Commentary on the NT - Ephesians Volume 1 (1:1-3:21)

Ephesians intends to call readers to an authentically Christian experience, and it does so by starting with doctrine, to lead us in the second part of the epistle to the ethical implications of having been incorporated into God's plan. First, the apostle explains God's glorious eternal plan and how the Messiah saves us and incorporates us into that plan. Through Jesus' death and resurrection, God not only grants us the forgiveness of our sins and a new life empowered by the Holy Spirit, but He is also carrying out His immense eternal designs to unite all things in Christ. Thus, our personal salvation is part of something much larger: the creation of a new society composed of the redeemed from all nations, a foretaste of the universal reunion on the final day. But our insertion into the divine plan entails moral and experiential consequences. We are not mere pieces in an immense cosmic machinery; we are human beings with identity and responsibility, who will have to give an account before God of how we have lived according to His purposes. We have tasks to carry out, ministries to fulfill, and a certain lifestyle to embrace. If we have minimally understood the immensity of salvation in Christ, we will want to respond not only with expressions of gratitude and worship, but also with a life that honors God, that reveals the authenticity of the work of grace in us, and that is consistent with the salvation we have received.

ISBN: 9788494408151