Ephesus was a large commercial port city in Asia Minor, located at the mouth of the Cayster River near the Aegean Sea. Today – in our time – the modern name for Ephesus is Selcuk: a small Turkish town located in western Turkey, which has a population of around 36,000.
This
afternoon, we’re going to be studying Chapter 2 of Ephesians.
Some
consider this chapter confusing. Some consider this chapter to be divisional.
Some consider this chapter to give them license to do whatever they feel like
doing, “because grace abounds!”
If, to their way of thinking, The *New Covenant (B’rit Chadashah) abolishes
**Elohim’s Law (Torah),
then does that mean they are free to steal, kill, commit adultery, lie, dishonor
parents … and generally do anything and everything else they want to do?
The demonrat obamanites,
wallowing in pure hedonistic atheism, seem to think so … those claiming Christianity should know better.
ALL
those considerations are WRONG.
If not directly going against Elohim in full-out rebellion, then actively going
against common sense!
So,
let’s get right down to it – and delve deep into the Word 😊
There
is a man who has been showing up at our fellowship lately, that seems to hold
with the idea that “God’s Laws are of no effect, today” … and he follows that up
with a lot of racist hate speak concerning Israel. It’s really disgusting dialogue,
and it has no place in Christianity. He has been hooked by replacement
theology, that teaches that the Church has replaced Israel, and the Jews killed
Christ: that is total BS – but he is not the only person that has been deluded
into wrong thinking and a warped mindset based on misinterpretation and
misrepresentation.
Far
too many deceived people flying the banner of Christianity, believe that the
New Covenant frees them from the Elohim’s Law, and excuses them to hate on the
Jews. They have been wrongly taught that Yeshua died for us so that we don’t
have to keep Elohim’s Law, and can slander His chosen People. However,
is that really what the Holy Scripture’s teach?
The
quick and simple answer is a resounding NO! But, leave it to people to make
that quick and simple answer complicated.
Think
on this: IF the New Covenant truly “abolishes Elohim’s Law”
… then it would follow on the heels of a conclusion that Elohim was wrong –
therefore His reason for giving The Law was also wrong, and needing to be eliminated.
How can that be? Elohim is perfect and holy – therefore,
whatever he does is perfect and holy (Matthew
5:48, in Yeshua’s
own words & 1 Peter
1:16, which
cross-references Leviticus
19:2 of the Old
Covenant).
So,
if one believes that Elohim is perfect and holy … then the problem could not
possibly be with His Law. The only other conclusion then, is that the problem
with The Law is man’s rebellion, and inability to follow The law in it’s simplistic
form (without all the extra 603 rabbinical add-on!). The Law, in its
purest sense, is not that hard to obey – and Yeshua repeated it and commanded
it be followed, in His quotes given in Matthew 5. He
pointedly stated that He “did not come to destroy the Law or the prophets, but
to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17).
So,
then exactly what does the New Covenant do that the ***Old Covenant (Mosasic Covenant) did not? The New Covenant offers eternal life to
all people who are willing to accept Yeshua as Elohim’s only begotten Son –
accept Yeshua’s sacrifice on Calvary (no one “killed” Him!; that is fleshly thinking. In obedience to His Father, He
gave Himself: Matthew
26:53-53) –
acknowledge His resurrection – be baptized by the Ruach HaKo’desh
in wisdom and knowledge to live a victorious life in Christ. That’s it 😊 And by
doing these things, it will not be difficult to obey the 10 points of The Law
as given in the Old Covenant; and stressed in the New Covenant.
Instead of doing away with the Old Covenant … the New Covenant
wrote The Law on our hearts and in our minds – Yeshua came to magnify The Law; and
explained how we must apply The Law with spiritual intent: the Ruach HaKo’desh
enables us to live a victorious life in Messiah Yeshua. The New Covenant
didn’t abolish Elohim’s Law, instead, it has fully established it 😊
Christians who claim to be under the New Covenant should not be
dissing Elohim’s Law given in the Old Covenant! Instead, they should joyfully –
and with loving intent – follow Elohim’s Law as a sign of their heartfelt surrender
to Elohim’s Way of Life.
It is crystal clear that the fault wasn’t Elohim’s Law; the
fault is with PEOPLE, who are by nature rebellious and always wanting to take
the easy way out of any and every situation they find too difficult to submit to.
Here’s what we need to remember: Elohim’s Law is perfect,
because HE is perfect.
King David wrote in Psalm 19:7-9 –
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the LORD is sure, making
wise the simple;
8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the LORD is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
In Romans 8:7-8, the Apostle Paul
wrote: “Because the carnal mind (worldly – aka: man) is enmity (enemy) against Elohim; because it is not subject to the Law of Elohim, nor indeed can
be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please Elohim.”
Hebrews 8:8
& 10 says: “behold,
the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the
house of Judah (there
is NO hate for the Jews in this statement – only loving restoration) … For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, says the Lord: I will put My Laws in their mind and write them
on their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
Did you {get}
that? Elohim is saying that He will not “get rid of” His law.
The New Covenant
did not get rid of Elohim’s Law. What it did was to change where it would be
written … and to send the Ruach HaKo’desh to enable us to live in it 😊
All that said,
let us study today’s Scripture passage with enlightenment, so that we may apply
it successfully to our lives.
In this Chapter, Apostle Paul is addressing a group of Believers who not only do not yet grasp the full intent of the Gospel message – but they were rich beyond measure in Messiah Yeshua, yet living as beggars, and only because they were ignorant of their wealth. Since they had not yet accepted their wealth, they regulated themselves to living as spiritual paupers. In the first 3 Chapters of the Book of Ephesians, Paul begins by describing the contents of the Christian’s heavenly bank account: adoption, acceptance, redemption, forgiveness, wisdom, inheritance, the seal of the Ruach HaKo’desh, life, grace, citizenship – in short, every spiritual blessing. Drawing upon that huge spiritual endowment, the Christian has every resource available for living “ to the praise and glory of His grace.”
**********
Ephesians ~ Chapter 2/Thursday Bible Study
The
Believer Once Under Sin
“You were at one time spiritually dead because of your shortcomings
and sins. You then live din sin, for you followed the ways of the world and you
obeyed the prince of the powers of darkness, that evil spirit who even now is
at work in the sons of disobedience. We were all of us once among these, and
lived in the passions of our flesh. We satisfied the cravings of our bodies and
minds, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (vv.
1-3)
The Believer Now Saved By Grace
But Elohim is so rich in mercy that, because of the great love
He had for us, even when we were spiritually dead because of our sins, He made
us alive again because of ****Christ. You have been saved by grace. Because of Messiah Yeshua,
Elohim has raised us up with Him and reserved a seat for us near Him in the
heavenly home. So, in the coming ages, He will show us the immeasurable wealth
of His mercy, as seen in His kindness to us for the sake of Messiah Yeshua.
For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith. No,
this is not your own doing. This is a gift from Elohim. It is not because of works,
lest any man should boast. We are altogether His workmanship. We were created
anew in Messiah Yeshua that we should do good works, work that Elohim planned
beforehand for us to do. (vv.4-10)
Jew & Gentile Now One Body In Christ
So, do not forget that you were at one time heathen. You were
called the ‘uncircumcised’ by those who were circumcised in the flesh, made by
human hands. Remember also that at the time, you were separated from Christ; you
were foreign in the sight of the people of Israel; you knew nothing about the
covenant that Elohim had promised to make, you had nothing to hope for; you
were in the world – yes … but without *****Elohei Ha’Elohim.
But now you are in union with Messiah Yeshua. Now you, who at
one time were so far away, have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
For He, Himself, is our peace. He has made the two – Jew and Gentile – One. He
has broken down the dividing wall that separated us. He also put an end to The
Law (formally ended a religious and an orthodox rabbinic practice), with
its commandments and decrees. He did this so as to create in Himself one New
Man in place of the two – Jew and Gentile, so making peace. He reconciled bot,
and put an end to their antagonism by offering to Elohim His body on the cross.
Then He came and preached the #Gospel to you who were so far away and to us who were near,
namely, the Good News of Peace – the war was at an end. Through Him, both of us
– Jew and Gentile – may now have access to the Father in the ##Ruach HaKo’desh. So,
you are no longer foreigners or strangers. You are fellow-citizens with the ###saints. You are
members of Elohim’s own family, the Church (Body of Believers in Christ)! (vv. 11-19)
Christ, the Chief Cornerstone
The Church was built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, and Messiah Yeshua is Himself the Chief Cornerstone! The whole structure is bound together in Him, and grows into a holy Temple, serving the Lord. You, too, are being built into it with the rest, so that Elohim can find you a dwelling-place for His Spirit.” (vv. 20-22)
*B’rit Chadashah = The New Testament. B’rit Chadashah in Hebrew, means, “The New Covenant” (the word B’rit means “covenant” and Chadashah means “new”). The literal meaning of B’rit Chadashah is “a New Covenant By Blood” … aka Yeshua’s Blood
New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34). The New Covenant is a covenant made first with the nation of Israel and, ultimately, with all mankind. In the New Covenant, God promises to forgive sin, and there will be a universal knowledge of the Lord. Jesus Christ came to fulfill the Law of Moses (Matthew 5:17) and create a new covenant between God and His people. Now that we are under the New Covenant, both Jews and Gentiles can be free from the penalty of the Law. We are now given the opportunity to receive salvation as a free gift (Ephesians 2:8-9).
**Elohim (Hebrew: אֱלֹהִים, romanized: ʾĚlōhīm: [(eloˈ(h)im]) is a Hebrew word meaning "Gods – Father, Son, & Holy Spirit". Although the word is plural in form, in the Hebrew Bible it usually refers to a single deity “Behold, the Lord – the Lord is One”, particularly the at God of Israel.
The whole of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament) is called Torah in Jewish tradition. This Hebrew word is commonly translated ‘Law’, but its original meaning is more like ‘teaching’, ‘instruction’.
***Mosaic Covenant (Deuteronomy 11). The Mosaic Covenant was a conditional covenant that either brought God’s direct blessing for obedience or God’s direct cursing for disobedience upon the nation of Israel. Part of the Mosaic Covenant was the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) and the rest of the Law, which contained over 600 commands—roughly 300 positive and 300 negative. The history books of the Old Testament (Joshua–Esther) detail how Israel succeeded at obeying the Law or how Israel failed miserably at obeying the Law.
****Christ (from the Hebrew word, Ha’Mashiach ישוע המשיח & the Greek word, Christos/khris-tos) = The Anointed, Yeshua the Messiah, in both languages.
*****Elohei Ha’Elohim (Hebrew word: אֱלֹהֵי הָאֱלֹהִים)) = God of gods; above all gods.
#Gospel = teaching or revelation of Christ.
##Ruach HaKo’desh: In Hebrew, the Holy Spirit (רוח הקודש, Roo-ahk hah-Koh-desh) refers to the divine force, quality, and influence (aka, power) of God.
The Holy Spirit (Luke 3:16 & 11:13; 1 Corinthians 6:9; Ephesians 1:13 & 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 4:8; Titus 3:5; and Jude 1:20), is referred to more than 90 times in the Brit Chadashah.
###Saint = In its most basic sense, a saint is a “holy one,” someone who is set apart for Elohim’s special purposes. As a result, every follower of Yeshua Ha’Mashiach is a Saint. In most of his letters, the Apostle Paul refers to the recipients as saints, including the church at Corinth, where there were significant moral and theological problems! The New Covenant writers draw their use of the word saints (“holy ones”) from the Old Covenant (e.g., Exod 31:13; Lev 11:45, 19:2; Dan 7:18, 27). Particularly important is Exodus 19:5-6) where Elohim refers to Israel as “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” 1 Peter 2:9 applies this same language to believers: “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
**Ephesians 1: https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2022/09/ephesians-chapter-1thursday-bible-study.html
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