Faithful in Christ

 DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS

FAITHFUL IN CHRIST

Eph 1:1-2

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

NIV

Once again, this is just the standard typical greeting that is in many of Paul’s letters, however, after considering by the will of God, we should also take a look at who he calls them. These are the saints who are faithful in Christ Jesus. From our research, there is some division among our biblical scholars of old regarding who exactly Paul was writing to. Some think it was to the church at large, rather than just to those in Ephesus because of no personal touch, or the mention of several people as with some of his letters. It is strange because he was with these people for several years. We would think he developed several friendships, but then the scholars think he did not mention anyone so as not to show favoritism. Either way, whoever he wrote to and we would think because of the title, the letter started out to those saints in Ephesus that were faithful in Christ Jesus. Because we have this letter and it is in the Canon, we have to believe that it is written to us as well. This brings up the question of being faithful in Christ Jesus. What exactly does that mean or look like to be faithful in Christ Jesus? We know that later he tells them they are wealthy beyond measure but have relegated themselves to living as spiritual paupers, so then if that is the case, what does faithful look like? It is just believing in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and nothing else? There is more than that living in Christ Jesus as he also tells them about every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. Is having every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus being faithful? What if we are not experiencing every spiritual blessing, does that mean we are not as faithful as we think we are? If we look at the Greek word pistos, we see it can mean to be faithful with respect to the transaction of business, the execution of commands, or the discharge of official duties. So then being faithful in Christ Jesus would imply that we are faithful to His commands, and we execute our official duties as children of God, members of the Body of Christ, and our individual calling. This being faithful is more than just saying we believe in Jesus and calling it a day. Being faithful in Christ Jesus means carrying out all that He has commanded us to be, say, and do. We know the Ephesians were not actually as faithful as Paul says in the greeting, and so it might be with us. Are we fulfilling our calling? Are we living a life of love? Are we building each other up? We do not think this faithful living has anything to do with “Good deeds”. But more with our relationship with Jesus Christ and with each other as we fulfill our function as a member of the Body of Christ, and exercise all the spiritual blessings we have, which could include all the gifts and the fruit of the Spirit. What we know for sure is that we should live in a manner that is faithful in Christ Jesus.