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Well, please turn with me in 
your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1. 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. Blessed be the God and Father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual 
blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. just as He chose us 
in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should 
be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined 
us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according 
to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of 
His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him 
we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, 
according to the riches of His grace, which He made to abound 
toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery 
of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He purposed 
in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times 
He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which 
are in heaven and which are on earth in Him. In Him also we 
have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to 
the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel 
of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to 
the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after 
you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, 
in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy 
Spirit, a promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance 
until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of 
his glory. Therefore, I also, after I heard 
of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 
do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in 
my prayers. that the God of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of 
wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of 
your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the 
hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His 
inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness 
of His power toward us who believe? According to the working of His 
mighty power, which He worked in Christ, when He raised Him 
from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly 
places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion 
and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also 
in that which is to come. And He put all things under His 
feet and gave Him to be had over all things to the church. which 
is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for this time 
that we can worship You, when we can come together to the Scriptures 
of the Old and New Testaments, and we confess, Lord God, that 
we are so greatly blessed in the reception of Your Word. We 
do live in a sin-cursed world. We live in a world where lies 
and deceit and falsehood are rampant. So we give thanks to 
you for that stabilizing influence of the Word of Truth. And God, 
help us all to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord 
and Savior, Jesus Christ. Forgive us for all of our sin 
and unrighteousness. Cleanse us in that precious blood 
of the Lamb. And as well, God, fill us now 
with your Holy Spirit and guide us as we consider this wonderful 
epistle to the Ephesians. And we pray in the name and for 
the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, we're going to be 
looking at this book, God willing, in the coming weeks on our Sunday 
evening worship services. So tonight, I want to just deal 
with the first two verses and do some introduction. Typically, 
when you hear the words Bible introduction, you're dealing 
with issues like authorship and audience and the date of composition 
and those things going on in the background to help you to 
be able to process the information that you see in the written text. 
So tonight we'll look first at the epistle to the Ephesians 
in verse one. Secondly, the ministry in Ephesus. And then we'll look at the greeting 
to the saints in verse two. So notice in the first place, 
Paul writes in verse one, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by 
the will of God. So we have his self-identification. We have this indication that 
Paul is the author of this letter. It's replicated in chapter 3 
at verse 1. Notice, for this reason I, Paul, 
the prisoner of Christ Jesus, for you Gentiles. Now for the 
most part, in the history of the church, it was never challenged 
that Paul wrote the epistle to the Ephesians. Now in the last 
little while, in recent history, actually really recent history, 
most people now accept Pauline authorship. But going a little 
bit back, there were those who did not believe that Paul the 
Apostle wrote the book of Ephesians. And there's various reasons why, 
and I won't bore you with that. I just want to point us to the 
testimony of Irenaeus. He's one of the fathers who lived 
in AD 130 to 200. And he refers to this epistle 
this way. He says, even as the blessed 
Paul declares in his epistle to the Ephesians. So as I said, 
though it has been challenged in more recent times, that challenge 
is not a difficult one to overcome. Paul wrote the book called Ephesians. Notice as well, not only his 
identification by way of his name, but notice his office or 
his function or his service unto Christ. Paul, an apostle, of 
Jesus Christ by the will of God. An apostle is one sent by another, 
sort of like an ambassador. He is one designated to function 
on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ, to proclaim the truth, to propagate 
the message, to see the church built, and to see the kingdom 
of God on earth advanced. And notice he's an apostle of 
Jesus Christ, not of himself. He's not self-appointed. He's 
not out to build his own kingdom, but rather he's about the church 
of our blessed Savior. And he says that this is by the 
will of God. In many places in his epistles, 
he identifies himself as an apostle. Just flip back to the beginning 
of Galatians. Galatians chapter 1, he makes 
a sharp contrast in verse 1. Notice, Paul an apostle, not 
from man, nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God 
the Father, who raised him from the dead. In other words, Paul 
did not appoint himself. Paul is not trying to make a 
name for Paul, but rather Paul is a man owned by Christ and 
put into service by the Lord Jesus. And then drop down to 
verse 11 in Galatians 1. But I make known to you, brethren, 
that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man, 
for I neither received it from man nor was I taught it, but 
it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have 
heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the 
church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And 
I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in 
my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of 
my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my 
mother's womb and called me through His grace to reveal His Son in 
me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately 
confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem 
to those who were apostles before me, but I went to Arabia and 
returned again to Damascus. So the apostle is conscious of 
the reality that it was Christ that called him into service. 
It was Christ on the road to Damascus that saved him. It was 
Christ on the road to Damascus that commissioned him and Paul 
never forgot that. He understood his place according 
to the will of God in the plan of God for the furtherance of 
the kingdom of God through the proclamation of the gospel of 
God. Now, in terms of the historical 
situation, turn to the book of Acts, specifically Acts chapter 
28. Notice how the book ends. Acts chapter 28, the apostle 
Paul is in prison in Rome. And we read in verse 30, then 
Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house and received 
all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching 
the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, 
no one forbidding him. So the apostle ends, or the book 
of Acts ends with the apostle in a Roman jail cell. And in 
that time frame, which is about AD 60 to about AD 62, Paul writes 
what has come to be known as the prison epistles. The prison 
epistles are Ephesians, our document, Philippians, Colossians, and 
Philemon. So Paul is in jail, and instead 
of whining, instead of grumbling, instead of lamenting his current 
situation, He takes pen to paper under the inspiration of the 
Holy Spirit and he writes truth to the churches so that he can 
encourage them. He writes truth to the churches 
so that they can grow in the grace and in the knowledge of 
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The apostle got a lot done when 
he was in prison. 2 Timothy chapter 4 is a later 
imprisonment in the city of Rome. Once again, in 2 Timothy 4, he 
knows that he's going to die. He knows that this is it for 
him. But we don't find him languishing in a prison cell. If you read 
chapter 4 in 2 Timothy, you see how he's moving troops around. 
He's the strategist, he's the general, he's in the command 
center, and he's giving instruction to Timothy on how best to utilize 
the gifts that Christ has given to the church for the furtherance 
of the gospel. So he didn't twiddle his thumbs, 
he didn't just sit there and mark off the sort of days on 
the jail wall, but he used his time effectively, and in that 
first Roman imprisonment that took place in AD 60 to 62, as 
I said, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon come 
off his pen. If you notice in Ephesians, he 
refers to the fact that he's in jail, that he is a prisoner. 
I already read 3.1, for this reason I, Paul, the prisoner 
of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles. He knows it's not just that he 
was a framed man. He knows that it's not just a 
corrupt justice system, but he knows that ultimately he is Christ's 
prisoner. Whatever falls out with reference 
to our lives, whatever falls out with reference to our providence, 
we are ultimately in the hand of a gracious God. And so the 
Apostle Paul understood that. And again, he doesn't rail against 
it. He embraces it and accepts it and goes with it. Notice in 
chapter 4, verse 1, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech 
you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. And 
then again, in chapter 6 at verse 20. And when he asks for prayer, 
he says, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in it I may speak 
boldly, excuse me, as I ought to speak. So he refers to the 
fact that he is in jail. So the author is the Apostle 
Paul. The date is between AD 60 and 62. And then notice the 
addressees. It says in verse 1, After Paul, 
an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints 
who are in Ephesus. Now the saints are the holy ones, 
the set-apart ones. As our brother just reminded 
us, the root meaning of holy is transcendent. It is separate. 
It is far removed. but there is a secondary meaning 
that flows out of the first, wherein we are morally pure. 
And with reference to sainthood in the Bible, it isn't ascribed 
to a certain class of people that do a really good job. I 
was brought up Roman Catholic, and you had a whole list. of 
saints. You had the patron saint for 
this activity, and the patron saint for that activity, and 
you just had a whole host of saints that did all of this good 
stuff, and so they had sainthood sort of decreed upon them. That's 
not how the New Testament uses the language saints. Again, it 
is believers in Christ. It is followers of Christ. It 
is those who are consecrated by God unto service for God. Notice in Ephesians chapter one, 
not only in verse one, but notice in verse 15. Therefore, I also, 
after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love 
for all the saints, again, not love for a class of super special, 
excellent Christians, All the saints, meaning all of the people 
of God. You see it again in verse 18. 
The eyes of your understanding, having been enlightened, that 
you may know what is the hope of his calling, what are the 
riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. Again, not a specific 
blessing that is only the possession of a few, but all of the people 
of God, the followers of our Lord. Notice in chapter 2 at 
verse 19, same sort of an emphasis. Now, therefore, you are no longer 
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints 
and members of the household of God. You see it again in chapter 
3 at verse 18. Chapter 3 at verse 18, that you 
may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width 
and length and depth and height. And then again in chapter 4 at 
verse 12. Notice, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of 
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. And then 
again in chapter 6 at verse 18, praying always with all prayer 
and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with 
all perseverance, and supplication for all the saints. So this idea 
that a saint is those who have achieved special status in the 
kingdom of God is not a biblical concept. It is not a New Testament 
usage of the word saint as applied to the people of God. As far 
as it goes, those of us, by grace, who have believed the gospel 
are saints. We may not always feel saintly, 
but nevertheless, the classification or the identification of our 
particular place in life is that we are saints in Christ Jesus. But notice, he not only says, 
to the saints who are in Ephesus, but then he goes on to say, faithful 
in Christ Jesus. I think the primary emphasis 
here is that they are believers in Christ. Remember, Jesus upbraids 
the religious leaders. You are not willing to come to 
me that you may have everlasting life. Come is a metaphorical 
use. Receive, metaphorical. They are 
both metaphors for the act of faith, belief in the Lord Jesus 
Christ. It is justification by grace 
alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, So the apostle 
highlights that these are saints and they are believers in Christ 
Jesus. Not only though are they believers 
in Christ Jesus, they are faithful. They are seeking to strive and 
persevere and do what is fitting and requisite for the saints 
of Jesus Christ. We are to be fighting, we are 
to be praying, we are to be going forward in the fear of the Lord 
and in the comfort of the Spirit. And Paul commends these brethren 
in that way. Now, Matthew Poole gives a good 
summary statement concerning this epistle to the Ephesians. 
He says, Ephesus was the most considerable city of the lesser 
Asia. It really was. There was a commercial 
aspect, but as well, when we consider the ministry in Ephesus, 
we'll see that it had a religious bent. It was bad religion, it 
was false religion, but it was a very religious city. So Poole 
says, Ephesus was the most considerable city of the Lesser Asia, famous 
first for sin, witchcraft, and idolatry, especially the worship 
of Diana, and also persecution, then for piety, having received 
the gospel by Paul's preaching, and showed great zeal, but lastly, 
it was noted for coolness and declining leaving her first love. Remember, Revelation 2 deals 
with the church that is in Ephesus, and Jesus commends the church 
there for testing those who said they were apostles and were not. So they took seriously the list 
of qualifications in 1 Timothy 3, and they applied that to these 
men that were claimants to the apostolic ministry. So in that, 
they were commended. In that, they were given praise 
by our blessed Savior for having done the good work of keeping 
false teachers out. But He condemns them for having 
lost or left their first love. Again, I think I've explained 
this before, brethren. It doesn't mean that they became 
apostate. It doesn't mean that they abandoned Christianity. 
It doesn't mean that they cast off completely their faith in 
the Lord. Most likely, they were battle-weary 
from having to deal with false apostles. Battle-weary at having 
to deal with men and keep them out of the pulpit, such that 
in that posture, they weren't white-hot and flamed in their 
love for Jesus Christ. In other words, when you're engaging 
in protecting the pulpit and keeping the false teacher out, 
you're not always warming your soul with C. H. Spurgeon. And 
so he basically encourages them and exhorts them to restore that, 
to have that earnestness after the Lord Christ. Now in terms 
of the purpose of the epistle, the epistle was designed to further 
their understanding in both doctrine and practice. And we'll see this 
later on as we close out the message tonight. As well, the 
epistle does not address any serious issue that we can tell 
in the letter itself. So that in the church, it wasn't 
like, say, Corinth. If I mentioned Corinth, especially 
1 Corinthians, you know that they had a lot of challenges. 
You know that they had a lot of issues. You know they had 
a lot of difficulties that they had to deal with, and they needed 
that apostolic injunction in order to set them on their proper 
course. Galatians, same sort of a thing. Paul comes out of 
the chute and he marvels that they are turning away from the 
God who called them in grace to another gospel, which is not 
another. So when we look at Corinthians, 
we say, hey, they got sanctification problems. We look at Galatians, 
we say, wow, they've got justification or gospel problems. When you 
read through Ephesians, there's no obvious glaring problem that 
obtains in the church. Now, let me direct you back to 
verse 1. In fact, some of your Bibles 
may not have in Ephesus there is a variant reading. A variant 
reading means that in the transmission of the textual tradition, variants 
crept in. And some suggest that in Ephesus 
is not supposed to be there. I think it is supposed to be 
there, to be sure. But I also think that it's not 
unlikely that the letter could serve as a circular letter. In 
other words, it not only would go to the church in Ephesus, 
but if you look at a map, for instance, and you look at the 
seven churches of Asia Minor that are addressed by Jesus in 
Revelation chapters 2 and 3, Ephesus is here, and then there's 
a loop. The letters go in a particular 
order. So I don't think it's unlikely that this particular 
letter would have been exchanged among the churches. This was 
a practice that was in practice, as we know from Colossians 4. 
Turn to Colossians 4, verse 16. Now, when this epistle is read 
among you, which underscores that the apostle knew concerning 
the authority of the letters that he wrote. In other words, 
he would not suggest that you read a letter that he was writing 
just to share his heart about preferences and about things 
from one to another. But as he writes under the inspiration 
of the Holy Spirit, that word becomes authoritative. That word 
becomes such that it's supposed to be read in the churches of 
Christ. So much so that the apostle can 
tell the Thessalonians that they are to mark those who do not 
obey our instruction in this letter. In other words, the apostles 
were conscious of the fact that they were being used by God in 
a manner similar to the Old Testament prophet. such that what they 
wrote to the churches had authority, such as what they wrote to the 
churches was in fact the word of God. The apostle understands 
that in 2 Timothy 3. All scripture is given by inspiration 
of God. 1 Timothy 5, he likens or he 
says that scripture is both Deuteronomy and Luke when he argues for the 
paying of pastors. So the New Testament apostles 
understood that they were writing the Word of God. So back to verse 
16. Now, when this epistle is read 
among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, 
and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea, and say 
to Archippus, take heed to the ministry which you have received 
in the Lord, that you may fulfill it. So going back to Ephesians 
chapter one, what we have is an epistle that was designed 
to further the understanding in terms of doctrine and practice, 
not only for the saints who are in Ephesus, the ones faithful 
in Christ Jesus in that city, but this letter most likely would 
have been circulated to the other churches, at least in Asia Minor, 
which is modern day Turkey. That's where we're dealing with, 
that's the geographical region, but as well, it doesn't have 
any sort of background sort of huge issues that are peculiarly 
relevant in terms of that was what they were struggling with. 
So that's kind of an introduction to the epistle. We'll get back 
to this section with reference to the greeting in a moment. 
But turn to Acts chapter 18. Acts chapter 18 is we do a quick 
survey of the ministry in Ephesus. And I mean quick survey of the 
ministry in Ephesus, because there's a lot of data, a lot 
of material here that I think would be beneficial, but it would 
take us a bit of time to go through it all. But notice in chapter 
18. Chapter 18, the Apostle Paul ends the second missionary journey. 
And according to verse 22, it says, and when he had landed 
at Caesarea and gone up and greeted the church, he went down to Antioch. That was sort of the base, that 
was where he was sent from. So he goes back to Antioch. Now 
verse 23, chapter 18, verse 23 is the beginning of the third 
missionary journey. So the Apostle Paul undertakes 
three missionary journeys that are recorded in the Book of Acts. 
Now, after that first Roman imprisonment, he goes out again preaching and 
teaching, and some have called that a fourth missionary journey. 
I don't have a problem with that. I think that's precisely what 
he does. But here, specifically, he starts the third missionary 
journey. Now, this took place in AD 53 
to 57. The text of scripture in Acts 
is from 1823 to chapter 21, verse 16. So that is when Paul returns 
to Jerusalem and he has with him monies that were collected 
from Gentile churches so he can present it to Pastor James at 
the church in Jerusalem in order to alleviate the suffering of 
the saints in Judea because there was poverty and famine in that 
land. So back to 1823, notice after 
he had spent some time there, he departed and went over the 
region of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the 
disciples. Now that brief statement encompasses 
about 1,500 miles. 1,500 miles is what he transversed 
or traversed in that instance. Now drop down to chapter 19, 
the apostle comes to Ephesus. Now when you consider the missionary 
journeys, the first you can... rest assured, had to do with 
the churches of Galatia. So the churches of Southern Galatia, 
first missionary journey. Second missionary journey was 
Corinth. That doesn't mean he spent the whole time in Corinth, 
but it means he spent a great deal of time in Corinth. And 
then this third missionary journey was Ephesus. Not that he didn't 
do what the text in 1823 says in terms of the 1500 miles, but 
he spent a significant amount of time in the city of Ephesus. By his account, in 2031, he had 
spent three years there. Here in Acts chapter 19, we certainly 
have two years and three months. So Paul comes to Ephesus in Acts 
chapter 19. So this is the founding officially. It's not that he made disciples. 
There were already disciples present. There were already believers 
present. In the first place, in verses 
one to seven, he meets with the disciples of John the Baptist. 
Now, just for the sake of argument, well, actually, I'm going to 
introduce something here that may challenge you, but if you want 
my defense of this position, you can call me, text me, email 
me, and I'll send you the notes. I do not think Paul re-baptized 
these people. He is not suggesting that the 
baptism of John the Baptist was somehow deficient and therefore 
Paul baptized them. No, Paul says something and then 
Paul does something. And what he says rehearses their 
encounter with the Baptist when they themselves had been baptized 
by the Baptist. In other words, John's baptism 
was in fact Christian baptism. But what Paul does is he lays 
hands on them, and then the Holy Spirit comes. Notice in verses 
4 and 5 is what Paul said, and verse 6 is what Paul did. The 
punctuation in my interpretation would need to be changed from 
what we have in the New King James. Remember, the punctuation 
isn't given by inspiration of God. That, however, or rather, 
is an interpretative call. I suggest moving the closed quotation 
marks a little bit further on, and we would avoid the idea that 
he re-baptized them. So notice in verse 6, and when 
Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, 
and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Now the men were 
about twelve in all. So you've got this nucleus, you've 
got this hub, you've got this group of believers that are going 
to function now as the church in Ephesus. That brings us, secondly, 
in terms of the ministry in Ephesus, to his ministry in the synagogue. 
Notice in verses 8 and 9a, this was Paul's custom. When Paul 
went to a city on his missionary journeys, he would first go to 
the synagogue. There he would preach Christ. He would preach Christ as the 
promised one from the Old Testament. No doubt he was rebuffed. No 
doubt he was challenged. No doubt he was chased off. We 
see it in Acts chapter 13 in Pisidia and Antioch. But there 
would be those, some perhaps, who the Spirit would grab hold 
of and would understand that Christ was, or Jesus was in fact, 
the Christ and believe in Him. But there were also Greeks or 
Gentiles that would go to the synagogue. They were called God-fearers. They knew enough about Yahweh 
of Israel to be somewhat intrigued, and so they wanted to include 
themselves among that lot. Cornelius the Centurion was one 
of those kinds of men. He was a God-fearer. He was a 
Gentile that was familiar with Israel's God and was interested. So Paul went to the synagogue. 
Let's pick up in verse eight. And he went into the synagogue 
and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning 
the things of the kingdom of God. Notice, he reasons and persuades. He doesn't harangue and lambast. The apostle's custom was to reason 
and to persuade. The apostle's custom was to take 
the scriptures and to clearly explain the significance. The 
apostle's custom was what God had always sanctioned in both 
the Old and in the New Testament, an appropriation of the truth 
as it is in Jesus. So he goes into the synagogue, 
he speaks boldly there for three months, reasoning and persuading, 
notice, concerning the things of the kingdom of God. concerning 
the things of the kingdom of God. So the entrance to it through 
the blood and righteousness of Christ, blessed communion with 
God in it, and the expectation of the kingdom of glory in the 
future. That's what Paul spoke on. That's 
what Paul preached. That's what he delivered to these 
people. Now notice the response in the synagogue according to 
verse 9. But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke 
evil of the way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew 
the disciples." So you see, when Paul gave it his best shot, when 
Paul saw that there was a brick wall erected, When Paul saw that 
it was, as it were, a fool's errand to continue on, he had 
no issue, no problem, no difficulty with withdrawing from that place. In fact, he invokes the language 
of Jesus to shake off the dust from your feet. He does that 
in Acts chapter 13, leaving Pisidian Antioch. So the apostle goes, 
understanding the sovereignty of God, he proclaims the gospel 
of Jesus Christ. But when they do not receive 
it, when they continue to reject it, when they despise and forsake 
him, he leaves. Now notice what he does when 
he leaves. He goes on the internet and he 
has theapostlepaul.com. Basically, in his day and age, 
that's what he does. Notice in 9b. He says, or it 
says, he withdrew the disciples reasoning daily in the school 
of Tyrannus. Now the school of Tyrannus was 
a lecture hall. It was either utilized by this 
probably a philosopher or some sort of ethical teacher, ethics 
teacher by the name of Tyrannus. So either he utilized it or he 
owned the property. But what happens is that Paul 
spends his own money to rent that facility so that he can 
teach the Word of God. Now, as I mentioned, there are 
variant readings. There are things that creep in 
to the textual transmission of the Word of God. Doesn't mean 
we don't have the Bible. It means that there are those 
odd occasions where there are different readings. Now, there's 
a classification of a text type called the Western text, and 
it spells out the timeframe that Paul did this. It said that daily 
from 11 to 4, the apostle would do his teaching in the school 
of Tyrannus. Think about that. It's a lot 
of instruction. Notice what we go on to see in 
verse 10. This continued for two years. So for two years, giving him 
a couple of days off along the way, giving him some time to 
refresh his windpipe and get that necessary relaxation to 
enable him to continue on with it. He spoke the word of God 
for a long time. He rents this school of Tyrannus, 
he has these people coming to him, and he teaches the Word 
of God. Likely, that's what the Book of Ephesians is. It is simply 
a summary, or a compendium, or a doctrinal statement concerning 
the things that they had been familiar with under his preaching 
and teaching. So notice again in verse 10, He's speaking about Asia Minor, 
speaking about modern day Turkey. But notice the language, it is 
hyperbolic. It doesn't mean every single 
human being without exception, but it means a whole lot of people. A whole lot of people came under 
the teaching of the gospel at that time. So you see, had Paul 
been the sort of fellow that said, well, if the synagogue 
doesn't want me, then I'm done, and I'm just gonna cash it in, 
and I'm gonna go back to my tent making. No, what's the next best 
possible option? I'll rent the school from Tyrannus, 
and I'll teach or preach the word of God from 11 to four every 
day. And anybody and everybody who 
wants to come can come, they can hear the truth as it is in 
Jesus, and then hopefully they'll take that truth back to their 
respective communities. It is most likely at this particular 
time that that very thing happened. It was likely that Epaphras, 
Epaphras was instrumental in the founding of the church in 
Colossae. It was most likely that Epaphras 
was converted during this time, and he goes back to the Lycus 
Valley to plant or assist in planting the churches in Colossae, 
Hierapolis, and Laodicea. And it is also likely that the 
other churches mentioned in Revelation 2 and 3, the seven churches of 
Asia Minor, were founded at this particular time as well. So with 
that man's ministry, with that man's desire, with that man's 
longing to propagate the truth for the calling of sinners out 
of darkness into light, and for the establishment of churches, 
This brother did it. He took seriously the Great Commission. Go, therefore, make disciples 
of all the nations, which he does, Jews and Greeks, and then 
baptize them and teach them to observe all that I have commanded 
you. So the apostle Paul spent the two years in Ephesus, or 
part of the three years in Ephesus, ministering at the school of 
Tyrannus for two years. Then notice this conflict with 
the magicians. This is where you see the religious 
nature of the city of Ephesus. This is why Poole points out 
their witchcraft, their superstition, and their idolatry. They were 
the city where the temple to Diana was. They were the city 
that housed the temple to Diana. She was sort of a fertility goddess 
and a goddess of war. never quite figure out how those 
two things mesh, are the goddess of death. So she both helps in 
childbirth and she's the goddess of death. So strange mix, not 
sure that I would have picked out those two particular tasks 
if I was one of the gods in the pantheon, but such as it is. 
So Diana, was the goddess of that particular city, but you 
also see a lot of strange things going on in terms of magic and 
the supernatural. So notice in verses 11 to 22, 
you have this conflict with the magicians. Now brethren, this 
is probably why Paul deals with the powers in the book of Ephesians. He deals with Christ being above 
all the powers and every name that is named in this age and 
that which is to come. Christ is over the powers in 
chapter 6 of Ephesians. We don't wrestle against flesh 
and blood, but against principalities in what? Powers. See, the city 
of Ephesus had been embroiled in false religion. They had been 
embroiled in witchcraft, in sorcery, in magic, and in the black arts. And when I say magic tonight, 
I don't mean sleight of hand. I don't mean pick a card, any 
card, and then I tell you what that card is. That's not magic 
in terms of what I'm discussing. Magic is an attempt to manipulate, 
whether it be natural or supernatural forces, to produce a particular 
outcome. And God forbids the use of magic 
throughout the Old Testament. And one of the arguments is not 
that it doesn't work. The argument is, is that it's 
wicked and that it's evil and that it is contrary to his will 
and to his word. In 1 Samuel chapter 28, Saul 
rather seeks the witch at Endor to call up or to bring up Samuel. Now, whether that was Samuel 
or not, there's a debate concerning that, but it was someone. So 
again, it's not that these things don't work, it is rather that 
they are condemned and they are vile in the sight of a holy God. Now this conflict with the magicians, 
notice the power of God operative in verses 11 and 12, which is 
typical in the book of Acts. Whenever the Word of God is preached, 
whenever the Word of God prevails, there are at times attendant 
miracles to confirm the fact that the men speaking and preaching 
were actually from God. Now notice in verses 11 and 12, 
now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul. Don't miss 
that word unusual, because verse 12 is unusual, okay? Don't miss that word in verse 
11, because verse 12 is unusual. Verse 12 does not give sanction 
to, you know, the televangelists selling prayer cloths or selling 
handkerchiefs or selling something that provides the whammy for 
your particular woes. These were unusual miracles by 
the admission of Luke, the author of the Book of Acts, under the 
inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So we are not to try and replicate 
or duplicate these things. So God works unusual miracles 
by the hands of Paul. So that even handkerchiefs or 
aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases 
left them, and the evil spirits went out of them. But then notice 
you've got these fakes or these frauds or these men that want 
to get in on the action. Verses 13 and following. Then 
some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves 
to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil 
spirits saying, Isn't that horrible? These guys aren't believers. 
They're not Christians, but they invoke the powerful name of Jesus 
as it suits them. Kind of reminds me of those people 
that are pro-abortion and ask God to bless Planned Parenthood. Do not take the blessed name 
of God upon your lips and pollute it in such a horrible way. These 
were charlatans, these were frauds, these were men that were trying 
to capitalize on a particular situation. Notice, we exercise 
you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches. Also, there were seven sons of 
Sceva, a Jewish priest who did so. And then notice that the 
spirit The evil spirit recognizes what at times Christians today 
miss. Christians today often fall prey 
to these kinds of charlatans, to these guys that can drive 
the spirit out of you. Notice in verse 15, the evil 
spirit answered and said, Jesus, I know, and Paul, I know, but 
who are you? It's pretty sad when the evil 
spirit knows that these guys are fakes. And yet there are 
those among us in the confessing church today that follow the 
fakes. They follow guys that say they 
have the power in and of themselves to cast out evil spirits. Well, 
at least this evil spirit had the wherewithal to know that 
he was dealing with a bunch of fakes. Then notice in verse 16, 
then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered 
them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that 
house naked and wounded. You ought not to mess with those 
things you know nothing of. If you mess with those things 
you know nothing of, this may happen to you. Now notice what 
you have in terms of the fruits of repentance for the people 
of Ephesus. Verse 17, this became known both 
to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus. And fear fell on 
them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And 
many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. Also 
many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together 
and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the 
value of them, and it totaled 50,000 pieces of silver. So the 
word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed. That bodes well 
for those saints in Ephesus. When they see the charlatans, 
when they see them exposed, when they understand the folly of 
the black arts, they get rid of their books concerning the 
black arts. Again, this was something rampant 
and it was something that was very, very much a part of life 
in Ephesus at this particular time. So you see the triumph 
of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ over false religion in 
the book of Acts. You see the triumph of our Lord 
Jesus Christ over these false claimants to having this kind 
of authority or power to do what Christ can do or what Paul can 
do in the name of Jesus as his designated representative, as 
his apostle. And then the latter half of the 
chapter is all about Diana. And basically what you have is 
a man by the name of Demetrius. And Demetrius is a head of their 
union. He's the head of the idol-maker 
union, 101, or whatever it was, whatever it is, right? So Demetrius 
understands that if this Paul keeps doing what he's doing, 
then we're no longer going to be able to make these idols of 
Diana or the temple of Diana and sell them to the rubes that 
want to buy them. Now, that's not how they pitched 
the idea to the rubes. They pitched the idea under the 
guise of piety, under the guise of Patriotism. As far as the 
trade workers are concerned, this is gonna cost us a lot of 
money. But as trade workers I suspect today would think, we're not 
gonna go out there and try to pitch our idea by saying, it's 
gonna cost us a lot of money. No, we're gonna appeal to them 
in terms of patriotism and pietism. Notice verse 23. At about that 
time, there arose a great commotion about the way, for a certain 
man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Diana, 
brought no small profit to the craftsmen. He called them together 
with the workers of similar occupation and said, Men, you know that 
we have our prosperity by this trade. Moreover, you see and 
hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, 
this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people. Brethren, that's 
the power of our gospel. Now, I realize Paul was a champ. I realize there's no other Paul 
in the history of the world. But the message that Paul preached 
is the same message that we preach. It's the same message that we 
believe. I just suspect we don't believe 
it has the power to basically turn a culture over, to basically 
cause men who made a great deal of money selling cheap trinkets 
to be beggars or to be poor. This man understood the implications 
of the ministry of the Apostle Paul. Notice in verse 27. So 
not only is this trait of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, 
but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised 
and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship. Now when they heard this, they 
were full of wrath and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of 
the Ephesians. So the whole city was filled 
with confusion and rushed into the theater with one accord, 
having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul's travel companions. And when Paul wanted to go into 
the people, the disciples would not allow him. Praise God for 
those disciples not allowing him. What could have happened? They could have torn him apart. 
They could have killed him. Praise God those men said, no, 
Paul, you're not going to go in there right now. Let them 
all sort it out. Let them deal with that. We want 
to protect you. We want to make sure that you're 
not compromised so that you can live to preach another day. But 
you see this uproar in the city over the gospel of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. And then some of the officials 
of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he 
would not venture into the theater. Some, therefore, cried one thing 
and some another, and for the assembly was confused, and most 
of them did not know why they had come together. Brethren, 
there's nothing new under the sun. You get a crowd of people 
today, what are you upset for? I don't know, but I'm supposed 
to be. Well, the same sort of thing happened here. What's the 
current thing the left is supposed to be upset about? It's almost 
like they get email, or they get texts, or they get whatever 
it is to alert them that this week it's going to be this. This 
week, it's gonna be this. Are we back to racism? It's always something. And the 
same sort of thing is here. They're in this auditorium and 
they're crying out, but they have no clue what's even happening. So the apostle Paul and the apostles 
and our Lord, as we saw this morning, lived in the same sort 
of a context we do. They didn't have Twitter, they 
didn't have Facebook, and they were the better for it, but they 
had to still deal with the kind of lunacy that we see that happens 
daily in our own generation. Notice, and they drew Alexander, 
verse 33, out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. 
And Alexander motioned with his hand and wanted to make his defense 
to the people. But when they found out that 
he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, 
great is Diana of the Ephesians. Now there's another Alexander 
too listed in the New Testament. It's hard to identify that this 
is the same one, but most likely this Alexander, he wasn't a Christian, 
he was a Jew. The Jews had a vested interest 
in no idolatry too. So the Jews said, hey, Alexander, 
get in there and side with the apostle Paul, not in favor of 
Jesus, but in disfavor against Diana. But as soon as they find 
out he's a Jew, out he goes because he's not supposed to be there 
either. Now a county clerk comes along, 
I'll spare you the rest of the details, and speaks wisdom to 
the situation. He basically says to everybody, 
calm down. And thankfully the city clerk 
prevailed on that day. But the point is simple. Look 
at what the gospel is capable of. Look at what the gospel does 
when it is proclaimed. When Christ in him crucified 
and resurrected is preached, sinners are either saved by grace, 
or outraged by the suggestion that they need to be saved by 
grace. There is usually and typically 
a response. There is usually approval or 
disapproval. And for the apostle, when he 
went to Ephesus, he made no small uproar through the faithful proclamation 
of the truth as it is in Jesus. Now, finally, go back to Ephesians 
and look at the wish, the pronouncement of grace and peace upon them. 
Notice how he addresses that in verse two. He says, grace 
to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. They had received God's grace 
and peace. Paul will say as much in this 
letter to the Ephesians. But Paul knows that they always 
stand dependent upon fresh provisions of God's grace and peace. This 
isn't a cheap wish. It isn't like you or I just say, 
have a nice day to some stranger that, Face it, do we really care 
if he has a nice day? That's not how these sorts of 
greetings are to be interpreted in the New Testament. Paul understands 
the Christian life begins with grace and peace, the Christian 
life is sustained with grace and peace, and the Christian 
life ends with a provision of grace and peace. Now most likely 
the background to these sort of wishes or these pronouncements 
or these greetings is the Aaronic blessing in number six. In number 
six, verses 23 to 27, Yahweh says, speak to Aaron and his 
son saying, this is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. 
Say to them, the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his 
face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his 
countenance upon you and give you peace. So they shall put 
my name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them." Now, 
this epistle, interestingly, demonstrates how it is the case 
that Gentiles can be included among the children of Israel. That's what Paul does in Ephesians 
2, and in Ephesians 3. He shows, especially in 3, that 
it was always God's plan and purpose for Gentile inclusion 
in the covenant of grace. And the bulk of the persons to 
whom Paul writes are Gentiles. So they have understood this 
experientially. Now they're going to understand 
it theologically, covenantally, biblically, in light of the Old 
Testament revelation. So this grace and peace are for 
the children of Israel, of which are Gentile believers. And notice 
the source of grace and peace. It is from God our Father and 
the Lord Jesus Christ. John Eady makes the observation, 
grace and peace are not earth-born blessings. They descend from 
heaven, from God on his glorious throne, whose high prerogative 
is to send down those special influences, and from Christ at 
his right hand, who has provided these blessed gifts by his suffering 
and death. who died to secure and is exalted 
to bestow them, and whose constant living sympathy with his people 
enables him to appreciate their wants and prompts him, out of 
his own fullness, to supply them. So grace and peace from God our 
Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. In conclusion, here's what, God 
willing, we'll see as we move our way through this particular 
epistle. Now, the most simple way to outline 
it is twofold. There is a doctrinal foundation 
which begins in chapter 1 at verse 1 and continues to the 
end of chapter 3, or verse 21 in chapter 3. So that's the doctrine. 
There's a bit of practical in there, but for the most part 
it is doctrinal. And then from chapter 4 verse 
1 to the end of the epistle, which is 6, I think 21 or 2, 
then you have the practical application. So you've got the doctrine and 
then the application. You have the theory, and then 
you have the putting it into practice. This is God's manner. This is God's way. We can't effectively 
go out there and live as holy beings when we don't have the 
information supplied to us by our holy God. We must be informed 
doctrinally in order to function in a manner that is consistent 
with that gospel. So in the doctrinal section, 
we'll see first the redemption of sinners by the triune God. 
You see that in chapter 1, verses 3 to 14. It is what's called 
a barakah, which is the Hebrew word for blessing. It's a literary 
convention used in both the Old and the New Testament. Blessed 
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then he 
gives the various reasons as to why we bless God or we speak 
well of God. In the second place, toward the 
end of chapter one, we see an emphasis on the power of God, 
vis-a-vis Christ enthroned at the right hand of the Father, 
where he has had over all things for his church. Then we'll see 
the saving grace of God in chapter two, verses one to 10, and how 
in Christ, both Jew and Gentile are made one new man in him. And that's the latter part of 
chapter 2, the solidarity of the Jew and the Gentile. Chapter 
3, the Apostle reveals the mystery. Now, mystery, as Paul uses it, 
doesn't mean something that has never been known before. It is 
something that has been known, but been fully manifested in 
this new covenant era. You go all the way back to Genesis 
chapter 9, and Noah gets an oracle with reference to Gentile inclusion 
in the promises of God. That's already seen. Genesis 
chapter 12, Abraham is told that in him all the families of the 
earth will be blessed. You see that promise celebrated 
throughout Scripture. It's not going to just be Jew, 
but it's also going to be Gentile. So it was there in the Old Testament, 
but the revelation of the mystery in the New Testament connects 
the dots. It shows the trajectory. It shows 
how this is realized or fulfilled as a result of the coming of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. And then in terms of the practical 
application, we'll go quick here. There's an emphasis on walk, 
contra the walk in chapter 2 verses 1 to 3. Several times in the 
latter half you see walk emphasized, which again points to the practical 
application and to the orientation of the believer in his or her 
life. So you have first the unity of the saints in chapter 4 verses 
1 to 6. It's a big point for the Apostle 
Paul. He wants the church people to 
love each other. He wants the church people to get along with 
each other. He wants the church people to stand in solidarity 
with one another because he knows that in that environment, that 
is most conducive for the salvation of sinners and for the edification 
of God's people. And it best reflects the blessed 
triune God. As well, he deals with the diversity 
of and purpose for gifts from the ascended Christ in the latter 
portion of chapter 4. Now, beginning in chapter 4, 
verse 17, continuing to chapter 5, verse 21, we have the conduct 
of the new man. This is what you once were, this 
is what you now are. As a result of the redemption 
of Christ, this then is how you ought to live. And then the relationships 
of the new man. Chapter 5, verse 22 to chapter 
6, verse 9. Husband-wife relationship, parent-child 
relationship, master-slave relationship. The new man is to be a new man 
in all of his connections and in all of his life. And then 
the chapter six ends with the combat or the warfare of the 
new man. He is to don the whole armor 
of God. He is to stand in the power and 
might of Jesus Christ. And he is to fight like a man 
such that he advances by God's grace, the kingdom of the son 
of his love, and that he shines as a light in a crooked and perverse 
generation. And he holds forth the word of 
truth. So the book of Ephesians is most helpful in terms of doctrine 
and in terms of practice, and it also shines the light upon 
the glory of God Most High. Several times along the way, 
Paul just takes pains to show us how much we ought to express 
our gratitude and praise and glory to God. In that first chapter, 
verses 6, 12, and 14, the redeeming work of God Most High redounds 
to His glory. Chapter one, verse six, to the 
praise of the glory of his grace by which he made us accepted 
in the beloved. Verse 12, that we who first trusted in Christ 
should be to the praise of his glory. Verse 14, who is the guarantee 
of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession 
to the praise of his glory. We'll praise God that he has 
revealed this in the scripture and that he has given us the 
book of Ephesians because it's a rich compendium of Christian 
truth. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the ministry 
in Ephesus that we see in Acts 19, and for the church that was 
founded there. As well, God, we thank you for 
this wonderful letter, and I pray that you would bless our study 
of it in the coming weeks, and that you would be glorified in 
the midst of this local church. Go with us now, help us to honor 
you in this coming week, help us to be faithful to you, and 
help us to know daily those supplies of grace and peace that our blessed 
God Almighty gives to us, Father and Son. And we pray now in Jesus' 
name, Amen. We'll close with a brief time 
of meditation.