Done

Alright, I think this went well. From now on check out http://thoughtsonphilippians.blogspot.com, and keep an eye on the next book we are studying.

Done?

So there we have it, we 'finished' up Ephesians. Let me say first off, that the past week or two has been really nice with everyone posting, I pray that we can carry this into the summer. It was really nice to hear what all of you were learning. I hope you all enjoyed this, and that you will continue with Philippians.

Next, I thought it would be good for everyone to give a little summary of their past 5 months with Ephesians. So take a little time and just let us all know what the book of Ephesians and God has taught you, opened your eyes too, or anything worth noting over the past semester.

Have at it.

Ephesians 6:22-24

Ephesians 6:22-24. "I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts. Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible."

So here we are at the end of the letter, and Paul is telling the Ephesians why he is sending this letter to them, that they may know how he is, and that they would be encouraged. From this it is clear that the Ephesians are close to Paul, I would have to conclude that Paul is writing to a specific group of people, since he is sending Tychicus to this place. Just look at this passage, and it radiates how much Paul cares for the Ephesians, the words encourage, peace, love, grace are all directed to them.

So that stuff is pretty clear, but to dig in a little more, I will take the last sentence. What does incorruptible mean, the KJV uses the word sincerity, or purity. So do we love our Lord (keyword) Jesus Christ with pure and sincere love. I feel that I can never love Jesus as I would like, it is never as pure or sincere as He deserves and that I desire. Plus it says grace be with those who do. So we get something/everything by loving God. Also isn't this the true mark of a Christian, sure we will be known by our fruits, but that flows from our love, the two greatest commandments are to love God and man, and we are to treasure Christ above all, like the parable when the man sells all he has to get the treasure. We should love God so much we are willing to give up everything. And do you think the guy who sells all he has to get the treasure is not happy afterward, do you think he is walking around bummed out that he sold all he had? No, he is exceedingly joyful that he has gotten this treasure. So we are to love God above absolutely everything, and when we receive God we get the greatest gift, joy in Him. Plus it is foolish to desire anything other than God, there is nothing else that will satisfy us like He does, we would be playing in a sandbox, when we have an ocean and beach right behind us, we are just too easily satisfied to turn around and find true greatness and happiness.

How can we love God more? I think it is essential to spend time with God to love Him more, spend time reading about Jesus, talking (praying) to Jesus, we are to pray constantly. We wouldn't expect to fall in love with a girl if we never spent time around her, right? So we find stuff out about the person, how do we do that with God, we read His Word, the gospels are a biography of Jesus' life, and the word in general is literally His Word to us. Those are just two things that I came up with quickly. Now it's your turn.

What are some practical things we can do to deepen our love for Jesus Christ?

Ephesians 5:4

Well this is tough, after spending time reading this passage (5:1-21), someone could write for days about this stuff, and even more so, I have found how the whole passage works together to be very insightful and impressive, but with the theme of taking one verse I chose this one.

Ephesians 5:4 "Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving."

Right away I am going to include Ephesians 4:29 "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."

When I read 5:4 I immediately thought of 4:29, and it really just pointed out how important what we say is. I think of the times I am just hanging out with my roommates, and I think do I talk about foolish things, or make some crude jokes, things that are out of place or not fitting of the occasion. And I realize that my time is riddled with corrupting talk. If my words are not glorifying God then I am not portraying Him as supreme to unbelievers. How powerful of a evangelistic tool is that, every word out of your mouth glorifies God. That would be amazing.

I am reading "The Pursuit of Holiness" by Jerry Bridges, it is an amazing book so far, very easy read, quick, and very solid. Read it. But like the name suggests, we need to focus on being holy, because He is holy we are to be holy, God will accept no less. It is an active pursuit on our part, we need to work, but it is by the work of Christ that we are enabled to work. Before we were just slaves to sin, we had no opportunity to do otherwise, we had to sin. But now that we believe we are able to fight sin. So one huge thing in my life lately, my one 'goal' I guess, is to be holy, and not just a list of do's and don'ts but a mindset, and a satisfaction with God, which actually is a command, we are to be joyful, it is commanded of us just like not murdering someone. So that is a prayer request I guess. I am very thankful that the Spirit has opened my eyes to this, and has in numerous ways, it is essential to our walk. Just think, does the perfectly holy God want to spend time with unholiness and sin?

So regarding this verse, I want my words to be 'holy' a fragrant offering to God, that my words would please Him. Even the little things like a crude joke matter to God, all of our life should be holy, and I pray that in our lifelong pursuit of this God would be powerful in our lives.

Ephesians 4:29

Ephesians 4:29 "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."

Paul just got done writing about how important the body is, how it builds itself up when it works properly. Which is interesting in itself, he says that when you are doing well in your faith, it helps me, when I am running strong to the finish line, it will help you with your walk with the Lord, when we all work well imagine the strength we have. Also he gives a list of all kinds of things the body includes, Apostles, teachers ... I would guess that none of us are called to be Apostles, but we are all called to run hard after the goal, and we can all do this, which will in turn build the body up in love.

So on to this verse. He really emphasizes what comes out of our mouth. This is also seen in James, where he talks about how the mouth can destroy, and that we praise God with our words and also tear things down with it, we can only serve one master, which one does our mouth serve? This also makes me think of what we say when we are not around someone, I feel I focus on the bad too much, does that help build the body, is that loving, no. I need to talk in a manner that will only build up, never tear down, I should never say something to a friend that will encourage bad behavior, I should also be a light to the world with my words, should I talk about someone behind their back or make snide remarks, by no means, I should do the opposite, when someone is gossiping I should build that person up.

We should also say only that which fits the occasion. There is a time and a place for what we say, we have to think about what we say, you know, think before you speak. Because words can have a huge impact, good or bad.

By the grace of God I pray that He would give me strength to do these things. To build up the body and to encourage others.

Ephesians 4:24

Ephesians 4:24 "and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

What I want to say about this verse is simply something that I never noticed about it before. At the very end of this section/paragraph, he throws in there sort of a reason why we should do these things and put off our old self, because we were created in the image of God. We were made to be like God. That was what God had in his mind when he created Adam, someone to emulate and show the Glory of God. But we fell, we are on the road to getting back to this likeness, and it is interestingly only through Jesus, the physical representative of God. We were made to be like Jesus, we have two legs like Him, we have a head, eyes, we can smell all because He can. Jesus wasn't made as a response to the Father creating man, He created us, He was there and formed Adam. So we are 'expected' to live holy lives because that is why we were made, not because God simply wants us to, but it is our PURPOSE, we exist to radiate God's Glory. That also means that we get to enjoy God forever as well, He is not some far off blob or strange being that we will never comprehend (we will never completely understand the character of God, but we can relate to Him), He came to earth as a man.

Also he says "true righteousness" that must mean there is a false one, right? When I read that I think of all the 'religions' people make, there are so many people who say that whatever they believe is good enough, that if everyone thinks they can get to heaven they can. Well that is not the Heaven I want to go to. God is our standard, there is one truth, everything else is a fake, there cannot be more than one truth, they would have to be the same thing. Jesus said "I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me." No one comes to the Father but through Jesus, there is one way.

So how does these things change your outlook on life, where do we go from here?

Ephesians 4:17

Ephesians 4:17 "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."

First we must remember Paul is writing to a group of Gentiles, so in essence he is saying "remember what you used to do, and don't do those things." He is saying that as Christians they must set themselves apart from their old lifestyle. That reminds me of what we are called when we first believe in the Gospel, we are a "new creation" we must put away the things of the flesh and put on the things of the Spirit. I think this is first and foremost to give glory to God through our works and to sanctify us, and secondly I think this is a great evangelistic tool. When people see the Power of God working in our lives, to physically change the way we live, it is a testament to how real the Truth of the Gospel is. So how do I set myself apart from the rest of the world? I think that is something we should all think about? If someone I have never met, sees me with my roommates, will I be set apart, will that person say, "he lives for God" or "he truly loves God" I would say that I do not set myself apart from the flesh very much at all. So that is just on the outside, what about the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus is teaching that the thing that really matters is the heart, so even though on the outside I don't set myself apart very much, what people cannot see is not very different either. I am sinful to the core. But once again we are "new creations" we have been given a "new heart" not one made of stone. So God is working in us, we must be patient, so that our trials and tribulations will be "complete, lacking in nothing." I need to be much more diligent in prayer, for it is God's work within me, and not me who is working, so I need to petition to Him to change my desires. And always remember that "He who started a good work within you, will bring it to completion on the day of our Lord Christ Jesus," the work will get done, and it will be done by God, I am glad I do not have to rely on myself to do it, because I would fail miserably. I do. So I guess, we need to submit to Him, we need to "lay our burdens on Him" for "His yoke is light" trust in Him for the work to be done, enjoy God and a free life in Him and from Him, and let Him take care of the work within us, don't worry about yourself and where I am in my faith, just focus on Christ, enjoy Him and His gifts, praise Him for Himself and His gifts, and the rest will "fall into place".

I want to love Jesus so much, I want to enjoy Him so much, I want my worship to burn so brightly, that the world sees how special He is, not just to me but to everyone, and I want that to set me apart.

Ephesians 4:13

Ephesians 4:13 "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,"

Ok so what is he talking about, if you look back in verse 12, he is talking about "building up the body of Christ,". So this building up of the body is from what it sounds like will get us to the point of Heaven, it is what gets us to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that reminds me of Philippians 1:6 when Paul says about Jesus "he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." So that is when we die, and are going to Heaven we have been made perfect at that point. So Ephesians points out just how important the body is to all believers, it is essential to a Christian life. We as humans and especially as Christians are not made to be secluded, we are to be brought up by other believers, taught, loved, and guided. When I read this it just makes me want to be so much more involved with other believers, I want to meet new people, I want to be involved. It is also encouraging to see that God loves us so much to provide a way for us to be brought up, to be taught by other sinners, but yet this amazing power and truth that Jesus has given us overcomes our sin (in a way). He uses us broken cisterns for His great work, what an honor, just think you are essential to other believers faith.

Ephesians 4:1

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,"

First off it seems weird that basically he says, since I am a prisoner I suggest you do things that I have done, assuming Paul walked in a manner worthy of His calling. I think this is a fair assumption. Wouldn't it be natural to avoid being a prisoner? But Paul thinks it is great, once again he doesn't say he is a prisoner of Rome, but for the Lord, there is a high calling to be a prisoner for the Lord and even if we aren't in a jail cell we can be a prisoner for the Lord, and we should, we should be completely taken in with Jesus. We should subject our every thought and action to Him. And this is a good thing, he is urging us to do this, Romans 8:28 "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good", it seems contradictory but being a prisoner for the Lord is good for us. Plus it gives glory to God which is never bad. Second when he says "walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called" it makes me wonder what is this manner. Colossians 1:10 "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" So from that I would take that to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord we should bear fruit in all that we do, and I think ultimately the only way we can do that is if our heart is in the right spot, we need to be humble (which coincidently is in Ephesians 4:2) and do all things to the glory of God and in a sense of praise and worship. Phil 1:27 "Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ", so our lives must be worthy of the gospel, once again we do not deserve the gospel by any means of ourselves, we need to rest on Jesus' grace, but once we are under His protection and we wear the Robe of His salvation, we cannot defile the Robe by doing evil things, we have to walk in a manner worthy of wearing His Salvation. Also once we have received salvation, we are worthy to bear the gospel, and we are held 'responsible' to bring his gospel to all nations Matt 24:28-30.

What is this place?

This is a place where we can look at what we have each individually learned over the last half of Ephesians. By the very nature of the site anyone and everyone can turn up to see what we have to say. I would pray that people do run across this and get to hear the truth proclaimed, and that it would change their lives for their good and for the Glory of God Almighty.

Sunday nights and Wednesday nights should be the days that we all post something new.