Most people think of themselves as basically good people who need a little improvement. We may admit that we have some bad habits, some weaknesses, some things we need to work on. So we imagine Christianity as God helping us become a better version of ourselves.
But that is not how the Bible describes our condition apart from Christ. Paul doesn’t say we were spiritually sick and needed medicine. He doesn’t say we were spiritually weak and needed strength. He says we were dead and needed life. The gospel is not about self-improvement. It is about resurrection.
That means none of us can boast. If there has been any real transformation in our lives, the glory belongs to God. We were dead, but God made us alive, enslaved to sin, but God saved us by grace. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he taught believers how God had transformed their lives from death to life in Christ Jesus.
27 Sept 2026
Our Enlightenment in Christ
Last week, we looked at Paul’s greeting and his opening praise to God for the blessings believers have in Christ. Now this week, we’ll be looking at Ephesians 1:15-23 and Paul’s prayer that believers would be enlightened to know the reality that these blessings are already theirs in Christ Jesus.
Many Christians live as though we are spiritually impoverished because we don't understand the riches that already belong to us in Christ. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he prayed that God would enlighten the eyes of their hearts so that they might know what belonged to them in Christ.
20 Sept 2026
Our Blessings in Christ
Every one of us has to answer one of the most basic questions of life: “Who am I?” And how we answer that question shapes almost everything else about us.
Again and again in these opening verses we encounter the words: “in Christ.” Paul wants believers to understand that our deepest identity is not something we achieve through our performance, inherit from our family, or discover by searching our feelings. Our identity is something we receive by grace because of our union with Jesus Christ.
In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he opens up his letter by praising God that He has given every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places to believers in Christ. We can praise God for the spiritual blessings He has given us in Christ.
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