Sermon Notes
Ephesians 1:1-3 (NASB) “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ…”
The church is: • A public assembly • Gk. “ekklesia” means “called-out” • Essential
The church is not: • A building • A denomination or tradition • Optional
- The Church is the Body of Christ.
Ephesians 1:22, “And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and made Him head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
- The Church is God’s Family.
Ephesians 3:14, “For this reason I bend my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.”
- The Church is a Holy Temple.
Ephesians 3:21, “...in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”
- The Church is the Bride of Christ.
Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”
- The Church is a Supernatural Mystery.
Ephesians 3:9, “… the mystery ... for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things; 10 so that the multifaceted wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.”
CONCLUSION
As Christians, we so often live like spiritual paupers when we are spiritual billionaires, blessed in Christ “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:3). - Ian Hamilton, Ephesians
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