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Read (and listen!) through the New Testament in 8 weeks with your small group or on your own.
Immerse: Messiah is the first of six volumes in Immerse: The Bible Reading Experience. Messiah takes the reader on a unique journey through every book of the New Testament. Each section of Messiah begins with one of the Gospels, and together they combine to provide a life-changing reading experience centered on Jesus. This fresh arrangement of the books highlights the depth of the New Testament’s fourfold witness to Jesus the Messiah. The Son of God, who fulfills all the longings and promises of the collected Scriptures, can be experienced in Messiah through the rich variety of lenses provided by the books of the new covenant.
The Immerse Bible Series is the proud winner of the prestigious Bible of the Year award from the ECPA Christian Book Awards. Immerse: The Reading Bible is specially crafted for a distraction-free listening and reading experience, helping you dive in and get immersed in Scripture. You’ll have a great experience using Immerse by yourself. But for an even richer experience, try reading with friends.
Immerse: The Bible Reading Experience is an invitation to a different kind of community interaction with the Bible. Less like a Bible study, more like a book club.
- 8 or 16-week Bible listening plans take you through a large section of the Bible like the New Testament or the Torah
- Meet once a week for a free-flowing discussion about the text
- Wrestle with questions and celebrate ‘aha!’ moments together
Nothing impacts spiritual growth more than spending time in Scripture. Immerse removes many of the barriers that make Bible reading difficult and invites communities to become transformed together through the power of God’s word.
Welcome to the saddleback church anchored life challenge which can also by found on the saddleback companion app or by purchasing the immerse messiah book from tyndale.
The anchored life challenge includes speakers such as Andy Wood, Rick Warren, and Stacie Wood.
Immerse Messiah 18
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Andy Wood: [00:00:00] Welcome to Immerse Messiah Reading for
Rick Warren: Week 4, Day
Andy Wood: 18.
Andy Wood: Immersed in Ephesians While Paul was living and working in Ephesus, he sent his co workers out to start churches across the Roman province of Asia. Epaphras planted churches in Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis, but Paul was arrested in Jerusalem shortly after leaving Ephesus to deliver an offering for the poor.
Andy Wood: Paul was eventually brought to Rome and imprisoned while awaiting trial. By the time he heard about the situation in Colossae, He had been away from the province of Asia for at least three years. Paul realized that by now, other churches also needed advice, encouragement, and correction from him. He likely got information about many of them from people who came to visit and help him in Rome.
Andy Wood: So Paul gave his co workers Tychicus and Onesimus a letter to read to these churches, in addition [00:01:00] to delivering his letters to the Colossians and to Philemon. Today this letter is known as Ephesians, even though the earliest and best copies of the letter are addressed to God's holy people, not God's holy people in Ephesus.
Andy Wood: As is the case for all of Paul's letters, we no longer have the original. Paul is apparently writing to people he has not met personally, because he tells the recipients that he has only heard of their strong faith in the Lord Jesus. By contrast, when he writes to the Corinthians, he refers to what I told you about Christ, and he reminds the Thessalonians of how we brought you the good news.
Andy Wood: In addition, the lack of specific personal greetings at the end also indicates that Ephesians was written for a more general audience. Because this is a more general letter, Paul doesn't begin by explaining his connection to the recipients, as he does in other letters. Instead, he writes a longer than usual opening thanksgiving, [00:02:00] delivering a big picture description of everything God has accomplished through Christ.
Andy Wood: The good news is the revelation of how God has brought his long term plan to fulfillment. God is one, and he intends to unify all things under the authority of Christ. Paul's prayer is for the believers understanding, that they would know the great scope of God's work for them. Their hope is secure because the same power that raised Christ from the dead is the power that also sustains them.
Andy Wood: Paul begins the main body of his letter by emphasizing the same truth as in Colossians, that following Jesus means beginning a whole new way of life in a new kind of community. Paul identifies the recipients as Gentiles, but emphasizes that in Jesus they are now fellow citizens with all of God's people and full members of his family.
Andy Wood: They were previously in exile, in this world, without God and without hope, but now they have been joined to [00:03:00] the Messiah. Because Christ has torn down the wall of hostility that once Gentiles, one new human family has come into existence. Paul refers to this family as God's new holy temple, the place where God makes his home, built on the cornerstone of Jesus himself.
Andy Wood: This has always been God's mysterious plan, to bring all the world's people together in Christ. And Paul's own special mission is to announce this good news throughout the Roman Empire, especially to the Gentiles. Overcome by this vision for the world, Paul writes his second prayer, giving thanks for the great love of Christ that makes it all possible.
Andy Wood: How is this vision to be implemented in the believer's life together? They should each use the special gift God has given them to help both the community and its individual members to become mature. In practical ways, they should allow God's Spirit to renew [00:04:00] their thoughts and attitudes. And as he did in the letter to the Colossians, Paul instructs them in how the light of Christ should show itself in their household relationships.
Andy Wood: Paul concludes by pointing out that God has given them everything they need to resist the mighty powers in this dark world and continue to walk in Christ's light.
Rick Warren: The letter to the Ephesians. This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God's holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every [00:05:00] spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.
Rick Warren: Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son.
Rick Warren: He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. 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.
Rick Warren: At the right time, He will bring everything together under the authority of Christ. [00:06:00] Everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance, and He makes everything work out according to His plan. God's purpose was that we Jews, who were the first to trust in Christ, would bring praise and glory to God.
Rick Warren: And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the good news that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, He identified you as His own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom He promised long ago. The Spirit is God's guarantee that He will give us the inheritance He promised, and that He has purchased us to be His own people.
Rick Warren: He did this so we would praise and glorify Him. Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus, and your love for God's people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you [00:07:00] constantly. Asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God, I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope He has given to those He called, His holy people, who are His rich and glorious inheritance.
Rick Warren: I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe Him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms. Now He is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else.
Rick Warren: Not only in this world, but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ, and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body. [00:08:00] It is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself. Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.
Rick Warren: You used to live in sin just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil, the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature, we were subject to God's anger, just like everyone else.
Rick Warren: But God is so rich in mercy. And He loved us so much that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. It is only by God's grace that you have been saved. For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are [00:09:00] united with Christ Jesus.
Rick Warren: So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of His grace and kindness toward us. As shown in all He has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus, God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this. It is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it, for we are God's masterpiece.
Rick Warren: He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Don't forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called uncircumcised heathens by the Jews who were proud of their circumcision even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts.
Rick Warren: In those days, you were living apart from Christ. [00:10:00] You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to Him through the blood of Christ.
Rick Warren: For Christ Himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in His own body on the cross, He broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups.
Rick Warren: Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross and our hostility toward each other was put to death. [00:11:00] He brought this good news of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him and peace to the Jews who were near. Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
Rick Warren: So now, you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God's holy people. You are members of God's family. Together, we are His house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus Himself. We are carefully joined together in Him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.
Rick Warren: Through Him, you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by His Spirit. When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, for the benefit of you Gentiles, Assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you [00:12:00] Gentiles.
Rick Warren: As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me. As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ. God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets. And this is God's plan.
Rick Warren: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the good news share equally in the riches inherited by God's children. Both are part of the same body and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus. By God's grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving Him by spreading this good news.
Rick Warren: Though I am the least deserving of all God's people, He graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that [00:13:00] God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.
Rick Warren: God's purpose in all this was to use the church to display His wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was His eternal plan, which He carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord. Because of Christ and our faith in Him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God's presence.
Rick Warren: So please don't lose heart because of my trials here. I am suffering for you, so you should feel honored. When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources, He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.
Rick Warren: Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into [00:14:00] God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully, then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Rick Warren: Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever. Amen. Therefore, I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.
Rick Warren: Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance [00:15:00] for each other's faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace, for there is one body and one spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.
Rick Warren: There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all. However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. That is why the scriptures say, when he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people.
Rick Warren: Notice that it says, He ascended. This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens. So that he might fill the entire universe with himself. [00:16:00] Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church. The apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.
Rick Warren: Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children.
Rick Warren: We won't be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of His body, the Church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly.
Rick Warren: As each part does its own [00:17:00] special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. With the Lord's authority, I say this. Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness. They wander far from the life God gives, because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against Him.
Rick Warren: They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. But that isn't what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from Him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.
Rick Warren: Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God, truly righteous and holy. So, [00:18:00] stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. And, don't sin by letting anger control you. Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
Rick Warren: If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live.
Rick Warren: Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, [00:19:00] be kind to each other, tender hearted, forgiving one another just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Rick Warren: Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. Let there be no sexual immorality. impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God's people.
Rick Warren: Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes, these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshipping the things of this world. Don't [00:20:00] be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey Him.
Rick Warren: Don't participate in the things these people do. For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord, so live as people of light. For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness.
Rick Warren: Instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them. For the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, Awake, O sleeper. Rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.
Rick Warren: So be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise. [00:21:00] Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves and making music to the Lord in your hearts.
Rick Warren: And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of His body, the Church.
Rick Warren: As the Church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything. For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church. He gave up His life for her to make [00:22:00] her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God's Word. He did this to present her to Himself as a glorious Church, without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish.
Rick Warren: Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. And we are members of his body.
Rick Warren: As the scriptures say, a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. This is a great mystery. But it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Rick Warren: Children, [00:23:00] obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. Honor your father and mother. This is the first commandment with a promise. If you honor your father and mother, things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them.
Rick Warren: Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord. Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. Try to please them all the time, not just when they're watching you as slaves of Christ. Do the will of God with all your heart.
Rick Warren: Work with enthusiasm as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free masters. Treat your slaves in the same way. [00:24:00] Don't threaten them. Remember, you both have the same master in heaven, and he has no favorites.
Rick Warren: A final word. Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies. Transcripts provided by Transcription Outsourcing, LLC. Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil.
Rick Warren: Then, after the battle, you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes, put on the piece that comes from the good news so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of [00:25:00] these, Hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.
Rick Warren: Put on salvation as your helmet. And take the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. And pray for me too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God's mysterious plan that the good news is for Jews and Gentiles alike.
Rick Warren: I am in chains now. Um, uh, Um, Uh, transcription of the Bible. boldly for him, as I should. To bring you up to date, Tychicus will give you a full report about what I am doing and how I am getting along. He is a beloved brother and faithful helper in the Lord's work. I have sent him to you for this very [00:26:00] purpose.
Rick Warren: To let you know how we are doing, and to encourage you. Peace be with you, dear brothers and sisters. And may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. May God's grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ.
Andy Wood: This concludes today's
Rick Warren: Immerse Reading Experience. Thank you for joining us.