in the present tense, “on believing” you were sealed. That is, the moment we accepted the Saviour, the moment we put our trust in Christ, we were sealed by the Spirit of God. You heard the good news of your salvation and you be­lieved the word; you confessed your sin, you com­mitted yourself, you trusted yourself to Him and that moment you were sealed by the Spirit of God. God has a possession. We have become God’s posses­sion.

You know, sometimes I would like to put it this way. You women will appreciate this, I’m sure, if I say that I’m in the “will call” department. You men may not know much about that. But, you know, a woman goes down to the store and there are a lot of goods on display. So what does she do? She chooses what she wants and then pays for them.

Now they’re hers, but they’re so big and clumsy she decides to put them in the “will call” department where they will be put until someone calls for them so that when she gets in her car, she can go around to that department and say to the man, “I have a pack­age in here for”—whatever her name is. He may have hundreds of packages in there, and he doesn’t just blindly throw a package at her. Her name is on her package. It’s hers. It’s her purchased possession, but it is in the “will call” department until she picks it up. She takes it home and enjoys it.

Now God chose us in verse 4 to be holy and without blame; and the Son of God came along and paid for us, and the Spirit of God came along and possessed the possession for Him.

Allow me to go to 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 just to press this little point home to your heart. The Apostle Paul says—Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price: therefore, (because you’ve been bought with a price, because you are not your own, because you belong to Him) glorify God in your body, and in your spirit which are God’s.

You see, I’m down here on the earth. I’ve been bought. I’ve been purchased. I’ve been sealed until the day of redemption. And one of these days, the one who bought me is going to come for me. That’s why I love that passage in John 14:3 when Jesus said to His disciples—If I go away, I will come again and I will receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also.

He’s not going to send an angel or an archangel or anybody else. He is going to come Himself be­cause He loves you and He bought you for Himself.

Listen, friend, you who put your trust in the Sa­viour, do you know you belong to Him? You are His purchased possession and He sealed you by the Spi­rit. And He’s saying to all created intelligences in heaven, earth and hell, take your hands off that per­son. He belongs to Me. I bought him for Myself. As Acts 20:28 says—God purchased us with His own blood. He loved us and bought us for Himself.

Oh, my friend, revel in that for today, will you? You’re God’s purchased possession. No power in earth or in hell can take you from Him. You belong to Him and He loves you with an everlasting love, sealed by the Spirit of God. It’s a wonderful thing to be a child of God, to be a Christian, and to know that

we are His purchased possession. God will take care
of that which He has purchased; God will take care

of His possession.

Revel in that and glorify the Saviour.

Verses 13-14

Now, let’s look again at verses 13 and 14—

Ephesians 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

Ephesians 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the re­demption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

We have four definite things concerning the work of the Holy Spirit here. For example, everyone who puts his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ is born of the Spirit. Now that speaks of relationship. You have it also in Romans 8:14-15—For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Or take John 1:12-13—But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. That’s what our Lord meant in John 3:5, when He said—Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot en­ter into the kingdom of God.

You see, that’s the first thing; that means rela­tionship. We’re members of His family.

And the second thing the Spirit of God does is indwell us. That means that these bodies become the temples of God. Why? That we might show forth something of the character of God. You remember, you also have this in John 14:16-17—And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

He speaks of the Spirit of God who is with you and He shall be in you and will not leave you or­phans in John 14:18—I will not leave you comfort­less: I will come to you.

What for? That you might reveal the Father, even as I have, He says. In other words, the Christian becomes God’s channel to express His character and His love to men.

And then the third thing that the Spirit of God does the moment we’re Christians: He baptizes us into the body of Christ. And this speaks of union with Christ. You remember, in 1 Corinthians 12:13, we read—For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

In John 7:37-39, we have—In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

One could go on about the ministry of the Spirit of God; suffice it to say that God does four definite things the moment a person accepts the Saviour with respect to the Spirit of God. He’s born of the Spirit; that’s relationship. He’s indwelt by the Spirit; we be­come God’s channels of expression. We’re baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ; and that speaks of our union with Christ and it speaks of our preser­vation.

Now the fourth one is this in Ephesians 1:13-14—We are sealed by the Holy Spirit of God, which is the earnest of our inheritance. Earnest means the foretaste of our inheritance. You remember, in Ephe­sians 4:30, we have—Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemp­tion. In 2 Corinthians 1:22, we have—Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

These are the three times we have this in the New Testament, just these three places—Ephesians 1:13, Ephesians 4:30 and 2 Corinthians 1:22 where you have the Spirit of God sealing the believer. One could enlarge on this by referring to Jude where he says we’re preserved in Christ Jesus.

You see, that indicates a finished transaction. When you seal something, the thing is finished. It indicates ownership. We belong to Him. It indicates identification or distinction. That is, we’re marked out as the sons of God. Just as our Saviour was marked out as the Son of God by His Spirit, so the believer has been marked out from all others by the Spirit of God. Outside forces cannot come in to spoil the one who belongs to Him.

So we are sealed in Christ, chosen in Christ, placed in Christ, preserved in Christ. I tell you, it’s a wonderful thing. As 1 Corinthians 1:30 says—Of him are ye in Christ Jesus. In Ephesians 1:4, we are chosen in Christ. What better place can you be, my friend, than to be in Christ? This means life. And how long are we sealed? It says in Ephesians 4:30 that we are sealed until the day of redemption.

“What day is that?” you say. “I thought we were already redeemed.”

Yes. But Paul is talking about the completion of our redemption. In Romans 8:18-25, we are saved by hope. He talks there in those verses about the re­demption of the body. You see, I’m saved. I’m a three-part man. I’ve a spirit, I’ve a soul, I’ve a body. My body is not yet redeemed. I am redeemed, but my body has not yet experienced that redemption; but it will.

As that passage in Romans 8:1-39 declares, the very creation is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God when these bodies will be fashioned like unto His glorious body. My friends, it’s a wonderful thing. We’ve been redeemed and we’ve been sealed until the day of redemption. Not until the day we backslide, but until the day of redemption. That’s what Paul means in 2 Timothy 1:12—I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to guard my deposit until that day. What day? The day when I stand in His presence, conformed to the im­age of His Son.

As I said, Ephesians 1:1-23 states that we were brought into the purpose of God and that He works all things out after the counsel of His own will. None can say to God, “What are You doing?” God either breaks us or He transforms us. He either judges us or He saves us. When He saves you, He saves you with an everlasting salvation; He makes the thing sure by sealing us by the Spirit of God until the day of re­demption.

By the way, this is what Peter means in 1 Peter 1:5—Of a salvation yet to be revealed. And you have it in Romans 13:11—And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. He’s talking about the completion of our inheritance. And the Spirit is given to us as the earnest or the guarantee of that completion. The earnest is the same as the inheritance. Christ in glory guarantees our access, and the Spirit of God in us guarantees the fi­nished work. It’s all to the praise of His glory, as you have in Ephesians 1:14.

Just go back a little bit. In Ephesians 1:5-6, we have the Father’s work—To the praise of the glory of His grace. In Ephesians 1:12, we have the Son’s work—That we should be to the praise of His glory. And in verse 14, we have the work of the Spirit—Unto the praise of His glory.

Did you ever think of it? All to the praise of His glory. The ultimate purpose of all redemption is the glory of God.

One of these days, you and I will stand in His presence. We will not only be conformed to the im­age of His Son, just like the Lord Jesus, but we’ll know that through eternity we’re going to bring eter­nal praise to Him.

Wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing if you and I lived today just for the praise of His glory? Instead of living for self, instead of living for mere material gain, instead of living for the lust of the flesh and the desires of the mind, why not live today for the praise of His glory? Just to live today for the Lord Jesus. Oh, that we might glorify Him in our actions, in our words, in our very attitudes.

You’ve been living for yourself; you’ve been living for your own pleasure, and for some reason or other you’ve become so occupied with yourself that you’ve made yourself miserable and everybody else miserable. Now why don’t you live for the Saviour? Live for His praise today. Be for the praise of the glory of His grace today and you’ll not only be hap­py yourself but you’ll make everybody around you happy.

Verses 15-16

You’ll be a different person. Live for Him today. In Ephesians 1:15-23, we are given the prayer of the apostle Paul, and this is a prayer for knowledge. When we come to chapter 3, we have the next prayer and this is a prayer for fellowship and power.

Now, the reason for the prayer is found in verses 15 and 16—

Ephesians 1:15.Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,

Ephesians 1:16. Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;

It is a marvelous thing to me to realize that Paul’s life was one of unceasing praise and prayer. One cannot read the epistles of Paul, whether it be Romans, Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, Gala­tians, any of these books without finding that his was a life of unceasing praise and prayer. And it’s a wonderful thing that these Ephesian believers in the early church had their faith known and their love to­ward men known. I wonder if that could be said of you and me, where our faith toward God and our love for the people of God is so well known? You see, I can’t see your faith except as it is demonstrat­ed. God sees my faith; men experience my love. That’s why when Jesus talked to His disciples, He said—By this shall all men know ye are my follow­ers if ye have love one for the other.

This is something you experience because love is not something that is dead. Love manifests itself by sacrifice, by doing things where we become un­selfish, by doing something for the one that we love. And Paul could thank the Lord for the faith they had toward God and for the love they had one for the other. And because of this, he ceased not to give thanks. Here was unceasing prayer and unceasing thanksgiving.

I’m reminded of those verses in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 where Paul speaks of unceasing joy, unceas­ing prayer and unceasing thanksgiving. This should characterize the people of God. It’s a wonderful thing that some of these churches had their faith to­ward God spread abroad.

I wonder sometimes if we in our churches to­day in our land know very much about the faith and love of other Christians. Sometimes we throw bar­riers up between each other and the result is we do not have the experience and the joy of knowing of the faith of other Christians and of their love for God’s people. Again I suggest, the more you claim to love the Lord, the more you’ll manifest that in your love towards God’s people; and, hence, you’ll be filled with unceasing prayer and unceasing praise.

Verse 17

Ephesians 1:17. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revela­tion in the knowledge of him.

Now in Ephesians 1:17, we have the source of our knowledge, that it is in God. Now, these dear Chris­tians had faith. They had love, but they needed to know something of God’s purposes as we found in verses 8 to 10 of this same chapter. Notice in Ephesians 1:17 that He is called “The Father of glory.” You re­member in Acts 7:2, we read that the God of glory appeared unto Abram when he was in Ur of the Chaldees. This speaks of God in His majesty; this speaks of God in His authority; this speaks of God in the fact that He is God and knows everything—of His omniscience and all the wonderful attributes of God.

As the God of glory, He appeared unto Abram and said, “Get out,” and Abram got out. Who wouldn’t when the God of glory appeared unto him? You find in 1 Corinthians 2:8 that He is called the “Lord of glory.” We read—For had they known it, the princes of this world would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

And then in the 24th Psalm, two or three times He is called the King of glory—Be ye lift up (open up), ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? And David goes on to speak about our Saviour in exaltation.

And, if you want to take the book of John, chap­ter 17, in that great prayer of our Saviour’s, notice that the keynote, especially of the first few verses is the glory of God—Father, glorify thou me with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. . . . Father, glorify thy Son that the Son also may glori­fy thee. . . . The glory which thou has given me I have given them. . . . Father, I will that all those whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory.

I’m quoting John 17:1-2; John 17:5; John 17:22; John 17:24 as these verses come to mind.

The glory of God, as I said in the first part of the chapter, was seen as the ultimate purpose of re­demption. And now, the God of glory, the Father of glory, is the source of all knowledge. And by the way, knowledge is a gift from God that He would give to you. He wants us to have the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. God wants you and me to know Him.

Now, I recognize that God gives according to our capacity. You remember in John 16:12-13 that Jesus said to His disciples—There are many things I would like to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now. That is, you do not have the capacity to receive it. But when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth. It is not so much that you want to know God. God wants you to know Him. It’s not that God is holding back. The fact is that we are holding back.

God wants to really increase our capacity to see the wonderful truths in Christ. In fact, the Lord Jesus Christ is the center of all His knowledge. In Colos­sians 2:3, we read that God has hidden in Him, that is, in Christ, all His wisdom and all His knowledge. The riches of His wisdom and knowledge are cen­tered in Christ Jesus; and this so got hold of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:10, in fact from verses 6 to 10, that he says—I count everything but loss just to know Him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings.

You can’t read the book without realizing his tremendous desire to know God. Daniel 11:32 says—The people that know their God shall be strong. In Psalms 103:7, God made known His ways unto Moses and His acts unto the children of Israel, for the great cry of Moses in Exodus 33:13 was— Show me now thy way that I may know thee.

And God said—My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.

How is Moses going to know God?

God says, “My presence shall go with thee.” How can you know God today? He has said, “My presence shall go with thee.” He’s revealed this in His word.

He’s already made known to us the mys­tery of His will. That which He has purposed in Himself until the countless ages of eternity He makes known to the people of God today.

The problem is that we do not have the capaci­ty to receive it. I’m sure that the Lord today is will­ing to increase your capacity and my capacity for the truth of God. The only question is, will you and I take the time for God to speak to us? We run around day after day. Our days are simply jammed full of programming, of purposes, of wanting to do this and wanting to do that, and we budget our time and every half hour is accounted for. But we have little time for God. You see, we don’t take the time to let God speak to us. This is why we’re so ignorant of the things of Christ. We do not take the time to let God talk to us.

And here we find that the Apostle Paul is say­ing—May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Fa­ther of glory, give unto you wisdom, the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.

I say God wants to give that to you that you may know Him. You also have this in Colossians 1:9 when Paul prays—For this cause also since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you (what for?) and to desire that ye might be filled with the know­ledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual under­standing. He wants you to know and He wants me to know His purposes and His counsel.

I trust as we read this book of Ephesians there will be the cry of your heart and mine that God will increase our capacity to know Christ Jesus our Lord and to be like Paul when he could say, “I count eve­rything but loss just to know Him.”

Let me repeat because I am so burdened that this gets across to you. The things that were gain to me, the things that I used to run after, I count them just the refuse of the streets. Just to be found in Him, just to know Him—oh, God grant that you and I to­day might have an increasing passion to know Christ Jesus.

And may I say that He will not make Himself known apart from His Word. The full revelation of Christ is found in the scriptures. But I’ll never know it unless I take the time to search and to meditate on the word of God. The Spirit of God then will reveal to you and to me the wonders of His wisdom, of His knowledge, of His counsel.

Oh, friends, God grant in these days of uncer­tainty, days of lack of peace, days so full of perplexi­ty that we can turn to Him and know He will direct, that He will reveal to us His purpose and His coun­sel—even for us today.

We come to Ephesians 1:18-19, and we have the purpose of the prayer. The first thing about the pur­pose of the prayer is that the eyes of our hearts may be enlightened.

First of all, he talks about the eyes of your heart. It’s an amazing thing that the gospel of Jesus Christ is an appeal to the heart. It’s only the heart that perceives; but with our heads, with our minds, we get a vision of the truth.

Of course, Paul is not speaking of a fleshly heart, this organ in our bodies. He is speaking of the seat of our personality, the seat of our affections, of our de­votions. And the gospel is the only good news on earth that appeals to the heart, that can reach the heart, the deepest recesses of our being. That’s what he is talking about. It’s not a heart of flesh, not even our mind. He wants to go beyond that into the very recesses of our own being that the eyes of our heart may be enlightened.

The Apostle John in 1 John 2:20 encourages his babes in Christ that they have an unction from the Holy One and know all things. In 1 Corinthians 2:10, Paul speaks of the fact that God has revealed the things to us by His Spirit, even the very deep things of God. Indeed, the work of the Spirit of God is to enlighten our hearts as well as our minds. It is with our hearts that we perceive. Jesus in John 16:1-33 says the Holy Spirit is going to reveal to us the very deep things of God. He takes the things of Christ and makes them known to us. In other words, He’s pray­ing for our innermost being to be illuminated to the truth. He wants the whole man to be opened up to the truth of God.

Now you will notice following this that you have three “knows.” That is, Paul prays we might know what is the hope of His calling; he prays we might know what are the riches of the glory of His inherit­ance and he prays we might know what is the ex­ceeding greatness of His power to us-ward.

In other words, he wants us to know, first of all, the call of God, that we might know what is the hope of His calling. Someone has said that these are the three “whats.” The hope of his calling, the riches of the glory of his inheritance and to know the power of God.

Mark this, shall we take time with this, with these three things? What is the hope of His calling? Does God ever call? Yes, He’s talking about what the saints are before God in Christ. He chose us and He desires us to become complete, absolutely com­plete in Him. Just as you have in Hebrews 12:2, where we read concerning our Saviour—Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God.

He saw beyond the cross; He saw a redeemed people. He saw a group of rebels who would be transformed into saints. He saw those who were dead in sins and saw them alive and righteous before God. And the hope of His calling is the fact that saints of God will stand in the presence of God, conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Now you have that in Ro

mans 8:29 where it says that God has determined that we should be conformed to the image of His Son. Or, supposing that we take the book of Judges 1:24 and Hebrews 12:2—Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding great joy—Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God.

Here we have our Saviour’s joy in presenting His people faultless before His Father. You see, He has the hope, too. You and I have a hope of seeing the Saviour, of being like the Saviour; but He, too, has a hope that the work which He accomplished will produce a people who will be in the presence of God for eternity. He’ll be filled with joy as He presents us to His Father, absolutely faultless.

We have the same thing in Ephesians 5:26-27 where we read that our God is going to present the church to Himself, a holy church, having neither spot nor wrinkle nor any such thing. Our hope is the coming of the Saviour; His hope is the believer standing in the presence of His Father without a spot or a wrinkle or any such thing. Indeed, God’s hope will be realized when you and I stand in the presence of God looking just like His Son. Oh, what a pros­pect.

Sometimes we sing that song,

"When all my labors and trials are o’er
And I am safe on that beautiful shore,

Just to be near the dear Lord I adore
Will through the ages be glory for me.
0, that will be glory for me, glory for me, glory for me.
When by His grace I shall look on His face
That will be glory, be glory for me."

Did you ever stop to think that that will be glory for Him? The glory of His hope, the hope of His call­ing, that God has a calling? I tell you, my friend, it is a wonderful thing to know something of the call of God, that you and I are going to stand before Him just like His Son. God will never be satisfied until every Christian stands in His presence conformed to the image of His Son. Oh, to be just like the Lord Je­sus. This is His hope; this is my hope.

Verse 18

Now the second hope is that we are to know the purpose of God in verse 18.

Ephesians 1:18. The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.

Now mark these three sets of three words: the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. Now what is this? That God is going to share His glory with us? Oh, yes!

You see, in John 17:22 it says that—The glory which thou gavest me I have given them. We were speaking of that earlier where, in John 17:1-5, Je­sus said—Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son that thy Son also may glorify thee: as thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent. . . . I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

Here we see the riches of the glory of His inhe­ritance in the saints. Now in John 17:24 we have— Father, I will that all those whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory.

This is where you and I come in; you and I are going to share in His glory. For example, Paul could say in Romans 8:18—I reckon the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. Or 2 Corinthians 4:17—These light afflictions are just for a moment and they are working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

That’s for us! As 1 Timothy 1:1 says—Christ is our hope.

We read of the blessed hope of seeing Him, but did you ever think of the other side of it? Of His in­heritance in the saints? We have an inheritance in Him, incorruptible, undefiled, that fadeth not away. He has an inheritance in us. God has tremendous in­terests in us, and His interest is not going to be fully satisfied until every one for whom Christ died, every one He purchased, is sealed, is going to stand in the Father’s presence looking just like the Son. Friend, what a hope—what a hope for Him; what a hope for us.

Won’t you revel in this today—His inheritance in the saints and that He has a tremendous interest in you? And believe me, He will take care of His inter­ests and His inheritance.

Meditate upon this and enjoy Christ today, will you?

What a wonderful relationship we have with the Saviour!

This epistle is the epistle of the riches of God’s grace in chapter 1, the riches of His mercy in chapter 2, the riches of the unsearchable riches of Christ in chapter 3 and the riches of the glory of Christ in 3:16. And remember, we are the Father’s gift to the Son. This is the purpose of God—His riches and the place of His riches in His saints.

In Exodus 19:4-5, God said to Israel, “I have brought you on eagle’s wings to myself and you are my inheritance.” But now, today, through eternity, the church has become His inheritance. It is a won­derful thing. You take Titus 2:14 where it speaks of the fact that He not only redeemed us but we are His peculiar possession, a people for His possession.

We are the Father’s gift to the Son. We have this in John 6:37—All that the father giveth me shall come to me. And he that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. In John 17:6-11, our Lord again speaks of the fact that they whom Thou gavest me are Mine. They were Yours and You gave them to Me and they’ve kept Your word.

And you remember how He put us in the Fa­ther’s hand to be kept. Words of mine fail to begin to realize and to present to you this amazing thing, that you are a peculiar treasure to God. You’re a people for His possession, and God has such love and such grace for you and me that He sent His Son to pur­chase us, to buy us, as we have in the first part of the chapter. He bought us for Himself and He seals us by the Spirit of God until the day of redemption.

Verses 19-20

And now the third thing we are to know in the prayer is that we are to know—

Ephesians 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

Ephesians 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.

We are to know the power of God. Now, let me repeat it—We are to know the call of God in verse 18; we are to know the purpose of God in verse 18; now we are to know the power of God in verses 19 to 23. And notice what this power is. Here is an as­tounding thing: We are to know the power of His re­surrection.

May I suggest first of all that the power of God is limited to believers. And Paul prays we might know what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us who believe according to the working of the strength of His might, if I may give you a literal ren­dering here. What does God want us to know? The greatness of His power when He raised His Son from the dead is to us-ward who believe.

You see, my friend, in the resurrection of Christ you have the greatest demonstration of the power of God. Do you ever stop to think of it? Of the power of His resurrection? Not the opening of blind eyes; not the creating of a universe; not the cleansing of le­pers; not even the splitting of the atom or the stilling of a storm. No, the greatest demonstration of the power of God in the universe is the resurrection of His Son from the dead.

Let me remind you of Romans 1:4 where God marked His Son out from everybody else by the re­surrection from the dead. And in Romans 8:11, the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is in you and me who believe. In 1 Peter 1:21 we have—Who by Him do believe in God, that raised Him up from the dead and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

In Philippians 3:20-21, He’s going to change these bodies of ours and fashion them like His own glorious body according to the power of Him who worketh in me mightily. One could multiply the scriptures on His ability, His power, and the power of resurrection.

There was a time in my early ministry when I used to ask the Lord for more power. I stopped doing that a long time ago. The problem is not more power. The problem is we don’t use the power He’s already given to us. Paul could say in Colossians 1:29—I strive according to the working of Him who worketh in me mightily.

The power of resurrection is to us-ward who believe. My Christian friend, I wish in some way I could present to you this fact that the greatest power in the universe is your resource.

You say, “Sir, I’m so weak.”

I’ll take your word for it. Aren’t we all weak! “Oh, but I’m the weakest.”

All right, I’ll take your word for that, too. You’re the weakest and yet Paul is praying that you and I might know experimentally the power of Him that raised Jesus from the dead and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenlies. The power of re­surrection and exaltation is for every Christian.

My friend, there is absolutely no excuse for you and me pleading weakness, pleading frailty. It’s all right if you believe you are frail and you believe you are so weak. Now you come to God and trust Him. Let Him do the job. Then He’ll get all the glory.

If you think you can do God’s work in your own power, my friend, you’re greatly mistaken. That will be nothing else but the fruit of the flesh. But the very power that raised Jesus from the dead and set Him at God’s own right hand is to us-ward who be­lieve. Paul is praying that we might experience this power.

When I look over, for example, the life of our Saviour in the gospels, how He stilled the storm, re­buked the winds, cleansed the lepers and opened the eyes of the blind, fed the hungry and raised the dead, I say, my, what power. When I look into the universe and I see that Jesus Christ not only created the un­iverse, but according to Hebrews 1:3, He upholds it by the word of His power. In Colossians 1:17 it says—By Him all things consist (are held together).

And even that is not the greatest power in the universe—neither the power of creation nor of hold­ing all things together. The greatest power demon­strated was the resurrection of Christ from the dead. Men and hell were banded together to keep Jesus Christ in the tomb. Do you remember when the Jews came to Pilate they said that “that deceiver” said when He was alive, “After three days I will rise again,” and Pilate said, “You have a watch. You go your way. Make that tomb sure.” So they sealed the stone, and they set a watch. All hell and men were banded together to keep Jesus Christ in the tomb.

And the third day, He was raised again from the dead and sat at the Father ‘s own right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour.

Now, then, again, the greatest power in the un­iverse is to us-ward who believe. Paul is praying we might know this.

I am talking to you. You are frail and you are weak and you’ve been stumbling along. Why don’t you lean on the Saviour and take this prayer of Paul’s and pray, “Lord, may I know what is the ex­ceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who be­lieve?” There is absolutely nothing in your life and experience—I don’t care what the opposition is and what the circumstances are—Paul prays that you and I might have this experience of the power of God that raised Christ from the dead and set Him at His own right hand.

The power of resurrection and exaltation, my friend, is to us-ward who believe.

Why don’t you trust the Saviour in this today. Never mind tomorrow. Today, will you and I walk in the experience of a risen, glorified Saviour to whom we have been vitally, eternally joined?

Verses 20-21

Now it is not only the power of resurrection, but notice in verses 20 and 21 that it is also the power of exaltation to His right hand, to all authority.

Ephesians 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.

May I remind you of Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 8:1; Hebrews 10:12; Hebrews 12:2:

Hebrews 1:3—Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Hebrews 8:1—Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Ma­jesty in the heavens.

Hebrews 10:12—But this man, after he had of­fered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.

Hebrews 12:2—Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Four times in the book of Hebrews we read that his Son sat down at the right hand of God. Again, al­low me to quote from the 24th Psalm, verses 7 to 10 when the cry came—Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory.

This is the Saviour who went to the cross and was despised and rejected of men. He went through the heavens to the throne, to the place of highest au­thority. Do you ever think of it? From the cross to the throne, from earth to heaven, from a tomb to eternal glory. And the power that raised Him and ex­alted Him is available to you and to me who believe.

Listen, my friend, it is no excuse for us to try and plead that we can’t do anything for God. It is true. You can’t. But why not put yourself in His hands and let Him do it?

And Paul is praying for this—the power of re­surrection, the power of exaltation. And you notice what it says here,

Verses 20-22

Ephesians 1:20. Set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

Ephesians 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church.

We have here His authority. What is authority? Delegated power. Now authority is dependent upon the force that is behind it. For example, you drive down to a crossing on one of your main streets and supposing the traffic light is off. You and I would plow through that. We’d have wreck after wreck. What does the city do? It sends a policeman out. Now, if I were to stand in the middle of the tho­roughfare and put my hand up, people would say, “You fool, get out of the way. Do you want to be killed?”

You see, I have no authority. But let a policeman who has the authority behind him, power behind him, walk out calmly into the middle of the tho­roughfare and put his hand up, all the cars would stop. Any one of those cars could kill him, but he calmly goes out with the authority of the law behind him and he puts his hand up and the traffic stops. That’s authority.

What does that man have? He has all the pow­er of the law behind him.

Now the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, has been exalted to God’s right hand and has been given authority over all powers, over all authority. Listen to it—Far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named, not on­ly in this world, but also in the coming age.

Your Saviour and my Saviour has all authority and power. And, my friend, when a Christian begins to realize this in the exercise of authority, there is a divine courage that fears nothing but God. Proverbs says, “The righteous are as bold as a lion.” Why? Because of their authority from God.

Here I see a frail little woman, way over there in North China and she comes out with more than 100 orphans. She passes through all the Communist forces, and she wends her way without money or an­ything else, but with the authority of God behind her that she must take them out. This wee woman, frail woman, guides more than 100 refugees out of North China over to Taiwan. Where does she get her cou­rage?

Listen, again, in the exercise of the authority that is from God, there is a divine courage that fears nothing, not even nations. All she fears is God.

My friend, I must add this: Though you and I have been given the place of special privilege in knowing the power and authority of God, that same special privilege can become the place of special danger. Over whom does Christ have all this authority? Over the heaven and the earth. In Matthew 28:18-19 we read—All authority is mine. Go ye and disciple all nations.

The King speaks and He speaks with the authori­ty of God. Here is divine authority. And when God says, “Go ye and speak to all nations,” I’m not sur­prised at men like William Carey who went to India or Hudson Taylor who went to China or Adoniram Judson who went to India or Martin Luther as he de­fied the pope and defied the nations of his day.

Are we afraid to go? Go ye and disciple all na­tions with the authority of the King of kings and Lord of lords. Every created intelligence in the hea­vens and the earth and hell is under His authority. He has authority over all flesh.

Do you remember in John 17:2, He thanked His Father because God had given Him all authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as God had given Him. Need we be afraid, my Chris­tian friend, of bearing testimony for the King of kings and Lord of lords? If He has authority over all principality and power? If He has authority over death and hell? Revelation 1:18 says—I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore. Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Shall we be afraid to bear testimony for Him? He is far above all rulers and authorities and powers, even the powers of the coming age. Think of it! And this same authority and power is to us-ward who be­lieve. No wonder when you come to Isaiah 40:29-31, he speaks of the fact that old men will have weaknesses and the young men shall utterly fall. The strong shall be weak.

But He goes on to say they that wait upon the Lord—what about them? They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. It makes no difference what the score is. He gives power to the faint and to those who have no might He increases their strength.

They who entwine their hearts about the Lord shall exchange their weakness for His strength, and they shall mount up with wings as eagles. And, my friend, it can be experienced by you and me today. And all authority and power potentially is ours in Christ now. It can be experienced as you and I sit down with Him in continual fellowship. And, as we walk with Him, day by day, the very power of the omnipotent God is available to you and to me. This one who has been given headship over all things to the church, this risen, exalted Lord, is yours and mine. It is beyond all human comprehension. I con­fess, it’s beyond me that the very power of the omni­potent God is available to you and to me who be­lieve.

I say, this power, this authority which is poten­tially ours now, can be experimentally ours when we sit down with Him and enjoy His fellowship.

And He says, “All authority is mine. Go ye and disciple all nations and behind you is the power and authority of a risen, glorified Saviour.”

67

God forgive us for our frailty, for our lack of courage in bearing testimony for Him and exalting Him before man.

God grant that today you and I may experience something of the grace and love and power of God as we walk in fellowship with Him.

Verses 22-23

Now, one more thing in the chapter. In verses 22 and 23, we have this wonderful relationship given to us between Christ and the church which is His body.

Ephesians 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church.

Ephesians 1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

You know, it is a wonderful thing to know that the Lord Jesus Christ has been made the head over all things to the church which is His body. A risen, exalted Christ is the head of the church.

Once in a while, theologically, I have been faced with the question, when did the church of Chr­ist start?

And may I use these two verses as the founda­tion for the fact that there was no church until there could be a risen, exalted Saviour. The Spirit of God did not come to indwell His people, that is, to conti­nually indwell His people until Christ was risen and glorified.

You remember that John in John 7:37-39 said—In the last day, that great day of the feast, Je­sus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow riv­ers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

In John 16:7, he speaks of the fact that when He was glorified He would send from the Father to every believer the Spirit of God to indwell him. In John 14:1-31, the end of verse 17 and verse 18, our Lord could say, speaking of the Spirit of God—He dwel­leth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless (or as orphans).

In the Old Testament the Spirit of God was oc­casionally with God’s people, but not to indwell them all. When I come to the New Testament, the Holy Spirit descended in Acts 2:1-47 and the church was formed; and the Lord added to the church daily such as were being saved.

When we come to Ephesians 3:1-21, as well as chap­ter 1, we see that this risen, exalted Saviour took a new position after the resurrection in that He became the head of a new race of people, a new company called “the church.”

And as Acts 15:16 says—When God is through gathering out a people for His name, the church, then He is going to return to the earth and rebuild the ta­bernacle of David which is fallen down.

What I’m doing right now is giving you in a very brief way the purpose of God for this age. You see, from Genesis 12:1-20 until you come to the end of Malachi, in fact, I’ll go through the gospels with you, you find where God is dealing especially with one people on the earth. He’s dealing with the people Israel.

Now that does not mean that there were no Gentiles who came to know God. But God’s special ministry began with the calling out of Abraham in Genesis 12:1-20 when the God of glory appeared unto him and said—“Get out (that is from Ur of the Chal­dees) unto a land that I will show thee. I’ll make thy name great, I’ll make you a great nation and from thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”

Now here is the promise to Abraham, down through Isaac and through Jacob, then through the tribe of Judah and so forth. But God’s purpose has been especially with Israel. Today God is not dealing with the nations of the earth; He is dealing with indi­viduals—If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink whether Jew or Gentile. And from the re­surrection of Christ and the giving of the Spirit of God until our Lord returns for His own, for the ga­thering out of the church, God is dealing with indi­viduals.

When our Lord returns to the earth again, He’s going to be dealing with the nations. He’ll deal with Israel. He’s going to purge out of Israel her rebels. He’s going to make a new covenant with Israel, and then He’s going to judge the nations and deal with them.

But today, He is gathering out a people of His own. He’s building a church. Every Christian is a member of His body, the church.

When we come to chapter 3 of Ephesians, we’re going to see that the revelation of the church was a mystery hidden in God from past ages. I repeat it, this is what God is doing today. He is doing a new thing. He’s gathering out Jews and Gentiles indivi­dually wherever He finds them, whoever they are. It makes no difference to God who they are or what they are. If they will accept Jesus Christ as their own personal Saviour, they’re not only justified and re­ceive life eternal and forgiveness, but they become members of the church, the body of Christ.

And the way we get into the church is by the baptism of the Spirit of God, as you find here in 1 Corinthians 12:13 where it says we have all been baptized by one Spirit into one body.

And this is what our Lord is referring to in Acts 1:1-26 when He said to the disciples, “You shall be bap­tized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence.” And on the day of Pentecost, God started this new company of people called the church. The church of the first born, the church of Jesus Christ, is made up of every individual, real believer in Christ today.

And when I come to the end of Ephesians chap­ter 1, I find here that the Lord has given to us this fact, that Jesus Christ in resurrection and exaltation became the head over all things concerning the church, His body, the fullness of Him that fills all in all.

It’s a wonderful thing to know this, that the moment you and I accepted the Saviour, we became members of the body of Christ. And the church is the fullness of Him that filleth all in all. I am sure that the Lord will bless His word to your own heart as you become occupied with Him.

What I want leave with you is this—that God wants you to know the power of His resurrection. He wants you to know the power of His exaltation, the power that joins you to Christ.

I say, it’s a wonderful thing to be a Christian, to belong to Him and to know that your Saviour and my Saviour is the head over all things, having all author­ity in heaven and in earth.