Introduction:

“The greatest week in my life,” said Charles Spurgeon, “was the week I read Paul’s letter to the Ephesians fifty-six times.”

Strange statement. In the light of it, one of two things is true. Either Spurgeon’s mind was shallow, or the book of Ephesians is deeper than most of us have imagined.

To my knowledge, no one has dared to suggest that Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a slow learner. While still in his twenties, he pastored the largest congregation in London, England. It grew from five thousand to ten thousand people and became the center of religious activity for scores of other groups. Spurgeon himself was without question the most eloquent voice of his generation—maybe of all generations.

So we are left with the fact that Ephesians may have treasures great enough to tempt even the most casual reader to spend serious time with the book.

Of course the Bible itself is more profound than most of us realize. Ancient scholars have said, “the Bible is an ocean of truth so deep that elephants must swim, but so simple that little lambs may wade in it.”

Having said that, I still must say that Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is unique. Many, if not all, of Paul’s other letters were written to correct some error either of behavior or belief. Ephesians is different. It is a positive statement of the most exhilarating truths that had come to the Apostle’s life.

It is both the most otherworldly and the most earthly of Paul’s letters. It sees castles in the sky and then builds foundations under them.

In a day when many Christians have neither castles nor foundations, Ephesians promises to be a rewarding study. Does the word “study” seem too threatening? It shouldn’t. The Bible itself encourages a person to “study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). It may be that we lack the brilliance of Charles Spurgeon, who could find exciting secrets in each of his fifty-six readings of this letter, but it is certain that any of us can be challenged to give this amazing letter the opportunity to speak to us. Treasures await those who will.

Ah, treasure. Who does not dream of it? Hapless millions gamble their last dollar in hope of becoming a happy winner.

Acres of Diamonds, the story told by Russet Conwell, is too old to be read by today’s youth and so old that it is forgotten by the aged. It tells simply of a man in Africa who sold his farm to start on a search for diamonds. He failed to find any. After a lifetime of searching, he threw himself into the ocean to end his frustrated life. The man to whom he sold his farm picked up a strange-looking rock that glistened in the sunlight. Taking it to a jeweler, he discovered that it was a diamond. His farm was full of them. In fact, the largest diamond mine in the world was on his land. This story keeps repeating itself in today’s world.

Frank Garmon and Charlie Farmer, two friends of mine from Florida, like to go diving for lobsters on the southern coast. A year or so ago, they found a spot where the lobsters were plentiful. They marked the place by sighting some buildings on the shore and planned to return the next year.

When they came to the spot (dreaming, of course, of the succulent lobster they would enjoy that evening), they found the area roped off and festooned with signs that said, “Keep Out.”

Naturally the men were curious. They asked some sailors on the shore. “Last year we were free to dive and look for lobster here. What happened to change things?”

“Haven’t you heard? This area—right where you men were looking for lobster—is the place where a number of Spanish ships were sunk. Millions of dollars worth of gold coins are being taken from these waters.”

“Just think,” Frank told me, “we were swimming all around that fortune in gold and all we saw were lobsters.”

Makes you think, doesn’t it?

When I began a serious and intense study of Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus—and, of course, to all of us as well—I felt like apologizing to God. I had looked at a few choice verses and had missed the “secrets” to which Paul kept promising to uncover.

The Apostle hinted broadly enough. Words like mystery, hidden, and secret ought to have stirred my intellectual curiosity if not my spiritual hunger. But I simply let my mind slip into the ruts made by other sleepy intellects. I missed the treasure.

So now I ask you to join me. Let us see what lit the fire that warmed Paul’s soul, while his body shivered in the damp Roman prison. Let us go back into the waters from which we have taken only a few theological crawdads and find treasures that outshine gold.

*** If you would like to "read-on"...a chapter or two...or "the rest of the story" (book) =)... go to: http://www.geocities.com/omifren/eph01.html