Paul’s Prayer for the Ephesian Believers

“Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the
Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not
cease to give thanks for you, making mention of
you in my prayers……”
Ephesians 1:15-23

In the first fourteen verses of chapter one of his book to the saints at Ephesus Paul sets forth the eternal purpose of the Triune God for the salvation of the world. This purpose is thus discharged by the Father who planned it, the Son who accomplished it and the Holy Spirit who applies it. It is a redemptive initiative that restores humankind to a place far greater that it fell from in Adam and in that we are now given an inheritance that makes as joint heirs with Christ. No longer do we tend the garden as now we are destined to rule over it.

For Paul this redeeming work is so complete and powerful that those who embrace it are the recipients of a Divine power that can overcome anything that is not God-like in their lives. This being so we are back in Heaven already and the recipients of every spiritual blessing in Christ. We will work this out in time but we have to understand the nature of the power that is available in Christ to transform us. Much of Christianity today is occupied with what we get because of our being in Christ whereas the emphasis that Paul wants us to have is that which God gets from our being in Christ. There is little preaching about this today even though we should know it because when Jesus’ died the veil in the Temple was split from the top to the bottom and not from the bottom to the top. The message is clear: The cross opened up for God a way back into man. In the Book of Ephesians Paul wants us to explore what this means. This invitation to explore God’s riches in Christ will begin with his prayer for the people of God.

1. A prayer for revelation V17
Having heard that they have turned to Jesus and have exercised saving faith in His finished work on the cross, Paul prays that they may receive a spirit of revelation and wisdom that will enable them to understand more accurately what all this means. As I have stated above, understanding what we get is easier than understanding what God gets from us. Our carnal hearts always tilt toward the soulish and sinful pursuits of life and more so if we can “grab” these “under spiritual cover.” Christian television is too often woefully carnal in that far too much of it is concerned with financial wealth and physical prosperity. That which passes as God’s blessings is shameful and too often also blasphemous in that it is done in Jesus’ name. A day of judgment is coming! We need a spirit of revelation and wisdom in the knowledge of Him.

2. A prayer for understanding V18
God’s people must understand God’s inheritance in them! This is the major issue facing those who have been saved by Christ. Our Father in Heaven wants to see His likeness reflected from the mirror of our souls. The strength of this likeness in us tells Him that we love Him, are thankful for His grace in Christ, are determined to please Him and that we are moving toward the goal of being co-rulers with Him. This is His inheritance in us!

3. A prayer for strength V19-23
Too often the believer lives at a level that is less than God intended for him or her because they too easily give in to their sinful habits and failings. They have not understood the incredible power that resides in them by Jesus Christ and therefore they fail time and time again. It’s like someone trying to dislodge a huge bolt with a spanner that is too small and weak even though they have the right spanner in the same tool box. It has to do with their minds or choices; meaning choose the big spanner not the small one! You already have it so just use it! Later on in this Epistle, Paul calls upon the believers at Ephesus to be transformed by the renewing of their minds. (Ephesians 4:22-24) That is, choose the power of God that will overcome anything on earth and in heaven. This is challenging because it removes our excuses about why we keep on pursuing our bad habits, sins and addictions.

In the final analysis Paul is telling us that Jesus, by His atoning work, effectively overcame every power on earth and in heaven. His redemptive death on the cross took the keys of death and hell away from the Devil and thereby it restored saved humankind to a destiny that will see it take dominion over the earth in the age to come. The kingdoms of the earth, with all their “Babylonian pomp and ceremony and perceived power” will fall and capitulate and thus declare Jesus Lord of all. It is this power that lives in us!

Paul prays that you will see this and understand it with the eyes of your heart!

Malcolm Hedding

©Malcolm Hedding Ministries

Living in the marvelous grace of God

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and That not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:1-10

Having set the context for his written presentation to the Ephesian Church Paul now reminds us of our wretched condition before Christ’s gift of salvation impacted our lives. His point is clear: Only the redeeming grace and love of God can save our lives from temporal and eternal ruin. Paul is thus eager to make sure that we know that salvation from sin can never be attained by our good works as the best of these fall short of the demands of a holy God. We just have no ability to reach the high standard of God and so we “fall short” all the time of God’s glory. (Romans 3:23) Our good works then are in fact dead, without any significance, when it comes to pleasing God. In the passage before us Paul illustrates this point by:

1. Describing our position outside of Christ V 1-3
We were wholly and fully trapped because we were “dead in trespasses.” Death in the Bible is not annihilation; it means rather, being cut off from the presence of God both now and in eternity, if it is not corrected. We are eternal beings and we shall therefore eternally live with our Creator or be banished eternally from His presence. However, not only were we dead in trespasses but being severed from God we were held captive by “the prince of the power of the air.” He, by his greater power took us captive and multiplied our disobedience and sin by thrusting us into the slave market of his will. We could do none other than serve him together with the rest of humankind. We were utterly and completely “children of disobedience!”

All of this left us without hope and with no way to return to God and, more serious still, we were therefore “children of wrath.” Our rebellion against God placed us under His displeasure and wrath. The God of the bible is holy and just and He must punish sin in order to uphold His holy love and character. If He didn’t there would be no such thing as righteousness and justice in the earth and He would be no better than the sinner. In all respects therefore we were weak, sinful, dead, without hope, dominated by the devil, disobedient and under the wrath of God!

2. Describing our position in Christ V4-9
Paul begins this new thought with the marvelous words, “But God…” That is; the offended God, who should blow us away to hell, is “rich in mercy and “because of His great love with which He loved us” has done something incredible to save us and thus do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. In short He has reversed death in our hearts and lives because He has raised us up out of it with Christ, reconciled our lives to Himself, broken the shackles of the devil and delivered us from the wrath to come by what Jesus did on the cross. This is all because of God’s mercy and grace and it has nothing to do with our good works or efforts. God’s love and grace have totally saved us and they have seated us with Christ with Him in Heaven. We are alive!! We are saved and we are redeemed! Throughout eternity God will display His kindness to us as a consequence of our being in Christ. We have absolutely nothing to boast about.

3. Describing our life in Christ V10
Good works are not the grounds of our salvation but they are the evidence of it. Here, in this verse, Paul tells us that from eternity God saw us in Christ because He is omniscient and that He has prepared for each one of us a “road of good works’ to walk upon in life. Your life enjoys a specific destiny and you should find this destiny and live it out. In eternity you will be asked about the way you have walked because it was “prepared beforehand” that you should walk in it. Let’s not be half-hearted Christians but Christians who pursue God with all our hearts and who seek to fulfill our unique God-given journeys. Paul, at the end of his life, was conscious of the fact that he had completed his road and would now receive a crown of glory. (2Timothy 4:6-8) How will you end your life?

This is one of the great passages of the bible because here in its verses Christianity is set apart from all the other religions of the world. It is not a religion built on doing good in order to be saved and to please God. No, it tells us that we were utterly lost, without hope, damned and far from God and yet God in His great love and mercy has saved us by His grace demonstrated and freely given to us in Jesus. Truly, this is not a religion but a newly discovered relationship with God. Those who come to Christ and trust Him fully are brought into a living real experience of the God of Heaven; they are regenerated. Blessed be His name!

Malcolm Hedding

©Malcolm Hedding Ministries

Honoring the human vehicle of God’s grace

“For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one,
And has broken down the middle wall of separation..”
Ephesians 2:11-22

Paul now reminds his gentile readers that they have become part of something that is already 2000 years old. That is; a revelation of the existence and character of the one true God. Having just reminded them of the incredible grace of God that has now saved them he goes on to remind them that, in human terms, this marvelous grace has come to them through the children of Israel. Therefore:

1. They were not a people V11-13
They should remember that they were in total darkness and strangers to a people who had enjoyed God’s presence, power and grace for centuries. They were totally excluded from the family wherein the Kingdom of God was established and made real. This should enhance their sense of appreciation for the Jewish people because theirs was a great and godly commonwealth. They were truly nothing and aliens but the spilt blood of A Jewish Messiah has brought them into amazing spiritual blessings. How sad it is that a Gentile and powerful Church through the centuries has so easily forgotten this. The consequences of forgetfulness have been catastrophic!

2. They are a new people V14-18
The Temple in Jerusalem contained a “middle wall of partition” which separated Jews from Gentiles. While the Temple was indeed a “house of prayer for all nations” gentiles were required to stay on the correct side of this dividing wall. If they straddled this wall and mingled with Jewish worshippers they would be stoned to death. This was indeed a tough dividing line and it was on this trumped up accusation that Paul was arrested in the Temple compound. The Jews accused him of bringing a gentile into the restricted area. Separation was thus the norm and it was ordered by God Himself! In the fullness of time Jesus came and because of what He did on the cross for all men He opened the way for all people to stand together as a new family before His Father in Heaven. In fact Jesus’ death brings all human divisions to an end and thus unites rich and poor, slave and free, employers and employees, black and white and Jews and Gentiles. By the grace of a Jewish Messiah a new people have emerged who have one thing in common: Christ in them the hope of glory! The result is peace in human relationships. Christians, of all stripes, should challenge their hearts about this. Division is not of God!

3. They are a new Temple V19-22
A people infused with the life of God collectively and in a locality, wherever in the world, are a sacred dwelling place; indeed a Temple! A Temple can be defined as a place where God dwells or, as Paul puts it “the household of God.” This Temple is made up of living stones and thus can only be experienced when the many stones come together to worship God. Anointed by the Holy Spirit these “human stones” give praise to God and, as people are added to their number, the Temple grows and glows with holiness; the likeness of Jesus! It is a marvelous Temple because it is built upon the saving work of Jesus on the cross and is testified to and verified by the prophetic witnesses and apostolic eye witnesses. Gentiles have come from being nobodies to being God’s own precious dwelling place. Gratitude is the disposition in them that is appropriate!

Also this passage reminds us of the dignity and importance of the local Church. Christians who do not attend a local Church are disobedient, ungrateful and spiritually impoverished! We should take heed. In addition we should take note that the Church then is not a building of brick and mortar no matter how beautiful. No; its walls, doors and halls are real people filled with God’s love!

Malcolm Hedding

©Malcolm Hedding Ministries

The Mystery

“…how that by revelation He made known to me
the mystery which in other ages was not made
known to the sons of men….”
Ephesians 3:1-21

1. The Mystery Revealed v1-7
A biblical mystery is not a new revelation but an old one! That is, it is embedded in scripture and unearthed, as it were, by the Holy Spirit when the time is right. This is exactly how Paul defines a biblical mystery is Romans 16:25-27. His understanding of the Gentile church came out of his reading and studying of the Hebrew Scriptures. God shed light on that which he was reading and thereby equipped him for the mission that he would discharge to the Gentiles. This revealed mystery was that the Gentiles, upon exercising faith in Jesus finished work on the cross, would become “fellow heirs of the same body.” That is, they would join a “body” that already existed and which was hitherto exclusively Jewish.

The salvation of the Gentiles was never a matter of dispute because Jewish theology accepted that their light would reach the world and save them but they would remain a distinct entity or “second body” if you wish. The thought that Gentiles would join the Jewish Body and share in its destiny as joint-heirs was rejected and considered anathema! But this is exactly what God in His grace has done! The Gentiles have therefore not replaced believing Israel but enlarged it. We are grafted into a Jewish spiritual olive tree.

2. The Mystery Demonstrated V8-13
God’s intent is that people who were once wicked, broken, evil and devil-dominated are now the recipients of imputed and imparted righteousness and empowered in a way that they can fully overcome dark powers and principalities that once ruled over them. This is amazing and all because of the incredible grace of God extended to us in Christ. Knowing this Paul is determined that tribulations and trials will not stop him telling the world about Jesus. Everyone needs to hear this as it constitutes God’s eternal purpose for the world. But they will not hear it without a preacher. You, like Paul, are such a preacher! Somehow the Church, confident of its blessings in Christ, is to rise from its weakness to this place of testimony. Mary Queen of the Scotts, who persecuted the reforming church, testified that of all things that she feared she feared the prayers of John Knox the most. May this be true of us!

3. The Mystery Understood V14-22
Realizing the potential locked up in the Church of the living God Paul faithfully prays that the Church would become all that God wants it to be because of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. The Church must experience God’s great love and power. Both are enormous and so amazing that they are past finding out but can be tapped into. Just as you can assert that you have swum in the Atlantic Ocean because you enjoyed its waves on the shore but really you will never swim in its vast length, depth and width. You can always have more and never have enough! So, you can always have more of Jesus and never have enough because He is past finding out. We must however be changed and transformed in the “inner man”, exude a love that is entirely supernatural and be bold in what we ask for and expect from God because He can do “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,” Christians must startle and amaze principalities and powers and not be laughed at by them because of their weak and beggarly spiritual lives. We must understand our position in Christ and live it out. When this happens, and it has, there will be “glory in the Church.”

Malcolm Hedding.

©Malcolm Hedding Ministries

Walking with Jesus

“Walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.”
“No longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk.”
“Walk as children of light.” See then that you walk circumspectly.”
Ephesians 4-6:9

Paul, having set out his theological segment of the book known as that which presents the mystical union between Christ and His Church, now turns his attention to the practical outworking of this “mystical union”. The great Chinese preacher Watchman Nee wrote an exposition on the book of Ephesians once and called it “Sit, Walk, Stand.” He was right to do so as the first three chapters deal with our unique position with Christ Jesus in Heaven; we are seated with Him. From chapter four onwards we are called to walk out our belief system and so Paul sets this out giving priority to the things that should really concern us. We need to look at this next section very carefully as so much of Christianity today is a contradiction of it. So, if you are truly Christ’s and claim Him as your own then you should embrace:

Unity, Authenticity, Honesty, Wisdom and Responsibility.
In this devotional we shall concentrate on the matter of:
Unity V1-16
Paul concentrates his thoughts on three areas where unity for the people of God is absolutely essential. This unity is already given by the Spirit of God and we are only called to preserve it. These are:

1. Unity of belief V1-6
Here in this passage Paul sets out the essential doctrines of our faith. He does it in a creed form and states that we are to uphold the unity of the local Church recognizing that all true and faithful local churches regardless of tag, are one body with us. We should never become exclusive and think that we have a special truth that separates us from all other believers. This sadly has been our history and by it we have broken the unity of the Spirit and grieved the heart of God. Here in America one can find churches that display their disunity when they emblazon their names as; “The Free Will Baptist Church” or “The Holiness Apostolic Church” or “The First Church of Prophecy.” All of these names tell you that they propagate issues which actually, according to Paul are divisive.

We also have one hope of our calling and this is to be transformed into the image of Jesus by a process of sanctification and the resurrection at His coming. There is nothing more essential than this and we are to keep it central to our walk with Jesus. There is one embodiment of truth that we are to cling to and this is faith in the Word of God and we, by baptism, proclaim our faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. He is our Supreme Lord (in the Greek Kurios-meaning the Lord above all Lords); a reference to Jesus’ divinity and we have one Father who is also above all, through all and in us all by Jesus Christ. These then are essential truths and every Christian is to embrace them and unite around them. Non essential truths should not divide us and separate us and thereby weaken our testimony in the world. For too long this has happened as believers have fought over dress codes, head coverings, food and drink and prophecy. We should be ashamed of ourselves because the Kingdom of God “is not eating and drinking but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17)

2. Unity in Diversity V7-13
When Jesus ascended on high He gave men as gifts to His Church and He gave gifts to men. The former are, Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers and the latter are special abilities in the Spirit given to all of His people. His word teaches that “to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit.” (1Corinthians 12:7) All of these gifts mature the Body of Christ and equip it to serve. The Church only grows as each member of it does his or her part. Preachers are not platform entertainers but people equippers! Sadly the former is truer and so the Church has been robbed of its life and is deformed. Only humble leaders can rectify this situation and thereby restore the Body to health again. We desperately need unity in diversity!

3. Unity of the Faith V13-16
The Christian Faith exists to transform people from sin into the image of Jesus. Only the full ministry of the local Church can accomplish this. There is a presence of God among His assembled people that one will not get on one’s own. (1Corinthians 12:13) Christians who do not faithfully attend a local church are violating the unity of the faith! They are part of the problem and not the solution. This matter is urgent and important to Paul and God. Christianity is a “we” faith and not a “me” faith. The unity of the faith is only obtained as the “body grows “according to the effective working by which every part does its share.”

Malcolm Hedding

©Malcolm Hedding Ministries

PREAMBLE:

While the word Trinity is not in the Bible, the facts that demand the use of the word are. The term itself came from an early Church father called Tertullian who lived around about 198 A.D. He was an Evangelical by today’s standards and he could also be called a Pentecostal because he belonged to a group called the Montanists. They believed in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES

1. The “let us” statements of Genesis (Genesis 1:26)
Here God refers to Himself in the plural which indicates more than one person in the Godhead.

2. The Angel of the Lord (Genesis 16:7-13)
This is an angelic appearance of God in human form. Clearly this being in human form is God and thus worshipped and recognized as such (Genesis 18). In reality this is a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus, since the names attributed to the angel are those given to him (Judges 13:13-20, Joshua 5:13-15).

3. The Prophetic Scriptures (Psalm 2:10-12; Isaiah 9:6-7; 7:14; 6:1-5)
These passages all attribute divinity to the Messiah. John’s Gospel declares that when Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, he in fact saw Jesus! (John 12:37-41).

THE NEW COVENANT SCRIPTURES

1. John’s Gospel (John 1:1; John 8:58; John 10:30; John 14:6-10)
Jesus is God’s mind in human form, He is the same “I Am” that Moses encountered, He is one essence with God and He is the perfect manifestation of the Father. When all of this dawned upon Thomas, he worshipped Jesus as God! (John 20:28-29).

2. The Pauline Statements
Jesus is the very form of God before His incarnation (Philippians 2:5-8). He, God, was found in appearance as man. He is a perfect Godman! In Jesus dwells the fullness of God Himself (Colossians 2:9-10). Moreover, Jesus constitutes the “Mystery of God” (Colossians 2:1-3). God was manifested in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16), our great God Jesus (Titus 2:13).

3. The other New Testament books
In the epistle to the Hebrews, Jesus is the perfect outshining of all that God is (Hebrews 1:1-4). It is worthy of note that He is also the Creator of “the worlds” (universe) and upholds and sustains it by the word of His power (Colossians 1:15-18). In the book of Revelation, Jesus is worshipped – a practice according to the Bible only reserved for God alone (Exodus 20:3-5; Revelation 5:8-14). Also names reserved in the Hebrew scriptures for God alone are attributed to Jesus (Revelation 1:10-11; Revelation 22:12-13). Compare with Isaiah (Isaiah 41:4 and Isaiah 44:6). Moreover, God affirms in the Hebrew scriptures that there is no other Saviour apart from Him (Isaiah 45:21), and that all the earth must look to Him to be saved and declare that He is Lord (Isaiah 45:22-24). The New Testament attributes these passages to Jesus (Philippians 2:9-10; Titus 2:13).

CONCLUSION

One could write much more but these passages prove beyond doubt the true identity of Jesus. Acknowledging His divinity is the foundational stone of our salvation experience. After all, we accept Jesus into our lives but scripture states that, by doing this, we have God dwelling in us by His Spirit (2 Corinthians 6:16).

Malcolm Hedding

©Malcolm Hedding Ministries

Walking in Christ

“…walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and Given Himself for us….”
Ephesians 4:17-31; 5:1-21

Christianity constitutes a behavior change for those who truly embrace it by determining to follow Jesus as Lord. It is not a religious experience but a transforming relationship experience. Those who repent actually meet a living Savior and walk with Him through life. It is for this reason that Paul, in chapter four and verse seventeen, states that we should no longer “walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind.” So walking in Christ means:

1. Renewing your mind 4:17-24
The real battle ground for Christians is their minds and not the ability and power of God to change them. We have to change our minds daily to agree with God’s word and thereby we unleash the transforming power of Jesus in us. We must want to be different and this means taking care of our minds. The Bible also calls this repentance. Our minds constitute a gateway into our very souls and so our minds have to be protected and cared for. What gets hold of our minds will get hold of our emotions and our emotions will control our actions. Christians are therefore exhorted in scripture to “gird up the loins of their minds.” (1Peter 1:13) No one just fails on the spur of the moment as a Christian. No, we fail when we let our minds dwell on sinful and futile things. This is also why Paul writes in his epistle to the Philippian Church that they should focus their minds on wholesome and good things. (Philippians 4:8-9)

Here then in this Ephesians’ passage Paul tells us that we are transformed into the new man or woman, that Jesus wants us to be, when we purposefully renew our minds and conform our minds to Christ’s ways. If we think being a Christ follower is something else then we are sadly mistaken. Walking with Christ means being changed by Him into His glorious likeness. (Romans 12:1-2)

2. Renewing your behavior 4:25-32
Our faith is a “one another faith”; meaning that if the power of sin is reversed in our lives then we no longer live in a way that we are alienated from one another. Being reconciled to God through Jesus’ death on the cross means that our relations at a horizontal or human level are reconciled as well. To lie and dispute with those around us and especially with fellow Christians is a total defeat. For Paul then there is no doubt that struggles in this area will come as we move toward perfection in Christ but we have to handle these with much grace and wisdom. This means avoid lying, never let anger get a foothold in your life, do not steel and defraud those around you and never let corrupt speech come from your mouth. These, if left to go unchecked will give the devil a “place” in our churches and lives! Do not do it and if you do confess it immediately and put it away from your life and your Heavenly Father will forgive you. (1John 1:9)

By contrast we must be kind and forgiving and never grieve the Holy Spirit by whom we have been sealed (designated as God’s own purchased vessel) until the full day of redemption arrives and we are resurrected from the dead.

3. Renew your focus 5:1-14
Our focus is to be “imitators of God as dear children.” Just as Jesus walked in love and so His life was a sweet fragrance to God His Father so we to must walk in such a way that our lives give off a good smell! I have met many Christians over the years whose lives literally stink. Paul truly labors this point in this passage as he wants his readers to know exactly what it means to follow Jesus and the real dangers of walking in a way that contradicts one’s profession of faith. All those things which are contrary to Christ’s character, if not dealt with by repentance and godly sorrow, will send us to hell! We will not inherit the Kingdom of God if we do not fully appropriate Jesus’ redemptive power in our lives. We should not have fellowship with darkness and indeed we should dispel the darkness by the brightness of Jesus’ light in us. God has given us “everything we need for life and godliness in Christ” (2Peter 1:3) and thus there is no need for us to fail. As Christians then we must awake from our spiritual slumber and embrace the light of Christ with much joy.

4. Renew your purpose 5:15-21
You are on earth to walk wisely and circumspectly and not as a fool! We only get one shot at life and many have ended up as fools at the end of life’s journey. They were like Saul of old who declared finally that he had played the fool and was thus undone. There is nothing more tragic than a wasted life. Wisdom is what we need and godly wisdom is defined as the ability to apply knowledge correctly. How will your life end? Will it end as a fool or as one who took hold of Christ, embraced His redemptive wisdom and was full of the joyful songs of the Lord? The true Christian is filled with God’s love and joy and, in fellowship with others, is thankful for God’s grace and goodness given to us in Jesus. This Christian knows his or her purpose on earth and how to walk through life and does it with grace and dignity and all to the glory of God. This is how I want to end my days; what about you?

Malcolm Hedding

©Malcolm Hedding Ministries

Christian Relationships

“Wives submit to your own husbands……….”
“Husbands love you wives, just as Christ also loved the church….”
“Children obey your parents………………………”
“And you, fathers do not provoke your children to wrath………”
“Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters…….”
“And you, masters, do the same to them……..”

Ephesians 5:22, 25, and 6:1, 4, 5, 9

Christians of the first century were called the people of “the way.” That is, they lived differently to the people around them and this difference was discerned in their relationships to one another at all levels. This is what validates our faith as being credible and indeed believable. We are “new people” because of what Jesus has done for us and this newness must be seen where people struggle most and that is in their one another relationships.

The marriage relationship 5:22-33
No relationship is more blessed and more challenging than that of marriage. The rate of divorce certainly bears this out and should alert us to the fact that something is seriously wrong in our understanding of it. Here I am not referring to the world, which anyway has no appreciation of “born again” ethics, but to the Church of Jesus! It is a scandal that the divorce rate in the Church is the same as that of the world. We should be ashamed. If anything the Church has taken on board concepts of marriage which overthrow the biblical model and lead to chaos at all levels. For instance the idea that women should submit to their husbands is scorned at in the Church and even preachers “dance” around this truth when speaking about it. I am quite sure that this has been abused by many men and has subsequently brought heartache and abuse to the lives of many women but to “throw the baby out with the bath water” is equally wrong.

The truth is, marriage will challenge your carnal, selfish nature and if it is not structured around Christ and sacrifice it will fail. Women submit to men who lay down their lives for them and indeed where this happens submission is not a battle but a joy. Men have to learn that the women that God gives them are a gift and a treasure and that only their sacrificial love will beautify them and draw out of them a unique capacity to love and care for them and their children. This is precisely why Paul likens the husband’s role in marriage to that of what Jesus did on the cross to gain a bride called the Church. It cost Jesus greatly and men should know that God has called them into the same place in marriage. Your wife has not been given to you to make you happy and do your bidding! No, she has been given to you as a special treasure that you have to unlock and reveal for all to see. The truth is your wife is a reflection of what you are; nothing more and nothing less! When she is loved as Jesus loved the Church she will respond with submission and together you will find a joy and blessing that is beyond real description. Men have to step up to a new place of godly leadership in their marriages for to this God has called them. Jesus must be seen to be all sufficient in our marriages and we bring Him into great disrepute when we fail in this area.

The family relationship 6:1-4
Children need mothers and fathers and it is in this area that the devil is tearing peoples’ lives apart. Broken homes produce broken children and this in turn leads to a harvest of wickedness and chaos in our communities. It doesn’t take rocket science to know this but apparently our sick world has descended into an abyss of appalling ignorance in this regard. We need fathers to lead and discipline their children and mothers to care and cherish them and all of this in love. Sadly, once again, mothers and fathers can so easily abuse these skills and so end up being too hard on their children or too soft on them. We need godly balance and this comes from being a godly example in your home. Actually, what children need most is to see that their Dad loves their Mom and that their Mom admires and respects their Dad. When they see these qualities in their parents they will feel secure and loved. This in turn means that they can grow in healthy ways; especially emotionally. Children should then obey their parents and honor them as this will bring blessing and longevity to them. This is not an idle promise; our lives have more to do with how we have treated our parents than we believe!

Above all parents are to train their children in the ways of the Lord. This means acting deliberately and consistently and with one goal in mind; that they too will make a decision to follow Christ. Most of all it means teaching them by example! If parents don’t pray, read the Bible and go to Church they should not be surprised if in the end their children do not either.

Work place relationships 6:5-9
Christians belong to Jesus and therefore every part of their lives constitutes living for Him, including the work place! As employees we should discharge our duties to our employers with joy, dedication, integrity and honesty because, through them, we are serving Jesus. This makes difficult places of employment bearable and, if we are faithful, Jesus will promote us to something better. This is a lesson that many of us need to learn and to learn it well. We must avoid “eyeservice” performance because to work and have a job is a gift from God Himself. Our attitude to our work is noted by God and He will treat us in like manner. Many Christians remain truly stuck in their careers because they have failed to honor God fully at the work place.

Employers should recognize that as Christians they have important responsibilities to care for those under their charge. A godly employer should be kind, compassionate and not a task-master. Those who serve under him/her are precious and in many cases are Jesus’ children and those that are not should be encouraged to serve Christ. Their Master in Heaven is watching them and so they should not be wholly profit driven but driven by the purpose and will of God. Where this happens the business is blessed, filled with happy people and a testimony to an unsaved world.

This then constitutes Paul’s teaching about relationships and, of a truth; this is what it means to be a Jesus follower. It is truly time for Christians to step up and let Jesus reign in their lives. The world is waiting for this and more correctly is thirsting for this.

Malcolm Hedding

©Malcolm Hedding Ministries

The Armor of God

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord
And in the power of His might. Put on the
Whole armor of God, that you may be able
To stand against the wiles of the devil….”
Ephesians 6:10-20

Here in this famous passage of the book of Ephesians we have Paul’s exhortation to be ready for battle by adorning the armor of God. Here then he employs an illustration that was very familiar to him in that wherever he went in the Middle East, Asia and beyond the Roman soldier was observable everywhere and every day. He was a formidable force to be reckoned with as he, together with his legions, had conquered the then known world. For Paul then he was an excellent example of what a Christian should be in a more dangerous and formidable unseen spiritual world.

Key words
Paul’s opening statement to this important passage contains some key words that we should take note of. Firstly that we should be “strong in the Lord;” God wants His people, saved by the blood of Jesus, to be strong. It is in the Lord that we can only become strong but we have pursue God’s strength and appropriate it. Weak Christians are those that have failed to fully embrace the grace of God that is flowing toward them in Christ Jesus. There are far too many of these around. God our Father wants us to be clothed with His power and might.

Secondly, we are called upon to embrace the “whole armor of God” and not just one part of it. This armor of God is made up of key Christian truths that we have to own if we are ever going to be useful to Jesus and victorious. If one piece is missing we will become vulnerable to an enemy that will fully exploit this “gap” and cause us untold trouble.

Thirdly, we are up against the devil; an unseen but very real entity that is very powerful and has stratagems in place to de-rail our spiritual well being. This is no idle threat and it must be remembered that Paul is writing to Christians. They are the target of the devil’s wiles and if they do not take up the whole armor of God they will make themselves weak and vulnerable to demonic attack and many have! Truly, we are up against vast and very powerful wicked principalities in heavenly places.

Key components
The armor of God is really vital truths that have to get from our minds into our hearts so that they become a real part of us. According to Paul an “evil day” comes to all of us and woe to us if we are not properly clad in the armor of God. A Roman soldier going into battle had to give careful attention to the condition of his armor, both offensive and defensive, and he had to ensure that it was tight fitting and properly secured to his body; if not he would be in serious trouble when the battle was engaged. For Paul the Christian soldier has to give attention to:

1. The belt of truth V14a
This truth is the truth of God’s Word in its entirety. The “belt” that the Roman soldier secured around his waist was the most important piece of his armor as it, when properly employed, held all the other pieces of his armor in place! Every Christian should live in the Word of God day and night. Jesus said that God’s Word was truth (John 17:17) and that it should be the daily food that feeds our souls (Matthew 4:4). If we have no idea of the parameters of God’s dealing with us we shall never be able to stand and fight. The sin of neglecting the Bible is rife in the Church and this is precisely why the wider Church is so weak and ineffective in the world! Consequently the powers of darkness have very little to do; the Church has already been demobilized.

2. The breastplate of righteousness V14b
The Christian must know in his heart that Jesus’ death on the cross has fully satisfied the demands of God’s character on his behalf and thus he or she has forever been delivered from the consequences of o their sins, past, present and future, and therefore God declares that they are perfect in Christ before Him and righteous (2Corinthians 5:21) . He sees nothing in us that attracts His displeasure (Romans 5:1). The devil will always attempt to undermine this concept of right standing with God in your life and so you have to resist thoughts, of any type, that undermine this blessed position that is yours in Christ. Naturally, you have to couple this with a mind that also desires for and seeks this perfection. If a “good” Christian believes that God is displeased with him then the powers of darkness will quickly neutralize him. You heart must be covered with a breastplate that assures you of your righteous position in Christ!

3. The feet shod with the Gospel V15
The powerful weapon that God has given us is the Gospel message. We walk with our feet and so wherever we go we should tell people the Good News of Jesus. A soldier cannot advance in any direction that pleases him; if he does he will be wounded or killed. No, he has a mission that drives him ever forward with his fellow fighters and in this way victory is secured. The Gospel is a message that tells the world of the devil’s utter and complete defeat and so, indeed, it is the single thing that he will resist most. You must stand up firm in your resolve to share the Gospel. This is what you are fighting for. A soldier that loses his shoes will lose his grip, falter and fail and so it is with Christians.

4. The shield of faith V16
Faith is believing what God says even if this “saying of God” contradicts what we see, feel and smell (Hebrews 11:1). This is why faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17); we need to know what God says! The Bible says that we have all received a measure of faith that we have to grow and strengthen like a muscle. God will call us into faith adventures commensurate with our growth and thereby teach us to trust Him. This is a journey that we must all welcome and embrace. It is an exciting one as the more we overcome by faith so the Jesus will gives us bigger faith hurdles to mount or projects to undertake for Him. The shield gave the Roman soldier protection when the enemy launched fiery arrows against him. In like manner if you know God’s word a fiery arrow launched by the powers of darkness will not penetrate you because you know the truth.

5. The helmet of salvation V17a
The helmet gave protection to the head and so for Paul the most dangerous “battle ground” we face is that of the mind. What gets hold of you mind will get hold of your emotions and what gets hold of your emotions will dictate and control your actions. Remember; garbage in means garbage out! It all starts in the mind. The Bible exhorts Christians, time and time again, to guard and protect their minds (1Peter1:13; Philippians 4:8-9; Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 4:21-24). Your mind is a veritable gateway to your soul and what gets into it is important; very important. No tool has been used more to subvert the minds of people than television and its internet counterparts. Whole generations are being destroyed by these appliances. Inherently, there is nothing wrong with them but they have to be regulated or controlled otherwise we end up feeding our minds on filth which in turn grieves the Holy Spirit. The result; a Christian that is useless to God!

6. The sword of the Spirit V17b
Christians must not simply know the Word of God they must be able to use it as a weapon. The Bible is not merely a defensive instrument, by which we protect our spiritual lives, but it is also an offensive weapon whereby we advance Christ’s Kingdom in the world. We are moving forward against our enemy and we do so effectively with the Word of God in our hands. Jesus employed the Word of God in this manner during his encounter with the devil recorded in Matthew four. It is to be noted that Paul does not give us armor that covers our backs! The reason is simple; we are always victorious because of what Jesus has done and so we always take spiritual ground for Him by going forward. We can only do this if we have the sword of God’s Word in our hands. We must use it confidently and in every which way possible because it is two edged.

7. Praying always V18
Soldiers in the Roman army, as in all armies, had war-cries and songs whereby they expressed their belief in the regime and system that they represented. These were verbalized always and everywhere and, naturally speaking, gave them confidence and courage. As Christians we have prayer as our source of strength and power and by which we depend on God’s presence to give us courage and strength. We should pray always and for everything, according to Paul (Philippians 4:6; 1Thessalonians 5:17). Prayer is to be the spiritual breath that we breathe and it should encompass all that we do in life. The Church today is weak because it has abandoned prayer in favor of a slick methodology. We do this to our peril because by so doing we disconnect ourselves from our source of power and the devil knows it well! We must learn to build strong prayer lives.

Finally, Paul reminds his readers that he represents everything that he has been writing about in terms of the armor of God and so he requests prayer since he is a preacher of the Gospel, an Ambassador for Christ and a prisoner for Jesus. (6:19-20) Nevertheless, he is undeterred and desires only that he should preach more powerfully the message of Jesus. The message is clear; Paul led by example!

Malcolm Hedding

©Malcolm Hedding Ministries

Paul’s final greetings

“Peace to the brethren, and love with faith,
from God the Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ….”
Ephesians 6:21-24

A person’s final greeting is important as it very often conveys what is “burning” in his or her heart. For instance, when Jesus gave His final concluding words of greeting to His disciples, as recorded in Acts chapter one and the synoptic Gospels, He communicated to His friends what was of utmost importance to Him. They were to go forth into the world and preach the Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. This remains His priority.

Here to Paul says some things that are warm, meaningful and challenging and therefore worthy of taking note of. He stresses the blessing of fellowship and what it means to be the family of God. This is his great theological high point since, as we have noted, he has dealt with the great theme of the mystical union that exists between Christ and His Church and its practical outworking in believer’s lives and then he concludes with words that are gracious and heart-warming indeed. His theme is, “What we mean and should be to one another.”

1. We are beloved V21a
Beloved means “embraced with much loved!’ This is indeed a marvelous way in which to describe our relationship with one another in the family of God. It carries with it a sense of fellowship and community and of an interaction that is caring and supportive through all of life’s joys and troubles. The local church is a wonderful place and its fellowship should be rich and encouraging!
2. We are faithful V21b-22
Being “faithful”, like Tychicus was, means being dependable and consistent in all of our commitments to one another in the Body of Christ. This type of person is not easy to find and they are truly the foundation upon which the local church is built. We need faithful people who will become the ministers of the Lord.
3. We are committed to Jesus V23
Jesus gives those who are totally committed to Him His great love and faith. The one has to do with character and the other with service. His life in us cares for others and drives us to places of service. This is not a gift of faith that we are talking about here but a walk of faith by which we live, move and act every day. Scripture states that the “just shall live by faith”, meaning that every day the Jesus follower is committed to living out his life in real fellowship with Christ.
4. We are dependent V24
The Christian walk is one that is wholly dependent on the grace of God. What God in Christ calls us to is in fact impossible to attain. We need something greater and more powerful than ourselves in order to overcome the power of in-grained sin in our lives. God, our Father, has given us this grace in Jesus and therefore we can be all things that He wants us to be. The Apostle Peter wrote that we have received everything we need “for life and godliness in Christ Jesus.” Christians should never fail continuously because Christ lives in them. This in turn means that we are to cast ourselves upon Him every day and by so doing recognize our total dependency upon Him. It’s when we forget this that we resort to doing things in our own strength and fail!

It is with these final words of greeting that Paul concludes this remarkable letter to the believers at Ephesus. We would do well to study this book time and time again because its teaching is profound and life changing.

Malcolm Hedding

©Malcolm Hedding Ministries