Turkeys, Eagles, Saints and Riches
Chuck Sligh
January 15, 2012
The Introduction was adapted from Coy Wylie’s sermon, “Ephesians – God’s Mysteries Revealed” and most of the third point was adapted from Warren Wiersbe’s treatment of this passage in The Bible Expository Commentary.
I wrote a two verse song to the tune of Be Still My Soul titled Blessing Song, on Ephesians 1-2
TEXT: Ephesians 1:1-3 – “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: 2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 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
INTRODUCTION
An old American Indian legend tells about a brave who found an eagle’s egg and put it into the nest of a turkey. The eaglet hatched with the brood of turkeys and grew up with them. A bird hatched in another species’ nest is known as a changeling. All his life, thinking he was a turkey, he did what the turkeys did…
• He scratched in the dirt for seeds and insects to eat like the turkeys did.
• He clucked and gobbled.
• And he flew in a brief thrashing of wings and flurry of feathers no more than a few feet off the ground.
After all, that’s how turkeys are supposed to fly. Time went by and the changeling eagle grew very old.
One day, he saw a magnificent bird far above him in the cloudless sky. Hanging with graceful majesty on the powerful wind currents, it soared with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings.
“What a beautiful bird!” said the eagle to his neighbor. “What is it?”
“That’s an eagle—the chief of birds,” the neighbor gobbled. “But don’t give it a second thought. You could never be like him.”
So the changeling eagle never gave it another thought and died thinking he was a turkey.
There have been many who have believed they are something other than what they really are.
Illus. – In the last several hundred years there have been 53 documented cases of “feral children,” children who have been lost in the wild and reared, nurtured and protected by animals. In 1987, a child was found living with a tribe of monkeys in Uganda. When taken to an orphanage, he grunted, squealed, jumped on his hands, ate grass and was very fearful of people. Another boy was observed living with a herd of Antelope over a ten year period. Several attempts to capture him proved futile. Scientists call this bizarre behavior “imprinting.” But what it really is…is an identity crisis.
There are many Christians who have an identity crisis as well. They’ve been so “imprinted” by the world that they don’t know who they really are in Christ or what God has intended for them. They see themselves as spiritual turkeys while God sees them as spiritual eagles! They have been conditioned to think, talk and act like turkeys.
Ephesians is a wonderful book because it was written to reveal to the believer his true identity in Christ, to get us out of the turkey coop and help us to fly like eagles.
Let’s begin our study of Ephesians by looking at Paul’s introduction in verses 1-3.
I. NOTICE FIRST OF ALL THE WRITER OF THE LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS – Verse 1 begins, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God…”
The author is Paul, the great giant of the New Testament who says two things about himself:
• Number 1, he identifies himself as “an apostle…”
The word “apostle” (which is the Greek word, “apostolos”) means “one who is called and sent forth on a very special mission.” Paul’s mission was to be a messenger to spread the Gospel to the Gentiles.
When he was saved on the road to Damascus, he was told to go to the house of a man named Ananias. Then God told Ananias to expect Paul, which concerned him greatly since he had heard of the acts of violence Paul had perpetuated against the Christians. But the Lord said this to Ananias in Acts 9:15: “Go thy way, for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings and the children of Israel.”
• Notice also that Paul says that his apostleship was “by the will of God.”
Paul is the only one of the New Testament writers who claims to have been an apostle “by the will of God,” and it’s found at the beginning of almost all his letters. God revealed to Paul revelations about the entrance of the Gentiles into the Christian faith and the sufficiency of grace to save without obedience to the Old Testament Law and because these teachers were so radical and revolutionary, many Jewish legalists questioned Paul’s authority and sought to discredit him.
In Galatians, Paul told how after his salvation, God took him into the desert for three years of teaching and preparation, the same amount of time Jesus spent with the twelve apostles. So he had the same apostolic authority as the twelve apostles, accompanied by miracles like them, and Paul wanted the recipients of his letters to know that.
Paul was an apostle “by the will of God.” It was God’s will, not his.
II. NOTICE SECOND, THE RECIPIENTS OF PAUL’S LETTER. – In verse 1, Paul continues, “to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.”
According to Acts 18-19, Paul ministered in Ephesus, but did not remain there. Two years later, on his third missionary journey, Paul stayed in Ephesus for at least two years and used Ephesus as a launching pad to evangelize and plant churches throughout the whole region around Ephesus.
Ephesus was known to be a center for the occult and magical arts, and it was in Ephesus that one of the strangest incidents in the New Testament occurred. Paul had been preaching and teaching for almost two years.
Some unsaved Jews, seeing Paul perform miracles in the name of Jesus, decided to invoke the name of Jesus to cast out a demon themselves. Because they were non-believers and also because they did not have the apostolic authority over demons that Paul had, it backfired on them. The demon said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?” and then the demon-possessed man tore into them, overpowering them with demonic power, and Acts 19:16 says they “fled out of the house naked and wounded.”
This incident shook up the believers in Ephesus. Acts 19:18-19 says that many who had believed on Jesus confessed and revealed their complicity in sorcery and brought their magical charms and burned them publically and made a clean break from these evil deeds. Bible scholars point out that the tense of the verbs in this passage indicates that some of the Ephesian believers had not made a clean break with sin and were still dabbling in magic and the occult. But God dealt with them and the total value of the magical books and spells that they burned was equivalent to the total salaries of 150 men working a whole year!
This incident reminds us that sometimes believers fail to live up to their identity in Christ, and when they do, they place themselves in grave spiritual danger. In the next few weeks we’ll see what you are in Christ if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, and the goals and responsibilities God has set in motion for you as a member of His body, the church of the living God.
Paul uses two terms to describe the Ephesians believers.
• First, he calls them “saints.”
This is a word that has been severely misunderstood and wrongly applied. Oftentimes the word is used to refer to an especially good person, or some especially pious person who served God centuries ago and died and was voted by a group of cardinals to be a saint. Paul had neither of these ideas in mind.
In the Bible, ALL believers are saints. In fact, saints must have been Paul’s favorite word for describing believers since he used it about 60 times in his letters, which is especially surprising when you realize he never once called them Christians. And yet saint is not a word we used today of one another. We don’t say, “I’m having Saints Steve and Debbie over for dinner this evening,” or “We’re going with a bunch of saints over to the Chinese buffet. You want to go too?” (That doesn’t mean you’re having a meal with a bunch of New Orleans football players.) But it certainly would be appropriate to say that, because if you’re saved, you’re a saint.
The word saint simply means “one who is set apart.” In other places the Greek word is translated as “holy.” If something is holy, it simply means that it is SET APART from common, everyday use for a special purpose.
Illus. – To illustrate, all of you have common, regular dinnerware that you use for everyday use.
But many of you have special fine china set apart for special use. It’s set apart for those special dinners, like when someone special comes over and you want to make a good impression! Christians are saints because they’re SET APART from this life of sin and corruption of the world for a special life apart—one devoted to the purposes of God. (Warren Wiersbe)
Illus. – A boy was asked in Sunday School what a saint was. – Thinking of the stained glass windows in the chapel, he said, “A saint is a person who the light shines through.” That is EXACTLY right!—Saints are men and women through whom the light of God’s holiness and truth shine into this world.
• Paul also calls the Ephesian Christians “faithful.”
Sometimes faithful means someone who can be counted on or who is reliable; or someone who perseveres. But Bible commentators I read are unanimous that here the Greek word here means “full of faith” and is synonymous with the word “believers.”
THE distinguishing mark of Christians is that they are believers in Jesus Christ. Though Paul addresses some sins, problems and inconsistencies in the Ephesian church, he never doubts their status as being saved. He calls them “saints” and “believers” possessing faith in Jesus Christ.
III. FINALLY, IN OUR INTRODUCTION OF PAUL’S LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS, LET’S LOOK AT THE REASONS FOR WRITING IT. – Verse 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.”
Every book in the Bible has its own theme and message. Why did Paul write this letter?
Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians to explain our blessings in Christ. Now there’s a very important phrase you need to understand in this passage, and it’s found all through the book of Ephesians. That’s the phrase “in Christ” at the end of verse 3. When you’re saved by faith in Jesus Christ, you’re joined to Christ in a vital link with Him and His body, the church. The significance of this will become more apparent as we work our way through the book, but for now just remember that if you are a believer, you have the riches of God because you are joined to Christ and His body.
If you are not saved, you are not “in Christ”, but what Paul terms as “in Adam”. That is, you’re outside of God’s grace and mercy and His glorious riches for the saved because you are still under the curse of Adam for sin, and therefore under condemnation and destined for hell. Only by trusting in Christ to save you are you placed “in Christ” and can share in His fabulous spiritual riches.
Let’s break down verse 3 to understand what Paul teaches about our blessings in Christ:
• First, in verse 3 tells us that the SOURCE of these blessings is God the Father.
If you’ve trusted in Christ as your Savior, you were born into God’s family. And you were born into a RICH family because your spiritual Father is fabulously wealthy, and as His child, you share in the riches of God’s grace. The world places great store in material blessings, but the believer can be poor as a church mouse, but live in joy in the bounty of God’s riches in Christ.
We’ll spend some time in Ephesians 1-3 discovering the riches we have in Christ that come from the Father, from Jesus and from the Holy Spirit.
• Second, verse 3 tells us the SCOPE of our blessings: we have “all spiritual blessings.”
This can be translated “all the blessings of the Spirit,” speaking of the Holy Spirit of God. The Father has given us every blessing of the Spirit: everything we need for a successful, satisfying Christian life. The Holy Spirit is mentioned many times in this letter, because He’s the one who channels our riches to us from the Father through the Son. If you don’t know and depend on the Holy Spirit’s provision, you’ll live a life of spiritual poverty. You’ll live like a turkey, not sour like an eagle.
• Finally, verse 3 explains the SPHERE of our blessings.
Our heavenly blessings are “in heavenly places in Christ.” A clearer translation would be “in the heavenlies in Christ.” The unsaved person is interested primarily in EARTHLIES—that is, the things of this earth—because this is where he lives. Jesus called them “the children of this world” in Luke 16:8.
But the Christian’s life is centered in HEAVEN.
> Philippians 3:20 says our CITIZENSHIP is in heaven.
> Jesus said in Luke 10:20 that our NAME is written in heaven.
> Colossians 3:1 tells us we should set our AFFECTIONS on things above where Christ sits on the right hand of God, not on the things below.
> Our HEAVENLY FATHER is in heaven.
> And the heavenlies are where CHRIST is right now.
> And Ephesians 2:6 says that positionally as far as God is concerned, WE are even now seated with Christ in the heavenlies if we’re indeed “in Christ” by faith in Him.
Oh brethren, how RICH we are and how much more are we to be than spiritual turkeys, content to scrounge around on this earth for the filthy grub the world can offer. May God help you to soar with eagles by living out the calling He has set for you and may you know and experience all the riches Christ has for you!
CONCLUSION
These are awesome truths, and today we’ve only scratched the surface of what God wants to teach us through Ephesians. But the purpose of all truth is to TRANSFORM us; to CHANGE us; to MOTIVATE US TO OBEY GOD and be live up to our name as set-apart saints. What are some things God wants us to look at in our lives today?
First, if you have not trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are not “in Christ.” This means you are still “in Adam,” which means you are still in sin, under the curse of sin, under God’s wrath against your sin and destined not for eternity with God in heaven, but in hell with all the others who are of Adam’s race who have not been redeemed.
Let me urge you to turn from your own self-efforts to get to heaven and your own religious efforts to please God and simply trust in Jesus who said this: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but everlasting life.”
The only way for you to be united in Christ and experience all the blessings of salvation is to believe in Jesus Christ for everlasting life. Pray to Him and tell Him you’re turning from sin and self and ask Him to save you by faith like He said He would.
If you’re sure that you are “in Christ”—that is, that you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ, then may I challenge you with a few thoughts this morning:
• Like Paul, are you a messenger of the Gospel to those who are not “in Christ”?
Just as God chose Paul to become an apostle, God in His sovereignty has chosen to use you and me as his messengers to tell others the Good News. Christ’s Great Commission given in Mark 16:15 is a clear mandate: “Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
> Are you “preaching” (which means “declaring”) the Gospel to others?
> Are you sharing with your friends and co-workers what God has done in your life?
> Do you invite them to church to hear the Word of God preached?
God help you, like Paul, to be a messenger of the glorious Gospel of Christ!
• Second, are you living up to your name as a saint?
Or are you like one of the early Ephesian believers who allowed themselves to continue sinning or dabbling in that which is forbidden of the believer. That is a serous error with serious consequences! If you’re one of God’s children, He promises to discipline His kids because He hates sin and because He loves you and wants what’s best for you and because He wants you to become in actuality on this earth what you are already in Christ in the heavenlies—holy, set apart for God and separate from sin. The answer for you is the same as it was for the Ephesian fence-sitters—to repent of your sin and commit your life to obeying God and walk according to your calling in Christ.
Illus. – When she was young, Victoria was shielded from the fact that she would be the next ruling monarch of England lest this knowledge spoil her. When her teacher finally did let her discover for herself that she would one day be Queen of England, Victoria’s response was, “Then I will be good!” Her life would be controlled by her position. She was such an exemplary monarch that an entire era was named after her. No matter where she was, Victoria was governed by the fact that she sat on the throne of England.
Is your life controlled by your position in Christ? You determine which course you pursue by your obedience or disobedience to God.
