Ephesians Part 58

INTRO: We have taken a little break from the exegetical messages in Ephesians. We took a few messages to be reminded of the matter of hell. It is not a pleasant subject but one we need to be reminded of. They tell me when preachers get old they tend to get soft. Maybe there was a reason priests in the OT were retired from their work when they were 50. But we are back to Ephesians now. The book of Ephesians, like a number of Paul's messages falls naturally into two sections, the doctrinal section and the duties, or the practical section. The doctrinal section is from 1:1-3:21 and we have completed that section.

In the first 3 chapters we covered a lot of doctrinal material, but especially the doctrine of the Church. In the practical section the Apostle Paul now zeros in on how doctrine should affect the Christian's practical life. If our faith does not change our life during the week, neither are we Christians.

God's greatest work on earth in the last 2,000 years has been the Church. And the main task of the Church is twofold as I see it. We have the great commission Jesus left for the Church to fulfill. In Matthew 28:18-20, not long before He ascended to heaven He said this