Ephesians 02: We Are God’s Refrigerator Art

Ephesians stands as an amazing message to the Church on the grace of God and the unsearchable riches of our relationship with Him. This short letter has been inspired by the Holy Spirit to empower and challenge us to never stop growing in God’s grace.

From Chuck Swindoll on Ephesians, “The book of Ephesians hits on a wide range of moral and ethical behaviors, designed to ensure believers are living up to our heavenly calling. As we continue in our faith from day to day, month to month, and year to year, the temptation to get comfortable will always exist. However, Paul presented the gift of God in Christ and the benefits we receive so clearly that we cannot help but ask ourselves if our lives reflect that reality as they should.

How have you grown in your Christian life since you came to faith in Jesus Christ? The latter half of Ephesians makes clear that spiritual growth occurs primarily in community with others, iron sharpening iron (Proverbs 27:17). Your Christian “walk” (in other words, your daily life) is to be characterized by unity, holiness, love, wisdom, and perseverance in spiritual warfare.

Maturity yields benefits in believers’ moral lives, but it extends far beyond that as well. Increased maturity benefits the community at large, leading us as Christians to present a more consistent witness to the working of God in our lives as well as protecting us from the harmful divisions and quarrels that have plagued so many communities throughout history.”

Overall Theme: Grow and Become Everything Has Called you to Be.

Key Verse: (Ephesians 2:10) For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Let’s read it together.

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Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT).
Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Transcript

Introduction to Bible Breakdown Podcast

Speaker 1 0:02

Hey everyone and welcome to the Bible Breakdown podcast. In this podcast, we will be breaking down the Bible one chapter a day. Whether you are a new believer or have been following Christ for a while, we believe that you will learn something new and fresh every single day. So thank you for joining us and let's get into breaking down the Bible together.

Speaker 2 0:23

Well, hello everybody. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today. Ephesians, chapter two, and if I were to give this one a title, it would be we Are God's Refrigerator Art. We Are God's Refrigerator Art. Yeah, hopefully that'll make sense here in just a moment as we talk about how God sees something special in all of us. But before we do that, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like, share and subscribe to the YouTube channel. Thank you so much for leaving us comments and things and letting us know how you're getting along with God's Word. Thank you for sharing the YouTube channel. It really does help us as we're on our road to 1,000, and we're so excited to do that together.

We Are God's Refrigerator Art

Speaker 2 0:59

Also, podcast listeners. I just got to be honest with you, mainly to aggravate our YouTube listeners, but podcast listeners you always in forever, are my favorite. Thank you so much. And thank you for all of you who are leaving us five-star reviews. I see you on the Apple podcast, I see you on Spotify and all that, and I hate so bad that my Spotify listeners are not able to leave a review. So if you don't mind, I'd love for you to go over to the Apple podcast, just so that you can leave us a review. So, if you don't mind, I'd love for you to go over to the Apple podcast just so that you can leave us a review. And I want to say thank you so much and I want to read some of these online because you guys are encouragement to us and you also help us. And I want to say thank you to W Sloan 09, because she said back in May love this podcast, love the extra commentary of backstory and historical references to go along with these chapters. And I'm going to tell you something I love doing that because once I realized that when I'm reading God's word, especially the book of Ephesians, I'm reading a letter that the Holy Spirit inspired for someone to write to a city, to a collection of churches in a city, and so if it's a letter, then it's only half the story, right, and it's enough. That's the part inspired by the Holy Spirit. But to get the full story, it also would be important to know who they're writing to. So when I know who they're writing to and I know what the Holy Spirit inspired, it creates an even more amazing picture of what God was trying to convey. And so, yeah, I love it too, and thank you so much, w Sloan 09. It is an honor to read the Bible together with everybody. Well, if you have your Bibles, I'm going to open up with me to Ephesians, chapter 2. We're going to get into this amazing book. Don't forget.

Speaker 2 2:40

Paul is writing this letter from prison, jogger's locked up and he is waiting to meet with the emperor. And we don't know if he ever actually got in front of the emperor or not, because before he was ever ever able to do that, rome ends up burning. They blame it on the Christians. Paul unfortunately spoiler alert later is beheaded, but he's writing this one while he's in prison, in about 60 to 61 AD. So Jesus was crucified and rose again around 33 AD. So less than 30 years later is when Paul is writing this to this church.

Understanding Ephesians 2: Saved by Grace

Speaker 2 3:09

And the city of Ephesus is a very spiritually aware city. You know it is home to one of the eight ancient wonders of the world, in that it was home to the temple of Artemis, this false god that they would worship. So this church in Ephesus. They know very well spiritual warfare and all these different things, and Paul loves this church. He's writing to them and saying God's doing great things in you, and he sees even more in you than you currently see right now, which is why the first half he's writing about God's greatness in us, and then the second half is he's encouraging us to continue to mature. And so if I were to give this overall theme, it would be that God has called us to grow and become everything that he's created us to be, and to realize that there's so much more that God has for us than we can imagine, including the fact that we are God's refrigerator art. Well, I want to explain what that means, but first I want us to read God's word together, and then maybe it'll make sense together. So let's do this First.

Speaker 2 4:18

One of Ephesians 2 says this you used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil, the commander of the powers of 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. But God that's amazing 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 heavenly realms, because we are united with Christ Jesus. 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 that he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

Speaker 2 5:26

God saved you by his grace when you believed, and you can't take credit for it. It is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for those good things that we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Here it is we are God's masterpiece. He created us anew in Christ Jesus so we could do the good things he planned for us long ago. Now that's a whole lot there, but basically what he just said was is that God is doing great things in you and he has done these great things and he wants to show you off to all the other ages what he has done, and he calls you his masterpiece, and I love this even more as he makes sure and reminds us that the grace that we've received is just that it is a gift. We can't earn it, and that's important, because so many people think that they are going to try to earn their way to heaven, only to realize that's not how it works. We don't earn our way. What we could not achieve by moral perfection, we can't lose by moral imperfection. In other words, we were never going to be good enough to receive salvation. Therefore, we don't lose it by not being perfect. It is something that is given to us by God. Now we walk as close to God as we can and we walk without sin in our life, because we now are no longer under the curse of the obligation to sin.

God's Masterpiece Explained

Speaker 2 6:53

Sin most of the time is something that we do as a medication for the broken places in our life. The reason why we look at pornography, the reason why we overindulge in alcohol, the reason why we lie, the reason why we do these different sins in our life, the reason why we're unfaithful, is because we're trying to medicate broken places in our life. Jesus came to heal us of our broken places. Therefore, we no longer have to sin anymore. Now do we sometimes sin? Of course we do, because we're all on the growth process toward that place of perfection, one day that we're never going to get to, until we get to heaven, but we no longer are bound to sin anymore. Now we can live as free, whole, complete children of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, we can't earn it. It's a free gift that we received, and what God's Word is saying is that he is making us into His masterpiece. Now, what I love about this is a masterpiece is something that is beautiful to the trained eye.

Speaker 2 7:56

Now, I'll be honest with you. One time I had an opportunity I didn't see it in person, but I had a chance to see a replica of the Mona Lisa and I looked at the Mona Lisa and the girl's ugly. Okay, I'm not trying to be rude, just I'm calling it like I see it Cause I'm I am an untrained artist. You know what I'm saying, I don't know what I'm doing, I am ignorant or, as we'd say in Alabama, ignorant of such things. So I looked at this lady and I was like, boy, she could snag light and she, whoo, and there was, thankfully there was a guy beside me who proceeded to call me an idiot and various four-letter words that I will not repeat here, and he was like do you not understand? And he started explaining to me the different intricacies of the master Leonardo da Vinci, and the different shadings and the different colors, which I'm colorblind anyway, so I didn't appreciate that. But when he got through explaining to me what I was looking at, I felt like an idiot. I was like, yeah, I mean, it's ugly to me, but I get why it's a masterpiece, it's amazing.

Speaker 2 8:55

And then I had kids of my own. And what would happen with my girls when we were little? They don't do this anymore, but when they were little they used to love to draw me pictures, especially one of my daughters. And, um, it was ridiculous, like I remember this one time. Uh, my one of my daughters and, um, it was ridiculous, like I remember this one time.

Speaker 2 9:11

Uh, my one of my daughters, she took this, this, this crayon, and she just drew not even a straight line, just kind of a what, even a good lightning bolt, it was just a squiggly you know down this thing. And and I go and I'm like she gives it to me, he's like, dad, look, this is, this is for you. And like it's great, what is it, you know? And she's like, well, dad, it's a castle, of course I was like oh yeah, of course, of course it is beautiful, baby, I'm going to put that up in my refrigerator, right.

Speaker 2 9:39

And a few days later, I know maybe a week or two later, a friend of mine comes over and he's looking at that thing and he's not married, don't have kids. And he's looking at that and he's, he's realizing he's about to tease me. He's like man, what is that? Because on my refrigerator is this piece of paper with not even a very good straight line on it, right. And I was like what do you mean? What is it? I mean, what is it? I said well, that's a castle, of course, you know, of course it's a castle and it's beautiful. In case you're wondering, it's beautiful. He's like hey okay all right.

Unity Between Jews and Gentiles

Speaker 2 10:11

You know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. A masterpiece is only a masterpiece to someone who says it's a masterpiece. You ever went to a modern abstract art gallery they have like a broken toilet and be like, hey, this is a work of art, sure it is, but to the artist it is. And that's what I want to say to you before we finish up this chapter, and that is this that God calls us, the church, his masterpiece. Now you may look around at your church on Sunday and you don't see a masterpiece. God does, god sees what he's doing in your life a masterpiece. He says what I'm doing in you, I'm not doing in anybody else, and so, no matter what anybody else says about you, in Christ you're significant, you're secure and you're accepted, and in Christ he calls you his masterpiece. Let's continue together. Verse 11,. Don't forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. This is what a masterpiece looks like to God. You were called uncircumcised heathens by the Jews. You are proud of your who are proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from the citizenship among the people of Israel. You did not know the covenant promises of God that he made to you about 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, for Christ himself 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 the law with its commandments and regulations. This by ending the system of the law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between the Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups 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. He brought this good news of peace to you, gentiles, who were far away from him, and the 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. And so for Christ, a masterpiece is when he took the Jewish people and the Gentiles, and he brought us together, and now we are one body access to the father through the Holy spirit, by Jesus through the cross.

Speaker 2 12:50

That is a masterpiece, let's finish it up. 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 prophets, and the cornerstone is Christ himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him, you, gentiles, we're also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his spirit Wow. So as we finish this together, I want you to remember one thing before we leave, and that is this you are God's refrigerator art.

Speaker 2 13:32

It doesn't matter what everybody else sees. It doesn't matter what everybody else says. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And, just like when I went and looked at this replica of the Mona Lisa, I had no idea what I was looking at. I was completely ignorant to what that beauty was, why it was that way. I knew nothing. I really had no opinion that really mattered.

Speaker 2 13:56

And that's what happens when you're pursuing God with all of your heart and with all of your life and people look at you and have an opinion. The answer should be and so you didn't make me, You're not forming me, you're not the one that is shaping and molding me and your opinion is not the one that matters most. You know whose opinion matters most Jesus, the great artist, the one who is shaping and molding and informing me. Now, it's okay that you care about the opinions of others that's called being normal but never to the point that you let it change your pursuit of God, because the God who knows you and truly loves you, he says you're his refrigerator art. You may look silly, crazy and everything else to everybody else, but to the only one that matters, he's proud of you and he is displaying you for all the world to see.

Final Thoughts and Prayer

Speaker 2 14:46

Let's pray together, god. Thank you so much. Thank you that you see us, you know us, you love us, you're forming us, you're making us. I celebrate you today. I pray God, you will have your way in all things. In Jesus' name, we pray, amen. Jesus' name, we pray, amen and amen. Well, don't forget. God's Word says and this is our hope, and that is Ephesians. Chapter 2, verse 10 says this we are God's say it with me, masterpiece or refrigerator art. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things that he planned for us long ago. Shine brightly for Jesus today.