Soul Sister Time

              In the short book of Ephesians heaven is mentioned nine times.   J.I. Packer says that it is this phrase, which can also be translated in the heavenlies , that sets Ephesians apart from other letters of Paul.   He defines what Paul was referring to in this phrase to mean the spiritual environment in which we live.   This environment is, first of all, invisible (things that cannot be expected to be seen by vision) and, secondly, transformative (the effect of living out the promises of the Christian life).   The Gospel which testified to the truth of God’s Work, Christ’s work and the work of the Holy Spirit is the power for the vitality of the transformation that takes place in our spiritual environment. Paul describes the reality of the heavenly places and its effect on our spiritual lives in Ephesians 6:12.   For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, a...