This is Spoken Gospel.

We are dedicated to seeing
Jesus in all of scripture.

In each episode, we see what’s
happening in a Biblical text

and how it sheds light
on Jesus and his gospel.

Let’s jump in.

The apostle Paul wrote
Ephesians from prison.

His letter updates the church in Ephesus on how he
is faring in prison and encourages them in their faith.

Ephesus is a special place for Paul.

He lived with and served among the Ephesians
longer than any other church he planted.

And it was the Ephesian elders that Paul called upon to mourn
and pray for him when he found out he was going to prison.

But Paul knows Ephesus is also a divided church.

Jews and new converts from across the
Roman empire, called Gentiles, are at odds.

So, Paul writes from prison to encourage all Ephesians
in their common salvation and common Savior.

Paul begins with both a poem and a prayer.

In a flood of poetic language, he reminds
the Ephesians of the promises God made

throughout Scriptures and reveals
how they all came true in Jesus.

God promised to choose a people for himself.

God also promised to make
these chosen people a holy people.

And Paul says that in Jesus, God has chosen
us even before the foundations of the world.

By Jesus’ blood and God’s grace we have
been redeemed for a life of godliness.

In all, Paul uses some iteration of the phrase
“in Christ” 12 times in chapter one.

In Christ, the fullness of God’s plan for forgiveness,
redemption, and blessing is given to God’s people.

In Christ, all things in heaven
and on earth have been united.

In Christ, we receive every spiritual blessing.
In Christ, we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit.

None of these promises are
new, but in the Old Testament

they had been reserved for
the Jewish family of Abraham.

But in Christ, what was once limited is now available to
all people regardless of their ethnicity or family of origin.

Originally the family of Israel was divided into 12 tribes.
But now, in Christ, Paul reminds his people 12 times that
they are part of a new family, tribe, and nation.

Almost as if overwhelmed by this good news,
Paul asks God to give the Ephesians the capacity

and wisdom needed to understand
what’s happened through Jesus.

The extension of God’s promises from the Jews
to all others, in Christ, requires new eyes to see.

But by God’s power, Paul hopes that the
Ephesians will know they’re called to be

a united family of God grounded
in the resurrection of Jesus.

[music]

From the creation of the world, God
has chosen to work through families.

Salvation was promised through the family of Eve.
Blessing was promised through the family of Abraham.

Kingship was promised through the family of David.

God has always worked through the bloodlines of
families, but in the Old Testament that bloodline was Jewish.

And in Christ, the family of Eve, the family
of Abraham, and the family of David, all meet

a promised Son, Jesus, who
will save, bless, and rule the world.

But Jesus does more than fulfill and complete the
promises of the Jewish people; he saves all people.

Jesus creates a new family—not of a
particular bloodline but from all nations.

This is why Jesus’ genealogies are so careful
to point out the Gentiles in his family tree.

In Christ, both Jews and Gentiles are included
in God’s family, God’s blessing, and God’s Kingdom.

All the blessings God’s people hoped for in the
Old Testament are poured out in Christ.

And now, through faith, the Gentiles
who were once not a part of God’s family

have been adopted as
sons and daughters of God.

There are many reasons why we might
feel left out of God’s family and God’s plans.

But Jesus makes it so that neither
our bloodline nor our family origin

can prevent us from knowing the
depths of the love of God in him.

I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your
eyes to see the God who has sent us his Son.

And may you see Jesus as the one who created
a way for all people to be a part of his family.