Don’t leave it all to the preachers!

To each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it (Ephesians 4:7). To each one of us: what does this mean? So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in …

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 …

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 Lord …

Responding to God’s Word (45): What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus

In Christ, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us (Ephesians 1:7-8). What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Let us "praise God's glorious grace" (Ephesians 1:6).

Throughout our life, may we never forget that our salvation is the gift of God.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). As we read this final verse of Romans 6, let us note the contrast between "wages" and "gift." When we speak about sin, we speak about "the wages of sin." When we speak about salvation, we …

The encouragement and the challenge which comes to us from God’s Word

The Word of God comes to us with words that are very encouraging, and it comes to us with words that are very challenging. There is the encouragement that comes to us from knowing that God is the God of our salvation - "the Holy Scriptures are able to make you wise for salvation through …

Out of darkness, into light – made alive with Christ

Through the loving and powerful work of the Spirit of God and the Word of God, we are brought out of darkness and into light. Coming out of the darkness and into the light is not easy, but, by God's saving power, it can be done: "But because of his great love for us, God, who …

“Not by works, so that no one can boast” – “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10). When we read about our good works, we must never forget that these words of Ephesians 2:10 come immediately after the words of Ephesians 2:8-9, " For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith …

The amazing grace of God

One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see! (John 9:25). Our eyes have been opened. Jersus has opened our eyes. What a contrast there is between what we were without Christ and what we have become through Christ. In Ephesians 3:17-24, Paul contrasts the darkness of our old life and the …

One Spirit, one Lord and one God and Father of all

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when …

Less leaning on our own understanding and more trusting in the Lord

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought …

God is always greater than all our words about him.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3, verses …

God’s Word still speaks to us (68): “Have mercy on me, a sinner.”

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or …

God’s Word still speaks to us (64): God’s power is at work in and through us. Let us give all the praise and all the glory to him.

Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain (Psalm 127:1). Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). Now to him who is …

God’s Word still speaks to us (61): Saved by God’s grace, let us live for his glory.

I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received (Ephesians 4:1). Here, Paul speaks to us about both the life that we are to live and the calling we have received. The calling comes first. Then, there is the life that we are to live. Our calling is summed up for us …

Ephesians 1-3

These chapters proclaim the great salvation that God has given to us "in Christ." It is a salvation in which "we are blessed with every spiritual blessing" (1:3). This salvation may be summed up in this way: "By grace, you have been saved through faith" (2:8). Through this salvation, we are brought into fellowship 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 …

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 …

Praying Through God’s Word: Ephesians

Ephesians 1:1-2:10 Lord, You call us to live a holy life. We cannot do this in our own strength. True holiness does not come from ourselves. It comes from You. It comes from Your love. Your love reaches us. Your love changes us. Your love is stronger than our sin. May Your love inspire us …

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 …

God’s grace is so great.

Isaiah 55:1-57:13; Ephesians 2:1-22; Psalm 110:1-7 Following the promise of grace (Isaiah 55:7), we have this great declaration by the Lord, “’For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My …

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, 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 …

Salvation, Sanctification And Service

Ephesians 2:11-4:6By the grace of God,  we are called to salvation: ‘saved through faith.' By the grace of God, we are called to sanctification: ‘for good works.’ We are called to 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’ (Ephesians …

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

"Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 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 …

Waiting On The Lord, We Renew Our Strength.

Luke 11:13, 24:49, Acts 1:1–14, Ephesians 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 …

The promise of God’s blessing

Isaiah 63:1-65:16; Ephesians 4:17-5:7; Psalm 112:1-10 The cry of God’s people: “Oh that You would rend the heavens and come down … to make Your Name known to your enemies” (Isaiah 64:1). The promise of God’s blessing: “I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did …

Don’t blame me! It’s not my fault!

Don't blame me! It's not my fault! These words take us back a long way, to the Garden of Eden, back to the beginning of sin (Genesis 3). It's not just a story from a long, long time ago. It's our story. It's the story of every one of us. We don't confess our sin. …

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, made us …

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 early twenties, 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 …

Here am I.

Isaiah 57:14-59:21; Ephesians 3:1-21; Psalm 111:1-10# “’Here am I,’ says the Lord” (Isaiah 58:9). “Here am I”, says Isaiah (Isaiah 6:8). Our “Here am I” only has meaning within the context of God’s “Here am I.” It is because He is ‘the God who is there’ (Francis Schaeffer) that we can draw near to Him – …

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).

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 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 …

The Redeemed of the Lord

Isaiah 60:1-62:12; Ephesians 4:1-16; Proverbs 23:19-28 The grace of God is very great and very precious. Through His grace, we are “called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord” (Isaiah 62:12). We are “urged ... to live a life worthy of this high calling” (Ephesians 4:1). Following “the right path” is always a matter of the …

God is calling us to grow in our experience of his salvation.

Ephesians 4-6 In these chapters, the emphasis shifts from God's provision of salvation to our calling to grow in our experience of salvation: "lead a life worthy of your calling" (4:1). The kind of life we live is what marks us out as the people of God, walking in fellowship with him: "be very careful …

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 …

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." …

Passing on the Lord’s message to the next generation

Be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them (Deuteronomy 4:9). What are the best things we can pass on to the rising generation? In Ephesians …

The unsearchable riches of Christ

"Though I did nothing to deserve it, and though I am the least deserving Christian there is, I was chosen for this special joy of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ" (Ephesians 3:8). What a great privilege it is to be saved by the Lord! What a great privilege …

I will build my church.

"I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). It is Christ who speaks these words. This is important. When we put the emphasis on ourselves, we're setting ourselves up for a great fall. The truth about everyone of us is this: the gates of hell do prevail …

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 …

God has given us new life. Let us live the new life.

"No one pours new wine into old wineskins... They pour new wine into new wineskins” (Mark 2:22). In John's Gospel, we read about Jesus turning water into wine (chapter 2), and, then, we read about Jesus, telling Nicodemus that he needed to be "born again" (John 3:3). Here, he speaks about new wine. He's telling …

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 …

Words that encourage us and enable us

"The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valour" (Judges 6:12). These words were spoken to Gideon. For us, as well as Gideon, they are words of encouragement, and they are words of enabling. We are encouraged by the words, "The Lord is with you." How can we be described as "mighty men of …

Out of the shadows of our past, into the light of His future

Micah 5:1-7:20; 2 Corinthians 5:1-10; Proverbs 21:17-26 God wipes out the shadow of our past - He “pardons sin” (Micah 7:18). He shines in the light of His future - “We will be “clothed with our heavenly dwelling” (2 Corinthians 5:4). From this standpoint of privilege, we are called to fulfil our responsibility: to be soldiers …

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 …

The Gift of God

Salvation is "the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8). We cannot achieve salvation, and we cannot earn salvation. Salvation must be given to us. It must be given to us by God. In Ephesians 2:8, we read about grace, and we read about faith. It is important that we understand the difference between our faith and …

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 …

God’s salvation – for us, in us, through us

For us: "In Him we have redemption through His blood" (Ephesians 1:7). "Through His blood": Never forget this. In our salvation, everything comes from this: Jesus died for us. In us: "I pray... that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." Our salvation is more than remembering that Jesus died for us. Paul prayed …

We were “far off.” Now, we have been “brought near.”

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:13). We were "far off." Now, we have been "brought near." "This is the Lord's doing; and it is marvelous in our eyes" (Psalm 118:23). Each and every one of us were like the prodigal son - …

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 …

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 …

Growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). We need grace, and we need knowledge. We begin with grace. This is where knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, comes from. It comes from grace. Without grace, we can have no real knowledge of our Saviour, …

Grace comes first.

Before we come to “the Ten Commandments”, we have these great words, “ I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (Exodus 20:2).  Grace comes first. Holiness follows on from grace. We see the same pattern in the New Testament – in the teaching of Jesus, in …

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

"You are... 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 must …

By the grace of God and by the power of the Holy Spirit, let us live as children of light.

You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (Ephesians 5:8).  Does it feel like we're partly in the light, and we're partly in the darkness? Is this what God's word says about us? No. It's not. What does God's Word say? "You were once darkness, but now …

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, 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. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”  Jesus answered, “It …

At the end of my ministry: looking back and looking forward

From time to time, I wondered what I would say to the people in the final service of my ministry. This is what I did say. As I began to think about this service, my thoughts turned to the the opening words of Psalm 115, "Not to us, not to us, but to your name …

Where do God’s peace and joy come from?

Where do God's peace and joy come from? They come from his love. It's the greatest love of all (Ephesians 3:18). There's nothing like the love of God. His peace is great. His joy is great. His love is even greater. This is where his blessing comes from him. He loves us. He loves us …

Eternal Love

The love of God is eternal love. It's the love of the eternal God. His love comes to us from before the beginning of time (Ephesians 1:4). It takes us on to beyond the end. Sometimes, when our heads go down, we think, "This the end. I can go on no longer." When, in love, …

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 …