An Introduction

And if you would open up in your Bibles to the book of Ephesians, chapter 1. Ephesians, chapter 1. I debated a little bit on where to go next. I actually had considered doing a marriage study. But the more that I got to looking at the book of Ephesians, all of the things that I was wanting to cover in marriage and family, things are actually covered in the book of Ephesians,

if I'll just keep going through the word. So that's what I decided to do, is to just keep going through the word. And so, we're going to look at the first couple of verses this morning. As a matter of fact, the title of our message this morning is simply, An Introduction. And so, verses 1 and 2 of Ephesians say this. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

to the saints who are at Ephesus, who are faithful in Christ Jesus, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, in those first couple of verses, there's three things that I want you to see. We're going to look at the writer. We're going to look at the recipient. And then we're going to look at the greeting. We're introduced, first of all, to the writer, Paul, an apostle of Christ,

of Christ Jesus by the will of God. Now, in our last study in the book of Galatians, I spent a good amount of time talking about who Paul the apostle was. So I won't spend an incredible amount of time talking about Paul. However, I don't want to take for granted that there were some people that were not here on that very first study. So I want to spend just a moment talking to you about Paul the apostle.

Paul the apostle became an apostle a little bit later in life. It was after Jesus had already ascended, and the disciples, meaning the twelve, had begun preaching the gospel and had really been spreading the truth of Jesus Christ throughout Jerusalem. And there was a young Pharisee. And if you don't know what a Pharisee is, a Pharisee was a religious, a conservative religious leader of the day that believed wholeheartedly in Judaism, but did not believe in Jesus.

Did not believe in Jesus. Did not believe that Jesus actually was the Messiah. And so as a young Pharisee, he opposed this gospel message because he opposed Jesus, and he did so very violently. As a matter of fact, he arrested, imprisoned, and sometimes saw to the death of Christians because he did not believe in their message. Well, one day he was on his way north of town to go to another place,

to go to Damascus, where he would come upon, other Christians that he might be able to arrest and bring back to Jerusalem. And while he was on his way, the Lord broke him. As a matter of fact, he got knocked down. The bright light shone, and he was blinded by the light. No pun intended there. And as he was blinded by that light, a voice came out of heaven and said,

Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, Lord, who are you? He said, I'm Jesus, the one whom you're persecuting. Isn't it hard for you? Aren't you tired of fighting? So Paul, at that point in time, said, what would you want me to do? And he told him to go into town, and there would be someone that would show up that would tell him what to do. And sure enough, that's what happened.

Someone showed up, preached the gospel to him, prayed for him, and great scales fell off of his eyes. And when he began to be able to see physically, he also began to be able to see spiritually. And when he did so, he took all of the knowledge of the Old Testament that he had, and he became the great man of God. And he became the great man of God. He became the greatest preacher of the gospel that the world had ever seen,

definitely at that point in time, if not maybe of all time. By no stretch of the imagination, a perfect man, but definitely a faithful man. And so he went from preacher, or went from persecutor to preacher. He describes himself as an apostle. An apostle is literally a sent-out one. Now, Paul as an apostle was unique from anyone who might call themselves an apostle today.

As a matter of fact, Paul, along with the other 12, were apostles, and they had the commission from Jesus Christ to set the doctrine for the early church. There are many today who call themselves apostles, and they try also to set doctrine, but they don't have the same authority that Paul the apostle, as well as the other 12 had. But he was a sent-out one. And the third thing that we see is that he was an apostle by the will of God.

Now, I always find that to be interesting that Paul includes that phrase, any time he refers to himself as an apostle. And it's important for a couple of reasons. It's important, first of all, because it's not a position he put himself into. It's not a position he put himself into so that he could receive all of the praise from people, and so that he could have all of that glory.

After all, if you know very much about Paul and his life, and if you don't, you should read the book of Acts. If you know very much about Paul and his life, glory, accolades, and the desire to be in front is not exactly what went along with Paul's life. Actually, what went along with Paul's life was personal. Insecutions, and beatings, and imprisonments, and one time, even death.

And he was brought back to life from death. That's why he says, I'm an apostle by the will of God. But there's also something along with that statement that's an interesting point for all of us. Because you all, as believers in Jesus Christ, are something by the will of God. God has called each of you to something in your life. I always like to point this out, that once you become a believer in Jesus Christ,

everyone is in the ministry. Everyone who is a Christian is in the ministry. Some of us get paid for that ministry. Some of us are in specific leadership positions in that ministry. But make no bones about it, everybody that's a believer in Jesus Christ is in the ministry. Sometimes that ministry will be in teaching sort of positions. Sometimes that ministry will be in evangelistic sort of positions.

But oftentimes, that ministry is in service positions. Perhaps you're a believer in Jesus Christ, and you're in the ministry. Perhaps you're the one that will clean the toilets here at the church. Perhaps you're the one who will vacuum the carpets here at the church. Perhaps you're the one who will help take care of the kids here at the church. Which, by the way, is an amazing ministry to be involved in.

And as a sidebar, I think is the most important ministry that we have in this church. Is caring for those kids and raising up the next generation of young people. Raising up the next generation of leaders in the church. Some of you will fulfill a ministry. Some of you will fulfill a ministry of mowing your neighbor's yard. Some of you will fulfill a ministry of simply just loving the people that are around you.

Some of you will fulfill a ministry of reading the Bible to someone who isn't able to read it for themselves. Whatever it is, whatever God has called you to do, determine what that is that God is calling you to do, and then do it. Because you're doing it at that point in time by the will of God. Many of us have struggled to figure out what God's will is in our life.

As I've mentioned, I've worked with young people for a very long time. And once young people start hitting the age of about 16, 17, 18 years old, they all have the exact same question. Ryan, I don't know what God's will is for my life in the future. And that means two things. Number one, how am I going to make money? Number two, who am I going to be married to?

And I always tell them, you just start doing things and let God direct you. He will close the doors that need to be closed. He will open the doors that need to be opened. You make yourself sensitive to the Holy Spirit. You make yourself sensitive to God. And start acting in the things that you do. The things that God calls for you to do. Sometimes God's laying things on your heart.

And it's time for you to step out into faith and do it. And you're like, oh no, it's going to be really hard. I don't think I should do that. Listen, just do it. I was just talking about this at the conference yesterday. We were in the book of Acts, in those first six chapters of the book of Acts. And I was tasked to teach on Acts chapter 3. And Acts chapter 3 is when Peter and John are on their way to the temple.

And as they go into the temple to pray, there's a guy outside who is begging. And as he's begging, Peter and John say, hey listen, I don't have any cash on me. But you know what I do have? I have the power of Jesus Christ flowing through me. So you know what? Stand up and walk. You know why they were able to do that? Because they were sensitive to the Holy Spirit and they took a step of faith.

They stepped out into an area of ministry that might have been mildly uncomfortable to them, but they did it. Because they were doing what they were doing by the will of God. And brothers and sisters, it's time that you start asking, Lord, what do you want me to do to minister? What do you want me to do? What is your will for my life? And then start taking steps of faith.

Listen, if you take a step of faith and it was wrong, God will close the door. But if you take a step of faith and it's right, He will open that door and you can run headlong through it. And it will be the most rewarding thing you've ever done in your life. Paul says, I'm an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. You be who God has called you to be by the will of God.

Well, there's one other thing that's not given to us in this verse, but it's going to be interesting for us to pay attention to. The book of Ephesians is what's referred to as one of the prison epistles. Meaning that when Paul wrote this epistle, he was actually in prison. At the end of the book of Acts, Paul is falsely accused of some things in Jerusalem. Actually, right after he leaves Ephesus, he's falsely accused of some things.

And so he appeals to Caesar. And as he appeals to Caesar, he is taken to Rome. And while he's in Rome, he is basically under house arrest in a home, chained always 24 hours a day to a Roman guard. And it was in this place of being imprisoned and chained to a Roman guard that Paul is going to pen the book of Ephesians. Now that's an important thing for us to pay attention to

because the theme of the book of Ephesians is our riches in Christ. You see why that's mildly ironic that Paul wrote this from prison? It's because while he is chained to a Roman soldier, he is writing about the riches that we have in Christ. While he is chained to a Roman soldier, and in prison, he is going to pray that they will fully understand the love of Jesus Christ.

While he is chained to a Roman soldier, he is going to pray that they will fully understand what it is to be free in Christ. While he is chained to a Roman prisoner or to a Roman soldier, he is going to write about the middle wall of separation being broken down because we who are dead have been made alive in Christ. Isn't that kind of amazing? Because listen, it's not about your circumstances.

It's about your perspective. And if your perspective is in Christ, if your perspective is on the truth of who you are in Christ, then your circumstances start meaning much less to you because whatever state you're in, you can learn to be content. Well, now we come to the next part, and he's going to talk to us. We're going to learn about the recipients. Last half of verse 1 says this,

to the saints who are at Ephesus, who are faithful in Christ Jesus. Now, here's what you have to know about every single epistle. Epistles that are titled at least two cities. You can usually find their history in the book of Acts. So, if you are reading in the Bible and you come across an epistle, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians,

1 and 2 Thessalonians, then you should think to yourself, I wonder if those show up in the book of Acts, because I bet that will help me understand that church so that I understand why Paul is writing to them. So, you should then go to the book of Acts and read through it and see if you can find that church within the book of Acts, because you can learn a little bit of history about it. That's called inductively studying the Bible, where you are going to now allow the Bible to interpret the Bible. And by the way, as a sidebar, I hope that each of you brings your own Bible to church every Sunday.

Now, I know some of y'all use your phone. I don't get it. I can't stay focused when I use my phone as a Bible because the Gram pops up or the Facebook pops up or the Weather Channel pops up. Can I be honest and say how old I am? Sometimes the things that the Weather Channel pops up with, I'm like, ooh, that's fascinating. I'd like to read more about that, right?

And you know, usually when that happens to me, if I'm reading something spiritual on my phone, it's like all of the phone creators are like, he's reading something spiritual, sent him something stupid. Polar bears in Alaska like to drink, Coke, what? I need to read more about that, right? That's why I can't use my phone as a Bible because I'm ADHD and it's just way too much for me.

You should bring a Bible. If you don't own a Bible, then you should go buy a Bible. As a matter of fact, there's a handful of study Bibles I'm going to recommend to you right now. You should either buy a Ryrie Study Bible, you should buy a Schofield Study Bible, you should buy a Thompson Chain Reference Study Bible, or you should buy a Bible called the Open Bible.

Or if you're like me, you should buy them all in sweet leather-bound covers because you can get them in some amazing premium leathers right now. They're a little pricey, but listen, it's an investment that's worth it. But you should have your own Bible because you should take notes in your own Bible so that when you come back through it, you go, oh, I remember him talking about that. That's what that word means.

Oh, this is where else I can find this in Scripture. Listen, if you don't own a Bible and you can't afford a Bible, I want you to take the Bible that's sitting next to you right now. Take that with you and consider that a gift from Calvary Chapel of Arc City because you handling the Word of God for yourself is literally the most important thing you can do in your life. That being said, we now look at the people of Ephesus.

And so you should ask yourself, well, why is he writing to the Ephesians? Why is he writing to a bunch of people who are at Ephesus? Well, I told you that we can learn some of these things from the book of Acts. Now, there's two sets of Scripture I'm going to have you write down, and then one I'll have you turn to. So the first one that I want you to write down

over the margin of your Bible is Acts 18, verses 17 through 22. Go ahead and pop that slide up there. Acts 18, verses 17 through 22. That is the first time that Ephesus is mentioned in the book of Acts. Paul had been on his second missionary journey, and on his second missionary journey, he really wanted to go into the region of Asia, which is where Ephesus was located.

But the Holy Spirit kept preventing him from going into Asia. Instead, he received a vision that he was supposed to go to Macedonia, and that's exactly what he did. So he goes into Macedonia, and while in Macedonia, he starts the churches of Philippi and Thessalonica and Berea. That's where he goes to all those churches. Well, on his way back to Antioch, which was his home church,

to report about what happened, what had taken place on his second missionary journey, he makes a stop in Ephesus because it was a coastal town. He makes a stop in Ephesus. While he's in Ephesus, he drops off two of his really good friends, Aquila and Priscilla. And so he drops them off because they're going to stay there and perhaps begin some form of a work of ministry.

That was the first time that we read about Ephesus in the book of Acts. He then goes on to Antioch, reports everything that had taken place in Macedonia, and then goes on his third missionary journey. Now, the second set of scriptures that I want you to write down is simply Acts 19. Acts 19. Because that tells the entire story of Paul's ministry at Ephesus.

I'm going to hit the high points for you so you get an idea of what went on. So the first thing that happens in Acts 19 when Paul goes back to Ephesus is that he comes across 12 young men. And these 12 young men have a form of a knowledge of God. They understood the Old Testament, but they did not fully grasp Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. And so he asks them,

have you received the Holy Spirit? And they're like, we don't understand. Has that happened already? And he says yes and explains the gospel more clearly to them and explains the work of the Holy Spirit to them. And those 12 young men receive the Holy Spirit. That's the beginning of his ministry in Ephesus. Well, he then moves into the town. And if you know very much about the way

that Paul ministered, because he was a Jew and he had a heart for the Jewish people, even though he was the apostle to the Gentiles, the first thing he would always do is he would go to the synagogue, the local meeting place of the Jewish people. And that's exactly what he did in Ephesus. He goes to the synagogue and he preaches there probably once a week, maybe once a day. But he does so for about three months.

He starts seeing some fruit. But we read in Acts chapter 19 that because their hearts were hard and because they were opposed to his message, he had to leave the synagogue. But he did not want to leave Ephesus because God was doing a great work in Ephesus. And so what he did is he found this place called the School of Tyrannus. Tyrannus was a scholar and a philosopher

who basically had a large lecture hall. And in the afternoon, Paul would set up in this lecture hall of Tyrannus. And every day, he would reason with them from the scriptures. Now, it always uses the word reasoning when Paul does this because that carries with it the idea of a discussion. He would actually discuss with the people and allow questions and answers.

And he taught all of the people the truth of the word of God. As a matter of fact, Paul will do this in the hall of Tyrannus for two days. Two years. It's going to be one of the longest times he stays in any location which tells you a little bit about his love for the people because he would have gotten very close to the people in a two-year time frame. And so he stays there two years

reasoning with the people about the gospel. And we're given this interesting little commentary on his ministry in Ephesus. It says, And everyone in the region of Asia heard the gospel. Many people believe that the one that was the pastor of the church of Colossae, the people of the Colossians, was actually saved at this point in time and that's who Paul would eventually put in charge of that church.

It was an amazing ministry that took place for these two years. As a matter of fact, the work that God did was so powerful that unusual miracles took place there. Let me tell you what happened. This is a fascinating one. So, Paul was also a tent maker by trade and he did that while he was in Ephesus. And so while he was working, he would have to wipe the sweat off of his brow, right?

He would have to wipe the sweat off of his face. And so God worked unusual miracles, we're told in the book of Acts, while he was in Ephesus. People would come and get these sweat rags of Paul and they would put them on people and people would be healed. Listen, y'all, if I'm sick and you show up with a sweaty cloth, just get it out of there, right? I don't care how sick I am.

Do not throw some nasty sweaty cloth. But that's what God did. Now, why did God do that? Well, because first of all, the Holy Spirit was working very powerfully. There was nothing magical about the sweat of Paul. It was simply a point of contact of faith for people. But that's just how much the Holy Spirit was at work there in Ephesus. So you should ask yourself, why?

Why was the Holy Spirit at work there? Well, because Ephesus was known as a satanic center. As a matter of fact, it was the center of worship for a lady by the name of Artemis, also known as Diana. She was known as the goddess of light. And there was a small meteorite that had fallen out of the sky and landed there, and they considered that to be the stone from Diana,

and they worshiped it. And so there was a great deal of idolatry and satanic things that went on there. And so because of that, I think God poured out His Spirit in abundance to combat that evil that was taking place in that city. But here's the fascinating thing. Not only were crazy healings and unusual miracles taking place, but the gospel was doing powerful work there.

We're told that people were coming and they were confessing their secret sins. They were coming and they were confessing all of the sins that they had been committing. And as a matter of fact, they were bringing all of their spell books, all of their magic books, all of the evil things that they used for their incantations, and they put them all in a pile and they burned it. And we're given the price of it in the book of Acts, but in today's dollar figures, you would be looking at anywhere from the range of one to five million dollars worth of paraphernalia that was burned up because that's what the gospel was doing.

Because brothers and sisters, just as a sidebar, that's what the gospel does. When the gospel comes in and changes our lives, it does not leave us the way that we are. That's why we as the church have to say, come as you are, but you can't stay as you are. Come as you are, but you can't stay in your sin. You can come to Jesus no matter what you've done, but he won't leave you in that same position.

That's why we can't allow sin to be the thing that we're known for. That's why we cannot condone sin. Because while yes, Jesus is absolutely loving and accepting of everyone, he's only loving and accepting of them because he is willing to save them because of the blood of Jesus Christ. Because when people really have a contact with the gospel of Jesus Christ, they don't continue in their sinful ways, they abandon it.

They abandon their sinful ways. When people are really touched by the gospel of Jesus Christ, they don't hold on to those old artifacts of sin, they burn those old artifacts of sin. Because that's not who they are any longer. Well, this powerful work of the gospel is going on there, but while great spiritual revival is taking place there, there's an uprising that takes place in the city.

You see, all of a sudden, the silversmiths stopped making money because they were the ones that made the little figurines of the goddess Diana that they would put in their homes and that they would worship. But all of a sudden, not only were people not buying it, they were taking and burning it. And all of a sudden, the artistry guild of all of the silversmiths got together and said, Listen, boys, we have a problem. I don't know about you all, but my economy is bad right now because nobody's buying my idols anymore.

Let's go and let's see what we can do about this. And there's this huge uprising that takes place in the city. And of course, nothing comes of it because the gospel was prevailing. But this uprising caused Paul to have to leave. So Paul, after this amazing two to three years of ministry that he took part in in Ephesus ended, but the people continued to grow.

Well, Paul continued on a third missionary journey. He went and visited the churches of Macedonia. And after he visited the churches of Macedonia, he was determined to go back to Jerusalem. And so on his way back to Jerusalem, he wanted to stop and he wanted to visit with the Ephesians. He wanted to visit with the Ephesian elders. So the next set of scriptures I want you to write down

and I want you to turn to is Acts chapter 20, verses 17 through 38. Acts chapter 20, verses 17 through 38. And if you're able to, please turn there. If not, write it down and look at it later. Acts 20, 17 through 38. It says this, starting in verse 17 of chapter 20, from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and he called to him the elders of the church. And when they had come to him, he said to them,

you yourselves know from the first day that I set foot in Asia how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials, which came upon me through the plots of the Jews, how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks, of repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now behold, bound by the Spirit, I'm on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city that bonds and afflictions await me. But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself,

so that I may finish my course in the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify of the grace of God. And now behold, I know that all of you among whom I went about preaching the kingdom will no longer see my face. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God which he purchased with his own blood.

I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And from your own selves among you will arise, they will arise speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that day and night for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace which is able to build you up to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

I have coveted no one's silver or gold. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with me. In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak. And remember the words of Jesus that he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. And when he said these things he knelt down

and prayed with them all. And they began to weep aloud and embrace Paul and repeatedly kissed him, grieving especially over the word which he had spoken. That they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship. In this farewell address Paul pointed out a handful of things to them. He reminded them about the way that he had served them in an effort to remind the Ephesian elders

that they should serve in the same way. He said I didn't shrink back from giving you the full counsel of God. As a matter of fact I consider myself clean from the blood of all men as a watchman on the wall. Because I did not shun to declare to you the whole counsel of God. But he warned them. He warned them to be on guard. And he warned them to be on guard against two things.

Number one, wolves from without. And number two, false sheep from within. Because he knew that even in a growing church, even in a thriving church, even in a Bible teaching, Bible believing church, there are still wolves that come from without and false sheep that come from within. And so what were they to do to prevent that? They were to be on guard. And they were to preach the word.

They were to give out the truth of the gospel. And then of course the last thing he said was you're not going to see me anymore. Because I'm on my way to Jerusalem. And I don't know what that means for me. But it seems like the Holy Spirit is letting me know that whatever it means for me is not overly positive. And as he gathered with these Ephesian elders who he'd spent so much time with,

they all wept together. Because of that one word that he'd spoken, you probably won't see my face again. Now as we see this background of this church, there's two things that I see from Paul. I see that he had deep love for these people. Because may I say, there is nothing that will grow deep love for people as much as spending time with them. As much as spending time together.

And again, if I may add a quick point of personal application. If you want to love the body here at Calvary Chapel of Arc City, you need to spend time with the body here at Calvary Chapel of Arc City. You need to spend time with the body of the church that you go to. Because that's the only way that you will truly love them. I don't say this a whole lot. I bring it up every now and then.

But I think one of the greatest things we do is when people just stick around after church and they talk for a while. And they just get to know each other. And they share the things that are going on in their lives. They share the prayer requests that they have. And sometimes that spills over into going to lunch together. Sometimes that spills over into meeting up later in the week

because now you've gotten to know each other. Listen, the only way that this goes from being a church of individuals to being a body of believers is if the body of believers gets to know each other. That's why we're told in the book of Hebrews not to neglect the assembling together of the saints. Not because there's something magical about church, but because there's something powerful about fellowship.

Not because there's something magical about this building, but because there's something powerful about the people that are in it. Because the people that are in it bear the bonds of Jesus Christ. We bear the unity of Jesus Christ. Unified with Him and unified with each other. Paul had a deep love for Jesus. Paul had a deep love for the people. But the second thing I took note of

is that Paul had a deep concern for the people. He was so concerned for them because he knew what tended to happen when he left churches. He knew what tended to happen when he walked away that other people would come in and want to teach false gospels. That other people would come in and want to teach false things. That other people would come in and taint the pure message of the word of God

and begin to teach their own ideas to gain disciples for themselves. And it is with that understanding and that backdrop that we realize why Paul wrote the book of Ephesians. It's interesting because the book of Ephesians is very different than a lot of Paul's epistles because there's nothing corrective in it. Nobody wrote him with a question. Nobody wrote him with a problem.

Nobody came to him and said there was an issue. No, he just wrote the book of Ephesians. And as he wrote the book of Ephesians, it came about because of his deep love for the people of Ephesus and his deep concern and his deep concern that they continue to live according to the riches that they have in Christ. Back to the book of Ephesians chapter 1. Now, second half of verse 1 says,

to the saints who are at Ephesus who are faithful in Christ Jesus. Now, the next thing I want to point out to you in this introduction is that he talks to them about being in Christ. And as he does so, there's three things that he says about them. Three ways that he describes them. The first way that he describes them is he describes them as saints. Isn't that a great word?

Right? I always used to love that song, Oh, when the saints go marching in. Right? But you know, a lot of times, many people that think of that word saint, they don't think that that qualifies them. Because after all, there are certain churches who teach that in order for you to be a saint, you have to have done so many miracles and you have to have lived faithful for so long

in Christ in order to be given sainthood status. I'm here to tell you right now, that's not true. Let's look at this word saint for just a minute. The word saint is actually taken from a Greek understanding. The Greeks actually used it as a word meaning anything that was devoted to the gods. It could be you. It could be a building. It could be a sacrifice that you were bringing to the gods.

The word saints in the Greek is the word hagios. And it literally means dedicated to the gods. So Paul takes this word that would have absolutely meant something to the Greek mindset and he says, that's who you are. You're dedicated to the gods. Only you're not dedicated to the gods. You're dedicated to the God. And he sanctifies the word by saying, you're dedicated to God.

And so in a New Testament sense, the word saints literally means a most holy thing. That means that if you've put your faith in Jesus Christ, you've come to him as your savior, and you have been born again, you are called by Jesus Christ a most holy thing. I don't know about y'all, but I don't always feel like that. You ever wake up and think, ain't nothing holy about me, right?

I do every day. I did this morning. But that's not what Jesus says about me. What Jesus says about me is I'm a most holy thing. Literally the idea is one who is separated unto God. Listen, I'm gonna give you a theological term, okay? The theological term is called positional sanctification. Because that's what the term saint is. The term saint is your positional sanctification.

In other words, your position in Christ is that you are set apart unto God. Nothing can change that, because once you came to know Jesus as your Lord and savior, you became set apart unto God. That became who you are. Now you have to live that out. That's called practical sanctification. Now you need to live like you are. And he's gonna give us all of the riches

that we need to live as we are. But I have a question for you this morning. Do you know that you are a holy thing? Do you know that you've been set apart unto God? You see, I think the reason why a lot of Christians don't live like they're set apart unto God is because they don't know that they're set apart unto God. A lot of times, the reason why Christians don't live

like they're holy is because they don't think that they're holy. And so they allow themselves a certain amount of sin in their life because they're like, after all, nobody's perfect. Well, Jesus says you are. You've been perfected in Christ. It's time that you start living like you are. So the first thing he calls them is he calls them saints. The second thing he calls them is he calls them faithful.

Now typically, you and I look at that word faithful, and we have the idea of one who is loyal and true. One who always does what they say. One who always does what they say that they're going to do. And while that is one way that the word faithful can be defined, that is not the way that it's defined here. The word faithful is defined here actually as believing ones.

Those who have put their faith in something. And of course, we're given the something in the next part of the clause where it says faithful in Christ Jesus. And so, he first of all refers to the people in Ephesus as saints set apart unto God. And then the second thing he refers to them as believers. Believing ones. But then the third thing he refers to them as is in Christ.

In Christ. I looked this up because I like to look words up in the Greek because I think it's kind of interesting. The word in is a primary preposition denoting position. A primary preposition denoting position. Let me tell you what I mean by that. When you woke up this morning, you were in bed. When you went and sat on the couch, you were in bed. When you went and sat on your couch, you were in the couch.

When you got in your car to come to church, your entire way to church, you were in the car. Now that you're here, you are in your seat. There's a handful of you that are in a state of sleepiness. I'm just kidding. So it's a preposition denoting position. So what he says is you are in Christ. The same way that on your way to church you were in your car and when you woke up you were in your bed.

It's the position that you're in. Listen, the reason why you can be called a saint and the reason why you can be called a believing one is not because of who you are but because of where you are. It's not because of who you are but who your faith is in. And you, brothers and sisters, are in Christ. And listen, nothing can change that. That phrase, in Christ, is going to be really important.

As a matter of fact, it's going to be used over and over again in the book of Ephesians. As a matter of fact, some say that that is the key clause in the entire book of Ephesians. Because all of the riches that you have are in Christ Jesus. Because you are in Christ. Because when you realized that you were a sinner, because when you realized that God's wrath was upon you,

you fled. You ran. And you ran to Jesus Christ. And you sought your refuge in Him. And because you sought your refuge in Him, He now covers you with the shadow of your wings. And when God looks at you, you are in Christ Jesus. And so, he says, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus,

the last thing that we see is the greeting. He says, grace to you and peace from God our Father. And the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul's typical greeting to most of the people that he writes to are always these two words, grace, peace. They're two fascinating words. The word grace in the Greek is the word charis. And it literally means unmerited favor. Grace is the power that we need for daily living.

As I pointed out at the end of Galatians, I will also point out at the beginning of this, I will also point out at the beginning of Ephesians. It is His grace that drew you to Him. It is His grace that saved you in Him. It is His grace that preserves you in Him. It is His grace that teaches you in Him. And it is His grace that will ultimately lead you home.

Because it is your power for every aspect of your life. And take note of where that grace comes from, from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We don't just receive that grace for no good reason. It's because Jesus bestowed it upon us. The second word that he uses is peace. The word peace literally means inner rest. Inner rest. Now listen, the day that you came to Jesus as your Lord and Savior,

and we'll talk about this again, I will say all of these things about five more times at least in the next few weeks. The day that you came to Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and you confessed your sin, and you accepted Him, and you were placed in Christ, you began to be at peace with God. You signed the peace treaty. You said, I give up. You went. And you are at peace with God.

But now, in your life, you need the peace of God. You see, your peace with God never changes once you're born again. However, the peace of God comes and goes based upon how much you are resting in, listen, God's grace. Because you cannot know the peace of God until you first of all rest in the grace of God. That's why Paul puts them in those two positions, because they have in their source none other than Jesus Christ Himself.

He says, grace and peace to you from our Lord, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, because He is the source. Now, there's one last thing that I would like to point out to you about grace and peace. Paul is writing to two different groups of people that are in the church in Ephesus. Because everywhere at that point in time in all of the churches, there were two main groups of people.

There were the Jewish people, and there were the Gentile people. Or at that point in time, they were all pretty well known as Greek. Those are the two different groups of people that would be in any church. Now, the word grace was the greeting to the Gentiles. Because when Greek people met each other, they would say grace to you. Peace is the greeting to the Jews.

When the Jews would see each other, they would say shalom, peace to you. And so as Paul writes this to the church in Ephesus, he says, grace to all of you Gentiles, peace to all of you Jews. You know why he says that? Because he is writing to everyone. There's a little bit of debate about the book of Ephesians. You should not be surprised by that. Because there's a little bit of debate about every book in the Bible.

Because for some reason, biblical scholars forgot that their job was to bring people to Jesus, not to debate over small stupid things. And the debate is this. Was Ephesians actually written to the Ephesians? Or was Ephesians really a circular letter? Because there's three early manuscripts that leave out the words in Ephesus. So maybe this wasn't a book written to just the Ephesians.

Maybe this was a book written to everybody. And you all know usually how I land on most of these debates. Yes, it was written to the Ephesians. And it was written to everybody. You know how I know that? Because he says, grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. You know why? Because the words of the word of God are for everyone. The message of the gospel is for everyone.

The greatest division of people that existed in the time that Paul lived, the greatest racial division that existed in humanity when Paul lived, was the division between Jews and Gentiles. The Gentiles thought the Jews were odd because they didn't cut the corners of their beard, because they wore phylacteries on their head, because they always wore a little hat on their head, and they didn't like their sacrificial system. They thought everything about them was weird. And so the Gentiles hated the Jews.

And they mocked them. And the Jews hated the Gentiles. Because after all, the Jews were God's chosen people. Gentiles were created to stoke the fires of hell. So there was a massive racial division between Jewish and Gentile people. And then comes the gospel. The gospel that transcends all racial division. Matter of fact, Paul will deal with that when he says,

He is our peace who has broken down the middle wall of separation, making one new man. And brothers and sisters, as we live in our world, there's racial division right now. Matter of fact, there's division over just about everything right now. And the one transcending truth that can bring peace to all of it is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Why? Because it's for the Jew and it's for the Gentile.

It's for the black guy. It's for the white guy. It's for the transgender person. It's for the one who knows what their gender is. It's for the gay person. It's for the straight person. It's for everybody. Because the gospel of Jesus Christ deals with the sin that, listen, we all have in our heart. No matter how we identify with our color or how we identify with our gender,

it deals with the sin that we all have in our heart. And it brings us to him. And it teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age. Brothers and sisters, we need the gospel more than ever. You need it to affect your life, and we need it to affect the lives of the people that are around us. And that brings me to a really good point as we close this out

before we do communion. I always issue a challenge during the month of Lent. I always issue a challenge during the month of June because we all know what the month of June is. I almost wore my shirt. I did it into my T-shirt that says, Your life has value. Because we all know what June is, right? June is Sanctity of Life Month. Because in June is when Roe versus Wade was overturned one year ago.

Right? Amen to that. We screwed it up in Kansas, but whatever, you know. It's still Sanctity of Life Month. But the whole world, the rest of the world, calls it Pride Month. And it's usually our tendency as believers in Jesus Christ to get really angry at all of the people that are showing all of their pride, forgetting that they're the group of people that Jesus died for.

They were created in God's image. They are sinners just like you and I. Their sin looks different than ours does, but it's still sin. And the message of the gospel is needed in the lives of those who are praying. Who are following Pride Month as much as anybody else. And so here's my challenge for us as a church. Take the month of June and devote yourself every day

to pray for the alphabet community. To pray for all the different groups of people that have given in to this lifestyle because, listen, they need Jesus. And the only way that we can have love and not frustration, the only way that we can have love and not hate, the only way that we can be the true church of Jesus Christ is if we do this. Is if we do just that.

And so brothers and sisters, I challenge you every day to pray for the LGBTQ community so that we can see God do a miracle in those things. At the conference that we were at yesterday, one of the fellows that was leading worship stood up before the very last session and he said, I feel like the Lord laid a word on my heart and I want to share it with you. And so I'll do the best I can to share the word that he shared with us, with you all. He said, many of us have watched the Jesus Revolution movie.

Of course, it's a Calvary conference and so we're all pretty dyed in the wool, Calvary people. He said, we've all watched the Jesus Revolution movie and we know that what happened is that there was a counterculture of people that everybody thought was weird and that churches were very opposed to at the time. And finally, because God broke Chuck's heart, he stood up and said, the gospel's for everybody, even the people that I think are weird. Even the people that I think are different.

And remember that conversation, if you've seen the movie, remember the conversation that Lonnie has with Chuck. He says, there's a lot of people that need the gospel. The problem is my people don't feel welcome in your church. And you know what, brothers and sisters, the world needs to feel welcome in our church. Not so that they can live in their sin, but so that they can find salvation.

Because this is not a sanctuary for saints. It's an emergency room for sinners. Right? And brothers and sisters, God wants to use us to do this. God wants to use us to do this work. So let's be about his business. It's Communion Sunday. And so in just a moment, the ushers are going to come in. And they're going to get ready to hand out the elements. But before they do, I would like to spend just a couple of minutes

talking about what we're doing. Up here in these trays are a couple of different elements. There's two cups that are stacked together. The bottom cup has a cracker in it. The top cup has some juice in it. But those things are representative of something very powerful for the life of believers. Because on that last great night of the feast, Jesus took the bread and he broke it.

And he said, this is my body, which is broken for you. Take and eat. And then he took the cup and he said, this is the cup of the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you. Take and drink. And we're told that as often as we do this, we proclaim the death of Jesus Christ. And the reason why we proclaim to the world the death of Jesus Christ is because the only reason I can stand up here in front of you today

and tell you about Jesus is because his death is what saved me. Because his blood is what covered my sins. And the only reason you can sit out there and hear what God's word has to say to you is because the blood of Jesus Christ has covered your sins. So the way that we are made one with Christ, the way that we can be in Christ is because of the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed for us.

And quite frankly, the only reason we can be in the body of Christ is because we all share the same bond. And that's the blood of Jesus Christ that has saved us. So as Jared gets ready to sing this last song, the ushers are going to hand out the elements. And I want you to think about a couple of things as they're handing out these elements. We're told that we are to partake of this in a worthy manner.

And that means two things. Number one, it means you better belong to Jesus. If you don't belong to Jesus, if you've never accepted him as your Lord and Savior, this means nothing to you. And as a matter of fact, I would tell you, don't partake with us. Just let it pass by. But if you need to come to know Jesus as your Savior today, it's as simple as this. Confess that you're a sinner.

Believe that he's your Savior. And tell him those two things. And then he'll come and he'll make his home inside of you. And then you too will be placed in Christ. But for those of us that are believers in Jesus Christ this morning, we're told to search our hearts, to see if there's any wicked ways in us, and then to confess those things to the Lord, to give those sins to him,

so that we too can partake in a worthy manner. And so, as these ushers come forward and hand out the elements, and he sings this last song, allow God to do the work in your heart that needs to be done. And as you receive your elements, if you would please stand, and then we'll all partake together.

Let's pray.

Heal and forgive. He bled and died to buy my Empty grave is there to prove My Savior lives Because he lives I can face tomorrow He is gone Cause I thought future Life is worth the living Just because he lives Oh, Saturday No one has death Lives way too I'll see the lights of glory Future Life is Life is worth Because he lives Life is worth the living Just because he lives Father, we come to you. And Lord, I thank you for your body that was broken for us. Lord, that was bruised and beaten.

Lord, that took the nails and the spear. That wore the crown of thorns. All because of my sin. Lord, I thank you for your blood that was shed for us. It was enough to cover our sin. Lord, not just cover it. Do away with it forever. Lord, I thank you that your blood continually cleanses us from all sin. And Lord, as we partake, as we partake of this meal, as we partake of this communion service,

Lord, may you make us even more aware. Even more aware of the sacrifice that you made for us. And even more aware of the body. Not only your body, but the body of Christ. We just thank you, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's partake. Before I pray us out, I always like to take a moment on Communion Sundays and just say, look around for a minute. Because this is your family.

Family because of the blood of Jesus Christ. Family because of the bond of Jesus Christ. A bond that goes deeper than any blood relation. Get to know your family. Love on your family today. Amen. Lord, as we go out from this place, I just ask that your Holy Spirit would move in our hearts. Continue to strengthen us in you. Draw us near to you. And make us more like you.

We just thank you, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen. Be blessed.