The Strand Study Bible

EPHESIANS Written From Rome During Paul’s First Roman Imprisonment 1:9 The mystery of his will is a previously hidden truth that is incapable of being discovered by human ingenuity, but now is revealed by God’s revelation ( I Cor 4:1 ). NOTE – There are ten “mysteries” unveiled for us in the NT, enabling believers to grasp something of the divine purpose of the ages and to see its relevance in the present time. Chronologically, they are: (1) the mystery of the millennium kingdom (Mt 13:11, Lk 8:10, Eph 1:9 & 3:2-3 and Rev 10:5-7); (2) the mystery of iniquity (II Thess 2:7); (3) the mystery of God in Christ (I Cor 2:7-8, Eph 6:19, Colo 2:2 & 4:3, I Tim 3:16); (4) the mystery of the rapture (I Cor 15:51); (5) the mystery of hardening of Israel (Rom 11:25); (6) the mystery of the Church , i.e., Jews and Gentiles working together (Rom 16:25-26, Eph 3:4-6,9, Colo 1:25-27 and Rev 1:20); (7) the mystery of Christ and the Church (Eph 5:32); (8) the mystery of the faith (I Tim 3:9); (9) the mystery of seven stars and seven candlesticks (Rev 1:20); and (10) the mystery of Babylon the Great (Rev 17:5). 1:11 The “Sovereignty of God” ( who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will ) expresses the biblical teaching concerning God’s self-will over every area of His creation ( Jere 18:2 -6 – Lesson #1), which includes His providential care for us ( Mt 27:32 ). J. Vernon McGee in Esther notes: 1964 Providence (divine intervention) is the means by which God directs all things, animate and inanimate, seen and unseen, good and evil toward a worthy purpose. Which means: His will must finally prevail. In order to maintain absolute rule (that’s what being Sovereign is –being omnipotent), you have to stay one step ahead of everyone else. Because God is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Omnipotent One, and the Eternal One who sees tomorrow before it happens ( Isa 46: 9- 10 ), He stays ahead of everyone, including Satan, and is thus able to weave and orchestrate His will for our lives (Dan 4:25-26,34-35). Charles Ryrie in A Survey of Bible Doctrine notes: For the Christian the idea of sovereignty is an encouraging one, for it assures him that nothing is out of God’s control, and that His plans do triumph. 2 When it’s all said and done, in the end, God wins. For now, however, all we need to understand is that we are here for a purpose, and that purpose lies in our commission ( Mt 16:18 d & 28:19 a ). If all of our discussion regarding the Sovereignty of God does not make us more effective in our mission, why should we spend so much of our energy discussing it? Christians have always been admonished to practice child-like faith ( Mt 18:4 ) and to keep the Christian life simple ( II Cor 11:3 ). We do this by simply obeying The Great Commission (Mt 28:18-20). NOTE – There are some well-meaning believers who hold to the belief that the future is not exhaustively settled and that God has chosen not to know every detail about what will come to pass. It’s called Open Theism. However, this kind of thinking appears to take away from the omniscience of God. William E. Anderson in Rapture? Sure… but when? notes: God does not have to make a report to anyone concerning His conduct. God is running this universe and He runs it according to His providential dealings…Providence means that God is behind the scenes and He is shifting them and directing them… Providence is the hand of God in the glove of history. And that glove will never move until He moves it. 1

One of the recent theological rages (referred to as “open theism”) posits a God who does not precisely know the future and who must wait until events have happened and then attempt to deal redemptively with what he discovers in the process. Such a notion is antithetical to all orthodox teaching about God and has, justifiably, been rejected by biblically-informed Christians. 3

1:13-14 The HOLY SPIRIT , the THIRD PERSON of the Triune Godhead, is God’s guarantee that He will give us everything He has promised us ( WHICH is the earnest of our inheritance - II Cor 1:21-22 & 5:5). He is our earnest money, i.e., our down payment (if you will), guaranteeing us eternal security ( Psa 37:28 , Jn 10:28-29 , Eph 4:30 , Phil 1:6 , II Tim 1:12 and I Pet 4:19). This “first installment” signifies that this is just a small portion of what is awaiting us in Heaven. The FATHER literally bankrupted Heaven for us, giving to us both the SON (Jn 3:16) and the SPIRIT (Eph 1:14 & 4:30). 1:17 Written some thirty years after Jesus died on Calvary for our sins ( the God of our Lord Jesus Christ ), Paul here is not saying that Jesus has a God, as some cults teach ( Jn 20:17 c ). Cyril C. Richardson in The Doctrine Of The Trinity notes:

Calvin, for instance, explicitly denies that the Son owes his divinity to the Father. “We pronounce it a detestable figment, that the essence belongs exclusively to the Father, as though he were the author of the Deity of the Son.” The Father is only “the original and fountain of the whole Divinity” insofar as he is the author of the person of the Son, not of his essential being ( Instit . 1:13:24-5). 4

The FATHER , the SON , and the HOLY SPIRIT are three distinct, co-eternal persons, called the Godhead ( Gen 1:1 c, 26 a , Deut 6:4 and Rom 1:20 b ). They are all equally God and each O N E is worthy of our worship ( Jn 4:20-25 & 9:35-38 and Acts 5:4 ). NOTE – What Paul is emphasizing here is the enormous “eternal” price that Jesus was willing to pay in order to save us. According to Matthew 27:46 , Mark 15:34a and I Corinthians 15:28 , Jesus was willing to give up certain aspects of his eternal authority with the FIRST and THIRD Persons of the Triune Godhead and forever place Himself in a lower order ( rank ) under them as a part of the eternal price He was willing to pay for us on Calvary.

1 McGee, J. Vernon. Esther , Pasadena, CA, Thru the Bible Books, n.d. Print. 2 Ryrie, Charles C. A Survey of Bible Doctrine . Chicago, IL: Moody Press. 1972. Print. 3 Anderson, William E. Rapture? Sure… but when? , Holiday, FLA, Green Key Books, 2003. Print. 4 Richardson, Cyril C. The Doctrine Of The Trinity , Nashville, TN, Abingdon Press, 1958. Print.