Ephesians 4:4-6, Guess What!

“There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.“

Eph. 4:4-6

One. That’s all there is. One.

One…

• Body, our connection to each other
• Spirit, God’s that ignites us
• Hope, confidence in His work
• Lord, King, and Master of those He had delivered
• Faith, our common commitment
• Baptism, a sign of repentance and faith, is the entry point
• God, the awesome Father who now walks with each of us

These three verses contain seven references to all that is common to everyone who believes in Jesus. No matter what we believe in, each is universal and shared.

And actually, to minimize any one of these destroys everything.

You must believe me, and trust the Word. We’ve entered into something common. Each of the seven belongs to our singular faith. To set any one of these aside disturbs our connection with our Father and separates us from our brother.

When I step inside any Church, I can’t really rest until I see the seven.

We’ve been knitted together by the Holy Spirit. Paul emphasizes our oneness, he declares the community of our faith. We dare not place anything (denomination, doctrine, or “name”) above what the Holy Spirit intends. I don’t belong to the “First Baptist Church” or the “Third Koinonia Praise Fellowship”–I belong to Jesus’ Church–and every believer is my brother and sister.

The Holy Spirit never calls believers to become one; simply, we must grasp that we’re already one and need to behave like we’re one.

“One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.“

One Father! “Over, through, and in.” If we could only see this it will alter our thinking. To grasp this we would see our walls fall flat and we would reach out and finally walk with our brother and sister hand-in-hand.

Oh how that would please our Father!

3:17-19, His Love for You –Fully Amplified

“And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love, ¹⁸ be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love]; ¹⁹ and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].”

Ephesians 3:17-19, Amplified Version

This passage is the crown jewel of the believer. It sparkles and shines. It carries a radiance that touches each person that accepts its truth.

“And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love, ¹⁸ be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love];“

The amazing thing about this its spiritual accessibitiy. Paul is explaining what’s true and what’s now available to the faithful. “Fully capable of comprehending” shouts out the reality, declares the availability of our place in love (agape).

Is His love for us simply too good to be true?

“The width and length and height and depth of His love.”

There’s a spiritual dimension here–it’s not vague–it’s not mystical, rather it’s solid with measurable distances. Now I’ll have to insist that this love is truly profound. It’s a love that goes on and on, far beyond our ability to “map.” Eternity isn’t enough time to explore it. It’ll take forever to grasp.

“And [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience],“

Paul insists that God’s outrageous love is now knowable to each of us. The idea of this verse is “practical” not ethereal. It’s not a vague concept–it’s not nebulous. We just haven’t experienced it in it’s real sense. Yes, it “surpasses” anything we’ve experienced, but it is knowable nevertheless. We will see it and handle it.

And that love has incredible dimensions.

“That you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].”

The empty jar gets filled up. The awesome presence of God is poured into the believing Christian. The Father doesn’t stint or measure out His presence. He pours and pours and pours to overflowing. The God who is omnipotent and eternal has decided that He’s going to do this.

Is it any wonder why we esteem the blood of Christ and His great sacrifice for us? The “door” is now open, we can each enter the holy.

3:15-17, He’s Inside You, Right Now!

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶ that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,.”

Prayer does what preaching can’t. Some need a reminder. This idea of being “rooted and grounded in love” is crucial to growing up Christians. And it most often happens when the preacher is driven to his knees by a sticky situation.

Teaching has certain limitations, but prayer drives discipleship home.

You must settle on this spiritual fact, only a disciple can make a disciple. Too many preachers are developing believers who don’t understand a prayer life. They end up using the pulpit (and the worship) as their sole ‘means of support.’ I can guess you can see how tragic this becomes.

A prayer meeting is almost unheard of lately. The focus has shifted I suppose, but I still believe that there are still small groups of Christians who believe that both doctrine and prayer are God’s way of growing us up into His image.

Strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 

Prayer is Paul’s way of building up the Ephesian church. In my personal opinion, he was locked up in a Roman prison for a couple of good reasons–the first is that he would discover he could disciple at a distance. Paul seems to understand this, and he rediscovers the way of intercession.

Prayer for Paul becomes a tool of considerable force.

Ephesians 3 papyrus from c. 275 A.D.

from wikipedia.org

The “inner being” is what he’s aiming at, and it’s Paul’s way of touching the heart of anyone the Holy Spirit is dealing with. Mr. Dry Eyes will never reach the hearts that the Father is working in. Rather it is tears, not impeccable logic or great theology that completes the work.

The walk of a true disciple is always inside first, never the outside.

So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

The immense power is Jesus living inside us. Faith is God’s own key that He gives. Love is our root; it helps us grow. It gives us stability which is critical living in a confused and fallen world.

“The church that is not jealously protected by mighty intercession and sacrificial labors will before long become the abode of every evil bird and the hiding place for unsuspected corruption. The creeping wilderness will soon take over that church that trusts in its own strength and forgets to watch and pray.”

   A.W. Tozer

ephesians101.com

3:6-7, Everyone is Equal in God’s Eyes

“And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.”

⁷ “By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.”

Equality is defined as “being the same in quantity, size, degree, or value.” Paul uses this to explain God’s plan for the Church. It means there are no second-class citizens in the Kingdom of God. Everyone shares everything God gives, everyone is equal and can receive that wonderful grace. Jews and Gentiles are now ‘one and the same.’

Can you understand exactly how radical this idea is?

“And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children.“

This is a revolutionary idea, never advanced by anyone else but by Paul. We have no idea living in the 21st century of the tension that existed in the 1st. But Paul presses this idea–God insists that everyone is the same. The Jews have no right to insist on a superior place in the Lord’s plan–this is nothing more than ‘crazy talk.’

Both the Jews and those pesky Gentiles are sharing God’s grace–there’s a spiritual pile of gold, diamonds, and rubies enough for everyone. Sure this is spiritual, but each group can freely take all that they need. And I for one suck at grace–desperately. But when I cry out to Him for mercy, God invites me to come.

But the real issue is ‘believing.’

“Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.”

Jesus is our ultimate superior in everything. The obvious issue is one of ‘believing’ in Him. Both Jews and Gentiles can now relish the ‘promise of blessings’ that Jesus Christ now gives. Both groups share the advantage of being His favorites.

‘Belonging’ is now our calling. Wow!

To belong means an attachment to something or someone. We’re a people who are now Jesus’ possession. We’re His, and He has fastened us to Himself–we now belong to Jesus. I suppose this is now an incredible blessing, especially to the discouraged, the defeated, and the depressed.

“By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.”

This is the powerful scope and privilege of Paul’s ministry. He’s a mere servant and he understands that He must communicate the Gospel. Paul understands his ‘privilege’ in this. It isn’t a burden for Paul, but an honor.

We must see that God’s grace and power energize Paul. He shares with us all that he knows.

We have to be energized by Him, we need His grace to survive spiritually. We must understand that His fuel is to give life to the spiritually needy.

I think I might understand.

This is something that motivates Paul. He understands what he is and what he’s called to teach. The Gospel must be communicated in the bright light of God’s favor. Without this Paul cannot operate, the ‘Good News’ means both Jews and Gentiles are singular, and he explains that each group is one. Both must understand this.

Grace is all there is. And grace is all that really matters.

2:21-22, Gathered Together for a Reason

²¹ “In Him the whole building, being put together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. ²² In Him you are also being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.“

This is a powerful passage and we’re closing out Ephesians 2 and getting ready to slash our way into chapter 3.

“In Him the whole building,“

The word “whole” suggests everyone and everything. All (and I do mean all) are part of this work; this is the construction of our architect God. No 2x4s are being used, only the things that are spiritual. The Greek word for “being put together” carries a meaning of precision, accuracy, and precision. He’s doing amazing things with perfect skill.

I’ve been told that the blocks of the Egyptian pyramids are so fitted together that you can’t even slip a piece of paper between the cracks.

Our builder, God Himself, constructs His people with incredible care and His work is perfect and eternal. The pyramids in Egypt, one of the “Seven Wonders of the World,” will be mere piles of dust and we’ll just be getting started.

“A holy temple in the Lord.“

Holy seems to be very important here. It deals with the idea of being consecrated or set apart from common things. A new temple is being built by the addition of every new believer, but it’s something holy, and completely different. Instead of stone blocks, it’s made out of holy saints. This temple is spiritual.

Also, there’s something that must be pointed out; there’s that wonderful phrase “in Him.” It’s written out twice for emphasis. And if you add “in the Lord” things get even clearer! These precious promises can only be activated by faith and from our new place in Christ Jesus.

And let’s grab on this idea of “together,” it’s mentioned twice here. I suppose that means having a connection to the believers around us in that fantastic way the Father delights to do. We shouldn’t minimize this “holy camaraderie.” It’s a unity that’s a gift to His children. We’re brothers and sisters, and He is our sure and loving Father.

 “For God’s dwelling in the Spirit.“

We, the sinful and lost, have been called and redeemed by the blood of Jesus. And He now fully intends to live in us. We are to be His new home, His dwelling place for all eternity. Although as individual believer’s we already know the Holy Spirit’s presence inside, and that is tremendous.

But it appears from the text that something more is happening on a corporate level. These verses describe us as a community–spiritual building “blocks”–but together. If the presence of Jesus is powerful on an individual level, I believe the next step is going to be even better than than that!

“Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.”

Eph. 2:21-22, The Message Translation

2:17-18, What He Did For You

“He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. ¹⁸ Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.”

He brought peace to the Gentiles. He also bought peace to the Jews. Some of us were very far away, while others were quite close. It doesn’t matter, Jesus’ presence meets both groups.

Jesus carried His gospel to us. This version calls it “Good News” and we’ve never heard anything like it. The Greek is εἰρήνη, a word meaning quietness, rest, a cessation of war, or harmony. It is connected somewhat to the word “saved” which means wholeness, health, and deliverance. (Both are wonderful words.)

Jew or Gentile, near or far, covenant or not, it really doesn’t matter. Jesus (through His Holy Spirit) came and with Him carried exceptional news to each of us–we’ve been accepted and forgiven! No matter if we’re a Jew or a Gentile.

“Now all of us can come to the Father”

That dear one is why all this had to happen, that we can now be with Him. That is the purpose of your existence–the reason you live. I like focusing on that amazing word, “Father.” I’m not to dread or fear obsessively about being with Him. His anger over you and your sin has fallen on Jesus our sacrifice.

“The same Holy Spirit”

He refuses to be quartered and divided up. The Holy Spirit does not have two groups and two covenants. He comes in His total fullness to meet our desperate hearts. The word “same” in Greek simply means “a cardinal numeral, one.”

We are each our own person. We’re as different as snowflakes, not one of us is alike.

You are altogether unique.

“Because of what Christ has done for us.”

That word “because” is key. We’re saved as a result of what He did for us, and not what we’ve done for ourselves. We’re delivered by our trust/faith in Jesus’ effort alone. He has worked it all without our effort. All we really need to do is repent and believe.

2:14-16, No More Fighting

“For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. ¹⁵ He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups.” 

¹⁶ “Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.”

This passage seems a tad obscure, dealing with an issue we really can’t grasp. But for the early church, this was critical and I suspect they didn’t really know how to reconcile the idea of Jews and Gentiles being one people. The Apostle Paul needed to step in and explain what God had done.

The Jewish temple had confined the presence of God to a fixed place. However, the temple was supposed to be the “jumping-off” place for the Father to touch the hearts of everyone on Earth. The Jews had an issue (an important one) with the Law. How could Gentiles come to God without it?

The word hostility is used. The observant Jews detested the pagan Gentiles. It’s interesting to me that the Temple complex had a “court of the Gentiles” which clearly delineated that they could only enter so far. And actually, they enforced the rule that prohibited crossing that line on the pain of death.

O.K. So how is this going to work?

Paul makes it clear that everything is changed. The cross of Jesus Christ tore down that wall. There is now no separation. The finished work of Jesus opened up the work of God to include both groups. The Jews had isolated themselves. They had put themselves in a religious “box” and excluded all contact with the rest of the world.

The Law was no longer the source of righteousness and salvation.

Jesus is; His blood was shed to make us right with God. That was radical and hard to swallow. I suppose that was the issue with the Judaizers who couldn’t adapt–they thought the Gentiles were to keep the 10 Commandments to be believers. An important passage should be considered–Philippians 3:2-3.

Jesus broke down this wall. He fully reconciled both groups, they have been made one through the cross. He is the peace between both groups. There are no longer two groups but one Body. The hatred and hostility “was put to death.”

“May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me. ²² I have given them the glory you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one. ²³ I am in them and you are in me, so that they may be made completely one, that the world may know you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me.”

John 17:21-23, Amplified

2:7-10, We Can’t Boast

 “So that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

We will never deserve what He has done.

We struggle with this, and we try very hard to earn our salvation. Paul reminds us that this is simply given and we can’t work enough to deserve it.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

Grace-saved-faith, words that bring a triple lesson in how the Father makes salvation happen. It’s grace first. Saved is second, and our faith makes it all real. We must believe, not work.

“Not a result of works, so that no one may boast.“

Works in the original is ἔργον which can be translated as “energy.” That stresses work, effort, and labor as well. Paul is amazingly clear and our obfuscation is thrown out the window. It confuses us and we often try to produce good works. Grace often is abandoned by our earnest desire to be saved.

The gift of grace mystifies. It is a handout that befuddles and confuses us. You must realize that your “energy” will never be enough. Salvation will always be charity, an endowment that gives us eternal life without us making an effort.

I’m thinking now of the thief on the cross dying with Jesus. (Read Luke 23:42-43.) He had nothing. He deserved nothing–all he could do is ask. And Jesus promised that he would be saved.

What we have is His gift. It’s given and never earned.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Let’s think about this, and let’s pray that we understand. Works (energy), workmanship, and good works–words mentioned in this verse. There’s a real connection here between the three which may need an explanation.

• “Works” is what we do to earn salvation.
• “Workmanship” is God’s effort in making us like His son. He is creating us to be like Jesus.
• “Good works” is what happens when we understand what He has done.

Good works are not the cause of our salvation; good works are the evidence of our salvation. Our spiritual efforts can’t save us, but as a result of being saved (free) we’ll do good things.

Good works do not make a good man, but a good man does good works.

    Martin Luther

I feel I must reiterate this. Salvation is yours as a gift. Good works are what we do after receiving this free gift. God planned ahead, our lives are now to be given over to do things that bless others–we work to bestow good things on our neighbors. That’s now our mission.

2:3-5, He’s Very Very Rich!

“We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. ⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us ⁵ made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!”

Ephesians 2:3-5

We’ve got a terrible need to be right with God–one of the theological terms used is called “reconciliation.” My dictionary states that two facets can be found

• it’s the restoration of friendly relations.
• the action of making one view or belief compatible with another.

But first, there’s bad news:

“We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts,“

The “we” means everyone on the planet. “Previously lived” suggests the way we were, for the believers in Ephesus this is past tense, sin no longer to be the position of the reconciled. Yes, we sin, but it’s not ingrained inside us any more. It seems to me that this is the realm of Satan and his rebellion.

“Fleshly desires” clarifies things. It points out what Paul writes about in Galatians 5:19-21 (“the works of the flesh”);

This all fits with “inclinations” of sinfully rebellious life.

“and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.“

This pounds this even deeper. “Children” typically is a good term, but the way it’s used here gives it an awful or terrible sense. Within the inner recesses of our hearts is nothing but rebellion, as a matter of fact, scripture tells us that you and I are the “children of the devil.”

If we’re ever going to be reconciled, God is the only one who can pull this off. So, let’s move on to the good news in the remainder of this passage.

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love that he had for us”

“But God”

(Where would we be without this little word “but?”)

We got horrible news and it stings. Then we read “but” and everything gets tipped upside down! That three-letter word is a game changer. It comes totally out of the blue and alters everything. “But God,” is a phrase of hope and not despair. This passage is infused with His love. He loved us, and that was why He did this.

“made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!”

But God figured out how He would save us (and actually this method was an eternal one). And we must go back to chapter 1 to this truth of being “in Christ.” Most certainly we’re ruined sinners; rebels and traitors. We’re dead inside. But God makes it clear that we’re “saved by grace!”

We were the dead ones. We’ve been brought to life.

2:1-2, Being Spiritually Dead

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins ² in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient.”

This is really a past tense for the believer. And the word “according” is used twice in this passage. Dead and disobedient is a critical assessment of the fallen human race. And of course, there is the presence of evil—someone (or something) who is in control, “working” inside of those who are disobedient. It’s called a “spirit.”

This passage is critical to understanding the fallen state of the world. It explains so much.

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,”

Death is the state of those who don’t believe. “Trespasses and sins” is the cause. We dare not minimize or ignore Paul’s statement about this. We shouldn’t try to dismiss this.

We live in a world where death is in charge.

It troubles me to think about this. Sometimes in movies, there are zombies and mummies walking around and attacking the living. This seems bizarre and spooky but it’s probably closer than we can ever imagine. Jesus’ power to raise the dead is absolutely critical to being an authentic believer. We’re like Lazarus who was resurrected.

“In which you previously walked according to the ways of this world,“

Each of us walked in darkness, the world is cloaked in sin and disobedience. Each of us has turned in our way. (Romans 3:10-18.)

“All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

Romans 3:12

The history of man makes this terribly clear.

I suppose the word “previously” is also a crucial. It means that this sinful lifestyle is in the past. It’s no longer is the path we’re taking . Death can no longer hold us. We used to, but now we’ve been brought to a resurrected life.

“The sinner can no more raise himself from the deadness of sin than Lazarus, who had been dead four days until Jesus came.”

George Whitefield

“According to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient.”

Evil exists. Satan is alive and well on planet earth. We see his work (his ministry) all around us. Some are controlled by the enemy, a few more than others. Notice it’s called a “spirit” and it’s something active. Something supernatural. Paul’s assessment seems very blunt, there’s not much wiggle room. He’s telling us the truth.

And now we must figure out how we’re going to live our resurrected life.