Messages

In this text, Paul continues his call for the people of God to not only believe something different than the rest of the world, but to live in a way that is different from the rest of the world. Paul says those who are outside of Christ are living in darkness, but those in Christ are living in the light.

We live in a culture where we are surrounded by people tolerating and celebrating sin. That is not acceptable among the people of God. When someone walks among believers, there should be a palpable difference in what they see, hear, and experience. The question this text makes us ask is: does the standard of holiness among us meet the standard God sets for his people?

For most of us, we read texts like this as a checklist of "do’s" and "don’ts." And rightly so! These verses clearly lay out for us in very specific terms how we are to act towards one another. However, we should not see these texts as exhaustive lists of how to act. Instead, they are examples of what it looks like to live out the command of chapter 5 verse 1: following God’s example and walking in love.

When you think about your life, is there a difference between your actions and attitudes before you knew Jesus and after? Not just a change in beliefs, but a change in behaviors?

As Paul is speaking to these gentile Ephesians, he implores them to turn away from the way they used to live. Paul makes it clear that to live like the “Gentiles” is incongruent with following Jesus.

If you are in Christ, you have been given a spiritual gift meant to be used with and for the body of Christ. The big idea of these verses is that the body is made up of many parts, but they are designed to work together. The goal of Paul's exhortation here is that the body would be unified and mature.

In the Western church, we often see church as an event we attend, instead of a body to which we belong. In a body, every part is important. If one part hurts, the whole body is affected. If one part is missing, the body doesn’t function as designed. Do we see the church, and our role in it, with that kind of importance?

As is often the case in Paul's letters, the first half of the letter is a reminder of the gospel. It is a retelling of who we were before Christ, and who we are in Christ. As we enter into chapter 4, the letter now takes a turn. Paul begins to move from theological to practical. He shifts from reminding us of what Christ has done, to what we should do because of what Christ has done.

Today we are taking a look back at 2024 and as well as casting vision for the year to come. Whether you are new to the church, or a regular church attender, we want to be transparent about the ministry that we are doing and plan to do over the next year.

This is a new command, as the original command to love was to love your neighbor as yourself—the golden rule. Jesus elevates that expectation for us to love each other as He has loved us! Jesus commands us to do this because it doesn’t come naturally. Romantic love or parental love tends to come naturally, but loving people with a Christ-like love does not come on its own.

This is one of the most famous prayers of Paul, and it is primarily focused on knowing the great depth of the love of Christ.

In this section of text, Paul speaks of a mystery that was revealed to him for the sake of the Gentiles. A mystery in the New Testament is typically something that was once hidden but has now been made known. What has been made known? The Gentiles have been given the same standing as the Jews in the family of God.