Introduction: An Overview of the New Testament and the Headship of Christ
The sermon begins with a transition into the New Testament within the "Route Sixty-Six" series, providing a panoramic view to establish context for the Book of Ephesians. The pastor highlights a dangerous tendency in some religious organizations: elevating human leaders to a position where they are seen as "untouchable," sometimes placing their authority above the Word of God. The true model for the church is one where Christ is the ultimate Head, not any human leader. This study of Ephesians is designed to open our eyes to God's truth, help us understand who we are in Christ, and how we are to live.
Panoramic View of the New Testament
- The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John): These are the narratives of Jesus Christ’s birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection. Jesus is revealed as the promised Messiah whose earthly ministry spanned roughly three and a half years, during which He invested in, prepared, and entrusted His disciples with the mission.
- The Book of Acts (Acts of the Apostles): This is a historical backbone and transitional book, moving from Old Testament dynamics to New Testament church life, from a focus on the Jewish nation to individuals, and from Jew to Gentile. It connects Paul’s missionary journeys to his letters (Epistles).
- Paul’s Epistles (e.g., Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians): These letters often correspond to events recorded in Acts. The Book of Ephesians, for example, is grounded in the lived experience of the church Paul ministered to in Ephesus for approximately three years.
Primary Events and People: Ephesus in Acts
- Ephesus: A major commercial and cultural center in the Roman Empire, noted for the worship of the goddess Diana (Artemis).
- Paul’s Ministry in Ephesus (Acts 19):
- Paul spent about three years there, encountering disciples of John the Baptist and instructing them in the fullness of the gospel—Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.
- Over this time, a mature, model church was formed with established elders and leaders.
- Picture of the Lord Jesus Christ: In Revelation, Christ is portrayed as sovereign over His churches—holding leaders (“stars”) in His hand and walking among the congregations (“candlesticks”).
The Warning to the Church at Ephesus
The pastor references the message to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:1–7.
- Christ’s Commendation: The church is praised for its works, labor, patience, and doctrinal discernment.
- Revelation 2:2: "I know thy works and thy labor and thy patience… thou canst not bear them which are evil… thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars."
- Revelation 2:6: "But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate." The Nicolaitan system is a hierarchical structure elevating leaders over the laity, which Christ declares He hates.
- Christ’s Correction: Despite its strengths, the church had a major failing.
- Revelation 2:4: "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love."
- Christ’s Counsel:
- Revelation 2:5: "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works… or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."
- Application: This serves as a warning. It is easy to get caught up in gaining knowledge and information to the point where we become critical and lose our love for Jesus. A model church can still drift. Service and discipleship must flow from a deep love for God.
Key Points of Introduction
1. Panoramic View: The New Testament flows from the Gospels to Acts to the Epistles, with Acts as the historical bridge. Acts 19 provides the context for Paul's letter to the Ephesians.
2. Primary Events and People: Paul’s three-year ministry in Ephesus was foundational, transitioning disciples into a fully formed church with established leadership.
3. Picture of the Lord Jesus Christ: Jesus invests in His disciples and, as seen in Revelation, actively evaluates and shepherds His churches. He sees both our works and our hearts.
4. Practical Living: The initial call is to maintain our "first love," practice discernment, reject controlling leadership structures, and embrace consistent, steady discipleship.
Head Over Heart: The Danger of Following Your Heart
The sermon challenges the common cultural advice to "just follow your heart." While passion is often seen as a positive leadership trait, leading with the heart alone—without the guidance of the "head" (the mind, informed by God's Word)—is a short-lived and foolish strategy.
The Bible's Teaching on the Heart
- The pastor references the teaching of Jeremiah 17:9, which states the heart is "deceitfully wicked" and cannot always be trusted because it is the seat of our emotions.
Pastor's Personal Examples
- Leading with the Heart: The pastor shares his own experience of being told he was a leader who led with his heart. He compares this to his former work in concrete, where he had a "strong back and a weak mind"—muscling through tasks without strategic thinking. Christians can fall into a similar trap of just "trying to be a nice person" without engaging their minds with God's truth.
- An Illustration from Fantasy Football:
- Playing with the Heart: Initially, the pastor made fantasy football decisions based on his favorite players and teams (the Bears), not on their actual performance. This emotional investment led to extreme reactions and consistent losses.
- Learning to Play with the Head: After years of losing, he learned to stop making purely emotional choices and started using logic and strategy. This shift from heart-led passion to head-led logic made him far more successful. A leadership test confirmed this shift, showing his decision-making was now more balanced with intellect. The reason for this change? He was "tired of losing."
Application for the Christian Life
As Christians, we are called to "cut the immaturity" of living by feelings alone. Instead of relying on our own understanding or the world's wisdom (Google, AI), we must make a conscious choice to go to our true Head, Jesus Christ. The central question in any situation should be, "Lord, what do You say about this?"
Core Themes and Structure of Ephesians
The pastor explains that while we have the completed Bible today, the early believers received these truths in pieces. The Book of Ephesians powerfully addresses the believer's identity in Christ and unfolds God's eternal plan for the Church.
The Two-Part Structure of Ephesians
1. Part One: Who We Are in Christ (Chapters 1-3) - Our Theology
- This is the doctrine about our position. Before Christ, we are sinners born "in Adam." After receiving Christ, our identity completely changes; we are now "in Christ," a phrase appearing 14 times in the book.
- Application: When feeling low or battling sin, we should turn to these chapters to be reminded of our new identity. We are transformed from "chickens, eating in the dirt, to eagles, made to soar."
2. Part Two: How We Live for Christ (Chapters 4-6) - Our Practice
- This is the practical application of our theology, covering daily life, relationships, and spiritual warfare.
- Application: Theology must come first. Morality alone is not enough to save you. Once our identity is correctly established in Christ, we can then live, practice, and "do battle" for Him effectively.
Most Well-Known Passages
- Salvation by Grace:
- Ephesians 2:8-9: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
- Context: This is foundational. We are not saved by our own efforts or attempts to "clean up our lives." Jesus is the hero; salvation is His gracious gift, received through faith.
- Spiritual Warfare:
- Ephesians 6:11: "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."
- Context: This reminds us that the Christian life is a battle. We have an enemy and cannot be naive; we must be prepared for spiritual conflict.
The Revealed Mystery
- The Key Doctrinal Verse:
- Ephesians 3:3-6: "How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery... That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel."
- Context: In the Old Testament, God's covenant people were primarily the Jews. It was a revolutionary "mystery" that Gentiles (non-Jews) could be fully included in the family of God through faith in Jesus, establishing the Body of Christ.
Key Phrases in Ephesians
Phrase #1: "Heavenly Places"
This phrase appears four times and is central to understanding our position and blessings in Christ.
- Ephesians 1:3: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ."
- Application: Our blessings are spiritual and are found "in Christ." We often mistakenly seek fulfillment in earthly things ("under the sun"), which is vanity. True purpose is found when we look above to our position in Christ.
- Ephesians 2:6: "And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus."
- Application: By faith, we already have a seat in heaven. This should be the source of our counsel and perspective. We should seek advice from other believers who can offer this eternal perspective.
- Ephesians 3:10: "To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God."
- Application: The church—believers on earth—has a mission to make God’s wisdom known even to the spiritual realm. God uses simple people to display His glorious purpose.
- Ephesians 1:20: "Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places."
- Application: This is the anchor. Jesus Himself is seated in heavenly places. Our blessings and true dwelling place are there because He is there.
Phrase #2: "Walk"
The word "walk" appears eight times and guides our daily conduct.
- Our Past Walk:
- Ephesians 2:2: "Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world..."
- Application: Before Christ, we all followed the ways of the world and the devil.
- Our New Walk in Good Works:
- Ephesians 2:10: "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
- Application: Good works don't save us, but they should now characterize our lives, reflecting God's inner change.
- Walk Worthy:
- Ephesians 4:1: "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called."
- Application: Our daily life, even in secret, should be worthy of our calling as Christians.
- Walk Differently:
- Ephesians 4:17: "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind."
- Application: We are to be different from the world and should be willing to be seen as "weird" or "Jesus freaks" for following a different path.
- Walk in Love:
- Ephesians 5:2: "And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us..."
- Application: Our heavenly perspective should give us compassion for the lost. We are to walk in love toward others.
- Walk as Children of Light:
- Ephesians 5:8: "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light."
- Application: In a dark world, we are called to be beacons of light. The pastor shared a story of buying a "jerk" coworker a pop, which shocked the man and opened a door to be a light in his life.
- Walk in Wisdom:
- Ephesians 5:15: "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise."
- Application: To "walk circumspectly" means to walk carefully and wisely. Our wisdom comes from God's Word, and our walk should be totally under the influence of our Head, Jesus Christ.
Summary of Application: Who God Is, Who I Am, and How to Live
Who God Is and How He Responds
- God is the Head: Jesus Christ holds the position of ultimate authority, leadership, and preeminence over all things, especially the Church. This is seen in Ephesians 1:22, Ephesians 4:15, Ephesians 5:23, and Colossians 1:18.
- He Provides His Word: God does not leave us to navigate life with deceptive hearts. He has given us the Bible as the ultimate guide to inform our minds and direct our paths.
- He Honors Diligence and Confronts Drift: God honors doctrinal discernment and steadfastness but also confronts heart drift. He calls for repentance and a return to "first works," warning that a church's witness ("lampstand") can be removed.
- He Transforms Communities: God uses His Word, taught daily, to transform not just individuals but entire communities. As seen in Acts 18-20, Paul's teaching in Ephesus turned the city "upside down" for Christ.
Who I Am in Christ and How I Am to Live
- I Am Part of the Body of Christ: If Christ is the Head, believers are His Body. We are not all "God's children" by default; we are born children of the devil (John 8) but are adopted into God's family through faith.
- I Am Blessed and Rich: We are blessed with all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3). The pastor challenged: "If you are spiritually rich, why do you live like a pauper?"
- I Am Called to Maturity: We must stop living by feelings and emotions alone. It is time to grow up in our faith.
- Submit to the Head: Living as the Body means acting on the commands of the Head. The Bible is the "mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians), and our actions should be a direct response to His Word. We must abandon self-reliance.
- Pastor's Example: The pastor shared from 2 Chronicles 11, where the kingdom of Judah assembled 180,000 soldiers to fight Israel. But when God commanded them not to fight, they obeyed and went home. This is a picture of a people submitting to their Head.
- Maintain First Love: Prioritize personal devotion to Jesus through worship, prayer, Scripture, and obedience.
- Guard Church Health: The church is a body where every believer matters. We must resist Nicolaitan-style systems that create domineering leadership and instead build leaders who are servants.
- Live Under His Leadership: Our mission is to live grounded in His Word. In doing so, we bring the light and truth of God into our culture. As Paul charged the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:32, we are commended to God and "to the word of his grace," which builds us up and protects us.
- Invest Consistently: Growth happens when people "consistently keep showing up." Like Paul’s three-year investment and Jesus’ ministry, steady faithfulness over time produces mature disciples and strong churches.
