Ephesians 1.11-14 (4)
Pray Psalm 119.41, 42
Let Your mercies come also to me, O LORD —
Your salvation according to Your word.
So shall I have an answer for him who reproaches me,
For I trust in Your word.
Sing Psalm 119.41, 42.
(Dix: For the Beauty of the Earth)
Let Your mercies come to me, Your salvation by Your Word.
From reproaches set me free, for I trust in You, O LORD.
Let my life an answer be for those who may question me.
Read Ephesians 1.11-14; meditate on the phrase “word of truth” in verse 13.
Which “word”? What makes this “the word of truth”? What is the effect of this “word of truth” on you?
Preparation
1. To Whom does the “word of truth” direct us?
2. How else is the “word of truth” described here?
Meditation
The NKJV translators were trying to clarify Paul’s meaning by inserting “trusted” here. I think the meaning is sufficiently clear if we just leave it the way it is in the Greek: “In Whom you also—having heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation—in Whom, having believed, you were sealed…” There, that’s better. Paul starts a thought: “In Whom you also”, but before completing it and getting to the verb (“having believed”) he inserts, parenthetically, the active agent of belief, hearing the Word of truth, as a gentle but important reminder. Then he returns to his original thought, “In Whom you also, having believed…
Here Paul makes an important point about salvation and how it is obtained. We might say that salvation comes by believing in Jesus, and we would be correct, but not completely. For we need to ask, Where does the ability to believe come from? From within ourselves? Are we able to believe in Jesus just because we decide to do so? Not according to Paul. We must hear—hear with understanding and assent—the true and living, powerful Word of salvation, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The power for believing is in that Word. That Word alone can enliven dead souls, bring new life, and settle us into our great salvation. Because that Word is accompanied by the Holy Spirit, Who gives us a new heart and enables us to submit joyfully to God as our Father (Gal. 4.4-6).
Which is another way of saying that salvation is by grace through faith. Grace brings salvation to a lost sinner through the Word of the Gospel. Faith receives what grace imparts, thus confirming salvation and taking the first steps in a lifetime journey of sanctification and obedience. The Word of truth is living and powerful, as all who have known its saving might can testify. Praise God that He has not left us on our own to believe, but that His powerful Word of truth acted on us and continues active and powerful within us every day (Heb. 4.12).
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
In Whom you also—
having heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation—
in Whom, having believed,
you were sealed
with the Holy Spirit of promise…” (Eph. 1.13).
Then we are folded and put in an envelope of power beyond ourselves,
sealed with the lick of the Holy Spirit of promise-keeping,
Who urges us on to work out the Good News of our salvation,
unto good works of mercy and obedience.
As Paul wrote:
“You are our epistle (letter, NIV) written in our hearts,
known and read by all men;
clearly you are an epistle of Christ,
ministered by us,
written not with ink
but by the Spirit of the living God,
not on tablets of stone
but on tablets of flesh,
that is, of the heart” (2 Cor. 3.2, 3).
“My son, if your heart is wise, my heart will rejoice—indeed, I myself;
Yes, my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak right things” (Prov. 23.15, 16).
“Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man” (Prov. 3.3, 4).
As the letter of the Lord Jesus, He said we are not to worry about what we should say in difficult situations, “For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say” (Lk. 12.12). We are in His care.
The Holy Spirit teaches us how to compare spiritual things with spiritual things, as all truth is found in His Word (1 Cor. 2.13). He brings out of the treasure box of His Word “things old and new” (Matt. 13.52).
And we, as we daily delve into His Word rejoice “as one who finds great treasure” (Ps. 119.162).
“Having believed” (Eph. 1.13), the truth is sealed within as we are enveloped in His grace by faith— “all a gift” (Eph. 2.8, 9).
“Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning.
If what you heard from the beginning abides in you,
you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.
And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life” (1 Jn. 2.24, 25).
May our letter of Good News, be a blessing, as we are “known and read by all men.”
Reflection
1. Why must grace come before faith if we are to be saved?
2. How does the Holy Spirit relate to our salvation?
3. How does the Word of God become active and powerful in us every day?
The preaching of the gospel therefore comes first, and faith follows it, when God opens our hearts by his Holy Spirit and persuades them that everything written in the gospel about sin and grace is true and unchanging. When we start with that conviction, we love the gospel, cling to it and treat it as a great treasure. Martin Bucer (1491-1551) Lectures on Ephesians
Pray Psalm 119.43-48.
Give thanks to God for His powerful Word. Call on Him to fill you with His Spirit, so that you walk the path of His Word throughout this day.
Sing Psalm 119.43-48.
(Dix: For the Beauty of the Earth)
Let my words be Your words, LORD; strengthen me to keep Your Law.
All my hope is in Your Word, and I seek Your precepts all.
I will ever keep Your Word, for I trust in You, O LORD!
LORD, take not Your Word from me, for I trust it day by day.
I will walk in liberty as Your precepts I obey.
I shall keep Your truth, O LORD, for I hope in all Your Word.
I will speak Your Word to kings, and I will not be ashamed.
In Your Word my glad heart sings, as Your truth I have proclaimed.
In Your Law will I delight, which I love with all my might.
To Your Law I lift my hands to embrace and hold it dear.
In Your truth my glad heart stands, knowing You are ever near.
I will meditate, O LORD, on Your statutes and Your Word.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: In our ReVision series on “The Kingdom Economy” we begin looking at commerce from a Kingdom perspective. Our Read Moore podcast continues readings from the book, Such a Great Salvation. Our Crosfigell series on Brendan of Clonfert finds the saint beginning his second voyage to find The Promised Land of the Saints. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
