King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Saturday, December 16, 2023
Chapters: THE BOOK OF EPHESIANS
Message: Having Done All to Stand
Hello My Brother/Sister/Friend,
I woke up this morning with a heavy heart, this is my third Christmas in my house and every year it has been something going on, but this year is by far the most challenging that I think I have ever had. My husband sprained his ankle so bad that he missed work the last two days, and so did I at the job I just started. My mother is in constant pain, worried, and depressed about things because her bills are piling up and she is not working either. I am trying to keep everyone afloat while I am having my own issues as well. On top of that, I should have gotten my first paycheck, but it did not get deposited because the routing number was wrong. I started begging God for answers and a reason why we cannot seem to get a break here. That was when He reminded me that it was time to give it all over to Him and He means everything this time, [Psalms 56:3 What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.]
Of course, this passage showed up to remind me of what I need to be doing, [Ephesians 6:11-13 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.]
The Book of Ephesians was written by Paul from Rome, approximately 64 AD, and is addressed to the Ephesians, and all the faithful in Christ. The purpose of the epistle (letter) was to inform believers of their wealth in Christ and instruct them concerning their walk with Christ. What we are to learn from the book is that all who receive Christ are heirs to both the blessings (heavenly wealth) and responsibilities (the work) of their calling created in them through Christ Himself, [Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.]
[Predestined; Predetermined; foreordained; decreed] We may not like it, in fact, most people will flat out deny it, but the things we go through, good, bad, and ugly, are already something that God had predetermined would happen. While we do have choices and freewill that does not mean that God does not know what is going to happen because of how we handle the challenges in life. It is so easy to grab onto the first thing that we see that looks like a way out, but believe it or not, that is often the devil. You see, if it seems to be too good to be true, it really is, well, sometimes it is true, but in order to know that we need to weigh it all out. Paul, begins his letter by reminding us that we were already predestined to know Christ, and that we are joint heirs with Him.
[Ephesians 1:1-5,7 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;]
[and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:] God, is talking to His faithful, those whom are not only His saints, but are faithful to Him. While the number of people getting saved is getting smaller by the day there are still a lot of people accepting Christ as their Saviour, and out of that number only a remnant are actually faithful. By being faithful I am talking about making Jesus a part of their lives and living their lives through Him, often turning their lives around completely. We are given the means to live a prosperous life while we are here, but our receiving it all has to do with two things; His will and our faithfulness to His will.
[Ephesians 1:9-14 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.]
[until the redemption of the purchased possession,] Our souls were purchased by the Redeemer Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ. He gave His sinless life to not only keep our souls out of hell and the lake of fire, He also did it so that we can live with Him forever. The world and quite frankly many religions see God as the tyrant who will strike you down if you look at Him the wrong way, but they have it completely wrong. While God is a just God, He is also a loving God and Father to all His faithful. However, He will not be mocked!
[Ephesians 2:1-4,8-10 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.]
[which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.] God, did not give us the spirit of fear, walking in the shadow of the devil himself, He gave us the power of His Spirit and He lives inside every soul that receives Christ as their Saviour. The walk we walk with Christ is not about obeying every one of the six hundred and thirteen commandments written in the Law, it is about fearing Him and living our lives in a way that is built upon His foundation.
[Ephesians 2:12-13,18-20 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;]
The cornerstone is the most important part of the building for it is the pillar, and without a pillar the building is unstable and would fall down as soon as something forceful hits it. Jesus said that He is the Rock that we all need to be standing on, any other foundation is nothing, but sinking sand, [Matthew 7:24-27 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.]
Until Christ came here in the flesh, the law of grace was just a mystery, no one understood that their obedience to God had nothing to do with their salvation. In fact, the reason why the Law of Moses was given in the first place was for believers of God to have a guide to follow as man was so lawless. They knew that Christ was coming to end all that, but when and who was the mystery, and now all that was revealed.
[Ephesians 3:2-6,8 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: 3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; 6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: 8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;]
[preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;] The riches of Christ go beyond any earthly riches that we will receive, in fact, we could not receive them if we did not know Christ as our Saviour.
[Ephesians 3:16-21 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.]
[And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge,] The love of Christ does not come to us by having knowledge of Him, it comes to us by our faith in Him. Everyone knows the name of Jesus, and still today there are a lot of people named Jesus, but not everyone knows who Christ is. Those who know Christ receive more than knowledge of Him, they accept that He is the Son of God sent to save their souls. They acknowledge that they are sinners and will perish without Him. They also learn to love like Christ loves, and there is nothing more challenging to our flesh than loving someone like He does, but to the Spirit that lives inside us, all things are possible.
[Ephesians 4:1-7 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.]
[But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift] Each of us is given enough grace that is sufficient to fulfill God’s purpose for us. Those who are called to be preachers are given the measure of grace that enables them to fulfill that purpose, likewise, teachers, evangelists, prayer warriors, speakers, and every other ministry that Jesus has called them for.
[Ephesians 4:11-15 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:]
[For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry,] This is why I am a teacher of God’s Word, it is not so that I can explain God. It is not so that I can receive any glory out of it. It is not to defend God or Jesus, it is to assist saints and future saints in the knowledge of God’s Word so they can be more effective in their walk with Christ. In the beginning the Law was our schoolmaster to the ways of God, today, we have Jesus, [Galatians 3:24-26 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.]
[tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine,] Until we do come to the knowledge of Christ as our Saviour we really are tossed to and fro from every form of doctrine there is. I will admit that the first half of my life was nothing, but religion, from Catholicism to Nondenominational, and even Christian Wiccan thrown in there for brief moment, I did not know what I was doing in regards to where I would spend eternity. In fact, as far as I was concerned I was going to hell no matter what I did so it did not matter what I believe. On the contrary, that was what the devil wanted me to think, thank God that He used my brother to freak out in a church service, which led me to an Independent Baptist church. Unless we believed in vain, we have miraculously taken this old flesh of ours and put it away, as we are given God’s Spirit, and renewed every day.
[Ephesians 4:21-28 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. 26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27 Neither give place to the devil. 28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.]
[Let him that stole steal no more:] Jesus, said it this way, [John 10:1-2,9-11 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.]
All you have to do to remind yourself of why we live our lives through Christ after we are saved is to read through the Book of Ephesians, we are given eternal life by the grace of God through our faith in Christ alone. That is the greatest gift that we will ever receive, but we are not to use this gift selfishly, rather give it to someone else in need. Once we get saved and start living our lives through Christ we start gravitating to His good works. Christ, changes us for the better, He gets rid of all the junk that causes unnecessary suffering, temptation, and shame, including people that keep us from living for Him.
[Ephesians 5:1-6 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. 3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; 4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.]
[Let no man deceive you with vain words:] Did you ever do something that you knew was not what you ought to be doing yet did it anyway in order to keep the peace? God, will never put us in a position that the only way to keep the peace is to succumb to sin. I learned the hard way what happens when you do succumb to them, and let me tell you, they may tell you they love you, but the proof is in the way they treat God. Yes, if they fear God, they will respect us and love us, but if they do not treat Him right they are not going to treat us right, ans we need to distance ourselves from them.
[Ephesians 5:11-14,17,20-21 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. 12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. 13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. 14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.]
[But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light:] That is another thing that I learned the hard way, you do not even want to be near someone who is living a sinful life, you will be dragged into their mess. Keep in mind that we are to be in the world, not of the world, so while we are to distance ourselves from them, we are also to be kind. Since most of those who are lost will not step foot in a church, it is imperative that we are out there preaching the Gospel, yet letting our Light shine.
[Ephesians 6:10,14-18,23-24 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; 23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen. To the Ephesians written from Rome, by Tychicus.]
[all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.] Notice what Paul says here, “in sincerity” We can cry out to God all we want, we can sing the songs, preach the Gospel, pray the prayers, teach the lessons, but if we are not sincere, God will not recognize our efforts. Everything we do and even say to God needs to be done wholeheartedly, [1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Your mercy is truly something amazing that we all often take for granted, but Your grace is beyond measure, it is just astounding to think of what kind of life I lived before You were in it, and how You have completely changed it. Over the years, You have brought peace, hope, and joy to my life through both the good times and the bad. Lord, I know that I am not always in Your will, but it is Your good pleasure that You offer Your grace to get me back in it time and time again. Lord, Lead me and guide me, search me and open my heart to discover anything that is keeping me out of Your will. Strengthen me and grow me as I be about Your business and look only to You for wisdom and guidance while You are pleased to keep me here on earth. I ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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