The Love Of Christ - For Us, His Bride

Christ loves us. He has given Himself for us. He calls us His ‘Bride’ (Ephesians 5:25-27; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 21:2, 9).

Praying Through God’s Word: Ephesians

Ephesians 1:1-2:10

Lord, You call us to live a holy life. We cannot do this in our own strength. True holiness does not come from ourselves. It comes from You. It comes from Your love. Your love reaches us. Your love changes us. Your love is stronger than our sin. May Your love inspire us to live a holy life. May Your love enable us to live a holy life – a life that brings glory to You, the God of our salvation.

Ephesians 2:11-4:6

When You, Lord, are at work in us, everything changes. You save us. You sanctify us. You strengthen us. Help us to serve You.

Ephesians 4:7-5:14

Lord, You want us to “grow up in every way into Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). You want us to “walk in love” (Ephesians 5:2). You want us to live a life that is “pleasing to You” (Ephesians 5:10). Why do we settle for something less than Your very best? Help us, Lord, not to “grieve Your Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 5:14). When we hear Your wake-up call – “Awake, O sleeper … ” (Ephesians 5:14), help us to open the door of our heart to Jesus, our great Saviour” (Revelation 3:20).

Ephesians 5:15-6:24

“Be very careful how you live” (Ephesians 5:16). When, Lord, You say this to us, we wonder, “How are we to do this?” You say to us, “Be filled with the Spirit”, have “reverence for Christ”, “love our Lord Jesus Christ with love undying” (Ephesians 5:18,21 & 6:24). Help us, Lord, to love Jesus – and help us to live for Him.

In the strength of the Lord

“Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:16-17).

The shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit – this is what we need if we are to win the victory over the wicked one. In our conflict with the devil, we learn from our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. In Luke 4:1-13, we read of Jesus, in the wilderness, batting with Satan and winning the victory over him. Jesus shows us the way of victory. He stands on the Word of God. This is what we are to do. We do not face Satan in our own strength. We face him in the strength of the Lord – and we answer him with the Lord’s Word.

The Power And The Glory

"Glory belongs to God, whose power is at work in us" (Ephesians 3:20).
The power comes from God. The glory goes to God.

Let's Give God Our Very Best.

Ephesians 4:7-5:14
God wants us to ‘grow up in every way into Christ’ (15). We are to ‘walk in love’ (2), a life which is ‘pleasing to the Lord’ (5:10).
It is so easy for us to settle for something less than God’s very best. We settle down into a state of spiritual complacency.
What does God have to say about this? - ‘Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God’ (30). He gives us His wake-up call: ‘Awake, O sleeper…’ (5:14). God says to us, ‘Awake, awake, put on your strength… Shake yourself from the dust, arise’ (Isaiah 52:1-2).
Have you become ‘lukewarm’? - ‘Be zealous and repent’. Christ says, ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him’ (Revelation 3:16,19-20).

Every Spiritual Blessing

"Every spiritual blessing in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3)

Through Christ, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3).

Every spiritual blessing – in Christ: Come to Him and receive His blessing.

""Sit, Walk, Stand"

"Sit, Walk, Stand" - This is a useful summary of the message of Ephesians: "And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6); "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called" (Ephesians 4:1); "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11).
"Sit, Walk, Stand" - We also find these words in the first Psalm: "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful" (Psalm 1:1). Concerning those who persist in walking in the counsel of the ungodly, standing in the way of sinners and sitting in the set of the scornful, the first Psalm says this: "Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous" (Psalm 1:5).

Saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8)

Sinners become singers. We never cease to be sinners. We are not superior to those who do not sing the song of the Lord. We have been saved by His grace. All the glory belongs to Him. May our whole life be a song of praise to Him (Ephesians 2:8-10). In our battle against Satan, we must never forget that our victory is grounded in His salvation: “At the Name of Jesus, Satan’s legions flee; on then, Christian soldiers, on to victory.” “The Church of God” is called to move forward as “a mighty army.”  The Lord has loved us so much. He has saved us. May we always give to others a friendly invitation and a warm welcome: “Onward then, you people, join our happy throng, blend with ours your voices in the triumph song.” Sinners will become singers – when we, who have begun to sing the Lord’s song, always remember that we are never any more than this: sinners who have been saved by God’s grace.

"Awake, O sleeper" (Ephesians 5:14).

God wants us to ‘grow up in every way into Christ’(Ephesians 4:15). We are to ‘walk in love’(Ephesians 5:2), a life which is ‘pleasing to the Lord’(Ephesians 5:10). It is so easy for us to settle for something less than God’s very best. We settle down into a state of spiritual complacency. What does God have to say about this? – ‘Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God’(Ephesians 4:30). He gives us His wake-up call: ‘Awake, O sleeper…’(Ephesians 5:14). God says to us, ‘Awake, awake, put on your strength… Shake yourself from the dust, arise’(Isaiah 52:1-2). Have you become ‘lukewarm’? – ‘Be zealous and repent’. Christ says, ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him’(Revelation 3:16, 19-20). What will you say to Him? – ‘Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Come in today. Come in to stay’.

Human Love And Divine Love

"Husbands, love your wives, just as also Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her" (Ephesians 5:25).

Human love is grounded in divine love. "I love you" is grounded in "God loves you." We look to Jesus Christ. We see the love of God. His love for us inspires our love for one another.