Ephesians (Program #45) – Living in Love and Light

Human beings are very good imitators.  We all tend to copy the behavior of the others that we esteem highly. We teach our children to imitate. And even society as a whole is all the time encouraging positive role models.

The apostle Paul tells us that we should imitate his pattern. But he goes further in Ephesians 5 where he commands us not just to imitate him or even other apostles but to imitate God. Ephesians 5:1 “Be therefore imitators of God.”

Well, much as we may want to as mortal man we simply cannot do it. Even as Christians is beyond our reach. But there must be a way or else the word of God would not command us to do it. The key lays in the second half of the verse. Listen carefully, “…Be therefore imitators of God, as beloved children.”

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Ephesians (Program #44) – A Summary of Learning Christ

The Gospel of John begins in a marvelous way with God Himself been incarnated as the man, Jesus Christ.  1:14 “And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality.”

In Ephesians, Paul also refers to Grace and Truth, only with the order reversed, exhorting us to learn Christ as the truth is in Jesus and then bringing us to the reality of the details of the life we’re learning through grace.

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Ephesians (Program #43) – A Living that Does not Grieve the Holy Spirit of God

The Gospel of John promises that the Holy Spirit would come and would abide in us forever, never to leave and all genuine believers should live with and in this assurance. But though He never leaves us, it is possible for us to grieve Him. And the apostle Paul admonishes us not to do so in Ephesians 4. Listen “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed unto the day of redemption.”  If we do grieve Him, we loose His presence, the satisfaction and enjoyment that only He can bring. These are the manifestation of grace. But more than loosing these, we loose the capacity for living a life that expresses Him.  Learning to live Christ by not grieving the Spirit is our focus today.

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Ephesians (Program #42) – Learning Christ as the Truth is in Jesus

Chapter 4 of the book of Ephesians begins with a strong exaltation by the apostle Paul regarding our walk. “I beseech you therefore, I, the prisoner in the Lord, to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called.”

In the verses that follow verse 1, he goes on to develop just what this walk details.  Finally in verse 17, he contrast our walk of that of the unbelievers. “This therefore I say and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the Gentiles also walk in the vanity of their mind.”  And then verse 20, After detailing the darken condition of the mind of the unbelieving world, he added this marvelous exclamation,  “But you did not so 1alearn Christ.”  Notice he does not say, you did not so learn about Christ.  What is it to learn Christ?

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Ephesians (Program #41) – The Growth of the Members for the Building Up of the Body

There is a well known verse in Ephesians Chapter 4 that has troubled Bible translators for years. The King James Version and most modern Version, such as the NIV, the New American Standard, says something like in verse 15 “But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all things into Him, Who is the Head, Christ.”  Though this certainly is not a wrong translation, it only conveys part of the actual meaning of the verse. Other versions like Darby’s and the Recovery Version use another phrase, “But holding to truth in love..”

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Ephesians (Program #40) – Babyishness and the Winds of Teaching

In Ephesians Chapter 4, the apostle Paul speaks of three things that we are to arrive at.  First, is that we, the believers in Christ arrive at the oneness of the faith. Then number two, we arrive at the full knowledge of the Son of God. And finally we arrive at a full-grown man. Compares this now to verse 14, the very next verse, which says,  verse 14 “That we may be no longer little children tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching in the sleight of men, in craftiness with a view to a system of error.”  A big contrast, little children or babes, as some version render it or a full grown man brought to the full knowledge of the Son of God.

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Ephesians (Program #39) – Arriving at Three Things

Oneness is a critical matter in the book of Ephesians. This book which has the Church as the Body of Christ as its’ subject stressed oneness in a number of places. In Chapter 4 we’re told in verse 3, to be diligently to keep the oneness of the Spirit then in verse 13, we have a marvelous expression concerning oneness. “Until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of  the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

Yes, our oneness surely is the oneness of the Spirit but we must not overlook the destination of our oneness, a three fold destination.

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Ephesians (Program #38) – The Way to be Perfected

When Christ ascended to the heaven after His resurrection, He brought with Him a train of former captives and presented them to God the Father. Then receiving them back from the Father, He gives them again, this time to His Body, the Church as specific gifts for them to do a particular work.

Listen to Ephesians 4:8 “… Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive and gave gifts to men.’  verse 11 “And He Himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers.”

As we look at the gifts given to men and their proper function according to Ephesians 4.

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Ephesians (Program #37) – The Gifts Perfecting the Saints

There is a wonderful passage in the 68th Psalms that says : when Christ ascended to the Father after His resurrection, He took with Him an offering of all the redeemed sinners, those that had previously been held captives to sins, Satan even death. These redeemed ones were His offering to the Father

Listen to Psalms 68:18 “You have ascended on high; You have led captive those taken captive; You have received gifts among men, Even the rebellious ones also, That Jehovah God may dwell among them.”

The apostle Paul quoted from this verse in Ephesians 4, but he adds to it, making clear that the Son has now given these ones back to the Body, the Church, even to mankind as gifts.  The gifts that Christ had given to His Body that is our topic today.

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Ephesians (Program #36) – The Base of Our Oneness

In Chapter 4 of Ephesians there is a strong word by the apostle Paul regarding the oneness of the Body of Christ and how we as Christians need to keep this oneness diligently.  Verse 3 “Being diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace:”

But Paul does not then leave it to our imagination as to what this oneness actually means or how we are to keep it. Because he go on to say 3:4-6 “One Body and one Spirit, even as also you were called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism;  One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.“

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