The Ephesians faced the challenge of building an authentic Christian community in the face of a face-changing and demonically oppressive culture. Paul urges the Church in Ephesus to grow in Unity, to lead well at home, in the Church, and to fight spiritual warfare in the marketplace. This blog post will discuss how you can embrace a supportive community to experience wholeness and become leaders at home and in the world; while overcoming the attacks of Satan.
One Victory
The book Ephesians is fascinating. Most of us focus on the armor of God and the weapon of warfare. However, I want you to zoom your lens out and focus on Paul's letter to the Ephesians. While in the Roman prison, Paul began to write the letters of the new testament under divine inspiration. The central thesis of Paul's statement in Ephesus: The Church is Christ's body, It is living: the Church stays together, The Church itself is an instrument to whip the devil.
Let me briefly connect the book of Ephesians to the new testament Joshua. In your devotional time, I encourage you to read Joshua 6. Look at the picture of the Jericho wall. The children of Israel were released from captivity. God tells Pharaoh to let my people go. Pharaoh says no, I am not doing that. God forces Pharaoh's hand. The people of Israel crossed the red sea, and Pharaoh started chasing God's people. God began through Moses parting the red sea, the children of Israel crossed the red sea, the Egyptians followed behind, and God closed the red sea because they should have listened to God the first time.
Quick teaching: Next time God tells you something, try listening.
Pharaoh's army is washed up, and Moses and the children of Israel are on the other side. Moses is in retirement, and Joshua is now the new leader, a very young leader. Moses tells him to be of good courage. One of the first things they have to do is face a city with walls, the wall of Jericho. It is important because the enemy chased them into the red sea, God rescued them, and now you would think the land God promised them would be a land that is secured, but it wasn't. Some fights had to take place. In the book of Joshua, the people have to enter a land, overcome the enemy and occupy it. God's chosen people were to tear down the wall to receive His promise.
Some things in your life will not take place until you start fighting. Sometimes the businesses we dream of and the funding we need are locked up behind walls. What God has promised us, we must take what was delivered, pick up our armor and sword, and fight.
When Paul is writing this letter, just like the children of Israel had to take over the land, you now occupy a season the enemy already has established. Paul's message was just like the walls of Jericho; everything that's against God will fall. But this time, we don't march around the wall, we move in faith, and faith will drive the enemy out.
The book's message is to get Christians to recognize we have a privilege. Privilege means we have access, resources, and benefits. The Kingdom of God has redemption rights that are sealed by the blood of Jesus. We are not intended to be in the wilderness and say the devil wins. We live in victory, One victory. It's time to grab hold of everything God has for us.
God's Trophies
In Ephesians 2, Paul uses the metaphor of the Church being like a temple. He outlines how churches are holy places where people can come to worship and commune with God. He presents a picture of the Church and its people as God's trophies by likening the Church to a temple.
We are God's trophies. He gave us the victory over sin because we are His trophies. We were once dead to sin and gave in to the devil. The devil works to try to gain influence from you through disobedience. The devil gets busy talking to us constantly about our decision-making, believing our wrongs are correct, and especially following God.
But the good news is, BUT GOD! Who is rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us. Even when we were dead in our sins, BUT GOD. God recreated and repositioned Us! We are alive in Christ and repositioned for new blessings of abundance, opportunities, hope, grace, and mercy.
Vs. 7 "in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus." In 2022, God might show us off that He might put us on display, like trophies. God wants to put us on display, despite the devil's trap. God brought us out of all sin so He might give us away. God wants to take you, set you up, put you on display, then take you back to the people and give you to them. Since we are all trophies, we become united corporately as a family of God. Social and cultural differences are irrelevant in Jesus as he binds us together as one. There is no reason to be separated from your church family. Vs.14 "For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility," He did it then, and He's doing it now. The Church is no place for separation, camps, clicks, schisms, no more walls, no more loneliness.
Paul concludes with the order of keeping us together.
We Are Covered on Earth and in Heaven; we are the family of God, covered by Christ.
Vs.19-21 "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him, the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord."
Therefore, every family has a head where Christ is the head of the Church universally, and there is also an apostolic head to each Church. The apostolic and prophetic are foundational ministries of the Church. God has given me to you as a gift, an apostolic covering. I don't choose who I am given to as a gift. You get to choose where you worship. People choose pastors; Pastors do not choose people. What you have in me is a father indeed. Rest on that foundation, stay together and stay on display.
The Battle Plan
In Ephesians 3, Paul talks about how the Church is like a mystery. He says it has been hidden from people for a long time but is now being revealed. He urges people to be bold and courageous in sharing the gospel and overcoming principalities.
The Battle plan is the mystery that God is unveiling. Plans require instructions, and most of us don't like to listen to people. When looking at chapter 2, the foundation is laid with the apostles and prophets, which encourages us to get with God's plan to do the Kingdom work to defeat the devil.
Ephesians 3:1 "For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—" Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone who holds together the plan. As a leader of the Church, Paul says he is a prisoner of Christ, not a prisoner of the devil; it is a prisoner of God- abundance, grace, victory, breakthrough, glory. When you follow me into this battle, what falls on me falls on you. I, like Paul, am committed to winning.
As a Church, we should identify what the devil is doing to destroy Unity. The tension is where the triumph is. My spiritual Father, Prophet Lee, told me in my twenties when my life was tough, it was easy to abandon the position but to stand still. He would grab a rubber band and say, "Son, this is where you are; God is pulling you back, and it seems like he is restricting your life. Do you see how this rubber band is shaking De'Andre? It is you right now. Your mind is unstable because you have not settled into what God is trying to do. When you get into this tension, don't run, Son. Because what God is getting ready to do is give you more tension and pull you back further. You may wonder why God is doing this to you, Son, but I have good news for you, De'Andre. When God pulls you back and brings you into tension, the further He pulls you back, the further you will launch."
The Church's purpose is to battle principalities and powers. The Church should not sit back and wait for the enemy's attack. We are to snatch people from harm's way through prayer, preaching, worship, and fellowship. All God's trophies are to be revealed and walk-in holy boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. We should put the devil on notice. We should go into neighbors and territories and say no lack, no poverty, be healed, and we cancel divorce.
We Win together
Paul appeals for Christian Unity in Ephesians 4, citing seven scriptural facts. Among these, he includes the fact that there is one body and one Spirit. There is a calling on your life, and we win when we accept the call.
There is a call to be a disciple, a call to serve, a call to lead servants, and a call to lead leaders. We have to accept this call. Agreements require a signature or acceptance to receive their benefits. Likewise, until we accept who we are in Christ, we live beneath our privilege.
Paul Encourages Christians To Walk Worthy of their Call. Four ways to walk worthy: Humility, Patience, Enduring love, Unity- (One body and one Spirit) of the Spirit.
Vs. 4-6 "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
The Kingdom operates on the principle of oneness: One Body, One Universal Church. The Call of the Church is Unity; We win together when we are an active part of the Kingdom. You can serve all over the world and live in your purpose. Each one of us has been given a different journey. Gifts are uniquely graced to unite the body. Christ apportioned the gifts; custom fit for the role. We are called to keep our faith united.
Like Paul, who prayed for the people of Ephesus in Chapter 3:16-19, I pray this for you. "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
Discussion Starters:
1) How do you know that you are a disciple?
Jesus gives us the answer: Go out and make disciples
Matthew 28:19-20 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
2) Will you be a disciple that makes disciples? Will you sacrifice yourself? Lay down your life for your friends? Will you inconvenience your life to serve in the house of God?
3) What are some ways you deal with tension (that stretch) as you apply the Battle Plan?
4) What steps will you take to unite and be an active part of the Kingdom?