In our culture of division, which often prompts us to take one side or another of any argument, it is good to remember that fellow humans made in the image of the same Creator who created you and I, are not our enemy. But we do have a very real enemy. How do we defend ourselves and stand strong in the battle? We wrap ourselves in the protection of the One who has already won the victory!

This week we look at Ephesians 6:1-9 and see the apostle Paul continuing to show how the gospel brings about counter-cultural relationships that display the gospel. Paul gives wisdom and principles for parent/child relationships, along with master/servant–employer/employee relations. The beauty we find is that the good news of who Jesus is and what he has done affects all of our lives–especially our everyday connection with others. How do we live out the Christian walk in a ‘manner worthy’ of the gospel in these relationships?

We take a break from our series in Ephesians to address the events that occurred this past weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia. We affirm Missio's call to live out the gospel in word and deed, striving for racial justice here, near and far.

As Paul brings us to the homestretch of Ephesians, we see the practical implications of how the gospel is lived out through the Church in everyday relationships. In this week’s passage, Ephesians 5:21-33, Paul teaches us that the way husbands and wives declare and demonstrate their love to one another is a display of Christ’s perfect love for his people. We see that our human marriages point to the ultimate marriage of Christ and His church at the end of history.

"Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine upon you!" The call of Jesus brings us out of darkness and into light, out of shame and into a hope, out of death and into new life.

Since the beginning of creation, God has always desired to partner with His people. If you have seen the light of His grace in Jesus, are you daily choosing to partner with Him, or does your life look more in partnership with what Paul calls, "the sons of disobedience"?

If you are in Christ, you are now a child of God. Does your life imitate your new Father? Or does it still imitate the father of lies and your old life? How can you begin to look more like the Father God who has adopted you?

In Ephesians 4:17-24 where we see Paul declare, “off with the old, on with the new!” Paul is urging the church to allow the full effect of Jesus’ teaching and power to affect their entire lives. Because we are ‘in Christ,’ we have the responsibility, in the power of the Spirit, to take off the old lifestyle–the old way of being human–and to put on the new lifestyle. We are to become practically what we are positionally in Christ–‘the new man!’ In our new life in Christ, the destiny in which Adam was created will now come to fulfillment. We are created again after the likeness of God; His image, marred and broken by the fall, is restored. We reflect once again his character and glory!

We continue looking at God’s plan for his church in Ephesians 4:1-16, taking a closer look at vv.13-16. Paul has already shown that a healthy church on God’s mission will be marked by unity and diversity. The result of the church’s unity and diversity is spiritual maturity. God desires that his people grow in maturity, becoming more like Christ in word and deed. The church functions best when all members are living out their God-given identity, seeking to glorify Jesus as they love and serve the church.

As we continue digging into Ephesians 4:1-16, we see Paul begin to outline what it looks like for the Church to live out its God-given call to be a tangible display of His kingdom in the midst of the world. The Church is called to live in spiritual unity as well as in spiritual diversity. What does this look like? It means that God has given people gifts to the body of Christ in order to develop every member to both be a gift and use their gifts to build up each other. The goal is that we all become mature in every way and that each of us is a participating equipper in the body.