Letters
Eph 3:1-21
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Paul’s Prayer for his Converts
Have you noticed how the more you want something the more likely you are to pray for it? And to pray for it consistently. That means if you want to know what someone is really passionate about, see what they pray for regularly.
Well Paul is about to let us in on the great desire of his heart. He’s about to tell us what it is he prays for the church. He begins, “For this reason ...” Then he stops. He’ll continue his prayer in v14, but first he wants to reinforce what he’s been saying. He wants to make sure that they understand the significance of ‘this reason’. Remember last week we read “you were [once] without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” Once there were two nations: Jews and Gentiles, separated by a dividing wall of hostility. But now an amazing thing has happened. Christ has broken down that wall. Christ “has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace.” (Eph 2:12-13 NRSV) And Paul has been given the ministry of the gospel to bring this change to fruition.
Eph 2:11-22
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- Written by: Ian Thomasen
Complete in Christ: A Single, New Humanity audio
Hello.
Has anyone heard the joke about preachers who use those old-fashioned pulpits? How they stand 'three feet above contradiction'? The joke's almost as sad as what it makes fun of, and because no one here (apart from Louise) has ever heard me preach before, I'm going to try very hard this morning to be like the preachers you're used to at St Thom's and St James'. I'm going to try to be someone who talks with you and not at you. Please let me encourage you to think about what I share today, but also to ask questions after the service if I wasn't as clear as I should've been. You see preaching is a bit different to teaching because people often don't feel comfortable sticking their hands in the air half way through a sermon!
Eph 2:1-10
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
The Saving Grace of God audio (5MB)
Well, the academy awards have been announced. The beautiful people been down the red carpet. And it’s all over. Did you watch it or just catch up on the news the next night? How many of you had seen all the movies that were up for awards? How many of you managed to pick the winners? I know that Di & I had a go at it and maybe got 1 or 2 right but not many. Actually, we haven’t even seen the top movie yet so we didn’t pick that one. But let’s face it, as important as the TV channels try to make it, it won’t actually make a bit of difference to the state of the world who won and who lost.
Still, there’s been lots of excitement and probably a fair bit of disappointment because with something like the Oscars there can be only one winner. The academy awards are meant to choose the actor or the film, etc., with the greatest merit. It’s an award for the best of the best; beyond anyone of us ordinary people simply because we haven’t had the training or the opportunities that you need to get somewhere in Hollywood. But you know there’s an award going around that’s available to anyone, independent of their merit.
In fact that’s a very good thing because the prize I’m talking about is so far beyond our reach that we could never even get close. What’s this prize? It’s life with God. Let’s look at Ephesians ch2.
Eph 1:1-14
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
God’s Eternal Plan audio (5MB)
I hope that those of you who were here last week have been waiting with anticipation to hear more about God’s eternal plan for the world. As we’ll see in a moment it’s an eternal plan because he set it out before the creation of the world, because it’s effective right now and because it reaches into the future to the end of time.
Paul begins his letter with the usual greetings to the recipients, then he launches into a hymn of praise. But in fact it’s more than just praise. It’s more like an overture to a great operatic work. Here we find themes that are repeated later in the letter. Yet, like an overture it has an internal unity that allows us to study it by itself as we’re about to do.
Last week we looked at how Paul repeats the phrase “In Christ” over and over again in this passage. So clearly this is an idea that’s central to the letter. The fact that we’re now in Christ is significant for both our salvation and our sanctification, that is, our being changed to be more Christlike.
Ephesians Overview
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Complete In Christ audio
I wonder how good your theology is. How well thought out are you? Have you worked out the answers to those difficult questions about God that arise from time to time? Or are you like me and still thinking some things through? Of course those who are well educated theologically have probably answered more questions than others but even then there’ll be ideas and concepts that they still wonder about. I remember reading something that Leon Morris once said. He was principal of Ridley College in the 60s and 70s and a world renowned expert on John’s Gospel. He once commented that the more he read of John’s gospel the more he discovered. It was like a gold
mine where the deeper you dug, the more treasure you unearthed.
I mention all of this because we’re about to embark on a study of Ephesians over the next 3 months and the theme of the series is Complete in Christ. And it’s that phrase “in Christ” that caught my attention. So I thought we’d spend some time today thinking about that.
