Introduction

Reading the book of Ephesians takes one through a series of clearly defined sections. On one hand, the book divides in half: the presentation of God’s blessings and privileges believers enjoy (Ephesians 1-3) followed by a resulting catalog of the Christians’ responsibilities (Ephesians 4-6). Beyond this simple division, how­ ever, virtually all Bible versions that employ titles to identify discrete sections-or studies that seek to outline the biblical books-acknowledge a standard division of the subsections of Ephesians.^[1]For a comprehensive introduction to the literature on Ephesianssee Wilham W. Klein, The Book of Ephesians: An Annotated Bibliography (New York and London: Garland, 1996). As readers “walk through” the letter, they find that the message proceeds in an orderly manner.

After the Pauline salutation and greeting (1:1-2), the author expresses praise to God for his provision of the manifold privileges believers enjoy in Christ (1:3-14). This leads the author to pray for his readers: prayer for God’s continued blessing on their lives and for their understanding of the power that God desires to unleash in the (1:15-23). Next the writer describes the Chris­tians’ transformation from their former state of spiritual death to their new life in Christ all due to God’s grace ( 2:1-10). The writer moves contrast their former estrangement from God’s people and blessings with their present participation in God’s new edifice, the church (2:11-22). Paul’s role in God’s program was to serve as steward of this redemptive message that brings all peoples together in Christ (3:1-13). At this thought, Paul turns again to prayer and praise for God’s strength and power (3:14-21).

Chapter 4 begins the second half of the book’s message: it details the appropriate responses of believers to God’s provisions and blessings in Christ. First, the author appeals for unity and humility in the body of believers (4:1-16), and then advances to a series of exhortations to live in ways that demonstrate their new position in Christ, in contrast to the shameful lives of separa­tion from and ignorance of the life of God that characterize unbelievers (4:17-5:20).^[2]In some analyses, 5:21 concludes the section that begins at 4:17,though most place it with the following section. In addition, some studies keep 5:21-6:9 together as the entire household code, while other divide it into three units that address wives and husbands (5·21-33), children and parents (6:1-4), and slaves and masters (6:5-9). From there, the author speaks to specific issues in the house­ hold: wives and husbands (5:21-33 ), children and parents, and slaves and masters (6:1-9). The book concludes with exhortations to spiritual battle against the enemy’s attacks (6:10-20), a final commendation, and a benediction (6:21-24).

An Overview: The Big Picture

Before we proceed to unpack the message in more detail, we must attempt to see the overall thrust of the letter. After a careful reading, and feeling the progress of the arguments just noted, a number of impressions emerge. Paul places great emphasis on the crucial role of Christ. The writer cites Christ and his work extensively; the exact phrase “in Christ” in Greek occurs nine times (though J. A. Allan asserts that the concept of “in Christ” in its various grammatical forms actually occurs thirty-four times).^[3]J. A. Allan, “The ‘In Christ’ Formula in Ephesians,” NTS 5 (1958- 59), 54-62. Likewise, the reader is struck with the central place the author gives to the church, the term (ekklesia) occurs nine times explicitly, but the reader also encounters the concept of the community of believers through many other expressions and images. The church is the corporate body of Christ, and corporate categories predominate throughout. Indeed, the juxtaposition of these two entities, Christ (the head) and the church (his body), signifies a unique feature of the letter. Through Christ, God has brought into existence a new entity, the church, an organism that joins all its disparate members together in unity and transforms them from their former sinful ways of existence into new lives of holiness.

Formidable foes work against what God is doing m the church through Christ, so the author attempts to encourage and motivate his readers to become what they are in Christ. The foes include their former social and racial practices and patterns-powerful forces that separated Jews and Gentiles – not to mention Gentiles and Gentiles wives and husbands, children and parents, and slaves and masters – specifically encountered in the letter.

Another enemy that fights against their be­ coming what God intends entails their former cultural practices and ways of thinking and living. Prior to becoming Christians, they were foreigners and aliens to God’s program in the world (2:19); their patterns of thinking were futile; their minds were darkened; their hearts were hardened; and their lives were dominated by sensuality (4:17-19).

All these make the tasks of godly living difficult to pursue. And, as if all these factors from the past were not enough, now as Christians they battle hidden, wicked, supernatural forces: rulers, authori­ties, powers of this dark world, spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms – all energized by the devil himself (6:11-12). These readers need all the help the author can muster to fortify them to live as God expects.

Part One: God’s People in the Mystery
of His Will

Salutation

In the first half of the letter the author lays the foundation. In the initial salutation we see how crucial is Christ’s role in all that follows (1:1-2). Paul is an apostle of Christ Jesus, the readers are saints, the faithful in Christ Jesus; and the Christian blessings of grace and peace derive from God the Father and Jesus Christ the Lord. This centrality of Christ at the start prepares the reader for his pervasive role in what follows.

Thanks for the Great Blessings and Privileges

Doxology controls the next section (1:3-14). Each member of the trinity receives praise for a role in the salvation of God’s people. God deserves praise for his wide-ranging spiritual blessings, especially for his eternal election of the church in Christ. Election is corporate,^[4]For a defense of this understanding, beyond merely the letter of Ephesians, see William W. Klein, The New Chosen People: A Corporate View of Election (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990). the choice of the community to attain the goal of holiness (1:4), while predestination results in the adoption of believers into God’s family through Christ. Christ’s role was to accomplish redemption and forgiveness through his death, all because of God’s grace. Those who believe in Christ are sealed with the Holy Spirit who becomes their deposit and guaran­tees their final inheritance. In other words, all these riches come to those who “hope in Christ,” who have “heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,” and who have believed (1:12-13). Faith grants an individual entrance into the fellow­ ship of believers, and the possession of the salva­tion God has accomplished through Christ and for those who are in Christ (cf. 2:8).

Praise to God begins and ends the section. God purposed in Christ lavishly to endow believers with his gracious gifts; his actions for them are pleasurable; believers receive his riches and a glorious inheritance. All this occurs as the result of a grand and carefully crafted scheme “to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ” (1:10). God supplies every spiritual blessing to his people in Christ ( 1:3). The ultimate outcome of God’s extraordinary blessings to his people will be “the praise of his glory” (1:12, 14; cf 1:6). God alone can receive the credit and glory for what his people enjoy.

Prayers for Wisdom and Knowledge

No wonder such thoughts of praise motivate the apostle to thanksgiving and prayer for his readers (the next section, 1:15-22). Since learning of their faith in Christ, he prays continually for them. His requests center on the mental or cognitive level.

They need a godly understanding and Spirit­ directed wisdom to understand things as they truly are. So he asks God to grant them such wisdom and revelation so they can know God more intimately. In that vein, he prays for enlightened hearts so his readers can understand the hope they possess, their inheritance among the body of believers, and God’s mighty power-the power capable of raising Christ from the dead that operates to accomplish all of God’s purposes for the church, in this age and the age to come. Nothing can restrain God’s strength to provide for his people.

These purposes, again, culminate in exalting Christ (Christ the “head” mentioned in 1:10 recurs in 1:22). Not only does Christ now sit at God’s right hand of honor, but he enjoys the position of absolute sovereignty and power in the entire universe and for all time. Christ reigns supreme as head over everything for the church (1:21-22). In other words, God’s appointment of Christ as peer­ less monarch functions to promote the church which is Christ’s body – the organism that complements or completes Christ (1:23).

Death Transformed into Life

The section that follows reminds the readers of the extent of God’s salvific grace on their behalf (2:1-10). The argument beings with the concept of separation: formerly they were dead in sins (separated from God); they followed the ways of the world and its ruler (the spirit who energizes those who disobey God); they only gratified their sinful nature; and they were objects of divine wrath. Due only to God’s love, mercy, grace, and kindness (2:4-5, 7-8), the separation has been obliterated, for they have life in Christ , salvation, resurrection, and residence in the heavenly realms. Through their faith they have apprehended God’s salvation, a gift solely based on divine grace, and which radiates “good works.” The church has been purchased by God because it has work to do for God, and because God has work to do within the church.

Reconciliation into One Body, the Church

In what follows in Ephesians 2, the author develops a major theme of what work God aims to accomplish in the church: the reconciliation of Jew and Gentile (2:11-22). This will form the basis for his instructions about unity and humility in chapter 4. The largely Gentile readers must under­ stand their former state vis-a-vis the people of God. Again, separation best describes their former position of uncircumcision, exclusion from citizen­ ship, being excluded as foreigners, hopelessness, and godlessness. But all that damage was repaired through Christ’s blood; he made peace between the formerly hostile groups, but, more importantly, reconciled both to the Father. Now Jews and Gentiles are “fellow citizens” and “members of God’s household,” a building founded on the apostles’ and prophets’ efforts having Jesus as its cornerstone (2:20). In Christ the building holds together as if he were its mortar. Christ’s crucial role receives its due emphasis one more time. Significantly, God has come to indwell this temple of God’s people through the Holy Spirit.

Again, corporate categories dominate the apostle’s thinking. A survey of this section alone uncovers expressions such as: “made the two one” (2:14), “one new humanity” (2:15), “one body” (2:16), “fellow citizens” (2:19), “God’s household” (2:19), “whole building” (2:21), “holy temple” (2:21), and “dwelling” (2:22). This was God’s age-old intention (cf. 1:5), to accomplish in Christ the means for bringing together into one entity all those who believe. That entity is nothing else but the church. It functions as the apex of God’s program for humanity.

Apostolic Steward of God’s Mystery

No wonder Paul exults in his calling to be a steward of this message to Gentiles! Who would not rejoice in being the bearer of such good news? His explanation of his role comprises the next section (3:1-13). Via special revelation, God graciously entrusted to Paul-unlikely candidate that he was-a mystery to proclaim (3 :3, 4, 6, 9; 6:19; 1:9; cf. 5 :32). The mystery, hidden through the ages, is precisely this: through their acceptance of the Christian message Gentiles and Jews together become joint members of one body, the church. This union of ]ew and Gentile in the church, accomplished through Christ, will display to all creation-including the rulers and authori­ties in heavenly realms-God’s multifaceted wisdom. That Paul currently suffers imprisonment for his part in proclaiming this good news is a small price to pay for the eternal glory that ensues. He reminds his readers they ought not be discouraged because of his present adversities.

Prayers for Strength and Love

This first half of the letter concludes with another prayer and doxology (3:13-21). Like his prayer in Ephesians 1, Paul prays for inner strength for his readers. But clearly growing out of the need for unity in the church-the focus of the next sec­tion – he concentrates his prayer on love. Love must be their foundation (rooted and established), and love must completely saturate their every imagination and dominate their experience. Only through them will they actually attain the totality of everything God anticipates for them. Beyond all comprehension, he asks, may they be as full of love as is God himself.

Has Paul aimed too high in his aspirations for his readers? Are his prayers mere wishful impossi­bilities? Can the members of Christ’s church really demonstrate divine love in how they relate to one another? Can their love even hope to measure up to God’s in any conceivable way? Oh yes it can, because of God’s mighty power at work within his people. So, “To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!” (3:21; NIV).^[5]Quotations taken from the New International Version of the Bible unless specified otherwise.

Part Two: God’s People in a Walk Worthy of His Calling

Unity in the Body of Christ

The apostle who willingly suffers imprison­ment to proclaim such a message has an urgent appeal for his readers: “Live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (4: 1). Unpacking such an exhortation dominates the second half of the letter, Ephesians 4-6. His first appeal grows out of his prayer for lo in the preceding section and calls for humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearance-in a word: unity (4:l-16). The Spirit has joined them into one body (the foundational theology of Ephesians 1-3); they must labor (“make every effort”) to make unity a practical reality. Christ distributed to them diverse gifts for ministry, but the goal of all must be “unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God” (4:13). The entire body must strive to “build itself up in love, as each part does its work” (4:16). The theological reality of the one body expressed so eloquently in the first half of the letter must find expression, Paul avers, in the active life of the serving, maturing church. Maturity, too, demands nothing short of unity in all things. Repeating the words of 3 :19 that spoke of love, here the “fullness of Christ” (4:13) necessitates unity. For the body to grow up into the likeness of Christ, each person must exert his or her effort to love. To stress enough how much Paul emphasizes unity here is difficult. Though monumental and numerous forces work incessantly to fracture the church, the entire body must strive to “build itself up in love, as each part does its work” (4:16).

Put Off the Old Self and Put On the New Self

This appeal leads to specific instructions designed to promote maturity in Christ. What follows in 4: 17-5:5 are specific charges for living worthy lives (cf. 4:1), particularly in contrast to the unbelievers-Gentiles as he calls them. These Gentiles endure lives characterized by futile thinking, darkened understandings, separation from God, ignorance, the hardening of their hearts, lack of spiritual sensitivity, sensuality, and unrestrained impurity (4:17-19). But not so the Christians, Paul urges. They must “put off” the old self and “put on” the new self. The old is being corrupted, while the new is being recreated to be like God in true right­eousness and holiness. The efforts involved in putting off and on require acts of the will, the “atti­tude of your minds” (4:23). No doubt the crucial­ness of such decisions lay behind Paul’s prayers for their proper understanding, wisdom, enlighten­ment, and strength earlier (1:17-19). One must decide to be holy, and to make this decision requires divine insight and power.

The paragraphs that move from 4:25 through 5:20 put in very practical terms what it will take for the members of each church body to live together in unity. Unity will not emerge unless the believers take conscious steps to actualize their new existence in Christ. This unity will require conscious choices about what not to do (how they used to live) and what to do (how God desires them to live). Cer­tain specific behaviors will virtually destroy a community. They must put away these actions and attitudes resolutely. The sinful behaviors forbidden include: falsehood, sinfully expressed and unre­solved anger, stealing, unwholesome talk that grieves the Holy Spirit, bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, malice, sexual immorality or other kinds of impurity, greed, obscenity, and foolish talk or coarse joking.

The author reaffirms though, they are light in the Lord; so they must live as children of light. In contrast to the previous sinful behaviors that work against a strong and unified community, Christians ought to demonstrate virtues such as: truthful speech, hard work and sharing the fruits of one’s labors, speech that builds others up in their areas of need, kindness, compassion, forgiveness, love for others, goodness, righteousness, truth, and every­ thing else that please the Lord. They must not grieve the Spirit who sealed them (4:30), but rather allow the Spirit to fill their lives and move them to singing and thankfulness to God for all he has accomplished in them.

Make no mistake, Paul writes, God knows how people live. His light will expose everything. Fail­ure to live a life of holiness might well show that a person is not a kingdom subject after all (5:5). Eternal issues lie in the balance. Holiness and unity are not options for God’s people. Confidently, Paul affirms their presence in the light. His call to them, therefore, is clear: “Be very careful, then how you live-not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (4:15-16).

Rules for Christian Households

Next, the author isolates what might well be the central requirement for the proper functioning of the body in unity: submission. Strife and disunity reign when people are more concerned to secure their own way and power than to see that others succeed. In this section, Paul shows how “mutual submission” plays itself out in three crucial arenas in the Christian households of his day: between wives and husbands, children and parents, and slaves and masters (5:20-6:9).^[6]From the German word for household tables, such series of instruc­tions have become known as Haustafeln, or household codes. The phenomenon of such rules of conduct exists more widely.than the New Testament, of course. For further research see the sources noted in W. Klein, Ephesians, 268-77.

First, Paul presents to Christian partners the challenge in their marriages to demonstrate and repliq1te the relationship between Christ and the church (5:22-33 ). As the church submits to its head, Christ, so wives should submit to their husbands, “for the husband is the head of the wife” (5:23). Correspondingly, as Christ sacrificed all because of his love for the church and in order to secure the church’s redemption and holiness, “in this same way” husbands should love their wives. As Christ cares for the church, so husbands ought to care for their wives. In loving his wife, a hus­band loves his own body-for husbands and wives are one flesh. In short, marriage is not the arena to get your partner to serve you; it is the place to serve your partner.

Paul presents an intriguing thought in 5:32. A Christian marriage at its best helps the readers understand the relationship between Christ and the church-surely a profound mystery-and vice­ versa. Christ and the church are joined together into a single entity, as a husband and wife are “one flesh.” The bonds are personal and permanent; they involve reciprocity and mutual caring. The passage also suggests that, motivated by sacrificial love, one partner initiates – the head – while the other responds to the head’s love. The results are mutually rewarding and beneficial.

Second, children and parents have mutual obligations in keeping with their commitments to the Lord (6:1-4). Children should render obedi­ence to their parents in the spirit and context of their being “in the Lord,” that is, as the Lord would have them obey. To retain this tenet from the Decalogue, for a community of faith in which parents are respected and obeyed will enjoy health and longevity, is only right. But parents have oblig­ations, too. Do not provoke or exasperate them, Paul says. Not provoking children does not mean, however, that parents simply allow their children to have free rein with no restraints. No, parents must provide the instruction and discipline children need to become productive Christian disciples themselves.

Third, the author moves to slaves and their masters (6:5-9). Again, the context assumes Paul speaks to believers in what follow. Slaves are to obey, “just as you would obey Christ” (6:5), and to serve “as if you were serving the Lord” (6:7). Nor is obedience merely to gain the favor of their human masters. Christian slaves obey because they know that their Lord and Master in heaven will reward their good efforts. And human masters must operate in light of that same truth, too, for God rewards all, whether slave or free, according to their actions (6:8). God shows no favoritism in whom he judges or rewards. So masters must not threaten their slaves, but treat their slaves as they wish God to treat them. God will reward on how well they did.

Being Strong in the Lord in the Spiritual Battle

Paul has set out his theological foundation for unity in the church in Ephesians 1-3, and has fol­lowed that with very specific and practical steps the readers should take to live out their position “in Christ.” There remains one final point in case they were not alert enough to see it, Paul asserts, a spiritual battle rages. The evil one will spare no effort to thwart the implementation of these instructions. When the church strives for holiness and unity, the enemy will exert his best efforts to oppose them. To live a life worthy of their calling in Christ involves a spiritual battle. Paul portrays the normal Christian life that seeks holiness as a life of struggle, not a life of ease.

Still the good news must be announced: God is ready to supply every needed resource for the Christian to resist all attacks the enemy may advance. When the dust settles at the conclusion of the raging battle, Paul wants the believers to be standing. That will require preparation and effort. To steel them for the battle becomes Paul’s final objective in the letter (6:10-20).

The capacity to win spiritual battles lies in appropriating God’s strength (6:10). Employing the metaphor of the Roman soldier’s armament, Paul insists that the successful spiritual warrior must “put on” ( imperative mood) or seize the uniquely spiritual resources God has made available in order to stand in the spiritual battle. He implies that   apart from such protection, the Christian will not survive the battle. Christians require God’s help precisely because of the identity of their foe. They battle, not against human adversaries, but against wicked, dark, spiritual powers who work the devil’s evil schemes. No human devices or methods will have much success against those enemies. The battle must be won in the spiritual realm, so only spiritual tactics will produce success. Paul describes the weapons that do have impact against such formida­ble foes: truth, righteousness, readiness that comes from confidence in the gospel, faith in God, God’s salvation or preservation, God’s Word, and prayer. The Christians who display such traits can stand against any assaults Satan may throw against them.

In many ways, these “weapons” repeat the main points Paul stresses throughout his letter to them. If the church will succeed in accomplishing God’s purposes in the world, the church must employ the spiritual resources God supplies. The weapons are not tactics or strategies; they are not programs or techniques of success. Rather, they call upon Christians to trust in God and what he has revealed to his people. Know the truth, Paul insists, and follow it resolutely, despite many pressures to compromise it. Pursue righteousness at all costs, again, against the coercion of pervasive cultural influences to the contrary. The gospel faith, salva­tion, God’s word, and prayer-these are the weapons that succeed in spiritual battles. Proclaim the truly good news to people, not simply what they want to hear. Announce salvation where it truly can be found, not in the alternative, but empty promises of the world. Stake your life on God’s word, not on counterfeit authorities. Pray for God’s help, for he provides true help in times of need. Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. In fact, Paul repeats, keep on praying for all the saints ( 6:18).

The section concludes with Paul’s appeal for prayer for himself: that he might remain a fearless and bold witness for the gospel-perhaps to illus­trate the kinds of things that should characterize their prayers for the saints and for themselves, for that matter. Though Paul suffers imprisonment, he does not want to use that as an excuse to restrain the gospel message. He solicits their prayers that he will declare the gospel fearlessly, “as I should” (6:20).

Greeting and Benediction

All that remains are some personal greetings and a benediction (6:21-24). Apparently, Tychicus would carry the letter around to the various churches, bringing any personal matters about Paul’s status to them as he did. Beyond bearing the letter and news about Paul, though, Tychicus would be an encouragement to the Christians. Paul concludes his words by pronouncing on his readers God’s peace, love with faith from God, and grace to all who love Jesus.

Conclusion

Paul composed a masterpiece when he penned this letter to the Ephesians. Readers of this ancient document cannot avoid seeing its relevance to our age.^[7]In fact, one writer was convinced, in 1976 at least, that Ephesians held the place of the most relevant of all the New Testament epistles for people in the modem era: N. Alexander, “The Epistle for Today,” in Bib­lical Studies, ed. J. R. McKay and J. Miller (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1976), 99-118. Racial and ethnic reconcilia­tion, unity in the body of Christ, holiness that sets the church apart from the surrounding culture – all these and more make the letter of ongoing signifi­cance. What people in Paul’s world needed to make the church the church, Christ’s people have needed throughout their history. No wonder F. F. Bruce described the letter as “The Quintessence of Paulinism.”^[8]F. F. Bruce, “St. Paul in Rome. 4. The Epistle to the Ephesians,” BJRL 49 (1966-67), 303-22.