Wednesday in the Word with Krisan Marotta

Jesus asks this question of his disciples. He highlights a specific area of concern: what makes a person unclean?

How do we keep the Sabbath? The simple command is not to work. We stop the activities we do that sustain our lives and instead we do the things that most foster our relationship to, understanding of and dependence on God.

Sabbath is about who God is. It’s not about what we need to live healthy lives. It’s not about making sure we get our rest so that we can be productive at work, be nice to our family and stay awake during Bible Studies (though none of those things are bad things). Sabbath reminds us who God is. Because as we’ll see, on the Sabbath, we rest to remember God.

Paul closes his letter with an exhortation to stand strong in the faith and put on the full armor of God.

Paul gives advice to Christians who live and work under authority and those holding authority on how to live out that calling.

Paul encourages husbands to love their own wives as their own bodies and wives to respect their own husbands, explaining how the marriage relationship mirrors the relationship of Christ and the church.

Paul contrasts the new life believers with their old life, urging his readers to walk in love, to walk in light and to walk in wisdom.

Paul argues that the gospel changes our perspective of life. We are no longer to live like unbelievers because our understanding has changed. Before we didn't know the truth. Now we know the truth.

In the second half of the letter, Paul moves from exposition to exhortation. Having said that God is about redeeming a people for himself and that we are the one united new family, it raises the question, how is the church suppose to function? Paul focuses on unity (4:1-6), role (4:7-10) and growth (4:11-16).

Paul concludes the first half of the book with a prayer for unity, spiritual maturity and a full understanding of the love of Christ. Unity is easy to say, but hard to accomplish. What does unity look like in the church today? If Paul came back today would he say we have too many denominations? We conclude with reflections on how to attain unity and truth.

In chapter 3 Paul turns the spotlight on himself. As he writes Ephesians, Paul is chained to a Roman guard. He encourages his readers not to lose heart at his tribulations because they are part of the larger story of God redeeming a people for himself. Who is on the other end of your chain?

Paul continues contrasting who we are by nature with what we can become by grace. His main point is: Remember that at one time you were alienated, but now in Christ you have been brought near, so then you are no longer strangers but fellow citizens.

The Apostle Paul paints a vivid contrast between what we are by nature and what we can become by grace.

Paul explains all the blessing we have in Christ in Ephesians 1: 1-14, now he prays in 1:15-23 what the we would fully comprehend who we are in Christ.

After the initial greeting, Paul launches into the body of his letter with covering our spiritual blessings that the blessings results from God's grace and the work of Jesus Christ.