This sermon was preached by Rev. Larry C. Brincefield on Wed., October 27, 2004
Title: Ephesians #1
Text: Ephesians 1:1
Introduction
1. Introduction to Ephesians
A. Paul wrote the book of Ephesians while he was a prisoner in Rome.
Ephesians isn’t the only book that he wrote from prison…
He also wrote Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon while in prison.
Now, I’m sure that prison wasn’t all fun and games…
But it wasn’t so dismal that he wasn’t able to receive guests and communicate through his letters.
When you think about it…Paul wrote some incredible things while in prison.
I have found that if we will allow God to use us…
That He will use us even during the most difficult times of our lives.
Charles Erdman wrote, “If as a result of his confinement nothing else had been accomplished by the apostle but the composition of this one sublime masterpiece, the church of all the ages would still have found, in this epistle alone, sufficient reason for prising God, who thus ever can bring good out of evil and light out of darkness”1
B. Paul had spent time with the Ephesian Christians…
He first went there for a short visit during his 2nd missionary journey…
The people of Ephesus begged him to stay longer…
But he felt that he must continue on…
But he made plans for a return trip.
And then, on his 3rd missionary journey, Paul stayed in Ephesus for 3 years.
Ephesus was one of the great cities in that part of the world.
It was a Roman Capital city…
It was a center of great wealth and commerce…
It also the center of religious turmoil…
Ephesus was the center for the worship of the goddess Diana...
As a result of Paul’s ministry to Ephesus…
Christianity spread beyond Ephesus and into the surrounding region.
Unlike some of the other letters that Paul wrote…
Ephesians wasn’t written to combat some spiritual problem or need…
It was written to build and strengthen the Body of Christ…
The Church.
Read Ephesians 1:1
Body
1. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God
A. Paul calls himself an apostle of Christ Jesus.
An apostle is a messenger…
One who is sent with a mission.
Paul regards himself not only as belonging to Christ…
In the sense that he invited Jesus into his heart…
But he also believes that the risen Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus…
And as a result, he feels that he has been personally commissioned by Jesus Christ to do the work of the Gospel…
That is, spreading the Good News about Jesus Christ…
Paul has a particular burden to share the Good News about Jesus with the Gentiles.
B. Not only does he call himself an apostle of Christ Jesus…
But he adds the phrase, “by the will of God”
In one sense, these words add a sense of authority to his words…
Because he has been called of God to do God’s Work.
Starting out this letter this way…
Would hopefully add weight to his words…
But in another sense, there is an added sense of humility…
Paul realizes that he is unworthy to be an apostle of Jesus Christ…
Later on in the epistle, we will see where Paul says, “I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ” Eph 3:8
C. I can identify with Paul’s feelings here…
On one hand, I have been called of God to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ…
That doesn’t make me better than you…
Or smarter than you…
Because I know that some of you very bright…
But because of the authority that I have in Jesus Christ…
And being ordained by the Church of the Nazarene…
I would hope that when I preach that the message would have authority…
Not MY authority…
But the authority of one who is called by Jesus Christ.
On the other hand…I realize that I am so unworthy of this calling…
And it truly humbles me that God would use me in His work.
D. In another sense, we have ALL been called of God to be His messengers…
Maybe you aren’t called to preach from the pulpit…
But you are certainly called to carry the Good News of Jesus Christ to anyone who will listen.
2. To the saints in Ephesus,
A. Paul continues in this first verse, “to the saints in Ephesus”
When Paul talks about “saints”…
He is not referring to some kind of “super-Christian”…
The word “saints” is from the Greek word hagios…
Which means “holy” or “sacred” or “set apart”.
He is simply addressing his letter to the Church…
People who have been “set apart” for God’s use…
B. Some commentators note that the words “in Ephesus” were added later…
That they don’t appear in the very earliest manuscripts that we have on Ephesians…
As a result, some people feel that since Ephesians seems to be a general letter…
And not addressing any specific problem or situation…
That Paul wrote this letter to be a “circular”…
A letter that could be shared with all the churches throughout the region…
And since Ephesus was the capital city of that region…
These words were later attached to it.
Now, I’m certain that Paul didn’t have Belleview Church of the Nazarene in his mind when he wrote Ephesians…
But I’m also certain that through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit…
God intends for these words to apply to us today…
Just like they did to Ephesus 2000 years ago.
3. the faithful in Christ Jesus
A. This last phrase is the one that really struck me…
“the faithful in Christ Jesus”…
These people were faithful…
They weren’t the kind of Christians who were in the Church one Sunday…
And then gone the next because they got their feelings hurt...or for whatever reason…
They were faithful…
They were faithful in attending…giving…serving…and loving…
The older I get…the more I see faithfulness as an all important quality.
B. For example, sometimes I am real sporadic about things…
Take my running…
Sometimes I will spend several months running very faithfully…
Working up to 5, 6, and even 10 miles at a time…
But then, I’ll lose interest for awhile…
I’ll set it aside…
But I know runners who …maybe they don’t run 10 miles at a time…
But they faithfully run 3 miles a day…
4 times a week…
Every week…
Month in, month out…
Year after year after year…
They run.
And if you were to look at their total miles…
They’ve probably put in 1,000 miles a year on average for 10 or 20 years…
Pretty incredible…
That’s faithfulness.
C. Even more important that running or any other pursuit…
I admire faithfulness in our church people…
People who attend faithfully…
Sunday Morning, Sunday Evening, Wednesday Evening…
Week after week after week…
Year after year…
Other people may come and go…
But they are always there…
People like some of you here tonight…
Faithfulness is so rare in today’s world…
Very rarely do you see someone devote their working lives working for the same company for 20 or 30 years…
It used to be that way…
But it is rare to see it today.
And the same thing can be said of the Church…
There are so many people who will just up and leave a struggling church…
But praise the Lord for those who are faithful…
Who stick by the church through thick and thin.
I could also speak about faithfulness in tithing…
Think about the impact of a person who faithfully puts in 10% of their income into the church month after month after month…
I’m not going to go into that further…
I just ask you to think about it!
Conclusion
1. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God…
To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus.
2. Some people who would start out studying Ephesians would quickly skim past this greeting…
And they would certainly miss out on a blessing…
And perhaps a message from the Lord…
We all have been sent to carry the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ…
And wouldn’t it be something if someone were to write a letter to us that says, “to the Christians in Belleview Church of the Nazarene…the one’s who have been faithful in Christ Jesus”
1. Charles R. Erdman, The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians (Grand Rapids, Baker, 1983), 12.
