QT 07/02/2025 Fri. Ephesians 1:1–14 Glorious Time, Gift, Unity and Guarantee. 荣耀的时间、礼物、合一和保证。
QT 07/02/2025 Fri. Ephesians 1:1–14 Glorious Time, Gift, Unity and Guarantee.
READ https://www.esv.org/Ephesians+1:1–14
The writer of this letter to the Ephesians lived in 1st Century A.D., Hebrew name Saul, Latin name Paulos. He is not a procrastinator but a go-getter. But Paulos attacked early Christians violently (Acts 9:1–6). Yet many all over the world read his letter today, even us Asians. What's happening? He is "an apostle of Christ Jesus" (1:1), and therefore Paul's words here are God's word to the Ephesians and to the church of Jesus Christ.
REFLECTION: The spanning of the message of Ephesians over large time gaps (centuries), over cultural distances and large geographical areas are testimonies to the special nature of the message and its author Paul. He was appointed not by self-volunteering, job-application or nomination but "by the will of God" (1:1). Do you grasp the ability of God to speak into the world and change lives regardless of the obstacles that you face? Hand God your challenges and pray for His intervention and resolution.
The "spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" spoke of the spiritual riches received by us from God because of our status—"in Christ" (1:3). This is "glorious" (1:6), has "wisdom and insight" (1:8) and a profound "mystery" revealed (1:9):
(1) The glorious fact of the time span: Readers were chosen "before the foundation of the world" (1:4). We did make a real conscious choice after considering the evidence and the logic of the gospel. Looking back, Ephesians 1:4 invites you to rest in the fact that God had chosen you before you were born, before the universe was created. Yet at the same time, God's choice did not contradict nor constrict the freedom of that choice that you exercised on the day you accepted Christ.
(2) The glorious fact of the gift: God was not stingy—He did not want to just give the minimum possible. In fact, the gift of Jesus blood and the forgiveness of our trespasses (1:7) were "according to the riches of his grace" (1:7), "lavished upon us" (1:8) and qualifies as "an inheritance" (1:11) rather than something insignificant to be discarded easily.
(3) The glorious fact of unity: Parliament just passed additional racial harmony legislation on 4th February 2025 https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/singapore-parliament-k-shanmugam-racism-racial-harmony-4915996 in the red dot city of Singapore. On the other hand, Ephesians 1:1 (saints) and 1:10 (unite all things in him) spoke of the actualisation of the harmony between people of different races across human history.
Ephesians 1:9–10 [9] making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ [10] as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (ESV)
This glorious unity did not only concern racial matters, but "things in heaven and things on earth" as well (1:10) "for the fullness of time" (1:10). Science struggled with finding the links between the physical matters (electrons, protons, neutrons), electromagnetic forces and gravitational forces etc. Science attempted to find the elusive "Theory of Everything" that can unify every component of the universe. Ephesians revealed that this is found in Christ, the grand unifier now and in time to come (1:10).
(4) The glorious fact of guaranteed inheritance: Because God "works all things according to the counsel of his will" (1:11), those in Christ have that "guarantee of our inheritance" (1:14). The Holy Spirit was spoken by Paul as a "seal" upon believers (1:13) and a deposit (guarantee, 1:14) for now. Because the Trinity God would always remain united, this deposit cannot be broken away nor forfeited (to use mercantile legal language). Therefore, believers' eternal security remained safe.
Vibrant spiritual lives find their foundations on great spiritual facts, which comes from the great God our Father (1:2). May you rest on these solid foundations and thrive. Avoid the going into the longkang.
QT 07/02/2025 星期五 以弗所书 1:1-14 荣耀的时间、礼物、合一和保证。
阅读 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=eph 1%3A1-14&version=CNVS
这封写给以弗所人的书信的作者生活在公元 1 世纪,希伯来文名叫扫罗,拉丁文名叫保罗斯。他不是一个拖拖拉拉的人,而是一个勇往直前的人。但保罗曾猛烈攻击早期的基督徒(使徒行传 9:1-6)。然而,今天全世界有很多人都在读他的信,甚至包括我们亚洲人。这是怎么回事呢?他是 一位 “基督耶稣使徒”(1:1),因此保罗在此所说的话就是上帝对以弗所人和耶稣基督的教会所说的话。
反思:以弗所书的信息跨越了巨大的时间差距(二十个世纪)、文化距离和广阔的地理区域,这证明了信息及其作者保罗的特殊性。他的任命不是出于自愿、工作申请或提名,而是 “奉 神旨意”(1:1)。无论你面临怎样的障碍,你是否也相信神的旨意可影响这世界、改变生命的能力吗?把你的挑战交给神,祈求祂的介入和解决。
“天上各种属灵的福分” 指的是我们因 “在基督里”(1:3)的身份而从神那里得到的属灵财富。这是荣耀的(1:6),有智慧和聪明(1:8),揭示了一个深刻的 “奥秘” (1:9):
(1)时间跨度的荣耀事实: 读者是在 “创立世界以前 ”被拣选的(1:4)。在考虑了福音的证据和逻辑之后,我们曾经确实做出了真正有意识的选择。回顾过去,《以弗所书》1:4 请你安息在这样一个事实中:在你出生之前,在宇宙被创造之前,上帝就已经拣选了你。但同时,上帝的拣选与你接受基督之日所行使的选择自由既不矛盾,也不受限制。
(2)礼物的荣耀事实: 上帝并不吝啬--他不想只给我们尽可能少的礼物。事实上,耶稣宝血的恩赐和我们过犯的赦免(1:7)是 “按着他丰盛的恩典”(1:7),是 “充充足足地赐给我们的”(1:8),是 “基业”(1:11),而不是可以轻易丢弃的无足轻重的东西。
(3) 合一的光荣事实: 2025 年 2 月 4 日,新加坡国会刚刚通过了种族和谐立法,https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/singapore-parliament-k-shanmugam-racism-racial-harmony-4915996。
另一方面,《以弗所书》1:1(圣徒)和 1:10(万物在他里面合而为一)谈到了人类历史上不同种族之间和谐的现实。
《以弗所书》1:9-10 他照着自己在基督里预先安排的美意,使我们知道他旨意的奥秘, 10 到了所计划的时机成熟,就使天上地上的万有,都在基督里同归于一。(新译本)
这种光荣的统一不仅涉及种族问题,还涉及 “天上地上”(1:10),“时机成熟”(1:10)。科学一直在努力寻找物理问题(电子、质子、中子)、电磁力和引力等之间的联系。科学试图找到难以捉摸的 “万物理论”,以统一宇宙的每一个组成部分。《以弗所书》揭示了这一点,即基督是现在和未来的伟大统一者(1:10)。
(4) 保证继承权的荣耀事实:因为神 “凭着自己旨意所计划而行万事的”(1:11), 所以在基督里的人就有了 “我们得基业的凭据”(1:14)。保罗说圣灵是信徒身上的 “印记”(1:13),是现在的存款(凭据,1:14)。因为三位一神永远合一,所以这个押金不能被破坏,也不能被没收(用商业法律语言)。因此,信徒永恒的保障仍然是安全的。
充满活力的属灵生命在伟大的属灵事实上找到了根基,而这些事实来自伟大的上帝我们的父(1:2)。愿你的平安建立在这些坚实的根基上,茁壮成长。避免掉进排水沟里。