Bryan Chapell on Ephesians

On this episode of Help Me Teach the Bible, I speak with Bryan Chapell, senior pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria, Illinois, and the former president of Covenant Theological Seminary about how to teach through the book of Ephesians. Chapell’s books include Holiness by Grace: Delighting in the Joy That Is Our Strength and Christ-Centered Preaching. In Ephesians, Paul presents us with so much essential teaching for understanding what Christ has done and how we are to live as those who belong to him.

Topics in the discussion include:

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the cosmic scope of Ephesians;
God’s plan that includes the persecution of the church;
the meaning of “the heavenly realm”;
answering questions about predestination;
key words and concepts such as reconciliation and mystery;
the indicative and imperative of Ephesians; and
teaching submission in the context of the broader message of Ephesians.

Here are some additional audio resources that you may find helpful in preparing to teach Ephesians:

Sermons on Ephesians by Bryan Chapell
Sermons on Ephesians by Dick Lucas
Sermons on Ephesians by D. A. Carson
Sermons on Ephesians by Kent Hughes

For further study, here are some books you may find helpful, including titles from Crossway, the sponsor of Help Me Teach the Bible:

Kevin DeYoung’s introduction and notes on Ephesians in the ESV Gospel Transformation Bible
Ephesians (Reformed Expository Commentaries) by Bryan Chapell
Ephesians: The Mystery of the Body of Christ by R. Kent Hughes

Subscribe to TGC’s podcast in iTunes or for other devices to get this and subsequent interviews by in Help Me Teach the Bible with Nancy Guthrie. You can also download the interview here or stream it above.

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Nancy Guthrie (MATS, Reformed Theological Seminary) teaches the Bible at her home church, Cornerstone Presbyterian Church, in Franklin, Tennessee, as well as at conferences around the country and internationally, including through her Biblical Theology Workshop for Women. She is the author of numerous books and the host of the Help Me Teach the Bible podcast from The Gospel Coalition. She and her husband founded Respite Retreats for couples who have faced the death of a child, and they’re cohosts of the GriefShare video series.

Dr. Bryan Chapell (MDiv, Covenant Theological Seminary; PhD, Southern Illinois University Carbondale) is a founding Council member of The Gospel Coalition and President of Unlimited Grace Media, daily broadcasting messages of grace across the U.S. as well as offering pastoral training in many nations through conferences and internet resources available at unlimitedgrace.com. Nationally, Dr. Chapell is Director of the Christ-centered Preaching Institute of Metro Atlanta Seminary, a ministry of Perimeter Presbyterian Church, where he also serves on the preaching staff. Dr. Chapell is President Emeritus of Covenant Theological Seminary, Pastor Emeritus of the historic Grace Presbyterian Church, and the retired administrative coordinator of the Presbyterian Church in America. He is the author of many books, including Unlimited Grace, Each for the Other, Holiness by Grace, The Multigenerational Church Crises, and Christ-centered Preaching, a preaching textbook now in multiple editions and many languages. He and his wife, Kathy, have four adult children, and a growing number of grandchildren.