I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, (2) with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, (3) endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  (4) There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; (5) one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

The letter to the Ephesians was written by the apostle Paul while he was in prison in Rome for preaching the gospel. In chapter four, Ephesians, Paul is moving to practical exhortation for mutual ageeement of the faithful to live and govern the church for the purpose of unity.  He is encouraging the faithful to grow in practice and pattern of qualities that will reflect the unity of the Spirit in order to resolve relationship difficulties as Christian men and women live in love and peace.

Humility or lowliness is listed as the first step – this begins with recognizing that all we are and have is due to God’s grace in Christ. As Christ is sufficient for salvation it follows that we are not self sufficient and we may walk worthy of our calling only because of such distinguished unmerited grace. Humility is the opposite of pride, rudeness and all that flows from high regard of self.

Paul supports his argument for unity by saying we are called to one inheritance – to one life; one divine invitation to one faith.  We are to dread animosity which harms us and estranges us from God. Christ cannot be divided.  There is one God, Father of us all.  (The word Father applies only to members of the body of Christ.). We need each other and are dependent on each other. All have different gifts but all partake of spiritual unity in the same Spirit.

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  (14) For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, (15) having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, (16) and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.  (17) And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near.  (18) For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

The letter to the Ephesians was written by the apostle Paul while he was in prison in Rome for preaching the gospel.  The theme of our verses today is the reconciliation of man with God – through the cross Christ Jesus reconciled the faithful to God and to one another. Being at peace with God is the foundation for being at peace with others.

But Paul begins this lesson by tracing the peace between formerly alienated peoples – the Jews and the Gentiles – and then moves to the underlying cause of this enmity which was sin which entered the world through Adam and Eve. At the moment of sin man became alienated from God.

The Jews were separated by God from the Gentiles – chosen through the grace of God to be His people of the covenant and the Law primarily to show them the impossibility of sinners earning salvation.  Christ Jesus alone could deal with the problem of sin and for the Jews to enjoy peace with God they had to accept Christ as the mediator and messiah. The Old Testament Law, the system of ceremonies and rituals, which created the barrier/wall between Jew and Gentiles was abolished with Christ’s sacrifice of the cross and in Christ there is a new covenant.

Those far away – the Gentiles – were strangers to the promises of God. The Jews were those near but they also needed to hear the gospel of peace with God in Christ. There is no righteousness on man’s own. The Jews and Gentiles alike were condemned by the law but through Christ, God offers forgiveness and access to all who believe in Christ – salvation is not be anything man does but by what Christ Jesus did.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, (4) just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love (5) having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, (6) to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. (7) In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (8) which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, (9) having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, (10) that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth – in Him. (11) In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, (12) that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.  (13) In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, (14) who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. 

The letter to the Ephesians was written by the apostle Paul while he was in prison because of his preaching of the gospel.  In the verses we study today he is not lamenting his current miserable state but Paul is caught up in contemplating the unbelievable blessings God has ordained for those who love Him in Christ.  He wants the faithful in Ephesus to be unshakeable in their confidence of salvation in Christ so that all contrary doctrines  – preached as usual by the false teachers who followed him everywhere to corrupt the gospel – would fail

Paul begins with gratitude and rises to the eternal election of God into which the predestined are born; not by whim but by the good will of God.  God blesses us so that we may bless Him.  This selection was made before the world began and we were chosen in Christ, not of ourselves – the name and work of Christ Jesus excludes all merit on our part – we are unworthy.  Our salvation does not come from us but God alone and the material cause of this election and the love now revealed is only in Christ Jesus – we can only be reconciled to God in Jesus.

Keep in mind not only Paul’s circumstances but also what a novelty the gospel was.  God fixes His will and purpose to be revealed in His own good and perfect time that He might gather, in Christ, all things restored in order.  We are in unity by Christ alone and without Him there would be chaos and eternal darkness.  The gospel cannot deceive as it is truth but it is also in eminence – there is no other truth.  Paul now moves onto the proof of the gospel and it is the seal of the indwelling Spirit.  True conviction does not come by judgment of man but by the Spirit guiding the conscience and Paul uses the metaphor of earnest money used to seal a transaction to explain this gift. The Spirit is a pledge to the confirmed committed faithful – there is no turning back

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.  (8) Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.  (9) And he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”  Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmaries, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  (10) Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The second letter to the Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul. In our verses Sunday, Paul is writing to defend his apostolic claims – that he was an apostle according to the will of God.  He had been much maligned in Corinth by the false teachers who followed him everywhere and his authority had been challenged which meant the gospel he preached was also in danger of being corrupted.  Paul shares in chapters 11 and 12 tremendous amounts of biographical information for his apostolic credibility.

Paul writes that he has experienced divine visions and revelations – and lest the superiority of these revelations tempt him to pride, he has been given “ a thorn in the flesh”.  We don’t know what this painful chronic infirmity was but it was distressing enough for Paul to ask God three times for relief. This “messenger of Satan” (the thorn) was sent by God as a warning that Satan is always at hand

There is no doubt that Paul was heard by God – our prayers are always answered – and this highly favored man of God was told essentially that man’s weaknesses may seem to be obstacles but in our weakness we learn to depend on God – we turn from deceptive self reliance and empty, false pride. Paul would not let anything keep him from the love and power of Christ Jesus and clearly he felt that his thorn in the flesh was an excellence from God.  There are things that come to us because of sin and those things that come to us to keep us from sinning.

But as you abound in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us – see that you abound in this grace also. (9) For you know the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet, for your sakes He became poor, that you  through His poverty might become rich.  (13) For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; (14) but by an equality that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance may supply your lack. – that there may be equality.   (15). As it is written, “He who gathered  much had nothing left over, and he who gathered  little had no lack.”

The apostle Paul wrote the second letter to the Corinthians. Corinth was a “sophisticated”, amoral city when Paul founded the church there. Not surprisingly, there were some who manipulated the early church and caused great distress, factional arguments and doctrinal corruption after Paul moved on with his missionary journey. Unknown actors even derided Paul’s authority and presence.  After a severe letter of correction (lost to history) another visit and another letter (1st Corinthians) addressing doctrinal questions, Titus, Paul’s assistant, came to him from Corinth to reassure him that the issues had been dealt with.  Now in 2nd Corinthians Paul writes to reinforce his authority and prepare the Corinthians for his third visit.

Our verses today concern a collection being raised in the churches Paul founded on his missionary journeys. Jerusalem had been hard hit by famine and Paul had been given a mission by the apostles to raise a collection for the Jewish Christians there. In verse 9 Christ is the perfect pattern of love – He was rich because He was God but took on the form and nature of man and became poor for us.  He was willing to sacrifice all, even a terrible death on a cross, for the salvation of men.  Everything we have is a gift of God and we should live lightly in this world.  This world is a shadow of the eternal heavenly world promised to those who believe in Christ Jesus who became poor for us that we might become rich in eternal life.

Paul then moves to the events of the Jews wandering in the desert where they were divinely supported – manna was gathered by all but no one took more than the Lord prescribed and all shared equally.  Paul’s application here was that none should accumulate in excess when there are necessities of other Christians. A readiness of will is pleasing to God whether one is either rich or poor and we aren’t meant to be reduced to straits so that others might have ease. Remember that we all have different gifts which are distributed seemingly unevenly but we are all equal in the eyes of God.