*Dr. Anderson, a member of the Biola Board of Directors, is pastor of the Bethany Baptist Church o f West Covina, California.
T h e E p i s t l e t o t h e E p h e s i a n s , pians, the Colossians, and Philemon, is a Christological Epistle. Careful exam ination unfolds the grandeur and the glory of the Person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. While it is true tha'. this book of six chapters is a treatment of the design and destiny of the Church, we must be careful to observe that the Church has her calling and consummation “in Christ.” All of her blessings are in Him. All of the pur poses of God toward the Church are related to the Lord Jesus Christ, so that the Churchy in its calling as an organ ism- and in its conduct as an organiza tion, is seen from the Christocentric standpoint. The most significant phrase in the epistle is made up of the two words, “in Christ.” If one is not “in Christ” he can know nothing experi mentally of these “spiritual blessings.” Vine has said, “The doctrinal teaching of this epistle is very little more than a development of the single expression, ‘in Christ’.” Except a man be “in Christ”, he can claim none of the bless ings of God as his redemption rights. We cannot by-pass Jesus Christ to get to God. X. The Christian’s Present Possessions in Christ (Chapter 1) The first three chapters of the epistle deal with doctrine; the last three chap ters, with duty. In the fitst half Paul explains the riches of God’s grace; in the last half he exhorts the recipients of God’s grace. along with those letters to the Philip-
Two verses give Paul’s usual method of opening a letter. In this, the saluta tion, the writer designates the author and the addressee: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesús” (1:1). There are no serious doubts among commentators concerning the Pauline authorship of this Epistle. Confined in Rome and well stricken in years, Paul writes a letter different from his other epistles. Controversy is absent. Warn ing against any particular error of doc trine is missing — yet, this particular difference causes no concern, for both the external and internal evidence are convincingly strong. Paul designates himself as “an apos tle of Jesus Christ.” He was alike Christ’s possession and His representa tive. The risen Lord having both saved and sent Him, Paul became God’s min ister to the Gentiles. He was truly an apostle “by the will of God.” B. To the Faithful — As Those Be lieving The word “faithful” identifies and defines the saints as those giving assent to what Christ is and what He claims to be. To be faithful is to be full of faith in Christ. There are certain things which we must believe about the Lord Jesus Christ if we are to be saints. The'1 fact is that every true Believer believes something about Jesus Christ. The Christians at Ephesus already knew (continued on next page) 33
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