Ephesians 1:1-2. Wow only two verses. Remember though that you need to read the “Intro to Ephesians” which includes some links to other “Did You Know” helps. It is important to know what is gong on and who the players are if you are going to read someone else’s mail. This mail is meant to be read by all because even though it is a letter by a specific guy addressed to a specific group of people. It is meant for all of us so we can understand more about God and live for him better each day.

This greeting is very similar to the greetings used in letters of that time, in fact for centuries before and after. But it is also different. Paul packs much more into his greetings that the average, “Hey John this is Mike”. In verse 1 Paul identifies himself as the sender but he adds information about himself. He is an “apostle”. That word means “messenger” or “one who is sent”. It is clear that he was sent by God and he is about “Christ Jesus”. Jesus is his message. The term “Christ” is a title that means something like “chosen” (Technically it means anointed. That is what they would call it when someone would smear or dump something on you to identify you as “the one”. Kind of like when a team dumps Gatorade on the coach after the game, but Jesus was “the one” before the game even started. “Tag, you’re it!”). For some of Paul’s readers that would mean a lot for other not as much. Anyone familiar with the Old Testament would have know that God had a chosen one who would do certain things. Most Jews though of the chosen one (Messiah in Hebrew, the language of the Old Testament) as a political leader who would kick butt on the world and set up a forever kingdom for them. Most Jews missed the point that that chosen one also needed to suffer for the sins of the people (Isaiah 53:6). Jesus is that chosen one, the Christ (Messiah). And he did kick butt but on the real enemy, our sin. He dealt with that first so we could have a new relationship with God. He’s coming later to deal with the whole kingdom thing. Paul’s mention of being an apostle was probably to establish some authority for what he is going to say in the letter. If you read the Intro you know that some of the believers in Jesus in Ephesus might have known Paul but many probably did not.

We see that the letter is to some people in a place called Ephesus. These people are called “saints” and “faithful” or “believers” in Christ Jesus. The word translated “saints” also means “holy”. The word basically means “separated” or “set aside” or even “dedicated” and has a sense of fear in it. It was used for offerings to gods that were set aside and dedicated to them. The sense of fear probably comes from the fact that you better not touch something that belongs to such a powerful being.   These people are also described as “faithful in Christ Jesus”. That word “faithful” is found in a different form in verse 13 and is usually translated “believe”. The idea here is people who have trusted in something, they believe in it or have faith in it. In this case the people have trusted in, believe in , and have faith in Jesus. In Hebrews 11:1 the same word is used, “faith”. That verse tells us that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things we have not seen”. In that verse “assurance” translates a word that means to “stand by or beside” and “conviction” translates a word that means “evidence or proof”. Faith is standing by the things we hope for and it is the proof of things we have not seen. These people firmly believed in Jesus as the one who had paid the price for their sins and would one day give them a place in his forever family in his kingdom.

In verse 2 Paul mixes the greetings from two different cultures and gives them a distinctive spin that only those who understand the truth about Jesus would get. In Greek (the language the of New Testament times) “grace” is a form of the word that we translate as “rejoice, be glad, hail, greetings”. The word “rejoice” was a common greeting in the ancient world but “grace” was not. The word “grace” means “favor” and refers to something that brings pleasure or delight. In other words it refers to a “gift” or a “free gift”. What brings more delight than a free unexpected undeserved gift? To believers this would bring to mind the gift of a new relationship that Jesus made possible by taking our punishment on the cross.

The word translated “peace” is the word that we get the English word “irenic” from. You probably don’t know that word but you might know another, serene (you know “peaceful”, actually both of these word mean the same thing).   That word was never used as a greeting in the Greek world but a similar word “shalom” was used by the Jewish people. “Shalom” is a Hebrew word and it is often translated as “peace” but it has a much deeper meaning that just being in a calm place. The Hebrew word has the idea of completeness or wholeness in it; everything as it should be and in its place. For most of us that is the ultimate peace.

By using these two words Paul was basically making a prayer to God that he wanted to come true in the lives of the people he was writing to; one scholar used the term prayer-wish. This was certainly not the way the average person would greet someone on the street or in a letter, Paul was filling his world with the reality of his new life, his new relationship with God, through Jesus. Some Bible experts think that Paul was going even further my mimicking or echoing a “blessing” that ancient Jewish priests were told to give in Numbers 6:23-26. In that “blessing” (again a sort of prayer-wish, see a similar discussion in “What’s in a name”) Aaron (the first chief priest of Judaism, God’s system of rules and remembrance for the Jewish or Israelite people. See “The Old Testament Connection”) was told to ask God to be gracious to the Israelites and give them peace (shalom). This would have been another way of Paul hinting at his authority. To a mostly non-Jewish (gentile) group though I think this idea would be mostly lost.

In this introductory greeting Paul definitely makes it clear that he had some authority, he was sent by God to represent Jesus. He certainly must have had some message for them. I think the readers wouldn’t have felt too threatened though because he addresses them as people who have been set a side, dedicate or put in a place of protection. He also acknowledged that they were people who had put their faith in the chosen one, Jesus. I’m sure it must have been an interesting time for these believers; to hear from one of the early messengers, one who had made such an impact on the whole Roman world, would have been awesome, better than a concert by the greatest band or musician you can think of.   It will be interesting to see what he has to say to these believers for whom he feels such a responsibility as the “Sent one to the gentiles”.

I love the fact that this guy who had spent his early years hunting and hurting Christians was now so interested in helping them. He was probably about 30 when he became a believer maybe a little older. Now here he is 30 years later under house arrest, chained to a Roman guard and all he can think about is a bunch of believers he has never even met, both in Ephesus and Colosse.   And I don’t think he mentioned being an “apostle” to flex his muscles, he makes it very clear in his other letters that he isn’t really interested in the whole power trip thing. Over the years he had been accused of being weak because he didn’t push his authority, he had turned down pay so people wouldn’t accuse him of being in it for the money, and he even refused to order Philemon to release Onesimus. This guy was all about helping people get right with God through Jesus. He wants people to have the free gift God is offering (charis, grace) and peace too. That is a major “about face” for Paul; an amazing change of life brought on by a face to face with God, from murderer to missionary, awesome. And the same change is available to us all through Jesus.

God thank you for taking our harsh, selfish, brutal lives and making a way to change them. Thank you for offering us eternity with you and peace, wholeness, in our lives. Help me live each day for you. Help me help others find you. Let me be concerned for people I haven’t even met. Help me love you more by loving others every day.