What’s right with the church? In Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus he makes three logical points that challenge us today.
Step One: Appreciate What God Has Done For You Through Jesus Christ (Chapters 1-3). Paul is referring to God’s resurrection power that brought Jesus from the tomb and that is now at work in us as we are presently seated with Christ in God’s throne room (Eph. 2:6). God took the initiative to rescue us while we were ‘dead in our transgressions’ (Eph. 2:4-5).
Step Two: Based Upon What God Has Done For Us Through Jesus Christ Our Daily Walk Should Change (Ephesians 4:1-6:9). Now that we know what God has done for us we begin to walk in a way that reflects our gratitude for what He has done. We begin imitating God Himself (Ephesians 5:1).
Step Three: Based Upon What God Has Done For Us Through Jesus Christ, As We Imitate Him, We Put On The Armor He Has Given Us, Standing Confidently To Defend Ourselves Against Satan’s Forces, Praying That His Will Be Done (Epheisnas 6:10-24). The armor is for our protection as we stand our ground praying and petitioning God for the saints and for those carrying the good news about what God has done for the lost (Ephesians 6:8-20).
These three points by Paul give us a working plan for learning to live in faith. If your faith is weak in times of struggle, Paul encourages us to sit down at the feet of the cross to begin to grasp the love that God has for you and what He did for you so that he could save you while you were still steeped in the things of this world. Learn to walk-the-walk, not just talk-the-talk as you follow Him and strive daily to imitate the one who laid it all down for you. Finally, depend upon the tools He has given you to stand your ground and to defend yourself against Satan himself and pray, pray, pray, that God’s will shall be done to strengthen the saints and to further the great news to the rest of the world so that they, too, can see what God has done for them.
Starting on June 3 I will be teaching a class on Ephesians on Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m. at the Twin Oaks Christian Church, 22333 King Road, Woodhaven, MI. I hope you will join me as we study Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus with an emphasis upon applying His word to our lives as we live them out each day. Taking it a step further, the book of Ephesians challenges churches as well as we come together to celebrate what God has done for us through Jesus Christ, how He wants us to walk each day and how He equips us to stand our ground and let Him fight our battles for us.
A great book for further study is Watchman Nee’s book, Sit, Walk, Stand.