Sermons on Ephesians

We just looked at how our spiritual warfare is won through prayer, especially in prayer for each other. Paul continues this thought. Pray for Paul Just as it is extremely important to bear each others burdens and pray for one another, it is also important that we pray for those who are laboring in the Word of God. This includes all those preaching, teaching, and proclaiming the Gospel. Sometimes we can become so focused on the our trials and temptations…

We now look at the second use of the word “truth.” Loins girt about with truth Loins refers to our inmost being. Girt about refers to putting on a belt. This piece of armor served two purposes. One, it held the rest of the armor together. Two, it acted like a back belt to enable a soldier to fight without injuring himself. The word truth has two applications. The first application is doctrinal truth; we looked at this last week.…

We wrestle against Paul has just told us that we are not wrestling against human beings. He now directs our attention to who our true enemy is. He directs us to fight this enemy. Principalities The word here is Greek is “arche” from which we get the English prefix “arch.” It is used in archangel, archenemy, arch-nemesis, etc. It simply means “rank” or “highest rank.” It is used here in the plural form. From this we see that we are…

Paul now turns his attention to the parent-child relationship.Spirit filledIt is very important that we understand this in its context. Paul is speaking about what the Spirit-filled life looks like; it is a life of submission to other believers. In other words, Paul is saying our attitude towards our parents is a direct indication of the true state of our souls.ObeyChildren are to submit to and obey their parents. There is not much more that needs to be said. What…

We continue looking at what we must lay aside and what we must put on.Sinful AngerAs Christians we must discard all instances of sinful anger. We can be angry for sinful reasons like selfishness, jealousy, pride, etc. These instances of anger must be discarded. We must ask ourselves the question that God asked Cain, “Why are you angry?” (Genesis 4:6) God asks Jonah a similar question in Jonah 4:4. In other words, I must ask myself is my anger a…

We now begin to look at what we must lay aside and what we must put on.Lay aside lyingThe Christian life is built entirely upon Jesus Who is the Truth (John 14:6.) Any lie is from the devil who is the father of lies (John 8:44.) As such lying has no place within the Christian’s life. It all must be completely discarded.Put on honestyIt is not enough to quit telling lies. We must go beyond that and put on honesty.…

Paul has just finished telling the Ephesians that they did not learn from Jesus to live like the rest of their culture. He now shows us what we learned from Jesus.The truthPerhaps the greatest tenant of the Christian faith is truth. Jesus declares Himself to be the truth. To know Jesus is to know the truth. The truth is in Jesus and everything He taught is true. This is why we are to speak the truth to each other (Ephesians…

As Paul urges the Jews and Gentiles in the church to reconcile he now addresses a common issue that keeps people from reconciling. We can make our cultural or ethnic upbringing what is right as opposed to what God has actually said. We can make our sins a “gray” area and demand that others view it as “diversity.”Christians are to be different from their culturePaul immediately addresses this and makes it clear that this is not opinion, it is what…

Paul has just finished telling us to “put up with” each other’s differences for the sake of Gospel unity. However, just who are we supposed to cooperate with? Where is the line drawn?One BodyThere is only One Church, the Body of Christ. Christ has never been divided into Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, etc. We are to forbear with and strive for unity among all true Christians.One SpiritAll Christians have the indwelling Holy Spirit. How can the Holy Spirit in me reject…

Paul the prisonerPaul begins this section by reminding the Ephesians that he is in prison for the very things he is teaching them. He is not someone who is asking them to do something that he is unwilling to do. He knows what he is asking them to do. He knows what it will cost them; and he knows it is worth it.Walk worthy of the callingIn light of God calling us to new life, we need to live in…

Wisdom Paul knows that God is a good Father Who gives good gifts to His children. Because of this He asks the Father to give the Ephesians wisdom. He wants them to understand the world around them and how God has ordered it. He wants them to know how to conduct themselves in this world and make wise decisions in light of what God has revealed. Revelation of Jesus He then prays that God might reveal to them knowledge of…

Wherefore In light of the spiritual blessings that are in Christ Paul draws a conclusion: faith in Christ is what matters. If we truly believe in the spiritual blessings that are in Christ we will seek only one thing, genuine faith in Christ. Inheritances, the economy, popularity, family relationships, acceptance by our neighbors, financial success, business success, etc. does not really matter if there are spiritual blessings in Christ. What we value shows a lot about what we truly believe.…