What kind of messages on the book of Ephesians did you hear before you came into the Lord’s recovery? A favorite verse of those who emphasize evangelism is Ephesians 2:8. This verse tells us that by grace we are saved through faith. Many messages are also given from Ephesians 5:22-25 about wives submitting to their husbands and husbands loving their wives. Often during a wedding a pastor will quote these verses from Ephesians 5. But have you ever heard a message telling you that on the cross Christ abolished all the ordinances, in particular, that He abolished the differences between the races? Although the ordinances and all racial differences were abolished by Christ on the cross, who preaches this word today? Actually, even in the twentieth century, racial differences are still promoted in order to maintain a separation of the races. From this we see that the book of Ephesians is misused by many believers. They select certain verses from this book without caring for God’s New Testament economy. Many have never seen that Ephesians is a book concerned with God’s New Testament economy.
On the negative side, Ephesians 2 reveals that the ordinances have been abolished. On the positive side, in Ephesians 3 we see that Paul preached the unsearchable riches of Christ so that Christ may make His home in our hearts (vv. 8, 17). Have you ever heard a message on this matter before you came into the church life? Many of those who attended Bible schools and seminaries can testify that they were never taught that Christ with. His unsearchable riches desires to make His home in our hearts. How pitiful is today’s situation with respect to the profound revelation in the book of Ephesians!
We have seen that in Philippians 3 Paul counted all religious things as refuse. However, today not many use these verses in a proper way. Instead, it is common that verses are taken from Philippians in order to teach the believers to imitate the Lord Jesus by having the same mind that He had.
In Colossians 3 Paul says that Christ is everything in the new man. This matter certainly is not emphasized among today’s Christians. Actually, it is difficult to say how most believers apply the book of Colossians.
Christians frequently quote Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Some even use this verse in the attempt to argue against the truth that Christ today is the life-giving Spirit. According to the Scriptures, we teach that, as God, Christ became a man, and then, as man, He, the last Adam, became in resurrection the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). Some falsely accuse us of teaching that Christ is always changing, and then they quote Hebrews 13:8, using it in the attempt to prove that Christ could not have become the life-giving Spirit in resurrection. The use of Hebrews 13:8 in such a way indicates that today’s situation is miserable.
The four books of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Hebrews have not been used properly and positively by most Christians for the taking up of Paul’s burden in these Epistles concerning the carrying out of God’s New Testament economy. Instead of using these books according to the intention of the author, many select certain verses and then interpret them in a way to promote a degraded situation. This is a sign of the poverty in the so-called churches. Actually, today’s situation is worse than that in Jerusalem in Acts 21.
We have pointed out that, during the years he was kept in custody in Caesarea, Paul had time to consider the situation of the Jewish religionists, the Roman politicians, and the believers in Jerusalem and to compare it to the revelation he had received from the Lord. We also need a time to consider today’s situation. I would encourage you quietly to consider not only the world political situation, but also the situation in Judaism, Catholicism, and Protestantism. Consider where today’s Christians stand in relation to God’s New Testament economy. Are there not many who, like James, have compromised and who are promoting the things God has forsaken?
You also need to consider yourself, in particular where you are in relation to the carrying out of God’s New Testament economy. What is on your heart? What have you seen as a heavenly vision regarding the divine economy? How will you carry out the vision you have seen? Let us all spend time before the Lord in order to be filled with the burden of God’s New Testament economy. Once we are filled with this burden, we, like Paul, should be ready to carry it out.
We thank the Lord for the Epistles of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Hebrews. Paul wrote these Epistles so that God’s New Testament economy may be carried out. I hope that we all, through the help of the Life-study Messages, will become saturated with these Epistles. I also hope that we all shall have a clear view of today’s situation and need.
As we shall see in chapters twenty-seven and twenty-eight of Acts, it took quite a long time for Paul to travel from Caesarea to Rome. By contrast, today it is very convenient for us to spread God’s New Testament economy. Let us all bear the burden for the spread of God’s New Testament economy and faithfully carry out this burden.