Title: Ephesians 01:1-23 Only in Christ
Content Title: Only in Christ
Text: Ephesians 1:1-23
There is an old saying, 'Tigers die and leave their skins, but people die and leave their names'.
This means that in life, doing something worthwhile and dying is a human being.
It is already disappearing from all around us.
Each household had the nameplate of the head of the household on the front door.
But now, as multi-family houses are concentrated, they are disappearing.
The disappearance of the nameplate is a serious social problem.
If you read the research reports of psychologists, they say that it is the cause of the weakening of humanity.
Because the real-name family system does not work, it is rude and arbitrary living with neighbors.
It is very important for a person to live like a human being.
There was an old man who jumped from the 5th floor with a written complaint accusing his daughter-in-law of abuse.
The daughter-in-law who is struggling in front of this incident saying it is unfair, and the son who is in a hurry to make excuses by taking sides with the daughter-in-law!
Seeing such a reality, the elderly tremble in bitterness and anger!
These stories are not stories from distant towns, but from our neighborhoods.
Is this a problem that should be covered only with the symptoms of the last days as the Lord prophesied?
Is this an entirely irresolvable problem?
Dear saints,
In Mark 7, we see that the Pharisees gave their parents things that they would not want
There were many people who did not honor their parents, saying that they were 'gorban', that is, they were dedicated to God.
Jesus pointed this out and rebuked him because his heart was evil.
Maybe some of you are doing church work and using this as an excuse
Is there anyone who causes such alienation and pain to their parents?
It is a sin to neglect and neglect the family after doing choir, teacher, and district work.
A true worker is a person who knows how to be faithful even in the smallest of things.
To do that you have to be really diligent and hard working.
That's the cross that belongs to you, and you have to deny yourself because it's hard to walk on that road.
You can only receive the filling of the Holy Spirit.
Let's go back to today's text and look at Chapter 1.
Just as Jesus Christ is divided into BC and AD, before and after A.D.
Another turning point is presented in verses 12 and 13 of the text.
The first is the transition from the work of Jesus Christ to the work of the Holy Spirit,
The second is to change from the concept of 'we' filled with the Holy Spirit to 'you' who should be filled with the Holy Spirit.
The church should not be a place where people work and claim, but a meeting where the Holy Spirit works.
Therefore, the individual claim of 'I' must be changed to the collective faith of 'we'.
When we are filled with the Holy Spirit like this, it is not the end.
We need to be concerned about those who need to be saved who live independently of the Holy Spirit.
We need to find the object of 'you' in the strong sense of companionship between us.
No matter how good the water is, if there is no movement and it is just stagnant, it will rot in no time.
The church community should not think only of us.
As in verse 13, we must take an active interest in 'you'.
In order to become a light for 'you', the community called 'we' must first be refined.
Text 13-14 The word 'in him' refers to 'in Christ' and 'en Christu'.
There are three things that 'we' must gain in Jesus today.
The first step is to listen to the word of truth (the gospel of salvation).
“Therefore faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).
Then, what kind of attitude should a person who listens to the Word have?
Do you want to be full of faith like David standing before Goliath?
Do you want to have strong faith that can overcome the high waves of a really rough world?
to do that? If you listen carefully to God's word, you will not make a mistake.
How were the Bereas who received Paul's evangelism and sermons?
I received the word with earnest heart and searched the Bible every day to find out whether it was true or not.
Dear saints,
A can with a full stomach makes no sound from the inside even if it shakes violently outside.
However, the more the can is rolled, the more it sounds inside and out.
"Woodang tang tang~~~~ clang..."
A student who studies well is a student who is very faithful in class.
A person who is good at physical education is one who sweats during practice and obeys the coach's orders.
A competent soldier is one who follows the teachings of his teaching assistant and trains lions when he dies.
Saints!
There are people who have the ability to move mountains and have no fruit even if they fast for 40 days.
Why?
The fruit in faith is not something I bear.
Even if there is a person who plowed the field and sowed it, a person who fertilizes it, and someone who took care of it and took care of it.
Because it is only God's role to grow and bear fruit.
In John 15, Jesus speaks of this through the parable of the vine.
Only if we stick to the Lord well, we will automatically bear fruit.
But apart from the Lord, nothing can be made.
Apart from the Lord, we are just helpless in the face of drought, pests and winds.
Therefore, I hope that you will live a blessed life by living your life of faith with all your heart to please the Lord.
The second stage is the stage of putting the Word into practice.
Dear Pacific Church members!
What should I do to become a capable saint who is healthy both physically and mentally and has fun in life?
As the apostle James said, he is not one who hears and forgets, but one who immediately puts into practice
To forget means not to keep it in mind,
It means that you have a bad habit in your usual attitude.
Therefore, in order to become a truly happy believer, you must quickly give up bad habits.
And we must accept the story we hear with Amen! and obey immediately.
Let's read Hebrews 4:2 together.
According to the book of Hebrews, there were some among the church members who broke the Sabbath on the Sabbath day.
But they also heard the same words as the apostles,
It is that they have committed such a mistake and have become the object of God's wrath.
Why did they commit such a sin?
They point out that it was because they listened carelessly and did not obey in faith.
Therefore, it is really important to try to put the Word into practice immediately.
Students who do well in their studies are those who come home and review what they have learned that day.
The more you review, the better your abilities will grow.
If you want to lead a gracious life of faith, you must do well in review.
Like Bereans, you should go home, read the Bible, and chew the cud from the sermon.
No matter how delicious and good food you eat, if you don't digest it, it won't do you any good.
The third step is to be sure that you are sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise.
If you hear and believe in the words listed above, He will give you the evidence of becoming His children.
And he said that the Holy Spirit, who is God, assures us that we will be saved.
Guarantee is a commercial term 'arabon' in the original language, and the person who buys the product
It means a collateral that is left until the full price of the goods is paid.
“No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3).
That is why he sent the Holy Spirit to give me the heart to believe and follow this fact.
If you listen carefully to the word of God and put it into practice, you will be sure of being sealed with the Holy Spirit.
If so, what are the consequences?
1. Let them hear good news (verse 15).
In Acts 19, the members of the church in Ephesus suffered from the turmoil and persecution of the crowds who worshiped the goddess Artemis, but they grew up because of it.
And the members will be more firmly united in faith and love each other.
Hearing this news, Paul is grateful and gives his prayers even more thanks.
2. To make God known (verse 17)
There are many ways to know God.
The first is through the spirit of wisdom and revelation.
Wisdom in the Bible is not the general understanding or judgment of things.
Wisdom in the Bible refers to the ability to comprehend what God reveals.
This is possible by the grace of the Holy Spirit, in Augustine's words, spiritual illumination, illumination of light.
Humans who did not know God came to worship nature while seeing the mysterious phenomena of nature.
But as science advanced, their mysteries were uncovered one by one.
Atheism, which denies God, and the creation of a God to satisfy their needs arose.
Then, God gave the gospel and clearly revealed God.
That is Jesus, who came to this earth 2000 years ago.
That is the gospel, the most good news.
The revelation that introduces this gospel can only be known by receiving the whole Spirit from God (1 Corinthians 2:12).
3. He opens the eyes of the heart (18-19)
The physical eyes can be seen better with laser surgery or wearing glasses.
But the mind's eye cannot solve it that way.
How can I open my heart's eyes?
What did Jesus say in Matthew 7:5?
"First remove the log from your own eye, and then you will see clearly and remove the speck from your brother's eye."
Originally, this saying was a proverb passed down among the Arabs of the Mediterranean region.
A beam (dokon) is a large log that supports a house.
'Tee' means something like a thorn or piece of wood.
This is the act of a person without moral judgment pointing out other people's mistakes according to their own judgment,
Or a person who is generous with himself and cold-hearted toward others,
A person who thinks that his faith is perfect, but does not know that he is the object of further criticism.
And we must open our eyes to the Word and sacrifice.
In Luke 24:30 and below, there are the disciples going down to Emmaus.
What warmed their hearts?
It was the word of the Lord that made me understand clearly.
If you listen to the Word right away, your spiritual eyes will be opened.
This inner urge opened my eyes and saw the Lord when we shared food that night.
Dear Pacific Saints!
The church is a community of God that must be governed by the power of God's love, not by humans.
Because he is above all power and power, and above every name, now and in the future!
This is because the Church is where the Lord Almighty, who created and rules the heavens and the earth, resides.
However, if this church fails to play its role as a church, a pathological phenomenon occurs in the world.
The church is formed by the gathering of individuals called me.
Each person's spiritual condition is very important in determining the flow and power of the church.
Therefore, let us serve the family, the church, and the world wisely in Christ. Hallelujah