What All Christians Need to Know (Ephesians 1:15-23)

Praise God for Our Salvation, Part 2: Praise to the Son.

In Christ, we are chosen by God and predestined to adoption as sons and daughters. These spiritual blessings are from the Father (Eph. 1:3-6).

Ephesians 1:7-12 explains the role of the Son of God in our salvation and how the church can praise God for His glorious grace.

Praise God for Our Salvation, Part 1: Praise to the Father

Today’s theme mimics a parable that Jesus tells in Matthew 20:1-16 about a landowner going out and hiring workers. Although some workers started early in the day and others much later, the landowners gives all the workers the same wage, exactly what he promised to give them. The workers who started early in the day complained, but Jesus said "am I not permitted to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or are you angry because I'm generous?"

We'll see in Ephesians 1:1-6 that some get more than they deserve, but no one gets less than they deserve. Ephesians 1:3 tells believers that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. The blessings we receive are sourced in Heaven. This means the purpose of these blessings is from God, originate in Heaven, and are given to us.

In this first chapter of his letter, Paul praises the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Today we will talk about the Father.

Introducing the Book of Ephesians.

The church in Ephesus wasn’t having issues or spiritual concerns that Paul needed to address. Paul wrote the letter of Ephesians under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to a church that is similar to ours. Today we'll do an overview of the book and see its theme of how the Church declares the glory of God.

The Progress of the Church and our Personal Responsibility.

Why does the church do what it does? Why do we gather? Why don't we do certain things? We must answer not in terms of resources or building but instead of the mission. We will look at the progress of the church and see the direct connection we have today with the first church commissioned by Jesus Christ.

What Does it Mean to Bring up a Child in the Admonition of the Lord?

The Bible makes it crystal clear that fatherhood is the sole property of biological males, starting in Genesis chapter 1-4. God wants men to flourish and grow up into the idea of fatherhood.

In fatherhood, we learn from our errors. When you make a mistake as a father, all that’s left to do is to learn from it and say, “I’m not going to do that again.” Don’t marinate in the emotion of your failure.

The Beauty of the Body of Christ.

God places us in each of our specific contexts for an eternal purpose (1 Corinthians 12:18, Matthew 28:19-20).

Understanding the Nature and Practice of Spiritual Togetherness.

Ephesians 4 begins the practical section of the book in which Paul lays out the spiritual maturity necessary to produce godly character. Maturing Christians have the attitude that they have never arrived.

Understanding the Nature and Practice of Spiritual Togetherness.

Unity in Christ's body is maintained by more than individual behavior and relationships. It is maintained by having a unified mission.

Understanding the Nature and Practice of Spiritual Togetherness.

Spiritual togetherness is another way to say "unity." Believers will be spiritually one as we understand who God is and who we are in Christ. We should not want to live life alone.

Cultivating Togetherness.

Humans need to be together and to celebrate something bigger than themselves. We also need to be together as God's people. We prepare to be with each other, and we enjoy being with our Christian family. Our unity is based on our position in Christ and our disposition produced by the fruit of the Spirit.

Doing Divine Things Together.

Our theme for the year is not just a slogan; it is a practice of our faith. Our church's One Legacy goals for the year are things we have to do together, because that is how God designed the body of Christ to work.

Philosophy of the Christian and Modern Culture.

Our Spiritual Virtues.

The Great Commission, found in Matthew 28:19-20 and Acts 1:8, is God's assignment for the church. The task of reaching the world with the name of Christ is bigger than any individual. It is even bigger than the collective group of believers. This task requires the power of God. Thankfully, that which God calls us to, He also empowers us to do. As we continue to grow spiritually, God does the work to accomplish His eternal mission.

Opportunistic Christians.

An infinite God created a finite world in Genesis 1. God exists in the eternal present, but humanity lives within the bounds of time. What is the proper use of a Christian's time and resources? The first three questions in the Westminster Catechism give simple answers to biblically appropriate questions about the purpose of mankind.

The Importance of Remembering.

On days of remembrance, the reality is especially poignant that our freedom is never free. In the history of this country, God has not primarily used religious or political leaders to safeguard liberty; He uses the sacrifices of men and women in the armed forces to secure our freedom.

Spiritual liberty, too, was bought at a high price. Jesus Christ paid his life for our eternal freedom.

The Necessity of Interdependence to the Spiritual Life.

Special Speaker: Pastor Matthew Walker from College Park Baptist Church in Cary, NC.

God has ordained that the Christian life is to be lived not in isolation, but in conjunction with the community of saints. So how is it that Christians, particularly here in America, have become used to amputating limbs off of the body of Christ (which is the local church)? In 1 Corinthians 12:12-26, the Apostle Paul refers to the Corinthian believers as being eyes and ears and noses—body parts. This is the same kind of language that Paul uses in Romans 12:5 when he writes that we are members one of another.

The Bible teaches that Christians are to be mutually reliant upon each other. This doctrine is incredibly important and should be a major heading in our ecclesiology (doctrine of the church). However, it has been almost entirely lost in American evangelicalism. Possible reasons include the American way of life that emphasizes independence and the rejection of denominationalism. American Christianity has become a complex collection of isolated congregations and an even more divided and isolated collection of Christians.