EPHESIANS ~ Chapter 4/Thursday Bible Study

 

Apostle Paul stated that he was a prisoner at the time he wrote the *Epistle to the Ephesians (Ephesians 3:1, 4:1, and 6:20); Ephesians is believed to have been written and dispatched during his first imprisonment in Rome – sometime around 60 – 62 AD.

 

In this Chapter, Apostle Paul is encouraging the Believers in Ephesus to become more aware of their position in **Christ; and to motivate them to draw upon their spiritual source in daily living.

 

Chapters 1 through 3 of Ephesians list the Believer’s Heavenly possessions: adoption, redemption, inheritance, power, life, grace, citizenship, and the love of Christ.

 

There are no necessities in Chapters 1 – 3, which focus only on divine gifts. But Chapters 4 – 6 include 35 directives that speak to the Believer’s responsibility to conduct themselves according to their individual calling.

 

So, the message to the Ephesians, begins with Heaven and concludes in the home – and embraces all other relationships of daily life. The two main thrusts of the epistle are: the position of the Christian (1:1 thru 3:21), and the way a Christian ought to live out his relationship with Christ, as well as towards humanity, as a whole (4:1 thru 6:20).

 

The fundamental verse of Ephesians is 4:1, because it is a well-defined line between the doctrinal and the practical classifications of this Book. There is a cause-and-effect relationship between Chapters 1 thru 3 … and 4 thru 6, because the spiritual walk of a Christian should be rooted in their spiritual wealth; as Paul emphasized in Romans, behavior does not determine blessing: instead, blessing should determine behavior.

 

Because of the unity of all Believers in the Body of Christ, growth and maturity come from “the effective working by which every part does its share” (4:16). This involves the exercise of spiritual gifts in love. Paul exhorts the Christian to “put off, concerning former conduct, the ‘old man’” (4:22) and “put on the new man” (4:24) that will be manifested by walking in integrity among all people.

 

With this framework, let us begin today’s study: there is LOT Paul had to say in how Christians should behave 😊

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Ephesians ~ Chapter 4/Thursday Bible Study

The Unity of the Spirit

“I, a prisoner for the ***Lord’s sake, therefore plead (beg, appeal, pray, request) with you to live lives worthy (praiseworthy, admirable, valuable, worthwhile, suitable) of the calling that has come to you. Be humble, gentle, and patient, and put up with one another in love. Be eager to maintain with bonds of peace the unity that the ****Ruach HaKo’desh gives. For there is only one Body and one Spirit – as there is only one hope in the call you received; one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God – the Father of us all, Who is above all, and through all in all. (vvs. 1 – 6)

Diversity of Gifts; Unity in Christ

Still, each one of us has been given grace, measured out as a gift from Christ. As Scripture has stated it, ‘When He went up on high (ascension, rise, traveling upward), He took many captives with Him, and He gave gifts to men’ (Psalm 68:18). Now, when it reads ‘He went up’, what does that mean except that He had first gone down into the =under-regions of the Earth? He Who descended is also the same as He Who ascended. He went up – high above all the Heavens, that He might fill all things with His glory.

And He appointed some to be apostles (advocates, supporters, messengers, devotees), others to be prophets (diviners, foretellers of Elohim’s Will); some to be evangelists (revivalists, preachers, missionaries), others pastors (clergymen/clergywomen = leader in a Christian Body, directors/managers) or teachers (educators, tutors, trainers, coaches). The common object of their labor is to bring the Christians maturity – to prepare them for Christian service and the building up of the Church, until we all reach the unity of The Faith and a fuller knowledge of the *****Son of God, and attain maturity, even to the measure of the stature (importance) of the fulness of Christ.

We should no longer be like little children, tossed to and fro before the wind of every doctrine (dogma = belief/philosophy/viewpoint, creed), by the cunning (sly, calculating, sneaky, scheming/underhanded, foxy/cleaver, creative) tricks (skills, cheats, misleads, traps, hoodwinks = lure to pull in, cons) of men, and by their crafty (wily, worldly) presentation (staging, offer, speech/talk) of error (blunder/false move, stumble/slip up, flounder/waver, get it wrong) as truth. Rather, we should speak the truth in love – so as to grow up in every way into perfect union with Christ, Who is our Head (Crown, Leader, Master = person in charge, be in charge, take precedence, be foremost). It is from this Head that the whole Body, fitted together and unified by every joint and ligament with which it is supplied, gets each part to work properly, develops each part accordingly; and builds itself up in love. (vv. 7 – 16)

The True Believer Puts Off the Old Self

I have this to say to you, and I urge (propel, thrust, press/insist) this on you in the Name of the Lord: stop living as most of the Gentiles do, guided by the vanity of their minds. Their understanding is darkness itself; ignorance, due to the hardness of heart, has estranged them from the life of #Elohei Ha’Elohim. They have become callous (cold, cruel, hard, uncaring), have abandoned (out of control/reckless, cast off/left) themselves to sensuality (pleasing to the body or senses = gratification of the senses, especially sexual desires), and greedily (hungrily, eagerly, selfishly) practice every form of vice (corruption, defect, weakness) that lust (desire, longing, itch) can crave (want, hanker after).

But you did not learn anything like this from Christ. I mean, if you had heard about Him and, as disciples (followers, believers, supporters, devotees, pupils, students, learners) of His, were taught about Him … then you learned the Truth as it is found IN Christ. You must put off your old nature (character, personality, temperament) and your former habits (customs, behaviors, traditions, way of life), for they are corrupt (tainted, warped, spoiled, harmful, damaging) and bring ruin through deceitful (untrustworthy, falsehearted, faithless) lusts. The very spirit (essence/character, attitude/mood, outlook/bias) of your minds (thoughts/discernment, awareness/alertness, intellect/knowledge/grasp, opinion/estimation = valuation) must be renewed (improved/revived = reinforced, restarted = breathe life into, restored/mended) continually (frequently = determindely, repeatedly, persistently = tirelessly). You must put on the new self, created in ##Elohim’s likeness – in true righteousness (virtue, morality, justice, decency, honesty, blamelessness) and holiness (consecration/sanctification = beautification, blessing, make sacred), saintliness = perfection, wholeness/state of grace, excellence = distinction/superiority, devoutness = spirituality, purity). (vv. 17 – 24)

The True Believer Practices (does, applies, observes, live out) Christian Virtues (qualities, features)

And so, let falsehood be abandoned; and instead let each speak truth to his neighbor (citizen = limited, narrow, restricted, community: talking primarily of fellow Believers), for we are all parts of the same Body (the Church, as a whole). If you become angry, do not let anger lead you into sin. And don’t let the sun go down on your wrath (anger, rage, fury, ire, madness). Do not let ==Lucifer get that satisfaction.

If one has been a thief, he must stop stealing and find employment, and do good works with his hands, so that he may even share with someone who is in need.

Let no evil talk come from your lips, but let what you say be of help to others, as the occasion presents itself, so that it may impart grace to those who listen.

Never grieve the Ruach HaKo’desh, for by Him you were sealed for the day of redemption (Ephesians 1:13-14).

Let there be no more bitterness (resentment, hostility, sourness, snappishness), and no more anger (dislike, hatred, disgust) and wrath among you. Let quarreling (fighting = at each other’s throats, arguing = in conflict, squabbling = bickering, have a tiff) cease (stop, end, conclude = come to a close), and let slander (insult = speak ill of, belittle = verbally run down) and spite (meanness = cattiness, ill-will toward, wound, offend) be put away altogether (totally, completely, thoroughly, overall). Be kind to one another, and tenderhearted (kind, gentle, compassionate = caring). Be ready to forgive others, as Elohim for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.” (vvs. 25 – 32)

*Epistle = (/ɪˈpɪsəl/; Greek: ἐπιστολή, epistolē, "letter") is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter: part of the scribal-school writing curriculum.

**Christ (from the Hebrew word, Ha’Mashiach ישוע המשיח & the Greek word, Christos/khris-tos) = The Anointed, Yeshua the Messiah, in both languages.

Yeshua Ha’Mashiach: is Hebrew for “Jesus the Messiah”; the name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Yeshua.

***Lord Jesus Christ (in Greek: Kyrios Iēsous Christos) = the most formal title for Jesus (Yeshua). It occurs often in the New Testament letters.

The word “Lord” has a wide range of uses; it can be a simple respectful “Sir” or a more formal, “Master.” But the New Testament also uses “Lord” of God. The word “Christ” is the anglicized form of the Greek word meaning “anointed one” or “Messiah.” “Lord Jesus Christ” reminds us that Jesus is both the promised Messiah and our God.

****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.

=Under-regions of the Earth: 1 Corinthians, where it uses "grave”, the KJV translates Greek ᾅδης as “Hell”. Modern translations, for which there are only 10 instances of the word ᾅδης in the New Covenant, generally transliterate it as “Hades” … the language used to describe the fulfillment of Yeshua’s Earthly mission – which included His {setting of the captives free}. In Acts 2:27, Apostle Peter quotes from Psalm 16:10, “Because You will not leave my soul in Hades, neither will You give Your holy one to see corruption”. Peter explained that this is in reference to Yeshua, when he says in verse 31, “he (the psalmist) foresaw this, and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ – that neither was the psalmist left in Hades, nor did his flesh experience corruption”. Scripture explains that Hades is the unseen realm under the Earth.

It was necessary for Yeshua to descend into Hades as triumphant King to proclaim His victory over sin, death, and Lucifer, to the saints who had died believing the promise that they would see the Messiah.

Through salvation in Yeshua Ha’Mashiach, Christians do not have to wait to be rescued from Hades: through faith in Yeshua, and indwelling of the Ruach … our spirits are immediately ushered into the presence of God when our physical bodies die. Praise Yeshua, for the work He did on Calvary!

*****Son of God = (Greek: ho Theos ho huios [ὁ Θεός ὁ υἱός]) used by the Early Church to reference Yeshua.

#Elohei Ha’Elohim (Hebrew word: אֱלֹהֵי הָאֱלֹהִים)) = God of gods; above all gods.

##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.

==Lucifer: The Septuagint renders הֵילֵל in Greek as Ἑωσφόρος (heōsphoros), "bringer of dawn" – the ancient Greek name for the morning star; The Septuagint, as the translation of the Hebrew Bible, was a landmark of antiquity. It is the first translation in the history of the Bible. It became the central literary work of Hellenistic Judaism (Greek speaking/living Jews) and Early Christianity.

Similarly, the Vulgate renders הֵילֵל in Latin as Lucifer, the name in that language for the morning star.

Lucifer was created a beautiful angel; who defied God, fell from grace, and was cast out of Heaven to become enemy of mankind and arch deceiver. Isaiah declared, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!” (Isaiah 14.12) Ezekiel goes into more detail in Ezekiel 28:12-19.

**Ephesians 3: https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2022/09/ephesians-chapter-3thursday-bible-study.html