In this message we shall give an introductory word to the book of Ephesians. Although this is an introductory word, we shall cover some crucial and weighty matters.
The subject of the book of Ephesians is the church. Ephesians covers seven aspects of the church, the first of which is the church as the Body of Christ, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. In order for a living person to be complete, he must have a body as his expression. The Body of Christ is the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
The term “fullness” has been misused, misunderstood, and misapplied by today’s Christians. Most Christian teachers confuse fullness with riches. Thus, when Christians speak of the fullness of Christ, they think it means the riches of Christ. (However, although many Christians speak of the fullness of the Holy Spirit or the fullness of God, not many speak of the fullness of Christ.) According to the book of Ephesians, the word fullness does not mean riches; it means expression. The term the “riches of Christ” is found in Eph. 3:8, and the term “fullness” is found both in Eph. 1:23 and Eph. 4:13. Chapter one mentions the fullness of Him who fills all in all, and chapter four, the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. According to 4:13, the fullness has a stature, and the stature has a measure. Because we have a body, we all have a stature. If we were a head without a body, we would not have a stature. The fullness of Christ is the Body, for 4:13 says that this fullness has a stature with a measure. Thus, we have the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
This fullness is different from the riches. The riches have no stature. But the fullness as the Body has a stature, and with this stature there is a measure. Thus, this strongly proves that the fullness of Christ is not the riches of Christ, but the Body of Christ.
It is important to know why the Body of Christ is called the fullness. This is very significant. The body of a person is simply the fullness of that person, and this fullness is his expression. As I speak, I move with my body. In this way, my being is expressed through my body. Likewise, the church is the Body of Christ, and this Body is the fullness of Him who fills all in all. How profound this is! The whole universe is filled with Christ. As the One who fills all in all, Christ is exceedingly great. Such a great Person needs a great Body. This Body is the church. Hence, the church is the Body of Christ, His fullness.
The riches of Christ may be likened to all the rich foodstuffs produced in America. These riches are not for exhibition; they are for eating. As we eat of the rich American foodstuffs, these riches seem to disappear into us. When these riches are digested and assimilated by us, they become part of us. As a result, they are no longer the riches, but the fullness. Thus, the husky young American men, who assimilate so much of the rich American foodstuffs, are the fullness of America. By means of this illustration we can differentiate between the riches and the fullness. The riches are the food which has not yet been taken into us. But when the food is eaten, digested, and assimilated, it becomes the fullness. The riches of Christ are all the items of what Christ is. When we digest and assimilate into our being the riches of Christ, these riches become part of us, and we become the fullness of Christ. Thus, the church is the Body of Christ, the fullness of the universally great Person who fills all in all. This is the first item or aspect of what the church is.
Secondly, the church is the new man (2:15). In the universe there is just one new man; hence, the church is the new man. There is a significant difference between the Body and the new man. The Body requires only life, but the new man requires both the life and the person. My body has life, but my being as a man has a person. The church is not only the Body of Christ having the life of Christ; it is also the new man having Christ as the person. No doubt, this new man is corporate, for 2:15 says that Christ created two peoples, the Jews and the Gentiles, into one new man. This means that two collective peoples have been created into the one new man. If we see that the church today is not only the Body, but a man with a person, our realization of the church life will be uplifted.
In Eph. 2:19 we see that the church is the kingdom of God. This verse says, “So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow-citizens of the saints.” The term fellow-citizens indicates a kingdom, for being a fellow-citizen refers to being one with certain civil rights, and civil rights are always related to a nation or kingdom. Thus, this verse reveals that the church is the kingdom of God and that we are the citizens of this kingdom possessing certain civil rights. As we enjoy these rights, we must also share the responsibilities. Hence, the church is the kingdom of God with both rights and responsibilities. If we want the rights, we must also bear the responsibilities. Sometimes, however, we may want to enjoy the rights without bearing the responsibilities. But we must participate in both, sharing the rights and bearing the responsibilities. This is the church as the kingdom of God.
Fourthly, the church is the household of God (2:19). The household is not a matter of civil rights, but a matter of life and enjoyment. At home you do not speak much about rights, for there you have the father’s life and the enjoyment of his life. Thus, the church as the household or family of God refers to life and enjoyment.
Many saints like the family-type church life, but not the kingdom church life. This means that they always want to have a good time, a marvelous enjoyment. But we cannot always stay home; we need to spend several hours a day away from home to earn a living. We should have not only the enjoyment of the family, but also the responsibility of the kingdom. The church cannot always be a family; it must also be the kingdom of God. Nevertheless, I am happy that in the church as the family of God we have life and enjoyment.
In Eph. 2:21-22 we see that the church is also the dwelling place of God. Verse 21 says that all the building is growing into a holy temple in the Lord. This refers to the universal building. Verse 22 says that the saints in Ephesus are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit. This is the local building. Universally the church is the temple in the Lord, and locally the church is the dwelling place of God in our spirit.
In chapter five we see the church as the bride, the wife, of Christ. A bride is for the satisfaction of the husband. In speaking of when Adam was alone, the Bible says, “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Gen. 2:18). This word indicates that when Adam was alone, he had no happiness or satisfaction; Adam needed a wife. When Adam was given a wife, he had rest and satisfaction. Therefore, according to the Bible, the bride, the wife, is for rest and satisfaction. How could we be satisfied without rest? Being fully satisfied implies enjoying a full rest. A man’s wedding day is a day of satisfaction and rest. Because Christ loves the church, the church is His rest and satisfaction.
Christ’s love for the church is different from His love for sinners. Christians often speak about Christ loving sinners, but very few talk about Christ loving His wife. We used to be sinners, but today we are the wife of Christ. Whether we are male or female, we are His wife. The church is a wife for the satisfaction of Christ.
Finally, Eph. 6 reveals that the church is the warrior, a corporate fighter. An army is composed of many soldiers, but a warrior is simply one person. The church is the new man, and this new man is a warrior. The whole armor of God spoken of in chapter six is not for the individual Christian, but for the whole church as the new man. As the warrior, the church deals with God’s enemy and defeats him.
If we put together all these seven aspects of the church, we see a wonderful picture of the church as the Body to express Christ, as the new man taking Christ as the person, as the kingdom with rights and responsibilities, as the family with life and enjoyment, as God’s dwelling place for God to live in, as the bride for Christ’s satisfaction, and as the warrior for fighting the battle and defeating the enemy so that God can accomplish His eternal purpose. This is the church.
What the church does is not as important as what the church is. The church is the Body, the new man, the kingdom, the family, the dwelling place, the wife, and the warrior. What we do does not mean very much, but what we are means a great deal. In such a church as described in Ephesians Christ is expressed. Through such a church Christ, the Person, is lived out. In such a church there is the kingdom of God with rights and responsibilities and the family of God with life and enjoyment. This church is also God’s dwelling place, Christ’s satisfaction, and God’s warrior fighting the battle for His eternal purpose. What a church this is!
If we see this vision of the church, we shall realize how poor is the situation in religion today. In religion we cannot find the Body or the new man. Furthermore, we cannot find the kingdom, the household of God, the dwelling place of God, the bride of Christ, or the warrior of God. As the church, we need to be all these seven items. Especially those who bear responsibility in the churches need to see the vision of the church presented in Ephesians. The church is not a school, a society, or an organization. It is the Body, the new man, the kingdom, the family, the dwelling place, the bride, and the warrior. This is the church, and this is also the subject of the book of Ephesians. Because Ephesians has such a subject, this book is inexhaustible.
Still more aspects of the church, however, are found in the last book of the Bible. In Revelation we see four additional aspects of the church: the church as the lampstand, the man-child, the firstfruit, and the holy city. Only one aspect of the church found in Revelation, the bride, corresponds to the aspects seen in Ephesians.
Now we come to the contents of the book of Ephesians. The first item of the contents is the blessings received by the church in Christ (Eph. 1:3-14). Not many know the real meaning of the word “blessing.” It is not such things as a new car or modern home. The Apostle Paul prayed that the church would have a revelation to see all the blessings it has received. Material blessings such as cars and houses do not require revelation to be seen. But all the blessings received by the church need revelation. Many Christians simply have not seen the blessings with which the church has been blessed.
After the revealing of the blessings to the church, the Apostle Paul prayed that the saints may have a spirit of wisdom and revelation to know the issue of all these blessings and the power to carry them out, so that the church may become the Body of Christ, the fullness of the One who fills all in all (Eph. 1:15-23).
Following the mention of the church at the end of chapter one, chapter two shows us the producing, nature, position, building, and function of the church.
In Eph. 3:1-13 we have the revelation of the mystery and the ministry of the stewardship concerning the church. Not many Christians know what the ministry of the stewardship is. There is such a thing that is called the stewardship, and this stewardship has a ministry. The ministry of this stewardship is related to the church. Thus, not only the mystery concerns the church, but also the stewardship. In order to know the church, we must know the revelation of the mystery and the ministry of the stewardship. We shall cover these matters in detail when we come to chapter three.
Realizing that the matters of the mystery and the ministry of the stewardship are so profound, the Apostle immediately prayed that the church would have the practical experience of Christ (Eph. 3:14-21). The church as revealed in the mystery and as ministered by the stewardship needs the experience of Christ. The Apostle Paul prayed for this.
In chapters four through six we have the walk and responsibility of the church in the Spirit.
If we have a clear view of the contents of the book of Ephesians, the entire book will be set before us. We shall see the blessings: God’s selection, predestination, sonship, holiness, redemption, sealing, pledging, and much more. Then we shall see the prayer of the Apostle for a spirit of wisdom and revelation to know the hope of God’s calling, to see the glory of God’s inheritance among His saints, and to realize the greatness of the power that has been wrought in Christ to produce the Body. Then in chapter two we shall see the production of the church, the nature of the church, the vision of the church, the building of the church, and the function of the church. In chapter three we shall see the revelation of the mystery and the ministry of the stewardship concerning the church. Following this, we shall see Paul’s prayer for the strengthening of our inner man so that Christ may make His home in our heart, that we might be filled with all the fullness of God. This causes us to have the practical experience of Christ. Then, as revealed in the last three chapters, we shall know how to walk on earth, to bear responsibility, and to fight the battle for God’s purpose. This is the content of the book of Ephesians.
The book of Ephesians has a special characteristic. Unlike Romans, which speaks from the sinners’ condition, Ephesians speaks from God’s eternal purpose. In the opening chapters of Romans, we see the sinners’ condition. In Romans 1 all kinds of sins are listed. But no such list is found in chapter one of Ephesians. This is because Ephesians speaks, not from the sinners’ condition, but from God’s eternal purpose. Moreover, Ephesians speaks from eternity, not from time, and from the heavenlies, not from the earth. The book of Ephesians brings us into eternity. Do not stay in time — get into eternity. Because Ephesians brings us into the heavenlies, we should not remain in our condition; instead, we should be in eternity and in the heavenlies. We are in God’s eternal purpose, and we need not look at our condition. Rather, let us look at God’s eternal purpose. Because we are so bound to our condition and enveloped in it, we need to be rescued. Ephesians does not care for our condition so much as it cares for God’s purpose. It speaks to us from the heart of God’s purpose. When we come to this book, we need to pray, “Lord, take me out of my condition, away from the earth, and outside of time. Lord, rescue me from my condition and bring me into eternity and into the heavenlies. I want to enter into the heart of God and into His eternal purpose.”
Many years ago I read the book of Ephesians as if I were a frog in a narrow well. From my position in the well, I tried to understand this book. But I could not understand it. To understand this book, we need to be delivered from our condition and brought into God’s eternal purpose and into the heavenlies. If we read Ephesians from such a position, our reading will be different. The specific and particular characteristic of this book is that it is written from eternity, from the heavenlies, from God’s heart, and from God’s eternal purpose.
Ephesians has a specific position in the order of the books of the New Testament. It would be very awkward if Ephesians were the first book of the New Testament. Praise the Lord that it has been placed in the right position, immediately after the revelation concerning Christ versus religion (Galatians), followed by the practical experience of Christ (Philippians), and leading to the Head (Colossians)!
In Galatians we see the matter of Christ versus religion. We should not replace Christ with anything. This means that it should not be our emotion versus religion or our practice versus religion. It must be Christ versus religion. Ephesians comes after this revelation of Christ versus religion. The matter of Christ versus religion leads us to the church. Christ is not versus religion merely for our experience. That is the improper emphasis of the so-called inner life people who seek Christ, not for the church, but for their experience. Christ is versus religion for the church. The very Christ who is versus religion is not primarily for our experience, but for the church. Galatians 2:20 says that we have been crucified with Christ and that Christ lives in us. This experience must be for the church life.
It is wrong to care so much for the personal experience of Christ that we neglect the church. However, if we care so much for the church that we neglect the practical experience of Christ, we are also wrong. To someone who cares only for personal experience, not for the church, I would say, “You must go on from Galatians to Ephesians.” But to someone who cares so much for the church that he neglects the experience of Christ, I would say, “Remember, following Ephesians is the book of Philippians.” We need the practical experience of Christ so that we shall be able to say that whether in death or in life Christ shall be magnified in us (Phil. 1:20). We should also be able to say that for us to live is Christ (Phil. 1:21) and that we count all things but dung on account of the excellency of Christ (Phil. 3:8). We all need to experience Christ. Before someone comes into the church, he must have some experience of Christ, and after he comes into the church, he needs even more experience of Him.
The experience of Christ leads us to the Head. Therefore, after Philippians we have Colossians. I am very fond of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. I have spent more time studying these books than any other books in the Bible. We all need to spend more time on these four books. Galatians is the revelation of Christ versus religion, Ephesians covers the church in seven aspects, Philippians deals with the practical experience of Christ, and Colossians leads us to the Head. If we get into these four books, we shall see that Christ is here, that Christ leads us to the church, that the church life leads us to experience Christ daily, and that all this brings us to the Head. This is the position of the book of Ephesians in the New Testament.
Now we need to consider the writer of this book. As we all know, the writer is the Apostle Paul. Ephesians 1:1 says, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God.” Paul was made an apostle of Christ, not by man, but through the will of God, according to God’s economy. Because Paul was not a self-appointed apostle, but an apostle through the will of God, he had the authority that comes through God’s will. This standing gave him authority to put forth the revelation in this Epistle of God’s eternal purpose concerning the church. The church is built upon this revelation (Eph. 2:20). Paul’s being an apostle of Christ refers to his position, and his being an apostle through the will of God refers to his authority. As such an apostle, Paul was the writer of this book.
The last part of 1:1 and 2 say, “To the saints who are in Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” The receivers of this book were the saints in Ephesus. This refers to their position. The saints are those who are made holy, sanctified, separated unto God from everything that is common.
The receivers were also the faithful in Christ Jesus. The faithful are those who are faithful in the faith, as mentioned in Eph. 4:13; 2 Tim. 4:7 and Jude 1:3. The receivers, the faithful in Christ Jesus, have not only a sanctified position, but also a faithful living. They live faithfully in their faith. In order to be qualified and positioned to receive this book, we need to be this kind of people. We must be the saints, and we must be the faithful in Christ Jesus. We must have a sanctified position with a faithful living.
Between the writer and the receivers, there was the communication of grace and peace (1:2). Grace and peace went out from the writer to the receivers. There was no gossip, criticism, accusation, or condemnation; instead, there was grace and peace.
Grace is God as our enjoyment (John 1:17; 1 Cor. 15:10). When God becomes our portion for us to enjoy, that is grace. Do not consider grace as something less than God. Grace is nothing less than God enjoyed by us in a practical way as our portion.
Peace is a condition that results from grace, that issues from the enjoyment of God our Father. When we enjoy God as grace, we are in a condition that is full of rest, satisfaction, and joy. This is peace. Grace is a substance, whereas peace is a condition. The substance of grace is God Himself, and the condition of peace is that which issues out of our enjoyment of God as grace. We all can testify of the peace we have when we enjoy God as grace. The first line of hymn 499 in our hymnal says, “Oh, what a life! Oh, what a peace!” Life is grace. When we truly enjoy Christ as our life, we participate in grace. Then we have peace. What a life! What a peace! Now we can also say: What a substance! What a condition! We have the divine substance as our enjoyment, and we have the heavenly condition. This is the peace which we enjoy.
This grace and peace come from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We are both God’s creatures and God’s sons. To us as God’s creatures God is our God, and to us as God’s sons He is our Father. On the one hand, we are God’s creatures; on the other hand, we are the Father’s sons.
Grace and peace also come to us from the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Redeemer, and we are His redeemed ones. As the Lord’s redeemed ones, we have Him as our Lord.
Grace and peace thus come to us from God our Creator, from our Father, and from the Lord our Redeemer. As His created ones, regenerated ones, and redeemed ones, we are positioned to receive grace and peace from Him. We have a threefold status: we have been created, regenerated, and redeemed. We have God as our Creator, we have the Father as our Father, and we have Jesus Christ as our Redeemer. Therefore, we are fully qualified to receive grace and peace from the Triune God. This is the introductory word to this book.
