Ephesians

Seated, Walking, Standing

Ephesians is two letters in one. The first three chapters tell us who we are in Christ, and they contain almost no commands. They are pure gift: chosen, adopted, redeemed, forgiven, sealed, raised, and seated with Christ in heavenly places. Then chapter 4 opens with “I therefore… beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called” (4:1), and the rest of the letter shows how to live it out at church, at home, at work, and on the battlefield.

The Chinese pastor Watchman Nee, who spent the last twenty years of his life in prison for his faith, summed up Ephesians in three words: sit, walk, stand. We sit with Christ in heavenly places (2:6). We walk worthy of our calling (4:1). And we stand against the wiles of the devil (6:11). The order matters. You cannot walk the Christian life until you have first rested in what Christ has done, and you cannot stand in battle until you have learned to walk.

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Authorship & Setting

Paul names himself as the author and writes as “the prisoner of Jesus Christ” (3:1) and “an ambassador in bonds” (6:20). Ephesians is one of four letters Paul wrote from prison, along with Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. The traditional view is that he wrote them during his house arrest in Rome, around AD 60–62. Tychicus, “a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord” (6:21), carried it, likely along with Colossians, which it closely resembles. Some modern scholars question whether Paul wrote it, but the early church received it as his without dispute.

Paul knew Ephesus well. He spent about three years there (Acts 20:31), and his preaching hurt the business of the silversmiths who made shrines for the great temple of Diana, one of the wonders of the ancient world, setting off a riot (Acts 19). Yet the letter has very few personal greetings, and the words “at Ephesus” in 1:1 are missing from several of the oldest manuscripts. Many think it was a circular letter, meant to be passed among the churches of the region, with Ephesus as its main stop.

The great theme is the church: one body made of Jews and Gentiles, raised with Christ, filled with His Spirit, built into a holy temple, loved as His bride, and armed for a spiritual war. Ephesians shows what God was doing all along, “the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God” (3:9).

Key Figures

• Paul — writing as a prisoner, “less than the least of all saints” (3:8), entrusted with the mystery of the gospel.
• Tychicus — the faithful messenger who carried the letter and would tell the believers how Paul was doing (6:21–22).
• The Gentile believers — those who were once “without Christ… having no hope, and without God in the world” (2:12), now made near by His blood.
• The gifted leaders — apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, given to equip the saints for the work of the ministry (4:11–12).
• The Christian household — husbands and wives, parents and children, servants and masters, each called to live out the gospel in their relationships (5:22–6:9).
• Principalities and powers — the unseen spiritual forces of wickedness that are the real enemy in the believer’s warfare (6:12).

Greek Word Study

μυστήριον · mystērion

“Mystery.” In the New Testament, a mystery is not a puzzle but a secret God kept hidden and has now revealed. The mystery of Ephesians is “That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel” (3:6). Marriage is a mystery too, pointing to Christ and the church (5:32).

περιπατέω · peripateō

“To walk,” meaning how you conduct your life step by step. We once walked according to the course of this world (2:2). Now we are created “unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (2:10). From chapter 4 on, Paul tells us to walk worthy, walk in love, walk as children of light, and walk circumspectly. The Christian life is a walk, not a sprint.

πλήρωμα · plērōma

“Fullness.” The church is Christ’s body, “the fulness of him that filleth all in all”(1:23). Paul prays that believers would be “filled with all the fulness of God” (3:19), and grow up “unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (4:13). God does not intend His people to run on empty.

πανοπλία · panoplia

“Whole armour,” the complete equipment of a heavily armed soldier, from head to foot. Paul was chained to Roman soldiers while he wrote, so he had a model in front of him. “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (6:11). Not part of it. All of it.

Eight-Movement Outline

MOVEMENT ONE

Every Spiritual Blessing (1:1–14)

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (1:3). In the Greek, verses 3–14 are one long sentence, as though Paul couldn’t stop to take a breath. The Father chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. He adopted us as children. In the Son “we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (1:7). And we were “sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance” (1:13–14), God’s down payment on everything still to come. Three times Paul says it is all “to the praise of his glory.”

MOVEMENT TWO

The Eyes of Your Understanding (1:15–23)

Paul prays that God would give them the spirit of wisdom and revelation, “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened” (1:18), so they would know the hope of His calling, the riches of His inheritance in the saints, and the exceeding greatness of His power toward those who believe. It is the same power that raised Christ from the dead and set Him at God’s right hand, “Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion” (1:21). God has put all things under His feet and given Him to be head over all things to the church.

MOVEMENT THREE

Dead, Then Made Alive (2:1–10)

“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (2:1). We followed the course of this world, the prince of the power of the air, and the desires of the flesh, and we were by nature children of wrath. Then come two of the greatest words in the Bible: “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us” (2:4), made us alive with Christ, “and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (2:6). “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works” (2:8–10).

MOVEMENT FOUR

The Middle Wall Broken Down (2:11–22)

The Gentiles were once strangers from the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world. “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us” (2:13–14). In the temple at Jerusalem, a stone barrier separated the Court of the Gentiles from the inner courts, with signs warning any Gentile who passed it that he would be put to death. Archaeologists have found one of those signs. Christ tore the wall down. Jew and Gentile are now one new man, “fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God” (2:19), built on the apostles and prophets, “Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (2:20).

MOVEMENT FIVE

The Mystery Revealed (3:1–21)

Paul explains the mystery he was given to preach: Gentiles are fellowheirs, of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ. He calls himself “less than the least of all saints”and marvels that he was given grace to preach “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (3:8). Through the church, God is showing His manifold wisdom even to the principalities and powers in heavenly places. Then Paul kneels and prays that they would be strengthened by the Spirit, that Christ would dwell in their hearts by faith, and that, “being rooted and grounded in love,” they would know the breadth, length, depth, and height of the love of Christ, which passes knowledge. He ends with a doxology: “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” (3:20).

MOVEMENT SIX

Walk Worthy (4:1–32)

Now the walk begins: “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called… Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”(4:1, 3). “One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all” (4:5–6). The ascended Christ gave gifts to His church, “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ”(4:12), so that we would no longer be tossed around by every wind of doctrine, but grow up into Him, “speaking the truth in love” (4:15). Put off the old man and put on the new. “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil” (4:26–27). “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God” (4:30). “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (4:32).

MOVEMENT SEVEN

Walk in Love, Light, and Wisdom (5:1–6:9)

“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us” (5:1–2). “Walk as children of light” (5:8). Walk carefully, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil”(5:16). “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” (5:18), speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, giving thanks always, and “Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God” (5:21). Then Paul brings it home. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it” (5:25). Children, obey and honor your parents. Fathers, “provoke not your children to wrath”(6:4). Servants, serve as unto Christ. Masters, treat them well, “knowing that your Master also is in heaven” (6:9).

MOVEMENT EIGHT

Stand: The Whole Armour of God (6:10–24)

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (6:10–12). Paul names each piece: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, “the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” (6:16), the helmet of salvation, and “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (6:17). And over it all, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” (6:18). Paul asks them to pray that he would speak boldly, even in chains.

Christ Typology

The Bride from His Side. Paul quotes Genesis 2:24 about a man leaving his father and mother and being joined to his wife, then says, “This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church” (5:32). From the beginning, marriage was designed as a picture of something greater. God put Adam into a deep sleep, opened his side, and formed his bride. Early church writers saw the parallel at the cross: the Last Adam fell into the sleep of death, His side was opened, and from it flowed the blood and water that brought His bride into being.

The Temple and the Cornerstone. Isaiah wrote, “Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation” (Isaiah 28:16). Paul says that stone is Jesus Christ, and the building rising on Him is “an holy temple in the Lord… an habitation of God through the Spirit” (2:21–22). The temple in Jerusalem had a wall to keep Gentiles out. The temple Christ is building is made of both.

The Conquering King of Psalm 68. Paul quotes Psalm 68:18: “When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men” (4:8). The psalm pictures God going up to His holy hill after victory, leading captives in a procession. Paul applies it to Christ’s ascension. He went down into death, rose, ascended in triumph, and now distributes the spoils of His victory to His people as gifts for building up His church.

The Armour of God Is God’s Own Armour.Paul’s list of armour comes largely from Isaiah, where it is the LORD Himself who wears it: “For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head” (Isaiah 59:17). Isaiah also says the Messiah’s girdle is righteousness and faithfulness (Isaiah 11:5), and praises the feet of him that brings good tidings of peace (Isaiah 52:7). When we put on the armour of God, we are not putting on our own strength. We are clothing ourselves with Christ, who already fought and won.

Personal Application

Know who you are before you ask what to do. Paul spends three chapters on what God has done before he gives a single instruction. If you try to live chapters 4–6 without first believing chapters 1–3, the Christian life will feel like a weight. Start by sitting: chosen, forgiven, sealed, loved, and seated with Christ. The walk flows from the seat.

Saved by grace, for good works. Works do not save you, not even a little. But you were saved for a purpose. You are God’s workmanship, His handiwork, created for good works He prepared ahead of time. Grace is not the end of the story. It is the start of a life God has already mapped out for you to walk in.

Guard your anger. Paul does not say never be angry. He says be angry and sin not, and don’t go to bed with it. Anger that is nursed overnight gives the devil a foothold. Deal with it quickly, honestly, and before God, and then let it go.

Be filled with the Spirit. Paul compares it to being drunk: something else in control of your words, your walk, and your mood. Instead of wine, be filled with the Spirit, and the evidence will be singing, thankfulness, and mutual submission. Being filled is not a one-time event. The verb means keep on being filled.

Know your real enemy. The person who wronged you, the leader who disappointed you, the neighbor who opposes you: none of them is your real enemy. We wrestle not against flesh and blood. That does not mean wrongs don’t matter. It means our weapons are truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, the word of God, and prayer, and those are aimed at the powers behind the people, not at the people themselves.

TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY · MARANATHA

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