GraceinChrist

Noticed already how we can divide Ephesians: 

Chapters 1 to 3 – Doctrine 

Chapters 4 to 6 – Practice 

Practice is built upon our doctrine 

What we believe determines how we live 

We have seen some dramatic examples of this over the last century: 

• Camp Davidians – mass suicide to enter into some gate in heaven 
• Holocaust – believing Jews and others were sub human 
• Islam – belief in Mohammed and Koran, Jihad and Muslim lands resulted in terrorism, oppression and murder. 

What we believe determines how I live 

See that here in Ephesians 4:1; 20-22 

Doctrine affects practice 

The WORD determines the WALK 

What we saw, as the WORD was misrepresented the WALK was unrecognisable. 

Let us be careful, doctrine determines practice

We noted too a further:

Pattern or Template: 

The journey of Israel from Egypt to Canaan, under Moses and then under Joshua:

1. Redemption – Exodus 12 
2. Sanctification 
3. Construction of Tabernacle 
4. Dimensions of Divine Love 
5. Service in the tabernacle (Ephesians 4:1ff)
6. Walk / Journey – chapters 4 and 5 
7. Battle (chapter 6) 

We could see the structure of the epistle through the pattern of the 3 prayers of Ephesians:

1. WHY God saved you – Reason for our salvation – following after the doctrines of election, predestination, adoption, inheritance, redemption 
2. WHAT our redemption is all about – Preparation for the Christian walk, the heart of the Christian experience 
3. HOW we succeed – the Victory in our walk 

Or consider:

1. DOCTRINE – The REVELATION of God 
2. DEVOTION – Our RELATIONSHIP with Christ 
3. DISCIPLESHIP / DUTY – The REALITY of faith and victory 

Hope (v18) 

Keep your hope before you! 

If you lose your hope you lose your way! 

‘A man who has a reason why to live can deal with almost any how.’ (Friedrich Nietzsche)

Hope – do we have hope? 

A hope set before us??

Was it not:

Hope that sustained Noah through 40 days of rain

Hope that sustained Moses and Israel through 40 years in the wilderness

Hope that sustained Job through 40 chapters of suffering 

Hope sustained Paul (Phil 1:21) in His lifelong service for Christ 

Hope sustained men and women of faith in their race in the midst of persecution and trial (Hebrews 12:1) 

Hope sustained great men and women of faith (Hebrews 11)

That Hope is: “the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (v18) 

This is a strange and difficult phrase, could mean one of 2 things:

1. God has an inheritance in or amongst the saints, ie that the saints are God’s inheritance. This is of course true but maybe doesn’t fit too well with the context in 1:11, 14, rather than what God gets. 
2. The inheritance belonging to and from God, shared amongst the saints, ie not what God gets but what we get. This is similar to 
   1. “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.” Acts 20:32 and 
   2. “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” Acts 26:18 

It is our inheritance ie what we get rather than what God gets that has been the theme so far of Ephesians chapter 1 and it is to our inheritance, ie what we get that the Ephesian letter will lead us into in chapter 6, ready and equipped for battle to cease our inheritance in Christ.

Surely verse 18 could have been clearer? 

As a consequence of this we are presented with a fascinating truth which is infused through the rest of Ephesians, that the inheritance of God’s people is collective!

God’s people were not designed to go it alone! 

Salvation is an individual and personal encounter and experience! The Christian life begins with an individual experience but it does not continue as such! We will forever share in a collective experience of Christ and a collective inheritance. 

This thought leads me into the truth of the church “His body” (1:23) 

Eternally our inheritance is among the saints! 

Presently God has placed us among the saints (v23) 

It is amongst the saints that we receive a foretaste of this inheritance. It is amongst the saints we find: 

• The Presence of Christ with His people (1:23) 
• The Privilege of access (2:13-16,18) 
• The Presence of Christ in His people (3:14ff) 
• The Revelation of Christ in the Church (chapter 4) 

1. Revelation (chp 1) 
2. Relationship (chp 3) 
3. Reality (chp 6) 

We find a taste of that in the church 

In the church the tremendous multiplicity of gift (Ephesians 4:10 ff) brings a great revelation of Christ to His people. 

We don’t believe in one man ministry:

• Pastors are in the plural 
• No NT precedent for one teaching elder or pastor – elders plural (when they can be) 
• Gifts are plural, all believers are gifted and the expectation is that we will use those gifts 

Here in Ephesians chapter 4 we see the reason for this. The use of this diversity of gift amongst God’s people is needed to reflect the full glory of Christ in order that His people may be brought to Christ likeness! 

That you may know what is the hope of His calling and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 18 points the Christian to the present experience of the future expectation of his inheritance. The inheritance God has for His people will be forever shared collectively amongst His people. This experience we taste of today in His Church, the body, building and bride of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is in the church that the full variety and diversity of spiritual gifts are given to glorify and reveal Jesus and build up the Christian, transforming and conforming them to the image of Jesus! 

God indeed is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied with Him! 

Dr J Stewart Gillespie