Ephesians 6: 1-5
Now Paul goes on the the other family relationship, with the children.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the Earth.
The only commandment God gives to children is to learn to obey their parents. And He even gives them a promise with it, to encourage them.
When children learn at a young age to do what they are told by their parents, immediately, without complaint; this is the foundation that will ground their whole lives. They will be ready to also obey their teachers, their bosses at work, the police officers directing traffic, the laws of the land. They will not get into trouble, and they will be able to get along with others. So their life will go well, and they can live a long life.
And they will also be able to obey God who they can't see. This is the most important.
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Fathers, and by extension, mothers, are the first teachers children have in life, and they are not to be harsh or aggravating to their children, but gentle and considerate, and firm and consistent. They know their children better than anyone else (except God, of course), and can temper their teachings to each child's temperament.
The father and the mother each have things to teach their children, as well as demonstrating a godly relationship for them. A spiritually healthy home will produce spiritually healthy children. This is God's plan for the family.
The family is the first target of our enemy, because it is the foundation of our very society, our civilization itself. Because he hates us, and only wants to steal, kill and destroy (John 10: 10). So he attacks the foundation so that the whole structure will fall.
But as Christians, we must raise our children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
O my Father, please be with us as parents, to be Christ to our own children. Show us how to teach each child according to his or her temperament, and to draw them gently into godliness and good citizenship in the society in which we live.
Help us to grow them into good witnesses for You, and send us all out into the world to let every living being hear of Your wonderful Love, and how You have already met all of our needs.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Christ Jesus is our Lord God Almighty, King of all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!
Ephesians 5: 22-33
Paul just said that we all are to be in subjection to one another in Christ. Now he's giving us God's order in the family.
Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.
But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.
Just as Christ is head of the church, so the husband is the head of his wife. As we are all to submit to Christ, so the wife is to submit to her husband's leadership in the family.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,
A husband is to love his wife sacrificially, just as Christ loved the church. Jesus went to the cross to be executed for His church; this is the kind of love a husband is to love his wife with: this passionate, this selfless, this freely. Only in Christ can he hope to be able to do this.
so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word,
Jesus' blood washed us permanently clean, but we still walk in the world, so we need to wash our "feet" regularly of the dust and grime with the water of the Word.
that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.
Christ did this for us, so that we could be perfect, pristine, crystal clean in every way.
So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself;
for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,
because we are members of His body.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh (Genesis 2: 24).
This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
Because Jesus Christ cares so carefully
for His church, because we are His body; so a husband is to also care
for his own wife as carefully as he takes care of his own needs. Because
their two bodies become "one flesh" in marriage.
That Christ is the head of His church, which is His body, is a great mystery, in that we cannot understand how we can be one body as well as individual people in different places. Marriage is one flesh, our marriage with Christ is one Spirit.
Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.
We see that the order of authority
comes down from God the Father, to God the Son, to the pastor or
husband, to the congregation or the wife, and the wife has her husband's
authority over the children.
Everything in order, not chaos or confusion.
O my Father, Your order allows for peace to prevail in Your creation. The universe dances across the sky with perfect precision, and the Earth travels the path You set for it around our Sun. Your Love and peace provide the order we need for our whole universe to function without everything crashing into everything else. But everything is still wearing out and winding down, because of the curse You put on it as a result of Adam's sin.
Help us, Father, to realize Your order in our families; teach the husbands how to love their wives, and enable the wives to honor and respect their husbands in submitting to their authority. And may all Your children live out the structure of authority that You designed our world to have, to show the world Your love as we submit to one another in love.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Ephesians 5: 6-21
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
Therefore do not be partakers with them;
How many college professors are teaching subjects they have no experience in, only theory? How many teachers are promoting ideas that have never been proven to work in real life? These are empty words. They sound nice, but they have no substance. They are deceptive, and the world falls into these lies.
We are not to even listen to them, for we are vulnerable to their deceptions and susceptible to their offers. Don't fall into it. Check them out.
for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light
(for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth),
trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
Because we used to live in the darkness of the world, we can be comfortable in the ways we're familiar with; but now we're not to live like the world any more. All the concepts and ideas that used to inform us must be re-evaluated to see if they are good and right and according to the truth of Scripture.
We need to re-learn how to "do life" as God's children, taken out of the darkness and brought into the light. Open our eyes to see the reality before us. Use the things of the world for the glory of God, rather than just our own profit.
Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;
for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.
Don't fall for their "great offers" to get into these questionable activities that they say are so profitable. If you're attracted to it, consider what they say in light of righteousness, and investigate who these people are. And call them out if they're promoting deceptive or corrupt ideas. But don't gossip about them.
But all things become visible when they are exposed to the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.
When you shine the light on them, consider what you see, and look for what is there. Then you will be able to judge whether it is righteous or not.
For this reason it says,
Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you (Isaiah 60: 1).
Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,
Wake up from all the worldly projects and endeavors and programs that you used to participate in, and go forth into a new path, learn new ways, and join or start new programs. Carefully consider this new path, that you are obeying all the requirements of loving one another, and doing nothing that would harm or detract from them.
making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
He says that the days are evil. The world around us is evil, and every day we live in it we are exposed to that evil. So we need to pay attention to use the limited time we have each day to not waste it, but to use every moment in the wisdom of the Lord.
So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
We are to be able to discern what God would want us to do in every situation, not making foolish decisions, or refraining from making a decision, which is also foolish.
And do not get drunk on wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,
We are not to be controlled by worldly substances that alter our sensibilities, but we are to be controlled by God's Holy Spirit who lives in us, and think and live as He directs us.
speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;
always giving thanks for all things in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;
When we do this, we will find that we have a song in our heart, some tune playing in our head, usually something we heard recently. Do you listen to Christian radio? This is a good way to put positive music into your head, and on your mind. This makes a good reminder to be thankful to God for all the blessings He showers on us every day.
and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.
And this will also move us toward serving one another, as Christ came to serve us, walking in His steps; loving our neighbor as Christ has loved us.
O my Father, You have loved us so much, and it is your love that runs the Universe You made. And it is Your love that energizes all life. Life itself is spiritual, even normal human life is spirit, and when our spirit of life leaves, our bodies are dead. And Your Spirit in us gives us Your own eternal life.
So we need to cooperate with how You designed this Earth for us to build our world upon it, for You made it to run on love, too. And Your Spirit is the oil that helps it to run smoothly. When we let Your Spirit control our thoughts and attitudes and words and actions, then we will love You back, and we will love those You love, Your children, and all You have created.
When we get caught up in the world's ways, we do damage to ourselves, one another, and this very Earth You made for us. The worlds ways lie to us, to make us believe that selfishness is how to get ahead, or that we are humanly able to change what You have determined. But these worldly ideas are not Your thoughts for us, and lead us away from Your best for us all.
As Your children, Father, teach us how to learn Your ways, how to listen to Your Spirit when He whispers into our spirit, saying, "This is the way, walk here." Show us how Your ways are so much better than anything the world can dream up, and how Your ways work when the world's ways fail.
Don't let us fall back into the world's ideas, where we used to be. Keep us walking each step on Your narrow path that leads to Light.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Ephesians 5: 1-5
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;
"I want to be just like you, Dad!" should be our quest.
and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
The way to be like our Father is to love. God is Love, and Christ Jesus loved us so much that He gave up His life as our Sacrifice. His offering to the Father is a fragrant aroma, just as the offering of our prayers also rise like fragrant incense smoke (Revelation 8: 3-4).
But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints;
and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.
We should not even joke about what is not moral or pure or honest. Don't mention any of these at all. Don't pollute your conversation. Keep your communications totally above-board, sharing the blessings with thanksgiving.
For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God.
If someone lives a lifestyle that is not moral or pure, and desires to possess what other people own, this is an indication that they do not have God's Spirit living in them to strengthen them to do right. So they would have nothing in God's Kingdom if they're not going there.
O my Father, You are so good! Please help all of your children to think Your thoughts, and as Your Son's hands and feet, help us go into the world to show them Your love in us for one another.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, Lord God Almighty, sovereign King of the Universe; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever, Amen.
Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!
Ephesians 4: 25-32
As we put on the new man, as we read yesterday, this is how our behavior will change:
Therefore, laying aside falsehood,
Speak truth each one of you with his neighbor (Zechariah 8: 16),
for we are members of one another.
We are not to be deceitful with one another, any more than you would lie to your own hand! We are all body-parts in the body of Christ. Honest truthfulness is how we will live together now.
Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
and do not give the devil an opportunity.
When our rough edges rub on one another, this can cause disagreements. And we still may offend one another. But if we get angry with one another, then we are to resolve whatever issues have caused the anger, so that we can have peace together.
Otherwise, if we let it fester, then that opens the door of vulnerability and the devil will take advantage of us. This is serious. Let's talk out our differences as adults, without getting personal.
He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.
Here's another weakness some of us have, even as Christians. We are to respect one another, not eyeing their belongings or taking advantage of them. We are to use our talents and abilities to provide something of value that others are willing to pay for, even if it's getting a job working for a paycheck. We need to be responsible for pulling our share of the load, and taking care of our own needs, as much as possible.
Then when we're honestly receiving our own income, then we can manage our finances in such a way as to be able to also share with others who do not have the ability to meet all of their own needs, or when someone has a special need.
Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
This concerns our talk. We need to be aware of the words we are using. My late husband became a Christian as an adult, and he had formed a bad habit of using bad language. When he was saved, this was the first indication to me that his salvation was real. But even though he learned to use other adjectives and adverbs instead of swear words, it seemed that when he was angry, or was just not paying attention to what he was saying, those coarse words still snuck out.
He wasn't alone in this snare. Many of us may not use those particular coarse words, but we may still be thinking unkind thoughts about someone else, and some derogatory language may slip out of our lips. Even if we're just "thinking out loud." So we all need to pay attention to how we see one another, and choose our words well, before we open our mouths. And we need to find something positive to say, that will encourage one another, to build up their confidence in the Lord. This will give grace to those who hear.
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the Day of Redemption.
We cannot chase Him away, but all these things will grieve God's Spirit in us. We certainly don't want Him to be sorry for saving us, so we would do well to remember He is right here with us, listening to everything we say, hearing our thoughts, and reading our hearts.
This verse reinforces the permanence of our position in God's family. He has sealed us up, and no created thing can break Almighty God's hold on us. We are His, and we will remain His, all the way to that Day of Redemption, the Day of the Lord, when King Jesus returns to rule this Earth as our sovereign Lord over all lords and King over all kings.
That's when our Redemption is complete, when our mortal bodies are swallowed up by our spirit bodies, and the Father declares that we are His adult children and gives us the authority under the Son to assist Him in His government.
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
Let's look at these words: bitterness is pikria, "acidity, poison."
Wrath is thumos, "passion (as if breathing hard), fierceness, indignation."
Anger is orge, "violent passion, vengeance." This is a word that conveys even stronger emotion.
Clamor is krauge, "an outcry (in notification, tumult or grief)," crying out loudly, making a scene.
And slander (evil speaking in the KJV) is blasphemia, "vilification, railing, blasphemy."
We need to be laying aside all these negative attitudes toward our brothers and sisters in Christ, along with all malice, kakia, "badness, depravity, malignity, trouble," which covers all these, along with every other piece of "caca" that might slip out of our hearts through our mouth.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
When we put away all these negative attitudes and ways of thinking, then we will be able to let God's Love into our hearts, to be able to share it with everyone else in our lives, whether we like them or not. Other believers we find difficult to get along with, we need to pray for, that God's goodness would be upon them, and for God to show us something in him or her that we can like and honestly compliment them on it. To be able to see them with our Father's eyes, giving them the benefit of the doubt, and accepting them as they are.
As we live in this world, our feet are walking through the dust and dirt of the world, but when we wash in the water of the Word regularly, then we will be clean. And when we pray for one another, we will find them easier to get along with without the former strife.
This is something we all are in need of paying attention to. All of us are human, and we all have different personalities. Not every person is naturally attracted to every other person, and sometimes we are actually repelled. But when we're brothers and sisters, God makes a way for us to all get along. We just need to follow His ways, regardless of how we feel.
I've found that I cannot feel myself into new actions, but I have acted my way into new feelings. That's why we are to obey. Even if we don't feel like it, our feelings may be lying to us. But when we do what we know is right, then our feelings will catch up.
God loves us all, with all of our different personalities and faults and weaknesses. And He even likes us when we were His enemies, to call us to Himself and want us to be with Him. He has forgiven us of so much, we ought to forgive one another freely, also.
Even when we need to forgive frequently, over and over, for the same offense. In our humanity we need to teach our feelings to catch up with our wills. Sometimes this takes time and repetition. But when we persist, it will come to pass.
O my Father, You have forgiven me so much, and You continue to forgive me every day as I mess up in something every day. You are so gracious to me, teach me to be persistent with others as You are with me. Father, I want to be like Jesus; continue to show me His character in the details I need to change to be like Him. I know You are remolding me into His character, little by little, step by step. Keep me faithful to You in everything I do.
Use me, Father, to influence many others to follow You, to love You as You love them, and to grow up through the childhood and schooling of this world, into the maturity of adulthood in Your family.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Son of the Father, the Lord God Almighty, King of all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Ephesians 4: 17-24
We saw last time that the body of Christ is to grow up into the full stature of a mature man. We are all members of that body, we're the body parts. So each of us needs to pay attention to how we're cooperating with God to function in the body in a healthy way.
So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk,
So we are not to live like we used to, like the rest of the Gentiles still do.
in the futility of their mind,
being darkened in their understanding,
Thoughts of the mind are always the root of our attitudes, which produces our life. And their thoughts were useless, because they were in the dark and don't understand.
excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;
and they, having become callous,
They have ignored God, so they have excluded themselves from Him who is life, because of their hard hearts; and the hardness has produced callouses from the constant rubbing of pushing God away.
have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.
They are trying to fill the hole with sensual experiences, greedily pursuing more and more forbidden pleasures. But it's never enough.
But you did not learn Christ in this way,
We learned that Christ does satisfy, He fills that hole that worldly pleasures never can.
if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus,
If you heard God's call to come to Christ, and received the teaching of His truth, then you found that He did fill that emptiness.
that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,
When you were saved from sin, then you didn't need that old lifestyle any more, and threw it off like a tattered garment. That outfit was wearing out, being used up by all the lies we were deceived by.
and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
The thoughts of our mind are to be new ideas to replace those old ones.
and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
We have new clothes to put on, beautiful, well-fitting, dressy, suitable for God's royal children, made with the cloth of righteousness and holiness and truth.
We're not in the dark any more, we've been rescued from the gutter of the world, we've been cleaned up and given new clothes to wear that are just like our Father's, and are now in school learning how to be His royal children.
And it all starts in our mind. We need to change how we think, to see things clearly, so we can educate our thinking processes to know and practice the truth.
We are to wash out all the deceptions that we used to believe, by overflowing them with God's Word: His Son and His scriptures.
How are we to do this? Tomorrow we will see.
O my Father, You have provided the redemption we need to survive. We were slaves to our own fleshly desires, killing ourselves in living our lives in rebellion against all that is good and healthy.
You saw us and had compassion on us, lifting us up out of the dirt and grime and washing us in the blood of Christ, pristine clean. Then You forgave us of all the rebellion and defectiveness in our DNA, and put Your own Spirit of Life in our spirit, clothing us in new garments of light and truth as Your own children.
Now You are teaching us and training us up to learn how to live our lives according to Your goodness and righteousness; Your truth.
Father, help us to wash out all the wrong ideas that have led us astray in the past. Let them flow away in the dirty "bath water" that is thrown out, and let us think Your thoughts, according to Your ways. Teach us how to do all the things You planned for us to accomplish as Your hands and feet, to grow Your family, and to grow up Your children to maturity.
We need You, Father! We cannot do any of this without You! Keep us in Your hand, keep our feet walking straight on Your narrow path that leads to Light. Continually lead us, not letting us stray to the right or to the left, or wander away, or slip into a ditch, or run ahead of You, or lag behind. Keep our feet stepping in Your steps, until we reach that eternal Day!
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, Lord God Almighty, King of all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Ephesians 4: 11-16
We saw yesterday that Christ's descending into Sheol to bring Paradise to Heaven was connected to the giving of gifts. Today we will see some of the gifts He has given the church.
And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
These are the primary gifts that Christ gave the church to build this living building, and to grow this body of Christ.
The apostles were the ones to lay the foundation to this building, for the rest of the builders to lay the living stones upon, to use this picture.
The prophets received the information directly from God to form the doctrines of Truth, and to receive the understanding of what God had already told His people.
The evangelists are the ones who evangelize the people, who tell others the good news of the Gospel that Christ fulfilled the Law and the Old Testament prophets to save us from sin and redeem us into His Kingdom. We are still doing this work, and we will until He returns.
The pastors and teachers are those who also are still working to shepherd God's flock and to educate the believers.
for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
Those with these gifts we just described are to do their work in order to prepare the people to do the ministry of the church. The evangelists bring the people to faith into the church, and the pastors and teachers help them to grow so they can minister to one another. The people are the ministers. The members of the church are the ones who help the body to grow up.
until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
The body of Christ is to grow up into the full stature of a mature man by each member growing up in the Lord, being nourished on the Word of God, and being helped through all the lessons and tests of this world by ministering to one another.
As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
Therefore, we must not be childish in our attitudes, being influenced by all the worldliness that surrounds us.
but speaking the truth in love,
This is key, right here. What we say and how we say it. We must know the truth in order to talk about it, and we must love one another to converse in a compassionate way. Bare truth is harsh, and compassion without truth is deceitful and confirming of evil. We must have both together to succeed.
we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the Head, even Christ,
Only this will promote the healthy growth of each one of us as individual members, body parts, so we can all work together as one body into Christ.
from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
The Head, Christ, fits us all together so that each of our contributions to the health of the body will cause it to grow up into that measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. This will be accomplished in our loving one another as Christ has Loved us. Love is the foundation of all Truth and the Law, because it is the energy of the life of creation. God's Love puts order into the chaos.
The apostles and prophets gave us the body of Truth to form the doctrine we are to believe (as opposed to dogma, what we're told to believe because they say so, without substance). So we have the Truth to believe and teach others, because we love them. This Truth and love must go together--it is not loving to deceive, even if it seems compassionate.
O my Father, Your Word tells us that You are Love! Love is the very essence of Your being. That's why we can trust You and depend on You to always do what is right and good.
Teach us how to marry Truth and Love in our thinking processes, so that we can think Your thoughts, not our own.
Father, sometimes we cannot see far enough ahead to understand what You have allowed in our lives is for our good, because it just seems painful right now. But we know that You see the end from the beginning, and we need to comfort and encourage one another compassionately in Your truth. That will enable us to help one another to grow up in our faith and knowledge of You, and to trust You more in every circumstance. When we can't see the future, we can trust the One we know who holds the future in Your hand.
You have told us that You are working out everything, both good and bad, in our lives, to turn out good for us, for our benefit. We can trust You to do this. Because in Your generosity, You want us to enjoy all the benefits of Your goodness, for all time and eternity.
We will not see the bulk of all the goodness You are planning for us until we are with You for all eternity. But You do let us experience some of it, more or less, in this time while we're still here in the world. And what we do with what You give us here will determine what we will be able to enjoy then. So teach us to use the things of this Earth and the events that happen to us here to build up Your body, Your temple, and to grow up to adulthood in Your family.
Father, help us each to work on ourselves, and to minister to one another, so we can all grow up into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Your Son. When His body has gathered all its parts, and we have all grown up through the schooling we are subjected to in this time-line; then He will return, we will graduate, and this era will end, ushering in the manifest Rule of our King on His throne, governing with Him under His direction, to manage the world on this Earth in the manner in which it was designed! Our Golden Age!
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, Son of the Father, Lord God Almighty, King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
