Category: Series
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The gospel and fatherhood (Ephesians 6:4)
Fathers: Do you sometimes wish your children were born with an instruction manual? Being a dad is a big responsibility. Paul here provides valuable direction.
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Paul the Apostle does children’s ministry (Ephesians 6:1–3)
Children’s ministry is important. Paul’s short instruction to children is deeply soaked in theology, biblical theology, and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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The gospel and marriage part 2: Husbands (Ephesians 5:25–33)
The gospel of Jesus Christ teaches husbands to take initiative to love and give themselves to their wives. This radical teaching involves both actions and attitudes.
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The gospel and marriage part 1: Wives (Ephesians 5:22–24)
What Paul says in Ephesians about Christian wives and submission only makes sense in light of what he’s already said about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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Submitting to one another (Ephesians 5:21)
In Ephesians, the Apostle Paul says to “submit to one another through respect for Christ”. What does he mean? What does he not mean? And how can we do it?
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Christian singing: Why and how? (Ephesians 5:19–20)
Why do Christians sing together? How should we do it? Christian singing should involve several dimensions: horizontal, personal, and vertical.
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What’s wrong with drunkenness? (Ephesians 5:18)
Believers in Christ have a profound reason to avoid drunkenness. That’s because believers in Christ have a reason to live, hope, and act wisely.
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Watch how you walk (Ephesians 5:15–17)
It’s good to have ambitious goals for our Christian lives. But we mustn’t be naïve or unprepared. We need to be deliberate and careful about how we walk.
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Living light (Ephesians 5:11–14)
How should Christians relate to the world around us? Should we withdraw, or should we engage? How do we know which action to do when?
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The test that matters (Ephesians 5:10)
We live in a world full of tests and measurements. Believers in Christ should also test our lives. But when we do, we need to use the right standard.
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Children of light (Ephesians 5:8–9)
Believers in Christ have had their very identity changed: once darkness like the world, but now light. The challenge is to believe it, and to live it.
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What do you want to become? (Ephesians 5:5–7)
Our dreams drive our daily actions. In 5, 10, 20 years, what will you have become? Living in grace as an imitator of God, or a partner with the world?
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Holy talk (Ephesians 5:3–4)
Often we try to fit in with others by the way we speak. But God calls believers to be holy, not filthy, in our speech, even if it sounds strange to others.
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Imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1–2)
Christians are God’s dearly loved children, raised from death to life and secure with him, now and forever. This is what gives us the power to sacrifice.
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The power of forgiveness (Ephesians 4:31–32)
Believers are to forgive, as God has forgiven us. Forgiveness is not only possible for believers, it’s also powerful for our lives and relationships.
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Words with purpose (Ephesians 4:29–30)
Christians have a whole new reason to speak. Instead of rotten words or selfish words, we are to speak good words: word that build and give grace.
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The gospel for criminals (Ephesians 4:28)
Paul preaches the gospel to thieves. God’s grace gives us a new identity. That means we have work to do: not so we can take, but so we can give.
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Grace and anger (Ephesians 4:26–27)
Whether our anger is right or wrong, we can’t deny it’s there. But because we belong to Christ, we must make it a priority to deal with anger. How?
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Telling the truth (Ephesians 4:25)
Truth is a rare commodity in our world. But Christians are people of the truth. The gospel of Christ demands that we value and speak the truth in every situation.
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Become who you are (Ephesians 4:22–24)
The gospel teaches us to change—to put off the old and put on the new. This change doesn’t save us, but it matters. It’s all about becoming who we are.
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Learning Christ (Ephesians 4:20–21)
Christian communities are places of learning and teaching. This isn’t just about transmitting information: Christians are people who “learn Christ”.
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Turn around and walk the other way (Ephesians 4:17–19)
Darkness, futility, and desire: this is the way the world walks. Paul doesn’t write these things so that we can gloat or judge. He writes so we can repent, and live.
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Playing your part (Ephesians 4:16)
Paul’s vision for Christ’s body is unity in diversity. It’s not just flat uniformity, nor is it just diversity for the sake of diversity. It’s diversity for a common purpose.
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The truth in love: A key principle for church growth (Ephesians 4:14–15)
Paul’s principle for the growth of Christ’s body isn’t about presentation or organisation. It’s more fundamental: “speaking the truth in love”.
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Christ’s body: A brief history (Ephesians 4:11–13)
Paul didn’t write Ephesians 4:11–13 to give us a detailed blueprint for how to organise our ministries. He wrote these verses to point us to God’s grace in Christ.