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The Pastoral Epistles of Saint Paul
Talk by Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen), part 21, Ephesians 3:1-4:16
November 1, 2022
 
Topics include: 
(1) Stewardship (Economia) of the Mystery (of the Gospel) by the Apostles and Bishops, who are informed by the Holy Spirit; 
(2) The promise of Abraham is given to *all* through the Gospel; 
(3) Problems with the English text (which has been filtered through a Protestant lens) and with modern "politically correct" translations: (v.9) the "mystery" is not some secret knowledge but a mystical reality --- God taking on flesh and removing the barriers between all people; (v.15) "family" is really *fatherhood* in this verse. This is a severe modern alteration of the text that degrades it. See "Fatherhood" in point (8) below; 
(4) Through the Church, everyone can enter into God's great economy of salvation. Both Jew and Gentile. Discussion of the Judaisers and early pushback to Paul's message. It was resolved in the Apostolic assembly in Acts 15, which accepted Paul's assertion that the Old Covenant is over (fulfilled) in Christ, and so Gentiles do not need to follow Mosaic laws. Dispensationalism is a modern heresy (that there are two ways of salvation, one for Jews and one for Gentiles) that is a rehash of the old heresy of Judaising --- it is a projection of Christian concepts onto Judaism. The Mosaic law provided rules for the here and now ... it was never intended as a way of salvation; 
(5) The exalted role of the Church: the heir of the promises of Abraham, the economy of the mystery of salvation, the way of salvation; 
(6) On boldness before God and paradoxes we need to accept as Orthodox Christians: "boldness and access with confidence" through faith in Christ (v.12) vs. asking for the intercession of the Saints; "seeing that we have no boldness on account of our many sins" vs. "And vouchsafe us, O Master, with boldness and without condemnation to dare to call upon Thee the heavenly God as Father, and to say: Our Father ...". We should have boldness before God but also be aware of our sins and ask the Saints to intercede for us. The ideal is boldness and confidence before God through faith in Christ, and indeed no barriers have been set by God, But we lack such boldness on account of our sins. It does not work if we try to remove such paradoxes from Orthodoxy ... we must live with them;  
(7) On belief vs. faith: belief is rational, faith is noetic, spiritual awareness of God. When our faith is weak, we don't have boldness ... we are easily distracted from our spiritual awareness of God. 
(8) On fatherhood (v.15), the correct translation of the mistranslated "family" in the English Standard Version (ESV): Fatherhood originates from God (just as existence does): we call our earthly fathers so because they hopefully resemble God in His Fatherhood. Fathers are called to be in the image of God. We see all around us the hideous results of fathers being absent or missing in today's society. The "woke" change to family in the ESV distorts the Gospel. The Orthodox are unashamedly Patriarchal. When patriarchy is healthy, it is very good; when broken, it is horrible!; 
(9) On love (v.19): the very nature of God's energies is love, so if we have God in our hearts, we will be full of love; 
(10) "To be filled with all the fullness of God": we become a dwelling place of the Holy Trinity ... the mystery of salvation manifested in our very persons! 
(11) Ephesians 4 ... a calling to Christlikeness ... verses 1-3 should be memorized; 
(12) Speaking the truth in love ... being honest with ourselves and others .. but constructively, in love, not destructively; 
(13) Concluding thoughts: We have the Holy Spirit in us but are often not aware ... we are called to become more conscious, to have an awareness that God is in us, and to bring that awareness into everything .... then we can sanctify everything we are doing ... we must strive to maintain this spiritual awareness.