Keep looking up – or keep looking down? …

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might …

Saved by grace …

Sinners become singers. We never cease to be sinners. We are not superior to those who do not sing the song of the Lord. We have been saved by His grace. All the glory belongs to Him. May our whole life be a song of praise to Him (Ephesians 2:8-10). In our battle against Satan, …

When I am weak, then I am strong …

"For this reason I kneel before the Father, ... 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being" (Ephesians 3:14,16). There are many times, in our life, when we become deeply aware of our own weakness. In such times, there's something we must never forget: "when …

All glory to the Lord – the God of eternal love, the God of our eternal salvation …

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight" (Ephesians 1:3-4). We sing praise to the Lord. He has blessed us so much - …

From The Depths To The Heights

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins ... 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved." (Ephesians 2:1,4-5)Down we go - deep into our own sin. …

The best love …

"Walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us" (Ephesians 5:2). We're searching for love. Where will we find love? Who can show us what love is? Here, Paul answers our questions. He tells us that Jesus Christ, our Saviour, shows us what love is. We learn what …

Let’s Give God Our Very Best.

God wants us to ‘grow up in every way into Christ’ (Ephesians 4:15). We are to ‘walk in love’ (Ephesians 5:2), a life which is ‘pleasing to the Lord’ (Ephesians 5:10). It is so easy for us to settle for something less than God’s very best. We settle down into a state of spiritual complacency. …

Wonderful Grace Of Jesus …

"You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And …

The Kingdom Of God: The Prison Letters – Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon

Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon - These letters are known, collectively, as the prison letters. They were written by Paul during his time of imprisonment in Rome. In Philippians, we see God's kingdom as a kingdom as a kingdom of joy: "Rejoice in the Lord always, and, again, I say, rejoice" (Philippians 4:4). When the …

"one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all …" (Ephesians 4:5-6)

Everything about our unity points away from ourselves. * Our unity is in the Lord. He did not wait for us to come to him. He came to us and for us. * Our unity is in the faith. This faith is not a man-centred faith. It's a faith that has been given to us - by …

Who’s counting?

Is God counting our sins? Are we counting our blessings? Look at Jesus. Look at him, crucified for you. Look at him - and you'll know the answer to the first question. God's not counting our sins. All our sins have been laid on Jesus (Isaiah 53:6) - "My sins are gone, gone, gone, far …

God’s Power And God’s Love

"Receive your power from the Lord" (Ephesians 6:11); "undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 6:24) Where does undying love come from? It comes from the Lord. It comes from His love for us. Where does power come from? It comes from the Lord. He is the God of love. His power is the power …

Journey through the New Testament: Ephesians

‘By grace you have been saved through faith… for good works’ (2:8-10). Holiness does not come from ourselves. It comes from the Lord. Long before we ever thought of loving Him - He loved us. By the grace of God we are called to salvation - ‘saved through faith’ - , sanctification - ‘for good works’ - , and …

Human Love And Divine Love

"Husbands, love your wives, just as also Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her" (Ephesians 5:25).Human love is grounded in divine love. "I love you" is grounded in "God loves you." We look to Jesus Christ. We see the love of God. His love for us inspires our love for one another.

The Power And The Glory

"Glory belongs to God, whose power is at work in us" (Ephesians 3:20). The power comes from God. The glory goes to God.

People can be changed by the love of God.

In Acts 19:23, we read about a riot in Ephesus - "a serious disturbance concerning the way of Christ broke out in the city of Ephesus." Thank God for Ephesians 2:1-5 - "You were once dead because of your failures and sins. You followed the ways of this present world and its spiritual ruler. This …

The Prophets, The Apostles And The Saviour

"I will send them prophets and apostles. They will murder some of those prophets and apostles and persecute others ... When Jesus left, the experts in Moses’ Teachings and the Pharisees held a terrible grudge against Him. They questioned Him about many things  and watched Him closely to trap Him in something He might say" …

Where are you looking?

Where are you looking? We look up. We look down. We look forward. We look back. We look out to the world. We look inside ourselves. What are we to say about the different directions in which we look? Whatever way we're looking, let's look to the Lord? Looking up and looking down Sometimes, people …

The Christian In Complete Armour

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might" (Ephesians 6:10). As we consider the war which is going on in our lives - between God and Satan, we will see that this is the greatest war of all. The most cruel war ever fought by men is child's play compared …

God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ …

"At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do" (Matthew 11:25-26). "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, …

“Sit, Walk, Stand” in Ephesians and Psalm 1

"Sit, Walk, Stand" - This is a useful summary of the message of Ephesians: "And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (2:6); "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called" (4:1); "Put on …

Learning from Ephesians and the 23rd Psalm (Part Two)

"He makes me lie down in green pastures" (Psalm 23:2) / Ephesians 1:15-23 Green pastures: Green is the colour of growth. Let's think about spiritual growth. The shepherd leads his sheep to green pastures. Paul, the pastor of God's people, leads the people of God to the "green pastures" which He has provided for their …

Learning from Ephesians and the 23rd Psalm (Part One)

"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want" (Psalm 23:1). -- * What does it mean to say, "I shall not want"? Are we to think in terms of overconfidence in our own ability - I shall not fail, I shall succeed? "I, I, I" - this is man's way of thinking. It's not …

Jesus is taken up into heaven. The Holy Spirit is given to us ….

Ascension of the Lord: Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47 or 93 or Daniel 7:9-14; Psalm 24:7-10; Ephesians 1:15-23; Luke 24:44-53 Jesus is taken up into heaven. The Holy Spirit is given to us. We read, in John 7:39, that ‘the Spirit’ would not be ‘given’ until Jesus was ‘glorified.’ Now, as Jesus was about to be ‘taken …

Grace, faith and works – in that order …

"I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received" (Ephesians 4:1). How are we to live a life worthy of our high calling? Let's go back from Ephesians 4:1, back to Ephesians 2:8-10. There, we learn about grace, faith and works - in that order. We begin with grace. We …

It is no secret what God can do …

In the Old Testament, we read of Israel being brought close to the Lord - "... Israel, the people close to his heart" (Psalm 148:14). In the New Testament, we read of both Jews and Gentiles being brought close to the Lord - "He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those …

Waiting On The Lord, We Renew Our Strength.

Luke 11:13, 24:49, Acts 1:1–14, Eph 5:18 Waiting On The Lord, We Renew Our Strength. Jesus tells His apostles, ‘the Holy Spirit’ will ‘come upon you’ (Acts 1:11, 8). He gives them His Word of promise: ‘I send the promise of my Father upon you’. He gives them His Word of command: ‘stay in the …

A revelation of love … A revolution of love …

The gospel begins with a revelation of love - "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us" (Ephesians 1:7-8), and it leads to a revolution of love - "When you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth …

From above …

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3). Real change comes to us, from above, from God. We're not to look inside of ourselves, and say, "I will change myself. I will make myself a better person." …

Learning from the prophets and apostles … Saved by Jesus Christ, our Saviour

"You are ... 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone" (Ephesians 2:19-20).  We give thanks to God for the prophets and the apostles. In their own day, they were faithful servants of the Lord. In our day, their words continue to speak to us with power and love. We …

Awake … Awakened …

The gospel comes to us as an urgent call for conversion - "Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you" (Ephesians 5:14), but it does not suggest to us that we can do this in our own strength. Before we read the alarm call - "Wake up ... ", we …

Be Careful How You Live – Because You Love Jesus!

Ephesians 5:15-6:24  -  ‘Be very careful how you live’ (5:16). This is for all of us - in every situation of life. How are we to live? We are to ‘be filled with the Spirit’. We are to have ‘reverence for Christ’. We are to live ‘as servants of Christ, doing the will of God …

Arise, Shine …

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you" (Isaiah 60:1). * Let the light of Christ shine. * Let the words of Scripture lead to thoughts of the Saviour. * In Christ, we are called to salvation, sanctification and service. * Be wise – worship the Saviour. …

In The Strength Of The Lord

Ephesians 6:10-20 In the strength of the Lord: We need His strength because the devil is stronger than we are - but he's not stronger than the Lord. The armour provided by the Lord (Ephesians 6:13-17): All of it is defensive except "the sword of the Spirit" (God's Word). In Ephesians 6:18, there's a call …

Salvation is the gift of God.

Jeremiah 50:29-46 ‘The arrogant one will stumble and fall’ (Jeremiah 50:32). God’s Word warns us - ‘Pride goes before... a fall’; ‘Arrogance will bring your downfall’ (Proverbs 16:18; 29:23). We must not trust in ourselves. We must put our trust in the Lord - Our ‘Redeemer is strong. The Lord Almighty is His Name’ (Jeremiah …

Saved by grace, saved through faith, saved for good works

Ephesians 2:1-10  What we were without Christ (Ephesians 2:1-3); What God has done for us in Christ (Ephesians 2:4-10) Ephesians 2:8-10 - saved by grace, saved through faith, saved for good works By grace - but not without faith and good works Faith and good works - the fruit of grace Faith and good works …

Great things can happen …

Great things can happen when ‘earnest prayer’ is ‘made to God by the church’ - God ‘is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think’ (Acts 12:5-7; Ephesians 3:20).

God’s Wake-Up Call

God wants us to ‘grow up in every way into Christ’(Ephesians 4:15). We are to ‘walk in love’(Ephesians 5:2), a life which is ‘pleasing to the Lord’(Ephesians 5:10). It is so easy for us to settle for something less than God’s very best. We settle down into a state of spiritual complacency. What does God …

Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

"May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth" (Psalm 115:15). What a wonderful thing it is to be blessed by the Lord! "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3). When …

Christ is always greater than our thoughts about Him.

"Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ" (Ephesians 3:8). Paul was deeply conscious of his own inadequacy. He was profoundly grateful for the great privilege of being called to preach "the boundless riches of Christ." …

What does it mean to be blessed?

"Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord" (Jeremiah 17:7). What does it mean to be "blessed"? Sometimes, the words, "happy" and "blessed", are taken to mean the same thing. Is there a difference between being "happy" and being "blessed"? The word, "blessed", makes us think about the question, "Where does the blessing come from. It invites …

Always seeking, never finding …

"The word is very near you" (Deuteronomy 30:14). Some people are always searching - but never finding. They look here, there and everywhere ... and, then, they start again ... and so, the search continues ... always searching, never finding. They tell us, "It's all about the search." Jesus tells us something very different. He …

Let the light of Christ shine …

Season of Epiphany: Epiphany of the Lord – Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12 Let the light of Christ shine. ‘Arise, shine; for your Light has come... the Lord will be your everlasting Light’ (Isaiah 60:1, 19-20). Jesus Christ is ‘the Light of the world’. When we ‘follow Him’, we ‘will not …

What power there is in the written Word of God!

"Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It …

By grace you have been saved …

"In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry" (Jonah 2:2). "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins ... But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us …

I’m accepted, I’m forgiven …

"Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord" (Colossians 3:23). So much of our life seems so ordinary. We say, "There's nothing very special about it." What does God say to us about our …

Link to Rev James Philip’s notes on Ephesians

Ephesians

Never so far away …

We are never so far away that God's love cannot reach us. In Luke 15, we read about the prodigal son - and the loving Father. What does Jesus tell us about the prodigal son? He tells us about his sin - and he tells us about his salvation. All the time, the son was …

They devoted themselves …

"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers" (Acts 2:42). "They devoted themselves ... " This is what they did. This is what we are called to do. Let's think about something else - not about what they did, not about what we are called to do. Let's …

Where does our life of faith begin? …

Where does our life of faith begin? Does it begin with our decision? or Does it begin with God's grace? "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved" (Ephesians 2:4-5). We were dead. The …

Sing to the Lord … and listen to His voice …

"Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!" (Psalm 95:1) - what a great call to worship! "Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts" (Psalm 95:7-8) - a much-needed word of warning! We're called to worship, but, sometimes, our hearts are far from …

When we are honest about ourselves …

If we to think big thoughts about the love of God for us, we must learn to be honest about ourselves. When we are honest about ourselves, we will learn to appreciate how wonderful the Lord's love really is. In Ephesians 2:1, Paul gives us a devastating description of ourselves - "As for you, you …

Sinners – saved by grace

" ... Christ loved the church and gave himself for her" (Ephesians 5:25). When we speak of Christ giving Himself for the church, we must take care how we speak. We are not to think of ourselves as superior to the world, outside of the church. We must remember that Christ came into the world …

The “Mutch” theology – think “much” of the blood.

"In Him (Christ) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7). When I was in my late teens, I worked alongside a man called John Mutch. I had known John before I worked with him - but I got to know him better when we …

Follow God’s example … walk in the way of love …

"Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:1-2). God's love for us always comes before our love for Him. His love is eternal. It has no beginning. It has no end. …

Salvation, Sanctification And Service

Ephesians 2:11-4:6 By the grace of God we are called to salvation - ‘saved through faith’ - , sanctification - ‘for good works’ - , and service - ‘according to the gift of God’s grace… by the working of His power’, we are enabled ‘to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ’ (2:8-10; 3:7-8).When we consider …

Saved By Grace, Called To Holiness

Ephesians 1:1-2:10 ‘By grace you have been saved through faith… for good works’ (2:8-10).God calls us to live a ‘holy’ life. We cannot make ourselves holy. We are spiritually ‘dead’. We need to be ‘made alive’ - by God. Holiness does not come from ourselves. It comes from the Lord.Long before we ever thought of …

Don’t settle for “second-best” …

Fourth Sunday in Lent: 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41 Don’t settle for “second-best”. ‘Samuel did what the Lord commanded’ (1 Samuel 16:4). Real obedience comes from ‘the heart’. It is more than just ‘keeping up appearances’ (1 Samuel 16:7). ‘The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart’- This …

Draw back the curtain …

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18). In these words, Paul is encouraging us to draw back the curtain and catch a glimpse of a bigger and better world than this world, which …

Our great privilege and our great responsibility

"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). These verses speak to us of our great privilege …