God’s Special People

by Bryan Gibson

The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians reminds us that the church, the church Jesus promised to build in Matthew 16:18, was part of God’s eternal plan, planned even before the foundation of the world (3:10; 1:4).  Exactly what kind of people did God have in mind when He planned the church? This same epistle provides the answers.

·           People who are redeemed by the blood of Christ, cleansed and washed of every sin (1:7; 5:25-27); people who once were dead in sin, but have now been made alive with Christ (2:1-6).

·           People who have faith in Christ, and who express that faith by being subject to Him in everything (1:15; 5:23-24).

·           People who have a sincere love for the Lord (6:24).

·           People who love others as Christ loved them (3:17-19; 4:32-5:2; 5:25).

·           People who are righteous and holy and blameless—in thought, in word, and in deed (1:4; 4:24; 4:25-32; 5:27).

·           People who live at peace with others in this body, regardless of their nationality, regardless of what they “once were” (2:14-18); people who show lowliness, gentleness, and longsuffering toward one another (4:1-3).

·           People who work together, each doing his part to help himself and others grow to maturity (4:11-16).

·           People who read and know and understand the truth revealed by the Holy Spirit to the apostles and prophets, their goal being to find out what is pleasing to the Lord, to become more like their Savior, Jesus Christ (3:3-5; 1:17-19; 4:13; 5:10, 17-18).

·           People who hold steadfast to the truth, refusing to be “carried about with every wind of doctrine” (4:14).

·           People who speak the truth boldly, but with love, humility, and longsuffering (4:15; 6:19-20; 4:1-2).

·           People who do the will of God, not grudgingly, but from the heart (6:6; 2:10; 5:19).

·           People who take up the whole armor of God and fight against Satan (6:10-17).

·           People who stand against every evil way (6:11, 13-14), refusing any “fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness” (5:11-12); people who separate themselves from the filth and immorality in the world (5:3-7).

·           People who constantly pray to God, not just for themselves, but for all (6:18-19).

·           People who give thanks to God always for all things (5:20; 1:16; 5:4).

·           People who are a living demonstration of God’s power, wisdom, and grace, thereby bringing praise and glory to God (2:1-10; 3:10, 21; 1:6, 12, 14).