DNA 301 NOTES
Ephesians 1:8-10
He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring EVERYTHING together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.
Everything is about Jesus and everything concludes with Jesus.
The center of EVERYTHING is Jesus. The main focus of eternity is Jesus. We are called Christians because of Jesus. Jesus is the all in all, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
Jesus, the name above all names. Everything in the universe has been given to King Jesus.
The devil has been successful in making us believe that Jesus and the church are separate. That you can love Jesus but not love his wife (the bride of Christ is the church). That you can somehow trust God but mistrust the church. That you can have a relationship with Jesus but not go to church. That’s like saying I can be married but only go home to see my wife once a year.
To be the body of Christ means to be the embodiment of Christ. That means as a body of believers we embody Jesus. The means by which Jesus has chosen to manifest himself to the world is through the church.
How does the church get ugly?
When we stop loving her & when we stop caring for her.
Ephesians 5:22-33
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
I want you to notice some things:
Jesus’ responsibility
- He feeds his body.
- He cares for his body.
- He and his Bride are one.
Our responsibility
- Submit to Jesus
- Respect Jesus
- Love Jesus and what He loves
- Leave every other love and become one with Jesus
It’s time for us to accept God’s bride and love her as much as Jesus does.
Expectations are powerful.
When our expectations match, we move forward.