Category Archives: Ephesians

As Dear Children

Ephesians 5:1-2 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 2 And WALK IN LOVE, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor.

The Child of God is a follower of God. The Child of God loves Jesus, God’s Only Begotten Son. Are you a Child of God? If you are not, what a wonderful day it would be to give yourself to Jesus! To be a Child of God was not offered to Israel under the Old Covenant. But being a Child of God is offered to ALL who will receive Jesus today. The Scripture says:
Galatians 4:4-7 (NKJV) But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that WE MIGHT RECEIVE THE ADOPTION AS SONS 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Only a Child of God can have the Holy Spirit. If you are not a Child of God, you are a slave to sin and the Law. Oh how I pray that you would give yourself to Jesus this very day! Continue reading

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Learning Christ

I heard a word several years ago – and when I heard it, I didn’t know what it meant. The word was “vicarious”. We all do it, whether we know what the word means or not. When some of you watch sports, you get a vicarious thrill when your quarterback runs a 60 yard touchdown, or your pitcher pitches a no hit game. Vicarious. When I saw Dale Earnhardt win a race, in my mind I was in the cockpit with him! Vicarious means to watch what another person is doing, then imagining that you are the one doing it. I get a vicarious thrill when I watch John Wayne or Clint Eastwood shoot a really bad guy. I didn’t do the shooting. I wasn’t in the scene. But watching it, in my imagination, I put myself there, and get a thrill out of it.

There was a song I grew up with called “Just My Imagination” sung by the Temptations. In the song they sang (and I sang along with them):

Each day through my window I watch as she passes by,
I say to myself, you’re a such a lucky guy.
To have a girl like her, is truly a dream come true.
Out of all the fellows in the world, She belongs to you.
But it was just my imagination, running away with me.
It was just my imagination, running away with me.

That’s vicarious. It’s imagined. It’s dreamed of. You do it when watching television, the movies, sports. You put yourself – in your imagination – in the place of the actor. But you’re really not there. It’s just your imagination.

The Christian way of life cannot be lived vicariously – yet many do so. They imagine they are believers in Christ, but never get in the game. They imagine living for Jesus, but do as little to nothing as they can. Why? Because “it’s just their imagination”. They never REPENTED and RECEIVED the Kingdom of God by faith. … Continue reading

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What Makes The Church Right?

Ephesians 4:9-12 (Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, THAT HE MIGHT FILL ALL THINGS.) 11 And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Jesus Christ Fills All Things

The Bible tells us that our Lord Jesus died on the Cross. He “descended first into the lower parts of the earth”. He came from glory, from Heaven, and was made like us. We are told in the Scripture that Jesus lowered Himself for our salvation:

Philippians 2:7-8 {Jesus}made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

Jesus came for the lowest and the least. He was often found sitting and eating with the dregs of human society. Jesus frequented with sinners, with tax collectors, with lepers, with crippled and broken people. The Bible says “you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich”. (2 Corinthians 8:9). Our Lord Jesus suffered. The Bible says “though He was a Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). Jesus died among thieves, and was buried in a borrowed tomb. Continue reading

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Walking Worthy To Glorify God

“WALK WORTHY OF THE VOCATION WHEREWITH YE ARE CALLED”. This is a command that the Apostle issues to the Church, the Body of believers who are “born again of the Holy Spirit” (John 3:3-5). Why must you be “born again”? Because in your first birth, your physical birth, you were born enslaved to sin. You walked according to your desires and to darkness. The theological term for this is TOTAL DEPRAVITY:… Continue reading

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We The Prisoners

The beginning of a person’s salvation is when that person REPENTS. I’ve heard people talk about REPENTANCE as “feeling sorry for or grieving over sin”. That’s not what true REPENTANCE is. The word “REPENT” means “to change the mind”. The first time the word “REPENT” is in the Scripture, it is applied to God Himself. We are told in:

Numbers 23:19 (KJV) God [is] not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that He should REPENT {nāḥam}: hath He said, and shall He not do [it]? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?

Word Study nāḥam: The Hebrew nāḥam properly means “to sigh, to breathe heavily”. God does not plan a thing, then “sigh” because that thing didn’t happen the way He wanted. People often plan things, but because of circumstances that are unforeseen they can’t make it happen. So then they “sigh” and wish they were better able. “Sigh. I wish I hadn’t done that.” God is not like that. Let me tell you a secret:

What God has planned WILL come to pass, and there is nothing that you or I can do to stop God’s plans!

The nature of God is that He is all powerful, all knowing, all seeing, and at all places at all times. What God has decreed will come to pass, even though we as humans do our best to stop Him. God is God, and we are not. Which brings us to the word “REPENT” in the New Testament. This was the first word used when preaching the Gospel. John the Baptist preached:

Matthew 3:2 (NKJV) “REPENT {metanoeō}, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand!”

Our Lord Jesus Christ came preaching:

Matthew 4:17 (KJV) From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, REPENT {metanoeō}: for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand…. Continue reading

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The Author, The Achiever, The Architect

I was at my doctor’s office this past Wednesday, and while I was waiting (and waiting) I was “redeeming the time” (Ephesians 5:15-16) by reading a good book. The book I’m currently reading is Thomas Watson’s “The Doctrine of Repentance”. Watson was a Puritan Pastor (1620-1686) who rejected the teachings of the Church of England, a spin off of the Catholic Church. He was persecuted as a “non-conformist” because he would not follow the state endorsed churches. Watson died at 66 years old, suddenly, while in his prayer closet with the Lord. The man loved Jesus! In talking about repentance, Watson wrote:

“Before a man can come to Christ, he must first come to himself. … where we cannot see our own sin, there can be no repentance. … Would it not be strange if two people lived together, and ate and drank together, yet did not know each other? But this is how it is with a sinner; his body and soul live together and work together, but still he does not know himself. He does not know his own heart, nor what a hell he carries within him. {Listen to this} People are veiled over with ignorance and self love; they do not see what deformed souls they have. The devil does with them what the falconer does with the hawk. He blindfolds them so they cannot see he is carrying them to hell…”

I like that statement about the sinner, whose “body and soul live together and work together, but still he does not know himself”. I really believe that the reason for the confusion in our country today (transgenderism, choose your pronouns, people trying to be animals or furries, boys in girls sports) is because people are desperately seeking identity, seeking who they are. Beloved,

You will never discover WHO you are until you discover the ONE WHO created you.

It is my prayer today that God give as many as are under the sound of my voice the gift of repentance. When the Apostle Peter was telling the Jewish Church how the Gentiles were being saved through the Gospel of Christ, the Church leaders praised God, saying,

Acts 11:18 (ESV) Then to the Gentiles also GOD HAS GRANTED REPENTANCE that leads to life…. Continue reading

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Christ Is Our Peace

Jesus is an Israelite, but He came to save the world. Not just Jews, but ALL NATIONS. He came as a fulfillment of the promise God made to Abraham, “In you shall ALL THE NATIONS be blessed”. The Bible says that Jesus Christ came …

Romans 1:16 (ESV) … to the Jew first and ALSO to the Greek.

Not just to the Jews – but to the Gentiles as well. When Christ came to this world through Israel, Gentiles were segregated from the Jews. Unbelief and fickleness crept into the Israel that God saved by Grace, and Israel was no longer the “light to lighten the Gentiles”. The Gentiles were shunned by the Jews, for the Gentiles were not circumcised.

Ephesians 2:11-12 (KJV) Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world

There was a sad time in our nation’s history when there were “Whites Only” laundromats, “Whites Only” drinking fountains, “Whites Only” restaurants, “Whites Only” schools and businesses. Those who were black were expected to ride in the back of the bus if they rode at all. Imagine how you would feel as a black person in this atmosphere.

This is what the Jews did to the Gentiles.
Not for water, or clothing, or eating, or transportation.
They were told GOD DON’T WANT YOU!

The Gentiles were identified as “Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision”. We were not worthy to go and make sacrifices to God in the Temple. We were not worthy – according to the Pharisees – for us to approach God through a priest. The Outer Court was called the Court of the Gentiles, but even the Jews had taken over this “Blacks only” place. Imagine this. Continue reading

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The State Of The Saint

Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith He loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

God shows His love for us, His mercy, His great Kindness by offering us a way out of spiritual death. That Way is Christ, faith in the Lord Jesus! God raises us from a state of spiritual death when we receive Jesus as the Christ, our Lord and Savior. I heard a preacher make this statement:

“There is no place in the New Testament where God says we are to REPENT OF OUR SINS.”

That’s a profound statement – and it is true. God calls us to repent. But it doesn’t mean to be sorry for our sins. The word “REPENT” is the Greek metanoeō, which means “to change the mind”. Here’s the thing. IF we are DEAD IN SINS, blinded to our sin, and are born into this world DEAD IN TRESPASSES AND SINS, then how are we to REPENT and feel sorry for our sins? Repent means to LOOK GODWARD, and give your life to Him. It means to look upward and say,

“Lord, I’m broken. My way of life isn’t working. I give myself to You. I will follow You. I am no longer my own god. You and You alone are my God! I love You, Jesus!”

Word Study: God opens our eyes at the point of salvation, and gives us a choice to either accept or reject Jesus Christ as Lord. If we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, God responds to this and “quickens us together with Christ”. The word translated “QUICKENS” is the Greek syzōopoieō which means “to make ALIVE TOGETHER WITH”. This word is found twice in the Scripture. Here, and in:

Colossians 2:13 (KJV) And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together [syzōopoieō] with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses;… Continue reading

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Living As Disciples Of Christ

Ephesians 1:15-17 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, 16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; 17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him

Opening: It literally brought tears to my eyes. On Sunday September 21 there was a memorial service for our brother in Christ Charlie Kirk at the State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona. Charlie’s widow Erika Kirk walked out on stage. There were over 200,000 people in attendance. When she got to the podium (which was surrounded by bullet proof glass) Erika could have said anything – it was unscripted. She could have called for conservatives to rise up and strike back at the liberals which have for so long called Bible believers “Facists, homophobes, Islamophobes, misogynists” and so on. Now the CEO of Turning Point, she could have said things that could have brought about riots in the streets of America.
She didn’t.

Her first words were “God bless all of you”. God. Not a curse word. Not hate. Love. She quoted Isaiah 6:8, saying it was Charlie’s favorite verse … Continue reading

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In Whom

Four times in this chapter the Apostle uses the phrase “In Whom” (en hos), or “in this Specific Person”. In Jesus Christ and in no other we have “REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD”. This is the first thing mentioned because – though all parts of salvation are important – redemption is key.

The word translated “REDEMPTION” is the Greek apolytrōsis. The word means “to pay a ransom or a fee to liberate a slave or to free a kidnapped victim”. The Blood of Jesus Christ is the purchase price that REDEEMS or BUYS BACK a person from enslavement. You ask the question, “What do you mean by enslavement?” The Scripture explains. When our forefather Adam disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, Adam was the Federal Representative of all mankind. What he did, or did not do, reflected on us all. The Bible says that when Adam heeded his wife and the serpent rather than God, that, Continue reading

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