When Paul was walking thru the city of Athens, he noticed extreme evidence of false religions and empty spirituality. But rather than being angry with them and judging, Paul builds a bridge to connect. He shows he is informed and engaged in the culture. Then Paul delivers the gospel in a way that his audience understands. This is an effective approach we should use still today. 


Questions for further thought:
1. Have you ever been in a place where someone reached you with the gospel by getting to know you and worked to understand you better? 

2. Have you ever tried to learn about another’s culture so you can witness to them?    


Challenge: Be in prayer that God will show you how you can reach others from all different cultures and walks of life.  

Technically, there is only one race: the human race. Yes, there are different expressions of our race such as Chinese, African, Polynesian, Caucasian and so forth. But as a whole we all share 99.99% of the same genetic makeup. Jesus came to earth to save the human race. He didn’t come for the angels, He didn’t come for nature, and as much as we love them, Jesus didn’t come to die on the cross for puppy Rex, Fluffy the kitty, or Donatello the turtle. He thought of every one of us while up on that cross and like the classic children’s song says “Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight.” We are all part of the same global family, a world that God loved so much that He sent His only Son for us. 


Questions for further thought:
1. Why do our churches here on earth appear so segregated, divided, and schismatic?

2. Read John 17:21. What should this teach us about God's perspective of the church?


Challenge: How can these verses help motivate you in how you view or deal with other denominations and Christian traditions? 

God gives the Israelites instructions on how to treat the sojourner, or foreigner, who lives among them. He tells the Israelites to welcome sojourners, to love them as if they were Israelites like themselves. Although the sojourner was from a different nation and culture, God called the Israelites to love them as if they were part of their own nation. God has called us, as Christians, to love those around us who are different from us in the same way.

​
Questions for further thought:
1. What does Genesis 1:26-27 tell us about all human beings? 

2. Also read Genesis 1:31. What do these passages tell us about the value of all human beings? 


Challenge: Take time and thank God for making the world and all things in it and making all of us in His image. 

There was nothing we could do to earn this salvation. We are saved purely by the grace of Christ through faith alone, not because of any works. In fact, Paul says that even our faith is a gift from God, leaving no room for boasting of any sort. This does not mean, however, that our good works are pointless. They are not the root of our salvation, but instead a necessary fruit of it. Good works do not save us; however, all truly saved people will do good works. God has prepared good deeds for us, and wants us to demonstrate that reality of our salvation by the way we live our lives (v. 10). It is God’s powerful creative work in us that drives our wiliness to engage in these works that He has set forth for us to do. We are saved to serve Christ and build up His Church (Eph. 4:12).


Questions for further thought:
1. How have I trusted in anything other than God’s grace for my salvation?

2. When will I confess and forsake my sin and put my trust in Christ alone as the basis for my forgiveness?


Challenge: The universe does not exist as a series of random events. The one who carefully orchestrated the family line of Jesus is in absolute control over all things in order to accomplish every purpose He intends. Battle your anxieties with this truth, and entrust your plans to God’s wise and powerful control.

 The tense of the terms “raised” and “seated” indicates that these are immediate and direct results of salvation. Not only is the believer dead to sin and alive to righteousness through Christ’s resurrection, but he/she also enjoys the Lord’s exaltation and preeminent glory. Salvation, of course, is very much for the believer’s blessing, but it is even more for the purpose of eternally glorifying God for bestowing on believers His endless and limitless grace and kindness. The whole of Heaven glorifies Him for what He has done in saving sinners. Because of Christ’s resurrection, we know that our bodies will be raised from the dead (1 Cor. 15) and that we have been given the power to live as Christians now. How are we doing? 


Questions for further thought:
1. In what ways am I partaking of the power of the Holy Spirit to live the Christian life now? 

2. How can I pray fervently that the Holy Spirit will fill me and cleanse me from the sinful staining of my day?


Challenge: Confess my willingness to give into prideful tendencies and ask for the Holy Spirit to fill me with His strength to live for Him. (Ephesians 5:18)

Verse 4 probably utters two of the greatest words in the Bible for us: “But God!” We were dead, but God made us alive in Christ! We were not merely in need of a helping hand or gentle push. We were spiritually lifeless, without a religious pulse, and stone cold dead. But God, being rich in mercy, gave love to the loveless, gave life to the lifeless, and is abundantly merciful to those deserving no mercy.  The penalty of sin and its power over those in Christ was mercifully destroyed by God’s gracious plan of redemption. Through faith in Christ we stand not guilty before God. (Romans 3:20-22). Salvation for the underserving sinner is for God’s glory by putting on display his boundless mercy and love for those that are spiritually dead. That is why we worship God alone and take no credit for any of this. That is precisely why it says, “But God…”


Questions for further thought:
1. In what ways am I experiencing the freedom that God’s mercy has afforded me? 

2. What steps will I take to get alone with God and confess my sin and thank Him personally? When will I do that?


Challenge: Read Romans 3 and meditate on the truth that is found in this passage.

Dead. Does any word conjure up such a sobering response as this particular word? Why would Paul choose such a hot button word to get his point across? As people, we really aren’t that bad, are we? Immediately after his prayer ending chapter 1, Paul reminds the Ephesians of the reality of personal sin. This is a sobering reminder of total sinfulness and lostness from which the believer is delivered from “in Him!” The natural man is not dead because of sinful acts that have been committed, but because of his/her sinful nature. This is why it should not be a burden to review what Jesus Christ, through faith, has delivered us from. This should fuel our gratitude for all He has done on our behalf. We are hopelessly lost in sin and cannot save ourselves. We are deserving of wrath for our rejection of God’s provision in Jesus Christ. Mankind was dead, disobedient, demonic, and destined for destruction. That’s the bad news. So what is the good news? More on this tomorrow.


Questions for further thought:
1. Do I agree with the notion that I can do nothing to save myself? Why or why not?

2. Why do I need an “alien” righteousness that only comes through Christ to be truly redeemed?


Challenge: Share this with someone this week that needs to know this TRUTH!

There seems to be a recurring theme that Paul is wishing to develop in Ephesians chapter 1 that I believe is paramount to our teaching on chapter 2 this week. Do you see it? Yes! It is found in two little words “In Him.” What does this mean? Did you know that Paul uses the language of “in Christ” or “in Him” or “in the Lord Jesus” roughly 40 times in Ephesians? This is a reference to the reality of the believer’s union with Jesus. Union with Christ is not a single specific blessing we receive in our salvation (although that is certainly part). Rather, it refers to the fact that we have been joined to Him by repentance and faith! Our entire blessedness – our victory, our happiness, our hope – is found in only one place; in being bound to Christ. He gets ALL the credit. We can’t steal any of that for ourselves. So the question I need to answer is not whether God will keep His own? But whether I am one of His own through faith? Are you “In Him?”


Questions for further thought:
1. In what ways have I been tempted to take credit for my salvation and all that involves? 

2. What is my reason and defense for my answer to question #1?


Challenge: Take time this week to examine your heart and mind to determine whether you are truly “In Him.” (2 Cor. 13:5)

Paul doubles down on the imagery of Jesus’ power, “far above all rule and authority, power and dominion.” We’re all good with this: we know Jesus is king. But then Paul goes one step further again, not elevating us to the same level as Jesus, who is our head, but linking us as part of the same body. The church – which is not a building but each and every one of us – is in some essential way the extension of Jesus on earth, “the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” If we allowed ourselves to believe this, to really believe this, it would change everything.  


Questions for further thought:
1. Do you dare to believe that you are an extension of Jesus in the world?

2. If you believe this, how does it change how you live?  


Challenge: If you introduced yourself to someone as “Saint [your name here],” imagine the reaction! But can you even say that name to yourself? Maybe you could start by asking God to make you a trifle closer to your inner “Saint,” your true self, the person God sees you to be. Just for today. And then do it again tomorrow.

It feels almost presumptuous to claim God’s power. We know ourselves to be weak and in need of forgiveness every day. But Paul here doesn’t just compare the power of God working in us to the power that raised Jesus from the dead – he says it is IDENTICAL, the “same as the mighty strength” that resurrected Jesus and placed Him on the throne. Even only a tiny trickle of such power could make us bold enough to truly believe that God is able to conquer our sin.  


Questions for further thought:
1. Do you have trouble with the concept of accessing God’s power?

2. Have you ever even asked God to lend you His “mighty strength”?  


Challenge: If there is one area of your life where you need God’s power, what would it be? To overcome sin, to be bold in telling others about your faith, to forgive someone? Think about how strong you would feel to deal with that one area if Jesus were standing right next to you. Pray for that power.