Colorado Mountain Passes

This book of the Bible is a letter, from Paul. At the very beginning of this letter he gives his credentials. He specifies here that he's an apostle. He goes on, though: he's an apostle of Christ Jesus. But not just that: an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. Since he gives such spectacular credentials (three levels of authority! Apostle! Apostle of Christ! Apostle of Christ by the will of God!), we should sit up and take notice, both of his credentials and of the message in the letter.

This letter is to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus. The two phrases (the saints in Ephesus and the faithful in Christ Jesus) are separated by a comma, which makes the faithful in Christ Jesus an appositive.

(Appositives rename the word or phrase they come after and can be substituted for that word or phrase. For example, in the sentence "Hugh, the man I love, my husband, is very handsome," Hugh is the subject, and the man I love and my husband are appositives and can be substituted for the subject. "The man I love is very handsome." "My husband is very handsome." They parallel one another.)

So the saints in Ephesus are the faithful in Christ Jesus. Paul gives his own credentials, telling us this is an important letter, and then he gives the receivers' credentials: saints. Faithful in Christ Jesus. They're parallel, interchangeable, and they refer to the intended receiver of this letter. So, if you are a saint (whether or not you are in Ephesus), you are a receiver of this letter, and you are faithful in Christ Jesus.

Notice that you are not just a saint who's faithful. You are faithful in Christ Jesus. He is the reason you are faithful. In HIM you are faithful, and unless you are in him, there's no faithfulness in you. (Thankfully, we know we are united with him, and so we are faithful.)

The last phrase: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The author wishes/grants us grace and peace. The author is Paul, who speaks with authority, so we know this wish/granting is true and effectual. We do have grace and peace! Grace=(remember the little mnemonic?) God's Riches At Christ's Expense. Peace=a fruit of the Spirit, the opposite of turmoil. These qualities are ours, because of Christ Jesus. Praise him!

They come from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, look at "God our Father." Paul does not say "God the Father," "God my Father," "God your Father," or any other permutation we can think of. He says "God our Father." (A neat trick I use is to look at the antecedent [the noun a pronoun stands for] of this pronoun.) "Our" stands for the writer (Paul) and the audience (the faithful in Christ Jesus)--Paul includes himself in this blessing, acknowledging that blessing for all of us, no matter our credentials, come from the same source, and that no matter our credentials, we all freely receive the same spectacular gifts: grace and peace. And don't forget what Joe Novenson repeats a lot: He's God our Father, not God our Employer or God our King or God our President or God our Mayor. The emphasis is on family here: we're related, and of course fathers want to give their children blessings. Our Father is omnipotent, so when he desires to give us blessings, they are ours.

"And the Lord Jesus Christ" We know from Biblical context that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God the Father. Both the Father and the Son offer us grace and peace. They both offer it to us because the Father has raised the Son to a higher place: he's no longer subordinate or humbled, but honored in the highest way. The Father and the Son are one in essence and in purpose, and when they purpose to give us grace and peace, it happens. God accomplishes what he purposes.