Maranatha Grace Church

Hello:

Book of Galatians Challenge – Day 7 – Ephesians 1 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

¹⁷ I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit^[f] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. ¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, ¹⁹ and his incomparably great power for us who believe. (Ephesians 1:17-19)

Paul prayed the powerful prayer of Ephesians 1:17-19 on behalf of the Ephesians Christians, and it worked. He planted the Ephesians church, then trained the believers for close to three years.  Well trained by Paul, and empowered by the Holy Spirit they went out with the message of the gospel throughout Asia. From that church were launched the seven churches of Revelation 2 and 3.

We should all pray this prayer for ourselves and for our loved ones. With humility we recognize that serving God is not a question of will power but a question of complete dependence on the grace of God. God calls us into a love relationship with him, but we cannot force intimacy on God. God must reveal himself to us to the measure that we can receive his revelation. So we pray for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so we may know God better.

The last few miles of a race are the most difficult ones to finish, this is also true of the spiritual life. We need constant strength and a clear vision to stay true to our races. We pray that  the eyes of our heart may be enlightened in order that we may know the hope to which God has called us, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, ¹⁹ and his incomparably great power for us who believe.  

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ephesians Challenge – Day 8 – Ephesians 2 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not because of works, lest any man should boast. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:4-10)

Ephesians 2:8-9 were used by the Protestant reformers to formulate two of their five “solas.” The word sola is the Latin word for “only”. Sola gratia – grace alone, sola fide – faith alone. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God— not because of works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).”

Sola fide emphasizes salvation as a free gift. Luther revolted against the idea of indulgences (donating money) to buy status with God. The reformers also opposed good works, including baptism, as a requirement for salvation. Salvation is a free gift to all who accept it by faith (John 3:16). Salvation is not based on human effort or good deeds (Ephesians 2:9).

Sola gratia emphasizes grace as the reason for our salvation. We don’t deserve or merit salvation. We do not get saved because of something that we have done, rather by what God has done for us. “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5).”

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ephesians Challenge – Day 9 – Ephesians 3 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.  (Ephesians 3:16-20)

A survey that I read a few months ago stated that our prayers are now becoming more materialistic compared to a few decades ago. The top prayer requests of Christians used to be for the salvation of their loved ones, nowadays it is mostly for health and prosperity. There is nothing wrong about praying for health and prosperity. However, if we want to impact the world as the early church did, we need to pray as the first Christians prayed. How did they pray?

The prayers and the prayer requests in the book of Ephesians tell us a lot about the priority in the prayers of the early church. Prayer to know God better: Ephesians 1:17. Prayer for power to understand the love of Christ: Ephesians 3:14, 18-19.  Prayer for a deeper sense of assured hope: Ephesians 1:16, 18. Prayer for strength and endurance: Ephesians 3:16. Prayer for a deeper sense of his power within them: Ephesians 1:16, 18-19. Prayer for greater faith: Ephesians 3:17. Prayer for the fullness of the Holy Spirit: Ephesians 3:19. Prayer that God would direct the use of the word: Ephesians 6:17-18. Prayer for boldness in proclamation: Ephesians 6:18-19.

We have the certitude that our prayers are not in vain, we will always get something better than what we ask for in our prayers. “God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:20)."

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Ephesians Challenge – Day 10 – Ephesians 4 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ² Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:1-5)

Not long ago, Haiti and Haitians in the diaspora were heartbroken by the defeat of “Les Grenadiers” at the hand of the Brazilian team by a score of 7 to 1.  A football team of eleven guys lost, and the lives of millions of people were affected. Why? Because a team is a team and not an individual. When a team doesn’t play as a team, it is bounded to be defeated, and a lot of people suffer.

Apostle Paul had a good reason to urge the Ephesians church to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3).”  Because there is one body and one Spirit we must stay in unity. Something wonderful will happen in our church when we live in the unity of the message of salvation;  ^“God also testified to it [ the message of salvation ]  by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will (Hebrews 2:4).”

Are we seeing the confirmation of signs, wonders, various miracles, and the manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our church? Paul gave us a few of the requirements for each team member in verse 2. We need to be humble, gentle, patient, and loving. Am I a team player? Most Christians would be very upset if told that they could be the reason why their church is not winning.

May the Lord richly bless you?

Hello:

Book of Ephesians Challenge – Day 11 – Ephesians 5 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

²¹ Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

²² Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ to make her holy, cleansing^[b] her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷ and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸ In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— ³⁰ for we are members of his body. ³¹ “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”^{[c] 32} This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. ³³ However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. (Ephesians 5:21-33)

A young person asks for prayer in order to find the right person to get married. Do you agree with what the word God of recommends in Ephesians 5:21-33? A great number of books have been written about marriage. But none of these books can come close to God’s perfect advice for marriage.

Great marriage comes down to two words: Love and respect.  And the glue between the love and the respect is a deep reverence for Christ. “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ (v. 21).”

A young person who is seeking the Lord in prayer for the right spouse can rest assured that God is still in the match making activity. As Isaac and Rebeca were miraculously joined together by God, he will bring the right person in your life wherever that person happens to be.

May the Lord richly bless you?

Hello:

We have reached the end of our Book of Ephesians Challenge. Tomorrow we start the Book of 1 & 2 Thessalonians Challenge.

Book of Ephesians Challenge – Day 12 – Ephesians 6 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:10-17)

 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Eph. 6:12).” This verse is one of the most useful verses for church leaders, for people living in a Christian community, for father and mother in Christian household, and for everyone who needs to manage human interaction. The verse tells us who is behind the opposition.

The enemy is not our brothers and sisters in Christ. The enemy is not our spouse, nor our children. The enemy is not even ourselves. When we know that truth we can approach people with a heart of compassion seeing them as human being struggling to do what is right under the relentless attacks of the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (v. 12).

Truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the word of God, all point us to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We should "clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 13:14)."

May the Lord richly bless you?