Whom Do You Worship?

He tells us the "what" of adoption. What does it mean to be adopted? It means to have all the rights and privileges that belong to the Father's children. The word is a compound word meaning "to place a son." Paul uses the word for "adoption" only five times in the New Testament, each time to those familiar with the Roman context of adoption (Rom 8:15,23; 9:4; Gal 4:5; Eph 1:5). Romans were familiar with adoptions. Perhaps the most famous was Julius Caesar's adoption of Octavian, about whom we read in Luke 2:1 (Burke, Adopted, 62). You can imagine being adopted by a Roman ruler. Paul says, "That's nothing compared with being adopted by the glorious Father!" Now, as God's children, we can call Him "Abba" (Gal 4:6; Rom 8:15), which is what Jesus cried out in the garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:36).

Adoption has a horizontal aspect, not just a vertical aspect. Not only is God our Father, but we are also now brothers and sisters with other Christians. The church is a family of adopted brothers and sisters. The greatest apologetic we have is to be a family.

He tells us the "when" of adoption, which is "before the foundation of the world" (v. 4). If we are God's children, then we are here on purpose. It is part of God's great plan.

He tells us the "how" of adoption, which is "through Jesus Christ." Only in Christ do we receive these blessings. He goes on to say that God has blessed us "in the Beloved" (6b; cf. Col 1:13; Mark 1:11; 9:7). We have been caught up in the love the Father has for the Son.

27Finally, Paul tells us the "why" of adoption, which is "according to His favor and will" (v. 5). Why did God adopt us? We do not have all the answers. We just know that it pleased God to do so. He was delighted to adopt us. Verse 6 adds that He did it "to the praise of His glorious grace." Adoption magnifies the greatness of God the Father.

An implication of God's purpose of making us "holy" and making us His adopted children is that we have been chosen for a mission. God's children will take on the family business, carrying out God's mission. We will imitate God as beloved children (Eph 5:1). Election is a privilege, but it also contains the responsibility of making Christ known in word and deed.

Redeemed by the Son

Ephesians 1:7-10

Next we should praise God for the work of the Son who redeemed us. Building on what has already been said about the blessings we have in Christ, Paul now overflows with praise to God for His great redemption accomplished through Christ, the forgiveness that is ours because of His death, God's plan to sum all things up in Him, and the rich inheritance that is ours.

Redemption denotes liberation from bondage or imprisonment. It harks back to Israel's release from Egypt. When they were delivered from the Red Sea, they sang the song of salvation (Exod 15), and we should as well. Our redemption is spoken of as an event that has already taken place. Paul says, "We have redemption." It is not that we hope to have redemption; we have it. Read how he describes it in Colossians, the "parallel book" to Ephesians:

God has done the work of rescuing us, transferring us into the kingdom of the Beloved in whom we have redemption and forgiveness. Paul says that this redemption has come at a cost. "Through His blood" (Eph 1:7) we have this deliverance. This signifies the sacrificial death of Jesus. In Revelation 1:5 John says that Jesus "loves us and has set us free 28from our sins by His blood." Elsewhere, Paul says, "You were bought at a price" (1 Cor 6:20), and "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us" (Gal 3:13).

We can be redeemed from the penalty of sin and from the prison house of sin, but it is not cheap. Our freedom cost Jesus His blood. He took our place. He bore our sins in His body on the tree.

Forgiveness. Paul says that this redemption is linked with the forgiveness of sins. We find forgiveness only in Christ. In Mark 2 Jesus told the paralytic who was lowered through the roof by his friends, "Son, your sins are forgiven" (Mark 2:5). The Pharisees objected, saying, "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" In that passage Jesus showed everyone that forgiveness was more important than physical healing and that He has the authority as God the Son to forgive sins.

If He has forgiven our sins, then we should pour out our hearts in adoration to Him. In Luke 7 we read of an unknown woman who poured out expensive oil to anoint Jesus in adoration. The Pharisees, who were too self-righteous to seek Jesus for forgiveness, grumbled at this. Jesus said she was lavish in her adoration because she realized how much she had been forgiven. Those who do not realize how much they have been forgiven do not praise Jesus like this. We too should love Him greatly because we have been forgiven much! The psalmist said, "Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive? But you offer forgiveness" (Ps 130:3-4 NLT).

Grace. Redemption and forgiveness are "according to the riches of His grace that He lavished on us" (vv. 7-8). Jesus has lavished grace on us. We are the recipients of Christ's extravagant goodness and kindness. We do not have words to describe God's amazing grace.

Wisdom and insight. God also expresses His grace by giving us "wisdom and understanding" (v. 8). God's lavish dispensing of grace in redemption involves forgiveness and the wisdom to know how to live in light of His saving plan (as expressed in the following verses).

Verses 9-10 are the climactic note of the passage, where Paul says all things will be brought together in Christ. O'Brien says, "Syntactically and structurally ... [this 'bringing together'] is the 'high point' of the eulogy" (Ephesians, 111).

History is going somewhere. By God's grace, "He made known to us the mystery of His will" (v. 9). He has revealed His eternal plan to29 us, and that plan centers on the Redeemer. What is this plan? It is to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth. So there is a cosmic dimension to God's plan of salvation. Now the universe is divided and groaning for redemption (Rom 8:19-23). Now God's people groan in this fallen world. Paradise was lost in Adam, but it will be restored in Christ.

Stott summarizes this well: "In the fullness of time, God's two creations, his whole universe and his whole church, will be unified under the cosmic Christ who is the supreme head of both" (Stott, Ephesians, 44).

Assured by the Spirit

Ephesians 1:11-14

On top of all the other blessings already mentioned, Paul now references the believer's "inheritance" or heritage (vv. 11,14). The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance. This too should lead us to praise. Paul says "in Christ" we have this inheritance (v. 11). Apart from Jesus our future is not hopeful. It is tragic.

The phrase "we have ... received an inheritance" is one compound word in Greek. Paul speaks of something in the future that is sure to happen. The translation here is difficult. It could mean "we were made an inheritance (or heritage)" or "we have received an inheritance." The former is the notion that we are God's possession, an idea repeatedly mentioned in the Old Testament (e.g., Deut 4:20; Pss 33:12; 135:4). The latter use is more like 1 Peter 1:3-4, "[We have] an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you" (see also Col 1:12).

Both are great options! We are God's possession, and through Christ we have received a glorious inheritance. My preference, based on the following phrases, which emphasize Jews and Gentiles together as God's people, is to take it as "we are God's possession" who have been redeemed "for the praise of His glory" (so Stott, O'Brien, and more).

How has this happened? How do we have such a status and such a future? From a divine perspective, it is according to God's sovereign purposes. Paul says we are "predestined according to the purpose of the One who works out everything in agreement with the decision of His will" (v. 11).

From a human perspective, we have believed. Paul mentions the responsibility of people by saying, "We who had already put our hope in 30the Messiah" (v. 12, emphasis added), and "When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him" (v. 13, emphasis added). Once again we see this mystery of sovereignty and responsibility. People receive salvation when they hear the gospel and believe in Christ.

I love how Paul calls the gospel "the word of truth." Coming to Jesus for salvation is a coming to the truth. Notice also the movement from "we" (a reference to Jewish believers in vv. 11-12) to "you also" (a reference to Gentile readers in v. 13) and to "our" inheritance (a reference to both groups equally in v. 14). This anticipates the exposition of how God has reconciled us, Jew and Gentile, through the work of Christ (2:11-22).

It is correct that everything said in the previous verses is true for Jew and Gentile (O'Brien, Ephesians, 116), but with the pronoun shift Paul is stressing a different point here in verses 12-13. He is stressing God's sovereign plan in the ordering of salvation history. Paul is also saying that the Lord's inheritance is not limited to the Jewish believers. They obviously had a special privilege as the first to hope in Christ, but the Gentiles are also recipients of God's amazing grace.

Paul is saying there are no second-class citizens in the kingdom of God. All believers are God's possession, redeemed for His glory. Gentiles can be assured of their privileged status by the Spirit's work in their lives.

Notice, now, what Paul says about the Spirit's work. He teaches us about the sealing of the Spirit, the "promised Holy Spirit" (the same promise given to Israel), and the guarantee of the Spirit.

A seal was a mark of ownership and authenticity. It was used for cattle, and even slaves were branded by their masters. Owners were guarding their property from theft by branding them (O'Brien, Ephesians, 120). Those seals were external of course. Our seal is internal. God puts His seal in our hearts (Stott, Ephesians, 49).

Paul later prays for the Ephesians to be "strengthened with power in the inner man through His Spirit" (3:16). The Spirit of God is dwelling in believers. Paul affirms this in several ways in Romans 8, saying, "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him" (Rom 8:9), and "The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God's children" (Rom 8:16). In Ephesians 4 Paul writes, 31"Don't grieve God's Holy Spirit. You were sealed by Him for the day of redemption" (Eph 4:30). God has sealed us and will keep us until the day of redemption.

Paul refers to the Holy Spirit as "promised" probably because His new covenant presence was foretold. The prophets and Jesus told of the day in which the Spirit would be sent. Ezekiel 36:27 and Joel 2:28 are examples of Old Testament predictions regarding the coming of the Spirit.

Peter mentions the promised Holy Spirit in Acts 2: "Therefore, since He has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, He has poured out what you both see and hear" (Acts 2:33).

In John 14-16 Jesus also spoke of the Spirit's presence that He would send: "It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don't go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send Him to you" (John 16:7). He has not left us as orphans (John 14:18). How encouraging this is!

Finally, the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our final inheritance. The Spirit is the first installment, or the down payment, provided for the glory that is to come.

Many times people use this verse to compare the Spirit to an engagement ring. However, an engagement ring is not part of the wedding. It is a promise, but it is not a down payment. A better analogy is the down payment on a house, which is the first installment of the purchase (Stott, Ephesians, 49). So God is not just telling us about something in the future, He is bringing the future into the present so that we may taste what the future is like.

Once again Paul strikes the note "to the praise of His glory" (v. 14). There is nothing left to do but to join Paul in worship and declare God's praises to the nations who are not worshiping Him. God is calling the nations to praise Him for His mighty salvation.

God the Father has chosen us, God the Son has redeemed us, and God the Spirit has assured us. Let us worship the triune God. We were made for praise, and our hearts will only be satisfied when we begin praising this God.

Reflect and Discuss