FOR THIS REASON. "Because of the truth that God had already decided to adopt the Gentiles as children (Ephesians 1:5), I am the prisoner of Christ Jesus for your sake." Since Paul writes from his imprisonment in Rome, it is important the Ephesians do not misunderstand his suffering or be discouraged... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT GOD. "You cannot doubt that I am imprisoned for the sake of you Gentiles, since you have heard about the mission God gave me, to preach the Good News to you without requiring you to obey the Law of Moses!" Compare Galatians 1:13-16.... [ Continue Reading ]
HIS SECRET PLAN. To Paul, a secret or mystery is something hidden until the time comes for it to be revealed. Compare 1 Corinthians 2:6-10. I HAVE WRITTEN BRIEFLY. _Johnson_ thinks Paul means what he has already written in this Letter (Ephesians 1:9-10; Ephesians 2:11-18). Some scholars think Paul h... [ Continue Reading ]
YOU CAN LEARN MY UNDERSTANDING. (1) "You will know as much of the secret of Christ as I know!" (2) "You will see in my actions and my whole life, my understanding of the secret of God's will for the Gentiles!... [ Continue Reading ]
IN PAST TIMES. "God did make his promise to Abraham, but no one ever thought God would save the Gentiles through their faith in Christ. In fact, in times past, no one knew just how God would make his promise come true! But now that God has acted in Christ, the Spirit revealed the Plan to God's holy... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SECRET IS THIS. "The Gentiles share directly with the Jews in the heavenly inheritance. This means: they are now members of the same body, the church, through faith in Christ; they share in the _promise_ (Galatians 3:17-18) that God made in Christ Jesus.... [ Continue Reading ]
I WAS MADE. "At a specific time and place, Christ appeared to me to make me an apostle, and this was God's special gift to me.... [ Continue Reading ]
I AM LESS. Some think Paul never really _got over_ the fact that he had tried to destroy the messianic community! Yet, it is equally clear that Paul knew God had forgiven him for this (1 Timothy 1:12-13)! It is probable that Paul's enemies kept bringing this up to try to discredit him, and that he t... [ Continue Reading ]
AND TO MAKE ALL MEN SEE. In contrast to the mystery religions which claimed to reveal secrets to the privileged few, Paul states that his mission is to tell _all men!_ GOD'S SECRET PLAN, is put into effect by God's offer to save men through Christ by faith!!!... [ Continue Reading ]
IN ORDER THAT. "God kept his secret hidden during the past ages, and even the angelic rulers and powers did not understand what He had planned. Now, at this present time, the fullness of God's wisdom is revealed! The church (messianic community) plays a vital part in God's Plan, since it is by means... [ Continue Reading ]
WHICH HE ACHIEVED. "God's Plan, which becomes visible in the church, is not some whim of God, but the result of God's eternal purpose. God's great saving power in all of history is focused in and through Jesus Christ and his church!!!... [ Continue Reading ]
THE FREEDOM TO ENTER INTO. _Johnson_ says: "In Jesus Christ, all, both Jew and Gentile alike, can come boldly [with confidence] to God. Without the revelation of Christ [The Faith] we could hardly know of God as a God of love, who loved to have us come to him.... [ Continue Reading ]
DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED. "I have given you good reasons why you should not be discouraged by my suffering for you. I have showed you God's secret which has been revealed in Jesus Christ, and I have showed you that God accepts you Gentiles directly, without first becoming Jews. My suffering really prov... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THIS REASON. "Because of the great privileges God offers to all of us including you Gentiles, and because I do not want you to be discouraged by the things I am suffering, I fall on my knees before the Father in prayer for you all!" [Early Christians sometimes kneeled in prayer, but usually stoo... [ Continue Reading ]
RECEIVES ITS TRUE NAME. _Johnson_ says "The idea is that The Father is the _Father_ of all the families of his children, whether Jews or Gentiles on earth, or in heaven." _MacKnight_ thinks this includes the good angels.... [ Continue Reading ]
I ASK GOD. "My prayer to God for you is: that out of the wealth of his glory, he would give you power (_compare_ Acts 4:31) through his Spirit who lives in you (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), to be strong in your inner selves as you see God's promises to you and that you will have the courage to hold firml... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THAT CHRIST. "And that Christ, who bought you for God by his death and made these promises of God available to you, will make his home in your hearts! Faith is the means by which he does this." YOUR ROOTS AND FOUNDATIONS. "Your very _life and growth_ has its roots in love, and love is the mortar... [ Continue Reading ]
THE POWER TO UNDERSTAND. "Unless your roots and foundations are in _love,_ you will never really be able to understand the far reaching effects of Christ's love!!! Love led him to the Cross and love caused him to build his _church_ (Matthew 16:18), which not being limited to Jerusalem, covers the wh... [ Continue Reading ]
YES, MAY YOU. "I want you to come to know Christ's love, on which his church is built. You can know it, although it is true that in this world we can only know in part the infinite love of Christ! I want you to be filled with God's grace and power to the fullest extent, and love is vital to this!!!... [ Continue Reading ]
TO HIM. "And now to him who is able to make both we Jews and you Gentiles participate and share in all his promises, and to do so much more than we can ever ask for or even think of, both now and in Eternity, by means of the power working in us (Ephesians 1:10; Ephesians 1:19; Colossians 1:29; Phili... [ Continue Reading ]