Ephesians by Dennis McCallum (2022)

Once we are baptized into Christ, we receive all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places. Although our present condition does not seem to be much different, our condition has radically changed for the better. We can now see ourselves in Christ and no longer focused on performance. We are now secure, motivated and unafraid.

When we get adopted by God into His family, we obtain an inheritance almost too fantastic to believe. We are sealed with a love that cannot be taken away. We have a security that is eternal. The first step to comprehending God's love is to let Him in. It is not always easy. Understanding comes in layers but we can ask for help. We need to listen and accept it takes time. Comprehension can slip away if we take it for granted.

Our sin is a big barrier between us and God. Our fall from grace has led to alienation from God. But God in His mercy offers us forgiveness through the death of His son Jesus. When we believe and accept this offer of forgiveness, God gives us a new identity which we then gradually grow into it. Religion is the performance of religious laws, but Jesus offers instead a relationship based on personal love.

Paul explains the mystery God kept hidden from the beginning that He had a plan to reconcile Jews and Gentiles into one body. He kept secret that the Suffering Servant and the Conquering King were one and the same person but separated by time. He revealed all this in Jesus. God kept these things secret so Satan would go along with His plan to crucify Jesus at the right time, not realizing it would result in his own defeat.

When we put our faith in Jesus, we are mystically joined to the Body of Christ. We become one with Jesus, vertically, and we become united with other Christians, horizontally, in the Body of Christ. We do not create this unity, but we are called to preserve it. Our fallen nature opposes this but with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can experience true unity in the Body of Christ.

Building up the Body of Christ involves using the gifting one received upon conversion in an attitude of love. The goal is for everyone to use their gifting to help others to attain spiritual maturity. Paul calls all Christians to make every effort to learn to love and build up others in the Body.

Before one becomes a Christian, they are living for self, and have put sensuality at the center of their life. Sensuality always demands more and more to satisfy. Thus, the Law of Vanishing Returns. But as a Christian, one learns to set aside self and be renewed in the spirit of one's mind. By pursuing God and being transformed by His love, Christians become more like God and grow in their ability to love and serve others like He does.

If you are forgiven in Jesus, you have a new birth, a new identity. This new birth means you have to believe and live in that identity. Believing and living in this new identity releases God's power to transform your mind which leads to living a life of love.

Exchanging the old self for the new self first involves having peace with God. As a new Christian, you have laid aside the old self and the new self has been put on. This is the work of God. Now, you live out this new reality by recognizing this truth. With this new identify, peace with others is God's will for you. Commit to getting guidance needed to resolve conflict or resentment.