z Archives - Page 4 of 54

To Love Your Enemies, Know You are Loved (Ephesians 3:18-21)

Question from a Reader

One of the members of my online discipleship group is taking my online course about hell, and had a question regarding Matthew 10:28. Here is what he wrote:

Jeremy, I loved this course and it helped me out immensely, but I’m trying to figure out Matthew 10:28 with this new understanding of hell. Would you be able to explain this passage?

Matthew 10:28 says this:

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

(#AmazonAdLink) I have written about this text previously in connection with the parallel passage in Luke 12:5.

There are several translation issues about this verse which creates some deep divisions in Christianity regarding the meaning of what Jesus says here. The primary question about this text is in regards to whom Jesus is referring when He says “fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Who is the “him”? The NKJV version has the “him” capitalized, which shows that they think the pronoun is referring to God. However, there are many Christian leaders who think the pronoun is referring to Satan.

However, a third option might be that the “him” is referring to other human beings.

The Greek word used for hell in Matthew 10:28 is the word gehenna. This word does not refer to some horrible afterlife experience, but to an experience in this life where all that you hold dear and all that is valuable and important to you gets destroyed.

In my book (#AmazonAdLink) “What is Hell?” and the online course that goes with it, I says this about gehenna:

When the various texts are considered (cf. Matt 5:22, 29, 30; 10:28; 18:8-9; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43-47; Luke 12:5; Jas 3:6), Jesus speaks of gehenna, or the Valley of Hinnom in a symbolic way … not to teach about what happens to some people in the afterlife, but rather to teach about what can happen to some people in this life. People who are sent to the Valley of Hinnom (usually because of crime or leprosy) lose their friends and family, and face a life filled with horror, decay, and destruction.

The warnings about gehenna are given by Jesus so that we do not destroy our health, life, family, friendships, and reputation in this life. Rather than live in the Valley of Death, God want us to enjoy everything He has given to us in this life.

In Matthew 10:28, Jesus says that being killed is not as big of a deal as having your life destroyed. If you die with your morals and values intact, and with your loved ones and friends thinking highly of you, the only thing you lose is your life. And since we know that life goes on for eternity, being killed for our beliefs is nothing more than a step from one life into an even better life.

What is much worse, however, is to have your life destroyed while you are still alive. That is, to lose your friends, your family, your health. To lose respect and honor from others. To lose your morals, values, beliefs, and convictions. To lose all that makes you you.

That is what we should seek to avoid at all costs.

It is far better to be killed for your beliefs than to abandon your beliefs and convictions.

Jesus is saying this: Don’t fear the one who can kill you, because death is not the end for us. But do fear those who can threaten and steal your values, morals, convictions, integrity, dreams, hopes, friends, family, job, health, and everything else of value in this life. That is who you should fear. That is who you should avoid.

This view of Matthew 10:28 and Luke 12:5 fits perfectly with my proposal in my book about hell that hell is not an afterlife experience of suffering and torture, but is rather an experience in this life of living contrary to everything that God wants and desires for us. In these verses, Jesus is warning us against those (including ourselves!) who can lead us into a hellish existence in this life.

You Cannot Love Your Enemies Until You Know You are Fully Loved (Ephesians 3:18-21)

Paul wants the church to lead the world into the way of peace. We are to be an example to the world of how to live in peace with our enemies. In Ephesians 2, Paul showed us how Jesus has done this. In Ephesians 3:1-13, Paul showed how he himself is doing this. And now, in Ephesians 3:14-21, Paul writes about how he prayers for his readers to do the impossible, namely, to love our enemies.

If it seems impossible to love our enemies, we need to know that in Jesus Christ, we can do what cannot be done. We can do the impossible. This is what we looked at last time when we studied Ephesians 3:14-17. Now, in Ephesians 3:18-21, Paul continues to write about what he prays for his readers, and he has two more impossible prayer requests, which are only possible through Jesus Christ.

Let me put these final two prayer requests in a bit of context for you.

Have you ever been told to get along with someone you can’t get along with? Was there ever someone at church whom you avoid Sunday after Sunday? If so, then you understand what the Ephesians were thinking here. Paul tells them in Ephesians 2 to live at peace with each other, and they are thinking, “But Paul, you don’t know what you are asking! I can’t get along with them. It’s … impossible! You don’t know what’s between us! You don’t know that he believes! You don’t know what she’s done! You don’t know what they said about me! I can’t live at peace with them! It’s impossible!”

So Paul prays for them here at the end of Ephesians 3. He says, “I know it’s impossible for you. So my first prayer request is that God will give you power to do what I’m asking you to do.” That’s the first prayer request. The request we saw previously in Ephesians 3:16-17. Prayer for power to do the impossible. Prayer for power to be at peace with those people you’d rather hate. A prayer request to do what you cannot do. That was the first prayer request. The second prayer request in Ephesians 3:18-19 is a prayer for knowledge.

C. Prayer for Knowledge (Ephesians 3:18-19)

Ephesians 3:18-19. … [that you] may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge;

This prayer of Paul is not a “ho-hum” prayer! In Ephesians 3:16-17, Paul prayed that we would do what we cannot do, in Ephesians 3:18-19 he prays that we will know what we cannot know! He prays that you will be able…to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge. In other words, to know what cannot be known. To know what is impossible to know!

Paul is praying that we would know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge – which cannot be known. He somewhat describes this love back in Ephesians 3:18. He says that you may be able to comprehend – that means know – what is the width – that’s how wide it is – the length – that’s how long it is – the depth – that’s how deep it goes – and the height – that’s how high it rises. By using these terms, Paul is saying that the love of Christ is eternal, it’s infinite. It’s without beginning or end. It cannot be measured or contained. When Paul says width, he means it is wider than the universe. When he says length, he means it is farther than the east is from the west. The depth of Christ’s love – it’s deeper than the ocean. The height of God’s love is higher than God’s Word is above man’s word.

The vastness of God’s love is so difficult to explain – I think that’s why Paul cuts off what he was saying and says in verse 19 that this love cannot be known. How are you supposed to know what is infinite? Yet Paul prays that we would know it anyway. Paul has now prayed for two impossible things. Power to do what we cannot do and knowledge to know what we cannot know. We’re seeing a pattern, and the third request upholds this pattern.

D. Prayer for Filling (Ephesians 3:19b)

Ephesians 3:19b. … that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

How big is God? If you know some theology, you know that God is omnipresent. If we break this word down into two words. No matter where you are in the universe, God is there. He is everywhere. In fact, even when you get to the edge of the universe – where time and matter cease to exist, God does not stop there. He keeps going. That’s how big God is.

How great is God? How powerful is He? Again, in theological terms, He is omnipotent. He has all power. With a mere thought, He could obliterate the universe. With another mere thought, He could recreate it. He can do whatever He wants, wherever He wants, whenever He wants, however He wants. (Thank goodness he’s a loving and merciful God – this kind of power would be terrible in the hands of a tyrant).

So with God’s omnipresence and omnipotence in mind, think of what Paul is praying for here in v. 19! He prays that you, as a teeny, tiny speck of flesh and bones, with life that is but a breath, made from dust, dying, decaying, sinful, insignificant piece of the vast universe, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God! The word fullness is the word pleroma, and it means fullness! When used of God, it means all of His divine attributes and perfection. Every bit of Him.

It is the term used of Christ in Colossians 2:9. Christ was completely God, right? Colossians 2:9 says that in Christ dwelt the fullness of God in bodily form! Fullness means fullness. Paul prays here for us to be filled with all the fullness of God. Try taking something bigger than the universe, something so big it is infinite, something so big it cannot be measured, and stuffing it into a space five or six feet tall, eighteen inches wide, and about a foot deep. Some of us have slightly different dimensions, but that’s not the point. How is something infinite supposed to fit into us? It’s impossible!

Even if the structure were much larger, it is still impossible to hold God in it. When King Solomon built the first temple, he too prayed a prayer on the day the temple was dedicated (found in 1 Kings 8), and he prayed:

O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below – you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. You have kept your promise to your servant David my father, with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it – as it is today – but will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!

Solomon, the wisest man who has ever lived saw the truth that God could not be contained in any sort of building or structure. Yet somehow, God was. And that is what Paul prays here. That we may be filled with all the fullness of God. That is Paul’s third prayer request. An impossible request. We have seen three requests. All of them impossible. He prayed that we would do what we cannot do, that we would know what we cannot know, and that we would be filled with what we cannot be filled. Those are the three things Paul prays for.

Putting the Three Prayer Requests in Context

But these impossible prayer requests are the key to doing what Paul asks us to do … namely, love our enemies.

The truth of the matter is that we cannot begin to love our enemies … until we know that we are loved.

Have you ever realized that we were the enemies of God? When Adam and Eve rebelled in the Garden of Eden by choosing to go their own way, they took all of humanity with them into rebellion against God, thereby joining up with Satan in a rebellion against God. We are the enemies of God.

Yet God never stopped loving us. And while we were yet sinners, that is, while we were still the enemies of God, Jesus Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). That was the entire point of Ephesians 2:1-4.

So the first step in doing what cannot be done … namely, loving our enemies … is to know what cannot be known, that is, that we are fully and truly loved by God.

Why can it not be known? Because the love of God is infinite. It is without depth, height, width, or length. But we can begin to know the love of God. We can begin to experience the love of God. And only after we begin to know that which cannot ever be fully known, namely, how much God’s love us, will we begin to have love for our enemies.

Sadly, the love of God is something most Christians think they know and understand, but really don’t. We all pay lip service to the idea that God loves us, but few of us really believe it.

Most Christians think God only loves us as long as we are faithful and obedience. As long as we keep from sin. As long as we regularly read our Bibles and pray. As long as we have pure thoughts and stay away from temptation, and do all the things that good Christians are supposed to do.

But when we stray, well, God turns His back on us. He stops loving us. He turns away from us in shame and disgust. … This is what most Christians seem to think about the love of God.

Which just goes to show that most Christian know nothing of God’s love.

The truth about God’s love is that He loves you no matter what. God forgives you no matter what. Honestly, you could become Hitler and God will still love and forgive you. I know that statement is a shock to many people, but it’s true. And the fact that it’s a shocking just goes to show that we don’t know anything about the love of God.

No matter what you do or don’t do, God will never stop loving you. He will never turn away from you. He will never hide His face from you in shame. He will always be with you, will always forgive you, will always embrace and accept you. Until you begin to understand this, you will never understand God and will also never be able to show love for your enemies.

You can only begin to love once you know you are fully loved.

Two books I highly recommend about the love of God are (#AmazonAdLink) He Loves Me! by Wayne Jacobson and (#AmazonAdLink) The Misunderstood God by Darin Hufford. Both books will present the true, radical nature of God’s love to you, which is essential for you to start loving others.

And of course, even when we begin to know the love of God, love for our enemies still doesn’t come from ourselves. Love for our enemies is not within our power. This is why the third prayer request is so important, to be filled with all the fullness of God. When we love others, it is God loving them through us. When we love others, this love for others is the love of God working in and through us toward others.

This is the great secret and mystery of the church, that we are the hand, feet, and voice of Jesus. Jesus as Jesus is the incarnation of God, so also the church is the incarnation of Jesus. The love of Jesus is shown to a dying world through the church that if filled with the fullness of God’s love for the world (Cf. Ephesians 1:23).

So those are the three prayer requests of Paul…. He prays that we can do what cannot be done (love our enemies) by knowing what cannot be known (the love of God for us) and being filled with what we cannot be filled (the loving power and presence of God).

Does all of this sound impossible? If so, that is why Paul closes out Ephesians 3 with some final words of encouragement.

E. The Encouragement (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Ephesians 3:20-21. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Paul has prayed for three seemingly impossible things. To do what we cannot do. To know what we cannot know. To be filled with what we cannot be filled. But Paul remembered what Jesus told His disciples – with man, it is impossible, but with God, all things are possible (Matt 19:26).

So Paul says in Ephesians 3:20, “You think I’ve asked for impossible things? I haven’t even scratched the surface of what God is able to do.” He is – v. 20 – able to do exceedingly abundantly more. That phrase exceedingly abundantly comes from one Greek word, which is a double compound adverb. A double compound adverb is a very rare construction. This particular construction begins with a root word. The root word here is perissos. It means abundant, over and above, more than enough. In John 10:10, Jesus says that he came so that we might have life, and have it perissov – more abundantly. But then, Paul takes this word, perissos, which already means abundance, and adds not one,…but two words on top of it to make it a double compound adverb.

He has had three prayer requests for the impossible, and then says God can not only do it, he can double do it – He can triple do it. He can run circles around it. He can do it with his eyes closed, and one hand tied behind his back. He can do exceedingly abundantly above all. If that’s not enough, look at the rest of verse 20. He can do above all that we ask or think! Paul says, God can do this and more. He says, if I can ask it, God can do it. If I can think it – or imagine it – God can do that too. In fact, God can do things I can’t even imagine! God can do things I can’t even think about!

Ephesians 3:21. …to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

All of this is done by the church, through the church, and in the church so that God will get the glory to all generations.

This is a concluding remark for the point Paul began all the way back at the end of Ephesians 1. After telling us about all the riches of our inheritance in Jesus Christ, Paul called us to be the fullness of God in every way in this world (Ephesians 1:22-23), so that we might be a witness to the principalities and powers of this world (Ephesians 1:21) to show the world a better way to live.

And now, through Ephesians 2 and Ephesians 3, Paul has shown us exactly how to do this. We are to follow the example of Jesus in loving our enemies, and even dying for them if necessary. As we do this, we show the world a better way to peace. We show the world the way of God in loving our enemies. This is the glory of God. This is the glory of the church. And this is how the love of God is manifested to the world.

It’s a revolutionary call, but Paul is not done. He will go on in Ephesians 4-6 to show more specifically how this calling is carried out by the church. We will pick up next time with the first verses of Ephesians 4 to see how Paul continues to call us peace, unity, and love for one another, so that that the world can learn from us and live in peace and unity as well.

Is it Impossible to Love our Enemies? (Ephesians 3:14-17)

By Jeremy Myers

1 Comment

In Ephesians, Paul has instructed his readers to live at peace with people they used to hate, and to begin loving their enemies instead. This is much easier said than done, so in Ephesians 3, Paul shows how he himself is doing this, and how his readers can follow in his example in loving their enemies, just as Jesus did. This is what we begin to learn in Ephesians 3:14-17.

In Ephesians 3:14-17, Paul instructs his readers to do the impossible by loving their enemies. This is much easier said than done, so Paul provides three resources that God has provided to help us do the impossible.

But first, we have two question from a reader about Jesus as the elect one, and how Jesus was morally perfect.

Question from a Reader

Here are two questions submitted by a reader named Michael Spina.

I have a couple of questions that I hope you’d be able to clear up for me; hopefully once and for all, because these questions have always creeped in throughout my spiritual journey. First, I’ll ask the question, and then I’ll express my thoughts behind each question so you have an idea of where I’m coming from. Please forgive any trespasses if any of my expressed thoughts cause offense.

1) If Jesus is the chosen one by God, and Jesus is God incarnate, then wouldn’t it make more sense to say that God reincarnated Himself into a man to redeem what has been lost, and those who believe and trust in Him will be elected to service? Wouldn’t that be more consistent to Jesus’ character/personhood?

Every time I read or hear that Jesus is the chosen one by God, I always tend to think “equal opportunity” – Why Jesus and not you or me or anyone else? It is the kind of statement that might cause the flaring up of jealous and/or resentful feelings. But wait a minute; Jesus is God incarnate! Of COURSE no one else, because we are not God. So if we are to be saved, only one of those among the God Head can be elected for the role as savior as opposed to one of us humans, right? Because we didn’t create ourselves. Only the creator of something has the real power to repair that something. But then of course there’s the fact that God knew all of us before He created us, and we all have our own purpose and shouldn’t compare ourselves to each other. So just as I can’t compare myself to other people, I shouldn’t compare myself to Jesus either. So I’m confused. Is Jesus God incarnate or isn’t He? If so, then how can we say that Jesus is chosen by God? We almost make it sound like they’re mutually exclusive. I just don’t know. I’m all over the place with this. I could use some biblical perspective from someone who I feel truly understands and embodies the spirit of Jesus (yes, I believe that to be you, Jeremy. No pressure of course☺️)

2) It is said that Jesus was the only perfect human that ever lived. But perfect at what exactly? Aren’t there a lot of things to be perfect at?

I once heard someone say somewhere along the lines that there was no single human being who was perfect except for Jesus, and Jesus was the only perfect human being that ever lived. But I find such statements to be vague. I mean, what is perfect? Is it never making a single mistake at anything in your life? If so, then Jesus never had to learn any life skills. He knew them and did them perfectly without slip or fall. Lets look at walking for example. It takes many falls before a child can make his or her first successful step. Was Jesus able to walk right after birth. I sincerely doubt it, because otherwise I would find that as a worthy miracle to record on the gospels. Also, would a perfect person have any struggles in life? Would a perfect person always get his or her way? Would a perfect person always be on everyone’s good side?

Thank you Jeremy for everything you do and the time you give myself and everyone else. I am truly grateful.

First of all, thanks for asking the questions. I have NEVER yet had a question that causes offense! I believe that all questions are good questions.

On your first question, I would not use the term “reincarnated” as that does not describe what happened to Jesus. Reincarnation is the view that a human died and then came back at a later time as someone (or something) else. It is not the same as resurrection either, since they come back as someone else … But that wasn’t really what your question was about. It was primarily about Jesus as the primary elect person of God.

(#AmazonAdLink) My answer is that yes, Jesus is the incarnation of God to redeem in humanity what was lost and broken. And yes, ALL who believe in Jesus for eternal life are chosen and elect in Him. There are some people in history who are chosen or elect but are not regenerate believers (such as Pharaoh in Exodus), but this is because they were chosen to perform a task. That’s all it means to be elect.

As I explain in my book (#AmazonAdLink) The Re-Justification of God, which you can get on Amazon, we are elect to service, not to eternal life. Since Jesus is elect, all who are in Him are also elect. That is, since Jesus was chosen to perform an important task, all who are in Him are also chosen to perform that same task … the redemption and reconciliation of the world. This is what discipleship is all about … following in the footsteps of Jesus to carry out the task that He started.

As to your second question, when people talk about the perfection of Jesus, they are referring primarily to the fact that Jesus was morally perfect. He never sinned.

I don’t think Jesus was the perfect tennis player, or had a perfect singing voice, or was perfect at math. Maybe some would disagree with me, but I tend to think that there are humans throughout history who were better than Jesus at such things. You know, Andre Agassi could have beaten Jesus at tennis. And according to Rolling Stones magazine, Aretha Franklin has the greatest voice of all time. I’m not sure I agree, but she did have a great voice, and I’m going to go out on a limb and say she probably had a better singing voice than Jesus. The same goes for difficult math problems. We don’t know how good Jesus was a math, but we can be certain that since Jesus would have had to learn math just like the rest of us, Jesus would have made math mistakes in the process of learning.

Remember, while Jesus is fully divine, He is also fully human, and as part of His humanity, He emptied Himself of certain characteristics of His divinity, which means He was not perfect in every conceivable way, but only the ways that mattered for Him to complete His mission of being the Savior of the world. So when we speak of the perfection of Jesus, we are referring only to moral perfection, so that Jesus could be sinless.

Interestingly, even when it came to moral perfection, Jesus still sinned when it came to certain moral standards of the religious leaders of His day. According to certain religious leaders of His day, Jesus hung out with the wrong people, ate the wrong foods … both of which were sinful … and spoke regularly against Moses and the temple. What this shows us that is just because religious leaders say something is sinful, this doesn’t mean it is sinful. Jesus truly was morally perfect from God’s perspective, but was a sinner and a blasphemer from the religious perspective, which is one reason they killed Him.

A little food for thought there…

Why It’s Not Impossible to Love our Enemies (Ephesians 3:14-17)

In Ephesians 3:14-19, Paul tells his readers that he is praying for them, and he tells them he has three specific prayer requests. We will look at this prayer over the course of two studies, but you should know that, at first glance, all three requests are for something impossible. Paul wants his readers to do what cannot be done, to know what cannot be known, and to be filled with that which they cannot be filled.

We will talk about all three of these as we study this prayer of Paul, but all three impossible prayer requests come down to one main point. It is the main point Paul has been writing about through all of Ephesians 2 and Ephesians 3. Paul wants the Ephesian Christians to live at peace with each other, and especially with those people that they used to hate. Paul wants his readers to love their enemies.

We all know that Jesus instructed us to love our enemies (Matt 5:43-48), but have you ever really tried it? If you ever have tried to actually show care and love for people who hate you and want to do harm to you, you know that it is impossible to even “get along” with them, much less love them.

But that’s what Paul wants us to do. Ephesians 2 was all about how Jesus loved His enemies, and so we should too. And in the first half of Ephesians 3, Paul is showing how he is seeking to love his enemies. And now, in Ephesians 3:14-19, Paul says that he is praying that his readers, which includes us, also learn to love our enemies.

As we will see, if we are going to do the impossible, namely, love our enemies, truly love them, … in other words, do what cannot be done (Eph 3:14-17) … then we need to know what cannot be known (Eph 3:17-18) and be filled with that which we cannot be filled (Eph 3:18-19).

Thankfully, we serve a God who relishes in doing the impossible. In fact, God can do far more than we ask, think, or even imagine (Eph 3:20-21).

The first step toward the impossible task of living at peace with others is to know that we are loved, and that God Himself is filling us to show this love to the world. That is what Paul explains in Ephesians 3:14-19. In this study we are looking at Ephesians 3:14-17, where Paul says he is praying that his readers can do what is impossible to do.

Let’s begin with Ephesians 3:14.

Ephesians 3:14. For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

The term I bow my knees is an idiom, or a special way of saying, “I kneel.” So that is why some of your translations have made it more readable by writing, “For this reason I kneel before the Father.”

It is interesting that Paul uses this phrase though, because Jewish prayers were usually offered standing up. The only time Jews knelt was when they were in the presence of their King. Greeks did the same (Lk. 18:11-13). So Paul’s kneeling here is a sign that He sees God as His King, His Sovereign.

Paul kneels when he prays to Father. I am not saying this is the posture we must be in to pray. You don’t have to be kneeling to pray. Part of the wonder of prayer is that you can come to God in prayer anywhere, anytime, in any posture. There is no command in Scripture to physically kneel when you pray, but it should be the posture of our hearts.

Ephesians 3:15. … from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

Paul is enjoying a little word play here. In Greek, the word for Father is pater, and the word for family is patria. So Paul is saying that we, the family, or patria of God is named after God the Father, the Pater.

But the significance of this is more important than the word play. Paul is going to write that he wants us to do the impossible, namely, to love those we don’t want to love. And right here in Ephesians 3:15 is the first bit of foreshadowing of how to do this.

One key to loving our enemies is to realize that they are not our enemies, but instead, are part of our family. We are all one family under God. In my podcast study on Genesis 4:8, I made the point that the first time sin is mentioned in the Bible, it is mentioned in context of one brother murdering another. This means that all violence against other humans is, in essence, violence against one of our brothers or sisters. We are all part of the same family, and so any violence or hatred against another human being is against a family member.

This is why Paul says in Ephesians 6:12 that our struggle is not against flesh and blood. Our struggle is not against one another, for we are all part of the same family.

With this in mind then, Paul mentions three prayer requests in Ephesians 3:15-19 that he prays for. The first is in Ephesians 3:16-17. It is a prayer for power to do what cannot be done.

Prayer for Power (Ephesians 3:16-17)

Ephesians 3:16-17. … that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

This is a very poor translation. It makes it appear that there are three separate requests here when in fact there is only one. A better translation would be

That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, Christ dwelling in your hearts through faith, being rooted and grounded in love.

The prayer request, in outline form is as follows:

I pray for that God would strengthen you with power
-according to the riches of His glory (God provided)
-through the Spirit in your inner man (Spirit enabled)
-with Christ dwelling in your hearts through faith (Christ directed)
-being rooted and grounded in love (people focused)

This is Paul’s second prayer in this letter to the Ephesians. It is interesting that in both prayers, he prays for power. The first time is in Ephesians 1:19. Here is the second time. Paul prays that his readers would be strengthened with power. And in verses 16 and 17, he says that this will happen in four ways. He tells us where the power comes from (from God), how the power is used (by the Spirit), who directs the use of this power (Christ), and what the power is to be used for (love for others). This is a prayer for God enabled, Spirit empowered, Christ directed, other focused power. Let’s look at each in turn.

1. God Provided

The first thing is this power is provided by God. He says that it is according to the riches of His glory. This power comes from the riches of God’s glory. The word according means “in proportion to.” Paul is not praying here for a small portion of God’s power, but power in proportion to the riches of God’s glory. But How great is God’s glory? It is vast! So also, is the power that Paul wants us to have from God.

If I am a billionaire and I give you 10 dollars, that is “out of” my riches. But if I give you 100 million dollars now, and if you spend that, give you whatever you need later, that is in “proportion” to my riches. This is not a perfect illustration because a billion dollars in limited whereas God’s riches are not, but you get the idea. God gives us power in direct proportion to the riches of His glory. The source of the power then is God. This power is provided by God.

We cannot love our enemies when we are trying to do so with our own power. But God has made His power available to us, and we already know that it is possible for God to love His enemies, because we have seen Him do so in Jesus Christ. That same power is in work in us.

2. Spirit Enabled

The use of the power is by the Spirit in the inner man. The Spirit empowers us to use this power. Remember Acts 1:8? “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you…” This strengthening that he does, however, is not outward strength. He’s not going to make us strong like Samson or Arnold Schwarzenegger. No, this strengthening is not for the outward man, but for the inner man – our innermost being (cf. 2 Cor. 4:16 for the contrast).

Scripture tells us that our inner man can see (Ps. 119:18), hear (Mt. 13:9), taste (Ps. 34:8), feel, (Acts 17:27), and must be exercised (1 Tim. 4:7-8), cleansed (Ps. 51:7), washed (Eph. 5:26), fed daily (Mt. 4:4, Ex. 16:15ff), and renewed (2 Cor. 4:16). The inner man for the Christian, is more real than this outer physical shell which we pay so much attention to. We would all be better off if we spent more time caring for our inner man.

And in order to help us with that, Paul prays for God’s power. You could call this steroids of the spirit. This strengthening comes from the Spirit and is for our spirit. The purpose of this power is to strengthen our Spirit.

Ephesians 3:17 explains how this power is to be used. It comes from God, we are able to use it by the Spirit, but Christ is the one who directs us how and where to use it. It is Christ directed.

3. Christ Directed

Ephesians 3:17. Christ [dwelling] in your hearts through faith.

The word dwell is katoikeo, and means to “settle down, be at ease, to be comfortable.” For some of you men, a dwelling place for you is having a lazy boy, a bag a chips, a soda and the remote. That is where you are most comfortable, where you can settle down – and sometimes, as this verse also says – take root. Sometimes your wives wonder if you are ever going to get up. They might even start dusting you. But you’re comfortable, right?

Christ wants to dwell in our heart. In other words, to be at ease in our life. He wants to be at home there. He wants to know that the roof will leak on him when he sits on your couch. He wants to know that all the rooms have been vacuumed and dusted. He wants to know that the garbage has been taken out. He wants to know that there is not mold in the walls, or mildew in the shower. He wants to know that the foundation is not crumbling.

Your life is like a house, which Christ wants to dwell comfortably in. He knows it’s not perfect, that there are flaws and things that need fixing. But He is the master carpenter and he knows a master plumber and a master electrician. And guess what, if you are willing, the Three of Them will refinish your entire house for free. They will make your crumbling shack into a sparkling mansion – so that Christ can comfortably dwell in it.

And when He is dwelling in your heart, when he is in control of your innermost being, He directs you to live the way He lived. He used the power God provided, which is enabled by the Holy Spirit, to live the Christ-like life. God enables. The Holy Spirit empowers. Christ directs. And in the last part of verse 17, Paul tells us what this God directed, Spirit empowered, Christ directed life will look like. We will live a life of love for other people, which is the ultimate point and purpose.

4. People Focused

… being rooted and grounded in love,

Paul has spent two chapters talking about how Jews and Gentiles are now one in Christ, and how they are to get along now. For some, this might seem like an impossible task. Some Gentiles would be thinking, “You mean I have to love that annoying Jewish neighbor of mine? There’s no way! He’s always judging me by his standards of living and acting “holier than thou.” I can’t love him. I can’t fellowship with him.

Some of the Jews were thinking, “You mean I have to go over to that Gentile’s house when he invites me over for dinner? I can’t do that! He might serve meat sacrificed to idols! He might not be following the strict cleanliness laws. I might become ceremonially unclean! Paul can’t be serious. There’s no way I can get along with them.”

Paul is saying here, “Hey look. I know you can’t do these things I am asking by your own power. So I am praying that God will give you His power to do what He asks. That He will give you the power to do what you don’t think you can do.”

The final phrase in this verse – being rooted and grounded in love – is what Christ wants to do with the power from God through the Spirit. Christ wants to root and ground us in love. Rooted brings to mind trees. A tree must have it’s roots deep in good soil and with lots of water in order to be healthy and strong (cf. Ps. 1 and Jer. 17:5-8). From what or whom are your roots getting nourishment?”

God, with His mighty power, out of the riches of His glory, wants to remake your inner man through the help of the Holy Spirit so that Christ can dwell comfortably and in style in your life, so that you can do what cannot be done, namely, show love to people that you used to hate.

This is Paul’s first prayer request.

It’s a big one, isn’t it? Are there people you have trouble loving? God has given you the power, the Spirit is enabling you to use it, and Christ is directing you where, when and how to use it. Together, all three of them want you to love those who you normally would hate. The power of God helps us love the unlovable.

We will look next time at the final two prayer requests of Paul, which are also impossible prayer requests. But we will see that, once again, they also are related to loving our enemies.

How to Fix the World (Ephesians 3:8-13)

By Jeremy Myers

1 Comment

Are you happy with the current state of the world? Do you wish things could change? Do you want the world to improve? Do you want to fix the world? In this study of Ephesians 3:8-13, we discover Paul’s solution for how to fix the world. It’s a shocking, challenging proposal, but it is the plan that God has put in place since the beginning of time, and it is the only plan that God has. There is no Plan B.

Before we consider God’s Plan for How to Fix the World, we consider a question from a reader about Pentecostalism.

Question from a Reader

A new member of my discipleship group named John Redic recently sent in the following question.

What is your analysis of Pentecostalism? How should the Azusa Street Revival and Movement be assessed and interpreted?

I am not a fan of Pentecostalism.

Don’t get me wrong. I like Pentecostals. I love their passion for Jesus and their desire to see God move in their life in a meaningful and powerful way. We all want this, and I love how Pentecostals are calling for people to have a REAL experience of God in their life, rather than the dead and stiff religiosity that is so common in some forms of Christianity.

However, there is great danger in the Pentecostalism that forms the foundational theology of many Pentecostals.

I’m not going to get into the history of Pentecostalism, which the Azuza Street revivals and some of the subsequent revivals, except to say that these revivals did happen, and as with any historical revival, there was some good and some bad that came from them, but the worst thing we can do is put them on a pedestal as an experience that we should try to copy or replicate today. Whenever we try to emulate, replicate, or copy a past, historical movement of God, we end up ignoring and even missing what fresh thing God is trying to do in our own day.

But if you are not familiar with the Azuza Street revivals or Pentecostalism in general, let me just say that they were attempts by some Christians to restore to the church the powerful and supernatural workings of the Holy Spirit to the everyday lives of Christians. They wanted to experience all that the Holy Spirit has to offer.

And this is a good thing. We should all want everything that the Holy Spirit wants for us, including the knowledge and experience of all the spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit has given to us. However, I think that many dangers and problems have come along with Pentecostalism.

(#AmazonAdLink) While I do believe that all the spiritual gifts are in use today (I have an online course available on the Spiritual Gifts if you want to learn more about my views on this … and (#AmazonAdLink) a book as well), I think that many Pentecostals put a higher degree of authority on personal experience than on careful study and explanation of Scripture. This is quite dangerous.

And while I can never deny the validity of someone’s experience, we must recognize that ecstatic experiences are not exclusive to Christianity. Many people in many other religious have similar ecstatic experiences when they are worshipping their own god(s). If Christian ecstatic experiences “prove” that the ecstatic experiences come directly from Jesus through the Holy Spirit, then what do the non-Christian ecstatic experiences prove?

So I place a great emphasis on the careful and prayerful study of Scripture as interpreted through the lens of Jesus Christ, and place all other forms of revelation beneath the authority of this study of Scripture. Any other approach makes divine revelation highly subjective, which leads to all sorts of problems.

How to Fix the World (Ephesians 3:8-13)

Ephesians 3:8-13 is a continuation of Paul’s point in Ephesians 3:1-7, which in turn is a follow-up point from everything Paul wrote in Ephesians 2.

In Ephesians 2, Paul encouraged the Ephesians Christians to live in peace with each other so that they might show the world how to live in peace. Jesus showed us this way to peace when He died on the cross for His enemies and, rather than exacting revenge upon them, He forgave them. So Paul tells the Ephesian Christians to do the same thing, to love and forgive and be at peace with those who used to be our enemies.

This is, of course, much easier said than done. So in Ephesians 3:1-13, Paul is showing the Ephesian Christians that he lives by example. Paul is in prison because he chose peace rather than violence. And while in prison, Paul continues to work toward peace with those who are his captors. In this way, Paul is an example to the Ephesian Christians about how to live in peace with others, and what the consequences might be.

But the cost is worth it, for, as Paul now explains in Ephesians 3:8-13, the powers and rulers of this world are watching, and if Christians can show this world a better way to live, then they might follow our example as well.

We pick back up with this idea in Ephesians 3:8.

Ephesians 3:8. To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given,

In Ephesians 3:7, Paul said he was a minister, a servant running through the dust. Here, he says that he is the least of all the saints. The term least could also be translated very small, quite unimportant, or insignificant.[3] The best translation is exactly what we have here in the NKJV. It is not just that he was the least of all the saints, but he was less than the least.

He wasn’t just saying this; this wasn’t false humility. Paul really believed it. In 1 Timothy 1:15 he states a similar idea when he calls himself the chief of all sinners. In 1 Corinthians 15:9, he is the least of the apostles.

I don’t think Paul was one of those who was proud of his humility. He wasn’t the type to brag about his humility. He said things like this, because he was convinced of how great a sinner he was. He remembered all that he had done to persecute and destroy the church in his former years, and it weighed on him. Yes, he knew that he was forgiven and that all of his sins were washed away, but he knew that he didn’t deserve it.

A lot of Christians think that the more mature you become and the closer to God you get, the less you sin. While this is true, it seems to me that the closer we get to God, the more aware we become of how sinful we really are. It’s like light – since God is light. The closer you get to a light, the brighter the light becomes, and the more flaws the light reveals.

This is why assurance of salvation should never and can never be based on your works. Assurance of salvation is based on Christ and what He has done for us, not on ourselves and what we have to do. If you are basing assurance on your works, you will never have it because as you mature in your Christian walk, if you are honest, you will only think you are getting more and more sinful. This is what we see with Paul here. He calls himself the least of all the saints – because he is convinced of his sinfulness.

Nevertheless, Paul accomplished quite a bit, didn’t he? So what separates us from Paul? In my opinion, nothing except willingness. You know, if the truth were to be known, I think Christians today have greater opportunity and greater possibility to serve God than Paul did. I have heard some Christians, when confronted with their lack of activity and dedication say, “Well, I’m not Paul.” That’s exactly right. You’re not Paul. The difference between him and you is that you have more opportunities and more resources than he ever had.

The reason God used Paul so much is because Paul was willing to do what he could. He says he was the least of the saints and the chief of sinners, but we see how God used him anyway. If God can use Paul, God can definitely use you – if you are only willing and ready. The rest of Ephesians 3:8 and on into Ephesians 3:9 tells us what ministry God gave Paul.

Ephesians 3:8-9. … that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery,

Paul’s God given task was to preach. These verses show the two things he was to preach. First in Ephesians 3:8, he was to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. This is the truth found in chapter 1 of Ephesians. Second, in Ephesians 3:9, he was to preach about the fellowship of the mystery which is the truth found in Ephesians 2. So this statement by Paul is a brief summary of Ephesians 1-2.

The word unsearchable means that these riches of Christ are so great that they cannot adequately be explained or even understood. They are beyond finding out. They are without explanation or definition. You cannot fully explore them. You cannot delineate them. They are beyond description. They are beyond enumeration. You cannot catalog them. You cannot create in inventory list.

Let me put it another way. How many waves are on the ocean? The answer is that there are an infinite number of waves, because they just keep on coming. It is the same with the riches that we have in Christ. We cannot number them because they just keep on coming. You think the Duracell battery never stops? Just think about the riches in Christ. They truly are without end.

Paul mentioned some of the riches we have in Christ in Ephesians 1, but when compared with what Christ still has for us, Ephesians 1 is like a single snowflake in comparison to all the snowflakes that have ever fallen and ever will fall.

The unsearchable riches of Christ was the first thing he preached, the second, as we saw in Ephesians 3:9 is the fellowship of the mystery.

Remember Ephesians 2? Even though we were sinners and separated from God and each other, Christ came and brought us all together into one unified body. This is what Paul preached.

Since Paul preached it, does this mean that Paul made it up? No. The rest of Ephesians 3:9 says that this message originated with God when He created the universe.

Ephesians 3:9. … which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;

Remember, according to Ephesians 3:5, this mystery was hidden for ages and generations, but was made known by the Holy Spirit to God’s apostles and prophets. Paul here in Ephesians 3:9, wants to make sure that we realize that this mystery was NOT an invention of Paul’s, nor was it a sudden decision by God. It was God’s plan from the very beginning of the ages. It was hidden in God, meaning we didn’t know it, but God had it planned from creation.[4]

Many things are for God to know and his creatures to find out (Prov 25:2). But when he does reveal things to us, as he did here to Paul, it is our responsibility to shout them from the rooftops, to share it with all who will hear. This is how the Gospel message should be for us. God did not give us the Gospel of Salvation so we could hoard it and hide it, but so that we could share it and shout it.

That is what Paul did here with the mystery revealed to him. Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ, was revealed the plan of the mystery and as a result he preached about this mystery to all. Paul’s God-given task was to preach to the Gentiles the mystery revealed to him in Christ.

And what was this mystery? We have discussed this before. The mystery is that all people are welcome into God’s family, the church, regardless of race, background, morality, sex, age, or anything else that tends to divide humans. With God there is no “inner group.” No favorites. No “us vs. them.” With God, all are “in.” All are accepted. All are forgiven. All are welcome.

And God has formed His new people into the church. This is the mystery that God has known, and been seeking to reveal since the beginning, and which the prophets and apostles wrote about in Scripture, but which few really understood until Jesus fully revealed the truth of mystery through His ministry, life, death, and resurrection. And now Paul has become a messenger of this mystery, making it known to the rest of the world.

Now why did God do this? What is the purpose of bringing diverse groups of people into one body, the church? Paul explains why in Ephesians 3:10-11.

The Purpose of the Mystery (Ephesians 3:10-11)

Ephesians 3:10-11. to the intent (another word for intent is purpose, so here we have the purpose of the mystery) that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places …

What does that mean? Well first, we need to know who or what the principalities and powers in the heavenly places are. A lot of people think that the terms “principalities and powers” refer to angels and demons. But this is not true.

Principalities is the Greek word archais, and it means rulers, princes, or chiefs. We briefly discussed this term in Ephesians 1:21 and will look at it in greater detail in Ephesians 6:12 (cf. also Col 1:16; 2:10, 15; 1 Cor 15:24; Rom 8:38).

The word for powers is not dunamis, the power of God which we saw in Ephesians 3:7. Here, the Greek word is exousias. It also refers to rulers and authorities (Eph 1:21; Col 1:16; 2:10, 15; 1 Pet 3:22; 1 Cor 15:24). Together, the terms refer to earthly rulers, nations, institutions, and powers that dominate this world (cf. Dan 4:35, 10:13). Yes, there is a spiritual dimension behind these earthly powers, but this spiritual dimension reveals itself through earthly rulers, powers, and authorities that seek to control, dominate, and bring tyranny upon this world. We are seeing the powers at work right now as those in authority seek to use their positions to enrich themselves and control everybody else through tyranny.

This, of course, is not a new problem. It has always been a problem. This is why Paul was writing about it in his day. The Roman Empire sought to dominate and control as well.

And Christians who desire freedom, liberty, and peace, have always wondered what to do about it.

Paul’s answer here is as shocking today as it was then.

Paul is saying that the mystery of the gospel directly challenges the powers of this world, and even seeks to correct the abuses of the powers by showing them a different and better way to live.

In other words, the church is God’s solution to the problem of abusive earthly powers.

Why does the church exist? Why did God decided to unite Jews and Gentiles into one body in Christ? The reason, according to Ephesians 3:10 is to teach and correct the principalities and powers of this world.

And this is not a new plan of God. Ephesians 3:11 shows that this has always been God’s plan.

Ephesians 3:11. … according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,

In Ephesians 3:9, God’s plan of the mystery was from the beginning of the ages, that is, from the beginning of time, or from the beginning of creation. Here in Ephesians 3:11, God’s plan to teach the earthly powers was according to the eternal purpose of God.

Do you want to know what this means? This verse tells us that the church is the central goal of history. The church is the eternal purpose of God for human history. The church is the reason the universe was created![9] Think about that. What level of importance do you place on the church? If you were to make a list of your top ten priorities for this week, where would church come in on the list? Would church even be on your list?

On God’s list of priorities, the church is number 1. God’s reason for creating the universe was to create the church – the mystery kept hidden for ages and generations. And the purpose of the church was to teach the world how to behave.

When we see the world falling part, and we complain about all the problems in the world, guess whose fault it is? It’s the fault of the church. When the world falls apart, it is because the church is doing a poor job of showing the world how to behave. Jesus showed us how to behave so we can show the world how to behave. This is Paul’s point in Ephesians 3:12-13.

Ephesians 3:12. … in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.

I know it sound challenging. We have to show the world how to properly live? Well, guess what? We’re not doing it alone. Jesus is leading the way. Jesus has led the way. All we have to do is follow His example. Paul is following the example of Jesus, and so should we.

And since we have the perfect example in Jesus (Ephesians 2), and since we have access to the riches and power of Jesus (Ephesians 1), we can follow Jesus with boldness. We can access our riches and inheritance with confidence through faith in Him.

In Ephesians 3:13 Paul says this is what he has done, and so this is what the Ephesians Christians can do as well.

Ephesians 3:13. Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

Remember, he began in Ephesians 3:1 by talking about how he was a prisoner of Jesus Christ for the sake of the Gentiles. That might be a troubling thought for them, so he has spent several verses assuring them that what he is going through is not a bad thing, but it is exactly what God wants.

Therefore, Paul asks them not to lose heart because of his tribulations, his trials, his troubles, because, he says, they are for your glory. He’s saying, “Yes, I am a prisoner, but I am a prisoner because I did what God wanted me to do – namely, share the Gospel with you.” And though Paul doesn’t say it here, Paul’s goal is to also share the gospel with the people in Rome, and potentially even to the greatest human power of all, Caesar.

All of us who follow Jesus want the world to change for the better. But few of us understand how to change the world. Yes, we can vote, and contact politicians, and support causes and organizations we believe in, but according to Paul, the best way to fix the world is to follow the example of Jesus by living in peace with one another. As Christians live in peace with each other, we give an example to the world of how peace can be achieved.

Jesus is the perfect example to us of how this works, and Paul was an example to the Ephesian Christians, and now we can follow their example and live in peace with one another as well. Indeed, this is the exact point Paul goes on to make in the rest of Ephesians 3. We will pick up with Ephesians 3:14 next time.

Footnotes for the Study on Ephesians 3:8-13

[3] McCalley, 30.

[4] This is an excellent verse in defense of Molinism (The Middle Knowledge of God). This verse does not say that this was God’s plan from before creation, it just says that it was God’s plan from creation. Prior to creation, there were innumerable worlds which God could have created. He scanned the possibilities, picked one he liked, and created it. It is this moment of picking to the logical next step of creating that verse 9 is talking about. See The Only Wise God by William Lane Craig.

[9] Stott, 129.

A Prisoner for Peace (Ephesians 3:1-7)

By Jeremy Myers

Question from a Reader

Hi, Jeremy! I would just like to ask because I still get anxiety over hell. What are we to do with testimonies about hell? Sometimes I think that it may be from God redirecting us. But I also believe that there might be no hell. The only thing stopping me from holding that view are the testimonies and books saying it’s divine revelation.

I have written a book about hell titled (#AmazonAdLink) “What is Hell?” and in it, I challenge the three main views about hell and show what the Bible actually teaches regarding the doctrine of hell. It’s a shocking and surprising book, and I encourage you to read it.

Regarding the various testimonies and visions of hell that some people claim to have, I tend to be very skeptical about them, for three reasons.

First, we must always be skeptical of any vision, dream, or testimony that is not found specifically in Scripture. Scripture is the ultimate written revelation from God, and so all other forms of revelation must be filtered through the lens of Scripture. In my understanding of Scripture, there are no direct visions or revelations of hell as a place of suffering torture and everlasting burning, and so any dream or vision that a person today has which claims to have seen hell as such a place is suspect by default, for it contradicts the Bible.

Second, the human mind is quite susceptible to the power of suggestion. This is also true of dreams. I am sure you have noticed that quite often, your dreams somewhat follow the events or experiences or worries that have been most at the forefront of your mind during the previous few days. If you are worried about a test at school, or presentation at work, or some situation with your spouse, you are likely to have some dreams about these things.

I often find that when I am studying a particular text of Scripture and am struggling with it, I will have dreams about the text. If I am working on a problem with my car, I might have dreams about fixing my car. If I am preparing for a trip, I might have dreams about the upcoming trip.

The same thing happens with dreams about hell. I have found that when people have dreams about hell, it is usually because they have been thinking a lot about hell in the previous days and weeks. Maybe they have been reading and studying a lot about it. Maybe they have heard some pastors preach or teach about it. Maybe they have been extremely worried about it. Maybe a loved one passed away and they are afraid that their loved one is in hell. And so then they have dreams about hell. And since the concept of hell as a place of burning torture is so common, the dreams of hell as a place of torture are quite vivid. The more vivid your dreams are, the more you remember them. So people dream about hell, and the dreams are quite vivid, and so people will often tell others about these dreams. They might even write books about them.

But note that that the fact that they had these dreams does not prove that the dreams show what hell is really like. All it shows is that they were thinking or worried about hell, and so had a dream which helped their mind sort through and deal with some of the thoughts and worries that were on their mind. That is where most of these dreams seem to come from … not necessarily from God.

Third, and somewhat in support of the second point, any human can have these sorts of dreams and visions. I have frequently encountered non-Christian people who tell stories about visions or dreams of a place of suffering and torture in the afterlife. Muslims have these. Pagans (as in people who follow Norse mythology such as that of Odin and Thor) have these sorts of stories. The ancient Egyptians had these sorts of stories.

(#AmazonAdLink) This doesn’t mean that all such dreams and visions are correct or incorrect. It just means that stories of a place of burning and suffering after this life are not unique to Christianity, and so we have to wonder about the spiritual source of all such dreams and visions. And who is more likely to want people to live in fear about the after life? God or Satan?

Second Timothy 1:7 says that God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. God is a God of peace; not of fear, punishment, and torture.

So in my view, any human testimony about a dream or vision of hell which leads people to live in fear of God or fear for the after life is not something that comes from God. Therefore, I do not give any credibility to these visions of hell that some people claim to have. God does not threaten us into a relationship with Him, but woos us with love and promises of peace and safety.

This concept of God as a God of peace helps transition into our study of Ephesians 3:1-7.

A Prisoner for Jesus (Ephesians 3:1-7)

So far in Ephesians, Paul has explained the riches and inheritance that is ours in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1) and how Jesus revealed the way to live in peace with those people we used to hate (Ephesians 2). Now, in Ephesians 3, Paul goes on to encourage the Ephesians Christians to follow the example of Jesus and live in peace with each other also, so the world can learn from us and begin to live in peace with each other as well.

I want to remind you that many people read Paul’s letter to the Ephesians quite differently than this. As a result, they often don’t really know what to do with Ephesians 3:1-13 since these verses don’t really seem to fit with what they think Paul is saying. So when you read most commentaries or listen to pastors teach Ephesians 3:1-13, they often refer to it as an “aside.” It is thought to be one of Paul’s famous “rabbit trails” where he goes off onto some tangent that doesn’t really have much to do with anything else he is saying, and then finally returns to his main point in Ephesians 2:14.

One of the primary reasons people think this is because of those repeated words in Ephesians 3:1 and 3:14, “For this reason.” It is thought that Paul begins a point in Ephesians 3:1 by saying “For this reason” but then gets sidetracked to talk about being in prison and how the church is a mystery, until he finally returns to this main point in Ephesians 3:14 by repeating the phrase “For this reason.”

When I first taught Ephesians about twenty years ago, this is how I taught it.

But I have since come to a completely different understanding of the message of Ephesians, and in my new understanding, Paul’s words in Ephesians 3:1-14 are not a tangent, not a rabbit trail, but are rather a perfectly logical follow-up point from what Paul has written so far in this letter.

Paul’s primary point in Ephesians can be summarized in one word: “Peace!” Through Jesus, there is peace with God, peace with one another, and together, all of us are working toward universal peace (which includes bringing the principalities and powers back into their proper place).

So Paul’s point in Ephesians 3 is that he wants the Ephesian Christians to live at peace with each other. This follows naturally from what Paul has just written in Ephesians 2 about how Jesus showed us the way to live in peace with each other.

The reason we are to leave in peace with one another is because the world doesn’t know how to attain peace, and if we live at peace with each other, the world will learn how to live in peace by watching us and learning from us.

And Paul knows that before he can ask the Ephesian Christians to live in peace with each other, he needs to show them how he himself is following the example of Jesus. This is what Paul explains in Ephesians 3:1-13, how he himself is following the example of Jesus is seeking peace with others.

I am not going to be able to cover this entire section in this one study, so we will split it up into two, looking at Ephesians 3:1-7 this time, and Ephesians 3:8-13 next time.

Ephesians 3:1. For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles …

Paul begins by pointing out that his attempt to follow Jesus into the way of peace ended up with him in prison. As Paul writes this letter to the Ephesians, he is sitting in a prison in Rome.

Of course, even though he is a prisoner in Rome, Paul does not consider himself a prisoner of Rome. Paul says that he is a prisoner of Christ Jesus. Paul knows that he is right where Jesus wants him to be.

Indeed, prison is the natural and normal consequence for someone who seeks peace in a world filled with violence.

When Jesus sought peace, He ended up on a cross. So also, Paul’s quest for peace led him to prison, where he himself might die.

Yet when peace is the goal, imprisonment and possible death is better than violence and bloodshed. And in a world that is ruled and dominated by violence, those who seek peace are viewed as the enemies, who must be silenced, imprisoned, or killed.

So Paul is is prison because he followed Jesus into the way of peace.

Finally, Paul writes that he is a prisoner for you Gentiles. This does not mean that Paul was a prisoner because of the Gentiles. He is not blaming the Gentiles, especially not the Gentile Christians in Ephesus. Instead, Paul is saying that he is a prisoner “as an example” for the Gentiles, or as a way to reach the Gentiles with the truth that they too are now accepted into the family of God.

Paul is saying, “I’m in prison for your sake, to help you, to show you how this whole ‘peace’ thing works.”

We know this is what Paul means because he goes on in Ephesians 3:2-13 to explain how peace works.

Ephesians 3:2. … if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you …

The word dispensation is a word we don’t use very much anymore. We saw it previously though in Ephesians 1:10. The Greek word is oikonomia. Oiko means house, and nomia means law, so oikonomia means “law of the house.” It is the rules by which a house or business is governed. Synonyms could be “management, stewardship, or an orderly arrangement.”

In Ephesians 3:2, Paul says that a dispensation was given to him, and so we could say, as some of your translations do, that he was given a stewardship—he was made a steward or a manager over a certain task or responsibility. Paul was given specific guidelines from God by which he should live and function.

What were these guidelines? Well, the verse says that he was a steward of the grace of God which was given to me for you. Paul was sent by God to declare peace to the Gentiles. To declare that there are not more outsiders and insiders, but that all are “insiders” with God.

As the apostle to the Gentiles, Paul was the person God chose to take the message of peace to the Gentiles.

Ephesians 3:3-4. … how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ),

This message of peace to the Gentiles was something unknown to Jewish people prior to the ministry of Jesus and apostleship of Paul. Most Jews thought that God could accept Gentiles into His family, but only if they first became Jewish and kept the Mosaic Law. But Paul was showing that Jesus opened the door for all people, Jew and Gentile alike, to join the family of God. Everybody was on equal footing before God.

Now Paul says he already wrote to them about this, which he did in two places already: Ephesians 1:9-10 and Ephesians 2:11-22. We discussed this mystery there as well, so we can now move on.

Ephesians 3:5. … which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:

The reason Paul refers to this truth as a mystery is because few people saw or understood the truth of it until Jesus revealed it and Paul proclaimed it.

The idea that all people were on equal footing with God was a shocking idea for most people in Paul’s day (cf. Acts 10-15; Galatians). The idea that God wanted to love and accept all people is definitely taught all over the place in the Hebrew Scripture, but it was such a challenging idea, most Jewish people didn’t understand it or believe it. It was a hidden truth. It was a mystery to them.

In previous ages, humans have always operated under the “us vs. them” principle, which was a principle of rivalry, violence, and death (cf. Ephesians 2:1-3). But now we have a new revelation by the Spirit through the prophets and apostles, that all of us are one, and our struggle is not against each other (cf. Ephesians 6:12).

But Jesus revealed the truth of God’s love for all, and Paul has learned this truth as well, and so is now declaring it to the world. Jews and Gentiles can now live in peace with each other because both are equal footing before God. This is what Paul writes in Ephesians 3:6.

Ephesians 3:6. … that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel …

So instead of division, strife, and rivalry, we are all one family, fellow heirs of God, recipients of the promises (Ephesians 1:3-14; 2:11-22).

Previously, only the Jews were heirs. Only the Jews had promises and covenants from God. Only the Jews were allowed near to God. Only the Jews had forgiveness of sins from God.

But now they are being allowed in. Now they are being grafted into the body. Now they can partake—or share—in the promise of God! This is the mystery. It seems clear to us, but that is because it has been revealed to us.

Jews who lived prior to Paul did not see this clearly. “No one knew the full meaning of God’s promise to Abraham that “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen 12:3) until Paul wrote, “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘All the nations shall be blessed in you’” (Gal 3:8).

In Ephesians 3:7, Paul states that he effectively carried out this task of revealing the mysterious message of peace to the Gentiles.

Ephesians 3:7. … of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.

The word minister comes from the Greek word diakonos, which could also be translated as deacon. Many churches have deacons. This is where that title comes from. A deacon is someone who serves in the church. They are those men and women who have the God given ability to see what needs to be done and do it – no matter how menial. They are wonderful people to have in a church – deacons and deaconesses. That is Paul’s picture of himself in Ephesians 3:7. He calls himself a diakonos, a minister. He was a minister.

Paul is just saying that this ministry was a gift given to him by God. The term effective working is the Greek word energion from which we get our word energy, and the word power us the Greek word dunamis from which we get our word dynamite. God was working in Paul with energy like dynamite to carry out the task given to him.

And all of this divine energy and power to perform a ministry to the Gentiles led Paul directly into prison. A lot of times we think that when we have divine power and energy to perform our God-given ministry, we will be led into popularity and fame. But when Jesus followed God, He ended up on the cross. When Paul followed his calling, he ended up in prison.

Now, Paul is not done with this point about why he is in prison for following Jesus into the way of peace. He explains more in Ephesians 3:8-13, which we will cover next time. We will see that as a result of preaching peace to the Gentiles, this threatened the principalities and powers of this world, and so they put Paul in prison. However, by not fighting violence with violence, Paul was able to show the church, the world, and even the fallen powers of this world, that there was a better way to peace.

In Ephesians 2, Paul wrote to the Ephesian Christians (and therefore to us as well), that we, as the church, are to lead the world into the way of peace by being an example to them of how to live in peace with people who used to be our enemies. But Paul knows that this is easier said than done, and so in the first part of Ephesians 3, Paul is showing the church how he himself is an example to them about how to live in peace with others.

Paul is in prison as a result of his stand for peace, but Paul knows that this will only serve to prove the truth of what he is teaching. Paul leads by example, just as we, the church, are to be an example to the world. This is what we have begun to learn in this study of Ephesians 3:1-7, and we will pick back with Paul’s point next time in Ephesians 3:8-13.

How Homeless Aliens Change the World (Ephesians 2:18-22)

By Jeremy Myers

Question from a Reader

I’m 63 and I grew up in church. I used to do small things in the church. I would give out tracts and talk to people. I believe Jesus is the son of the living God and became human. I used to read my Bible all the time. But recently, I don’t get any spiritual understanding when I read the Bible. The Holy Spirit does not witness to me. I cry out to God to save me and change me, but I don’t get answers. Can you help me?

Take heart! What you are describing is a very common experience for all Christians. Ancient Christian teachers called it “The Dark Night of the Soul,” but I prefer to call it “the spiritual winter.” Either way, the idea is the same.

It is very helpful to think of your life with God as a cycle or pattern that imitates the daily pattern of day and night, or the yearly pattern of four seasons: spring, summer, fall, winter.

When you feel that God is close, that your prayers are answered, that you are being fed and sustained through Scripture, and that the Spirit is actively at work in your life, these are the spiritual days, or, the spiritual spring and summer. Life is good. Joy abounds. There is sunshine and chirping birds and gentle breezes that carry hints of summer flowers.

But such times do not last forever. Day always gives way to the night, and summer gives way to fall and winter. In the night, everything is dark. It is hard to see. It gets cold and sometimes scary. The same is true for the fall and winter. Trees and grass whither. The snows and ice fall and everything dies. God is silent. Prayers go unanswered. The Bible seems dead and uninteresting.

But guess what? Morning is coming. Spring is coming! The cycle of light and growth will come again.

So when you find yourself in the dark night of the soul, or in the spiritual wasteland of a bleak winter, just be patient. Have faith. Persevere. Because this season too shall pass.

Now why does God do this to us? Why do we go through these seasons? Because this is how true growth occurs. It is in the dark night and the bleak winter that our convictions are tested, our faith is solidified, and our roots grow deep down into the soil. We need these times in order to prepare for the next stage of growth and abundance. These nights and winters are the times God provides so we can practice what we have learned in the bright days of summer.

So keep doing what you are doing. Keep patient. Keep the faith. Dawn is near. Spring is coming.

How Homeless Aliens Change the World (Ephesians 2:18-22)

Strife, division, and hostility are not new in our day. They have been present since the beginning of the world when Cain killed Abel, or even before that when Adam blamed Eve for why he ate the forbidden fruit. Blame, accusation, violence, and death are the foundational characteristics of our culture.

But it does not need to be that way, and this is not what God wants.

God calls us to live differently in this world, and Jesus showed us how this could be done. In Ephesians 2, Paul explains how Jesus showed this to us and how we should live in light of what Jesus showed us.

One of the primary areas of division in Paul’s day was the religious/political division between Jews and Gentiles. If you took all the religious, racial, economic, cultural, and political strife of our day, that is what you have with the Jew and Gentile strife of Paul’s day.

And in Ephesians 2:18-22 he tells them, and therefore us, how to live in peace and unity with each other. These verses show us that if we want to live in peace and unity with those who would normally be our enemies, we need to change our mindset about who we are and who other people are.

You see, division and strife occurs when we focus on the things that make us different. But as followers of Jesus, there are several key truths about all of us that help unite us together, despite our differences. If we are able to focus on the things that unite us, then the things that make us different will no longer divide us because we will see that they are insignificant compared to who we are and what we have in Jesus Christ.

Let’s begin with Ephesians 2:18.

Ephesians 2:18. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

We talked about this some in our study of Ephesians 2:13-17, where we saw that in the days of Jesus and Paul, Gentiles and Jewish women did not have the same access to God in the temple as Jewish men did. But Jesus broke down all these barriers and dividing walls of hostility, so that now everyone has the exact same access to God.

There is no hierarchy. There are no favorites. There are no classes of people who have a special “in” with God. Paul is saying, “All have access. Both Jews and Gentiles have access. Both men and women. There is no privileged race or person or sex. There is no privileged class or position.”

Some religions and cults teach that only priests and pastors have access to God. That is not true. Catholicism teaches that Mary, the mother of Jesus has privileged access to Christ. That is not true either. First Timothy 2:5 says there is one mediator between God and man—Christ Jesus. If you want to go to God to confess your sins, or to ask for a request, you can! You don’t have to go through Mary. You don’t have to go through a priest or a pastor. You don’t even need to go to a special building such as a church or temple. You have Top Level Access to God all the time, anywhere you are. Hebrews 4:16 says that now we ourselves can come boldly before the throne of grace.

And of course, Paul writes that this access to the Father is provided by the Spirit, which is the Holy Spirit.

Here’s how this helps us today.

Today, we all have the tendency to think that some of us are closer to God than others. Some of us think that pastors have a better chance of getting their prayers answered because they are closer to God. So when we have a prayer request, we ask our pastor to pray for us. But pastors are not any closer to God than anyone else. God hears and answers your prayers just as much as the prayers of a pastor or priest. We all have equal access.

Some people think that church attendance, or political views, or vaccination status, or educational degrees, or moral ability makes one person closer to God than someone else. But again, none of this is true. We all have equal access to God the Father through the Holy Spirit. There is no special class of people. And the minute you start thinking that you are on better spiritual footing than someone else is the minute you start dividing from them.

So when it comes to living in unity with others, the first step is to realize that all of us have equal access to God through the Holy Spirit. Nobody is first in line.

The second truth is similar, and is found in Ephesians 2:19.

Ephesians 2:19. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.

The term strangers (xenos) is a word for a short time resident—a transient. In today’s terminology, we would say “homeless.”

The term alien or foreigner, (paroikos) is a word for a person who is living in a country other than the one they were born in. They have no inheritance rights, no secure protection under the law, no voting rights. In our day, we would call them illegal aliens.

These two terms together show how much we do not belong. These are repeated ideas from Ephesians 2:12.

We were strangers and foreigners. We were homeless aliens, without rights or protection.

But we no longer carry that description.

Rather, also in Ephesians 2:19, we are fellow citizens with the saints. We often think of saints as having special rights and privileges; special access to God. But Paul says we are fellow citizens with them. Whatever they have, we have. Whatever rights they own, we own. In fact, in Ephesians 1:1, Paul wrote that all believers are saints, and therefore, all believers are citizens.

Citizenship was a prized possession in the time of Paul. Men and women would work their whole lives and pay huge amounts of money in order to become citizens of Rome. But if being a citizen of Rome was special, imagine how great it is to be citizens with the saints? According to Ephesians 2:19, that is what we are.

But more than just citizens, we are also members of the household of God. Now think about it. What is better? Being a citizen of Rome, or being a heir to the throne of the Roman Empire? America is not a monarchy, so think of England. Which would you rather be? A citizen of England, or a prince or princess of England? Of course we would want to be the prince or princess! And Paul says here, that is what we are.

Our third title is that we are members of the household of God. Not only are we saints because we are citizens, we are princes and princesses because we are members of God’s household. These are the titles we have in Christ.

There are two ways that this helps us live peacefully in this world with others.

First of all, similar to what we saw in Ephesians 2:18, all followers of Jesus are on equal footing with each other in the kingdom of heaven. Yes, we are royalty as members of the household of God, but we are all royalty. That means that we are all on equal footing. Seeing other Christians as other princes and princesses in the family of God will help us live in peace and unity with them, even if we have areas of disagreement.

But here is the second thing to understand, and this second truth helps us live in peace and unity with the rest of the world … with those people who are not Christians. Since we are citizen of heaven and members of the household of God, this means that we now are aliens in this world. Although we were aliens and strangers to the kingdom of heaven, we are now aliens and strangers to the kingdom of this world. Since we are citizens of heaven, this makes us foreigners and strangers in this land, in this world.

So when we see the world doing things that are contrary to God’s will, or that we disagree with, we can now respond in two ways. Rather than condemn the world and create division and strife, we can first of all just shake our heads sadly and think to ourselves, “What a strange way of doing things … it seems backward and updside-down, but then, this is a different land I am in, and they do things quite differently here.” You see, when it comes to living in this world, it is we who are the strangers in a strange land. It is we who are aliens in a land not our own. And this world lives and operates quite differently than the kingdom of heaven, from which we come.

However … and here’s the key … it is true that the way this world operates is destructive and damaging. Why? Because it operates according to the principles of the kingdom of darkness. The ways of the kingdom of God truly are better.

But since we are aliens and strangers to this land, we do not have a voice here. We do not have rights here. So we cannot just go around accusing and condemning people for their backward ways. We are the foreigners and do not have the right to do that here.

Instead, what we can do is live in such a way amongst ourselves that the watching world sees how we live in love and unity with each other, and says to themselves, “Hey, I want that too!” When we live the rules of the kingdom of God before a watching world, they want what we have and will learn from our example to live in love and unity as well. We show the world by how we live that there is another way, a better way. A way of peace, love, grace, forgiveness.

Indeed, this is exactly how Jesus showed us the new way of living, and we are now expected to follow His example, and show the world this new way of living as well. This is exactly what Paul writes in Ephesians 2:20.

Ephesians 2:20. … having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,

The foundation of the apostles and prophets that Paul refers to here is the teachings of the apostles and prophets, which we now think of as the Old and New Testaments of Scripture.

The apostles were those who personally witnessed Christ and were taught directly by Him. There are no more apostles today. But the apostles left something for us—they left writings about Christ. We know these writings as the New Testament. Paul says here that the first foundation we have is the writings of the apostles which is the New Testament. The writings and teachings of the prophets are found in the Hebrew Scripture, which we call the Old Testament.

And as Paul points out in the last part of Ephesians 2:20, Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone. In other words, Jesus Christ is the central truth of Scripture, to whom all Scripture points, and in whom all Scripture is fulfilled. Jesus is the scarlet thread on every page. He is the fulfillment of every law. He is the beginning and the end. He is what it is all about (John 5:39).

The cornerstone is the foundational stone of a building. When a building in ancient times was being constructed, the first and most important stone to be laid was the cornerstone. If it was prepared and laid correctly, the building would be square and strong. If it had imperfections and was laid poorly, the building would be flawed and weak (cf. Isa 28:16).

It is just like when you’re laying shingles on a house, or plowing rows in a field. The first shingle and the first row must be perfect, or all the rest will be out of place.

Paul is saying that Jesus, as the chief cornerstone, showed us how to live with one another in this world. Jesus did this by following, fulfilling, and even guiding and inspiring the teachings of the apostles and prophets. So when we follow the example of Jesus, we are also obeying and fulfilling the teachings of Scripture.

And when we do this, this is how we show the world a better way to live. A way guided by love and forgiveness, that results in peace and unity.

In fact, a focus on Jesus as the chief cornerstone will in itself create peace and unity. We humans so often get dived by how we identify ourselves.

Today, we are divided by who we follow: Moses, Mohammad, or Mahatma Gandhi. We are divided by our political persuasion: Democrat or Republican. We are divided by our vaccine status. We are even divided by our pronouns.

But what if we as followers of Jesus stopped identifying with these divisive things, and started instead to identify as a follower of Jesus. How do you identify? I identify as a follower of Jesus. That’s unifying, isn’t it?

When we live in these ways, this is when the church comes together as God wants, lives in this world as God desires, and therefore, shows the world a better way to live.

Ephesians 2:21-22. In whom the whole building, being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

There are two words in Greek for “temple.” The first, hieron, is used for the whole building and vicinity. It is used for the temple grounds. That is not the word used here.

The word used here is naos. It has in view just the part of the temple where God dwells.

During the time of Solomon’s temple, God’s presence was in the Holy of Holies—the most sacred part of the temple. That is what is in view here. But, as I mentioned, only the High priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and that only once a year.

But when Jesus died on the cross, the veil which separated man from God in the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. This symbolized that the breach had been filled. The separation had been spanned. The wall had come down.

In A.D. 70, the temple was destroyed. Does that mean that God no longer has any temple? No! 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 6:19 tells us that Christians are now the temple of God. We are each a temple individually, and we are also being built into one glorious temple for God. We are the new Holy of Holies.

And that is what Paul is saying here. When we follow the example of Jesus by living with love, grace, and forgiveness toward each other and toward the watching world, God forms and grows us into a temple for Himself, a dwelling place for God.

God does not dwell in a building made by human hands, but in the body of Christ, which is formed by the Spirit of God, and which goes forward into the world with the love of Jesus.

Only in this way will God’s temple in the world rise up, not as a temple built with human hands, but as a the people of God who follow Jesus into the world to love and serve whomever we meet.

This somewhat goes back the question from a reader we discussed above.

Many of us Christians want to see God more at work in our life and in this world. Well, that happens by loving and serving others in this world the way Jesus loved and served us. As we live and act like Jesus in this world, God forms His temple, His body, in our midst. As we live together in peace and harmony with one another, working to reveal Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to this world, God shows up among us, and people will say, “Truly, God is in their midst. Truly God is dwelling among them.”

This concludes our study of Ephesians 2.

Back at the end of Ephesians 1, in the study of Ephesians 1:20-23, I pointed out that God wants His way of life to become reality here on earth. We all want this as well. We want God to rule and reign on this earth. We want peace and justice and truth to become the norm.

But this world seems to be dominated by the opposite. Rather than peace and justice, we have hatred, violence, deception, and injustice.

So if God wants His way of life to rule and reign, how does this happen? How does it come about? Ephesians 2 was Paul’s answer to that question.

God wants to solve the problems of this world, and He did so by sending Jesus to create the church. While Jesus is the answer to all the problems of the world, the church is how Jesus lives and talks and acts in this world.

The church is how Jesus accomplishes changes in the world.

When the church steps up as the body of Christ, we, as the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus Christ, will fill everything in every way, and the power of God will flow through us to transform this world in ways that Jesus wants and desires.

Jesus is the head of the world and the head of the church, and as such, the church fills the world and transforms it into the ways of the Kingdom of God.

We have now seen in Ephesians 2 how the church as the body of Christ becomes the catalyst the creates love, peace, and unity in a world filled with hatred, violence, and division. We show the world a better way to live by following the example of Jesus through living in peace and unity with each other. As we live in peace and unity with other brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, the world takes notice, and learns from us how they too can live in peace and unity. In this way, the peace of God spreads over the earth.

Paul takes this theme and builds on it further in Ephesians 3, which is where we pick up next time.

To Love Your Enemies, Know You are Loved (Ephesians 3:18-21)

Question from a Reader

You Cannot Love Your Enemies Until You Know You are Fully Loved (Ephesians 3:18-21)

C. Prayer for Knowledge (Ephesians 3:18-19)

D. Prayer for Filling (Ephesians 3:19b)

Putting the Three Prayer Requests in Context

E. The Encouragement (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Is it Impossible to Love our Enemies? (Ephesians 3:14-17)

Question from a Reader

Why It’s Not Impossible to Love our Enemies (Ephesians 3:14-17)

Prayer for Power (Ephesians 3:16-17)

How to Fix the World (Ephesians 3:8-13)

Question from a Reader

How to Fix the World (Ephesians 3:8-13)

The Purpose of the Mystery (Ephesians 3:10-11)

Footnotes for the Study on Ephesians 3:8-13

A Prisoner for Peace (Ephesians 3:1-7)

Question from a Reader

A Prisoner for Jesus (Ephesians 3:1-7)

How Homeless Aliens Change the World (Ephesians 2:18-22)

Question from a Reader

How Homeless Aliens Change the World (Ephesians 2:18-22)

Theological Study Archives

Bible Study Archives

Advertise or Donate

Search (and you Shall Find)

Get Books by Jeremy Myers

Schedule Jeremy for an interview

Click here to Contact Me!