The Epistle to the Ephesians
Lesson 2
The Door to the Heavenlies
Ephesians 1:1-3

Introduction
In Lesson 1, the emphasis was placed on the fact that Ephesians was by far the least personal of Paul’s letters. Consequently, many have assumed, and I agree, that Paul intended the Epistle to have a much wider influence. Perhaps he wanted it to have a universal influence.

In the lesson, it was shown that Paul had a two-fold purpose in writing this unique and powerful letter. First, having been given by God a special dispensation (or stewardship) of grace (Ephesians 3:2), his fervent desire was to make that grace known (Ephesians 3:7-8). That is why the word “grace” is dominant in the Epistle.

Paul’s second and equally important purpose was to make known the mystery of the Church which was not made known in past ages – that Gentiles should be fellow heirs with believing Jews to form one body to be called THE CHURCH (Ephesians 2:14-17).

Lesson 2 will be devoted entirely to Ephesians 1:1-3. Topics for discussion include:

1. a close look at Paul’s claim to be an Apostle.
2. the word “saints” – defined and discussed.
3. Paul’s standard greeting – all of his epistles contain the words “grace” and “peace.” We will try to see why these words are of such importance.
4. Paul’s brief presentation of the two dominant phrases of this epistle: “in Christ” and “in the Heavenlies.” Much will be said of these in later lessons.
5. Paul’s presentation of the absolute deity of Christ making Him equal with God the Father.

Importance of this Lesson

It is important to see that these three remarkable verses hold the key that opens the door to the abundant riches of God’s grace, manifested in seven matchless gifts that are freely given by Christ to all who believe. It is important to recognize:

• nothing in the Bible is incidental or accidental.
• the depth of truth even in the short greeting.
• the absolute deity of Christ.
• all believers are blessed with all spiritual blessings “in the heavenlies” “ in Christ.”

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The Lesson

I. Ephesians 1:1 – “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus”

1. “Paul, an apostle…” – Let’s stop right there. Can you say, “I know what an apostle is?” There is good reason for such a question. There are apostolic churches today whose leaders claim to perpetuate apostolic authority through apostolic succession. I assure you, there are no biblical apostles today.
   Qualifications of an apostle: (MEMORIZE ALL THREE QUALIFICATIONS)
   1. The word apostle means messenger. An apostle in Scripture means a special messenger chosen and sent forth by Christ with special orders and responsibilities (Matthew 10:6-14).
   2. He had to be directly chosen and endued with power by Christ Himself (Matthew 10:1) or by the Holy Spirit, as in the case of Barnabas (Acts 13:2-4).
      1. Christ chose 12 men, endued them with power, and sent them forth to minister to Israel
         only (Matthew 10:5-6).
      2. Paul was chosen, called, and later empowered to minister to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15). They
         were heralds of the Kingdom of Heaven and were given special powers that identified their apostleship (Matthew 10:7-8).
   3. They were all, of necessity, eyewitnesses of the risen Christ, including Paul (1 Corinthians 9:1).
2. “of Jesus Christ” – Paul wanted everyone to realize that he was called, chosen, and empowered by Christ Himself. He had all the required credentials, with full authority to serve and speak as an apostle (Acts 9:15-23).
3. “By the will of God” – We cannot exaggerate the importance of this statement. The phrase “by the will of God” indicates that God Himself called Paul to the apostolic ministry; therefore, Paul desired that every place he visited, everything he did, and every message he preached be in the will of God. What an example he set as he sought to imitate Christ. Christ came into the world to do the will of God (Hebrews 10:7). He said, “My meat is to do the will of Him who sent me” (John 4:34). In the garden He prayed “…not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). Christ was obedient to God’s will unto death.
   ¨ Every follower of Christ should make the will of God his primary and constant purpose and desire.
4. “To the saints” – Due to your failures and weaknesses as a Christian, you may not consider yourself a saint, but if you have received Christ as your Lord and Savior that is exactly what you are!
   1. In the New Testament the word “saint” always refers to one who is sanctified in Christ Jesus, and that includes every believer. See 1 Corinthians 1:2 and Hebrews 2:11.
   2. Saints are believers in Christ who have been “set apart” eternally for the glory and service of God.
5. The small words “to be” in Romans 1:1 and 7 were inserted by the editors. Paul was not “called
   to be an apostle” sometime, somewhere, somehow. NO! He WAS an apostle by divine call and
   so it is with you and every believer. You are not “to be a saint” – you ARE a saint by Divine call
   (Romans 1:7).
6. “To the faithful” – This phrase does not refer to a different group of believers but is simply a word
   chosen by Paul to describe the saints.
7. “In Christ Jesus” – Here is the indescribable, wonderful position of all believers. The phrase is
   found many times in this epistle and is certainly one of the great keys to understanding Paul’s letter.
   Since I will be referring to this phrase quite often in these lessons, I’ll simply say here that “in Christ
   Jesus” is exactly where every believer is by the grace of God.

II. Ephesians 1:2 – “Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”

1. “Grace be to you, and peace from God” – For Paul, grace and peace were inseparable twins. They were so precious to him, that he used them in every greeting in his Epistles. Let us see if we can put them together and learn why they were so precious to Paul.
   1. Grace – is so rich and deep in meaning that it is almost unexplainable. I present two rather simple definitions:
      1. Grace is the fathomless love of God poured out on us in an infinite variety of ways without measure; not according to what we deserve, but according to His measureless heart of love. Note the first verse of the hymn, AT CALVARY:
         “O the love that drew salvation’s plan,
         O the grace that brought it down to man,
         O the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary.”
      2. Grace is the free, unmerited favor of God in Christ Jesus.
         1. Free – In other words if anything could be offered in exchange for grace it would cease to be grace and would become a mere barter or trade (Romans 4:4; 11:6; Galatians 2:21; 5:4).
         2. Unmerited – God’s grace functions with no regard of the extent or nature of a sinner’s sins. God’s grace cannot be won or earned. If any gift or merit were acceptable, grace would no longer be grace. It would be an award (Romans 11:6; Galatians 2:21).
         3. Favor of God – God is a God of grace. All blessings flow from Him. Grace is the outflow of God’s love. “God so loved… that He gave…” (John 3:16).
         4. In Christ Jesus – Christ is the agent of God’s grace. He is the one who brought grace down to man (Titus 2:11). In Christ we have complete access to all of God’s grace.
   2. “ and peace from God…” – Whether it is “peace with God” (Romans 5:1), or the “peace of God” (Philippians 4:7), both are the fruit or the outflow of grace.
      1. Peace WITH God is established by:
         1. the substitutionary work of Christ, who was made to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:21).
         2. the reconciling work of God, by which He reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, not imputing our trespasses unto us (2 Corinthians 5:19).
      2. The peace OF God is ours to enjoy and claim
         1. by the gift and promise of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:27).
         2. through the fruit of the Holy Spirit who makes the Christian life a reality in our daily experience (Galatians 5:22; Isaiah 26:3; Philippians 4:7)
2. “From God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”
   I think what Paul wanted you to see here is the absolute deity of Jesus Christ.
   1. Remember that Christ existed, equal with God the Father from eternity (John 1:1,14).
   2. Jesus said, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30).
   3. God the Father and God the Son worked in perfect harmony to accomplish our salvation.

III. Ephesians 1:3 – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

1. Note here again, the apostle calls attention to the Deity of Christ as he emphasizes that both the Father and the Son share equally in fully accomplishing our salvation.
2. Now we arrive at the most remarkable aspect of this lesson.
   Here we have mentioned for the first time in this Epistle the key phrase, “in heavenly places,” better rendered “in the heavenlies.” The heavenlies can be described as the sphere in which the believer shares with Christ all that Christ is, all that He has, and all that He will yet possess. For example, we share his joy (John 15:11), His peace (John 14:27), His wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30), His life (1 John 5:12), His nature (2 Peter 1:4), His grace and strength (2 Corinthians 12:9), His relationships (John 20:17) and His future inheritance and glory (Romans 8:16-21).
   (Memorize what the believer shares with Christ.)
3. “In Christ”
   The moment you receive Christ as your Savior, the Holy Spirit baptizes you into Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). From that moment on God sees you as living “In Christ.” God accepts us, not because of what we are, but where we are (Ephesians 1:6).

Examination

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