The book of Ephesians is at once simple and exceedingly complex. It’s short enough to read at a single sitting and deep enough to keep you learning for years. Here are a couple of things that help to see what the book is about.
- The book of Ephesians contains 6 chapters. The first 3 are predominately theological, the second 3 are mainly practical. This is a pattern for our lives. Get your thinking about God right, based on his Word, then your practical lives will have the right foundation for living as God’s children.
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The first section repeatedly tells us that our theological position: our forgiveness, redemption, our privileged place before almighty God is only found in Christ. As believers we already stand forgiven in Christ, our hope is in Christ. Theologically we are already in Christ. Practically speaking we need to move into Christ – our lives don’t match up with our position. This is why Paul urges us to ‘walk worthy of the calling’. It’s not our starting point, but it should be our ending point. Ephesians 4:15-16 tells us:
“Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
As Christians we often live inconsistent lives. We stand in Christ through faith, but we live out our lives faithless and outside of Christ. Let’s ‘walk worthy’ because we are all looking to the ‘one hope that belongs to our call’
