Надпись и приветствие (Еф. 1:1, 2)

Eph. 1:1. Paul, an ambassador of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus and to those who are faithful in Christ Jesus. "Paul". The Apostle's proper name is Saul. But as a citizen of Rome, he also bore another name - Paul, which he began to use exclusively when he delved into the mass of paganism with the preaching of Christ Jesus. He puts it in all his messages. Under him he remained a leader in the Christian world, which mainly consists of converted pagans. "Messenger". Apostle is the highest rank of Saint Paul in the grace-filled Kingdom of Christ. The Lord Himself called His 12 disciples this way (Luke 6:13), choosing them for the purpose of “sending them out to preach” (Mark 3:14). Saint Paul confesses in another place that he too was appointed an Apostle and Preacher, so as to spread testimony everywhere about the truth that “there is one God, and one mediator for God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5, 6). – The meaning of the persons who are messengers is known from common usage. It is no different in the blessed Kingdom. The difference is on behalf of the sender, on the powers of the sender and the subject of the embassy. The Greeks call ambassadors πρεσβευς; - representative of the sovereign, executor of his will and guardian of the interests of his state. Such are the Apostles - messengers of God, executors of His will and guardians of the interests of the Kingdom of Grace. Why is it that in the same epistle Saint Paul, asking the Ephesians for prayers so that he would be given freedom to boldly proclaim the mystery of the gospel, adds: “about whom I am sending an embassy, ​​- πρεσβευω, - in my bonds” (Eph. 6:20). His whole concern is about the spread of the Kingdom of Christ, as he says in another place, “we pray according to Christ, - πρεσβευομεν, - as I pray to God... be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20). “Messenger of Jesus Christ” - but “by the will of God”. The Lord Jesus chose and sent, but in such a way that it was the will of God and the Father. The Son creates what he sees the Father doing. What the Father decrees is carried out by the Son, who sees these decisions according to his consubstantiality with the Father, abiding in Him, knowledge of everything from the Father and participation in this very decree. “According to the will of God” of the Father, which is also the will of the Son, according to the unity of the persons of the Most Holy Trinity. The decree that St. Paul be an Apostle took place in heaven and was carried out on earth in due time. Saint Paul learned the will of God about this not by the internal movements of his feelings, but visibly and tangibly, and, moreover, with such a strong shock to his entire being, which at once shook off all the prejudices that had settled on his bright mind, which he had acquired from the Pharisaic sect. That he was worthy of this gift by the special will of God, and especially that there was special grace and mercy towards him in changing him from an enemy of Christ to an Apostle - this lay so deeply in his heart and stood so persistently in his consciousness that he always remembered this as soon as he had to say something about his Apostleship, prompted by both a feeling of gratitude for the mercy and the desire to give certification to those to whom he wrote or he said that they were hearing from his lips undoubtedly the Divine truth, since he did not take up the preaching himself and was not appointed by people to this work, but was sent directly from the Lord Himself. One interpreter points out this: the holy Apostle so often remembers his election to preach by the will of God in order to impress on the souls of believers that the work of preaching, and further, any ministry in the Church should not be appropriated to oneself arbitrarily, but should always be accepted by election - in a way established in the Church of God by God, in the production of which is the will of God. This may also be an incentive for the present servants of God of all degrees - to discuss whether everything in their election followed the image established by God, taking into account not only the external order, but their internal state and the testimony of their conscience. “To the saints who are in Ephesus” - Christians living in Ephesus. - A saint is a pure and immaculate person, adorned with all virtue and alien to all sin, not only in the deed he commits, but also in the thoughts and feelings of the act, and therefore is in God’s favor and is close and accessible to God. “Were the Ephesian believers really like this?” “There is nothing marvelous, judging by the liveliness of faith and the fervor of zeal with which they approached the Lord then, and even more so by the abundance of grace that was poured out on them for that.” Sinners in the Church are an accident; Its essential property is that everyone should be holy. The churches then, including private ones, were like pure virgins, without defilement or blemish, holy and blameless (2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:27). Saint Chrysostom says in this sense: “Look, he calls even those who have children, wives, and servants saints... This means that such carelessness will now hold everyone back! How much has zeal for virtue weakened (nowadays)! And how many were virtuous then, when even the worldly were called saints and faithful!” Nowadays it has become so with us that sinfulness is the legal norm of life among Christians, and holiness, or zeal for a good life, is an exception that rarely does without unfavorable views and even ridicule and opposition. Based on this, others understand the word of the Apostle - “holy” - in such a way that this means only dedication to God, just as in the Old Testament tabernacle all things were holy for the sake of their dedication to God, although they inside had neither holiness nor sinfulness. It is impossible to think that the Apostle in the word “saints” meant only this external belonging to the Holy Church. Then, in fact, everyone was holy and pure before God; if there were sinners, they disappeared into the general mass of saints and, moreover, as if surrounded everywhere by the spirit of holiness, they immediately repented, corrected themselves and again stood in the ranks of other saints who had not fallen. - And all Christians in general were zealous not only to be saints themselves, but that all others should be holy, so that their entire society would not have any stain, not for one person. – All Christian societies (private) should be like this. "And to those who are faithful in Christ Jesus". The saints and the faithful are not two classes of persons, as if some were higher, others lower, but the same persons from different aspects of Christian life. Holiness is the goal of life, faith is its producer, protection, support and accomplishment. “Faithful” means both the believer and the faithful to the faith, both together. The believer, having believed the gospel of salvation in the Lord, leaves his previous bad life, repents, proceeds to baptism and, having been reborn in him by the overshadowing of the grace of the Holy Spirit, sets out to life in the spirit of this faith, strengthened by this grace - being ready to accept any death rather than retreat from the confession of faith or sin in anything against the requirements of faith in life. This disposition, representing the distinctive character of the “faithful,” is the producer of holiness, its preserver and bringer to final perfection. Thus, with the word of the faithful Saint Paul, he showed how saints are holy. Saint Paul added - “about Christ Jesus”, showing the source of fidelity, and through it, holiness. No one should think of doing anything spiritual, which is good for the grace-filled Kingdom of Christ. Everything suitable for this is accomplished by the Spirit of God in Christ Jesus. But do not think that the Spirit of God will begin to do anything in you and through you that is suitable for the Kingdom of Christ, until you yourself become distressed and exhaust in labor all your strength, given to you in your nature by God. In the matter of salvation, both go together. Ambrosiastes writes: “The faithful are then faithful when they are together in Christ Jesus. For a good life only has full value and is truly holy when it is such in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” By adding the word “about Christ Jesus,” Saint Paul reminded the Ephesians that if they are faithful, it is not about themselves, but they owe this to their communion with the Lord Jesus, without Whom they cannot do anything worthy of faith; reminded and thereby cut off any reason to exalt fidelity, and at the same time showed where to look for fidelity and holiness when their impoverishment is felt. Let us quote the thoughts of one interpreter on these words: “It is impossible not to suggest that Christians, by their high purpose, must certainly be holy and not involved in sin, despite the fact that they live in the midst of a world that serves sin and is devoted to passions. The presentation of this, on the one hand, is humbling: for who can say about himself that he is holy and corresponds to the ideal of Christianity? On the other hand, it’s inspiring: for who doesn’t want better? And which Christian is alien to the faith that he too has accepted the sanctifying grace of the Spirit, always ready to help and guide? “Both will cause the spirit of complacency to run, leading to carelessness, and the spirit of fearfulness and indecision, from which the hands drop and the legs do not move, because they cut off all energy. The combination of holiness and fidelity in the same persons in the words of the Apostle indicates the inseparability of dogma and moral teaching in Christianity - faith and virtue in the life of every Christian. Faith, as soon as it is imprinted in the heart by the Spirit of God, is a source of holiness for a regenerated person. But vice versa - the more a zealot of holiness moves forward in it, the more faith purifies and brightens in him. – And behold the light of Christ!.. To keep faith and to excel in holiness is both the yoke and the crown of a Christian. Remember where you are coming from and where you are going - the point of departure and the goal - these are the limits of any movement. The beginning is in your grace through communication with the Lord by faith; the end is Godlikeness in holiness. Neither one nor the other will be accomplished without living, personal communication with the Lord Jesus Christ. The quality of holiness and the character of fidelity are inherent in a Christian in no other way than from Christ the Lord. To the extent that both things happen to him, he is in living union with Christ. What should you focus your attention on? – To preserve this communion with Christ, to grow in it. This is the key to the mysterious power of Christianity—the truth, the way and the life—and not in learning and much knowledge.” Eph. 1:2. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. "Grace and peace!" In these two words the Apostle combines all the spiritual treasures of Christianity. Grace relates to the world as a leaf or root relates to flower and fruit. Divine grace is the main condition of Christian life, the highest flower and fruit of which is peace. Grace is all the strength that leads to life and piety; peace is the unshakable possession of these gifts, keeping them and using them. Peace with God in conscience - inner peace, from the consciousness of finding a solid support for life and firm hopes, and from bringing all one’s aspirations into harmony and keeping them in this harmony. And the outside world happens; but it is a providential external aid, and not a necessity for inner life. Thus, Apostolic benevolence combines the highest and best that a humble and reverent Christian feeling can expect from a well-wisher. The highest is grace, which opens for a condemned sinner the entrance to the merciful God the Father and opens for him the treasures of His boundless love. The best is the peace that is established when, in the struggle of light and darkness in the inner center of personal life, the advantage remains with the light, when the confusing anxieties of conscience subside and the heavy feeling of unrequited sinfulness and condemnation finds a reliable outcome. The fact that grace is always with a Christian and that the promise of peace belongs to him, backed by the guarantee of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ - who are not false in word and deed - is consolation for him in sorrow and inspiration for courage in his inevitable struggle. Where there is grace, there is peace, although it is not always felt with all its strength by a Christian while he is in the struggle with sin, with dark forces and external opposition to his good undertakings. It can be said that holiness and faith - mentioned - consist in accordance with grace and peace. Grace is the source of holiness; peace is the goal of fidelity to faith. Having accepted grace by faith, remain faithful to faith in order to preserve grace always present and with its help, having succeeded in holiness, achieve a peaceful dispensation of the heart in which God rests - the sweet limit of the labors of a God-pleasing life. The one who gives grace is primarily God the Father, and the peacemaker is God the Son in the Holy Spirit. This is why it is said: “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Blessed Jerome writes: “Or one and the other refers to both together - that is, grace and peace both to God the Father and to our Lord Jesus Christ; or one must be attributed to one, and the other to another - grace to God the Father, and peace to the Lord Jesus Christ, as it is said below: “to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which we have been blessed in the Beloved” (Eph. 1:6). The grace of the Father consists in the fact that He was pleased to send His Son for our salvation, and the peace of the Son lies in the fact that by Him we are reconciled to God the Father.” Saint Chrysostom says: “He said “grace,” and calls God Father, for this (name) is a sign of that (grace). How? - Listen to what he says in another place: “Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying: Abba, Father” (Gal. 4:6). Blessed Theophylact expresses the same thought more fully: “Having said “grace,” he adds “from God our Father” to show what grace has done for us—precisely what it has made the Master and God our Father. But the Lord, that is, God the Son, by grace to us, became both Jesus and Christ, for, having become incarnate for our sake, He took the name of Jesus and anointed humanity with Divinity.” Believers are given the realm of being children of God, because, having received the Lord, they are born of God - not only do they bear the name of sons, but they are essentially sons (John 1:12, 13). The Spirit of God, which does this, also imparts the feeling of sonship, according to which the truly regenerate one calls God Father with the same disposition as a natural son of a natural father. Jesus Christ is the Lord not only of us Christians, but of the whole world; for to Him, as the Intercessor and Redeemer, everything was handed over by the Father, all power was given in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18), which He will demonstrate until the complete fulfillment of the entire plan of the economy of our salvation, when He betrays His Kingdom to God and the Father (1 Cor. 15:24) - and “God will be all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28). You might be interested in: