EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries

Ephesians 1:1-23

Christian Belief and Behaviour

Ephesians

Les Painter (Bible text by Cynthia Green)

About this letter

The *apostle Paul wrote this letter when he was in a prison in Rome. He wrote it to people in the town called Ephesus. This was about 61 years after the birth of Christ.

At one time, *Greek leaders had ruled Ephesus. Now the *Romans ruled the city. It was the capital of the *Roman region called Asia. It was a busy port and the centre of much trade. The *temple of the goddess (female god) Diana (or Artemis) was there. The business people sold models of Diana’s *temple there. But Paul’s *preaching affected their trade. This caused confusion and trouble in the city (Acts 19:23-41).

This letter is different from other letters by Paul. The main differences are:

a) he does not give any special greetings;

b) he does not send a message to any one particular person;

c) he does not talk about special problems.

Paul wrote the letter to encourage the personal *faith of the Christians. It gives teaching, prayers and great *praises to God. It is about God’s Son, Jesus Christ. He came to our world in order to put right all the things that had gone wrong. Paul makes clear that Christ is the head of the *church. He will work out his purposes in and by the *church.

It is possible that Paul sent this letter to other *churches in Asia. Then they too could read it.

The letter is in two parts. First is the teaching part. It mainly teaches us about God’s plan for the world. This plan is for all time. It is about the gathering together of all things to Jesus Christ as head. God created men and women. He created them to be his friends. But now they are apart from him. They are his enemies.

There is no unity in a world without Christ. One person is against another person. Nations fight each other. *Jews and *Gentiles are against each other. There is a battle between evil *angels and good *angels. There is a battle between God and *Satan. Most people in the world do not know Christ. This is the reason for all that is wrong. But this is not God’s purpose for the world. There can be unity only when all things come together with Christ as head. Unity should first be inside the *church. Then it should be for all people everywhere. Then it should be with everything that God has made. This unity is for the entire world and for all ages. This is what Paul teaches in the first three Chapter s.

God’s plan is to fix the unity that is spoiled. The last three Chapter s teach about how God will use Christians in this plan. Paul teaches that the *church is like the body of Christ. Christians must be like Christ’s hands to do Christ’s work. Christians must be like his mouth to speak for him. They must be like his feet to take his *gospel to all the people in the world. God wants to deal with all the things that divide people. God will do this in and by the *church. Paul speaks about the different ways in which his message will apply. Change will come by the good behaviour of God’s people in the home and in the world.

Plan of Ephesians

Part 1: The place of the *believer in Christ (Chapter s 1-3)

1:1-2 Greetings

1:3-14 *Praise for all the *blessings of God

1:15-23 Paul’s first prayer

2:1-10 *Salvation by *grace

2:11-22 *Jews and *Gentiles are united in Christ

3:1-13 God has made his secret known

3:14-21 Paul’s second prayer

Part 2: The behaviour of the *believer in the world (Chapter s 4-6)

4:1-16 To live a life that has value

4:17-32 A different way to live

5:1-14 Love

5:15-6:9 Wisdom

6:10-20 The Christian life as a war

6:21-24 Final greeting

Part 1: The place of the *believer in Christ (Chapter s 1-3)

Chapter 1 1:1-2 ~ Greetings

v1 I am the *apostle Paul. I am an *apostle by God’s will. I am writing this letter to the *saints (God’s people) in Ephesus. You believe in Christ Jesus and you are in him.

v2 I pray that God, our Father, and the *Lord Jesus Christ will send you *grace and *peace.

Verse 1 Paul calls himself an ‘*apostle’. He is a person whom God has chosen. God has chosen him to be a leader in the *church and to act with God’s authority. First, Paul refers to himself as the writer of the letter. This was the custom at that time. Then he refers to his readers, as the ‘*saints’. The meaning of ‘*saints’ is ‘the holy persons’. It means those that God has set apart to live holy lives. These are the Christians in Ephesus. They remain strong in their belief. Paul greets them.

Verse 2 Paul changes the common *Greek word for ‘greetings’ to another word, ‘*grace’. The common *Hebrew greeting was ‘shalom’ or ‘*peace’. Paul brings the two greetings together as a *blessing and a prayer. He prays that his readers will know the free help of God the Father and the *Lord Jesus Christ. They do not need to earn this. He also prays that they will know peace with God. And he prays that they will have peace with each other. The *peace of God is not just the lack of trouble. The word ‘shalom’ has many meanings. It means to be well. It means to have enough for your needs. It means safety and health. We can have peace inside us even if life is difficult.

1:3-14 ~ Praise for all the blessings of God

In the original *Greek language, this song of *praise (verses 3-14) is one sentence. The thoughts of Paul follow from one to the next at great speed. It is as if he wants to say it all at once.

In this passage, Paul writes about the good things that the Father gives to us. The Father has *blessed us (verse 3). He has chosen us (verse 4). He has decided that we shall become his sons and daughters (verse 5). He has given his *grace to us (verse 6). *Grace is the gift of God that we cannot buy. Neither can we work to earn it (2:8-9). He has told us about his choice and purpose. It is to bring together all things in heaven and on earth. Then all will have one head, that is, Christ (verses 9-10).

1:3-6 ~ The Father has chosen us

v3 We praise the God and Father of our *Lord Jesus Christ who has greatly *blessed us. God has *blessed us in the *heavenly places with every *spiritual *blessing in Christ. v4 Before he made the world, he chose us. He wants us to live holy lives. He wants us to do nothing wrong, but only things that are good. He loved us. v5 So he chose to make us his sons and daughters by Jesus Christ. He did this so that we can be *holy and without *sin in his sight. v6 We praise him for his wonderful *grace. We thank him for the free gift that he gave to us. He gave it to us in the son that he loves.

Verse 3 God has *blessed us ‘in the *heavenly places with every *spiritual *blessing in Christ’. The *heavenly places refer to an area that you cannot see or touch. In that area, there are *beings that you cannot see. These *beings are both good and evil. The good *beings serve God and the evil *beings serve *Satan. The evil *beings try to rule society and the lives of people. Paul often uses the words ‘*heavenly places’. He uses them 5 times in this letter. If we are Christians, we live now in the *heavenly places. This is true even now whilst we live on earth. It refers to any place where Christ rules over all. His people rule with him too (1:20; 2:6).

Verse 4 Jesus Christ has always existed; he is *eternal. God chose us before our birth to be together with Christ. God made this choice before he made the world. This choice has nothing to do with the kind of person that we are. It does not depend on whether we are good or bad. Therefore, we cannot be proud. We cannot say that we have made the choice. We can only agree with what God has done. Christ *justifies us in front of God. Then we need to obey God. We must live holy lives as God intends.

Paul writes, ‘He wants us to live holy lives.’ The meaning of the *Greek word ‘holy’ is to be separate or different. Christians live in the world. But they must be different from the people round them. They will be different in their homes. And they will be different in the place where they work.

‘He wants us to do nothing wrong.’ The whole life of a Christian is like something that we are offering to God.

Verse 5 In the *Roman family, the father had great power. He could do as he wished to his sons. He could make them work without pay. He could sell them as slaves. He could hit them. He could even kill them. This power lasted all through the life of the son. It did not matter how old he was.

A father might decide to adopt a son. Then he would ask the court to give him legal authority to be the father of the child. The judge would pass all the power of the original father to this new father. All the rights of the old father then ended. The son became a new person. If he had any debts in the old family, the court ended them. It would be as if the debts had never existed.

That is what God has done for us. We were under the power of *sin and the *devil. God, by Jesus, removed us from that power. He put us into his new family. He took away the old debts (our *sins). It was as if they had never existed. We became part of his family and we became new people.

Verse 6 All this makes us *praise him for his wonderful *grace. This *grace is free. Moreover, he gave us this in the ‘son that he loves’ - Jesus. The *grace of God is everything that he has chosen to show us about himself.

1:7-12 ~ The Son gave his life for us

v7 Christ *saved us and made us free by his blood (death). God forgave our *sins. By this, God shows us his rich *grace. v8 With it, he gave us wisdom and understanding. They pour over us like water from a great river. v9 God decided to show us his secret plan that Christ would complete. He was pleased to do this. v10 He will complete his plan when the time is right. Then he will bring together all things in heaven and earth, to Christ. Christ will be the head of them all.

v11 God also chose us because of Christ. God had already decided what his plan should be. He chose us to receive an *inheritance. That was his plan. He uses everything that happens in his plans and his purposes. v12 So then we, the first people to have hope in Christ, would bring *praise and *glory to him.

Verses 7-8 In Paul’s days, you might have been a slave. Sometimes a kind person would pay money to free you. The *Israelites had been slaves in Egypt, but God made them free. God made them his people (Exodus 15:13). A person could make a *sacrifice to God. God would then *forgive his *sin. *Sacrifice was the way by which God would *forgive you. It was the way that God could deal with *sin. ‘If there is no *sacrifice of blood, God will not forgive our *sins’ (Hebrews 9:22).

Christ himself became this *sacrifice. He gave his blood when he died on the *cross. This *forgiveness is because ‘God shows us his rich *grace’. This *grace is greater than we can understand. It is beyond any riches of the earth (Hebrews 11:26).

God is so kind to us. He gave us ‘wisdom and understanding. They pour over us like water from a great river.’ His *blessings never dry up. Wisdom is the gift to be able to see things as they really are. But this wisdom is not just an idea in your head. Wisdom gives you knowledge. You are then able to use your knowledge to solve the problems of daily life.

Verses 9-10 God lets us know ‘his secret plan that Christ would complete’. He makes it possible for us to understand this. But he did not show his plan before Jesus came.

God’s plan was that Jesus Christ will be the head (or ruler) of the whole *universe (heaven and earth). God arranges the time of all things. He does this in perfect wisdom. God has fixed all the ages and seasons. He has decided when they will end. God is now working out his plan (that Christ will rule the whole *universe). His plan is working all the time. One day God will complete it. History is ‘his story’.

Through the ages, God is bringing everything together under his rule. The meaning of the *Greek words is that God will add up everything. He will put it all under Christ as head.

It would be difficult for a person who is not a Christian to understand this. He would not make sense of history. Different events have taken place in different ages. They would not link with each other. Paul shows that God has a plan for the history of men and women. Once God hid this secret. Now he makes his plan plain. Christians today can now understand it. It is the job of Christians to tell the world about it.

Verses 11-12 From the beginning, God chose us to ‘have hope in Christ’, the *Messiah. He chose that we should be a part of his plan. God works out everything in agreement with his choice. Everything that he wants to do, he does. Everything will be as he said. This plan includes Paul and the *Jewish *believers (‘we’ verse 12). They were the first to hope in Christ, the *Messiah. They hoped in him before he came (see Acts 28:20). They looked forward to him as their *Saviour. The plan then includes ‘you also’ (the *Gentile Christians) who believe in him (verse 13).

1:13-14 ~ The mark of the *Holy Spirit

v13 You also later heard the word of truth, the good news about how Christ could *save you. Then you, too, became united with Christ. When you believed in him, he marked you with a special sign. The *Holy Spirit was the sign. v14 The *Holy Spirit is the promise that God will give complete freedom to his people. We must praise God for his *glory.

Verse 13 The most important thing is to hear God’s word. God’s word is the word of truth. The word of truth is the *gospel. The *gospel is the good news about *salvation. The knowledge of *salvation comes by hearing about Jesus Christ (Romans 10:14). Hearing, however, must lead to *faith. God can *bless us only if we have *faith.

So, when you believe, God marks you with a special sign. This is for both *Jews and *Gentiles. It is for those who have heard and believed. In those days, a *seal was a person’s own sign. It was a stamp or mark. It showed that he was the owner. He used it when he sent something important to another person. He would use this on a letter. It showed that everything was true and not false. It was a promise. You could be sure that no one had opened the letter and changed it.

The *Holy Spirit is the *seal for the Christian. The *Holy Spirit in him is a proof to himself of his *faith. It also shows other people how real his *faith is. The *Holy Spirit makes the Christian certain that he has *salvation. This *seal also keeps the Christian safe. No one can break the *seal. No one can break into his life. In the end, he will be safe with Jesus.

Verse 14 In those days, when you bought something, you paid some money. This was only a part of the whole price. You made a promise to the seller. You promised that later you would pay the rest of the price. The *Holy Spirit is God’s *seal or promise. It is a promise to all those who believe in him. He promises that one day he will make them completely his own possession. They will belong completely to him. That includes both *Jews and *Gentiles. This will be completely to God’s *glory.

1:15-23 ~ Paul’s first prayer

v15 I heard about your *faith in the *Lord Jesus, and your love for all the *saints. Ever since that time, v16 I have never stopped thanking God for you. And I remember you when I pray. v17 God is the wonderful Father of our *Lord Jesus Christ. I am always asking that he will give you great wisdom and knowledge about himself. He will show himself to you, so that you can know him better. v18 I pray too, that you will understand what he has promised to give you. You will know the hope to which he has called you. You will know the *glory of the rich *blessings that he has prepared for you. v19 And you will know how very great his power is. This power works in those who believe in him. He used the same strong power v20 after Christ had died. He used this power to make Jesus Christ come back to life again. He used his power to cause Christ to sit at his right side in heaven. v21 God put Christ far above all people with authority, *lords and other rulers on earth and in heaven. Christ rules over them now and he will rule over them in the future. v22 God put all things under the authority and power of Christ. God put him in the highest place as head over everything for the *church. v23 The *church is the body of Christ. It is complete in him, who fills everything everywhere.

Verses 15-16 In the rest of this chapter, Paul prays for his readers. He asks God to give them real understanding. He wants them to understand how wonderful and exciting the good news is.

He speaks about their *faith and love. He tells his readers that their behaviour towards the *Lord is important. So too is their behaviour with each other. Paul says that he does not stop thanking God for them. He also remembers them all in his prayers.

Verse 17 Paul is always asking that God:

• will give them wisdom and

• that he will show himself to them so that they can know him better.

God the Father is a ‘wonderful Father’. All *glory and all power and all greatness belong to him. God made the earth, the sky and everything. We see his greatness in all that he has made. We see his greatness in the way that he provides. He provides for everyone and everything on the earth. It all comes from God.

By God the Son we have wonderful freedom from *sin. We see his greatness in this. That should cause us to wonder. It should increase our *faith when we pray. God the *Holy Spirit helps us to understand all this. He helps us to know God better.

Verses 18-23 We cannot understand such knowledge by ourselves. It is far too great. God must help us to understand. To know God is more than to know facts about him. It is to know him as a person and to share our lives with him.

Paul prays that three things will happen:

• First, that they will know ‘the hope to which he has called’ them. God called us to himself at the very beginning. He called us to be united with Jesus Christ. He called us to be holy even as he is holy (4:1). This is the call that God brings to those without hope (2:12). The hope is about our future. We will then be with Christ for ever. We can think about a time after our present suffering. We can think about a wonderful future. God’s promise to us is that we can have the *Holy Spirit inside us now (verse 14). The promise is also about what he is keeping for us in the future.

• Second, that they ‘will know the *glory of the rich *blessings that he (God) has prepared’ for them. God has given these rich *blessings to those who believe. Christians can expect to enjoy this *inheritance.

Peter describes the *inheritance that God has prepared for us. It never dies. It is not like rubbish. It never disappears. God is ‘keeping it in heaven for you’ (1 Peter 1:4). The children of God are the heirs of God. They are heirs together with Christ (Romans 8:17). Everything that belongs to a person will belong to his heirs one day. That is what ‘heirs’ means. One day our *inheritance will be complete. We shall be completely God’s possession. We do not know what it will be like. We do know that we shall see Christ. And we shall *worship him. When he appears, we shall be like him. We shall be like him in our bodies. We shall be like him in his character. We shall be united with each other. It will be perfect. God wants us to know about this. He wants us to think about it. He wants us to know how wonderful it will be.

• Third, that ‘you will know how very great his power is’ (verse 19). Nothing compares with that power. It is far greater than any other power. We cannot measure it. By this power, God made everything in heaven and earth. This power is working ‘in (or ‘for’ or ‘towards’) those who believe’.

Paul describes this great power by three events (verses 19-23):

• First, God made ‘Jesus Christ come back to life again’ (verse 20).

• Second, ‘He used his power to cause Christ to sit at his right side in heaven.’ This was far above ‘all people with authority, *lords and other rulers on earth and in heaven’. It was above every title (or rank) that anyone can give. And ‘Christ rules over them now and he will rule over them in the future’ (verse 21).

• Third ‘and God put all things under the authority and power of Christ. God put him in the highest place as head over everything for the *church’ (verse 22). ‘All things’ include the world, the stars and all physical things. ‘All things’ also include all people, good *angels and bad *angels. God made Christ head over all things. He also made him head over everything for the *church. The *church is his body. So both the *church and everything that is have the same head. He completely fills everything in every way. He also fills the *church (verses 22-23).

There are two powers that men cannot control. One power is death and the other power is the devil. Jesus Christ won the battle over both. He did this by his death and *resurrection. He can rescue us from both death and the devil. God raised Jesus from death. He raised him to new life where there is no more death. This new life lasts for ever and ever. God caused Jesus to sit at God’s right side in heaven. God made him king over every power that there is. Jesus rules in heaven as king. He rules over all people. He rules over all nations. He rules over all *spirits, both good and evil.

Verse 21 also includes every title (or rank) that anyone can give. In Genesis chapter 1, God told man to rule over all things. When Adam *sinned, people lost the power to rule. Christ now rules over everything. So he gives back to us the power to rule.

The *church is the body of Christ. The *church consists of his people (Christians). Jesus is the head of his *church. The job of the *church is to explain Jesus to the world. To do this, the *church needs to be full of his *Holy Spirit.

apostle ~ a man that God has chosen to lead his church; one of the 12 men that Jesus chose to be his helpers and to teach about him.
church ~ a group of people who follow and believe in Jesus Christ; a group of Christians who meet together. It can also mean all the Christians in the world.
Greek ~ the language of Greece. Paul wrote his letter in the Greek language.'Rome, Roman ~ Rome was the most famous city in the world at the time of Jesus. Their soldiers fought and defeated many countries. They made the people obey the rules of Rome. They made them pay taxes to Rome. The people could not rule themselves, but they had to obey the laws of Rome.
temple ~ a special building where people went to praise false gods. (See also Temple.)
Temple ~ the special building where Jews went to praise God; the holy place in heaven where God is.

Jew, Jewish ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; a person who believes the faith of the Jews, called Judaism.
faith ~ the belief in someone or something; to agree with and to do the things that God teaches; to obey his commands even when they seem difficult; belief and trust in God and in Jesus his Son; belief that the Bible is true; ‘the faith’ means the things that Christians believe about Jesus.
preach ~ to tell and explain the good news about Jesus Christ to a group of people.
faith ~ the belief in someone or something; to agree with and to do the things that God teaches; to obey his commands even when they seem difficult; belief and trust in God and in Jesus his Son; belief that the Bible is true; ‘the faith’ means the things that Christians believe about Jesus.
praise ~ words that say how good a person is; words that give love to God, as when we are praying and singing to him.
church ~ a group of people who follow and believe in Jesus Christ; a group of Christians who meet together. It can also mean all the Christians in the world.'Jew, Jewish ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; a person who believes the faith of the Jews, called Judaism.
faith ~ the belief in someone or something; to agree with and to do the things that God teaches; to obey his commands even when they seem difficult; belief and trust in God and in Jesus his Son; belief that the Bible is true; ‘the faith’ means the things that Christians believe about Jesus.
Gentiles ~ people who are not Jews; people who do not know God; people from all nations.

holy, holiness ~ description of God, set apart, perfect, wonderful; completely good, with nothing bad in it; belonging to God; separate from sin, pure, clean.

sin, sinner, sinful ~ when people do things against God; when we do not do the commands of God; the evil nature that is in us that we were born with.
Satan ~ a name for the chief bad spirit; the top devil; he is also called the devil.
spirit ~ evil spirit(s) from the devil; part of a person when they are alive, which we cannot see; it decides what to do – good or bad; God’s Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised to send to all who know him as the Son of God.
devil ~ another name for Satan, the chief evil spirit.

holy, holiness ~ description of God, set apart, perfect, wonderful; completely good, with nothing bad in it; belonging to God; separate from sin, pure, clean.

sin, sinner, sinful ~ when people do things against God; when we do not do the commands of God; the evil nature that is in us that we were born with.
gospel ~ the good news that God has helped people who love Jesus; he has helped them by the life, death and raising from death of Jesus Christ; the good news about the things that Jesus has done for us; the message from God to us; one of the four books at the beginning of the New Testament.

New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, which the writers wrote after the life of Jesus.
believer ~ a person who knows Christ.
praise ~ words that say how good a person is; words that give love to God, as when we are praying and singing to him.'blessing, blessed ~ the good things that God does for us; a blessing can be a prayer that God will bless someone.
bless ~ to cause good things to happen to someone.
salvation ~ rescue from the punishment and power of sin.

sin, sinner, sinful ~ when people do things against God; when we do not do the commands of God; the evil nature that is in us that we were born with.
grace ~ a gift, from God or from people, that we do not deserve and cannot earn; what God or people give because they are generous; the help and protection that comes from God.
saint ~ a holy person; someone who knows Jesus Christ as Lord.
lord ~ someone with authority.
Lord ~ the name for God or Jesus; it means that he is head over all.
lord ~ someone with authority.
Lord ~ the name for God or Jesus; it means that he is head over all.
peace ~ when we are friends with God and with other people; freedom from mental troubles or troubles in the spirit; a friendly attitude towards other people.
spirit ~ evil spirit(s) from the devil; part of a person when they are alive, which we cannot see; it decides what to do – good or bad; God’s Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised to send to all who know him as the Son of God.
devil ~ another name for Satan, the chief evil spirit.

holy, holiness ~ description of God, set apart, perfect, wonderful; completely good, with nothing bad in it; belonging to God; separate from sin, pure, clean.
Satan ~ a name for the chief bad spirit; the top devil; he is also called the devil.

sin, sinner, sinful ~ when people do things against God; when we do not do the commands of God; the evil nature that is in us that we were born with.
Hebrew ~ the language of Jewish people.

Jew, Jewish ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; a person who believes the faith of the Jews, called Judaism.

'blessing, blessed ~ the good things that God does for us; a blessing can be a prayer that God will bless someone.
bless ~ to cause good things to happen to someone.
grace ~ a gift, from God or from people, that we do not deserve and cannot earn; what God or people give because they are generous; the help and protection that comes from God.
heavenly ~ in or about heaven.
spiritual ~ life that relates to the spirit.
spirit ~ evil spirit(s) from the devil; part of a person when they are alive, which we cannot see; it decides what to do – good or bad; God’s Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised to send to all who know him as the Son of God.
devil ~ another name for Satan, the chief evil spirit.