Standing Strong: Grace Notes from the Ephesian Letter

By Rick Hull

The virus attack was relentless. The culture was fraying. Relationships, once civil, were stressed to the breaking point. And echoes of the mantra that somehow we were “all in this together” grew more faint by the day. Yet just under the surface there pulsed a heartbeat of hope. It whispered through the scriptures, and gently demanded to be heard.
And in Paul’s magnificent letter to the Ephesian church, the words rose with a reassuring, redeeming love that could reach into broken places to lift and transform needing hearts.
Here was the guidance of a divine determination that refused to give up on us -- offering a way of living that could heal old wounds, reconcile painful separations, and face down life’s destructive forces with spiritual courage and strength.
These short focused reflections immerse readers in seven life-lifting themes that are as ancient as the love of God, and as contemporary as the news of the day.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9781664273412

Rick Hull

Rev. Rick Hull is a Presbyterian pastor, serving for 50 years with churches across America. With a passion for the hope and help found in every line of scripture, he consults with church leaders and congregations, speaks in conference settings, and teaches and leads training programs for pastors in Ethiopia. He may be reached at [e-mail].

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Copyright © 2022 Rick Hull.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7342-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7343-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7341-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022913600

WestBow Press rev. date: 7/27/2022

-- what readers are saying --

Through his easy-to-read writing style, Pastor Rick uses life experiences and stories to bring Bible Scripture to life. He had me thinking about relatability to my own life circumstances and how God is always present and will never abandon me.

K.N. Newquist – Bible Study Leader

An informative series of reflections for real people, for real life, from a real pastor, in a real relationship with Christ. Using Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Rick walks us through the everyday questions we each have in our faith walk.

Jack McNary — Pastor

All through Covid, and cancer treatment, Rick’s words the Lord… has allowed us the storms… in order to partner with us and grow us toward a strength that sustains, overcomes, and blesses with spiritual blessings, gave me hope in dark times…my lifeline!

Gayle Withnell – Bible Study Leader

If you want encouragement in these challenging times, through Scripture, then Rick Hull’s Grace Notes are for you. With the Gift of the Spirit, his words kept me grounded in God’s love for us. A must for your library.

Tanya Anderson – Elder, Bible Study Leader

Rick not only writes about grace, his life exudes it. That may be important to you as you consider reading this book. Personally, I’d like to know that the one writing about grace knows something about the subject.

Jeff Chapman — Pastor

STANDING STRONG

Grace Notes from the Ephesian Letter

Seven Themes of Strength and Hope

Standing with Christ

Stronger Together

Standing Firm

Standing with Purpose

Strong for Life

Strong for Living

Standing through the Struggle

-- A Personal Note --

We were still in the days of Covid – maybe we always would be. The virus attack was relentless. The culture was fraying. Relationships, once civil, were stressed to the breaking point. And echoes of the mantra — that somehow we were all in this together grew more faint by the day.

Yet just under the surface there pulsed a heartbeat of hope. It whispered through the scriptures, and gently demanded to be heard.

I had written over 480 Grace Notes from Scripture to friends, family, even strangers on my e-mail lists — and then found myself once again immersed in the pinnacle of Paul’s writing – the matchless Letter to the Ephesians.

Here was the amazing, reassuring, redeeming love of a Lord who would look beyond the sin to see the repentant heart.

Here was the guidance of a divine determination that would not give up on us, but offered a way of living that could heal old wounds, reconcile painful separations, and face down life’s destructive forces with spiritual courage and strength.

What it needed now was a banner that could describe the love, accessibility, and blessings of this sovereign Lord. And an old tune began to quietly hum in the back of my head.

Great is Thy Faithfulness! The lyric captured it all. This is the testimony to the grace of our Lord – and the assurance of promises made so long ago — that could lift and transform in every generation.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,

Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,

Strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside.

Life would bring its challenges and demands. This would be the strength to stand. That’s what I found in the pages of Ephesians. And I hope that, day by day, you’ll find it, too.

Throughout the book there are blank spaces, suitable for jotting notes and adding personal reflections. Perhaps in these spaces new divine conversations will begin, new grace notes will be shared, and other hearts will be lifted as the ancient letter becomes these short modern post cards of strength and hope.

Wishing you blessings as you read,

Rick Hull

Ephesians 3:16-19

-- foreword --

A thought before reading:

I’m not a scholar. I have friends who are, and they write the most amazing and inspiring commentaries. When you dig deeper, dig into them!

This is not a classical thesis, with academic footnotes. Rather it contains a series of reflections, written first-person, and catalogued in seven themes. As the Ephesian Letter unfolds, it speaks personal encouragement, and challenges personal applications. I hope it will prove helpful.

You may enjoy reading this as a daily devotional – just one grace note at a time. They are designed to be short, thought-provoking reassurances for readers on the go.

A question before reading:

So – why a book of reflections on a two-millennia-old letter, dispatched to people in a very different setting?

While the era certainly was different, the original readers were not. Here is a letter written to ordinary folks who are beginning to learn what it means to trust their Lord, live together in faith, and look forward with hope.

They are real people, in a real place, in real life situations that are as ancient as life itself — and as contemporary as the evening news. For them, and for us, these will be scriptures of enduring wisdom, instruction and assurance.

And, there is a good reason for that. In a note Paul wrote to young Timothy at the Ephesian Church, he explained it: All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that [we] may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 [Revised Standard Version used throughout]

Scripture is the speech of God – the work of the timeless Holy Spirit. He spoke then – and is still speaking now. And what he has said – divine thoughts put in human languages – is still the same now, simply because he is the same now.

In the first century, it was a letter to a church. Today it is Holy Scripture. And in each case, it marks an invitation into a divine conversation – a communication between souls. Here will be the word of God and the response of the heart – the cry of the heart and the guiding, encouraging response of God.

And, if we listen – if we respond – the conversation will continue, deepen, and transform life today, as it has done in ancient Ephesus, and through the centuries that followed.

Standing with Christ

Ephesians 1:1 – 2:10

One of the greatest assurances in all of scripture

is the reminder that

by the gift of God’s grace,

in the sacrifice of Christ,

we may stand with Christ now and forever.

Where he stands, we stand.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world …

…in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace. Ephesians 1:3-7

Chosen for a Purpose

Ephesians 1:1-14

In him you also, who have heard the word of truth,

the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him,

were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 1:13

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 27:1

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

Psalm 33:12

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,

God’s own people, that you may declare

the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness

into his marvelous light.

Once you were no people but now you are God’s people;

once you had not received mercy but now

you have received mercy.

Peter 2:9-11

Let the wicked forsake his way,

and the unrighteous man his thoughts;

let him return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on him,

and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Isaiah 55:7

But when the time had fully come,

God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,

to redeem those who were under the law,

so that we might receive adoption as sons.

Galatians 4:4-5

Strength for Today

and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Paul, an apostle of Christ, by the will of God …

to the saints … blessed with spiritual blessings …

even as he chose us … destined us …

according to the purpose of his will …

Ephesians 1:1-5

I want to tell you about the picture on the cover. But first let’s revisit some questions that we’ve all heard — and perhaps asked. You can almost feel the pain in them.

Where is God? Where was God when …? Why does God allow …? What am I going to do about this mess? Existential questions that won’t go away and don’t answer easily. They are universal, natural, and very important.

And, of course, whole libraries are written to grapple with them. The Ephesian letter certainly can. So, before digging deeper, let’s linger there. Paul has entered upon his very difficult ministries by the will of God. The saints who have responded to the call of Christ have done so because he chose them for it – destined them for a new hope – engaged them in the often costly purposes of his will.

There are other, quite wonderful, words in those opening lines – but for real people, in real human struggles, these admissions still may not be the best way to start a letter of strength and hope. Wait. God stands behind all of this? He put us here? He chose us for this? And it’s a blessing? Are you entirely sure?

Two working assumptions.

First, I have read and re-read the scriptures, and I’m convinced that our Lord is not the author of our troubles. Nor is he the servant of our desires.

In a broken and sin-scarred world the tragedies, traumas, and evils are a given. Yet, somehow – in a wisdom beyond our understanding – the over-arching purposes and sovereign will of God can absorb the blows. He will bring the best out of the worst, and equip vulnerable believers to face the evils with both strength and hope.

Now that is encouraging, while not yet answering all the persistent questions. And to complicate matters, Paul’s opening lines are laced with that confusing divine sovereignty. All the crises he faced were by the will of God? The saints who are misunderstood, persecuted, and still so humanly fallible were chosen for those difficulties. We are destined for the challenges they would face this side of heaven?

True, many rich blessing are coming, but in the real world, this is not going to be easy material. So, where is the force that generates strength and causes us to stand strong?

Now the second assumption. Hope. This will not answer every question, or put every mind at ease. But, I have found it in every paragraph of the letter.

The Lord who has called Paul and chosen the saints has allowed us the storms and stresses of life in order to partner with us, and grow us toward a strength that sustains, overcomes, and blesses with spiritual blessings. He is crafting our strength and our hope as he stands with us.

The storms may be personal tragedies or daily struggles. They may take the form of internal sins, or community dysfunctions, or world-shaking evils. They may be private weaknesses and temptations, or health challenges, or relationship breakages.

In a thousand ways, the winds of life will beat against us. And in it all we long to know that we are not alone – that life can be anchored – that putting down spiritual roots can meet the storm, nourish our lives, and stand us up stronger.

And, now, about that picture. They say that the strongest trees are the ones from up the hill – the ones on the high places, unsheltered, standing in the most punishing winds, reaching for the warming sun yet vulnerable to the rains and the storms.

They are the ones that grow strong against the unforgiving forces of nature. Their fibers are knit more tightly together from the stresses and bendings. Their lives become the hard woods that stand up to the harshest abuse.

That tree became a friend that day – and I snapped its picture to remember and share. High in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, it stood alone, literally growing from solid rock — healthy and reaching for the sun.

Trees less challenged — less stressed — may grow tall and look appealing in a more hospitable garden, but they will not be the ones we count on for our axe handles and baseball bats. It is the storm that deepens the roots, strengthens the branches, and equips the tree to bend, flex, and live resiliently.

The Lord who offers us strength and hope, has also committed to stand with us. In the midst of stress or struggle or confusion, he offers the promise of his abiding presence and assurance of his overcoming Spirit.

This side of heaven, we will not fully answer the great existential questions. But like Paul, and like those saints who preceded us, we will stand firm. We will bend in the storms, sink our roots deeply, and grow stronger as we face them together.

-- reverse engineering --

¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus

by the will of God, to the saints …

Ephesians 1:1

When engineers or scientists explore some construct (whether a machine, a medicine, or a molecule) they will often take the end product apart, and work backward to more fully understand it.

In a similar way, we readers of scripture are invited to reverse engineer the intentions – and the blessings – of the will of God.

Let’s unpack the process. Paul tended to use a secretary in much of his writing. If Paul dictated his thoughts to a writer (or, indeed, taught his theology to those who wrote it down later in his name) then we are not only observing a wonderful unfolding process – we are quite suddenly inserted into the very revelations of Almighty God.

OK. Here goes. God speaks a word – Spirit to spirit with the Apostle Paul. He dictates it to a secretary — who captures the word and formats the text. Those words are read, re-read, translated, re-translated, handed down from saint to saint, church to church — and finally arrive at that place on the shelf in my library — to speak truth, correction, and reassurance to me.

In my study, I receive that letter, first destined for Ephesus, and now once again alive in California, USA. And I can reverse engineer those life-changing messages right back to the mind of God.

But, hold on! As any good scientist knows, reverse engineering is always done for a purpose. And that purpose always looks forward. What will this all mean to us now – to a community long past ancient Ephesus – to the people I meet this afternoon?

If God spoke to Paul, and Paul spoke to the secretary, and the secretary wrote to Ephesus, and the Letter finally came to me – have I just now become a part of the process? Does what I learn here become the gift that I, in turn, will give to someone else?

Am I now part of the secretarial pool? That’s the question of the day – of every day that we spend with scripture. We are not, cannot be, idle readers looking over ancient shoulders.

The moment we read a single inspiring line, we become part of the chain of divine communication, asking not only What am I discovering of the Mind of God? – but also How am I to internalize it, and then share it with someone else today?

In every phrase that follows, that is our purpose. Welcome to the secretarial pool!

-- who was that Masked Man? --

¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus

by the will of God, to the saints …

Ephesians 1:1

In my childhood, there was a popular fictional cowboy (we loved western tales in those days!) called The Lone Ranger. He wore a mask (not the Covid kind) and went from town to town righting wrongs and doing good.

He never revealed his identity, but always saved the day, and made life better for bewildered citizens. At the end of each story, he would ride away into the sunset, leaving the people asking, Who was that masked man?

That’s a pretty good question as we open the letter to the Church at Ephesus. Today there is some question about who actually wrote it. Who was that theologian? His words are still saving lives, healing broken people, and lifting hearts. Do we know just who this was?

Let’s begin by examining the envelope. The letter is sent to a fledgling corps of believers in ancient Ephesus, in the land we call Turkey today.

The sender, in the return address is the Apostle Paul – formerly Saul of Tarsus — also on the coast of Turkey, though he hasn’t lived there for a long time.

Today not everyone agrees that Paul is the author of the original letter, but here we’ll join the majority of scholars who have seen his hand in it, and claimed him as the writer.

Candidly, even if one of his friends or disciples wrote the note, it still represents his theology and his heart. So, with gratitude, I’ll give him the credit. Paul it is.

He may be a bit hard for some to identify. But, whoever wrote it all down, I certainly love what his life perspective has taught me about the will of God for my own life.

So, the study begins like any scripture conversation must, with important application questions. How will each phrase – each idea – each challenge affect the way I live here and now? What good will I take away from my encounter with the Author behind this ‘masked man’? And how might I live differently in the community of my particular ‘western town?’

That’s not only a good place to start reading the letter – it is a great discipline in applying the word of God to every moment and event of the day.

-- back story --

¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

to the saints who are also faithful in Christ Jesus:

² Grace to you and peace from God our Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:1-2

No one starts reading a 300 page novel at page 120. It will make so much more sense if you know what happened in the back-story. And, here, the tiny word by sets that up for us.

The word can mean through the agency of. What happened to Paul was through the dynamic purpose of God.