Dec. 26, 2021 - Overview of Ephesians
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I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend.
I know it’s always a busy time of year - and it can be easy to miss out on the REST side of it...
In order to accommodate all the running around.
Last time we were together - we focused on the Christmas holiday - and in doing so we looked at the Christmas Elephant in the room of this world...
And we were ARMED with questions - for the world.
A couple weeks prior to that - we closed out the book of Ephesians.
If you’ve been around here long enough at AFBC, you’ll KNOW that when we complete a book...
I like to finish out that book - with a 1 sermon RECAP of the entire book.
Why - to ANNOY you!
NO - so that we TAKE ALL that we’ve heard - from that biblical writer ...
And package it together...
HOPEFULLY - the outcome of that will be you leaving here today - with a better understanding of the book...
So that someday - if one of your friends asks you - What’s Ephesians about…?
You’ll be able to answer them - and answer them correctly - in a helpful way...
So let’s get started...
The book itself is laid out in a particular structure...
And it really boils down to what you see on the screen now...
GOD - His Church - and His People
And so when it comes to where Paul begins this letter - He begins with...
SLIDE: The Divine Purpose: The Glory and Headship of Christ
The Divine Purpose
The Divine Purpose
If we remember, Paul didn’t write this letter to the Ephesians because of some overt ISSUE within the church...
Paul is simply expounding on God and the deeper truths of who He is.
He begins by giving us a long list of - MEANS that God uses for His own END...
Blessings flow from these MEANS - but ultimately it leads to a Divine End...
What are these MEANS?
The first DIVINE mean that we’ll see is this...
SLIDE: Mean: God Chose Us: Blessing: We Are Holy and Blameless
Mean: God Chose Us
Mean: God Chose Us
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
Verse 4 - God did - what?
CHOSE US.... - IN HIM (in Christ)
I hope you remember that little PHRASE from this 1st chapter of the book...
IN CHRIST...
See - the blessings of God FLOW FROM - IN Christ
They RESIDE - IN Christ!
So- Before the foundation of the world - God CHOSE us - IN CHRIST...
And this CHOOSING - is a MEAN of God - and with it comes BLESSING!!
This CHOOSING leads to us being HOLY and BLAMELESS!
A Christian’s HOLINESS before God / a Christian’s BLAMELESSNESS before God comes - thru FAITH in Jesus
It’s HIS Holiness that we attain thru faith...
HIS BLAMELESSNESS we attain thru faith...
SLIDE: Mean: God Predestined Us - Blessing: We Obtain an Inheritance
Mean: God Predestined Us
Mean: God Predestined Us
5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
Here we see the next MEAN of God - a MEANS to an END...
And here it is - He PREDESTINED US for ADOPTION to Himself...
HOW?
THRU - or IN Jesus Christ...
And what’s the BLESSING that comes to US through this ADOPTION…?
11 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,
There it is again - IN CHRIST - we have obtained an inheritance...
And not just an inheritance - but an EVERLASTING inheritance...
SLIDE: Mean: God Lavished Us with Grace - Blessing: We Come to Know His Will
Mean: God Lavished Us with Grace
Mean: God Lavished Us with Grace
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
· Now – we know that God’s grace brings with it EVERY SPIRITUAL blessing…
· But in regards to this text, we see it in connection with – The Will of God
· “HIS grace, which He lavished on us, making known to us the mystery of His will…”
· What we see throughout Scripture are promises of God, in how He transforms an IMMATURE BELIEVER into a mature believer…
HOW? By commanding US - to MATURE!!
And YET - we also see in the Bible this last MEAN of God...
SLIDE: Mean: God Seals Us with the Holy Spirit - Blessing: We are Guaranteed Our Inheritance
Mean: God Seals Us with the Holy Spirit
Mean: God Seals Us with the Holy Spirit
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
· What do we see here…
· It starts… “IN HIM…there it is again…
· In Him, when you believed IN HIM…
· …were SEALED with the promised Holy Spirit
What blessing came with that?
· …the Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it…
The biblical concept of ONCE SAVED – ALWAYS SAVED – rests on verses like these…
· The Holy Spirit guarantees our – IMPERISHABLE inheritance…
NOW – ALL of these Means and the blessings that come with them – all point to the PURPOSE of LIFE…
And verses 11-14 of chapter 1 speak to what that is...
11 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,
12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Multiple times in this passage we see the WHY question answered...
WHY all these means...
WHY all the blessings…?
v12 ends with the phrase - to the praise of His glory..
v14 ends with the SAME phrase - to the praise of His glory...
SLIDE: The Purpose of Life: The Glorification of God In Christ
The Purpose of Life
The Purpose of Life
It’s amazing to think - - we KNOW - with certainty - why we are here...
WHY we’re alive
WHY we’re working where we work
WHY we were recently laid off
WHY we recently experienced unimaginable loss
WHY we will (LORD WILLING) - walk out of these doors today...
ALL - for the Glorification of God - IN CHRIST!
…to the PRAISE of His glory!
And the apostle Paul - KNOWS that for this to be a reality in our lives...
It’s going to take us - MATURING in the faith...
And this brings us to the 2nd main theme in the book of Ephesians...
We go from the PURPOSE OF LIFE in the Glorification of God In CHRIST...
TO -
this...
SLIDE: The Glorification of God In Christ: As the Body of Christ (Church)
The Glorification of God In Christ
The Glorification of God In Christ
Paul goes from highlighting the PURPOSE of Life - in the GLORIFICATION of God - IN CHRIST...
To highlighting for us HOW THE CHURCH plays a role - IN the GLORIFICATION of God - IN CHRIST!
He starts then by discussing the UNITY - the ONENESS we have IN CHRIST - in the church...
And it’s THIS ONENESS that Paul describes as - The Mystery of the Gospel!
That IN CHRIST - both Jew and Greek are now - ONE!
That though there was once a WALL of Hostility between both Jew and Greek -
NOW - that wall has been TORN DOWN - by Christ!!
SO THAT - those who were once - FAR OFF - aliens - are now - UNITED!
And being UNITED - we ALL - now GROW together in the Body of Christ!!
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,
20 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.
MATURITY is what Paul is calling us to - COLLECTIVELY!!
SO...we GROW / Mature in the Lord by:
Hearing the Truth
Memorizing the Truth
Meditating on the Truth
Studying the Truth
Obeying the Truth
Defending the Truth
Proclaiming the Truth
Now what’s the common denominator in all of these?
The TRUTH!
In a world where POWER trumps TRUTH - we see how IMPORTANT these things are....
That WE - as the Body of Christ - SEEK - the TRUTH - together!!
And as Paul explained to the Ephesian church - the CHURCH itself plays a HUGE role in - the Glorification of God - IN Christ...
Paul made it known that the Gospel of Christ - In BREAKING down the barrier between Jew and Gentile...
was - the MYSTERY of the GOSPEL...
That Gentiles would be WELCOMED into the Household of God - By the blood of Jesus!!
And Paul THEN describes how the CHURCH (the body of Christ) fits into - the REVELATION of THAT MYSTERY!
8 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,
9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things,
10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
This mystery is BEING revealed NOW - How?
THROUGH the CHURCH...
SLIDE: The Church Glorifies God: Through Revealing the Mystery of the Gospel
The Church Glorifies God
The Church Glorifies God
That THRU the church - the manifold (multi-faceted) WISDOM of God might NOW BE MADE KNOWN...
TO WHO?
...to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places!
WE - have a Cosmic audience...
...as we LIVE out the PLAN of the MYSTERY...
We have a HEAVENLY AUDIENCE - peering down upon our walks of faith! - WOW
And what are we REVEALING?...that..
Jesus Christ - the MERCY SEAT of God - is OUR salvation... (US - Gentiles)
And this MYSTERY - being preached at this time - in the 1st century...
Would have been - hard to grasp!
The tensions between Jew and Greek - were REAL - and they were INTENSE!
To the Jew - the Greek was unclean...
UNWORTHY!
And YET - now the Jew is being told that the blessings of God - EXTEND OUTSIDE the perceived WALLS of Jewish culture…to the Gentile!
And so PAUL then HIGHLIGHTS the unity of the Spirit WITHIN the body of Christ!!
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,
2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
The call here - for us as the CHURCH...
to LIVE a certain way!
and we see 2 couplets here - EACH balancing each other out...
We see - Humility & Gentleness...
An inner humility....and an outward gentleness
Humility is the INTERNAL quality...
Gentleness is the EXTERNAL demonstration of the INNER quality of humility...
NOT ONLY this…but we see another couplet...
We see - Patience & Long-Suffering
An INNER Patience...a RESOLVE to be patient with others...
OUTWARDLY - bearing with one another in love!! (Long-Suffering)
And of COURSE - we see all of these traits IN CHRIST Himself!
Paul - Calling US (the CHURCH) to collective maturity / UNITY!!
That we would GROW up into a HOLY TEMPLE...
How many of you are GRATEFUL for Christ’s HUMILITY…to empty Himself and take on the form of a servant?
How many of you are GRATEFUL for the Gentleness of Christ…? In dealing with our sins - RESPONDING to us day after day - GENTLY
How many of you are GRATEFUL for the Patience of Christ - ?
How many of you are GRATEFUL for the Long-Suffering of Christ…bearing with our moments of hatred toward Him and His children?
We KNOW and have EXPERIENCED these traits IN CHRIST...
And so - the CALL is that we TOO - become LIKE Christ and LIVE amongst each other in the same manner!
PURSUING UNITY - in the SPIRIT....
YET -
Understanding that WITHIN this unity - there is DIVERSITY in the Body of Christ
SLIDE: The Church Glorifies God: Uniquely Gifted by Christ
The Church Glorifies God
The Church Glorifies God
And this is GREAT NEWS - because it means there’s ALWAYS ROOM for you...
If your thought is - WELL - i don’t think I could ever be USED by God... you’re...wrong
• And the great thing about THESE gifts - from Christ - is that - they’re FROM Christ!!
• These gifts aren’t - MAN-inspired!
• EVERY talent/skill that you have - is FROM God... • no matter what it is
If you are GOOD at something - whatever it is - the reason is - GOD
BUT - in God’s economy...what you’re BAD at today - could VERY WELL be - your GIFTING tomorrow
And ALL that it will take for you to realize it - - is FAITH
Maybe you’ve said NO WAY - to that thing - in the past...
• That’s SO EASY!
• It’s SO EASY to say - NO, I’m not GOOD at that - THEREFORE i won’t do it...
• That’s SO EASY - but that’s NOT Christianity!
• There’s such a LACK of FAITH there...
But if you can STEP OUT - onto the thin ice and say - YEAH let’s go...it’s THIN ENOUGH for crossing...
THAT’S where you’ll find your GIFTING…AS YOU rest in His strength and not your own!
And so PAUL calls the CHURCH - to get out of your boat
Find your gifting -
BUT - let others CONFIRM your gift
That’s the great thing about the Body of Christ!
It will CONFIRM whether you HAVE a gift or - DON’T have a particular gift.
I’m always LEARY of the person who likes to tell everyone else WHAT THEIR OWN gift is...
The person that walks up to me and says - “Hi Mike, I have the gift of DISCERNMENT...”
“I have the gift of Exhortation”
“I have the gift of Mercy”
“…teaching”
“…service”
When I hear people say this - my first thought is - EVERY TIME - ok, we’ll see...
The Body of Christ will confirm these things - EITHER WAY...
My philosophy is - If I have a gifting, I don’t have to tell people about it...
That gifting will SPEAK for itself...
WHY?
Because these GIFTS are POWERED BY - - the Spirit…God Himself…!
And so this is how the CHURCH glorifies God IN CHRIST...
As we pursue UNITY in the Spirit....
Seeking to GROW in the Lord - together
Using our Gifts to EDIFY the church...
We REVEAL the MYSTERY of the Gospel = to the World and to a Heavenly Audience!!
- That’s from the ANGLE of - the Church
NOW - from the angle of you - and me
FROM HERE - Paul then gets into PRACTICAL ways that WE as individuals glorify God IN CHRIST!
SLIDE: The Glorification of God In Christ: As a Member of His Body
The Glorification of God In Christ
The Glorification of God In Christ
I have often said - that if the Body of Christ is EVER going to glorify God...
It will take EACH MEMBER - TUNING their lives to the fork of Jesus Christ!
It will take EACH MEMBER - glorifying God in their own lives!
And it starts with US as believers - Understanding that we REALLY DO have a NEW Identity - IN CHRIST!!
Paul said this in chapter 4
22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,
23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Paul’s calling us - to MATURE in the faith!
I think we often take this last verse - and we MODIFY it...
That MAY be why it says what it says...
It says we’re called to PUT on the NEW SELF - created after the likeness of God IN?
TRUE righteousness and holiness!
That word TRUE - is HUGE!
Why?
I feel like we often - at least in HOW we live...
REMOVE that word - TRUE
…and then REDEFINE - righteousness to suit our desires...
And IN THOSE TIMES - it will become - SELF-Righteousness (my own definition of righteousness)
And this time of year always makes me THINK about this...
I know - that if we were to go around to different churches on Christmas Eve...
Over-and-over again - we’d see - - Standing Room Only...
The most POSTED services - the most PROCLAIMED services are - - Christmas Eve services!
Such a beautiful service
all dark - candles lit - so pretty
old hymns - angelic voices
Check OUT this service!
UNBELIEVABLE!
SOOOOOO GOOD!!
Is that a BAD thing? - - no
BUT
*what would happen if on Thursday, January 13th, you text all your unbelieving friends...
“Merry Christmas!”
What would there response be?
Christmas? You been drinking Mike?
Now - text the same thing to all your Christian friends… on that same day...
Response?
Christmas?
You been drinking Mike?
Same response....why?
Because Christmas is - December 25th~
Christmas Eve is Dec. 24th!
And THOSE services are - SPECIAL!
THOSE services are STANDING ROOM ONLY...
THOSE services are worthy of sharing online - proclaiming to my friends...
And I HOPE - it gets us thinking....
Righteousness doesn’t take DAYS OFF...
Our ENTHUSIASM for Christ - hopefully - doesn’t RISE and FALL with the seasons we’ve created...
Hopefully our Enthusiasm for Christ isn’t GREATER - on Christmas Eve!
Put on - the NEW SELF - Paul says
where EVERY DAY - we stand in AWE of His coming...
In AWE of His work on the cross
*I read this yesterday, and it speaks to this idea…(note from Mrs. Hallman)
Mature Paul says -
8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
We USED to be DARKNESS - but now - LIGHT!
And yet we STILL have to work at this…(read below)
The New Life
Rooted in The Truth
Rooted in Prayer & Humility
Rooted in Honesty
Rooted in Grace
Rooted in the Power of the Holy Spirit
The Truth: God’s word (seeking to KNOW truth that we might build each other up IN truth)
Prayer and Humility: Knowing ourselves in the sight of God helps us control ourselves (anger)
Honesty: Living with Christ as the Uppermost affection - seeking to GIVE away what’s been given to us...Understanding that God REIGNS - not me
Grace: Showing grace to others displays what has been GRANTED to me - God’s grace
The Power of the Holy Spirit: God wants to mold us into His likeness - this MUST happen and ONLY happens in His strength! - May we not grieve His work in us!
And this is really the CRUX of the MATTER when it comes to LIVING our Christianity...
It’s living out this NEW IDENTITY in Christ!!
And part of that includes what?
Pursuing Contentment in the Lord:
Being THANKFUL for your spouse...therefore not coveting another
Being THANKFUL for your savior...therefore not coveting to elevate SELF
Being THANKFUL for the conquering of sin...therefore not coveting to embrace it
Having a NEW identity in Christ – we are called to be known as people who are THANKFUL! · CONTENT!
And this TASK before us - this TRANSFORMATION...
Is - - SEEMINGLY - - a MOUNTAIN before us!
It’s NOT easy…in fact - it feels impossible!
And that’s why Paul calls us to walk in Godly Wisdom...
TO seek HIS wisdom...
15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,
16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
True Godly wisdom is peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, and without hypocrisy. (CHARACTERISTICS of Godly Wisdom)
And Paul says - PURSUE these things - MEDITATE on these things!!
And AS YOU DO - let these truths…IMPACT our lives!!
If we’re MARRIED - they should IMPACT our marriages!
WIVES -
The Call of Helper goes out to you…
Wives are called to submit to their husbands - as help-mates!
To embrace the call of help-mate.
Your HUSBAND needs you...but in a certain way
Whatever you may believe - Wives, were not called to be the Spiritual leaders of their homes.
It’s a weight you weren’t made to bear
Of course that doesn’t mean you forgo Spiritual growth...
It means - IF your husband is not EMBRACING that role as a Christian, you seek ways to encourage him IN THAT...
And the reason you approach that - in a CERTAIN - God-honoring way...is because... The Role of Helper: Saturated with the Power of God
You have power...
You know your husband in ways no one else does...
Don’t be an expert in his weaknesses.
Champion his strengths...
encourage him where he falls short
When you handle it this way...
You display to the world HOW the church is to SUBMIT to Jesus!
And so WIVES -
• May you submit:
freely
willingly
joyfully
For your husbands good and for your own
HUSBANDS:
We are called - TO LEAD!!
To have a Spiritual Back-Bone
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
We need to know that Husband Leadership = Sacrificial Love
We’re called to love our wives just like Christ loved the church...
Well how did Jesus love the church?
He DIED for her.
He laid down His life for her.
We’re called to do the same!!
Now of course we could spend 4-5 sermons on this alone...
But husbands - we’re called to LEAD like Jesus LEAD...
And again - Paul knows how difficult this is!
Paul knows that we’re in a FIGHT!
A fight that is Spiritual!
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Our battle is a REAL ONE - and our enemy has a friend on the inside...
Our hearts are - by nature - friends with our TRUE enemy!
And so Paul calls us to put on the Whole Armor of God!
We must PREPARE for battle!!
The belt of Truth (in a world of Relativism)
The breastplate of Righteousness (in a world of Evil)
The shoes of Readiness (in a world of Apathy)
The shield of Faith (in a world of hopelessness)
The Helmet of Salvation (in a world of coming judgment)
The Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) (in a world that’s quick to speak and slow to listen)
Paul knows it will take the whole armor of God for us to GLORIFY God in this life!
And so that’s our call! As Christians - to live LIKE Jesus!
This book of Ephesians has brought with it some AMAZING truths about ...
The Divine Purpose of God In Jesus Christ
That God would CHOOSE for Himself - a people to bring back to Himself - thru the work of Jesus…on the cross
The Glorification of God as the Body of Christ
That God would make it so that the church, in pursuing Jesus Christ above all things - would REVEAL the mystery of the Gospel…to the world and to the heavenly places...
The Glorification of God as Members of His Body
That WE - as the church - would EACH - seek to become more like Jesus...
Wives in submitting to their husbands
Husbands in sacrificially leading your wives
And that we would all put on the whole armor of God - knowing that we fight not flesh and blood...
But the spiritual forces of evil at work against us...
May we seek to MATURE in the faith - in the days before us…until we breathe our last
Lets pray