The sermon focuses on Ephesians 1:2, where Paul, an “apostle of Christ by the will of God,” writes to the “saints” and “faithful ones” who have been “gifted faith by God to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ”. These “twin blessings” of “grace and peace” summarize the gospel and set the tone for the letter. “Grace” (charis) is defined in its “simplest definition” as “help,” specifically “God’s unmerited favor and help” where He “comes to our aid” and does for us “that which we cannot do or give to ourselves”. This grace is “unlimited” and “infinite” because God Himself is infinite, “unmerited” because it is not a “response to your good works,” and “irresistible” because “none can stay his hand” when He chooses to help.
Coupled with grace is “peace,” described as “simplicity rather than chaos” and “rest rather than unceasing busyness”. The sermon outlines three aspects of this peace: “peace with God” as the foundation where “God makes peace with you” through the “blood of his cross”; “peace in our hearts” where believers are “at rest in my soul come what may”; and “peace with fellow believers” where we are “one family” despite outward arguments. However, the speaker warns that to experience this, one “must walk by God’s rule,” as “chaos comes from” ignoring His way. These “promised blessings” do not belong to everyone but are specifically for the “saints” and “faithful ones” in the church.
The source of these blessings is “God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ,” using the word “and” to connect them and confirm that “Jesus Christ is God”. By using the title “Lord” (kurios), which was used in the Septuagint to translate the word for God, the text clarifies that “to say Jesus is Lord is to say Jesus is God”. As the “preeminent one” and master, Jesus is “Lord over all things,” and believers are not “masters of our own lives”. The sermon concludes by urging listeners to “stop trying to find your help and peace from other sources” because true grace and peace come only from the Father and the Lord Jesus.
FULL TEXT:
Turn with me in your copy of God’s word to the letter of Paul to the Ephesians. Last week we began our new study in this book and we got real far all the way to the end of verse one. I probably could have split that into two just speaking about Paul who is an apostle of Christ by the will of God and then to the saints who are in Ephesus and faithful in Christ Jesus. God’s word is so rich and deep and we can never truly plum the depths of it as slow as we go through this and as much as we draw out we could spend lifetimes on every word that comes from God’s holy scriptures. Last week we looked at verse one; we saw who wrote that Paul was an apostle, he was once sent by the will of God in the name of Christ to give to the Ephesians, to the region where Ephesus was, to the early churches and now to us today to give us God’s word. He was an apostle; he brought with delegated authority the message directly from God, as he was given special revelation so that we might have God’s word today. We made sure that we realize that that was a special and unique given authority that nobody holds today. All that we have the authority to do today is tell you what God has already said. There are no new words, so if anybody tells you “I got a new word from the Lord today,” run away because that word is from either that man or from Satan himself. God has given us all we need in his word for life and godliness.
Paul is an apostle by the will of God and he has provided these things through his messenger. It was written to the saints, meaning we are set apart as God’s people as his chosen ones. You are a saint; that is your title, and you are also a faithful one because you have been gifted faith by God to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. We come to verse two this morning and we see a pair of words here that we know well: grace and peace. These twin blessings summarize both the gospel and set the tone for what is to come in the next verses from verses 3-14. These are foundational terms, but sometimes familiarity causes us to forget the importance of certain terms. While repetition is how we learn, sometimes we repeat something so much that we kind of forget its meaning or we don’t appreciate it quite as much as maybe we used to. We don’t want that to happen especially not with these two terms.
If you will stand with me for the reading of God’s word, we’ll read verses 1 and two again for the context: “Paul, an apostle of Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus: grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ”. (Prayer follows) Father, this morning we need your grace and your peace. Every day, moment by moment, would you refresh these terms to us and renew them in our minds and our hearts. Do all this by your Holy Spirit that is at work within your people and do it all for the glory of Christ. Amen.
Grace in the original Greek is charis and it simply means help. In the context of it being from God, it means God’s unmerited favor and help where He comes to our aid. We receive from God what we did not deserve and did not earn. It is God doing for and giving to us that which we cannot do or give to ourselves. Generally speaking, this grace includes all the kinds of specific ways that God helps us or gives to us for our good and for His glory. God’s grace is unlimited because He is all powerful, all knowing, and the sovereign one over every part of all creation. His grace is infinite because He himself is infinite. James 4:6 reminds us that God doesn’t just give us grace, He gives us more grace; just when you think you have messed up too much and are beyond help, in comes the infinite wave of God’s saving, sanctifying, and glorifying grace.
God’s grace is also unmerited, meaning you can’t earn it and it is not a response to your good works. Nobody except Jesus deserves God’s help. For every human being that has ever existed, grace can only be received by His giving it. Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing it is the gift of God”. Finally, God’s grace is irresistible. If grace is God’s help, who is going to stop God from helping who He wants to help? As Daniel 4:35 says regarding God, “none can stay his hand or say to him ‘What have you done?'”. He’s going to help whoever He wants to help and He’s also going to humble you if that’s what He wants to do like He did with Nebuchadnezzar.
The second word is peace, or shalom in the Hebrew and eirene in the Greek. Peace is simplicity rather than chaos, rest rather than unceasing busyness, and calm in the midst of the storm. It is reconciliation rather than war and conflict. The foundational understanding is peace with God. All mankind were enemies of God, at war with our maker, but God made peace with us. You don’t make peace with God; God makes peace with you through His son’s death on a cross. Colossians 1:20 speaks of “making peace by the blood of his cross”. Romans 5 states that while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His son.
Second, we have peace in our hearts within ourselves. Because He has made peace with us, I trust Him and know that no matter what comes, He’s in control. I am at rest in my soul come what may. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you… let not your hearts be troubled neither let them be afraid”. Third, we have peace with fellow believers. Individually being at peace with God automatically puts us at peace with everybody else that’s at peace with God. Despite outward arguments or how we may disagree, inwardly we are one family, one body, and one kingdom. God is our ruler who has conquered each of us and made peace with us, so we can live at peace with each other. Philippians 2:3 exhorts us to “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but in humility count others… as more significant than yourselves”.
Why is it then that so many believers don’t walk in this peace? As Galatians 6:16 says, “as for all who walk by this rule… peace and mercy be upon them”. To have peace, you must walk by God’s rule; the reason lives are often chaotic is because we are not following God’s way. You can’t have peace if you are ignoring His rule in your life. This grace and peace does not belong to everybody; it is promised to the saints and the faithful ones in the church. The world and those who are lost do not have this.
These blessings come from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He is called Father as a reference to His triune nature as the one true God who has always existed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The word “and” is critical because it connects the Father and Jesus rather than separating them; it confirms that Jesus Christ is God. The title “Lord,” or kurios, was used in the Septuagint to translate the word for God. Therefore, to say “Jesus is Lord” is to say “Jesus is God”. This separates Christianity from all other religions. Jesus is the preeminent one, the master, and the savior. We are not masters of our own lives; He gets to tell us how to live and He gets to punish or discipline anyone who doesn’t obey Him. Jesus Christ is Lord over all things and we belong to Him. Stop trying to find your help and peace from other sources or from within yourself; your grace and peace come only from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.