Not many are walking “in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called”. I count myself as one of those. I find myself wandering far away at times. It is so easy to get caught up in the daily routine that I forget Jesus. Oh yes, I have my worships and go through the rounds, but keeping Jesus with me at all times is difficult with the pressures of life. He has been so very patient with me. I don’t deserve His grace. I have to ask for forgiveness and keep Jesus always in my heart.
Struggling with faith, how difficult. Not the faith of “believing about” Jesus, but the true faith of “living in” Jesus. Turning every thought, every decision, every want and desire over to Jesus. Faith that Jesus knows what is best even when I want what I want. When our finances are strained to the breaking point. When the demands for funds are more than the funds. I cry out to Jesus and then wait in faith for Him to touch hearts to fulfill our needs. At times I want to quit and give up. At times it is so hard. But then, I look to Jesus and see Him petitioning before His Father on my behalf. I bow in humble obedience and wait upon the Lord.
Ephesians 4:1 to Ephesians 4:32
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, . . .
And to what were they called? They were directed back to the Old Testament and taught to walk according to the righteous law Jesus had handed down to Moses on Mount Sinai. The Old Testament reveals a God who is just, patient, gentle, loving and forgiving.
. . . with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
To maintain unity, we have to be “of the Spirit”. Either you are in the Spirit that brings the bond of peace, or you have the spirit that brings chaos, hate, pain and selfishness. This isn’t the “peace” of your church or the “peace” set by the policy of man. This is God’s peace. The peace of humility, gentleness, patience and obedience.
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— . . .
If we get out of our churches and go to Jesus, living in obedience to Him, we would all live in unity. But as long as we can pick and choose the church we want to attend, then there will never be unity. Each church, denomination, minister and preacher claims to have “The Truth” and the rest be damned. That is not the Spirit of Jesus. That is not the peace of Jesus. Yes, He is the truth, but we are to live it, not shove it down people’s throats.
. . . one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
All Heaven is filled to overflowing with the “one God and Father”. His character is the character of all in Heaven. Therefore, they are at peace. It is a oneness of obedience, patience, love, humility and service. With those characteristics there can be no discord. But when you start cutting up the Bible into pieces, starting churches according to those bits and pieces, then you can pick and choose which ones you want to follow and which ones you don’t. Now we get discord, strife and no peace.
But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
Christ’s measure is measureless. His grace is boundless. He has given us graces of peace, unity, gentleness, humility and service. These and many more graces are for the unity of His body. But few are accepting the graces of God. Most are looking to the world for what the world offers.
Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”
At one time, righteous people from all ages of the past were captives of Satan and bound in death. But Jesus raised them as a “first fruits” of the resurrection that will happen when Jesus comes again. As Lucifer brings more and more destruction, Jesus is giving more and more gifts to men to fight back against the destruction of Lucifer.
(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?
Jesus experienced death as each of us must do. Jesus became human in order to show us how we are to live and die. Few understand that last concept, but it is just as important as to live. To die to “my” wants, “my” desires, “my” way and “my” beliefs is very hard to do. As Paul said, “I die daily”.
He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)
Jesus has experienced every conceivable aspect of humanity. There is no excuse for sin. He has given us every gift imaginable for our development in the perfect, sinless and Commandment keeping life. He wants to fill our lives far above everything we could ever want. Most just attend church thinking it is fulfilling their lives. Unless they get out and go to Jesus, they will never find the peace He offers.
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, . . .
This goes directly against those who claim, “All we need is the Spirit!” No, God works through His designated channels for “the work of ministry”. The Spirit is for our personal salvation, bringing to mind our sins, yet the work we are to do for Jesus comes through the channels He has assigned us. That is not the same as “church”. We, the “body of Christ” are His church, but the formal denominations and churches and religions of the world are not “His Body”.
. . . for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, . . .
God works through many individuals for the purpose of keeping us humble and listening. We are to work together, not run around thinking that “only I have the truth”. Each of us has our mission. One person will be able to teach a certain class of people, another person a different class of people, and on it goes. Unfortunately, for most who call themselves Christian, instead of building up to the fullness of Christ, they are tearing down the body of Christ to their own level of existence by griping, complaining and finding fault with those God has called. They never listen.
. . so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
That is why our churches and denominations and religions are so dangerous for our eternal life. It is easy to be brainwashed into thinking that every “wind of doctrine” they teach is from God. We are no longer to “be children, tossed to and fro.” We must grow up and look outside of our church, denomination and pastors to make sure we are not missing anything. Human cunning and craftiness which are so prevalent in our churches and denominations will destroy your eternal life. Go to Jesus and check everything from His Word.
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, . . .
We are not to grow up into every way of our churches, denominations and pastors. We are to grow up into Christ. He is the truth. He is our example. We are to teach only His truth. We are to speak only His truth. Only what Jesus taught for our salvation are we to teach to others. And what did Jesus teach?
“And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom.” Matthew 9:34.
-
- Stop sinning. John 8:11
- Be perfect. Matthew 5:48
- Keep the Ten Commandments to get your eternal life. Matthew 19:17
“Jesus became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him.” Hebrews 5:9.
. . . from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
“When each part is working properly”. That is the hard part. Making sure that “I” am working properly for Jesus. We are not to be looking at others to see if they are working properly. That is the work of the Spirit of God. We are to teach truth, but we must give each person the right to choose or reject it. That is what Love does. It allows! So many want to control others and yet are unable to control themselves. We must be joined to Jesus and Him alone.
Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.
That is a tough one. The world today has produced futile minds. Under the guise of religion, minds are on sex, money, power and glory. The church opened its doors and the world walk right into it and turned it inside out.
They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.
Have you noticed the “hardness of heart” taking place in the world? Without the love of God, the Ten Commandments in the heart, there is nothing but hardness. All the laws of man will not subdue the evil in man. The “Woke” want to destroy everything related to God. What God created and said was “good”, the “Woke” hates. Even churches are becoming “Woke”. The devil has been very successful in turning minds to darkness.
They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
The churches “have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity”. They are nothing but entertainment and greed. Impurity pervades every nook and cranny of the churches. They have all let go of the Ten Commandments and are hanging on to their creeds, rites, rituals, traditions and services.
But that is not the way you learned Christ!—
No it is not! But who cares?! The name “Christ” is no longer held in reverence or respect. “Jesus” is used in profanity. The churches laugh and giggle, throw around the name of Jesus and think they are Christian because they were baptized. We are not ready for the hallowed halls of Heaven.
. . assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, .
Not many have. Most who attend church have been taught “church”. How to behave in the church. How to do what the church wants you to do. But to do it . . .
. . . as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
No! Never! People only want to look like they have put off the old self. But underneath the fake cloak is all the corruption of the old self. “True righteousness and holiness” are not wanted for they get in the way of our worldly desires and lusts. The only way to be renewed in the spirit of our minds is to stay immersed in the Word of God, not church.
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
Not much of that going on. People no longer know what “truth” is. Why? Because since about the 1980’s, we have been taught that truth is subjective and relative. That truth is up to the individual. That “my” truth is just as important as “your” truth. God’s truth is no longer wanted. Therefore, there is no “glue” to hold members together. We are lonely individuals with no peace. Falsehood is all we know.
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.
Anger in and of itself is not sin. But by the time the sun sets, we should be over it. We should have come to terms with it. We should have confronted our anger, decide what is making us angry and solve the problem. This is done by either getting rid of what made us angry, fixing what made us angry or accepting what made us angry and get on with life. If someone has made us angry, go to that person in all honesty and explain what it was that made you angry. Let that person explain. It could have all been a misunderstanding. Now you can walk away in peace instead of fretting all night in bed. Don’t let the devil destroy your peace. Take responsibility for your life.
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
Many pat themselves on their backs feeling good about “doing honest work”. They think that because they hold a steady job, taking care of their families and doing the “right” thing in society that they meet God’s standard. Yet, the text goes on to explain that we are to share with those who are in need. I need to clarify that “need” part. “Need” are not the homeless who love being homeless. “Need” are not those who want to do drugs and live a selfish lifestyle. In the Bible, the concept of “need” is one who has been the victim of an accident, nature’s destruction, health issues and other unforeseen events that have laid a man low. But his desire is to work, understand God’s will for him and getting himself back on his feet. He is the man we are to help.
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
I’m guilty of this. I didn’t realize it at the time, but for years there was an anger deep down inside of me. When I finally understood it I was able to clean up my mouth. “Only such as is good for building up” is a real hard concept. We humans want to tear other people down. We think it will make us look better. But it doesn’t. It only destroys our own souls. Giving “grace to those who hear”. I had never really thought of that until I was writing this. I’m guilty. I must work harder and repent of so many sins in my life. May God forgive me.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
I am beginning to understand more clearly why we need to be silent more often. I think we “grieve the Holy Spirit of God” way too much. I pray I am not sealed for the day of redemption for I am not sure on which side of that sealing I would stand right now. May God forgive me as I work at correcting my faults.
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
Bitterness! We may not be angry, but bitterness is another animal to tame. I have to work on that one more. We humans harbor way too much bitterness and grudges, malice and slander. That last one, slander. How we love to listen to gossip and slander on TV and the radio. Like juicy morels, we love to swallow them when the commentator agrees with our own biases. Turn it all off. Go to Jesus and . . .
. . . Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Sounds so easy. We shrug it off thinking that we really did forgive. But deep down there is that gnawing feeling. We just don’t want to humble ourselves and either ask for forgiveness or give our forgiveness. Notice, “give” is in the middle of “forgiveness”. We must give of ourselves. We must humble ourselves. So few will be in heaven. So hard to give of ourselves in humility. We give as long as we get praise and notice, but in secret, not so much.