Ephesians 3:1-13; After relating the profound truth that God has called both Jews and Gentiles to be one new people in the church (chpater 2), Paul continues by elaborating upon the “mystery” that he received by revelation from God in chapter 3. Paul’s commission as a preacher of the gospel of Christ came from God’s […]
Ephesians 2:11-22; Paul follows up his powerful teaching on the nature of God’s gifts of grace and faith through salvation in Christ from Ephesians 2:1-10, with another profound contrast. Gentile believers were once “far away” from the Lord because they were not His chosen people. Israel was the means by which the nations should have […]
Ephesians 2:1-10; After laying the groundwork of God’s Sovereignty in choosing believers as adopted sons and daughters with amazing spiritual blessings, Paul prayed for the church to have illumined hearts to know Him better. Again utilizing extended Greek sentence structure, Paul then explains the magnitude of God’s grace and mercy in bringing depraved sinners deserving […]
Ephesians 1:15-23; Paul concludes his benediction-greeting with a reoort of his active prayer support for the Ephesian church. The favorable report he received about them included love for God and fellow saints in Christ. He then reveals his desire for them to know more of God through the working of the Holy Spirit and headship […]
Ephesians 1:11-14; Continuing with the foundational theme of God’s Sovereignty, Paul denotes two distinct groups of believers. “We” are Jewish believers, “the first to put our hope in Christ” and “you”, Gentile believers who trusted in the gospel shared by faithful witnesses. Both are united by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit that was […]
Ephesians 1:1-10; My previous message from II Corinthians 4 focused on the suffering of the Apostle Paul for preaching the gospel and standing firm in his faith. Our present world is foundationally negative towards the Christian faith because the message of sinners needing forgivenss and spiritual renewal is far less appealing than Humanism. The only […]