In Christ - A Study Through Ephesians || At the end of Ephesians 3, Paul prays that believers would be spiritually mature—that they be filled with all the fullness of Christ. He then turns his attention to explaining how Christians are to live and be spiritually mature. He calls us to unity, and shows how Christ has given gifts to help maintain the unity Christ already purchased.

In Christ - A Study Through Ephesians || In the last half of Ephesians 3 Paul finishes the prayer he started at the beginning of the chapter. In this conclusion, he prays the Ephesians would be filled will all the fullness of God, and finishes with a flood of praise for God’s glory in the Church and Christ. Taking Paul as our model, we learn how to pray, what to pray, and why we pray.

In Christ - A Study Through Ephesians || Paul interrupts his prayer to encourage those in Ephesus regarding his imprisonment. Despite Paul’s circumstances, the message of the Gospel continues to spread and God continues to fulfill His plan of uniting all things in Christ through the church. This gives us hope for today knowing that God will continue building His church through the Gospel.

In Christ - A Study Through Ephesians || In the 2nd half of Ephesians 2, we see that our current problems are not new. A growing church in Ephesus struggled with unity. In Christ we see how once separated sinners are now joined together as fellow saints. He calls us to remember our past separation and our present peace in Christ, in order that we may continue growing together.

In Christ - A Study Through Ephesians || Our world is full of problems. The first 10 verses of Ephesians chapter 2 tells us that all those problems come from one problem, sin. These verses also outline the solution. Paul tells the Ephesians in this text that they once were children of wrath until God made them alive in Christ. Salvation is God’s gracious gift, received through faith alone in Christ alone. 

In Christ - A Study Through Ephesians || We pray for what’s on our heart, and in the last half of Ephesians chapter 1 we see a glimpse of what’s on Paul’s heart. In this prayer he expresses thanksgiving and makes intercession for the church in Ephesus. Paul prays these things because he knows the Church needs to be continually strengthened by the Holy Spirit and reminded of the Gospel. Without the Spirit’s involvement in our lives, we cannot grasp the glory of God.

In Christ - A Study Through Ephesians || In the introduction to his letter to the Ephesians Paul outlines God’s plan for redemption, which has been set before the foundation of the world was laid. The Father chooses, the Son secures salvation through his sacrifice, and the Spirit seals us until the day we finally possess our inheritance. And in these opening verses, we are reminded the purpose of salvation is ultimately to glorify God.

Restore || We finish our ‘Restore’ series by looking at the goal of restoration, which is to display God’s glory. Isaiah 60 is a passage that looks forward to a future day when God’s glory will shine upon His people, causing the nations to come and worship God. God calls His people to arise and shine, because their light has come. Jesus, the Light of the world, has come, and we join God’s restoration by reflecting His glory to those around us while waiting for our final restoration.

Restore || God intends to use his church to restore others to himself. And by looking at Luke 10 and the parable of the Good Samaritan we are reminded he accomplishes that through us loving our neighbors.

Restore || Unity within the church will be a natural outcome when we abide in Christ. But because we are broken and sinful people living in a broken and sinful world, what do we do when unity is broken and it needs to be restored? In Philippians 2 Paul points us to the answer. In order to restore unity we must go low. We must model the humility of Christ towards one another.