Sermons on Ephesians (II) - WHAT THE TRIUNE GOD HAS DONE FOR US

1. Our Salvation Was Prepared In the Righteousness of Jesus Even before The Foundation of the World (Ephesians 1:1-4)

The New Life Mission — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 08:52:00 +0000

A line in this gospel song states that the gate of the Tabernacle shows us the love of Lord. Yes, we can discover the true love of the Lord on the gate of the Tabernacle. The Scriptures state that the Lord’s sincere love for us is manifested all in the blue, purple, and scarlet tread and fine woven linen. And in that God’s love, Jesus has manifested the remission of our sins by the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist and the blood He shed on the Cross. The colors engraved on the screen gate of the Tabernacle shows more obviously our salvation that Jesus fulfilled by the baptism He received from John the Baptist, the blood He shed, and His resurrection from death.

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2. We Have Become God’s Possessions by His Grace (Ephesians 1:1-14)

The New Life Mission — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 08:51:00 +0000

We have recently composed new hymns to praise the Lord’s righteousness, and these new hymns delight me so much. Whenever new souls come into our Church, it’s very important for us to pay them extra attention and teach them these new hymns, so that they can also sing along with us. We need to put ourselves in their shoes and be considerate to them. Even we struggle sometimes when we try to learn a new hymn, and so it’s all the more difficult for new attendees coming to our Church for the first time. God sent us to this earth to save these people also, and so we ought to put ourselves in their shoes and be kind to them. It would be a big mistake if we were to neglect them thoughtlessly.

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4. We Thank God for Calling Us as The Members of His Church (Ephesians 1:20-23)

The New Life Mission — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 08:50:00 +0000

It is written in Ephesians 1:23 that the Church “is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” All of us had to receive the remission of sins into our hearts by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit which was given by the Lord. For you to become a member of God’s Church, you have to have unwavering faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. So now that we have received the remission of sins into our hearts by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we must preach this gospel all over the world until we die. And in doing so, all of us ought to strengthen our faith and glorify God. For all of us to become members of God’s Church, our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit must be unwavering, and only when we have this faith can we become members of God’s Church.

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3. We Have Been Saved through God’s Love and Sacrifice

The New Life Mission — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 08:50:00 +0000

With Christmas just around the corner, some of you might be wondering why I am preaching about the Epistle to the Ephesians instead of Christmas. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and the day after is Christmas Day, and it will be enough for me to preach about the birth of Christ on those two dates. But still, I would like us to ponder on the meaning of Christmas and the will of God from Ephesians 1:1-6.
I used to send you Christmas cards and gifts in the past, but nowadays I can hardly find anytime to do this. Aside from being too busy, my health has not been that good, and so I’ve been rather too preoccupied. So I ask you for your understanding, and I hope that even though we have missed the chance to exchange Christimas gifts this year, we can still celebrate the Lord’s birthday in joy and rejoice together.

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5. We Have Redemption According to the Riches Of God’s Grace (Ephesians 1:7-14)

The New Life Mission — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 08:48:00 +0000

Into the hearts of all of us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the Lord has given the remission of sins and peace. The Lord Himself is testifying here that we have no sin, for we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit with our hearts. Through our faith in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, God our Father has made it known to us that He has washed away all the sins of this world.

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6. Were We Made for The Lord’s Righteous Work? (Ephesians 2:1-10)

The New Life Mission — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 08:47:00 +0000

Paul said to the Ephesians in today’s Scripture passage that they “were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1), and all of us were in the same condition before believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. But our Lord has saved such wretched people like us all at once through His gospel work of the water and the Spirit. He has delivered us from the prince of the power of the air. And He has blessed us to overcome Satan by giving us the gospel of the water and the Spirit and making us believe in it.

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7. We Must Acknowledge God’s Authority and Grace In Our Life of Faith (Ephesians 2:1-22)

The New Life Mission — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 08:46:00 +0000

Genesis chapter 2 shows that God gave a real rest to man. And He also gave man the Garden of Eden. God wanted to be with man having fellowship with them.
What we need to pay a close attention here is that in the center of the Garden of Eden there was the tree of life as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This means they were supposed to eat from the tree of the life by trusting in the Word of God. God’s order not to eat any fruits from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was given in order to remind them of the spiritual reality that they must not challenge God’s authority. God once said, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day you eat of it, you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17). For this reason, we can admit that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was placed there by God for all the human races. From man’s perspective, that didn’t make much sense, but in God’s eyes the tree was more than appropriate. It was an essential tree in God’s master plan for Him to reveal His righteousness. However, in the eyes of man, we may have such question as this; “Why did God create the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? I think it would be better not to create it at all.” It was because God wanted us to acknowledge His authority.

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8. What Kind of People Were We in God’s Sight? (Ephesians 2:1-7)

The New Life Mission — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 08:26:00 +0000

The Apostle Paul said that our salvation was prepared in Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world. God the Father said that He has made us His own people through His Son Jesus Christ with the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Therefore, by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we were able to receive the remission of sins once and for all. But today, I would like us to examine how our condition was before receiving the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.

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9. We Had Been Estranged From God the Father Because of Our Sins (Ephesians 2:14-22)

The New Life Mission — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 08:24:00 +0000

Jesus is our Savior and the King of peace. When all human beings had become God’s enemies because of their sins, Jesus the Son of God came to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man and bore all the sins of the world once and for all by being baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. That is why Jesus could shed His precious blood on the Cross, rise up from the dead again in three days, and then sit at the right hand of God the Father as the Judge. Jesus Christ offered Himself as our everlasting propitiation of peace to reconcile us with God the Father. It was to break down this wall of sin separating us from God, and it also was to abolish the enmity between God and us humans that Jesus offered Himself as our own propitiation.

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10. Immeasurable Blessings of Christ Are in the Heart of Every Saint Who Believes In the Gospel of the Water And the Spirit (Ephesians 3:1-21)

The New Life Mission — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 08:23:00 +0000

We just read the whole chapter of Ephesians 3 for today’s Scripture reading. Through this passage, I would like to speak to you about the work God has done to us. In his letter to the Church of Ephesus, the Apostle Paul is speaking about God’s Church, His plan of salvation, and the abundant blessings God has bestowed on us.
If the Epistle to the Galatians taught us to reject heresy, the Epistle to the Ephesians is speaking to us about God’s Church. It addresses such questions as how God has blessed us so abundantly on this earth through His Church, and which gospel God has made us preach through His Church. In other words, God is teaching us how His work has unfolded through His Church to spread His abundant blessings among all the nations.

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12. Emulate God As His Beloved Children (Ephesians 5:1-2)

The New Life Mission — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 08:20:00 +0000

The Apostle Paul said in today’s Scripture passage, “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (Ephesians 5:1-2). Paul is teaching us here that just as Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself for us, all our saints, ministers, and coworkers should also walk in God’s love. This is an extremely important lesson for us.

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11. Defend Your Faith in Your Life (Ephesians 4:1-6)

The New Life Mission — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 08:20:00 +0000

We just read Ephesians 4:1-6 for today’s Scripture reading. The Apostle Paul said here in Ephesians 4:1, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.”
At the time the Apostle Paul wrote this, he was imprisoned for preaching the gospel, and so we can easily imagine just how grieved his heart must have been. When Paul was a free man, he was able to freely meet with the saints and share all the fellowship he wanted. But now that he was imprisoned, he could not do what he wanted to do, and his heart yearned even more to preach the gospel. We too should hold the gospel of the water and the Spirit dear to our hearts while we still can serve it. Yet I see that some of us don’t have such zeal, and this saddens me deeply. I am afraid that when the Great Tribulation comes, it will soon be impossible for us to serve the gospel of the water and the Spirit anymore. When this time comes, I know that we will regret over not serving the gospel now as diligently as we could have. Although our devotion and zeal for the gospel will be much greater than now, but when the time of the Great Tribulation comes it will be too late.

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13. Do Not Partake in The Sins of the World (Ephesians 5:1-14)

The New Life Mission — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 08:18:00 +0000

Today’s Scripture reading shows that the Apostle Paul was ministering to the saints in the Church of Ephesus. He spoke to them about how they ought to abide by their knowledge of and faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, what they ought to be careful of, and for what and how they ought to live. To nurture the flock there, Paul said to the Ephesian saints, “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children” (Ephesians 5:1).
Ephesians 5:1 is a brief but crucial passage: “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.” That’s because this passage shows clearly how we ought to live. Since God has told us here to be His imitators, we need to examine here first who God really is and what His attributes are.

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14. What Does It Really Mean To Live with The Fullness of the Spirit? (Ephesians 5:1-21)

The New Life Mission — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 08:17:00 +0000

Paul became an Apostle of God by the calling of Jesus Christ, and consequently, he preached only the will of God as His Apostle. As one of the overseers of God’s Church, Paul’s ministry was far reaching. Literature ministry was one of his mission activities as we see in all the Pauline Epistles.
Paul feared and revered Christ from the bottom of his heart. His faith in Jesus Christ was at the center of his ministry. He preached consistently that Jesus Christ had saved everyone from all the sins of the world and blessed everyone through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. As a faithful servant of Jesus Christ, Paul tirelessly preached the immeasurable height, depth, and width of Christ’s love until he went to see the Lord face to face.

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15. Those Who Live with The Fullness of the Spirit (Ephesians 5:15-21)

The New Life Mission — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 08:15:00 +0000

This year’s discipleship training camp ended just recently. On this coming Wednesday, we will be holding a special worship service to pray for our literature ministry. We will then make a financial pledge on this coming Sunday to support our literature ministry for the latter half of this year. As you may know well, this ministry costs a lot of money. However, I am sure that our God will take care of everything if we pray to Him sincerely enough. That’s why we are holding a special prayer session this Wednesday, to ask God for financial resources in particular to fund our literature ministry. Anyone can get self-complacent or become idle over God’s work after doing the same work for a long time. So, it is appropriate for us to set a new goal to get out of monotony and renew our focus. For this reason, we set new mission goals and make a financial pledge twice a year to avoid falling into self-complacency.

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16. Stand Against The Wiles of Satan (Ephesians 6:10-17)

The New Life Mission — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 08:05:00 +0000

The saints must be strong in their hearts. As we are living in these end times, we must live by our strong faith in the righteousness of the Lord. The problem, however, is that the saints and even the servants of God tend to be weak-hearted. Sometimes even the saints have to be cold-hearted for the gospel, for when they can’t bring themselves to be so, they can’t be used by God as His instruments for His righteous work. If you allow your heart to weaken like this, you cannot properly carry out the righteous work of God. If God’s servants and saints are weak-hearted, they cannot run towards God steadfastly and unwaveringly. It is therefore very important for the servants and the saints of God alike to strengthen their hearts with their faith in God. They also must have the fear of God in their hearts.

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