Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who
are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:
Paul is an apostle to the saints
who are in Ephesus (Ephesians) and the faithful in Yeshua.
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
He wishes Grace upon them.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just
as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be
holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as
sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to
the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the
Beloved.
This one sentence is made up of
four verses. Something that stands out is many times people verse pluck and in
doing so it is extremely easy to take a verse out of its intended context.
Here Paul is calling for
blessings to YHWH, who has given spiritual blessings. He says we have been
selected from before the foundation of the world. This means, YHWH knew His
people before He created the world. He says we have been predestined to
adoption, meaning being grafted into Israel. This is YHWH’s will.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all
wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according
to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of
the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ,
both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.
Through the Blood of Yeshua,
there is redemption. The word used for redemption is Strong's G629 –
apolytrÅsis and its definition is a releasing effected by payment of ransom. In
order to be released from something, one had to be bound by that thing. That
being said, what is it the Ephesian believers have been released from? The next
segment states forgiveness of sins. It seems Paul is saying believers, and not just
the Ephesian, have been released from the bonds of their sin. I believe all
preachers would agree that YHWH’s commands were given to Israel and not to
gentiles. If that is the case, then how does the blood of Yeshua impact a
gentile? I ask this with the thought process being sin is the breaking or
disobeying of YHWH’s commands. That is how John defines sin.
1 John 3:4
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the
transgression of the law
Then, to go further, many
preachers today also teach that His law was given to only Israel, but it doesn’t
apply to believers today. In the same breath they will say believers have been
grafted into Israel. If His law was given to Israel, it is for Israel. If we
are grafted, or adopted into Israel, it is for us. Next, Paul goes into the
idea that YHWH has made known to us the mystery of His will. His will has
always been to save all of Israel. Remember, it was Israel who sinned against
YHWH causing Him to divorce her and scatter her among the gentiles. Now, Paul
is preaching to the gentiles and saying the mystery of YHWH’s will has been
revealed. So, what is the mystery? If everyone knows what His will was, it is
stated numerous times throughout the Old Testament, why was it a mystery? It is
simple. It was a mystery not the what, but the how. How was He going to fulfil
His will? When YHWH sent the norther House of Israel away and scattered her
among the nations, where she will continue to worship other gods, He divorced
her first because she was unfaithful, or worshiping other gods. According to
His own law, a man can never take a divorced wife back if she has become
defiled with another man. The mystery, or the how was YHWH going to do this was
through His own death. If the husband dies, the woman is released from the
marriage covenant, making her free to marry anyone she chooses.
The Greek word used here for
dispensation is Strong's G3622 – oikonomia and it means the management of a
household or of household affairs. Paul is saying here the management of the
end times is His gathering together all things which are in Yeshua.
Dispensation, at least in this verse, does not mean YHWH is dealing with
believers today differently than He did prior to Yeshau’s death.
11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined
according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel
of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His
glory.
Believers have obtained an
inheritance. The destiny of believers has been written according to the purpose
of YHWH.
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the
gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with
the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the
redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
The truth is the word. The only
word at the time Paul is writing this is what we call the Old Testament. The
gospel is about salvation. Believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit and the
Holy spirit causes men to keep YHWH commands, or in other words, the Holy
Spirit causes men not to sin.
Ezekiel 36:27
I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes,
and you will keep My judgments and do them
15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and
your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention
of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of
Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what
is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance
in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who
believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ
when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the
heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion,
and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to
come.
Paul is pleased with the faith of
the Ephesians and prays for them. The specifics that are prayed for are as
follows
1. The
spirit of wisdom and revelation in His knowledge
2. Eyes
for understanding being educated
3. To
know what is the hope of His calling
4. To
know the riches of His inheritance in the saints
5. To
know what the exceeding greatness of His power toward believers is
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over
all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all
in all.
YHWH has put all things under His
feet. Yeshua is the head, believers are the body.
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