◄ Ephesians Devotional Commentary ►

Ephesians 1:1

Like other apostles, Paul was a special messenger who was called, chosen, and authorised by God to receive hidden revelation for the Church, and to lay down foundational doctrine and godly principles for the Body of Christ. He met the biblical requirement for apostleship (being an eyewitness of Christ), as he met with the resurrected Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus.

Paul was also unique among Christ's apostles, for unlike the read more...

Ephesians 1:2

I don't think there is a more meaningful greeting or significant salutation given to man, than this duet of grace and peace found in all Paul's letters. "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

The grace of God, which brings peace with God, is the most important element in the whole of Scripture, for it is only through the grace of God that all His other read more...

Ephesians 1:3

When we bless the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we offer Him the praise and worship He deserves. We praise Him for Who He is and all that He has done for the children of men. Before the foundation of the world, He knew each one that would believe on His Son and expressed His attitude of love and grace towards us, and showered upon us mercy and untold blessings.

It is God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who is to read more...

Ephesians 1:4

How we praise and glorify God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for He has poured out every single blessing in the heavenly realms upon us, simply because we are united with Christ by faith and are One with Himself. How we rejoice, for this is one facet of the cut diamond of His immeasurable grace with which God has chosen to bless us.

It was not happenstance or fate, good luck, or a happy fluke that rendered us so blessed, but a beautiful showering read more...

Ephesians 1:5

Throughout Scripture, we discover verse after verse that reminds us that the love of God caused Him to send His only begotten Son to die on the Cross for our redemption, and it was by the grace of God that His free gift of eternal life is given to whosoever will believe on Jesus Christ as Saviour. 

God gave man free will to choose or to reject His gracious offer of read more...

Ephesians 1:6

There is probably no higher pinnacle of praise to the glorious grace of God than the first few chapters of Ephesians, and there is possibly no more staggering truth for believers than to be accepted in the Beloved: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ."

What astonishing truths are bound within its pages. He chose us read more...

Ephesians 1:7

God created man in His own image and likeness, and man enjoyed unbroken fellowship with His Creator God, and walked and communed with Him in the cool of the evening. However, through man's owns foolish rebellion and disobedience, we became servants of a cruel task-master, estranged from the God Who made us, and entrapped by Satan. We forever became slaves to sin and destined to an everlasting death (eternal separation from God).

read more...

Ephesians 1:8

The focus of this glorious passage of Scripture is the beloved Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the great grace that has been poured out on all who trust in His name. He is the object of God's love; the One with Whom the Father is fully, finally, and eternally satisfied, and thirty-five times we are told in the book of Ephesians that we who believe in His name are IN CHRIST. We are positioned in Him and as such are eternally secure and eternally loved.

Ephesians 1:9

The coming of the Messiah was no hidden mystery for it was foretold by the prophets of Israel, but God had kept secret one peculiar aspect of His marvellous plan which He had purposed in Himself before the world was created.

The mystery that was kept hidden from men and angelic beings alike, was about the unsearchable riches of God's grace, which He purposed towards whosoever would trust in His only begotten Son. All believers, read more...

Ephesians 1:10

There is probably no more vital truth for the Christian than to understand our current position in Christ and our future relationship to Him. Before time began, God determined to gather all things together in Christ, unite everything together in Him, to sum-up and bring into one final whole, all things in Jesus Christ the Messiah of God.

Before the creation of the world, there was no time, and there is a day, yet future, when the read more...

Ephesians 1:11

The first chapter of Ephesians is weighed down and running over with countless spiritual blessings in heavenly places, which God our Father has freely given to us by grace through faith in His only begotten Son.

He chose us before the foundation of the world. He adopted and accepted us in Christ Jesus our Lord. He redeemed us from slavery to sin and forgave us all our sins, and He also revealed to us who have been made His read more...

Ephesians 1:12

God has always worked through a little remnant, and the apostle Paul was one of a small group of believing Jews who first trusted Christ as Saviour, and through whom the grace of God was made manifest to a world of lost sinners, to the praise of His holy name.

When Christ was rejected by the leaders of Israel and condemned to die at the hands of their cruel Roman overlords, it was through this tiny company of godly Jews that the read more...

Ephesians 1:13

Faith comes by hearing the pure message of truth in the Word of God, the gospel of our salvation. And Paul rejoiced that when this group of Christians HEARD this message of truth, they BELIEVED, and when they believed they were immediately SEALED with the promised Holy Spirit.

The moment that a sinner believes the gospel of salvation he is sealed with the Spirit, Who is promised by the Father to all who believe in Christ. What read more...

Ephesians 1:14

Contracts, treaties, and engagements can be all broken. People can renege on their promises and can even forego a financial down-payment to wriggle out of a commitment or covenant. But this is not the case with God. We have been purchased for God with the blood of Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit is His down-payment to us.

It is the indwelling Holy Spirit that has been given by the Father, to every newborn believer at the point read more...

Ephesians 1:15

Imagine receiving a letter from the apostle Paul. He had been chosen as God's apostle to the Gentiles and had been entrusted with the mysteries of Christ and the Church, which had been kept hidden for ages and generation.

What joy it must have been to have been a member of the Ephesian congregation, and to read: "I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints." What a thrill it read more...

Ephesians 1:16

Paul is a man who recognises the importance of lifting up other believers in prayer to the Father so that we may be spiritually enlightened and spiritually enabled to come to a deeper understand of who we are in Christ and what He has done for us. Paul's teaching equips us to live our "new life in Christ," to His praise and glory, not only in what we do but in who we are.

Paul is a man who demonstrates the godly principle read more...

Ephesians 1:17

Paul's ongoing and continuous prayer for all God's children is that we may grow in grace and wisdom. He prayed that we would increase in understanding and knowledge, and be granted greater illumination and spiritual revelation of our Father in heaven and His anointed Son, Jesus Christ, Who died for our sins and rose again the third day to give us His abundant life, according to the riches of His grace.

God began to reveal His read more...

Ephesians 1:18

All believers have been called by grace, out of darkness and into His glorious light. We have been called by grace, to glory. We have been called, chosen, justified, and glorified, for we are saved by grace through faith in Christ and are become his chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. We are God's very special possession - His glorious inheritance.

Sometimes familiarly with the glorious superlatives of our heavenly read more...

Ephesians 1:19

There is no god like unto our God. The infinite strength of His pre-eminent might and His superlative power is unsurpassed in time, through space, and into eternity. And this surpassing greatness of His power is directed towards one group of blessed people, a peculiar people who were once dead in trespasses and sins, a little flock who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour.

How important that our hearts are read more...

Ephesians 1:20

The love of God is demonstrated to believers through the glorious inheritance that is ours in Christ. God's love is evidenced by the glorious position that we have in Him, the glorious future that we have been promised, and the glorious hope we have as His precious possession, for we were bought with a price.

Our privileges and our position, our hope, and our read more...

Ephesians 1:21

Ephesians is sometimes referred to as a 'mountaintop' book, full of wonderful truths, both about God Himself and who we are in Him. Chapter one talks about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

The Father's gracious promises towards His children and the surpassing greatness of His mighty power towards all who believe in Him, is the confident hope that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord, which was accomplished when read more...

Ephesians 1:22

Because we are in Christ and have become members of His Body, we have been lavished with all kinds of spiritual blessings, by grace through faith.

Because of His willing obedience to live in total dependence on the Father and become our sin substitute at Calvary, the Lord Jesus has been given a name that is above every name and He has been given a position that is far above all principalities and power, not only in this age but read more...

Ephesians 1:23

Christ laid aside His heavenly glory to live in humble submission to the Father, doing only those things that He heard from Him so that we might be forgiven and become a new creation in Christ. And because of His obedience, God made Him universal ruler placing ALL things under His feet.

Christ's perfect sacrifice on the Cross forgave us of our sins (past, present, and future), saving us from the penalty of sin and returning us read more...

Ephesians 2:1

The living-spirit and life-soul of Adam was breathed into his lifeless, dusty frame, by the life-breath of the eternal Holy Spirit. But the spirit of Adam died the moment he sinned. From that time forward, every member of the human race comes into this world as a fallen creature, estranged from their Creator; a pro-created being who, from conception, is spiritually dead.

From the 'fall' of Adam in the paradise of God, every man read more...

Ephesians 2:2

The extraordinary riches of God's glory and His glorious inheritance of the saints, which is ours in Christ Jesus, cascades into our hearts in the first chapter of Ephesians. As we read this chapter, we discover the overflowing riches of God's grace and the tender love that the Father has bestowed on all who trust in Christ as Saviour, for we are accepted in the Beloved and have become eternally united with our Saviour, by grace through faith in Christ alone.

Ephesians 2:3

We are blessed to know that we have been saved by grace through faith in Christ. We have been born again into the heavenly family of God, as part of a new and better creation with a perfect Federal Head - we are members of the New Man, Christ Jesus. But we should never forget everything we used to be before we were redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. 

We should never forget that we were unregenerate read more...

Ephesians 2:4

I doubt that we will ever fathom the depths of God's love for us, for His love is infinite and we are finite. But nonetheless, the love of God is rich in mercy towards us who were born dead in trespasses and sins.

Paul starts this discourse in Ephesians by reminding us of our previous lives, dead in our trespasses and sins, having no hope in the world, under the reign of the prince of the read more...

Ephesians 2:5

Every man and woman that has ever drawn breath is born dead in trespasses and sins, and is at enmity with God. Fallen humanity is separated from our holy God by an unbridgeable sin barrier. But even when we were spiritually dead in sin, totally alienated from God, and without the slightest hope in the world, God provided access to Himself. He gave us new life and made us alive, through faith in Christ.

Because of His sacrifice read more...

Ephesians 2:6

As believers, we are united with Christ, and because the Lord Jesus broke the power of sin and death and hell when He rose from the dead, the strength of sin in our lives has also been broken and we have been raised up into newness of life, in Him.

But God did so much more for us when the Lord Jesus died and rose from the dead, and then ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father in great glory and majesty. He gave read more...

Ephesians 2:7

The salvation of the sinner is evidence of the abounding and overflowing riches of God’s amazing grace towards the children of men, and in the eternal ages to come, this salvation will stand as a witness of the undeniable proof to both men and angels - the inexhaustible and unsearchable riches of God’s grace towards those who have been saved by His blood.

Think about it! We, who were spiritually blind, dead in trespasses, and read more...

Ephesians 2:8

God has given humanity an amazing gift, and that gift is salvation - the salvation of the spirit, the salvation of the soul, and the salvation of the body, which was procured through the shedding of Christ’s blood in payment for the sins of the whole world - "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God."

Salvation is a gift of grace that is available to read more...

Ephesians 2:9

The full price of salvation was paid by Christ on Calvary's Cross and can never be gained in any other way, except as a free gift of grace. And that salvation is accessed by faith in the finished work of Christ Jesus, the eternal Son of God and perfect Son of Man.

No part of salvation can ever never be gained by man's works, for men can never be good enough to pay the price of sin. The amazing truth is that because of God's read more...

Ephesians 2:10

We are God's masterpiece, God's workmanship, God's handiwork, God's creatures – we are God's new creation in Christ Jesus. We were born spiritually dead in our sins. In God's eyes, we were a rotting corpse, the putrefying remains of a fallen creation with no beauty that God should desire us; with no hope, help, comfort, or peace in the world.

We were products of a fallen creation, estranged from our Creator, and antagonistic read more...

Ephesians 2:11

When we are positioned in Christ and united with Him by faith, we receive all we need for life and godliness. We are given God's sufficient grace and His supernatural strength through the indwelling Spirit of Christ, Who causes us to be victorious in our journey through life, and enables us to be triumphant in every situation we meet.

When we were saved by grace through faith in Christ, we were transferred from Satan's kingdom read more...

Ephesians 2:12

There are many places in the Bible that tell us to remember. We are to remember the former things and we are to remember our Creator in the days of our youth. In our Christian faith, it is salutary to be reminded of what we are apart from God's grace and to recall what we used to be before we were saved by grace through faith in Christ. We are to remember what we used to be before our salvation, so that we are in a position to contrast it with His read more...

Ephesians 2:13

God chose to take a people for His name from the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to proclaim to the nations the goodness of God. For thousands of years, the only way that mankind could approach a holy God was through Israel's high priest and their God-ordained sacrificial system.

Every sacrifice that was offered to God down through the centuries, pointed to the final, perfect sacrifice of the eternal, begotten, incarnate read more...

Ephesians 2:14

The Lord Jesus Christ has rightly been called the Prince of Peace, for Christ is the propitiation for our sins, bringing peace with God for all who believe in Him. And through Christ Jesus our Lord, those who have trusted in Him as Saviour may have the peace of God which transcends all human understanding guarding their heart and mind, for He has promised to keep in perfect peace those whose mind is stayed on Him.

But there is read more...

Ephesians 2:15

Jesus Christ made the Law of no effect by giving His sinless life to pay the full price of all sin, which was the only payment that a holy God could accept.

Only the shed blood of Jesus Christ (the perfect Son of God and sinless Son of Man), could satisfy the righteous demands of God Who had decreed that the wages of sin is death. Jesus died to pay that price for you, for me, and for all who would trust in Christ as Saviour, and read more...

Ephesians 2:16

Christ not only removed the sin-barrier between God and man through the sacrifice of His body on the Cross, but He also tore down the dividing walls of partition that separated Jew from Gentile, uniting them together in brotherly love, and making them 'one new man' in Christ.

Israel was chosen by God to be the people through Whom God would bless the nations of the world, and they were entrusted with the Word of God which was read more...

Ephesians 2:17

God's gracious message to mankind, both to Jew and Gentile alike, is reconciliation. In His grace and kindness, God intervened in the long-standing bitter enmity and deep-seated mistrust that existed between Jew and Gentile by making them into one new man in Christ. He intervened in the enmity between God and man by bringing all who trust in Christ Jesus as Saviour back into close fellowship with Himself. And that bond of unity is in His Son.

read more...

Ephesians 2:18

As believers in Christ, we plead His righteousness. As Christians, we come to God in the name of Jesus. We are not worthy to gather up the crumbs under His table, but we can boldly approach the throne of grace because we appeal to Christ's worthiness and call on His righteousness. We petition the Father through the precious blood of His only begotten Son, and we approach the throne of grace in the name of Jesus: "For there is no other name given among men read more...

Ephesians 2:18

Both Jew and Gentile need to be reconciled to God. Both need God's forgiveness of their sins. Both need to be justified by faith in Christ. Both need to be redeemed, and both need propitiation from their sins. Both need to have God's righteous wrath turned away from them due to Christ's blood sacrifice at Calvary, which brings all who believe in Jesus Christ into full fellowship with the Father.

Both Jew and Gentile have fallen read more...

Ephesians 2:19

The Church is the Body of Christ and can be compared with a building of living stones that is being built up and fit together in a beautiful way by the Holy Spirit, into a holy temple, a permanent dwelling place for God. The Church of Christ is made up of the family of believers that have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour and God in this dispensation (from Pentecost to the Rapture).

The Church consists of a body of read more...

Ephesians 2:20

We live in a world where unschooled Christians are absorbing many false doctrines into their souls and seeking after palatable, ear-tickling teachings. Sadly, they are doing this to the detriment of their spiritual growth and in preference to giving heed to the sound truth of God's inerrant Word.

But Christ came into the world to be the final revelation to mankind, and God gave us all that we need for life and godliness in His read more...

Ephesians 2:21

God reconciled man back to Himself and restored the relationship between Jew and Gentile, through Christ's shed blood on a Roman cross and His glorious Resurrection from the dead.

But the unification of Jew with Gentile through the Cross of Calvary has meant so much more than simply setting aside past differences between two people groups, for it has resulted in the binding together of two incompatible and irreconcilable parties read more...

Ephesians 2:22

The good news of peace with God and an eternal relationship with Him has come by faith in Christ's shed blood for the redemption of the body and the forgiveness of sins. Having been born from above, we not only enjoy a new relationship with our Heavenly Father, but we have also become part of a wider and growing body; a new establishment, the Church, who are all members of Christ's Body and the holy Temple of the living God.

Paul read more...

Ephesians 3:1

In the first few chapters of Ephesians, Paul gives us the most exciting overview of our position in Christ. He lists many of the incredible privileges and blessings that are ours by faith in Him, and which the Lord has showered upon all of us in great abundance. He praises God for the bountiful supply of spiritual blessings that are ours by faith in Him. 

Paul was writing to the Ephesians from his prison cell in Rome. read more...

Ephesians 3:2

Despite being in prison for the sake of the gospel of Christ, Paul pens three amazing chapters in Ephesians that outline the incredible privileges and position that Christians have in Christ Jesus our Lord, before instructing us on how to live in this Church age.

Paul became a devoted servant of the Lord Jesus and to him was given the majority of Church-age doctrine. Even the apostle Peter recognised that there were things read more...

Ephesians 3:3

For two wonderful chapters, Paul outlines the gospel of God, where believers have been placed in union with Chris, such that Jews and Gentiles together have become one Body in Christ.

He started to explain that his imprisonment was for the sake of this gospel, which he reminded them was specially and uniquely revealed from God to the Church through Paul himself. He then began to point out the importance of this new, special read more...

Ephesians 3:4

Paul has just finished three glorious chapters telling us all about our precious position in Christ and the wonderful privileges that are ours in Him. He tells of our redemption through the blood of the Lord Jesus, our changed relationship to God, the birthright we have in Him, and the permanently indwelling Holy Spirit Who guides us unto all truth.

He tells us of the riches of God's grace towards us, the mystery of His will to read more...

Ephesians 3:5

In this magnificent letter to the Ephesians, Paul explains in great detail the mystery that was hidden from ages and generations, but which has now been revealed to us through Paul and God's other New Testament apostles and prophets. Paul was given a unique, if not exclusive position in the Church, which is called Christ's Body. Following Christ's death, resurrection, ascension and glorification, we discover the murderous Saul of Tarsus being selected for a unique read more...

Ephesians 3:6

The wealth that all believers have in Christ is described in incredible depth and wondrous beauty in the first three chapters of Ephesians. This is followed by instruction to believers on the application of these glorious truths, which are found in the last three chapters of this book.

But this verse outlines the core truth of the message of the Cross: that members of the Body of Christ, which is the Church, all enjoy equal read more...

Ephesians 3:7

Paul was commissioned to deliver a sacred secret to the believers at Ephesus, a mystery that had been hidden for ages and generations, but which was entrusted to him and other holy apostles of Christ's.

It was for the sake of this marvellous message of the Cross and the glorious truth that the gospel of Christ which was now opened to believing Gentiles as well as believing Jews, for which Paul was imprisoned. And this letter was read more...

Ephesians 3:8

Paul was not one of the twelve men chosen by the Lord Jesus to be a disciple during His earthly life. He was not one of the multitude who was baptised by John unto repentance early in Christ's ministry. He was not a man like Matthias, who accompanied the apostles during the time that Jesus went in and out among them all... and Paul was not one of the crowd who were cut to the heart on that first day of Pentecost when the men of Israel realised that they had read more...

Ephesians 3:9

The first part of Paul's ministry was to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. The second aspect of his calling was to help us understand, "the administration of the mystery." Paul was anointed of God to open up the gospel to the Gentiles... and to explain the mystery of God which had been hidden from past generations, but which had now been revealed to the world through Paul and the other apostles.

Just as read more...

Ephesians 3:10

Israel had a special and unique ministry, which was given to them by God. They were His people, and He was their God, and they were called and chosen to be a light to the Gentiles. They were to shed abroad the wonders of His name and proclaim throughout the world the glorious news of salvation by grace through faith to those who were dead in sin.

The whole earth has been lying in the evil one, ever since Adam sinned in the garden read more...

Ephesians 3:11

The mystery of the Church was in God's heart and mind from the beginning, but there was a special reason why the Lord kept the 'dispensation of the grace of God' a secret during his earthly ministry. Indeed, it was kept hidden from ages and generations - and cleverly concealed from angelic beings, invisible powers, and the prince of the power of the air.

The formation of the Church, which is the Body of Christ, is a wisdom which read more...

Ephesians 3:12

What a privilege it is to be a Christian - a part of the Church - a living stone - a member of the Body of Christ. What an honour to be a child of God, be seated in heavenly places in Christ, and clothed in His robes of righteousness. What amazing grace that a sinner such as I can boldly and confidently enter the throne-room of the Most High God. What a glorious responsibility that I can come near the throne of grace and find mercy to help in time of need. What a read more...

Ephesians 3:14

At the start of the third chapter of Ephesians, Paul was about to kneel before the Lord and earnestly pray for the Christians in Ephesus, that according to God's riches in glory, they would be strengthened in the inner man with all might, through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Paul's desire was that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith, and that each one might be rooted and grounded in love: "So that they read more...

Ephesians 3:15

Paul was a man of prayer, no matter where he went. Whether he was free or chained up in a Roman jail, he would bow his knee and surrender his heart to his heavenly Father and glorified Lord.

Posture is not important when we pray to God. Whether we stand to pray or sit, kneel, or lift up a silent plea as we go about our daily business, a humble heart that overflows with reverence, praise, worship, and thanksgiving is the read more...

Ephesians 3:16

Paul was a man who interceded for others in the Body of Christ, and often we discover him to be lifting up Christian brothers and sisters in pleading prayer, earnestly asking the Lord that all who are born from above might mature in the faith, and grow in grace in accordance with the riches of God's super-abundant glory and His perfect will. He prayed that they may be strengthened with all-power in the inner man, through the might and merit of the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 3:17

Once again - superlatives and fullness flood this passage in Ephesians, identifying the body of believers, "which is the church," as the temple of God. We are called to be His holy habitation, "so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith." We are His appointed resting-place, wherein He will dwell, through time and into eternity.

God's chosen dwelling-seat is the inner read more...

Ephesians 3:18

Paul desires that the spiritual awareness of the saints of God is all-embracing, such that we are able to comprehend the supernatural, multi-dimensional, breadth, length, height, and depth of God's love - through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son.

He had personally experienced this immeasurable love of God himself, for despite his cruel persecution of the Church, God in His grace had chosen Paul to be His own mouthpiece. He read more...

Ephesians 3:19

The dimensions of Christ's love for His Church are unfathomable and enfold all those who will trust in His name for salvation, whether they be Jew or Gentile, bond or free, male or female, black or white, young or old.

But Christ's love for the Church was a mystery that was hidden from past generations, and yet it was revealed to Paul on our account so that we might know for certain the incomprehensible love of Christ. This love read more...

Ephesians 3:20

For three glorious chapters, Paul has been outlining the riches of God's grace towards His people, explaining our privileged position in Christ and reminding us of the love of God which passes all human understanding, before he implores us to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which we have been called, to the praise and glory of God the Father and our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

He has been expounding the length and breadth read more...

Ephesians 3:21

The Lord our God is worthy of all glory and honour for innumerable reasons, not least because of Who He is and what he has done for the children of men. In Romans, we rejoice at the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. We are reminded of His unsearchable judgments and unfathomable ways. No one knows the mind of the Lord. No one can become His counsellor, as Paul reminds us, for the Lord is no man's debtor. No wonder the apostle cries out: read more...

Ephesians 4:1

The manifold riches of God's grace towards His children sparkle like a myriad of shining stars throughout the book of Ephesians, reaching into the heavenlies as, verse by verse, we are shown more of the gracious provision that God has poured out, without measure, over the heads of all who trust in the Lord Jesus as Saviour.

For three whole chapters, Paul rehearses all the amazing benefits that God has, in His grace, showered on read more...

Ephesians 4:2

Having spent three wonderful chapters on our position in Christ and our Christian calling as children of God, Paul exhorts us to walk worthy of that great calling. He beautifully balances doctrinal truth with the duty and responsibility we have of being in Christ.

Having detailed the wealth of our spiritual blessings, which God has freely bestowed upon all who are in Christ, we are beseeched by Paul to walk worthy of that calling read more...

Ephesians 4:3

Paul knew that unity in the Body of Christ can be threatened from without and destroyed from within. False doctrine and distorted scriptural truths can invade the Church, and trivial dissensions and petty disputes can also be a destructive element that causes disunity. Christ earnestly prayed for unity (note: not uniformity) before He died: "That they may be one..."

Paul calls us all to be like-minded, having unity in the read more...

Ephesians 4:4

In His final High Priestly prayer, the Lord Jesus prayed that we would be one, even as He and His Father were One - united together with a single focus and a singular resolve, joined as one in our fellowship with God and with one another, and standing firm on the truth of the glorious gospel of Christ.

It is those that are walking worthy of their calling in Christ who are lowly of heart, gentle in spirit, long suffering in body, read more...

Ephesians 4:5

The first three chapters in the book of Ephesians, should fill our hearts with joy and cause us to break forth into songs of praise for they outline our divine election and our secure position in Christ, while the last three chapters give an overview of godly living and examine what should be our practice in the Lord.

It is here in the early verses of chapter 4, that Paul makes an appeal for Christian harmony and the fellowship of read more...

Ephesians 4:6

As members of the Church, we are to live a life that is worthy of our calling. We are to clothe ourselves in humility before God our Father, and we are to walk in the unity of the Spirit, in the bond of peace. And in this passage, we are given the many elements of unity that are ours in Christ Jesus - our one and only Lord and Saviour.

The universal Church of believers is one Body which is in-dwelt by the same Holy Spirit of God. read more...

Ephesians 4:7

As God's blood-bought children we are called into union with Christ, identified with His righteousness, seated with Him in heavenly places, and exhorted to live and walk in a manner that is worthy of the divine calling with which we have all been called.

Our behaviour should be such that it honours God and gives credit to the position of read more...

Ephesians 4:8

We read in this passage that when Jesus rose from the dead: "He ascended into the heaven of heavens on high, He led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men." There are a number of interpretations of this passage from good Bible teachers and each have merit, and each give glory and honour to Christ.

Every good expositor read more...

Ephesians 4:9

Paul is a good teacher, in that he not only encourages and corrects those he is teaching but also reiterates important facts for emphasis and seeks to clarify Old Testament quotations. He explains the meaning of hard words or phrases and provides clarity when giving instruction or when something may be misinterpreted, ambiguous, or difficult to understand.

The apostle was writing to the Ephesian believers from his prison cell and read more...

Ephesians 4:11

Having spent three glorious chapters outlining who we are in Christ, Paul turns His attention to grounds for unity within the Church. He reminds us that there is one Body of believers (the Body of Christ), one Holy Spirit Who indwells and seals each believer, one hope of our calling which is reserved for us in heaven, and one Lord, our Saviour Jesus Christ.

There is also one faith with a settled body of doctrine that is clearly read more...

Ephesians 4:12

How clearly and logically Paul sets out his epistle to the Ephesians. For the first three chapters, he praises God for our redemption through the shed blood of Christ. He rejoices in the spiritual blessings we have received, through faith in Him. He reminds us that our salvation is an act of God's goodness and grace, and that we are God's workmanship - created in Christ Jesus to do the good works that He has prepared for us to do.

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Ephesians 4:13

It only takes a single moment to be justified in the sight of God. It happens when we place our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ our Saviour, but from that moment onwards, we begin the lifelong process of progressive sanctification.

Christian re-birth happens as a onetime event which takes place in a moment of time. However, the process of sanctification will not cease: "Until we all come to the harmonious read more...

Ephesians 4:15

Paul explains that the gifts of the Spirit should not be abused for self-satisfaction, nor should they be used to indulge in ungodly, emotional experiences. The gifts of the Spirit are given to help equip other believers in their spiritual service, to edify the Body of Christ, and to help to perfect each member of the Church for the particular ministry to which God has called them.

He adds that the ultimate goal is to bring all read more...

Ephesians 4:16

Paul lays out a clear picture of the make-up and function of the Body of Christ in his epistle to the Ephesians. He discusses the unity of the saints and the importance of thinking of others as better than ourselves. We are to speak the truth in love and hold fast to the Word of God.

Paul talks about the great diversity within the Body of Christ and the spiritual gifts and graces that each believer receives... according to the read more...

Ephesians 4:18

As children of God and joint heirs with Christ, the conduct that is expected of all members of the Body of Christ, is clearly laid out in the later chapters of Ephesians, and Paul implores us to walk worthy of the calling with which we have been called.

We are to walk in unity of spirit and humility of heart... with gentleness and patience. We are to endeavour to pursue the unity of the Spirit, in the bond of peace, and are read more...

Ephesians 4:19

For the first part of his book, Paul lays out the secure position in Christ of a believer. He praises God for our blessings and gives thanks to the Lord for His supernatural power in our lives, which is manifest in our great salvation.

He rejoices in our positional union in Christ and details the mystery of the Church, which had been hidden for ages and generations, but which the Lord permitted him to share with believers, which read more...

Ephesians 4:21

Paul frequently contrasts what we were before we were Christians, to what we have become since we first believed. He reminds us that although we were children of darkness, we are now children of light. Although we were dead in our sins, we are now alive in Christ.

Because we were taught the mystery of the gospel and believed in Christ Jesus as our Saviour, our position in Christ and our eternal inheritance is secured for us in read more...

Ephesians 4:22

Becoming a Christian does not simply mean we changed our minds, but changed our entire citizenship and way of living. When we are born again, the Spirit makes us totally different beings with a new and beautiful focus. We were freed from the eternal slavery of a system that had corrupted us by means of deceitful lusts, and which promised unattainable joy. We are changed from being dead in sin to being made and alive in Christ. We are given into the glories of read more...

Ephesians 4:23

Like begets like, flesh begets flesh, and Spirit begets spirit. When we were born of fallen Adam, we were born of the flesh and received a fallen and fleshly nature. When we were born of the Holy Spirit, we received a holy and spiritual nature. When we first believed in Christ, we received a new nature, the nature of Christ. We were born into newness of life and given a regenerated spirit, a new life in Christ.

The former nature read more...

Ephesians 4:24

Having believed the truth of the gospel of Christ for salvation, an outward demonstration of a holy life should be the result of that inward regeneration through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Having been renewed in the spirit of our mind, the inner fruit of that new life in Christ should, through God's almighty power, be made manifest by a life that is righteous and holy.

The new sinless self is not a patching up of read more...

Ephesians 4:25

For three whole chapters, Paul sets out the privileges of being in Christ. He reminds us of the eternal glories that are kept in heaven for all who are in Christ Jesus, and admonishes us against living our lives in the lust of the flesh, like the unsaved Gentiles who are slaves to sin and without God in the world.

Paul calls to our remembrance that now we are children of the light who are to live our lives as unto the Lord, in read more...

Ephesians 4:26

The first three chapters of Ephesians remind us of our position in Christ and the many promises and privileges that are ours in Him, while the last three call us to live responsible lives worthy of our calling, to walk as children of the light, and to function in spirit and truth as beloved children of God and fully fledged member of the Body of Christ.

Paul calls us to spirituality, unity, and maturity, while warning against read more...

Ephesians 4:27

It is encouraging to read through the privileges and promises that are ours in Christ Jesus in the first three chapters of Ephesians, and know God is able to do abundantly above all we ask or think. But with great privilege comes great responsibility, and in chapter 4, Paul goes through the responsibilities of believers and what our daily practice should be.

At first, he makes an appeal for Christian unity in every sphere of read more...

Ephesians 4:28

Paul begins to offer practical advice on living the Christian life from the start of Ephesians, chapter 4. The previous section presents us with a panoramic understanding of who we are in Christ and the tremendous privileges that are ours by faith in Him, but once we arrive at this section, he instructs us on the correct response all believers should have to the amazing grace bestowed on us, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We read more...

Ephesians 4:29

We are not simply to read God's Word and study its content in order to expand our knowledge of Scripture. We have a positive responsibility to obey His Word and apply it in our everyday life, for when we walk in the unity of the Spirit and live in holiness of heart, we mature in the faith, grow in grace, and produce the fruit of humility, patience, gentleness, and love.

From the moment we are regenerated, the old self-life is to read more...

Ephesians 4:30

Paul tells us early in Ephesians that whoever believes in Christ as Saviour, is sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise when we first believe. And he builds on this truth when he tells us that we are sealed permanently until the day of redemption.

What an assurance to know that God the Holy Spirit has sealed us and will keep us sealed until Christ comes to claim us as His own. A seal is an official stamp on an important document. read more...

Ephesians 4:30

We have been bought with a price and received the life of Christ, but too often we allow the old sin nature to surface in our lives, and Paul warns that allowing sin to take control in our hearts rather than the new life in Christ, causes the indwelling Spirit (Who has sealed us unto the day of redemption), to be grieved and distressed.

Paul lists those things that grieve God: lying, anger, stealing, corrupt speak, and bitterness. read more...

Ephesians 4:31

One of the most pervasive sins which too often feeds our fleshly attitudes and appetite is bitterness. Bitterness is often the root of many emotional outbursts and is too often birthed by a smothering resentment against the injustice or unfairness of another or due to problematic circumstances. Some of these circumstances may be real while others may be perceived, some of these circumstances may have been avoidable, and others unavoidable.

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Ephesians 4:32

Forgiveness is a matter that is dear to the heart of our compassionate God – and forgiveness paid a tremendous part in the redemption of mankind. Forgiveness of sin is what fallen man yearns for and yet is incapable of receiving, unless he comes to the foot of the Cross and is washed clean by the blood of the Lamb, for there is no forgiveness of sins except through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Forgiveness was also read more...

Ephesians 5:1

Having detailed our unity in the Spirit, our union with Christ, and the unsearchable riches of God that have been freely bestowed on us by grace, Paul contrasts the corrupt lives of unregenerate man with the normal Christian walk, which should exhibit the tenderness, forgiveness, and grace that we see in the character of God and the life of Christ.

Having built up this worthy argument, Paul then exhorts us, read more...

Ephesians 5:2

Just as our letters and emails are not divided into chapters and verses, so Paul's epistles show one continuous flow of thought throughout, which the Holy Spirit has seen fit to include in the canon of Scripture for our learning. As with all Scripture, every verse should be taken in context and the factors relating to this verse are connected with holy living, godly behaviour, gracious speech, and a grateful and forgiving heart. We are exhorted to let no one read more...

Ephesians 5:2

As His children, we are called to imitate our Father in heaven. We are to be like Him in thought, word, deed, and motive. We are to follow His example and use Him as our role model for our inner life, and our hidden moments... as well as our outer behaviour and attitude towards others. Just as God is holy, we are to be holy in all our conduct.

The only way we can imitate the immortal, omnipotent God is to look to Christ, Who is read more...

Ephesians 5:6

For three wonderful chapters, Paul has been telling the Ephesians what are the incredible riches of God's grace toward us. He is reminding us of the supernatural position and privileges that are ours, simply by grace - through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is because these amazing gifts and graces have so readily been bestowed on unworthy sinners such as us, that Paul starts to exhort us to put on the new man. We are read more...

Ephesians 5:8

We have been lifted up out of a world of deep darkness into the light of the glorious gospel of God's grace. Our walk through this life as the children of God, is to become a day-by-day lifestyle that is pleasing and honouring to the Lord.

Our life-walk should be a reflection of His goodness and grace, His righteousness and integrity, His kindness and gentleness, His truth and His sincerity. Our Christian life should reflect His read more...

Ephesians 5:14

While the first part of Ephesians is an exposition of Scripture where Paul reminds us of the wonderful advantages that are ours in Christ, the last section moves to exhortation where we are instructed in Christian conduct and charged to live as sons of God and joint heirs with Christ. 

We are to be imitators of God and live our lives through the power of the indwelling Spirit. We are to be filled with the Spirit, to walk in read more...

Ephesians 5:18

For three wonderful chapters in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul outlines our privileged position in Christ. He tells of our redemption by grace through faith in Him, of reconciliation with our Heavenly Father, and of our glorious transfer from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His dear Son.

He also tells of the amazing work of the indwelling Holy Spirit and the honour of being baptised by Him, into the Body of Christ. read more...

Ephesians 5:21

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul identifies the qualities of the man or woman who walks as a child of light, and is filled with the Spirit of God. To walk in spirit and truth and to be filled with the Holy Spirit, results in a Christ-like life of godly self-sacrifice and the production of an abundance of spiritual fruit for the benefit of others and to the glory of God.

Paul describes the spirit-filled Christian as one who read more...

Ephesians 5:22

Having been given a breathtaking description of our privileged position in Christ and the astonishing benefits of trusting His finished work on the Cross for our salvation, Paul outlines the importance of being spirit-filled and walking in holiness. He then guides us through the process of its practical application in our everyday lives, and in particular in connection with the relationships that we have with one another.

The read more...

Ephesians 5:25

The Lord Jesus is the federal head of the new creation and the very personification of love, for the Man, Christ Jesus was also the eternal Son of God united in one human body. One in Spirit with the Father and yet a true Kinsman of humankind, Christ loved His God and Christ loved His Bride, the Church.

We read that GOD so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son to be the sacrifice for sin. Christ was made sin for the read more...

Ephesians 5:26

Paul used the special relationships between a husband and wife to exemplify the intimate communion there is between Christ and the Church. The marriage relationship is patterned on Christ's sacrificial love for His Church; for Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her. But the sacrificial love that Christ has for His Church also has a cleansing element, as well as a sanctifying effect upon Her.

The Church is cleansed and read more...

Ephesians 5:27

In the past, Christ manifested His love towards us in that He died to pay the price for our sins; He redeemed us by His blood. At redemption we were positionally sanctified and set apart for Him, but throughout our life on earth we are in a process of being sanctified, for He who started a good work in us has promised to complete it in the day of Christ Jesus.

This beautifying process, which takes a lifetime to complete, is to read more...

Ephesians 5:30

Salvation for pre-Cross believers who lived in the dispensation of the Law and post-Cross believers who live in the dispensation of the grace-of-God, is given and received in the same way; for salvation is by God's grace through man's faith in the God's Word. In this Church age, salvation is ours by grace through faith in the death, burial, and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Salvation is always a matter of faith, but the read more...

Ephesians 5:32

The Word of God gives much importance to the institution of marriage and the intimate relationship and responsibilities between a man and a woman, when they are joined in holy matrimony. Marriage is a sacred reflection of the union between Christ and His Church, and was ordained by the Triune God in the eternal council chambers of heaven, before the world began.

It was God who instituted the marriage bond, and He laid out the read more...

Ephesians 6:1

The focus of the previous chapter is to be filled with the Spirit of God, and one result of this spiritual 'filling' is the manifestation of a submissive spirit, godly love, and a true respect for one another.

Not only are wives to be submissive to their husbands and men are to love their spouses as Christ loved the Church, but these godly characteristics should be displayed in their children's behaviour, and so we read: "Children, obey your parents read more...

Ephesians 6:10

In the opening chapters of the epistle to the Ephesians, Paul gives a wonderful overview of our position in Christ and the riches of God's grace that have been poured out on all who are in Christ Jesus. But as we approach the end of the epistle, he does not want us to forget that despite our heavenly privileges, we are living on earth and engaged in an ongoing spiritual battle.

As soldiers of Christ, we are to arise, be strong in read more...

Ephesians 6:12

Christ gained complete victory over sin, death, and Satan through His death, burial, and Resurrection. And Christ's victory is ours by faith, for we are His Body and are identified with Him and He with us.

The day is coming when Christ will rule and reign on this earth as King of kings and Lord of lords and Satan will be bound in the bottomless pit for a thousand years, but during this Church dispensation we are engaged in an read more...

Ephesians 6:13

Many of the battles in Old Testament times were fought with spears and swords in the physical realm, but New Testament believers are called upon to fight battles in the spiritual sphere, for we do not wrestle against physical enemies of flesh and blood... our battle is not against human opponents. Our enemy is in the spiritual plane. The opponents with whom we wrestle are spiritual rulers and demonic powers. We fight against the read more...

Ephesians 6:14

We are all so familiar with the armour of God as laid out in Ephesians 6... but no matter how much we learn about it, there is so much more to discover... for every piece of our spiritual armour points us to the Lord Jesus, the eternal Son of God - and every aspect of our holy covering is immeasurable.

The very first piece of our protective covering is truth. We are instructed to have our loins, "girt read more...

Ephesians 6:16

In our Christian walk, we are not fighting a physical battle but a spiritual one, and God in His grace, has equipped us with a wide range of spiritual armoury which when used correctly, will be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the enemy, be a protection to ourselves and others, and give glory to the Lord.

Every part of our armour is given for a different, yet important purpose, and each piece is designed to be used in read more...

Ephesians 6:17

Every piece of armour that the Christian is given in the spiritual battle of the ages in which we are engaged, points to the Lord Jesus Christ. For He holds all things together and in Him, we have all that is needed to face the forces of evil and spiritual wickedness in high places. It is by maintaining a simple trust in Him that we are able to thwart all the earthly thorns and thistles in life that seek to trip and to trap, to ensnare, undermine, and destroy our read more...

Ephesians 6:18

Multiplied calls to prayer are found throughout Scripture, and many men and women in the pages of the Bible are also found travailing in prayer to God. We are to pray without ceasing, to pray everywhere, and to pray in spirit and truth. We are called to pray for kings and rulers, and also to pray for the saints who are the Body of Christ (all those that are born from above, as children of God). Christ Himself was discovered throughout His earthly life in read more...

Ephesians 6:23

In the penultimate verse of Ephesians, Paul is offering a familiar and well-loved salutation to his brothers and sisters in Christ: "Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

Peace, love, and faith are three spiritual qualities that are sprinkled in unfettered abundance throughout Paul's writings, and yet they retain a freshness each time they are bestowed on God's children of faith.

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