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Day 1 READ Ephesians 5:1-2 5 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 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. Paul continues telling believers how to live. They are to imitate God in all they do. They do this by having a life filled with love and following Jesus as an example. Even though mankind was not worthy of His love,

Day 1 READ Ephesians 5:10-11 10 Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. 11 Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them Paul wants believers to exercise their knowledge and wisdom to do that which pleases the Lord. Notice what Paul calls the works of evil and darkness—they are “worthless.” Rather than taking part in these useless activities, believers are to use their spiritual insight and energy to expose them. One way to expose

Day 1 READ Ephesians 5:21-22 21 And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22 For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. Some are concerned about wives being told to “submit” to their husbands. The word “submit” is not in the original Greek language of verse 22. It is implied from what is said in verse 21—that an evidence of being filled with the Spirit is that believers should submit to each other. Rejecting what verse 22 says

Day 1 READ Ephesians 5:31 31 As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” Here Paul quotes Genesis 2:24. After God had made Eve from Adam’s rib, Adam exclaimed, “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’” Jesus also referred to this when He said, “Haven’t you read the Scriptures? They record that from the beginning

Day 1 READ Ephesians 6:7-8 7 Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 8 Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free. Paul continues to tell how Christian slaves/servants should express they are filled with the Spirit. They should focus on pleasing the Lord, not just their earthly masters/bosses. This will be easier to do if they remember the Lord will someday reward t

Day 1 READ Ephesians 6:15-17 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The Christian soldier is to have the message of peace with God that comes from the gospel. The soldier is also to use faith for protection against the

What really counts when it comes to our salvation? Do we impress God by our religious works and pious actions? Or does salvation come in another way? These are the questions the Galatians believers faced which the apostle Paul addresses in this letter. In this verse-by-verse study, we’ll read Paul’s direct and often pointed comments to those in Galatia who taught that salvation had to be earned through direct effort. We’ll be reminded of the power in Christ’s blood and the

READ Galatians 1:13-16 13 You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion—how I violently persecuted God’s church. I did my best to destroy it. 14 I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors. 15 But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him 16 to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. When this happened, I did not rush out

READ Galatians 1:17-20 17 Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus. 18 Then three years later I went to Jerusalem to get to know Peter, and I stayed with him for fifteen days. 19 The only other apostle I met at that time was James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I declare before God that what I am writing to you is not a lie. Paul did not seek counsel fr

READ Galatians 1:21-24 21 After that visit I went north into the provinces of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And still the churches in Christ that are in Judea didn’t know me personally. 23 All they knew was that people were saying, “The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy!” 24 And they praised God because of me. Paul told of those who did not know him personally but had only heard of his reputation. Knowing about his changed life c

READ Galatians 2:1-3 1 Then fourteen years later I went back to Jerusalem again, this time with Barnabas; and Titus came along, too. 2 I went there because God revealed to me that I should go. While I was there I met privately with those considered to be leaders of the church and shared with them the message I had been preaching to the Gentiles. I wanted to make sure that we were in agreement, for fear that all my efforts had been wasted and I was running the race for not

READ Galatians 2:4-5 4 Even that question came up only because of some so-called believers there—false ones, really—who were secretly brought in. They sneaked in to spy on us and take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to enslave us and force us to follow their Jewish regulations. 5 But we refused to give in to them for a single moment. We wanted to preserve the truth of the gospel message for you. Just as in Paul’s time, there are false teachers to

READ Galatians 1:13-16 13 You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion—how I violently persecuted God’s church. I did my best to destroy it. 14 I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors. 15 But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him 16 to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. When this happened, I did not rush out

READ Galatians 1:17-20 17 Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus. 18 Then three years later I went to Jerusalem to get to know Peter, and I stayed with him for fifteen days. 19 The only other apostle I met at that time was James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I declare before God that what I am writing to you is not a lie. Paul did not seek counsel fr

READ Galatians 1:21-24 21 After that visit I went north into the provinces of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And still the churches in Christ that are in Judea didn’t know me personally. 23 All they knew was that people were saying, “The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy!” 24 And they praised God because of me. Paul told of those who did not know him personally but had only heard of his reputation. Knowing about his changed life c

READ Galatians 2:1-3 1 Then fourteen years later I went back to Jerusalem again, this time with Barnabas; and Titus came along, too. 2 I went there because God revealed to me that I should go. While I was there I met privately with those considered to be leaders of the church and shared with them the message I had been preaching to the Gentiles. I wanted to make sure that we were in agreement, for fear that all my efforts had been wasted and I was running the race for not

READ Galatians 2:4-5 4 Even that question came up only because of some so-called believers there—false ones, really—who were secretly brought in. They sneaked in to spy on us and take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to enslave us and force us to follow their Jewish regulations. 5 But we refused to give in to them for a single moment. We wanted to preserve the truth of the gospel message for you. Just as in Paul’s time, there are false teachers to

READ Galatians 2:6-8 6 And the leaders of the church had nothing to add to what I was preaching. (By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.) 7 Instead, they saw that God had given me the responsibility of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the responsibility of preaching to the Jews. 8 For the same God who worked through Peter as the apostle to the Jews also worked through me as the apos

READ Galatians 2:9-10 9 In fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co-workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews. 10 Their only suggestion was that we keep on helping the poor, which I have always been eager to do. The “pillars of the church” suggested no changes in Paul’s doctrine. And what t

READ Galatians 2:11-13 11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. 12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile believers, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. 13 As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barn

READ Galatians 2:14-16 14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions? 15 You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles. 16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law.

READ Galatians 2:17-18 17 But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not! 18 Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. The law was a system of good works whose intent was to show people their need so they would turn to God (see Romans 3:19-20). In fact if one tries to build a system of goo

READ Galatians 2:19-20 19 For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. 20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Paul explained his attempt to keep the law as a Jewish Pharisee. That was impossible to do so by t

READ Galatians 2:21 21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die. This is a significant verse. It applies not only to the Old Testament law but to good works of any kind. If one could be made right with God by those means, the death of Jesus was a useless death. Such thinking would negate the plan of God in providing for the redemption of all who would believe in Jesus.