There is a groan in the heart of Paul that we must recover.
In his earliest letter, Galatians, Paul doesn't open with pleasantries — he opens with a declaration: his apostleship did not come through man, but through the direct revelation of Jesus Christ. He says this because the churches he had birthed in his first missionary journey were already being seduced by another gospel. False teachers had come in, telling believers that faith in Christ was not enough — that they needed circumcision and law-keeping added to it. Paul's response is not measured theological correction. It is an apostolic groan, the travail of a father watching his sons and daughters abandon the simplicity of the gospel for a counterfeit.
Then there is Ephesians — written from a prison cell, near the end of Paul's life, and it is glory from beginning to end. Here Paul unveils some of the most staggering revelation in all of Scripture: our inheritance in Christ, the mystery of Jew and Gentile made into one new man, and the church itself revealing the manifold wisdom of God to principalities and powers in the heavenly realms. Only after three chapters of unbroken glory does Paul turn and call the church to walk this out — practically, daily, in the flesh.
We need both letters now more than ever. Like Paul, I fear the church has turned to another gospel — and in turning, we have lost our power and our witness before a watching world. We have also lost the revelation Paul saw in Ephesians: who we are in Christ, and what the church truly is in His sight.
This course is a recovery of both — the groan and the glory. Let us return to the apostolic heart that refuses a diluted gospel and presses into the full revelation of Christ and His church.
Live Classes: Tuesdays, July 7th, 14th and 21st at 6pm CST
Course Curriculum
Your Instructor: Corey Russell
Corey Russell’s passion is to awaken prayer across the earth. He travels nationally and internationally, imparting the spirit of prayer and stirring hunger for revival.
He has written 9 books, released 6 prayer albums, and is discipling thousands through his online school, coreyrussellonline.com, as well as training preachers through his mentorship program, Messenger Mentorship.
He is part of the pastoral team at House Denver in Denver, Colorado, where he lives with his wife and three daughters.
