Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Ephesians 1:3-14

Paul’s letters often begin with a theological introduction, and Ephesians is no exception.  The whole letter teaches what God has done and is doing for all who believe in Christ, and especially for the church, and how we should respond.  As introduction, Ephesians 1:3-14 provides a comprehensive theological statement about God’s intentions for humanity in and through Christ.

But today’s passage is so tightly written and packed with so many theological terms that it can be extremely difficult to take in on first reading (or even after several readings).   Sometimes I think Paul can be a bit like some professors who, five minutes into the first lecture, present in profound detail everything to be covered in the entire semester – leaving the students with heads spinning, scared stiff, but with little real understanding, only a desperate hope they can figure it out later.

One way to tackle a passage like Ephesians 1:3-14 is not to try to understand much of it at first, but to pick out only one or two of its parts and concentrate on them.  For example, you could note that this short passage is strongly Trinitarian, revealing first what God the Father does for us, then the Lord Jesus Christ, and then the Holy Spirit.  Or you could take one or two words, such as bless/blessing, grace, praise, or redemption and consider what they mean in the passage.

As I read the passage, I am impressed with how amazingly comprehensive it is, covering the whole sweep of history and more, from “before the foundation of the world” (v. 4) to “the fullness of time” when all things in heaven and on earth will be gathered up in Christ (v.10).  What a great vision!  It gives us a tiny glance into God’s eternal purposes that no human being can even begin to comprehend.  No wonder it is hard to take in!

Today, I watched a short (16½ minutes) video that helps.  It is the presentation N.T. Wright made at the just-held (Nov. 17-19) Vatican conference Humanum 2014 on the complementarity of man and woman.  Wright, one of the most prolific theologians of our age, is former Bishop of Durham in the Church of England and now Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of St. Andrew’s in Scotland – the better kind of professor, who makes profound concepts easy to understand. 

In this video, Wright places the conference topic into the grand picture of God’s intentions for creation and humanity, beginning in Genesis 1, skipping to the end of Revelation, and about midway in the talk, bringing in Romans 8 and especially Ephesians.  Near the end of the video Wright comes to today’s passage, as he talks about all things summed up in Christ.  Do take the time to watch and appreciate this video and you will come away with fresh insights and renewed praise for God’s glorious purposes fulfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Click on this link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsB-JDsOTwE

If the link doesn’t work for you, copy it into your browser or do an internet search for:  “youtube wright humanum 2014”, which should bring the video up.

- Robert Kruse