Ephesians

Ephesians 5:15-16, "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." Paul begins Ephesians 4 with an appeal to "walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called." He spends...

Throughout Scripture, divine activity, and human response are carefully balanced. The two are never opposed to one another but are always presented as working in conjunction with one another. A classic verse that demonstrates this reality is Philippians 2:12: “work...

Ephesians 5:1–2: “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” One unavoidable pattern we see in life is children adopting the habits of their parents....

Ephesians 4:28, ESV, “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” One of the great misconceptions about humanity is the belief that all people are basically...

Ephesians 4:26-27, ESV, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” - We live in troubled times. . In a culture that is experiencing division and outrage on issues regarding politics, race, gender, and...

Ephesians 4:25: “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.” I want you to see something today, and I pray that God gives you a heart to bear His word of truth. There is an essential...

I have a system for putting my baby to sleep. First, I pace the house with him cuddled tightly in my arms. Once his eyes shut, I gently sit down and snuggle him on my chest. Once he stops sucking his soother (a great indicator that he’s finally given way to deep...

Ephesians 4:20-22, “But that is not the way you learned Christ! —  assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires.”...

Ephesians 4:17-19, ESV, “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to...

There is much discussion today regarding what the church is “to be.” What does a biblical church look like? How does a biblical church operate? We have been asking such poignant questions since the book of Acts. However, among the many answers that are varied and...

In Ephesians 4, the Apostle Paul is preeminently concerned with the unity of the body of Christ––how they function as one unit, how they strive for one mission, how they reach one goal. From the beginning of chapter 4, Paul takes up the task of identifying this “one...

Ephesians 4:12-13, “To equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”...

Ephesians 4:11, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers…”.   As part of the overflow of his amazing grace toward his people (Eph 2:1-10), Jesus gave five offices to the church, four of which are mentioned in Ephesians 4:11...

Ephesians 4:8-10: “Therefore it says, ‘When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.’ (In saying, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?  He who descended is the one who also...

Eph. 4:7, “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.” Maintaining the unity of the Spirit, the unity of the body of Christ, takes grace. God through Christ has given that to us. God is a gracious God. When Moses asked God to...

Eph. 4:5-6, “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” The Holy Spirit called us to one hope. Within that hope, we have one Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ. We have one faith, the gospel. And we have one...

Eph. 4:4, “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call” Paul implores us to walk in a manner worthy of our calling and part of that is maintaining the unity of the Holy Spirit. The unity comes as we understand...

Ephesians 4:1-3, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in...

Ephesians 4:1, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” Paul makes an admonition to the Ephesians to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which they have been called. He does this on...

Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).  ...

Ephesians 3:8-9, “To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.”...

Ephesians 3:6 , “This mystery is that the gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” What do you make of that sentence? Does this thrill your soul? Possibly, your greatest duty today is to...

As with all words of Scripture, this letter from Paul is recorded that we might encounter our God and understand His good purposes. Paul writes this letter so that those who read it “will be able to understand (Paul’s) insight into the mystery of Christ.” In writing...

Considering how common streaming services and DVR are today, it’s hard to believe it was just a couple decades ago that if you wanted to watch your favorite television program you had to be in front of your TV at just the right time. If you missed the regularly...

Ephesians 3:1-2, “For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you,” Would we go to prison for someone else? The Apostle Paul did. He opens...

Ephesians 2:20-21, “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” I’m a sucker for reviews. As I scan through them, I find...

Ephesians 2:22, “In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” My kids love building with Legos and wooden blocks.  We went through plenty of days in frustration while they were learning what works and what doesn’t. During...

Ephesians 2:19, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” We all know what it feels like to be excluded, left out, and disregarded. We often attribute the experience of being...

On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan stood at Brandenburg Gate at a ceremony commemorating the 750th anniversary of the City of Berlin. In his speech he uttered some of the most famous words every said by an American President, “Mr. Gorvacbev, Tear Down This...

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13 ESV) I brought my knees in close as I stared at the test on the bathtub ledge. My expected cycle was late and my boyfriend and I were getting nervous. At...

“Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and...

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). By the grace of God, Paul masterfully displays in Ephesians 1:1-9 how every Christian and the body of Christ as a whole...

Ephesians 2:9, “not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” “How can you be totally sure, right now, that God is pleased with you?” The question was posed by a popular Bible teacher on the television screen. I was in the midst of a weekly women’s Bible study in...

Today is a day to celebrate the grace of God.  "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8). Let those words sink in deep. Grace saves. We can take no credit for all we have and all we are in...

“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,” (Ephesians 2:1 NKJV) You were dead. The Greek word dead (nekrous) literally means ‘corpse’ or ‘dead body’. Paul is reminding the church of Ephesus they were powerless, trapped in their trespasses and sins....

There is this strange dissonance, a tension in the Christian life that exists when we talk about ourselves, especially in Reformed circles. On the one hand, we want to acknowledge the dignity of mankind, made in the image of God to reflect His glory, but on the other...

Ephesians 1:15-16, “For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.” What does it mean to you when a fellow brother or sister in Christ...

I remember when I was 8 years old. It was Christmas morning and while running to the living room I saw "it!" The very thing I asked for that year. It was a Hot Wheels Daytona 500 racetrack; you know the one with battery-powered cars! I played with that gift for hours...

Ephesians 1:11-12 “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,2 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.” Do we...

Ephesians 1:7-10, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making know to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he...

Ephesians 1:5-6, “In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” Adoption is the gospel. Seems like a pretty bold claim to...

Ephesians 1:4, “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” R.C. Sproul said, “To be a saint means to be separated. But it means more than that. The saint also is to be involved in a vital process of...

Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…” I am persuaded that one of Paul’s goals in Ephesians, particularly in the first three chapters, is to stun his...

Ephesians 1:1-2, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” At first glance, the first two verses of Ephesians come...