EPHESIANS (Letter 49, Larry Crabb’s 66 Love Letters)

The Power To Descend Will Lift You Up

Oswald Chambers wrote these words, “What is needed today is not a new gospel, but live men and women who can restate the Gospel of the Son of God in terms that will reach the heart of our problems.”

Are our desires too weak? Do we want merely to lead a relatively satisfying life in the midst of reliably pleasant circumstances as a reasonably good person? If that’s what we want, the Gospel of His Son has nothing for us. If we want what only His Son can provide, we will learn to celebrate the good news He came to bring.

1. He has blessed us with blessings far superior to all the blessings we naturally want to enjoy [1:3]. Until we regard earthly blessings as second things and see spiritual blessings as first things, we’ll remain immature, self-centered and powerless to resist temptation.
2. Without His Son, we are utterly incapable of real love [2:1-3; 4:17-19].
3. We are now part of His Son’s body, so live under His authority. Complete Him [1:22-23].
4. You are joined together with all His Son’s followers – as a community of people who light up your world by the way you relate to one another. Live in His light. Reveal Him [2:19-23; 4:1-6].
5. You are now washed clean of all corruption by his blood. Live to receive His love. Delight Him [5:22-23].
6. Expect opposition. God’s enemy will stand against you at every turn. You are no match for him. But His Spirit is in you. His enemy is no match for Him.

• Wear the belt of truth. What His spirit tells you will help you oppose your opposer.
• Put on the breastplate of righteousness. Resolve to fight every trace of self-centeredness within you.
• Identify the peace the gospel provides. You can rest as he rests; His peace is in you. Think of that peace as a pair of shoes you can wear to keep running the race in the face of all opposition.
• Hold on to the shield of faith. Know that His plan is on course, that you are His child.
• Keep the helmet of salvation on your head. Keep hope alive, no matter what happens.
• Never stop reading His letters. His word is His Spirit’s sword. Use it to fight evil, first in you, then around you.
• Learn to pray. Pray in His spirit, on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests, for everyone you know, especially those who suffer for His sake [6:1-18].

EPHESIANS: From Ray Stedman

Click here for entire Bible Summary from Ray Stedman

to be completed

EPHESIANS – David Jeremiah (Understanding the 66 Books of the Bible)

Key thought: The riches of God’s grace provide an eternal inheritance for His children, an endless wealth of blessings, compelling them to live a life worthy of the calling they have received.

Key Verse: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

Key Action: Walk in love and be filled with the Spirit. (see Ephesians 5:2,18)