Love First Love: Our Calling / Ephesians 1:1-2

Bringing Our Bibles and Preparing Our Hearts

Welcome! If you are a guest with us, as I mentioned, we are diving into a brand-new series through the book of Ephesians. Before we jump in, for those who are here in the room and even those watching this weekend via video at one of our network churches or campuses, can you just hold up your Bible for me? I am not trying to shame or shun you. I am not going to kick you out of the building. And if you are holding up your phone, that is totally fine. I get it.

Can we just make a commitment together to bring a Bible of some sort for this series? I understand we have kind of set ourselves up to fail in that regard in the past. When we went through our “Generations” series, we were covering entire books—sometimes multiple books in a single week—so it was hard to follow along because we were moving so fast. Even in our “Anatomy of a Disciple” series, there were key texts we anchored down into, but we were really covering concepts found all throughout the Scriptures.

It would do my heart a ton of good if, for this next series, you would bring a Bible, a pen, and a notebook. It is the best thing you could do. When you come with an open Bible, you are sitting there listening and saying, “Lord, what do you have for me? As I am hearing the Word of God read and taught, God, what do you want to show me?” If you begin to write that down, it becomes less about what I am saying and more about what you are hearing from the Holy Spirit. God wants to do something in your life, and He is going to use His Word to do it. If we passively sit back and look at our watches, we are going to miss what God has for us.

Selfishly, I also just love the sound of pages turning. Honestly, I think the turning of Bible pages might be the best sound in the history of the world. We are going to flip a few pages together today, so if you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn to the book of Ephesians.

The Ancient City of Ephesus: The Hub of Asia

As we begin studying the book of Ephesians, we need to understand the city of Ephesus. Located in modern-day Turkey, Ephesus was one of the leading metropolitan cities in the Roman Empire. It sat right on a major trade route, with a bustling harbor and a major river running through it. It was a massive hub of activity—the San Francisco, New York, or Fresno of its day. Thank you for catching that as a joke; I appreciate it.

Ephesus was a vibrant center of philosophy, commerce, and spirituality. Because it was an international port on a major trade route, ideas were imported and exported right alongside goods and services. It was financially powerful, politically influential, and wickedly pluralistic.

Pluralism meant that the believers in Ephesus were surrounded by people who believed that many gods were God. To them, having one true God was fine for you, but they had hundreds more. In fact, historians suggest there were as many as 250 different deities worshiped in that region. Because Ephesus was the leading spiritual center of the Roman Empire, it exported polytheism, pluralism, and spiritism throughout the entire ancient world. Millions of people were influenced by the magic and occult practices that came out of this city.

Ephesus influenced everything around it, which is precisely why the Apostle Paul went there. He understood that if he could influence the people in the hub, they would influence the entire region. To change the culture, he had to reach the center.

The Gospel Takes Root in Ephesus

The first look we get at the church in Ephesus is in the book of Acts. Keep your finger in Ephesians and turn back with me to Acts chapter 18. Did you hear that sound of pages flipping? That is the best sound in the world.

After Paul came to faith in Christ in Acts 9, he had to wrestle with how he, as a man thoroughly trained in the Hebrew Scriptures and classical Judaism, had completely missed Jesus as the Messiah. So he went out into the Arabian Desert for three years with his Bible, doing an intensive study—just him, God, and the Scriptures. He discovered that Jesus is indeed the exact fulfillment of every Messianic prophecy in the Hebrew Bible. Lit aflame for the Lord, Paul launched out on his missionary journeys.

On his second missionary journey, Paul made a brief stop in Ephesus.

Acts 18:21 (NASB)

but taking leave of them and saying, ‘I will return to you again if God wills,’ he set sail from Ephesus.

Traveling with a married ministry couple he met in Corinth, Priscilla and Aquila, Paul left them in Ephesus while he returned to Syrian Antioch before setting out on his third journey.

Meanwhile, a man named Apollos arrived in Ephesus. Scripture describes him as a Jewish believer from Alexandria who was eloquent and mighty in the Scriptures. That is high praise. Apollos was bold and taught accurately about Jesus, but he was only acquainted with the baptism of John.

Acts 18:24-25 (NASB)

Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John;

When John the Baptist ministered in the wilderness, he baptized people with a baptism of repentance, preparing their hearts because the Messiah was coming. But Christian baptism identifies a believer directly with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. John pointed forward to repentance; Jesus brought salvation.

When Paul returned to Ephesus on his third missionary journey in Acts 19, he met some disciples of Apollos.

Acts 19:1-7 (NASB)

It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. He said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ And they [said] to him, ‘No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.’ And he said, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ And they said, ‘Into John’s baptism.’ Paul said, ‘John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.’ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they [began] speaking with tongues and prophesying. There were in all about twelve men.

Paul asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They replied, “We haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Paul asked, “Into what then were you baptized?” When they told him John’s baptism, Paul explained the full gospel of Jesus Christ. They believed, were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, and were sealed with the Holy Spirit.

Paul then entered the synagogue in Ephesus and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading people about the kingdom of God.

Acts 19:8 (NASB)

And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading [them] about the kingdom of God.

This is significant because Paul ended up spending more time in Ephesus than in any other city recorded in the Bible. He had a deep, profound connection with these people.

When some in the synagogue became hardened and began speaking evil of “the Way”—which was what they called early Christians before the term was coined—Paul withdrew. He took his disciples and began teaching daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

Acts 19:9-10 (NASB)

But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

He essentially rented out a local lecture hall or community college classroom and taught there every single day for two full years. Look at the result: “all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.” It does not say just all who lived in Ephesus, but all who lived in Asia. The entire region heard about Jesus because Paul was impacting the cultural hub.

The Power of True Repentance

As the gospel spread, extraordinary power was displayed in Ephesus. People saw that Jesus had supreme authority over demonic spirits, and deep reverence fell across the entire city.

Acts 19:17-18 (NASB)

This became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified. Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices.

Believers came forward openly confessing their occult practices. Ephesus was steeped in spiritism and witchcraft, similar to modern-day Wicca, where people used incantations and spells to place or remove curses. It was like a dangerous game taken to the extreme. But when the gospel transformed their hearts, they brought their magic books together and burned them publicly.

Acts 19:19 (NASB)

And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and [began] burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.

They torched 50,000 pieces of silver worth of occult material. That is a massive fortune. That is what genuine repentance looks like. Repentance does not say, “I’m going to follow Jesus, but I’ll keep my idols in the closet just in case.” Repentance says, “Whoever I was, I am not that person anymore. Burn it.”

This massive revival created an economic problem. Worship in Ephesus centered around small silver figurines of the fertility goddess Artemis (known as Diana to the Romans). The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World—a massive, magnificent structure where worship included sacrifices and ceremonial prostitution. Artemis held a powerful grip on the city’s identity and commerce.

A silversmith named Demetrius realized his business was tanking because so many people were turning to Jesus.

Acts 19:23-27 (NASB)

About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning the Way. For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen; these he gathered together with the workmen of similar [trades], and said, ’Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business. ’You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods [at all]. ‘Not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be regarded as worthless and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence.’

Demetrius gathered his fellow craftsmen and stirred up a massive riot, shouting that their trade was falling into disrepute and that their great goddess was being dethroned. A massive crowd rushed into the open-air theater in complete chaos. Paul, being completely bold and fearless, wanted to go right into the assembly to address the mob, but the believers wisely held him back.

Acts 19:30 (NASB)

And when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, the disciples would not let him.

The gospel had made it clear: Jesus is not a figurine to sit on a shelf alongside other gods. Jesus alone is Lord, and He will dethrone every counterfeit god.

Paul’s Farewell and Warning to the Elders

Later, on his journey toward Jerusalem, Paul stopped at Miletus and sent for the elders of the church in Ephesus. He had spent three impactful years with these men, training and discipling them, and he knew he would never see them again.

Acts 20:17-27 (NASB)

From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. And when they had come to him, he said to them, ’You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. ’And now, behold, bound in spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. ’But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. ’And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. ’Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. ’For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.

Paul gave these leaders a solemn charge:

Acts 20:28-30 (NASB)

’Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. ’I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.

Notice he told them to be on guard first for themselves, and then for the flock. If your faith is not working at home in your own heart, do not try to export it. He warned them that fierce wolves would attack the flock from the outside, and even worse, false teachers would arise from within their own ranks to draw disciples away.

After this emotional farewell, Paul journeyed to Jerusalem, where he was arrested. He eventually appealed to Caesar, ended up under house arrest in Rome, and from that prison cell, he penned the letter we call Ephesians.

Two Halves of Ephesians: Calling and Conduct

Turn back with me now to the book of Ephesians. We know Paul wrote this while imprisoned in Rome because he repeatedly references his chains.

Ephesians 3:1 (NASB)

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles–

Ephesians 4:1 (NASB)

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,

Ephesians 6:20 (NASB)

for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in [proclaiming] it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

The book of Ephesians is neatly divided into two distinct halves:

• Chapters 1–3: Our Calling (Who we are in Christ and what He has done for us)
• Chapters 4–6: Our Conduct (How we ought to live in light of what He has done)

This is Paul’s consistent pattern across almost all of his epistles: first doctrine, then duty; first belief, then behavior; first who you are at the core, then how you live out that identity. If your calling is not secure, your conduct will never be sustainable. Most Christians mistakenly focus entirely on fixing their conduct rather than anchoring themselves in their calling.

Look at how Paul describes the incredible riches of our calling in chapter 1:

• He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world (v. 4).
• He predestined us for adoption as sons (v. 5).
• In Him we have redemption through His blood and forgiveness of our trespasses (v. 7).
• He has lavished upon us wisdom and insight (v. 8).
• He has made known to us the mystery of His will (v. 9).
• We have obtained an inheritance (v. 11).
• We were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (v. 13).

Paul prays that the eyes of our hearts would be enlightened to know three things: the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.

Ephesians 1:18-19 (NASB)

[I pray that] the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. [These are] in accordance with the working of the strength of His might

Scan through Ephesians 1 and look at how many times the words He, Him, or His appear—over twenty times in the first fourteen verses alone! The gospel is not about what we have done; it is entirely about who Jesus is and what He has provided for us.

If Jesus is the focal point, who were we before Him? Chapter 2 gives the honest diagnosis: we were spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins.

Ephesians 2:1-3 (NASB)

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

Our only contribution to our salvation was the sin that made it necessary. We were not merely struggling or drowning; we were spiritually dead. But then come two of the most powerful words in the entire Bible:

Ephesians 2:4-5 (NASB)

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

“But God.” Even when we were dead, God, being rich in mercy and driven by His great love, made us alive together with Christ. Any spiritual life in us today is not because we pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps or made a good resolution; it is because a sovereign God initiated grace and resurrected our hearts.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB)

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

We are saved by grace through faith—it is a free gift, not a result of our own works. But do not stop reading at verse 9. Verse 10 completes the thought:

Ephesians 2:10 (NASB)

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand. We who were once separated and far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Ephesians 2:13 (NASB)

But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

In chapter 3, Paul reveals that we have been called into the most profound community ever created: the church. When people hear the word “church,” they often bring in personal baggage or past hurt. But the church, in God’s design, is the magnificent mystery where Jews and Gentiles are united as one body under King Jesus to display His wisdom and transform the world.

Ephesians 3:4-6 (NASB)

By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; [to be specific], that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,

Walking It Out: Our Conduct

Because of this breathtaking calling, how should we live? Chapters 4 through 6 give us the clear answer: we must walk it out.

Notice the progression of the word “walk” in these chapters:

• Walk in a manner worthy of your calling (Ephesians 4:1).
• Walk in holiness, no longer living in the futility of worldly thinking (Ephesians 4:17).
• Walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us (Ephesians 5:2).
• Walk as children of light, bearing fruit that pleases the Lord (Ephesians 5:8).
• Walk in wisdom, making the most of every opportunity (Ephesians 5:15).

Finally, in chapter 6, Paul calls us to take our stand:

Ephesians 6:11 (NASB)

Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

Our response to God’s calling is simple: walk faithfully and stand firm. Because of what He has done for us, we should get our hands dirty in ministry and actively engage in the lives of people around us.

Waking the Sleeping Giant

Why was this letter written? Unlike 1 Corinthians, which addresses specific individuals and isolated congregational problems, Ephesians was written as a circular letter intended to be read in Ephesus and passed along to surrounding churches like Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.

Ephesians 1:1-2 (NASB)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and [who are] faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul wrote this letter to awaken a sleeping giant. He wanted to remind the church that God loved us first. And when we truly grasp that He loved us first, it compels us never to abandon our first love.

As Christians, we are often great at nodding along to the first three chapters: “Amen! I’m chosen, forgiven, redeemed, and sealed!” But when we get to the second half of the book—walking in holiness, walking in love, forgiving others, submitting to one another, putting on the armor of God, and standing firm—we tend to grow quiet.

If the believers in Ephesus truly lived out who they were in Christ, they had the power to transform the entire province of Asia. In the exact same way, if you and I would wake up and live out of the overflow of our secure calling in Christ, we would change Fresno, we would change the Central Valley, and we would impact our world.

We do not serve out of guilt, duty, or legalism. We serve out of the overflowing reality of what Jesus has already accomplished on our behalf. When we realize that a holy God chose us, redeemed us, and brought us from death to life despite our sin, our only logical response is to surrender everything to Him.

He loved first. Let us never lose our first love.

Closing Prayer

Father in heaven, as we begin this journey through Ephesians, we are so deeply grateful for Your Word. Thank You that we do not have to rely on human opinion, but that we can anchor our lives in eternal truth.

Lord, refresh us through this study. Remind us deeply of our calling in Christ. Give us the courage, strength, and conviction to walk out the faith You have planted within us. You have done so much for us, and we want to respond by offering our lives fully to You.

Build a firm theological foundation within our hearts over these coming weeks, and use that foundation to launch us out to love our neighbors, serve our city, and make a tangible difference in our community. We give You all the glory, honor, and praise, because Jesus alone is worthy. In His name we pray, Amen.