As Paul begins to bring his epistle to a close, he exhorts the church to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (Eph. 6:10). He masterfully weaves together the many themes present throughout the letter in order to encourage the saints to put on the gospel armor of God in its entirety, […]

Continuing to describe the practical outworking of being filled with the Spirit, namely, “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Eph. 5:21), Paul applies the gospel to the relationships between children and their parents, as well as slaves (employees) and their masters (employers). In these relationship, believers are radically called to be obedient, kind, gracious, […]

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Eph. 2:19). Thus Paul concludes this magnificent chapter with a stunning picture of sinful humanity, both Jew and Gentile, being built together into the temple of God. This holy dwelling place is built upon […]

Our God is a speaking God; he is a communicating God who reveals his glory in, through, and to his creation. As noted Christian apologist Francis Schaeffer put it: “He is there and He is not silent.” The apostle Paul writes that, “his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the […]

Having preached and defended the gospel of grace – “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (Rom. 3:22-26) – Paul has been laboring to articulate the life of freedom that God’s children may now experience. This new life that we have been called to is one characterized by, submitted to, and controlled by the Spirit. […]

Paul boldly and unapologetically preached “Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles” (1 Cor. 1:23; 2:2). Yet the Galatian false teachers had been bringing all sorts of accusation against Paul and his ministry, in addition to preaching a subtly different gospel that in fact was no gospel at all (Gal. 1:6-7). As […]

“Where is God in all of this?” This question is often asked in the face of devastating trials, intense persecution, and horrible calamities. Even as believers we can sometimes be tempted to believe that God is distant, unconcerned, or even helpless when disaster strikes. In Acts 12 we see the early church facing such difficulties […]

As we came to the conclusion of our Old Testament readings in The Daily Bible, we read the inspiring account of Nehemiah and his efforts to rebuild and reform Jerusalem. Yet, just as we have seen with the many other major characters in Scripture, Nehemiah’s life ultimately points us to the life of Jesus Christ and […]

Many inspiring sermons have been preached on Isaiah chapter 6, most concluding with a call to respond like Isaiah did: “Here I am! Send me.” Yet, these types of sermons fail to explain the nature of Isaiah’s prophetic ministry, that he was to “make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see […]