Introduction
This letter, long as it was for a letter in that day, it also has a long .
In fact, this is the of Paul’s introductions. This is almost certainly because this letter was written to a church that he had no hand in starting. The other church he wrote to that he had not started was Colossae, but there it the one who started it had heard Paul in Ephesus, so Paul had an at least some impact on that church’s start.
This introduction runs to seven verses in the English translation. It is one long sentence. In the ESV it contains words. It is words long in the Greek.
Because of its length, Paul must have thought this introduction important, so we have to take our time to read it and unpack it. Besides being Paul’s longest introduction, it is also his most . It therefor bears careful reading and analysis.
Let’s turn to the text. I’ll go over what it contains with far less exposition than it deserves, and then we’ll ask, “What should we have learned from this passage and how should it apply, if at all, to our lives today?”
Here’s how we’ll outline the text:
Preacher Paul introduces himself, 1
Preacher Paul’s message, 1-4
Preacher Paul’s task, 5
Preacher Paul’s readers, 1-2, 6-7
I. Preacher Paul introduces himself, 1
His humble self-appraisal: of Jesus Christ
His God-given exalted status:
The God-given plan for his life: the of God
II. Preacher Paul’s message, 1-4
It is , 1
It is rooted in , 2
It is revealed , 2-3
Jesus is , 3
Jesus was descended from in the flesh, 3
Jesus was declared/appointed the Son of God by the resurrection, 4
He is Jesus () Christ () our Lord ()
III. Preacher Paul’s task, 5
He was given the task (Acts 13:2, Acts 22:21, Acts 26:15-18)
The purpose of this task was to bring about the obedience (the obedience that springs from faith or the obedience which is faith)
This was to be done for the sake of
It was to be carried out among
IV. Preacher Paul’s readers, 1-2, 6-7
They are part of an story, 1-2
They to Jesus, 6
They are by God, 7
They are (to be) saints, 7
It’s all about Jesus
In these seven verses there are direct and indirect references to Jesus. It’s all about ! Think about what Paul has said about Jesus:
is all about Jesus.
His was by God’s grace through Jesus
He is now the of Jesus
He is an of Jesus
His is now following the plan of God for him (set apart for the gospel)
He is working to bring to the name of Jesus
is all about Jesus.
You simply can’t have Christianity without Jesus.
According to Paul:
The gospel existed in the Old Testament about the Messiah before Jesus’ human birth.
The gospel prophecies were waiting for Jesus’ to be fulfilled.
The gospel prophecies were not completely fulfilled until Jesus’ .
The proclamation of the gospel is to result in the name of Jesus being
The proclamation of the gospel is to result in us and then to Jesus.
is to be all about Jesus.
Our has changed. Once we believe, we belong to him.
Our is to change. Once we believe we are to obey him.
Our has changed. Once we believe we are to bring glory to his name.
The has changed. Once we believe we are to follow God’s plan for our life, as Paul was, not our own plan.
Our has changed. Reception of the gospel has brought us from God and the Lord Jesus
Our has changed. We are to share the transforming gospel of Jesus with others.