Now we need to consider the writer of this book. As we all know, the writer is the Apostle Paul. Ephesians 1:1 says, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God.” Paul was made an apostle of Christ, not by man, but through the will of God, according to God’s economy. Because Paul was not a self-appointed apostle, but an apostle through the will of God, he had the authority that comes through God’s will. This standing gave him authority to put forth the revelation in this Epistle of God’s eternal purpose concerning the church. The church is built upon this revelation (2:20). Paul’s being an apostle of Christ refers to his position, and his being an apostle through the will of God refers to his authority. As such an apostle, Paul was the writer of this book.
The last part of 1:1 and 2 say, “To the saints who are in Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” The receivers of this book were the saints in Ephesus. This refers to their position. The saints are those who are made holy, sanctified, separated unto God from everything that is common.
The receivers were also the faithful in Christ Jesus. The faithful are those who are faithful in the faith, as mentioned in 4:13; 2 Timothy 4:7; and Jude 3. The receivers, the faithful in Christ Jesus, have not only a sanctified position, but also a faithful living. They live faithfully in their faith. In order to be qualified and positioned to receive this book, we need to be this kind of people. We must be the saints, and we must be the faithful in Christ Jesus. We must have a sanctified position with a faithful living.
Between the writer and the receivers, there was the communication of grace and peace (1:2). Grace and peace went out from the writer to the receivers. There was no gossip, criticism, accusation, or condemnation; instead, there was grace and peace.
Grace is God as our enjoyment (John 1:17; 1 Cor. 15:10). When God becomes our portion for us to enjoy, that is grace. Do not consider grace as something less than God. Grace is nothing less than God enjoyed by us in a practical way as our portion.
Peace is a condition that results from grace, that issues from the enjoyment of God our Father. When we enjoy God as grace, we are in a condition that is full of rest, satisfaction, and joy. This is peace. Grace is a substance, whereas peace is a condition. The substance of grace is God Himself, and the condition of peace is that which issues out of our enjoyment of God as grace. We all can testify of the peace we have when we enjoy God as grace. The first line of hymn 499 in our hymnal says, “Oh, what a life! Oh, what a peace!” Life is grace. When we truly enjoy Christ as our life, we participate in grace. Then we have peace. What a life! What a peace! Now we can also say: What a substance! What a condition! We have the divine substance as our enjoyment, and we have the heavenly condition. This is the peace which we enjoy.
This grace and peace come from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We are both God’s creatures and God’s sons. To us as God’s creatures God is our God, and to us as God’s sons He is our Father. On the one hand, we are God’s creatures; on the other hand, we are the Father’s sons.
Grace and peace also come to us from the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Redeemer, and we are His redeemed ones. As the Lord’s redeemed ones, we have Him as our Lord.
Grace and peace thus come to us from God our Creator, from our Father, and from the Lord our Redeemer. As His created ones, regenerated ones, and redeemed ones, we are positioned to receive grace and peace from Him. We have a threefold status: we have been created, regenerated, and redeemed. We have God as our Creator, we have the Father as our Father, and we have Jesus Christ as our Redeemer. Therefore, we are fully qualified to receive grace and peace from the Triune God. This is the introductory word to this book.