Ephesians: Our Glorious Salvation

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…” Ephesians 1:3

This morning we seek to get a broad overview of the book of Ephesians. Why? You ask. Well, because I’m planning on teaching through it this summer, and I needed to do this for myself so that I could grasp the letter as a whole before diving into the specifics. Yes, the purpose of this devotional is entirely pragmatic. It be like that sometimes. Nevertheless, y’all get to benefit from it. I hope you feel blessed.

If I were to give Ephesians a subtitle, it would be this: Our Glorious Salvation. Why this title? Well, three reasons, corresponding to the three words of the title. Let us work backwards. Firstly, the book of Ephesians is about salvation. In chapters 1-3, we find how we ought to sit in salvation. God has done for us what we could not do for ourselves: save us from the hell which we deserved (2:1-10). Though we were entirely unable to save ourselves, God did for us what we couldn’t do. Now as saved children, we sit (passively) in the blessings which he has freely bestowed upon us in Christ Jesus. These blessings are innumerable and unsearchable (2:8), but Paul attempts to scratch the surface of them in the first part of chapter 1 by telling us of the predestination, adoption, redemption, forgiveness, and inheritance that God has given to us in Christ. Furthermore, in the latter half of chapter 2 and chapter 3, we find another aspect of our salvation: that it is for Jew and Gentile alike. Though in the Old Testament God had only called Jews his chosen people, now Gentiles (everyone else!) are a part of God’s glorious plan.

However, the salvation that we live is not without responsibility. I believe it was Superman who said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” He was right. Though we have been granted a glorious salvation, we have a great responsibility to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which [we] have been called” (4:1). What does this look like? Paul tells us in 4:1-6:9. We ought to use our spiritual gifts for the welfare of the church (4:1-16), not walk according to the world (4:17-32), imitate God and walk in love (5:1-21), and live our correct, Gospel-centered roles in every situation (5:22-6:9). Thus, though this “salvation” in the book of Ephesians is something that we receive, it is also something that we live out. We not only sit in our salvation (1-3), but walk out our salvation (4-5).

Furthermore, salvation is something that must be persevered. In 6:10-20, Paul encourages us to stand on our salvation. In chapter 6, we stand on our salvation. For though we fight against demonic powers (6:12), we have a great salvation which we can stand upon, and a Gospel with which we can fight our battles. Thus, we as Christians must persevere, for only him who perseveres to the end will be saved (Mt 24:13).

Secondly, we describe this salvation as a “glorious” salvation. This salvation which we live in, live out, and stand upon is nothing but plain and boring. Within it, we inherit “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (1:3). Salvation is not less than being ransomed out of hell, but it is much, much more than that. Later in his book, Paul states that when we were saved, we were raised together with Christ and seated “with [Christ] in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Thus, we are rich in Christ. Though once poor, by God’s glorious grace we are now, spiritually, seated high in the heavens. What a glorious salvation!

Thirdly, let us note that this glorious salvation is, by the work of Christ, fully ours. This salvation is not something outside of us that cannot be grasped, it is near to us, and it is ours. We possess this salvation, not because of anything we have done, but because of Christ who has done all for us.

Let me encourage you this morning: Dive into Ephesians. If you have never done so before, there is no better time than the present. If you are looking for something to read in your daily devotions, take a week, or a month, or a couple months, and dive deep into the spiritual truths that are found in this book. I guarantee that your mind will be all the wiser, your heart will be warmed, and your soul will be uplifted.

My Simple Outline of Ephesians:

I. Sitting in Salvation (1-3)

II. Walking out Salvation (4:1-6:9)

III. Standing on Salvation (6:10-6:24)

(Full Disclosure: I heard the "sitting, walking, standing" portion of the above outline from someone else, but I'm not exactly sure who.)