In this study in Ephesians we have come to verse 15 in the first chapter. It says there:

“Therefore it is that I also – since I hear of the good of faith in the Lord Jesus that is coming to you (also that for all the saints), that I do not cease to give thanks for you …”
Eph 1:15

Paul begins with “Therefore …”. It clearly ties in with what was said before. This is the case, for example, with the blessing mentioned in Ephesians 1:3 or with the statement: “In Him you are also, who hear the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation” (Ephesians 1:13). There is a lot of good for the listeners. Paul talks about this.

This verse also introduces a prayer. What Paul recognized for the churches leads to thanksgiving here (Eph 1:15-16). In the next verses we recognize the apostle’s concern. He not only had to and wanted to communicate something, but the message should also lead to something. What that is, he wraps up in a prayer, which is included here.

Who is being addressed here?

Paul wrote to churches that he knew. Although the addition “in Ephesus” is missing in the first manuscripts and was only added later, it can be assumed that this circular letter was read in many churches in Asia Minor (today’s Turkey). As an apostle to the nations (Rom 11:13), he is primarily addressing people from the non-Jewish nations (Eph 2:11; Eph 3:1). Almost everywhere there were also Jews in the church who responded to the gospel of grace proclaimed by Paul. The communities are therefore mixed in composition. There were always disputes about the observance of traditional Jewish customs, especially when those from the Tenach, the Old Testament, applied to Israel. Remember that God dealt with Israel while the nations were left to their own devices (Acts 14:16). When the nations are now called by the apostle to the nations, questions arise. Nobody saw this coming. What does this change mean? Until now, believers in the nations only had the opportunity to join the people of Israel as proselytes. Something has changed in this respect in particular.

In the second chapter of Ephesians, Paul describes the situation for the nations, that they

“Were without Christ, alienated from the citizenship of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.”
Eph 2:12

Even for the first believers, this impression was probably still true. No switch was flipped (“Jesus died and was raised, therefore a big hallelujah, because we now have direct access to God”), but it was a process in which questions kept coming up. The naturalness with which Christians today have a “direct line” to God was unknown in the time of the apostles. That still had to be clarified. Israel and the nations were very different until then. The Acts of the Apostles and the letters allow us to participate in these questions and this development.

Paul repeatedly dealt with the significance of circumcision and the law (Torah) in the church. Not everything was completely clarified until … we arrive at Ephesians. This is one of the apostle’s last letters. Here he clarifies the position of the nation-believers. Paul is not writing from our point of view, but is in line with a development when he writes or dictates this letter.

Distinguishing what is different

Trying to reconstruct why Paul wrote certain things is a journey of discovery. We are in this world around 2000 years after Paul and must first empathize with the apostle’s situation. The differences he makes in his letter, for example between we/us and you/you, may not be noticeable until the term “together” appears. There you can ask which two groups are involved. Why does Paul emphasize this?

Paul addresses the churches in his letter. It is not aimed at the world outside the communities. In his letter he is not talking about unbelievers, but about different groups in the church. That would be unthinkable today, but quite logical in Paul’s time. Differences between Jews and non-Jews were brought into the community because they also applied outside it. This needs to be clarified, as does the relationship between slaves and free men, men and women. What was common practice in society is being rethought within the community.

The difference between Jews and non-Jews had not only social but also religious relevance. Was God not traveling with Israel as his people? Wasn’t circumcision a sign of God’s covenant with this people? Logically, questions were asked about circumcision and other things. Paul is at pains to explain to people that circumcision has no meaning in the church (Gal 6:15).

How does Ephesians 1:15 read now? When he writes there about “you”, is it the whole church in contrast to Paul, the writer, or is he addressing a group within the church?

The faith that awaits you

Paul speaks of a good of faith, a content of faith or an object of faith. This is significant and by no means as self-evident as we might take it for granted today. You can guess something of this by looking at the previous verses:

“In Him, the lot has also befallen us.”
Eph 1:11

This clearly seems to be about the community as a whole. Paul writes about “us” from Ephesians 1:3 onwards. He involves everyone. This is also true in Ephesians 1:11. After that, however, there is a change:

“That we may be to the praise of His glory , who have a former expectation.”
Eph 1:12

What is the previous expectation? What is the comparison? Who has a later and who an earlier expectation? There is no information in the direct context here. Perhaps this refers to Eph 1:10? Then there is the contrast to the whole universe. The church has an earlier expectation than the whole universe, which comes later (Eph 1:23). Or does the earlier expectation apply to the church from all nations that Paul addresses here, in contrast to Israel? Then the church has an earlier expectation than Israel.

But then Paul no longer talks about “us”, but about “you”:

“In Him you also are, you who hear the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation – in Him you who believe are also sealed …”
Eph 1:13

“Therefore it is that I also – since I hear of the good of faith in the Lord Jesus that is coming to you (also that for all the saints), …”
Eph 1:15

It is interesting that Paul speaks here of the good of faith that applies to you, while immediately afterwards he emphasizes that it also applies to all the saints. There seems to be a contrast here. “You” is not the same as “all”. You belong to everyone, but you are not the same crowd. Who could Paul be referring to here and why does he emphasize this?

Paul wanted to make something clear here that he writes more about later in the letter. In Ephesians 1:15, the apostle begins with thanksgiving and prayer. He goes into this in more detail in chapters 2 and 3. There he explains “the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men” (Eph 3:4-5). What is the mystery? “In the Spirit, those from the Gentiles are joint lot holders and a joint body and joint partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I (= Paul) have become a minister.” (Eph 3:6-7).

Any unresolved difference between Jews and non-Jews in the community is abolished here. In Christ, those from the nations are joint lot holders, a joint body and joint partakers of the promise. With whom? Naturally with the Jewish believers in the community. Here, in this late letter of the apostle, this is clarified in such detail for the first time.

This is “the deposit of faith that belongs to you”, with which Paul presumably addresses the non-Jewish believers directly, without explicitly mentioning this in the first chapter. However, he makes it clear that it also concerns the deposit of faith for all the saints. This will be explained in more detail in the following chapters.

Reason for thanks

Because Paul has now heard about these things, this leads him to give thanks.

“That I do not cease to give thanks for you and mention you in my prayers.”
Eph 1:16

It seems to me that Paul heard about this, perhaps through the revelation of Jesus Christ (Gal 1:11-12), and this greatly broadened his horizons. The heart overflows with gratitude.

Has Paul now set a new course so that believers in the Gentiles are given a full place in the church? Hardly. He simply announced what he had been told. Perhaps one could rather assume that God himself, or Christ, is leading this new church closer into the expanse of grace.