Introduction
I f the life of a Christian is to be pleasing to God, it must be properly adjusted to Him in all things. Too often we place the emphasis in our own lives upon the application of this principle to some single detail of our behavior or of our work for Him. Often we fail therefore to appreciate either the extent of the adjustment called for or, at times even, the point from which it should begin.
But God measures everything, from start to finish, by the perfections of His Son. Scripture clearly affirms that it is God’s good pleasure “to sum up all things in Christ, . . . in whom also we were made a heritage” (Eph. 1:9–11). It is my earnest prayer that, in the discussion that follows, our eyes may be opened afresh to see that it is only by placing our entire emphasis there that we can hope to realize the divine purpose for us, which is that “we should be unto the praise of his glory” (1:12).
We shall take as a background to our thoughts the epistle of Paul to the Ephesians.
Like so many of the apostle’s letters, this epistle falls naturally into two sections: a doctrinal and a practical. The doctrinal section (Eph. 1–3) is concerned mainly with the great facts of the redemption which God has wrought for us in Christ. The practical section (Eph. 4–6) then goes on to present us with the demands, in terms of Christian conduct and zeal, that God is making upon us in the light of that redemption. The two halves are closely related, but it will be seen that the emphasis in each is different.
Then, further, the second and more obviously practical half of the letter may again conveniently be subdivided according to its subject matter into a first long section from verses 4:1 to 6:9 and a second, much shorter section from verse 6:10 to the end. The first part deals with our life in the midst of the world; the second with our conflict with the devil.
Thus, we have, in all, three subdivisions of the epistle to the Ephesians, setting forth the believer’s position in Christ (1:1–3:21), his life in the world (4:1–6:9) and his attitude to the Enemy (6:10–24). We may summarize as follows:
E PHESIANS
A. Doctrinal (Chapters 1 to 3)
1. Our Position in Christ (1:1–3:21)
B. Practical (Chapters 4 to 6)
2. Our Life in the World (4:1–6:9)
3. Our Attitude to the Enemy (6:10–24)
Of all Paul’s epistles, it is in Ephesians that we find the highest spiritual truths concerning the Christian life. The letter abounds with spiritual riches, and yet at the same time it is intensely practical. The first half of the letter reveals our life in Christ to be one of union with Him in the highest heavens. The second half shows us in very practical terms how such a heavenly life is to be lived by us down here on the earth. We do not here propose to study the letter in detail. We shall, however, touch on a few principles lying at its heart. For this purpose we shall select one keyword in each of the above three sections to express what we believe to be its central or governing idea.
In the first section of the letter, we note the word “sit” (2:6), which is the key to that section and the secret of a true Christian experience. God has made us to sit with Christ in the heavenly places, and every Christian must begin his spiritual life from that place of rest. In the second part we select the word “walk” (4:1) as expressive of our life in the world, which is its subject. We are challenged there to display in our Christian walk conduct that is in keeping with our high calling. And finally, in the third part we find the key to our attitude toward the Enemy contained in the one word “stand” (6:11), expressive of our place of triumph at the end. Thus, we have:
K EY W ORDS I N E PHESIANS
1. Our Position in Christ—“S IT
I f the life of a Christian is to be pleasing to God, it must be properly adjusted to Him in all things. Too often we place the emphasis in our own lives upon the application of this principle to some single detail of our behavior or of our work for Him. Often we fail therefore to appreciate either the extent of the adjustment called for or, at times even, the point from which it should begin.
But God measures everything, from start to finish, by the perfections of His Son. Scripture clearly affirms that it is God’s good pleasure “to sum up all things in Christ, . . . in whom also we were made a heritage” (Eph. 1:9–11). It is my earnest prayer that, in the discussion that follows, our eyes may be opened afresh to see that it is only by placing our entire emphasis there that we can hope to realize the divine purpose for us, which is that “we should be unto the praise of his glory” (1:12).
We shall take as a background to our thoughts the epistle of Paul to the Ephesians.
Like so many of the apostle’s letters, this epistle falls naturally into two sections: a doctrinal and a practical. The doctrinal section (Eph. 1–3) is concerned mainly with the great facts of the redemption which God has wrought for us in Christ. The practical section (Eph. 4–6) then goes on to present us with the demands, in terms of Christian conduct and zeal, that God is making upon us in the light of that redemption. The two halves are closely related, but it will be seen that the emphasis in each is different.
Then, further, the second and more obviously practical half of the letter may again conveniently be subdivided according to its subject matter into a first long section from verses 4:1 to 6:9 and a second, much shorter section from verse 6:10 to the end. The first part deals with our life in the midst of the world; the second with our conflict with the devil.
Thus, we have, in all, three subdivisions of the epistle to the Ephesians, setting forth the believer’s position in Christ (1:1–3:21), his life in the world (4:1–6:9) and his attitude to the Enemy (6:10–24). We may summarize as follows:
E PHESIANS
A. Doctrinal (Chapters 1 to 3)
1. Our Position in Christ (1:1–3:21)
B. Practical (Chapters 4 to 6)
2. Our Life in the World (4:1–6:9)
3. Our Attitude to the Enemy (6:10–24)
Of all Paul’s epistles, it is in Ephesians that we find the highest spiritual truths concerning the Christian life. The letter abounds with spiritual riches, and yet at the same time it is intensely practical. The first half of the letter reveals our life in Christ to be one of union with Him in the highest heavens. The second half shows us in very practical terms how such a heavenly life is to be lived by us down here on the earth. We do not here propose to study the letter in detail. We shall, however, touch on a few principles lying at its heart. For this purpose we shall select one keyword in each of the above three sections to express what we believe to be its central or governing idea.
In the first section of the letter, we note the word “sit” (2:6), which is the key to that section and the secret of a true Christian experience. God has made us to sit with Christ in the heavenly places, and every Christian must begin his spiritual life from that place of rest. In the second part we select the word “walk” (4:1) as expressive of our life in the world, which is its subject. We are challenged there to display in our Christian walk conduct that is in keeping with our high calling. And finally, in the third part we find the key to our attitude toward the Enemy contained in the one word “stand” (6:11), expressive of our place of triumph at the end. Thus, we have:
K EY W ORDS I N E PHESIANS
1. Our Position in Christ—“S IT
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