| ||||||||
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| Beliefs - Bible Studies Ephesians One |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
In the letter to the Ephesian Church, the Apostle Paul addresses to "the faithful
in Christ Jesus," one of the most outstanding commentaries on the Christian Life
Paul declares himself to be an apostle by the will of God. The driving force in
Paul's life is the constant knowledge that he has of the experience of his
conversion on the Damascus Road. There the Lord himself called Paul to
surrender his own will to that of God. As Paul seeks to share with all men his
own joy and peace in his daily life, he is moved to utter words like, "Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Pauls first prayer for the Ephesian Church is that they may receive the Grace
and Peace that God bestows on his believing children. It is the "Amazing" Grace
of God that puts lost sinners into a saving covenant with a loving and merciful
God. One of the most important characteristics of God is love. As we meditate
upon the book of Ephesians, we must never lose sight of the benefits that man
has recieved from God through Christ.
Verse three declares, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ."
Through verse 10, Paul describes for us the real blessings of God. We, as
human beings, tend to think of blessings that come to us in physical or
materialistic ways. We seek for things that we can see, feel and show. God
reveals to us that the spiritual blessings are the ones for which we should be
most thankful. A close study of this section of scripture will reveal to us all of
those things which allow us to become born again saints of God.
The first spiritual blessing mentioned is that of election or predestination. What
a thrill to our souls should be the knowledge that God chose, according to the
good pleasure of his will, to accept us into his family through Jesus Christ.
Before the world was formed, before man ever existed or committed the first sin,
our loving God chose to make a way whereby we could be in fellowship with him.
This was true even with God's knowledge that man would be disobedient and
sin would come into the world and upon the whole human race.
Genesis tells us that man was created in the image and likeness of God. This
means that we were to be holy and blameless before God in love. Our standing
with God was to be based on our living by the twin declarations of the Lord
himself that we should "love the Lord our God with our whole heart, mind, soul,
and strength and that we should love our neighbour as ourselves."
Our innocense was lost in the garden of Eden as sin entered into the heart of
man. When Adam and Eve disobeyed, men lost the image and likeness of God.
They ceased to be holy and without blame. It was this fallen condition that God
foresaw when he "purposed in himself" to bring mankind back into fellowship with
him by predestinating us unto "adoption of children by Jesus Christ."
As Paul proclaims the great decision of God to bring sinners into a new
relationship, he reminds us in verse six that one of the purposes of God is taht
we praise the glory of God. Mankind has a duty to worship our creator. God
demands that men praise him for his grace, which was abundantly poured out
on us.
The second blessing given to us is acceptance. In the book of Hebrews, Jesus
Christ is presented as our high priest. We are there assured that God will
accept us only through the work of mediation that was accomplished by Christ
offering himself as our sacrifice. God, as a holy being, will not look upon or
allow in his presence either sin or sinful man. However, we are further assured
taht God will accept sinful men when they come to him through the person of
Jesus. Thank God for the cross of Calvary.
We are told in verse four that God has chosen us "in him." This should make
the worst of sinners to rejoice in the fact that God not only wants to remove our
sin but he desires that we actually abide in him.
The next great blessing from God is the redemption we have through the blood
of Christ. T have our sins forgiven and taken away to be remembered no more
is the act of God that brings us back to the place of once again appearing in the
image and likeness of God. Remission of sins was the purpose for the death of
Christ at Calvary. Our constant praise should be to God for allowing his sinless
Son to die that we might live when we were the ones who deserved to die.
The fourth spiritual blessing enjoyed by the church is divine revelation. Verse
nine tells us that God has made known to us the "mystery of his will." God's
purpose has always been that through his son Jesus all men might be gathered
into the church, the body of Christ. Paul states in 3:5 that this mystery was not
made known unto the sons of God in other ages. Now God declares his will to
all men through the Holy Bible by the Spirit. We are blessed in the church age
to have the indwelling Spirit to teach us and the complete Gospel in written form
to declare to us all things about God's divine purpose for our lives.
Another blessing is that God chose for us to have "union in and with Christ."
Salvation brings us into the body of Christ. We are members of one another.
The church is described in chapter four as being one body. By redemption, we
belong to Christ. We are his purchased possession. The church functions as
one united body to the glory of God, and to the mission of taking the Gospel to
the world. Having been united in Christ puts us in a right standing to be united
with Christ as the Lord will one day present his church to God the Father. The
doctrine of the second coming of the Lord should be the great motivation for us
to live our lives daily through the Spirit in expectation of going home to be with
the Lord.
The next spiritual blessing is the revelation of eternal inheritance. As we are
"adopted" into the family of God, we become "heirs of God and joint-heirs of
Christ." We find ourselves in position to inherit eternal life. Verse 10 says that
in the fullness of time God will gather together in one all things in Christ. As sin,
death and Hell are all put under, the church will enjoy for eternity that home that
Christ has gone to prepare. We get a sample of the beauty of Heaven in
Revelation 21. Our vision of the splendor of Heaven, as compared to the sinful
condition of this present evil world should make us truly have a "longing to go
home." Paul gives us another encouragement in Galatians 1:4 where he said
that Christ "gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present
evil world, according to the will of God and our Father."
The last great spiritual blessing that Paul shares in this chapter is that of the
seal and earnest of the Spirit. We are assured that after we have heard the
Gospel, described as the word of truth and the Gospel of our Salvation, and
upon our believing and trusting God, we become children of God through the
new birth. We are then sealed by the Holy Spirit. To possess the very Spirit of
God means to allow Christ to live in us and through us.
To realize that God desires such close fellowship with us that he comes to live in
our very bodies is proof of the truth of his word. It should make us determined
to faithfully live for Christ as we daily experience this "earnest" or down payment
on the inheritance that is ours in the world to come. While we are still in our
fleshly bodies, we can see the blessing that is ours by the final redemption,
when we receive our glorified bodies when Christ returns. May we be ever
watching and praying for that day to come.
Beginning at verse 15, Paul brings his discussion of what God has given to us
as blessings to an end. He now focuses on what the Church should do with this
body of information. The first desire of Paul is that we will see the great
importance this truth has on our lives. In verse 17, he shares with us his prayer
for the Church. All the knowledge in this world will be of no benefit to us unless
the Spirit leads us to that revelation of life-changing power of God utno
salvation. Paul prays that our understanding will be enlightened so we may
know that our hope is built on the sure promises of the greatness of God. We
can rest assured that God has the power to save us and reconcile us to himself
as we come to know that God raised the Lord Jesus from the dead. Our own
resurrection to newness of life is symbolized in our baptism and our resurrection
from the grave with that glorified new body will occur one day because Christ is
now on the right side of the throne of God. Verse 22 says that God has put all
things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
which is the body.
The Apostle Paul has given unto the Church in this chapter the master plan for
our Christian experience. May we, by the grace of God, allow the Holy Spirit to
enlighten our understanding so that we will live every day of our lives
worshipping and praising the one that went to Calvary to die that we may live
eternally.
*Author's Note:
Dear friend, this simple Bible study is presented with the prayerful hope that you
will find that which St. John 20:31 says, "These things are written that ye might
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might
have life through his name."
Shirley Billingsley
July 18, 2002
in Christ Jesus," one of the most outstanding commentaries on the Christian Life
Paul declares himself to be an apostle by the will of God. The driving force in
Paul's life is the constant knowledge that he has of the experience of his
conversion on the Damascus Road. There the Lord himself called Paul to
surrender his own will to that of God. As Paul seeks to share with all men his
own joy and peace in his daily life, he is moved to utter words like, "Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Pauls first prayer for the Ephesian Church is that they may receive the Grace
and Peace that God bestows on his believing children. It is the "Amazing" Grace
of God that puts lost sinners into a saving covenant with a loving and merciful
God. One of the most important characteristics of God is love. As we meditate
upon the book of Ephesians, we must never lose sight of the benefits that man
has recieved from God through Christ.
Verse three declares, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ."
Through verse 10, Paul describes for us the real blessings of God. We, as
human beings, tend to think of blessings that come to us in physical or
materialistic ways. We seek for things that we can see, feel and show. God
reveals to us that the spiritual blessings are the ones for which we should be
most thankful. A close study of this section of scripture will reveal to us all of
those things which allow us to become born again saints of God.
The first spiritual blessing mentioned is that of election or predestination. What
a thrill to our souls should be the knowledge that God chose, according to the
good pleasure of his will, to accept us into his family through Jesus Christ.
Before the world was formed, before man ever existed or committed the first sin,
our loving God chose to make a way whereby we could be in fellowship with him.
This was true even with God's knowledge that man would be disobedient and
sin would come into the world and upon the whole human race.
Genesis tells us that man was created in the image and likeness of God. This
means that we were to be holy and blameless before God in love. Our standing
with God was to be based on our living by the twin declarations of the Lord
himself that we should "love the Lord our God with our whole heart, mind, soul,
and strength and that we should love our neighbour as ourselves."
Our innocense was lost in the garden of Eden as sin entered into the heart of
man. When Adam and Eve disobeyed, men lost the image and likeness of God.
They ceased to be holy and without blame. It was this fallen condition that God
foresaw when he "purposed in himself" to bring mankind back into fellowship with
him by predestinating us unto "adoption of children by Jesus Christ."
As Paul proclaims the great decision of God to bring sinners into a new
relationship, he reminds us in verse six that one of the purposes of God is taht
we praise the glory of God. Mankind has a duty to worship our creator. God
demands that men praise him for his grace, which was abundantly poured out
on us.
The second blessing given to us is acceptance. In the book of Hebrews, Jesus
Christ is presented as our high priest. We are there assured that God will
accept us only through the work of mediation that was accomplished by Christ
offering himself as our sacrifice. God, as a holy being, will not look upon or
allow in his presence either sin or sinful man. However, we are further assured
taht God will accept sinful men when they come to him through the person of
Jesus. Thank God for the cross of Calvary.
We are told in verse four that God has chosen us "in him." This should make
the worst of sinners to rejoice in the fact that God not only wants to remove our
sin but he desires that we actually abide in him.
The next great blessing from God is the redemption we have through the blood
of Christ. T have our sins forgiven and taken away to be remembered no more
is the act of God that brings us back to the place of once again appearing in the
image and likeness of God. Remission of sins was the purpose for the death of
Christ at Calvary. Our constant praise should be to God for allowing his sinless
Son to die that we might live when we were the ones who deserved to die.
The fourth spiritual blessing enjoyed by the church is divine revelation. Verse
nine tells us that God has made known to us the "mystery of his will." God's
purpose has always been that through his son Jesus all men might be gathered
into the church, the body of Christ. Paul states in 3:5 that this mystery was not
made known unto the sons of God in other ages. Now God declares his will to
all men through the Holy Bible by the Spirit. We are blessed in the church age
to have the indwelling Spirit to teach us and the complete Gospel in written form
to declare to us all things about God's divine purpose for our lives.
Another blessing is that God chose for us to have "union in and with Christ."
Salvation brings us into the body of Christ. We are members of one another.
The church is described in chapter four as being one body. By redemption, we
belong to Christ. We are his purchased possession. The church functions as
one united body to the glory of God, and to the mission of taking the Gospel to
the world. Having been united in Christ puts us in a right standing to be united
with Christ as the Lord will one day present his church to God the Father. The
doctrine of the second coming of the Lord should be the great motivation for us
to live our lives daily through the Spirit in expectation of going home to be with
the Lord.
The next spiritual blessing is the revelation of eternal inheritance. As we are
"adopted" into the family of God, we become "heirs of God and joint-heirs of
Christ." We find ourselves in position to inherit eternal life. Verse 10 says that
in the fullness of time God will gather together in one all things in Christ. As sin,
death and Hell are all put under, the church will enjoy for eternity that home that
Christ has gone to prepare. We get a sample of the beauty of Heaven in
Revelation 21. Our vision of the splendor of Heaven, as compared to the sinful
condition of this present evil world should make us truly have a "longing to go
home." Paul gives us another encouragement in Galatians 1:4 where he said
that Christ "gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present
evil world, according to the will of God and our Father."
The last great spiritual blessing that Paul shares in this chapter is that of the
seal and earnest of the Spirit. We are assured that after we have heard the
Gospel, described as the word of truth and the Gospel of our Salvation, and
upon our believing and trusting God, we become children of God through the
new birth. We are then sealed by the Holy Spirit. To possess the very Spirit of
God means to allow Christ to live in us and through us.
To realize that God desires such close fellowship with us that he comes to live in
our very bodies is proof of the truth of his word. It should make us determined
to faithfully live for Christ as we daily experience this "earnest" or down payment
on the inheritance that is ours in the world to come. While we are still in our
fleshly bodies, we can see the blessing that is ours by the final redemption,
when we receive our glorified bodies when Christ returns. May we be ever
watching and praying for that day to come.
Beginning at verse 15, Paul brings his discussion of what God has given to us
as blessings to an end. He now focuses on what the Church should do with this
body of information. The first desire of Paul is that we will see the great
importance this truth has on our lives. In verse 17, he shares with us his prayer
for the Church. All the knowledge in this world will be of no benefit to us unless
the Spirit leads us to that revelation of life-changing power of God utno
salvation. Paul prays that our understanding will be enlightened so we may
know that our hope is built on the sure promises of the greatness of God. We
can rest assured that God has the power to save us and reconcile us to himself
as we come to know that God raised the Lord Jesus from the dead. Our own
resurrection to newness of life is symbolized in our baptism and our resurrection
from the grave with that glorified new body will occur one day because Christ is
now on the right side of the throne of God. Verse 22 says that God has put all
things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
which is the body.
The Apostle Paul has given unto the Church in this chapter the master plan for
our Christian experience. May we, by the grace of God, allow the Holy Spirit to
enlighten our understanding so that we will live every day of our lives
worshipping and praising the one that went to Calvary to die that we may live
eternally.
*Author's Note:
Dear friend, this simple Bible study is presented with the prayerful hope that you
will find that which St. John 20:31 says, "These things are written that ye might
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might
have life through his name."
Shirley Billingsley
July 18, 2002