11-06 Pauls Salutation to the Book of Ephesians

Ephesians 1.1.2 states, In Paul’s salutation he presents the dual source of his apostolic authority, a dual description of believers, a dual blessing for believers, and the dual source of these blessings. In breaking down these two verses of Ephesians 1, we will identify the dual source of the authority. Paul wrote with the authority of an apostle. Apostolos means sent one, and in the New Testament is used as an official title of the men God uniquely chose to be the foundation layers of the church and the receivers, teachers and writers of his final revelation, the New Testament.

The apostolic duties were to preach the Gospel, teach and pray, work miracles, build up other leaders of the church, and write the Word of God. Besides the original twelve and Matthias, who replaced Judas, Paul was the only other apostle, as it were, one untimely born. Yet he was not inferior to the other apostles, having met all the requirements for that office. Paul’s credentials were not his academic training or his rabbinical leadership, but his being an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. Paul did not teach and write by his own authority, but by the dual yet totally unified authority of the Son, Jesus Christ, and of the Father God.

In stating that truth, Paul was not boasting of personal merit or elevating himself above other believers. He well remembered that he had been a blasphemer, and he still considered himself the foremost of sinners. Like every Christian, he was first of all a violent prosecutor of the church and an unworthy and ignorant unbeliever, a bondservant of Christ Jesus, his Lord. By mentioning his apostleship, Paul simply established his underserved but divinely bestowed authority to speak in God’s behalf, which he states at the beginning of each of his epistles except Philippians and first and second Thessalonians.

From God’s side, believers are those whom he has made holy, which is the meaning of saints. From man’s side, believers are those who are faithful, those who have trusted in Christ Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Every Christian is a saint, because every Christian has been set apart and made holy through the perfect righteousness of Christ that has been placed to his account. When a person acts in faith to receive Christ, God acts in grace to give that person Christ’s own righteousness. It is Christ’s perfect righteousness, not a person’s own character or accomplishments, no matter how great they may seem in men’s eyes, that establishes every believer as one of God’s saints through saving faith.

This was a common greeting among Christians in the early church. Charis, grace, is God’s great kindness toward those who are undeserving of his favour but who have placed their faith in his Son, Jesus Christ. To greet a Christian brother or sister in this way is much more than a wish for their general wellbeing. It is also an acknowledgement of the divine grace in which we stand and which has made us mutual members of Christ’s body and of God’s divine family. Grace is the fountain of which peace is the stream. Because we have grace from God, we have peace with God and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension.

Peace is the equivalent of the Hebrew shalom, which in its highest connotation signifies spiritual prosperity and completeness. The dual source of blessing is the same as the dual source of authority, God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. These are not separate and distinct sources but two manifestations of the same source, as indicated by the connective high, which can indicate equivalence, and here indicates that the Lord Jesus Christ is deity, just like God our Father. Paul’s message throughout this epistle is that believers might understand and experience more fully all the blessings granted by their Heavenly Father and His Son and their Saviour Jesus Christ.

Thank you for joining us in this exploration of Paul’s salutation to the Book of Ephesians. Until next time, remember to keep the faith, stay strong, and continue to shine your light in the world. To hear these daily devotions of your daily bread, please log on to goddessgovernment.com. Goodbye and may your faith always lead the way. [tr:trw].