Paul an Apostle: Part 2

Lightning grace the teaching ministry of Rich Pastor Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. Let's listen as Pastor Rick shares the second part of his message on Ephesians 11 and two so who are the readers what is he: to the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus, saints means holy ones, holy ones, in the sense of being dedicated as being set apart in the classic Greek usage of this word. It meant something that is non-secular, something that is devoted to spiritual activity nonsecular in all religions. You have your holy man right with Paul is writing to the church at Ephesus.

He calls all of them saints, you are holy you are nonsecular individuals stop and think about that for a minute your nonsecular you are a spiritual being and you are a spiritual being who is set apart devoted to God's service is true for all Christians. He's not writing to pastors and missionaries here. Okay he's writing to all Christians think about that from him because he says to the saints who are faithful in Christ Jesus. What is he mean by that faithful in Christ Jesus ones who have Jesus Christ as the object of their faith. You are the ones who have interest in your cells you have surrendered yourselves in faith to Jesus Christ else.

He is the object of your faith, and so with that authority we read this as believers and we know we understand that Paul is writing directly to us as well and he calls us saints, you are holy ones, you are set apart devoted to service for God aware of that Christians. I am a saint and you can say that say it with me. I am a saint, you are set apart, you are devoted to the service of God. As a committed follower of Jesus Christ as one who has surrendered himself herself to Jesus as the object of your faith.

You are set apart devoted to his or Paul calls in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ in Ephesus. Paul's letter usually addresses specific people at the end of the letter, not so much in this one. And so this letter to Ephesus is likely a letter to be circulated to many churches and it was which is one reason why we're reading it today because it was circulated and copied and preserved by the will of God.

And so he goes to his greeting which is a very common greeting we find in verse two is greeting begins. Grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ, grace to you that were grace means favorite means goodwill means kindness. It often speaks of the gift. The idea of grace is the property or act which causes joy to the hearer or beholder.

We say that again the property or act which causes joy to the hearer or beholder. I'm borrowing this from trench. What makes it grace. Is this and this is so key is conferred freely, with no expectation of return and finding its only motive in the bounty and free heartedness of the giver on the say that again conferred freely, with no expectation of return and finding its only motive in the bounty and free heartedness of the giver. Grace to you God who brings you joy when Paul says, grace to you what he is saying is May your souls prosper in Christ, grace to you, God gave himself to us. Do we understand that we have such a misconception. So much of grace these days because we think of it as the grace period on a credit card bill right now. Grace is something that is given grace is something that is lavished upon us, God gave himself to us. He gave himself to us for our joy for his joy for our joy together and it was done only in the bounty and free heartedness of the giver, grace to you. Paul says that's how he begins his letter and then he says peace from God. Grace to you and peace from God is a reigning. The verb which means to join together it's it's the idea of reconciliation and means strife has ended when it's using terms of relationships, it means there is no longer strife. Why would he say that because if you are not in Christ. You are at war with God. You have declared war against God. You are alienated from the life of God you are as good as a branch cut off from the tree. The only thing that branch can do is die and starve, and whether it's where you are. If you're not in Christ. But if you have peace with God. You have been grafted back into the tree and you then have life and you can be drawing life from the tree. You are alive. You can therefore thrive and that's the whole point behind the fruit of the spirit that Dwight and I will be introducing tonight for the for the start study during the month of May on the fruit of the spirit.

Paul uses this in Colossians chapter 1 verse 20 Colossians is a letter that went along with the letter to Ephesus, but this Colossians was a church was a letter written specifically to a church addressing specific issues but he says this in Colossians 119 to 20 for it please the father that in him. Christ all the fullness should dwell in by him to reconcile all things to himself by him with her things on earth, or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of his cross. What is it that reconciles you to guide the work necessary for that was accomplished when Jesus died on the cross when he absorbed in the wrath of God in your place in mind that opened the door for you and me to be reconciled to God. Otherwise we would be at eternal war with God. But his blood made peace. God was in the business of reconciling men to himself. So to be at peace with God means we are justified and so here is Paul is conferring PC is greeting the Ephesian church with peace.

He is praying for the well-being produced by the Holy Spirit in the heart of the one devoted to God again. As I said before Paul desires. He wishes he greets them with the desire for the prosperity of their soul enjoying the peace the well-being of the one who is devoted to Jesus Christ. That's how he begins his letter peace from God. Grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus. It is so important that he puts these two together like this. It is massively important, from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a very significant association of putting these names together because it shows that they are of the same essence.

Christ is in fact deity in both of them are the source of our joy of grace and our peace. Both of them are the peace, the grace, the joy that comes to us is from them from the Godhead. This is why Paul puts them together from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This is in fact Trinitarian theology is the is the is the doctrine of the apostles.

Now when were going to do now is continue last Sunday's sermon. Every lesson a sermon to a conclusion because it brings the Sunday sermon to a conclusion as well.

We we've gone through the introduction to advancing the back story. The apostle Paul, we read about it in acts chapter 9 the authority of the word of God and who he is and who is writing to one of the themes in this letter to the Ephesians. The first one is this. It's a phrase that includes two words and I will present to you this morning that these are the two most powerful words in all Scripture in Christ in Christ as he is writing to you and me. The Saints believers in Christ. Those who have entrusted themselves to Jesus Christ through faith. You are in Christ. There is a specific emphasis to this and it's twofold. Actually when he says in Christ. What is he speaking of. He is speaking of our union with Christ by grace through faith, our union with Christ. Remember that branch grafted back into the tree when that is true. Christ's history becomes mine. His death becomes mine. His resurrection becomes mine. His life becomes mine. When I am in Christ. It speaks of all that I am in Christ before a holy God who now accepts me and loves me in Christ is our identity. It is our position, our status with God that we are in Christ because if you are not in Christ.

He remains your judge, but if you are in Christ, he is your loving bountiful benevolent father get the difference and so in Christ is the statement that speaks of our identity who are you rich. I am in Christ. I am blessed beyond measure. Because I am in Christ. It's kinda like he is our L is not like he is our element. If I am in Christ.

Christ is my element. What I mean by that was your element oxygen air right it's not H2O. You just drink it you overthink about a fish right so she's element is water officials lives in water.

Now how God looks at you is he has placed you in a position where you can for life because you are in Christ, he is your element, and he looks at you far differently than the adversary of your soul.

God looks at you as your bountiful loving Creator you are in water and you are therefore able to fly in the water as a fish in your element, the adversary, on the other hand, looks at you like you're a fish on a plate about to consume. You, but God sees you as your loving bountiful creator who place you in the water to fly been listening to the lighting race teaching ministry of Rich Powell, Pastor Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem to discover how to live by grace. Tune in on weekdays at 10 AM