Ephesians 1:3-14 (NRSV)
Ephesians 1:15-23 is a prayer focusing upon the supremacy of Christ. The segment is one long sentence in Greek. It includes thanksgiving, intercession, praise of the resurrection, and a description of the church, of which God, the Spirit, and Christ are the primary agents. The prayer mentions the apostles, saints, and church.
The prayer in Ephesians 1:15-16 with giving thanks to God, like what we also find in Colossians 1:3-4 and Philemon 4-5. 15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints. For some scholars, why must he hear of their faith and love since he founded the congregation. He would know of these virtues by personal experience. However, others think he is writing specifically to newly baptized gentiles, in which case this reference would make sense. More importantly, we see what Christian tradition would call the theological virtues become an important part of this prayer. Paul will commend congregations for their faith and love. He commends the church in Thessalonica for the faith they have and of which others have told him (I Thessalonians 1:6-10). He does not praise a broad quality of faith, but faith in Lord Jesus. He does not praise an overall quality of love for humanity, but love focused on its expression to other Christians. Whenever Paul speaks of saints, he is talking about members of the church, a group of people God has chosen and set apart to the work of God in the world. They are holy people because they are the people of God who have the mission in life to witness in word and deed to the work of God in Christ. He will describe this faith later in the letter. Faith is part of the means of salvation “by grace” (2:8), and it is also through faith that we have “access to God” though Christ, who sits at God’s right hand (3:12; 1:20) but who, through faith, dwells in our hearts as well (3:17). Additionally, the author continues to emphasize the importance of love in the community. Their love has its foundation in Christ’s love (2:4-5; 3:19) and is necessary for the “building up” of the body of Christ (4:16) as he exhorts the whole congregation to “live in love, as Christ loved us” (5:2). Further, for this reason, their faith and love, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. Paul was aware of people's sin and weakness, but he refused to get involved in flaming indictments of his congregations. Rather, he begins with expressions of thanks. At the same time, he usually shares intercession for them related to the conditions prevailing in them. A pattern in Pauline letters is that he will begin with a prayer of thanksgiving for the congregation. Paul adopted the pattern common in the Greco-Romans letters of his time. We see the pattern in I Thessalonians 1:2-10, Romans 1:8-17, and I Corinthians 1:4-9. The offering of thanks will also foreshadow some of the themes of the rest of the letter. Beginning in this way focuses on the positive dimension of their congregational life.
Paul is offering some signs of sainthood.
The first sign of a saint is faith in the Lord Jesus. What does it mean to have faith in the Lord Jesus? It means trusting the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. The word “truth” among the Greek philosophers could be a quite abstract and intellectual matter. For the Hebrews, truth is that which is endurable and reliable, that which stands the test of time. You can place your trust in this word, that Jesus is the way to God. It will be the journey of a lifetime. You are not to just be a member of this congregation. You are to make this the journey of your life, in which Jesus becomes the center of your life. That is what saints do, plain and simple — they follow Jesus on the way to God.
The second sign of sainthood is their love toward the saints. In my experience, saints are best known through small, earthly gestures, deeds of love and mercy made even more holy because they are so earthly. In the first days of the church, the saints were part of a community of love and concern, one in which acts of practical service demonstrated such love. One of the first things the early Christians did was to organize a diaconate to make certain that widows and the needy got some relief (Acts 6:1-7). “Contribute to the needs of the saints,” wrote Paul to the Romans; “extend hospitality to strangers” (Romans 12:13). We find widows commended in the Christian community for showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, and helping the afflicted (1 Timothy 5:10). Paul spearheaded a collection for the church in Jerusalem and described it as a special “ministry to the saints” (II Corinthians 8:4). Today, as in the earliest days of the church, love needs to be more than a word, more than an emotion — it needs to be an act of practical service.
In Ephesians 1:17-19, Paul next moves toward an intercession for the gift of the Holy Spirit, who will reveal hope, riches, and power from God. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, beginning with identifying who God is. The word glory may refer to Jesus, in which case we should translate as “Glory.” His prayer is that this God will give them a new human spirit of wisdom (σοφίας) that will guide them in how to live and revelation (ἀποκαλύψεως) or special insight into the gospel. Such persons remain fallible, of course. All the saints receive such guidance and inspiration. He makes the goal of this new human spirit clear in saying as you come to know him (God, Christ, or both), the God of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Father of Glory. Such guidance and inspiration suggest growth, so God will continue to give to them this Spirit. The goal of the giving of such a new human spirit of wisdom and revelation is 18 so that, in a unique phrase, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, suggesting such enlightenment or illumination is a continuous process throughout life rather than just a moment. The emphasis is the creative function of the human spirit. Biblical literature will use the eyes and heart as metaphors for comprehension and understanding. Thus, those who worship idols do not know or comprehend, for they have shut their eyes and minds so that they cannot understand (Isaiah 44:18). God created humanity in the image of God, giving them eyes and a mind for thinking, filling them with knowledge and understanding (Sirach 17:6-7). Further, having already referred to their faith and love, the goal is that they may know what is the hope, rounding out the theological virtues. Most readers of Paul recognize that Ephesians does not put as much emphasis upon the future consummation of Christian hope as do other letters. Paul can stress the importance of waiting for the Son from heaven (I Thessalonians 1:10). He can stress that while we grieve over those who have died, we do so with hope, for the dead in Christ will rise first, so that all faithful will be with their Lord forever (I Thessalonians 4:13-18). The content of that hope will conclude the prayer. Such hope refers to the future and the thing for which they hope. He further refers to the hope as that to which he, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Father of Glory, has called you. The instrument of the calling is the gospel that invites us to enter a new relationship. The hope to which God calls them finds further definition in that they will know the riches of the glorious inheritance among the saints, stressing the unity that forward-looking hope brings to the people.
A third sign of sainthood is knowing the hope to which God called us. We can enjoy this quality right now. People who are saints in this life assume that God is always ahead of them, not stuck behind them, and they are constantly seeking to learn what God is revealing to them. We need the spirit of wisdom and revelation to see the hope that is already present. A generation ago, entertainer Gracie Allen said, “Never put a period where God has placed a comma.” There is a lot of truth in it because it reminds us that God is leading us into a future of new wisdom, new revelations, new understandings, new insights. Do not put a period where God has placed a comma — saints take this seriously as they look for new revelations every day. This spirit of wisdom and revelation knows the hope to which God has called us, the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and the immeasurable greatness of his power. We do not have to die and go to heaven before we can have this wisdom
Certain segments of the church in the world today will emphasize this Other-sidedness or Yonder orientation of the New Testament. Some will do so while expressing little concern for This-sidedness or Here orientation that we also find in the New Testament. When people are hungry, it does not show materialism. It shows they are hungry. Yet, one could make a good case today that the focus of the modern western church is a passionate anxiety about economics and political organizations. The problem with this approach is perspective. It treats Here and This-sidedness as if eternal. I grant the element of truth in the saying that some Christians are so heavenly minded they are of no earthly good. The opposite is also true. Some Christians are so earthly minded they are of no heavenly good. Time is no judge of eternity. Rather, eternity is the judge and tester of time. Eternity is present within us and around us as a spiritual presence. Eternity is the creative root of time. Eternity embraces time. Thus, we need to learn to live our lives at two levels simultaneously. We live at the level of time that eternity embraces. Sometimes, we are aware of the glory of eternity, even while also aware of our daily temporal routine. Sometimes the clouds settle low and we are chiefly aware of the world of time. Yet, the hint of the eternal, the divine presence, remains with us, even if at the margins of our consciousness.[1] In addition to this hope, his intercession includes their present experience of 19 the immeasurable greatness of his power for those who believe, according to the working (ἐνέργειαν) of his great (κράτους) power (ἰσχύος). Paul will further connect the power that we may presently have with the resurrection of Christ and the enthronement of Christ over all powers.
In Ephesians 1:20-21, Paul refers to the resurrection of Christ land the enthronement of Christ over all powers. The same power at work in believers is the power that raised Christ from the dead. He will express these thoughts in what is a hymn that praises the resurrection and exaltation of Christ to the right hand of God. Such exaltation by God explains the role of Christ in the present. The church needs to know what Christ’s role is in the present, not just what his position will be in the future (e.g., eschatological judge). The background for the hymn is two psalms. In Psalm 110:1, we find a phrase that receives other multiple references in the New Testament, “The Lord says to my lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.’” We also find references in Hebrews 1:13, Mark 12:36, and I Corinthians 15:24. The other psalm is Psalm 8:6, “he has put all things under his feet.” Using such psalms helps him to describe a picture of the current exaltation of Christ in which one has no question of the victory of Christ. Thus, 20 God put this power to work in Christ first, when God raised him for the dead and second, when God seated him at the right hand of God in the heavenly places. He further stresses the finality and completeness of this exaltation by saying that the exalted Christ is 21 far above all rule, authority, power, and dominion. These angelic beings reside in the heavens. The list is not exhaustive. He recognizes them as real powers. This enumeration helps to make clear the extent of Christ's victory and rule. All powers are under the control of God. It would include the demons expelled by Jesus and the princes of the nations in Daniel. Paul has in mind those institutions and structures that administer earthly matters and invisible realms and without which human life is impossible: life/death; nature; law; tradition, customs; political structures, ideologies, prejudices, authority, parenthood. Thus, this is not superstition. Ephesians focuses on a community rather than personal piety. Here, it deals not only with that community but also with the structures within the world. Terrestrial power does not limit the power of Christ. Further, God has also exalted Christ above every name that anyone could name, not only in this age but also in the age to come. Time does not limit the power of Christ. The point is that even the cosmic powers, often discussed in Jewish apocalyptic literature, is under the dominion of the exalted Christ. The enumeration makes clear the extent of the victory and rule of the exalted Christ. Paul has in mind those institutions and structures that administer earthly matters and invisible realms, without which human life is impossible. It refers to life and death, nature, torah, tradition, customs, political structures, ideologies, and authorities. Angels, for example, are not so much personal figures as they represent forces, such as the principalities and powers we find here, which, as strong as these forces are, God has set them under the dominion of Christ.[2]
Ephesians 1:22-23 concludes the prayer with Christ as head of all things, but especially the church. God has put all things,[3] referring to the structures of powerful institutions like governments and authorities, but necessarily identifying them as evil, under the feet of Christ. These angelic beings reside in the heavens. The list is not exhaustive. He recognizes them as real powers. This enumeration helps to make clear the extent of Christ's victory and rule. All powers are under the control of God. God 22 has made him the head[4] over all things for the church. Christ is the head in a way that sums up, renews, and is the source of the universe. The image thus denotes Christ's authority over the church, power exerted in the church, presence to the church, unity of the church, and the coordination of its members. He makes it clear that the divine plan of redemption includes the entire creation. Until the consummation of the age to come, hostile powers will exert their influence. Yet, we can begin to experience the power of that consummation now. The new age is a present reality. We no longer must live under the influence of the old order. God has not revealed to the cosmos this already completed reality.[5] The reference to the church hints at the catholicity of the church in a qualified way as the fullness of the eschatological consummation of the church. It will manifest itself at any given historical moment in the openness of the actual fellowship of the church, of transcending any particularity, to the fullness of Christ that will fully come only in the eschaton. True catholicity will always recognize the provisional nature of this affirmation of the church, rather than seek to identify the true church with any individual church.[6] Further, only Christ is the head of the church. This means that referring to any pastor or to the Bishop of Rome with the same terminology causes justifiable offense. Byzantium was quite right to reject the claim of the Bishop of Rome based upon this passage.[7] Christ is head over all things and the head of the church. He further identifies the church as 23 his body.[8] Here is an effect of the resurrection and exaltation of Christ. The church is the embodiment of Christ and even an extension of the Incarnation and is therefore an expansion of the fullness of Christ. The church is the manifestation of Christ to the world. The church has a cosmic role. As such, Christ is the fullness[9] of him who fills all in all.[10] Christ has a role in the present, in making the power of God available today, but in a way that provides movement toward the unifying hope of the future. Nothing is outside the power of Christ.
Since the prayer ends with the cosmic orientation of the church and its manifestation of Christ to the world, I share a brief image from Sam Shoemaker. He used to refer to certain long-established churches as “aquariums.” He would cite the teaching of Jesus that the disciples were to fish for people. Then he would point out that many followers of Jesus, in long-established churches, are more like “keepers of the aquarium” than “fishers of people.” An aquarium is a closed system. It is a beautiful thing to look at, but aquarium fish just swim around and around in that limited space, enjoying one another’s company (or so we presume). He thinks it far better, for the sake of the gospel, to be sailing out over the open ocean, encountering newcomers whom God has sent here. He wonders how much of today’s license-plate evangelism is little more than a conversation within the aquarium?
[1] Thomas Kelly, A Testament of Devotion (New York: Harper & Row, 1941) 90-92..
[2] Pannenberg Systematic Theology Volume 2, 105.
[3] I am following Markus Barth here. Others might follow the idea that the plural of pas may mean "all people" rather than "all things." Another possibility is to take it as an adverb, "all in all" or "altogether, wholly."
[4] "Head"--1) in Old Testament means chief, ruler, leader. 2) In Greek literature the whole universe is a body, but this pantheistic view is an unlikely source. 3) The medical knowledge of the day. I assume the last, with Markus Barth.
[5] Barth Church Dogmatics III.2 [45.3] 301.
[6] Pannenberg Systematic Theology Volume 3, 407.
[7] Pannenberg Systematic Theology Volume 3, 430, 466.
[8] "Body"--Paul always means a living body. Does he preach that in some sense the church is Christ an embodiment of the Logos, an extension of the incarnation, an expansion of his fullness? 1) Borrowed from the analogies of the unity of a State and the human body. 2) Parallels with Gnostics. 3) Old Testament concept of "corporate personality." Christ fulfilled the role of the patriarchs and kings in whom the Israelites experienced their own salvation. But the use of "body" is a stumbling block. 4) Sacramental or Eucharistic incorporation. 5) Going to 5:22-33, marriage symbolizes one body, so the union of Christ and church signify one body. 6) It expresses both the church's connection with Christ and its mission to the world. The church is the manifestation of Christ to the world. The value is the centrality of Christ, his self-manifestation, his mission, and the world.
[9] "Fullness"--1) Gnostics make big use of this term. 2) Associate with Old Testament concept of Shekina, which is glorious presence. It is a one sided movement, a gift of God's self-revelation, salvation, self-presentation.
[10] Philological facts: 1) fullness may either have active or passive sense. 2) In abstraction, it means to complete, carry out, sum up. If the verb is passive, the power is active, or if the verb is active the noun is passive.
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