Ephesians Reading

Psalm 119, and the next section that we're in begins in verse 65, you can remain seated. I'm just going to read 66, 67, 68. Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments. Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word.

You are good and do good. Teach me your statutes. Now read that as an introduction. This is not the sermon tonight. In fact, there's not a sermon tonight. Hold that for just a moment. I want to let you know, or I want to remind you really, that in Psalm 119, it's in the Bible, the longest chapter in the Bible, because of the psalmist's love for the word.

This is inspired, of course, breathed out by the Holy Spirit. The longest chapter in the Bible, as we've talked about before, is a love letter, as Kevin DeYoung says, to the Bible, because the psalmist reveres and loves the word of God.

And I want us to here to love the word of God. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy. By the way, where was Timothy at when Paul wrote this letter? He was at the church at Ephesus. And in 1 Timothy chapter 4, starting in verse 11, Paul says to Timothy, Command and teach these things.

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct and love and faith and purity. Then listen to verse 13. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.

Now, I believe that we are doing a fine job, I hope, particularly on Sunday mornings, devoting ourselves to the public reading of Scripture. It's very difficult and very sad to be in a place where sometimes in church, maybe the Bible's not read a lot, right?

Maybe just a few verses for the sermon and that's it. So I do think that we do a good job at devoting ourselves to the public reading of Scripture. Now, why do we do this? Well, first of all, Paul commands it here.

But another thing is to remember that the public reading of Scripture is what we call, it falls under the category of a means of grace. In other words, God shapes and fashions and strengthens and convicts and encourages His people simply by the Word of God publicly read.

The Bible is meant to be publicly read. In fact, you guys can help me out with this, but I've entertained some thoughts. I've seen other towns do it. I've entertained some thoughts of just having prolonged periods of Scripture reading, even just like in our courthouse square or something like that, just setting something up, even involving other churches and just having a long time where we do nothing but we just read the Scriptures or something.

I've had those thoughts. But let me say this, for sure in the church, we need to be a church that gives itself to the public reading of Scripture. So we're going to do that tonight. That's going to be our time tonight.

And I thought it would be a great way to give our day concluding Ephesians. So what we're going to do tonight is we're going to read through this letter to Ephesians without commentary, no commentary, just going to read it.

So in AD 62, in or about AD 62, this letter arrives on the doorstep, if you will, of the church at Ephesus by a man named Tychicus. And Tychicus would have read this to the church. And so we're going to be like that church 2 ,000 years ago, almost 2 ,000 years ago.

And we're just going to listen to the Scripture. So I hope that you turn in your Bibles to Ephesians. Pastor Jacob is going to come forward. He's going to help me. Plus, an added benefit is we can use these tall chairs.

I have no idea why these chairs are here. And we never use them, but tonight we're going to use them. So that's an added though small bonus. And what we're going to do is Pastor Jacob and myself are going to alternate chapters.

So as we read, what are you doing? As we read, I hope you're following along. Hope you're listening. Hope you're thinking. Obviously, no one in here, except for me, probably. I'm probably the only person, and that's just because I preached them.

I believe I'm the only person that was here for every one of the 143 sermons in Ephesians. So at some point or another, you missed, you were sick, you were gone, you came late, whatever the case may be.

So you can't think back through all those sermons that you heard. But you can think through the letter as a whole and how it applies to us and how great that this letter has been to our church and how God has used it in our own hearts.

I know I have personally grown from this as a pastor and as a Christian, as a husband, as a father. So I'm going to pray. And then tonight, we're going to devote ourselves to the public reading of Scripture.

Father, we thank you for this means of grace. We thank you for the Bible. We thank you that you have given us your word in a language today that we can understand. And I pray that tonight you'd speak to us and we'd remember that this is how you speak to us.

You speak to your people through your word. So may we be a people who, by the work of the Spirit, have ears to hear. Help us to listen tonight to what your Bible teaches us and help us to be a church that is always ready to worship you because of what your word says.

And we're ready to adjust our lives because of what your word says. Give us that grace tonight as we prepare to take the Lord's Supper. We pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. Here we go. Ephesians chapter 1.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

In love, he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the beloved. In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

In him, we have obtained an inheritance having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

In him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might, that 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 rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.

And he put all things under his feet and gave him his head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Chapter 2.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved, and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

So in the coming ages, he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of your own doing, it is a gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands, remember that you were at the time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off, have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.

By abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

And he came and preached peace to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near. For through them we have both access and one spirit to the Father, so that then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles, assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation as I have written briefly, when you read this you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men and other generations, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.

This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power.

To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things.

So that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.

Amen.

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace.

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, When he ascended on high, he led a host of captives and he gave gifts to men. In saying he ascended, what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?

He who has descended is the one who has also ascended far above all the heavens that he might feel all things. And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful schemes.

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the whole body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Now this I say in testifying the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of heart.

They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity, but that is not the way you learned Christ. Assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down in your anger and give no opportunity to the devil.

Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as it fits the occasion that it may give grace to those who hear.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God and Christ forgave you.

Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you as is proper among saints.

Let there be no filthiness, nor foolish talk, nor crude joking which are out of place, but instead, let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure or who is covetous, that is, an idolater, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not become partners with them. For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.

Walk as children of light, for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true. And try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead, expose them.

For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible. For anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says, Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.

Look carefully, then, how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, his body and is himself its Savior.

Now, as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife, loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.

Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound. And I'm saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Children, obey your parents and the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother. This is the first commandment with a promise, that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart as you would Christ, not by way of eye service as people pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a goodwill as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.

Masters, do the same to them and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their master and yours is in heaven and that there is no partiality with him. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

Put on the whole armor of God that you might be able to stand against the schemes of the devil, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers and against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.

Praying at all times in the spirit with all prayer and supplication to that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints and also for me and that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains that I may declare it boldly as I ought to speak so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing.

Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. I have sent him to you for this purpose that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts. Peace be to the brothers in love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.

Let us pray.

Father, we thank you tonight for your word. Lord, we are thankful, Lord, for this book that you have written to the Church at Ephesus. Lord, what a wonderful time it has been as we have studied this book, as Pastor Quatro has preached through it.

Lord, none of us in here were here for every single sermon except for Pastor Quatro. Lord, how encouraging, how convicting, and how edifying the preaching of this book has been. Lord, we thank you for this word.

We thank you for, Lord, everything in it. Lord, it is rich in doctrine. Lord, we think of chapter 2 where we have the Gospel presented so plainly. Think of chapter 1 and chapter 3 where we see Paul and his heart and his care for this church as he prays for these believers.

Lord, I pray that we would take what we have learned in this book and that, Lord, we would apply it. Lord, for it is rich in application. Lord, and I pray as we move on to the next book that Pastor Quatro will preach through, I pray that you would bless his preaching.

Lord, I pray that you would continue to bless the rest of our time here tonight as we partake of the Lord's table. Lord, I pray that we would all examine ourselves, Lord, as we remember your broken body, your shed blood.

Christ, we thank you. Father, we thank you for sending your Son. It is in His name that we pray.