Peter Misselbrook's Blog
May 4 2020 - Introduction to the Letter to … the Ephesians?

Why have we placed a question mark after the word "Ephesians" above? The answer is that after the words, "To the saints who are", in Ehesians 1:1, a number of ancient manuscripts omit the words, "in Ephesus". This omission has led to the suggestion that the letter may have been produced originally as a general letter, intended for a number of churches in Asia Minor, the phrase "in Ephesus" being later inserted into the copy sent to or retained by that city. Acts 19:10 tells us that as a result of Paul's extended ministry in Ephesus "all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord." It is not unreasonable then to suppose that Paul, now in prison (perhaps in prison in Ephesus), wrote to encourage these surrounding churches. 

Given this scenario, it is hardly surprising that there are many similarities with Paul's letter to the Colossians – the church at Colossae was one of the churches formed at this period. What we know as "Ephesians" may even have been the lost letter to the Laodiceans (see Colossians 4:16).

The Message of Ephesians

The central message of Ephesians is that Christ's work involves the reconciliation of all things to God (Eph 1:9-10). This reconciliation flows from the cross and is displayed in the church where the barrier between Jew and Gentile has been broken down (Eph 2:14-16). In the church, God's new-creation has appeared, a new creation which reflects his glory (Eph 1:18-19; 3:20-21), sharing the exalted glory of the risen Christ (Eph 2:6). The church is "God's pilot scheme for the reconciled universe of the future" (F.F.Bruce). But not all things are yet subject to God through Christ. There are still powers both heavenly and earthly which are opposed to him – powers which still hold men and women captive (Eph 2:4-7). Christ has won a decisive victory at the cross but these 'powers' continue to wage war against Christians who are urged to stand firm and resist them (Eph 6:10-20). But that resistance is not merely passive: God's people are also the means used of God to wage war on the realm of darkness and extend the kingdom of God and his Christ (see particularly Eph 6:15, 19-20).

We conclude this brief introduction with an extended quote from Peter O'Brian:

The letter to the Ephesians is one of the most significant documents ever written... 
Whether it is because of its magnificent sweep of God's saving purposes from election before the foundation of the world to his summing up of all things in Christ, the place of the exalted Christ within those purposes and believers' relationship to him, God's victory in Christ over the powers, the grand presentation of the church, its language of worship and prayer, or the scope and depth of its ethical teaching, Ephesians has had a profound influence on the life of many.

But the letter has not only had a significant impact on the lives of men and women in the past. It also speaks with great power to our contemporary situation. To a world that seems to have lost all sense of direction, and a society that for all its achievements is in a mess, the divine analysis of the human predicament along with God's gracious and comprehensive salvation, such as is found in Ephesians 2:1-7, ultimately provides the only hope for a world that stands under divine judgment. Klyne Snodgrass aptly remarks, 'The understanding of the gospel in Ephesians challenges and redefines the superficial understanding of the gospel prevalent in our day.'

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May 4 2020 - Ephesians 1:1-23 – The hope to which he has called you

What can one say about Ephesians 1? It's a wonderful chapter in which Paul expresses the blessings of our salvation in Jesus Christ. There are so many rich phrases and thoughts one could meditate on that it's difficult to know which to choose. I have decided to focus on the theme of hope.

I was talking to a friend recently. He had been visiting the area where he had lived some 30 years ago. The woman now living in the flat where they had lived invited my friend and his wife in for a cup of tea and to see how the old place had changed. She shared that she had recently lost her son to some disease and she was finding it difficult to cope. My friend shared with her how he and his wife had faced many health problems and if they believed that this life was all there is then they also would find it difficult to cope. But they believed that there is a wonderful future in store for them because of Jesus.

It is difficult to live without hope. Paul prays that the Christians to whom he is writing might have a clear view of the hope to which God has called them (Ephesians 1:18). That hope is to be found in Jesus Christ. God's purpose is that all things in heaven and earth should be brought under the rule of Christ – under his headship (1:10). This plan has been put into effect through Jesus' coming into the world, and particularly through his death and resurrection. Through his resurrection from the dead, Jesus has been exalted to God's right hand and has been given authority over all things. He has defeated every power that currently dominates our sad world (1:20-21). The day will come when his resurrection power will transform all things and make them new, and he will reign over a transformed creation.

This is our hope. And it is no mere wishful thinking. We have already been given a part in the world to come through faith in Jesus Christ. Our sins have been forgiven because Jesus died for us (1:7). The mighty power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in us who believe (1:19). The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the risen Saviour, is at work in our lives and is the guarantee that we will share with him the inheritance of the new creation in the age to come (1:13-14). We have been promised a glorious inheritance with Christ and his redeemed people (1:18). Our hope is not mere whistling in the dark, it is guaranteed by the triune God: the promise of the Father in his word; the saving work of the Son in his death and resurrection; the indwelling work of the Spirit. All of this is ours through the lavish grace of God (1:8).

And this hope is not merely for the future. It frees us and empowers us to live now something of the life of the age to come and to be engaged now in God's plan of bringing all things in heaven and earth under the headship of Christ. Hope gives us purpose, direction and power.

Glorious Father, by your Spirit, open the eyes of our hearts that we may know you in all the glory of your grace and may see and know the hope to which you have called us in Christ. May that power which raised the Lord Jesus from the dead enable us to live the life of the age to come to the praise of his glory. May our lives together as your people make the future visible and give hope to the world.

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May 4 2019 - 2 Samuel 5 – David king over a united kingdom

Saul and Jonathan are both dead, killed in a battle with the Philistines. So all Israel gathered to acknowledge David as their king for he is the one of whom the Lord said, "You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler" (2 Samuel 5:2). Unlike the kings of the nations, he is to be a shepherd-king, one who will devote himself to the care and welfare of the people of God. In this he is to reflect the character of the Lord who is the ultimate king over his people (see Psalm 23) and to anticipate the Great Shepherd who is to come.

David's first act is to march against Jerusalem, a city inhabited and defended by the Jebusites. The steep slopes and strong walls around the city, particularly around its fortress, Mount Zion, made its inhabitants confident that it could not be captured. The parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 11 tells us that it was Joab, son of Zeruiah who found a way into the city and led the army in capturing it for David. As a result, he was made commander-in-chief of David's army. Jerusalem now became "the City of David". 

David spares no time in making Jerusalem not only his personal fortress but also the capital city for the kingdom of Israel. He increased its fortifications and then began to plan his own palace. For this he enlisted the help of Hiram, king of Tyre, whose men possessed the necessary skills and materials for building a house fit for a king.

David acknowledged "that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel" (5:12); David knows that it is all God's doing. Nevertheless, the splendour of his palace and his growing collection of wives and concubines (5:13) suggest that he is all too quickly becoming "a king like the nations." Yet God is pleased to use and bless David, giving him further victories over the Philistines.

How easily we become compromised, particularly when the Lord blesses us. We deceive ourselves by saying that we are only making use of the opportunities the Lord has given us while, in fact, we are pleasing ourselves and following the patterns of behaviour common to the world around us. How wonderful that God does not treat us as our sins deserve but is pleased to continue to bless us and use us even when our desire to live for him so easily gets tangled up with our intention to please ourselves. Not that any of this excuses our sin – far from it – but it does encourage us to believe that God will not quickly cast us off.

Lord, you are my shepherd-king. Lead me in paths of righteousness for your name's sake. Help me to keep a watch over my own heart and to follow the Lord Jesus rather than the patterns of this self-seeking world. By your Spirit, make me aware of the ways in which I so easily seek to please myself rather than you. Show me more of the glory of the Lord Jesus who was willing to forsake his throne in glory to seek and to save those who were lost and to make us his own. Make me more like him.

May the mind of Christ, my Saviour,
Live in me from day to day,
By His love and power controlling
All I do and say.

May I run the race before me,
Strong and brave to face the foe,
Looking only unto Jesus
As I onward go.

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Peter Misselbrook