1. No soldier enters the battlefield without protection. So, Paul teaches us what it means to be clothed in the full armor of God, whose might is our strength.
  2. God’s Word of forgiveness, new life in baptism, and life given in the Lord’s Supper direct our lives in this world of sin and cause us to follow Christ’s light through the darkness.
  3. The baptized, those rescued and redeemed by God’s grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone, are given an entirely new life to live, an entirely new way to walk.
  4. The unity we have in the Church is a gift, a gracious creation of the triune God and not a work we accomplish or decide on.
  5. Prayers for the faith of the Church—prayed in love from a place of suffering—not only define much of Paul’s ministry, but are formed by the Christ they imitate.
  6. No matter how divided Jew and Gentile were, they were united in their sin. Christ alone is the answer to this.
  7. This opening section of Ephesians is a virtual treasure trove of gospel promises, praising God for who He is and the abundant blessings He pours out upon His saints.
  8. The God whose power is made perfect in our weakness is the God who, in weakness, saved you from sin, death, and the Devil.
  9. The Scriptures are not a collection of platonic ideals laid out for us to strive after. Rather, they are God’s truth given to His beloved church.
  10. While we do not have an answer, we do have a promise. A promise given to us by a God whose one and only Son was himself slaughtered by those terrified of losing their power.
  11. The pain of God’s silence strikes Jesus harsher than any nail ever could. “For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me?