EPHESIANS 1:1

 

COPYRIGHT 2005

 

This scripture is fairly new to my list. In case you are wondering about it being on my list as a ‘favorite’, please just hang with me for a few minutes. I have read this many times. Every time I read it I felt like this was the information scripture. The one that says who wrote the book in the Bible and who it was to. Then I would think that verse 2 is where the meat of the letter begins. Well I can tell you back in September of 2004 Jesus put the Spiritual Skids on me and I went Whoa! Wait, back up here. Lets just check out verse 1 for a minute. I am so glad I listened. While I was thinking on this scripture God gave me the following short story to get His point across to me.

 

Eph 1:1

1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

KJV

THE READING OF PAUL’S LETTER

 

 

THIS WAS A DAY THAT THE CHRISTIANS WERE WAITING FOR WITH GREAT EXPECTAION AND EXCITMENT. THERE WAS GOING TO BE A LETTER COMING FROM PAUL. THEY WERE EAGERLY WAITING TO SEE WHAT THEIR ‘FATHER’ IN THE SCRIPTURES MIGHT JUST HAVE TO SAY TO THEM. EVERYONE PLANNED ON MAKING THE MEETING TO HEAR THIS MUCH AWAITED LETTER FROM PAUL. THEY WANTED TO GET SOME NUGGET, SOME WISDOM FROM PAUL TO HANG ON TO. SOMETHING TO LEARN FROM, TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND WHAT GOD EXPECTED FROM THEM AND HAD PLANNED FOR THEM.

 

SO WORD GOT AROUND THAT THE LETTER HAD ARRIVED AND A SPECIAL MEETING WAS TO BE HELD THAT EVENING. EVEYONE GATHERED IN THE ROOM WHERE THE MEETING WAS. A HUSH WENT OVER THE CROWD AS THE READER OF THE LETTER BEGAN. THE FIRST SENTENCE WAS "PAUL, AN APOSTLE OF JESUS CHRIST, BY THE WILL OF GOD, TO THE SAINTS WHICH ARE AT EPHESUS, AND TO THE FAITHFUL IN CHRIST JESUS:"

 

PEOPLE BEGAN TO LOOK AT EACH OTHER AND STIR. THEY BEGAN TO GET UP AND WALK OUT. THE READER OF THE LETTER LOOKED UP TO SEE WHAT WAS HAPPENING. HE BEGAN TO SEE PEOPLE FILING OUT OF THE ROOM ONE BY ONE. HE PUT THE LETTER DOWN AND WENT AND GOT ALL THE PEOPLE GATHERED BACK UP BRINGING THEM BACK INTO THE ROOM AND SETTING THEM DOWN. HE WAS SO DISTRAUGT THAT PEOPLE DIDN'T WANT TO HEAR THIS LONG AWAITED LETTER. WHAT COULD BE WRONG? HE BEGAN QUESTIONING EACH ONE AS TO WHY THEY WOULD GET UP AND LEAVE AS HE HAD JUST BEGUN TO READ THE LETTER. ONE SHYLY SAID, “THIS LETTER IS NOT TO ME” ANOTHER AND ANOTHER ECHOED THE SAME.

 

ONE SAID “I AM NOT A SAINT NO NOT ME.” SOMEONE ELSE SAID, “I AM NOT FAITHFUL” ANOTHER ECHOED THE SAME. THE HEART OF THE MAN READING THE LETTER BEGAN TO BREAK AS HE HEARD ONE AFTER ANOTHER ECHO THESE FEELINGS. HE BEGAN TO REMIND THEM ABOUT JESUS. “HAVE YOU ALREADY FORGOTTEN 'HIS' PRECIOUS LOVE FOR US?”…. Oops wait, Is This how the story went?? NO CAN’T BE. MY BIBLE DOESN’T READ THAT WAY!!!!

 

No of course not. The Bible doesn’t read that way. But I have to honestly say I’m not so sure I wouldn’t feel the way some of the people felt in this story. God showed me that that was in my heart.

Not those people. No, they sat and listened as Paul reminded them about Jesus dieing for them. How that they were the ‘accepted in the beloved’. = Vs. 6. and how they were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise’.= Vs.13. They stayed and rejoiced with one another over the words that Paul had written to them. They got it. They really did. They didn’t fight God and think they didn’t measure up or that all the promises were not for them. They accepted all the ‘truths’ that Paul told them. Yep just like that. They accepted it, awaited it, like hungry people waiting for a meal and didn’t hesitate to eat when the food came. Just plain pigged out.

 

I finally do get it. I never understood what the word ‘grace’ meant. I have asked Jesus, read books on the subject. I have studied it out in the Bible and asked people their opinion. I just couldn’t get it. But this, through this scripture and this story I get it.

 

If you never have gotten it before I hope you get it now. I hope you understand that you can trust and believe everything in the Bible. God wants you to get it. That is why it is in the book. That is why God chose to have the words written down in the book for us to have. We are that much loved and it is that important to God that we get it and get it right. Don’t fight it. Just believe it. Don’t question it. Just believe it. I don’t know why I never got the true meaning of grace before. To me that is grace and I saw it through the ‘information scripture’ in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.

 

I am so glad that every WORD in the WORD of God is full of great beautiful nuggets of truth.

2 Tim 3:16-17

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

 

17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

I’m so glad that goes for ‘the information’ scriptures too.