Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20130303.htm

THE PRISON EPISTLES: NURTURE FOR OPPRESSED BELIEVERS
I. Ephesians: Nurture In Living Focusing On God's Eternal Purpose For Christians
A. Nurture in Focusing On The Believer's Election And Sealing In Christ, Ephesians 1:1-23
1. Nurture in Focusing On The Believer's Predestination Unto Adoption
(Ephesians 1:1-5)
  1. Introduction
    1. When Paul wrote the "Prison Epistles" of Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians and Philemon in his Roman imprisonment, his imprisonment status troubled believers, cf. Philippians 1:12-13; Colossians 2:1-2; 4:7-8 and Philemon 22; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, p. 1672, "Intro. to the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians."
    2. Aware of this need, Paul's Prison Epistles highlight special focuses toward comforting and stabilizing his readers, a ministry of nurture greatly applicable for oppressed Christians today.
    3. In Ephesians 1:1-5, we focus on the believer's predestination unto adoption for nurture under oppression:
  2. Nurture In Focusing On The Believer's Predestination Unto Adoption, Ephesians 1:1-5.
    1. In his introduction, Paul claimed to be an apostle, one sent by Jesus Christ to disciple others, Ephesians 1:1a with Acts 9:13-15; Zon. Pict. Ency. of the Bible, v. One, p. 216. Paul's readers were to take comfort in the fact that Jesus Christ was aware of Paul's imprisonment, and that Jesus had allowed it to occur without reversing it as God had done for Peter some years earlier back in Acts 12:1-10.
    2. Also, Paul wrote he was an apostle by God's will, and the context shows this is God the Father, Ephesians 1:1b with 1:3a. Paul's readers were to take comfort that not only Christ, but God the Father was aware of his imprisonment, and that both had let it occur without yet releasing him as had occurred in Peter's case!
    3. Thus, Paul urged that his Christian readers be recipients of God the Father's and Christ's grace and peace, Ephesians 1:2. These words spiritually encouraged believers who felt insecure over Paul's imprisonment:
      1. "Grace" (charis, U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 664) here means "favor" (Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. Of the N. T., 1967, p. 885-887), and all such favor from God is by the cross, Titus 2:11.
      2. "Peace" (eirene), (Ibid., Arndt & Gingrich, p. 226-227) corresponds to Paul's Hebrew word, shalom (Ibid.), and is the product of God's grace for the believer, Romans 5:1.
      3. Thus, through God's grace, believers could be at experiential peace over Paul's imprisonment status!
    4. Paul then asserted God was to be praised for having blessed believers with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ, Eph. 1:3. Believers need no "Second Blessing" allegedly associated by speaking in tongues as taught by Pentecostals, for we already possess all such blessings in Him in heaven! (Eph. 1:3)
    5. This status aligns with God's having chosen believers in eternity to be "holy and without blame before Him in love," Eph. 1:4, which election aligns with God's eternal "predestination" of believers unto the "adoption" by Christ to Himself, Eph. 1:5. This often misinterpreted is clarified in Greek New Testament:
      1. The word "before" in Ephesians 1:4 is katenopion, meaning "in the presence of" as opposed to "in the sight of", Ibid., Arndt & Gingrich, p. 422; Moult. & Mill., The Voc. of The Grk. N. T., 1972, 335, 220.
      2. The "adoption" (Eph. 1:5, huiothesian; Ibid., Arndt & Ging., p. 841) can be either refer to a believer's positional son-placing at salvation (Gal. 4:5-6) or to his glorification at the rapture, Romans 8:23.
      3. The words "holy and without blame" (hagios and amomos respectively, Ibid., U. B. S. Grk. N. T.), when used together with katenopion elsewhere refers to the believer's status in heaven, Moulton & Geden, Concordance to the Greek Testament, 1974, p. 11-14, 53, 539.
      4. Thus, since Paul had introduced the idea of being positionally blessed in the heavenlies in Christ back in Ephesians 1:3, he shifted to mention God's eternal predestining work to get us experientially into the heavenlies holy and without blame via the rapture, the "adoption," according to Ephesians 1:4-5.
      5. Thus, instead of a divine predestination and election for certain people to believe in Christ as many errantly hold this passage teaches, Paul instead wrote of God's plan to get believers already eternally seen by God to be positionally blessed in Christ (Eph. 1:3) one day into heaven by way of the rapture that they might experience those positional blessings in His heavenly presence! (Ephesians 1:4-5)
Lesson: Paul's readers were to be assured that regardless of his imprisonment, God's eternal plan was one day to bless him and them together by glorifying the whole Church in His presence via the rapture!

Application: May we focus on our blessed heavenly destiny to cease fretting over our earthly concerns!