"God has formed one new body made up of Jew and Gentile, the church of Jesus Christ. Paul expands on that truth in Ephesians 3:1-13. Paul was imprisoned at the time of this writing, on behalf on the Gentiles. Paul's mission was to testify to the grace of God. The mystery of God's plan for his people was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit and he spent his life communicating this message. The mystery is that Gentiles were made fellow heirs and partakers of the promise of Christ Jesus through the gospel.

"As Gentiles, our heritage was separated from Christ, alienated from Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise. But, in Christ, Jew and Gentile have been made one, we have been reconciled to God and the hostile relationship of the past is now one of brothers and sisters in Christ.

"The bad news is that apart from Jesus Christ we are dead in our sins and our realm of existence is sin and death following the ways of this world. The good news is God is rich in mercy and because of his great love for you he sent Jesus to rescue you from the darkness and make you alive with him sustained by his grace through faith. Salvation is not the result of works - it can only be had by faith. It's by grace through faith from start to finish.

"Paul presents us with great truths and then offers a prayer for the Ephesians. Their faith in Jesus manifested itself in love towards one-another. He prays that they God would give them the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him. This is something that God alone can give. God wants to reveal the fullness of his son to us.

"Chapter 1 of Ephesians is rich and full of truth. When the Spirit of God reveals truth it connects to the heart and changes everything. Paul's desire was to finish the race that God had set before him - to testify about Jesus Christ. Paul took the good news about Jesus wherever he went because that is what God prepared him to do. He addresses his readers as "saints". This is crucial for believers to understand. You are a saint because of who you are in Jesus Christ. Paul uses grace and peace in that order. You cannot experience the peace of God without the grace of God - and grace is a person, Jesus Christ.

"Today we embark upon a 14 week study into Paul's letter to the Ephesians. If you want to about the grace of God you go to the book of Ephesians. So let's lay the foundation by looking at Acts and where, when, and why Paul wrote this letter. * Join Bob Christopher and Richard Peifer each Friday as they work through this exciting study.

"Ralph Harris joins us today for the broadcast. He shares his story of coming to faith in Christ. "Simply by remain in his love for me all else dropped away. All I wanted to know was his perfect love for me. Years ago, God convinced me in a single moment that He found no fault with me because of what He had done for me, and that He loved me perfectly. That re-set my life on a course to keep discovering why and how He'd done that and why He loved me...perfectly? Yes. Perfectly. There is nobody better--and I love knowing Him more than anything else." http://ralphharris.org

"Vinnie asks what the Bible says about suicide. With suicide rates on the rise, especially among teenagers, it's a subject that we need to explore. Jesse from Atlanta reminds us that a child of God is born of incorruptible seed. Mark asks about scriptures that seem to indicate we need to maintain our saved status. Betty about "backsliding" or "falling away". What does that mean? William asks about common law marriage.

"Nan asked, "Do we seek forgiveness every day in order to be right with God?" So many Christians fall prey to this kind of formula but the Bible clearly assures us that we ARE forgiven. This is crucial to understand. Terry asks why churches reach out to the unsaved instead of focusing on the growth of the body of Christ. It's an interesting question and highlights the need for the church to find direction from the head - Jesus Christ. David asks about suicide and the right-to-die issue. Is that justified in any way? Mark asks for insight regarding groups participating in the Daniel fast. Richard asks about good foundations and every man being tested by fire. Is the purpose to build a good foundation of the truth of the New Covenant? Everything about Christianity hinges on the truth about Jesus.

"The book of 1 John is relevant in our every day life. Today's conclusion gives us wonderful assurance. God's testimony concerning Jesus was given to the apostles to make Him known to us. They were eyewitnesses to Jesus and their letters make Him known to all who believe. 1 John 5:11-13 "And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life."