Epistle to the Ephesians #1

Chapter One

Fred R. Coulter—09/24/1991

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[Feast of Tabernacles - Day 2, 1991 | Transcript begins at 1:01 of Part 1]

Let me explain about this translation I am doing, and am adhering very strictly, in particularly to, the use of the verbs—the meaning of the verbs in the present tense, and to participles, which are those expressions which give us an ongoing meaning of the Word of God, and puts it more in a present tense for us.

That gives the Word of God more of a living, more of an up-to-date effect from the point of view that:

• the Word of God is living
• the Word of God is true
• the Word of God is Spirit and Life

Therefore, it should have meaning to us in depth. In the translation of The Seven General Epistles, this is what I have endeavored to do. As many of you know I have translated an amplified paraphrased version of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John which I complied in A Harmony of the Gospels in modern English. That one was not quite as strict a translation as the one that I did for The Seven General Epistles.

Ephesians relates to the Feast of Tabernacles and living with God, the plan of God and how we get there. An amplified translation does not adhere strictly to the verbs and the participles, although it is not avoided. An amplified version takes a word and expands it with two or three other words or phrases, which then magnifies or amplifies the translation. That's what I have done with the translation in Ephesians.

Ephesians is, in particularly, so important for us, because this was one of the 'prison epistles' of the Apostle Paul. Let's go back to the book of Acts and let's see how this whole situation developed in Ephesus. Ephesus was the great city of the goddess Diana. I'm sure all of you are well aware of the mother-goddess type of thing. The whole pagan world is still involved in it. Let's go through and get a little background about the city itself. Let's understand the tremendous impact that the Apostle Paul had when he came and preached the Gospel in Ephesus.

Acts 19:1: "Now it came to pass that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the upper parts and came to Ephesus…" Ephesus became the major center for Christianity; in particularly after the death of Paul and Peter. The Apostle John took up residence there in Ephesus, and that became the center and headquarters for the very work of God, and the compiling of the New Testament as finished by the Apostle John.

Here's how it started out. Paul was the first one to go there "…and when he found certain disciples, he said to them, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit after you believed?'…." (vs 1-2). That's a very important thing. There are a lot of people who believe that have not received the Holy Spirit. I think a lot of Protestants fit into this category, from the point of view that God's Spirit may be with them, but not in them. There is a distinct difference! One is a calling; the other is conversion! There is a distinct difference in calling and conversion.

Conversion is that you have the Spirit of God IN you. We will see in the first chapter of the book of Ephesians that the Apostle Paul talks about the Holy Spirit of God in relationship to eternal salvation. It's a very important thing. This also tells us that they were to know if they had the Spirit of God or not. They were to understand that they had the Holy Spirit to lead them.

Let's notice their answer, "…And they said to him, 'We have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.' Then he said to them, 'Unto what, then, were you baptized?' And they said, 'Unto the baptism of John'" (vs 2-3). If John's baptism was not as close to a valid baptism as you could get:

• Would you not say that that was a valid baptism?
• Was not John's baptism sent from God?
• Didn't God tell him to go baptize the people?
• Tell them to believe on the One Who was to come, Jesus Christ?
• That they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit?

If they weren't baptized with the Holy Spirit, John said they would be baptized with fire. So, with the baptism of John the Holy Spirit was not given as an impregnation in the spirit of the mind of the individual who believed. But the Holy Spirit apparently came and was dwelling with them so they could believe, so that they could understand certain things.

Verse 4: "And Paul said, 'John truly baptized with a baptism unto repentance, saying to the people that they should believe in Him Who was coming after him—that is, in Jesus, the Christ.' And after hearing this, they were baptized… [in other words, re-baptized] …into the name of the Lord Jesus. Now, when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with other languages and prophesied" (vs 4-6). This was a sign to Paul that he was to do a great work in Ephesus; that he was to build a great church in Ephesus; however, not without a lot of trouble.

Verse 7: "And all the men were about twelve." Twelve is a foundational number in the Bible. Here's the foundation of the Church in Ephesus. Where did he start this Church? At this time the Church of God was part of the believers at the synagogue! So then, the synagogue was the Church. Of course, later, with all the problems that they had with the Jews who didn't believe, then they had to have their meeting outside of the synagogue.

Verse 8: "Then he entered into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading the things concerning the Kingdom of God. But when some were hardened and refused to believe, speaking evil of the way…" (vs 8-9). That shows that God's way is a way of life; it's not just a 'religion' that you believe. It is not just a standard to make your life better. It is a way of life!

When they spoke evil of that way, "…before the multitude, he departed from them and separated the disciples; and he disputed these things daily in the school of a certain Tyrannus. And this took place for two years…" (vs 9-10). They did all of this without telephones, without video cameras, without news reports for two years.

"…so that all those who inhabited Asia heard the message of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks…. [this was a phenomenal ministry at Ephesus] …And God worked special works of power by the hands of Paul, so that even when handkerchiefs or cloths were brought from his body to those who were sick, the diseases departed from them and the wicked spirits went out from them" (vs 10-12). This is where we get the Bible principle of the anointed cloth.

Let me just mention here that the anointed cloth is sent when the minister cannot come and anoint you personally. I personally feel that every minister should anoint a particular cloth for that individual, for their particular sickness, and send it to them as a special prayer.

I remember years ago when they had a lot of letters coming in and people asking for an anointed cloth. What they would do is have a huge stack of cloths and they would pour the oil on it and then pray a general prayer over it. That was the only way they could do it with so many asking. Many people were healed with the use of an anointed cloth. But there is one thing about the anointed cloth: Never use it as an idol! or a good luck charm!When you are through with an anointed cloth, burn it, because God doesn't want people to take it—as the Protestants say—and put it under your pillow and it will bring you good luck and good health. That is making an idol out of an anointed cloth, and we don't see that they did that here.

There was competition from the Jews, v 13: "Then certain vagabond Jews, exorcists… [Ones who would cast out demons—vagabonds—gypsy Jews, traveling here and there doing the exorcisms, taking people's money and so forth.] …took it upon themselves to pronounce over those who had wicked spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, 'We adjure you by Jesus, whom Paul proclaims.'"

Notice the spiritual confrontation here; maybe this will help you understand about Eph. 6 where it says that you put on the 'whole armor of God, for we are not fighting and warring against flesh and blood, but against wicked spirits in high places.

Just to show you what went on, v 14: "Now, there were certain men, seven sons of a Jew named Sceva, a high priest, who were doing this. But the wicked spirit answered and said, 'Jesus I know, and Paul I have knowledge of; but you, who are you?' And the man in whom was the wicked spirit attacked them, overpowered them and prevailed against them, so that they escaped out of that house naked and wounded" (vs 14-16). This was a bloody mess! That gives us a good example of what you should not do if you don't have the proper authority and commission from God to do it.

Of course, this was known all around, v 17: "Now this became known to everyone inhabiting Ephesus… [this was in the Ephesus Daily Chronicle if you please] …both Jews and Greeks; and fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. Then many of those who believed came forward to confess and declare their deeds" (vs 17-18)—repented, were baptized, had hands laid on and received the Holy Spirit.

Verse 19: "And many of those who practiced the occult arts brought their books and burned them before all… [They had a nice big town square book burning of the writings of the goddess Diana and Zeus, and Thor, and all of the gods.] …and they calculated the cost of them and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver." We're going to see that this created a tremendous economic depression.

Verse 20: "And so the Word of the Lord spread and prevailed mightily. Now, when all these things had taken place, Paul determined in his spirit that when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, he must go to Jerusalem, saying, 'After going there, I must also see Rome.' And when he had sent to Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, he remained in Asia for a time" (vs 20-22). He stayed in Ephesus.

Verse 23: "And at that time it came to pass that there was no small tumult about the way…. [going back to that way of life as we covered before] …For there was a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver temples for Diana, which brought the artificers no small gain" (vs 23-24). They were making money on this!

Verse 25: "After gathering together the workmen who worked in such things, he said, 'Men, you know that from this craft we gain our wealth… [economic well-being] …and you see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded a great multitude to turn away, saying that they are not gods which are made by hands. Now not only is our business in danger of coming into disrepute… ['we're all going to go bankrupt'] …but also the temple of the great goddess Diana, whom all Asia and the world worship, is in danger of being regarded as nothing, and her majesty also is about to be destroyed'" (vs 25-27). I want you to get a glimmering of how absolutely important the religion of Diana was to the known world.

Verse 28: "And after hearing this, they were filled with rage; and they cried out, saying, 'Great is Diana of the Ephesians!' And the whole city was filled with confusion; and they seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians and fellow travelers of Paul, and rushed with one accord to the theater" (vs 28-29). You've probably seen pictures of the ruins of the theater in Ephesus. They had a big town meeting, everyone was there.

Verse 30: "Now Paul was determined to go in to the people, but the disciples prevented him…. [they knew that they were out to kill Paul] …And some of the chiefs of Asia, who also were his friends, sent to him, urging him not to venture into the theater" (vs 30-31). Just like mobs today, they don't know why they're there. They all get together.

Verse 32: "Now, some were crying out one thing and some another; for the assembly was confused, and the majority of them did not know for what reason they had come together. Then they selected Alexander from among the multitude, the Jews pushing him forward… [They are the ones who hate Christ; they're still doing the same thing today, putting up front people to destroy Christianity.] …and Alexander made a sign with his hand, wishing to make a defense to the people. But when they recognized that he was a Jew, there was a unified shout from all for about the space of two hours… [here was a riot going on] …as they cried out, 'Great is Diana of the Ephesians!'" (vs 32-35). Greek: 'tes megales theas artemidos!' You can just hear this chanting going on for hours—two solid hours!

Verse 35: "Now after the recorder had calmed the multitude, he said, 'Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the inhabitants of the city of Ephesus are keepers of the temple of the great goddess Diana… [you can almost see the great politicians standing up there in their togas] …and of the image that fell down from Jupiter? Since these things are undeniable, it is imperative that you be calm and do nothing recklessly. For you brought these men forcibly, who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess. On the one hand, if Demetrius and the artificers with him have a matter against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls… [judges] …let them accuse one another…. [give their case] …But on the other hand, if you have questions about any other matter, it shall be resolved in a lawful assembly. And moreover, we are in danger of being accused of insurrection because of this day since there is not one reason that we can give to justify this gathering.' And after saying these things, he dismissed the assembly" (vs 35-41).

So, Paul narrowly escaped—didn't he? You know he wasn't whimpering off in a corner. He preached for two years and just escaped with his life!

Let's look at the Church at Ephesus and what they had to go through. This gives us a prophecy of what they had to go through; this gives us an indication of their experience as Christians, and then we'll go from here into the book of Ephesians.

Revelation 2:1: "To the angel of the Ephesian church, write: These things says He Who holds the seven stars in His right hand…" The seven stars are the seven churches, so Christ is upheld in the book of Ephesus as being the Head of the Church, walking in the midst of the Church, over all to the Church. He's starting out here by saying, 'Look, this is to show that Christ is connected with all of the churches.'

Verse 2: "I know your works, and your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot bear those who are evil; and that you did test those who proclaim themselves to be apostles, but are not, and did find them liars" They had to go through a lot of people coming along and saying, 'We're apostles, we saw Christ,' and all this sort of thing and called them liars! And they had to stand up to it, just like they did when the situation came because of the economic collapse of getting rid of all of these idols, books and things that they had with their 'religion.'

Just think where the Catholic Church would be today if all of the Catholics started getting rid of their idols, crucifixes, statues of Mary and starting knocking off all of the saints that are engravened into the side of their churches. Or go to St. Peter's Basilica—the only thing you can do to St. Peter's Basilica is just destroy it; there's no hope in saving it, it is so full of idols you can't believe it. Of course, they have Mary-worship there, which then is a 'Christianized' Diana-worship.

They had to buy all these pagan things, buy all these Jewish things and combine them. They had a tough time of it. I want you to understand what a difficult situation they were in and then why the book of Ephesians is so inspiring and why it is so important for us. It gives us a glimpse into one of the most profound and meaningful books that Paul wrote showing the plan of God.

Verse 3: "And that you have borne much… [worked, labored, had patience] …and have endured, and for My name's sake have labored and have not grown weary; nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love" (vs 3-4). They started leaving off loving God with all their heart, mind, soul and being, and started becoming more involved in taking care of people and the relationship with people instead of their relationship with God first.

It makes you wonder about the whole setting of this, because how far this goes into the development of Sunday-worship in reflection to the first love. If the first commandment is to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and being, and the first four commandments are hanging on that first commandment, then you have no other gods before you, no graven images, taking God's name in vain and remembering the Sabbath to keep it Holy—just abbreviated form of those commandments.

If they were losing their first love, there was probably a lot of pressure to begin keeping Sunday as well as the Sabbath—that's how they started. Of course this is way after the death of Paul and the death of the Apostle John. Obviously then, they started saying, 'Look, we can convert these pagans a little more if we say that Diana was not really not the one you ought to be worshipping, but it's the virgin Mary, because after all it says in Scripture that 'all generations will call you [Mary] blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.'

Now in begins to slip the worship of Mary as the substitute for the worship of Diana. The only thing that has changed is the name. So, this gives you great wonder as to how far the Church at Ephesus went in losing its first love.

Verse 5: "Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the first works; for if you do not, I will come to you quickly; and I will remove your lampstand out of its place unless you repent." That's exactly what happened to the city of Ephesus—gone, a dead city; was removed!

Verse 6: "But this you have: that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. The one who has an ear… [we're going to see how important this is in relationship to the book of Ephesians] …let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes I will give the right to eat of the tree of life that is in the midst of the paradise of God" (vs 6-7).

Using the amplified translation of the book of Ephesians I've taken the meaning of all the Bible and applied it to each verse as I translated the New Testament. You will see that there are many more words that are given to amplify the meaning of the original Greek. This is not be taken as an authoritative translation whatsoever. This meant to be taken—and I hope inspiring—Bible study aid for Ephesians. It's very important to relate this in relationship to the Feast of Tabernacles.

Ephesians 1:1: "Paul, an apostle… [What is an apostle?] …one who has been commissioned and sent by Jesus Christ…" It actually means one bearing authority to speak for. That's why when they tested the false apostles, they found them liars because Jesus didn't send them.

"…through the will, choice and purposeful design of God..." (v 1). All of those words have to do with the will of God.

• Does the will of God have choice, if He chooses to do it? Yes!
• He calls us!
• He elects us!
• He selects us!
• We are called the 'chosen ones.'
  • Does God have a purpose and design in what He's doing? Yes, He does!

The rest of the Bible tells us that. What I'm doing is explaining why I translated this particular way.

"…unto the saints…" (v 1). Who are the saints? We're the saints! It comes to from the Greek 'hagiois'—which means Holy one, the ones who are Holy. Why are you Holy? Because you have the Holy Spirit!

It also means "…who are the consecrated ones to God…" (v 1).

• set aside
• dedicated
• consecrated

—to God!

"…at Ephesus, thefaithful and trusting ones in Christ Jesus" (v 1). This gives a full meaning and greater impact, and I hope, more inspiration and understanding of Ephesians.

Verse 2: "Grace, Divine favor (God's generous gift) and blessing to you, even the peace… [What sort of peace does God give? Bringing to bear the rest of the meaning of the Bible] …harmony and tranquility from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Blessing and praise be to the God and the Father of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ…" (vs 2-4).

We need to understand something about our relationship to Jesus Christ. Not only is He our Savior, He is also our King, our Master. He is the One not only do we have faith in, but give total allegiance to. You see what happened to those at Ephesus later on after Paul wrote this epistle to them. They lost their first love and they didn't give that total faith to, and they didn't give that total allegiance to. I'm trying to bring this out to make it very clear for you.

"…Who has bestowed upon us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly things through Christ" (v 3). That says an awful lot. What this is going to do is help us understand the tremendous inheritance that God says we are going to receive when we enter into the Kingdom of God, when we rule and reign with Christ, when we live with God and are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly things through Christ. Not yet that we have them, but we will, as we will see.

Verse 4: "In accordance with His very own will, He selected and chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, for the purpose that we are to be presented Holy, consecrated, irrefutably blameless and unblemished in His sight…"

• Does the grace of God cleanse you from every sin? Yes, it does!
• Does the righteousness of Jesus Christ—imputed to you—put you in a special standing with God, Irrespective of the fact that you have 'the law of sin and death' in you? Yes, it does!

It makes you "…Holy, consecrated, irrefutably blameless and unblemished in His sight (that is in God the Father's sight) in Godly love" (v 4).

Verse 5: "Who before the foundation of the world…" God doesn't do things haphazardly. God is not impetuous that He goes out and He does something. 'Oh, I did this, not what am I going to do with it? I created a universe, what am I going to do with this universe?' Before He created it, He had a purpose:

Verse 5: "Who before the foundation of the world, designed beforehand and foreordained by His predeterminate will and purpose for us, those who are called and chosen by Him, to be predestinated to enter into sonship by God the Father Himself, through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of God's very own will and desire." I don't know about you, but that makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck, that

• God's own will
• God the Father's own choice
• God the Father's own design
• God the Father's own Spirit

has been given to us, and called us for His purpose! This really becomes magnificent.

Verse 6: "And for this to expand the praise and honor of His glorious and splendorous grace (which is the basis of our relationship that emanates from God the Father), wherein He has made us the recipient objects of His Divine grace and blessing in the Beloved One (Jesus Christ)"—that you are the object of God's love.

Remember what it says in John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish, but may have everlasting life."

We have become the objects of God's love! That's why it was so terrible for them to lose their first love, because God worked in their lives first, and God called them first, and they were the objects and recipients of God's grace and blessing through Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:7: "In Whom we have the redemption, the deliverance… [What is redemption mean in light of the rest of the Bible?] …procured by the payment of a ransom through His (Jesus Christ's) very own blood, even the remission… [What does that mean?]: …pardon and cancellation of our transgressions and offenses against God, according to the overflowing riches of His grace!"

This gives us the tremendous wealth and understanding of the glory of the calling of God, that it is called here, "…according to the riches of His grace."

Now maybe you'll understand why Paul says, 'So sin abound, grace much more abounds!' Yes! Because grace is greater!

Verse 8: "Which He caused to super-abound toward and into us with all Divine wisdom, sagacity and intelligent right mindedness." This is telling us what the Holy Spirit of God is to do for us:
To give us "…wisdom, sagacity…" proper reasoning and understanding] …intelligent right mindedness." In other words, common, logical sense according to the Word of God. It's important, brethren, that when—and one of the most important things we can do—we are studying the Bible is to study from the point of view that when we get the words of God in our mind and we begin

• thinking with the Scriptures
• understanding with the Scriptures

because it's tremendous and fantastic grace that God has given to us, that He would give of His very own being to implant His Spirit in the very spirit of our mind. To take us—who are sinners by nature—and set us up completely blameless, harmless and clean before God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

In addition to that, v 9: "Having revealed and made known to us the mystery…"—God's plan; and many people take it for granted. 'Oh yeah, we go to the Feast of Tabernacles because we know what that means, that it pictures a time when we're going to be living with God.' Brethren, we can't have that attitude or that kind of projection of God's way at all.

God has "…revealed and made know to us the mystery… [which the world cannot understand and does not understand and will not understand] …of His secret plan, which is hidden from and unobtainable through human rational, of His very own will and desire, according to His goodness and pleasure, which He proposed, designed and planned in Himself." God's plan and salvation is not just some happenstance thing, it's "…proposed, designed and planned in Himself."

When was it determined that Jesus was to be crucified? Rev. 13—the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world! Look out at the great foundation of the vastness of this universe. God had a plan before He even started. God has a plan that He is doing right now, and it's purposeful, by His design. It's for His own pleasure and goodness!

Verse 10: "That in the administration of this plan, which is brought to completion in the fulfilling of the times, He might bring everything together in Christ, including both the things in heaven and the things upon the earth, in and through Him, in Whom we also have received a share and obtained an inheritance in His plan…" (vs 10-11)—in His plan.

(go to the next track)

• You have a share in God's plan!
• You have stock in God's plan!
• You have a share in the inheritance of the universe!

"…we have been predestinated… [God's predetermined will for us] …according to His own purpose and predeterminate will, Who is working everything (in His plan for humanity) according to the design and resolve of His own will and desire…. [What is the purpose of that?] …For us to be the praise of His magnificent splendor and glory, we who have before the fulfilling of the time, have first trusted, believed and relied in Christ" (vs 11-12). That says an awful lot!

• Did you know that the angels are going to worship us?
• Did you know that all of those who come into the Kingdom of God—through the Millennium and through the Last Great Day—are going to praised us as part of God's magnificent and splendorous glory?

Verse 13: "In Whom you also, after hearing the Word and Message of the Truth of God, even the good news of your own salvation, in Whom you also, after having believed that message of Truth, were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise…"

What does that mean? The earnest; the down payment! The receiving of the Holy Spirit seals us as belonging to God. It does more than that: "…(which is the spiritual stamp of identification showing that you belong to God)" (v 13)—as compared to the stamp of identification that the world is going to receive that the Bible calls the mark of the beast! We have the seal of God!

Verse 14: "Which Spirit is the earnest, the begettal, first installment or down payment in advance of our inheritance, which expands into eternal life, through (the Holy Spirit, by the resurrection when Jesus Christ returns) for you become God's very own children, for the praise of His magnificent splendor and glory." The very children of God!

'Behold, what glorious love that the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the children of God. and it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we shall see Him for we shall be like Him!' (1-John 3). In glory, in splendor, the very children of God! God is going to say to all the rest who come into the Family of God, 'Behold, the firstborn,' because we are called the Church of the Firstborn (Heb. 12). That tells us a tremendous amount—doesn't it?

Verse 15: "For this very reason, I, also, after having heard of your trusting faith and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, even the Godly love and affection which is toward the saints (who are the called out consecrated ones in Christ Jesus), I do not cease giving thanks for you continually making mention of you in my prayers; so that the God of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, the Father, who radiates Divine magnificent splendor and glory, may give to you the Spirit of Divine wisdom and the spiritual insight of revelation into the knowledge and understanding of Him (God the Father)" (vs 15-17).

That's what this whole Feast of Tabernacles is to do. It is to draw us closer to God. We are to spend these seven days together. We are study God's Word and grow in that knowledge and understanding and spiritual insight, and let the Spirit of God be impacted in us, to inspire us

• with the Word of God
• with the Spirit of Christ
• with the Spirit of the Father

—to really understand the tremendous and magnificent salvation that God is giving us. I'm almost beyond words to explain it, because it so fantastic.

Verse 19: "And for you to know and comprehend the super-abounding greatness, even the magnitude of His infinite power toward us who are believing, according to the inner workings of the dynamic power and the spiritual might of His strength" (vs 18-19). We are going to be resurrected by the very power and Spirit of God.

Verse 20: "Which He performed and worked in Christ… [here's the evidence that we will be there with Him in that resurrection] …having resurrected Him from among the dead and set Him in His place at His right hand in the heavenlies, high above every principality and ruler, authority and power, lordship and dominion, every name and title, that can be named, not only in this present age, but also in the age that is coming. And He, God the Father, has put all things (even the vastness of the universe) under His feet, that is, the authority for the rulership and dominion; and He appointed Him as the Head over everyone and over all things in the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who is fulfilling all thing in every way" (vs 20-23).

That should give us a beginning incite into the tremendous inheritance that God has for us, and to be showing us, brethren, the tremendous, wonderful and magnificent thing that God has done for us so that we can be in His very kingdom.

I know that this sermon is going to be heard/read by some of you who are nearing the last stages of your physical life. You need to be inspired and uplifted—that even though you may be weak and infirm, and even though your body may be wearing out—that God is not forgetting you! That God has this tremendous and fantastic and almost incomprehensible plan for you to be His very own children and live and dwell with Him forever and ever in all eternity!

Scriptures in Ephesians from The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, An Inspirational Study by Fred R. Coulter

All other Scriptures from The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version by Fred R. Coulter

Scriptural References:

• Acts 19:1-41
• Revelation 2:1-7
• Ephesians 1:1-6
• John 3:16
• Ephesians 1:7-17, 19-23

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Ephesians 6
• Revelation 13
• 1 John 3
• Hebrews 12

Also referenced: Book:

• The Seven General Epistles by Fred R. Coulter
• A Harmony of the Gospels by Fred R. Coulter

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 11-18-12
Corrected: 2-1-13