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Are You Doing Your Part?

But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore He says: "WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVITY CAPTIVE, AND GAVE GIFTS TO MEN." (Now this, "HE ASCENDED"—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up...

Walk Worthy of Your Calling

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all (Eph 4:1-6 NKJV). When Scripture is attacked, Christ’s deity is challenged, or the concept of salvation by grace through faith is debated, we must remain steadfast in our beliefs. These are the types of core issues that demand church discipline and or separation. Unfortunately, there have been many church feuds over things not essential to the faith. It is particularly sad to see church members fighting over personal matters unrelated to doctrine. Some have even reported church splits over the color of the auditorium ca...

He Is Able

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen (Eph 3:20-21 NKJV). To further encourage the believers at Ephasis to trust God with their prayers, Paul magnifies God’s endless power to answer. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think. Of course, God can’t do anything that would go against His nature, but beyond that, there is no limit to His power. Interestingly, though, Paul does put a condition upon his statement. That condition is according to the power that works in us. Is Paul referring to God’s power in and of itself, or is he referring to that power limited by the amount that is working in us? God is omnipotent. However, if Paul is referring to the amount of power limited by our spiritual condition, we would do well not to grieve the Holy Spirit, who is the power of God in us. ...

Face Tribulations with Prayer

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph 3:14-19 NKJV). Paul was concerned that the believers in Ephesus would be discouraged seeing Paul’s tribulations. So, he says to them, I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory (Eph 3:13b NKJV). Then, he prays for them. Paul prays that they would be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man. Tribulations create stress and worry. He asks the Father to fill their heart...

You Are on Display

Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (Eph 2:19-22 NKJV). The Taj-Mahal is considered one of the seven wonders of the world. It took approximately 20 years and 20,000 artisans to complete its white marble structure. While many marvel at its beauty, it is just a mausoleum for the dead. Do you realize, dear Christian, that you are a part of a far greater and more beautiful structure? You are part of God’s temple. Do you also realize that you are always on display? We would do well to ask ourselves, “What do people see when they look at my life?” Do others see you like the gleaming white marble...

Make No Distinctions

For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father (Eph 2:14-18 NKJV). Jew and Gentile were brought near by the blood of Christ. The law was satisfied in Christ, He being without sin, yet punished on sinners' behalf. All believers have the righteousness of Christ imputed to them. So, let us not make distinctions between ourselves. Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joi...

Hope for the Hopeless

Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ (Eph 2:11-13 NKJV). Without Christ’s intervention, we would be completely consumed by our sin. Seeking to escape the piercing gaze of a Holy God, we would do our best to eradicate the thought of God from our minds. Such rebellion leads to a depraved mind (Romans 1:18-32). Thanks be unto God for Christ’s substitutionary death. We were without hope, bound up in darkness, children of wrath. However, God made a way. Christ became our sin bearer. He paid the debt we could not pay. Let us not forget our former disposition. We did not love God. We did not want to s...

You Were Created for Good Works

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Eph 2:8-10 NKJV). Do you realize that you were created for good works in Christ Jesus? Not only were you created for good works, but God also prepared beforehand those good works in which you are to walk. Now I am no longer a young man, and I have had my share of jobs over the years. One thing I have learned is that the Preacher was right when he wrote, “I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind” (Ecc 1:14 NKJV). While there was some solace in providing for loved ones and having a sense of a job well done, I still felt like the Preacher at the end of the day, all was vanity. This, of course, was before my conversion. Since then, even my secular jobs have...

Do You Love God?

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:4-7 NKJV). There was nothing good in us, yet God saved us. God demonstrated His love for us by dying for us when we were sinners (Romans 5:8). It is difficult for us to see just how depraved we were because our sinful nature naturally wants to see itself as good. However, the Scriptures are clear that there is none righteous, not one (Romans 3:10). While we would like to think there was something redeemable in us, the truth is, God saved us to magnify His kindness toward us. He saved us for our good, but ultimately for His glory. This is not difficult for believers to understand, as we ...

The Need for Grace

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others (Eph 2:1-3 NKJV). The need for grace should be obvious with the reading of this passage. Without God’s intervention, we would continue walking according to the course of this world. This is true because it was our nature as children of wrath. Let us praise God Who made us alive. Since we were dead in trespasses and sins, we had to be raised to new life in Christ. Therefore, it should be no great puzzle to us that our witness is often met with indifference. If you think about it, we're speaking to dead men. Do you remember the last funeral you attended? One of the most...

The Need for Prayer

Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who f...

Plan Complete

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory (Eph 1:11-14 NKJV). At the beginning of this epistle, we are told that we have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ (Eph 1:3-4). Before the foundation of the world, we were chosen to be holy and blameless. Then, God predestined us to be adopted as His children, ensuring our redemption through the blood of Christ. He sovereignly brought about our quickening at the exact moment He determined. All of this happened to the praise of the glor...

Perfect Timing

He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight, He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him (Eph 1:5-10 NAS95). As a child of God, you are a testimony to the glory of God’s grace. It is by grace that you have been saved. God has opened your eyes to see truth and to trust in His Son. Without God’s grace, which was lavished on us who believe, we would be as all the rest, blinded by the god of this age (2 Cor 4:4). We have forgiveness ...

Predestined

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved (Eph 1:3-6 KJV). God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ. He did this by choosing us before the foundation of the world. Not only did He choose us, but He also predestined us to be adopted as children by Jesus Christ to Himself. It should be noted that His choosing of us was not based on anything we did. God did not look ahead in His omniscience and think, “Oh, that one will believe, therefore I will predestinate him.” There are those seeking to claw back some human ability who use Rom...

Chosen

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love (Eph 1:3-4 KJV). Paul tells us that we have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ. The blessings Paul describes are already given. The first is our election in Him before the foundation of the world. This may seem contradictory to your experience; however, the Scriptures are clear on this matter. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you (Joh 15:16 KJV). This is not to say our will was not involved at any time. However, we did not initiate our conversion; God did. But as many as received him, to them gave he p...

Spiritual Blessings

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Eph 1:1-3 NAS95). Every spiritual blessing belongs to us, specifically those who have been saved by the blood of Christ and who are faithful in the Lord Jesus Christ. The most important thing to realize is that our blessings are in Christ. Temporal blessings we may or may not have, but our spiritual blessings are always because of our relationship with Christ. Paul blesses the Father for blessing us in Christ. This should be our attitude. Let thankfulness pour from your lips. Our victory is won in Christ. We must indeed suffer through the trial of this earthly life, but there is laid up in heaven an inheritance that will not fade away (1Pe 1:3-5 NAS95)...

FAITH PROCLAIMED

FAITH PROCLAIMED First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world (Rom 1:8 NAS95) . I wonder if Paul, seeing our situation, would be able to thank God because our faith is being proclaimed throughout the world? There are two ways one might interpret Paul’s comment. One could understand that the Romans’ faithfulness was spreading far and wide. The other could be that the Romans’ Gospel message was being proclaimed far and wide. My guess is both are true. Are you not thankful that the grace of God is still active and bearing fruit? Don't you wish others could express their gratitude for your faith? Let us pray that God would pour out a blessing on our churches; that He would turn our hearts heavenward. Let us seek the Kingdom of God first. Many things are competing for our attention. Work, school, church, and family, to name a few. Sometimes we are just busy with life. You fill in the blanks. Contemplati...

God’s Love Declared

God’s Love Declared Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 1:1-7 NAS95). Paul was set apart to preach the Gospel of God to the Gentiles. While his specific ministry focused on Gentiles, his letter to the Romans is beneficial to all who would seek to know God, Jew or Gentile. The Gospel to which Paul refers is not some new thin...

Sow Bountifully

Sow Bountifully Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; as it is written, "HE SCATTERED ABROAD, HE GAVE TO THE POOR, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ENDURES FOREVER." Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God. Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedi...