X Gospel

  • Christ’s Body

    Eph 1:23 NLT

    And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.

    Not the Building

    The church is not the building that we meet in. We still need to learn that God can’t live in a building built by hands. He can however live in the building of His church, which is the body of Christ.

    We the believers are His body, His Church, and we are not built by hands. We are living stones.

    We, the church, are not a dead body, but alive and filled with Christ, to do of His good pleasure.

  • Christ’s Authority

    Eph 1:22 NLT

    God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.

    Christ

    We can easily get distracted by all the evil taking place around us. We must never forget that Christ is the final authority. Satan is making his final push to destroy as many people as he can. But the church benefits from the authority of Christ.

    We can not get drawn to the noise that Satan is making. It is a distraction!

    Christ is the authority, He is in charge, we can rest in that.

  • Eternal Authority

    Eph 1:21 NLT

    Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.

    Authority, Power

    Let’s not forget the verses preceding this one. Who is this power for?

    Yes for the believer in Christ. We have not been left powerless in this evil world, now, or in the future. If God is for us who can be against us? We must understand, then always remember who we have become in Christ Jesus.

  • God’s Power Displayed

    Eph 1:20 NLT

    that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.

    God’s Power

    This great power of God is for us, the power that raised Jesus from the dead, and seated him.

    To be a believer in Christ is not to be left weak and fragile. We are given power, this limitless power to live this life well.

    Faith is now living like this is true!

  • God’s Power For Us

    Eph 1:19 NLT

    I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power

    God’s Power For Us

    God has not left us to struggle through this life on our own. He is indeed with us. Paul is praying for us to understand the greatness of the power of God that is for us.

    We have to get it out of our minds that we are defeated, bedraggled and insignificant.

    If God’s great power is for us, what can stand against us?

  • Knowledge, Understanding

    Eph 1:18 NLT

    I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

    Understanding

    Knowledge of God leads to understanding Him, which leads to the light Paul is on about.

    As people we tend toward the negative of everything. Woe is me, “I’m stuck in a dead end job.” We can substitute many different thoughts into this idea.

    The fact is that God Himself, has already rescued those who believe Him! In this understanding we know we have nothing but hope. We can with confidence charge into the day knowing that God has us, and we are secure in Him.

    Inheritance

    It is amazing that He, God, sees us as His rich and glorious inheritance. We are His!

  • Spiritual Wisdom

    Eph 1:17 NLT

    asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.

    Paul’s Prayer

    Paul is asking God to give to the Ephesian believers spiritual wisdom and insight.

    We like Paul should be concerned with growing in spiritual wisdom and insight. The powers of this world have been very successful at making us focus on only the physical side of this life, the things we can see and touch. But the spiritual is the most important.

    Result

    Paul is praying that believers would grow in spiritual wisdom and insight, because it leads to greater knowledge of God. Not simply a head knowledge, but an experiential knowledge.

  • Others

    Eph 1:16 NLT

    I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,

    Others

    Our lives as believers in Christ have two points of focus. The first and most important is to Love God. The second, and Jesus said “like unto it” to love others as yourself.

    Paul’s concern is always for the wellbeing of other believers. This should also be our concern!

  • Reputation

    Eph 1:15 NLT

    Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere,

    Reputation

    Other scripture use the word fruit. What we believe affects our lives fully. The things that affect our lives fully are known to all around us.

    Paul had heard of the Ephesians reputation from far away of their love for fellow believers and their faith in God.

    What we really believe can’t be hidden!

    What are you known for?

  • The Guarantee

    Eph 1: 14 NLT

    The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

    The Holy Spirit

    In the western world we have been taught to ignore the spiritual. But God is Spirit, so we need to learn to connect with Him spiritually. The Holy Spirit has been given to all believers. If we trust Him we will see His work in our lives. We will learn to follow Him.

    Jesus promised that He would send the Spirit to lead and guide us into all truth. This means that God’s teaching and guidance is within us.

    The Guarantee

    That:

    1. He will give us the inheritance that He has promised.
    2. He has purchased us to be His own.

    The Result

    The result is that we would praise and glorify Him.