Ephesians 1:1-2 "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: (2) Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ."
I could not get the book of Ephesians out of my thoughts as I was trying to
seek God's will concerning my devotions after completing the Psalms. I kept
going back and forth with other thoughts until I read these first two verses
this morning. The Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to begin this book in a
manner that gives the ultimate example of God's grace and mercy. He writes
concerning himself and the absolute change that God makes in the hearts and
minds of His people. I hope to be able to concisely say what I see in these
verses.
We know the person Saul used to be, but now He speaks in terms of God's grace,
mercy, love, and peace. When he was on the road to Damascus, Saul was in no way
seeking the peace of the people who were worshiping God according to the truth
of Jesus Christ. He had letters in hand that authorized him to persecute any
and all of the people he found in "that way". BUT NOW we see what God
is able to do. The turning point of this book - the turning point of our lives
is found in two words: "But God..." I have said it on many occasions
that two of my favorite words in the Bible are, "But God.." Paul went
from a persecutor to a builder. He was seeking to destroy the greatest living
organism on the face of the earth: the Church of our Lord. But now, he is
seeking their welfare and security in Christ Jesus. I often think about the
words that Paul used to begin his letter to the young preacher, Timothy. "And
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me
faithful, putting me into the ministry." You can sense the humility in his
words as he realizes just how marvelous is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This book of Ephesians, as well as all of the books that were written by Paul,
stress the impact of God's grace upon the lives of His people. Paul is praying
for the grace and peace "from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus
Christ." That is my prayer for each of us as we begin this study of the
book of Ephesians. I realize that I won't be going as deep as some will want me
to go and for some, I will be going deeper than they want. But I pray the Lord
will bless in our study of the manner of change in which our precious Lord can,
and does, make in our lives. "Grace be to you, and peace, from God
our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ."
1 What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought
since Jesus came into my heart!
I have light in my soul for which long I had sought,
since Jesus came into my heart.
Refrain:
Since Jesus came into my heart,
since Jesus came into my heart,
floods of joy o'er my soul like sea billows roll,
since Jesus came into my heart.