The world’s definition of unity and the practice of it is very different from that of the Bible. Christian unity is very radical, in that, it transcends beyond cultural and economical boundaries. In this passage of Ephesians, Paul directs our thoughts on why pursuing unity matters for believers and how to practice it.
How often do we pray for the Spiritual growth of our brothers and sisters? Why is the prayer for spiritual growth such a big deal in the bible than the prayers for material blessings? Why do we need to pray for God to strengthen us in our inner being (our heart and our soul) and not necessarily to gain physical strength? Listen to the sermon to learn more on Paul’s prayer.
Are we saved initially by God’s grace and then sustained spiritually by our good works? What is the role of God’s grace in our salvation? What are the “acts” dependent on us to be saved? Is anything dependent on us so that we can inherit salvation? Listen to learn more on how a man is saved unto eternal life.
Every other religion says that man is basically good, and that he needs to be reminded of the goodness in him so that he could walk in uprightness and start loving God. But the Bible says something different about our heart condition, that we are completely dead in our sins. By nature, we are not only unwilling to love God, but incapable of loving God. That means, we would need a help from outside of us to actually change us. This is why God’s intervention is absolutely necessary.
In Christianity, for a person to grow in godliness, he doesn’t need an instruction manual. What He needs to do is to behold and embrace Christ’s love for himself daily, and that inevitably starts maturing him. It is to grow in his understanding of God’s love for himself that begins to change the heart and causes him to have basic Christian virtues.
God promised Abraham of the inheritance he is going to receive. God promised Israel of the inheritance of the promised land that they are going to receive. God has always promised an inheritance to His people in the Bible, as a way of His loving assurance. All of His promises of inheritance are realized in Jesus Christ, and this itself is worth pondering over, for our entire life.
The author in Ephesians talks about “Spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” in Eph 1:3, that Christians receive when they believe in Christ. But what does “Spiritual blessing” entail for us in Christian life, while on earth? Listen to the sermon to learn more on the salvation blessings we have as a result of Christ redeeming us.
In Christ, we have every spiritual blessing granted to us. The first Spiritual blessing is His election or predestination. God chooses sinners before the foundation of world. In this passage, we learn why and how God elects sinners to be saved.