Ephesians 1:2 – Good Authority

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Summary: When Paul speaks, people listen. People listen because he speaks with authority, the same kind of authority that set Jesus’ teachings apart from the Pharisees (Matthew 7:29).

Paul’s relationship with Jesus is very interesting. The other disciples were all uneducated men (Acts 4:13) with no theological training. Jesus called them to himself and taught them by example. Then he sent his Holy Spirit to fill them with knowledge and power (Acts 2: 1-4). Paul, on the other hand, is highly educated (Acts 22:3). The difference in education shows up in their writings.

Of the original twelve disciples, only Matthew, John, and Peter left behind a written record for us. Mark’s Gospel account may actually be Peter’s, but there is no way of knowing for sure. Luke was called by God to be the formal historian of Jesus’ ministry on earth and the “acts” that followed, but he did not know Jesus personally. The other books of the New Testament, outside of Paul’s writings, were written by Jesus’ half-brothers, James and Jude*. The author of Hebrews is a bit of a mystery. Many think Paul wrote this letter, but the style of writing is so different from Paul’s other letters that I do not hold to this view myself. Personally, I’m inclined to attribute Hebrews to Apollos.

While Luke has written the most in the New Testament with 27% of the total word count, Paul comes in a strong second at 23% of the total words. (In case you are wondering, the five books John wrote total 20%, Matthew’s Gospel is 13%, and the rest of the New Testament writings together total 15%.) Judging by the outcome, it seems clear that Jesus chose Paul because he could convey his thoughts in writing and because of his highly logical mind.

While Paul didn’t meet Jesus in the flesh, he did meet Jesus in person (Acts 22: 6-21). The relationship between Paul and Jesus is somewhat of a mystery to us. To Paul, there was no mystery. In his first letter to the Corinthians, he gives instructions about marriage and is explicit about where they come from. In verse 10, he says, “I give this command (not I, but the Lord)…” Two verses later, he writes, “To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord)…”

There is no doubt in my mind that when Paul offers grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, he does so on good authority.

Application: Accept the gift Paul is offering us.

Food for Thought: How does accepting God’s “grace and peace” impact your life?

*There is debate about whether James and Jude were disciples of Jesus, his half-brothers, both or neither. For our purposes here, knowing who they are is not critical.