Following

Listening to: Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind." (Eph 2:1-3)

Without Christ we:

• follow the world; and
• follow the devil.

As we discussed in Christianity Explored tonight, that is a fairly offensive thing to say to people. But it's not only offensive, its makes no sense to us. How can they we be following the devil if we don't even believe in him? And, it isn't true to say that I mindlessly follow everyone else when I make up my own mind about things?

We follow the world and the devil in two ways:

Firstly, we do the same thing as both of them. We live for ourselves. We carry out whatever our body and mind desire to do. That is the only rule we accept, the rule of ourselves. In our assertion of self-determination, we display our unity with the world and the devil.

But secondly, we not only do the same thing as them, we do the same thing as them because of them. We learnt sin from the devil in the Garden, and we inherited sin from the world. Sin is not original to us.

"But... we are [God's] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Eph 2:4-10)

We now follow Christ. This means that we walk in good works, not in trespasses and sins. We follow Christ in a mirror image of the way in which we used to follow the world and the devil.

Firstly, we do the same thing as him. We walk in love, "as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us" (5:1). Previously we lived to satisfy our own desires. Now we seek to please God, and satisfy our neighbour, just as Christ did.

Secondly, we do the same thing as him, because of him. We are God's "workmanship...in Christ Jesus". We were dead and unable to save ourselves, but we were made alive as a new person because of God's action in Christ.

More thoughts on the 'one body'

From an email to the friend I am thinking this through with (see my previous post for less developed thoughts).

On reflection I can think of several inter-related reasons why we are 'one body' in Paul's eyes.

We all share:

• 'one bread' (1 Corinthians 10:17)
• 'one baptism' (Ephesians 4:4-6; 1Corinthians 12:13)
• 'one faith' (Ephesians 4:4-6)
• 'one hope' (Ephesians 4:4-6)
• 'one God and Father' (Ephesians 4:4-6)
• 'one Lord' (Ephesians 4:4-6)
• 'one Spirit' (Ephesians 4:4-6; 1Corinthians 12:13)

So for Paul the ultimate cause of us being 'one body' is the Trinity (isn't great how Paul refers to all 3 persons in Ephesians 4:4-6?). The promise of the Trinity is communicated (not just mentally) to us by the sacraments, and we embrace the promise contained in the sacraments by faith. The sacraments are promises that we can share in the death of Christ (Romans 6; Ephesians 2:16) but then also share in the same Spirit (a Spirit of life, John 6:63, Romans 8) by which he was raised (Romans 8:11; cf. 1 Corinthians 15:44; Mark 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:13).

I like your observation that 'one body' has a corporal dimension. 'Body' for Paul is closely associated with 'flesh' and death. There is only one death which leads to life and that is Christ's death. His is the only cursed flesh where salvation can still be found. So he is also the 'body' which we need to find ourselves in. However for Paul 'body' is not as negative as 'flesh'/'death' and he is able to talk happily about our 'spiritual body' too (1 Corinthians 15:44).

However returning to our original discussion about where the term originated I think there are only two options:

1. The institution of the Lord's Supper.
2. The OT concept of marriage between God and Israel which Paul picks up and applies to Christ and the Church ('one flesh' is a small step away from 'one body', cf. 1 Corinthians 6:16).

It is interesting how it is difficult to imagine any closer union than either consuming something (food) or sexual union, and this is how the NT so often describes our relationship to Christ. We eat him, and we marry him! Incredible condescension to miserable sinners! He doesn't give gifts from on high, but comes down to us and gives us himself.

Structure

Ephesians is often treated as a pure type example of the Pauline method that "the indicative precedes the imperative."

But what Paul does first is pray. (Mark Horne)

Sorry for my continued absence.

Temple language in Ephesians 2:11:22

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Ephesians and Paul's Theology

It is simply a travesty that the name "Paul" for most people, summons up a pastiche of Romans and Galatians while the other letters are relatively neglected. Ephesians 2.8-10 might make the cut but not much else.

I say it is a travesty because the evidence indicates that Ephesians was probably Paul’s generic tract–a circular letter meant to summarize the Gospel for any Christian in particular rather than an ad hoc letter dealing with a specific pastoral agenda for a particular church. Thus, if one wants to understand the foundations of "Pauline Theology," Ephesians would be the natural place to begin. (source)

Mightily interesting comment. It is common to believe that Ephesians is a circular letter but this is the first time I have read the corollary that therefore it is in Ephesians rather than Romans that we should look for the summary and structure of Paul's theology.

Why has this not been brought to my attention before? Perhaps because despite the strength of Evangelical scholarship the framework still being operated in is a liberal one where the authenticity of Ephesians is denied. Perhaps though the obsession with 'discovering' Paul's theology is a framework from liberal biblical studies anyway.

Still, its a statement worthy of further thought.