Ephesians 2:8-10
Dr. Roberto Miranda
(Audio: English)
SUMMARY: The speaker begins by discussing the concept of grace, particularly in relation to salvation. He then shares personal anecdotes about struggling with the need for control and over-preparation in his own preaching, but learning to trust in the Holy Spirit and let Him lead. The speaker emphasizes the importance of resting in God's grace and provision, citing Isaiah 30:15. He acknowledges the desire for revival and the discouragement that can come with it, but encourages the audience to learn to rest in God's strength and trust Him for His provision.
The speaker discusses the struggles and doubts that come with ministry and visionary work. He emphasizes the idea that God is the protagonist in the drama of salvation and that our role is to work passionately for the Kingdom of God while also cultivating the capacity to rest in the Lord. Our approval by God is not based on how much we do for Him, but rather on His grace and love for us. We are God's workmanship and are created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Understanding this should give us freedom, peace, and rest in our lives.
God has a meta-narrative or overarching narrative for our lives and we are simply participants in it. We are created to do good works and God has prepared them in advance for us to do. We don't know how specific these works are, but we can rest in the fact that God is in control. We don't need to strive or try to be more useful than we already are. We can trust that God will use us as He sees fit. We can find rest in Him and work hard without anxiety or fear of the future. We can lay aside false works and excessive control and trust in God's grace, acceptance, and empowerment. We can look to the future with great expectations of seeing God's glory and give Him all the glory.
The speaker discusses the struggles and doubts that come with ministry and visionary work. He emphasizes the idea that God is the protagonist in the drama of salvation and that our role is to work passionately for the Kingdom of God while also cultivating the capacity to rest in the Lord. Our approval by God is not based on how much we do for Him, but rather on His grace and love for us. We are God's workmanship and are created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Understanding this should give us freedom, peace, and rest in our lives.
God has a meta-narrative or overarching narrative for our lives and we are simply participants in it. We are created to do good works and God has prepared them in advance for us to do. We don't know how specific these works are, but we can rest in the fact that God is in control. We don't need to strive or try to be more useful than we already are. We can trust that God will use us as He sees fit. We can find rest in Him and work hard without anxiety or fear of the future. We can lay aside false works and excessive control and trust in God's grace, acceptance, and empowerment. We can look to the future with great expectations of seeing God's glory and give Him all the glory.
Ephesians
Series on Ephesians
6 Ephesians 2:8-10
10 Ephesians 4
17 Ephesians 4:17 Called to live holy
18 Ephesians 5 - A call to purity
19 Ephesians 5 - Slaves and Masters
20 Ephesians 6
Turn with me very quickly to Ephesians chapter 2 and let’s go to verse 8. Just for your information, those who are here and I add my own word of welcome to all of you, thanks for being here tonight and we’re blessed to have you.
We have been going through a very kind of minute discussion of Ephesians and we’re trying to do it very exegetically, just passage by passage by passage and trying to get those thoughts that can really help us to grow in the knowledge of the word of God. Ephesians is such a fertile, fertile letter with so much packed into it that you can just spend, I discovered, months going through the entire book. But tonight what I want to do is just take one passage and concentrate on one theme and rather than go through the different expressions and just comb through it, I want to emphasize one particular aspect that I’ll point out to you in a moment. But here in chapter 2 verse 8 it says:
We have been going through a very kind of minute discussion of Ephesians and we’re trying to do it very exegetically, just passage by passage by passage and trying to get those thoughts that can really help us to grow in the knowledge of the word of God. Ephesians is such a fertile, fertile letter with so much packed into it that you can just spend, I discovered, months going through the entire book. But tonight what I want to do is just take one passage and concentrate on one theme and rather than go through the different expressions and just comb through it, I want to emphasize one particular aspect that I’ll point out to you in a moment. But here in chapter 2 verse 8 it says:
