This passage forms the hinge between the theological statement of Ephesians 1-3 and the exhortatory material that follows (4:17-6:20). The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them: You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page. Huge spiritual corporations are, as a whole, the strongholds of tyranny and the refuges of abuse; and it is only a matter of time when they shall break to pieces.” (Spurgeon). What mighty bonds of unity! He, the immediate Agent in regeneration (John 3), unites each regenerate individual to the Head, and, as the Sanctifier, maintains that union. At present, in Christ, the portion of the believer is a participation in the divine nature itself, in a being who knows good and evil, and who vitally participates in the sovereign good, morally in the nature of God Himself, although always thereby dependent on Him. The consideration of the community of position and of privilege, enjoyed by all the children of God in the relationships of which we have now been speaking, served to unite them with each other in the sweet enjoyment of this most precious position, leading them also, each one, to rejoice in love at the part which every other member of the body had in this happiness. Sometimes they speak in a predictive sense, but not necessarily so, and they are always subject to the discernment and judgment of the church leadership (1 Corinthians 14:29). He does love us. He ascended indeed as man, but He first descended as man even into the darkness of the grave and of death; and from thence-victorious over the power of the enemy who had the power of death, and having blotted out the sins of His redeemed ones, and accomplished the glory of God in obedience-He takes His place as man above the heavens in order that He may fill all things; not only as being God, but according to the glory and the power of a position in which He was placed by the accomplishment of the work of redemption-a work which led Him into the depths of the power of the enemy, and placed Him on the throne of God-a position that He holds, not only by the title of Creator, which was already His, but by that of Redeemer, which shelters from evil all that is found within the sphere of the mighty efficacy of His work-a sphere filled with blessing, with grace, and with Himself. It is characteristic of a forgiving, generous heart. Even here the apostle does not lose sight of the oneness of the body; we are to speak the truth, because we are members one of another. There is one Spirit, but there is one body. is literally “to exert himself to the point of exhaustion.” This is the kind of working heart God commands those who used to steal to have. this unity – we do not create it. It is the logical result of, , and this ancient Greek word “is used medically to denote the callus formed when a bone has been fractured and reset. Either he altered it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit or under similar inspiration he quoted from an ancient translation (called a Targum) that quotes the Psalm in this manner. God holds back His anger a long time until He forgives. This means every part and joint provides what it can supply in a coordinated effort. He went down into death of which Satan had the power. “Here it is suggested that anger can be prevented from degenerating into sin if a strict time limit is placed on it: . He was innocent yet He bore the guilt. While this aspect of Jesus’ ministry in Hades following His work on the cross is true (and prophesied in Isaiah 61:1-2 and Luke 4:18), Paul did not. Ephesians 4 reminds us to live a life worthy of the calling we have received in Christ Jesus. The unity of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:1-16) 1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the … This is not to say that man, in his rebellion against God, is not capable of mighty intellectual achievements. There are three things in this exhortation: first, to walk worthy of their calling; second, the spirit in which they were to do so; third, diligence in maintaining the unity of the Spirit by the bond of peace. Ephesians 4 – Living to God’s Glory A. Now Christ has made Himself man, and began by going as man, led by the Spirit, to meet Satan. This is the spiritual body of Christ, the church, made up of Jews, Gentiles, all people and even includes the saved who no longer live on earth. A divine principle brings in the desire of doing good to others, to their body and their soul. Hence, as already remarked, their continuance (till we all, one after another, grow up to the head) is stated as to power, by the Spirit; in 1 Corinthians 12 it is not. But we are light in the Lord. to our old life; the old life dies and He becomes our new life. There is one body and one Spirit; not merely an effect produced in the heart of individuals, in order that they might mutually understand each other, but one body. It is thus that Psalm 68 speaks as well as Acts 2:33. He acts according to that judgment. Leaders in the church have the first responsibility to equip people to serve and to direct their service as God leads. Ascended on high, and having taken His place as man at the right hand of God, and filling all things, whatever may be the extent of His glory, Christ has first for His object to fulfil the ways of God in love in gathering souls, and in particular towards the saints and the assembly; to establish the manifestation of the divine nature, and to communicate to the assembly the riches of that grace which the ways of God display, and of which the divine nature is the source. Believers are called to put away sinful practices and attitudes (Ephesians 4:31), being kind to one another and forgiving, as Christ has forgiven us (Ephesians 4:32). Click to enable/disable Google Analytics tracking. Be imitators of God: beautiful and magnificent privilege! Changes will take effect once you reload the page. It is Christ who descended. This gives us an assurance of forgiveness – that it is for Christ’s sake. "Unto every one of us is given grace [gift] according to the measure of the gift of Christ" (that is to say, as Christ sees fit to bestow). Click to enable/disable _gat_* - Google Analytics Cookie. It is that they are filled with things that lead to nothing.” (Vaughan), iii. Thus, in order to attract and to lead on our hearts, to give us the model on which they are to be formed, the aim to which they should tend, God has given us an object in which He manifests Himself, and which is the object of all His own delight. But this is not all. The proper and immediate effect is the perfecting of individuals according to the grace that dwells in the Head. And next objectively: created after God, and God dwelling in us, God is the pattern of our walk, and thus in respect of the two words which alone give God's essence-love and light. In ascending to heaven He has placed victorious man above all things, and has led captive all the power that previously had dominion over man. Till we all come to the unity of the faith. The idea is clear. It is the person created according to the image of Jesus Christ and instinctively righteous and holy. It is created after God in the perfection of His moral character. But in order to possess this knowledge, and subsist in what is good before God, there must be divine energy, divine life. God puts His trust in us and invites us to work with Him as co-laborers when He forgives us. Therefore in their denial of the true God, they denied any standard of morality that they must answer to. These two results are not yet manifested, although the Lord possesses all power in heaven and in earth. God’s forgiveness offers complete restoration and honor. Summary of Ephesians 3 & 4. Ephesians 4:4 "[There is] one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;" “One body”: The church, the body of Christ, is composed of every believer since Pentecost without distinction, by the work of the “one Spirit” (See 1 Cor. This means a living, abiding knowledge of Jesus will keep us from the kind of sinful conduct Paul speaks of. : The repetition of this idea shows that putting on the new man has a strong aspect of, is in Jesus… and be renewed in the spirit of your, i. The kingdom of Satan was taken from him; the just judgment of God was undergone and completely satisfied. The spirit of peace and love (and that, in spite of evil in others and the wrongs they may do us) completes the picture, adding that which will be easily understood after what has been said, that, in "forgiving one another," we are to be imitators of God, and to walk in love as Christ has loved us, and has given Himself for us. 1. This summary of the book of Ephesians provides information about the title, author(s), date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the Book of Ephesians. That unity is pressed upon them; but it is in order to maintain the realisation, and the manifestation here below, of a unity that belongs to the existence and to the eternal position of the assembly in Christ. There is also one Lord. 4 I, therefore, the prisoner [] of the Lord, [] beseech you to () walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit () in the bond of peace. would be built up (expanded and strengthened). It is in contrast to the old man, who is the person inherited from Adam and who instinctively rebels against God. Here we have yet another letter from the Apostle Paul. He also knows evil perfectly, being Himself goodness, that it may be perfectly an abomination to Him, that He may repel it by His own nature. They are gifts for men. We shall not feel the divine sweetness and force of the text unless we can make a personal matter of it by the Holy Ghost.” (Spurgeon), ii. It is evident that the diligence required for the maintenance of the unity of the Spirit relates to the earth and to the manifestation of this unity on the earth. These solemn truths enter also as principles into these exhortations. . A call for unity among God’s people. In verses 4 through 6 he says we are of the same Father, faith etc. The direct relationship applies properly to the same persons; but the character of Him who is the basis of the relationship enlarges the idea connected with it. God keeps reaching out to man for reconciliation even when man rejects Him again and again. do not speak in the same authority as the first century prophets brought God’s foundational word spoke (Ephesians 2:20). Here, having received these gifts as the Head of the body, Christ is the channel of their communication to others. We should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine. Christ has been revealed in all His fulness: it is according to this revelation that the members of the body are to be formed in the likeness of Christ, known as filling all things, and as the Head of His body, the revelation of the perfect love of God, of the excellency of man before Him according to His counsels, of man the vessel of all His grace, all His power, and all His gifts. He is holy. No longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, . "The man," said God, "is become as one of us, to know good and evil." He can no longer be innocent. Get hold of that grand truth, and hold it, though all the devils in hell roar at thee. If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here: We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. But although the persons who are in this outward relationship may stand also in the other relationships and be members of the body, yet the relationship here is one of individual profession; it is not a thing which cannot exist at all except in reality (one is a member of Christ's body, or one is not). Click to enable/disable Google reCaptcha. : The new man tells the truth. The motive for doing this is because we are, i. “It is not a desirable thing that all Churches should melt into one another and become one; for the complete fusion of all Churches into one ecclesiastical corporation would inevitably produce another form of Popery, since history teaches us that large ecclesiastical bodies grow more or less corrupt as a matter of course. . Grasp it as with a hand of steel; grip it as for life: ‘God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven me,’ – may each one of us be able to say that. 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