Eph 1:1-2 Credentials and Intro

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Credentials and Intro

Eph 1:1-2 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

As with most of his letters Paul starts off with his credentials. It was God's will for him to do the things he was doing and to write what he wrote. His letters have the endorsement of Jesus Christ.

Note how he addresses the Ephesian Christians. He calls them saints. Many Christians today  are under the misconception that "saint" refers to an elite class of Christians. It doesn't. It's merely a term meaning "holy ones" which Christians used to refer to one another, like the term "brethren". It's used in much the same sense as we use the term "Christian" today among the brethren. But in fact the term "Christian" is only found three places in the Bible and from its usage it seems to be the term outsiders used to refer to insiders, whereas "saint" is what insiders called insiders.

The faithful in Christ Jesus are the saints. They are not a separate class of saints. For as we read in 1John 5:18a, "We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin." Faithfulness is characteristic of the saints because it is natural to them, having been born of God. For "this is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world." 1John 5:3,4

The Berean Christian Bible Study Resources

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