NT Commentary - Ephesians Volume 2 (4:1-6:24)

Ephesians intends to call readers to an authentically Christian experience, and it does so by starting with doctrine, then leading us in the second part of the epistle to the ethical implications of having been incorporated into God's plan. First, the apostle explains to us what God's glorious eternal plan is and how the Messiah saves us and incorporates us into that plan. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, 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 gathering on the final day. But our insertion into the divine plan entails moral and experiential consequences. We are not mere cogs in an immense cosmic machine: we are human beings with essence and responsibility, who will have to account to God for how we have lived according to His purposes. We have tasks to carry out, ministries to fulfill, and a specific 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: 9788494408168