The Epistle to the Ephesians
Lesson 12
In Christ - The Great Theme of Ephesians

Introduction
The phrase “In Christ Jesus,” or its equivalent, is found twenty-eight times in the Ephesian Epistle. The Apostle Paul was saturated with and overwhelmed that by the immeasurable grace of God he had been placed “in Christ Jesus.” There he found acceptance, completeness, security, and power.

Paul was so enamored by this thought that he made it the great theme of this remarkable Ephesian Epistle. In pondering this, I thought “how could I better conclude these studies than by examining the use of this phrase throughout the Epistle?”

Therefore, that is the objective of this 12th and final lesson. I have selected twelve of these phrases and will seek by the grace of God to expound them and share with you the preciousness of their meaning.

Importance of this Lesson

• The importance of this lesson is that it presents a complete resume of what Christ is to the believer.
• It is vitally important that every Christian realizes his position and possessions in Christ Jesus. Only then can the Christian life be fully experienced and displayed.

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The Lesson

I. IN CHRIST BY THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT – Ephesians 1:1
“ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful IN CHRIST JESUS”

1. You will notice that at the very beginning of this letter, the apostle Paul calls the reader’s attention to what is every believer’s position. He is IN CHRIST JESUS.
2. Since this is the first reference to this wonderful phrase, I thought it best to pause and explain just how this amazing fact becomes reality.
   1. 1 Corinthians 12:13 says “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body….”
      1 Corinthians 12:12 states clearly that the body into which we are baptized is Christ’s body (the Church). Clearly, we are “in Christ” through the baptism by the Holy Spirit.
   2. Romans 6:3 states “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?” This entire passage of Romans 6:3-11 teaches plainly that every believer died with Christ, was buried with Christ, and rose up together with Him. From the moment anyone receives Christ into his heart, he is seen in the Word of God as being “In Christ.”
   3. Paul, in Ephesians 1:1 writes of “the saints which are at Ephesus” AND “to the faithful IN CHRIST JESUS.” The verse does not imply two classes of people. The word faithful was chosen by Paul to describe the saints.
      1. Do not be confused by the word “saints.” The word always refers to one who is sanctified in Christ Jesus, and that means every believer. Please note in Romans 1:7 and 1 Corinthians 1:2 the phrase “called to be saints.” But the little phrase “to be” was inserted by the editors and needs explanation.
      2. Christians are not called to be saints at a later time in their lives. Nor are they saints because some religious body gave them that title. The phrase means that we are saints by divine call.
      3. Every believer is numbered among “the saints and the faithful ‘IN CHRIST JESUS’.”

II. IN CHRIST WE ARE “IN THE HEAVENLIES,” SHARING ALL THAT CHRIST IS IN US Ephesians 1:3
“ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places (literally, ‘in the heavenlies’) IN CHRIST”

1. Here for the first time we are informed as to where we are if we are IN CHRIST. We are “in the heavenlies.” The heavenlies is that wonderful sphere in which all born again believers share with Christ all that He is, all that He has and all that He will yet possess. For example, as listed in Lesson 2, we share:
   1. His joy (John 15:11).
   2. His peace (John 14:27).
   3. His wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30).
   4. His life (1 John 5:12).
   5. His nature (2 Peter 1:4).
   6. His grace and power (2 Corinthians 12:9).
   7. His relationships (John 20:17).
   8. His future inheritance and glory (Romans 8:16-21).
2. Actually, when you receive Christ, two amazing and wonderful things occur. When you receive Christ (John 1:12), He comes into your heart to stay and you are “hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). Christ in you becomes “the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27) at the same time you are baptized by the Spirit into Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-13).
3. According to our text, it is “In Christ” we are “blessed with all spiritual blessings.” All the great doctrines of our Christian faith, such as redemption, justification, reconciliation, regeneration, and propitiation are wrapped up in Christ. When we are in Him, we possess all these blessings in addition to our eternal security and all the other blessings I have already mentioned.

• Remember, God does not accept us because of what we are, but because of where we are (Ephesians 1:3).

III. IN CHRIST BEFORE THE WORLD WAS FORMED - Ephesians 1:4
“ According as he hath chosen us IN HIM before the foundation of the world”

1. Many who receive Christ are often amazed to learn that God knew them and chose them to be His own before the world was formed.
2. The concept of God choosing some to be saved long before they are born and even before He created this world has stirred up serious, sometimes bitter controversy among theologians for many years.
3. I dealt quite thoroughly with this problem in Lesson 3. Rather than re-write all that was written there, I’ll try to summarize my answer to the problem.
   1. There is no scripture indicating that God elects or chooses anyone to spend eternity in hell.
   2. God loves every human being (John 3:16, 1 John 2:2). Christ died for everyone (2 Corinthians 5:14).
   3. God desires all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4, Isaiah 45:22).
   4. Every person has the ability and the responsibility to repent, turn from sin, and receive Christ (Ezekiel 18:31-32, John 7:37-38, Matthew 11:28, Revelation 22:17).
   5. Sinners can resist the Holy Spirit and reject the grace of God. Read Acts 7:51, John 5:40 and Luke 13:34.
4. The simplest and most logical answer to this long debated problem is found, in my judgment, in one word. The word is foreknowledge.
   1. Among God’s wonderful attributes is the attribute of omniscience. This simply means that the God we love and serve has unlimited knowledge and wisdom.
   2. This means that God knows and has known from eternity all things including the knowledge of all who would receive or reject Christ. In other words, God did not have to wait until you actually received Christ before He claimed you as His own.
   3. With God, there are no surprises. He knows the end from the beginning. So, if God knew you as His child before the foundation of the world, it was no problem for God to choose and claim you as one of His elect.
   4. Two verses should be sufficient to confirm the position this lesson takes. (Remember these two references for the test)
      1. “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate…” (Romans 8:29).
      2. “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father…” (1 Peter 1:2)

IV. IN CHRIST CLOTHED WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS - Ephesians 1:6
“ To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted IN THE BELOVED”
The immediate question that rises with this verse is “How can a wicked, Christ-rejecting, hell-deserving sinner ever be acceptable to a holy God and welcomed into His presence?

1. Notice first that we are made acceptable to God “to the praise and the glory of his grace….” In Ephesians 2:2-3, the apostle Paul describes the awful wickedness of sinners. But praise God for Ephesaisn 4:4-5, “BUT GOD, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, BY GRACE YE ARE SAVED.”
2. Now notice the text again. By grace, God “hath made us accepted IN THE BELOVED.” That is “In Christ.” He is the Beloved. It is in Him that God sees us as perfect (Colossians 1:28) and clothed with His righteousness (Romans 3:22, Philippians 3:9).
3. What a precious and indescribably wonderful thing it is to be able to say that by faith in Christ, I am approved, accepted, received, and welcomed into God’s family and someday into heaven itself.
   ¨ Remember, our acceptance by God is not because of what we are, but WHERE we are as believers.

V. IN CHRIST REDEEMED AND FORGIVEN - Ephesians 1:7
“ IN WHOM we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace”

1. Keep in mind that the “IN WHOMS” of Ephesians refer to Christ. It is proper, therefore, to include them in this study of what every believer is and has “In Christ.”
2. The above text declares that “IN CHRIST” we have two precious and remarkable things:
   1. ' redemption through His blood.
   2. the forgiveness of sin, according to the riches of grace.
      (Know these two for your test)
   3. Redemption is best understood, I think, by two simple phrases inherent in its meaning. The phrases are “to buy back” and “to set free.”
      1. Illustrations of being “purchased” and “bought back”:
         1. In Acts 20:28, the Ephesian elders were exhorted by Paul “to feed the church of God, which HE HATH PURCHASED with his own blood.”
         2. Ephesians 1:14 states that the Church is “a purchased possession.”
         3. 1 Corinthians 6:20 and 7:23 declare that as Christians we were “bought with a price.” That price was the shed blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19).
      2. Please remember that this world is not yet Christ’s world. In John 7:7, Jesus said “but me it (the world) hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.” Ephesians 2:2 states that as Christians, we once “walked according to the course of this world, according to the “prince of the power of the air.” Satan is not only the “prince of the power of the air,” but he is also “prince of this world” (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11). He is also called “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4).
      3. Note: To get us back, out of this corrupt, sin-stained world, out of the blinding power of Satan (Acts 26:18, 2 Corinthians 4:4), and out of the power of darkness, Christ had to redeem us. He had to “buy us back.” For this, He paid the ransom of His own blood (1 Timothy 2:6;
         Matthew 20:28).
   4. The forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.”
      1. The forgiveness of sin is the most precious possession a Christian has. Whenever anyone receives Christ as Savior and Lord, he or she can immediately rejoice in the fact that every sin he or she has ever committed is completely forgiven.
         Note the verses confirming this fact:
         1. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins”
            (Colossians 1:14).
         2. “…forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32).
         3. “…and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).
         4. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
      2. Even now, as Christians, whenever we may stumble and fail, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9)
      3. We are forgiven according the riches of His grace. God’s grace knows no boundaries. It is measureless, infinite and all-sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9, 9:8).

VI. IN CHRIST AWAITING A GLORIOUS INHERITANCE - Ephesians 1:11
“ IN WHOM (Christ) also we have obtained an inheritance...”
This lesson gets more and more exciting as we go along. Just think of it. You and I, poor wretched sinners that we were before we were “In Christ,” are already enjoying the “riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7), the “riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering” (Romans 2:4) and the“ riches of the full assurance” (Colossians 2:2). But now we are told that “In Christ” we have an inheritance.

1. Millions of Christians in our world today suffer greatly for lack of money or food. The consoling thing, however, is that every believer is an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ. If we suffer with Him, remember that we shall “be also glorified together” with Him. Read Romans 8:17. Paul wrote further, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). What an inheritance! Some day we shall share the glory of Christ.
2. The apostle Peter adds some precious thoughts to the matter of the wonderful inheritance we have “IN CHRIST.” He writes “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4).
3. Let me refer you back to Lesson 3, Section VI where I have listed a few of the things we shall inherit.

VII. IN CHRIST SEALED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT - Ephesians 1:13
“… IN WHOM also after that ye believed, ye were selaed with that Holy Spirit of promise ”

1. God made certain that once you are saved you are kept saved. Peter wrote of us as those “who are KEPT by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5). The sealing with the Holy Spirit assures and guarantees this fact.
2. Please note that we are sealed WITH the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Holy Spirit Himself comes to abide in us permanently. In John, Christ said to His disciples “He (God) shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive…” (John 14:16-17).
3. Most of us are acquainted with seals of one kind or another. House wives put seals on the preserves they prepare, to keep them for future enjoyment. Governments put their official seal on their money or on official documents. Manufacturing businesses usually put their seal on their product for identification.
4. As I showed in Lesson 3, a seal primarily does three things. (Be able to name all three for your test.)
   1. It identifies the owner.
      In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, we read, “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
      Jesus said, “I know my sheep, and am known of mine” (John 10:14). Paul wrote to Timothy in
      2 Timothy 2:19 that the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal. The Lord knoweth them that are HIS.
   2. It assures our preservation.
      The Holy Spirit is not only the seal of ownership, He is “the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession” (Ephesians 1:14). The “earnest” is the down payment on our journey to glory.
   3. It guarantees our destination.
      “ And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, by whom ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30). The word UNTO indicates arrival at our destination.

VIII. IN CHRIST, A WHOLE NEW POSITION AND RELATIONSHIP - Ephesians 2:6
“…made us sit together in heavenly places IN CHRIST JESUS”

1. Here we have another amazing and wonderful fact. The moment we receive Christ into our hearts our citizenship changes (Philippians 3:20). We are no longer “of this world.” Christ has chosen us out of this world (John 15:19, 17:6).
2. We now are “in the heavenlies” in Christ Jesus. We are seated there with Him where we are blessed “with all spiritual blessings” (Ephesians 1:3). “In the heavenlies” might be defined as the circle or sphere encompassing all that we are and have in Christ Jesus. For example:
   1. In that sphere, as children of God, we are “heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17).
   2. In that sphere, Christ, “According to his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3).
   3. In that sphere, Christ shares with us His very life. In fact, the new life you have as a Christian, is actually Christ living in you (Colossians 3:3-4, 1 John 5:11-12). Christ shares with us His very nature (2 Peter 1:4).
3. Furthermore, Christ shares with us:
   1. His peace (John 14:27).
   2. His joy (John 15:11).
   3. His strength (2 Corinthians 12:9).
   4. His sufferings (Philippians 1:29, 3:10).
   5. His inheritance and future glory (Romans 8:17).

• An exhortation: Do not fall short of claiming all that you possess in Christ. Be filled with His fullness. Remember, “ye are complete in him” (Colossians 2:10). If you have Christ, you have everything you need to live the Christian life.

IX. IN CHRIST TO MANIFEST GOOD WORKS - Ephesians 2:10
“… created IN CHRIST JESUS unto good works”

1. In Ephesians 2:9, the apostle Paul makes perfectly clear that no one is saved by his works “lest any man should boast.” By no earthly attainment, regardless of its greatness, can works to any degree, attain or merit salvation.
2. In Ephesians 2:5,8, we are told that salvation is a gift of God and is completely “by grace are ye saved through faith.”
3. What then is the place and purpose of good works?
   1. Note the word “workmanship.” This word appears only twice in the New Testament, in Ephesians 2:10 and in Romans 1:20. In Romans 1:20, we discover the phrase “the things that are made.” In the Greek language, only one word is used for this entire phrase. The word is “poiema.” From this word, we get our English word poem. Paul here was writing about creation and he saw it as God’s poem, which revealed His power and glory.
   2. When we see this same word translated “workmanship,” in Ephesians 2:10, we realize that, as Christians, we are God’s handiwork. We are created in Christ Jesus. We are God’s “poem.” God has ordained that as new creations IN CHRIST, we are to manifest or walk in good works.
   3. While it is clearly understood that salvation is entirely by grace we should never make the mistake of by-passing or ignoring good works. We are saved by grace, not works. However, we demonstrate the reality of our salvation by our works.
   4. Remember then that in Christ you are God’s poem, God’s handiwork, and that as such, He has foreordained that you should walk in good works.
   5. “This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men” (Titus 3:8).

X. IN CHRIST FULLY RECONCILED TO GOD - Ephesians 2:13
“ But now IN CHRIST JESUS ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ”

1. This verse is found in the midst of one of the greatest truths and passages of Scripture anywhere in the Bible. In chapters 2 and 3 of Ephesians, we see God crushing “the middle wall of partition (the law)” (Ephesians 2:14) between Jews and Gentiles and forming them into one new man “IN CHRIST” (Ephesians 2:15). We then see both Jews and Gentiles reconciled to God by the cross (Ephesians 2:16). It is in this contrast where we see the Church as a temple, “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Ephesians 2:20). Amazingly and wonderfully, this temple is made up of both Jews and Gentiles who are built “together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22). It is also in this context that the mystery of the church is revealed; that is, “That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise IN CHRIST by the gospel” (Ephesians 3:5-6)
2. Keep in mind that Gentiles is the word used in scripture to denote all people of all nations who are not Jews. If you are not a Jew, how grateful you should be for the words “BUT NOW IN CHRIST JESUS.”
   1. In Ephesians 2:11, the apostle wrote, “Wherefore remember.” As Gentiles, we should pause to reflect upon what we were and what we did not have before we became Christians.
   2. Our past sinful state and what we did not possess because we were not Jews is considered thoroughly in Lessons 5 and 6. Here I’ll simply list for you what we were and what we did not have before we were “made near by the blood of Christ.”
   3. What we were – Ephesians 2:1-3
      1. We were spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1).
      2. We patterned ours lives after the ways of this world (Ephesians 2:2).
      3. We were controlled by Satan (Ephesians 2:2).
      4. We gave way to the lusts of our flesh and minds like the unbelievers around us (Ephesians 2:3).
      5. We were by nature children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3).
   4. As unsaved Gentiles, what did we not have before we knew Christ (Ephesians 2:12)?
      1. We were without Christ.
      2. We were aliens from the common wealth of Israel.
      3. We were strangers from the covenants of promise.
      4. We had no hope.
      5. We were without God in the wo
3. BUT NOW IN CHRIST JESUS, having received Christ, we are:
   1. A part of the body of Christ, made up of born again Jews and Gentiles (Ephesians 2:16).
   2. No longer a stranger, but a fellow-citizen of the household of God (Ephesians 2:19).
   3. Now at peace with God (Ephesians 2:14,17).
   4. Members of the Church, that holy temple built “together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:21-22).
   5. Together with all believing Jews and Gentiles, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ (Ephesians 3: 6, Romans 8:17).

XI. IN CHRIST, WALKING IN THE LIGHT - Ephesians 5:8
“ For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light IN THE LORD: walk as children of light”
One of the wonders of being “in Christ,” or as the text says, “in the Lord,” is that we have been bought out of and delivered from the power of darkness (Colossians 1:13). In Acts 26:18, the Lord Jesus told the apostle Paul that he was being sent to the Gentiles “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God…”
Ephesians 5:8 is similar to Ephesians 2:13, which we have already considered. Ephesians 2:13 stated that as sinners, we were once “far off,” but now, in Christ, we are made near “by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 5:8 says we were once darkness, “but now are ye light in the Lord.”

1. To fully appreciate the text, we must understand just what that darkness is, out of which we have been delivered. This was dealt with quite thoroughly in Lesson 8. While I may summarize what you learned in that lesson, I may add a few new thoughts. (Be able to state both number 1 and 2 for your test)
   1. The darkness out of which all that have received Christ have been delivered, is the darkness of spiritual and satanic blindness.
      1. Speaking of all who reject Christ and His gospel, Paul wrote, “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:4).
      2. Remember that Christ sent the apostle Paul “to turn them (sinners) from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God” (Acts 26:18).
      3. We must remember that Satan is also the “prince of the world” (John 12:31;14:30) and “the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience.” In other words, the entire world, apart from Christ, is living in spiritual darkness.
   2. The darkness we have escaped is also the darkness of being lost.
      1. Christ, the light of the world (John 8:12), came to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10).
      2. To the Corinthians, Paul wrote, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost” (2 Corinthians 4:3).
      3. According to the Word of God, everyone, regardless of race, education or wealth is lost. All are lost in sin, blinded by Satan and walking in darkness.
2. How are we delivered from this darkness?
   We are delivered by our repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ. God delivers us from the power of darkness and translates us into the kingdom of His dear Son (Colossians 1:13).
   1. In John 8:12, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” In Matthew 5:14, Jesus said, “Ye are the light of the world.” In the words of another, “Jesus is the Light lighting. We are the lights lighted.”
   2. In Matthew 5:16, Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
   3. Remember, as Christians, we are the light of the world because we are “In Christ.” It is always important to remember not only what you are but also WHERE you are.

XII. IN CHRIST, WINNING THE BATTLE - Ephesians 6:10-11
“ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil”

• I thought that it was very appropriate and fitting that we conclude our lessons on Ephesians and these studies on where we are and what we have “IN CHRIST,” with the word Finally!
• It is even more fitting that we end these special studies with a reminder that every Christian is engaged in a spiritual warfare and that God has provided the armor and the weapons we need to win the battle.

1. Until Satan is bound and cast into a bottomless pit (Revelation 20:1-3), he will continue to blind this world (2 Corinthians 4:4) and fiercely attack every Christian.
   1. The apostle Paul said that the thorn in the flesh with which he had to contend was “the messenger of Satan to buffet me” (2 Corinthians 12:7).
      
   2. The Lord Jesus said to the apostle Peter, “Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat” (Luke 22:31).
   3. Later, perhaps recalling his encounter with the devil, Peter wrote, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world” (1 Peter 5:8-9).
2. As Christians, we must not only resist Satan, we must also conquer the lustful desires of our old fleshly nature.
   1. Do not be bewildered or surprised by this statement. In John 3:6, Jesus said, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
   2. The same apostle who wrote, “I am crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20), also wrote “when I would do good, evil is present with me” (Romans 7:21).
   3. The scriptures teach clearly that when you repent of your sins (Luke 13:3, Acts 17:30), confess Christ as your Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9), and receive Him into your heart (Romans 10:10), you become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4) and are a new creation “In Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
   4. Nowhere, however, do the scriptures teach that when we receive a new nature that our old nature disappears. The old sinful nature remains with us until that glorious day when Christ shall appear and we are made into His likeness (1 John 3:2) and caught up in clouds to meet him (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
3. The new nature we possess as Christians is in constant warfare with the old nature.
   1. “For the flesh lusteth (wars) against the Spirit, and the Spirit (the Holy Spirit in us) against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Galatians 5:17).
   2. Paul the apostle wrote, “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (1 Corinthians 9:27).
   3. In Romans 7:21, Paul wrote, “I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.”
4. It is this constant battle between the flesh and the Spirit, between our old Adamic nature and the new nature we have in Christ, that makes our final test in this Ephesians study course so precious.
   1. Read it again, “Finally, my brethren, be strong ‘IN THE LORD,’ and in the power of His might.”
   2. Always remember that if we are Christians, the Lord Jesus Christ, the creator and sustainer of all things in heaven and earth (Colossians 1:17), and who “upholdeth all things by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3) actually lives in us (Galatians 2:20).
   3. Always remember the flesh can never defeat the flesh. Nor can the flesh ever defeat the devil.
      1. To overcome the temptations of the flesh, we must learn to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 2:16, Romans 8:4).
      2. To defeat Satan we need to “Put on the whole armour of God” (Ephesians 6:11). The armour we need is explained in Lesson 7 under section 6, “The Church as a Warrior.” Please review this part of Lesson 7.
      3. When we realize that as Christians we are at war with Satan, with all the evil powers of darkness and not the weaknesses of the flesh, we will not easily be discouraged if we will avail ourselves of the spiritual weapons God has provided for us.
         1. In 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, the apostle Paul wrote “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds). Always remember that God is on our side and while Satan is mighty, God is almighty.
         2. Prayer is a powerful weapon. James 5:16 says “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
         3. Faith is a powerful weapon. In Ephesians 6:16, Paul writes, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” or “the evil one,” which of course is Satan. Add to this 1 John 5:4, “this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”
         4. The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. Remember that when Christ was tempted by Satan, He withstood and defeated Satan three times quoting the WORD (Matthew 4:3-11). Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword….” Memorize the WORD. Hide it in your head as well as your hearts, so that you can wield this mighty weapon whenever the need arises.
         5. The blood of Jesus and your testimony are also powerful weapons. Revelation 12:11 says, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony…” If Satan tries to make you doubt, plead the justifying and redeeming power of the blood (Romans 5:9, Ephesians 1:7). If you fail the Lord and sin comes into your life, confess the sin and plead the forgiving, cleansing power of the blood (1 John 1:7-9; Ephesians 1:7).

CONCLUSION

• I close this study with this thought: Nothing will build in us more spiritual muscle and backbone than faithfully witnessing for Jesus at every opportunity. With the blood to keep us clean, and our testimony to strengthen our resolve, we can’t lose!
• I pray that you have been blessed and spiritually enriched by this study course on Ephesians. May God use you to be a witness of His grace and power.

Examination

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