Jesus loves you

@Livingwater Series 2 Study 7 SPIRITUAL INTOXICATION! (Scripture Portion: Ephesians 5: 1 – 21) In Ephesians 5: 18 a contrast is made between the person who is under the influence of alcohol and the person who is under the controlling influence of the Holy Spirit. We as Christians are not to be drunk with the wine that comes from any earthly vineyard but with the new wine of the Kingdom which comes from the heavenly vineyard, from Him who is the True Vine (John 15: 1). There is a purpose in setting these two commands in contrast. It was a pagan belief that God dwelt in the blood of the grape, so that in drinking wine man was drinking God into himself. Drunkenness was therefore held to be a sacrament in which a man was supposed to be under the control of the god who filled him. Paul reminded the Christians at Ephesus of this pagan belief, and then he pointed them to the true way of being God-possessed. Concerning the Spirit-filled life, let us notice the following truths: 1 . A Dr

@Livingwater Series 2 Study 6 GIFTS FROM THE ASCENDED LORD (Scripture Portion: Ephesians 4: 4-16) In Ephesians 4: 4-6, emphasis is given to those great fundamental facts of the Christian faith which are at once its unifying features. In verses 7 – 16, the apostle writes of the diversity of gifts which characterise those who are members of Christ’s Body, the Church. This is an intriguing theme, and we need also to refer to three other New Testament passages which deal with the subject of spiritual gifts – look up Romans 12: 3-8; 1 Corinthians l2: 4-11 (indeed, chapters 12, 13 and 14); and 1 Peter 4: 10-11. Let us confine our study to the teaching embodied in Ephesians 4: 4-16, and notice the following:- 1 . The GIVER of the Gifts . This is brought out in verses 7, 8 and 11, where we are told that Christ Himself gives spiritual gifts to the members of His Church; but especially notice verse 8, which is a quotation from Psalm 68: 18. The Lord Jesus went down into death, was raised

Livingwater Series 2 Study 5 LIVING WORTHILY! (Scripture Portions: Ephesians 4: 1-3 and 17-26) We now come to the second half of this letter. Chapters l – 3 are doctrinal, and they emphasise our standing “in Christ”; chapters 4 – 6 are practical, and they emphasise our state down here in the world. What we are “in Christ” must be related to what we are in the world. Doctrine must always issue in duty; our creed must be seen in our conduct. There are two dangers which we must always seek to avoid: (1) Teaching doctrine without relating it to duty – this will make for a mere intellectualism and a dead formalism; (2) Teaching duty which does not issue forth from doctrine – this will make for error, superficiality and spurious growth. Notice in verse 1 how the apostle commences this second half of the letter: “…I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received” – for the first mark of a saved person is that his life is different. It used to be like Ephesians 2: 2-3 an