Thursday, February 19, 2026
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Ephesians 3-4
Key Verse
Ephesians 4:6 — “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”
Devotional Thought
Twice in these chapters Paul calls himself a prisoner — first “the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,” then “the prisoner of the Lord.” He writes from chains, yet the word that keeps surfacing is not confinement but access. Because of Christ, he says, “we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.” February is a fitting month to sit with that word. Winter still holds the ground hard, and many of us feel shut in — by circumstances, by old habits, by the long gray stretch before spring. Paul’s answer is not a change of scenery but a change of identity. The same power that raised Christ and seated him “far above all heavens” is at work in us, and it is “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.”
That power has a purpose, and Paul names it plainly: unity. He pleads with the Ephesians to walk worthy of their calling “with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love.” He grounds the plea in reality — “one body, and one Spirit… One Lord, one faith, one baptism” — and then describes how the body grows: every joint supplying, every part working “according to the effectual working in the measure of every part.” No believer is a spare limb. The gifts Christ gave when he ascended — apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers — exist “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry,” until we all come “unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”
Then comes the turn that makes this more than sentiment. Because we are members one of another, Paul says, “putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour.” Because we are sealed unto the day of redemption, “let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth.” The old man — the darkened understanding, the greediness, the bitterness and clamour — is to be put off like a wet coat, and the new man put on, “which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Notice how ordinary the commands are: tell the truth, deal with anger before sundown, work honestly, forgive. The mystery hidden from the beginning works itself out in a Tuesday’s conversation.
And underneath it all is love — not a vague warmth, but the love of Christ that “passeth knowledge,” the love in which we are “rooted and grounded.” Paul bows his knees and asks that we might comprehend its breadth and length and depth and height, and be “filled with all the fulness of God.” That is what makes forgiveness between ordinary people possible: we forgive “even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” In a short, cold month, this is warm work — to be strengthened in the inner man, to grow up into him in all things, and to let the peace of the one body hold.
Reflection
- Where in your life right now is the Lord asking you to “put off” the old man — a habit of speech, a grudge held past sundown, a lie left standing — and to put on the new man instead?
- Paul says the body grows as “every joint supplieth.” What gift has Christ given you that you are withholding from the believers around you, and what would it look like this week to supply it?
Prayer
Father, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, we bow our knees before you. Grant us, according to the riches of your glory, to be strengthened with might by your Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith. Root us and ground us in love, that we may comprehend with all saints the breadth and length and depth and height of the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, and be filled with all your fulness. Put away from us bitterness, wrath, clamour, and evil speaking; make us kind and tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as you, for Christ’s sake, have forgiven us. Unto you be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.