MORE THAN CONQUERORS

 Jeannie Horton

Life Christian University student #17122

MORE THAN CONQUERORS

INTRODUCTION

The book of Romans was written in Corinth sometime between 56-57 A.D. by the Apostle Paul. When he wrote the book of Romans, he was fully developed in his Theological studies. The purpose of his writing was to speak about Israel’s past unbelief with loving concern and how the Jews might be set right. He also writes to explain justification from God; God’s plan of salvation by grace through having faith in Jesus Christ alone and not from works of the law. When we walk according to our flesh's impulses, we desire those things that bring sin and death. Paul also wants to show that believers can be victorious over their flesh through the Holy Spirit's guidance, who indwells within our hearts.

In chapter 8, the primary focus is to show us that the Mosaic law could only point out our sins; it could not remove sin completely: we needed a Savior. Christ is the end of the law. Through His death and resurrection and our faith in Him, our sins are abolished forever, and we are declared “not guilty.” When we walk with God’s Spirit, who dwells within us as believers, we are guided by the Spirit, and therefore we have God’s desires which bring life. As believers, we are God’s children and heirs with Christ, serving Him in the newness of the Spirit. We are victorious in Christ: sharing in His spiritual blessings.

Reading from a portion of scripture taken from Romans chapter 8:

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover who He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him who also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:26-39).

In verses 26-39, there are eight things that we can learn: The Holy Spirit strengthens us in our weaknesses; all things work together for my good; we are destined to be like Christ; God is for us; He provides everything we need; condemnation is not from God; nothing can ever separate us from God’s love, and we are more than conqueror’s.

I. THE HOLY SPIRIT STRENGTHENS US IN OUR WEAKNESSES

“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:26-27).

God is omniscient, and the Spirit comes to help us. The Holy Spirit strengthens us in our weaknesses: teaching us to pray accurately and perfect prayers for and through us. Paul described that our weakness as being we don’t know what we should pray for as we ought. When we are faced with situations, we are unsure what prayer to offer: we are unsure what Bible verse to use, the Holy Spirit helps by interceding through and for us.

Jesus relied on the Spirit for help during His life. When He raised Lazarus from the dead in John 11, in verse 33, He wept over Lazarus and groaned in the Spirit:

Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the Spirit and was troubled. And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!” And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?” Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb (John 11:33-38). 

When Jesus groaned in the Spirit, He was more moved by anger than sorrow. It was a righteous anger towards the devastation that death can bring.  Jesus came to destroy Satan’s power over death through His death and resurrection. Jesus was angry at all the grief that Satan had caused all around him. In verse 38, He became angry and groaned again. When we don’t know what we need or how to pray, the Spirit knows and goes to work. If all we can do is utter a groan, the Spirit understands our needs and groans with us. The Spirit goes to battle.

The Spirit makes our prayers acceptable to God. God desires that we come to Him with confidence and pray bold prayers according to His will. “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14). He doesn’t promise to give us all that we ask, but He hears us when we ask according to His will. Our faith grows when we are confident that God wants to help us and answer our prayers. When we have faith, we please God.

God will give us the desire to pray: to spend time giving Him thanks and being in His presence. There’s nothing wrong with setting a time daily to pray, but it’s also good to pray when you feel led by the Spirit to do so. The Spirit will urge us to pray, showing us who to pray for. Some nights I can’t sleep. God puts on my heart what I can pray for: I do, and then I go back to sleep. Other times, when I’m out running (as long as it’s not up a hill), I’ll spend time in prayer. I listen to Christian music when I run, or I’m walking the dog. It’s an excellent time to spend giving thanks to God. When I’m scrolling through social media, I’ll see someone upset asking for prayer; I’ll pray for them.  God doesn’t necessarily care when or how you talk to Him; He wants to spend time with you.

Tongues

When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, one of the ways the Holy Spirit intercedes through us is by speaking in tongues. “For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries” (1 Corinthians 14:2). It is a language that is unknown to us, but it is the wisdom of God, given to our heart: It is the prayer of God. When we speak in tongues, the Spirit is interceding through us. We could be praying for someone across the world whom we have never met or something that we may have never thought to pray for. Tongues is also a way to praise and give thanks to God or edify and build ourselves up. Jude 20 tells us to edify ourselves on our most holy faith: This means that we let God’s word guide our faith. When we know and believe in His word, we can be confident in the power of it.

II. ALL THINGS WORK FOR MY GOOD

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

This verse starts with the word “and.” When we first work with the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us, as stated in verse 27, God works all things together for those who love Him. We first need to cooperate with the Holy Spirit so that He can intercede for us. If we aren’t cooperating with the Spirit, then everything may not work together for good.

There are two things this scripture doesn’t do. It doesn’t apply to everyone, and it isn’t saying that everything that happens to us is from God:

1. This scripture doesn’t apply to everyone. It applies to those called according to His purpose, who love God. And to those who have chosen to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. Christ is God’s purpose. He sent His Son to earth to die for the sins of the world, and through His death and resurrection, we have eternal life with Him forever. We have been accepted, called, and chosen. When we respond to God’s call and accept Christ, we are accepted by God. Now, we are to tell others about the love of God so they, too, will have right standing with God and not perish.

2. The verse also isn’t saying that everything that happens to us is from God. It doesn’t. As believers, we are going to experience trials; Jesus said that we would. Through life’s trials, we have victory. Trials develop godly character: suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Trials are explained in 1 Peter: “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1Peter 1:6-7). This passage mentions gold: that even though it perishes, its purity is first tested by fire. Our faith’s genuineness is more precious than gold. God requires our faith to go through similar testing. Our faith is tested by the trials that we face: The impurities holding us back will come to the surface, and God can mold us into Christ’s image. Faith is essential to God. With our faith, we have our salvation. Through our trials, when we come out of them stronger, our faith grows. God is purifying us: fit for His good works.

Because of God's love for His adopted children, who are righteous in Him and called according to His purposes, He will move mountains to turn a situation around for the good of His plans and purposes. He can change all situations: good or bad, around for our good through the workings of the Spirit.

III. WE ARE DESTINED TO BE LIKE CHRIST

“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover who He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified, these He also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30).

The word foreknowledge means to be aware of something before it occurs. This passage refers to God knowing who would accept His Son and His gift of salvation before they actually did.  However, there are some things that God has chosen not to foresee. Because God wanted a family, His relationship with us would be hindered if He used His foreknowledge to the full extent.

Predestined means to predetermine: it means to establish or decide in advance.  God doesn’t predetermine everything in people’s lives because He has given us free will. We are free to make our own choices: we are free to have a relationship with Him, and we are free to walk away from Him if that is what we want. Forcing us to believe in Him and walking in His ways is not free will. But because God knew in advance who would accept His gift of Salvation, He predestined a good plan for their life.

An example of predestination would be a woman pregnant with a child. In their excitement of their newborn baby, she and her husband get everything ready for their child to be born. They get the nursery ready with furniture and clothes. They may even go as far as getting a college fund set aside. They want the best for their child and will do everything possible to ensure that their child has a bright future. It’s the same with God to the people He knows will one day accept Him. He, too, wants us to have a bright future, and He will provide for us. 

We have also been called and justified: justified means we have been made right before God. Christ did this through His death for our sins and His resurrection. Without Christ, our sins would never have been forgiven. But we have right standing with God because of His work on the cross.

Mankind was made in the image of God. He created our beautiful home, and He intended that we would always have a perfect relationship with Him. But because of the fall of Adam and Eve, sin entered the picture, and mankind fell. God never departed us, but we lost the fellowship that He desired at the beginning of creation. To rectify this, He sent His Son as a gift of restoring the lost fellowship with Him. Because of Christ's death and resurrection, our fellowship has been restored, and we have right standing with God once again. God’s purpose for us is to grow more and more into the image of His Son. When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, we start the transformation of being made into the image of Christ. But it takes time; it doesn’t happen overnight. At our salvation, we are given a new nature. God dwells inside of us and changes us. We no longer have our sin nature, but God’s. We still will sin because our flesh is weak, but God gives us a holy conviction of knowing we did something wrong, and He gives us the strength to turn from our sins in repentance.

We have been glorified together with Christ Jesus. When He died and was resurrected, we also died and were raised with Him. We are now joint-heirs with Christ, seated at the right hand of our heavenly Father: our relationship restored.

IV. GOD IS FOR US

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

In this Scripture, Paul is drawing a conclusion. In Romans 8:26-30, Paul wrote that the Spirit intercedes for us, God works all things together for my good, and we are destined to be like Christ. As joint-heirs with Christ, we also shared in His sufferings so that we might share in His glory. All of our current sufferings are nothing compared to the glory that we have coming to us. As God’s chosen ones, we have the Spirit indwelling within our hearts as our helper and guide. We are chosen, called, justified, sanctified, and glorified. God is for us, and there is nothing or anybody that can be successful in coming against us. Hold your head up high, and feel good knowing that our Creator is sustaining us.

V. GOD PROVIDES EVERYTHING WE NEED

“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).

While we were still enemies of God, because of His grace, He sent His one and only Son to die for the sins of mankind so that we would have a restored and right relationship with Him. If the God who created the universe was willing to do this so that He could have His family back, He’s not going to just leave us alone to fend for ourselves. He’s going to make sure we are well taken care of.

God doesn’t withhold anything from those who walk uprightly. By His grace, we have been given eternal life. It is a gift. There is nothing that we can do to deserve it: He gave it to us freely. “For the Lord God is a sun, and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11). Not only is God a sun, but He is also a shield. He enlightens, gives light and warmth to all of creation. He also directs and protects us. God has a good plan for the lives of the righteous. To those who are called, chosen, and walk blameless in Him. We are called to walk as children of Light. To walk in righteous behavior, expressing our gratitude for His gift of salvation so that others will see God shining through us.

Pray big, bold prayers, prayers that are aligned with His will. Even if He chooses not to answer our prayer, it may not be the right timing for us. God knows our past, present, and future: our beginning from our end. God knows what is best for us and will never withhold anything good from us. He’s looking after us. Pray to Him with a thankful heart. We shall be glad, rejoice, and trust in Him.

VI. CONDEMNATION IS NOT FROM GOD

“Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us” (Romans 8:33-34).

Condemnation is declaring one guilty. It is a lie from Satan that leaves us feeling confused, shameful, and hopeless. It steals our joy. Do not let bitterness take root in your heart. Refuse to allow Satan or others to condemn you. God has completely forgiven you. He is at the right hand of God interceding for us. We were once guilty of sins that were held against us. But because of Christ, we have been justified, and we have peace with God. Because of Christ’s death and resurrection, we have been given a not guilty verdict. Jesus was completely sinless when He chose to go to the cross. He took our sins upon Himself and died for all of us so that God would declare us “not guilty.” All our sins have been forgiven-past, present, and future. All because of Christ, what He did for us, and our faith in Him. It is only by faith that we have been made not guilty; there is nothing we can do to deserve it. We actually don’t. But because God is so gracious, we are completely forgiven. If God isn’t holding any sin against us, then absolutely nobody else can condemn us.

Conviction is the complete opposite of condemnation. It is from the Holy Spirit who is interceding for us. Conviction lets us know that we have sinned. But it doesn’t steal our joy; it lifts us up. Sometimes we don’t realize that we have sinned, and God lets us know. Pray, repent, drop it and let it go.

The Lord convicted David of committing adultery with Bathsheba and his sin with Uriah, his nation, and God. In Psalm 51, He’s asking God for mercy. “For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned And done this evil in Your sight-that You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge” (Psalm 51:3-4). David confesses his sin and asks for God’s justification in His judgment of it. He later in the passage asks God to create in him a clean heart and steadfast spirit. God has convicted me of unkind words that I have said to others and asked me to apologize. He also has convicted me of inappropriate shows or movies that I’ve watched. I’m like Joyce Meyer; I often watch things with a remote in my hand, ready to push fast forward.

VII. NOTHING CAN EVER SEPARATE US FROM GOD’S LOVE

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). 

 

This verse is clearly stating that nothing will be able to separate us from God’s love. Not tribulations, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword. Not death nor life, things present or things to come, nor height or depth. Many of these things are extreme examples that most of us will never have to face, but the verse is making the point clear that absolutely nothing will separate us from His love: nothing will make God love us any more than He does right now. We can completely mess up bad, and He’s still going to love us. There is nowhere we can go to escape His love.

According to Colossians 1:16-17, Christ has created all things in heaven and earth for His purposes. He is before all things, and He holds all things together. From the very beginning, God has been for us and has loved us with an everlasting love. He sent His only Son to die for us while we were His enemies! That is real love. It is never going to end.  

God graciously gave us His Spirit to dwell within our hearts. God’s presence will never be taken away from us. Even if we decide that we don’t want to follow Christ, God will not leave. He is going to wait for us to come back to Him.

Satan is a deceiver. Satan will make believers question God’s love for them, especially when they sin. Satan wants to condemn people, make them feel hopeless, and wants to steal their joy. Guard your heart, and know who you are in Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote at the beginning of Romans 8, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). We are God’s chosen and adopted children. Christ died for us so that the law would be abolished. We have been given newness of life by the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling within us. Satan has no hold over those who are righteous in Christ and cannot condemn us. We will never be separated from God’s love.

When you think about your children, you know that there is absolutely nothing that they can do that will make you stop loving them. I don’t always like everything my two daughters do, but my love for them will never stop. One of my daughters got herself into some trouble awhile back, and I had to seek counseling. The one thing that the person said to me that forever stuck with me is that God loves her more than I do: This gave me the faith that I could trust in God to take care of the issue. And He did. 

Knowing that we can never be separated from His love, we can abide in it. With everything that God has ever done for creation, why would He ever choose to stop loving us? Be aware of God’s love. Study the love of God. His love strengthens, guides, heals and gives us our value. 
VIII. WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS

“As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:36-37).

Satan intends to steal, kill, and destroy. He chokes the word from people’s hearts, and he blinds the minds of unbelievers so that they will not know the truth of God’s love. He wants to destroy the faith of believers. In the lives of believers and unbelievers, Satan wants to destroy our families and our lives. He wants to steal our love, peace, and joy. He wants us to take our eyes off of Christ. But Christ has already won the battle for us. Even before we even get a problem, we won. We don’t need to go to war: we don’t need to become discouraged or lose our peace.

“And I take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). The word of God in this verse is referred to as the “sword of the Spirit.” It is our defense against Satan. The victory is ours when we are protected with God’s word. Know His word. Don’t just read it, study it, memorize scripture, and know it in your heart so that way you’ll be ready with the power of the Holy Spirit to speak to your situation.

Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. Jesus was God incarnate, but He was also a man. He was tempted just like we are but never sinned. Satan knowing scripture, was trying to cast doubt in Jesus and cause Him to sin. But, with each of Satan’s temptations, Jesus spoke the word back at him, and Satan eventually fled.    

As the body of Christ, we too can fight Satan by submitting to God and resisting the devil: he will flee. To resist means to stand against. When we speak the word over all of our situations and believe by faith that we are already victorious, we have fought the devil with the word and the Holy Spirit’s help.

 

CONCLUSION

Romans is a powerful book that showed us that our Savior is the end of the law: a law that could only cover our sins. Because of Christ, God has completely forgiven and forgotten our sins: past, present, and future. Indwelling within our hearts by faith, we are destined to be like Christ. We have God’s Spirit to intercede for and through us, strengthening us in our weakness: to sanctify, to guide, and protect. Do not be conformed to this world, but present yourself to God as a living sacrifice: holy and pleasing to Him, which is our act of worship.  Be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Live in such a way that shows God your gratitude for the gift of salvation. God provides everything we need according to His good will, and He works all things together for our good.  We have life in Christ and are victorious through Him. Because God is for us, we are more than conquerors, and nothing will ever separate us from God’s love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ephesians 1

 

June 3rd, 2020

Title: Ephesians 1 Bible Study

Text: Ephesians 1

Introduction:

1. Over the next several weeks, we’re going to be spending time studying the six chapters from the book of Ephesians. Ephesians was written in AD 60-61 by the Apostle Paul during one of his three known imprisonments in Rome. It is one of the Prison Epistles. Prison conditions were not good: The town sewage ran through the prison. But Paul’s heart was sincere, and he was in the will of God. He was still trying to help others even though he was suffering.

2. Ephesians is divided into two sections. Chapters 1-3 describe the believer’s position: who we are in Christ, how much God loves us, and our relationship with Him. Chapters 4-6 is about our behavior and how we can apply the truths learned from chapters 1-3 to our lives. Once we know how much God loves us, our behavior can change if we work with Him. We will want to walk in His ways, seeking to do His will. But we must develop our relationship with Him first. Today, we will be going over the first chapter.

Proposition: In chapter one, Paul discusses God’s grace, peace, mercy, love, and who we are in Christ.

Interrogative Sentence: How does knowing who we are in Christ impact our walk with Him?

Transitional Sentence: We were chosen and adopted by God into His family, redeemed from our sins by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, and sealed with God’s Spirit. We’ll first go over the first three verses, discussing the background of Ephesus, Paul’s apostleship, being in God's will, and God’s grace and peace, which we all have.

1.  Reading from the NIV, Ephesians 1-3 says:

This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.

a. BACKGROUND OF EPHESUS

The city of Ephesus was built by the Greeks. It was the 4^th largest city in the world in Paul’s time. The city had a population of about 250,000-340,000 people. It was a wealthy city: a political, religious, and commercial center in Asia Minor. Unfortunately, it was also home to the Temple of Diana, a Greek temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis, which made it under spiritual demonic strongholds. Ephesus was conquered several times until it came under Roman control.

b. PAUL’S APOSTLESHIP

Paul states at the beginning of Ephesians that he was an apostle of Christ Jesus. This wasn’t a position that he decided to have in his own choosing, but rather by God's will.  The word apostle means “sent one.” To qualify to be an apostle, a person must have a close relationship with the Lord.  It was God’s will that Paul was an apostle.

c. IN THE WILL OF GOD

How can we know if we are in the will of God? If you love the Lord with all of your heart, soul, and mind; if you’re diligently walking in His ways, and spending time with Him by actively reading His word; and spending time in worship and giving thanks to Him, you can discover what His will is for your life. You’ll feel a sense of joy, peace, and satisfaction if you’re walking in His will. We should ask God regularly to show us anything that isn’t pleasing to Him in our lives and remove it.

d. GRACE AND PEACE

Notice at the beginning of the scripture, Paul says, “Grace and peace to you from God, our Father.” Paul says, “grace and peace” at the beginning of many of his letters. It is important to notice that he always says grace first and then peace. So many of us want peace. We’ll go around saying, “I just need some peace,” or “I wish I had more peace.” We already have peace; it is one of the fruits of the Spirit that God gives to us. Since we already have it, we need to learn to access it. We can do this because it is already ours for the taking because of God’s grace, which is His favor. He gives us grace, not because we deserve it, but because of Jesus's death and resurrection, we have His grace. To access His peace, we have to believe we are worthy, and access it through our faith, because we know what Christ has done on the cross, and everything that He did, every spiritual blessing that was given to us is ours for the taking. We see in Philippians 4 verse 7 that the peace of God stands guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Notice it says the peace of God stands guard over our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. It didn’t say human peace. Human peace is based on if our circumstances are good, then we will feel peace. God’s peace isn’t based on circumstances and is powerful, and that is what He has given us. His peace stands guard: It protects our hearts and minds against all attacks of the enemy. If we open the door for attacks of the enemy through sin, we can lose God’s peace, and Satan can enter our hearts.

Transitional Sentence: Being in the will of God, and knowing that we have His grace and His peace allows me to begin to understand who I am in Christ: I am God’s chosen one. Next, we’ll discuss who we are in Him, that we’ve been called, and adopted into His family.

2. Ephesians 4-7:        

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.

a. IN CHRIST

In this portion of Ephesians, Paul mentions that we are “in Christ.” To be in Christ has to do with our union with Him. It means because of Jesus’s death and resurrection; He is now seated at the right hand of the Father: and so are we. We are in Christ: united with Him and the Father, and we have a joint inheritance with Him. Everything that is His is ours. Every spiritual promise and blessing that Christ has, as mentioned in verse 3, is also ours. All you need to do is have faith. God has given us the Holy Spirit as our helper. We can take what is rightfully ours, which is all the spiritual blessings He graciously has poured unto the body of believers.

b. CHOSEN, ADOPTED, FORGIVEN

We have been chosen by God and adopted into His family. As the scripture says, God adopted us because He wanted to, it gave Him great pleasure. Before the foundations of the world, He knew us. God knew what we would look like, every good and bad thing we would ever do, and He still chose us. He wanted a family. God loves us so much, and there is nothing we can ever do to make Him love us any more or less. His love is everlasting and unconditional. Because of His love, He sent to us the greatest gift of all, His Son Jesus, to buy us back from the strongholds of the enemy. He wanted to restore the relationship with us, so He sent Jesus. And because of this, we have been declared “not guilty.” He no longer sees our sins, and we are also seated at the right hand of Jesus in the heavenly places. We certainly didn’t deserve it, but because of His grace and love, He sees us as He sees His Son. This is love.

Transitional Sentence: As God’s child, we’ve been sealed with the Spirit. His Spirit gives us the power to do His good works, which He set out for us to do, all of us, not just the Jews, but the Gentiles as well.

3. Ephesians 13-14:

And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, who he promised long ago. 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.

GOOD NEWS OF GOD’S SALVATION

God reveals the good news, the mystery that the Gentiles also have been called, chosen, and adopted into His family. Eternal life isn’t just available to the Jews. The Gentiles are saved, united, and have eternal life with Him. God often reveals to us what He wants us to know through the Holy Spirit, but He doesn’t reveal everything because He wants us to pursue Him and have a close relationship with Him.

SEALED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit has sealed us. God promised never to leave nor forsake us; He promises to always be with us. He gave us His Spirit as a guarantee of our inheritance. It is a sign of our adoption. Through our faith, the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts when we accept Christ as our Savior. The Holy Spirit has many roles in our lives. The Spirit is our friend, helper, teacher, and guide. The Spirit convicts us of our sin, strengthens us, and is our interceder. With God’s Spirit living within us, there is nothing that we can’t do. God even gives us His desires so that we can continue to change and be transformed into His image. We can do anything that God asks of us. He isn’t ever going to ask us to do something for Him without giving us the ability to do it. We have to have faith and rely on Him for help. We can step out with confidence in doing His will. And the gift of the Spirit is so we would praise and glorify Him. When we know how much He loves us and all that He has already done for us, how can we not say, “thank you, God, you are so good, I love you.”

Transitional Sentence: “Thank you, God, thank you for who you are and for loving me.” Knowing that I have His Spirit living on the inside of me, gives me peace, and Joy. It gives me confidence, and the strength to do His good works: knowing that He is forever with me. Paul ends Ephesians 1 with his prayers over the believers in Ephesus.

4. In Ephesians 15-23, Paul prays for the Ephesians believers in Christ. This prayer applies to all believers today:

Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, 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. 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. 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 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. 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. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.

PAUL’S APOSTOLIC PRAYER’S

a. In verse 17, “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 is asking that we might grow in the knowledge of God. He is praying that we would have the spirit of wisdom. We have wisdom when we are born again. He wasn’t praying that we’d be given wisdom again, but that we would have a revelation of it, and access it through our faith.

b. In verses 19-20, “I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe in him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms,” Paul prayed that the same power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at the right hand of God would live in each of us. Jesus is at God’s right hand. It is a place of honor, authority, power, and rulership. Because of Jesus’s death and resurrection, we, too, have God’s power within us, it is at our disposal to use it. God isn’t ever going to ask us to do something for Him without given us the power to do what He’s called us to do. That means He is with us, aiding us, and strengthening us. We need to step out in faith. In John 14:12, Jesus told His disciples that they would do greater things than He. Jesus certainly did a lot of great things during His time of earth, but He was one Man and had to go be with the Father. Because of the Holy Spirit’s power living in each of us, the body of Christ can preach the gospel of Christ throughout the world.

c. Verse 22-23, “God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.” The verse is saying God has put all things under the authority of Christ’s feet. Christ has authority over all creation, and because He is the head, and we are the body, we too have been given authority over all creation. We have the power to care for creation, to help others believe that Jesus is the source of eternal life, and use the tools we’ve been given to fight against Satan schemes. We are already victorious because of Christ.

Conclusion:

God is with you. He has sealed you with His Spirit because you are His chosen ones. We have all the spiritual blessings that Jesus has. Like Jesus, we, too, are seated at the Father’s right hand. Guard your hearts, keep it pure and right before Him, and walk with confidence, knowing who you are in Him. Be a light to this dark world, letting others see the glorious light of our Father shining through you.

I’ll leave you with this short poem: “There is no storm that God won’t carry you through; No bridge that God won’t help you cross; No battle that God won’t help you win; No heartache that God won’t help you let go of. He is so much bigger than anything you will face today.  Leave everything in His hands and embrace this day confidently knowing that He will take care of you.”