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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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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