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God's Great Purpose in Christ

Studies in Paul's Letter to the Ephesians

Ephesians: The Closing Benediction

June 26, 2022 • Pastor Paul Edwards

The Apostle ends his letter where he began: with grace and peace, but then adds "love with faith." With these four virtues, Paul summarizes what he has been saying in the entire letter.

Faithfulness in Obscurity

May 29, 2022 • Pastor Paul Edwards

The success of any church is dependent in large measure on men and women who are content to serve the church and the Lord Jesus in obscurity. The Apostle Paul closes his letter to the Ephesians by introducing us to a man who is a model of such faithfulness: Tychicus.

"And Also for Me" (Part 2)

May 22, 2022 • Pastor Paul Edwards

The Apostle Paul asks for the prayers of his people, not for his own sake, but so that the mystery of the gospel might be proclaimed. He asks for two things specifically: "utterance" and "boldness." What is this "utterance"? And what is this "boldness"? And why are they so critical to Paul's ability to preach the gospel?

"And Also for Me...."

April 24, 2022 • Pastor Paul Edwards

Having encouraged the believers in Ephesus to pray for one another, the Apostle Paul concludes his exhortation on prayer with, "And also for me..." Why does Paul need the prayers of the Ephesians? What is he asking them to pray for?

Praying for All Saints

March 13, 2022 • Pastor Paul Edwards

Click "View Item" to listen. In the post-Christian context God has sovereignly placed us in, the church faces enormous challenges as we seek to proclaim biblical truth to a culture that increasingly characterizes that truth as bigoted. Now more than ever it is essential that we "pray for all saints" as we face the evil of our day.

Praying in the Spirit

March 6, 2022

What does the Apostle mean when he commands us to "pray in the Spirit"? The Holy Spirit is our escort into the presence of God when we pray. There is no sense in which we can say that we are truly praying without the controlling influence of the Holy Spirit.

Watching in Prayer

February 27, 2022 • Pastor Paul Edwards

"Watching" is a military term related to "readiness" or "alertness." In what ways is the Apostle telling us to be watchful as we pray? Click "View Item" to listen.

Perseverance in Prayer

February 20, 2022 • Pastor Paul Edwards • Ephesians 6:18

The Apostle Paul closes his letter to the Ephesians with an urgent call to prayerfulness. All of us must confess our praylessness. In Ephesians 5:18, the Apostle lays before us all the reasons why we should pray and the key to finding time to pray.

"The Sword of the Spirit" - Part 2

February 13, 2022 • Pastor Paul Edwards • Ephesians 6:17

The Apostle Paul and his Ephesian audience would not have had a physical Bible with 66 books like we do. So what does Paul understand to be "the word of God" when he calls on us to "take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God"?

"The Sword of the Spirit"

January 30, 2022 • Pastor Paul Edwards

Why does the Apostle Paul identify the word of God as the sword "of the Spirit"? This is the 11th time Paul has referred to the Holy Spirit in his letter to the Ephesians. Only as we understand what he has already said about the Holy Spirit can we understand how to effectively wield the Spirit's sword.

The Helmet of Salvation - Part 2

January 23, 2022 • Pastor Paul Edwards

The Helmet of Salvation is the gospel realities which the Apostle Paul delineates in Ephesians 1. In 2 Corinthians 4 he describes these gospel realities as "treasure in earthen vessels," and then proceeds to model for us how to use the helmet of salvation as a defense against the "weariness of our minds."

The Helmet of Salvation

January 16, 2022 • Pastor Paul Edwards

As the Apostle Paul comes to the end of his letter to the Ephesians, he is at pains to remind us that the believer is engaged in a cosmic spiritual war. The devil is bent on wearing you out, to cause you to become weary and to faint in your minds. The helmet of salvation is the gift that God has given to us to guard our hearts and minds against Satan's attacks on our assurance. What is this helmet and how is it to be used?

The Shield of Faith

January 9, 2022 • Pastor Paul Edwards

Christians are not exempt from the consequences of sin and its devasting effects in terms of disease, breakdown in family relationships, financial failure, accidents, and every other possible evil. It is only with the shield of faith that we are enabled to overcome all that the wicked one throws at us. What is this shield and how is it to be used?

The Gospel of Peace

November 28, 2021 • Pastor Paul Edwards

In Ephesians 6:14-17 the Apostle lists for us the various pieces of spiritual armor which are necessary for us to both "stand against" (6:11) the devil's schemes and to "withstand in the evil day" (613, which is to say, to bear up under the trials that are common to believers in a fallen world. An essential piece of this armor is the footwear of the gospel: our stability on gospel realities, our mobility in the way of peace, and our proclamation of the gospel of our salvation which produces the "beautiful feet" of Isaiah 52:7.

Truth, Justice, and the Gospel Way - Part Two

November 21, 2021 • Pastor Paul Edwards

The Devil's primary objective is not to make you sin. His desire is to make you doubt God's love and faithfulness to you. He aims for your heart - the seat of your emotions. It is the breastplate of righteousness which protects us from this particular attack of the Evil One. What is the righteousness which we are to put on as a breastplate?

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