Introduction to Ephesians

I am often dissatisfied with my walk and service for the Lord; even on my best days I fail to use all the provision that He graciously makes available, and I do not act upon all that He has patiently taught me to do. As such, I feel wholly inadequate for the task set before me. I am not an expert, nor am I of some spiritual caliber that merits any attention whatsoever. I am merely a man with a Bible in his hand, who believes what it says and desires to live accordingly, though I often fail. I readily identify with Paul in the seventh chapter of Romans: I desire to grow by leaps and bounds, and yet the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and pride of life cause me to stand in my own way. In spite of this, the Lord continues to teach me line up on line, precept up on precept, here a little, and there a little (Isaiah 28:10) and I slowly grow in grace thereby. My hope is that the work invested here displays this process of the Lord in my life, and perhaps will be used as a line added upon a line for you, the reader, as well.

Approach to the Study of Ephesians

The contemporary church reveres the study of Hebrew and Greek, believing that these languages are the key to unlocking what Scripture “really says.” Any man who has a functional knowledge of these languages (and provides “nuggets” of that knowledge in his preaching for the layman) is exalted as a superior expositor of the text. Academic faith reigns supreme, and so the unspoken prerequisite for anyone seriously interested in a preaching or teaching ministry is a knowledge of the original languages.

Also in vogue is what we might call “social Christianity,” or perhaps “relational Christianity,” in which the hard edges of Bible preaching and teaching are softened in order to present a kinder, gentler Christianity to the world. We emphasize a lifestyle that, in theory, appeals to the unsaved masses, creating in ourselves a mirror of what the world would look like if it was just a little more moral, a little more modest, and a little more temperate. Our Bible studies become merely “groups” and our outreach events are more social than soul-winning. We are preoccupied with being “authentic,” all the while forgetting that our authentic selves are sinners in need of the unhindered words of God!

We are desperate for the world to know that we are not ignorant simpletons taken in by a foolish faith, and that we are not so dramatically changed by our faith that we can no longer fit in with our neighbors and co-workers. As a result, we practically flaunt our academics and our relatablity, begging the culture around us to notice. I have no intention of doing either here. While there is nothing wrong with being informed, intelligent, kind, gracious, welcoming, and forthcoming, our response has overcompensated for the criticisms leveled against us, and as a result we experience a greatly weakened church that acts defensively rather than offensively in the war for men’s souls.

This commentary aims to avoid the modern Christian trends in the places where they are ineffectual. In their place, we will do one simple thing: take God at His word. We will embrace the promise of Psalms 12:6, operating on the premise that God is capable of preserving what He said over time and across languages, and that He has an interest in doing so. We will accept the clear evidence (presented elsewhere by people much more intelligent than myself) that the Authorized Version of the text is the preserved, perfect word of God in the English language, thus rendering the Hebrew and Greek virtually obsolete. We will examine Scripture plainly, accepting what God plainly said as what God plainly means, regardless of how gracious or abrasive it may be in any particular spot. Only then can we truly begin to study the Word of God; only by placing the Word of God into the hands of a man or a woman in such a manner is that person truly free.

With this mindset, we will first consider the historical context of the epistle to the Ephesians, and then move into a verse-by-verse exposition of the doctrine in the text. Along the way, we will also consider devotional applications of the text. This commentary is by no means comprehensive, but it aims to explore the riches found in this portion of the Word of God as much as I am capable of doing so. I have chosen to parse out the commentary sentence-by-sentence rather than verse-by-verse, so that we may follow each complete grammatical thought rather than the subdivision of thoughts sometimes created by the verse numbering. At times this means we will be handling large portions of text (for example, all of chapter one is only five sentences!) but I believe it is beneficial to approach the text this way. Likewise, as much as possible I have allowed the text to speak for itself. As such, many of the cited sources will pertain to the definitions of words and the mechanics of the English language, and the majority of the comments made here are conclusions I have drawn by taking that approach. Ideas collected from godly men who have studied Ephesians and related subjects appear as well, but less frequently than the aforementioned sources.

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Historical Context for the Study of Ephesians