"More than any other book
in the Bible,
Ephesians displays the
great purpose and plan
of God for the church."
It is difficult to overstate the importance and relevance of Paul's letter to the Ephesians to the corporate life of the modern church, and to the life of the Christian individual in the morally indifferent and spiritually muddled and muddling climate in which we now live. Walter Liefeld observes:
More than any other book in the Bible, Ephesians displays the great purpose and plan of God for the church. It provides a perspective that is unique: God's—and the believer's—view from the "heavenly realms." . . . But the major distinctive of Ephesians is not any individual topic but the way the topics are viewed.
Walter L. Liefeld1
Similarly C. E. Arnold observes:
The Letter to the Ephesians is unique among the letters attributed to Paul. Its language of worship and prayer, the depth and scope of its theology, and the many practical admonitions have led many Christians (including John Calvin) to cherish it as their favourite NT book. The letter's emphasis on the nature of the church and the present dynamic relationship of the exalted Christ to the church makes it an important and practical book for the church today.
C. E. Arnold2
John Calvin did cherish Ephesians; so deeply he preached forty-eight (yes, 48!) sermons through this letter from the pulpit of St Peter's Church, Geneva, beginning from 1 May 1558. Calvin's experience is not unique, for in none of his letters to the other churches does Paul rise to such loftiness and majesty of style and language that makes reading Ephesians such an inspiring refreshing experience. Here is what other scholars and expositors say about the letter:
[It is]. . . the crown of St Paul's writings
Armitage Robinson3
[It is]. . . the Queen of the epistles.
William Barclay4
[It is]. . . the distilled essence of the Christian religion, the most authoritative and most consummate compendium of our holy Christian faith . . . this letter is pure music . . . What we have here is truth that sings, doctrine set to music.
John Mackay5
Quite apart from the matter of style, Markus Barth offers at least two other reasons why Ephesians charms itself to us. First:
More extensively and intensively than other New Testament epistles, the letter to the Ephesians has the character and form of prayer . . . When someone argues with you or tires to persuade you of something, he may or may not exert power over you. But when he has prayed and is praying for you, his relationship to you and yours to him are different . . . Ephesians has gained a right to enter because its readers have a place in the intercession of the author.
And the author begs nothing else but that the readers join in praising the same God in thought, word, and deed. . . It is difficult not to be pleased and not to 'get up' (5:14) when such a call to join a festival assembly is extended, and when it is firmly asserted that our time of estrangement is over (2:12 f., 19).
Markus Barth6
Second,
Ephesians makes itself welcome and is a charming document just because it dares to let shine nothing else but God's love and election, Christ's death and resurrection, and the Spirit's might and work among men.
. . . The content of the Gospel he proclaims, includes man in whatever situation he may be. What God makes known through his ambassadors is that we, the sinners, the former Gentiles, the tempted weaklings in faith, are reconciled. So the Gospel is not only information for us, but equally as much news about us. . . Actually he [the author] brings the news, and calls to our remembrance the fact of our former estrangement, of our required citizenship among God's elect, of our share in a rich inheritance. Why should we not make him most heartily welcome?
Markus Barth7
How can we, therefore, not want to study diligently and preach joyfully from this epistle of Paul?
Low Chai Hok
Resources:
Clinton E. Arnold, Introduction to Ephesians, 18.53 mins. Nov 2019.
Video/Youtube N
©Alberith, 2022