Studies in Ephesians 1:1-14 Ephesians 1:1–14 (NIV) 1-2 “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” I think Paul was a special case. He was special because…
Forgetful Me Forgetful me forgets the unforgettable. The destruction of old me, the recreation of new me, the transfer of my forgetful self from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of light. I forget that ungodly attitudes and actions unsettle me because I’m a child of the King. I forget that the turmoil of…
Works Burning Up 1 Corinthians 3:10–15 (NASB 2020) 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each person must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other…
He will Wipe Every Tear—A very brief discussion Revelation 7:16–17 “They will no longer hunger nor thirst, nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God…
Thoughts on Salvation Colossians 2:13–14 “And when you were dead in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of…
You are not Like the Others Recently someone emailed me saying that he felt like some people are “on fire” and just want to go tell people about Jesus or want to go far-away and be missionaries, but he just didn’t have that in him. Maybe you have wondered why some people have such…
Glorifying God in Suffering There are a number of verses that talk about our suffering. Paul certainly experienced his share, and we know that nearly all of the Apostles were martyred, for example. There is a little truth in the idea that God is glorified in our suffering, but this is because we react to…
Let the Dead Bury the Dead Selling all that you have and letting the dead bury their dead is part of two interactions Jesus had with different people. It is important to understand that in these interactions Jesus was talking to Jewish people whose relationship with God was governed by the old covenant—the Law of…
How God Works in the Mind I’m no expert on the physiology of the mind, but here are my thoughts on how Father works in our minds. In Hebrews 4:12 we find, “For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of…
He Reconciled You It was Father’s good pleasure to reconcile you through Jesus.(see 2 Corinthians 5:17-21) All the fullness of God lived in Jesus. He made peace between you and God through His blood at the cross.Even though you were alienated from Him and hostile toward Him in your mind, He reconciled you. He did…
Be the Branch Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches. Branches live in the vine. They must, or else they have no life at all. We, who live (as branches) in Christ bring forth lots of fruit. That’s just a property of branches. It’s what they do.We learn all this from John 15:5….
He will Give Life to your Mortal Body If Christ is in you, even though the body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. If the same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead dwells in you, that very same Jesus-raising Spirit will give life to your mortal body….
Meet the Requirements The Old Testament Law contains 613 rules, including the ten most famous. You know the ones; written on stone by the hand of God. The Law is a complete set that cannot be taken apart. James 2:10 makes that clear. Break one piece and you’re guilty of breaking it all. No one…
You Have Been Freed The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.You know the one: “the wages of sin is death.” Think about that for a minute. What happens if you are free from a certain law?That law no longer applies to…
Saint, Spiritually, you were dead. You used to live just like the rest of the world.You lived in the way the god of this world wanted you to live. It was all about your performance.It was all about what your mind wanted. About your lusts. About you. You were just like people who reject the…
Misusing the Sermon on the Mount Someone recently sent me a copy of a pamphlet that had been left in their doorway by a local church. It misused several scripture passages in a way I have seen far too often. I want to comment in case you may have run across similar teaching. The authors…
God’s Armor God’s Strength Rely on God’s strength. Be strong in His mighty power. Ephesians 6:10 tells us this because our power is useless against our enemy. Why is our strength ineffective?Because our enemy is not other people.For this reason, we use God’s armor. The really cool thing is that His armor fits us because…
Tending Toward Godliness In Ephesians 4:20, Paul’s tells us that Father is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we could ask, or even imagine. He does this great work in and through us according to the power of the Holy Spirit within us. It’s pretty amazing to think that within each one…
Freed From Sin, Enslaved to Righteousness Romans 6:7 says that one who has died is freed from sin. In verse 6 were told that our old self was crucified with Christ. That “old self” is our former sinful nature. The nature we all inherited from Adam. So why does the death of our old self…
Godly Behavior You do not produce fruit. Holy Spirit does that. That’s why it’s called the fruit of the Spirit and not the fruit of <Your Name Here>. Scripture teaches that we are to strive to enter His rest. That means that we cease from every effort designed to make us more acceptable to God….
What Jesus Says is True of You A few things Jesus said (in John 17:13-25) are true of you: He gave you the word of God. (He gave you Himself) You are not of the world just as He is not of the world. (You are born of God) You are in Christ and in…
Saint, You are forgiven. (see Ephesians 4:32) You are no longer a slave to sin. (see Romans 6:17-18) You are free to count yourself dead to sin. (see Romans 6:11) You are free to count yourself alive to God. (see Romans 6:11) You are righteous. (see 2 Corinthians 5:21) You are holy. (see Ephesians 1:4)…
What Would Jesus Do? You may have heard that you should be an imitator of Jesus. Maybe it was phrased as a question, “what would Jesus do?” Some would seem to be telling you to look at the four accounts of the earthly life of Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and find examples…
If anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation. A person reborn and having the nature of God rather than the nature of Adam. This being the case, we are no longer constrained to view people the way the rest of the world views them–based on their behavior. We, who are in Christ,…
Saint, You were called to inherit a blessing. The blessing of abundant eternal life.The blessing of Jesus Christ Himself.The blessing of the Holy Spirit in you.The blessing of you hid with Christ in God. FOREVER! Since you have such a magnificent inheritance, you are free. Free to be harmonious.Free to be sympathetic.Free to be brotherly…
