Paul was in prison when he wrote this letter to the people in Ephesus. He had not been sent to prison because he had stolen goods or killed or hurt anyone. No, he had been sent to prison because he was preaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan was working hard to stop people hearing about the word of the Lord. Satan did not want people to listen to Paul’s preaching, and that is why he made someone arrest Paul and put him in prison.

But God is far more powerful than Satan, so God did not allow the fact that Paul was in prison to stop his word from going out. Instead, Paul used the time he had in prison to write to the people in the churches that he had visited before. He was an apostle of Jesus Christ. This means that he had been sent by Jesus Christ to preach his word. And so, Paul does that from his prison cell.

He calls the people in the church in Ephesus saints. Saints means that they are holy ones. To be holy does not mean that they did not sin, but that they were God’s special possession. God loved them and they were his children. They were saved from Satan and belonged to God instead. These words are written for you as well. You are also a saint of the Lord Jesus. You belong to God. You are his special possession. You are his child. And so, you too belong to God and not to Satan.

And the greeting that Paul gives to the Ephesians from God is also the greeting he gives to you today. We are greeted with these words at the beginning of every worship service: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord gives us his grace. This means that the Lord loves us and, even though we are sinful, he continues to forgive us because of the work of Jesus Christ. And with the grace of the Lord, we also get peace, peace because we belong to the Lord.

Reflection with your child:

What do you find special in this opening of the letter to the Ephesians?

Source: Sermon by Rev. K. Dekker