EPHESIANS 1:2, as part of the introduction to the book, refers to "Grace and Peace..." GRACE Grace, or (charis), 5485, is that internal indument of power, [that we received, when we entered into the covenant made with Abraham, that Jesus came to fulfill, and bring into full force], that is the specific power for fulfilling the purpose of our Father, in our lives. PEACE Peace (eirene), 1515, comes from the verb (eiro), "to join", or "join together". The idea is that two parts

CONCEPT of GOD The concept you have of God will totally shape your behavior, and your willingness to interact with Him, as well as determining how you see yourself, in this vast universe. GOD is a GOOD GOD Oral Roberts came out with the declaration, in the 1950's, that "God is a Good God", and preachers got mad at him. The very idea of making such a statement was a bombshell, blasting away years of religious thinking and presupposition, even though there is ample evidence fro

EPHESIANS 1:2 says, in the introduction of the letter, "...grace to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ". PAINT PICTURES At first glance, this phrase designating grace and peace as originating "from" God our Father, and "from" the Lord Jesus Christ, seems to be a pretty standard greeting, designating our origin from "God", as our Father, and our service to Jesus Christ, as our Lord, and can almost be glossed over, as we move forward to read the

LUKE 2:14, "...and on earth, peace, good will toward men". CHRISTMAS Every Christmas season, whether in a sermon; play production; Christmas card; or a festive song, the account of the angels herald, of the birth or the Savior, to the shepherds; and the world, is announced afresh. GOOD WILL The two words, "good will", are only one word in the Greek, and as is common, express much more than the English rendering. GOOD THOUGHTS "Good will" is (eudokia), 2107,[Strong's], in the

SAME OLD, SAME OLD Sometimes we have read a portion of scripture so much; or heard it preached; or commented on; to the extent that we have formed an opinion as to the meaning, but the opinion may simply be a result of misinformation; distorted information; or incomplete information. Even in studying and reading different commentaries, there is often an echo from one commentator to another, simply retelling the same presupposition, which could be totally false, based more on

PREDESTINATE There is a word called "predestinate", derived from the Latin (praedestino), a compound of (prae), "before", and (destino), "to appoint", and therefore meaning, "to appoint before". [Noah Webster 1828]. This is a good word, when used in it's proper context; however, it is not a good word to be used to translate the Greek text in Ephesians 1:5. GREEK The Greek word (prohorizo), [4309, Strong's], is only used 6 times in the NT, (Acts 4:28; Rm.8:29-30; 1 Cor.2:7; Ep

INSIGNIFICANT Sometimes the most seemingly insignificant things can have the greatest impact in our lives, like being a few minutes late to the job interview, and losing the opportunity to impress the potential boss; or speaking words, that we shouldn't be saying, negatively, about someone, and devastating a relationship, that takes months, or years, to regain trust and confidence. Positively, we are perhaps early, or late, from our normal schedule, and we avoid a tragic acci

PICKED Almost everyone has experienced the selection of team members, in childhood sports; choosing sides, and being picked to play on one side or the other. It's always a good feeling to be chosen, because of some skill or talent, or just because the one doing the choosing, perhaps just really likes you. EPHESIANS 1:4 says that, "...He chose us in Him, before the founding of the world, for us to be holy and unblemished before Him in love." MILITARY (Eklegomai) is the middle

EPHESIANS 1:4 says that "..He chose us in Him, before the founding of the world, to be holy and unblemished before Him, in love. SELECTED He selected us out from a mass of choices (eklegomai), before the founding of the world (kataboles). SPECIFIC Previous in time and order, He selected us, for a very specific task and purpose, very selfishly, because He wanted us for Himself, to be prized and valued by Him; and because He chose us, He created a place for us. We were not an a

EPHESIANS 1:5 says that our Father set out the limitless boundaries of our adoption; so limitless, that like the horizon, the closer you get to it, the more it demonstrates that it is ever expanding, and still as distant, and filled with possibilities, as when you first began moving toward it. This adoption occurred because He was, and is, always thinking good things; good thoughts about us, and His passion is favorable toward us. All of these good thoughts that He had toward

STIR UP It seems like much of what I do in study; listening to audio scripture in the car; reading the word out loud; listening to good Kenneth E Hagin teaching, is to stir myself up to pray in tongues. PRAYER It's interesting that the word in the Greek that is predominantly translated as 'prayer; to pray', or its derivatives or root words are used 134 times in the NT, while the next most common word translated as 'prayer' is only used 19 times. In other words, (proseuchomai

EPHESIANS 1:4 speaks of how our Father chose us specifically; uniquely; before any conception of the world was birthed; He was thinking, and speaking only good thoughts about us, and He created the world, out of necessity, for a place to express His goodness toward us. He sees us as holy and without any imperfections. We are, as the sacrificial lambs, the most perfect; the most complete; those in whom there is absolutely nothing lacking. We are always right before Him; close

EPHESIANS 1:9 speaks of the "...praise of the glory of His grace..." LATIN In keeping with a lot of words in scripture, the English word "glory" is not a transliteration of the Greek, (doxa), 1391, but is a transliteration from the Latin word (gloria). GLORY In Rabbinic and traditional rendering, originally "glory " was a reference to 'light; brightness; splendor'; and progressively, the meaning diminished, to encompass anything that caught the eye, whether bright clothing; s

EPHESIANS 1:7, "...in whom we have redemption..." PAWN SHOP "Redemption" is a big, intimidating type of word, but the meaning is fairly straight-forward. When we think of redeeming something, we think of 'buying something back', 'regaining possession of something that was once ours'. In fact, in classical Greek, the most common use of the word is to "redeem" a pledge, such as someone's clothes; cloak; or property, which was left in 'pawn', or 'pledged' with someone. If we thi

TOTALLY SEPARATE The first thing to establish is that tithes and first fruits are two totally separate entities, which you can easily do simply by running through a Strong's concordance and seeing the number of times the two words are used together, in the same passages, obviously referring to two separate offerings. 2 CHRONICLES 31:5 "And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the first fruits of grain; wine; and oil; and honey; a

THE COACH Most professional team sports have a coach, whose main objective, is to bring out of the players their absolute best performance, so that, they can win games; tournaments; and ultimately, championship events. Frequently, the coach is a former player themselves, but whatever their skill level in being a player, their true gifting is their ability to recognize and develop the untapped talent of each individual team member, to it's highest possible potential, so that e

EPHESIANS 1:10 speaks of "...the dispensation of the fullness of times.." PICTURE / VIDEO If you have ever taken a picture of yourself or others, with your cell phone or camera, you have captured a moment in time that gives you an impression, but really doesn't tell you much about the person's character; thoughts; ambitions; desires; or life impact. It is simply a "frozen frame" of the individual. However, if you take a video, which is a series of pictures in succession, the

EPHESIANS 1:10 says that God's purpose in managing the whole of creation, was/is to "gather together in one", all things in Christ, whether in the heavens or on earth. ALL THINGS SUMMED UP The phrase in the KJV, "gather together in one", is all one word in the Greek, (anakephalaioo). In Ephesians, the word is actually in the middle voice (anakephalaiosasthai). The word is a compound from (ana), an emphatic, meaning, "again", or "up", and (kephalaion), "sum", or "total", and (

EPHESIANS 1:11 says that "...we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His own will..." NO LIMIT The word (prohorizo) is dealt with earlier in 1:5, where here again, it is where we get the word "horizon" from, and speaks not of some predetermined, unchangeable destiny, that robs people of choice or determination, but rather of the fact that the unlimited boundaries of the Father's choice for us

EPHESIANS 1:11 says that our names are known by the Father, and He wrote down our names, individually, and chose us specifically, for the boundless inheritance that He has established for us to share in now, that has no limitations or restrictions, only constant increase; expansion; and development. This choosing; calling; inheritance, was displayed for all to see, in the spiritual realm, so that it is known, and established forever, by the effective force of His power releas