An economy for the fullness of time

Ephesians 1.1-10¹

Philip Potter

Certainly, these opening words of the letter tell us much about our faith - God's great grace revealed in Christ for our salvation, and for our election and adoption as children of God who can give glory to God. But the word 'economy' is not apparent in the text, let alone 'economic justice'. Actually it is there in verse 10, but it is translated 'plan'. It is used again twice in this letter, both times in chapter 3: in verse 2, where the apostle speaks of the 'commission of God's grace that was given me'; and in verse 9, where the word 'plan' is used to speak of God's message addressed to the church and through the church to the principalities and powers which seem to reign over and divide the world.

The word oikonomia is a biblical word, but it is never translated as such in any of the western languages. It comes from the word oikos, house, and means the management, the administration, of the house for the well-being of all who live in it or are related to it. In ancient times 'house' was used freely as an expression of various ways in which people live or share common concerns, from families or groups to nations. For example, the word Pharaoh in Egyptian comes from per-aa, 'great house'. And, of course, the liberated Israelites were themselves called 'the house of Israel'. There are royal houses - Windsor and Orange. We speak of business houses, like the House of Rothschild. The London Stock Exchange is called 'the House'. The management of these nations, communities, institutions and structures is called oikonomia, economy.

In our text, what the writer is saying is that God's economy, God's management of the human race and the whole creation aims at gathering together, uniting all peoples and things in Christ. God's purpose is that there be no exclusion, but that all peoples and all things should be rightly related to one another because they are rightly related to Christ. Now right relations with God, with one another and with creation is precisely the meaning of the Hebrew word for justice, righteousness, sedeq, sedaqah. So this oikonomia of God is concerned both with our faith and with economic justice in the deepest and widest sense.

I have not so far mentioned the name of Paul, because although it is known that he had much to do with the churches in Asia Minor, and especially Ephesus, many scholars do not consider that Paul wrote this letter. I am not convinced by their arguments, and think that during his house arrest in Rome, Paul had time to reflect on his experience of being an oikonomos, an economist or steward of the gospel, and this letter is the result of his ripe prayerful thoughts. Anyhow, no one disputes the fact that the letter is Pauline.

There are some key words and phrases which call for our meditation, because they are very relevant to our theme. The first is 'grace', charis, which means self-giving love. In these ten verses, the word occurs three times as a noun. But there is a verb which is rendered in verse 6 as 'freely bestowed', but in Greek it is 'graced'. In his moving commentary on Ephesians, John Calvin remarks that Paul 'lays great stress in chapters 1 to 3 on praising and magnifying the grace of God'. Calvin goes on to say: 'The intention of the holy apostle was to arm the Ephesians to announce the grandeur of the grace of God towards them, so that they would never be unsettled in their faith by the false apostles, as if their calling was doubtful, and they had to seek for another means of salvation. But God has in reality manifested his love in Christ by the gospel'.

There is a related fact that the word 'grace', charis, in the New Testament also means 'thanksgiving', our response to the grace of God in Christ. The French say action de grâce, action of grace. Our life in Christ must be one of grateful self-giving love to God and for others.

Another word used in verse 2 is 'peace', eirene, shalom. It occurs only once here, but it is prominent in chapter two. There Paul speaks of our broken humanity, represented by the division between Jews and Gentiles. Christ dies for us all that our divisions may be healed and we might be brought near to him and to one another. Only so are we no longer strangers and aliens, but we are citizens with the saints, those who are committed to God and God's purpose. We also become members of the household of God, sharing a common life together (2.11-22). Peace, shalom, means wholeness, totality, and also bringing people and things into balance. Separation, exclusion is, alas, the most glaring consequence of the present global economic system, which is creating huge imbalances between people, a fact which is totally contrary to God's economy.

Another key word in our reading is 'blessed', eulogetos, from which we get the word 'eulogy.' But the Hebrew word for 'bless' is barak, which means to share one's strength with another, to be with the other, to empower the other. When we were lost and weak in our sin, our rebellion against God and with ourselves, Christ came to redeem us, to bring us back to God. This he did by giving himself for us on the cross. We bless God by giving our strength for God's service, and using that strength according to God's will.

Calvin has some pertinent things to say about 'blessed' when he considers its four senses. First is the benediction of praise for God's benefits. Secondly, God blesses us when he gives us a good result in our affairs, extending his liberality to us, making us prosperous. All our blessedness comes from God's good pleasure. Thirdly, people bless each other when they desire the well-being of each other. Fourthly, the blessings of God are in the heavenly places, that is, they are eternal, both now and for ever. I have given Calvin's views on blessing at length because you can see that he had an eye for people prospering in their affairs, but also caring about the welfare of others. So blessing is part of our faith and is concerned with economic justice.

Paul goes on to speak of our being chosen, elected in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before God in love. Holy, like saint, is qadosh in Hebrew and means committed to God and to God's will and purpose. Blameless, tamim, means being free from stain or defect, being intact. It was a word employed for the spotless lamb which was offered as a sacrifice to God. Our election, our predestination is to be completely at God's disposal in love, and that entails, as this letter shows, being at the disposal of others. Our election does not separate us from others in individualist self-concern. It is our adoption, as Paul says, as children of God through Jesus Christ, and therefore our sharing in God's economy of gathering together and uniting all people and all creation in Christ. It is an election and predestination for solidarity and caring in love.

These key words on which we have briefly meditated lead us to the issue of how we participate in God's economy. Paul says that our redeemed life in Christ, our commitment to God and God's purpose through grace, self-giving love lavished on us, is not something which makes us passive and content. Rather we are given wisdom and insight to discern God's design, God's economy for the whole creation. Paul goes on to say that by his death and resurrection, Christ has become 'the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all' (Eph 1.22f.). We belong to the family of the church of God which is called to carry out God's economy. In chapter 3, Paul writes that he received the commission, the economy of God's grace to make known, by God's power through the church, 'the wisdom of God in its rich variety to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places' (3.1-10). Our task in God's economy is to identify, challenge and expose those powers which control our world today in their faceless, remote, uncontrolled ways and wreak havoc on millions of people and on the environment. Our election and calling is to acquire wisdom and insight, through corporate prayers, study, discussion and reflection, in order that we may effectively participate in God's economy in Christ for the world.

But the second point is that God's economy, according to our text, is being carried out in terms of the fullness of time. The word here for time is kairos, the opportune, decisive moments. There is an urgency and steadfast attention demanded of us to seize the opportunities given to us to be in the struggle of faith for economic and ecological justice. That is why Paul ends his letter with the call to put on the armour of God. This is not a metaphorical matter, or something we can take up and give up as we please. This is a life-and-death struggle against the principalities and powers which govern our world today. We must be empowered together with the whole armour of God for the battle of faith and justice. And what does this armour comprise?

First, there is the belt of truth, aletheia. This means what is not covered up, hidden or opaque, but rather is brought into the open, uncovered, and made transparent. Secondly, there is the breastplate of righteousness, right relations with God, with ourselves and with others, as well as with creation. Thirdly, we must put on the solid shoes for the battle, which is to say, peace, shalom, working incessantly for inclusion not exclusion, wholeness not fragmentation, a balanced existence and not the imbalances which plague our world today. Fourthly, we must carry firmly the shield of faith - in Hebrew, amunah from aman and amen, which is faithfulness, unflagging trust and trustworthiness. The opposite to that word, aman or amen, is mammon, which means that in which we put our trust apart from God. Our life must be a constant 'amen' to God of willing commitment to God's economy. Finally, for all this we must grasp the sword of the Spirit which is God's discerning and enabling word, accompanied by unremitting prayer and intercession. As we used to say in the Student Christian Movement, we must have the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other hand. The newspaper without the Bible does not make sense. The Bible without the newspaper lacks relevance. We must therefore engage ourselves with bold and continuous resolve in God's economy for gathering together and uniting all peoples and all things. This is our task. And we will carry it out with the blessing of the last words of Paul in this ecumenical letter: 'Grace be with all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ' (6.24).

Rev. Dr Philip A. Potter was the third general secretary of the World Council of Churches (1972-84).

Notes