Comparing Paul’s Ephesians
With 1 Pet 1
PART I
Comparing Paul’s
Ephesians With 1 Pet 1
JAN LILLEBY
Well, I guess I am guilty of once again having written
another article in which I willfully made
some repetitions over a Biblical topic.
Please do not expect me to beg your pardon!
Ephesians 1 - NASB
«1 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:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight
9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him
10 with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him
11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,
12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation -having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.
15 For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints,
16 do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.
18 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,
19 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
20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
1 Peter 1, NASB
“1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen
2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,
7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
10 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made * careful * searches and inquiries,
11 seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow *.
12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven -things into which angels long to look.
13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,
15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;
16 because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY."
17 If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth;
18 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,
19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.
20 For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you
21 who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart,
23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.
24 For, "ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF,
25 BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER." And this is the word which was preached to you.”
THE IMPORTANCE OF WHAT TASK A MINISTER
WAS ENGAGED IN BY CHRIST
As we try to look into these two different Bible passages – the one by Paul and the other by Peter – we must be aware of exactly which position and ministry these two had.
PETER was engaged in a ministry particularly to the circumcised, the Jews, inside the land of Israel.
Gal. 2:6-8 verifies this, as Paul made a point of the two having different missions,
“6 But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality )-well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me.
7 But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised
8 (for He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles ), “
These different spiritual positions can be seen within these two quoted passages. Paul’s Ephesians 1 is entirely different from 1 Peter 1 when it comes to several important matters.
I shall keep the scholar’s known classical disputes out of my analysis, what regards whether Peter really wrote his epistles…this discussion you may check out for yourselves on the net. I believe he did write them. And Peter wrote from Jerusalem, not Rome! Peter at Rome is a ‘No Go’ – since Jesus appointed him to go to the ‘Lost sheep of the House of Israel’ (I shall come back to this below). Peter as told in Acts puts him right there, inside the land, and no report of him going abroad. Those who think he did not write the two epistles, they hold to Peter as one coming to Rome, where he one day got himself crucified. This is just pure speculation. Just a side remark.
Knowing that Peter’s ministry was to the Jews/Israel we thus know for sure that he taught the ‘Kingdom Gospel’ to them, and not the free Grace Gospel found with Paul as we read Ephesians/Colossians.
Paul’s Gospel was given him by REVELATION, and not by gradual knowledge over some years, like it was with Peter and the eleven.
Eph. 3:3 is clear, NASB,
“that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief.”
Paul was engaged in teaching (by writing letters to his co-workers) a fresh NEW revealed message, which had been a hidden mystery in God in times past. That by faith in Christ we are immediately blessed and sat in heaven in Him, Eph. 1:3, NASB,
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,”
Making a comparison with 1 Pet 1 we cannot find anything of that heavenly hope (Greek, epiouranos) the hope of the heaven-up-above-the-heavens.
Especially verse 13 shows us that Peter told his believers to await the coming salvation – as Jesus was coming down from heaven to establish the Kingdom of God in Israel,
“Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
But when reading Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians, we see at once that Paul describes the believers as ALREADY SAVED, and thus even already placed UP IN HEAVEN and given ALL spiritual blessings in Christ! (Eph. 1:3 as quoted above).
But Peter wrote to his Jewish believers in the dispersion (1 Pet 1:1) as he obviously wanted to encourage them in their sufferings as believers. They were persecuted and disrespected (1 Pet 1:6, 7) – and Peter told them to expect deliverance from it all at the coming of Jesus from heaven.
Paul’s believers: Already sat in heaven with Christ.
Peter’s believers: To be saved at the Second Advent.
Paul’s ministry to the uncircumcised was different from Peter’s ministry which was to the circumcised, the Jews. The first mentioned had a heavenly hope up there with Christ, but the latter had their hope on earth as Jesus would arrive from heaven to establish the promised Kingdom of God, the restored kingdom for Israel.
However, it is important to notice that Paul’s two Church-epistles were written NOT in the time of Acts (28 – 62 CE) – they were written post-Acts 63-67 CE as Paul sat in jail in Rome for the second time.
At that time, Israel was fallen away from God as a nation, and the preaching of the Kingdom-Gospel ended in 62 CE, as we find Paul in dispute with Sanhedrin in Rome. The dispute ended, and Paul thus concluded on behalf of the Lord, Acts 28:28, NASB,
"Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will also listen."
Acts 1:6, NASB, regarding the message of the millennial kingdom,
“So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?"
Jesus did not deny that there would be established a kingdom at His return, but He only told His disciples not to be focusing on what time this event would take place. Verse 7, He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;”
I am quite sure that Peter had those words still in mind when he many years later wrote his epistle to the dispersed Jews in the Empire outside Israel. He knew that this kingdom for Israel would become a reality…sometime in the future. However, it seems that they considered His return as imminent in their lifetime.
They expected His coming as soon as Israel eventually had repented to Jesus Christ, - ref. Acts 3 and Peter’s second speech. Peter’s reference to the ‘Times of refreshing for Israel’ in Acts 3:19-21 is the very same as we find with Hosea 6:1-3, as he prophesied of Israel being revived (back to becoming a nation for God) and would be healed and bandaged…and the Lord would let His rain fall on them (refreshing water= The Word of the Lord),
1 "Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.
2 "He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him.
3 "So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth."
The three days are millennial ones, - so after 2000 years since they were destroyed in 70 CE, they shall become again the nation of God on earth, Israel. And the third day is the 1000 years of millennial reign, with Christ on David’s throne on Zion (Rev. 20:4). Remember Gabriel’s greetings to Mary: Jesus shall be king of the house of Jacob and rule from David’s throne – Luke 1:19-21.
Peter reflected his ministry to the circumcised, and Paul to the uncircumcised, - there is no doubt about that! Only, the ultimate final period of ministry for Paul, got on AFTER Acts 28:28 as I quoted above.
The saying in Gal. 2:6, 7 on circumcised or not, were not to say that Paul spoke ONLY to uncircumcised. No, it was rather an indication of the geographical whereabouts of the two great apostles: Peter was to go to Jews INSIDE the land; and Paul was to go to Jews, as well as Gentiles and kings (!) OUTSIDE the land (Acts 9:15).
I will re-phrase this to…among us Gentiles. Israel was typical for a population of circumcised, while out in the dispersion, AMONG us Gentiles, was a population typical for uncircumcised.
Paul’s ministry in also including Gentiles, in his travels abroad, was to have them ‘grafted into the olive tree of God’s Israel’ – Rom. 11:11-24, NASB, - notice verses 17 and 18….of GRAFTING Gentiles into the cultivated olive tree Israel of God, that is, making proselytes (!),
“11 I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous.
12 Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!
13 But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch * then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,
14 if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them.
15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
16 If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too.
17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,
18 do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.
19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in."
20 Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited *, but fear;
21 for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either.
22 Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.
23 And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
24 For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural * branches be grafted into their own olive tree?”
Paul says straight out that he was proud of having the ministry of the apostle to the Gentiles. But here we must understand that he was this in the capacity of making proselytes, and have them leaning on the blessings of Israel. They were not the same kind of ‘Gentiles’ as found later on, when Paul had been made ‘A prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles’ – as we shall see below. Paul preached the Kingdom-Gospel in the Empire outside Israel, as Peter in the same timeline did such preaching inside Israel. Paul reached out mostly to those Jews who had not been in Jerusalem when God sent the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, the year 28 CE. Paul in Acts timeline, had NOT yet gotten the revelation he told of in Eph. 3:3. Paul’s final works as an apostle to Jews, Gentiles and kings (Acts 9:15) ended in Acts 28…as we find him still pounding on the closed door of the Jewish religious leadership in Rome.
When we get this clear, we thus better will understand that the exclusive ministry directed especially toward us Gentiles, was because Israel had fallen, and Christ revealed to Paul therefore that the Law of Moses was abolished…as He revealed to Paul the Mystery, that also we Gentiles belongs to the body of Christ by faith, and not only the Jews.
This is why Paul called himself ‘a prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles’ in Eph. 3:1-3, NASB,
“1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles -
2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you;
3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. “
Christ had Paul start up the present dispensation (stewardship, administration) as he first had the mentioned revelation of that Mystery, Christ had abolished the Law and thus created the ‘One new Man’ – the Church which is His body (Eph. 2:14, 15).
Peter was never entrusted with that revelation. He was ministering to Israel only. As in John 21:15-17, Peter and the eleven were told to go to Israel, the ‘Lost sheep of the house of Israel’, in the following manner,
15 So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Tend My lambs."
16 He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Shepherd My sheep."
17 He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus said to him, "Tend My sheep.
What sheep?
Peter and the eleven were to continue the ministry of Christ inside Israel, going to the very same ‘sheep’ as Jesus Himself had done, namely the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Mat. 15:24).
His epistles are clearly based on the Kingdom-Gospel, their hope of salvation during Acts-period. They hoped for the Second Advent, but it never came, because of Israel’s falling away from God in Acts 28:28.
Paul’s revelation of the ‘One new Man’ – the Church dispensation of free Grace salvation (no works) is revealed to us as doctrine of faith in Ephesians and Colossians – the only two epistles written for the Church dispensation.
Eph. 2:8, 9, NASB,
“8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
CONCLUSION
Not only are Peter’s epistles different from Paul’s Church epistles, in that Peter preached and taught the millennial Kingdom for Israel, but ALL EPISTLES written during Acts-period 28-62 CE, are for the millennial kingdom. Those written by James, John, and Jude; as well as the pastorals to Timothy and Titus, and also Hebrews, are Kingdom-writings and definitely not for the Church.
They all contain doctrine based on the Law of Moses and the New Covenant in the blood of Jesus for Israel. We cannot have that in church.
Believers in Acts-period lived and observed by faith and works, the Law of Moses with its ordinances, Acts 21:20, NASB,
“And when they heard it they began glorifying God; and they said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law;”
This leaves us only Paul’s two church epistles to lean on for doctrine of faith in this dispensation!
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