Lesson 10

Ephesians 4: 7-16, unity in diversity

VV 7-10, 7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.” 9 (Now this, “He ascended”, what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

After His resurrection, Jesus Christ gave grace and spiritual gifts to all Christians in proportion to their faith. According to their level of faith, some may receive more and others may receive less. Ephesians 4:9 is problematic. Does this verse mean that Jesus Christ descended into hell before His resurrection, as stated in the apostles’ creed? Most biblical scholars do not think so. One interpretation on “He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth” just means that Jesus Christ was buried into the grave before His resurrection.

Ephesians 4:8 is a quotation from Psalm 68:18, “You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, Even from the rebellious, That the Lord God might dwell there”.

1 Peter 4:6, “For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit”.

VV 11-13, 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

Jesus Christ raised up leaders to equip, edify, teach, and unite the body of Christ, the church, through the 5 fold ministries. These are the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Although there is a diversity of spiritual gifts, there is unity in one Holy Spirit.

Romans 12:6-8, “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation, he who gives, with liberality, he who leads, with diligence, he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness”.

1 Cor 12: 7-10, “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all, for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gift of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kind of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues”.

V 14, that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,

The diversity of spiritual gifts is for sanctification, maturity in the Christian faith, and discernment of false doctrines taught by false teachers.

VV 15-16, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head, Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supply, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Paul commanded his audience (and us), to speak the truth in love to other Christians with a pure motive and a sincere heart. Jesus Christ is the head of the body of Christ, the church, and Christians are the different parts of the body connected together into a living organism.

Colossians 1: 18, “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence”.

Colossians 3:15, ‘’Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful”.

1 Cor 1:27, “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it”.

1 Cor 12:13, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit”.

Lesson 9

Ephesians 4: 1-6

V 1, I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,

Therefore, is the connecting bridge to Ephesians 1-3. After saying those things in Ephesians 1-3, he had these things to say. Paul said he was a prisoner of the Lord and not a prisoner of Nero Caesar. He was put imprisoned by the will of Jesus Christ, his master. Greek for beseech is “parakaleo”, which means to encourage. Greek for worthy is “axios”, which means, befitting. Greek for walk is “peripateo”, which means to conduct one’s self. In response to all that God had done for them, Paul encouraged his audience to conduct themselves in a manner befitting of their calling.

V 2, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,

Greek for lowliness is “tapeinos”, which means humility, poor in spirit, dependence on the Lord, and not on self. Greek for gentleness is “praus”, which means meekness. Meekness is power under control. Jesus had omnipotent power at His disposal and yet He was very gentle. Long-suffering in Greek is “makrothumos”, which means patience or perseverance. Greek for love is “agape’’, which means unconditional or sacrificial love.

Paul encouraged his audience to conduct themselves in a manner befitting themselves of their calling, by showing humility, meekness, patience, and sacrificial love for one another.

Matthew 11:29, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls”.

Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”.

Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”.

VV 3-6, 3, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Greek for endeavoring is “spoudazo”, which means to act fervently. Paul encouraged his audience to act fervently, peacefully, and be united in the Holy Spirit. There is only one body, the Church, the body of Christ, the one new man in Christ. There is only one Spirit, the Holy Spirit. There is only one Hope, heaven. There is only one Lord, Jesus Christ. The is only one Faith, Christianity. The is only one baptism, Christian baptism. There is only one God, the Holy Trinitarian God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is the Father above all Christians, through all Christians, and in all Christians.

Lesson 8

Ephesians 3: 14-21, Paul’s prayer

Paul prayed for his audience, the Christians at Ephesus and the surrounding region in Asia Minor (Turkey).

V 14, For this reason, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Paul bowed his knees in reverence to the Father in prayer. Bowing our knees is a sign of reverence and submission to the Lord. We should always bow our knees before God in prayer unless we have medical reasons like degenerative knee joint disease, knee joint replacement, and others.

V 15, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

The whole family of God on earth, “the one new man in Christ” or “the body of Christ”, and in heaven is named after Jesus Christ.

VV 16-19, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height, 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Paul prayed for his audience to be strengthened spiritually, by the Holy Spirit, experience the presence of Christ through faith, be grounded in love, understand the unfailing, unsearchable, and abundant love of God, and be filled with the fullness of God.

VV 20-21, 20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3: 20-21 is a doxology. Jesus Christ is omnipotent and is able to do exceedingly more than what we could ever ask or imagine. Christ’s omnipotent power works in us through the Holy Spirit. Paul prayed for Jesus Christ’s name to be glorified in the Church throughout all generations forever and ever.

Lesson 7

Ephesians 3: 1- 13, Mystery of Christ revealed

The word mystery appeared 3 times in this passage.

V 1, for this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles,

Paul called himself a prisoner of Jesus Christ, even though he was a prisoner of the Roman emperor Caesar Nero. Paul’s master was Jesus Christ. He was in jail for the Gentiles according to the will of Jesus Christ. The Jewish religious leaders were responsible for putting him into prison with trumped-up charges and false accusations.

V 2, if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you,

Paul preached the gospel to the Gentiles by the grace of God in the dispensation of grace.

VV3-6, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,

Greek for mystery is “musterion”, which means the mystery of a secret doctrine. This mystery of Christ was hidden in the Old Testament but now revealed to Paul by the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. Here is the mystery. Jesus Christ demolished the wall of separation between the Jews and the Gentiles, Ephesians 1:9-10. The Gentiles were reconciled with the Jews into a “one new man in Christ” called the Church, sharing the same body, same family, and same promise through the gospel.

Galatians 3:28, “In Christ, there are no Jews nor Gentiles, no slaves nor free, no male nor female, no Greek nor barbarians”.

V 7, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.

Paul was a minister to the Gentiles by God’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s empowerment. Greek for minister is “diakonos”, from which the word deacon is derived. ‘’Diakonos” means servant. Greek for power is “dunamis”, from which the word dynamite is derived. ‘’Dunamis” means strength or ability.

V 8, To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

Paul, the greatest of the apostles, called himself the least of the saints. Paul’s preaching ministry to the Gentiles was by the grace of God. Greek for preach is “kerugma”, which means proclamation. Greek for unsearchable is “aneksereunetos’, which means impossible to fully discover. The riches of Christ are beyond anyone’s capacity to fully discover.

VV 9-10, 9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,

The purpose of God revealing the mystery is to teach the manifold wisdom of God to the principalities and powers, the hierarchy of satan’s demonic spirits. Greek for principalities is ‘’archon”, which means satanic rulers.

VV 11-12, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.

Creating a “one new man in Christ” was God’s eternal purpose accomplished in Jesus Christ. Having been reconciled with God, we can come boldly before Him.

Hebrews 4: 14-16, “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need”.

V 13, Therefore, I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

Therefore, do not be anxious, despair, or fear tribulations. Tribulations will work towards your glory. Greek for glory is “doxa”, which means splendor or excellence.

Romans 12:12, ESV, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer”.

John 16:33, ESV, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world.”

James 1:2. ESV, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds’’.

Romans 8:18, ESV, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present21 time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us”.

Romans 8:28, ESV, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose’’.

Lesson 6.

Ephesians 2:11-22, One new man in Christ

VV 11-13, 11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands, 12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

We were once Gentiles, uncircumcised, without a Jewish pedigree, without the promise of the covenant, without Christ, without hope, and without God. All these had been reversed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

VV 14-18, 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace united Jews and Gentiles by demolishing the wall of separation between the Jews and the Gentiles. Uniting the Jews and Gentiles, He created “one new man in Christ”, a new entity called the Church. Jesus Christ reconciled Jews and Gentiles to God and each other through the cross. Both Jews and Gentiles could experience peace with God, peace from God, and peace of God. Through Jesus Christ, Jews and Gentiles had access to the Holy Spirit and the Father.

Romans 5: 1-2, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God”.

Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”.

Galatians 5: 22, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness’’.

VV 19-20, 19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,

Through Jesus Christ, we, the Gentiles, had become citizens and members of God’s family. The foundation of our faith is the apostles and the prophets but the chief cornerstone is Jesus Christ. The chief cornerstone is one special stone that stabilized an entire stone building. The whole weight of a stone building is supported by the chief cornerstone. Jesus Christ is the Chief Cornerstone of our faith. He is the only way to God.

John 14:6, Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me”.

Isaiah 28:16, “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily”.

V 21-22, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

The whole building with the apostles and the prophets as the foundation and Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone is the Church, the one new man in Christ. The temple of God is our body where the Holy Spirit resides.

1 Cor 6:19, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”

1 Cor 3:16, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

1 Peter 2:5, “you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”.

Lesson 5

Ephesians 2: 4-10, salvation by grace through faith

VV 4-5, 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Because of God’s abundant mercy and great love, he saved us by grace through faith in Jesus Christ’s substitutionary atonement.on the cross. God justified us even when we were still sinners.

Romans 5:8, ”But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.

VV 6-7, and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Because of God’s abundant mercy, great love, and saving grace, He will resurrect and seat us together in God’s heavenly throne in Christ’s millennial kingdom.

VV 8-9, 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9 is a memory verse. Greek for grace is “charis”, which means unmerited favour given as a gift to someone who does not deserve it. Grace is getting what we do not deserve. Salvation is a gift from God that is not earned by doing good work. Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Greek for faith is “pistis”, which means believe or trust.

Galatians 3:6-7, “just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness, therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham”.

Romans 3:28, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law”.

Romans 4:5, “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness’’.

Romans 5:1, Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

V 10, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Greek for workmanship is “poima”, which means poetry. We are God”s poetry in action. God predestined, prepared us beforehand, created us, and saved us for good works, not by good work. Good works come after only salvation and not before. We must never boast about our salvation because this is from the grace of God. We did not earn it and we did not deserve it. We must always boast about Jesus Christ who saved us and died for us on the cross.

Romans 4:2, “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God”.

Lesson 4

Ephesians 2: 1- 3, Dead in sin, alive in Christ.

V 1, And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,

God revived our spirit man. When we were born spiritually dead due to trespasses and sins. Greek for trespass is “paraptoma’’, which means crossing over the forbidden line. Trespass is usually an intentional act. Greek for sin is ‘’harmatia”, which means missing the mark or missing the bull’s eye. To sin is to miss the bull’s eye of God’s perfect standard. Sin is an unintentional act.

Romans 3:23, ‘’for all have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God”.

Romans 6: 23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

V 2, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,

We once walked aimlessly, according to satan’s agenda, the prince of the world. We were once “the sons of disobedience”. We once walked in transgressions and sins, slaves to satan, the “prince of the power of the air’’. But when we are born again, God gave us new lives in Christ through spiritual rebirths and regenerations.

1 Peter 1:3, NIV, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead’’.

1 Peter 1:23, “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever”.

Titus 3:5, “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit’.

V 3, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

Our lives were once dominated by the evil desires of the flesh. We may be walking and talking but we were dead in sins and separated from God. We were once the walking dead, alive in the flesh but dead in the spirit. When we became Christians, the Holy Spirit comes into us and gave us new spiritual lives in Christ. Even after salvation, the flesh and the spirit are still warring with each other. Now that we are made alive in Christ, born again, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, we became slaves to our new master, Jesus Christ. He operates by grace and gives us eternal life. We are no longer slaves to satan, who operates by law and death. Once we were children of wrath, but now we are children of God.

Galatians 5:16-17, “I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law”.

John 3:6, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”.

James 1: 14-15, ”but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has been conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death’’.