Bible Survey Eph-2 Thess

Francis, we return to our third session here this afternoon. We're back in our Bible survey of Ephesians and I'll give you a little key that, if you'll remember this, it'll help you understand this brilliant epistle of Paul Beder. The first three chapters deal with our wealth in Christ and the last three chapters deal with our walk in Christ.

And the central message of Ephesians, it's a letter which soars to the heavens and sinks to the heart. In it, we see we possess a wealth in him awaiting us in heaven. This is seen in chapter two and verse six, and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

And then we have a duty to walk for him while we are here below upon earth, seen in chapter four and verse 17, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind. And in this epistle, Paul shows believers their position in Christ and their responsibility to walk in Christ. There's a main message in Ephesians of unity in the church and consistency in the walk.

Paul tells us that Christ's purpose for us is holiness. Our position in him is heavenly and by his blood, we are reconciled to God and have peace through him. In this epistle, the believers instructed to walk in unity, in love, in light, and in wisdom.

Oh, what a treasure trove this book of Ephesians is, friends. In Christ, we have an inheritance. In Christ, we have a new relation.

And in Christ, we have revelation. Paul gives us the armor to do battle with the enemy in chapter six, and we dare not cease to put it on. The central events of this book are, Paul speaks of unity between the converted Jews and the Gentile believers.

And this theme of Christian unity is underscored by the following text, chapter two, verses five through six, 15 through 16, and verse 18. And the central verse, friend, is found in chapter four and 13. Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

And the central application for us is this, friends. The key application for today's Christian is in the armor. Put on the whole armor, God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Since your battle's not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of darkness at this age, we must be dressed for battling, battle ready, we must gird our waist with the breastplate of righteousness, shout our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, taking the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation, and we must pick up the sword of the spirit. This way we can stand against the wiles of the devil. Our next book is Philippians, and its central message is this, friends.

Philippians, written by Paul from prison, is a tender letter filled with love. He has concern for the faithfulness of the Philippian church and their unity in the things of Christ. Though Paul is in chains, he is thankful to God, and he has joy in the Lord.

Paul is content in whatever state he's in, and he has peace from the Lord. It is these themes that permeate this prison letter to the church at Philippi. The heartbeat of the apostle's faith is clear in this letter, and his walk in Christ is a model for all believers to follow, and his desire for the Christians at Philippi is let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ.

In this letter, Paul is encouraging these believers to be thankful, to be content, to have peace, to have unity, and to press on toward the goal of knowing him. Paul is displaying the Christ life in the believer. Oh, what a perfect picture of a Christian is presented in this prison letter.

Paul, who is in chains, is thankful and joyful in the Lord. He's not puffed up with all his previous learning, but counts it all rubbish in light of the cross. He's content in any situation that comes his way.

He has the peace of God. Jesus is his strength. Jesus is his peace.

Jesus is his goal. Jesus is his all. The central events are the love of Christ for his church made manifest in Paul.

The central figures are Paul and Timothy. And the central verses are chapter 3 and 10, 310 rather, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death. And chapter 4 and verse 4, rejoice in the Lord always.

Again, I say rejoice. And the central application is this, friends. The key application for today's Christian believer are the hallmarks of the Christian faith lived out through the mighty apostle.

Paul gives us the Christian model in this letter, and it is as follows. Number one, we are to be prayerful and thankful. Number two, we are to be content and peaceful.

Number three, whatever our circumstances, we must rejoice in him. Number four, we must be confident in our faith that God will complete his work in us. Number five, we should live so that our conduct is worthy the gospel of Christ.

Number six, we should have humility through the mind of Christ. Number seven, we must realize where our true citizenship is, in heaven. Number eight, we must be aware that we can do all things in Christ.

Number nine, we must rest in the knowledge that God will supply all our needs. And number 10, we must keep our eyes on things above and live looking at him. The next time we are tempted to complain about our circumstances in life, let us rather rejoice.

Well, next we're gonna look at Colossians. And in Colossians, its central message is this, friends. Colossians is related to Ephesians and the resemblance is hard to miss.

Colossians speaks of Christ as the head of the church. Ephesians speaks of the church as the body. Together, they form a completeness.

In this letter, Paul stresses how Christ takes preeminence before all things. And Paul warns of the philosophy and its error, which was perverting the pure doctrine of Christianity. The heresy and Gnosticism was replacing faith with the thought of resting on knowledge.

Paul is stern in his warnings to them about this error. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world and not according to Christ. And after Paul instructs them in right doctrine, he gives them right ethics to live the Christian life fully in Christ Jesus.

Colossians is rich with Christology and one cannot help but see Christ in his preeminence, how all are reconciled in Christ, how the mystery hidden from the ages has been revealed in Christ, how believers are raised with Christ and how Christ should reign in the home of the believer. And with the wisdom of Christ, we should redeem our time for him. The central events are a message to exhort and edify the church to keep them from doctrinal error.

The central figures are Paul and Timothy. The central verse is found in chapter three in verse one. If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God.

And the central application, friends, is this. The key application for today's Christian is in chapter three of this glorious book. In it, we see that the Christian life is not the carnality of the old man, but Christ in the new man.

There is a putting off and putting away and putting the death of the old man and the besetting sins that hinder the walk of the believer. And there is a putting on of better things, which gives us richness in our position with Christ and our walk in him. If only every believer could grasp the importance and appropriate the promises laid out in Colossians, how different our lives could be if we really did seek those things which are above and were in earnest in realizing that you died and your life is hidden with Christ and God.

What an impact would be made on the church and the world. Well, next we're gonna look at 1 Thessalonians and the Bible survey here found, friends. The central message of 1 Thessalonians is concerned with our sanctification and the second coming of Christ.

Paul defends his own conduct and exhorts the believers at Thessalonica to live holy lives for the Lord. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. That's in chapter four and verse seven.

The church in Thessalonica had a good reputation and here Paul encourages them to pursue God more passionately and more precisely. And he demonstrates his principle by his personal life for God. There's excitement in this epistle as he speaks of the day of the Lord.

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God. And there's excitement as he speaks of the rapture of the saints. Then we who are alive and remain should be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

And thus we shall always be with the Lord. And at the end of the epistle is a list of exhortations that cannot be ignored. Paul instructs the believers there to esteem, to be at peace, to comfort, to uphold, to be patient, to pursue good, to rejoice always and to pray without ceasing, to not quench the spirit, do not despise prophecies, to test all things and abstain from every form of evil.

He charges them that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren. We agree it should be read and studied by all believers. The central events, it's an encouraging letter of comfort and exhortation to live for the Lord now because he's on his way again.

The central figures are Paul, Timothy and Silas and chapter three and verse 13 is where we find our central verse. So that he may establish your hearts of blameless and holiness before our God and father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. And the central application, friends, is this, the key application for today's Christian believer can be found in the apostle Paul's plea for purity if we really believe her Bible and recognize that the day the Lord so comes as a thief in the night, then we should live holy lives as we expect his imminent return.

We should do as Paul instructs and watch and be sober because we are sons of light. We should flee the works of darkness. Let us too be active in putting on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.

Even so, come Lord Jesus, come. And we're gonna finish this session, friends, with a Bible survey of 2 Thessalonians. The central message of 2 Thessalonians is rich in eschatology, the study of the end times, what heavenly revelations are given to Christians in this powerful letter to the church of Thessalonica.

Some members of this church, from reading Paul's first epistle to them, believe that the Lord was on his way and there was no reason for them to work anymore, but to rather sit still and be idle and wait for his return. Paul writes this letter to correct this behavior and to exhort the people there to go about their normal course of life, but keep their eyes on the skies. These Christians in the church at Thessalonica were overly agitated and Paul writes to calm them down and in doing so, he gives the church some of the greatest body of revelational work it's received pertaining to the end times.

In this epistle, we learn of the common apostasy in chapter two and verse three, the appearing of the Antichrist, the man of sin in verses three and four, and the removal of the Holy Spirit from the earth at the end time in verse seven. The primary focus of this epistle is Christ's return. The central events are Paul corrects the wrong views concerning the Lord's return and he calms the overly excited believers at the church.

The central figures are Paul, Timothy, and Silas. The central verse, friends, is found in chapter two and verse one, now brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him. And the central application is this, the key application for today's Christian is that we are to keep alert to the times in which we live and be active in the service of the Lord until he shows up.

Let us not grow weary in the battle. It's all right if we grow weary in the battle, but not of it. Paul makes a point to tell the believers there to pray for him and we must ask ourselves, are we upholding our fellow brethren by our prayers? Are we praying for a pastor like we should? Or are we selfishly just praying only for family members or needs in ourselves? Let us be like the apostle Paul, whereby we do not live for ourselves, but for others.

Well, we'll pick up our next Bible survey, friends, in the next session. I'm trying to give us as much information as I can give you. Forgive me for going too quick, but we've got a lot to cover here in the 66 books of the Bible.