Each week of devotions throughout our Live Worthy series on Ephesians will be spent on a single chapter. We encourage you to re-read the chapter each day. Additionally, we will focus on a few key verses each day. This week, we will focus on chapter 1 of Ephesians
Read Ephesians 1
Focus Verses: Ephesians 1:1-2 CSB
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will:
To the faithful saints in Christ Jesus at Ephesus.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Over the years, I have been addressed by many different names. Most have been variations of “Danielle”, my given name. I have been known as Dani, Dan, D, Danielley, P.D., and little d. For the most part, those names have very little to do with my actual identity. They are nicknames or shortened versions of my name. Some are more of a description of me. “P.D.” stands for Pastor Danielle, and “little d” is, well, because I am “vertically challenged.” But none of those names says very much about who I really am.
But in the first few lines of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we learn a lot about who Paul is and who the Ephesians are simply by the way Paul addresses the letter.
Paul identifies himself as an “apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will.” The word “apostle” comes from the Greek word “apostolos”, which means “one who is sent out.” That is essentially what has happened to Paul. At this point in Paul’s life, he had traveled extensively while sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. He would have been well-known for his ministry. But Paul humbly acknowledges that he is an apostle, not because he chose it initially, but simply because God chose him. We know from Paul’s background and how he persecuted the early church at first that, by all earthly standards, he should be the last one qualified, nor did he want to tell others about Jesus. But God had other plans, and so Paul takes no credit for the ministry to which God has called him. Instead, he honors the One who changed his life.
Paul goes on to address those who would read his letter as “the faithful saints in Christ Jesus at Ephesus.” A “saint” is considered someone who is holy, or set apart. Paul spent more than 2 years in Ephesus sharing about salvation through Jesus and teaching the new believers how to live from a place of faith. These were people he was invested in. People he had shared life with and had come to love. And because he loved them, he wanted to encourage them and remind them who they were. They were holy people because of Jesus; set apart because of their faith in Him, choosing to live as Jesus lived – loving God and loving others.
We can go by a lot of names…but I wonder…Do you need some encouragement today? Maybe a reminder today of who you really are? Let me remind you: You, too, are chosen by God to tell others about Him, not because you deserve it or have earned it. But simply because God has a plan for you. You are holy and set apart when you put your faith in Jesus and choose to walk in that faith. Live as faithful saints today!
