EPHESIANS...

Jenny was told, "Your behavior is not your problem. It is your beliefs I am interested in. You are not a failure. You are a child of God, no better and no worse than any other person. I want you to start believing it, because it is the Truth!"

And that would be my (Mrs. C's) conversation and desire for each of the class members! Too often we try to change our behavior without changing our beliefs. It does not work that way...we must change our beliefts before we can make significant changes in our behavior. WRONG BEHAVIOR (ACTIONS) ALWAYS COME FROM WRONG BELIEFS! Nothing will change your behavior more than a true knowledge of God and who you are as His child.

"In Him [Christ] you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority" Col. 2:10. past tense: We HAVE BEEN made complete! When? At the deth, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.

Dig into the wonderful Truth of Ephesians 1 and 2! It is like going mining for gold only to discover that Someone has placed a huge container of gold at the front door...you only take the nuggets out and realize, "These are mine!" - personally, individually, this is who I am!

God has done a great work in us when we are born again. We still have the body of a human being, but we have been given the heart of the Spirit. He empowers us to use the gifts God has given to carry out the assignments to which we have been called.

Have you read and studied the flyer Mrs. C. gave to the class called "Foreknowledge, Predestination, and Election by Dr. Mark G. Cambron? It will give you a good balance and better understanding as you take your nuggets out from the container (Ephesians) of gold (riches) - you will begin to form a more accurate picture of who you are IN CHRIST. Without that picture, you will behave as if you are still in the same condition as you were before salvation.

The Lord's work in the born again:
1. He loved us
2. He quickened us
3. He exalted us 2:6
4. He keeps us 2:7-9
We are His workmanship v. 10

Christ is equipping us for our walk and our work here on earth. 2 special tools:
1. His Word I Thess. 2:13
2. Prayer 3:20-21
3. Suffering I Peter 4:11-14

We are NOT saved by good works, but are saved unto good works. We are not saved by faith plus good works, but by faith that works...a changed life.

"So let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father Which is in heaven. Matt 5:16 (II Cor. 9:8, II Tim. 3:17]

In the first 10 verses of Chp. 2, Paul has discussed the salvation of sinner in general, now he turns his attention to the work of Christ for Gentiles in particular.

Jesus reconciled sinners and God ... both Jews and Gentiles need to be reconciled to God. It was not a question of the Gentile becoming a Jew to become a Christian, but the Jew admitting he was a sinner like the Gentile. A God of LOVE wants to reconcile the sinner to Himself, but a God of holiness must see to it that sin is judged. God solved the problem by sending His Son to the Sacrifice for our sins, thereby revealing His love and meeting the demand of His righteousness.

Contrast of the OLD and the NEW:
without Christ ----- IN Christ
aliens ------------- a holy nation (I Peter 2:9
strangers ---------- no more strangers
no hope ----------- called in one hope
without God 2:12 ---- The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ 1:3

Two practical applications:
1. Have you personally exerienced the grace of God? Are you spiritually alive or distant from God?
2. If you are a true believer in Christ, are you hleping others to trust Him? Do you "walk in newness of life?" Are you sharing the Good News?

Jesus died to make reconciliation possible. You and I must live to make the message personal ... II Cor. 5:18

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace" Isa. 52:7 -- to you have beautiful feet?