Day 350 (Ephesians 1-6) - Year 6
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Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap. For our New Testament readers, we just finished our 15th book. And for our full Bible readers, we finished book 54.

Ephesus is in modern-day Turkey. However, some scholars believe this book in particular may have been intended as some sort of mass email to lots of churches in the area, which could be one reason why it doesn't address any specific problems or offer rebukes, and instead seems to serve as more of a general encouragement and vision-casting letter. Chapter 1 is dense. If you were half-awake when you read it, check it out again. It is rich with theology and encouragement and the kindness of God.

Paul opens by reminding them that they were chosen by God in Christ before the world was made. Reconciliation has always been God's plan, even before things fell apart. And he's working out all things according to his will. One of his glorious purposes in all of this is to give his kids an inheritance with Christ. He did, and the Spirit signed the paperwork.

Paul also reminds them that the Father raised the Son from the dead, and that the same power God used in that action is the same power that resides in His kids via His Spirit.

Chapter 2 is an overview of the past, present, and future of every believer. We were dead in our sins. We were slaves to our flesh doing whatever it wanted. And by nature, we were children of wrath, just like everybody else. There was nothing special about us. We weren't especially good or moral or awesome. So what happened? How are we different? According to Paul, God's mercy happened. He intervened and made us alive in Christ. He raised us from the dead.

And that's not going to be the end of his kindness to us. He's going to keep being kind to us forever. That was just the beginning of the gifts God gave us.

Verses 8 and 9 tell us about a few of those gifts specifically. Those verses say, And you know how Paul keeps thanking God for all the things humans are doing? Like, he thanks God for the faith and love people have?

We see that idea again here in verse 10, except he's more explicit and creative about it this time. He compares us to artwork, actually. The word workmanship is poema in Greek. So he's basically saying, you're a poem God wrote a long time ago. Then Christ formed you and made you, and now you're living out the good works God prepared beforehand for you to do.

There was so much intentional planning going on behind the scenes. God isn't a haphazard artist. He's intentional, thoughtful. He put purpose and love into his design. And your good works are part of what he prepared beforehand for you. For the Gentiles specifically, this reminder is even more intense. Paul says, not only were you far from God because of your sins, but you didn't even have proximity to his covenant promises.

God's people weren't allowed to go near you. Don't let it escape you that he showed you immense amounts of mercy to come and get you where you were, not even knowing who he was.

The Jews have heard this kind of reminder for millennia too, being reminded that God rescued them out of slavery and made them a people. So this is the Gentiles' turn to be reminded of their history. And when God drew both people groups near, he did two simultaneous acts of reconciliation. He reconciled his kids to himself, and he reconciled his kids to each other, Jews and Gentiles alike, killing the hostility, as verse 16 says.

I mentioned that this chapter is the past, present, and future of every believer. So here's a list of the things it says we once were. Alienated, separated, strangers, hopeless, godless, cut off. And here's a list of the things this chapter says we now are. Brought near, peace-filled, reconciled, citizens, saints, members of God's household. That change is incredible. Praise Christ.

In chapter 3, Paul talks about the mystery of God's inclusion of the Gentiles. Mysteries are usually perplexing and intriguing and beautiful. We're drawn to them and also sometimes frustrated if we can't make sense of them.

With all the traction this topic is getting in the first century church, plus all the trouble it's causing, you can hopefully see that the Gentile inclusion was quite the shock to both the Jews and Gentiles. In some ways, it shouldn't be a mystery because God kept dropping hints about it all through the Old Testament. But ultimately, Paul knows it's a mystery that God chose any of us because his next few sentences are like, he chose me, me, you guys, I'm the very least of all the saints.

By the way, it's interesting to read the progression of Paul's descriptions of himself over the course of his letters. He goes from being an apostle to the least of the apostles to the least of the saints to the greatest of sinners. As his relationship with Christ deepens, his humility increases. In chapter 4, he urges them to be humble too. He says humility and gentleness and patience and love and peace are all signs they're walking in their calling.

He urges them to use their gifts to serve the church because serving will help mature them in the faith.

He calls them to live differently. And in chapters 4 through 5, he gives examples of the ways we see God's Spirit transform us and make us new. We take off lies and put on truth. We take off selfish anger and put on peacemaking. We take off stealing and put on sharing. We take off foolishness and put on wisdom. We take off darkness and put on light. We take off drunkenness and put on Spirit-filled praise. We take off sinful words and put on encouraging words. He actually deals a lot with words here. He

He says words should be treated like gifts, gifts of grace specifically. Nobody wants a bad gift, so he says we should do away with corrupting talk, bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander, malice, filthiness, foolish talk, and crude joking. On the other hand, gifts of grace are words that build up and show kindness, tenderheartedness, forgiveness, and thanksgiving.

In fact, chapter 5 makes an interesting connection between offering thanksgiving and avoiding sexual sin. How are those opposites? I've heard it described like this. Gratitude helps us rightly view God. When we rightly view God, we love God more. When we love God more, our hearts are drawn away from sin and it doesn't hold the power over us that it once did.

This reminds me of that quote from Thomas Chalmers that we've talked about before, the expulsive power of a greater affection. And along those same lines, verse 15 reminds us that wisdom contains the ability to keep the eternal things in mind. The foolish person lives for things that are earthly, temporary, fleeting.

At the end of chapter 5, Paul lays out the high calling of both parties in any marriage. The wife has the role of trusting the husband and letting him care for her and lead her, which is challenging. But most people agree the husband has the harder job here. He's called to love his wife like Christ loves the church. Christ died for the church. He worked to help her flourish, to bless her, to build her up. He was patient with her. He lost sleep over her and prayed for her even when she treated him poorly.

If you're a husband, I can't imagine what the weight of this text feels like. But your father says the power of his spirit lives in you to equip you for what you need. May he strengthen you today. And if you're a wife whose husband fails at this, by which I mean he's a human like all of us, I imagine your calling feels extra challenging. So I'm asking God to strengthen you today too. I pray God helps both of you lean into this because what Paul describes here is beautiful.

In chapter 6, Paul gives similar instructions to children and bond servants about trusting those in authority over them. Then he turns to parents and masters and says, and you, be someone that it's easy to trust. He ends with the section that is my God shot for today, the armor of God. Paul says we have some very real enemies that we can't see, but God has equipped us against them.

There are two things I find interesting about how God suits us up here. He leaves a big gap in our armor and in a vital spot, too. We're covered head to toe and all down our front, but our backs are completely exposed. What gives, God? In ancient battles, archers would often stand back to back so they could see each other's blind spots and protect each other's weak spots. This is the very definition of, I've got your back.

God never intended for us to walk alone or fight alone. We've seen so much about how we need each other, how the body builds each other up. This is no exception. The other thing I find interesting is that everything is defensive except for one thing, the word of God. It's our only weapon against the enemy. It's fitting, though, because the very name Satan means the accuser. Satan fights with words, with lies. We fight with the truth of the word of the Most High God.

By being in God's word today, you are strengthened for another day of fighting the lies of the flesh and the enemy. You're equipped with more truth for whatever life throws your way. The sword is already sharp. You're just learning how to swing it. In and after every battle, I pray you remember that his victory is secure. And I pray you remember that he's where the joy is.

Tomorrow we'll be reading the book of Philippians. It's four chapters long. We're linking you to a short video overview in the show notes, so check that out if you've got nine minutes to spare. Okay, Bible readers, it's weekly check-in time. How are you feeling? Are you pumped up after reading about the armor of God? Do you feel prepared for whatever life may throw at you? Or do you feel like you're constantly being beaten down without a chance to take a breath? However you may feel,

Let me point this out. You are here in the Word of God, right where you need to be. Take heart, believer. The God of the universe is the one who initiates, sustains, and fulfills it all. And He met you here today in this space. And I trust that He's going to keep drawing you back to His Word again and again. And He will be the one to give you the strength you need each and every day. You don't have to conjure it up on your own. Praise God for that, right?

I'm praying for you and I'm in your corner. I'm cheering you on. I'll see you back here tomorrow.