Ephesians​: Readings and the Thoughts that followed

Ephesians 1:16 ~ "I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers"
  • Do people feel this way about you? 
  • Be so committed to following Jesus and HIs will that other believers thank God for putting you in their life.
  • And on the flip side, don't be afraid to tell the people around you how much you appreciate them. ​9/23/18
Ephesians 2:1 ~ "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins"
  • We must never forget that we were already dead, in line for eternal separation from God, but He stepped down to rescue us.
  • We were not "mostly good" before we accept Christ, we were inclined toward evil.
  • Nobody had to teach us to lie, instead we had to be taught honesty.
  • We committed high crimes against God, and He offers us a pardon anyway. 3/28/18
Ephesians 2:5 ~ "even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved"
  • ​God didn't wait until we fixed ourselves before He welcomed us.
  • Nor, did He require that we fix ourselves.
  • Rather He put salvation in motion while we were in the midst of our sin and His enemies. ​9/24/18
Ephesians 2:8 ~ "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God"
  • God's mercy and your faith.  God does the work, and you believe He has.  There is no great achievement that you must do to be saved.
  • It's only up to you to accept the gift. 2/2/18
Ephesians 3:17 ~ "so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love"
  • Recently in 2 small groups the idea of "one another" has been discussed.
  • As believers we are called numerous times in the New Testament to care for other believers.
  • It's not optional and it's how non-believers should be able to distinguish us from everybody else. 9/25/18
Ephesians 4:11 & 12 ~  "And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ"
  • Jesus didn't leave us to figure everything out on our own, but He gave us people with certain gifts, who could help us learn and put that learning to action.
  • Always to build His kingdom not our own. 3/8/18
Ephesians 4:26 ~ "Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger"
  • Yes there is an anger that is not sin.
  • Righteous anger. Jesus had this when clearing the temple, therefore anger is possible without sin.
  • BUT, it is hard to be angry and not sin.
  • You can't let the anger last, the longer it last the more likely it becomes resentfulness, then bitterness, and on and on until your anger becomes part of your personality. ​9/26/18
Ephesians 5:1 ~ "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children."
  • It doesn't get much more clear than this verse.
  • Think of the things God went out of His way to do for the world.
  • He created it.
  • Sent Jesus to fix it.
  • Allows us to come to Him, even after being His enemies.
  • Go do likewise. 9/27/18
Ephesians 6:7 ~ "rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man"
  • This is so hard to do, especially when you consider the context this verse is written in.
  • This verse is written to slaves as instruction on how to behave toward their work and masters.
  • Then I realized our circumstances and condition should never distract us from giving God glory, and the easiest way to do that is to work hard for God all the time. ​9/27/18
Ephesians 6:10 ~ "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might."
  • We don't have to be strong on our own, or rely on own power.
  • It's His power and strength we need to rely on.
  • And, have faith in Him to take care of us in EVERYTHING.  4/26/18