11 Life Changing Lessons from the Book of Ephesians
As Christians in the modern world, it can be difficult to navigate life, especially with cancel culture and freedom of expression being pushed so hard by the society we live in. Thankfully, we have the living, breathing Word of God to help and guide us on how to live a life that is centred around Him.
Ephesians is one of books in the Bible that empowers us and shows us exactly how God wants us to live our lives. Ephesians has many lessons on how to live life, as a Christian, and it is filled with encouragement, wisdom and scriptures about how much God truly loves us, as His children.
These life-lessons, found in the book of Ephesians, will equip and empower you to live a life full of love, peace and joy, and will guide you to a life that is truly centred around God, Our Father.
1. Live Like You Are Chosen
Ephesians 1:4
For he chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
One of our greatest desires we have as humans is to feel chosen and accepted. Ephesians 1:4 is such a beautiful promise, because it tells us that God, the creator of the universe, has chosen us, and fully accepts us as holy and blameless through the blood of Jesus.
You don’t need to chase after the approval of other people by following the way of the world. You are already chosen. You are already approved of. No amount of criticism or cancel culture can take that away from you.
We all have a deep need for belonging, and that is because we were created to belong to Him. God knows everything about us, and still chooses us and loves us just as we are. Be confident and stand strong. Live like you are chosen, because you are!
2. You Have Been Saved – You Don’t Need to Work for Approval
Ephesians 2:4-9
But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
God knows how selfish the human flesh is, and how arrogant we can be, when achieve even the smallest accomplishment. That is why He saved us by His grace, through the blood of Jesus, our King, so that no one can boast about how good, or righteous, they are. We are made righteous through Jesus, not by our works. We are saved by the blood of Christ, not by how hard we work, or how good we are.
There is nothing you can do to add to your salvation. You have been saved, by grace. You cannot work harder or achieve more in order to prove that you are worthy to God. He has already covered you with the blood of Jesus, which makes you already perfect, in the eyes of God. You have been approved by God. You are His masterpiece.
You don’t have to live like the rest of the world, desperate for approval, through hard work and achievements. Live for the glory of God, because He has created you for a purpose. God approved of you, before you were even formed, by saving you through grace. You are enough, in fact, you are perfect, through Him.
3. Live in the Peace of God
Ephesians 2:14
For he himself is our peace,
Our peace comes from God himself. When you find yourself in the middle of a storm in life, hold onto the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding. Let His peace be your anchor that keeps you rooted and safe, even in the toughest storms of your life.
God’s peace is a knowing, deep on the inside of you, that no matter what comes against you, He will help you overcome it. Jesus has already won the victory for you, and God has promised that no weapon formed against you will prosper.
This gives us a peace that doesn’t make sense to non-believers, because we know and trust that, with God, we will overcome every battle and we will win every fight. Let the peace of God rule in your heart. Trust that He will help you, always.
4. Believe that God Has a Good Plan for You
Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Sometimes life doesn’t go according to our plan, and we get hit with disappointments and failure. These seasons make us feel like we’ve missed God and like we’ve gone in the wrong direction. Doubt starts to cloud our hearts, as thoughts tell us that we aren’t good enough to be used by God.
Trust your Father, dear believer. His word says that we are His handiwork, created in Jesus to do works that God himself has prepared for us to do. God has a perfectly written plan for your life, that has been intricately woven together with love.
God will work out everything in your life for your good, including the seasons of failure and disappointment. He will use the struggle to refine you, re-direct your steps and make you more like Him. Trust Him, as you walk through every season of your life, and watch how His beautiful plan for your life unfolds, moment by moment. God has created you to do good works, through Jesus.
5. Approach God Boldly
Ephesians 3:12
In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Our God is the creator of the universe, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Without Him, life, and all its beauty would not exist. As we pray to God, we should approach Him with the highest level of respect and awe, but we also have the wonderful gift of approaching the throne of God boldly, through our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
To approach God boldly doesn’t mean trying to get Him to do whatever you want Him to, but to trust that He will give you the desires of your heart, as you seek to do His will. You can go to Him, through faith, knowing that you have been made righteous by the blood of Jesus.
Be bold in your prayers! You have authority through Christ to approach God with confidence and freedom, trusting and expecting that His goodness will be displayed in your life! He will answer your prayers, so have faith to pray big prayers, as you go to Him in boldness.
6. Be Fully and Deeply Rooted in God’s Love
Ephesians 3:17-19
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
God’s love is wider, deeper, higher and longer than anything we could ever imagine. His love is what gives us power, peace and joy, through the Holy Spirit. His love fills all the empty, broken and dark spaces inside of us, and has the power to make us whole, new and restored.
It’s hard for us to understand how much God actually loves us, because human love is conditional. You have to earn human love, but God gives His love to us freely, without us deserving it at all. His love for us runs so deep, that nothing we do, and no force of darkness, could ever separate us from Him. God love us with an everlasting, unconditional love that is powerful enough to heal us, strengthen us and uphold us.
The love of God keeps us strongly rooted in Him, so that when the storms of life hit us, we do not fall. We stay rooted, connected and faithful in Him. When people hurt you, or let you down, and when life feels too heavy to carry, hold onto the deep-rooted love of your Heavenly Father. His love is everything you need. Let God’s love fill you, and flow out of you to those around you, as you walk step-by-step along your journey with Him.
7. Expect Big Things and Partner with God
Ephesians 3:20
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us
In our minds, and in our limited strength and ability, a lot of things seem impossible or unachievable, but with God, nothing is impossible. God wants us to expect big things from Him in our lives and the lives of others, because He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we ask or think!
God created the heavens, the Earth, and all living things, in six days. His power exceeds anything we could ever imagine, and He can do things in you and through you, that would leave you in awe. There is power in expecting the goodness of God to come through for you in big ways.
The key to receiving from God, is to partner with Him and work with Him when He calls you to do certain things. Obedience is doing what you know you can and should do in the situation, and then trusting God to do the rest. We are limited, but God is not. Take the limits off of what He can do in your life, and trust Him for big things, even if it feels like you’re asking for the impossible.
8. Find Strength in the Holy Spirit
Ephesians 3:16
I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being
Life is hard, and it comes with a lot of trials, struggles, and hardships. These seasons aren’t meant to break us though, they are actually meant to grow us, and teach us to rely on the strength of the Holy Spirit.
We aren’t strong enough to carry the burdens of life on our own, we need the power and strength of God that is given to us through the Holy Spirit. Through Him, you can pass through the fires of life without getting burned and through rising waters that will not consume you.
Find your strength through surrendering to the Holy Spirit. He knows what you need, and when you need it. Let Him work through you to bring out His strength and power to help you overcome things that you never thought were possible to have victory over. In your weakness, He will make you strong.
9. Live a Life Worthy of the Call You Have Received
Ephesians 4:1-2
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Ephesians chapter four speaks about how to live as followers of Christ, pure and full of love. The chapter starts off by urging us to live a life worthy of our calling as children of God. Verse two tells us how we do this, by being humble and gentle and bearing with one another in love.
I will be writing a full blog post about Ephesians chapters four and five, and the ways God expects us to live, which will be posted soon. Putting Feet to Your Faith on YouTube, is also a great video resource to dive deeper into these chapters of Ephesians.
The world tells us that we need to achieve success, or have wealth in order to live a life that is worthy, but God’s word shows us that these things have nothing to do with being worthy in the eyes of the Lord. To Him, our lives are worthy of the call He has given us, if we bear the fruits of the Spirit in the way we live.
Let the Holy Spirit fill you with living waters daily, allowing Him to change what needs to change in your heart and in your life. God may ask you to let go of certain habits, people or behaviours, so that He can develop the fruits of the Spirit in you. Follow Him, even if it doesn’t make sense. Obey the Lord, as you live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
10. Forgive Others, Just as God Has Forgiven You
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Forgiveness is another fruit of the Spirit that God develops in us. This is one of the hardest fruits to bear for me, because my flesh struggles to let go of what other people have done to hurt me, and I know I’m not alone in feeling like that.
God sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from our sins. When we are born again, the blood of Jesus washes over us, washing away our sins, and God forgives us completely. This is the way He expects us to forgive each other. Completely, and with loving compassion.
As hard as it is to forgive someone who hurt you, it’s even harder holding onto the bitterness and resentment that build in your heart, if you live in unforgiveness. The enemy loves it when we refuse to forgive someone, because he can use that as a way to destroy our joy and peace.
Don’t let the enemy get a foothold on you because of unforgiveness in your heart. Make the difficult choice to forgive, because you will never feel like doing it. It’s something that you have to choose to do, on purpose. Show mercy and kindness, to yourself and others, just as God has shown you, and forgive, often and quickly, because this is what God asks us to do.
Joyce Meyer often speaks about the power of forgiveness in her sermons, and she has written many books about the subject. There is also a great blog post on her website called Forgive and Be Free, which I recommend for more reading on why forgiveness is so important for us as Christians.
11. Put on the Full Armour of God
Ephesians 6:11
Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
God wants us to live in victory, experiencing His peace and joy every day of our lives. This is God’s will for us, and the devil knows it. That’s why he will try and do anything he can to derail your life, and get you to stay in defeat, and misery.
God has given us weapons of warfare, and His full armour, to stand against the devil and his schemes. We will have victory and defeat the enemy by consciously putting on this armour, every day.
The helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the sword of the Spirit, the belt of truth, the shield of faith, and the shoes of peace make up the full armour of God. This armour will protect us, empower us, and remind us that God is for us, so no one can stand against us!
When you feel under attack, read Ephesians chapter six. The living word of God will give you power and strength, and will remind you of the armour that He has given you to stand firm and be victorious! God has not given you a spirit of fear, dear warrior. Take up the full armour of God, and fight your battles the right way!
To equip and empower you more on the subject of the full armour of God, and what each piece of armour helps you with, you can head to my blog post, which is dedicated to delving deeper into this beautiful and powerful protection God has given us, here.
The book of Ephesians is filled with life-lessons, wisdom and teachings on how to live life as a Christian, even in the dark times we live in today. There are many lessons that we can learn from Ephesians, including living our lives in a way that bears the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Forgiveness, peace, humility and kindness are written into many of the chapters.
This book is also filled with the love of God, and emphasises just how much love our Heavenly Father has for us, and how He wants us to be deeply rooted in this love.
Ephesians ends in chapter six, by speaking about the power and protection given to us through the full armour of God, and tells us to stand against the schemes of the enemy, together with God.
Ephesians is a powerful, life-giving book that will change the way you approach everyday life. If you commit to learning and applying these lessons in your own life, you will see God do amazing things in you, and through you!
