Ephesians 1:1 - To God's holy people

1:1

The greeting follows a fairly standard format. Paul describes himself as “an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God.” Apostle means “one who is sent”. Paul was sent with the message of Christ Jesus, and he was sent by the will of God. We shall see that the whole focus of Ephesians is the centrality of Christ and of God. God is the instigator of all things, and the focus of His work is Christ Jesus.  When the church gets distracted and Christ is no longer the focus we have lost our way, and we will quickly lose our power. History proves this time and time again. It is also vital that Paul was sent by God. In Rom 10:15 Paul says “how can anyone preach unless they are sent?” If I come and claim I have a message of salvation what is the value of that unless it is God who has sent me, and it is His message that I am proclaiming?