Knowable Word - Bible study help

Great Advice: Stop Doing Word Studies

September 14, 2022 By Peter Krol

Professor Tommy Keene offers sage advice that ought to be stated over and over again: Stop doing word studies.

Word studies are a favorite tool of Biblical exegetes, but usually aren’t worth the time. Why not? Because either (1) the work has already been done for you, or (2) what you are trying to “find” can’t be found using a word study.

In the article, he explains how the work has already been refined over generations—and you have access to the fruit of that work! Then he goes on to explain how word studies can’t give you what you are looking for:

Word studies as described above are not the best tool for this kind of hermeneutical task. There often (but not always) is a depth in the usage of particular words and phrases, but that depth is not a function of the dictionary definition or “meaning” of the word. It is a function of how the word triggers particular cultural moments and concepts and stories and ideas. The best tool for that kind of analysis is cultural engagement. It is to live in and within the historical “intertext” of the word. That’s obviously hard when it comes to interpreting Scripture. For an outdated 80s reference I just need to find dad’s old VHS collection, or figure out which streaming service owns the rights these days. But the Bible is much older. How do we study the “intertext” of Biblical words?
Word studies can be a part of that process, but it’s really just the first step, and an inefficient one at that. They don’t really help you find what you’re looking for because what you are looking for is a function of culture and theology and the inter-connectedness of texts, not word meaning.

Some might wonder, “If I don’t do word studies, then what should I actually do when studying the Bible? I would suggest working on straightforward OIA of the text at hand. Don’t jump to cross-references until you have first grasped the main point of the text at hand. But in addition, as Keene concludes:

So free up your time. Stop doing word studies. What should you do instead? The absolute best thing you can do is immerse yourself in Scripture. Stop picking the Bible apart into little bits and start reading comprehensively. Second, start developing your facility with exegetical tools like Biblical Theology and typology. Third, start reading “around” the Bible. Language is a function of culture and history as well as syntax and grammar; upgrade your understanding of the ancient world and how it works.

Such counsel is extraordinarily wise and ought to be repeated frequently until we start listening. Check it out!

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You Need to Hear Directly From God

September 12, 2022 By Ryan Higginbottom

Picture it. You’ve made time for devotions. Envision your room, your chair, and (perhaps) your beverage. Now, what book is in front of you?

Angela (2015), public domain

More Than a Preference

You have a lot of options. You could listen to any one of a million sermons. You could grab a devotional book or a study guide or a book on a biblical topic. You could even pick up a commentary.

None of these resources are inherently bad, but they all have one thing in common. They put distance between you and God’s word.

The desire to use an extra-biblical resource is understandable. If you view your devotions primarily as a relaxing way to begin or end your day, you’ll think devotions should be easy. And since reading (or hearing) someone else’s interpretation requires less effort than discovering one yourself, it’s simple to see why many people prefer these materials.

Reading a devotional work or listening to a sermon can stimulate your spirit. But this is not the same as reading and studying the Bible for yourself. You need to hear directly from the mouth of God.

Perhaps two analogies will help.

Analogy #1

Jim is supposed to read Crime and Punishment for his high school English class, but he plays sports with his friends instead. When it’s time to consider the book in class, Jim relies on the plot summary he read online. During the discussion, Jim is able to talk about a few important themes of the book.

But when his teacher asks him pointedly about the book’s impact on him, Jim freezes. He cannot recall any of the powerful scenes or locate any of the moving prose, because he doesn’t know the work itself. He only knows this book through a filter.

Even when filters are reliable and thorough, they don’t offer a genuine interaction with the author.

Analogy #2

In the middle of the afternoon, Sarah knocks on her brother Mark’s door. “Mom wants you to clean up your room before dinner.”

Mark puts his folded laundry in his dresser, makes his bed, and recycles the papers on his floor. Then he returns to his comic books.

At the dinner table, Mark learns that his mother wanted much more than a little straightening. She wanted him to dust the furniture, vacuum the carpet, and clean the windows. She wanted a deep clean.

Sarah wasn’t lying, but she wasn’t clear. And Mark didn’t ask Sarah or his mother for clarification.

In this scenario, the messenger softened the blow, and as a consequence, Mark fell short of obedience.

Your Father is Speaking

Portions of the Bible are impossible to envision without a personal encounter with God’s word.

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11)

I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. (Psalm 119:15–16)

…but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. (Psalm 1:2)

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! (Psalm 139:17)

In the Bible, God has told us about himself. He has given his requirements, his promises, and his plan to save his people. He has shared the good news about the Savior of the world, his son Jesus. And he has described what his people should believe and do as they tell the whole world about him.

The Bible is lovingly and wonderfully given by God to his people for their good and the good of the world. You might prefer to read a different book, but when you meet with God, yearn for his voice. Don’t turn away from your heavenly father.

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Helping Schoolchildren Learn to Follow a Book’s Argument

September 9, 2022 By Peter Krol

This year, I have the honor of teaching a course on logic for our local homeschool co-op. Learning logic is a great opportunity for studying the Bible, and studying the Bible is a great opportunity for learning logic. So with my twenty 7th-12th graders, a part of every class period is spent working our way through the book of Hebrews.

I chose Hebrews because it marks with explicit clarity its theses and transitions. (If you’re not sure what I mean, check out my interpretive overview of the book.) So even a group of schoolchildren can spot the chief arguments with much confidence.

In this venue, we are not doing a thorough Bible study. We’re not observing everything that could be observed, and I’m not teaching them to look for literary devices. We’re not spending much time on asking or answering interpretive questions. We’re not looking up the Old Testament quotes in their original context. And we’re not (yet) spending much time in application.

Our goal is simply to identify the skeletal structure of the book’s arguments. This requires careful observation of the grammar, sentence structure, and transitional words and phrases. We want to nail down conclusions and premises, and that’s about it. But even that is helping these kids realize that they are not too young for incredibly satisfying and God-delighting Bible study.

On week 1, we spent about 5 minutes looking at Heb 1:1-3. I asked the students to use their knowledge of grammar to identify the run-on sentence’s main clause. Easy peasy: “God [formerly] spoke by the prophets, but [now] he has spoken by his Son.” Clearly, the weight of the sentence falls on the second half: “God has spoken by his Son.” In no time at all, we had a thesis statement for the entire book.

The following week, we worked through the next few verses of chapter 1 to grasp the first argument in support of the main thesis.

Conclusion: The Son is superior to the angels (Heb 1:4).
Premises in support of this conclusion:
- The Son’s name is superior to that of the angels – Heb 1:4b
- God calls the Son (and not the angels) “Son” – Heb 1:5
- Angels worship the Son; the Son does not worship angels – Heb 1:6
- Angels serve the Son; the Son does not serve angels – Heb 1:7
- And so on.

For homework, I asked them to complete the list by figuring out the remaining premises in the rest of chapter 1.

Now, we could spend much more time here. We could look up the OT quotes to make sure we’re getting the nuances right (that Psalm 2 reference in Heb 1:5 is about far more than just the title “Son”!). We could spend more time on historical background and first-century Jewish beliefs (why is it such a big deal, after all, to prove that the Son is superior to angels?). A more precise and thorough Bible study would require such work. But since, with this class, I’m seeking only to develop the skill of following an argument, what we have here is a great start.

How are you doing in your ability to follow a book’s argument?

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It’s Okay to Struggle With the Bible

September 7, 2022 By Peter Krol

I appreciate Scott Sauls’s piece, “Sometimes I Struggle With the Bible,” because I certainly have similar moments.

When I read Scripture, potential distractions abound. So many things seem more urgent and alluring—things like email, text messages, social media, the day’s news cycle, to-do lists, the latest Netflix series or music release, or opportunities to connect with actual, in the flesh human beings.
Boredom can set in…
I also find the Bible perplexing…

But in the end, Sauls shows it’s all worth it. Check it out!

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The Surprising Glory of Small Group Bible Studies

September 2, 2022 By Peter Krol

Small group Bible studies are not flashy, but then God’s majestic glory is typically not very flashy either. Of course, there was once a fiery typhoon on sinners dwelling in a plain (Genesis 19). And there was the blast of divine nostrils that blew a sea apart through the night watches (Exodus 14). And, of course, there was the traumatic thundercloud on the mountain (Exodus 19). But some of the shock value of those happenings was on account of their extraordinary rarity.

All that glory was bottled up, after a fashion, into a vessel that could be seen without burning out people’s retinas (John 1:14). And it continues to reside within the fragile clay pots known as the redeemed (2 Cor 4:5-12). The glory has become such that eyes of faith are required to see it at all.

So with such eyes of faith, you may perceive the imperceptible glory of gathering with a handful of people in someone’s living room—or a factory’s break room—opening this holy book, reading what’s on the page, and discussing how God might use it to change the world. His immeasurable glory, his majestic name in all the earth, is best seen when babies and infants declare his praise (Ps 8:1-2). When that happens, the “important” people learn to shut up (Matt 21:14-17).

How much more is God’s majestic glory present when sinners confess their sin and turn to trust Jesus (Ps 19:14). It may take place in your living room. It may take place in a coffee shop. It may take place in the unlikeliest of places. All you have to do is open your Bibles and get people talking about it. Such is the surprising glory of small group Bible studies.

If you’d like to learn more about how to leverage the glorious power of interactive small group Bible studies, you may be interested in my newest book: Sowable Word: Helping Ordinary People Learn to Lead Bible Studies.

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3 Ways We Weasel Out of Obedience

August 31, 2022 By Peter Krol

The chief question we ask when we apply the Bible is “how should I change?” (Please don’t ask “what does it mean to me?” as that gives people entirely the wrong idea.) Yet even when we pursue an answer to that chief question, it is not difficult to find ways to weasel out of obeying what God has said. Alan Shlemon lists three ways people tend to do just that:

Claim personal divine revelation that supersedes Scripture. (“God told me to…”)
Claim the Bible is corrupted and/or add other divine revelations. (“Other holy books get it right when they say…”)
Pick and choose which parts of Scripture you’ll uphold. (“We know better today than they did back then…”)

Shlemon concludes:

Though it’s easy to see these erroneous approaches, we can’t be so naïve as to think we can’t also be blinded by the temptation to circumvent the Bible’s instruction. Jesus knew that following him would be difficult. He explained that if we want to be his disciples, we need to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him (Matt 16:24). None of those steps is easy. That, however, is what we’re called to do.
It would be much easier to dismiss divine commands, but in dismissing them, we dismiss him. He, however, is worthy of our trust. Let us be true to his word and his commands.

Shlemon’s brief piece is well worth your time. Check it out!

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Context Matters: God Tests Abraham

August 29, 2022 By Ryan Higginbottom

Perhaps you’ve heard about the way God tested Abraham, that when a long-awaited son was born, God told Abraham to raise his knife. Maybe you’ve been taught from the Scriptures how much Abraham trusted God in that episode and you’ve been inspired to do the same.

Is Abraham’s faith the central theme of this well-known story? Should we come away from it trying hard to be more like this Old Testament patriarch? Are there any aspects of this story that point ahead to the gospel of Jesus?

Context matters. It’s impossible to understand that testing of Abraham without understanding the preceeding chapters in Genesis. When we learn to read the Bible as a whole instead of as a hastily-gathered photo album of Sunday school tales, we’ll see that some of our favorite stories have a deeper meaning than we’ve always assumed.

Abraham’s Only Son

Some Christians say that, aside from the coming of Jesus, the birth of Isaac is the most anticipated event in Scripture. It’s hard to argue!

From the first time that God called Abram he spoke of all the descendants he would eventually have (Genesis 12:2). This certainly required faith instead of sight, because Sarai was barren at the time.

After 25 years, Sarah finally conceived and Isaac was finally born (Genesis 21:1–3). Isaac was the son of the promise, the child through whom God would keep his covenant vows.

Imagine Abraham’s shock, then, when God commands him to “offer [Isaac] … as a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:2). But Abraham rises early and sets off with Isaac.

A quick observation of this passage (Genesis 22:1–19) reveals that the word “son” shows up 13 different times. And three times Isaac is called Abraham’s “only son” (Genesis 22:2, 12, 16). This may strike readers as odd, because Isaac is not Abraham’s only son! Ishmael was Abraham’s first son by Hagar (Genesis 16:1–4). Doesn’t he count?

Well, actually, no. He doesn’t count any more. Not for this purpose.

After God brought Abraham into covenant, Abraham struggled to believe that Sarah would eventually get pregnant. He begged God that Ishmael might be brought in for the purposes of God’s promises (Genesis 17:18). But God insisted that Abraham’s covenant line would be established through Sarah (Genesis 17:19, 21).

As long as Ishmael was around, Abraham might be tempted to think he had a good fall-back option if something happened to Isaac. So, while Abraham loved Ishmael deeply and God promised to bless him, Ishmael was sent away after Isaac was born (Genesis 21:8–14). Now, in terms of those living with Abraham, Isaac was truly Abraham’s “only son.”

So at the beginning of Genesis 22, Isaac is the one and only son in Abraham’s house. He is the promised son. This heightens and focuses the test for Abraham. How exactly can Abraham have millions of descendents through Isaac if he dies?

God’s Provision

On the way to the mountain, Isaac wonders where the animal sacrifice is, but Abraham is confident that God will provide (Genesis 22:7–8). Abraham is sure of much more than this—he knows that Isaac will come back down the mountain with him. He says as much to the young men that came on the trip (Genesis 22:5), and the author of Hebrews tells us that Abraham knew God was able to raise Isaac from the dead (Hebrews 11:17–19).

As Abraham is about to put his son to death, God stops him and provides a ram in his place (Genesis 22:13). God’s intervention and provision are so central to this episode that Abraham calls the place “The Lord will provide” (Genesis 22:14)

Blessings Through the Obedient One

Many Christians have seen a picture of the gospel in Abraham and Isaac. A father was willing to put his cherished, only son to death. Some make the connection between Isaac and Christ because Jesus was also called “beloved” by his father (at both his baptism and transfiguration). Jesus is also referred to as the “only son” of God in the most quoted verse in all the Bible (John 3:16).

But we need to ask a question. Is this gospel connection a coincidence of language? Or does this passage make that case? We can gain a lot of clarity by reading to the end of the passage!

The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time and repeated (and enlarged!) the covenant promises because of Abraham’s obedience (Genesis 22:16). And note the specific promises that are highlighted: Abraham will be blessed, his offspring will be multiplied, they will possess the gates of their enemies, and in Abraham’s offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (Genesis 22:17–18). And, in case we missed it the first time, we are reminded that this came about because of Abraham’s obedience (Genesis 22:18).

In other words, because of one man’s obedience to God, the nations of the earth will be blessed. Now there’s a gospel connection!

I’m not claiming that a passage must have just a single arrow that points ahead to Jesus and his gospel. But when we only look at the angle of a substitute or the death of an only son, we might miss the main thrust of the passage.

God puts this man through a terrible test. By God’s grace, he passes. God provides a substitute. And the man’s obedience means untold riches for the world. This story might be better than we ever thought!

Context matters.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

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Ephesians: Uniting All Things in Christ, Part 2

August 26, 2022 By Peter Krol

The first half of Ephesians lays out God’s plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth (Eph 1:10). Paul’s doctrine of unity can be summarized in the shape of a capital “I” (in a font with bars across top and bottom). The top horizontal bar represents the unity God has with himself, among the persons of the Trinity. The vertical bar represents the unity between God and his people, brought about by grace through faith. The bottom horizontal bar represents the unity among God’s people that ought to result.

Having followed Paul’s argument in Ephesians 1-3 in the previous post, let’s now walk through Paul’s application of the doctrine of unity within the life of the church.

Diversity Shouldn’t Divide the Church

Paul transitions to application with the urging to walk in a manner worthy of the calling described in the first three chapters (Eph 4:1). And what exactly is a manner of life worthy of the call to unity, in light of God’s plan to unite all things in Christ? It requires humble, gentle, and patient forbearance toward fellow church members (Eph 4:2). Such character arises only from an eager commitment to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph 4:3).

Paul roots the unity of the church, explicitly, to the unity of the Trinity (Eph 4:4-6), which includes a victorious Christ ascending to take his throne while dishing out good gifts to his people. Psalm 68, quoted in Eph 4:8, likens the ascension of the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem to the arrival of God’s glory-cloud on Sinai. And Paul capitalizes on the image to explain how Jesus, the true ark, has entered heaven, the true sanctuary. This king cares enough about the unity of his body that he provides the church with leaders tasked with equipping members to serve one another—all so the community can grow together to maturity, according to the image of Jesus himself (Eph 4:9-14). That theological truth plays out in real life as people speak the truth to one another with love and build up one another in love (Eph 4:15-16).

In short, Eph 4:1-16 teaches that every church member is not required to be the same thing, do the same thing, or think the same thing. It assumes that there are differences among people, requiring patience and loving speech toward one another. In other words, diversity shouldn’t divide the church. But sadly, it often does, so the rest of the letter tells us what to do about that. We must give attention to four key areas, each marked with a renewed exhortation to walk (or, in the last case, to stand — Eph 4:17, 5:1, 5:15, 6:10-13).

Four Areas With Potential for Divisive Behaviors

The first area that requires attention in pursuit of unity is purity (Eph 4:17-32). However, notice that the chief problem of impurity is that it makes people like those who are alienated from—not unified with—God (Eph 4:18). The opposite of building up others in love is to serve oneself in sensuality and greed (Eph 4:19). This is not how you learned Christ! (Eph 4:20). A pure life according to the truth in Jesus requires each church member to do three things with their divisive behaviors:

Put off the old self, with its divisive and selfish desires (Eph 4:22).
Get a new way of thinking about how the calling to unity ought to drive your behavior (Eph 4:23).
Put on the new self, which is like God—fully unified with himself and with his body (Eph 4:24).

Paul gives four case studies to show practically how the three-step change process works. The first (Eph 4:25) is about overcoming the divisive power of lies: put off falsehood, start thinking about yourself and other Christians as fellow members of one another, and put on the speaking of truth. The second: Put off sinful anger, recognize it as an opportunity for the devil to rip relationships apart, and put on godly indignation (Eph 4:26-27). Theft (Eph 4:28) and rotten speech (Eph 4:29) round out the case studies, along with a concluding summary of the process (Eph 4:30-32).

Second, Paul highlights the role of love in the pursuit of unity (Eph 5:1-14). He introduced the topic in Eph 4:15-16, but he expands on it in Eph 5:1-14. Such love draws its power and motivation from the love of Christ for his people (Eph 5:1-2). The challenging work of love requires an extensive putting off (Eph 5:3-4), mind renewal (Eph 5:5-6), and putting on (Eph 5:7-14). The walk of love is a walk that will occupy us for the rest of our lives, and will take every bit of attention we can give to it. Since the Lord Jesus gave himself for us, it is worth it to give all we have to develop love in this walk with one another.

Third, Paul turns to the need for wisdom in the application of unity (Eph 5:15-6:9). Wisdom catalyzes unity by recognizing the times (Eph 5:16), knowing God’s will (Eph 5:17), and seeking the Spirit’s filling (Eph 5:18). The marks of those filled with God’s unifying Spirit include Scripture-filled speech (Eph 4:19a), song-filled thought-lives (Eph 4:19b), thanksgiving-filled attitudes toward everything (Eph 4:20), and reverence-filled submission within hierarchical relationships (Eph 4:21).

Submission is both complex and so easy to get wrong; frequently, we obey the wrong authorities, and we rebel against the right authorities. All such behaviors are divisive within the body of Christ, so Paul expands on this demonstration of Spirit-filling (submission) by exploring three pairs of hierarchical human relationships: wives and husbands (Eph 5:22-33), children and fathers (Eph 6:1-4), and slaves and masters (Eph 6:5-9). In each pair, Paul showcases the vertical unity between believers and God as both model and motivation for the horizontal unity among human relationships.

The fourth and final area that requires particular attention when pursuing unity in the church is that of spiritual warfare (Eph 6:10-20). As I’ve written elsewhere, we are in great danger of getting this text wrong when we read it in isolation from the argument Paul has been making all through the letter. True and lasting unity is one of the most difficult tasks facing the church of Jesus Christ. Look around, and it’s not difficult to find abundant examples of the evil one’s flaming darts (Eph 6:16) leveraging the opportunity granted him by our sinful anger toward one another (Eph 4:26-27), seeking to retain his dominion as the great power of the air (Eph 2:2). God called Paul to proclaim the astounding unity of people from all nations who believe, right in the face of the spiritual authorities in the heavenly places (Eph 3:8-10). Because they’re not pleased with this plan, they do all they can to break up that unity. Therefore, our fight for unity is never against one another within the church. It is always against those spiritual forces seeking to turn us against one another (Eph 6:12). And we cannot win unless we are strengthened by the Lord (Eph 6:10) by means of taking up his own armor (Eph 6:14-20).

Closing Greeting

Paul closes the letter with a reminder of his desire for unity with the letter’s recipients. This desire has led him to send Tychicus as his agent to share all the news and encourage their hearts. Finally, Paul wishes for peace in the church and grace toward all who love the Lord Jesus.

Conclusion

Because the unified God has united believers to himself, the church ought now walk worthy of its calling by pursuing a full-orbed unity. This unity does not require uniformity, but it presumes a diversity of opinions, personalities, social roles, and people groups. Because diversity naturally produces friction, the church ought to give particular attention to humble and patient purity, love, wisdom, and spiritual warfare in its pursuit of unity. This is the sort of walk worthy of the calling of the one God, who is Father, Son, and Spirit.

Interpretive Outline

Grace and peace to the saints – Eph 1:1-2
Doctrine: The unity to which you’ve been called – Eph 1:3-3:21
- Praise to a unified and unifying God – Eph 1:3-14
  - Prayer for eyes to see what that God is doing – Eph 1:15-23
    - The gift of grace that unifies people with God – Eph 2:1-10
      - The unity of the new humanity in the peace of Christ – Eph 2:11-22
    - The gift of grace that revealed and now preaches the unity of people with God and with each other – Eph 3:1-13
  - Prayer for supernatural strength to comprehend such divine, unifying love – Eph 3:14-19
- Praise to an astonishing God who empowers unity in ways we could never imagine – Eph 3:20-21
Application: Walk in a manner worthy of this calling to unity – Eph 4:1-6:20
- Diversity shouldn’t divide – Eph 4:1-16
- Areas to address when diversity threatens to divide – Eph 4:17-6:20
  1. Purity – Eph 4:17-32
  2. Love – Eph 5:1-13
  3. Wisdom – Eph 5:14-6:9
  4. Spiritual warfare – Eph 6:10-20
Final greeting of peace, love, and grace – Eph 6:21-24

This post is part of a series of interpretive overviews of the books of the Bible.

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How to Find Time to Read the Bible

August 24, 2022 By Peter Krol

Barbara Harper took some advice from Elisabeth Elliot, that she’d never find the time for something that matters unless she made time for it. In this blog post, she provides some very practical suggestions for how to do just that.

As Ryan has written before on this blog, you have enough time to study the Bible. Barbara argues the same conclusion, along with much specific guidance to help you make the most of that time.

Check it out!

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Ephesians: Uniting All Things in Christ, Part 1

August 19, 2022 By Peter Krol

The blessed God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation by grace through faith. Knowing the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. Equipping the saints for the work of ministry. Speaking the truth in love. Putting off the old self. Walking in love. Making best use of the time. Loving wives as Christ loved the church. The whole armor of God.

Despite its brevity, the letter of Ephesians has a remarkably high concentration of beloved verses and memorable sayings. But how do they all fit together? What is Paul’s chief argument in this theological masterpiece?

Literary Markers

Ephesians marks its main sections through logical connector phrases and major shifts in topic. As with many of Paul’s letters, a salutation (Eph 1:1-2) and benediction (Eph 6:21-24) bookend doctrine (Eph 1:3-3:21) and application (Eph 4:1-6:20).

Paul begins to transition from doctrine to application in Eph 3:1, but breaks off mid-sentence to discuss the gracious nature of his ministry. He completes the transition in Eph 4:1, which labels the two main sections of the letter as “the calling to which you have been called” and “the urging to walk in a manner worthy of that calling.”

Greeting of grace and peace to the saints – Eph 1:1-2
Doctrine: The calling to which you’ve been called – Eph 1:3-3:21
Application: Walk in a manner worthy of this calling – Eph 4:1-6:20
Final greeting of peace, love, and grace – Eph 6:21-24

Part 1 Walkthrough

The apostle of Christ is so by the will of God, and the saints in Christ are so through faith. There is much harmony between the will of God and the people of God in this opening. In addition, “grace” and “peace” become more than a simple greeting in this letter, as both words play major roles in the rest of the letter.

Part 2 Walkthrough

Paul begins with an extended doxology (word of praise) to “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph 1:3-14). Why is this God blessed? Because the Father is a God who blesses, by choosing in Christ and predestining through Christ, according to grace (Eph 1:3-6). Christ the Beloved is both redemption and inheritance of grace for those who hope in him (Eph 1:7-12). And the Holy Spirit seals and guarantees the inheritance, that is Christ, for believers who will one day possess him fully. In short, Paul blesses the God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each person working in perfect harmony with the others to accomplish the plan he set for the fullness of time—that toward which all history is moving—”to unite all things in [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph 1:10). Since verse 10 tells us what these tremendous blessings are all for, we must not miss its crucial role as a thesis statement for the letter.

Paul’s first prayer, then, is for God to grant his readers to know him (Eph 1:17), which requires heart-perception of his hopeful calling, his rich inheritance, and his great power (Eph 1:18-19). This very power overturned death and reunited heaven and earth in the person of Jesus Christ (Eph 1:20-23). Therefore, in Jesus Christ, the church on earth now has an unimpeachable head of state. All things are now poised to be united in him—but we desperately need God to answer the prayer that we might see with our hearts that it is so.

Next Paul discusses the glorious transfer from death to life, from earth to heaven, undergone not only by Jesus himself (Eph 1:20-23) but also by all who trust him (Eph 2:1-10). So uniting all things to Christ requires the overturning-of-death and the reunion-of-heaven-and-earth to become the experience of all of Christ’s body, not solely that of the head. What a gift (Eph 2:8)! And that gift comes with expectations of good works, prepared for us well in advance (Eph 2:10).

If all things will be united in Christ, the process must begin in the church, where people of all nationalities are being remade into a single new humanity by faith (Eph 2:11-22). Jesus, who preached peace to those near and far, is himself our peace. All are now fellow citizens and members of the family. All are part of his new temple. We have access to the Spirit, so true unity in Christ is not only possible but expected.

This causes Paul to reflect on the gift of grace given to him, not only in his redemption but in his apostleship (Eph 3:1-13). Grace was given to reveal that Gentiles are now fellow heirs (Eph 3:1-6). And grace was given to preach this eternal purpose—and thereby to offer bold access to people from all nations—in full view of the spiritual powers of heaven (Eph 3:7-13).

And such reflection on the grace of Paul’s apostleship leads him into his second prayer (Eph 3:14-19) and doxology (Eph 3:20-21). He knows better than his readers—who otherwise wouldn’t even know to ask—that they’ll require supernatural strength to comprehend that which would otherwise be incomprehensible: the unifying love of Christ for his church.

First Half Conclusion—The Church’s Calling

The God who is fully unified with himself has a glorious plan for the future: to imprint his unity on the rest of the universe by graciously uniting all of heaven and earth under one head, Jesus Christ. To get there, he first unites a new humanity with himself through faith in Christ. And that new humanity is now called to live in unity with itself in Christ. In other words, the church’s calling is to walk in true unity. The power for that unity originates from the unity the church already has with the fully unified Trinity. And that present unity anticipates the coming unity of all heaven and earth in Christ.

To violate the church’s unity, therefore, is to tell lies about who God is and what he is doing in the cosmos. Disunity in the church—which is disobedience to the church’s calling—is a path to surrender to the course of this world, to the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2), and to his demonic authorities in the heavenly places, who want nothing more than to thwart the manifold wisdom of God to unite all things in Christ (Eph 3:9-10).

I’ll save for next week’s post the letter’s second half, which provides the practical instruction for how the church can walk in a manner worthy of this calling to unity.

Interpretive Outline

Grace and peace to the saints – Eph 1:1-2
Doctrine: The unity to which you’ve been called – Eph 1:3-3:21
- Praise to a unified and unifying God – Eph 1:3-14
  - Prayer for eyes to see what that God is doing – Eph 1:15-23
    - The gift of grace that unifies people with God – Eph 2:1-10
      - The unity of the new humanity in the peace of Christ – Eph 2:11-22
    - The gift of grace that revealed and now preaches the unity of people with God and with each other – Eph 3:1-13
  - Prayer for supernatural strength to comprehend such divine, unifying love – Eph 3:14-19
- Praise to an astonishing God who empowers unity in ways we could never imagine – Eph 3:20-21

This post is part of a series of interpretive overviews of the books of the Bible.

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