PAUL AT EPHESUS (Acts 19:23 to 20:12)

In our lesson today, Paul preaches that the gospel words of life demanded that believers worship only Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Many people, when presented with the gospel message, believe that they can just add Jesus to the mix of gods and religious practices that they maintain.  Yet, the Bible is clear that it is not Jesus and anything, it is Jesus only.  Jesus died for us, and that is the redeeming claim of His Lordship over those who will call Him Savior.  Christ both died and rose for us.  In those two actions we see the redeeming claim and the resurrection conquest.  When He died, He gave Himself for us, but when He rose, He gave Himself to us to live within us.   This means three things to believers: First, it means our total submission.  We do not take Jesus as just our “Savior,” we can only take Him as our “Lord and Savior.”  Christ is Lord of our all, or He is not our Lord at all.  We are surrendered to Jesus Christ completely and exclusively. Second, it means His absolute ownership of all that you possess.  We have been purchased by Jesus, and His precious blood was the price that He paid.  As a believer, Jesus owns us and all that we have.  Jesus is not simply the owner of a church member’s tithe.  He doesn’t just own 10 percent of a Christian’s wealth.  He owns it all.  The tithe is simply a tangible expression of that.  It is a symbol of all our resources, all our time, all our intellect, all our relationships, and all our deepest desires.   The Third thing it means is unquestioned obedience.  Being a Christian means total obedience in every area, our work, our witness, our friendships, our families, and our recreation.  The flesh may fear that kind of obedience.  Yet, how foolish that is to fear the One who died for us.  Jesus only wants for us, what we would want for ourselves, if we could only look at things from His perspective.   Click on the link below to hear a lesson on Paul’s teaching at Ephesus. This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS. Amen.