Course 7: Ephesians

What it means to be “in Christ” is central to the message of Ephesians. Through the first three chapters we are given a better understanding of our position in Christ. The last three chapters help us grasp what the practice of our faith in Christ looks like. Both our position and our practice are brought into focus right from the beginning of the letter. Verse 1 challenges us to consider the calling on our lives. Verse 3 tells us we have been given everything we need in Christ. In the coming sessions, we will unpack both our position and the practice of a life in Christ in depth.

Paul lays out every spiritual blessing we are given in Christ from Ephesians 1:3 all the way to 1:14. (This passage is a single sentence in the original language.) In session two, we unpacked the meaning behind these blessings. We have everything we need in Christ to live a godly life. Before the world was made, God chose for us to be made holy and blameless through Christ. Where we were dead in our sins, He adopted us to new life as sons and daughters. We’ve been purchased or redeemed through Christ’s blood shed on our behalf. We are given wisdom and understanding of God’s will. He gives us the Holy Spirit who lives in us. Our hope of heaven is guaranteed. We are incredibly blessed.

We have been saved from our past hopeless condition, for good works which we can accomplish thanks to our present position. Before coming to faith in Christ we lived in bondage to our sin nature. Then out of His immense love for us, God made us alive in Christ. This new life is secure and does not end. While we cannot earn or deserve this position, as we follow our calling, the Church Body is built up to maturity and people are reached (through us) with the Gospel that gave us life, and we are now being joined together as members of God’s household, the Church.

God’s plan was mysterious until He revealed it by sending His Son on behalf of the whole world. Through Christ, people from every nation, tribe, and tongue are brought together. Everyone who believes can now come boldly into God’s presence as a beloved child.

Paul begs the believers in Ephesus to live a worthy life based on their position in Christ, the Holy Spirit who lives in them, and their understanding of God’s plan for the church. This plea extends to us. A worthy life values unity with the church body and appreciates our God-ordained diversity. A worthy life also involves growing to maturity in the faith as we understand and apply the gifts given to us through the Holy Spirit. Each of us has gifts to build up the church.

In the profound little book Sit Walk Stand, Watchman Nee shares his thoughts on living the Christian life saying, “Walking is the practical outworking of our heavenly position here on earth.” He draws our attention to the truth that we are already children of God in Christ. Our walk of faith is only possible as we realize who we are in Him. Ephesians 4:17—5:20 is all about how Christ has called us out of darkness and into His light. In 4:17-19, Paul begins by showing us the sad reality of what it means to walk in darkness. Then he points us to the way forward. Living in the light requires that we put off the old nature, and put on our new nature as the Spirit transforms us from the inside out. We are further called to imitate Christ’s self-giving love in our daily lives. A truly Christian life is about walking in His light, reflecting His love to the world, and wisely making the most of every opportunity to share His love and truth to a world in need of Good News.

The armor of God is available to us daily. In addition to every blessing and the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit, we are given the resources from God Himself to stand firm against our spiritual enemy. The enemy wants to undermine us as we pursue God’s will and follow Christ. While Christ secured the ultimate victory through the cross, the devil still seeks to do whatever possible to wreak havoc on the children of God. We must apply the armor by daily putting on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the Good News shoes, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. And we are called to pray for the Lord’s people who are standing firm and spreading the Good News all over the world.

Be filled with the Holy Spirit. As believers, this is the critical component which helps us approach all our relationships. We should depend on the Holy Spirit for the resources we need to love others like Christ. To put it another way, we need to acknowledge our weakness, our inability to love others in the ways we should, and rely on the Spirit’s empowering presence. We need to follow His leading every moment of every day.