“Can We Have Peace in This World?” (Eph 2:11-22)

God’s Reality Vs. Our Reality
Peace is one of the dominant themes in Paul’s letters. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines peace as “a state of tranquility or quiet.” When we take a walk in the quiet wood covered with snow, or when we watch birds feed over the window, we say, “That’s peace.” But the word peace (Shalom in Hebrew) in the Bible is more than merely good inner feelings; it is more about relations. It’s a comprehensive term for salvation and life with God. When we are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, we have peace with God. By this, we then have peace of God – a sense of wholeness, a sense of being at home, a sense of belonging, a sense of security, a sense of purpose. That’s biblical peace, shalom.

The word for peace (eirene in Greek) occurs 43 times in Paul’s letters, and eight of them are in Ephesians. In today’s scripture Paul says, “He [Christ] is our peace” (v. 14), “His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity from two, thus making peace” (v. 15), “Christ came and preached peace to you outsiders and peace to us insiders” (v. 17). So Christ is our peace, Christ makes peace, and Christ proclaims peace. Christ Jesus is the one who makes peace possible. And in him peace is available and can be enjoyed. This is God’s reality. But as we look around, we see a huge gap between God’s reality and our difficult reality in this world today. Paul proclaims the good news that Christ has already broken down the dividing wall, the hostility between us. But what we see today is division, separation, loneliness, hatred, name-calling, hopelessness, purposelessness. And we ask, “Can we have peace in this world?” Paul’s answer to this question is an enthusiastic yes. He gives us three metaphors for our better understanding: God’s kingdom, God’s family, and God’s temple.

God’s Kingdom
First, God’s kingdom. The peace of God rules in our hearts when we live as citizens of heaven. In today’s scripture Paul says, “Remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel… [But now] you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints” (vv. 12, 19). Christians are dual citizens – heavenly citizens and earthly citizens. To be more accurate, Christians are eternal citizens of heaven, and temporary residents (aliens) of earth. We Christians are to be respectful to earthly authorities. But our highest allegiance is to our highest authority, the God of heaven. But some people are confused with God’s kingdom and earthly kingdom, Christianity and nationalism. On January 6 rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol. Many participants carried Bibles, carried Christian flags, and shouted praises to Jesus as they broke into the building. Jenny Cudd, a florist from Texas, posted a 20 minute Facebook video in which she boasted about how she “charged the Capitol with patriots,” exclaiming “I’m proud of my actions.” She concluded her video by saying, “To me, God and country are tied — to me they’re one and the same,”[1] History tells us that this is not something new. The crusades wanted to establish a theocracy (government and religion are one). Puritans wanted to have a theocratic state.

God’s kingdom, however, is not a country (territorial jurisdiction). God’s kingdom is wherever God reigns. It’s interracial and international. There is no place for racism, nationalism, tribalism in God’s kingdom. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego understood this very well. They were respectful to their governing authorities. But when they were forced to do something unjust, such as worshipping other gods, they said, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defense to you in this matter” (Dan 3:16). Here they were saying, “I must be disobedient to a king in order to be obedient to the King.” In his sermon But If Not, Dr. King said,

You may be 38 years old as I happen to be, and one day some great opportunity stands before you and calls upon you to stand up for some great principle, some great issue, some great cause—and you refuse to do it because you are afraid; you refuse to do it because you want to live longer; you're afraid that you will lose your job, or you're afraid that you will be criticized or that you will lose your popularity or you're afraid that somebody will stab you or shoot at you or bomb your house, and so you refuse to take the stand. Well you may go on and live until you are 90, but you're just as dead at 38 as you would be at 90!

Aliens live in fear – fear of deportation, fear of not belonging. But Paul exhorts us to remember our identity and live as citizens of heaven. “Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ” (Phil 1:27 NLT). God’s peace becomes our reality when we live as heavenly citizens.

God’s Family
The second metaphor is God’s family. The peace of God rules in our hearts when we live as members of God’s family. In verse 19 Paul says, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but… you are members of the household of God.” Anne Rice, author of the famous Vampire Chronicles, became a Christian later in life. But ten years later Rice decided to leave church, and she wrote the following wards: [2]

Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being “Christian” or being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to “belong” to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.

In some ways, Rice’s words make a lot of sense. There are times when we are tempted to just throw in the towel and live as guests and outsiders rather than members. To borrow the words of Justin McRoberts, “Being a Christian can sometimes feel like being in a family with a thousand drunk uncles.”[3] But the local church was God’s idea. Through the cross Jesus created in himself “one new humanity” (v. 15) – new society, new community, that is the Church. And church is family. We don’t get to choose our family members. We are simply given to each other by our Father in heaven. As D.S. Carson said, the church itself is not made up of natural friends. It is often made up of natural enemies – those who think differently, look differently, act differently. But they are not our enemies, but our uncles and aunts. They are our family. Paul exhorts Timothy (and us) to treat others as follows: “Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity” (1 Tim 5:1-2, ESV). God’s peace becomes our reality when we live as members of God’s family (cf. Col 3:15).

God’s Temple
The third metaphor is God’s temple. The peace of God rules in our hearts when we live as parts of God’s temple. Paul says, “In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God” (vv. 21-22). Here we find the spirit of “togetherness.” At the center of this holy temple is Christ Jesus, the cornerstone (v. 20). Cornerstones in ancient Israel were the primary load-bearing stones. Such stones have been found in Palestine, one weighing as much as 570 tons.[4] Jesus makes the whole building possible. He holds all things together. In him we are joined together, built together, grow into God’s temple together.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer desired to live in the Christ-centered community. So he started Confessing Church with his seminarians. He believed that Christ continued to be present in the world through his followers as they lived the Christian life together. So Bonhoeffer and the seminarians would enjoy a simple common daily life together. They would read and pray the Psalms together, sing hymns together in the early morning. During the day they would be united in service to one another, study together, share burdens together. At the end of the day, they would gather and confess their sins to one another, partake in the Lord’s Supper together. Yes, we can enjoy our fellowship with Jesus by ourselves. But “life together” is essential for Christians. Where there is brotherly love among God’s people, God is present there in the midst of them. That’s why we gather here in person or virtually today, that’s why we share our daily verse and pray together, that’s why we come to the Bible study and share our lives together. God’s presence, God’s peace becomes a reality when we live a life together as parts of the body, the temple.

Called to Be Peacemakers
Today we heard the message of hope. Can we have peace in this world? Yes we can! Let us remember what Jesus has done for us. By the blood of Christ you and I are forgiven and reconciled to God, others, and ourselves. And let us remember our identity. We were aliens, but now citizens of heaven. We were strangers, but now members of God’s household. We were hopeless and useless to God, but now essential parts of God’s temple. So let us live our life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. And the peace of Christ will rule in our hearts and compel us to be peacemakers.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me bring love.

Where there is offence, let me bring pardon.

Where there is discord, let me bring union.

Where there is error, let me bring truth.

Where there is doubt, let me bring faith.

Where there is despair, let me bring hope.

Where there is darkness, let me bring your light.

Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.

O Master, let me not seek as much

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love,

for it is in giving that one receives,

it is in self-forgetting that one finds,

it is in pardoning that one is pardoned,

it is in dying that one is raised to eternal life.

Amen.

----------------
[1] Jack Jenkins, “Capital violence brewed from nationalism, conspiracies, and Jesus,” Christian Century (January 25, 2021)
[2] Scott Sauls, Jesus Outside the Lines (p. 49). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition.
[3] Ibid., 49.
[4] Klyne Snodgrass, Ephesians (The NIV Application Commentary Book 10) (p. 138). Zondervan Academic.

“Salvation Journey” (Ephesians 2:1-10)

Salvation as a Journey
Nowadays Grace and my mother do facetime once a week. It’s a language exchange. Grace tells her a story in English, and in turn my mother in Korean. A story-telling is a very effective way to teach and learn new languages, but also new concepts and truths. In fact, Jesus always used stories and illustrations in order to make his message clear to people. John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress teaches us so many biblical truths by telling a story. One of the major lessons we can learn from this great story is this: salvation is not a one-time event but rather a lifetime journey. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, defines salvation this way:[1]

By salvation I mean, not barely deliverance from hell, or going to heaven, but a present deliverance from sin, a restoration of the soul to its primitive health, its original purity; a recovery of the divine nature, the renewal of our souls after the image of God in righteousness and true holiness, in justice, mercy, and truth.

Becoming a believer (conversion, passing from death to life) may be a miracle of a moment, but becoming a Christian (follower of Christ) is a process of a lifetime. God’s salvation begins and ends with grace – a free gift, unmerited love of our loving Father. We are being drawn to God by grace. We are forgiven and reconciled to God by grace. We are shaped and transformed into the beautiful image of Jesus Christ by grace. It’s all one grace, but we can see grace working in three particular ways – prevenient grace, justifying grace, and sanctifying grace. We can see all these three expressions of grace as the full salvation in today’s scripture.

Prevenient Grace
First, prevenient grace. Prevenient (preparing) grace means that God is always and already at work in our life, even before we are aware of it. Paul diagnoses our spiritually hopeless condition in this way: “You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived” (v. 1). It’s impossible for us to seek God, know God, love God. But God is taking the initiative. God always makes the first move toward us, going before us, seeking us, nudging us, calling us. God called Adam “Where are you?” when he was disobedient and hiding himself behind the trees. God called Moses when he had killed an Egyptian and was living as nobody without hope. God called Elijah when he was depressed and suicidal and hiding himself in the cave.

God is always at work in our life. And his (prevenient) grace is working to stir us and bring us to the place where we recognize our hopeless spiritual condition and acknowledge our sin, and begin to realize we cannot save ourselves and need a Savior. God stirred Zacchaeus, while he was dead in his sin. And Zacchaeus was being drawn to Jesus. He became hungry and thirsty to know more about who Jesus was. So he ran ahead and climbed a tree to see him. Jesus came to him, calling him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down!” God is always at work in our life, seeking us, calling us, inviting us in so many ways, often through a life crisis. In my case, God allowed me to have some major sickness along the way since I was very little, that I might be drawn to Him. In your case, God may nudge you through financial hardship, or loss of a loved one, something else. God’s purpose is one: our salvation. God’s prevenient grace gently and powerfully leads us to the point where we come to realize how hopeless, how helpless, how sinful we are and we need a Savior.

Justifying Grace
But God’s grace is working in our life much more than. Not only does grace lead us to a vulnerable place, but also it leads us to our Savior Jesus Christ. God’s grace enables us to repent (meaning a radical turn to God) and believe, so that we may have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 5:1). This particular expression of God’s grace is called justifying grace – grace that actively leads us to believe in Jesus as our personal Savior and Lord, that we may be counted as righteous and be at peace with God. In today’s passage Paul declares, “But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved” (vv. 4-5). Justifying grace is the forgiving love of God, making us alive together with Christ.

When John Wesley didn’t run away from this grace but chose to accept it, something amazing happened that day (May 24, 1738). Wesley described later what happened in his own life: “I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for my salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.” Amazing, justifying grace! For me personally, my conversion, passing from death to life, was a gradual and cumulative process rather than a radical one. After I was miraculously healed from Dengue Fever, I was drawn to God, thirsty to know more about who God was. And for the first time, I read the entire Bible from cover to cover. God changed me profoundly – my worldview, my values, my purpose of life – over the next few years. Some people (ex. John Wesley) remember exact date and time when they were converted; others don’t (like me). But whether it is radical or gradual, we find that true conversion has one thing in common. Jesus Christ is at the center of our conversion. And we all share the common fruit of our conversion – “blessed assurance” – the assurance that we are forgiven and reconciled to God, others, and ourselves, the assurance that we are beloved child of God and enables us to cry, “Abba! Father!” (Rom 8:15), the assurance that we are created for God’s glory.

Sanctifying Grace
God is always at work in our life, seeking us and calling us (“prevenient grace”). God enables us to respond to his grace, repent and believe, that we may have peace with God through Christ Jesus (“justifying grace”). But there is more! God dwells in us, transforming, restoring and shaping into the beautiful, perfect image of God. It’s called sanctifying grace. In verse 10 Paul says, “For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” When we embrace God’s sanctifying grace and join him in his work, we are being formed and growing up into Christ – thinking, talking, acting like Christ. In this context Paul encourages us in this way: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12). Then, how do we work out our salvation? Our spiritual ancestors practiced “means of grace,” the channels through which God’s grace is conveyed to us. The means of grace include, but not limited to, prayer, scripture, the Lord’s Supper, fasting, and gathering with other Christians. The means of grace itself have no power within themselves. But as we use them by faith, we create a room for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives.

Salvation is a lifelong journey. So is God’s sanctifying work in us. For me personally, 2020 was the year of spiritual transformation. The death of George Floyd reflected where we were as a nation and raised the question of racial justice. Covid-19 pandemic also exposed and even magnified social divides. Then, the presidential election came. God somehow used all these three major crises to disturb my comfort zone and complacency, nudging me, shaping me, stirring me up with questions like, “What does it mean to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus, at such a time as this? What does it mean to live a life of congruence – congruence between my beliefs and my actions, between my inside and my outside – without deceit and hypocrisy?” God has been reshaping my theology (beliefs), my thoughts and actions, my whole being.

Long Obedience in the Same Direction
Salvation is a lifetime journey. It begins and ends with God and his grace. Our part is to repent and believe from the beginning to the end. As I close, I would like to share the starfish story. Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. One day, after a big storm had passed, the man found the vast beach littered with starfish as far as the eye could see. As he was walking along the shore, he saw a young man picking up small objects and throwing them into the ocean. He asked, "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?” The young man paused and replied, "Throwing starfish into the ocean." “Why?” asked the wise man. The young man replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die." The old man said, "But, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!" At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. And he said, "It made a difference for that one."[2]

On our salvation journey, we often struggle, we doubt, we backslide, we go through dark nights of the soul, failure in relationships. We make a wrong turn and bad choice. But still, God’s grace is greater, more powerful than our sins. God’s grace is always actively working in our life. Our part is to say “Yes” to God’s grace by faith. Our part is to daily repent (turn), daily renew our faith. It’s a “long obedience in the same direction.” So, let us start with one starfish at a time. The one who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it (1 Th 5:24). The one who began a good work (of salvation) in you will bring it to completion (Phil 1:6). Amen.

------------
[1] John Wesley, The Works of John Wesley, Volume 11, 106.
[2] The Starfish Story, https://pawswakefield.rescuegroups.org/info/display?PageID=9457

“The Church Triumphant” (Ephesians 1:15-23)

Knowing God
William Randolph Hearst was an American newspaper publisher. It was well-known that he invested a fortune collecting art treasures from around the world. One day Mr. Hearst found a description of some valuable items that he felt he must own, so he sent his agent abroad to find them. After months of searching, the agent reported that he had finally found the treasures. They were in Mr. Hearst’s warehouse.[1]

In today’s scripture we can hear Paul cry out, “Christians, you do not have to look elsewhere to find what you need for life. What you need is in Christ.” Then he prays, “O Lord, open the eyes of their heart, so that they may know hope, your inheritance, and power in Christ Jesus.” Paul’s request is not a prayer for something special for a few Christians. Rather, he wants all his readers to know God and experience his benefits. Ephesians 1 is divided into two sections. First, Paul blesses God for having blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing (vv. 1-14); then he prays that God will open our eyes to grasp the fullness of this blessing (vv. 15-23). He also wants us to know that God makes his blessings (hope, inheritance, power) available through the ministry of the church. In Ephesians 1:22-23 Paul says,

“And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”

Today’s passage tells us about who we are as a church, and it also implies the kind of community the church should be.

Hope
First, the church is a community of hope. Paul prays, “Open the eyes of their heart, that they may know the hope to which you have called them” (v. 18a). The word hope in the Bible is much more than “I hope so,” like we hoping for better weather tomorrow. For Christians, the word hope carries with it “assurance for the future,” firmly built on God’s character and his promise.

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus' blood and righteousness

I dare not trust the sweetest frame

But wholly lean on Jesus' name 

When we were lost, we were without hope, but in Jesus Christ, now we have a “living hope” (1 Peter 1:3) that encourages us day by day. One of my favorite parts in Pilgrim’s Progress is how Christian could get out of Doubting Castle. One day Christian and his companion Hopeful are captured by Giant Despair. The giant drives them into his Doubting Castle. And he locks them into a dungeon for days. There Christian and Hopeful are beaten unmercifully. They even see the skulls in their dungeon. They almost lose their hope. Then all of sudden, Christian exclaims, “I just remembered that I have a key called Promise! I believe it will open any lock in Doubting Castle.” So when he uses his key, the door flies open with ease. The giant cannot pursue, and the pilgrims escape.

2020 was a record breaking year, in terms of hurricane, wildfire, heat and flooding. The elderly read the obituaries first. The young have lost their jobs, and on a deeper level, they have lost a sense of hope of making a difference. Middle-aged people are busy but bored. Every day we must all deal with meaninglessness, evil, suffering, sickness, and death. Where do we find hope? God wants us to taste and see the hope from above through His Church. The other day I met a Christian couple at the post office parking lot. The husband was mad at this country. He was mad at himself. He was mad at everything. I could tell he was frustrated and discouraged. After our brief conversation, I offered a prayer. As we prayed in Jesus’ name, we felt new hope flooded into our hearts. He made my day. And I believe I made his day. This is the church. The church is meant to be a community of hope. We are called to be a hope-giving community to the world around us.

Inheritance
Secondly, inheritance. The church is community rich in inheritance. Paul prays for Christians in Ephesus, “Lord, open the eyes of their heart, that they may know… the riches of your glorious inheritance in your holy people” (v. 18b). To many, year 2020 will be remembered as a year of isolation and loneliness. When challenges arise, for such a time as this, we are easily tempted to just isolate ourselves and become “lone rangers.” But in today’s text Paul says by the Holy Spirit to the church loud and clear, “You are not alone. When challenges arise, you can rise above because you are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, who have gone before you and now are cheering for you” (cf. Heb 12:1a). When Elisha was surrounded by a great army of Aram, his servant was terrified and said, “Oh, master! What shall we do?” Elisha replied, “Don’t be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then he prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha (2 Kg 6:17). May the Lord open our eyes that we may see the riches of his glorious inheritance in his church.

As the Covid-19 pandemic lasts much longer than we expected, many people begin to feel fatigued, overwhelmed, powerless. Many churches, many Christians fight hard against loneliness, a sense of being too small for the task. But we are not alone. Even Jesus’ disciples felt the same way. When they saw a great crowd, they felt overwhelmed and said, “Master, this is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus replied, “They don’t need to go away. You give them something to eat.” The disciples found five loaves of bread and two fish and brought them to Jesus. Then, we see four very important verbs: take, bless, break and give (Matt 14:19). Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it back to them. And all ate and were satisfied. What’s the lesson for us today in our context? Whether we belong to a small church or mega church, whatever we are, whatever we have, as long as we belong to Christ, united to Christ and his body – the Church, we are rich and satisfied. And as a church, we are able to feed those who are hungry and searching for true community, true meaning of life.

Power
Hope. Inheritance. And the third is this: power. The church is a community of power. Paul prays for the church, “O Lord, open the eyes of their heart that they may know your great power for those who believe” (v. 19a). The power Christians have is not intrinsic power. It’s not something we have in ourselves, but a power that comes from God. It’s resurrection power. In verse 20 Paul says, “That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.” It is the same resurrection power to enable Abraham to have a child (new life), though Sarah was barren and he was too old as good as dead (Heb 11:11). It is the same resurrection power to breathe upon dry bones and make them alive and stand on their feet” (Ezk 37:10). It is the same resurrection power to open Paul’s eyes that he could turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God (cf. Acts 26:18). The Bible says we were dead. But by the same resurrection power God saved us and took us out of the graveyard of sin. He gave us new heart, new nature, new power. Today God still gives us the strength, the resurrection power to live for Christ.

Max Lucado expounds today’s text this way.[2] Suppose you have had a heart condition. Your frail pumper restricts your activities. Each morning at work when the healthy employees take the stairs, you wait for the elevator. But then comes the transplant. A healthy heart is now placed within you. After recovery, you return to work and encounter the flight of stairs—the same flight of stairs you earlier avoided. By habit, you start for the elevator. But then you remember. You aren’t the same person. You have a new heart. Within you dwells a new power. Now you have a choice to make whether you live like the old person or the new. The resurrection power is given from above, but still, we need to try those stairs. We need to practice. And it takes time. God’s power does not remove us from life’s challenges, difficulty, sickness and death, but makes us more than conquerors in all these things. This is not a power to escape difficulty, but a power to live in a difficult world. What the world needs today is new life, resurrection. When we belong to the church, the body of Christ, we experience Christ’s life and power. And now we are called to be a community of power that brings life to graveyards in this world.

Lord, Open the Eyes of Our Heart!
Ephesus was spiritually dead soil. At first, when Paul came to Ephesus, there were only a handful of believers (twelve of them). When he preached the good news, many stubbornly refused to believe and spoke evil of the Way. He encountered with the seven sons of Sceva, Jewish exorcists. Then he encountered with the mob scene incited by Demetrius. Ephesus was a hopeless, spiritually wretched, miserable, poor, blind, naked, and powerless place. But by God’s grace, Paul faithfully planted the church and watered the church by prayers and teaching the sound doctrine for three years. Then, Ephesus was transformed. And the Ephesian church became one of the most complete, healthy, and holy churches in our church history.

The God who saved and transformed Ephesus is with us today. God wants us to know him and his benefits through the church. The church is God’s hope, God’s inheritance, God’s power. May the eyes of our heart be opened to what God is doing among us so that we always speak of the hope, the riches, and the power to the world that he so loves. Amen.

--------
[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, Ephesians: Gaining the Things That Money Can't Buy (pp. 27-28). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.
[2] Max Lucado, Life Lessons from Ephesians (p. 16). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

“It Is Well” (Ephesians 1:1-14)

Why Ephesians?
One of the most famous tourist attractions in the US is the Empire State building in New York City. Each year, more than 4 million people from every region of the globe visit the Empire Sate building. Now the new 102nd floor observatory offers a 360-degree view. You can get the best possible view of Manhattan and see all of New York City’s iconic landmarks, from the Statue of Liberty to Central Park and far beyond. On the clearest days you can gaze up to 80 miles into the distance, far enough to see six states from a single vantage point, from a height of 1,250 feet.

The letter to the Ephesians is like the Empire State building. It offers a breathtaking, unobstructed view of the entire landscape. From here, you can get a bird’s-eye view of the entire scripture: God, the world, Jesus, the church, the means of salvation, Christian behavior, marriage and family, and spiritual warfare.[1] Nowadays I find myself so easily preoccupied with daily problems and concerns, from ongoing pandemic to recent political unrest. I need to learn to see the bigger picture and put things in perspective. So I need Ephesians. If you are like me, Ephesians is the right book for you. My prayer is that as we study this book together, we may get a bird’s-eye view of life and see things in the light of eternity, that we may always hope, always rejoice, always look for the best, never look back, but keep going to the end!

God Chose Us
Today’s passage is doxology, an expression of praise to God. But it’s not easy to grasp. For example, in the original Greek verses 3 to 14, these twelve verses are one single complex sentence. So it has to be unpacked. Here verse 3 is the key:

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ (NLT).

In this verse Paul declares that Christians are trinitarians, who believe in one God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing. That is, every blessing of the Holy Spirit has been given us by the Father if we are in the Son. So now we will explore this extremely important truth one by one.

First, God, the Father, is the source of every blessing we enjoy. It is God who has blessed us, who loved us and chose us. No matter how dreadful our past, no matter how self-centered our present, still God has chosen us out. The Bible says, “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ” (v. 5 NLT). Let us pause for a moment and think about what it means to be adopted into God’s family. Theologian Robert Peterson beautifully articulates what this means this way:[2]

Adoption is a legal procedure which secures a child’s identity in a new family. . . . God didn’t choose to be our foster parent. We don’t get kicked out of the family because of our behavior. We don’t have to worry day to day whether or not we are good enough to be part of the family. In his infinite kindness, God made us a permanent part of his family. . . . Nothing can undo the legal procedure that binds me to Christ. He died to redeem me. He signed the adoption papers, so to speak, with his blood. Nothing can cancel the work he did for me. I am free from the fear of falling away. Hallelujah!

Recently, I had a chance to watch the film, titled the Ride. It’s a true story about a white supremacist child, John, who is fostered, then later adopted by an interracial couple, Eldridge and Marianna. John couldn’t understand why this couple was lavishing love and kindness on him, although they knew all about his past. So one day he asked, “Why are you doing this?” The adoptive father replied, “Because everyone deserves a second chance.” When God chose us, we were unholy and blameworthy, deserving not of adoption but of judgment. But even before we were born, before the world was created, God decided to adopt us into his family. God showed this great love through Jesus Christ.

In Christ
First, God is the source of every blessing. The second is this: Jesus is the sphere in which every blessing is received. In verse 7 Paul praises, “He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins” (NLT). In today’s passage the phrase “in Christ” or “in him” occurs 11 times. In Christ we are blessed. In Christ we are loved and chosen. In Christ we are forgiven. In Christ we have new life!

This past week I found at least one shining, good news among all other sad, depressing news: A US doctor forgives $650,000 in medical bills for his cancer patients. This doctor recently closed his cancer treatment center after nearly 30 years in business. In this closing process he worked with a debt collection firm to gather outstanding payments, but then he realized many families had been hit hard financially by the pandemic. So he and his wife thought about it and looked at forgiving all the debt. In his Christmas greeting card to patients, he wrote, “We were proud to serve you as a patient… The clinic has decided to forego all balances owed to the clinic by its patients. Happy Holidays.”[3]

That is exactly what God did for us in Christ. We were slaves to sin. Our sinful self (nature) made us impossible to come to faith, come to know God and love God. But God himself purchased our freedom with the blood of Jesus. “For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Cor 6:20 NRSV). Yes, God purchased our freedom with purpose – glorifying God. Paul, in today’s passage, proclaims this truth three times. God adopted us into his family, so that we might live for his glory (vv. 5-6). God chose us in advance and he makes everything work out according to his plan, so that we would bring praise and glory to him (vv. 11-12). God has purchased us to be his own people, so that we would praise and glorify him (v. 14). We are chosen, redeemed, forgiven in Christ. We are blessed when we are vitally united to Christ.

By the Holy Spirit
Thirdly, there is the Holy Spirit. God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing. The blessing God gives us in Christ is spiritual. It is the blessing of the Holy Spirit. In verses 13 and 14 Paul says,

And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

When we believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit begins to dwell in us. God gives us new heart, new nature, new will and affections by the Holy Spirit. And we – our mind and heart first, then our emotion – are transformed. Then, we come to know God intellectually, willfully, and emotionally. And the more we know God and his character, the more we praise him and become more like his children, more like his Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Bible says the Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee, God’s down-payment, the deposit that assures us that God will fulfill all his promises to us. Suppose you put a hefty down payment on a house, certainly you would not want to lose that house or the money you already put down. In this analogy God himself, not we, is the one who puts a down payment. God gives us his Holy Spirit as the down payment, the guarantee that he will fulfill his promise. So today, whether we feel it or not, we trust that God chose us and has a plan for you and me before the world was created. We trust that God calls us, creates us, transforms us to live for his praise and glory.

God doesn’t promise us an easy life. In fact, through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom (Acts 14:22). Instead, God gives us blessed assurance that we feel secure in his love. Martin Luther describes the Holy Spirit as God’s guarantee, the Paraclete (literally, the “called-along-side One”) in his hymn A Mighty Fortress Is Our God:

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth; 

the Spirit and the gifts are ours, thru him who with us sideth. 

Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; 

the body they may kill; God’s truth abideth still; 

his kingdom is forever! 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us hear the words of encouragement from God to his church today. The Lord says, “I chose you even before the world was created. I have been in love with you. I have purchased your freedom with the blood of my Son. I have a plan for you. I call you to be praise. I have sealed you by my Spirit. Your inheritance is sure. I promised, and I will do it.”

No matter what we go through today, God is faithful and trustworthy. So come, let us sing, let us live, let us be to the praise of God’s glory.

When peace like a river attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll,

Whatever my lot Thou hast taught me to say,

“It is well, it is well, with my soul!” 

Amen. 

-----------
[1] N.T. Wright, Ephesians (N. T. Wright for Everyone Bible Study Guides), InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition. Location 44 of 1084.
[2] Robert A. Peterson, Adopted by God: From Wayward Sinners to Cherished Children (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2001), 76–78. quoted in Bryan Chapell, Ephesians (Reformed Expository Commentaries), 31.
[3] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55544496