I. Introduction. V. 1:1

II. Our wealth in Christ.

    A. Praise for spiritual possession. V. 1:3‑14

    B. Prayer for spiritual perception. V. 1:15‑23

    C. Our new condition in Christ. V. 2:1‑10

    D. Our new relationship in Christ. V. 2:11‑22

 

CHAPTER 3:

 

    E. Revealing of the Divine mystery. V. 1‑13

V. 1

1. "For this cause" = refers to their being:

    A. Citizens of one city.

    B. Members of one family.

    C. Built on one foundation.

    D. Parts of one building.

    E. Indwelt by one Spirit.

    F. Then Paul gives an explanation of his ministry before stating this same phrase "for this cause" again in verse 14 and then he prayed for them.

2. These to whom Paul was writing were objects for intercession of which their heathen ancestors had not been.

3. He felt obligated to pray for them because of his relation to them:

A. Through the common Lord = "Jesus Christ" = being His prisoner; he was in bonds in Caesar's prison, yet not Caesar's prisoner but Christ's prisoner; this is one of the prison epistles Paul wrote while in prison the first time.

B. He was prisoner on behalf of the "Gentiles" = all who are not Jews; he was accused of bringing Trophimus (a Gentile) in the temple (Acts 21:27‑29), and when he made his defense the Jews listened to him until he got to the word "Gentiles;" Acts 22:21‑23 records their reaction; therefore, he was prisoner on behalf of the Gentiles.

4. Before he prayed he explained his ministry.

 

        1. It was of Divine arrangement. V. 2

V. 2

1. "If you have heard" = these words are not designed to express a doubt whether they had heard of it or not, for he takes for granted that they had heard.

2. "Dispensation" = administration one has over something; oversight; management.

3. "Given" = God gave; this was not Paul's own doing; Paul was given the responsibility of having oversight or management over the grace of God in the sense that he was to administer the message to the Gentiles = "you‑ward" not just the Ephesians particularly, but to the nations at large; this is in accordance with Chapter 1‑‑He who is the Sovereign One does the choosing and makes the assignments. (Eph. 1:4)

 

2. He was favored with the knowledge of a mystery. V. 3‑6

                    a. Communicated by revelation. V. 3a

V. 3

1. "Revelation" = uncovering; unveiling.

2. "He" = God.

3. "Made known" = to gain knowledge of; used of divinely communicated things.

4. "Me" = "I" = Paul the human instrument used to pen down this Epistle.

5. "Mystery" = is not the idea of secrecy but it is a hidden truth, purpose, or counsel of God, which when revealed is to be understood by those whom God gives light or spiritual understanding; the mystery is not the fact that they are difficult to interpret, but they are impossible to interpret until their meaning is revealed, then they become plain; a simple definition‑‑a secret purpose of God which when uncovered is understood by the Spirit taught believer.

6. Paul didn't receive it second hand, nor was it a discovery of his own. (John 3:27; I Cor. 2:9‑12)  The Spirit of God must divinely communicate anything and everything we get hold of or grasp.

 

                     b) He had already given them evidence. V. 3b‑4

7. Wrote afore" = to write previously; probably refers to this same epistle (Eph. 1:9‑10); I say this because verse 4 says in essence, "When you read what I wrote you, you will be able to perceive (understand) my knowledge (insight and understanding) in the mystery of Christ."

8. Also, he no doubt had spoken of this when he was with them for three years. (Acts 20:31)

9. Verse 2a brings this out, "If you have heard" = "if" means Paul had assumed the Ephesians had heard all this he was writing and now he is reminding them‑‑line upon line as Isa. 28:10, 13 brings out with repetition; this phrase can be used to refer to a well known fact and would call them to self‑scrutiny as to the time they heard it and the person from whom they heard it.

 

                    c) Others were favored with revelation of the mystery as well as Paul. V. 5

V. 5

1. "Other" = heteros (Greek)‑‑another of a different kind.

2. "Ages" = generations.

3. "Now" = refers to age of grace.

4. "Was not made known" = was not divinely communicated.

5. "Sons of men" = refers to human beings, male and female; being natural man they could not be expected to know the mystery by themselves; even the apostles in Jesus' day did not understand this mystery; Peter hesitated to carry the gospel message to the Gentile‑‑Cornelius in Acts 10.

6. "Apostles" = one sent on a commission to represent another person, the person sent being given credentials and the responsibility of carrying out the orders of the one sending him; our word ambassador adequately translates it; to qualify as an apostle one had to witness the resurrected Christ (Acts 1:21‑22); there are no more apostles today.

7. "Holy" = set apart; describes the apostles when the Lord chose them.

8. "Prophets" = a foreteller by divine inspiration; when the word of God was complete (perfect) there was nothing else to foretell (I Cor. 13:9‑10); therefore, the NT use of the word prophet is defined as a forth‑teller = one who tells what the Lord has done for them.

9. "By the Spirit" = refers to the Holy Spirit who is the only One who can give us understanding.

 

                    d. What is the mystery Paul is referring to?

                           a) What it was not.

V. 6

1. Not the gospel.  I Cor. 15:1‑4 according to the scriptures.  This is a mystery to some because they have no ears to hear.

2. Not that Christ was to come and bear the sins of many. (Gen. 49:10; Isa. 53:11; Mat. 1:21) This was no mystery to some.

3. Not that He was to be a Prince and Saviour both to Jews and Gentiles. (Isa. 11:10; 42:6‑7; 49:6)  This was no mystery to some.

4. Not that the Holy Spirit was to be out poured. (Joel 2:28‑29) This was said by Peter to be fulfilled at Pentecost. (Acts 2:16‑18)  This was no mystery to some.

5. Not that Christ would set on the throne of David. (II Sam. 7:16) No mystery to some.

6. All these were foretold in the OT Scripture.  These may be a mystery to some whose eyes have not yet been opened by the Spirit, but this is not the mystery Paul was referring to here.

 

                b) What it was. V. 6

7. "That" = introduces the mystery Paul is referring to.

8. "The Gentiles" = all who are not Jews.

9. "Fellowheirs" = joint heirs (Rom. 8:17); will share the same as the natural born son. (Eph. 1:5)

10. "And of the same body" = the mystery is simply the divine purpose to make of Jew and Gentile one body‑‑formed by baptism of the Holy Spirit; (I Cor. 12:12‑13) and in that body the earthly distinction of Jew and Gentile disappear. (Eph. 2:14‑15)

11. "And partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel" = refers to the promise given to Abraham which was passed on to Isaac and Jacob‑‑told him so in Gen. 28:14 even though Jacob was not yet saved; these Gentiles do not get this blessing indirectly through the Jews, or by becoming Jews, but directly, as Gentiles, who get in Christ the same way as the Jews‑‑by the gospel.

12. The revelation of this mystery was foretold by Christ but not explained in Mat. 16:18 and was committed to Paul (verse 7a; Acts 9:15) No wonder Paul rejoiced‑‑"Blessed." (Eph. 1:3)

13. He had been shown much and given much therefore, much was required from Paul and it drove him on for God's glory.  We, too, have been shown much and given much, therefore, much is required of us. (Luke 12:48)

14. O what wealth we have in Christ! I pray you get thirsty. (Isa. 44:3)

 

3. Being a minister of the gospel to the Gentiles filled Paul with a sense of His own unworthiness.V. 7‑8a

V. 7

1. "Whereof" = refers to the gospel of verse 6 of which Paul was made a minister.

2. "I" = "me" = Paul, the human instrument used by the Holy Spirit to write this epistle.

3. "Was made" = to become; appointed; Paul did not gradually grow up to the office, but became, at a given time and place, "a minister" = a servant; one who runs at the call of another.

4. "According to the gift of the grace of God" = that is how he was appointed to be a minister‑‑grace was given him to preach unto the Gentiles; any Jew had to have grace to go to the Gentiles; Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh for they were Gentiles; Peter hesitated to go to Cornelius in Acts 10 for he was a Gentile.

5. Paul was given grace and this gift of grace was in a particular way‑‑according to "the effectual working of his (God) power" = "effectual working" = is one word in the Greek and used of superhuman power‑‑exhibition of divine power that was upon Paul. (Phil. 4:13)

6. In magnifying the Divine power Paul humbles himself.

 

V. 8

1. "Me" = "I" = "who" = Paul the apostle.

2. "Am less than the least of all saints" = the reason he said this is because he persecuted the church of God (I Cor. 15:9); also he said he was nothing in II Cor. 12:11; referred to himself as "chief of sinners" in I Tim. 1:15; yet God chose him, called him, and gifted him--"is this grace given."

 

4. The subject of His preaching to the Gentiles was the unsearchable riches of Christ. V. 8b

3. "Should preach" = to announce the glad tidings of the coming Kingdom of God, and of the salvation to be obtained in it through Christ and of what relates to His salvation.

4. "Gentiles" = refers to all who are not Jews.

5. "The unsearchable riches of Christ:"

A. "Riches" = refers to the wealth of which is the whole wealth of salvation which He bestows on even Gentiles.

B. "Unsearchable" = not inexhaustible, but unfathomable; past finding out; that which cannot be traced out; such as cannot be fully comprehended by men unless the Holy Spirit reveals it to them.

 

5. Had a goal aimed at by the apostle in his preaching to the Gentiles. V. 9-11

V. 9

1. "To make see" = one word in the Greek; means to give light; to enlighten; to bring light; to render evident; also means to give understanding to.

2. "All men" = men is in italics, thus supplied by the translators; refers to all mankind, females as well as males; some try to make this "all" refer to just the elect; it is true that only the elect will be fully enlightened; but he preached to all like the Levites who in Neh. 8:7b‑8 gave the sense so that the people could understand; they did that to all present that day, but only a few really understood and even that caused those who did not understand to follow those who did in making commitments; Paul tried to make all men, to whom his path crossed, to understand.

3. Paul made it clear in I Cor. 9:22 that he was made all things to all men but only some were saved.

4. "What is the fellowship of the mystery" = "fellowship" = plan; arrangement; stewardship; it was given to Paul to bring to light the arrangement, the plan, or the way this mystery was administered‑‑namely the admission of the Gentiles on equal terms with the Jews‑‑his goal was for all men to see this; he believed the great commission. (Acts 1.8)

5. "World" = age; this mystery was formed before the ages of time began and kept secret since then till the church age.

6. "Had been hid in God" = further confirmation of the definition of "What is the fellowship of the "mystery" previously given.

7. "Who (God) created all things by Jesus Christ" = (John 1:1‑3; Col. 1:15‑17)

A. "Jesus" = the earthly name of God incarnate (God robed in flesh); the Saviour of mankind.

B. "Christ" = the Anointed One; the Messiah of the OT.

 

V. 10

1. "To the intent" = in order that now; Paul's goal was even larger that what was stated in verse 9.

2. "Principalities and powers" = in context it refers to the holy angels, those who did not fall because they are in "heavenly places" = "places" is in italics, thus placed by the translators to give us smooth English reading; means "in the heavenlies"‑‑no fallen angel is there.

3. "Known" = used mainly of God's saving purpose.

4. "By" = through the intermediate agency of "the church" = a called out assembly; a group of baptized believers who meet to glorify the Lord; local visible body of people not a building. (Mat. 16:18-19)

5. "Manifold" = many faceted; marked with a great variety.

6. "Wisdom" = applies to God; refers to supreme intelligence such as belongs to God.

 

 

V. 11

1. This applies to verse 10.

2. "According to" = agreeing to; in conformity with the fact mentioned in verse 10.

3. "Eternal purpose" = a pre‑determination; to carry into effect.

4. "He" = God; He knew beforehand; God had purposed in past ages ("eternal") a plan which was eternal in reference to the salvation of men; He also knew the angels would look at the church to investigate the mystery of redemption. (I Peter 1:10‑12; in verse 12 the word "look" means to lean over; stoop down; to look into with the body bent; means to inspect curiously; speaks of the angels as spectators viewing the great plan of redemption from the side lines, not being participants in it but having a passionate desire to stoop down and look into, ever gazing upon the blood bought ones, yet not experiencing that redemption‑‑a song the angels cannot sing.)

5. "Purposed" = made.

6. "In Christ Jesus" = with reference to Him, and was to be executed by His coming and work.

7. "Our Lord" = personal Lord, ruler, owner, and master to whom Paul many times referred to himself as the Lord's servant; Paul's Lord was Jesus Christ, not Caesar's as was popular at this time; Paul was in prison (first time) but he set the record straight‑‑Caesar was not his lord, Jesus Christ was.

8. There are a lot of misconceptions about angels.

A. Luke 15:10‑‑some say angels in heaven rejoice when one on earth is saved; this verse says that there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels; may ask who is that? it might be saints gone on, but for sure it is the Father rejoicing as the last part of this parable brings out.

B. Some people elevate angels to positions far beyond what the Bible gives them.  If I were to ask you if an angel told you that you were saved, would that give you assurance?  You might say, Yes, but II Cor. 11:14 warns us to beware of the devil's fallen angels‑‑they will give you enough truth to deceive you.

C. On the other hand God elevates people to positions of importance in His kingdom and He uses angels to help them. (Heb. 1:7, 14)

 

        6. Had boldness. V. 12a

V. 12

1. "Whom" = refers to Jesus Christ our Lord in verse 11.

2. "We" = Paul puts himself in the same group as the Ephesian saints; applies to all saved.

3. "Have boldness" = freedom or frankness in speaking; Paul had no fear after being stoned at Lystra and left for dead, but he rose up and walked back into town and in essence said, "Threaten me with heaven" (Phil. 1:21); he never took this for granted for later he asked the Ephesians to pray for him that he might have boldness in speaking. (Eph. 6:18‑19)

 

        7. Access with confidence. V. 12b

4. "Access" = admission; freedom to enter through the assistance or favor of another.

5. "Confidence" = reliance; persuaded; the tense in the Greek is perfect which refers to a past process of being completely persuaded, with the present result that we are in a confirmed and settled state of utter confidence. (II Tim. 1:12; Heb. 4:14‑16; Rom. 5:2)

       8. Didn't want others to faint because of what he was going through. V. 13

V. 13

1. "Wherefore" = on account of; because of the ministry the Lord has given:

    A. Divine arrangement.

    B. Favored with the knowledge of a mystery.

    C. Filled with a sense of unworthiness.

    D. Subject: the unsearchable riches of Christ.

    E. Had a goal.

    F. Had boldness.

    G. Access with confidence.

2. "I" = "my" = Paul, the human instrument that God chose to write this epistle to the Ephesian saints.

3. "Desire" = to ask; to request; to petition.

4. "Ye" = "you" = "your" = refers to the Ephesian Gentile saints to whom he was writing.

5. "Faint" = to lose courage; to lose heart; negated by "not."

6. "Tribulation" = pressure; grievous affliction or distress; speaks of being in a strait; refers to Paul being in prison.

7. "For you" = Paul was a prisoner on behalf of the Gentiles. (verse 1)

8. "Glory" = manifestation that calls forth praise; Paul's affliction and suffering in prison gave the Ephesians an occasion to rejoice that they had a friend who was willing to suffer for them; they had an occasion to rejoice in all the benefits that would come to them from his trials in their behalf.

9. Paul did not want them to feel sorry for him or become discouraged because of his suffering for them.  His standing firm in the face of persecution had a positive effect on them as a church‑‑don't faint because of me.

10. God was in control and right on schedule and Paul knew it.

11. Revealing of the Divine ministry‑‑I am glad the Lord has let us in on this mystery. You may not understand it all but just hang around, don't lose heart, do what you know to do at the time, and you will find out more, because the Lord is faithful. (I Thess. 5:24)

 

    F. The receiving of Divine fulness. V. 14‑21

V. 14

1. "For this cause" = goes back to the same words in verse 1; which go back to the thought of the Jew and Gentile becoming one body in Christ and this body growing into a holy inner sanctuary for the dwelling place of God‑‑holy temple. (Eph. 2:21)

2. Therefore, for this cause or on this account "I bow my knees" = a natural figure for prayer, earnest prayer.

3. "Unto" = a preposition meaning facing "the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ;" speaks of the consciousness which Paul had when praying, that he was directing his prayer to God the father who was listening while he prayed.

4. Paul had already prayed for them in Eph. 1:16‑19. That was a prayer of enlightenment.  He had prayed for them to know some things and now he prays for them to have some things.

5. Paul wants these Ephesian saints to learn what they have, then to live what they have learned.

 

V. 15

1. Some want to take this verse as speaking of the Universal Fatherhood of God‑‑Eph. 4:6.

2. When Paul spoke to the Athenians he mentions all were the offspring of God. (Act 17:29)  This is in reference to the creation work of God in which He made Adam in His own likeness. (Gen. 1:26)  Thus, Paul is rebuking their idols of gold, silver, and stone in Acts.

2. In Eph. 4:6 this also may be applied, but Paul is speaking to the saints at Ephesus; therefore, he is referring to God being the father of all believers and in all believers.

3. This is definitely what this refers to in this verse.  He prays for God's family in heaven and earth, not under the earth as Phil. 2:10 states.

4. This verse (verse 15) does away with the doctrine of purgatory.  Also, there will be no escape from hell.  Therefore, there is no saved under the earth at this time for our Lord had already lead captivity captive. (Eph. 4:8)

5. "Of whom" = refers to Christ (verse 14); "of whom" the whole family of God is named after (Acts 11:26b); all God's family are named after the Lord Jesus Christ‑‑Christians.

 

V. 16

1. "He" = "his" = God the Father.

2. Paul prayed (verse 14) God would grant the Ephesians ("you" to whom he was writing this epistle) three basic things. (V. 16‑19)

3. "Would grant" = simply means to give; supply; refers to what he was about to ask for; this word implies Paul wanted God to allow the saints to experience and possess what he was about to ask for.

4. Notice he did not ask for physical things but spiritual.

5. He asked for these three things to be "according to the riches of his glory."

A. "Riches" = wealth; denotes abundance; plentifulness; denotes that His supply was inexhaustible and ample for all their needs; the subject of his ministry was "the unsearchable riches" (verse 8); "unsearchable" = past finding out; now according to those riches granted.

B. "According to" = on the authority of; in keeping with; as determined by; stated similar in Phil. 4:19; I cannot imagine His warehouse size‑‑bigger than WalMart's and Sam's.

6. Paul prayed God would grant three things according to His supply, and each thing he prayed for to be supplied had a purpose.

 

    1) Strengthened with might in the inner man. V. 16b

7. "Strengthened" = to make strong; to grow strong; to empower.

8. "Might" = power to be able to do something‑‑strengthened to do what you need to do spiritually.

9. "By his Spirit" = the Holy Spirit; the enabler; the one from whom all strength comes. (Phil. 4:13)

10. Where? "in the inner man" = the heart, soul, and spirit (I Tim. 4:8); it is not wrong to exercise and take care of your body‑‑in fact you need to; but more important than that is the inner man (II Cor. 4:16); we need to be strengthened day by day; it is a comfort to know that while eyesight grows dim, hands become unsteady, limbs weak, and memory faulty, the inner man grows stronger through  renewal of spiritual strength day by day.

11. For what purpose? V. 17a

 

V. 17

1. "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith" = this is not talking about salvation or justification, because it is written to saints who have already been justified.

A. "Dwell" = to make one's home; to be at home; implies that Christ might feel at home in your heart.

B. Members of the family have run of the house; they can open closets and drawers, but not so with a visitor; means that Christ has access to every part of our inner being; speaks of Christ's continuous influences as opposed to occasional visits or influences.

C. Him being at home in your heart:

        ‑molding the will

        ‑sweetening the emotions

        ‑purifying the actions

D. This comes by faith:

        ‑resting and living on Him

        ‑believing His promises

        ‑longing for His return

2. Strengthened so that Christ may dwell.

 

2) May be able to comprehend the love of God. V.17b-18

3. "Being rooted and grounded in love:"

A. "Rooted" = to render firm, to fix; establish; has the idea of securely settled; as a tree is whose roots strike deep and extend far out; means that His love should be as firm in our hearts as a tree is in the soil, whose roots strike deep into the earth (Psa. 1:2‑3); rooted like the cedars of Lebanon and not blown down by the winds of time‑‑applies to our not being blown down by the winds of false doctrine. (Eph. 4:14)

B. "Grounded" = to lay a basis for; refers to having a foundation; has the idea of being deeply founded; metaphor to make stable, establish as a well‑built house settled on the Rock‑‑foundation. (Mat. 7:24‑25; Psa. 40:1‑2)‑‑grounded.

C. It is interesting to note these are perfect tense words (participles) which means completed action past time with existing results.  This means the saved are rooted and grounded in love when saved‑‑that love which the Holy Spirit produces and floods the heart of a yielded saint. (Gal. 5:22; Rom. 5:5)

D. Note: "being" = already there and has daily results; this means the saints of God are overcomers (I John 5:4; Rom. 8:35,37) ‑‑rooted and grounded, not tossed to and fro (Mat. 24:24); not living in sin habitually. (I John 3:9; John 8:31)

 

V. 18

1. Since ye are rooted and grounded in love, Paul prayed for the Ephesian saints that they "may be able to comprehend that love."

A. "Comprehend" = to lay hold of with the mind effectively; to understand; perceive; learn; to grasp mentally.

B. "Able" = to have full strength; to have full capacity.

2. Note: "With all saints" = no isolated privilege; open to all; all the saved--those who had a completed work of sanctification of the Spirit; makes no difference the capacity of the ground--30, 60, or 100‑‑all good ground (Mat. 13:23); all are rooted and grounded in that love.

3. Paul prayed that the saints would lay hold of with the mind effectively (comprehend) four things of that love.  These four words have no particular significance except to give the general idea of the vastness of the love of Christ. Four words:

A. "Breadth" = width; whosoever: (John 3:16; II Peter 3:9; Mat. 18:14; I Tim. 2:4); the breadth of His love reaches out unto all‑‑red, yellow, black, or white, rich or poor, royalty or common (John 1:9; Titus 2:11; Rom. 1:20); what breadth!

B. "Length" = speaks of its eternal duration; everlasting; eternal; won't fizzle out. (John 4:24; John 10:27‑29; Heb. 13:5); what length!

C. "Depth" = mystery; deeply profound; refers to the depth of Christ's humiliation‑‑His coming down to fallen man robed in flesh (Phil 2:5‑8); look at Eph. 2:4‑5a after an awful picture of man's sinful condition was painted (Eph. 2:1‑3; Psa. 40:1); He came to where I was; what depth!

D. "Height" = elevation; refers to the loftiness of the condition to which saints are raised‑‑paradise, third heaven, throne of God with Him (John 14:1‑3) new heaven (Rev. 21:1‑5); what height!

4. Christ's love is an eternal love‑‑without beginning; an everlasting love‑‑without end; a love that knows no limit; a love that never lessens and cannot be increased; a love that burns freely in His heart toward us‑‑unworthy, undeserving sinners; a love which led Him to live for us in human nature and to die for us in His own body on the cross; a love which made Him become our sacrifice and substitute and led Him to bear our sin and die in our place; a love still doing all for us‑‑living that we may live; pleading that we may be preserved; preparing heaven, that we may come there to dwell with Him; intending to come some day that He may receive us to Himself, that where He is, there we may be also.

5. Read again verse 18: love that reaches down to me and to you (Eph. 2:15a; love that is described in I Cor. 13:4‑8a.

 

    3) To know--experience the love of Christ. V. 19-21

V. 19

1. Paul also prayed that the saints may "know the love of Christ" = this is not a repetition of verse 18; "know" = means to know by experience; we experience that love in salvation, but daily we should long to experience His love again and again; Paul is an example in Phil. 3:10; to know Him is to experience Him and this only comes as one walks through trials, troubles, sorrow, and tribulation. (Rom. 5:3‑4)

2. He prayed that the saints may experience the love of Christ "which passeth knowledge:"

A. "Passeth" = to throw beyond the usual mark; surpassing; exceeding.

B. "Knowledge" = signifies in general, intelligence, understanding; he prayed that the Ephesian saints would experience that love which passeth understanding‑‑reminds me of Phil. 4:6‑7; some things we cannot fully know or understand, in fact we have experiences that we cannot understand or explain; the idea here is to know that which is essentially unknowable, yet to know it enough so that we can rejoice in it; this seems like a contradiction but it is not; speaks of, no matter how much the saints experience the love of Christ, yet there are oceans of love in the great heart of God that have not been touched by his experience.

3. I am reminded of the song "The Love of God" which has been said that the song writer had come upon the lines of the third verse penciled on the wall of a patient's room in an insane asylum after the man was carried to his grave.  The third verse says:

    "Could we with ink the ocean fill,

    And were the skies of parchment made,

    Were every stalk on earth a quill,

    And every man a scribe by trade,

    To write the love of God above,

    Would drain the ocean dry,

    Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

    Though stretched from sky to sky."

4. As the breeze fills the sails and beats forward the ship, so the love of Christ fills the soul and moves it in the direction of God's will.  It passeth understanding!

5. The love of Christ is infinite, not to be grasped by mortal finite man and is always presenting new fields to be explored, new depths to be fathomed.

6. Purpose: "that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God:"

A. "Filled" = to fill up to the brim; filled to the fullest; to be thoroughly saturated.

B. "With" = to or unto; means to the measure of the fullness of God.

C. How could this be?  He is "infinite" = without boundaries or limits; immeasurably great; and we are "finite" beings = having boundaries and limited.

D. Again, how could this be? (Col. 1:19,27; 2:9)  This seems impossible but it is an attempt to convey in language that will mean something to us; lets us know that there is super‑abundance of grace available to us from our heavenly Father through our Lord Jesus Christ.

E. John 1:16 is a picture of grace taking place of grace, like the manna each morning‑‑new grace for the new day and the new service.  If saved, you have Him; if you have Him, you have His fulness available.

F. "All the fulness of God" = means to be thoroughly saturated, filled to the fullest with spiritual grace and blessing to an extent corresponding to all the fullness of God; this is not only available, but all saints can have this if they are experiencing daily the love of Christ.

7. If we could go into the third heaven, we could meet some and ask them if they could help us comprehend the love of God.  After all they know more now than when they were upon earth. (I Cor. 13:12)

8. We could meet up with Paul the apostle. (Acts 9)  He was a small man.  He might say, "I was religious, taught by the best, kept the law to the dotting of the "i" and crossing the "t", blameless before man, thought Jesus and His followers were a cult and did everything I could to destroy them, but one day my heart was cut to the core when Stephen preached. I heard him pray, and watched him die.  I could not get away from that and every time I gave my consent for one of those Christians to die, my heart would get heavier and heavier as I watched them die, looking up with a smile on their face.  Then one day the Lord met me on the road to Damascus.  Before that I did not think I was too bad, but found out I was the chief of sinners.  I realized I had no hope, counted the cost for three days, and trusted Him as my Lord on the street called Straight.  The Lord moved on me to write 14 books of the Bible but there is more breadth, and length, and depth, and height of Christ's love than I have comprehended in these 1900+ years I have been on the other side.  If you want to know more, you will have to ask somebody who has been here longer than me."

9. We could meet up with Cornelius. (Acts 10)  He was a Gentile dog who met the condition described in Eph. 2:12. One seemly cannot get any worse than that, but God sent an angel to him who said, "Thy prayers have been heard" and told him to send for Peter who would preach to him and he and his household were saved.  He might say, " I have been here for over 1900 years but there is more breadth, and length, and depth, and height of Christ's love than I have comprehended in over 1900 years I have been on this side.  If you want to know more, you will have to ask somebody who has been here longer than me.

10. We could meet up with the maniac of Gadara. (Mark 5) He might say, "I was a mess, so controlled by the demons that the people could not keep clothes on me.  I couldn't treat my wife and kids right.  I would get angry and took everything out on them.  I would get mad and didn't want to be, yet I could not help it.  I would cut myself.  I was strong, so strong that I would break the chains they put on me to restrain me.  I had no one to help me.  But one day I was in the right place at the right time and I met Jesus.  Talk about love, it changed me.  Then I could think straight and could control my temper and rage‑‑all because of love.  Oh! What breadth, length, depth, and height!  I have been here over 1900 years and still cannot comprehend the love of God.  If you want to know more, you'll have to ask some one who has been here longer than I."

11. We could meet up with Zacchaeus who was a little fellow and a tax collector, called a publican, and was hated by all even his own people.  He might say, "I had all the world had to offer‑‑riches, best of horses and chariots, a house, and even a summer cottage on the sea of Galilee, but I was not happy.  I was so empty and all alone.  But I kept hearing about the one called Jesus of Nazareth.  Oh, how I wanted to see Him.  There came such a thirst on the inside. I was too short to see over the crowd so I climbed a tree. I did not think that Christ would take time for me, but He stopped under my tree, saved me, and came to my house that day and I have been here (heaven) over 1900 years and if you want to comprehend the breadth, depth, length and height of God's love, you will have to find somebody who has been here longer than me."

12. Then we could meet up with the man by the pool of Bethesda (John 5) who had an infirmity in his flesh for 38 years.  He might say, "I had spent most of my time by the pool trying to get in when the water was stirred.  I began to wonder if there was any hope for me.  The worst part I was empty on the inside but Jesus came by and healed me and saved me.  Oh what breadth, length, depth, and height of His love!  Out of all the people there by the pool, He chose me.  That is love, what length--Eternal life;what height ‑‑ gave me a home in heaven.  I have been here over 1900 years and I still can't comprehend the breadth, length, height, and depth of His love.  If you want to comprehend that, you will have to find someone who has been here longer than I have."

13. Next we could meet up with the woman at Jacob's well. (John 4) You may ask, "Can you tell me what is the breadth, length, depth, and height of the love of God?"  She would probably say, "All I can tell you is what happened to me.  I was a sinful woman, been married five times and shacked up with another.  I was the laughing stock of the women of the city and went to the well to get water at noon when there were no women around.  I was so empty, so alone, and had no hope.  Things did not satisfy me and neither did men.  I was just a Samaritan half breed and off‑ scouring of the world.  But one day I met Jesus and He gave me a drink of living water and changed my life completely.  I have been here over 1900 years and I am still just scratching the surface of the breadth, length, depth, and height of the love of God.  You will have to talk to someone else that has been here longer than me to fully comprehend the love of God."

14. Then we could meet up with Elijah and say, "I read about you being taken up by a whirlwind into heaven, surely you would know the breadth, length, depth, and height of the love of God."  He might say, "God was good to me, during the famine He fed me by the brook with a raven, and then by a widow.  He answered my prayer concerning the three and half years of famine and then gave me a great victory at Mt. Carmel.  Then I let one woman cause me to take my eyes off Him.  I pouted and wanted to die.  But oh what love!  The Lord spoke to me and carried me to heaven by a whirlwind.  I have been here about 2800 years, but if you  want to comprehend more about the love of God, you will have to find someone else who has been here longer than me.

15. Then we could meet up with David, the greatest king Israel had.  No doubt he would know what is the breadth, length, depth, and height of God's love.  When asked he might say, "God was and has been good to me.  He chose me from the sheepfold, empowered me to kill Goliath, protected me from many enemies, and gave great victories in many battles.  Yet, I let Him down by committing adultery with Bathsheba and then by murdering her husband.  But God in love forgave me.  Oh, the breadth, length, depth, and height of God's love I have comprehended!  But if you want to fully comprehend that love, you will have to find someone who has been here longer than the 3000 years I have."

16. Then, we could meet Moses and ask him if he could tell us about the breadth, length, depth, and height of God's love.  He might say, "When I was in Pharaoh's house, God's call was on me to deliver the children of Israel from bondage in Egypt.  God recorded my reaction to His call in Heb. 11:24‑26.  But I tried to take things in my own hands.  I thought I could deliver them by my own ability and as a result I had to spend forty years in the Sinai wilderness.  What seemed to be bad was really good because the Lord used that forty years to prepare me for the deliverance of Israel from Egypt because we spent forty years wandering in that wilderness that I knew like the back of my hand.  I saw the Lord as He wrote the ten commandments on stone He cut out of Mt. Sinai.  I saw the love of God for His people as He delivered them from Egypt through the Red Sea dried up.  He gave them water out of a rock, manna from heaven, and quail for meat.  My, how good He was to the children of Israel, yet they rebelled and refused to go in the land of Canaan but the Lord led them 38 years even though they were out of the will of God.  They murmured again and again and I allowed my flesh to rise up, got angry, and struck the rock instead of speaking to it as the Lord had said.  And as a result I was not able to enter the promised land.  God was right in His punishment and I was wrong for disobeying.  God still loved me and let me meet with Him on the mount of transfiguration.  Oh, what love!  I have been here over 3400 years and I still cannot comprehend the breadth, length, depth, and height of His love.  You will have to find someone who has been here longer than me to comprehend the love of God."

17. And we could meet Abraham and ask him about the breadth, length, depth, and height of God's love.  He might say, "God's love reached out to me through His human instrument (possibly Shem) who came to the Ur of Chaldees where all mankind were in idolatry.  He told us about the God who floated the boat in the day of the flood.  And the Lord spoke very clear to me and told me to leave my homeland and my family (not wife) and go to a land He would show me as I would go.  When I told my father I was leaving, he said I am going with you even though the Lord had not spoken to him.  I had to respect my father and he carried my nephew Lot and we set out looking for a city which hath foundation whose builder and maker is God.  We stopped at Haran which was still in the land of Ur.  We stayed there several years (could have been as many as 32 years and as few as five) and my father died.  I was 75 years of age and the Lord spoke to me again and said for me to leave my country and my kindred and go to a place He would show me as I go.  I made a mistake and took Lot and we went into Canaan land.  The Lord demonstrated His love to me by speaking to me and told me my seed would inherit this land.  I did not understand the promise of the seed because Sarai and I were unable to have children.  How could this be? Yet I built an altar and worshiped God.  The Lord sent a famine to test me and I failed the test by going down into Egypt and passed my wife off as my sister, which was half truth and half lie.  Again God's love came through and protected me by not allowing Sarai to be defiled while we were in Egypt, and when the truth became known Pharaoh sent us away.  I went back to the altar I had built and called on the name of the Lord.  The providence of God caused my herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen to be unable to get along and we had to separate.& nbsp; The Lord then enlarged His promise to me concerning the Seed.  I did what I knew to do at the time by providing for my family and training 318 of my servants to face battle.  That came in handy for Sodom was captured, and Lot was carried away as a captive.  I gathered my trained servants together along with a few other men of my area and we had victory by delivering Lot. I met Melchizedek and paid him tithes of the spoil.  And God, loving and kind spoke in a vision telling me He was my shield and exceeding great reward.  I was so frustrated concerning the promise of the Seed that I told the Lord if Eliezer my servant had a child that would be the Seed He promised.  But the Lord assured me that Sarai and I would produce an offspring.  He said to me 'Count the stars if you can, the number of them would be as thy Seed.'  I cannot explain it but I saw Jesus' day (John 8:56) and was gloriously saved many years after I left Ur (possibly 41 years).  I made a lot of mistakes in my life but one thing I never did‑‑I never went back to Ur.  It was God's love and goodness that kept me from turning back.  Oh, what love!  Yet I cannot comprehend the breadth, length, depth, and height of His love.  If you want to comprehend that, you will have to ask somebody who has been here longer than the 3800+ years I have been here."

18. Then we could talk to Noah. Surely he would know what is the breadth, length, depth, and height of God's love.  He might say, "The world was wicked beyond anything you can imagine.  It seemed God was going to destroy the whole world, but He graced me, saved me, and I walked with the Lord.  He told me a flood was coming and for me to build an ark for which He gave specific instructions how to build. Also He gave me grace day by day, as we were building the ark, to overcome the tribulation which came from the scoffers.  Oh how God loved mankind as He was good, longsuffering, and forbearing wrath upon mankind!  His Spirit strove with men and my hammer sent out a message that judgment is going to come‑‑it is going to rain forty days and forty nights.  When the ark was completed, the Lord said for me and my family to come in.  The Lord also moved on the animals He wanted to board the ark to preserve life.  You ought to have seen those animals march into the ark, two by two and seven of the clean animals. God provided Himself a sacrifice. After the animals were in the ark, the Lord kept the door open for seven more days.  This showed the longsuffering of God with a people who were wicked more than you can imagine.  We invited them to get in the ark and escape the wrath of God but they would not heed our voice.  Oh, the breadth, length, depth, and height of God's love!  But I still cannot comprehend it to its depths even though I have been here almost 4000 years.  If you want to know the breadth, the length, the depth, and the height of God's love, you will have to talk to someone else who has been here longer than I have."

19. Then we could talk to Adam, the first man created, for surely he would know what is the breadth, length, depth, and height of God's love.  He might say, "I am sorry for all my wife and I put on you‑‑that sin nature due to our disobedience.  Oh, what love God had for us!  He slew an innocent animal to cover our nakedness.  That was a picture of our Lord.  I have been here over 5000 years but if you really want to comprehend the breadth, length, depth, and height of God's love, you would have to find someone who has been here longer than I have."  We might say "I thought you were the first man and had been here longer than anyone."  He would answer, "I was the first man and have been around longer than most but there is one who has been in paradise longer--my boy Abel."

20. So we look up Abel and ask him about the breadth, length, depth, and height of God's love.  He might say, "I have been here over 5900 years and was actually the first one here.  But I have still just uncovered a few layers of the manifold layers of God's love, which we will unfold throughout eternity.  Our God is love and He always has been and always will be.  Oh, what love‑‑the breadth, length, depth, and height!  It is more than I can actually comprehend."

21. No wonder Paul burst into praise by giving God glory in verses 20‑21.

 

V. 20

1. "Him" = God.

2. "Able" = to have the capacity and capability to do.

3. "To do exceeding above all" = above all things; in a measure exceeding all things; beyond all things.

4. "Abundantly" = exceeding some number or measure, over and above, more than necessary; speaks of the ability of God to do something; that ability has more than enough potential power--this power exhaustless--and then some on top of that.

5. "All that we ask" = more than we can request.

6. "All that we think" = more than we can consider or imagine; that is our God‑‑see Him in Isa. 40:12.

7. This promise is conditional‑‑"according to" = the degree we allow God's power to work in us.

8. "Power" = exhibition of Divine power.

9. "Worketh" = to be operative; putting forth energy.

10. "Us" = the Ephesians saints and Paul; included all saints.

11. This power is the operation of the Holy Spirit in His work of sanctification.  God is able to do for us and answer our prayers according to the efficiency, richness, and power of the working of the Spirit in our lives.  The saint determines what God is able to do for him by his yieldedness to the Holy Spirit.

12. In His ability, there is no limit to what God can do in and through the saint.

 

V. 21

1. "Him" = God the Father.

2. "Glory" = manifestation that brings forth praise, adoration, and worship‑‑all should be given Him.

3. This should be done "in the church" = a local assembly of baptized believers who meet together to worship Him and transact business between heaven and earth.

4. If we bypass the church that does not give Him glory and therefore it does not honor God.  This is true of all organizations, many of which may do some good, but does not give Him glory.

5. "By" = in = in Christ Jesus; speaks of the local true type‑‑church and the one forming body which will be an assembly in heaven‑‑called the church of the firstborn which will be local. (Heb. 12:23)

6. "Throughout all ages, world without end" = literally, to all the courses of the age of the ages, or unto all the generations of the age of ages; this is a very strong expression for eternity.

7. "Amen" = surely; truly; so be it.

8. What wealth we have in Christ!

 

CHAPTER 4:

 

III. Our walk in Christ. Chapters 4-6

1. The first three chapters is the doctrinal part which reveals our wealth in Christ.

2. The last three chapters is the duty part or the practical part and reveals our walk in Christ.

3. The key verse is Eph. 4:1.

4. The theme of this book I have been using is "Our Wealth and Walk in Christ."

A. Christian living is based on Christian learning.

B. The believer who does not know his wealth in Christ will never be able to properly walk with Christ.

C. Our conduct depends on our calling.

D. Too many want to live in chapters 1‑3 and study the doctrine but we must move into chapters 4‑6 and practice the duties. We have studied the wealth of our calling in Christ.

E. And now let us study about our walk in Christ.

5. Eph. 2:10 told us we should walk in good works and now chapters 4-6 tells in detail what the walk and works are.

6. God always joins doctrine (first three chapters) and practice (last three chapters).  What we learn we need to live.

 

A. The worthy walk. V. 1‑16

This describes the believer's relationship in the church.

        1. The unity of the Spirit. V. 1‑6

V. 1

1. "I" = Paul the human instrument who penned down this God breathed Word to the Ephesians.

2. "Therefore" = reaches back to all the blessings and exalted positions in salvation which the saints enjoy whether Jew or Gentile‑‑chosen, predestinated, made accepted, redeemed, forgiven, revealed to us the mystery, made an inheritance, allowed to hear the word, allowed us to believe, and sealed us.

3. "The prisoner of the Lord" = not a prisoner of Ceasar; he was in prison because the Lord allowed it or ordered it‑‑nothing happens by accident; Example: Joseph (Gen. 45:5‑7); Eph. 3:1 = reason was for the Gentiles. (Acts 9:15‑16)

4. "Beseech" = to beg; Paul could have used his apostolic authority but instead he pleads; God has the right to command and to demand but instead He entreats, beseeches because He wants willing surrender‑‑willing service.

5. "You" = "ye" = the Ephesians to whom Paul was writing;  applies to all the saved--saints.

6. "Walk" = to conduct one's self; to order one's behavior.

7. "Worthy" = in a manner worthy of; basically it means "bringing up the other beam of the scales" or "bringing into equilibrium;" it carries the idea of one thing being the equivalent of another thing; in other words, a Christian's practice should "weigh as much as" or "be equivalent to" his profession; if it truly does "weigh as much as" then that person will be doing what the whole book of Ephesians tells him to do; "worthy" does not mean that we could ever deserve what God has done but that we should walk in a manner befitting what He has done for us‑‑that our lives may measure up to our position in Christ. (Phil. 1:27)

8. "Vocation" = calling or invitation; same word as calling in II Peter 1:10; refers to the effectual call of God unto salvation‑‑the call which God in Sovereign grace extends to a sinner.

9. All men have a general call (John 1:9; Titus 2:11)  Therefore, all are without excuse, but every man does not have an effectual calling‑‑that call capable of producing the desired results = salvation.  You may ask why?

A. Because they may have rejected light‑‑truth.

B. They are not at wit's end‑‑end of self.

C. They have not allowed the Holy Spirit to finish His work of reproval. (John 16:8‑11)

D. Therefore Mat. 20:16 is true. (Rom. 8:30; I Peter 2:9)

E. This call is a heavenly calling. (Heb. 3:1)

F. It is also a holy calling. (II Tim. 1:9)

G. Oh we need to learn to walk worthy of our calling or we will never be able to run the race or fight the battle! (Heb. 12:1‑2; Eph. 6:11)

 

V. 2

1. If we walk worthy, we will possess these qualities for all saints possess these qualities in some degree.

2. "Lowliness" = humility; not full of haughty pride; a humble person will be in balance‑‑not thinking too highly of himself nor at the other extreme‑‑putting himself down; look at what Paul said in Eph. 3:8‑‑some may say such but not believe it; this is pride in the disguise of humility.

3. "Meekness" = gentleness; having a teachable spirit; this is an inwrought grace of the soul and also part of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22‑23); it is the temper of spirit in which we accept His dealing with us as good and without any arguing; in other words we do not blame God for we know the Lord is in control.

4. "Longsuffering" = means to express patience with respect of persons; preserving an even temperament in the face of adversity and persecution; the person who is longsuffering is one who when dealing with injurious persons, does not allow himself to be easily provoked by them or to blaze up in anger (II Tim. 4:2); it means to put up with the weakness of others; this results in :

5. "Forbearing one another in love" = "forbearing" = to put up with; to have patience with; this is done "in love" = the sphere of the love that God the Holy Spirit produces in the heart of the yielded believer (Rom. 5:5); in that sphere we are to be patient, put up with, forbear with each other as misunderstandings arise, as cutting words are said, as unkind actions are done.

6. The love shown at Calvary was a forgiving love and ours should be the same.  The Lord is our example when nailed to the cross He said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."  (Luke 23:34)  Also Stephen is our example in Acts. 7:59‑60.  These qualities can only be produced by the indwelling Spirit of God.  They are totally foreign to the flesh.

 

V. 3

1. "Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit" = a further description of the mutual forbearance which is spoken of in the previous verse.

A. "Endeavouring" = to take care; be diligent; do one's best; speaks of a determined effort and has the idea of exertion in it.

B. "Keep" = to guard by exercising watchful care; speaks of guarding something which is one's possession; the tense refers to a constant exertion‑‑something we must constantly work at.

C. "Unity" = agreement.

D. "Of the Spirit" = out of the Spirit; shows the Spirit is the source of unity.

2. This is to be done "in the bond of peace:"

A. "Bond" = that which binds together.

B. "Peace" = that which is bound together; peace is the binding factor which will preserve the unity which the Spirit has produced; notice Paul did not say "make unity" but keep unity‑‑maintain it by guarding the unity already existing in the church.

 

V. 4

1. Paul now lists seven unities which are to be maintained or guarded.

2. "One body" = that body in building of which we studied in Chapter 2, which includes the Gentiles as well as the Jews, because Jesus broke down the middle wall of partition at the cross (Eph. 2:14); one body, not division‑‑not Jews in one and Gentiles in another; not Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal and etc. but one body and we are to maintain it; the local church is the true type, therefore; He will place a person in it.

3. "One Spirit" = speaks of the Holy Spirit, equivalent to Holy Ghost; in our Bible the same Greek words are translated four times Holy Spirit and 90 times Holy Ghost; there is only one true Spirit that dwells in the church (I John 4:1‑3);  that same Spirit has awakened all, enlightened all, convicted all, and converted all who are saved; wherever they are or whoever they are had substantially the same work of the Spirit in the heart of every one saved; there may be a difference in the depth and power of His operations on the soul, and may be a difference in the degree of sin dealt with, and there may be a difference in evidence of conversion, but the good ground all brought forth fruit, but different quantity‑‑100, 60, 30 (Mat. 13:23); but it was still the same Spirit; we need to endeavor to keep this unity in the church.

4. "One hope" = results from your "calling" = from same Greek word as vocation in verse 1 and means calling or invitation; same word as calling in II Peter 1:10; refers to the effectual call of God unto salvation‑‑the call which God in Sovereign grace extends to a sinner; the hope (expectation) which is characteristic of God's call to salvation and is produced by Holy Ghost reproval and Godly sorrow; called the good hope in II Thess. 2:16, the blessed hope in Titus 2:13, the better hope in Heb. 7:19, and the lively hope in I Peter 1:3‑‑all one and the same‑‑all saved; "hope" is the desire of some good with the expectation of obtaining it; all saved have a hope for heaven and hope for the same happiness beyond the grave; there is no rivalry, for there is enough for all; not like people on earth,

    ‑one hopes for pleasure,

    ‑one hopes for gain,

    ‑one hopes for honor,

    ‑two men hope for the same office,

    ‑two men hope for the same hand in marriage;  there is no unity in that, but the saints have one hope and we are to endeavor to keep it; some try to destroy it, but we are to guard it.

 

V. 5

1. "One Lord" = the Lord Jesus Christ, and none other; in Paul's day nearly every cult or religion had its own lord; "one Lord" = not one for the rich and another for the poor; not one for the white and one for the black, one Lord‑‑one Saviour‑‑one Redeemer (John 14:6); why should contention rise between the redeemed if there is just one Lord‑‑many false Christ's but one Lord. (I Tim. 6:15)

2. "One faith" = refers to the principle of faith by means of which all men come to salvation; that is faith in His blood (Rom. 3:25); no other object of faith will get the job done‑‑not baptism, good works, or saying a prayer.

A. One faith involves intellectual faith, seeking faith, and saving faith‑‑all are necessary for one to be saved. (Rom. 4:12)

B. One faith and that is imparted by God Himself.  This also can be applied to "that body of revealed truth revealed once to believers" (Jude 3) = means all saints hold to the same great doctrines‑‑that which Jude says to contend for (Jude 3); keep the unity.

3. "One baptism" = word was not translated, just transliterated; many disagree on this as to what it means; Mat. 3:11 speaks of three‑‑one with water, one with the Holy Ghost, and one with fire, which Jesus spoke of as baptism of suffering Mat. 20:22‑23; which of the three is He speaking of in our text?‑‑the one baptism without which the others would not be possible and that is the baptism into the body of Christ, a forming body (I Cor. 12:13; Rom. 6:3‑4)

A. The word "baptism" means to place into; when referring to water baptism, it means to make fully wet‑‑immersion.

B. In response to the exercise of saving faith, we are placed into the body in building by the Holy Ghost.

C. Application: water baptism places you into the local, visible  body‑‑the church.

D. Water baptism and the local Church are true types of Holy Ghost baptism and the church of the firstborn in heaven. (Heb. 12:23)

4. Endeavor to keep the unity.

 

V. 6

1. "One God and Father" = these terms go together and are one in the same; not many gods as man's idols suggest; not many fathers as some denominations have‑‑one God and Father.

2. "Of all" = this is not referring to the universal fatherhood of God as some teach, but it is written to the saints, therefore one God and Father of all saints‑‑common to all the saved, rich or poor, bond or free, learned or unlearned, no respecter of persons.

3. Note: three things about the one God and Father:

A. "Above all" = sovereign; He is supreme, He presides over all things; superior to the saints.

B. "Through all" = sustainer, but uses human instruments (Phil 2:12‑13); He works through His saints.

C. "In you all" = energizer; gives energy for all that happens; the saints are His temple. (I Cor. 6:19‑20)

4. The argument here is that as the same God dwelt in every heart (saved), they ought to be as one. (John 17:20‑21)

5. Endeavor to keep the unity given to us.  The lost have to count the cost.  The Lord does not need any more false advertisement‑‑there is enough already.  It grieves the heart of God when brethren fail to dwell together in the bond of peace endeavoring to keep the unity.

6. There should be no division among Bible believing Christians and if the Holy Spirit has His way, there will be no division.  And if there is division, it is not of God.

 

        2. The gifts of Christ. V. 7‑12

            1) Enabling grace to all saints for service. V. 7

V. 7

1. Paul now turns from the body as a whole to each individual who make up the body.

2. "Every one of us" = refers to the saints in Him‑‑in Christ.

3. "Is given" = to bestow a gift; the tense is point action past time‑‑given the moment when saved.

4. "Grace" = an undeserving favor:

A. Not justifying grace because already saved.

B. Not sanctifying grace or grace for daily living.

C. But grace that has to do with the exercise of each one's special gifts for service.

D. Grace in the form of enabling and empowering of the Holy Spirit to fulfill each one's ministry.

5. "According to the measure of the gift of Christ" = means:

A. That each gets the grace which Christ has to give and each gets it in the proportion which the Giver is pleased to bestow it.

B. One gets it in a larger measure and another in a smaller, but each get it from the same hand and with the same purpose. Example: the good ground‑‑some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. (Mat. 13:23)

C. This grace is adjusted to the kind of gift and the extent to which the Holy Spirit desires to use that gift in the saint's ministry.  He gives what you need to get the job done He wants you to do.

6. "Gift" = gratuity; a free gift with emphasis on its gratuitous character from Christ‑‑the Giver; this grace is limited by Him as He sees fit; grace for daily living is unlimited as far as God is concerned, but we limit ourselves in this grace when we fail to exercise faith that gives us access. (Rom. 5:2)

 

            2) Gifted men to local assemblies. V. 8‑12

V. 8-10

1. "Wherefore" = in view of the enabling grace of God given to all saints for service; Paul now turns to gifts which He gives to men.

2. "He saith" = refers to the psalmist David who penned down Psalm 68 by inspiration and Paul quotes verse 18 and applies it to Christ = second and third "he."

3. Before Christ could ascend up on high‑‑the third heaven‑‑He had to "fill all things" (verse 10b) therefore, verses 9‑10 are in parenthesis to explain verse 8, thus, I will deal with these three verses together.

4. "Fill = (verse 10) means to perform fully; complete; to do this He had to have:

A. "Descended into the lower parts of the earth" = this is not talking about His coming in incarnation as some say; note "into the earth" not upon the earth; this fulfilled (Mat. 12:40) and also kept His promise to the thief on the cross. (Luke 23:42‑43)

a. Paradise was Abraham's bosom at that time.

b. I Peter 3:18‑20 says He preached to the spirits in prison; "preached" is not the usual word for preaching the gospel; simply means to proclaim across the gulf to the crowd that went to hell in Noah's day; the door of the ark was open for seven days after Noah, his family, and the animals entered the ark; these people will have no excuse for the door was open and they would not enter‑‑like Mat. 23:37.

c. Jesus then turned to those in Abraham's bosom‑‑paradise‑‑Adam, Abel, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Job, Moses, Lazraus, the thief on the cross, and others saved in OT time and He proclaimed to them, "Children, ye are mine and after three days and nights we are getting out of here.  The reason you are here is that you believed in a supreme Sacrifice‑‑me‑‑the price has been paid and I am headed to the real Holy of Holies."

B. Resurrected. (John 20:15‑17) "Touch me not" = don't detain me; don't attach to me, to hold me on earth; I have a job to do.

C. "Ascended" = "the same" (verse 10), not another Jesus; "far above" = greatly higher; He ascended into the highest abode of bliss‑‑heaven where the Holy of Holies is and there He sprinkled His blood upon the mercy seat fulfilling (completing) all the types of OT.

D. "He led captivity captive" = (verse 8) this is a two‑fold application; the language is derived from a conqueror who not only made captives of his enemies but released the captives of the enemy and conducts both as a part of his triumphant procession; get the picture of a Roman general in his victory parade with his enemy in chains and the freed Romans from the enemy also in parade; both under his command.

a. Our Lord emptied paradise in the heart of the earth and led them out, but on the way He encountered the demons of hell. (Col. 2:15)

b. "Spoiled" = to wholly strip off from one's self that with which one is clothed; our Lord in going through the Kingdom of Satan in the air, was opposed by the demons who attempted to keep Him from completing the atonement by presenting Himself as the High Priest in heaven; but He stripped off and away from Himself, the demons who, in attempting to impede His progress, would cling to His Person.

c. "Make a shew of" = to make a display of; exhibit.

d. "Openly" = boldly.

e. "Triumphing" = to celebrate a triumph.

f. He led captivity captive‑‑both the OT saints and the demons were under His command.  He went through the demons in this atmospheric heaven carrying paradise with Him and placing it in the third heaven. (II Cor. 12:1‑4)

g. The souls of the saints are under the altar in the third heaven.  Spoken of in Rev. 6:9‑10 when seal #5 was opened.

h. He came back to earth for 40 days in His glorified body.

i. He then ascended up again to the third heaven in Acts 1:11.

j. Ten days later at Pentecost He sent the Holy Ghost to indwell and empower men He had gifted.

k. "Gave gifts to men" = the word "gifts" means the character of the gifts and refers to the gifted men mentioned in verse 11.

5. May we walk worthy of the calling wherewith we are called.

 

V. 11

1. "Gave" = refers to gifted men He gave to the church.

2. "He" = the Lord Jesus Christ; means He himself and no other.

3. Note "some" = not all; everyone‑‑all saints have the gift of grace (verse 7) but only those the Lord chose have been given these gifts; one must be careful for there are a lot of counterfeits around.

4. "Apostles" = speaks in a primary sense of the 12 apostles the Lord called and started His church with (proof text: I Cor. 12:28); to be an apostle they had to meet the qualification of Acts 1:21-22‑‑had to be a witness of Christ's resurrection; the Lord chose Paul and he met the qualification (I Cor. 15:8‑9); the English meaning of an apostle is a messenger or a person sent on a special mission; in the Bible sense of the word, there are no more apostles after Paul; even the early church had trouble believing Paul was an apostle; Jesus noted men were already trying to infiltrate the church in Rev. 2:2; there are no more apostles today.

5. "Prophets" = one who speaks for another; a foreteller; an inspired speaker; the word ordinarily is used to refer to someone who has been given a direct revelation, which he is to pass on to men; the OT had many and the early church had some; these too passed off the scene after the completion of the NT (I Cor. 13:9‑10); the only sense one can prophecy today is to forth‑tell what God has already done; Paul in dealing with tongues in I Cor. 14:6 used this word to forth‑tell‑‑testify.

6. "Evangelist" = a preacher of the gospel; one whose main activity was preaching and who was not particularly engaged in the government of the church; not much is known about this in the early church; in Acts 21:8 Philip was called one and the Lord chose him to leave a revival in progress and go to the one (eunuch) in a desert (Acts. 8); this gift may have involved going wherever and whenever God called and directed to preach the Gospel; this is what is called an itinerant preacher‑‑a circuit riding preacher of old times; Paul told Timothy to do the work of an evangelist in II Tim. 4:5; even though Timothy was a pastor, he must have been gifted in this area as well; not all preachers and pastors are gifted evangelist but some are.

7. "Pastors and teachers" = the Greek construction places these two gifts on one individual:

A. "Pastors" = shepherds; this is the only place this Greek word is translated pastor; overseer of God's flock‑‑local church.

B. "Teacher" = an instructor; one who communicates knowledge (shares what the Lord has revealed to him); one qualification of a pastor is "apt to teach." (I Tim. 3:1‑7)

C. The Lord is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11‑14) and the Chief Shepherd. (I Peter 2:25) Also He is our example. (Psa. 23:1‑6)

D. A pastor‑teacher should feed the saints on expository preaching, giving the rich food of the Word‑‑balanced food.  A child doesn't like what is good for him but wants a sugar stick. Most in church do not want a balanced meal of the Word but a sugar stick message.  T

he pastor‑teacher's preaching‑teaching will be different from an evangelist.  It will be repetition of bread, milk, and meat.

E. In Acts 20:28 Paul told the elders from Ephesus, which were pastors‑teachers to "feed the church"‑‑the flock God gave them to oversee.  "Feed" is the verb form of shepherd and that is what Jesus told Peter in John 21:16‑‑"Feed my sheep."  This involves the whole office of the shepherd, guiding, guarding, folding of the flock, fleecing, as well as leading it to nourishment.

F. Pastors‑teachers are to exercise the same watchfulness and care over the people God has entrusted them with as a shepherd does over his flock.

G. I Peter 5:1‑3 commands the shepherd to "feed the flock of God" and to be an "ensample (example) to the flock." How?

a. By life.

b. By leading.  There are waters and pastures that we have not yet discovered.  Therefore, I cannot lead you into them until I have discovered them.  That takes study. (II Tim. 2:15)

c. By preaching and teaching. (I Cor. 1:21)

d. By praying. (I Sam. 12:23; Acts 6:4)

e. What an awesome responsibility!

 

V. 12

1. "For" = introduces the purpose of these gifted men given to the church which is two‑fold.

2. "For the perfecting of the saints:"

A. "Perfecting" = complete furnishing; to equip for service; one cannot equip a mule for service whose will has never been broken; it is the same with many in our churches‑‑they will not allow gifted men to equip them for service because their will has never been broken; the root problem is that they have never been saved; only God can break a grown man's will; that is why Dads and Moms with God's help must break a child's will at an early age‑‑they are a type of God; this word implies maturing of the saints; these gifted men are to specialize in equipping the saints so that they may do:

B. "The work of the ministry" = unto the doing of service; this means for ministering work or Christian service; there is a lot of misconception concerning the work of the ministry:

a. Many think that is the Pastor's job‑‑that is what we hire him for.  He is to do his part, but so is every part of the body.

b. Every person has a ministry. (II Cor. 3:2)  When one is equipped for service, he will be a doer of the word and a doer of the work. (James 1:22, 25)

c. The problem in most churches is that we are trying to equip dead folks to do the work of the ministry.  Trying to revive those who have never been vived‑‑saved.

3. "For the edifying of the body of Christ" = similar to #1 because the body is made up of saints.

A. "Edifying" = building up; spiritual advancement; this refers to the body in building and the local assembly.

B. This is done by the individual saints growing in grace on the Word of God as it is lived and preached by gifted men.  This in turn causes others to be saved.  Salvation is of the Lord but the Holy Ghost used evidence to convict‑‑thus adding lively stones to the building. (Eph. 2:21‑22; I Peter 2:5)

 

V. 13

1. "Till" = as far as; unto; until; these gifted men should continue their ministry of fulfilling verse 12 until all saints come to their proper unity and maturity in faith and knowledge of Christ‑‑in other words there is no place of quitting; we don't need to retire, just re-fire.

2. "Come" = to arrive at; to attain to; speaks of arriving at a goal which is to be striven after‑‑the unity of faith and knowledge.

3. "Unity" = oneness; the closest word to this would be "one accord" which was the condition of the disciples in the upper room on Pentecost (Acts 1:14; 2:1) which resulted in 3000 being saved (Note: these disciples did not pray the power of God down; this was promised (Acts 1:4‑5)‑‑not many days hence; later they were in the same condition (Acts 5:12, 14) and multitudes were saved; therefore, the job is never complete, because there are always more saints that need to be equipped for service.

4. "The faith" = preceded by the definite article "the,"  thus referring to the whole body of revealed truth we have received (Jude 3); this means that men are to exercise the gifts that God has given them till all saints hold the same truths and have the same confidence in the Son of God.

5. "Knowledge" = full knowledge; precise and correct knowledge of the Son of God.

6. "Unto a perfect man" = "perfect" means mature; complete; full grown; refers to the individual believer; if not careful we expect too much of self and others when first saved; remember babies have dirty diapers, but that does not give them a license to sin.

7. "Unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" = this farther defines what Paul means by the mature saint; means to advance in faith and knowledge so as to become wholly like Him‑‑to set a goal (I John 2:1); that will not be completely reached in this life because we still have this robe of flesh; but one day it will be different. (I John 3:2)

 

V. 14

1. "We" = refers to the Ephesian saints to whom Paul was writing and he puts himself in that catalogue; refers to all the saints of every age.

2. "Be no more children" = the word for "children" used here is a word for infant, a little child that does not talk‑‑a babe; therefore, Paul says that we be no more children; yet Jesus said in Mat. 18:3‑4 we need to "become as little children;" this is not a contradiction; children are teachable, gentle, mild, and free from ambition, pride, and haughtiness; these characteristics are what we need to have as Christians or to be brought to these characteristics to be converted; also, children are changeable, trustworthy, unsuspecting, and are easily influenced by others and led astray; in these respects Paul exhorts the Ephesians to be no longer children but urges them to put on the characteristics of manhood spiritually.

3. "Tossed to and fro" = a nautical term meaning to be tossed by the waves or to be agitated spiritually and mentally like the waves of the sea; this is a picture of spiritual instability of character and purpose.

4. "Carried about" = to carry around; word has the idea of being carried about in circles.

5. "With every wind of doctrine" = teachings; the different teachings of religious quacks represented as winds, blowing the unstable soul in every direction; we should carefully examine what is truth and when we find it, adhere to it, not tradition; (Example: Bro. Shipman had a woman that told him she did not believe what he did about salvation, but when challenged, she could not show him from the Bible what she believed); this means we are not to yield to every doctrine that some new teacher comes along with‑‑don't be a chameleon (Pro. 24:21); we should be open to argument and willing to follow the truth wherever it will lead us, and if we find out what we have believed is error, we need to be like Paul and junk error for truth.

6. "Sleight" = fraud; gambling; dice‑playing; refers to the cunning skill and trickery of men; denotes one forming his religious opinions by the throw of the dice, or opening the Bible to a verse and take it at face value without knowing the context.

7. "Cunning craftiness" = trickery; refers to a deliberate planning or system to deceive‑‑to cause to go in error.

8. "Lie in wait" = trickery; refers to a deliberate planning or system to "deceive" = to cause to go into error; a double warning is given in the last part of this verse; Satan and his ministers are waiting to tear down the church with their lies (II Cor. 11:14‑15)

9. Instability is a definite sign of immaturity.  Paul rebuked those of Corinth in I Cor. 3:1‑4 and also again in Heb. 5:11‑14. "Rebuke" means to lay blame on for the purpose of correcting, sharply and sternly with authority.  And in so doing it should cause them to examine whether they are really saved. (I Peter 2:2; Mat. 7:20; Gal. 5:22‑23a)  If saved, there will be fruit in some quantity‑‑the good ground all had fruit ‑ 30, 60, or 100 fold. (Mat. 13:23)

 

V. 15

1. "But" = introduces a contrast between following error and truth.

2. "Speaking the truth" = one word in the Greek; it is almost impossible to express it satisfactorily in English; a verb that has the widest sense of being true; not only speaking but being or walking in truth‑‑the Word of God (Acts 20:32); this is a worthy walk.

3. This is to be done "in love" = agape; God kind of love shed abroad in hearts of all saints (Rom. 5:5); also the fruit of the Spirit. (Gal. 5:22)

4. It is not speaking the truth at all hazards but in love‑‑conditioned by love.  Some say. "Well that is the truth." But is it spoken in love, with love as a motive, with loving caution and kind allowance, not breaking up brotherly love but cementing brotherly love by walking in truth?  What you do will not profit if not done in charity‑‑love in action. (I Cor. 13:1‑3)

5. "Growing up into him" = growing up unto Him; does not mean, that we are to grow into a resemblance to Him, or that our growth is to be according to His example‑‑even though we should in one sense of the word; means that He is the source from which the grace and power comes that makes it possible for us to grow; He is also the object and goal which our growth in its every stage must look and is to be directed.

6. "Which" = masculine pronoun = who.

7. "Head" = Paul uses the analogy of the human head and human body to illustrate the relations of the Lord Jesus (Christ‑‑the Messiah‑‑the Anointed One) as the head to His body, with each saint being a member of that body; He as the head is the source of growth and well being of each member; the church is a body and must have spiritual food and this food is the Word of God‑‑truth.

 

V. 16

1. "From whom" = Christ‑‑the source.

2. "The whole body" = refers to the church.

3. "Fitly joined together" = to join closely together; the tense refers to a process still going on.

4. "Compacted" = to unite or knit together; the tense also refers to a process going on.

5. The process in which individuals are being joined closely together and are growing together is brought about "by that which every joint supplieth" = through the intermediate agency of every joint of supply; the joints of supply are the bonds that bind the saints together and are the channels through which the source of supply of life from the head, Jesus Christ, is brought to each individual saint.

6. This process is "according to the effectual working in the measure of every part:"

A. "Effectual working" = working efficiency; speaks of power in exercise‑‑operative power.

B. "According" = this word speaks of control, domination.

C. "Measure" = determined extent; portion measured off.

D. "Every part" = every part of the body; refers to the saints.

E. To sum this up, every saint is gifted different and there is a controlled power in exercise, with an exact portion measured to each person that enables them to fulfill their fullest capability in the body.  There is enabling grace to fulfill his ministry. (verse 7) An eye is not an ear and etc.  The result is that there is a growth (increase) of the body which makes for itself a building up (edifying) in love.  Walk worthy.

7. Instability is a definite sign of immaturity.  But obedience to Christ and the ability to recognize religious charlatans are definite signs of Christian maturity.  And God has given enabling grace to do what He asks you to do.  Also He has given gifted men to equip the saints for service.  Therefore, there is no excuse for not walking worthy.

 

    B. The different Walk. V. 17‑32

1. The first part of this chapter deals with the believer's relationship to the church and now Paul deals with the believer's relationship to the world.

2. The believer is in Christ but he is also in the world where there is temptation and defilement.  The Bible, both OT and NT, emphasize that God's people are to be different from the world.

 

 

        1. Description of the Gentile walk. V. 17‑19

V. 17

1. "This I say" = refers to what Paul is about to say in these verses.

2. "Therefore" = in view of the facts of what he had just stated:

    A. God gave gifts to men.

    B. He gave gifted men to the church.

    C. For the purpose of perfecting the saints.

    D. And for the edifying of the body.

3. "And testify in the Lord" = used of a solemn declaration as made by Christ Himself; beseech as in God's name.

4. "Ye" = the saints of Ephesus to whom Paul the human instrument was writing; refers to all saints in any age.

5. "Henceforth" = no longer; from the time you were saved.

6. "Walk" = to live; to regulate one's life; to conduct one's self; to order one's behavior.

7. "Not" = negative; Paul starts with the negative‑‑do not walk the way the unsaved (other) Gentiles do; this walk is described in Eph. 2:2 and further described here as "in the vanity of their minds:"

A. "Vanity" = that which is in vain; aimless; result-less; futile; in context it implies perverseness of depravity.

B. "Mind" = not merely the intellectual faculty or understanding, but also the faculty for recognizing moral good and spiritual truth.

 

V. 18

1. "Having the understanding darkened" = "darkened" means to blind the mind; the tense in the Greek is perfect, which speaks of a process completed in past time having present results; this tense shows the finished and permanent result of the blinding of the mind by sin (II Cor. 4:3‑4); they believed lies and have never received truth.

2. "Alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them:"

A. "Alienated" = to be estranged; to shut out from one's fellowship and intimacy.

B. "Life of God" = refers to the life that God has in Himself and that which He imparts to the believing sinner. (Eph. 2:12)

C. "Through" = a preposition denoting the channel of the act.

D. "Ignorance" = not a term merely of intellect; denotes an ignorance of divine things; a lack of knowledge that is inexcusable and involves moral blindness.

E. It is not simply "their" ignorance; but an ignorance "that is in them" = their alienation had its cause, not in something external, but in themselves.

3. Their being alienated was due to "blindness of their heart" = "blindness" means hardness; to cover with a callous; used of mental or moral hardening.

 

V. 19

1. "Who" = "themselves" = refers to the lost (other) Gentiles.

2. "Being past feeling" = to cease to feel pain or grief; to become callous; insensible to pain; apathetic‑‑void of feeling; this calloused condition prevented them from experiencing any moral consciousness; just as thick callouses prevent people from feeling physical pain, willful, rebellion against the work of the conscience eventually makes the conscience completely ineffective; you can stick pins in callouses because there is no feeling and there is no pricking in one's heart that has become calloused.

3. Being past feeling resulted in "giving themselves over unto lasciviousness:"

A. "Given over" = one word in the Greek; to let self have its own way and do its own thing; having free reign; reminds me of Rom. 1:18‑32 where it shows man being indifferent to the light he has been given; that leads to ingratitude; which leads to ignorance; and in turn leads to idolatry; and finally to immortality as God gave them up and over to uncleanness, vile affections, and reprobate minds; I call this the "Road to Ruin;" He ceased to restrain them and allowed them to act out the desires of their hearts‑‑that is what this refers to‑‑given over.

B. "Lasciviousness" = wantonness; promiscuous; lewd; one who is loose in his morals; refers to a totally undisciplined person; one who acknowledges no restraints; going deeper and deeper in sin because it never satisfies.

4. This caused them "to work all uncleanness with greediness:"

A. "Work" = occupation; wholly occupied with.

B. "Uncleanness" = impurity; moral uncleanness in the widest sense.

C. "Greediness" = covetousness; seeking to grasp the things it has not; describes the condition or frame of mind in which they worked the uncleanness.

 

 

2. Putting off the old and putting on the new.

        V. 20‑24

V. 20

1. "But" = in contrast to the way the lost walked.

2. "Ye" = saints; the saved.

3. "Have not so" = not in the manner of the lost Gentiles.

4. "Learned" = know; know intimately; the tense is point action and refers to their conversion‑‑salvation experience.

5. In other words, those things mentioned in verses 17‑19 did not come from knowing Christ as Lord and Saviour.

 

V. 21

1. "If so be" = this is not a hypothetical case as it would be in English; this is a first class conditional phrase in the Greek‑‑a statement of fact; means "if, as is the case‑‑you have heard" or "since you have heard;" they had heard and had "been taught by him" = "by Him" means in Him; therefore being in Him‑‑saved‑‑they had been taught (I John 2:27); this language could also cause those who professed to be saved to examine if they really were saved. (II Cor. 13:5)

2. When one is saved, he is taught inwardly and effectually by His Spirit‑‑the Holy Spirit. (Titus 2:11‑13; John 16:13)

3. "As truth is in Jesus" = all truth is in the Lord Jesus for He is truth (John 14:6); He is the word (John 1:1, 14); also the word is truth. (John 17:17)

 

V. 22

1. "Ye" = the saints; the saved.

2. "Put off" = one word in the Greek; means to lay off and aside; the tense is point action; Rom. 6:6 teaches us that the old man has been crucified and buried never to rise again because the tense in the Greek is perfect which means action completed past time with existing results.

3. When Lazarus came forth from the grave, Jesus said "Loose him, and let him go"‑‑the grave clothes had to be taken off and new clothes put on.  When we are saved, the "grave clothes" = of our old life must be "put off" and the "grace clothes" of the new life must be "put on" (verse 24; II Cor. 5:17)

4. "Concerning" = pertaining to; regarding.

5. "Conversation" = manner of living; behavior; it speaks of "former" = meaning what we were. (Eph. 2:1‑3, 12; 4:17‑19)

6. "The old man" = refers to the unsaved person dominated by the totally depraved nature.

7. "Which is corrupt" = being corrupted; the tense speaks of the progressive condition of corruption which is characterized in the old man.

8. The unsaved person is subject to a continuous process of corruption which grows worse as time goes on.

9. This process of corruption is "according to deceitful lusts" = evil cravings and unlawful longing for that which is forbidden‑‑unbridled desires.

10. Also this process of corruption can cause you to believe voices that are not true and are not of God.  Such as:

‑Do not listen to the preacher. You have plenty of time. Just eat, drink, and be merry‑‑you will be okay; ok

-That is just the devil making you doubt.

11. Put off the old man!

 

 

V. 23

1. "Be renewed" = to be refreshed; revived; renovated; to change from natural enmity to the love of God and His law; the Greek construction reveals a continuous day by day process‑‑habitual lifestyle; God can only accomplish this work in believers who yield to the Holy Spirit.

2. "In the spirit of your mind" = inwardly not outwardly, yet what is inside shows on the outside (Mat. 23:25‑26); this renewal can only be accomplished by the Holy Ghost. (Titus 3:5; II Cor. 4:16; Rom. 12:2)

 

 V. 24

1. "Ye" = the saints of God at Ephesus in context because that is who Paul is writing to; this is the preserved word of Word therefore it applies to all saints in any age.

2. "Put on" = have put on; the tense in the Greek is point action‑‑at the point of salvation one puts on the new man‑‑done by a completed work of Holy Ghost conviction which brings salvation.

3. "New man" = refers to the saved person dominated by the divine nature.

4. "New" = new in quality as opposed to the old in the sense of outworn, marred through time, which is the old man.

5. "After God" = according to what God is in Himself; that is created after the pattern of what God is‑‑"righteousness and true holiness."

6. "Righteousness" = God's uprightness.

7. "True holiness" = holiness of the truth‑‑rightness of attitude and character brought forth by truth as opposed to lust being brought forth by deceit (verse 22); new creature (II Cor. 5:17); to escape corruption. (verse 22; II Peter 1:4)

8. Put off and put on‑‑point action, occurring at salvation.

9. Renewed‑‑being renewed‑‑continuous action.

 

        3. Practical application. (V. 25‑32)

V. 25

1. "Wherefore" = in view of what has just been said concerning what God has done and one's standing in Christ.

2. Paul list some sins to put off.

 

            a. Sins of action. V.25-29

3. "Lying" = falsehood; the Greek says, "having put off the lie" = the tense reveals a once for all action‑‑at salvation; having put off the old man they put off the habit of lying which was part of that old man.

A. The old man is dead if saved‑‑crucified. (Gal. 2:20) The tense is perfect which means a past completed action with existing results.

B. Also the flesh is very much alive and has to be dealt with continuously. (Rom. 8:13)  Paul had to (I Cor. 9:27) and it was continuous day by day.

4. Paul gave the negative and now he gives the positive:

A. "Speak truth" = means to tell, teach, and profess the truth‑‑exact accordance with that which was, or has been, or shall be; the tense is continuous action, habitual lifestyle.

B. "Every man" = "his" =  the saints at Ephesus; applies to all the saved.

C. "With his neighbour" = any other individual irrespective of nation or religion with whom we live or whom we chance to meet‑‑even those who have done you wrong‑‑the reason "we are members of another." (Rom. 12:5)

D. A lawyer asked Jesus. (Luke 10:29, 36‑37)

E. Speaking truth involves more than just words.  If we hide some defect of an article we trade‑‑falsehood. Misrepresent something knowingly‑‑falsehood.  If we have someone to say we are not home when we are‑‑falsehood. If we call in sick when we are not‑‑falsehood.  If we convey a false impression by the introduction or the suppression of circumstances that are important to the right understanding of an account‑‑falsehood.  If we circulate flying rumors as truth without investigating‑‑falsehood.  If in the habit of making promises and breaking them‑‑falsehood.

F. Speak truth and practice truth‑‑this applies to easy believism.  If you practice naturally this sin without God dealing with you‑‑there has never been a time and place where you put off the old and put away lying‑‑not saved. (I John 3:9)

G. How can we indulge in lies after saved? Satan is the father of lies. (John 8:44) His spirit tells lies. (I John 2:21‑22)  One day the whole unsaved world will believe the lie. (II Thess. 2:9‑11)

5. Christ is the Head and the members belong one to another and each serves the other; therefore, there must be truth and not lying.

 

V. 26

1. "Ye" = refers to the saved of all ages.

2. "Angry" = there are three Greek words for anger:

A. "Thumas" = speaks of a turbulent commotion; the boiling agitation of the feelings; passion; anger boiling up and soon subsiding; this is forbidden in Eph. 4:31.

B. "Orge" = an anger which is abiding and settled habit of mind that is aroused under certain conditions; the verb form of this word is translated "be angry."

C. "Parorgismos" = translated "wrath" in this verse; it refers to anger that is accompanied by irritation, exasperation, embitterment‑‑displays itself as a rage; this kind of anger is also forbidden.

3. Notice orge is not forbidden, in fact it says "be angry" = refers to righteous indignation; an anger that is an abiding and settled habit of mind that is aroused under certain conditions; Jesus is an example of this. (Mark 3:5, John 2:13‑16; Mat. 21:12‑13)

4. "Be ye angry" = the tense is a command of continuous action; in other words, there is a commanded and settled attitude of righteous indignation against sin and sinful things, together with the appropriate actions when conditions make them necessary; this is guided by reason.

5. "Sin not" = an exhortation is provided as a check and restraint; the tense is a command to stop something going on; be angry at sin and the devil but not the person. (Eph. 6:12)

6. The term "righteous indignation" has been much abused and even a righteous anger by over indulgence may escalate into sin‑‑"wrath" = bitterness and rage that springs from anger; this kind is always wrong.

7. Therefore, the admonition:"let not the sun go down upon your wrath" = a command forbidding the continuance of an action already going on; if a person becomes angry for whatever reason, legitimate or otherwise‑‑whatever triggered the anger should be settled before the day is past, before night falls; this is a way of saying it should be taken care of immediately.

8. This verse relates to the proper use of anger which results from yielding to the Holy Spirit and to the improper use of anger which results from yielding to the Adam nature.  It says be angry and do not sin.

 

V. 27

1. "Neither give place" = a command to stop an action going on.

2. "Place" = used in the sense of opportunity, power, occasion for acting.

3. "Devil" = slanderer; false accuser; as personal a being as Abraham or God; Satan; the fallen archangel Lucifer. (Isa. 14:12-15)

4. Paul is saying, "stop giving opportunity to the devil by lying and having the wrong kind of anger." (II Cor. 2:10‑11)

5. An improper use of anger is one of the Devil's greatest tools to hinder God's people.

 

V. 28 

1. "Let him that stole steal no more" = the Greek has it "the one who is stealing, let him no longer be stealing;" the Greek is a command forbidding an action going on.

A. You may say how could they steal if they were saved? They had the background of a heathen where stealing was a way of life.  The way of life is hard to let go.  Our upbringing affects us after we are saved.  When first saved, one is a babe in Christ and there are some things they are ignorant about.  Also there were some in Ephesus that were just "professors" and not "possessors." 

B. Taking that which belongs to another is not right, whether it be money from the bank, tools from the workplace, time on the job, jewelry, and etc. or even food. (Pro. 6:30)

C. Keeping for yourself that you have been entrusted with which belongs to another is stealing and it is not right.  Even your body is the Lord's and how you use it, what you put in it, if it is not God's will is stealing. (Rom. 12:1; I John 2:15) Your time, talent, and tithe belongs to the Lord and to rob God of His tithes is stealing and the Hebrew word for "rob" is "embezzle"--keeping for yourself that you have been entrusted with which belongs to God. (Mal. 3:8‑10)  A tithe is 10% of the increase.  You can not withhold when saved, for if you do, the Lord will chasten; if you continue He will carry you home early. (I John 3:9; 5:16)

2. Paul offers a correction to stealing, "Let him labour" = a command of continuous action; the unsaved thief used to steal to please himself; now that he is saved, he should work to provide for himself and his family and "have to give to him that needeth." ( I Thess. 4:11; II Thess. 3:10; I Tim. 5:8)

3. "Labour" = "working with his hands:"

A. Some say I cannot find a job. You may not making $15 an hour. but what about $8 an hour.  Say that is not enough to live on.  We need to learn the principle in the book of Ruth‑‑if you won't take the handfuls, you will never get the grainery.

B. When a person labors, he will rest better at night for his conscience will not plague him with guilt.  Also instead of having needs that causes him to steal, he now has sufficient and even more to satisfy his needs, (didn't say want) so that he can give to those who have need. This is the wonderful change grace makes in the heart of a man.  This principle can even apply to a lost man seeking the Lord. (Mat. 23:23)

 

V. 29

1. "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth" = this again is a command forbidding an action going on.

2. "Corrupt" = rotten; worn out; unfit for use; worthless; bad; denotes anything that is obscene, offensive, or that tends to corrupt others.

3. "Communication" = word; something said including the thought; corruption from the lips comes from a heart that is not right (Mat. 12:34); if it happens, that person either has never escaped corruption (inside) (II Peter 1:4) but just pollution (outside) (II Peter 2:19‑21) or allowed flesh to control; peer pressure at work, where one is subjected to ungodly language should not cause a child of God to follow suit and will not cause continuous action‑‑day after day‑‑lifestyle without conviction and chastisement. (I John 3:9)

4. Note the positive: speak "that which is good" = useful; let good communication proceed out of your mouth that it may "edify" = build up; instruct; counsel; comfort; and promote purity; refers to "edifying" the hearer and also "minister grace."

5. "Minister" = to attend and serve.

6. "Grace" = undeserved spiritual blessings and benefits that will strengthen the hearer; he who talks for the mere sake of talking will say many foolish things; but he whose aim in life is to benefit others will not be likely to say that which he will have occasion to regret. (Eccl. 5:2; Pro. 10:19)

 

b. Sin's aftermath. V. 30‑‑conclusion‑‑end results.

V. 30

1. "Grieve" = to afflict with sorrow; to hurt deeply, negated by "not;" again this is a command to stop an action already going on.

2. "The holy Spirit of God" = the third part of the Godhead; sin grieves or hurts deeply the Holy Spirit, thus indicating that He is a person who has feeling and not just a force.

3. "Whereby" = in whom speaking of the Spirit of God who is our seal (Eph. 1:13‑14; II Cor. 1:22); He is our guarantee that our redemption will be complete; this seal will be in place until the "day of redemption" = refers to completed salvation which is glorification‑‑saved from the presence of sin bodily‑‑day of the rapture.

4. "Ye" = the saints of Ephesus to whom Paul was writing; refers to all the saved in every age.

 

c. Sins of Attitude. V. 31‑32‑‑sins of mind and spirit‑‑resulting in actions.

V. 31

1. "Let all be put away" = Paul commands this to be done; the tense is point action‑‑put away once for all; there is no indication these sins were being committed, yet there is also no indication they weren't.

2. Whatever the case "put (them) away from you" = to carry off; to take up and away.

3. "You" = the saints at Ephesus to whom Paul was writing; refers to all saints in every age.

4. "All" = all manner of.

5. "Bitterness" = extremely poisonous; injurious; resentfulness; harshness; warning given in Heb. 12:15‑‑trouble you but defile many‑‑those in family, wife or husband, children and all you come in contact with; if you have a root of bitterness, it must be dealt with‑‑put it away.

6. "Wrath" = different word from verse 26; means a violent outbreak of anger; anger inside coming to the place where it can't be contained‑‑boiling up and soon subsiding; opposite of the fruit of the Spirit and II Peter 1:5‑8‑‑put it away.

7. "Anger" = same basic word as verse 26 where Paul commanded us to have it; but here it is forbidden because it is viewed on the side of human passion and not reason‑‑put it away.

8. "Clamour" = the outcry of passion; the outward manifestation of anger in loud speaking, crying, or brawling‑‑put it away.

9. "Evil speaking" = slanderous and injurious speaking; back biting; tale bearing; reproaches; blasphemy‑‑put it away.

10. "Malice" = wickedness; evil; refers to every kind and sort of evil, even though not named here‑‑put it away.

 

V. 32

1. "Be" = to become; the Greek is a command to keep on becoming; the idea expressed is that of abandoning one's attitude completely.

2. "Ye" = the saints in Ephesus to whom Paul was writing; refers to all saints in every age.

3. Living the Christian life is not just observing a list of don'ts, it is cultivating positive attitudes‑‑keep on becoming.

4. "Kind to one another" = "kind" means benevolent; gracious, as opposed to harsh, hard, bitter, and sharp; the fruit of the Spirit listed as gentleness, goodness, and meekness.

5. "Tenderhearted" = compassionate; our Lord is our example. (Mat. 9:36; 14:14; Mark 1:41; 6:34)

6. "Forgiving one another" = to do a favor to; do something agreeable or pleasant to one; to show oneself gracious and benevolent; to forgive in the sense of treating the offending party graciously; the tense is continuous action‑‑keep on forgiving (Mat. 18:21‑22); even if they don't ask, still forgive; we are only able to do this because of our position‑‑in Christ‑‑for Christ's sake.

7. "Even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" = God forgave us "in Christ" therefore, we can forgive others; we have a motive to forgive (Mat. 6:14‑15); if we want forgiveness from God, we must forgive others; the opposite of this is holding grudges, which if one continuously practices reveals they are not positioned in Christ‑‑not saved.

8. "Put away" and "be."

9. The different walk.