Sunday Worship Service | 16 March 2025 | 10:00 AM
SUNDAY SCHOOL SERVICE
The worship service began with a special item, in the form of a song, given by Lia Mary Vaiphei. Following that, Pastor T Lamkhanthang gave the invocation, then went into the lessons for the day.
It was taken from lessons 5 & 6, based off of Ephesians 1:15-23. The selected verse from lesson 5 is verse 16; and for lesson 6, verse 22 respectively. Lesson 5 is taken from verses 15 through 18. It is a prayer made by Paul for the people of Ephesus. The beginning of the verse, “For this reason…” indicates a continuation from the preceding verses that talked about spiritual blessings. The experiences and blessings that each individual has may differ based on their relationship with God. But what should be remembered is that we have been chosen by God, predestined according to His plan. And that leads us to thanksgiving, which is our lesson of the day.
In the aforementioned verses specifically, it is on behalf of the Ephesians that Paul gives thanks to God. Have people ever given glory to God because of you? It is time for a little introspection. For that is a key factor for our Christian lives, to bring glory to God in the way you conduct yourself. Or will they instead complain about you? Criticize even God because of you. If anything, their faith in God should increase, not decrease because of you. When Paul heard of the faith and love of the Ephesians, he could do nothing else but give thanks for them. This was because their faith and love were evidence of their participation in this great work of God. Faith in the context that Paul uses here is not mere believing, but the evidence of our participation in God’s plan. This was the first reason for his thanksgiving. The second reason was the “love for all the saints”. Faith cannot be complete without love, and the love he mentions here is the unconditional agape love of God. Significantly, Paul gave thanks not for their love for God, but for their love for all the saints. The real evidence of God’s work in us is not the love we claim to have for Him, but our love for His people that others can see.
A few questions here can be asked – Do we reserve love for only those who may have any use to us; Do we take care of those who can benefit us; Do we care about other Christians, not knowing who they are? There should be no segregation based on class, status etc, especially not among the Christians. Loving one another is important. It is more important to love our brothers and sisters in Christ. The former follows the latter.
In the next verse (17), Paul prayed that the Father would grant the Ephesians the spirit of wisdom and that He would give them revelation. He wanted them to have these simply so that they would have a better knowledge of Him (God). To know God as He is in truth, as revealed by His Word, and to correct our false, idolatrous ideas of who God is. Also, experiencing Him. To iterate, hearing about a place, and actually living there and experiencing it for oneself are two very separate things. The knowledge of the place will a great deal as well. In kind of the same vein, hearing about God, and actually experiencing and living with Him in your life are two separate things. Your knowledge of Him will differ too. In short, it is not information about God, but the experiences of Him in our lives. And the spirit of wisdom that Paul here mentions (verse 17) is for us to have an accurate knowledge and understanding of who we are. Yet it is far more important (and beneficial) for us to know and understand who God is.
In verse 18, Paul uses a great expression when he speaks of the ‘eyes of your heart’ (heart is more literal than understanding). “The word ‘heart’ in Scripture signifies the very core and centre of life, where the intelligence has its post of observation, where the stores of experience are laid up, and the thoughts have their fountain.” (Alford) . What is the hope of His calling. Hope here can also be taken to mean as having faith. It has its perspective on the future. The believer has a glorious future of resurrection, eternal life, freedom from sin, perfected justification, and glorious elevation about the angels themselves. Now, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints: Paul wanted them to know the greatness of God’s inheritance in His people. We usually think of only our inheritance in God, But Paul wanted the Ephesians to understand that they are so precious to God that He considered them His own inheritance.
In the following verses, the power that works in us is the mighty power that raised Jesus from the dead, raised Him to Heaven after His resurrection, raising Him above all demonic foes and every potential enemy of all time – this same power is at work in Christians. Furthermore, Paul said that God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness. So we know we are Christians who can endure (to the end). And if we really put our minds to it, we can do it without complaining and grumbling. Retracing a little, this great resurrection power placed Jesus above all things. Now all things are under His feet. It set Jesus as the head over all things, including the church.
Pastor Thang elucidated on how one cannot defeat sin, one cannot defeat even death on their own. But Jesus did it, and He did it for us, and for that we give glory to God. Going back, if Jesus is the head, then the community of Christians make up His body. The idea of the fullness of Him here is probably connected to the manner in which Jesus fills His church with His presence and blessings. It is imperative that we each do our roles loyally, and faithfully, not griping about circumstances. The church does not belong to a person or an organization. It should not be used for ulterior motives either. It should only be used to bring honor and glory to God, and to bring others to Him. Paul concludes by affirming Christ’s supremacy over all things, given to the church. And Pastor Thang concluded the lesson with a prayer.
With this, the worship team took to the stage once more for the ending hymn, and Upa Khamgoupau concluded the worship service with the benediction.
