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, 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, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 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. 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, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
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, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
Here is a thought I haven't tested anywhere yet, and it may be a complete dud, because I don't know how to read original languages of the bible. Here goes....
Can we read the "US & WE" in Ephesians 1:3-12 as meaning only Paul and the Apostles? Verse 13 says "YOU also" and the pronoun changes, to perhaps mean the church at large...? So there are two groups being discussed in Paul's letter. There are the "Us's" and "We's," the Apostles; and from authority they write. And then there are the "You's," which is everyone else. Paul says that he learned "the mystery" from God and has been in charge of sharing it (as one of the holy Apostles and Prophets) in the beginning of chapter 3. He uses the pronouns in this way, "it has been given to ME for YOU" eph 3:2. Here is Ephesians 3:1-13
For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.
To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
My turning point in being challenged by this was trying to reread Eph. 1:9. I'm pretty sure it says that God only "made known to [the holy Apostles] the mystery...". If I re-read verse 1:4 with such an idea, it would imply "He chose [the holy Apostles] in Him before the foundation of the world." The topic appears to be much different doesn't it?
As one can see, this letter seems to spend a good deal of time talking about the credentials of Paul. Not everyone learns the mystery of the gospel of salvation in Christ from the same source. Paul had it revealed to him by the Spirit of God at the turn of the age. Notice that Apostles come to know the gospel from the new administration (dispensation); however "You" meaning the Ephesian church, comes to know the gospel when it was preached to them from other men. Notice also that the "Us," meaning Apostles, were the "first to trust in Christ," and of course they did precede the Ephesian believers. Would not God predestine that those who would first be given the gospel message personally as Paul had, as specially selected from the beginning of time to successfully bear and share the gospel truth? It would be important that they would receive such a supportive measure of God's power and grace to be sufficient ministers at the opening gate.
Doesn't it make much more sense with the whole "predestination by God to salvation" business if it is for a very limited group? What does the passage really say is "predestined" by God?
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, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
"Should be" to the praise of His glory. "Should be" is defined as, "to happen." Predestination means... concerning Paul and the other Apostles, He would meet His desire; He would be glorified.
Has anyone anywhere said this before? Is this totally impossible by the knowledge of bible scholars, and that is why I have not heard it as of yet?
2 comments:
In Ephesians chapter 2:19-22 there is a strata of structure in the church.
Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
It lends more in my mind at least, to the idea that Paul was in part writing about his authority in Christ (and his predestination) so that the Ephesians would understand doctrine and the place they fit in the administration.
Michele, I don't have a firm conviction about the question you raise here, but by the deafening silence in response to this post, one would think it's nuclear waste, to be avoided at all cost.
However, this kind of "we-you" switch is quite characteristic of Paul in many of his epistles. One good example that comes to mind is the Corinthian letters, where seeing the first person plural as explicitly denoting the example of the apostles makes a huge difference in how we understand Paul's point(s).
The first example would be 1 Cor 2:6-3:4, where many expositors would "see" the doctrine of illumination by the Holy Spirit. Thus, this view would claim that although the "we" of the entire passage may denote the apostles as primary referent, Paul's intent is inclusive, that is, applicable to all believers. The problem with this is that throughout the passage Paul also mentions "you" in contrast to "we." My conclusion, therefore, is that Paul is really talking about the doctrine of apostolic inspiration and not illumination, per se. However, by the time the reader gets to 2:14-3:4, his "we who are spiritual" is clearly intended as a more all-inclusive contrast to "you are carnal." To me, this makes the passage much more 3-dimensional: Apostles are special, but we are not in some way different "animals" than the apostles. We are more like them than unlike them, such that the Spirit can communicate with me just as well as with the apostles, if I am tapped into Him with my spirit.
The second example is in 2 Cor 2-5, where Paul uses the first person plural with primary reference to the apostolic circle in order to draw his object lesson about the nature of God's glory as meant to shine through redeemed hearts to those who don't yet know the Gospel. The apostles then become "poster children" for the larger principle of God's glory "leaking" through the cracks of human frailty to reach the world. Again, the apostles are put forth as examples of humanity that the audience can then emulate because they are more like than unlike the apostles. My conclusion is that suffering for the sake of the gospel "multiplies" His glory through suffering apostles and "stores up" that glory at the Judgment Seat of Christ to totally outweigh the present impact of apostolic suffering. Again, by the end of the passage, the primary apostolic referent of the "we" merges with the "invited" reader, so that "we must all appear at the Bema to be judged..." (5:10). Then, again, in 5:11 he returns to the apostolic circle as his primary referent, but by the time he reaches 5:20 ("...we are ambassadors of Christ...") and 5:21 ("that we might become the righteousness of God...") he has essentially invited all of his readers to emulate the apostles and share their first person plural "agency."
I wonder if this helps with Eph 1.
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