The chief aim in the life of a Christian is to glorify God by conforming more and more into His image and that of being holy. In this message on the Apostle Peter’s instructions to the suffering Christians in Asia Minor, Pastor Jim continues talking about our motivations to holiness by discussing what God has accomplished through His Son’s blood and the illogical nature of a willfully sinning Christian.
Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ
Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ
Jim Sole
A study of the prayers of the Apostle Paul is rich not only in doctrinal truth but practical Christianity. In his second prayer in the letter the Ephesians, the petitions define the high of Christian experience – to know the love of Christ and the fullness of God. It is in praying and seeing the Lord answer this prayer that we enter into the true Biblical experience of the Christian life – walking under the control of Christ’s incredibly love. In part five of the examination of Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3, Pastor Jim talks about where Paul asks God to apply His power; our innermost being.
The chief aim in the life of a Christian is to glorify God by conforming more and more into His image and that of being holy. And holiness is a necessity to endure suffering with joy for without holiness, we cannot fellowship with Him who is our joy. In the Apostle Peter’s instructions to the suffering Christians in Asia Minor, his exhortation to holiness is an invitation to know Him who is our joy and strength in suffering.
Ephesians 1:13-19 – In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord…
1 Peter 1:10-12 – Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the…
As we take out third look into the second prison prayer of the Apostle Paul found in his letter to the church in Ephesus, we encounter a depth that is unfathomable and unknowable, but rightly defining the Christian experience – the love of Christ and the fullness of God. We will begin digging into the petitions as the unfold the tremendous privileges we have as a result of our union with Christ.