Ephesians’ Struggles
I
want to begin with a story from my family. My three younger girls love their
gymnastics class. But one day, out of the blue, Esther said, “I don’t want to
go to gymnastics anymore.” Surprised, I asked her, “Why? Is it just for today or
from now on?” She said, “From now on.” So I asked, “Why?” Her response? “Because
you’ve already spent so much money on our Chicago trip. I don’t want you to
spend more money for me.” In the meantime, Hannah went up to her room for a
while. Not long after, she came downstairs holding $20 bill from her piggy bank
and said, "Here, Dad, you can use this money for the Chicago trip!"
I have no doubt that Esther and Hannah love me and care for me, but they struggled and worried because they didn’t know my plan – how Joyce and I carefully prepared for this trip for a long time in advance. If they knew the plan, they would have been able to relax and enjoy more and worry less.
Now, the Ephesians were in a similar situation. They were struggling, just my girls, but for different reasons. Ephesus was a major center of pagan worship, particularly of the goddess Artemis. The Christians there were facing a lot of spiritual opposition. They struggled with how to live out their new identity in Christ, especially surrounded by a sinful culture. On top of that, there were tensions between the Jewish and Gentile believers in the church. So, like my girls, they were questioning, "Where is God in all of this? Does He still care about us?"
So here in today’s passage the Apostle Paul shouts his encouragement to the Ephesians in three ways: the Father’s plan, the Son’s mission, and the Spirit’s work.
The
Father’s Plan
The
first message Paul gives them, and to us today, is that God has a plan. This is
the very first message for the Ephesians and for us today. “I am here for you
in your struggle, my child.” And this is the Father’s plan: “Even before he
made the world, God loved us and chose us… God decided in advance
to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus
Christ” (vv. 4-5, NLT).
Yes, our struggles are real. Disease still comes, finances are still tight, relationships still remain difficult, and next steps still remain uncertain. In the midst of all these challenges we may find ourselves worried, confused, discouraged, asking ourselves, “Who am I?” “Where is God?” But these verses are God’s answer: “Do not be afraid. Do not worry. I loved you before the world began. I called you, chose you, and adopted you into my family. You are mine. You are safe and secure, no matter what happens.”
Robert Peterson beautifully articulates what it means to be adopted into God’s family this way[1]:
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!
The
Son’s Mission
Adoption
is costly. It can range from $20,000 to $50,000 or more. But God purchased our
freedom at the highest price—His Son’s life. Ephesians 1:7 tells us, “He is so
rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his
Son and forgave our sins.” Through Jesus Christ, we are freed.
Sundar Singh was born in 1889 into a rich family in India, and he grew up to hate Christianity as a foreign religion. He even expressed his hostility at the age of fifteen. He publicly burned a Gospel book. But three days later he was converted through a vision of Christ, and in his late teens, he determined to become an itinerary preacher. On one occasion Sundar Singh visited a Hindu college, and a professor accosted him aggressively and asked, “What have you found in Christianity that you don’t have in your old religion?” Sundar Singh replied, “I have Christ.” The professor continued impatiently, “Yes, I know, but what particular principle or doctrine have you found that you did not have before?” Sundar Singh replied, “The particular thing I have found is Christ.”[2]
Christ is everything. In today’s passage (vv. 3-14) Paul repeats the phrase “In Christ (him)” or “through Christ (him, or his blood) 11 times. How do we know God so loves us? Through Jesus Christ. How did God make his adoption plan possible? Through Jesus Christ. We are adopted at the cost of His blood (1 Peter 1:18-19).
The
Spirit’s Work
But
there is more! God doesn’t just give us His plan and leave us to figure it out
on our own. He gives us the Holy Spirit to make this truth real in our lives.
Ephesians 1:13-14 says, “When you believed in Christ, he identified you as his
own by giving you the Holy Spirit… The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will
give us the inheritance he promised.”
Several years ago my Honda Civic literally stopped in the middle of the road. So I had to purchase another vehicle. When I bought my car, I made a down payment, and even though I hadn’t finished paying for it, the car was mine. In the same way, the Holy Spirit is God’s down payment on what’s to come. Because the Holy Spirit is in us, we believe God’s love has been poured into our hearts (Rom 5:5). Because the Holy Spirit is in us, we believe we are forgiven and adopted, calling God “Abba! Father!” (8:15-16). Because the Holy Spirit is in us, we believe Christ died for us, rose from the dead, and gives purpose to our life today. Our believing is the evidence that the Holy Spirit is in us.
It’s
a Wonderful Life
This
brings me to the movie It’s a Wonderful Life. George Bailey feels
overwhelmed by life’s challenges. He reaches a point where he believes the
world would be better off without him. But when the angel Clarence shows him a
glimpse of what life would be like without him, George's perspective changes.
He begins to see the incredible impact he’s had on others. What he thought was
an ordinary life was actually extraordinary.
Sometimes, our hardships and struggles cloud our perspective, and we lose sight of the blessings God has given us. And we wonder, “Is there really purpose in all of this?” But in today’s passage, Paul encourages us to lift our eyes and see our lives from God’s perspective. The Father has a plan. He loves us. He is at work in us through His Spirit.
May God the Father open the eyes of our hearts so we can see a glimpse of His glorious plan in Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. And when we do, we’ll say with joy:
“This is my Father’s world.
O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so
strong,
God is the ruler yet.”
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