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Unlikely
MESSENGER: Why would the early church listen to Paul? Why should we?
Ephesians
1:1 "Paul..."
God uses
unlikely people, to His Glory alone. Look through all of Scriptures
and you'll see that this is God's norm. So too with this New
Testament figure:
Paul of
Tarsus (called "Saul from Tarsus in Acts 9:11, refers to himself
as a Jew born in Tarsus in Acts 21:39, a citizen). His Hebrew
name was Saul, his Latin name was Paulus; in the original NT Greek
text, Grecized to Paulos. He likely had both names; Paul being his
birth name in the Roman world, Saul being his circumcision or Jewish
name. Scripture does not say he changed his name, rather it says he
was called both: (Acts 13:9a "Then Saul, who was also
called Paul...")
Acts 7:57-8:3
At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their
voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and
began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at
the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 While they were stoning him,
Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60 Then he
fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin
against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep. 8 And Saul
was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great
persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except
the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men
buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to
destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and
women and put them in prison. (NIV)
Acts 9:1-9a
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the
Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for
letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there
who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as
prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey,
suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the
ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you
persecute me?" 5 "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.
"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. 6
"Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you
must do." 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless;
they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the
ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led
him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind...
(NIV) [circa 35 A.D.]
Acts 9:13-16
"Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports
about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in
Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief
priests to arrest all who call on your name." 15 But the Lord
said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry
my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of
Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." (NIV)
The church recognized
Paul as a believer - one who life was changed by the power of Christ
The church recognized
him as an Apostle of Jesus Christ - one who is sent (emphasis on
the One who did the sending); an envoy, an emissary
Ephesians
1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the
saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: (NIV)
Ephesians
1:1-3 From: Sha'ul ("Shaa-ool"), by God's will an
emissary of the Messiah Yeshua. To: God's people living in Ephesus,
that is, those who are trusting in the Messiah Yeshua: 2 Grace to you
and shalom from God our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah. 3
Praised be Adonai, Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah (CJB,
Complete Jewish Bible)
See also
1
Corinthians 1:1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by
the will of God (NIV)
2
Corinthians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of
God (NIV)
The church recognized
Paul as an Apostle to the Gentiles - one who was sent by Jesus
especially to the Gentiles.
- This
didn't mean only to the Gentiles. Even the other Apostles who were
primarily to the Jews also taught some Gentiles.
Extreme of
current beliefs in this regard: i.e. Bible Church in Ohio: According
to "Mid-Acts Dispensationalist" theology the Epistles of
Paul are the only ones for the body of Christ for doctrine and
practice, and the other books are for the nation of Israel (including
the book of Hebrews and Revelation).
Peter
taught Gentiles (i.e. Cornelius and all at Caesarea Maritima, Acts 10:1-48)
Galatians
2:7-9 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with
the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had
been to the Jews. 8 For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter
as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an
apostle to the Gentiles. 9 James, Peter and John, those reputed to be
pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they
recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to
the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. (NIV)
Paul was opposed
by false teachers (many examples throughout his letters, i.e. 2
Corinthians 11:12-15; Galatians 2:4). Late in Paul's life, a group
came on the scene called the Ebionites...
- They
tried to merge Christianity and Judaism.
- Held to
a mandatory Sabbath on Saturday and Sunday worship.
- Held
that the Mosaic Law was obligatory for all and necessary for salvation
(Justin
Martyr, circa 140 A.D.,
emphasized the difference between Jewish Christians who still
practiced aspects of the Law as voluntary and did not require
observance by others vs Judaisers like the Ebionites. Modern
Messianic Jews would be among the former in our modern times.)
- They
held James up as true leader of the church, against Paul (as if they
were opposed to each other and had differing messages).
- They
generally held that Jesus was of natural human descent. Even those of
them who believed in a virgin birth denied the pre-existence of the
Son - i.e. the Trinity.
- They
taught that Paul's writing were to be rejected as one who was
apostate from Judaism and not an apostle.
Trivia: A
modern Ebionite movement exists which still reflects many beliefs of
the earlier. The second paragraph of their Ebionite Manifesto proclaims:
We declare
the man Paul of Tarsus, the false teacher against the mark of
Covenant and God's Torah, to be outside of the Way taught by Yeshua,
the anointed, son of Maria and Yosef. The Ebionite Community is the
only real "mission to the gentiles."
Excerpts
from their fourth and fifth paragraphs show that they deny Jesus to
be the Savior or to have risen from the grave:
To follow
Yeshua, may he rest in peace, you must not worship him or any man,
but instead be what Yeshua was, a Jew. Yeshua was a man who died and
was buried, and finding his bones does not effect the value of many
of his recorded teachings... Yeshua is not a god, not a sacrifice for
sin, or savior. (Ebionite Community, www.ebionite.org)
To ignore
the message of Ephesians (and all of Paul's writings), they must tear
down Paul as being an Apostle. This began while Paul was alive (see.
1 Corinthians 9:1-3, 2 Corinthians 12:11-13).
Not
written by Paul?
Skeptics
(Biblical Minimalists) say Ephesians wasn't written by Paul - why?
Primarily
that it too closely resembles Colossians
Secondarily
that it too closely resembles Paul's other epistles
- Yet
Ephesians follow Paul's overall theme (God's grace, God's Love, Not
works to save, works are a result, Christ the only Mediator, Paul is
unworthy to be an apostle yet appointed by God)
-
Ephesians uses Paul's normal style of writing
That it
was written by Paul is confirmed by the testimonies of early church
-
Irenaeus,
[Against Heresies, 5.2,3; 1.8,5], circa
180 A.D. (studied under Polycarp, who studied under John) - also
stated "to the Ephesians"
- Clement
of Alexandria, [Miscellanies, 4, P.65, & The Instructor, 1.8], circa
182-202 A.D. - also stated "this was the Epistle to the Ephesians"
- Origen,
[Against Celsus, 4,211], circa
248 A.D.
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The MESSAGE: Written when, where, and to whom?
The Message of Ephesians is Scriptures (recognized from the beginning).
Ephesians is quoted as Scriptures by many early church fathers:
Ephesians originally was written in Greek. Greek was the
common dialect of the Roman World, spread originally by Alexander the
Great. It prevailed from circa
300 B.C. to the 6th
century A.D. In fact, church services in Rome used Greek until
the mid 3rd
century A.D., when it was overtaken by Latin.
Two Disputed words in the text (Questions about the text):
Ephesians 1:1-2 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will
of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful
in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ. (NASU, emphasis ours)
The words "at Ephesus" are missing from three of the oldest
manuscripts we have: P46, Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus, also
the ones known to Marcion, 2nd century heretic; Origen, late 2nd
century; and Tertullian, early 3rd century, all omitted the words).
These are the only disputed words in the text of Ephesians; the book
was transmitted very accurately.
Some modern translations have chosen to omit or mark the word "in
Ephesus" as being dubious.
Ephesians 1:1-2 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will
of God, To the saints who are also faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace
to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (RSV)
Ephesians 1:1-2 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the
will of God, to the saints [in Ephesus], the faithful in Christ
Jesus. 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ! (The New English Translation Bible®, Copyright
© 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C., Dallas, Texas, www.bible.org.)
Yet Vaticanus (circa
325-340 A.D.) and Sinaiticus (circa
340-350 A.D.) both have noted in the margin "at
Ephesus", one appearing to be in the hand of the original
writer. P46 (circa
150 A.D.) clearly has "To Ephesus" at the top of the
manuscript as a page heading (in University of Michigan Library). It
was well known to be for the church "at Ephesus". All
ancient translations (Syriac, Latin, Coptic, Gothic) included the
words in the text.
To the Ephesians is confirmed by the testimonies of many early church
fathers, notably three mentioned earlier:
Yet, make note of this, even if these words were missing it changes
nothing in meaning or intent regarding the content (or message) of
the book!
More details from the text,
- written to the saints (believers) at Ephesus. It was written
to believers for they alone would accept it:
1 Corinthians 2:13-14 This is what we speak, not in words
taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit,
expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 The man without
the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of
God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them,
because they are spiritually discerned. (NIV)
Details about Ephesus
- The general and broad nature of the topics within Ephesians show
that it applies to all believers everywhere (one of the least
personal of all Paul's writings, it lacks personal greetings). Paul
left the personal aspect to the one carrying the letter...
Ephesians 6:21-22 Tychicus (too-key-kos'), the dear brother
and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that
you also may know how I am and what I am doing. 22 I am sending him
to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that
he may encourage you. (NIV)
Paul refers to the church (singular) through Ephesians, rather than
to churches (plural). His message was for the church universal not
specifically to one local group of "called out ones"
(Ekklesia [eck-clay-see'-ah]). This can be seen from passages such as:
Ephesians 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit- just as you
were called to one hope when you were called- 5 one Lord, one faith,
one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through
all and in all. (NIV)
- Ephesians was for Jews and Gentiles (who comprise one church)
(From his second visit) Acts 19:1a, 8-10 While Apollos was at
Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at
Ephesus. ... 8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly
there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of
God. 9 But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and
publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples
with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who
lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. (NIV)
Ephesians 2:14-18 For he himself is our peace, who has made
the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of
hostility, 15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its
commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself
one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in this one
body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he
put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you
who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through
him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. (NIV)
Background on Paul's contacts with the church at Ephesus, prior to
writing this letter:
Acts 20:25-31a "Now I know that none of you among whom I
have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. 26
Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of
all men. 27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole
will of God. 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which
the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of
God, which he bought with his own blood. 29 I know that after I
leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the
flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the
truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your
guard! (NIV)
- Ephesians was written by Paul a prisoner in Rome (Ephesians 4:1
"As a prisoner for the Lord..." NIV)
Ephesians 6:13 Therefore put on the full armor of God... (NIV)
- Ephesians was written to a people who were
-
called out from, and
- to be a witness to
a lost, corrupt, and wicked society.
Paul taught the need to change people - by the power of God - not
merely their circumstances. They were people who had medical needs,
needed housing, needed food, needed education, needed better laws,
needed better lawmakers - even if they had all of this, they were
still lost. So too today. Paul's letter seeks an inside out
transforming change built on the love of Jesus Christ (3:14-19)
Ephesians 2:1-2 As for you, you were dead in your
transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you
followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of
the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. (NIV)
Ephesians 4:17-19 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the
Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the
futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their
understanding and separated from the life of God because of the
ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19
Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to
sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a
continual lust for more. (NIV, see 4:17-5:21)
For a summary of the state of the Roman world in Paul's day, see
Romans 1:18-32 (see below v21-32):
Romans 1:21-32 For although they knew God, they neither
glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking
became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although
they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory
of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds
and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the
sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading
of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of God
for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the
Creator - who is forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God gave
them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural
relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also
abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust
for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and
received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. 28
Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the
knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what
ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of
wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder,
strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers,
God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of
doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless,
faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God's righteous
decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only
continue to do these very things but also approve of those who
practice them. (NIV)
Specifically in Ephesus:
God's message of in the book of Ephesians is still for the church today.
We are still faced with a world that is lost in sins,
Similar sins to those being committed when this book was written,
sins carrying the same consequences before God.
Best of all we have God's unchanging message of forgiveness of
sins and salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Ephesians 2:1-10 As for you, you were dead in your
transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you
followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of
the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the
cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.
Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of
his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive
with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace
you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us
with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in
the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace,
expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace
you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it
is the gift of God- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For
we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do. (NIV) |
