Participants:
Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS023030S
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00:00 (uplifting music)
00:16 >>Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:17 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:19 We're delighted to have you back with us again this week 00:21 as we continue our journey through the book of Ephesians, 00:25 Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus. 00:27 And this week, we are looking at lesson number five, 00:30 which is "Horizontal Atonement: The Cross and the Church." 00:34 We are making our way through the book of Ephesians 00:37 and looking at a very, very significant passage this week. 00:41 But before we delve into it, let's begin with prayer. 00:44 Father, we want to thank You 00:45 for blessing us with another opportunity 00:48 to learn more about You 00:50 through Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus. 00:53 We ask that You'll help us 00:54 to better understand the atonement 00:56 and where we fall in this grand scheme of things. 01:00 We ask that You'll bless our time together, 01:02 and we thank You in Jesus' name, amen. 01:05 Well, our guest again this week is the author 01:08 of this quarter's Sabbath school lesson, Dr. John McVay. 01:11 He is the president of Walla Walla University. 01:13 John, welcome back once again. 01:15 >>Good to be back with you, Eric. 01:17 >>So an interesting study this week, 01:19 "Horizontal Atonement: The Cross and the Church." 01:21 There's a passage of Paul's writings in the book of Ephesus 01:25 that we're looking at this week. 01:26 It's in Ephesus, chapter 2, verses 11-22. 01:30 Give us a little idea of why we're looking at this passage, 01:34 what some of its significance is, 01:35 and then we're gonna kind of pull it apart 01:37 and look at different aspects of it. 01:39 >>Sure, we are moving to the heart of the epistle, 01:43 to the Ephesians now. 01:44 Some identify Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 11-22 01:49 as the heart of the theological message of the letter. 01:53 It is a rich, rich passage. 01:57 So the way I would try to encapsulate 02:00 the importance of this passage might go like this: 02:03 when we think of the cross and what Jesus does on the cross, 02:07 we tend to think vertically, 02:10 that Christ does something 02:12 to help my individual relationship with God. 02:16 That's what I mean by vertical atonement, if you will. 02:20 And Ephesians 2, verses 11-22 02:23 has wonderful things to say 02:25 about that feature of Christ's work on the cross. 02:31 But where it has come to truly bless me 02:33 is to realize that Christ's atoning sacrifice on the cross 02:39 accomplishes more than my individual salvation. 02:42 It does things, 02:43 and part of what it does is to bring people groups together. 02:49 And for me that adds some richness 02:52 to the atoning sacrifice of Christ 02:55 that I might have missed outside of this important passage. 02:58 >>We look at the world today, 03:00 and there are a lot of people groups 03:01 who are not mingling well together. 03:04 They're finding reasons, 03:05 ways to be separated one from another, 03:08 rather than coming together. 03:10 So it sounds like this passage 03:12 may have something to do to help that. 03:15 >>There's a lot of, as we know in the popular press 03:19 and in scholarly circles today, 03:21 a lot of writing and thought about race relations, 03:25 the relations between and among people groups, 03:28 and that's an important theme 03:30 that we should attend to as Christian believers. 03:34 A good place to begin 03:36 is Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 11-22, 03:40 which might be the most important passage in Scripture 03:44 on the theme of race relations, 03:47 how people groups should get along 03:50 in the gospel order of things. 03:53 >>So let's begin to dig into this passage. 03:56 In verses 11 and 12, 03:59 what is this reconciling work of Christ? 04:01 Why was it necessary? 04:03 What do we learn about His reconciling work 04:05 in these passages? 04:07 >>Paul addresses it here at the outside of our passage, 04:10 in those first couple of verses, 04:12 and there's some language here 04:14 that might be a little bit hard for us to connect with. 04:17 But he says, "[Remember therefore] that at one time 04:21 you Gentiles in the flesh," 04:23 so he puts us on notice 04:25 that he's principally addressing 04:27 Gentile believers, right? 04:30 "[Remember that you who were] called 'the uncircumcision' 04:35 "by what is called the circumcision, 04:37 which is made in the flesh by hands." 04:39 So, he's actually reflecting some name calling 04:42 that would go on between two groups, 04:44 Jews on the one hand and Gentiles on the other. 04:47 And he is touching on this deep division 04:51 that existed in the first century world 04:54 between Jews and Gentiles. 04:56 This was as deep as any divide 04:59 that we experience between racial groups or cultural groups 05:03 in our world today. 05:05 And so, he then talks about what-- 05:09 why the reconciling work of Jesus is necessary, 05:14 and the reason is this total division 05:16 between these two groups, 05:17 with one of them, Gentiles, 05:19 not only being separated from other people 05:22 but being separated from access to God and to the gospel. 05:27 That's why Christ needs to die. 05:29 That's why Christ does-- 05:32 performs His reconciling work on the cross, 05:34 is to redeem humankind and to bring people groups together. 05:39 >>So you've hit on verse 11 there, 05:41 unpack verse 12 just a little bit. 05:43 It's the same theme, but maybe a little more deep. 05:48 >>Yeah, he's using the categories of near and far, 05:51 and separated and together to talk about Jews and Gentiles, 05:55 and he actually details the ways 05:57 that Gentiles are separated; 05:59 they're "separated from Christ." 06:01 And here we should think of this 06:02 as the title for the Messiah, the Anointed One. 06:05 They're separated from the Messiah 06:07 because the Messiah is the Jewish Messiah, right? 06:10 They are "alienated from the commonwealth of Israel," 06:14 so they're alienated 06:15 from the whole governmental system of Israel. 06:19 They're "strangers to the covenants of promise," 06:22 so they don't have access to the promises. 06:25 And then this poignant next line, 06:27 "Having no hope and without God in the world." 06:32 So their alienation from Jews 06:35 is coupled with their alienation from promises, covenants, 06:40 God, gospel, Christ. 06:43 Not an enviable place to be from Paul's point of view. 06:46 >>No, certainly not. 06:47 And there are a lot of, as you said, 06:50 divisions in the world today 06:52 where one group looks at the other group 06:54 as being second class citizens, as it were, 06:57 and sometimes the views are reciprocated. 07:00 And yet it looks like what Paul is trying to do here 07:03 is to bring people together in this passage 07:07 and do away with some of those separations. 07:10 So, speak a little bit more 07:12 on the reconciling work of Christ on the cross, 07:15 and what it accomplishes, 07:16 and what do we see here in this passage 07:19 that helps us to understand that better? 07:21 >>Well, verses 13 through 18, 07:24 Paul gives a very detailed sense 07:26 of what Christ accomplishes on the cross, 07:29 and the detail is wonderful here. 07:32 "Once [you] were far off 07:33 [you] have been brought near [in the cross]." 07:35 So the cross somehow makes it possible 07:38 for Gentiles to be brought near to God, 07:42 grace, Christ, covenant, promise, gospel, all of that. 07:47 "For He Himself is our peace." 07:50 So Christ on the cross, in His atoning sacrifice, 07:56 declares peace, gives an armistice, a peace treaty. 07:59 that's a peace treaty. 08:01 All the battles that have been so important to us can end 08:05 because Christ is our peace. 08:07 "[He] has made us both one." 08:10 "Both one." 08:10 If you skip down in verse 15, 08:13 on the cross Christ "create[s] in Himself [one new human, 08:19 one new humanity] one new man in [the] place of the two." 08:23 So you have these two very separate types of people, 08:26 Jews and Gentiles, 08:28 and what Christ does on the cross 08:30 is He redoes the creation story 08:33 and He creates of those two, one new humanity. 08:39 That's fairly sweeping, isn't it? 08:40 >>Oh, it's huge. 08:41 >>Yeah, it's huge. 08:42 And it goes on, 08:43 it says that in the cross, Christ kills the hostility. 08:49 He reconciles us both into one body, verse 16. 08:52 He came and He preached, 08:53 through the cross, Christ becomes the preacher of peace. 08:57 "He...preache[s] peace to you who were far off 09:00 ...[He preaches]...to those who were near." 09:02 In his summary statement here, 09:04 his culminating statement, 09:05 "For through Him" --through Christ on the cross-- 09:08 "we both have access in one Spirit to the Father." 09:14 Isn't that grand news? 09:15 But notice it's not as separate people groups, 09:18 it's not as individuals, per se, it's together. 09:23 "For through Him we both" --Jew and Gentile-- 09:26 "have access in one Spirit to the Father." 09:29 >>So he's tearing down walls of separation. 09:32 >>Yes, he is. 09:34 >>And helping us to find that we are indeed one in Christ. 09:37 Can you imagine what an impact 09:39 that would make on the world today 09:40 if we could all grasp that idea? 09:43 I mean, it would be enormous. 09:44 >>Yes, and I think what Paul is saying here 09:47 is this is a done deal. 09:50 This has happened. 09:51 You are one in Jesus. 09:53 And now, with all of our strife and all of our divisions, 09:58 we feel the gospel call to live into this reality 10:02 of God's grace, in Christ, through the Spirit. 10:06 >>Fantastic. 10:08 But we're not quite through this segment yet, 10:10 there's still more here. 10:12 How does Paul celebrate the work of Christ in this? 10:16 We may not be able to unpack all of this 10:18 in the short time we have left before our break, 10:20 but let's dig into it a little bit 10:22 and look at the work of Christ. 10:25 >>So in verses 19 through 22, 10:28 Paul shifts tone a little bit here, 10:31 to simply celebrate this incredible work of Jesus 10:34 as the reconciler, 10:35 the One who brings people groups together, 10:38 the One who cements our relationship with God, 10:41 the One who preaches peace. 10:43 And now he's gonna visualize this with a set of images, 10:47 a set of metaphors. 10:48 Some people have called this a set of telescoped metaphors, 10:52 kind of, one feeds into the next, feeds into the next. 10:56 And so he starts off with a category 10:58 of strangers and aliens. 11:00 So this is immigration status, right? 11:03 "So...you [Gentiles] are no longer strangers and aliens, 11:05 [instead] you are...citizens with the saints"-- 11:09 better yet you are actually household members-- 11:11 "[you are] members of the household of God." 11:14 So you see how he's celebrating 11:15 this great change that has happened. 11:18 And then he moves into architectural image here, 11:23 where he talks about what happens between these groups 11:28 as them being combined 11:31 into one holy temple, building/temple, 11:35 concluding the segment here 11:37 with celebrating that they together 11:39 form a holy temple in the Lord. 11:42 They grow together, they are built together 11:44 into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. 11:48 And that's his way of saying, 11:49 "You are really together. 11:51 "You have become a place together. 11:54 "You form a place where God is worshiped 11:56 and the Spirit reigns." 11:59 >>So they go from being strangers and aliens, 12:02 to citizens, to household members, 12:06 and then even closer with this metaphor of the temple, 12:09 which we're gonna explore in greater detail 12:11 in just a few moments. 12:14 But I wanna encourage you, 12:15 if you have not yet done so, 12:17 please do pick up the companion book 12:20 to this quarter's Sabbath school lesson. 12:22 It is called "Ephesians" by John McVay. 12:26 Where can you find this? 12:28 You can find it very easily at itiswritten.shop. 12:31 Again, that's at itiswritten.shop. 12:34 And when you pick up this companion book 12:36 to this quarter's Sabbath school lesson, 12:38 you are going to gain deeper insights, 12:41 you're going to be able to take a journey 12:44 in a story-like format through the book of Ephesians, 12:48 and gain a greater understanding of these incredible themes 12:53 that Paul weaves through the book. 12:56 Not just a-- 12:58 Authors have just about this much space to put thoughts 13:02 into the quarter's Sabbath school lesson itself, 13:05 but that companion book allows them 13:07 to give more insight, greater depth, 13:10 and that's something that you absolutely wanna find 13:13 as you're studying the book of Ephesians. 13:15 We're going to be back in just a moment 13:17 as we continue taking a look at this incredible passage 13:20 in the heart of Ephesians, Ephesians, chapter 2. 13:23 We'll be back in just a moment. 13:25 (uplifting music) 13:29 >>There's something I wanna tell you about 13:31 that is so important. 13:33 It's My Place With Jesus, 13:36 It Is Written's ministry to children. 13:39 Take the children you care about to myplacewithjesus.com. 13:44 At My Place With Jesus, you'll find so much 13:47 that will bless your children 13:48 or grandchildren or great-grandchildren 13:51 or the children at church. 13:53 There are the My Place With Jesus Bible Guides, 13:57 21 studies that will take the children you care about 14:00 into the Word of God. 14:02 They'll learn the important things, 14:04 especially the love of God 14:07 and the sacrifice Jesus made for them. 14:10 As well, take your children to Journey Through the Bible, 14:13 it's there at myplacewithjesus.com. 14:15 It's a special Bible reading program 14:18 that will get children into the habit 14:20 of reading their Bible daily 14:22 and connecting with God regularly. 14:24 So don't forget, myplacewithjesus.com from It Is Written. 14:30 (uplifting music) 14:34 >>Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 14:35 brought to you by It Is Written. 14:37 We are looking at lesson number five, 14:40 "Horizontal Atonement: The Cross and the Church." 14:43 Now, John, when we left off just a moment or two ago, 14:46 we were looking at the significance of the temple-- 14:48 >>Yes. >>...and why Paul talks 14:50 about the temple, 14:51 and how he's bringing people together. 14:54 His desire is to help people understand 14:57 that we are together, 14:58 we could be together-- >>Sure. 15:00 >>...we should be together. 15:01 We don't always feel that way. 15:03 But he uses this imagery of the temple 15:05 to help illustrate that. 15:06 What's the significance of that? 15:08 >>Well, toward the beginning of the passage, 15:12 Paul talks about Christ as the great wall basher. 15:17 He destroys the dividing wall of hostility. 15:22 So Christ is removing walls 15:24 that are separating Gentiles from Jews. 15:28 So it's fascinating that he's already using the language 15:31 of construction or destruction, demolition, right? 15:35 So he begins talking about kind of an architectural image 15:39 by talking about demolishing something, demolishing walls. 15:43 But then at the end of the passage, 15:44 he comes back by talking about building something, 15:48 building a new temple. 15:50 It's interesting to watch that develop. 15:53 And this temple that is built, 15:55 he gives a fairly complex metaphor here. 15:59 So, he says, verse 19, 16:03 "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens"-- 16:06 so he's working with immigration status, as we mentioned-- 16:08 "but you are fellow citizens with the saints 16:11 and members of the household of God." 16:12 A beautiful family kind of image. 16:14 God has drawn you so close 16:17 that you may be thought of as a member 16:19 of God's immediate family. 16:21 Hallelujah. That's a wonderful thing, isn't it? 16:24 And then comes the image of building/temple, 16:29 "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets." 16:33 So he's thinking kind of historically here, 16:36 and these apostles and prophets 16:38 are probably Christian apostles and prophets, 16:40 not Old Testament prophets. 16:43 So, "Built on the foundation of apostles and prophets." 16:46 And, "Christ Jesus Himself"--is what? 16:48 >>He's "the [chief] cornerstone." 16:50 >>He's "the [chief] cornerstone." 16:51 So you have the foundation identified, 16:54 you have Christ as chief cornerstone, 16:56 "in whom"--speaking of Christ--"the whole structure, 16:59 "being joined together, 17:00 grows into a holy temple in the Lord." 17:04 Now, if we think about these Gentiles 17:06 and think about their experience, 17:08 if they went to the temple to worship, 17:12 they would eventually, 17:13 as they moved through the whole temple complex, 17:15 come to a balustrade, a fence, 17:17 it was about four feet tall, 17:20 and every so often along this fence 17:22 was a cheerful message written, all right? 17:26 The message went something like this: 17:29 "No foreigner may enter within the barrier 17:32 "and the enclosure around the temple. 17:34 "Anyone who is caught doing so 17:37 will have himself to blame for his ensuing death." 17:40 >>Sounds encouraging. 17:41 >>That'd be a cheerful message 17:43 to put on the outside of your church, wouldn't it? 17:45 So there was this division between Jews and Gentiles, 17:49 had been actualized in the architecture of the temple, 17:53 and the existence of this balustrade or fence. 17:56 And most who study this passage conclude 17:58 that Paul has some reference to that piece of architecture 18:02 when he talks about Christ 18:04 as removing or destroying 18:07 this wall between the two. 18:10 So, as a Gentile Christian, 18:14 you can't actually enter into the court of Israel, 18:17 you can't access the worship of the one true God. 18:21 But now we come to the end of the passage, 18:23 and through Christ, 18:24 and through His atoning sacrifice on the cross, 18:27 not only do they have access to worship, 18:29 they have become parts, themselves, of the new temple, 18:34 the church that God is building. 18:37 >>So Paul is tearing down separations, 18:40 he's bringing people together. 18:42 Well, Paul's not doing it, 18:43 he's helping them to understand that Jesus is doing it, 18:45 helping us to understand that Jesus is doing that, 18:49 and using this beautiful picture of the temple 18:52 in order to illustrate that. 18:54 And I can imagine how difficult that would be, 18:58 how unpleasant that would be to be a Gentile 19:00 and see that very pleasant message 19:03 addressed to me there. >>Yes. Yes. 19:06 >>But understanding this to realize that, 19:09 now I don't have to worry about that anymore, 19:12 now I can come to Christ 19:14 and feel like I'm part of the family. 19:17 That's powerful. 19:18 >>And as we've been talking about-- 19:19 as we've moved through the lessons, 19:21 Paul's purpose here is to raise fresh energy 19:25 in their hearts and minds 19:26 about what it means to be a Christian. 19:28 And so, "Yes, I'm shut out of this, 19:30 "but wow, look at what it means. 19:33 "I am part of a holy temple. 19:37 "I am part of a place where God is worshiped 19:40 through the Spirit." 19:41 >>Very powerful. 19:43 Now, in this section of the book of Ephesians, 19:46 there is an interesting couple of verses here 19:51 that we would be remiss if we did not take a look at, 19:53 and those are verses 14 and 15 19:57 here in Ephesians, chapter 2. 19:59 I'm gonna go ahead 20:00 and read those-- >>Sure. 20:02 >>...and then let you kind of unpack them-- 20:04 >>Sure. >>..and help us understand 20:05 what they are talking about 20:06 and what they're not talking about, 20:08 because there could be some misconceptions here 20:10 in fact, there are 20:11 some misconceptions. >>Sure. 20:13 >>In verses 14 and 15, Paul says, 20:15 "For He Himself is our peace, 20:17 "who has made both one, 20:19 "and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 20:22 "having abolished in His flesh the enmity, 20:25 "that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, 20:28 "so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, 20:32 thus making peace." 20:33 Now, there are many, I'll say, sincere Christians, 20:37 who look at those verses and misunderstand what's there. 20:43 What's the misunderstanding 20:45 and what's the proper understanding? 20:47 >>Sure, well, a misunderstanding of this passage 20:51 is that Christ, here, is portrayed by Paul 20:56 as abolishing the Ten Commandments, okay? 20:59 That would be a misunderstanding. 21:01 And you could ask me, "How do you know that? 21:04 Why do you know that?" 21:05 Well, there's really an interesting way 21:07 to test that thought, 21:09 and that's to read Ephesians from start to finish 21:12 and ask yourself, 21:15 "Does Paul say anything about the Ten Commandments here? 21:19 "What is his attitude in the wider letter 21:22 "to the Ten Commandments? 21:23 "How does he approach the Ten Commandments 21:24 elsewhere in the letter?" 21:26 So if that interpretation is correct, 21:28 that Christ on the cross is abolishing 21:31 the Ten Commandment moral law of God, 21:35 then we would expect to find in the pages of Ephesians 21:38 that idea reflected, wouldn't we? 21:41 That's not what we find. 21:43 Perhaps most notably, when we get to Paul's rules 21:46 for the Christian household, 21:48 you know, where he talks about relationships 21:50 between wives and husbands, children and parents, 21:53 and, gulp, slaves and slave masters, right? 21:57 He, at the start of his counsel to children in chapter six, 22:00 he says, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, 22:03 for this is right." 22:04 And then in most modern translations 22:06 you'd have quote marks, right? 22:07 Quote, he's quoting, 22:09 "'Honor your father and mother'"-- 22:11 and then he gives a parenthetical statement-- 22:13 "(this is the first commandment with a promise), 22:16 "'that it may go well with you 22:18 and that you may live long in the land.'" 22:20 So he's quoting one of the Ten Commandments here, 22:24 the fifth commandment, right? 22:25 He's quoting the commandment. 22:27 It would be really quite odd, wouldn't it, 22:29 to say the law is abolished, 22:32 but here, you need this word from the Lord 22:34 to help guide you 22:36 as you live out your Christian discipleship. 22:39 And it's very fascinating, 22:41 as we go through the rest of the letter, 22:43 particularly the last half, 22:45 we can find almost all of the Ten Commandments alluded to. 22:49 In fact, one blogger thinks he can identify 22:52 all 10 of the commandments in Ephesians. 22:56 But certainly some of them are quite, quite clear. 23:00 The seventh commandment seems referred to in chapter five, 23:04 the first part of chapter five, verse 31, 23:08 and the early part of chapter four, chapter four, verse two, 23:11 and at the end of chapter five, verses 21 through 33, 23:16 that seems to refer to the commandment, 23:19 "Thou shalt not commit adultery." 23:21 Stealing, chapter four, verse 28. 23:24 The ninth commandment 23:26 in chapter four, verses 25 through 32. 23:30 And then the tenth commandment, "Thou shalt not covet," 23:32 in chapter five, verse five. 23:33 Those seem fairly secure. 23:35 So Paul actually, 23:37 in the last half of his letter, 23:39 as he thinks about how you live out 23:41 all this wonderful doctrine that he's been sharing 23:43 in the first half, 23:45 he alludes again and again and again 23:47 to the Ten Commandments, 23:49 and that leads us to the conclusion 23:51 that Paul believes the Ten Commandments 23:53 are important for Christians 23:54 and should be a guide to Christian discipleship. 23:58 >>So if the Ten Commandments are still applicable-- 24:00 >>Yes. >>...in Paul's day 24:01 and by extension in our day, 24:03 what was Paul talking about there? 24:05 >>Very good question. 24:06 And I would start by noticing the parallel 24:09 between, in verse 14, the dividing wall of hostility 24:13 and the law of commandments expressed in ordinances. 24:17 So there's some parallel there, 24:18 when you get rid of the one, 24:21 you facilitate these two groups becoming one, 24:25 and that leads to one of two potential conclusions, 24:29 and it's a little hard perhaps to choose between them. 24:32 What is abolished 24:33 may be the ceremonial requirements of the law, 24:37 including later additions to those, right? 24:40 So it might be the ceremonial pieces 24:43 plus the augmentation of those. 24:47 And those things we can understand 24:49 because they would very much have separated 24:51 Jew from Gentile. 24:53 Or you could go at it a little different way 24:55 and you could say that Paul's focus is on the misuse 25:00 of the whole Old Testament system of law, 25:03 to separate Jew and Gentile. 25:05 It's clear as we read Ephesians, 25:07 it's clear as we read Romans, 25:09 particularly Romans 9-11, 25:10 that for Paul, the Torah bears witness 25:14 to what he believes God is doing in the church: 25:17 bringing Jew and Gentile together. 25:19 For Paul, the correct interpretation of the law 25:23 does not divide, but unites, Jew and Gentile 25:26 in the worship of Christ as Savior and Lord. 25:31 So one of those two, they're kind of related, 25:35 but what seems very clear is that Paul 25:39 is not discussing here the abolishment 25:41 of the Ten Commandment law. 25:42 >>Yeah, the moral law is still the same 25:45 yesterday, today, and forever 25:46 because, of course, God doesn't change either. 25:49 Very, very clear here. 25:52 So what does all this mean in practical terms for us today? 25:56 Here we are living in 2023. >>Sure. 25:59 >>It's interesting, but... >>Sure. 26:01 >>What's the but? 26:03 >>Well, one way is to just rejoice in the gospel, 26:05 but another way is to go back to thinking 26:07 about this horizontal reconciliation 26:10 that Christ brings people groups together. 26:12 And I would encourage our listeners 26:14 to work through, in prayer, verses 13 through 18, 26:19 and let it cue some questions. 26:22 To give you one example, verse 13, 26:25 am I in company with Christ, bringing the far near, 26:32 or am I keeping people who are not like me at a distance? 26:34 And that's a tough question, isn't it? 26:36 But really, through the Spirit's work with us 26:39 as we study verses 13-18, 26:41 there's some good searching questions like that. 26:44 Are we active and engaged 26:47 in the reconciling work 26:49 that Jesus accomplished on the cross? 26:52 >>Fantastic questions. 26:53 And by the grace of God, 26:55 we'll find some good answers to those questions. 26:59 I trust and pray that you're gonna dig through those verses 27:01 and let them generate some questions in your mind, 27:05 because as those questions are generated, 27:07 then we get to go back and find answers. 27:10 And the book of Ephesians is a fantastic place 27:12 to find some of those answers. 27:15 We are on an incredible journey 27:16 through the book of Ephesians, 27:19 Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus, 27:21 as we seek to understand better 27:23 our relationship with Jesus and, by extension, with others. 27:30 In this week, we've taken a look at a significant passage 27:31 that helps us to do that. 27:33 Next week, we will be back again as we continue our journey, 27:36 and we look forward to seeing you 27:38 as we look at Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus. 27:42 This has been "Sabbath School," 27:43 brought to you by It Is Written. 27:45 We look forward to seeing you next time. 27:47 (uplifting music) 28:27 (uplifting music ends) |
Revised 2023-07-17