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.
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.
How should we approach God in prayer and rely on Him for our earthly provisions? How can we grow in our communion with God and dependence on Him especially in an age where resources for daily life are available in abundance? How should we approach God for forgiveness of sins? Listen to the sermon to learn more on the Lord’s Prayer.
In the sermon on the mount, Jesus doesn’t promote non-violence in a generic sense, because if He did, then we should oppose military force and army by all means. What does Jesus mean when He asks us to suffer evil committed against us and avoid vengeance? Listen to the sermon to learn more on this important topic.
Christian life is all about turning away from our sins and turning towards God as a way of renewing and strengthening our relationship with Him in faith. This needs to be an integral part of our practical Christian living. Repentance is a way of turning God’s Fatherly displeasure on us into a joyful embrace. This assurance about God’s embrace of us in Jesus Christ is also experienced when we practice godly sorrow by repenting of the sins we have committed against God and His people.
In our first part under this topic, we learnt that the Lord has instituted His church with certain organizational structure which includes ‘Church Discipline’, operated through pastors, elders and deacons to counsel, rebuke, correct and guide us towards righteousness. In this passage, we learn how church discipline shouldn’t be practiced, and also what kind of response should we display when the elders, pastors and deacons work to restore our joy in the Lord.
Christianity stands or falls on the doctrine of Christ’s resurrection; you take away resurrection, and you’ll lose Christianity. It is this truth that seals believer’s faith firmly and gives hope of life after death precisely because Jesus Christ rose from the dead. It indeed shows us that Jesus Christ is the Son of God came to die for sinners, to purchase the forgiveness for their sins. In this passage, we learn how unrealistic, illogical and hopeless it is to disbelieve in Christ’s resurrection, and what blessings the truth of resurrection entails for those who trust in Him.
Christianity is based on historically verifiable facts. It is not a myth. Jesus Christ’s death on the cross as a substitute for sinners, His burial, and His resurrection prove that He was indeed the Son of God came to this world to save the sinners. His resurrection has been confirmed by many people throughout generations including secular scholars today. In this passage, we learn that a Christian is called to hold fast to this truth, because on this historically verifiable truth that his hope and faith in Christ sustains.
Christians are called to reflect the character of God. This passage lists out various characteristics which believers need to exhibit. In the last part of this section, we see how love does not rejoice in wrongdoing but in truth. Love also forebears all things when someone sins against us, because God has been forbearing towards us when we sin against Him. Gospel becomes the foundation on which we relate to other people in love.