Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16 As the Church grows and expands, people with vastly different backgrounds become part of the same Church. On one hand this is a wonderful testimony that believers are one in Christ. On the other hand, conflicts and tensions do arise out of differences. So we see conflicts in the Church in Jerusalem as well as Church outside … Continue reading →
Scripture: Ephesians 1 to 3 In Ephesians chapters 1 to 3, Paul explains that God is to be praised for all spiritual blessings he has given to believers through Jesus Christ. Although we might think of praising God as saying prayers, singing hymns or praise songs, and those are indeed forms of praising, Paul explains in chapters 4 to 6 … Continue reading →
Scripture: Ephesians chapters 1 to 3 “Praise be to God for his great blessings to us” is the theme in Ephesians chapters 1 to 3. We have looked at some details of this passage in the past. As a reminder that the book of Ephesians is a letter and that every part is not detached from its surrounding passage, we are going … Continue reading →
Scripture: Ephesians 3:14-19 Sometimes when things are not going well, we feel distressed and weakened in our faith. Getting some comfort is nice; being strengthened is even better. Paul was talking about the mystery of the Church and how he was called to preach the gospel to different people. All was good, but eventually it came to a point where … Continue reading →
Scripture: Ephesians 3:1-13 When God revealed the mystery of his plan of salvation to include the Gentiles, the news must be told to those who had not heard it. The good news either spreaded naturally from people who had heard it (Acts 2:5), or spreaded through the scattering of disciples due to persecution (Acts 8:1-4). Througout history, God also called … Continue reading →
Scripture: Ephesians 2:11-22 Racial and religious conflicts occurred throughout history. We see see them in past events; we see them today. Yet in the midst of great conflict, Christ became the peace and established a new humanity / entity from two groups of people who once held hostility against each other. If the Jews and the Gentiles could have peace … Continue reading →
Scripture: Ephesians 2:11-22 God, in his love and mercy, has made us alive while we were spiritually dead. We are his handiwork, a creation that will continue to display of the incomparable riches of his glory. This is a wonderful creation! But while we might be thinking of individual believers, the text continues1 to explain that the topic under discussion … Continue reading →
Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10 “Saved by grace through faith” is a phrase that all Christian have heard. While it is important to study the meaning in details, here we are going to simply look at the context as it gives sufficient details on what is being taught.1
Continue reading →Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10 We were once spiritually dead but have been saved by grace. In the book of Ephesians, Paul likens our salvation as being raised up with Christ and being seated with him in the heavenly realms (v. 6). Although being seated with Christ in the heavenly realms sounds mysterious, it is most likely a metaphorical usage meaning that … Continue reading →
Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10 We have mentioned that Ephesians 2:1-10 is one long sentence, and although we have look at some details of this sentence, it is time now to look at the overall sentence structure. I understand that some people are a little resistant to this kind of study. To them this kind of reading seems unnecessarily academic but has no life. … Continue reading →
