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Rightly Dividing
the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15)
Established November 2008 Published
Weekly on Friday AM
This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
Savior, who desires all men (and women) to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1Timothy 2:3-4)
Ephesians (1:15-23)
(Lesson 04)
Welcome, one and
all, to HBS.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so
that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from
ourselves (2
Corinthians 4:7).
There were no banks
in Paul’s day for people to place their valuables (treasure) in for safekeeping.
They used “clay pots” (earthen vessels) to keep their prized possessions in and these were buried
secretly. One such treasure was discovered by a young Bedouin shepherd in 1947 and
excavated by archeologists in 1949. The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in “clay
pots,” in 11 caves at Qumran. These
scrolls are valuable because they comprised a vast collection of Jewish
documents written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. They include manuscripts or fragments of
every book in the Bible except for the Book of Esther; and all of them were
written nearly one thousand years earlier than any previously known biblical
manuscripts. Even more amazing, all of
these scrolls were in excellent condition after spending 2000 years in the
“clay pots.” The Dead Sea Scrolls give us confidence in the reliability of the Old
Testament, since there were only minimal differences between what we already
had and those found in the eleven caves.
In 2 Corinthians
4:7, our Apostle Paul used this facet of everyday life to illustrate one of
God’s spiritual truths specific to the Church Age. All those who have placed their trust in
Jesus Christ (by believing the gospel)
are joint-heirs with Him. What this means for us is truly
incomprehensible on this side of glory. However,
the Bible explains we are the recipients of all that is His in heaven
(Galatians 3:16, 26-29).
This doesn’t mean we
miss out on the blessings of the kingdom. We’ll share in the blessings of God’s kingdom too, but we are not heirs of God’s
earthly kingdom. Per this book, the heir of the kingdom is a matter of nationality (the nation of Israel)
through the covenant the LORD made with King David 2 Samuel 7:12-13; Jeremiah
33:17). In the Dispensation of Grace,
heirship is based on relationship. Since we’re adopted children of God, through faith, whatever is rightfully the
Lord’s is now rightfully ours because Believers are one, in Christ.
So, the question
is, “Why would God place these valuable treasures in us?”
Like the “clay pots”
of old, which had innate imperfections and no two alike, humans are imperfect,
sinners. The majority, thinking more
highly of themselves than they should, says: “I don’t need God...” But Paul basically said, “You can’t get there from here” when he
wrote: the power will be of
God and not from ourselves. It
is the power of God working through
us that produces the fruit of the Spirit
and enables us to walk in newness of
life. Thus God receives all the glory, honor, and praise not us.
********
Please
open your Bible at Ephesians 1:15
Ephesians 1
15: For this reason
I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love
for all the saints,
We
have various means of communication afforded to us today. Because getting
our message out and receiving regular
updates from multiple sources is almost effortless and so handy (no pun
intended) we often take them for granted. But, in Paul’s day, communication with the
churches he planted was not easy; in fact, the greater the distance the more
difficult it was to communicate.
Paul
was concerned for all the churches and the Believer’s spiritual progress (2
Corinthians 11:28; Galatians 4:19; Ephesians 3:14; Philippians 1:8; Colossians
1:3; 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8). Four years had
passed since Paul ministered to the Ephesians, and we know he wrote this letter
from prison. Communication in those days
was routinely accomplished by word-of-mouth.
But, since Paul was in prison at this time, he probably received
information from letters and from those who visited him there.
Paul
had heard, in some way, two things
about these Ephesians, which identifies them as Believers in Christ:
Their faith
in the Lord Jesus and
Their love for all the saints
Upon
hearing this news, Paul knew their
salvation was firmly established, unlike the Galatians who had veered off
course. This book says these two aspects
of spiritual life noted above are inseparable.
Let me show you what this book says; let’s all turn to 1 John 2:9-11.
The one who says he
is in the Light and yet hates
his brother is in the darkness (if Light is a metaphor for righteousness,
then darkness signifies evil and the
presence of sin in one’s life) until
now. The one who loves his
brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the
darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because
the darkness has blinded his eyes (1 John 2:9-11).
There’s
another verse I want you to see. Let’s
turn to John 13:34-35. Here we find
Jesus Christ informing His disciples love
for other Believers is evidence of one’s salvation:
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another,
even as I have loved you, (Jesus not only “set the bar” He is the Bar) that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My
disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).
During
His Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24:1 –25:46) Jesus Christ said one of the signs
we should expect as “the end draws near” is the lack of love in this world: “Because
lawlessness is increased (on the earth), most
people’s love will grow cold…” (Matthew 24:12).
Our
Apostle Paul enlightens us even more about the love of others waning in the last days. In 2 Timothy 3:2 he wrote: For
men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers,
disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderous,
without self-control, savage, haters of good.
Anyone
who has the Spirit of God within them understands we are seeing evidence of
these things every day now, and it will worsen as the Day of the Lord draws near (1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2
Thessalonians 2:2). For even now the “haters of good,” i.e. those who have
decided to disregard God and His Truths have turned our way of life upside
down. They’ve produced an environment
where “Right is wrong and wrong is right.”
So,
the emphasis in verse 15b is on true, saving belief, with the lordship of Jesus
Christ as the object of one’s faith. The
N.T. teaches us not only is Jesus Christ our Savior, He is Lord of all: For
this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the
dead and of the living (Romans 14:9).
Only
Believers can say, “Jesus is Lord,”
because they possess the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3). This gift from God was given as a pledge to us; a down payment of our inheritance the moment we believed (Romans
8:14; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 1:14).
Again,
verse 15c expresses the fact the second mark of genuine salvation is love for all the saints. It was because of their sincere love for one another that encouraged
our Apostle Paul to offer thanks (1
John 3:14). True salvation produces fruit in the life of the Believer. The first Fruit of the Spirit is love, for good reason; God requires it
of us.
This
book says we do not express our love
in words only, but in deed and truth: Little
children, let us not love with word or with the tongue (only), but
in deed and truth (1 John 3:18, 5:1).
In
the N.T. true spiritual love is
defined as an attitude of self sacrifice, a willingness to perform generous
acts of kindness to other Believers
(Ephesians 4:32). Love is a verb!
Verse
16:
16: (I, Paul,) do not cease giving thanks for you,
while making mention of you in my
prayers;
Paul
opens his letter with prayer, giving thanks;
first and foremost, for this church and its members, because, based on the
evidence of their love for one
another, they were true Believers. He
didn’t say this church was without problems.
Like any church there are issues that must be dealt with. We’ll get to this later in the lesson.
“Anything
you do that causes God to smile is worship.”
God smiles when His children give Him thanks and praise
continually. We’re not so different. How many of you frown when someone thanks you
or acknowledges your efforts? Few if any
I’m thinking… We all enjoy receiving heartfelt appreciation and congratulations
from loved ones, co-workers, etc.
There’s nothing like a “pat on the
back,” in other words, to lift one’s spirit; it brings about joy and peace
in our lives.
God
loves hearing from us, which is why Paul emphasizes it here. Believers are to thank God always, even in times of trouble, knowing these trials
have a purpose:
God works in all
things for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to
His purpose
(Romans 8:28).
The
daily pressures we face do not alter the promises of God. We have not been forgotten, folks. God is working His plan and we’re to be thankful His plan includes us His adopted children!
…giving thanks
at all times for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the and Father (Ephesians 5:20 –
Berean Literal Bible).
Paul
informs us it is God’s will we be thankful at all times and we express this joyous praise with more than just
words (1 Thessalonians 5:18). We are to love others; we are to perform good works while we have the opportunity, especially
those who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10; Ephesians
2:10).
Verse17:
17: that the God of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom
(i.e.
hope) and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.
This
statement is in reference to the true Believer’s sanctification and this makes
sense since it immediately follows Paul’s last statement. He’s talking about their ability to determine
truth from untruth, which only the sanctified mind (set apart for the use
intended by God) is capable of (1:8).
It’s the ability to grasp the greatness of the glorious hope we have in Christ Jesus (Romans
8:29; 1 John 3:2) and in regards to our inheritance
(1:3-14).
How
do we know this? Paul devotes the
remainder of this chapter to prayer asking God the Father (the source of all our
blessings) to give Believers true comprehension and appreciation of our future inheritance because we are securely in Christ.
We
Believers need to think and act as though we’re children of God, because we
are. In Light of this, God the Father
does not want us searching for what is already ours. People seeking to have “more Jesus “or to
receive more of “the Holy Spirit” need to know it’s not about getting more of
either Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit.
You’re tank is already filled. This
books says, “Paul was filled with the
Spirit” after his conversion (Acts 9:17).
This means Paul, like any other person who has been saved, by faith, is filled with the Spirit when they are
under the Holy Spirit’s control; is
empowered by the Holy Spirit. Thus,
you are empowered by the Holy Spirit
when you actually practice walking in
newness of life, exercising the nine fruits of the Spirit.
Instead of chasing after something you already
have, Paul wants the Ephesians (and us) to know God is the source of all we
need (not want), and has it ready for us, if we are receptive to His
truths. As I said, we can’t get there under
our own power or our will. Paul
explicitly said: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give
to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge
of Him.
In
this present darkened age, our
primary need, after being saved, is for
wisdom, and of revelation in the knowledge of Him in order to appropriate
the many blessings the Lord Jesus
Christ has already given to us; that are ours now through faith. One of the problems God’s one Church is experiencing is not the
absence of these blessings, but a
lack of insight and wisdom to
understand and use them faithfully. This
means most Christians today are not
controlled by the Holy Spirit. Only the
Holy Spirit can search the “deep things of God,” and only the Spirit can make
us understand them (Romans 8:26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-16). Paul’s saying we are not making use of the
resources God gave us.
Wisdom qualifies as a
gift from God. Knowledge is accumulated learning, over time. Thus, the Spirit of wisdom is a gift of God through the Holy Spirit. This is beyond the natural ability of sinful man (1 Corinthians 2:14).
Revelation, as Paul used the
word here, is a synonym of wisdom. It deals with God’s imparting spiritual knowledge to each one of us. You see, we must know and understand our
position in Christ before we can serve Him faithfully. Said differently, we must know what we have
before we can use it to the honor and
glory of God.
This
thought takes us to verses 18-19.
I pray that the
eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what
is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His
inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power
toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working
of the strength of His might
I pray that the
eyes of your heart may be enlightened – put another way, Paul’s saying, “Your mind’s understanding may be fully
enlightened.” This brief statement
further explains verse 17. That you will know signifies the
Believer comes to know these three things upon being enlightened:
What is the hope of
His calling;
that is, we fully realize how sure (certain) is our heavenly destiny.
What
are the riches of the glory of His inheritance; that is, we would become
filled with knowledge that
recognizes both the priceless value of His salvation, and what a priceless
treasure He is to God; and then
What is the
surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe; that is, we would
recognize how God’s power has
changed us since our conversion, i.e. we experience this divine strength and
transformation (24/7/365) in our daily living.
The true Believer has their eyes on the goal and is always progressing towards it (Hebrews 12:1-2).
We
cannot bring about change in ourselves.
Without God’s intervention in our lives, we wouldn’t even be aware of
the need for change. The Holy Spirit can
and will transform our hearts and minds which leads to changed lives (Psalm 139:23-24; Romans 12:1-2;
Philippians 1:6).
In
most modern cultures, the heart is thought of as “the seat of emotions and
feeling.” But the ancient Greeks and
Jews considered the heart (Kardia in
Koine Greek) as the center of knowledge,
understanding, thinking, and wisdom.
The N.T. also uses it this way. When
Paul says “he’s praying,” he means to say he’s praying for the minds of the Ephesians to be enlightened. Acting upon one’s emotions is one thing and
it tends to be misguided thinking,
if you’re not operating in line with God’s wisdom. Paul wants the Ephesians and us to
understand we come to know God’s Truths through our mind’s eye which is why we are to:
Let the word of Christ richly
dwell within you… (Colossians 3:16).
When
the Holy Spirit works in the Believer’s mind,
He enriches it to understand divine truth that is both deep and profound, and
then relates that truth to life, including those aspects of life that involve
our emotions. The eyes of your understanding enlightened,
would mean God has allowed your innermost being to understand. The Light has shined on you from within and
revealed the meaning to you.
Two
examples of this teaching from Scripture are our Apostle Paul, for one. This is exactly what happened to him on the
road to Damascus. The Truth was revealed
to him from within. The two disciples on
the road to Emmaus is another example.
Their hearts (i.e. their minds) “burned
within them;” but it was not until “their
eyes were opened” that they
recognized the stranger in their midst as the Lord” (Luke 24:31-32).
His inheritance in
the saints; no
one can realize all that this means, including your truly. I do know we are children of God and joint-heirs
with Christ Jesus of all which God possess. It is the consummation and end of salvation
which God promised from eternity past and has held in hope until the future manifestation of Christ.
Verse
19:
What is the
surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe – that power which
raised Jesus Christ from the grave and returned Him to the Father to sit at His right hand is given to each
Believer at the moment of their salvation.
What’s more, it’s always available (Colossians 1:29).
Paul
didn’t pray asking God for this power
to be given to the Believers in Ephesus, but that they be aware they already
possessed this power because they
are in Christ, and then use it (1 Corinthians 1:18; Colossians 3:20). The Ephesians, like every other Believer in
Christ, has been saved by grace through
faith (alone). They were once the
objects of God’s wrath, but now, through God’s power, and not by anything we can do; they have been made alive with Christ (Romans 6).
Verses
20-21:
which He brought
about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right
hand in the heavenly places, far
above all rule and authority and power, and dominion, and every name that is
named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.
The
power of God not only raised His Son
from the dead, He ascended bodily into the third heaven (the sky above where
birds fly and clouds stream by is the first heaven. The place where the stars, planets, and
vastness of outer space exist is the second heaven. The place where Paul was caught up is the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2), and this is
where God resides.
We
learn from the very first statement in this book at Genesis 1:1 there is more
than one heaven: In the beginning, God created the heavens (plural) and the earth.
Which He brought
about in Christ
- the power God the Father exerted
in raising Jesus Christ from the dead was as great as that of the creation
event. In the Genesis account the LORD
God brought forth life where life did not exist. In the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God
imparted life to His Son’s mangled, dead body.
Paul
informs us and the Ephesians the Lord
Jesus Christ is now seated at God’s right hand (figuratively
speaking) in the heavenly places,
far above all rule and authority and power, and dominion (Psalm 110:1). The
Jewish religious leaders wanted to silence Jesus, permanently, so they
constantly tried to trap and trick Him into making a blasphemous comment. Why? The
most common punishment for blasphemers was capital punishment (death) through
stoning (Leviticus 24:13-16; John 10:30-33).
The
Lord’s disciple Stephen was stoned to death by Jewish religious leaders after these
words: “…But being full of the Holy Spirit (he was under the Spirit’s
control), he gazed intently into heaven
and saw the glory of God, and Jesus (doing what) standing (not sitting) at
the right hand of God; and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens (plural)
opened up and the Son of Man standing
at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:54-60).
Why
did they stone him to death? He said he
saw Jesus, standing at the right hand of
God, meaning: standing (not sitting) indicated Jesus was preparing to return to
earth. This meant condemnation and righteous judgment, i.e. God’s wrath poured
out on His enemies (Joel 2:30—31). The
Jewish religious leaders were aware of this prophecy. But instead of thinking things through, they
considered this blasphemy and stoned Stephen.
Jesus
told them in Luke 20:42-43, The Lord
said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your
footstool.” Back then being at the right hand was a place of authority to whoever sits upon the
throne and in this case, it was God the Father (Luke 22:69). Today
someone might say, “He’s my right-hand
man,” meaning: the one who carries
out my instructions, accomplishes my will, and functions in my place (John
6:38, 8:42).
The
prophet Isaiah wrote: “For I, the LORD your God, hold your right
hand; it is I who say to you, ‘Fear not, I am the One who helps you’”
(Isaiah 41:13). In ancient times Roman soldiers
held their primary sword (the Gladius) in their strong hand, which predominately was their right hand. Therefore from a biblical perspective the
right hand signifies a position of authority and power.
And every name that
is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come (v21b). Here Paul
moves from Jesus Christ’s authority
and power to His majesty. Paul’s third prayer request is for the Lord
to give Believers understanding of the greatness of His Person who has secured
their salvation for eternity and empowers them to walk in newness of life.
Rule and authority and power and dominion were
traditional Jewish terms to designate angelic beings having a high rank among
God’s heavenly hosts. The Lord is
exalted above them all (Revelation 20:10-15) through the power of God. With regard
to His present position of authority,
the phrase “but also in the age to come”
gives us the deep understanding the Lord Jesus Christ is Lord of all, whether they admit it or not.
Paul
enlightens us with this statement: so at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE
WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that
every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father (Philippians 2:10-11). This
passage says what it means and means what it says.
Verse
22:
22: And He put all
things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things
to the church (i.e.
Ekklesia)
And He put all
things in subjection under His feet – this phrase reflects Psalm 8:6,
where David speaks of the honor given to man to rule over God’s creation on
earth. This takes us back to the LORD
God’s words at creation: “Let us make man in our image, according to
our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the
birds of the sky and over the cattle and over (what) all the earth… (Genesis 1:26).
What
the man lost through his sin, Jesus
Christ, as the second Adam, regained (1 Corinthians 15:45). The complete fulfillment of these words
awaits the Lord’s return, when He achieves the final victory over Satan (1
Corinthians 15:24-27; Hebrews 2:8-15), His resurrection, ascension, and present
position of authority at God’s right
hand guarantees the inevitable outcome. All things, including the satanic
forces of evil in the spiritual realm, are under Christ’s feet, even now.
Then
Paul said, “and gave Him as head over
all things to the church.” The
Church is Christ’s body. Paul is the
only N.T. author to use this language.
He develops it at great length in 1 Corinthians 12, as it relates to our
relationships with one another, each
with different spiritual gifts. But here
Paul builds on those comments expressing the fact that Jesus Christ is the Head
over all things to the church, and
we are His body. These are deeper Spiritual truths.
This
is a good place to teach y’all God didn’t create religion; He purposed the
existence of His Church before the
foundation of the world. Religion,
an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or
group of gods, is man-made. Jesus didn’t
die on the cross so we would all have
“religion.” Christianity is mentioned in the Bible but it is so much more than
an organized system of beliefs… it is about a Person, namely Jesus Christ. Through the centuries we find religion breeding
death, destruction, and wars all over this planet, but Christianity breeds love. Religion says, “You’re not working hard enough,” Christianity says stop trying; “It is
finished!” All that needed to be
done God accomplished through Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection (1
Corinthians 15:1-4). Religion had
nothing to do with it.
The
Bible says all the fullness of the deity
dwells in Christ (Colossians 1:19, 2:9).
The passage in Colossians and one other found in 2 Corinthians 5:19 are
the most explicit statements of Christ’s deity from our Apostle Paul. Colossians 2:9 reads: For in
Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (KJV); God was in Christ (2 Corinthians
5:9). Put another way, all that makes
God who He is found in Christ Jesus. This
does not mean the Father is not also fully God or the Holy Spirit is fully
God. This verse is saying Christ Jesus
is by His very nature, God, the Supreme Being and the Creator of all that is
seen and unseen and exist through Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16).
In
other words, the fullness of the Godhead was in Jesus Christ as He took on
human flesh: The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, (See
the Transfiguration of Christ), glory as
of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth (John
1:14).
Paul
writes in Philippians 2:6-7: who, although He existed in the form of
God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied
Himself (of His divine privileges),
taking the form of bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
Verse
23:
23: which is His
body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all - God appointed Him head (ruler), over all things for the benefit of God’s one Church. His body is a
metaphor for God’s redeemed people, both Jew and Gentile (1 Corinthians
12:12-27).
This
verse explains why God the Father made Him Head
over all things related to the
church. Christ loves His Church; He gave
His life for it (Ephesians 5:25). This
means the Church is in such an intimate relationship with Him, and is of such
character, that Paul refers to it as, “His
own body.”
The
purpose of Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians is that they might comprehend how
secure they are in Christ and how
unwavering is our hope re: our
eternal inheritance.
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
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