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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.
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Christ: Up there and down here (Ephesians 4:8–10)
In these verses, Paul makes a big deal of Christ going up (to heaven) and down (to be with us by his Spirit). Why? to encourage believers as we face all the ups and downs of living for Christ.
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Gifted beyond measure (Ephesians 4:7)
How should Christians think about our own individual ‘giftedness’? We need to see our own gifts in the light of God’s wonderful, superabundant grace.
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The one and only God (Ephesians 4:4–6)
In this part of Ephesians, the apostle Paul makes an unavoidably scandalous claim: The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the one and only God.
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This unity (Ephesians 4:2–3)
In the classic film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the King of Swamp Castle issues an appeal for unity: “This is supposed to be a happy occasion. Let’s not bicker and argue about who killed who!” It’s become a classic line used to poke fun at people who are trying to bring peace and unity without showing any understanding of the reality of the situation or the depth of hurt that’s been caused. While we might never end up being quite as absurd as Monty Python, Christians can sometimes talk about unity a little like this. That is, we can treat unity as some ideal state where everybody just gets on, no matter how deep our differences are and no matter what hurt has been caused. And yet—unity really matters. Christians are called to unity. Christian unity is anchored in the truth of the gospel.
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The truth on the ground (Ephesians 4:1)
Our step by step living, in all the details of life, really matters for Christians. It’s not an optional extra; It’s intimately connected to our calling.
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God: Beyond us—and with us (Ephesians 3:20–21)
God is nothing like the Elf on the Shelf. God’s power is far beyond us. Yet God’s power is at work in us. So God’s glory is our joyful goal.