Ephesians: An Invitation to True Faithfulness

SPEAKER 01 : 0:07

Welcome to Expository Truths, where we exalt Christ by bringing clarity of truth through the scriptures with Dr. John Kahn, pastor of Faith Community Church in Vacaville. As Christians, we’re called to know the truth and be able to proclaim it. We can’t know truth when we know the Word of God, which is precise without error. powerful and effective for both salvation and spiritual growth. Enjoy digging deeply with Dr. Kahn as he takes us verse by verse through the powerful book of Ephesians, giving us a marvelous summary of the good news of Christ and its implications for our daily lives.

SPEAKER 02 : 0:44

Please bring your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 1, verses 1 through 2. Ephesians 1, 1 through 2. Ephesians is an incredible epistle, and I know that I say that about every book of the Bible that I preach through, but it’s true. It’s like it’s inspired of God or something, you know? Preacher Ray Stedman said that if you feel the need for change in your own life and for deepening your relationship with our Lord, then do a deep dive into the letter to the Ephesians, which is exactly what we intend to do. John Stott said that the letter to the Ephesians is a marvelously concise yet comprehensive summary of the Christian good news and its implications. Nobody can read it without being moved to wonder and worship and challenged to consistency of life. Isn’t that what we want? Isn’t that what we want? To be moved to wonder and worship. and to be challenged to loving and to honoring God more consistently in our own lives. Thus, the letter of Ephesians. And I anticipate great blessings from our time together in this book. So let’s open it up and look. Verses 1 and 2 says this. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus and faithful in Christ Jesus, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now as we open up this epistle, we have a number of questions that are answered for us. The first question that’s answered is this, who wrote this letter? Here in verse 1, we see that the author of this letter is Paul. See, this letter begins like other letters of the day began, with the author’s name coming first. After a few brief words, the recipient of the letter was named, and then after that came the general greeting. And while these seem like mere formalities, we can learn some important truths from them, like this, that Paul wrote this letter. But that’s not all. Because today we know that while this was originally written by Paul to a specific group of people for a specific purpose, we also know that Paul was inspired by God, the Holy Spirit, to write these words. And therefore, these words are indeed God-breathed. And they have direct bearing even on us today. The second question that gets answered for us is this. How does Paul describe himself? Answer, he describes himself as an apostle. It’s interesting because Paul wasn’t a part of the original 12 apostles. So was Paul a true apostle then? Yes, yes. Now remember, Matthias replaced Judas Iscariot as an apostle, and then later on, we find that God also added Paul into the mix as an apostle. In 1 Corinthians 15, verse 8, Paul’s talking about those who saw the risen Christ, and it’s then that he said, last of all, he was seen of me also as one born out of due time. In other words, yes, Peter saw the resurrected Christ, the twelve saw the resurrected Christ, but I too… saw the resurrected Christ, and he appointed me not just as one of the witnesses of the resurrection, but also as one of the apostles. And even though I came later as one born out of due time, I am indeed one of the apostles. And Scripture is very clear about that. Just as God saved Paul and called Paul to be his apostle, so too does God save all Christians in the same way. We may have different specific callings and gifts to be used for the glory of God, and the apostles were indeed unique, but the pattern is the same. And we’re going to see that over the next couple of weeks. Everything about Paul’s conversion came from God. The Lord didn’t appear to Paul and beg Paul, Oh, Paul, won’t you please trust in me as your Savior? I’ve done everything that I can. to make that possible. Now, the rest is up to you. Please, please, please believe in me. That’s not what happened. Instead, According to Acts chapter 9, the Lord knocked Paul to the ground and completely overpowered him. He struck him blind. Jesus then gave him very direct orders about what he had to do next. See, Paul was God’s chosen instrument to fulfill a very definite task, and God had it all planned out from start to finish. And again, such is the case with all of us, God’s children. And we’ll see that, especially next week. What happened with Paul is what happens to every believer. God does it. God snatches us like brands from the fire. God saves us by His amazing grace. And that’s great news because it means that God is able to convert the most unlikely of sinners. And that’s why we never give up hope for a lost soul. And so in Paul, we have a great picture of how God saves all lost souls and brings them to Him. And the Bible shows this to us. We are dead in sin. We don’t seek after God. We are slaves to sin. And for any of us to be saved, God has to do it like He did with Paul. And when He does it, He captures our hearts and He fills us with love and with gratitude. And that should cause us all to overflow with love for a God like this. Who are we? Who are we? We all deserve wrath. But God called us by name. He redeemed us. He chose us in Him. He saved us. One said it like this, It took just as much grace to save you as to save him. You are no more pursuing God than Paul was. You are no more worthy of salvation than Paul was. All of us were saved when we were enemies of God, when we were dead in our trespasses and sins, but God being rich in mercy is the one who made you alive together in Christ. Jesus Christ sought Paul, found Paul, quickened Paul, brought Paul to himself. gave Paul life, gave Paul understanding, gave Paul faith. Philippians 1.29 says that. He made Paul what he was, a new creature. He did the same for me and he did the same for you if you’re a believer in Jesus Christ. And that’s biblically correct. And again, that should cause us to overflow with love for a God like this. And next week, we’re going to go into more detail. If you have questions about that, those questions prayerfully will be answered next week. But this is how it works. And note that God didn’t force Paul to believe. That’s not how God’s grace works. God’s grace comes to a lost sinner. And it produces saving faith and love for God because it’s irresistible. And that was clearly the case for Paul. See, he was grateful, right? He was filled with love. He was all in. Christ is now his focus and aim. And he was lovingly and he willingly gave up all for Christ even though it cost him a great amount of pain and eventually his death. Even so, Christ is worth it all. Isn’t that how it works? Anybody feel the same way? I mean, no true Christian is angry at God for saving him. Right? He’s elated and filled with loving worship. Thank you, Lord. And while our calling may be different than Paul, our love and aim is the same. Christ, Christ, all for Christ. Anybody feel that way? Come on. Right? You love him? Because of who he is and what he’s done? Okay, thank you. The next question to be answered for us is this. Who was this letter written to? First, it was written to the saints in Ephesus. The word saint literally means holy one or set apart one. Set apart by who? Set apart by God. See, all Christians are saints because all Christians have been supernaturally set apart by the Holy Spirit… from the world, from the power of sin and the fallen flesh, and also from the dominion of the devil, and we have been set apart from that unto God. So when it comes to our position, we are holy, we are saints, we are set apart. The idea with this term is taking something filthy. washing it and setting apart as something brand new and useful for a different purpose, which is a picture of salvation for us who were filthy with sin and who were then washed in the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God, and have now been set apart to be God’s own special possession. That’s The minute you believe on Christ for forgiveness and life as your Lord and Savior, you were then justified, declared righteous in the sight of God. Why? Because as a Christian, by grace through faith in Christ alone, you gave Jesus all your sin that condemned you to hell, all of it. He was punished brutally for it on the cross as your substitute. And he felt the full wrath of God against every believer’s sin, including yours. And in return, he gave you his perfect righteousness that now covers you. So when it comes to position… When it comes to how God sees you, He now looks at you through the lens of Christ and He sees someone who is indeed a saint. He sees perfection because the sin has been paid for in full, absolutely, completely by Christ. So in that sense, we can be called saints. Our sins, every one of them, has been paid for in full. We have been justified, declared righteous. We have been washed clean because of what Christ did on the cross. That’s absolutely amazing. In another sense, don’t we all struggle with this term? Is it just me? Why? Because we know that practically speaking, we have a long way to go. Right? See, we are saved and we love Him. And therefore, we want to glorify Him with a Christ-like life. But boy, is this battle for godliness extremely frustrating because I keep on messing up. And while I know I’m already forgiven, and while I know I’m already going to heaven, the practical battle for the glory of God in my own life is ongoing. And there are many times that I certainly don’t feel like a saint. But even so, I continue to battle because that’s what the lovers of God do. But positionally again, every Christian, get this through your head, every Christian is a saint because of what Christ did for you on the cross when he paid the just wages of all your sin. That’s good to remember. That even though I fall and fail, my position is secure. God sees me as holy because I am in Christ. Therefore, we are all saints as Christians. Amazing thought. And this letter was written to the saints, the true Christians in the city of Ephesus. Paul also writes to the faithful in Christ Jesus. Who’s that? Same group. The saints are the faithful ones. The word faithful means trustworthy, dependable, and reliable to Christ, or as Paul says, in Christ Jesus. The faithful in Christ are those who have a saving faith in Christ, and who are then intent on living out that faith with faithfulness. That’s the mark of a Christian. Words mean nothing, and it’s possible to have belief in Jesus, but not to have saving belief, because The demons believe and shudder, and they don’t have saving faith. But real saving faith is a faith that loves God for who He is and for what He’s done, and that love is seen with faithful living. No, works don’t save us, not at all. But they do indeed prove that we are the true children of God. Hebrews 11.1 says this, Faith is a substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. So true saving faith has substance and it has evidence and confidence in what lies ahead. that’s seen in your life. So true faith is always a lived out faith and the rest of Hebrews 11 proves that fact to us. So the faithful are the saints, the saved, the ones who love God tangibly, the ones who obey God, the ones who look ahead and who are compelled forward in the faith by their desire to see the Lord. The ones who live out their faith for the glory of God based on their intense love for God. Faithful, reliable, trustworthy. Doesn’t that make sense? I mean, he saved you. You love him. Love obeys. Not rocket science, right? Obeying isn’t always easy, but this is what we pursue. This should describe every true Christian because that’s the mark of a true believer. Our allegiance is to him and to him alone. He’s captured our hearts. We love him. We bow only to Him. We serve only Him. And our lives reveal that wondrous truth. Not perfectly, but faithfully. And look, in Christ. That’s important because it defines the faithful’s eternal, permanent, spiritual location. We belong to Him. We are united to Him. We are joined to Him. And just as branches are to the vine and members to the body, so are we joined to Christ. Therefore, as one said, he is now our life, our strength, our sufficiency, our all in all. That’s right. And so our lives as saints, our lives as the faithful ones are to be all about him. And why not? I mean, he’s life to us. He’s our all in all. He’s everything to us. What else matters but him and giving him the glory in our fading lives? Now that we belong to him and love him. And now that our aim is to glorify him and to enjoy him forever. See? So Paul’s writing to those people in Ephesus who were saved and who therefore loved the Lord and who made it their aim to be well-pleasing to him. Question, how does Paul know these Christians in Ephesus? Because Paul stopped by the city of Ephesus at the end of his second missionary journey, Acts 19.19. Now at that point, Paul was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem, but since Ephesus was on the way to Jerusalem, Paul stopped there for a brief while. See, Ephesus was a famous seaport city, and it was the most important Roman commercial city in Asia Minor, the fourth largest city in the world at the time. It was also the capital of Ionia, which is in modern-day Turkey. The city was surrounded on three sides by mountains and then on the west by the sea. The city itself was unusually busy because it was an economic hub for the Roman province of Asia. Material goods and educational knowledge flowed into the city from all over the world, which only fed its appetite for more wealth and for new ideas. On top of everything else, and not surprising, Ephesus was renowned for its paganism. As many as 50 different gods and goddesses were worshipped there in Ephesus. In fact, the towering temple of Artemis was in this city, which is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, as one noted. Worship of the earth mother had become a huge attraction, combining tourism and sensual idolatry with such success that it fueled the city’s core economy, even without its already burgeoning import-export trade. City officials set aside one month of every year, one month, to honor the goddess with a grand celebration during which all work ceased. The stadium hosted athletic games, the theater produced plays, the odium held concerts, and people flocked from every corner of Asia and beyond to make offerings in the sacred grove, the mythical birthplace of Artemis. So wretched paganism. Absolutely wretched paganism. And that is where Paul landed along with his friends Aquila and Priscilla. What did Paul do there? Paul did there what he did everywhere. He entered the synagogue and he began reasoning with the Jews intent on sharing the gospel of Christ with them. Why did he do that? How did he do that? Well, he did it because he wanted them to be saved, right? He’s being used by God. And how did he do it? He preached from their Old Testament scriptures, our Old Testament, and he showed them how Jesus is indeed the long-awaited Messiah and that salvation is found in no other name but in Jesus Christ alone. So Paul did that, but he was in a hurry. And so he wasn’t able to stay in Ephesus for very long. So what did he do? He left Godly, Aquila, and Priscilla, that top-notch married team, to minister to the needy saints in Ephesus. There, they hosted a congregation of Christians for about four or five years, teaching, strengthening, grounding them in the Word and loving them, And when Paul came back through Ephesus on his third missionary journey, not long after Acts chapter 19, he then stayed for three years in Ephesus and he helped establish them even more in their faith. After Aquila and Priscilla and Paul left, Timothy then came and pastored the church in Ephesus for another year and a half. Even so, ministry in Ephesus wasn’t easy. No ministry is easy. And Paul writes this letter to the Christians in Ephesus to ground them even more in their faith because guess what? Harder times are coming, especially from false teachers. And what do you need when the hard times are coming? What do you need in the good times too? You need to be grounded in the Word of God. This is the need. You need to be grounded in the Word of God. You need to be grounded in good theology and doctrine so that you can then stand strong and live out your faith for the glory of God even more. Thus the letter of Ephesians. The letter was written while Paul was under house arrest in Rome, which is where Paul ended in the book of Acts, chapter 28. Paul also wrote Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon during this period of time when he was under house arrest in Rome. So even though Paul can’t go and see them, he can write to them, and so that’s what he did. So how did Paul begin his letter? Well, what was his first greeting to them? This, grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Isn’t that a great way to begin a letter? How about a great way to begin any greeting? Grace and peace to you. Isn’t that good? Grace and peace to you. God’s grace and God’s peace to you. What a great way. Grace is God’s unmerited favor towards sinners who don’t deserve it. One said, grace is everything for nothing to those who don’t deserve anything. Grace is God’s generous favor for undeserving sinners and needy saints. Grace is all God’s power, all His love, all His beauty available to you. It’s a marvelous term which wraps up all that God is and offers to us. And Christians are those who have been lavished with God’s amazing grace that saves and that keeps us. This greeting reminds these Christians of the amazing grace of God. What else? Peace. Irene in the Greek and Shalom in the Hebrew, peace. See, it’s because of God’s grace that we can have true peace. Peace pictures the binding or joining together again of that which has been separated. And because of God’s grace, look, we now have peace with God, which means everything, and therefore we have the peace of God in our daily lives, even when things are hard, even when things are troublesome, even when things are rough. See, true peace comes from the presence of the God of grace. Here’s the idea. What can man really do to me now that I have God? Right? Now that I’m at peace with God, what shall ever separate me from Him? Nothing. I can endure this. I can overcome. I can be faithful. I can be true. Because I have the Lord who is my peace and He’s watching me all my days. See? This word as a greeting denotes a special blessing which keeps the heart in a state of happiness and joy. Grace and peace to you from God. Paul’s reminding the Ephesians of this in this greeting. Grace to you. and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s interesting, isn’t it? Who’s the God of the Bible? The God whom we love, the one true God, the King of kings and the Lord of lords? He is Yahweh, the one God who eternally exists in three distinct persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And here we find Paul singling out two of the three persons of the Godhead. But what about the Holy Spirit? I don’t think the Holy Spirit feels slighted. And He’s going to be mentioned in verse 14. But why use that phrase from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ? to stress Christ’s deity and equality with the Father. And so just as the Father is God, so too is Jesus the Son, God, the second person of the Trinity. He is Lord God over all. And Paul makes sure to say that in all of his letters just to remind us to not take our eyes off of Christ, our Lord, our Savior, God the Son, who died on a cross to give us true peace, grace, and life, life, eternal life. Now, let me make one comment about the church in Ephesus as we close. Look, think about this. They had Paul. Wouldn’t you love to have Paul as your pastor? You can say yes. They had Paul. They had Aquila and Priscilla as a team. They had Timothy who was an incredible man of God. Down the line, they had John to shepherd them. What happened to that church? I mean, they had all these incredible pastors and Aquila with his incredible wife who was a great part of the team. I mean, what happened to them? They faded away. They faded away. Less than 40 years after the church was started and 30 years after Paul wrote Ephesians, Jesus said these words to the church in Revelation 2.4. You have left your first love. That is devastating. For any church. Devastating. Our church is 20 years old. And this is a warning for all of us. What’s the warning? To take heed. To listen. To take God’s truth into our heads and hearts and to earnestly live it out. To not become rote. To not become callous. To not let God’s word stop in our heads alone. To always keep listening. To always keep learning. To always keep pursuing Christ. And to guard against sin and pride in our own hearts. See, these words in this letter are for us today. All of them. And we do well to listen to them intently to embrace everything that they say and to passionately do them for the glory of God and to take heed to not ignore these words. May God speak to our hearts. Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, help us, Lord, to take heed. I pray that we would always be watching and praying, intent, knowing that The wicked one is always looking for a foothold. Help us, Lord, to stay faithful and focused. May we embrace the teachings of Ephesians as we go through this letter. And may it change us for Your glory. Change us now. We love You and thank You. Amen.

SPEAKER 01 : 24:34

Thanks for joining us for today’s exposition from the book of Ephesians on expository truths with Dr. John Kyle. Continue on with us next week at this same time and to find this sermon in its entirety as well as other sermons, visit vacavillefaith.org. Faith Community Church seeks to exalt Christ by bringing clarity of truth through the scriptures with a commitment to glorifying God through the pure, deep, and reaching message of the gospel through faithful exposition. Pastor John is the preaching pastor at Faith Community Church of Vacaville, a seminary professor and a trainer of preaching pastors overseas. Join Faith Community Church for worship Sundays at 9 and 1045 a.m. located at 192 Bella Vista Road, Suite A in Vacaville. To learn more, visit vacavillefaith.org or call 707-451-2026. That’s vacavillefaith.org.