Ephesians 6:10-20; Paul concludes his letter to the Church in Ephesus by instructing them on the intense nature of spiritual warfare. He makes it very clear that our battle is “not against flesh and blood”, so it is absolutely necessary for believers in Christ to “put on the full armor of God”. Repeatedly Paul urges […]
Ephesians 6:5-9; After addressing individual Christian conduct, Paul shifted to relationships in the church by introducing the term “submit”. From there he expanded to the home, where proper husband-wife and parent-children interactions were clearly established. The final area of Christian conduct was master-servant relationships, how we treat one another as image bearers of God in […]
Ephesians 5:28-6:4; This message is as a continuation (or part II) of the previous sermon on biblical instruction for husband-wife relationships in the home. Paul challenges the wife to submit to her husband, then coaches the husband to love his wife “just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her“. The passage […]
Ephesians 5:21-27; Paul transitions from instruction on personal christian conduct to the church and home. Repeatedly Paul emphasizes the powerful term “submit” to describe how believers and family members must yield to the God-given authority above them.
Ephesians 5:1-14; Paul begins his third set of directives on appropriate Christian living with an exhortation to “Follow God’s example….and walk in the way of love”. The Apostle abruptly shifts tone by addressing sexual immorality, impurity, greed, obscenity, foolish talk and coarse joking as behaviors which are completely unbecoming of a believer in Christ. These […]
Ephesians 4:25-32; Paul clearly defines the difference between living “your former way of life“, which he identifies as the “old self“. and putting on the “new self“, which is “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness“. The apostle lays out several behaviors that do not align with a spirit indwelled believer in […]
Ephesians 4:17-24; After diverging a bit from his focus on Christian living in 4:1, Paul returns to his instruction by stating, “you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking”. He continues by precisely defining those negative behaviors, which he calls the “old self”, and contrast that with the […]
Ephesians 4:11-16; Paul elaborates on the “grace” of Christ that is given to the church by defininng a group of gifted individuals that form the foundations of the Church. He notes that Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers are given to “equip his people for works of service”. Paul then defines the prominent difference between […]
Ephesians 4:1-10; Following three stout chapters of deep theological instruction, Paul shifts focus to the matter of practical Christian living. He begins chapter 4 with the exhortation, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received,” then lays out the foundations of a genuine Christians walk of faith. Included in […]
Ephesians 3:14-21; Paul concludes the first half of his letter to the church in Ephesus with a profound prayer. He petitions the Lord for strengthe and power through the Holy Spirit so Christ msy dwell richly in the heart of believers. The apostle also requests that the church come to understand the full measure of […]