STRUCTURE OF THE CONCLUDING DOCTRINE
(Suggested Reading: Eph. 3; 4:1-16)
Up to this point our consideration of the doctrine of the Ephesian letter has followed the traditional chapter division in our Bibles. However the doctrine from Chapter 3 up to its conclusion in Chapter 4 verse 16, is an unbroken unity. Consequently Chapter 3 of this book departs from the conventional chapter arrangements and covers the remaining doctrinal passages as a whole. Furthermore, because the unity of these passages is not at once apparent, an overview of the unifying structure follows, to clarify it in the reader's mind. Our first consideration is the parenthesis with which the third chapter opens.
The Boundaries and Content of "the Great Parenthesis”
The third chapter opens with a reference to Paul "the prisoner of Jesus Christ" as the fourth chapter opens with a reference to the same Paul as "the prisoner of the Lord." Everything in between is a great parenthesis, in which Paul turns aside from his line of thought only to resume it in 4:2, 3, and terminate the doctrine in 4:16. The references to Paul as the prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ are the perimeter lines which enclose what we call "the great parenthesis." We use the term "great parenthesis" because of the proportion of the Ephesian letter which it spans.
The great parenthesis tells us a great deal about the revealed secret, of the admission of Gentiles to the Church on equal terms with Jews (an unheard of thing till then), of Paul's role in the administration (or government) of the revealed secret (the Field Marshal of the armies of Jesus Christ if you will). Isn't this then the history of the primitive church under Paul's leadership as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles? Assuredly it is. But it leaves unanswered one great question why is it that Paul, the representative of the all-powerful God who created and controls the universe, is languishing in prison. Indeed this letter was written during his imprisonment, not to puny man, but to God. He tells us that he is "the prisoner of Jesus Christ" 3:1 and "the prisoner of the Lord" 4:1. So it was the will of God that the great teaching Apostle of the Church should be imprisoned. But why?
Well, the answer revolves around his role as administrator of the mystery (secret). This unquestionably began when a glorified Christ met him on the road to Damascus and revealed to him the truth that He was Head of His body the Church. But the Head was in heaven. How did He get there? Ah! He was crucified and slain by man, who rejected all His rights. God reversed man's judgment by raising Him from the dead, seating Him on His own throne in glory and making Him Head over the Church. True His headship is exercised from heaven, although we His members are on earth. But that only makes the picture more complete. WE SHARE THE REJECTION OF OUR HEAD FOR WE ARE HIS MEMBERS! This is the startling truth and the explanation of why Paul is a prisoner. It gives character to the whole subsequent history of the Church. The Pauline administration shares the rejection of its Head, just as the future public administration of 1:10 will share the exaltation and glory of its Head. As soon as we see this gap between the two administrations the reason why the truth of the Church is embodied in a great parenthesis shines out. It is because THE CHURCH ITSELF IS A PARENTHESIS. In the divine purposes its origin is a past eternity its destiny a future eternity. Time, the factor spanning these two eternities, is a parenthesis during which the Church is gathered out of the world to the eternal glory.
Thus the way is paved for the eventual introduction of the practical part of the epistle. The will of God sees us at rest in heavenly places in Christ but on earth we can expect rejection and conflict.
The Linkage of Thought Before and After the Great Parenthesis
Two things precede the great parenthesis two things which the Apostle immediately reverts to following the great parenthesis. These two things are the Holy Temple and the Tabernacle.
The opening of Chapter 4 is definitely connected to the reference to the Tabernacle at the end of Chapter 2. Paul writes "I the prisoner in the Lord exhort you therefore to walk worthy of the calling wherewith you have been called." Now this calling is not our heavenly calling the choice and relationship of 1:4, 5 but rather what is connected with our walk on earth which is "a habitation of God in the Spirit" 2:22. This is the obvious linkage. In plain language Paul is telling us to walk worthy of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church. God once dwelt with Israel in the desert and His presence was marked by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Although ours is a religion of faith, not sight like Israel's, the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church is a real thing. The sin of Ananias and Sapphira proved this Acts 5:9. So much then for picking up the chain of thought before the parenthesis. Now what is the linkage after the parenthesis?
Well, when the parenthesis ends Paul tells us to be diligent in keeping the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace. This is a metaphorical allusion to the spiritual mortar bonding together the living stones in the Holy Temple 2:22. (Note that Paul doesn't say the unity of the body God keeps that but the unity of the Spirit our part. God never entrusts anything vital to man). When Christ was on earth He was the Temple. "Destroy this Temple" He said, "and in three days I will raise it up" John 2:19. When the building of the Holy Temple ends, the prison character of the Church ends also. In Ephesians Paul leaves us with the Holy Temple under construction, stone being mortared to stone by the uniting bond of peace. The construction of the Holy Temple ceases when the second coming of Christ takes place. But Paul ignores the second coming in the Ephesian letter because the Church is viewed as represented in heaven already, since Christ its Head is there. Consequently the Holy Temple is looked at as under construction.
As we are conscious of being both the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and living stones in the Holy Temple of which Jesus Christ Himself is the cornerstone, there will be produced in us what the Apostle looks for "all lowliness and meekness, long-suffering, bearing with one another in love." There is no place for the pride of man in the presence of such a God as ours.
The Seven Unities and the Nourishment of the Body of Christ
Seven unities follow unities which relate to earth as the seven unities of Chapter 2 relate to our heavenly calling. The insertion of these unities at this juncture can be simply explained. The knowledge of God produces unity, just as ignorance of God produces disunity, division, chaos. The Apostle has just given us an unhindered flow of God's thoughts toward us for our blessing. Even though we are still on earth and the realization of some of our blessings still future, Paul would have us understand seven unities applicable to the present time.
Following the seven unities comes a picture of how Christ, the Head of the body in heaven, nourishes His members on earth through various gifts so His body might grow in other words so the Church on earth may flourish. Here the final structural beauty of the doctrine in the Ephesian letter becomes striking. For inserted in the great parenthesis is the second apostolic prayer. Both apostolic prayers are answered in the Ephesian letter, as we might expect from the Lord's own assurance "if you shall ask anything in My Name, I will do it" John 14:14. In the first prayer something intervened between the prayer that the Ephesians might understand God's mighty power and the answer God's mighty power displayed toward them 2:5,6 man influenced by Satan against God. In the second prayer something also intervened between the prayer that the Ephesians might be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man and the answer Christ's gifts to His body to do just that this was the seven pronged unity characteristic of Christianity on earth.