EPHESIANS: There is Unity in the Spirit, "one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all!"

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, (Ephesians 3:14-16)

For what reason did Paul bow his knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. (Ephesians 3:13) Paul was writing the church in Ephesus from prison in Rome, but the last time he saw them years earlier, he knelt down and prayed with them all. Then they all wept freely, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. (Acts 20:36-38)

It's was one thing to know that they wouldn't see him anymore, but to know that he would suffer what he was currently going through for doing no more than preaching the gospel of Christ Jesus had to have given them reason to doubt whether they should continue.  When we lose heart or get weak in our faith because we come to the realization that just because we're Christians doesn't mean life will be easier, let's take comfort in the Truth that Paul shared with the church in Ephesus. ...that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:17-19)

We have to learn to understand how much Christ loved us, so that we too can start to love Him, and be rooted and grounded in love.  Like a tree that is rooted and grounded, no matter what kind of wind or storm comes, it does not move.  Our love for Christ has to be that same way.  No matter what happens in our lives, we have to be rooted and grounded in love before the storms of life come, so that we too will not be moved. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (Ephesians 4:1-6)

Once we truly believe that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) Then we will be able to do as Jesus commanded, "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ [Deuteronomy 6:4-5] This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ [Leviticus 19:18] There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)

When we love God and Christ, then we can love one another and keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. How? Because we understand that we who are Christians are united, because there is one body and one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all.  There is only one way to God, the Lord, Christ Jesus.  There is only one faith, ...faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. (Romans 3:22)  There is one baptism, as Jesus said, "...baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,... (Matthew 28:19) 

There is only one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” [Psalm 68:18] (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) (Ephesians 4:7-10)

Remember we've studied previously that God has made sure ALL people who have ever lived, are living, and will live knows that He exists; and from the beginning of the church after Christ ascended back to the Father, He made sure the gospel message spread throughout the world up to today.  But what about everyone who died before Jesus was born then died and resurrected?  When He died, He also first descended.   

Remember when some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish [Jonah 1:17], so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Matthew 12:38-40) When Jesus dies and was laid in the tomb, He rose on the third day; but just as Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. (John 2:1) Jesus answered the prayers of all who believed through faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all... (Romans 4:16)

He descended and led captivity captive.  All those who died of the faith before the promise was manifested in Jesus, Christ Jesus revealed Himself to them on that third day, just as He revealed Himself to the disciples and the women who came to the tomb and the multitude of others, before He ascended. He went to Paradise (Luke 23:43), Abraham's Bosom (Luke 16:23), and ushered all of them who were of the faith into the presence of God. But He didn't ascend without first giviing gifts to men.  And He still gives gifts to men, because the gift are given through being "...baptized with the Holy Spirit ... you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me [Christ]..." (Acts 1:5-8)

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; (Ephesians 4:11-13) Paul explained these gifts to the church in Corinth in more detail. (I Corinthians 12)  But the important lesson to learn is that There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: (I Corinthians 12:4-7)

But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. (I Corinthians 12:11-12) If we profess and call ourselves Christians, we must keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  ...that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:1-16)  AMEN!

EPHESIANS: The Mystery of Salvation Revealed: "that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel!"

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles— if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you,.. (Ephesians 3:1-2) 

When Paul (then known as Saul) was converted by Christ Jesus on the Damascus Road, Christ later told a disciple, Ananias to go to Paul saying, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” (Acts 9:15-16) As we've studied up to this point, Paul indeed is a prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles; for he's writing this letter to the church in Ephesus from prison in Rome, where he's waiting to be seen by Caesar to speak regarding the false charges the Jews have made against him, mainly because the Jews believed, "This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” (Acts 21:28)

What the Jews refused to believe was that the grace of God which was given to Paul was for the Gentiles also.  ...how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. (Ephesians 3:3-7)

God had revealed to the children of Israel what Paul now refers to as the mystery. God spoke through Moses before the children of Israel went into the promised land, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people; for He will avenge the blood of His servants, And render vengeance to His adversaries; He will provide atonement for His land and His people.” (Deuteronomy 32:43) God spoke through the prophet Isaiah and said of Christ Jesus, “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. ... I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, To open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house. I am the Lord, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images. Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.” (Isaiah 42:1, 6-9)

God was very clear that through His Servant, His Elect One, the Gentiles would have the same access to salvation as the children of Israel.  However, the children of Israel problem was that they kept holding on to the old covenant, that if a stranger wanted to be included with them, the stranger had to ...let all his males be circumcised,...; and he shall be as a native of the land. (Exodus 12:48) That's why when the Gentiles started hearing the gospel and receiving the Holy Spirit, the Jews would follow the apostles and disciples and say, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”(Acts 15:1)

The Jews wanted to hold on to the old covenant, but Jesus said, "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." (Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20) For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. ... In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. (Hebrews 8:7-9, 13)

And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. ...not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. (Hebrews 8:15, 25-28)  Oh, what Christ Jesus sacrificed for ALL of us, Jews and Gentiles, by bearing the sins of many, that all who desire may receive salvation!

To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. (Ephesians 3:8-13)

What Paul's life demonstrated to us is that God can change anybody and God can use anybody to lead others to change, by the spreading of the gospel of Christ Jesus.  Paul called himself the least of all the saints, probably because he lived with the guilt of how he persecuted the church.  But he went on to be one of the greatest of all the apostles, because through him, God made sure the message of salvation went to the Gentiles throughout the known world at that time.  Because of the seeds Paul planted, the gospel message is still spreading throughout the entire world today.  Thank God for his grace and the unsearchable riches of Christ towards all of us, if we would just believe!

EPHESIANS: The Blood of Christ Gives All People Access to God the Father; "For through Him we have access by one Spirit to the Father!"

Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— that at that time you 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. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:11-13)

If we still have any doubt that Christ Jesus is the only way to God, these verses should reiterate that fact.  Remember, God required that Abraham and his descendants be circumcised, "... and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me [God] and you [Abraham]." (Genesis 17:11) Well, if a non-Jew wanted to be counted as a part of the commonwealth of Israel, and for example take part in the Passover, "...let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it. One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.” (Exodus 12:48-49)

Not too many people would want to have to be circumcised in order to be accepted by God; But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. No more animal sacrifices needed, no more physical acts of sacrifice needed, just faith in the blood of Christ! The apostles dealt with this conflict regarding the Gentiles when the church started, when certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 15:1) 

Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.” (Acts 15:7-11)

The children of Israel had the covenants of promise, but keeping those covenants didn't save them, a yoke their forefathers nor the disciples were able to bear.  The blood of Christ Jesus, purifying our hearts by faith, and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ saves ALL of us, regardless of whether we are Jew or non-Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised.

For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. (Ephesians 2:14-18) 

If you've heard someone say the Bible doesn't mention the trinity, here is a verse for them.  Through Christ Jesus, through His one body through the cross, we have access by one Spirit to the Father - Father, Son and Holy Spirit!  Christ Jesus has broken down the middle wall of separation, the law of commandments contained in ordinances.  How? By dying on the cross in our place for our sins.  Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’” Having said this, He breathed His last. (Luke 23:44-46; Matthew 27:45-50; Mark 15:33-39)

When Christ Jesus died on the cross, what had once separated us from God was removed; For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.  Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22) AMEN!

EPHESIANS: God's Free Gift to Us Goes Beyond Salvation; "The Father gives to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him!"

Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: (Ephesians 1:15-16)

Paul continued his letter to the church in Ephesus commending them for their faith and love. ...that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. (Ephesians 1:17-21)

What is the benefit in salvation other than receiving eternal life?  All the blessings that God gives us while we're still alive and having to deal with the issues of this world.  He give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.  Now we don't just have knowledge, but we have wisdom and revelation, the ability to make the right choices based on what we know and God revealing to us what's right through His Holy Spirit and His Word. However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ... But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. (I Corinthians 2:6-10)

Not only that, but then God reveals to us the hope of His calling, the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe.  The hope of His calling is the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:7)  That's the main benefit in salvation.  We have hope that this world doesn't have, that after this life is over, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:15)  Therefore we don't fear death, even though we may have some nervousness about how we will die, we know that “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” (I Corinthians 15:54-55)

Our eternal life is secure through faith in Christ Jesus. Now He reveals to us the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.  He's not talking about making us rich by the world's standards; although He can do that if He so choose, as He told the children of Israel, “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth,..." (Deuteronomy 8:18) Remember Jesus said anyone who has given up anything for His name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. (Matthew 19:29) God takes care of the saints if we commit ourselves completely to doing His will.  Our inheritance is not just here, but it's in eternity, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

And He will also demonstrate through us the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe.  Not only will He raise us from our current condition and make us into a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (II Corinthians 5:17) But when this life is over, our hope will be fulfilled and we will receive our reward, because if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:11)

And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:22-23) And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air [the devil], the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. (Ephesians 2:1-3)

All of us are sinners.  All of us have done wrong.  All of us were weak to the temptations of the devil, but thanks be to God for Christ Jesus, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (Hebrews 2:14-15) The devil only has one purpose, to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. (John 10:10) ...the devil... was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. (John 8:44) He wants to keep us from believing God, but if we do, he wants to keep us from living like it.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:4-10)

As we studied previously, God predestined the Way we would be saved, through faith in Christ Jesus.  We were living, but Christ Jesus brought us to life, no fear, no guilt, no regrets! As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.(Psalm 103:12)  We didn't do anything to earn it.  He freely offered it to us, by grace you have been saved through faith, it is the gift of God! AMEN!

EPHESIANS: Predestined Explained; " God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself!"

And he came to Ephesus, and left them there; but he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent, but took leave of them, saying, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing.” And he sailed from Ephesus. (Acts 28:19-21)

And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.” (Acts 19:1-3)

Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Now the men were about twelve in all. (Acts 19:4-7)

And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. (Acts 19:1-10)

The church in Ephesus was one of the churches that Paul help establish.  He spent much time there teaching the gospel of Christ Jesus.  His last visit through Asia, From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. (Acts 20:17) He had prophesied to them, "And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me." (Acts 20:22-23) And God's Spirit never lies, because Paul wrote this letter to the church in Ephesus while he was in prison in Rome, after being falsely accused by the Jews and turned over to the Roman authorities. (Acts 21-28)

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, 

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:1-2)

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, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:3-6)

We've studied predestined and predetermined before.  God did not predetermine who would be saved, but he did predestine the way we would be saved; He chose us in Christ, predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ, and made us accepted in the Beloved, Christ.  Jesus Christ was predestined to be "...the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me [Christ]." (John 14:6) Through our acceptance of the free gift of salvation God offers through faith in Christ Jesus, we all are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. (Ephesians 1:7-10)

In Christ, in Him is the fulfillment of what God predestined.  In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:11-14)

God predestined the Way we would be saved, through Christ Jesus.  He predestined how we would be saved, through hearing the word of truth, believing the word of truth and trusting in Christ.  And God predestined the confirmation we would receive that we are saved, by sealing us with the Holy Spirit of promise, the guarantee of our inheritance.  However, God is Omniscient, knowing everything.  For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. (Romans 8:29-30)

The original Greek word translated "foreknew" means foresee.  God knows who will and who will not accept salvation, but He doesn't predetermine who will.  We all have freewill to "...choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, ..." (Joshua 24:15) He foresaw all of us, and He predestined us to be adopted into His family through His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Once He predestined the Way, He called us.  Remember Jesus told one of the seven churches, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne." (Revelations 3:20-21)

God calls us because Jesus stands at the door of our hearts and knocks. Whoever chooses to open the door will be justified and glorified.  But He's not going to kick the door down and barge in.  So how do we wrap our minds around verses like, And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. (Acts 13:48) Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? (Romans 9:21-24)

The point is even though God foreknew, meaning foresaw everything, He still made everyone anyone, those who would believe and those who wouldn't.  Through those who wouldn't believe, He shows His wrath and to makes His power known.  Through us who would believe, He makes known the riches of His glory.  Remember, God told Moses, “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians,... (Exodus 3:7-8)  “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go." (Exodus 4:21)

Pharaoh's heart was already hardened, that's why God said, “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt,..."; therefore, God hardened his heart, meaning God allowed Him to stay the way he was.  Then God used him, a vessel of wrath prepared for destruction, to demonstrate His mighty power, which He did through all the various plagues and miracles He had Moses perform.  Finally, God delivered the vessels of mercy, the children of Israel; and Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; His chosen captains also drowned in the Red Sea. (Exodus 15:4) Everyone has a choice to make, and everyone has to live with the consequences of their choice for eternity. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelations 3:22)

ACTS: Paul Finally Made it to Rome! Based on His Testimony from Prison, "some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved."

After three months we sailed in an Alexandrian ship whose figurehead was the Twin Brothers, which had wintered at the island. And landing at Syracuse, we stayed three days. (Acts 28:11-12)

From there we circled round and reached Rhegium. And after one day the south wind blew; and the next day we came to Puteoli, where we found brethren, and were invited to stay with them seven days. And so we went toward Rome. And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Three Inns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage. (Acts 28:13-15) Nearly four years later, but Paul finally made it to Rome.  

Now when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard; but Paul was permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him. (Acts 28:16) Why? Remember Festus told King Agrippa, "I found that he had committed nothing deserving of death, and that he himself had appealed to Augustus, I decided to send him. I have nothing certain to write to my lord concerning him. Therefore I have brought him out before you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the examination has taken place I may have something to write. For it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner and not to specify the charges against him.” (Acts 25:25-27) After hearing Paul, King Agrippa and the rest agreed, “This man is doing nothing deserving of death or chains.” ... “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.” (Acts 26:31-32)

And it came to pass after three days that Paul called the leaders of the Jews together. So when they had come together, he said to them: “Men and brethren, though I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans, who, when they had examined me, wanted to let me go, because there was no cause for putting me to death. But when the Jews spoke against it, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, not that I had anything of which to accuse my nation. For this reason therefore I have called for you, to see you and speak with you, because for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.” (Acts 28:17-20)

Paul suffered trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained. (II Timohty 2:9)  God was in control, and He had told Paul, "...for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.” (Acts 23:11)  Even if that required, as Paul would later write, "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand." (II Timothy 4:6)  But before his departure from this world, he had to do as Jesus once testified, "Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49)

So, now he was speaking with the leaders of the Jews. Then they said to him, “We neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren who came reported or spoken any evil of you. But we desire to hear from you what you think; for concerning this sect, we know that it is spoken against everywhere.” So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening. And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved. (Acts 28:21-24)

So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, saying, ‘Go to this people and say: “Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you will see, and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.”’[Isaiah 6:9-10] (Acts 28:25-27) 

“Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves. Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him. (Acts 28:28-31)  What's the one word that caused the disbelieving Jews to depart? Gentiles!

Prejudice is a difficult barrier to tear down.  People often have difficulty letting go of their opinions about others, regardless of that fact that God made ALL men, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,... (Psalm 8:5-6)  When Paul wrote to the church in Rome, he clearly stated, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. (Romans 12:3)  We are to love and share the gospel with all people, for the Lord said, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh." (Jeremiah 32:27)  

Paul remained in prison, permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him, until he was beheaded sometime between 62-67 A.D.  Nero Claudius Caesar was an evil man and held the imperial throne from 54-68 A.D.  Remember during the storm before they were shipwrecked, and angel of the Lord said to Paul, "Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar;" (Acts 27:24) He eventually did go before Nero, and was sentenced to death by beheading.  The books of the Bible don't record when that happened, because the 66 books of the Bible strictly deal with the coming of Christ, the life of Christ, the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, and the spreading of the gospel of Christ Jesus.

From Rome, Paul would write letters to the churches in Ephesus, Philippi, Colossi; letters to Philemon, Timothy, Titus; and it is widely believed he wrote the letter to the Hebrews. James wrote his letter, Peter wrote his letters, Luke wrote Acts, Peter dictated the gospel Mark wrote, Jude wrote his letter; John wrote his gospel and letters and the book of Revelations.  We will continue our study by studying each letter in the chronological order it was written...

ACTS: God is In Control of the Storm; "'We must run aground on a certain island', for God our Savior desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth!"

When it was day, they did not recognize the land; but they observed a bay with a beach, onto which they planned to run the ship if possible. And they let go the anchors and left them in the sea, meanwhile loosing the rudder ropes; and they hoisted the mainsail to the wind and made for shore. But striking a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern was being broken up by the violence of the waves. (Acts 27:39-41)

"Paul's Shipwreck" by Ludolf Backhuysen

And the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim away and escape. But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from their purpose, and commanded that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land, and the rest, some on boards and some on parts of the ship. And so it was that they all escaped safely to land. (Acts 27:42-44)

Paul had told the soldiers when they were in the midst of the storm, "I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. However, we must run aground on a certain island.” (Acts 27:22-26)

As they were nearing land, Then, fearing lest we should run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern, and prayed for day to come. And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, when they had let down the skiff into the sea, under pretense of putting out anchors from the prow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 27:29-31) God had fulfilled His Word just as He had spoken, all two hundred and seventy-six persons on the ship (Acts 27:37) had been saved.

Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta. And the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold. (Acts 28:1-2)  A lot of what Jesus prophesied to the disciples was fulfilled by Paul, and especially during this voyage to Rome.  And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16:15-16)

First, Jesus' commandment to preach the gospel to every creature was fulfilled, because Paul and many other apostles and disciples had traveled throughout the known world spreading the gospel.  The gospel message started over 6,000 years ago when God spoke to Satan, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:9-24); and the gospel message has gone throughout the whole world since, even across waters to remote islands and large countries today.  

How? Because God made sure it did!  This storm and shipwreck that Paul and all 276 aboard that ship survived was a part of God's Divine Plan.  God wanted Paul to witness to those on board and demonstrate His power, as a testimony that He was the only True God.  He also wanted them to run aground on a certain island, so that the people there would hear the gospel also, for God our Savior... desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (I Timothy 2:3-4) So, there they were with the natives, who were showing them unusual kindness.

But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.” But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god. (Acts 28:3-6)  Jesus prophecy fulfilled when He said, "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them;..." (Mark 16:17-18)

In that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and entertained us courteously for three days. And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him. So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed. They also honored us in many ways; and when we departed, they provided such things as were necessary. (Acts 28:7-10) ...including a ship, obviously. Jesus prophecy completed when He said, "...they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:18)

GOD IS AWESOME, and His Word never fails!  Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts. (Psalm 145:3-4) That's how the gospel of Christ Jesus spreads throughout the whole world.  This isn't anything new that we modern people have to figure out how to get the message to the most remote parts of the world.  God took care of that for the last 6,000 years.  We just need to make sure we continue in this generation by praising His works to the next generation!