Stone's Hill Community Church
Our series is called "Letters from Prison" - which is a study of Paul's prison epistles or letters. We've covered Philippians and Philemon. Now, we look at Ephesians!
Even though Paul is chained up in prison (Ephesians 6:20), he feels incredibly blessed—and he wants his Christian readers, then and now, to realize how incredibly privileged we are as well. This letter to the Ephesians is really nothing more than a description of the riches that we have in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul emphasized these riches a great deal: Ephesians 1:7 talks about the riches of His grace, at the end of the verse. Chapter 3:8 talks about the unsearchable riches of Christ. Chapter 3:16—the riches of His glory. So you have the riches of His grace, the riches of His glory and the riches of His Son. In other words, God is unloading all of His riches in the book of Ephesians. The vault is open! The word grace is used 12 times in this book. There are enough resources in heaven to… cover all past debts, present liabilities and future needs and still not diminish your account. That’s God’s plan.
This letter is about that... and it's about us...Welcome to "Ephesians". And welcome to Stones Hill Community Church and Online Notes!
Welcome!
We welcome you to Stone's Hill today!
A typical Stone's Hill service has music (feel free to sing out); some announcements (things that are upcoming that you can be a part of); a message out of the Bible (God speaks to us through his Word); and an opportunity for you to respond to the message (either immediately in the case of a decision that needs to be made OR in the future as you live out the message in your life.)
So relax and enjoy your morning! We're so glad you are here!
Ephesians 6:10-20 NIV
Letters from Prison - Ephesians 6:10-20
There’s an “Oh, no!” in this passage. And there’s an “Oh, wow!” in this passage.
"Oh, No!"
When Paul talks about spiritual armor, he’s saying, “This is your new default view of life: ‘Life is war.’” The Christian life is not a playground, but it is a battleground. Spiritual warfare is an invisible chess match behind enemy lines. There’s a behind-the-scenes maneuvering, where people are locked in mortal spiritual combat. That’s the “Oh, no!”.
"Oh, Wow!"
What’s the “Oh, wow”? Well, there is spiritual warfare, BUT we have “weapons of authority.” The key is to understand these weapons and activate them. By ourselves, we are nothing. But when we put on that red uniform known has the blood of Christ, Satan has to stop and take notice.
How can we claim the reality of Christ’s victory over the darkness? How can we live in His authority? By understanding THREE things…
The Nature of Our Weapons –
they’re spiritual and powerful
The Need for Our Weapons –
we have an enemy and an evil day to face
The Names of Our Weapons –
the weapons cover the whole body.
Invitation: Jesus was and is the ultimate warrior. Jesus lived in righteousness and faithfulness for our salvation. Jesus gave us all a breastplate of perfect righteousness. He secured our peace so that no matter where we go, we can share peace with others. Jesus tells us who we really are and shields us from accusations. Jesus wielded the sword of the Spirit to defend our place in creation. "Oh, Wow!"
Receive Him today!