To Be One in Christ: We Have Treasure in the Jars of Clay -- the Series of Explanation and Analysis of Scripture (6)-4
The Explanation and Analysis of the Verses of Chapter 4 in EPHESIANS
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Eph 4:2-6)
Men are not saved through their deeds; however, those who are saved, definitely must do good deeds worthy of the calling.
The way to be one in Christ for the Christians is to live the practices of Christ, that is, being completely humble, gentle, patient, and bearing with one another in love, also keeping the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. “The unity of the Spirit” is because that the Spirit in every believer is one. Every believer is one in the Spirit of Christ, that is, all the believers are one; because the believers drink from one Spirit.
There is only one body -- the body of Christ. There is only one Spirit -- the Spirit of Christ. There is one hope that the saints who are one in Christ, are heirs together with all the children of God, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. All the believers belong to one Lord, that is, LORD Jesus Christ. He is the savior of the believers, and also the Lord of the life of the believers and the Lord of all the life and works. The believers are related to LORD based on one same faith: believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and was crucified on the cross to bear the sins of people. The believers are baptized into Christ in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We believers all have one LORD. We are related to Him through faith and baptism. The faith is inside; the baptism is outside. One is “righteousness through faith” to be reborn; and is reborn of water and the Spirit. We worship one same God -- the true only God --our heavenly Father. We get life from Him. Therefore, He is the Father of all. All the created, all things including all men are in God -- our Creator.
The 7 “one” above from (Eph 4:4) to (Eph 4:6) include the truth in the Bible and are the basis of the Christians’ faith. One who believes in the 7 “one” , will believe in the Bible everywhere and be among the saved. The only basis for the believers to be one, is the true only God -- one Spirit, one LORD, one God; and His only salvation -- one hope, one faith and one baptism. The way for us to be one is: being obedient to the authority of God; being willing to be one in Christ; carrying it out by the inspiration and guidance of Holy Spirit.
“Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” The goal of the believer is to “become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. ” The way to achieve this goal is through picking up the cross and denying oneself to follow LORD everyday so that to know more about LORD and grow up. To know the truth is to lead us to the Son of God; to know the Son of God is to make us become mature. Therefore, the goal that we pursue is to know the Son of God better. The more one knows Christ, the more position he will let Christ have in him. The goal of a Christian is to let Christ get a complete position in us, let Christ’s life be in charge completely. The believers come to know Christ not only from the faith, but also from the experience. We must let the rich life of Christ shown from ourselves to truly know the Son of God, to attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ, and to truly be saved.
The reason that the wrong way has strange ability to rule, is because there are evil spirits of falsehood and lie behind it. And the devil and evil spirits know the weak points of people well. They lure people to the deathtrap with candies, and let people refuse the medicine of truth. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. Therefore, the Christians must always be alert. The Christians must hold on to the faith firmly, take the Bible as the only basis of truth, seek the truth honestly, and not be controlled by the falsehood. All Scripture is God-breathed, is the only basis of truth. Any doctrine that is self-made and inconsistent with the truth on the Bible, is heterodoxy. Any teaching that distorts and understands partially the teachings on the Bible, will lead people to the wrong way. We must unite ourselves with the Head -- Christ to grow up and to be one in Christ so that not to be shaken.
“You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Eph 4:20-24)
We have learned from Christ that: (1) live a life in the way of Christ, let Christ be the model of our outward life; (2) let the life of Christ shown from our inward. Because the believers have the life of Christ, they can therefore follow and learn from Christ. Firstly, they receive the life; secondly, they follow the example. To know Christ and to restrain sensual indulgence should not be separated.
Hearing the messages should be connected together with accepting the teachings and learning the truth. If hearing the messages without accepting the teachings and learning the truth, no matter how many teachings they heard, it is still useless. The truth is not only that God is seen and touched by us, but also that God, we can see and touch, enter into us so that we live a life with the image of God. “Truth” is the spiritual practices hidden in Christ. What we learn is the living truth which lives in Jesus Christ. As to the old life, the believers can not improve it, but should take it off like taking off the clothes. This kind of taking off, can only be accomplished by denying oneself and carrying one’s own cross to follow Christ. The old life of the believer has been crucified together with Christ. Although it is an objectively accomplished fact, while on the subject experience, the salvation is not complete yet. Therefore, we must continually take off the old self everyday in our life.
We should be made new in the attitude of our minds by the Holy Spirit of Christ. The salvation by LORD, not only deals with our old life from the negative side, but also gives us the new life from the positive side so that we can get rid of the old life and be renewed. We should live in accordance to Holy Spirit to renew our minds and thoughts completely, to be one in the attitude and mind of Christ, and to live a life to show the life of Christ.
The purpose that God give us the rebirth is to lead us back from the wrong path and to fulfill the original purpose to create us. We Christians are the new creations with rebirth in Christ. We have the life of Christ. We should put off the life and conducts of the old one in Adam to recover the image created by God originally; live a life of Christ; that is, a life belong to God.
We show God in our daily life, not based on the righteousness and holiness of men, but the righteousness and holiness of God, that is, to show the nature of God.
The life of the new man is a life like God. We should live a life as “the Word became flesh”. Because when we were reborn, we were born from the heaven; then Holy Spirit brought us to earth to live the truth of Jesus. That is, the Word became flesh again; Jesus showed again to live a life of God.
From one’s behavior, it is obvious how big his spiritual life is. It is very dangerous if the believer with the rebirth does not have the determination to deny himself and carry his own cross to follow LORD; and is not willing to let Christ take charge of his life; lives according to the sinful nature and refuses to change his life; and lives a life in the same way as before he believes in God. If he does not repent, he will go to the destruction. The Christians must know clearly and be alert that whoever does evils is the enemy of God, and is taking the road to his own doom. Even the workers of God(Mat 7:21), even those who have shared in Holy Spirit (Heb 6:4-8), if they do evils and do not repent, they won’t be able to enter the eternal life.
It is edited and compiled under the guidance of Holy Spirit. All thanks, praises and glories be to God!
A list of the proper behavior in the life of a new self in this chapter:
1.Do not live a life as the Gentiles do any longer:
(1) be in the futility of their thinking (17).
(2) be in the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts (18).
(3) have lost all sensitivity and have given themselves over to sensuality (19).
2. The believers should make some changes:
(1) come to know Christ and put off your old self (20-22).
(2) be made new in the attitude of your minds and put on the new self (23-24).
3. Put on the new self with the proper behavior:
(1) Put off falsehood (25).
(2) In your anger do not sin (26).
(3) Do not give the devil a foothold. (27).
(4) Must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands (28).
(5)Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs (29).
(6) Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God(30).
(7) Get rid of all bitterness (31).
(8) Be kind and compassionate to one another (32).
EPHESIANS 4:1 “ As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ”
(NOTES)
In this letter, Paul mentioned more than once that he is “as a prisoner for the Lord” (Eph3:1). It shows that he regards it as an honor to be “a prisoner for the Lord” and also to speak in his status.
“the calling you have received”:
There are several points about the salvation and calling we received: (1) We are called and elected from the worldly people; (2) The calling is completely from God -- men’s role is passive; (3) Only those who are willing to be obedient and answer the calling of God will share in it; (4) God call us to give us a special status to carry out our special tasks.
“live a life worthy of the calling you have received”:
indicates that the life we live should be in accordance to who we are so that not to disobey the original will of God to call us.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) If we are like Paul and live “as a prisoner for the Lord”, we will not live a life at our own will, but “live a life worthy of the calling you have received”.
(2) God call us, not to have us leave this world to live, but to live a life in this world in accordance to the purpose of the calling.
(3) The grace of God should be shown from the life that the Christians live.
(4) The Christianity is different from other religions. One of the differences is that: other religions only give requirements without any supply; however, the Christianity not only give the supply, but also give the supply first and give the requirements later. Here, it requires us to live in the grace that we have received.
(5) If the believers do not live a life worthy of it, it shows that they fall short of the grace of the calling from God.
(6) We can only encourage the children of God, but can not encourage those who haven’t repent yet to live a Christian’s life
(7) Men are not saved through their deeds; however, those who are saved, definitely must do good deeds worthy of the calling.
EPHESIANS 4:2 “ Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”
(NOTES)
“humble”:
is not inferior or mean. “Humble” is: when he looks at himself, he will looks at the shortcomings of himself; when he looks at others, he only looks at the advantages of others. Thus, one can “in humility consider others better than yourselves.” (Php 2:3) and “honor one another above yourselves.” (Rom 12:10).
“gentle”:
is nice and meek(Mat 5:3). Not only we should not fight with others, “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats.”(1Pe 2:23); but also we should not sting others with cold remarks and harsh languages. It implies the meanings of being elegant, polite and considerate and so on.
“be patient”:
is to bear or endure troubles, pains and mistreatments and so on without complaining or losing self-control. We should learn the Christ's perseverance (2Th 3:5).
“bearing with one another in love”:
is to bear with the deficit of others; keep no record of other’s wrongs and hurts to us. Only “love” can make us think of the good of others so that to be able to bear with one another.
“humble and gentle” are how we treat others; “be patient, bearing with one another in love” are how we react to others’ treatments.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) The way to be one in Christ for the Christians is to live the practices of Christ, that is, being completely humble, gentle, patient, bearing with one another in love, and keeping the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (Eph 4:3).
(2) The truly “humble” believers are because of their proper estimations on themselves and the recognition of the truth.
(3) Not on only one or two things, but on everything, the believers are humble, gentle, and patient.
(4) Being humble, gentle, and patient outwardly, but holding indignant anger inwardly, that is not what the “being humble, gentle, and patient” in the Bible is about.
(5) Being humble, then one can be gentle; being gentle, then one can be patient. Being gentle results from being humble; a gentle one will certainly be patient.
(6) Bearing with one another requires love; without love, there won’t be any tolerance. The more the love is, the more the tolerance will be.
(7) To develop the love between the brothers, it starts from being humble.
(8) “bearing with one another ”: not only we need others to bear with us; but also we need to bear with others.
(9) “bearing with” others does not mean yielding to sins and evils, but accepting those who did transgressions and have shortcomings with the hope that they will put off the transgressions and get rid of the shortcomings.
(10) We can do what the non-Christians can not do; it is absolutely not because of ourselves, but because of Christ dwelling in us. The grace we received is enough for us to be humble, gentle, and patient in our life.
EPHESIANS 4:3 “ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ”
(NOTES)
“through the bond of peace”:
“the bond” is the relationship already there. There will unavoidably be disagreement and misunderstandings between the believers. They need the bond of peace to keep all together.
“Make every effort to keep ”:
“Make every effort” means that work hard continually; “keep” refers to keeping the things one already have in case of being lost or changed.
“the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace”:
“the unity of the Spirit” is because that the Spirit in every believer is one. Every believer is one in the Spirit of Christ, that is, all the believers are one. If the believer does not keep himself to be one in the Spirit of Christ, there won’t be the unity of all the believers; this will be against and offend the Holy Sprit.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) No one can isolate himself from others and live the spiritual life all alone. The believers need to be united with each other. Peace is the principle to unite the believers together.
(2) LORD made the peace through the cross(Eph 2:14-16). The work of the cross is to make peace. Only when we use the principle of the cross, and crucify ourselves (not others) on the cross, only in this way we can make the peace with others.
(3) The unity of the believers is because they drink from one Spirit (1Co 12:13). The believers can not produce the “being one”, but can damage the “being one”.
(4) “Make every effort to keep ” shows that to keep the unity needs to pay price.
(5) To be one is in spirit; but not in the administrative organization's unification.
(6) If the believers do not emphasize the differences of their background and habit, they will find out surprisingly that though there are a lot of differences outwardly, the most important thing is the same inwardly; that is, the life in spirit.
EPHESIANS 4:4 “ There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- ”
(NOTES)
“There is one body ”:
We are members of one body in Christ (1Co 12:27); “though all its parts are many, they form one body.” (1Co 12:12) And the body can not be divided.
“one Spirit”:
Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ (1Co 12:13). Holy Spirit is the cause of formation and content of this body. Holy Spirit is one, therefore, the body is one and can not be divided.
“just as you were called to one hope when you were called”:
When we are called, “you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory. ” (Eph 1:14-15) That is the “hope when you were called”.
From (Eph 4:4) to (Eph 4:6), it mentions 7 basis to keep the unity; the first three is about Holy Spirit; the next three is about the Son; the last one is about the Father.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) There is one body, all in Christ.
(2) The body is one, it is because the Spirit is one. The apparent one outwardly is based on one essence inwardly.
(3) Whoever is not reborn or do not have Holy Spirit dwelling in can not be in this one.
(4) Since Holy Spirit is one, we receive one same Spirit; and the spirits can commune with each other.
(5) The Spirit must bring people into the body of Christ. Otherwise, it must not be the Spirit of Christ.
(6) The believers are one; it is one in spirit.
(7) Since the hope of the believers is one, no matter how big the difference is right now, someday in the future we will enter the same hope. Therefore, the believers should get along with each other with a far insight.
(8) Whoever does not have one body and one Spirit in mind, is not worthy of the hope of the eternal life.
EPHESIANS 4:5 “ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ”
(NOTES)
“one Lord”:
indicates that all the believers belong to one Lord, that is, LORD Jesus Christ. He is the savior of the believers, and also the Lord of the life of the believers and the Lord of all the life and works.
“one faith”:
not only refers to believing, but also includes what the believer believes in. The believers are related to LORD based on the same faith: believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and was crucified on the cross to bear the sins of people.
“one baptism”:
The believers are baptized into Christ in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) We believers all have one LORD. We are related to Him through faith and baptism. The faith is inside; the baptism is outside. One is “righteousness through faith” to be reborn; and is reborn of water and the Spirit (Joh 3:5).
(2) The believers truly fear God and are obedient to God they believe in, that is to be one in Christ.
(3) “One” is Christ’s, not ours. We become His through faith. We become one with Him because we are in Him.
EPHESIANS 4:6 “ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
(NOTES)
“one God and Father of all”:
Generally speaking, “all” refer to all the created; narrowly speaking, “all” refer to the Christians. We worship the same true only God -- our heavenly Father. We get life from Him. Therefore, He is the Father of all.
All the created, all things including all men are in God -- our Creator.
“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. ” (Rom 11:36)
“"Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the LORD . ” (Jer 23:24)
“'For in him we live and move and have our being.' ” (Act 17:28)
“over all ”:
He is far above all to rule, manage and control everything.
“through all ”:
He is among all to care, look after, guild, and save.
“and in all”:
He is in all to inspire, work, strengthen and so on.
The 7 “one” above from (Eph 4:4) to (Eph 4:6) include the truth in the Bible and are the basis of the Christians’ faith. One who believes in the 7 “one” , will believe in the Bible everywhere and be among the saved.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) The only basis for the believers to be one, is the true only God -- one Spirit, one LORD, one God; and His only salvation -- one hope, one faith and one baptism; but not any other truth, systems, regions, races and classes.
(2) Whatever we receive from God is all the same, and God Himself are through all of us. We have no reason to do any classification among us.
(3) The way for us to be one is: being obedient to the authority of God; being willing to be one in Christ; carrying it out by the inspiration and guidance of Holy Spirit.
(4) The Christians should be one, for they have had all the basic factors to be one. If there is any difference, it does not matter much.
EPHESIANS 4:7 “ But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”
(NOTES)
In (Eph 4:1), it talks about we are called; here, it talks about we are given the grace.
As to “grace”: (1) is granted by: Christ; (2) the receiver: everyone, those who are saved by grace; (3) basis: the criterion which measures according to Christ, is given to us based on the size of the volume of the faith in us.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) In Christ, everyone has the capability to serve, for each one has a unique gift.
(2) Although LORD have infinite gifts, He measure them most precisely and properly to us according to our volume. If we want to receive more gifts, we should ask Him to increase our volume first. We should eagerly desire the greater gifts(1Co 12:31)
(3) Since the gifts are from LORD (1Co 12), no one can boast about the gifts he receives.
(4) Every one should give thanks to God for the gifts that he received. Do not envy those who seem to receive more or special gifts; and do not despise those who receive less gifts.
(5) The gifts are granted; and can not be produced by training. The gifts are shown in the practical work and service and become mature through continuous practices.
EPHESIANS 4:8 “ This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." ”
(NOTES)
“This is why it says”:
The verse is cited from (PSALMS 68:18).
It indicates that it is through the cross that Christ grant the gifts to men. On the cross, LORD overcome the enemy -- the devil and destroy its capability to capture men, including: sins and evils, the world, the death, the sinful nature and so on. When He was raised up and ascended the heaven, He led those captives who were predestined to belong to God to the heavenly realms (Eph 2:6) and granted gifts to men.
EPHESIANS 4:9 “ (What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions ? ”
(NOTES)
The verses of (Eph 4:9) and (Eph 4:10) are inserted in the brackets. It is to explain that the verse cited in (Eph 4:8) regarding Christ. These two verses make one think of “the Word became flesh” of Christ and His resurrection.
EPHESIANS 4:10 “ He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) ”
(NOTES)
“ascended higher than all the heavens”:
After the resurrection of LORD Jesus, He ascended heaven and was seated at the right hand of the Father(Eph 1:20; Act 1:9; Act 2:34).
“in order to fill the whole universe”:
After the victory and resurrection of Christ, He gave the gifts in order to build up His body; the church is His body, and the fullness of him who fills everything in every way(Eph 1:23). Therefore, to build up His body is absolutely related to filling the whole universe. It is for the purpose of filling the whole universe to give the gifts.
EPHESIANS 4:11 “ It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, ”
(NOTES)
“apostles”:
refer to those who have the power from Holy Spirit, are called by God, and are sent to open up wasteland everywhere and build up the church.
“prophets”:
refer to those who are enlightened by Holy Spirit, receive the revelation of the truth from God, and can proclaim the will of God in order to build up, comfort and encourage other believers.
“evangelists”:
refer to those who have special burden and capabilities to preach Gospel and can go deep into the crowd and lead others to LORD.
“ pastors and teachers”:
Pastors are those in the position of feeding and caring the spiritual life of the believers; teachers are those who help to build up other believers in the knowledge and practices of the truth.
EPHESIANS 4:12 “ to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ”
(NOTES)
“prepare God's people ”:
In every way, make the saints ready in life, knowledge and ability to serve and work well.
Here, it mentions that the purpose of giving the gifts is: (1) to build up and train all the saints; (2) to make them serve and work well on their positions; (3) to fulfill the work of building up the body of Christ.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) To build the church of LORD, it is not only relying on the supply and guidance of those apostles and prophets with special gifts; but also all the saints with the rebirth to make efforts to work and serve LORD. We are at least one of the saints and must not shirk our duties and responsibilities!
(2) In a normal church, it is not that the workers do the works of service, but that the workers lead all the church to serve so that every believer can be used in the church; otherwise, it will not be one body.
(3) Every part has its function in the body, and its function can not be substituted by other parts. Every believer has his position and work in the church.
(4) The children of God should have this attitude: if I can do it, others can also do it; if I could not do it, hope that others can do it.
EPHESIANS 4:13 “ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. ”
(NOTES)
“all reach unity in the faith ”:
that is, all reach one same faith in Christ.
“in the knowledge of the Son of God”:
All reach one same knowledge of Christ. “knowledge” is a complete, thorough, and correct knowledge, but not superficial and shallow knowledge.
“become mature”:
that is, to be separated from the childish and ignorant babyhood and can distinguish good from evil (Heb 5:13-14). And this growth is because of coming to know LORD Jesus Christ.
“attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ”:
that is, being mature enough to show the fullness of the life of Christ.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) The goal of the believer is to “become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. ” The way to achieve this goal is through picking up the cross and denying oneself to follow LORD everyday so that to know more about LORD and grow up.
(2) To know the truth is to lead us to the Son of God; to know the Son of God is to make us become mature. Therefore, the goal that we pursue is to know the Son of God better.
(3) If the believers have deviation in their understanding of the faith, they will make errors in knowing Christ; if their knowledge of Christ is incomplete, the growth will be hindered.
(4) The faith and knowledge of the believers also need a step-by-step progress; and should not stay at the babyhood right after the rebirth.
(5) The goal of a Christian is to let Christ get a complete position in us, let Christ’s life be in charge completely.
(6) The more one knows Christ, the more position he will let Christ have in him.
(7) The believers come to know Christ not only from the faith, but also from the experience. We must let the rich life of Christ shown from ourselves to truly know the Son of God and to attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
(8) Only by truly getting to know the Son of God, our life will become mature.
EPHESIANS 4:14 “ Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. ”
(NOTES)
“no longer be infants”:
that is, do not stay at the stage of immature mind and babyhood in Christ.
“the cunning and craftiness of men”:
refer to those who have ulterior motives and preach specious teachings.
“their deceitful scheming”:
refer to the evil tactics to deceive people.
“every wind of teaching”:
“wind” shows that it is empty, unpractical, and changeful. Any teachings that are disconnected to Christ and let people look upon things outside Christ, are all “wind of teaching”.
“tossed back and forth ”:
describes it like a boat in the waves being tossed and shaken back and forth, up and down.
“blown here and there ”:
describes it like a boat in the gale being blown here and there, round and round, without directions.
The above two scenarios are both related to the “wind of teaching”.
“blown here and there by every wind of teaching ”:
indicates that follow the wrong teachings and systems.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) The reason that the wrong way has strange ability to rule, is because there are evil spirits of falsehood and lie behind it. And the devil and evil spirits know the weak points of people well. They lure people to the deathtrap with candies, and let people refuse the medicine of truth. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it (Mat 7:13). Therefore, the Christians must always be alert.
(2) The Christians must hold on to the faith firmly, take the Bible as the only basis of truth, seek the truth honestly, and not be controlled by the falsehood.
(3) All Scripture is God-breathed (2Ti 3:16), is the only basis of truth. Any doctrine that is self-made and inconsistent with the truth on the Bible, is heterodoxy. Any teaching that distorts and understands partially the teachings on the Bible, will lead people to the wrong way.
(4) Any teaching if does not aim at “attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Eph 4:13), no matter how rational and pleasant it sounds, is “wind of teaching” and will make the children of God “blown here and there ”. That is “the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. ”, and will hinder our growth. We must be watchful and avoid it.
(5) We must unite ourselves with the Head -- Christ to grow up and to be one in Christ so that not to be shaken.
EPHESIANS 4:15 “ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. ”
(NOTES)
“speaking the truth in love”:
implies that in love, speaking the truth so that to build others.
“in all things grow up ”:
indicates that grow up in all things so that to be united with Christ. Also, indicates that every part of the body grows up towards one direction -- Christ.
“into him who is the Head, that is, Christ”:
Since Christ is the truth (Joh 14:6), the results of holding on to the truth, is “in all things grow up into Christ”.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) Only by speaking the truth, one can deal with the deceitful heterodoxy and the cunning philosophy.
(2) Speaking the truth must be in love: for the truth might make one feel hard and cold; while love is warm with life. Love makes one melt in the life of the body to unite with the Head -- Christ.
(3) Those who are as the exits for the words of God, must know the secret to convince others of the truth is “speaking the truth in love”, but not with eloquence or superior wisdom or conceited, boastful and empty words.
(4) We’d better speak the truth in love. What we said without love are often misunderstood by others.
(5) Because of loving God, one can bear with other’s misunderstandings and won’t mind to pay the price to hold the truth.
(6) We should not be satisfied on the growth in some things, for it might be the hindrance for us to grow up in all things.
(7) The biggest problem in the growth is that one does not take Christ as the Head.
(8) All the activities of the believers -- including Bible studying, praying, serving, contributing and so on, if without being united with Christ and respecting Christ as the Head, are dead.
(9) All the parts are united with the Head and have proper relationship with the Head; then there will be proper relationship between each other.
EPHESIANS 4:16 “ From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
(NOTES)
“From him the whole body”:
“him” refers to our Head -- Christ. The whole body gets supplies and commands from the head.
“joined and held together”:
not only connected, but also properly matched with each other.
“joined and held together by every supporting ligament”:
every ligament of the body supports and works for other parts.
“as each part does its work”:
“work” means function and duty.
“grows and builds itself up in love”:
Every one in the church does his work; it will lead to the growth of each part, thus, the whole body grows up, and in the harmony and coordination with love, oneself is also built up.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) Only when we “in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. ”, then “from him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
(2) To build up the body of Christ, it requires the coordination and assists from each part. While the true coordination and pleasant assists are relying on that each part keeps the connection with the Head -- Christ and in all things grows up into Him.
(3) Every part in the body of Christ has its work. Only when all the parts work together, the body can be built. Therefore, in church, one should not only work by himself alone, but should let others work together. LORD prefer you to lead and guide others to work together, rather than you work all alone.
(4) The bonding among the brothers and sisters are through LORD. As long as the relationship with LORD is right, then the relationship among the brothers and sisters are right, the practices of the body will be shown.
(5) If there is only one worker with special gifts proclaiming the word of God, while most of the people only sit and enjoy the spiritual supply, such a church has not been built up well yet.
(6) To build up the church, all members in the church should be at works, everyone makes use of his gift and coordinate with each other to serve LORD. If everyone is relying on the guidance and lead of Holy Spirit, the church will be a body in harmony and coordination. Each part works for each other, and grows up together in LORD and works together for LORD.
(7) “builds itself up in love” -- only love can give the atmosphere and factors to the spiritual growth; the church can only grow up in love.
EPHESIANS 4:17 “ So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. ”
(NOTES)
“insist on it ”:
emphasize the importance of it decisively without yielding. It refers to the following sentence.
“in the futility of their thinking”:
The Gentiles who do not believe in God, their minds and thoughts are futile. They live a life in void and falsehood.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) The believers and the unbelievers have different life and living category. The standards of conducts are different.
(2) Presumptuously enjoying the rights without fulfilling the duty, harvesting without sowing, also impractical and empty thoughts, none of these should be the thoughts and conducts of a believer.
EPHESIANS 4:18 “ They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. ”
(NOTES)
“are darkened in their understanding ”:
indicates that one’s understanding lack the ability to distinguish good from the bad.
“because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. ”:
“ignorance” is because they do not want to know. From all things created by God, men can see and understand that there is God. However, men do not want to know, their hearts are hardened and lose the sensitivity toward God. The results are that they drift apart to be separated from the life of God.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) The unbelievers do not know God, do not have the life of Christ, and are separated from the life of God.
(2) The falling and corruption of men starts from the darkness inside; if the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! (Mat 6:23),
(3) The hearts of men are numb, obstinate and stubborn, showing that they are abandoned by God. They offend God without fearing His judgment, persist on their own way, live a life to please themselves without any worries.
(4) From one’s behavior, it is obvious how big his spiritual life is. It is very dangerous if the believer with the rebirth does not have the determination to deny himself and carry his own cross to follow LORD; is not willing to let Christ take charge of his life; lives according to the sinful nature and refuses to change his life; and lives a life in the same way as before he believes in God. If he does not repent, he will go to the destruction.
(5) The Christians must know clearly and be alert that whoever does evils is the enemy of God, and is taking the road to his own doom. Even the workers of God(Mat 7:21), even those who have shared in Holy Spirit (Heb 6:4-8), if they do evils and do not repent, they won’t be able to enter the eternal life.
EPHESIANS 4:19 “ Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. ”
(NOTES)
“Having lost all sensitivity”:
that is, throwing away conscience and all the sensitivities such as love, righteousness and kindness and so on.
“indulge in every kind of impurity”:
indicates that one gives himself over to the indecent and immoral misdeeds, the sensual indulgence and the sinful nature.
“with a continual lust for more”
Regardless of others’ rights and interests completely, only seek to gain more wealth for oneself and one’s own pleasures so that to do every kind of impurity.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) One who casts aside the conscience and inner feeling first, will then give hemself over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. Therefore, the believers must keep on walking on the holy way and respect the conscience and the inner feelings.
(2) The conscience of men (Eph 4:6) is from God to suppress the sins of men. It is the reminder, reproach, and eye from God. When men ignore God, it will be seen from them the boundless indulgence and the completely exposed lust; that is the fullness of sins and evils.
EPHESIANS 4:20 “ You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. ”
(NOTES)
“come to know Christ ”:
indicates that in the past, have learned from Christ that: (1) live a life in the way of Christ, let Christ be the model of our outward life (Mat 11:29); (2) let the life of Christ shown from our inward.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) Because the believers have the life of Christ, they can therefore follow and learn from Christ. Firstly, they receive the life; secondly, they follow the example.
(2) The true faith must sublimate our life.
(3) To know Christ and to restrain sensual indulgence should not be separated.
(4) We do not follow anyone expect Christ; even if we follow anyone, we follow Christ in them (1Co 11:1).
EPHESIANS 4:21 “ Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.”
(NOTES)
“heard of him ”:
that is, heard of Christ Himself and also His words and deeds.
“were taught in him”:
“in him” we were taught. It shows that this teaching is different from the worldly people -- they were taught outside. While the teachings of LORD are: (1) the teachings belonging to the inner life; (2) the teachings that only those who are in LORD can receive them.
“in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus”:
“truth“ refers to all the teachings and truth given and shown by LORD Jesus (including taking off the old self on the cross). Now “truth” becomes the spiritual practices hidden in Him. Therefore, Jesus Christ said that “I am the truth” (Joh 14:6). What we learn is the living truth which lives in Jesus Christ. Heard of the words of LORD is to “know”; were taught in him is to “believe”; learned the truth of LORD is to “live”.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) What we listen to, accept and learn, is not the doctrine, not the theory, but is “Him”-- Christ.
(2) The truth is not only that God is seen and touched by us, but also that God, we can see and touch, enter into us so that we live a life with the image of God.
(3) Hearing the messages should be connected together with accepting the teachings and learning the truth. If hearing the messages without accepting the teachings and learning the truth, no matter how many teachings they heard, it is still useless.
EPHESIANS 4:22 “ You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;”
(NOTES)
“put off your old self”:
“old self” refers to the life we have from Adam. The old self was the source that we lived an old life before and was shown from the former behavior.
“is being corrupted by its deceitful desires”:
Our old life due to the deceit of the devil, has its own strong desires -- the selfish desires. Therefore, it is corrupted day by day and getting worse and worse until being incurable.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1)As to the old life, the believers can not improve it, but should take it off like taking off the clothes. This kind of taking off, can only be accomplished by denying oneself and carrying one’s own cross to follow Christ.
(2) The old life of the believer has been crucified together with Christ (Rom 6:6). Although it is an objectively accomplished fact, while on the subject experience, the salvation is not complete yet. Therefore, we must continually take off the old self everyday in our life.
EPHESIANS 4:23 “ to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ”
(NOTES)
“the attitude of your minds”:
indicates that the spiritual life we got when we are reborn extend into our minds and make our minds spiritual.
“to be made new ”:
the Spirit of God inspires and controls our minds to make our minds new. The Gentiles live in the futility of thinking. Their thoughts are all false. We who were reborn have the Spirit of God dwell in our spirits; however, we are still controlled by our minds sometimes. Therefore, the Spirit of God must enter into our minds and substitute the falsehood in our minds so that our minds will reach the stage of “ spiritual minds” (Rom 8:6 “live in accordance to the Spirit” ). At that time, what are in our minds are all spiritual.
“to be made new ” shows that it is passive; it is not that we renew ourselves, but that we are renewed by the Spirit of Christ. And it is a continually developing process.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) The salvation by LORD, not only deals with our old life from the negative side, but also gives us the new life from the positive side so that we can get rid of the old life and be renewed.
(2) The work of Holy Spirit is from the center to the circumference. Men’s spirit is the dwelling for the Holy Spirit and the center of the whole person; while men’s minds are specially related to the spirit. Therefore, to renew a person, it starts from his spirit to his mind. (Rom 12:2)
(3) We should live in accordance to Holy Spirit to renew our minds and thoughts completely, to be one in the attitude and mind of Christ, and to live a life to show the life of Christ.
EPHESIANS 4:24 “ and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
(NOTES)
“created to be like God ”:
that is, the new man is created in the likeness of God and has the life and nature of God.
“in true righteousness and holiness”:
“true” is also written as truth (ASV version), that is, the truth in LORD Jesus. “righteousness” indicates that treat and get along with others in justice. Righteousness is agree with God’s rules. “holiness” refers to the holy and pure integrity in God; implies devotion and godliness. “Holiness” is to have the nature of God, and is separated from everything outside God.
When LORD Jesus came to the earth, He is righteous to men; He is holy to God. He is the truth and show the truth.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) The purpose that God give us the rebirth is to lead us back from the wrong path and to fulfill the original purpose to create us.
(2) We Christians are the new creations with rebirth in Christ (Gal 6:15; Eph 2:15). We have the life of Christ. We should put off the life and conducts of the old one in Adam to recover the image created by God originally; live a life of Christ, that is, a life belong to God.
(3) We show God in our daily life, not based on the righteousness and holiness of men, but the righteousness and holiness of God; that is, to show the nature of God.
(4) We should be sincere no matter to God or to men, because falsehood can not cheat the true God.
EPHESIANS 4:25 “ Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.”
(NOTES)
“falsehood”:
“falsehood” includes all misdeeds of cheating and deceiving, lying and fooling, slandering and so on. It is the main characters of the old self. Whatever come from the devil are lies and falsehood. The first character of the devil is lying, the second character is hatred and murdering. When we put off the old self, we also put off the falsehood comes from the devil.
“speak truthfully ”:
“truthfully” same as (Eph 4:21) and (Eph 4:24), in contrast to falsehood, refers to being simple and honest.
“speak truthfully to his neighbor”:
Since we are the new creations, when we speak to the brothers and sisters, do not speak lies from the devil.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) What the believers need to deal with first is the language, for language is the expression of the personality, through which we contact and communicate with others.
(2) Lies belong to the devil; truthfulness belongs to God. Truth does not allow the lies.
(3) Truthfulness is a mark to distinguish the Christians from the worldly people. While the Christians live among the worldly people, the sin that fall short of the glory of God most is dishonesty.
(4) The believers are members of one body. None of the parts of the body should pass on wrong and dishonest message to other parts; otherwise, the body will be paralyzed.
EPHESIANS 4:26 “ "In your anger do not sin" : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ”
(NOTES)
“In your anger do not sin”:
The believers might be angry sometimes due to others’ unrighteousness, ungodliness, and unlawfulness (2Co 11:2). What’s important is, being angry should not have the motive of sins (for example, being angry due to hatred); and should not trap oneself in sins. That is, if the anger is against sins because of opposing sins, it is all right; if the anger is for letting off resentment and hatred to make oneself feel comfortable, it is sin.
“Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry”:
indicates that one should not keep the anger. The anger should not be hold for long. Do not let the sun go down while one is still angry, which is not allowed by God.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) Although the believers could be angry, it must be for the sake of righteousness, but not the individual temperament, emotionally letting off, even the attacks to the brothers.
(2) Although the righteous indignation against the injustice and mistakes is not wrong, but incautiously, it will be mixed with pride and hatred.
(3) The believers must clear up all the dissatisfactions with others everyday, in order not to pile up anger an complaints in mind.
EPHESIANS 4:27 “ and do not give the devil a foothold. ”
(NOTES)
Each time the devil work on the children of God, it will find a foothold for its work. If we do not give the devil a foothold, it will not have work to do. That is our victory.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) When the devil lure people to sins, it often starts from the smallest thing. When we are not watchful, give the devil an inch and it will take an ell; the devil will lure us step by step to pull us to the destruction. Therefore, we must be alert; even on the smallest thing, we must not give the devil a foothold.
(2) If the believers allow the devil taking a small room in their minds, it won’t stop there; give the devil an inch and it will take an ell to occupy their whole mind.
(3) An angry man is easy to hold the anger. When the anger comes in, men will be out of control, thus give chances to the devil.
EPHESIANS 4:28 “ He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. ”
(NOTES)
“stealing”:
“stealing” has nothing to do with the anger, but is related to “give the devil a foothold”. “stealing” is one of the falsehood and is from the devil.
“doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. ”:
The reason of “stealing” is because of laziness and greed. Do not be willing to work, it is laziness; do not be willing to share, it is greed. Therefore, doing the work with one’s own hands is not lazy; sharing with others is not greedy. The Christians should always care about others in their life. When they have had enough, they should give out the left to those who are in need.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) The obvious “stealing” of the Christians are: stealing the glory of God, the time of God, the gifts of God and the contributions that God should get.
(2) Loving ease and hating work are the deep rooted bad habit of the old self. The new man must reject the thought of reaping without sowing, and try one’s best to form the habit of working hard.
(3) The former hands that are greedy to grab other’s wealth, now change to one’s own hands to do useful work and to maintain the livelihood; and also hands that share the extra to those in need. This is the clear proof that the hands of God work on us.
(4) Sharing is a life that we children of God should live. We live to give to and share with others. Each person should look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others(Php 2:4). Everyone should try to meet others’ needs.
EPHESIANS 4:29 “ Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
(NOTES)
“unwholesome talk ”:
will corrupt the listener, poison their thoughts, contaminate their minds; therefore, should not be let out of the mouth.
“what is helpful for building others up according to their needs”:
One needs to be built up spiritually and in life. “what is helpful” is from God, for only God is kind and good.
“it may benefit those who listen”:
If we speak what is helpful, that is, the good words from God -- the truth, it may benefit those who listen, that is, let them receive God.
EPHESIANS 4:30 “ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
(NOTES)
“do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God”:
Besides the Christian is the evil spirit; inside the Christian is Holy Spirit. A true Christian’s life is that do not give the devil a foothold, and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God; in order that we live the likeness of God.
“do not grieve the Holy Spirit ”:
implies that we live a life in accordance to the management and guidance of Holy Spirit. That is: “ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.”(Eph 4:31) These are all the illness of the body and divide the body to hinder the saints to be one in Christ. Therefore, we must get rid of all of them.
“with whom you were sealed”:
By Holy Spirit, God seal us to show that we belong to Him. It is a mark that we are under His authority to be controlled and managed. Holy Spirit as the seal is to make us be like God. The seal is living and is at work continually in us so that we can live the likeness of God outwardly. When we live according to the model of the truth of Jesus, the seal in us will work; thus, with the work of both from the inward and the outward, we can live the righteousness and holiness of LORD.
“the day of redemption”:
refers to the day that the body is redeemed and lifted, and the redemption is complete (Rom 8:23).
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) “grieve” shows a passion that do not bear to abandon. Holy Spirit descends like a dove (Mat 3:16), holy and good. One should not grieve Holy Spirit with transgressions and sins; and also should not offend Holy Spirit by being disobedient to God.
(2) Holy Spirit works in the mind of the believers; firstly is to inspire, reproach, stop, urge; then is to grieve; if the believers continue to ignore it, cling obstinately on one’s own course without repentance; the results will be the wrath and punishment from God (Isa 63:10).
EPHESIANS 4:31 “ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.”
(NOTES)
These evil intentions and bad emotions are from Satan, and belong to the devil. The believers must not keep them in mind, and must get rid of all of them.
(LIGHT IN WORDS)
(1) To get rid of these all, we can not rely on ourselves alone, but must rely on Jesus Christ. Our responsibility is to cooperate with Him and let His cross work on us.
(2) Don’t consider the above evil intentions and bad emotions have nothing to do with us who were reborn. As to men, with a little agitation, these ugliness will show outwardly. Therefore, we must pay attention to deal with it, look upon LORD and let LORD get rid of them for us.
EPHESIANS 4:32 “ Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
(NOTES)
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other”:
These are all from the Holy Spirit, in contrast to the previous things from the devil.
“compassionate”:
being sympathetic to the weak and unfortunate.
“just as in Christ”:
The life of the new man is a life like God. We should live a life of “the Word became flesh”. Because when we were reborn, we were born from the heaven; then Holy Spirit brought us to earth to live the truth of Jesus. That is, the Word became flesh again; Jesus showed again to live a life of God.
Reference:
1. Jiale Huang: “Christians’ Digest of the Scripture Analysis Series”.
