Ephesians Chapter 1 – Intro Video

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For more information and resources on Ephesians, go to my Ephesians page.

Hi, I’m Cody Sandahl.

A few weeks ago I was telling my wife that I was going to be one of the pastors at an upcoming funeral. The person attended the church at the same service my wife typically does, and so she asked, “Now who was he?”

That’s a difficult question. “Who was he?” How could I describe this person, knowing full well that my wife had never met him? Have you ever tried to do that? Did you start with gender, hair color, height, weight? Or maybe their job, or their friends, or where they live?

For that matter, how do I describe myself? One of the hardest parts of writing this book was writing the author biography for the back cover. It’s really weird trying to describe yourself to people who’ve never met you.

And yet that’s one of the things that Paul knows like the back of his hand. He nails his bio in the first verse: “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.” If you know Paul’s story at all, you know that Jesus changed his name from Saul to Paul. It’s like saying, “I’m a new man because of Jesus.” Then he’s an apostle – someone personally sent by Jesus. And is this something he aspired to? No, it’s by the will of God. He knows who he is. He knows what he’s about. And he knows the “why” behind the “what” of his life.

In the first chapter of the book I tell the story of Hendrik Kraemer, who was credited with telling some Dutch Christians who were debating what to do about the Nazi treatment of their Jewish neighbors: “If you know who you are, then you will know what to do.”

Do you know who you are?

As you read the first chapter of Ephesians think about who you are. Think about what you’re about. And do you know the “why” behind the “what” of your life? Because if you know who you are, you’ll know what to do.

Enjoy chapter one!