Living a Purpose-Centered Life

We are designed by God for a purpose. When we come into a relationship with Christ we receive many blessings from God that are the foundation of our spiritual lives. We find security, acceptance, forgiveness, and so much more. God wants to continue to bless us as He works in and through us to accomplish His plan for the world. \r\n

God's purpose for us includes a future hope in our inheritance, and living with that in view transforms our lives! Having the assurance of an eternal inheritance defines how we serve, and how we view others.

God wants us to have a deep and intimate knowledge of Himself. Paul prays specifically that the Ephesians would understand the hope in God's plan, the security in their inheritance, and God's power. We can pray for these same things, with confidence that God will reveal these things to us!\r\n\r\n

The world we live in is fallen, a distorted version of what God originally intended. People are held in bondage, evil reigns, but God offers total help for our total need. We can come to Him in faith, turning from bondage to freedom!

God uniquely and creatively designed us for a good purpose. We can strive for a growing knowledge and understanding of this purpose, guided by God's greater purpose as revealed in His Word. We all have something that guides our lives - what will we choose for it to be?

While the Gentiles were previously separated and alienated, that ended with the cross. God reconciles people to himself and to each other through His grace and love. We all have barriers that keep us from God and others, God wants to break through those and bring unity!\r\n

God reconciles people to himself and to each other. When we come into a relationship with Him we become a part of His kingdom and His family. A reconciled community is connected by God and given purpose through Him!\r\n\r\n

Paul calls himself a steward of God's grace. We are entrusted with the same message, that was once a mystery but has now been revealed by God through Christ. Although we are not worthy, God works through us with His power to carry out His message and purpose!\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

We are often paralyzed by our weaknesses, unable to see God at work. We need God's supernatural power to understand His incredible unconditional love. He meets all of our needs and so much more, and wants us to experience His love in a deep and lasting way!

The letter to the Ephesians explores what it means to have a purpose. It argues that humans were not created by accident, but instead are called by God. Each individual's calling is unique in type and direction, and believers realize their callings best in the context of the body of Christ.

Now that believers have a purpose and a calling, there is a process of discovering and growing in God's calling. There are three aspects of this process. It includes growing in: 1) humility and gentleness; 2) patience, forbearance, and love; and 3) unity of community, faith, and hope.

Included in the call for believers is to fill the role they are given in the Body of Christ. Regardless of the role, the motivation to serve will always come out of love. There are four practical steps to get started: 1) get connected, 2) pray for opportunities to serve, 3) give what you've got, and 4) get equipped to give more.

Ephesians emphasizes that lifestyle flows out of identity. The gentiles are described to have a darkened understanding, leading to a chaotic lifestyle. The prescription is a renewed understanding of the human condition, their culpable ignorance (which causes deep conflict and eventual callousness within), sensuality, and greed. All of these are ingrained habits that believers need the Spirit to transform. This new awareness leads believers to value a different way of living.

The believer's new way of living is set inside a framework of grace. It's substance is love, which includes speaking truth, avoiding apathy and uncontrolled or misplaced anger, being careful in speech, encouraging, and giving forgiveness. The only way to achieve this kind of love is through remembering Christ's sacrifice to also forgive believers.

God has rescued humans through Christ's death. Once we have a relationship with Him, He calls us to live our lives by walking in light as a demonstration to those in darkness. This looks like demonstrating the gospel in our daily lives and witnessing by contrast, not judgment. The text recognizes the struggle involved in trying to live this way.

Walking in the light includes carefully practicing wisdom. Wisdom is practical godly insight, developing and applying knowledge. Wisdom seizes the moment and redeems time. There are several ways to use wisdom to advance God's work: letting the Spirit control us, having content-rich fellowship, driving God's truth into the heart, having gratitude, and letting God's counsel come to us through other believers.

The heart of the Christian walk is imitating God. Christians live their lives trying to relate to others the way God relates to them. They live "in the light" and demonstrate the gospel by the way they live. They are a contrast to the world, not partakers of it. The text pleads for consistency in Christian living for the sake of its witness.

God gives Christians guidance in how to have a successful marriage. Wives are told to be subject to their husbands, meaning they should be a support to him. Husbands are told they should lead and love their wives like Christ. Marriage represents the unity of Christ's love for the church. It requires God's love and grace as a foundation.

Focusing on the wife's role in marriage, the text brings out how she should submit to her husband's leading. This is not passive obedience, but it is: 1) a spiritual commitment in the totality of life, 2) a context to fully develop as the person God intended you to be, 3) a pattern of service advancing your husband's spiritual growth, and 4) a partnership rooted in common vision. Submission in the Biblical sense is purposeful.

Living a purpose-centered life applies to all of the relationships believers have with each other, including parents to children and vice versa. Children are to obey and honor their parents for their own benefit. Parents should avoid performance-based acceptance and disengaged relationships and keep four points in mind: 1) knowing & serving God is the purpose of life and the primary goal of parenting, 2) gain awareness and development of personal strengths, 3) be aware of how their strengths can be a deficit & ability to grow in self-discipline in these areas, and 4) know how to address sin patterns. Most importantly, parents need to stand under grace and keep learning humility.

While the Bible does not promote slavery, Paul uses it as an example of how each situation is a unique opportunity to give witness. The most important call for believers is to love and serve others, even in difficult circumstances. There is a clear path to be drawn from slavery in the world and the slavery humans experience under sin. But, God has a message that invites everyone to be free.

Humans live in a spiritually divided world. Satan was a created being who led a rebellion against God and now rules Earth. Because of this rule, spiritual warfare is a forced circumstance of our world. Fortunately, we know the outcome of this war. We don't need to live in fear because God is in control. Still, believers need to be aware that Satan takes people more seriously than they take themselves and wants to impose his will on them.

Paul warns to be aware of the schemes of the devil. Believers are encouraged to stand firm in the truth, being confident in God's Word. Believers can put on and trust in a breastplate of righteousness. This righteousness is not of their own, but it comes from the grace that Christ has given them. Believers should also know their mission and understand the urgency of it. They should stand with each other as a wall of defense, and they need to gather up a will to fight. Believers should be calculated in their force, trusting and knowing when to use the power of God's Word.