EPHESIANS 2v4-6.

What we are now in Christ individually

"But God......"   God has intervened in the helpless, hopeless, plight of man, and what a full and effective action it was.   He invaded the earth which was under the tyranny of a usurper, and now we have an alternative destiny and lifestyle.   All it requires is simple faith in what He has done, such that even a little child can receive it.   Paul uses the same construction in verse 13 "But now in Christ Jesus......."   What you were in your sins, what you now are in salvation; the difference could not be more dramatic.   In His glorious intervention many of the attributes of God became active on our behalf:

• The riches of His mercy       "God who is rich in mercy......."       When we talk of riches, we mean someone who has more than enough and to spare.   When the bible describes God's riches, it calls them "unsearchable" (chapter 3v8).   This word is used only in one other place (Romans 11v33), where it is translated "past finding out".   It means untraceable, unfathomable, without any limit known to man, inexhaustible, infinite.    We compute riches in material terms, God in spiritual values, since He spoke material things into being!   Mercy is eleos which translates as pity, or compassion; the idea is pity on someone who is in a helpless and desperate state.   By these terms He is impressing on us our plight; only Divine mercy can save.   Some have defined mercy as the withdrawing of punishment we deserve; we cannot undo the past, we cannot make reparation, we can do nothing since we are dead to God and all lines of communication have been broken.   The human race is utterly cast on the mercy from above.   Scripture reveals this mercy is available in unlimited measure; it is described as "the multitude of mercies" Psalm 69v13; "He is plenteous in mercy to them that call upon Him" Psalm 86v5; multiple times the phrase occurs "His mercy endures forever", particularly in Psalms 118 and 136.   Peter in 1 Peter 1v3 speaks of "abundant mercies".   However there are conditions, it must be on His terms.
• The greatness of His love      ".....for His great love wherewith He hath loved us...."      Note again the superlative language.   God's mercy to fallen man originates in His great love, a love that is beyond any human love.   Paul compares the greatest expression of human love with the love of God in Romans 5v8.... he calls it "God's own love", a love which belongs exclusively to God, a kind of love superior in every way.   The word is agape and refers to a love which takes no account of the merit of it's object, and seeks nothing in return.   The apostle John talks much of this great love, when He writes "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us."   No human being is capable of this kind of love apart from the power of Divine life residing within.   John goes on to define this love in his first epistle chapter 4v7-10; there he defines this love of God, saying first of all that He is the source of this love; "love is of God", then he says He is the essence of love "God is love."   Love is not only what God does, love is what God is!   Thirdly he says this love has been demonstrated at infinite cost to Himself "He sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins."   Love is not abstract, it is active, love ,which is real gives.... "God so loved the world that He gave......"   He gave the most precious possession He has, He gave Him for our sins, something He hates...no greater love than this!
• The power of His grace       This is a word which has largely disappeared from daily use.   It is considered to be a weakness in this culture of one-upmanship and the premium paid to human achievement.   We are conditioned to think of reward for self-effort, and anything outside of that has no value.   We are loathe to accept that there are things beyond our best efforts we are unable to do, and have difficulty in accepting favours.   Yet that is exactly what grace is.....Divine favour....not earned , or worked for, or merited, but given to us as a gift.   It is the Greek word charis from which we get "charisma", and has ,as it's root meaning, favour given of what we ourselves could not supply.   Also, rather than it being a thing of weakness, it is in fact the greatest power on earth.   Men have achieved many great things, but they cannot change a human being from his fallen state, only the grace of God can, and what a power it is!   Taking the previous condition as described in verses 1-3, at the entrance of Divine grace, a person is made alive to God from a dead condition, he is resurrected in power to have the ability to live a new life, and is presently seated with Christ in ascension glory, awaiting the day when he will be bodily transported there.   In essence he is united to Christ in death, and resurrection, and in exaltation.   By the power of grace he is made alive, he is delivered from the enslaving nature of the world, the flesh, and the devil and he lives, no longer under the wrath of God, but in the good of Divine favour.   This is what is meant by the proclamation, "by grace ye are saved."   You were in trouble, real and terminal trouble; you were helpless to save yourself, but God intervened in mercy, because of His great love, and saved you by grace.   It has been said by others that, "if mercy is withholding from us what we deserve, grace is giving to us what we don't deserve."   We are all aware of the power of sin in our lives; we do things we don't mean to under certain conditions.   Some know this power more than others, all of us know it, but there is a power greater than the power of sin, and it is the grace of God.   It is written "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." (Romans 5v20).   The scripture encapsulates this in terms of spiritual power in the next verse 21 "...that as sin has reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."

What we were once, dead, dominated and doomed; what we are now by the grace of God, alive, free, and saved.   It is good if we remember the depths from which we have been lifted, and look now to the heights to which we are exalted.

EPHESIANS CHAPTER 2v1-3

What we were individually

Paul opens the chapter with the words "And you...." thus linking very clearly with the details of chapter 1.   A sweep of chapter 1 with chapter 2 reveals a most powerful truth, that in Christ we are as He.   Christ died, we were dead; Christ was resurrected, we have been resurrected; Christ is seated in the heavenlies, we are seated in the heavenlies.   Not that we will be, but we are already and all this by the power of God, as Paul said, "the exceeding greatness of His power."   What He wrought in Christ, he has wrought in us.   The inescapable conclusion of this is that we must live powerful, victorious lives.   There is no excuse for any believer to be morally deficient, no excuse for us to be socially divided, since we have become a new humanity in Christ, and the entire power of God has been made effective in our lives.   We have become positionally and powerfully united to Christ, such that the only response is newness of life!   That is the force of his argument   ".....which He wrought in Christ.......and you!"   To deny this in principle or in practice, is to deny that God's power can change things.

He begins by describing our condition pre-conversion.   This was true of every saint before salvation, it is true now of every unregenerate person.   There are three main facts brought before us:
Dead..............Dominated..........Doomed.  
None of the above may be palatable, nevertheless it is the truth, and it is as well we know the truth about ourselves.

• Dead to God because of sin         Our condition before God is one of spiritual death.   That which distinguishes human beings from animals, namely the possession of the human spirit, which was given to us that we might be inhabited by God's Spirit, has been separated from it's maker by the entrance of sin.   Everyone born into this world is physically alive, but spiritually dead even from the very point of birth.   Back in Eden, God decreed to the first man Adam, "of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."   In the event the man transgressed the commandment of God. but he did not die physically, he died that very moment (spiritually) to God.   Scripture makes it very clear that sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59v2).   That day God brought a judicial judgment on the entire race.   The results of this have been far reaching.   There is an interesting construction here in the Greek, which suggests the human race is dead to the trespasses and sins, that is we are totally insensitive to sins and trespasses, we are unaware of our condition because the spiritual lifeline has been cut off.   This construction is also found in verse 5, and the idea is expanded in chapter 4v18 "...having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart....."    Sins describe a coming short of a standard required, trespasses are a going beyond a line of demarcation.   In either case we are unaware of these because we were born out of communication with God.   Essentially we lived as though God did not exist, and were not subject to His guiding control.   Instead we came under three very powerful influences, which are now detailed, and which took us further away from God.
• Dominated by the world        All of us hate the idea of slavery, and we pride ourselves in our independence, yet the grim reality is that we are subservient to influences beyond our control.   The phrase "walking according to....." means that we are actually being controlled.   He calls it "the course of the world."   The word for course is aion which means trend, or fashion, cultural practices which characterize a certain time period.   Who decides these trends, who orchestrate the changes that come?.... big business, politicians, philosophers, academics etc.   No one likes to be left out, or left behind, or be called "not with it", so we conform, we go with the tide.   Few of us, if any, stop to question the direction the world is taking, as to it's destiny, we just follow, because it's the easiest way.   Whatever is the "in thing" we will do; yet the word of God says this world is on a collision course with God, and there is only one winner!   The course of the world is anti-God, indeed in rebellion against Him.   Paul is about to expose this "course", the direction the world is going, as a course of brainless conformity, a course of spiritual depravity, a course of disobedience, and a course leading to Divine wrath; dead to God now, leading to the second death which is separation from God forever.   That, says Paul is the destiny of the world.
• Dominated by the unseen spiritual power of the devil      People want laugh at it, but behind the world system in opposition to God, is an enemy of mankind controlling at will the trends of things, keeping mankind in the grip of his spell which he first cast on the race in Eden.  He is "the prince of the power(authority) of the air".... Jesus called him " The prince of this world" ( John 14v30 &16v11).   Paul, through the revelation of the Spirit of God described him as "the god of this world."   He commands untold numbers of demon spirits, and through them wages spiritual warfare against mankind (Ephesians 6v11-13).   His overriding vengeance is because of the decree of God(which he knows to be true) that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent's head.   So far he is free to move within limitations, but he knows he is doomed, and he will bring down as many with him as he can.   His final doom was proclaimed , first by God in Genesis 3v15, then by Christ in John 16v11, then by the Spirit through Paul in Colossians 2v15, and John in Revelation 20v10.   The Spirit of God is warning us of his intentions and his methods: he is blinding the minds of unbelievers (2 Corinthians 4v4); he is lulling the world to sleep (1 John 5v19); he is the spirit influencing people in the pathway of disobedience (Ephesians 2v2).   The words "now working" suggests constant and effective energy.   He is successful, he is good at what he does, he is far too strong, and far too clever for any of us, he is effective.   He is the arch-deceiver, and he is in the process of bringing us down.   The description "power of the air" may refer to his favourite use of mass media communication for his global propaganda. He is controlling the air waves, and therefore the trends and fashions of the world.   A reading of Revelation 20 v7-9 will reveal that even after the benign reign of Christ amidst the best conditions on earth, this one will be able to summon numberless rebels to destruction.   His power is immense, and will always succeed where men resist God.
• Dominated by the power of the flesh      Paul now uses "we" referring to Jews.   Just in case you think this applies only to heathen Gentiles, he says even the religious Jews are caught up in this spiritual tyranny.   We could conclude from this verse that the reason why the world system, as controlled by demon spirits is so successful, is, because it gives the people what they want, naturally.   Born in sin, living in sin, it's much easier to go with our natural instincts, and that is what the world gives, at least for a while.   The course of life, however proves it to be the opposite.   We come face to face with the reality that I am, by nature, corrupt, living in a corrupt world, controlled by corrupt spirits, and the trend is always downward.   We wrongly reason that we can control our nature only to find it is controlling us.   Says Paul, "in the lusts of our flesh. fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind."    The flesh can only produce sinful, selfish, rebellious desires.   This is so close to each of us, and so powerful, it can overcome any rational thinking.   We do what we want when we want even with the best of intentions, but we were created to live for God.   Notice, the desires (wills) of the flesh and of the mind.   It is not only sensual desires, but intellectual, and aesthetic, and cultural desires that can find us at odds with God.   The word for mind is in the plural, and refers to the multitude of anti-God things that can occupy us.
• Doomed to separation from God eternally      What will be the end game for us?   Still speaking to his Jewish countrymen, he says the end of such a pathway is the wrath of God.   There is no room for doubt here; some thinking only the future will declare it, the condemnation is now, God has passed sentence already, we are "children of wrath.....", we are under the condemnation of God, and this by nature.   We were born into a world which is condemned; as we were born, so we were doomed.   The entire world of human beings, apart from Jesus Christ, is lost forever; it is only a matter of time.   Jesus Himself made this clear, "...he that believeth not is condemned already.......and this is the condemnation that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil."   By means of the incarnation we have been given one chance of salvation, to ignore this is to perish, to remain in our sins in which we were born.   The world says different, the devil who controls it is blinding people to the truth, eternal doom hangs over our heads.   No amount of ceremonial religion will alter this position, since Paul is speaking to Jews, arguably the most outwardly religious people on earth, nevertheless, without Christ they are "children of wrath even as others" (that is their Gentile counterparts).   Religion does not save, only Christ.   The bible is clear, God will banish all Christ- rejectors in an act of irreversible condemnation.

                     Only Divine intervention can save us!

EPHESIANS chapter 2 overview

The construction of the church

Everything goes to plan, unlike much of what is built in this world.   We have studied with wonder the conception of the church, it's plans, it's design, it's eternal nature, it's destiny, it's function in the universe, and now we watch it's actual construction.   Overall God begins with the most useless of materials and forms them into a new corporate entity, which will become His everlasting habitation.   He takes people who were hopeless and helpless and horrible and hell-bound, and by free grace makes them saints, personally, and forms them into a new community, the like of which will remain unrivalled for all eternity.   Jesus first declared this in Matthew 16v18 "..upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it."   That work goes on until this day, and will continue until it's consummation, and presentation, and glorification, and manifestation...... in the language of chapter 2v21 "In whom all the building (each individual part) fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord."   What God can do, is doing, will yet do with fallen humanity, is unfolded here ,verse by wonderful verse; I hope you'll join me as I seek by God's help to unravel the beauties of this important section of God's word.   If you are not already part of this greatest of all buildings, my prayer is that you soon will be!   We have in chapter 1 the highest view of salvation, the glory of God; now we see it in connection with the need of humanity.

The chapter divides into two sections: the linking phrase being "in time past"...v2, v11

1. Verses 1-10     What we were, what we are now, and what we will be      individually
2. Verses 11-22   What we were, what we are now, and what we will be      corporately

Such a full salvation, meeting all our need morally and judicially from an individual and corporate point of view.   In the first section, He deals with our dead state before God; in the second He deals with our distance from God.   In the first we are resurrected, in the second we are reconciled.   There are triumphal statements in each of these; firstly "We are His workmanship."; secondly "He is our peace."   These two key statements summarise the complete work of God to meet the need of all who receive Him. He has solved our moral problem, and our social problem bringing individual saints into His glorious temple, by creating people anew and making a new humanity free from sin and enmity. 

We must take note throughout the chapter the thread of Jew and Gentile being united in the great plan, and so he refers to each by the use of "we" and "ye" and "us" and "you".   Sometimes he is referring to one or other, sometimes to both, the context decides.   In essence what God has done in Christ is create "one new man" (verse 15), one new humanity, in which there are no divisions.   What the world seeks to do by changing the environment, God has already done by changing the people.   He began by changing the individual, then formed them into a new community.   The chapter begins with people dead to God, and ends with people living with God.   The overview of the chapter is of the Divine "workmanship", His masterpiece, the greatest work He has done, greater than even the genius of creation, in which He has crafted from the wreck of humanity, a people who walk in God's way, instead of their own way; a people who were once aliens, but are now citizens!   There can be no greater exposition of God's salvation than what we have here.   First we have to accept His verdict on our condition, we have to agree that we need changing, that we need to be saved and that only God can do this.   The chapter is all about the Divine intervention in the awful plight of the human race, as seen in declarations in each section....... verse 4 "But God who is rich in mercy..." and verse 13 "But now in Christ Jesus......."

 

EPHESIANS 1v20-23

The centre of his prayers

Paul now turns his attention to the One who is at the very centre of God's purposes.  Having spoken of the unlimited power of God, available to every believer, he says this is the same power He used in the resurrection, ascension, exaltation, and glorification of Christ, and that believers are vitally and indivisibly united in Him.   Astonishing truth as this is, only the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit can effect this in our experience.   We remind ourselves of the emphasis of verse 19 "the exceeding greatness of His power to usward"; this power knows no bounds.   It has already been demonstrated:

• The power of God in His resurrection      Paul says in Romans 1v4 that the One who came of the seed of David according to the flesh was in the resurrection "declared to be the Son of God with power."   This involves much more than the physical aspect of resurrection, and brings in status, disposition, and authority such as He did not have in the flesh.   The resurrection brought major changes in His role for God in this world.   The physical change was significant enough.   Three days before they had laid His emasculated body in the tomb.   According to the record the skeletal structure was stretched to the limit, His bodily juices were totally dried up, His life blood had drained from His body, yet three days later He stood in total control of His body, soul and spirit and in command of every situation.   This is power indeed, and it is available to us!  No longer the lowly , meek and mild Jesus, whom men can abuse, but the Son of God with power whom many will adore.
• The power of God in His ascension        He first describes the destination, then the journey.   "He set Him (seated Him down) at His right hand in the heavenlies."  The right hand is the place of authority  ( law of first mention-Genesis 48v14-17).   The right hand of God is the supreme seat of power; "in the heavenlies" is the place of universal power.   There, in that lofty place, is Christ in a resurrection body.   Time and time again this truth is reiterated in scripture; Hebrews 1v3& 10v12 "sat down on the right hand of God."   Colossians 3v3 "Christ sitteth on the right hand of God."    There He is, almost 2000 years later, and will remain there until all His enemies are crushed.   The journey commenced 40 days after His resurrection (Acts 1v9-10).   In the language of Psalm 68v18, Paul quotes in Ephesians 4v8 "....He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive"...he continues in 4v10 "....He ascended up far above all things."   The all things includes the material universe, and everything in it, including invisible spirits.   Notice the continued use of superlatives.... not merely glory but the riches of glory; not only power but the exceeding greatness of power; and now, not only above, but far above...far above all heavens, as to space, far above every principality, and power, and might and dominion.....that is every living entity within that space!   Every one, nothing left out, everything in the material world, everything in the spiritual world, He is far above all, He is there by Divine power, He has no rival.   Paul spells it out and we dare not miss any detail.   The word "all" in v21 should read "every single one"; the extent of His Divinely appointed, and Divinely empowered superiority is every individual one of the things mentioned.   Every single principality, every single power, every single might, every single dominion.   Paul says simply in Colossians 2v10 "He is the head of every principality and power."   It is difficult to differentiate between these words, but principality (arche) seems to be the extent of rule; power (exousia) could be the elevation  of rule, the base word meaning privilege, the dignity it confers on the ruler; might(dunamis) is the effectiveness of rule, the main idea being supernatural force; dominion(kuriotes) is the existence of rule in a given time period.   Whatever aspect of authority we can mention, the risen, ascended Christ, is supreme.
• The power of God in His exaltation      This supreme position is over every name that is named, throughout the whole of this age, also in the age to come; from now and to perpetuity, all things are under His feet.   He is not merely saying that Christ will reign in the future, he is saying He reigns now!   He reigns privately, and invisibly from heaven, the day will certainly come when He will reign publicly and visibly.   We sing boldly, today, on the authority of Holy scripture;
•                Jesus, name above all names
                  Beautiful Saviour, glorious Lord.
                  Emmanuel, God is with us.
                  Blessed Redeemer, Living word.      Above every name, spanning all time, all things under His feet!   This by the power of God; there will come challenges to His supreme exaltation, but they will fall.   In due time He will bring the purposes of God to fruition and none shall frustrate.   This is what we mean when we say JESUS IS LORD!   We dare not miss the impact of what follows......."God gave Him to the church which is His body......."; gave Him, the risen, ascended, exalted Lord Jesus Christ to the church, gave Him only after His supreme exaltation, gave Him as HEAD OVER ALL THINGS to the ones so closely united to Him they are what the body is to the head in human terms.   He, the head over all things in existence, is our head in a caring and loving union.   God exalted Him first, united us next, and now we have a living and indissoluble relationship with Him.   This union is so close we are described as "the fullness of Him which filleth all in all."   In the plan of God, wonderful as the thought is, the church is now the indispensable compliment of Christ, in a living, vital, and indestructible union.   Chapter 2 develops how this incredible truth came into being.

EPHESIANS 1v15-19

Paul's prayers for the saints enlightenment.

Paul continues his wonderment at the things of God by prayer to God for the saints.   This is the first of two prayers in the epistle;

• Prayer for their spiritual enlightenment         Chapter 1v15-23
• Prayer for their spiritual enablement             Chapter 3v14-21

Just like verses 3-14, verses 15-23 is all one sentence in the Greek.   It reveals much about the prayer life of the apostle Paul; firstly the character of his prayers, then the content of his prayers, thirdly there is the centre of his prayers, the glorious exalted Lord Jesus Christ.   Still in raptures at the wonder of God's salvation, he continues through without a break.   It is a feature of all godly servants that they are people of prayer, thus following the example of their Lord.   We do well to emulate them. 
           The character of his prayers.

• "Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints....."   He associates himself with all the saints, no matter from what background; v11 "in whom we also.."; v13 "in whom ye also.."; and, now v15" "wherefore I also.."   Whether Jew or Gentile, they are all saints through faith in Christ.   He is fully aware of their present state.   He heard of their faith, also of the evidence of their faith, namely love to all the saints.   Wherever there is faith, there should also be evidence of it.   Biblical evidence of faith is manifold, but, of vital importance is love to fellow believers.   One of the crucial tests of faith, given by the apostle John, is just that "..he who loveth God loveth his brother also." 1 John4v21; again "every one that loveth Him that begat, loveth him also that is begotten of Him."  1 John 5v1.  Indeed, in the following verses, he speaks of the impossibility of faith without love to the saints.....1 John 2v9; 3v15; 3v17; 4v8; 5v20.   Paul had heard of the evident faith of these saints, he cared about their state.
• "Cease not to give thanks for you making mention of you in my prayers......."      They were always on his mind, he was constantly thinking of them, bringing them always before the throne.   Notice the two things he does... he gives thanks for them and he mentions them always in his daily prayers.   We could do with developing a ceaseless approach to the care of the saints as Paul did.   In 2 Corinthians 11v28 he spoke of his "daily care of the churches."   The Greek preposition he uses for in my prayers is epi and suggests on my prayers, that is mingled with all my prayers.   Literally, you are in every prayer I make.

                 

• "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory......"       He was always conscious of the One he was addressing in his prayers.   We are speaking to Divine beings, and we should ever hold them in awe.   Biblical prayers always begin with a hallowed reverence for God.   A reference to 2 Chronicles 6v14, 1 Samuel 2v1, Matthew 6v9-10, Acts 4v24, etc. should suffice to impress this upon us.   We do not "roll" in and out of the presence of God, there is a protocol, and the apostles always observed it.   He is the God of our Lord Jesus Christ......Paul's favourite title for Him(uses it over 100 times) .....Christ, the anointed of God to fulfil His purposes......Jesus, those purposes involved the incarnation.....Lord, He accomplished all and now reigns supreme, as man, over the new creation.   The One we address in prayer is no less than the God of that glorious One and He is the Father of glory.   The understanding of the terms of scripture is important;  "the Father"  is the Originator, in this case of glory, but overall He is the Originator of all things.   The term  "glory"  comes from a root Hebrew word meaning "weight" and represents anything that is of value, that is of value in the eyes of God.   In chapter 1 God is the originator of glory; in chapter 3v21 He is the object of glory.   This epistle is full of references to the idea of glory and the apostle speaks of  "the riches of glory."   The nearest idea, that we can properly apply to this, is the word "majesty."   The Father of all believers is majestic in everything He is, and,  He has unlimited resources.   Paul is careful to remind himself of this every time he prays.  

          The content of his prayers.

Mostly when we pray we ask God for material blessings, whether health or wealth, and we tend to  omit the more important matter of spiritual progress.   This is true of all Paul's prayers in the New Testament  (Philippians 1v3-11; Colossians 1v3-11 are other examples).   He prays for their spiritual enlightenment and prays the Father will give them "the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of God."   We note, yet again, the involvement of the tri-one God in the life of believers, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.   We have already seen in chapter 1v13  "the Spirit of promise" referring to His role in our future; now we have "the Spirit of wisdom" and this is His role presently.   This work of the Holy Spirit within us is to reveal God to us on a regular basis until we come to full knowledge.  He speaks of   "the eyes of your understanding being enlightened."    The Christian life is not simply a meal ticket for eternity, it is a life long experience of the knowledge of God.   There are three things that we must learn to know about God:

• "That ye may know what is the hope of His calling........"       What follows is a clear declaration of the things we must get to know by spiritual revelation; His calling, His inheritance, His power.   What is the force of these things which are indispensable to the Christian life, and which can only be known supernaturally, and for which Paul prays incessantly?   We must learn to see things from God's perspective.   Far too often we see it from our lowly standpoint, we are to see it from His lofty standpoint, for that is the only true perspective; and so in chapter 4v4 he speaks of "the hope of your calling", but here he says "the hope of His calling."   It is that which gives absolute assurance, it is God who called; the word is summoned, and when He calls in that judicial fashion, there is nothing will alter it.   It is the effectual call of the highest authority in the universe, it cannot be rescinded.   Ultimately it does not depend on us, it depends on Him.   He called us, He summoned us, He will see it through.   He called us in the grace of Christ (Galatians 1v6); He called us out of darkness into marvellous light (1st Peter 2v9); He called us to be right with Himself and in Christ we are so (Romans 8v30);  He called us to the fellowship of His Son (1st Corinthians 1v9); He called us to be saints (1st Corinthians 1v2); He called us to be glorified, which we will be (Romans 8v30); He called us to reign with Christ (Revelation 17v14.   We are to learn all these things more and more.
•  "and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints."        Mostly we are concerned about what we get out of it, but what does it bring to God... what is His portion in this great salvation?   This was answered long time ago ".. the Lord's portion is his people, Jacob is the lot of His inheritance"(Deuteronomy 32v9).   38times in the old testament, God speaks of His people as His inheritance!  This is carried forward to the church age.   The late professor F.F. Bruce wrote in connection with these verses "that God should set such high value on a community of sinners, rescued from perdition, and still bearing too many traits of their former state, might well seem incredible, were it not made clear that He sees them in Christ, as from the beginning He chose them in Christ.".   Again the professor wrote "We must not overlook the fact that His people constitute an inheritance for God, His own possession in whom He will display to the universe the untold riches of His glory.   We can scarcely realize what it must mean to God to see His purpose complete, to see the creatures of His hand, sinners redeemed by His grace reflecting His glory."   We often sing "That will be glory for me..." and for sure it will, but incredibly, yet gloriously, it will we glory for Him!   His grace will issue in His glory for all concerned.   Oh the tragedy that any human being should miss out on this.  
• "and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe; according to the working of His mighty power..."       If, in the calling, we have the Divine summons in the past which saved us, and in the inheritance we have the certainty of future glory, now we have, in the present, all the power of God at our disposal for all we need in the time between.   Notice the superlative language he uses.... "the riches of His glory"...."the exceeding greatness of His power".  Indeed, he exhausts the Greek vocabulary of the words for power in this verse.   There can be no greater expression of the power of God in our lives than what is here. Power to live for God, power to suppress self, power to stand against the wiles and fiery darts of the enemy, power to boldly proclaim the grace of God.  We have dunamis which is miraculous, supernatural force; this is according to "the energy(energeia-strong effective force) of the strength(kratos-vigour, extensive force) of His might(ischus-ability to overcome in conflict).   Such is the comprehensive strength we have from God.   We have abundant, overwhelming supernatural power within, there is no excuse for our defeat in any way.

Paul's prayer is that these things will become practical in our experience.   We need the revelation of the Spirit to know them, and to grow in that knowledge.   We need the wisdom of the Spirit to be able to apply them to our lives

EPHESIANS 1v13-14

The work of God the Spirit in securing the believer

Paul now refers to Gentile believers, who, in line with their Jewish brethren, have put their trust in Christ, receiving all the benefits of adoption by the Father, and redemption by the Son.   He expands on this merging of Jew and Gentile in chapter two, but wishes to maintain the scriptural order in which they came to Christ.   He now introduces the role played by the Spirit of God in our salvation.   This is a very important role, an indispensable one, that spans our entire spiritual life from beginning to end.

• "In whom ye also trusted"     The word trusted is not in the original manuscripts, but is demanded by the context from v12.   It means forehoped, to hope in advance of, to place your hopes for the future, in this case, trust in Christ.   This hope is not the same as a wish list, more a dependency on that which is absolutely certain.   The saved Jews of v12 rested all their future on the Messiah, likewise you Gentiles have placed your hopes on Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one of God.
• "After that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation"       We, now, are to understand the process of salvation; although it takes place in a moment, there is a very definite order, and it never changes.   Firstly you heard...... this is clearly human responsibility.   There is hearing, and there is heeding; hearing, as it were, with your inner ear.   Paul said in another place "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God".   What did you hear?   The word of truth(the divine side), the gospel of your salvation(the human side).   This is a wonderful description of the salvation God has provided in Christ, and, what good news it is to the world at large.   It is the word of truth, you can depend upon it; in a world full of lies and falsehoods, it is the truth, the one thing you can rely on for your future.   Psalm 19v7-9 "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul....the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."    Jesus said "I am the truth...."; the phrase "the word of truth" also appears in 2 Corinthians 6v7, Colossians 1v5,  2 Timothy 2v15, and James 1v18.  Even the world talks about "gospel truth", when they wish to underline the veracity of something.   This world and everything in it exists by the spoken word of God, all who are saved are so by the same spoken word.   This true, dependable word results in the good news of our salvation.   God's truth, when accepted, brings salvation.   The full meaning of salvation is expounded in the letter to Romans and involves God dealing with past guilt, providing present grace, and securing future glory for the believer.
• "In whom also after that ye believed....."       Here we must take note of the aorist participle which Paul uses twice in this verse (having....).   He is denoting something which happened at one point in the past.   It is a finished act, it is complete, it needs nothing added.   It could be rendered "on the point of hearing, on the point of believing".   There was a time when we crossed the line from sin to salvation and it is the moment when we believed.   It was not only a mental assent but a whole of life commitment to trust in Christ come what may.  In other scriptures, believing is seen to be obedience; the conclusion therefore is that refusal to believe is disobedience, and it is of the worst possible kind in view of the cost to God in providing it.  Scriptures like Romans 1v5, 16v26, Acts 17v30, make this clear.  There is an interesting phrase in 2 Thessalonians2v10, which depicts the true nature of biblical believing; "they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved."  The only proper response to the God who has loved us to the extent of the blood of the cross, is to love the truth that the gospel brings.   Believing is obeying, believing is loving, it can be no less than that.
• "You were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise"      It could be translated "on believing ye were sealed..."   Note the progression heard, believed, sealed.   The word sealed is very powerful; literally it means to stamp ( with a signet or private mark) as an indication of ownership, of security, of preservation, of authentication.   The beast of a future day will stamp his followers with a seal; the imitation of Satan will go on to the end.  The Holy Spirit seals believers to secure them eternally for God.   They belong to Him now, they are beyond the reach of the enemy.   Like the kings of old who used their signet ring imprinted on the wax to authenticate deeds, and covenants, and letters, so we are sealed on believing.   This is the security of the believer.   Nothing can alter it as Ephesians 4v30 says "whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption".    The word is so strong it is used in Matthew 27v66 for the seal on the tombstone.   When used to describe spiritual security it is an unbreakable seal.   We must take stock now of the vital role of the third person of the Godhead in our salvation.   He preserved our way pre-conversion; He produced the word of truth, the bible; He inspired the preachers by whom we heard ; He resurrected us, He enlightened us He convicted us, He cleansed us.   The Lord Jesus said that to enter the kingdom of God we must be "born of the Spirit".   No one is saved without the regenerating power of the Spirit.   Like as He moved on the lifeless, dark, earth in Genesis 1v2, so He moves on the lifeless dark souls of men to awaken them to spiritual life.
• "Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession    The seal of the Holy Spirit, which is His indwelling presence, in every believer, is described as the earnest......what a beautiful thought it is!   This word is of Hebrew origin and means a pledge, a down-payment, of money to secure the entirety of the inheritance.   This is an awesome truth; the Spirit of God, the third member of the Godhead, no less, is Himself, the guarantee that we will receive in reality all that God has promised.   Romans 8v15-16 says " ye have received the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba, Father. The Spirit himself witnesses with our spirit that we are the sons of God".  This state of things will continue until the ultimate, the redemption of the purchased possession.   This is defined in Romans 8v23 as the redemption of the body.   Spirit , soul and body, the whole person redeemed and perfected by the tri-une God to whom will be the glory from the vast redeemed throng.   The earnest is used in 2 Corinthians 1v22and 5v5.... it is a guarantee that full payment will be made.   God is always true to His word, but for our benefit, He gives us certainty, saved for eternity!!