YOU ARE BLESSED (2 OF 36)
EPHESIANS
Live It Up, #2 of 2
Jerry Vines
Ephesians 1:3
1/26/2000
The apostle Paul writing under the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit, couches the letter which he sends to
the Ephesians in the format of the letters of the New
Testament era. The pattern he follows here is no
different from any letter you would find in the New
Testament day. It is very similar to the form we use
today in our e-mails. It beings with an introduction
in which he tells who the writer is and also who the
readers are. It continues with a salutation or a
greeting in which he combines the Hebrew world and the
Greek world, baptizes them into the Christian faith
and says, "Grace unto you and peace from God our
father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
Then as was the normal pattern for letters of the
New Testament time, he gives a praise and a prayer for
spiritual well-being. The praise begins in verse 3
and goes all the way down to verse 14. It's the
longest single sentence in the entire New Testament.
Actually, from verse 3 down through 14 is one single
sentence. It's as if Paul gets started praising the
Lord and he can't stop. Then in verse 15 he has a
prayer which gives us the rest of the chapter 1.
We'll enjoy looking at that prayer.
In this praise for well-being he begins by
saying, "Blessed be the God and father of our Lord
Jesus Christ." This verse is the key verse of the
book of Ephesians. It is really the key which unlocks
the door to the spiritual treasures. It is the
fountain from which flows the river of divine
blessings. It is the horn of plenty from which
heaven's bounties flow into the life of the believer.
The word "blessed" in our English language is a
familiar word. We get our word "eulogy" from it.
Recently when John Kennedy was tragically killed,
at his funeral service his Uncle Ted delivered the
eulogy. That means to speak words of praise for an
indivi ...
EPHESIANS
Live It Up, #2 of 2
Jerry Vines
Ephesians 1:3
1/26/2000
The apostle Paul writing under the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit, couches the letter which he sends to
the Ephesians in the format of the letters of the New
Testament era. The pattern he follows here is no
different from any letter you would find in the New
Testament day. It is very similar to the form we use
today in our e-mails. It beings with an introduction
in which he tells who the writer is and also who the
readers are. It continues with a salutation or a
greeting in which he combines the Hebrew world and the
Greek world, baptizes them into the Christian faith
and says, "Grace unto you and peace from God our
father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
Then as was the normal pattern for letters of the
New Testament time, he gives a praise and a prayer for
spiritual well-being. The praise begins in verse 3
and goes all the way down to verse 14. It's the
longest single sentence in the entire New Testament.
Actually, from verse 3 down through 14 is one single
sentence. It's as if Paul gets started praising the
Lord and he can't stop. Then in verse 15 he has a
prayer which gives us the rest of the chapter 1.
We'll enjoy looking at that prayer.
In this praise for well-being he begins by
saying, "Blessed be the God and father of our Lord
Jesus Christ." This verse is the key verse of the
book of Ephesians. It is really the key which unlocks
the door to the spiritual treasures. It is the
fountain from which flows the river of divine
blessings. It is the horn of plenty from which
heaven's bounties flow into the life of the believer.
The word "blessed" in our English language is a
familiar word. We get our word "eulogy" from it.
Recently when John Kennedy was tragically killed,
at his funeral service his Uncle Ted delivered the
eulogy. That means to speak words of praise for an
indivi ...
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