Category: Ephesians
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Baptism and New Creation
In the beginning, God created the the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. The heavens were made fully formed. There is no progressive shaping of heaven, but rather…
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That you may know
Everything that God does in creation, in history, everything He gives us in his word and through His son, He gives as a revelation of Himself. All of history, all of the law, all of His dealings with His people together show us who He is. Look how often in scripture we see, “that you…
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Sons of the King
Proverbs 16:31 through 17:6 are book-ended with references to crowns of glory, the wisdom of age that is gained in a righteous life. This glory is shared between generations, as Peter Leithart points out, “Old men are crowned by having grandchildren. Through grandchildren, old men can reach into a future they will never live to…
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A new people, a new temple
Everett Fox, in his translation of the five books of Moses, points out that covenants were widely used to establish political relationships between kings and vassals, granting privileges and obligations for the parties involved. But no other ancient society “conceived of the possibility that a god could ‘cut a covenant’ with a people.” Calvin writes, “and…
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An Appeal for Modesty
Compromise with the world has been an ongoing issue in the church since the beginning -from the sons of God desiring the daughters of men, to the Israelites demanding a king so they could be like other nations, to Paul dealing with the Corinthians in their drunkenness and immorality. It is certainly no less an issue today. We are…
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Through the fingertips
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1-2 Deuteronomy details the covenant renewal that Moses addressed to Israel on the verge of their conquest of the promised land. A major theme repeated throughout…
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Walk in a manner worthy
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3 But in these days of…
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Chosen in Him
And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the LORD your God, with which he commanded you. For then the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart,…
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Only be strong
The LORD your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, so that you shall dispossess them, and Joshua will go over at your head, as the LORD has spoken. Deuteronomy 31:3 Joshua very much foreshadows the work of Christ and the spread of the gospel into the world. God…
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Sons at the King’s table
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages…