# comment

text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 3:18'>Gal 3:18</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no more of promise</em>- The inheritance of "the land of promise" was made possible&nbsp;<em>before</em>&nbsp;the Law of Moses was given. Israel were given Canaan on the basis of the promises to Abraham, and not the Law of Moses.</p><p><em>But God has granted it to Abraham by promise</em>- Abraham was not given any set of laws he must obey. He was simply asked to believe, and go inherit the promised land. And the Gospel to us is really also that simple. Its very simplicity is why the demand for faith is so intense, and why people would prefer to slip back into some legal system, with a promised reward for obedience which can never be a certain hope because of our disobedience in some ways.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 3:19'>Gal 3:19</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For what, then, was the law? It was added because of transgressions</em>- The descendants of Jacob / Israel were not righteous, although they were God's people. The law of Moses was given to them "because of transgressions". And yet the very existence of the Mosaic Law generated sin, and thereby the experience of God's wrath upon His people (<em><a href='B:520 4:15'>Rom 4:15</a></em>). So why were Israel given the Law? In some ways (and this isn't the only reason) to confirm them in their sinfulness. The original Mosaic Law was "holy, just and good" in itself (<em><a href='B:520 7:12'>Rom 7:12</a></em>). But later, God gave Israel "laws that were not good" (referring to the Halachas of the Scribes?) so that they would go further away from Him (<em><a href='B:330 20:25'>Eze 20:25</a></em>). He must have done this by inspiring men to say things which were genuinely communicated by God, but which were false.</p><h4><em>Until the seed should come to whom the promise had been made. The law was given through angels by the hand of a mediator-&nbsp;</em>The promise was made to the Lord Jesus, therefore, when as yet He did not exist. In this sense the promises were spoken to Christ, the seed of Abraham (:16). God's word of promise likewise spoke to us right back then in Abraham's time- even though we had not then associated with his seed.</h4>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 3:20'>Gal 3:20</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Now an intermediary implies more than one party, but God is one</em>- The oath of God to Abraham was a unilateral undertaking. He alone passed through the burning pieces. Likewise the mediation of the Angels implied two parties in a contract- but actually the covenant was unilateral, only God bound Himself by terms and conditions. He simply wanted to pass on the blessing to us. All we have to do is believe it and accept the covenant.</p><p>Reflect a moment upon the sheer power and import of the fact that the Father&nbsp;<em>promised</em>&nbsp;things to us, who are Abraham’s seed by faith and baptism. The Law of Moses was a conditional promise, because there were two parties; but the promises to us are in some sense unconditional, as God is the only “one” party (<em><a href='B:550 3:19-20'>Gal 3:19-20</a></em>). And as if God’s own unconditional promise isn’t enough, He confirmed those promises to us with the blood of His very own son. Bearing this in mind, it's not surprising that <em><a href='B:230 111:5'>Psa 111:5</a></em> states that God "will&nbsp;<em>ever</em>&nbsp;be mindful of His covenant". This means that He's thinking about the covenant made with us&nbsp;<em>all</em>&nbsp;the time And yet how often in daily life do we reflect upon the fact that we really are in covenant relationship with God::. how often do we recollect the part we share in the promises to Abraham, how frequently do we feel that we really are in a personal covenant with God Almighty? In Genesis 15, He made a one-sided commitment to Abraham. The idea of the dead animals in the ceremony was to teach that 'So may I be dismembered and die if I fail to keep my promise'. <em><a href='B:300 34:18'>Jer 34:18</a></em> speaks of how Israelites must die, because they passed between the pieces of the dead animal sacrifices in making a covenant. But in Genesis 15, it is none less than the God who cannot die who is offering to do this, subjecting Himself to this potential curse And He showed Himself for real in the death of His Son. That was His way of confirming the utter certainty of the promises to Abraham which are the basis of the new covenant which He has cut with us (<em><a href='B:520 15:8'>Rom 15:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:550 3:17'>Gal 3:17</a></em>). Usually both parties passed between the dead animals- but only Yahweh does. It was a one-sided covenant from God to man, exemplifying His one-way grace. The Lord died, in the way that He did, to get through to us how true this all is- that God Almighty cut a sober, unilateral covenant with us personally, to give us the Kingdom. We simply can't be passive to such grace, we have no option but to reach out with grace to others in care and concern- and we have a unique motivation in doing this, which this unbelieving world can never equal. From one viewpoint, the only way we can not be saved is to wilfully refuse to participate in this covenant. The Lord laboured the point that the "unforgivable sin" was to "blaspheme the Holy Spirit" (<em><a href='B:480 3:28-30'>Mar 3:28-30</a></em>; <em><a href='B:470 12:31-37'>Mat 12:31-37</a></em>; <em><a href='B:490 12:10'>Luk 12:10</a></em>). But it's been demonstrated that this is a reference to Jewish writings and traditions such as Jubilees 15:33 "where not circumcising one's child is unforgivable, because it is a declaration that one does not belong to the covenant people".</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 3:21'>Gal 3:21</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Is the law then against the promises of God?</em>&nbsp;<em>God forbid For if there had been a law given which could give life, truly righteousness would have been of the law</em>- Under inspiration, Paul so often addresses the unspoken thoughts of his readers. If salvation was promised by faith alone under the Abrahamic covenant, then why ever introduce a law which was impossible to keep? This connects on the same large scale canvas with the question as to why God allowed sin, why there is even the concept of sin. And Paul speaks to these natural and obvious concerns. His answer is that we had to realize our desperation, our need, our hunger, our inability to achieve salvation by any other means- so that we would throw ourselves upon God's grace in Christ as it is presented in the Abrahamic covenant. Perhaps it was the lack of human interest in that wonderful covenant which led God to introduce the Mosaic Law- in order to thereby drive man to Christ. Likewise God uses human sin in order to bring us to Him. If there were no sin, no Law to place accent upon human desperation, then who would need Christ? How much less glory would be given to God and His grace if in fact there was no sin, if there had been no law::. It was in this sense that the Law was a teacher / teaching slave to bring us to Christ. Not in that people understood the types and patterns as being Messianic; for here in Galatians 3, Paul says that mankind was "shut up" to all that; but rather in bringing us to know our desperation.</p><p>To be given life is paralleled with being given righteousness. Those without sin can live for ever; so the imputation of righteousness means eternal life.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 3:22'>Gal 3:22</a></em>&nbsp;<em>But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe</em>- See on :14. Sin occurs as a major them in Paul’s writings– not just in Romans, where he speaks so much about sin without hinting that a supernatural ‘Satan’ figure is involved with it. He sees sin as playing an almost positive, creative role in the formation of the true Christian, both individually and in terms of salvation history. He speaks of how the Mosaic law was given to as it were highlight the power of sin; but through this it lead us to Christ, through our desperation and failure to obey, “that (Gk:&nbsp;<em>hina</em>, a purpose clause) we might be righteoused by faith” (<em><a href='B:550 3:24-26'>Gal 3:24-26</a></em>). The curses for disobedience were “<em>in order that</em>&nbsp;(Gk:&nbsp;<em>hina</em>) the blessing of Abraham would come upon the Gentiles” (<em><a href='B:550 3:10-14'>Gal 3:10-14</a></em>); “the Scripture consigned all things to sin,&nbsp;<em>in order that</em>&nbsp;(Gk:&nbsp;<em>hina</em>) what was promised to faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who have faith” (<em><a href='B:550 3:22'>Gal 3:22</a></em>). Note that it was the Law, “the Scripture”, which consigned things to sin– not a personal Satan. My point is that sin was used by God,&nbsp;<em>hina</em>, ‘in order that’, there would be an ultimately positive spiritual outcome. Indeed this appears to be the genius of God, to work through human failure to His glory. This view of sin, which any mature believer will surely concur with from his or her life experience, is impossible to square with the ideas of dualism, whereby God and ‘sin’ are radically opposed, fighting a pitched battle ranging between Heaven and earth, with no common ground. No – God is truly Almighty in every sense, and this includes His power over sin. The life, death and resurrection of His Son were His way of dealing with it – to His glory.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 3:23'>Gal 3:23</a></em><em> Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law-&nbsp;</em>Paul sees the Law as a prison house, a law which held us captive in bonds. In the first century, a person was defined not so much by their unique personal character, credit was not given for who they had become or stopped being::. but rather by the place in society into which they were born. And so these group-oriented people came to live out the expectations of society- and so the whole process rolled on through the generations. It was continuity rather than change, tradition rather than transformation, which was valued. Change was seen as some kind of deviancy- whereas the Christian gospel is all about change The past was seen as more glorious than the present and the future, a pattern to be followed- whereas the Gospel of the future Kingdom of God on earth taught that the best time is&nbsp;<em>ahead</em>. And so often Paul compares the "past" of our lives with the much better "now" in Christ (<em><a href='B:550 3:23-27'>Gal 3:23-27</a></em>; <em><a href='B:550 4:8-9'>Gal 4:8-9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:520 6:17-22'>Rom 6:17-22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 2:11-22'>Eph 2:11-22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 5:8'>Eph 5:8</a></em>).</p><p><em>Imprisoned&nbsp;until the coming faith would be revealed-&nbsp;</em>On one level, the Mosaic Law was a set of such intricate regulations that was almost impossible to keep. And yet it led men to Christ as a gentle slave leading the children to the teacher. I don’t think that the Law of Moses led people to Christ in the sense that they cracked the various types and worked it all out. There’s not one example that I can think of where an Old Testament character did this. Indeed it could appear from <em><a href='B:550 3:23'>Gal 3:23</a></em> and other New Testament passages that until Christ actually came, the Old Testament believers were “shut up unto the faith which should afterward be revealed”. Therefore the types etc. of the Law of Moses couldn’t have been perceived by them in the same way as we understand them. Hence the Lord’s comment that many righteous men had longed to understand the things of Jesus which the disciples saw and heard in reality. “In other ages” those things of Christ were not made known to men as they were revealed in the New Testament by the preaching of the apostles and New Testament prophets (<em><a href='B:560 3:5'>Eph 3:5</a></em>). The Old Testament prophets even seemed to understand that the things they saw and wrote were not so much for themselves as for us (<em><a href='B:670 1:12'>1Pe 1:12</a></em>). Or as Paul says here in <em><a href='B:550 3:23'>Gal 3:23</a></em>: “Before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith in Jesus which should afterwards be revealed”. The Law was a shadow created as it were by the concrete reality of Christ. We can look back and see it all now, but I don’t think the types predicted anything to the people of the time. So how then did the Law lead people to Christ? Was it not that they were convicted of guilt, and cried out for a Saviour? “The law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: that… grace might reign… unto eternal life by Jesus” (<em><a href='B:520 5:20-21'>Rom 5:20-21</a></em>). This was the purpose of the Law. And thus Paul quotes David’s rejoicing in the righteousness imputed to him when he had sinned and had no works left to do- and changes the pronoun from “he” to “they” (<em><a href='B:520 4:6-8'>Rom 4:6-8</a></em>). David’s personal experience became typical of that of each of us. It was&nbsp;<em>through&nbsp;</em>the experience of that wretched and hopeless position that David and all believers come to know the true ‘blessedness’ of imputed righteousness and sin forgiven by grace. Perhaps <em><a href='B:550 3:22'>Gal 3:22</a></em> sums up what we have been saying: “The Scripture in the context, this refers to the Mosaic Law hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe”. And Paul goes on to say in this very context that the law brings us unto Christ (<em><a href='B:550 3:24'>Gal 3:24</a></em>). It brings us- not those who lived under the law. How does it do that? By convicting us of sin, ‘concluding’ us as being under the control of sin.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 3:24'>Gal 3:24</a></em>&nbsp;<em>So that the law became our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith</em>&nbsp;- The ultimate teacher must be the Lord Himself, not the pastor or speaking brother. The Law was a&nbsp;<em>paidogogos</em>, a slave who lead the children to the school teacher. And the teacher, Paul says, is Christ (<em><a href='B:550 3:23-25'>Gal 3:23-25</a></em>). He uses the whole body to make increase of itself in love- not just the elders. As explained under <em><a href='B:550 3:21'>Gal 3:21</a></em>, the law's bringing men to Christ was not in that people understood the types and patterns as being Messianic; for here in Galatians 3, Paul says that mankind was "shut up" to all that; but rather in bringing us to know our desperation, to highlight our sin, our chronic lack of steel within the soul to bring ourselves to obedience.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 3:25'>Gal 3:25</a></em>&nbsp;<em>But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor</em>- The idea could be that the "tutor" was in fact a slave who lead the child to the teacher, and remained with them until the teacher came. The terms "Christ" and "faith" are thus put for the same thing- 'justification by faith in Christ'. "Faith" is put for the object of that faith, which is Christ.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 3:26'>Gal 3:26</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For you are all sons of God</em>&nbsp;<em>, through faith in Christ Jesus</em>- The "all" suggests that as Christ is the son of God, so are we. For by being baptized into Christ, all that is true of Him becomes true of us. Entering the body of Christ carries this implication. We must aspire to be united, with neither Jew nor Gentile, male nor female etc:, because "ye are all one man in Christ" (<em><a href='B:550 3:28'>Gal 3:28</a></em> RV). We "are all sons of God" (<em><a href='B:550 3:26'>Gal 3:26</a></em> RV) because of our baptism into the Son of God. And so Paul goes on to reason that just as Christ was "the heir" (cp. "this is the heir…"), who is "lord of all", "even so we…" were kept under the law for a time (<em><a href='B:550 4:1-3'>Gal 4:1-3</a></em>). The basis of our unity is that there is only one Jesus, and by being in Him we are living lives committed to the imitation of that same man. It's painless enough to read <em><a href='B:550 3:27-29'>Gal 3:27-29</a></em> - that all those baptized "in Christ" therefore are in a status where there is neither Jew nor Gentile, no human barriers between us. But this is actually something we have to live out in life in order for it to become reality.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 3:27'>Gal 3:27</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For as many of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ</em>- Elsewhere Paul urges already baptized believers to clothe themselves with Christ, to put on s:w. the new man etc. Baptism is a putting on of the Lord Jesus, a union with Him; but it is something essentially ongoing. The Lord Himself spoke of sharing His baptism as being the same as drinking His cup, sharing His cross (<em><a href='B:480 10:39'>Mar 10:39</a></em>); which, again, is a process. Likewise Peter saw baptism as not only the one off act, but more importantly a pledge to live a life in good conscience with God (<em><a href='B:670 3:21'>1Pe 3:21</a></em>). 'Obeying the truth' is not only at baptism, but a lifelong pursuit (<em><a href='B:550 5:7'>Gal 5:7</a></em>). The whole body of believers in Christ are being baptized into the body of the Lord Jesus in an ongoing sense (<em><a href='B:530 12:13'>1Co 12:13</a></em> Gk:), in that collectively and individually we are growing up into Him who is the Head (<em><a href='B:560 4:15'>Eph 4:15</a></em>). See on <em><a href='B:580 2:6'>Col 2:6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:670 1:23'>1Pe 1:23</a></em>.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 3:28'>Gal 3:28</a></em>&nbsp;<em>There can be neither Jew nor Gentile, there can be neither slave nor free, there can be no male and female- for you all are one in Christ Jesus</em>- For Paul to calmly teach that baptism into Christ meant that there was now no longer differentiation between male and female, slave and free, Jew, Greek or any other ethnic group- this called&nbsp;into total question all the first century understandings of society. Indeed, the idea that Gentiles could become spiritual "Jews", and that the Jews weren't the&nbsp;<em>real</em>&nbsp;children of Abraham, was an intentional reversal of the categories around which society had been built. Much of the early 'geography' of the first century involved stereotypical descriptions of ethnic and geographical groups, usually ending up with praising the Greco-Roman peoples as being superior in every way to all others. Yet this worldview, which was accepted even by the despised ethnic groups about themselves, had to be ended for those in Christ. Being in&nbsp;<em>Him</em>&nbsp;was to be their defining feature. This was equally radical for the Jews, who held themselves above these stereotypes about themselves. Contrary to what is often claimed, Paul went out of his way to show that contemporary views of women were unacceptable for those in the Lord. His teaching here is that in Christ, there is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male or female, is surely conscious allusion to the Jewish traditional morning prayer for men: “My God, I thank thee that I was not born a Gentile but a Jew, not a slave but a free man, not a woman but a man”. He is surely saying that for those in Christ, the Jewish male world-view is unacceptable.</p><p>It was hard psychologically for Jews to convert to Christianity. There were elements of Christian teaching which were a direct affront to Judaism. Part of being&nbsp;a Christian was to expect to be treated by the Jews in just the same way as they had treated Jesus. The Sabbath was replaced with keeping the first day of the week for worship; the food laws were reduced by Paul’s inspired teaching to parts of “the weak and beggarly elements”. The Jewish hatred of the Christians is revealed by the riots that ensued when the Gospel was preached in the synagogues, and in the persecution of the Christians at the hands of the Jews in Jerusalem, Damascus and in the Asian cities (according to the letters in Revelation 2, 3). The insistence that Jewish converts be baptized would have been hard of acceptance; for Gentiles took just such a ritual bath when they converted to Judaism. &nbsp;For orthodox Jews to submit to baptism demanded a lot- for it implied they were not by birth part of the true Israel as they had once proudly thought. The Jews thought of Israel in the very terms which Paul applies to Jesus: "We Thy people whom Thou hast honoured and hast called the Firstborn and Only-Begotten, Near and Beloved One". The New Testament uses these titles to describe the Lord Jesus Christ- and we must be baptized into Him in order to be in His Name and titles. The Lord Jesus was thus portrayed as Israel idealized and personified, all that Israel the suffering servant should have been; thus only by baptism into Christ of Jew and Gentile could they become part of the true seed of Abraham, the Israel of God (<em><a href='B:550 3:27-29'>Gal 3:27-29</a></em>). The act of baptism into Christ is no less radical for us in our contexts today than it was for first century Jews. All we once mentally held dear, we have to give up.</p><p><em><a href='B:550 3:27-29'>Gal 3:27-29</a></em> explains that through baptism into the Abrahamic covenant, there is a special unity between all in that covenant. Slave and free, male and female, Jew and Gentile are all thereby united, as they were in the early church. David Bosch comments: "The revolutionary nature of the early Christian mission manifested itself,&nbsp;<em>inter alia</em>, in the new relationships that came into being in the community. Jew and Roman, Greek and barbarian, free and slave, rich and poor, woman and man, accepted one another as brothers and sisters. It was a movement without analogy, indeed a sociological impossibility". Likewise ecclesial life today can seem "a sociological impossibility", but through the power of the most basic facts of the Gospel preached to Abraham, this incredible unity is possible. As a nexus "without analogy", the true Christian community of itself ought to attract the attention of earnest men and women- just as the Lord predicted. Our unity should be the basis of our appeal to men. And yet our divided state is a tragic witness against us in this regard. Because there is neither Jew nor Gentile in Christ means that in practice, amongst those that "have put on the new man a reference to baptism into Christ… there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman clear allusion to <em><a href='B:550 3:27-29'>Gal 3:27-29</a></em>. But Christ is all, and in all. Put on&nbsp;<em>therefore</em>… a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another and forgiving one another" (<em><a href='B:580 3:10-13'>Col 3:10-13</a></em> RV):&nbsp;<em>These things</em>&nbsp;are what the promises to Abraham are all about in practice Because we are all now united in Christ in our status as Abraham's seed,&nbsp;<em>therefore</em>&nbsp;we must see to it that through kindness, patience etc. there really&nbsp;<em>is not</em>&nbsp;Jew and Greek, or division of any kind, between us.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 3:29'>Gal 3:29</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:470 25:34'>Mat 25:34</a></em>.</p><p><em>And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and the heirs according to the promise</em>- The promise was made to two people- Abraham and his seed, the Lord Jesus. By being in Christ, all that is true of the seed is true of us. And so the paradox is fulfilled- the singular seed (:16) is also as many as the stars of the sky.</p>


text:
<h4><em><a href='B:550 4:1'>Gal 4:1</a></em>&nbsp;<em>But I mean so long as the heir</em>&nbsp;<em>is a child, he differs nothing from a slave, though he is lord of all</em>- The argument carries straight on from <em><a href='B:550 3:29'>Gal 3:29</a></em>, where those baptized into Christ have been declared heirs along with Abraham. But Paul is saying that heirs don't receive anything "until the day appointed by the father" (:2). Inheritance in the first century wasn't necessarily received on the death of the parent. We think of the younger son in the parable demanding his inheritance whilst his father was still living. The father appointed a time or age at which the heir would receive the inheritance. Until that day, although the child was heir, even of absolutely everything "though he is lord of all", it was of no real meaning- the child had as much legal right to it as a slave. Children had no real value as persons- they were effectively treated as slaves. Many women were in the same position, which explains why the early critics of Christianity mocked it as a religion largely comprised of women and children. True Christianity is attractive today likewise to those who are seen by others as non persons.</h4><p>The heir in view is the “seed” of chapter 3, the Lord Jesus, who is now “Lord of all”. But Paul now argues as if the heir in view is everyone who was led by the law to become the seed of Abraham by faith. All that is true of the Lord is true of us personally.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:2'>Gal 4:2</a></em>&nbsp;<em>But the child is under guardians and stewards</em>- This continues the thought of <em><a href='B:550 3:24'>Gal 3:24</a></em>; the Law was our tutor to bring us to Christ.</p><p><em>Until the day appointed by the father</em>- Paul argues that the day of inheritance has now come. We were proven to be the true adult sons of our Father, God, when He sent forth the Spirit of adoption into our hearts (:6). "The day appointed" sounds very much like that of the Lord's second coming; but the point is that for those who have received the Lord Jesus now, He has 'come' into their hearts, and our experience of Him now is a foretaste of what we shall eternally experience in the Kingdom age. The implication of the argument is that in some sense, we are "heirs", inheritors, in that we are those who have now received the inheritance. This does not preclude a future, literal receipt of the land inheritance; but we have received the spiritual blessings promised Abraham, which <em><a href='B:510 3:26'>Act 3:26</a></em> interprets as the turning away of our hearts from sin.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:3'>Gal 4:3</a></em>&nbsp;<em>So we also When we were children, we were held in bondage under the elementary principles of the world</em>- Paul paints a rather onerous picture of childhood. It perhaps reflected his own experience, but all the same as noted on :1, children were seen as non-persons in first century Mediterranean society.</p><p>Paul says that the Galatians formerly lived as enslaved to the “elements of the cosmos” (<em><a href='B:550 4:3'>Gal 4:3</a></em>), also a phrase used in the Jewish apostate writings; “what by nature are not gods” (<em>tois phusei mê ousin theois</em>; <em><a href='B:550 4:8-9'>Gal 4:8-9</a></em>). They are “weak and powerless elements” (<em>ta asthenê kai ptocha stoicheia</em>; <em><a href='B:550 4:9'>Gal 4:9</a></em>). The system of Satan, sinful Angels, demons etc. which the Jews believed in, Paul is showing to now be non-existent and at the best powerless. The real background problem, Paul is saying, is not a personal Satan and a network of demons; rather is it the influence of the Mosaic law and Judaism. See on <em><a href='B:580 2:17'>Col 2:17</a></em>.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:4'>Gal 4:4</a></em>&nbsp;<em>But when the fullness of the time came</em>- As if God carefully set a time period for the operation of the Mosaic law, just as He brought it into operation at a specific point 430 years after the covenant with Abraham (<em><a href='B:550 3:17'>Gal 3:17</a></em>). This idea of a specific time period is in keeping with the analogy regarding a child being set a period of time to live under governors, until he receives the inheritance as a young adult. I discussed under Galatians 3 the whole reason why the Law was given; its intention was to highlight sin and grace, and to make men throw themselves upon God's grace in Christ when this appeared in the person of the historical Jesus. The time period was optimal for that purpose to be achieved; yet many preferred the Law and effectively rejected Jesus, or like the Galatians, accepted Him but then went to the Law. That shows how God carefully set up a potential, but people preferred not to make use of it. He prepared and put them through a course of education, if you like; but they didn't engage with it, didn't get it, and went their own ways.</p><p><em>God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law</em>- The purpose for this was "that we might receive the adoption of sons" (:5). Paul has just explained in chapter 3 that by baptism into Christ, we are counted as Him. All that is true of Him becomes true of us; He was Abraham's seed, so are we. Paul is explaining how the heirs came to receive the inheritance. We became the full sons of God because God's Son was born and was human. As our representative, we can identify with Him by baptism (<em><a href='B:550 3:27-29'>Gal 3:27-29</a></em>) and thus become Him, as it were. Again note that the implication of the argument is that in some sense, we are "heirs", inheritors, in that we are those who have now received the inheritance. This does not preclude a future, literal receipt of the land inheritance; but we have received the spiritual blessings promised Abraham, which <em><a href='B:510 3:26'>Act 3:26</a></em> interprets as the turning away of our hearts from sin.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:5'>Gal 4:5</a></em>&nbsp;<em>That He might redeem those that were under the law</em>- To return "under the law" therefore makes the Lord's work vain (<em><a href='B:550 2:21'>Gal 2:21</a></em>). The Lord's death was primarily to save Israel, those under the law. This was the focus of His work; it was their general rejection of it which made the more universal aspect of His death more public, as it were.</p><p><em>That we might receive the adoption of sons</em>- See on :4. Because He was human, of our nature, our representative, we can thereby be adopted as the sons of God- if we identify with Him. The proof this wonderful plan has been achieved is by the Spirit of adoption being sent forth into our hearts, whereby we are enabled to cry to God as 'Abba', 'daddy', just as God's only begotten Son did. The role of the Spirit is therefore crucial and cannot just be ignored or downplayed or manhandled to refer only to miraculous gifts in the first century. That is clearly not the reference here at all, for the Spirit is sent into our&nbsp;<em>hearts</em>.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:6'>Gal 4:6</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:480 14:36'>Mar 14:36</a></em>; <em><a href='B:520 8:15'>Rom 8:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:720 1:20'>Jud 1:20</a></em>.</p><p><em>And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father</em>- Note this was said to the apostate Galatians. The work of God's Spirit was still active within them, and they were still to be treated as His beloved sons. Clearly at the point of commitment to Christ in baptism, the Spirit is sent into the heart of the believer; a psychological strengthening, enabling us to feel towards God as the Lord Jesus did, addressing Him as the Lord did: Abba, Father. This strange method of addressing God was characteristic of Jesus, and must've been very noticeable and provoked much wonder and comment. Thus we are being told that His characteristic personal style of relationship with the Father is now ours; and this is very much the idea of His discourse about the Comforter. See on <em><a href='B:550 3:2'>Gal 3:2</a></em>.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:7'>Gal 4:7</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:470 25:34'>Mat 25:34</a></em>.</p><p><em>So you are no longer a slave but a son</em>- Paul is slightly stretching the bounds of the analogy here. He began by saying that we are heirs, but an heir who is a child is no better than a slave (:1). Now Paul is saying that under the Law of Moses, people were slaves. They had not received the inheritance promised by the Abrahamic covenant, even though it had been promised to them.</p><p>An advantage of reading versions that use “ye” and “thou” is that one can discern at a glance when ‘you’ plural and ‘you’ singular is being used. <em><a href='B:550 3:26-29'>Gal 3:26-29</a></em> speaks in the plural: “<em>Ye&nbsp;</em>are all the children of God by faith in Christ::. and if&nbsp;<em>ye&nbsp;</em>be Christ’s by baptism into Him, then are&nbsp;<em>ye&nbsp;</em>Abraham’s seed and heirs”. The very same ideas are then repeated a few verses later, but with the singular ‘you’: “And because&nbsp;<em>ye</em>&nbsp;are sons::. wherefore&nbsp;<em>thou&nbsp;</em>art no more a servant but a son; and if a son not ‘sons’, then an singular heir of God through Christ” (<em><a href='B:550 4:6-7'>Gal 4:6-7</a></em>); and just to press the point home, he reverts to speaking of “you” plural in the subsequent verses. It’s as if Paul is talking generally, in the plural, of us all as a baptized community, heirs together of the promises, all in covenant relationship with God; but then he as it were swirls in upon us each individually; these promises really apply to us each one personally. And the outcome of this must be a deep seated joy and gratitude for God’s grace. The focus of Scripture and the Lord Jesus is upon individuals, not upon the building of a faceless and person-less social structure. Notice how often Paul talks of “you” or “ye”, and then focuses down to “thee” or “thou”- from the you plural to the you singular. Take <em><a href='B:550 4:6-7'>Gal 4:6-7</a></em>: “Your plural hearts… thou singular art…”; or “Ye plural are all sons of God… thou art… a son” (<em><a href='B:550 3:26'>Gal 3:26</a></em>; <em><a href='B:550 4:7'>Gal 4:7</a></em> RV). It all comes down to us personally…</p><p><em>And if a son, then an heir of God through Christ</em>- We become legitimate heirs because the Lord Jesus was the "heir of all" (:1; <em><a href='B:650 1:2'>Heb 1:2</a></em>), "heir of the world" (<em><a href='B:520 4:13'>Rom 4:13</a></em>). <em><a href='B:520 4:13-14'>Rom 4:13-14</a></em> use the same language; it was the promise to Abraham which promised an inheritance. The Law of Moses didn't promise any inheritance. Another similarity with Romans is the idea of being an heir of God; He as our Father didn't die and thus pass us the inheritance; rather God decided to give us the inheritance after a period of preparing us, as we entered adulthood: "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit, that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs- heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. If so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him". Here in Galatians, the same point is made- the receipt of the Spirit proves that we are God's children. Because we are identified with Christ's death, then we are joint-heirs with Him. Or as Galatians here puts it, we are heirs of God on account of Christ.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:8'>Gal 4:8</a></em>&nbsp;<em>However, at that time, not knowing God, you were in bondage to those that by nature are not gods</em>- This sounds as if Gentiles are being addressed. It's hard to decide to whom Paul is writing Galatians- whether to Gentile or Jewish Christians. Acts portrays Paul as going to cities in Galatia and preaching to Jews within the synagogue system. On that basis, we would assume that he is writing to Jewish Christians who are returning to the Law. This is why he speaks of how they have "turned back&nbsp;<em>again</em>&nbsp;to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be&nbsp;<em>once more"&nbsp;</em>(:9). Likewise <em><a href='B:550 5:1'>Gal 5:1</a></em> "do not get entangled&nbsp;<em>again</em>in a yoke of bondage". The pronouns in <em><a href='B:550 2:15'>Gal 2:15</a></em> seem to connect Paul the Jew with a Jewish readership in Galatia: "<em>We</em>&nbsp;being Jews by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles:::&nbsp;<em>we::.</em>". On the other hand, the language here sounds as if the audience were once Gentiles; and in <em><a href='B:550 5:2'>Gal 5:2</a></em> he speaks as if they were being circumcised in order to be acceptable with God (although the Greek could mean that they were thinking that their circumcision made them acceptable). However <em><a href='B:550 6:12-13'>Gal 6:12-13</a></em> definitely speaks of false teachers encouraging the Galatians to be circumcised: "who would force you to be circumcised::. they desire to have you circumcised". Perhaps some were Jews, some Gentiles. Yet the argument seems to be that those under the Law, without faith in Christ, were not actually "knowing God" and were in bondage to false gods. This is far from the only place where Paul develops the paradox that Judaism is in fact a form of pagan idolatry (see on <em><a href='B:550 3:1'>Gal 3:1</a></em> and <em><a href='B:550 4:25'>Gal 4:25</a></em>). At very least, Paul would be saying that the Gentiles amongst them, who had previously worshipped idols, were in the same position as Jews under the Law without Christ. However the kind of complex argument in <em><a href='B:550 4:21'>Gal 4:21</a></em> ff:, using Biblical history as "law" and arguing in a strictly rabbinic style, makes us wonder whether the Galatian audience were in fact Jewish; for surely the power and nuances of the argument would be lost on any not highly familiar with the Jewish scriptures and style of Rabbinic reasoning; the references to desiring their circumcision in chapter 5 would then refer to desiring them to be circumcised in order to be saved.</p><p>Paul challenges the Galatians: “You who were enslaved to those who were not really gods::. How can you turn back again to those weak and beggarly spirits (<em>stoicheia</em>), whose slaves you want to be once more?” (<em><a href='B:550 4:8-9'>Gal 4:8-9</a></em>). Here he parallels demonic spirits with ‘gods who are not really gods’. But note how Paul argues under Divine inspiration – “<em>even if</em>&nbsp;there are” such demons / idols:::&nbsp;<em>for us</em>&nbsp;there is to be only one God whom we fear and worship. This in fact is a continuation of the Psalmists’ attitude. Time and again the gods / idols of the pagan nations are addressed&nbsp;<em>as if they exist</em>, but are ordered to bow down in shame before Yahweh of Israel (<em><a href='B:230 29:1-2'>Psa 29:1-2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 29:10'>Psa 29:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 97:7'>Psa 97:7</a></em>). Whether they exist or not becomes irrelevant before the fact that they are powerless before the one true God – and therefore it is He whom we should fear, trusting that He alone engages with our lives for our eternal good in the end. “Yahweh is a great King above all gods” (<em><a href='B:230 95:3'>Psa 95:3</a></em>) shows the Divine style – rather than overly stressing that the gods / idols / demons don’t exist, the one true God isn’t so primitive. Neither were the authors and singers of Psalms 95. The greatness of His Kingship is what’s focused upon – not the demerits and non-existence of other gods. To do so would be altogether too primitive for the one true God. And likewise with the Lord’s miracles – God’s gracious power to save was demonstrated,&nbsp;<em>this</em>&nbsp;was where the focus was; and its very magnitude shows the relative non-existence of ‘demons’.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:9'>Gal 4:9</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:550 1:1'>Gal 1:1</a></em>.</p><p><em>But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God</em>- This is not Paul as it were correcting himself. "Rather" would be better rendered 'moreso'. God's knowledge of us is what results in our responding by seeking to know Him. Likewise Paul writes in <em><a href='B:570 3:12'>Phi 3:12</a></em> of grabbing hold of the Lord who had grabbed hold of him. It's not that God plays hard to get, and whoever figures out His word correctly will find Him, hidden behind a mass of theology and interpretation which we must get right. God is in search of man. He knows / recognizes us, and we in turn know Him. Understanding this puts paid to all intellectual pride in having 'found' God by our own searching of the scriptures. The initiative was with Him. Paul considers that coming to believe in imputed righteousness, salvation by faith alone rather than by works of the Law, was and is "to know God". Justification by works and legalism is an attitude that does not know God. For God is His grace and salvation by that grace.</p><p><em>How can you turn back again to the weak and worthless</em>- Literally, 'poverty stricken, poor'. Paul only elsewhere uses the word in Galatians for the Jewish poor (<em><a href='B:550 2:10'>Gal 2:10</a></em>).</p><p><em>Elementary principles of the world</em>- The Greek for "elements" is always used concerning the elements of the Mosaic Law.</p><p><em>Whose slaves you want to be</em>- There is a tendency in human nature to actually desire servitude. We see it most clearly in the tendency to addiction which there is in us all. But that is just a very public, open manifestation of what is latent within us each. The call to radical freedom in Christ is such that when people really see it, they shy away from it. The Galatians are a parade example for all time.</p><p><em>Once more</em>- See on :8.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:10'>Gal 4:10</a></em>&nbsp;<em>You observe</em>- The Greek word used is not the most natural nor obvious one to use if Paul meant 'You are now keeping the Jewish feasts'. The word is elsewhere only translated 'watching' or 'looking towards', as if they were considering keeping the feasts. Paul himself kept some Jewish feasts, so we must read him as meaning that they were considering keeping them as a means to salvation.</p><p><em>Days and months and seasons and years</em>- "Sabbatical years, occurring every seventh year. Not years of Jubilee, which had ceased to be celebrated after the time of Solomon".</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:11'>Gal 4:11</a></em>&nbsp;<em>I am afraid I may have laboured over you in vain</em>- The implication is that any labour is in vain if it does not result in a person entering God's Kingdom. And Paul knew that attempting to enter the Kingdom by obedience was doomed to failure. But see on <em><a href='B:550 4:17'>Gal 4:17</a></em>&nbsp;<em>They zealously seek you:&nbsp;</em>We too are surrounded by believers who are not completely certain of their salvation, because they have not fully accepted total salvation by grace through faith in Christ. Our labour too must be to persuade them of that simple, all demanding message of the true Gospel- and keep them believing it.</p><p>Paul feared he may have “laboured in vain” for some of them, but he writes of his expectations in a totally positive way: “Christ hath redeemed us… that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ: that we might receive the promise of the Spirit i:e. salvation” (<em><a href='B:550 3:13-14'>Gal 3:13-14</a></em>). "I am afraid of you (i:e. what your position will result in for both you and me at the judgment?), lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain" (<em><a href='B:550 4:11'>Gal 4:11</a></em>).</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:12'>Gal 4:12</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Brothers I urge you to become as I am, for I also have become as you</em>- "As I am" may mean 'One who once believed in the necessary to keep the Jewish laws, but who ditched it'; and "become as you" may mean 'Become effectively a Gentile, saved by faith in the Abrahamic covenant'. This assumes he is writing to a Gentile audience- see on :8. Paul aimed to become as his audience: "to those without law, I became as without law" (<em><a href='B:530 9:21'>1Co 9:21</a></em>). God in Christ became as us, indeed even in OT times He limited Himself in some ways, to be as we are. And we reflect that spirit by seeking to become as others are, that we might win them to Christ. This means that preaching is infinitely more than holding out a set of doctrinal truths and waiting for some curious passer-by to grasp them from us.</p><p>The way Paul&nbsp;<em>begs</em>&nbsp;us to follow him (e:g. "become as I am") indicates the degree of confidence he had in acceptance by his Lord, his certainty that his way to the Kingdom was valid (Surely he had been told this by some Divine revelation?). See on <em><a href='B:570 1:10'>Phi 1:10</a></em> and <em><a href='B:550 4:29'>Gal 4:29</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Persecuted him that was born after the Spirit</em>.</p><p>Paul plays powerfully upon the idea of the two selves when he appeals to the Galatians "be as I am; for I am as you are" (<em><a href='B:550 4:12'>Gal 4:12</a></em>). At first hearing, this seems nonsensical- how can Paul beseech the Galatians to be like him, if he was already like them? Fact is, their behaviour was unlike him; yet he saw their spiritual selves as being like him. And he asks them to be that spiritual self which he perceived them to have. We likewise need to perceive our difficult brethren as having a spiritual self, which they need to live up to.</p><p><em>You did me no wrong</em>- The aorist means 'To date you did me no wrong- don't do so now by returning to the Law'.</p>


text:
<h4><em><a href='B:550 4:13'>Gal 4:13</a></em>&nbsp;<em>You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first</em>- William Barclay comments: “Paul never saw a boat riding at anchor or moored at a quay but he wanted to board her and to preach the gospel to the lands beyond. He never saw a range of hills in the distance but he wanted to cross them and to preach the gospel to the lands beyond”. When Paul was in Pamphylia, he decided to go on to Galatia, where on account of infirmity of the flesh he preached to the Galatians (<em><a href='B:550 4:13'>Gal 4:13</a></em>). The suggestion has been made that the low-lying Pamphylia was a source of malaria, which may have been Paul’s “thorn in the flesh”, and he therefore sought the uplands of Galatia. And yet he could easily have returned to Antioch. But instead, he went on, up into the highlands, to spread the Gospel yet further. The way there led up precipitous roads to the plateau; the roads were cut by mountain streams, prone to flash floods which often carried travellers to their death. And these roads were the haunt of bandits, who would murder a man just for a copper coin. No wonder Mark went back. But as William Barclay observes, “the wonder is not so much that Mark went back as that Paul went on”. Although a sick man, he was driven by that desire to spread the Gospel further. Surely this is why his Lord was so pleased to open the hearts of the Galatians to the Gospel. The way the Holy Spirit controlled Paul's missionary itineraries is an example of how mission work is almost purposefully made difficult at times. Thus Paul was forbidden to go north into Bithynia, and from going Southwest into coastal Asia Minor- and there were good roads leading to those places from where he was, and it would've seemed they were the logical places to go and expand the work of the Gospel. But instead Paul was told to go diagonally, cross country, through the rough roads and passes of central Asia Minor, to Troas- from where he was told to go to Macedonia. And on the way through that wild mountainous area, it seems Paul became sick. And we follow similar paths in our witness, if it is truly God directed.</h4>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:14'>Gal 4:14</a></em>&nbsp;<em>And though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as a messenger of God, as Christ Jesus-&nbsp;</em>Perhaps it was a test in that like many today, people prefer their preacher to be dashing, handsome, healthy and successful. Not a sick man, through whom the very picture of the crucified Christ was placarded before their eyes (see on <em><a href='B:550 3:1'>Gal 3:1</a></em>). It was by Paul's manifestation of the crucified Christ through his sickness that they were persuaded of Christ; and specifically, of salvation by faith rather than works. For Paul's sickness likely left him without the possibility of performing works for salvation.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:15'>Gal 4:15</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:540 12:7'>2Co 12:7</a></em>.</p><p><em>Where then is that satisfaction you felt?</em>- Not a good translation. The word is translated "blessedness" elsewhere, and always in the context of the blessing promised to Abraham being that of imputed righteousness (<em><a href='B:520 4:6'>Rom 4:6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:520 4:9'>Rom 4:9</a></em>). They no longer felt that blessedness because they were seeking their justification by acts of obedience rather than faith alone. If we truly believe in the blessing promised to Abraham, and have received it, we too will speak of that blessedness as the Galatian converts did. Note that the blessings promised to Abraham had been received by them, the fulfilment of them is not solely and only in the future; see on <em><a href='B:550 4:1'>Gal 4:1</a></em>.</p><p><em>For I testify, that if possible, you&nbsp;would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me</em>- It was before the eyes of the Galatians that they saw in Paul, Jesus Christ crucified (<em><a href='B:550 3:1'>Gal 3:1</a></em>). But the only other reference to the eyes of the Galatians is in <em><a href='B:550 4:15'>Gal 4:15</a></em> - where we read that they had been so transfixed by Paul's preaching that they had been ready to pluck out their eyes. And where's the only other reference to plucking out eyes? It's in the Lord's teaching, where He says that if our eye offends us, we should pluck it out <em><a href='B:470 5:29'>Mat 5:29</a></em> - same Greek words used. The connection is surely this: Paul's personal reflection of the crucified Jesus was so powerful, so compellingly real and credible, that it motivated his hearers to rise up to the spirit of the very hardest demands of the moral teaching of that same Jesus. Insofar as we genuinely live out the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, our preaching of His radical moral demands will likewise be heeded. The crucified Christ that Paul placarded before their eyes was “the truth" (<em><a href='B:550 3:1'>Gal 3:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:550 4:14-16'>Gal 4:14-16</a></em>); and the integrity and reality of that truth was confirmed by the congruence between the example of Paul, and the reality of the crucified Jesus whom he manifested to them. In Paul's body language, in his character, in his response to problems and frustrations great and small, in the way he coped with physical weakness, his audience somehow saw the crucified Christ. In the same letter, Paul reminds the Galatians how they had initially seen him preaching to them in a weak bodily state, and had seen Christ in him then (<em><a href='B:550 4:13-14'>Gal 4:13-14</a></em>). He says in <em><a href='B:550 3:1'>Gal 3:1</a></em> that they saw Christ crucified in him. Perhaps the way Paul handled a sickness or bodily weakness which he then had, somehow reflected to his audience the spirit of Christ crucified.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:16'>Gal 4:16</a></em>&nbsp;<em>So then have I become your enemy, by telling you the truth?</em>- Society and human existence was all about what others thought of you; appearances were all important, loss of face before your community was a fate worse than death, and the honour of your family or community was crucial. You had to be polite, say what was right in the ears of your hearers rather than what was true, never shame those in your 'group' by telling inconvenient truths, say what the others want to hear. Against this background, and it's a background not so strange for any of us today in essence, the commands to be truthful, even if it meant becoming the enemy of some because you told the truth (<em><a href='B:550 4:16'>Gal 4:16</a></em>), take on a new challenge.</p><p><em><a href='B:550 3:1'>Gal 3:1</a></em> remonstrates with the Galatians as to how they could not obey the truth when the crucified Christ had been so clearly displayed to them; clearly Paul saw obedience to the truth as obedience to the implications of the cross. There is a powerful parallel in <em><a href='B:550 4:16'>Gal 4:16</a></em>: I am your enemy because I tell you the truth::. you are enemies of the cross of Christ. Thus the parallel is made between the cross and the truth. We are sanctified by the truth (<em><a href='B:500 17:19'>Joh 17:19</a></em>); but our sanctification is through cleansing in the Lord’s blood. The same word is used of our sanctification through that blood (<em><a href='B:650 9:13'>Heb 9:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:650 10:29'>Heb 10:29</a></em>; <em><a href='B:650 13:12'>Heb 13:12</a></em>). Perhaps this is why <em><a href='B:340 8:11-12'>Dan 8:11-12</a></em> seems to describe the altar as “the truth”. The cross of Jesus is the ultimate truth. There we see humanity for what we really are; there we see the real effect of sin. Yet above all, there we see the glorious reality of the fact that a Man with our nature overcame sin, and through His sacrifice we really can be forgiven the untruth of all our sin; and thus have a real, concrete, definite hope of the life eternal.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:17'>Gal 4:17</a></em>&nbsp;<em>They zealously seek you for no good purpose. On the other hand, they desire to exclude you- so you might go running after them</em>- The GNB may have it about right in paraphrasing: "Those other people show a deep interest in you, but their intentions are not good. All they want is to separate you from me, so that you will have the same interest in them as they have in you". Thus zeal is no sign of acceptability with God. Paul talks of how he is 'zealous over' s:w. his converts (<em><a href='B:540 11:2'>2Co 11:2</a></em>). But the Judaizers were likewise 'zealous over' the same converts. They were involved in a political tug of war, and the Judaizers won, despite all Paul's work for them. I have often been involved in this kind of thing, and seen others involved in it, and my conclusion is that we need to do our part and not get involved in feeling personally wronged or fought against. I wonder if Paul was not completely mature in his attitude to the conflict; he was so personally invested in it that he felt that his work had been "in vain" if his converts went to Judaism (see on :11). My impression however after these kinds of experiences is that finally, nothing is in vain, no service of the Lord can be looked back upon as purely wasted time. Yet Paul speaks like this because he was overly personally invested in the conflict.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:18'>Gal 4:18</a></em>&nbsp;<em>But it is good to be zealous in a good matter at all times, and not only when I am present with you</em>- Paul recognized that their enthusiasm was greater when he was with them. And he says this is no bad thing- but it must continue. Such inspiration by human personalities is therefore not to be totally despised; the problem is that such zeal tends not to continue once those personalities are off the scene. See on :20&nbsp;<em>I so wish</em>.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:19'>Gal 4:19</a></em>&nbsp;<em>My little children, of whom I am again in the pains of childbirth</em>- See on :17. I do wonder whether this kind of figure suggests Paul was taking it all rather too personally; for the converts were not born out of him personally, but from the Lord. But then it is also true that the work of converting others is ultimately personal and involves intense personal engagement.</p><p><em>Until Christ be formed in you</em>- The Galatians had not&nbsp;<em>per se</em>&nbsp;left Christianity; they had adopted a version of Christianity which trusted in works for salvation. Paul understands this as meaning that Christ is no longer within them. This is the scary thing, as we survey our surrounding Christian scene in which so few seem solidly persuaded that if the Lord returns today, they will surely be saved because of their faith in His grace. It is having "Christ in you" which is "the hope of glory", the guarantee that we shall eternally live with Him (<em><a href='B:580 1:27'>Col 1:27</a></em>). Here in Galatians Paul has expressed that truth in terms of the Spirit of Christ being placed within the believer as a guarantee of salvation (<em><a href='B:550 4:6'>Gal 4:6</a></em>), what <em><a href='B:560 1:13-14'>Eph 1:13-14</a></em> calls sealing with the promised Holy Spirit as " a guarantee of our inheritance, of the final redemption". But the Galatians no longer had this, because they sought salvation not by the Spirit but by obedience to the letter.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:20'>Gal 4:20</a></em>&nbsp;<em>I so wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am in doubt about you-</em>&nbsp;The idea is that Paul felt that if he were present with them, then he would be able to change his upbraiding tone towards them because he would successfully persuade them to remain with grace rather than Judaism (see GNB). As noted on :18, Paul knew that his presence with them affected them positively. But if physical presence is required, then there is no depth of conviction. So many examples from church life flood to mind; of those who lived highly committed lives until influential figures passed off the scene, and then the commitment ended. It is only personal connection with the Lord Jesus which will provide lasting motivation right up until our last mortal breath.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:21'>Gal 4:21</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Tell me, you that want to be under the law, do you not hear the law?</em>- This kind of complex argument which follows, using Biblical history as "law", makes us wonder whether the Galatian audience were in fact Jewish, for surely the power and nuances of the argument would be lost on any not highly familiar with the Jewish scriptures; the references to desiring their circumcision in chapter 5 would then refer to desiring them to be circumcised in order to be saved.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:22'>Gal 4:22</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For it is written that Abraham had two sons. One by the handmaid, and one by the freewoman</em>- The allegory, like all such methods of presenting, is presenting history selectively; although it is axiomatic that history of itself is selective. Abraham had far more than two sons; he had others by Keturah and other handmaids, indeed it could be argued that he had them before the birth of Isaac and Ishmael. But the two sons are chosen here for the purposes of the allegory.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:23'>Gal 4:23</a></em>&nbsp;<em>However the son by the handmaid was born after the flesh, but the son by the freewoman was born through the promise</em>- The usual NT contrast is between flesh and spirit. Here it is between flesh and promise, because the promise in view is that of the Spirit.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:24'>Gal 4:24</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Such things contain an allegory. For these women are two covenants. One from mount Sinai, bearing children to bondage, which is Hagar</em>- The two sons are presented as being a slave and a freeborn son. This connects with the previous argument in <em><a href='B:550 4:7'>Gal 4:7</a></em>; that we are no longer slaves under the Law, but sons. The tension between bond and free has been introduced in <em><a href='B:550 3:28'>Gal 3:28</a></em>; in Christ there is no longer bond and free. And that is because we are "in Christ" and thus are all the free born children, the Son of God as He was. The argument in <em><a href='B:550 3:27-29'>Gal 3:27-29</a></em> is not so much that it simply doesn't matter of what gender, ethnicity or social status we are. Those things don't matter because we are Christ; all of us are Him. Who He was and is becomes who we are. He is the freeborn Son of God; and so we are too. Therefore there is no difference between bond and free because we are all free, the freeborn sons of God.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:25'>Gal 4:25</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Now this Hagar represents mount Sinai in Arabia, she corresponds to the Jerusalem that now is; for she is in bondage with her children</em>- It can be argued that Paul's extended allegory in <em><a href='B:550 4:24-31'>Gal 4:24-31</a></em> about "Jerusalem which now is" has some reference to the Jewish Christian elders in Jerusalem who had made the deal with him about making the Gentile converts keep at least some of the Jewish laws. The heavenly Jerusalem which is "free" would then be a reference to the freedom Paul felt for his Gentile converts; and the persecution of those born after the spirit would then be a sideways reference to the trouble he was experiencing from the Jewish-Christian attacks upon him. Paul observes earlier that "I speak after the manner of men: Though it be but a man's covenant, yet when it hath been confirmed, no one maketh it void, or addeth thereto" (<em><a href='B:550 3:15'>Gal 3:15</a></em>). His speaking humanly was perhaps because he was tongue in cheek alluding to the human covenant of Acts 15, to which he believed the Jewish Christian elders in Jerusalem had "added" by still demanding that Christian converts lived in a Jewish manner.</p><p>Paul's argument is that Judaism was to be associated with Hagar and Ishmael; whereas every Jew was insistent that they were from the line of Isaac. Again, Paul is arguing that Judaism is in fact paganism (see on <em><a href='B:550 3:1'>Gal 3:1</a></em> and <em><a href='B:550 4:8'>Gal 4:8</a></em>).</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:26'>Gal 4:26</a></em>&nbsp;<em>But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother-&nbsp;</em>The Jews believed that "as the navel is found at the centre of a human being, so the land of Israel is found at the centre of the world::. Jerusalem is the centre of the land of Israel, the temple is at centre of Jerusalem, the Holy of Holies is at the centre of the temple, the ark is at the centre of the Holy of Holies::. which spot is the foundation of the world::. the holy city::. is also the mother city". This was all consciously countermanded in Hebrews, where each of these features of the temple is shown to have been surpassed in Christ; and it is the&nbsp;<em>Heavenly</em>&nbsp;Jerusalem which is now "the mother of us all" (<em><a href='B:650 12:22'>Heb 12:22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:550 4:26'>Gal 4:26</a></em>). And of course Galatians 4 drives home the point that it is the "Jerusalem which is above" which is the true Jerusalem, whereas the earthly Jerusalem and temple are in fact now to be associated with bondage and Abraham's illegitimate seed. This language of Hebrews and Galatians was just as tough on the Romans, who considered&nbsp;<em>Italia</em>&nbsp;as the "mother of all lands", and Rome to be the mother city. Paul's language was geared to provoke his readers to decide strongly one way or the other.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:27'>Gal 4:27</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For it is written: Rejoice, O barren one who did not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who were not in labour For the children of the desolate woman will be more than those of the one who has a husband</em>- Abraham’s relationship with Hagar doesn’t really sound like marriage. And yet she is called “the one who has a husband", as if God recognized the relationship even though it was less than ideal.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:28'>Gal 4:28</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Brothers: We, as Isaac was, are children of promise</em>- Note the warmth of the language. These "brothers" had chosen Judaism, and Paul has just told them that Christ must be formed in them again seeing they are devoid of the Spirit, not experiencing the promised "blessedness", and had effectively precluded themselves from salvation by seeking to achieve it by works. He felt his work for them had been in vain. And yet Paul now speaks of them as if they are saved, and his full brothers. Likewise he says that the Lord still ministers the Spirit to them and ministers amongst them (<em><a href='B:550 3:5'>Gal 3:5</a></em>). It could be argued that Paul's protestations about the Galatians were exaggerated and reflective of how he had become far too personally invested in them. Or it could be that as with the Corinthians, he accepts them as his brethren in Christ by status, assuming their salvation because it was not for him to condemn them; whilst at the same time openly facing their failures and addressing them.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:29'>Gal 4:29</a></em>&nbsp;<em>But as then, he that was born after the flesh</em>- Identifying Ishmael with the Judaizers and those who sought to obey the Mosaic Law was highly provocative. Their attempts at super righteousness were in fact effectively paganic. See on <em><a href='B:550 3:1'>Gal 3:1</a></em> and <em><a href='B:550 4:8'>Gal 4:8</a></em>.</p><p><em>Persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, so also it is now</em>- Birth after the Spirit would refer to the Lord Jesus and all in Him. The language of persecuting naturally suggests what Paul himself had done to Him and those born after the Spirit. Hence he wishes the Galatians to make the same huge change which he had made (:12). Birth after the Spirit may well allude to <em><a href='B:500 3:3-5'>Joh 3:3-5</a></em>. It is the Spirit which is used in our figurative conception. This is the vehicle through which God shows His grace, in beginning spiritual life in one but not another.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:30'>Gal 4:30</a></em>&nbsp;<em>However, what does the scripture say</em>- Sarah's screaming indignation can be well imagined. Consider which words were probably stressed most by her: "Cast out&nbsp;<em>this bondwoman</em>&nbsp;and her son: for the son of this bondwoman&nbsp;<em>shall not be heir</em>&nbsp;(just hear her voice) with&nbsp;<em>my</em>&nbsp;son, even with&nbsp;<em>Isaac</em>" (<em><a href='B:10 21:10'>Gen 21:10</a></em>). This is in harmony with her previous bitterness and aggression to Hagar and Abraham:&nbsp; Her attitude in implying that Ishmael was&nbsp;<em>not</em>&nbsp;the seed is gently rebuked by God in his subsequent words to Abraham concerning Ishmael: "He&nbsp;<em>is</em>&nbsp;thy seed" (<em><a href='B:10 21:13'>Gen 21:13</a></em>):&nbsp;&nbsp;<em>And yet Sarah’s</em>&nbsp;words are quoted in <em><a href='B:550 4:30'>Gal 4:30</a></em> as inspired Scripture Here we see the wonder of the God with whom we deal, in the way in which He patiently bore with Sarah and Abraham. He saw through her anger, her jealousy, the pent up bitterness of a lifetime, and he saw her faith. And he worked through that screaming, angry woman to be His prophet. According to <em><a href='B:550 4:30'>Gal 4:30</a></em>, God Himself spoke through her in those words, outlining a principle which has been true over the generations; that the son of the slave must be cast out, and that there must always be conflict between him and the true seed. Sarah in her time of child-birth is likened to us all as we enter the Kingdom, full of joy (<em><a href='B:290 54:1-4'>Isa 54:1-4</a></em>); and yet at that time she was eaten up with pride and joy that she could now triumph over her rival. And yet Sarah at that time is seen from a righteous perspective, in that she is&nbsp;a type of us as we enter the Kingdom:&nbsp; God's mercy to Sarah and Abraham is repeated to us daily. See on <em><a href='B:650 11:11'>Heb 11:11</a></em>.</p><h4><em>Cast out&nbsp;the handmaid and her son, for the son of the handmaid shall not inherit with the son of the freewoman</em>- Hinting at the need to eject the Judaist false teachers from within the church? Paul warns that the Galatian Jews had suffered so much but in vain, seeing they were returning to the Law (<em><a href='B:550 3:4'>Gal 3:4</a></em>). It is no accident that <em><a href='B:550 4:25'>Gal 4:25</a></em> draws the contrast between the two Jerusalems- perhaps a reference to the Jerusalem ecclesia, who had returned to the bondage of the law, and the spiritual Jerusalem. And now Paul goes so far as to say that the Legalists must be cast out of the true ecclesia (<em><a href='B:550 4:30'>Gal 4:30</a></em>). Circumcision shielded from persecution in Galatia (<em><a href='B:550 6:12'>Gal 6:12</a></em>) in that it was the Jews and their “false brethren” who infiltrated the ecclesias (<em><a href='B:550 2:4'>Gal 2:4</a></em>), and who were responsible for the deaths of many of the first century apostles and prophets. This suggests that the circumcision party within the ecclesias was linked with the Roman and Jewish authorities, and therefore ‘satan’ is a term used for them all. It got beyond dirty politics in the church.</h4><p>Paul here quotes the bitchy, unspiritual words of Sarah in <em><a href='B:10 21:10'>Gen 21:10</a></em> with approval and as “scripture”. God surely did not approve of her hot tempered nastiness; but He worked through that as we should see to work through others’ sin and weakness, and try to incorporate it into a far greater narrative.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 4:31'>Gal 4:31</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Therefore brothers, we are not children of the handmaid but of the freewoman</em>- But Paul has been arguing that the Galatians were in fact "children of the handmaid". He is therefore asking them to be in practice what they were by status, having been baptized into Christ.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:1'>Gal 5:1</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:550 5:11'>Gal 5:11</a></em>.</p><p><em>For freedom did Christ set us free</em>- Romans 6 compares baptism to a change of masters. The point has been made that this is a reference to manumission, whereby a 'redeemer' gave a 'ransom' to a god, which meant that a slave was freed from his master and became a free man, although he was counted as a slave to the god to whom the redeemer had paid the ransom. Indeed,&nbsp;<em>lutron</em>, one of the words translated "ransom" with regard to the blood of Christ, has this specific meaning. Deissmann comments: "When anybody heard the Greek word&nbsp;<em>lutron</em>, "ransom", in the first century, it was natural for him to think of the purchase money for manumitting slaves". This means that when we come to understand the atonement, we understand that the price has been paid to free us from slavery into the service of God. We are in the position of a slave who suddenly discovers some gracious benefactor has made the longed for payment of ransom. And so he goes free, but is willingly and eagerly in slavery to the god to whom his redeemer had paid the price. In our case this is none other than the One, Almighty God of Israel. And the ransom is the precious blood of Christ, which thereby compels our willing slavery to the new Master. There are other references to manumission in <em><a href='B:550 5:1'>Gal 5:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:550 5:13'>Gal 5:13</a></em> RV: "For freedom did Christ set us free… ye have been called unto freedom" and in the references to our being bought with a price, i:e. the blood of Jesus (<em><a href='B:530 6:20'>1Co 6:20</a></em>; <em><a href='B:530 7:23'>1Co 7:23</a></em>). And this is the horror of <em><a href='B:680 2:1'>2Pe 2:1</a></em> - "denying even the Master that bought them out". To turn against their gracious redeemer was the ultimate sick act for a slave freed through manumission. And this is the horror of turning away from the Lord. The death of Christ for us is thereby a warning to us of the end of sin and therefore the need to change.</p><p>The world, Paul told the Romans, seeks to push us into its mould (<em><a href='B:520 12:2'>Rom 12:2</a></em> J:B. Phillips). And this is increasingly true, as people crowded together catch the same bus each day to arrive at roughly the same time, reading the same newspapers, watching the same soap operas… automatic lives. Yet the real self created in the believer is ultimately&nbsp;<em>free</em>. For freedom did Christ set us free. The new person, the essential you and me, is characterized by sudden, creative welling up to the Father’s glory. This doesn’t mean that we have no habits- regular prayer, Bible study, meeting together etc. are all part of the new person. This is why the elderly, the infirm, the chronically shy, experience the flowering of the person, the sense of new life even in the face of the outward man perishing daily; because their inward man, their real self, is being so strongly infused with power (<em><a href='B:540 4:16'>2Co 4:16</a></em>). This explains why the graph of spiritual growth in any person is not a smooth upward curve; it is a very jagged line. Our true person asserts itself in those moments of totally free choice to serve our Lord. But we so easily allow our lives to slip back into the automatisms which define our internet personas.</p><p>The spirit of life in Christ sets us free from sin (<em><a href='B:520 8:2'>Rom 8:2</a></em>); but <em><a href='B:550 5:1'>Gal 5:1</a></em> simply says that “Christ” has set us free the same Greek phrase from sin. The Man Christ Jesus is His “spirit of life”; the man and His way of life were in perfect congruence. They always were; for in Him the word was made flesh. There was ‘truth’ in His very person, in that the principles of the God of Truth were perfectly and totally lived out in His person and being. Back in 1964, Emil Brunner wrote a book, whose title speaks for itself:&nbsp;<em>Truth As Encounter:&nbsp;</em>Truth is essentially a person- the Lord Jesus. Truth is an experience, a way of life, a total assurance of forgiveness and salvation, a validation of the new man created within us, in a way so deep, and so strongly felt, that all else appears as falsehood compared to that surpassing ‘truth’.</p><p><em>Therefore, stand fast, and do not get entangled again in a yoke of bondage</em>- "Again" would suggest to me that the audience was largely Jewish; but see the discussion at <em><a href='B:550 4:8'>Gal 4:8</a></em>. The allusion is to the "yoke" of life in Christ; Paul seems to be saying that we cannot wear two yokes. We cannot be saved by faith alone, and also by legal obedience.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:2'>Gal 5:2</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Behold, I Paul say to you: If you receive circumcision</em>- There is strong reason to think that Paul was writing to a Jewish readership; see on <em><a href='B:550 4:8'>Gal 4:8</a></em>. So we may need to read in an ellipsis here: 'If you receive the idea that circumcision is required for salvation'. He certainly was not saying that 'circumcision' were not profited by Christ; he means that some attitude to circumcision would lead to not being profited by Christ. But it is equally credible that even Gentile converts to the free salvation in Christ would be tempted to accept Judaism and a mass of regulations. Because this puts salvation under question, and means that the response required of us is so much less. Whereas if we are saved by grace through faith, regardless of our obedience or disobedience ratio, then this is so wonderful that it requires our total response. Every part of our thinking and living becomes subservient to this driving passion of gratitude and joy.</p><p><em>Christ will profit you nothing</em>- The argument of Galatians is also found in Romans, here at <em><a href='B:520 2:25'>Rom 2:25</a></em>: "For circumcision indeed profits, if you be a doer 'keeper' of the whole law". Here in <em><a href='B:550 5:3'>Gal 5:3</a></em>, Paul likewise goes on to reason that relying on circumcision obedience to one Mosaic law requires obedience to the entire law. This is the danger of focusing on obedience to just one law; if we think obedience on one point is so critical for salvation, then we require ourselves to in fact keep the entire legal package. And that is the case to this day; salvation is offered either to those who keep the entire law of Moses, or to those who fall in faith upon Christ, believing we are in Him and saved by identification with Him alone. And yet it is a common tendency amongst believers to focus upon one particular act of obedience to commandment and turn this into a shibboleth issue. Be it women wearing head coverings or divorce and remarriage, the same mentality can be evidenced as regarding circumcision in the first century.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:3'>Gal 5:3</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Yes, I testify again to every man that receives circumcision, that he is a debtor to do the whole law</em>- God uses language differently to how we do because He can read motives. Paul and many other Jewish Christians were circumcised, but Paul is reasoning in the letter to the Galatians that the true Jewish believer was not under an obligation to keep the Law: “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision” (<em><a href='B:550 5:6'>Gal 5:6</a></em>). Therefore “every man that is circumcised” in <em><a href='B:550 5:3'>Gal 5:3</a></em> must mean ‘every man who trusts in circumcision or wants to undergo it’. Some modern paraphrases support this, but the point is that what God actually said was that “every man that is circumcised… is a debtor to do the whole law” (see Greek text). Those words are just not true if taken out of context; we need to appreciate that God is speaking from the perspective of knowing men’s motives. Paul doesn't mean that every circumcised man is a debtor to keep all the Law. He means that every man who is circumcised&nbsp;<em>in order to be saved</em>&nbsp;is a debtor to keep all the law.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:4'>Gal 5:4</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:550 6:14'>Gal 6:14</a></em>.</p><p><em>You are severed from Christ&nbsp;if you would be justified by the law You are fallen away from grace</em>- Some texts read "Christ is become of no effect". Whichever reading is correct, the implications of attempting salvation by obedience are pretty severe. Christ's death was to no purpose, He died in vain; or, in allusion to the Lord's parable of the vine in John 15, we are severed from Christ because we have severed ourselves. This would come about by no longer believing that being "in Him" was important for salvation.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:5'>Gal 5:5</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness</em>- The contrast is between the way of the Spirit by faith, and keeping the law- in order to attain "the hope of righteousness", a term allusive to a term used in Rabbinic Judaism for the reward of the obedient. Paul has explained that the Spirit is sent forth into the hearts of those who simply and totally believe the promise to Abraham of blessing and salvation (<em><a href='B:550 3:2'>Gal 3:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:550 4:6'>Gal 4:6</a></em>); indeed, the gift of the Spirit is itself one aspect of the blessing promised, it is the foretaste and guarantee of the future inheritance of the earth which has been promised (<em><a href='B:560 1:14'>Eph 1:14</a></em>). "We ourselves" may be a reference to Paul and those with him. For the Galatians had stopped trusting in that gift of the Spirit, they had left off faith in God's grace and replaced it with attempts to attain "the hope" by their own works. This is why the Galatians were now not behaving well; their attempt to achieve salvation by works actually made them sin more. Hence Paul now goes on to talk about practical issues and the need to overcome sin by life in the Spirit rather than steel willed obedience. This more practical section of the letter is not at all divorced from the earlier argument about the crucial need to trust in the word of promise and be transformed by the Spirit- rather than seeking justification by works of obedience.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:6'>Gal 5:6</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love-&nbsp;</em>Paul has argued in <em><a href='B:550 3:27-29'>Gal 3:27-29</a></em> that for those "in Christ" by baptism, gender, social status etc. mean nothing- because they have taken on His identity. The choice is between being completely obedient to the Mosaic Law- or faith in Christ. That faith operates through love. Love is the primary fruit of the Spirit (:22). If we go the path of faith in Christ alone and there is no other option, because we have all failed to be totally obedient to the law- then the Spirit operates in our hearts (<em><a href='B:550 3:2'>Gal 3:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:550 4:6'>Gal 4:6</a></em>). And the overall work of the Spirit is the fruit of love, in all its dimensions (:22). And so a path is set up: Faith- Receipt of the Spirit- Love. In this sense, faith operates through love.</p><p>Reading the Greek another way, “Faith is wrought by love” (<em><a href='B:550 5:6'>Gal 5:6</a></em> RVmg:) in that the fruits of the Spirit reinforce each other in an upward spiral. Faith leads to humility, and vice versa. Realizing we of ourselves are insufficient results in humility, which in turn develops faith. Hence <em><a href='B:240 20:6'>Pro 20:6</a></em> comments that a man of faith will not "proclaim his own goodness".</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:7'>Gal 5:7</a></em>&nbsp;<em>You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?</em>- This suggests that obeying the Truth is not just in baptism; it is an ongoing motivation to keep running the race of practical life in Christ. See on <em><a href='B:670 1:22'>1Pe 1:22</a></em>. "The truth" is used here for faith in the simplest, most fundamental truth- that the promised Kingdom of God really will be ours if we believe in Christ. All schemes of salvation by works are a form of not obeying the Truth.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:8'>Gal 5:8</a></em>&nbsp;<em>This persuasion came not from him that calls you</em>- The idea of having been called both by and to&nbsp;<em>grace</em>&nbsp;is quite a big theme with Paul (<em><a href='B:550 1:6'>Gal 1:6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:550 1:15'>Gal 1:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:550 5:13'>Gal 5:13</a></em>). They had not been called to this legalism.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:9'>Gal 5:9</a></em>&nbsp;<em>A little leaven leavens the whole lump</em>- The problem in Galatia had been caused by a very small group ("the one who is troubling you", :10) or an apparently insignificant doctrine. But it was destroying the while community; although this was because the idea of salvation by works was so attractive. The Lord had spoken of the teaching of the Pharisees as "leaven" (<em><a href='B:480 8:15'>Mar 8:15</a></em>). In the more immediate context, Paul may mean that once you demand legal obedience to one law, in this case circumcision, then this leads to a need for obedience to the entire Law. The idea being that small beginning has huge consequences.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:10'>Gal 5:10</a></em>&nbsp;<em>I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view than mine</em>- Paul is both despairing and confident about them within a chapter or so. We get the impression that he had over invested in them personally and was taking it all too personally. Hence he speaks here of them taking "no other view than mine", which sounds rather as if he has personalized the whole thing in a wrong way.</p><p>We can however read Paul's confidence as an imputing of righteousness to the Galatians, and recognizing their status in Christ. Recognizing others as being “in Christ” imparts an altogether higher quality to our relationships. The cynicism and negativity which we naturally bring to many inter-personal encounters is taken away by a deep recognition that our brethren are indeed in the Lord. Having noted that the Galatians did not any longer “believe the truth”, Paul can say that he has “confidence to you-ward in the Lord” (<em><a href='B:550 5:10'>Gal 5:10</a></em> RV). Because they were “in the Lord”, he could hope against all human indications, that they would indeed rise up to an imitation of the Lord in whom Paul believed them to be. And so we have to ask ourselves, whether we indeed have that “confidence” about others, because we know them to be “in the Lord”? Or do we judge them after the flesh…?</p><p><em>And the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is-&nbsp;</em>This would imply that the whole Judaistic campaign in Galatia was led by one person, the little / small leaven which was influencing the whole lump. "Whoever he is" connects with the spirit of <em><a href='B:550 2:6'>Gal 2:6</a></em>: "But from those who were reputed to be somewhat (whatever they were, it makes no matter to me, God does not accept man's person) they, I say, who were of repute added nothing to me". We could assume that the individual was of some respect within the churches of Galatia.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:11'>Gal 5:11</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:530 1:23'>1Co 1:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:530 9:17'>1Co 9:17</a></em>.</p><p><em>But I brothers, if I still preach circumcision</em>- The more you read between the lines of Paul's letters, the more evident it is that his very own brethren almost unbelievably slandered him. Thus the Galatians whispered that Paul still preached circumcision (<em><a href='B:550 5:11'>Gal 5:11</a></em>), probably basing that nasty rumour on the fact he had circumcised Timothy. See on <em><a href='B:610 5:19'>1Ti 5:19</a></em>.</p><p><em>Why am I still persecuted?</em>- Paul's persecution of Christians was done to him. This was not just Divine poetic justice for the sake of it; it was practically to enable him to understand those brethren whom he had killed and tortured, in order to prepare him for eternal fellowship with them in God's Kingdom.</p><p><em>Then has the stumbling-block of the cross been done away</em>- The cross is described as a&nbsp;<em>skandalon</em>, an offence (<em><a href='B:550 5:11'>Gal 5:11</a></em>). Either we stumble (are offended) on it, or we stumble and are offended in the sense of spiritually falling away. Either we share the Lord’s cross, shedding our blood with His “outside the gate” of this world; or we will share the condemnation of those whose blood is to be shed in destruction outside the city (<em><a href='B:730 14:20'>Rev 14:20</a></em>). It’s Golgotha now, or later. The cross makes men stumble; either falling on that stone and being broken into humility, or the uncommitted stumbling at the huge demand which the cross implies. Paul had all this in mind when he wrote of the lust / affections of the flesh (<em><a href='B:550 5:24'>Gal 5:24</a></em>), using a word elsewhere translated "sufferings" in the context of Christ's cross. The sufferings, the lust, the cross of the flesh::. or the cross of the Lord Jesus.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:12'>Gal 5:12</a></em>&nbsp;<em>I would that they that unsettle you</em>- A mild translation; the same word is used of how Paul had turned the Jewish world upside down by his preaching (<em><a href='B:510 17:6'>Act 17:6</a></em>). We catch a sense here of how destabilizing all these arguments were; people had had their lives and world turned upside down by the Gospel, and were not having their new world turned upside down again by false teachers.</p><p><em>Would even go beyond circumcision and emasculate themselves</em>- This contains a play on words which may seem quite inappropriate to us; so much so that many a Bible translator and expositor has had problems with it. The idea is that Paul wishes that the circumcision party would go further and fully emasculate themselves. This just isn’t the way men would use language if they wrote the Bible uninspired by God. See on <em><a href='B:490 17:37'>Luk 17:37</a></em>.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:13'>Gal 5:13</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:500 8:32'>Joh 8:32</a></em>.</p><p><em>For you, brothers, were called for freedom</em>- This goes back to the allegory of the two sons. We are children of the free woman. But whilst all men pay lip service to a love of freedom, very few really want it once presented with it. To believe we really are saved and shall be saved by grace when the Lord returns::. and that great salvation is independent of our sins and obedience::. this is the ultimate freedom, and we shall be granted that freedom in a more material sense when our natures are changed and we enter God's Kingdom at the Lord's return. The way the Galatians turned away from freedom is so instructive as to the real nature of human thought and essential preference.</p><p><em>Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh</em>- No Greek word represents "use"; the idea is that the freedom to law which we are called to is not an opportunity for fleshly behaviour, but rather that freedom paradoxically ends up in service to others, because the work of the Spirit produces love as its summary fruit (<em><a href='B:550 5:22'>Gal 5:22</a></em>).</p><p><em>But through love serve one another</em>- The Spirit produces love (:22), and that love is itself a motivating and activating power. Hence the GNB: "Let love make you serve one another".</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:14'>Gal 5:14</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this: You shall love your neighbour as yourself</em>- <em><a href='B:470 5:17'>Mat 5:17</a></em> = <em><a href='B:550 5:14'>Gal 5:14</a></em>. Christ fulfilled the Law by His supreme love of His neighbour (us) as Himself, by dying on the cross. That was where and how the Law was fulfilled. Paul is arguing that if we are in Christ, then all that is true of Him is true of us. So there is no need to try to keep the Mosaic Law. The Lord Jesus Himself doesn't keep it- because He fulfilled it. Paul's argument has been that those who believe in salvation by grace are given the Spirit, which has the supreme fruit of love (:22), which in practice makes us serve one another (:13). And by doing so, we fulfil the essence of the Law:&nbsp;</p><h4>To love one’s neighbour as oneself is to fulfil the law (<em><a href='B:550 5:14'>Gal 5:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:520 13:10'>Rom 13:10</a></em>); and yet the Lord’s death was the supreme fulfilment of it (<em><a href='B:470 5:18'>Mat 5:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:580 2:14'>Col 2:14</a></em>). Here was the definition of love for one’s neighbour. Not a passing politeness and occasional seasonal gift, whilst secretly and essentially living the life of self-love and self-care; but the love and the death of the cross, for His neighbours as for Himself. In Him, in His time of dying, we see the definition of love, the fulfilment of the justice and unassuming kindness and thought for others which was taught in the Mosaic Law. And we through bearing one another’s burdens, through bearing with their moral and intellectual and spiritual failures, must likewise fulfil the law, in a voluntary laying down of our lives for each other (<em><a href='B:550 6:2'>Gal 6:2</a></em>). And in this, as with the Lord, will be our personal salvation.</h4><p>The Old Covenant's command to love one's neighbour as oneself&nbsp;was in the context of life in Israel. One's "neighbour" referred to others belonging to the Covenant people; not to those in the 'world' of the surrounding nations. New Testament quotation of this command totally supports this view; under the New Covenant, we must love those&nbsp;<em>within the ecclesia</em>&nbsp;as we love ourselves (<em><a href='B:550 5:14'>Gal 5:14</a></em>). <em><a href='B:530 6:1'>1Co 6:1</a></em> (R:V:) speaks of brethren within the ecclesia as "neighbours”. Again, this is not in itself proof that we should not give to (e:g:). famine relief. But it surely indicates that we are misguided in thinking that such action is fulfilling this command. However, there is copious evidence within the Law that Israel were to be considerate and concerned for the Gentile world around them:&nbsp; But there is no Biblical evidence that Israel preached a social Gospel to them.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:15'>Gal 5:15</a></em>&nbsp;<em>But if you bite and devour one another</em>- Since the Galatians left trusting in Christ for salvation and turned to their own works, they began biting and devouring each other. And so it is in legalistic, works based communities. Arguments arise about technicalities and the exact nature of obedience or disobedience; and because salvation is seen to depend upon these issues, the divisions are indeed bitter and passionate.</p><p><em>Take care that you are not consumed by one another</em>- The unbelieving world will finally destroy themselves, brother against brother (<em><a href='B:450 14:13'>Zec 14:13</a></em>). If we bite and devour each other, we may be consumed by each other (<em><a href='B:550 5:15'>Gal 5:15</a></em>)- this is the same idea of brethren killing brethren, and the world killing itself. Israel were condemned to destruction by brother being dashed against brother (<em><a href='B:300 13:14'>Jer 13:14</a></em>). Indeed, biting and devouring each other is a quotation from <em><a href='B:290 9:19-20'>Isa 9:19-20</a></em> LXX (although not apparent in the AV), where Israel in their judgment for unfaithfulness would bite and devour each others' bodies in the siege. Paul is saying that if we bite and devour each other with our words (and we are all guilty of this at times), we are acting as the condemned. If we do this, we may well be consumed of each other- and this&nbsp;<em>may</em>&nbsp;have a terribly literal fulfilment, in that as the world destroys every man his neighbour in the confusion of the last day, so the rejected may do the same, living out the bigotry and passive anger they felt towards each other in their ecclesial life. This all needs some meditation. For there are very few of us not caught up in some division, personality clash, biting or devouring.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:16'>Gal 5:16</a></em>&nbsp;<em>But I say, walk by the Spirit and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh</em>- Having quit trusting in grace for salvation, the Galatians found that their flesh lusted against the spirit to the extent that they just couldn’t do the things they knew they should and which obedience they now so desperately desired- because they were not led of the spirit, they were still under law (<em><a href='B:550 5:18'>Gal 5:18</a></em>). They didn’t have a spiritual way of life, instead they were just trying to keep certain specific commandments, and they found they just couldn’t live a victorious spiritual life:&nbsp;</p><p>How to not sin is perhaps one of our most fundamental questions. The answer the legalists gave was: 'By obedience'. But that throws the question only a stage further back. How? Paul has said that if we really believe we will be saved, then we will be; and the promised inheritance is by grace and not obedience to a set of laws. Those who believe this will give their whole lives in joy and response to that great salvation; they have no set of laws to follow, but the Spirit of Christ will be put into their hearts which leads them to "love", which outworks in lives of service to others. Thus they will lead lives 'walking by the Spirit', living life in that sphere of being and thinking; this is the way to not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. Those who try to battle each temptation in their own strength will find themselves torn by the conflicting desires and passions which destroy so many religious people and make them nothing less than neurotic. Joy and peace as promised by the Lord will just not be realized by them:&nbsp; The Galatians are really a parade example; they switched over to trying to defeat each lust and passion as it arose, without the help of the Spirit and without the assurance of being secured in Christ by grace. And they started to fail, miserably. The misery of their position is well described in :17.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:17'>Gal 5:17</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. For these are contrary to each other. You may not do the things you would like to-&nbsp;</em>See on :16. I read this not so much as a global truth, true of all men; but more as a description of the Galatians' miserable, neurotic position. Hence talks here about "you" rather than "we"; whereas elsewhere in this letter he at times uses "we" in associating himself with a situation. They were unable to overcome the flesh because they were doing so in their own strength and had neglected the operation of the Spirit, which was given commensurate to a person's total surrender to and identification with Christ. The leading of the Spirit means that we are not under law- it's not a question of struggling with white knuckles against temptation; but rather of following the Spirit's leading. See on :24&nbsp;<em>With the passions and the lusts</em>-</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:18'>Gal 5:18</a></em>&nbsp;<em>But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law</em>- If we are not justified by obedience but by faith, then we have no law. Sin&nbsp;<em>per se&nbsp;</em>&nbsp;is not now something to be avoided or dodged by a steel will. But this doesn't mean we are free to act as we wish; the whole wonder of being certain that we are going to be in the Kingdom, and are at this moment acceptable with the Father and Son::. this demands our all. We cannot be passive to such faith and hope.</p><p>The Greek word behind "led" doesn't so much mean that the Spirit goes ahead and we follow. The word is usually translated 'to be brought'. The Spirit brings us through to salvation- if we allow it. The word is used so often in Acts of Paul being 'brought' to various places; his ministry was truly one led by the Spirit. There are many connections between Galatians and Romans. Paul uses the word of how the grace of God leads us to repentance (<em><a href='B:520 2:4'>Rom 2:4</a></em>), and of how those led by the Spirit are the sons of God (<em><a href='B:520 8:14'>Rom 8:14</a></em>). This is the identical context to the argument here in Galatians. We who are God's sons in that we have identified with His begotten Son are given the Spirit in our hearts (<em><a href='B:550 4:5'>Gal 4:5</a></em>). The gift of God's Spirit makes us part of the family, we think and act as do the Father and Son. The Lord Jesus was of our nature exactly so that He could bring / lead s:w. many sons unto glory (<em><a href='B:650 2:10'>Heb 2:10</a></em>). The Lord's humanity was necessary so that we might be able to identify with Him. He as God's Son enables us to also be "sons".</p><p>The same contrast between the Spirit and the Law/flesh is seen in <em><a href='B:520 8:2-3'>Rom 8:2-3</a></em>: “The Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the Law (of Moses / sin) could not do::.". The Law indirectly encouraged the “works of the flesh” listed in <em><a href='B:550 5:19-21'>Gal 5:19-21</a></em>, shown in practice by the Jews becoming more morally degenerate than even the Canaanite nations, and calling forth Paul’s expose of how renegade Israel were in Romans 1.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:19'>Gal 5:19</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Now the works of the flesh-&nbsp;</em>The Galatian fixation with works actually led them to do the works of the flesh. The greatest barrier against grace is our own psychology of works; our belief that even what is good about us, in our character and in our deeds, is a result of our own unaided effort. Not for nothing does Paul contrast the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit in <em><a href='B:550 5:19'>Gal 5:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:550 5:23'>Gal 5:23</a></em>). As William Barclay noted: “A work is something which a man produces for himself; a fruit is something which is produced by a power which he does not possess. Man cannot make a fruit”. It’s because of this that works are so glorified in society; it’s why the elderly and weak are somehow despised because they’re not ‘productive’ of ‘works’. Grace therefore cuts right across the way our rationalistic society, whether Marxist or capitalist, worships productivity. Our tendency to value, indeed to worship, human works leads to great frustration with ourselves. Only by realizing the extent of grace can we become free from this. So many struggle with accepting unfulfilment- coping with loss, with the fact we didn’t make as good a job of something as we wanted, be it raising our kids or the website we work on or the book we write or the room we decorated… And as death approaches, this sense becomes stronger and more urgent. Young people tend to think that it’s only a matter of time before they sort it out and achieve. But that time never comes. It’s only by surrendering to grace, abandoning the trust in and glorying in our own works, that we can come to accept the uncompleted and unfulfilled in our lives, and to smile at those things and know that of course, I can never ‘do’ or achieve enough.</p><p><em>Are manifest, which are these- fornication, uncleanness, sensuality</em>- The works of the flesh are already manifest- although they will be manifested again at the day of judgment (<em><a href='B:490 8:17'>Luk 8:17</a></em>; <em><a href='B:530 3:13'>1Co 3:13</a></em>). The children of God and of the devil in the ecclesia are already manifest, in a sense (<em><a href='B:690 3:10'>1Jn 3:10</a></em>). See on <em><a href='B:550 6:4'>Gal 6:4</a></em>. However it could be that Paul is saying that these works of the flesh were manifest, were now visible, amongst the Galatians since they had focused upon legal obedience rather than total faith in Christ's salvation. In chapter 3, he had argued that the Law entered in order to emphasize sin and drive sinners to a desire for participation in the promises to Abraham and the need for identification with the seed to whom those promises were made.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:20'>Gal 5:20</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties-&nbsp;</em><em><a href='B:550 5:20-21'>Gal 5:20-21</a></em> lists anger and divisiveness along with adultery and witchcraft- as all being sins which will exclude from the Kingdom. Indeed, the list in <em><a href='B:550 5:19-20'>Gal 5:19-20</a></em> seems to be in progressive order, as if one sin leads to another, and the final folly is division between brethren. See on <em><a href='B:530 11:18'>1Co 11:18</a></em>. The focus upon works raises issues of obedience, disobedience and thereby the need for exact definition of Divine requirements. This all results in division between believers, unlike a following of the way of the Spirit.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:21'>Gal 5:21</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Envyings, drunkenness, revellings and such like. Of which I forewarn you now, even as I did&nbsp;previously forewarn you</em>- This would imply that Paul's earlier teaching of the Galatians included sober warnings about the list of moral issues contained here.</p><p><em>That they who practise such things shall not inherit</em>&nbsp;<em>the kingdom of God-&nbsp;</em>The question was how to inherit the Kingdom, and Paul has been reasoning that the Law offered no inheritance; but the promises to Abraham did. And yet those who live in sin shall not inherit the Kingdom. The implication seemed to be that the Law and trusting in it actually leads to behaviour which will exclude from the Kingdom. And this fits with Paul's earlier argument in Galatians 3, that the Law was given in order to magnify sin and lead sincere people to abandon it for faith in Christ as the seed of Abraham.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:22'>Gal 5:22</a></em>&nbsp;<em>But the fruit of the Spirit is</em>&nbsp;<em>love-&nbsp;</em>It can be argued that the fruit of the Spirit is love, and the subsequent eight characteristics are the outworking of love. The Spirit is that given to believers upon acceptance of Christ (<em><a href='B:550 4:5'>Gal 4:5</a></em>). See the comments on <em><a href='B:550 5:6'>Gal 5:6</a></em> regarding how faith in Christ alone, rather than legal obedience, therefore works out through love. The role of the Spirit in Christian life is utterly fundamental, and it is a feature of legalistic groups that they place little emphasis on the gift of the Spirit. Typically the position amounts to: 'The miraculous gifts of the Spirit are not for today, therefore the Spirit plays no role, and we must get on and be obedient to law'. These positions go hand in hand- but according to Paul, they are close to a false Gospel; although it is true that the external miraculous manifestations of the Spirit are not seen in our age.</p><p><em>Joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness</em>- The influence of continually hearing&nbsp;<em>God’s</em>&nbsp;word should be that&nbsp;<em>our</em>&nbsp;words are likewise truthful and trustworthy. The fact that the Bible as God’s word is true has implications for our own truthfulness:&nbsp;<em>Pistos</em>&nbsp;is listed as a fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5; but the idea it can carry is not so much of faith in the sense of belief, but of faithfulness, loyalty, reliability, utter dependability. If this is how God’s words are to us, then this is how we and our words should be to others.</p><p>The description of love in 1 Corinthians 13 are similar to the outline of the fruits of the Spirit here. These are all portraits of the man Christ Jesus. The clearest witness to Him “therefore consists in human life in which his image is reproduced”. The connection with the total character of the Lord Jesus is because the Spirit we have been given is His Spirit (<em><a href='B:550 4:5'>Gal 4:5</a></em>), the power to become like Him.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:23'>Gal 5:23</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Meekness, self-control. Against such there is no law</em>- We are not under any law now (:18), telling us what to do; nor is there any law telling us what not to do. We are to wholeheartedly respond to the assurance of salvation. The way of living in and breathing in the Spirit is wholly positive. Such a life naturally takes up all our psychological energy so that there is no space left for temptation to have much power. This without doubt is how the Lord 'managed' to be sinless.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:24'>Gal 5:24</a></em>&nbsp;<em>And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh</em>- Who in their own strength could say they have done this? Only those who have identified with Christ in baptism, so that with Paul they can say "I have been crucified with Christ" (<em><a href='B:550 2:20'>Gal 2:20</a></em>). The same language is used about our identity with Christ in baptism in Romans 6. This is only true by status; and we are to really believe the status that we have "in Christ".</p><p><em>With the passions and the lusts of it</em>- In the same way as Jesus crucified the Law (<em><a href='B:580 2:14'>Col 2:14</a></em>) by His death on the cross, so the early church should crucify the Law and the passions it generated by its specific denial of so many fleshly desires: “They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections (AV mg. “passions”) and lusts”. This seems to connect with <em><a href='B:520 7:5'>Rom 7:5</a></em>: “When we were in the flesh the motions (same Greek word, ‘affections’ as in <em><a href='B:550 5:24'>Gal 5:24</a></em>) of sins, which were by the Law, did work in our members”. “When we were in the flesh” seems to refer to ‘While we were under the Law’. For Paul implies he is no longer ‘in the flesh’, which he was if ‘the flesh’ only refers to human nature. The end of the law means that passions and lusts are ended with it- if we have identified with Him who ended the law. This would be further encouragement to read the description of the passionate struggle between fleshly lusts and righteousness in :17 as speaking of how things were with the Galatians, rather than how things have to be for all believers.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:25'>Gal 5:25</a></em>&nbsp;<em>If we live by the Spirit</em>- The gift of the Spirit is not an overpowering force which forces us to obedience. We must allow it to work; clearly the Galatians had turned away from it, towards justification by their own strength.</p><p><em>Let us also walk in step with the Spirit</em>- An allusion to Ezekiel’s vision of the wheels of the cherubim on earth being in step with the Angel-cherubim above them. Our spirit bears witness with God’s Spirit- we know that our way of life is in harmony with Him, our spirit is His, and thereby we know that we are His children and united with the eternal life and now eternal spirit of His Son (<em><a href='B:520 8:16'>Rom 8:16</a></em>). The way of life we live in Christ is an eternal life, an eternal spirit; in this sense we are living the eternal life, the life we will eternally live. This is how crucially important it is to be living the truth as a way of life. Go through your life and see how you can construct this ambience within it.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 5:26'>Gal 5:26</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another</em>- It would seem that since seeking to be obedient to the Law as a basis for salvation, the Galatians were experiencing much inter-personal conflict- of the type which is commonly seen in legalistic Christian communities. See on :19&nbsp;<em>Manifest</em>. Legal obedience provokes all manner of questions of interpretation and comparison with others; and it also engenders pride and vainglory. The way of the Spirit, of salvation by faith in grace, produces humility; and the proof of which way is right is seen in the characters produced in those who believe the two schools of thought. Jealousy, irritation, provocation etc. are the ideas carried by the various Greek words used here- and such are the fruits of communal legalism.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 6:1'>Gal 6:1</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Brothers, even if a man is caught in any sin-&nbsp;</em>The Greek literally refers to a fall; and the fall in view is the falling from faith in grace of <em><a href='B:550 5:4'>Gal 5:4</a></em>.</p><p><em>You who are spiritual</em>- Paul has been lamenting how the Galatians generally have left the way of the Spirit, granted to believers who have fallen upon Christ as Abraham's seed in faith alone. Paul seems to be advising the minority who remained faithful to that calling as to how they should deal with the many who were "at fault" in having rejected grace for legalism.</p><p><em>Restore&nbsp;such a one in a spirit of gentleness, looking to yourself</em>- “Restore” is elsewhere translated "perfect". God is at work to perfect or literally 'mend' His people (s:w. <em><a href='B:650 13:21'>Heb 13:21</a></em>; <em><a href='B:670 5:10'>1Pe 5:10</a></em>). But He does so through our efforts. Our attempts to restore others therefore have His full co-working behind us. Note that like the parable of the lost sheep, the assumption is made that we will be successful in the restoration. We are to approach all such attempts, difficult and awkward as they are, with the full hope that there will be a positive outcome.</p><p><em>Lest you also be tempted</em>- Recognizing, in this context, that the temptation to legalism is every man's struggle. It's easy to forget this when dealing with legalistic brethren.</p>


text:
<h4><em><a href='B:550 6:2'>Gal 6:2</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Carry one another's burdens</em>- I have suggested on :1 that the particular fault or fall which is in view is the return to Jewish legalism. The demands of such legalism are called "burdens" in <em><a href='B:470 23:4'>Mat 23:4</a></em>; <em><a href='B:490 11:46'>Luk 11:46</a></em> and particularly in this context <em><a href='B:510 15:28'>Act 15:28</a></em> "no greater burden". Those who were spiritual, led of the Spirit, were not themselves burdened; but they were to enter into the feelings of those who had burdened themselves with unnecessary burdens. This was the spirit of Paul when he wrote that to those under the law, he made himself as if under the law: "To them that are under the law, I became as one under the law (though I am not under the law), that I might gain those that are under the law" (<em><a href='B:530 9:20'>1Co 9:20</a></em>). We wonder whether in fact Paul has in view Christians who had returned "under the law", for he has used that phrase about the Galatians in <em><a href='B:550 5:18'>Gal 5:18</a></em>. It's too easy to shrug at the mental torments some get themselves into, thinking 'Well that's their problem'. It is, but we are to walk those burdened miles with them in order to restore them.</h4><p><em>And so fulfil the law of Christ-&nbsp;</em>If we understand ‘the law of Christ’ in the same sense as ‘the law of Moses’ then we have missed the crucial message that is in Christ; we have merely exchanged one legal code for another. His is a spirit of grace which specifically, legally demands nothing and yet by the same token demands our all. And so in all our living and thinking, we must constantly be asking ‘What would Jesus do? Is this the way of God’s Spirit? Is this how the law of love teaches me to act? ’. To live the life of the Spirit, to construct in daily living an ambience of spiritual life, is therefore a binding law. Living according to the spirit / mind / example of Jesus will mean that we naturally find the answers to some of the practical dilemmas which may arise in our lives.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 6:3'>Gal 6:3</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For if a man thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself</em>- Paul has just warned at the end of chapter 5 about the vainglory which comes from legalistic obedience. The basis of salvation is that we realize that we are "nothing", and on that basis come to the Lord for justification by grace through faith alone, knowing we have no obedience to show. Even if we have obeyed some points, such as circumcision, if we have not always obeyed the entire law, then we are nothing. Paul applied the term to himself when arguing that although he has "nothing" yet he "possesses all things" (<em><a href='B:540 6:10'>2Co 6:10</a></em>) - a reference to the promises to Abraham and his seed, and the language he uses in <em><a href='B:550 4:1'>Gal 4:1</a></em> about our inheritance- the heir who has nothing in hand shall possess all things if he associates with the one true Heir, the Lord Jesus.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 6:4'>Gal 6:4</a></em>&nbsp;<em>But let each man test his own work</em>- In the context of arguing about works, Paul is inviting those who trust in works to put those works through the tests he has just spoken out in his argument about works. Whilst it may be hard to believe, this says that we can prove / test / judge our own works, and thus have rejoicing in ourselves. Although self-examination is fraught with problems, and even our conscience can be deceptive at times (<em><a href='B:530 4:4'>1Co 4:4</a></em>), there is a sense in which we can judge / discern ourselves now. We can judge brethren and find them blameless (<em><a href='B:610 3:10'>1Ti 3:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:630 1:6-7'>Tit 1:6-7</a></em>)- all the language of the future judgment (<em><a href='B:530 1:8'>1Co 1:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:580 1:22'>Col 1:22</a></em>). We cannot personally condemn them, but we can judge their behaviour against the judgments of God as revealed in the word. Some know the judgments of God against certain sins, and yet still do them, in the blindness of human nature (<em><a href='B:520 1:32'>Rom 1:32</a></em>). Israel chose to be oblivious of what they well knew; there was no (awareness of) God's judgment in their way of life (<em><a href='B:290 59:8'>Isa 59:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 5:4'>Jer 5:4</a></em>) and therefore they lacked that innate sense of judgment to come which they ought to have had, as surely as the stork knows the coming time for her migration (<em><a href='B:300 8:7'>Jer 8:7</a></em>). Judas knew in advance of judgment day that he was condemned (<em><a href='B:470 27:3'>Mat 27:3</a></em>).</p><p><em>And then shall he have his boasting in regard to himself alone, and not of his neighbour</em>- Perhaps this is sarcasm. Given his argument about the inadequacy of works, Paul may be saying that of course nobody can boast in their works. For at the end of chapter 5 he has criticized the vainglory of legalists in their few good works. The "boasting" later on in this chapter (<em><a href='B:550 6:13'>Gal 6:13</a></em>) was of the Judaist brethren. And Paul teaches against all such boasting: "But far be it for me to boast" (:14).</p><p>But the words are also capable of being read as a statement about how self-examination brings us face to face with our essential loneliness in a healthy way: “For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another” (<em><a href='B:550 6:2-4'>Gal 6:2-4</a></em>). It is possible to have rejoicing in ourselves alone when we know we have a clear conscience before the Father. But this can only come through being genuinely in touch with oneself; the person who is subsumed within an organization, who is totally co-dependent rather than an individual freely standing before the Father… such a person can never reach this level of self-knowledge. The N:I:V. says: “Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else”. We are treading a terrible tightrope here, between the deadly sin of pride on the one side, and the sin of devaluing our own God-formed personality on the other. Only a person in touch with him or herself can have the rejoicing or pride in one’s clear conscience cleansed, of course, by grace in Christ of which Paul speaks here. Paul seems to have in mind the words of Job when he speaks of how he will in the very end behold God with his own eyes, “and not another” (<em><a href='B:220 19:27'>Job 19:27</a></em>).</p><p>Not only are we to perceive the value of others, but of ourselves too. <em><a href='B:550 5:26'>Gal 5:26</a></em>; <em><a href='B:550 6:4'>Gal 6:4</a></em> RV make the point that we shouldn’t be desirous of&nbsp;<em>vain</em>glory, but of “his glorying in regard of himself alone”. Secured in Christ, justified in Him, we can even glory in who we are in His eyes. We can be so sure of His acceptance of us that there is such a thing as “the glorying of our hope” (<em><a href='B:650 3:6'>Heb 3:6</a></em>)- all ours to explore and experience.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 6:5'>Gal 6:5</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For each man shall carry his own burden</em>- I have argued on :2 that the burdens in view are those of keeping the Jewish Law. Even if we try to walk with others on their burdened, legalistic road- we may not succeed. And finally they will have to carry their own burdens.</p><p>By our words we will be justified or condemned. The false prophets were judged according to their words: "Every man's word shall be his burden" at the day of Babylonian judgment (<em><a href='B:300 23:36'>Jer 23:36</a></em>). <em><a href='B:550 6:5'>Gal 6:5</a></em> alludes here in saying that at the judgment, every man shall bear his own burden- i:e:, that of his own words. And those words, in the context, would have been statements and demands concerning obedience to law. These positions will be cited back to me at the day of judgment.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 6:6'>Gal 6:6</a></em>&nbsp;<em>One who is taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches</em>- It could be that Paul now addresses some practical issues in Galatia. However, he has urged them not to abandon him and to return to him personally, and to resist the influence of others who were trying to replace his influence. I have suggested throughout that perhaps he was taking it all rather too personally. It could be that this teaching is another example. He was the one who had taught them the word, as he had often reminded them throughout the letter. Perhaps he is hinting that they ought to be sending him material support, and indeed, they had a duty to do that. The "good things" would appear from :10 to be the 'good' of generosity to those in need, whether in the world or within the family of faith. By doing so, they would&nbsp;<em>de facto</em>&nbsp;be declaring their loyalty to him rather than some other unnamed individual who was seeking to have them as his disciples and to poison them against Paul (<em><a href='B:550 5:10'>Gal 5:10</a></em>).</p><p>If the "good things" refer to the things taught by the teacher, then we learn that even though some may be shepherds, they are still sheep; and they are leading others after the Lord Jesus, “the chief shepherd”, not after themselves. And they should remember that <em><a href='B:550 6:6'>Gal 6:6</a></em> requires “him that is taught in the word” to share back his "good things", his knowledge in Christ, with his teacher. This is possibly the meaning behind the enigmatic <em><a href='B:560 3:10'>Eph 3:10</a></em> - the converts of the church declare the wisdom of God to the ‘principalities and powers in the heavenlies’, phrases elsewhere used about the eldership of the church. The shepherd is to learn from his sheep- a concept totally out of step with the idea of leadership in 1st and 21st centuries alike:&nbsp;</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 6:7'>Gal 6:7</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Be not deceived</em>- The natural connection is with the warning in :3 to the self-righteous, self-congratulatory Judaists not to deceive themselves- by thinking that a few acts of legal obedience such as circumcision were the way to salvation. Paul here uses the same word the Lord often uses in warning that in the last days, the believers must be careful not to be deceived; as if Paul saw the collapse in Christ-centered faith as a sign of His return. John uses the same word about the deceivers who were seducing his converts to return to Judaism (<em><a href='B:690 2:26'>1Jn 2:26</a></em>; <em><a href='B:690 3:7'>1Jn 3:7</a></em>). The "deceivers" are described as being "especially of the circumcision" (<em><a href='B:630 1:10'>Tit 1:10</a></em>). This warning not to be deceived is similar to the message of :1- that those with the Spirit should seek to restore those who had turned to Judaism, but considering themselves lest they also be tempted (see notes there).</p><p><em>God is not mocked</em>- To assume our obedience to commandment can save us is to mock God, connecting us with the Jews who mocked the Lord Jesus on the cross, at the very time He ended the Law and confirmed the new covenant of gracious salvation.</p><p><em>For whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap</em>- Knowing the terror of the Lord at the judgment, knowing that Christ will come, Paul sought to use this to persuade men, such as the believers at Corinth, to quit their sloppy attitude to God's Truth. Properly apprehending the reality of judgment to come makes us see the eye of the tiger, grasp the real issues of spiritual life, see the real essence of cross carrying Christianity. We will&nbsp;<em>believe</em>&nbsp;that whatever we sow, that we will reap; and we will therefore live accordingly. "<em>That</em>" shall he also reap is emphasized by the Greek. Those who trusted in works would reap what they had sowed- their few paltry works. Nothing more would be added; the Lord's all necessary righteousness would not be imputed to them, for they thought they didn't need it, like the man who entered the wedding without a provided garment.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 6:8'>Gal 6:8</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For he that sows to his own flesh</em>- We have noted throughout Galatians that Paul considers those now trusting in their own works to be effectively paganic, Ishmael's children rather than Isaac's; and children of the flesh (<em><a href='B:550 4:29'>Gal 4:29</a></em>). Sowing to the flesh was by seeking justification through their own works. And they would reap the result of that at judgment day. 'Sowing to the flesh' is alluding to Eliphaz's description of Job in <em><a href='B:220 4:8'>Job 4:8</a></em>. Eliphaz interprets Job's downfall as an example of "they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same" (<em><a href='B:220 4:8'>Job 4:8</a></em>). The conscious connection between these passages shows that Job was seen as a type of the Jewish, self-righteous, often Judaist-influenced, members of the ecclesia. However, the same passage also has connections with <em><a href='B:220 13:9'>Job 13:9</a></em>, where Job accuses the friends of mocking God- Paul has just spoken of how the Judaizers were mocking God (:7). Galatians 6 is saying that those who show themselves to be outwardly wise (:3), "making a fair show in the flesh (constraining) you to be circumcised" (:12), are mocking God. Thus the sweet-talking Judaizers infiltrating the believers in Galatia correspond to both Job and the friends. Job learnt the lesson which all Judaists have to learn.</p><p><em>Shall of the flesh reap corruption</em>- At the day of judgment, the faithful shall have their corruption swallowed up into incorruption (<em><a href='B:530 15:42'>1Co 15:42</a></em>; <em><a href='B:530 15:50'>1Co 15:50</a></em>). But the rejected will not be changed- they will remain in "corruption", because they reaped exactly what they sowed. Which was their own works and their own effort to attain salvation. Significantly, <em><a href='B:580 2:22'>Col 2:22</a></em> uses the same word about how the Jewish commandments are to corrupt AV "perish". This is where legal obedience ends up.</p><p><em>But he that sows to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap eternal life</em>- As noted on :1, those who trusted in grace by faith and not works were filled with the Spirit. Trusting in the operation of the Spirit and not our own works is therefore 'sowing to the Spirit'. But the majority of New Testament references to "he that sows" are to the Lord Jesus as He features in the sower parable- nearly 40 such references And it is He who will 'reap' at judgment day (<em><a href='B:470 25:24'>Mat 25:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:470 25:26'>Mat 25:26</a></em>), sending forth His reapers who are the Angels. The idea of reaping of the Spirit is a continuation of the connection with <em><a href='B:530 15:42-44'>1Co 15:42-44</a></em>, which speaks of the resurrection as corruption receiving incorruption, and the flesh being turned into Spirit. So the reference is to the Lord's work at the resurrection and judgment. Paul is cleverly changing the focus of the well known saying that a man reaps what he sows. Indeed, if a man sows to the flesh by trusting in his own works, he will reap corruption. But the Lord Jesus sows to the Spirit, and those who respond to the Spirit He gives will be reaped by Him unto eternal life. Thus the true believer in Christ will not be doing works thinking that a reward will be received for them at judgment day. Rather are we to allow and follow the work of the Spirit, the sowing of the sower, the Lord Jesus; and He shall reap us into life eternal.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 6:9'>Gal 6:9</a></em>&nbsp;<em>And let us not be weary in doing well</em>- Paul is balancing his position by emphasizing that he is not at all teaching that we should not do works. Those works, however, are motivated by a response to the great and saving grace we have been shown. The Galatians had grown weary of the great response to grace; and had preferred therefore to seek justification by works, for that actually demands less "doing well".</p><p><em>For in due season</em>- At the day of judgment. We have noted the allusions to 1 Corinthians 15, which presents that as the time of reaping and incorruption. See on :10&nbsp;<em>As we have opportunity</em>.</p><p><em>We shall reap, if we do not give up</em>- We as well as the Lord Jesus shall reap (see on :8&nbsp;<em>But he that sows to the Spirit</em>). The problem was that the Galatians were indeed 'giving up'. They were giving up their understanding of salvation by faith without works, and instead going for salvation by works. But their well doing, their good works, were in fact decreasing They were giving up sowing to the Spirit This is such a powerful point. Those who are truly grateful for salvation by grace alone will respond far more enthusiastically than those who think their good deeds can secure their salvation. The same Greek word for "give up" is used in <em><a href='B:650 12:3'>Heb 12:3</a></em> about the Hebrew believers who were also returning to the Law likewise being tempted to 'give up' or "faint".</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 6:10'>Gal 6:10</a></em><em>&nbsp;So then, as we have opportunity-&nbsp;</em>This is the same word&nbsp;<em>kairos</em>&nbsp;that has just been used in :9 regarding the "due season" or time when we shall reap what we sowed. And that day is the future day of judgment. But each "opportunity" or "time" is in fact judgment day for us. For in essence, judgment is now.</p><p><em>Let us work that which is good toward all men</em>- Paul is not saying 'Don't work You don't need to, under grace'. Rather he is urging belief in the wonder of salvation without works of obedience, knowing that belief in this will result in a life and heart being totally gripped for Christ. No way can we be passive to it. And we will indeed work what is good for all men. The "good" is to be connected with the "good things" of :6; see note there.</p><p><em>And especially toward those that are in the family of the faith-&nbsp;</em>The believers generally belonged to house churches, which were part of the&nbsp;<em>patria</em>&nbsp;of God (<em><a href='B:560 3:15'>Eph 3:15</a></em>). They belonged to another household, a household which they perceived by faith- the household of faith. No wonder Celsus complained that Christianity led its followers into rebellion against the heads of households. Doubtless he was exaggerating, but the idea of having another head of house, another&nbsp;<em>patria&nbsp;</em>, was indeed obnoxious to a slave owning society. This is why the language of slavery permeates so much of the New Testament letters; for according to Christianity’s critics, it was largely a slave, female religion to start with. And of course, the unity between slave women and free women in the house churches was amazing; it cut across all accepted social boundaries of separation. The&nbsp;<em>Martyrdom Of Perpetua And Felicitas</em>&nbsp;tells the story of how a Christian mistress (Perpetua) and a slave girl (Felicitas) are thrown together into the nets to be devoured by wild animals, standing together as they faced death. This was the kind of unity which converted the world. There was to be now the "household of faith", with people from all the 'other' groups now to be accepted as 'brother' and 'sister', which meant denying the natural ties to your family in the way that surrounding society expected- for to them, loyalty had to be to family above all else. Denying this and putting our bonding with Christ and&nbsp;<em>His</em>&nbsp;family first was indeed equivalent to self-crucifixion (<em><a href='B:480 8:34'>Mar 8:34</a></em>).</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 6:11'>Gal 6:11</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:540 12:7'>2Co 12:7</a></em>.</p><p><em>See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand</em>- Apparently a reference to Paul's poor eyesight, and the fact he had written the entire letter himself rather than through a scribe, as he wrote some other letters. He mentions this because he has reminded them of how they wanted to pluck out their eyes and given them to him (<em><a href='B:550 4:15'>Gal 4:15</a></em>). He has reminded them of that in the hope that such an appeal to personal history together might provoke their loyalty to him once again, and they would accept his rebuke and return to faith in Christ. I have noted several times in these notes that Paul's approach to the Galatians seems to me rather too high pressure, as if he had overly invested in them personally to such an extent that he was willing to apply all manner of pressure to bring them back to his fold of influence. Maybe I'm being too hard on Paul, but the obvious observation is surely that they ought to be following Jesus and the word of God rather than Paul personally. Yet he is certainly here making a personal tug at heartstrings over issues which concern life and death, and deeply personal decisions about what we shall base our faith upon- law or grace. And these issues can only finally be decided between a person and their God, rather than as a function of their human relationship to a preacher.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 6:12'>Gal 6:12</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:550 4:30'>Gal 4:30</a></em>.</p><p><em>It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would&nbsp;force you to be circumcised</em>- I suggested on <em><a href='B:550 4:8'>Gal 4:8</a></em> that this might mean 'To trust in circumcision'; for there are several references to the Galatians&nbsp;<em>returning</em>&nbsp;to Judaism, as if the audience was largely comprised of Jewish Christians. Paul began his letter by using this same Greek word translated "forced" in complaining that Peter had forced Gentile converts to live as the Jews; and noting that when Titus had visited the Jerusalem ecclesia, he had not been forced to be circumcised (<em><a href='B:550 2:3'>Gal 2:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:550 2:14'>Gal 2:14</a></em>).</p><p><em>And only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ</em>- This suggests that those applying the pressure were already within the Christian movement, who were feeling keenly the abhorrence of "the cross of Christ" which was felt by both Jews and Gentiles.</p>


text:
<h4><em><a href='B:550 6:13'>Gal 6:13</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For not even they who receive circumcision do themselves fully keep the law</em>- This recalls Paul's argument in chapter 5 that circumcision is only one of the whole package of Laws; without completely obeying the entire Law, those under the Law would be condemned.</h4><p><em>But they desire to have you circumcised so they can boast about you</em>- This suggests that the 'boasting' about works in :4 is being said sarcastically. Salvation by works of obedience breeds pride and boasting; and such mindsets and communities typically place much boasting on how many others they have converted to their position. That was the situation in the Galatian churches.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 6:14'>Gal 6:14</a></em>&nbsp;<em>But far be it for me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ</em>- Paul's encouragement of some to boast in their works in :4 is therefore surely sarcasm. The connection with :4 suggests that Paul felt he had no works to boast about; rather he would only boast in what Christ has done for Him. This is similar to the spirit of :8; where the man who sows his works and reaps them is contrasted not with the man who sows spiritual works and reaps them- but with the Jesus who sows and reaps. It's not about us- it's all about Him.</p><p><em>Through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world</em>- Another reference to his co-crucifixion with Christ in baptism (<em><a href='B:550 2:20'>Gal 2:20</a></em>). We are therefore crucified to the world because that is what Christ was. "The world" in the context of :13 could refer to the need humans feel to be acting well in the eyes of the world; the pride of life which is part of "all that is in the world". Paul says he was not interested in how he looked to the world, and whether his belief in the cross of Christ made him look obnoxious and led to persecution (:12). Because he was hanging there with Christ, identified with Him, and crucified thereby in the eyes of the world as Christ had been. And thereby likewise the world, the desire to be seen as smart and acceptable by our world, had been crucified to Paul.</p><p>The Lord’s death was&nbsp;<em>so that</em>&nbsp;He might deliver us from this present evil world (<em><a href='B:550 1:4'>Gal 1:4</a></em>); because of the Lord’s crucifixion, Paul saw himself as crucified unto the world, and the world unto him (<em><a href='B:550 6:14'>Gal 6:14</a></em>). The Lord Jesus looked out across the no man’s land between the stake and the crowd; He faced the world which crucified Him. We simply&nbsp;<em>cannot</em>&nbsp;side with them. To not separate from them is to make the cross in vain for us; for He died to deliver us out of this present world. The pull of the world is insidious; and only sober reflection upon the cross will finally deliver us from it. It’s a terrifying thought, that we can make the power of the cross invalid. It really is so, for Paul warned that preaching the Gospel with wisdom of words would make “the cross of Christ::. of none effect" (<em><a href='B:530 1:17'>1Co 1:17</a></em>). The effect of the cross, the power of it to save, is limited in its extent by our manner of preaching of it. And we can make “Christ", i:e. His cross, of “none effect" by trusting to our works rather than accepting the gracious salvation which He achieved (<em><a href='B:550 5:4'>Gal 5:4</a></em>).<br/>The life of self-crucifixion, daily carrying a stake of wood to the place where we will be nailed to it and left to die a tortuous death…day by day living in the intensity of a criminal’s ‘last walk’ to his death; how radical and how demanding this really is can easily be lost upon us. And it can be overlooked how totally unacceptable was the idea of dying on a cross in the context of the first century. In Roman thought, the cross was something shocking; the very word ‘cross’ was repugnant to them. It was something only for slaves. Consider the following writings from the period:&nbsp;<br/>- Cicero wrote: “The very word ‘cross’ should be far removed not only from the person of a Roman citizen but from his thoughts, his eyes and his ears. For it is not only the actual occurrence of these things or the endurance of them, but… the very mention of them, that is unworthy of a Roman citizen and a free man… your honours i:e. Roman citizenship protect a man from… the&nbsp;<em>terror of the cross</em>":&nbsp;<br/>- Seneca the Elder in the&nbsp;<em>Controversiae</em>&nbsp;records where a master’s daughter marries a slave, and she is described as having become related to&nbsp;<em>cruciarii</em>, ‘the crucified’. Thus ‘the crucified’ was used by metonymy for slaves. The father of the girl is taunted: “If you want to find your son-in-law’s relatives,&nbsp;go to the cross". It is hard for us to appreciate how slaves were seen as less than human in that society. There was a stigma and revulsion attached to the cross.<br/>- Juvenal in his&nbsp;<em>6th Satire</em>&nbsp;records how a wife ordered her husband: “Crucify this slave". “But what crime worthy of death has he committed?" asks the husband, “no delay can be too long when a man’s life is at stake". She replies: “What a fool you are Do you call a slave a man?":&nbsp;<br/>The sense of shame attached to the cross was also there in Jewish perception of it. Whoever was hung on a tree was seen as having been cursed by God (<em><a href='B:50 21:23'>Deu 21:23</a></em>). Justin Martyr, in&nbsp;<em>Dialogue with Trypho,&nbsp;</em>records Trypho (who was a Jew) objecting to Christianity: “We are aware that the Christ must suffer… but that he had to be&nbsp;<em>crucified</em>, that he had to die a death of such shame and dishonour- a death cursed by the Law- prove this to us, for we are totally unable to receive it". Justin Martyr in his&nbsp;<em>Apology</em>&nbsp;further records: “They say that our madness consists in the fact that we place a&nbsp;<em>crucified</em>&nbsp;man in second place after the eternal God". The Romans also mocked the idea of following a crucified man. One caricature shows a crucified person with an ass’s head. The ass was a symbol of servitude note how the Lord rode into Jerusalem on an ass. The caption sarcastically says: “Alexamenos worships God".</p><p>Yet with this background, “the preaching of the cross" won many converts in the first century. “The Jews require a sign and the Greeks Gentiles, e:g. Romans seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness" (<em><a href='B:530 1:22-23'>1Co 1:22-23</a></em>). Paul exalts that Christ “became obedient to death- even death on a cross" (<em><a href='B:570 2:8'>Phi 2:8</a></em> NIV). Those brethren and sisters must have endured countless taunts, and many times must have reflected about changing their message. But the historical reality of the crucifixion, the eternal and weighty importance of the doctrine of the atonement, as we might express it today… this was of itself an imperative to preach it. We cannot change our message because it is apparently unattractive. The NT suggests that the cross was not just something shocking and terrible, but a victory, a triumph over sin and death which should be gloried in and thereby preached to the world in joy and hope (<em><a href='B:550 6:14'>Gal 6:14</a></em>). We may look at the world around us and decide that really, there is no way at all our message will convert anyone. We are preaching something so radically different from their world-view. But the preaching of a crucified King and Saviour in the first century was just as radical- and that world was turned upside down by that message People&nbsp;<em>are</em>&nbsp;potentially willing to respond, even though in the stream of faces waiting for transport or passing along a busy street, we might not think so. It will be our simple and unashamed witness which will be used by the Father to convert them; we needn’t worry about making our message acceptable to them. There was nothing acceptable in the message of the cross in the first century- it was bizarre, repulsive and obnoxious. But the fact men and women gave their lives to take it throughout the known world shows the power of conviction which it has. And that same power is in the Gospel which we possess. If we believe it rather than merely know it, we will do the same with it.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 6:15'>Gal 6:15</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything. What counts is being a new creation</em>- This seems to parallel <em><a href='B:550 5:6'>Gal 5:6</a></em> "For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love". Paul's argument so far has been: Faith rather than works results in an identification with the Lord Jesus as the seed of Abraham; for to him were the promises of salvation made, and not through the Law. That faith and identification with Christ is confirmed by the Spirit being sent forth into our hearts (<em><a href='B:550 4:5'>Gal 4:5</a></em>), which results in love as the fruit of the Spirit (<em><a href='B:550 5:22'>Gal 5:22</a></em>). In that way, faith works through love. The parallel to that is that "what counts is being a new creation"; in other words, being created as Christ, being created as a Son of God as Jesus was, with His spirit whereby we also cry out "Abba, Father" just as He did. So the new creation in view is that we are created to be as Christ. Hence if any man is&nbsp;<em>in Christ</em>&nbsp;he is a new creation (<em><a href='B:540 5:17'>2Co 5:17</a></em>). The language of "new creation" need not call up ideas of planets and a new cosmos. The new person created is Christ. Hence "the rule" of the new creation (:16) is another way of saying "the law of Christ". The Lord Jesus is "the image of every new creation" (<em><a href='B:580 1:15'>Col 1:15</a></em>); we are made / created like Him, by the agency of the Spirit. He is thus "the beginning of the creation of God" (<em><a href='B:730 3:14'>Rev 3:14</a></em>). Hence the Gospel was preached to "every creation" (<em><a href='B:580 1:23'>Col 1:23</a></em>), i:e. every convert. No "creation" is not open to the scrutiny of God's Word in Christ (<em><a href='B:650 4:13'>Heb 4:13</a></em>). Clearly, "creation" was a title for believers in the early church, so common was this idea.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 6:16'>Gal 6:16</a></em>&nbsp;<em>And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them-&nbsp;</em>See on :15. The fact we are new creations, that we are Christ, should be the&nbsp;<em>rule&nbsp;</em>by which we live. The reality that we are new beings means that we have to learn how to live all over again. The same word is used in <em><a href='B:570 3:16'>Phi 3:16</a></em>: "Let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing"; and Paul's great theme in Philippians is that we should take on the mind of Christ. The "same thing" we should "mind" is the mind of Christ. The rule of Christian life therefore is to be Christ, to have His mind. Christ-mindedness is therefore the rule of life in Him. To have His Spirit, which is freely given to those who believe (<em><a href='B:550 4:5'>Gal 4:5</a></em>) is therefore utterly central and critical to the Christian life.</p><p><em>And upon the Israel of God</em>- Paul clearly saw natural Israel as not "of God".</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 6:17'>Gal 6:17</a></em>&nbsp;<em>From now on, let no one cause me further trouble</em>- The reason for this is that Paul is connected with the sufferings of Christ. Those who trouble him are doing so to the crucified Christ and will suffer accordingly.</p><p><em>For I bear-&nbsp;</em>This connects with the theme developed earlier in the chapter; the same word is used about bearing the burdens of legalistic obedience (:2,5- see notes there). The same word is also significantly used in <em><a href='B:510 15:10'>Act 15:10</a></em> about being unable to bear the burdens of the Law. Paul's parting shot is therefore that he does not bear the burden of needing to be obedient to the Law, a heavy yoke which nobody was able to bear. Instead He bears the cross of Jesus and is co-crucified with Him. And this is the whole contrast; bearing the burdens of needing to perform and be obedient to laws- or bearing the cross of Jesus through identification with Him.</p><p><em>Branded on my body the marks of Jesus</em>- All through his life and witness, Paul was aware of how he had rebelled against his Lord. He wrote that he bore in his body the marks of the Lord Jesus. He seems to be alluding to the practice of branding runaway slaves who had been caught with the letter F in their forehead, for&nbsp;<em>fugitivus</em>. His whole thinking was dominated by this awareness that like Jonah he had sought to run, and yet had by grace been received into his Master’s service. Paul could conclude by saying that he bore in his body perhaps an idiom for his life, cp. the ‘broken body’ of the Lord we remember the&nbsp;<em>stigmata</em>&nbsp;of the Lord Jesus. He was so clearly a slave belonging to the Lord Jesus that it was as if one could see the marks of the nails in his body. Hence all the connections Paul makes in his letters between the suffering servant / slave prophecies, and his own experience. Paul has come over throughout his letter as self-assured, confident he is in the right and others are in the wrong, clearly and persuasively arguing for faith in Christ's cross as the only way to salvation. But he closes in a very appropriate way; by again asserting that indeed his life is totally tied up in the living and dying of his Lord, but within that same statement, admitting that he had and did in a way seek to avoid it.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:550 6:18'>Gal 6:18</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Brothers, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen</em>- Paul has argued throughout that those who throw themselves upon the Lord's grace will be given His spirit. His Spirit, His mind and thinking and feeling, thus becomes ours. And he concludes by wishing this to ever be, that we might have a spirit continually awed by our Lord's grace.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 1:1'>Eph 1:1</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God-</em>&nbsp;Paul often begins his letters by saying this. But "the will of God" should not be understood by us as it is by Islam, where the will of God is understood as fulfilling anyway in a deterministic sense. The word carries the idea of the intention, the wish or pleasure of God. Paul could have turned down the call to be an apostle. He was not forced into obedience by an omnipotent Divine manipulator. All things were created for God's "pleasure" or will s:w. <em><a href='B:730 4:11'>Rev 4:11</a></em>, but clearly enough "all things" do not all perform God's wish. We pray for the Kingdom age when God's will shall be done on earth- for it is now generally not done. We are best therefore to understood the idea of God's wish, His desire, which of course He labours to see fulfilled. But He does not force or impose; He too deeply respects the freewill of His creatures. The art of Christian life is to willingly align ourselves with His will.</p><p><em>To the saints that are at Ephesus and the faithful in Christ Jesus-</em>&nbsp;"At Ephesus" is omitted by some manuscripts, supporting the idea that this is more of a circular letter. But we can also detect specific references to the situation at Ephesus. So it may be that the letter was indeed written specifically to Ephesus, but also used as a circular letter of a more general nature- hence the additional address to "the faithful in Christ Jesus". That term may however be some technical term which referred to the eldership; in which case we can note that the letter was firstly addressed to the whole church, and only secondarily to the leadership.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 1:2'>Eph 1:2</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ</em>- How could Paul wish grace to them, seeing it is an abstract concept and not a feeling or experience like "peace"? So often&nbsp;<em>charis</em>&nbsp;refers to the gift of the Spirit, which is given at baptism and yet is poured out repeatedly throughout the life of a believer. The rest of the letter has so much to say about this that we could conclude that he is wishing them to be filled with the gift of the Spirit; for&nbsp;<em>charis</em>&nbsp;means both 'gift' and 'grace'.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 1:3'>Eph 1:3</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ-&nbsp;</em>He wishes us to be like Him, to have&nbsp;<em>His</em>&nbsp;Spirit. In this sense, through having the spirit of Jesus, He comes and lives in the hearts of those who accept Him (<em><a href='B:520 8:1-26'>Rom 8:1-26</a></em>; <em><a href='B:540 13:5'>2Co 13:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:550 2:20'>Gal 2:20</a></em>). There is a resultant joy in the heart of the convert after baptism, as a result of the Lord's work (<em><a href='B:590 1:6'>1Th 1:6</a></em>). To this end, He blesses us with all the varied blessings of His Spirit (<em><a href='B:560 1:3'>Eph 1:3</a></em> Gk:). Paul opens 1Corinthians with similar statements, but goes on to say that the Corinthians were not "spiritual" (<em><a href='B:530 3:1'>1Co 3:1</a></em>); the blessing of the Spirit must be made use of. We are by status in Heaven with the Lord Jesus, in the heavenlies- but we must live according to that status, thinking of Heavenly things and not earthly preoccupations.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 1:4'>Eph 1:4</a></em>&nbsp;<em>In that He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before Him in love-&nbsp;</em>"In that::." connects our having been chosen from the beginning with the blessing of the Spirit (:2). And in fact we were chosen not just from the beginning but from&nbsp;<em>before&nbsp;</em>that. At some point in infinity in the 'past', we were known and chosen. This is even more awesome. Romans 8 makes the same connection; our being foreknown and called was by grace, the gift of the Spirit. The very idea of our calling, predestination and choosing is the parade example of grace; for no works could be done by us which affect those things. And yet Romans 8 goes on to reason that the Spirit has been given to transform us into what we are counted as by status in Christ; His righteousness has been imputed to us, but we are to be transformed by the Spirit into that righteousness in reality. "Without blemish" is of course the language of the unblemished Passover lamb, the Lord Jesus. We were chosen so that the work of the Spirit might transform us into His personality and character, which is counted to us by imputed righteousness.</p><p>Pre-eminently, our love of the brotherhood will be the basis upon which we find acceptance, and in this lies the reason why the life of love is a living out of an acceptance before the Lord now. If we live in love, we are right now holy and blameless before Him (<em><a href='B:560 1:4'>Eph 1:4</a></em>). "Before Him" is the language of judgment day (<em><a href='B:470 25:32'>Mat 25:32</a></em>; <em><a href='B:490 21:36'>Luk 21:36</a></em>; <em><a href='B:520 14:10'>Rom 14:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:540 5:10'>2Co 5:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:620 2:14'>2Ti 2:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:690 2:28'>1Jn 2:28</a></em>; <em><a href='B:720 1:24'>Jud 1:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:730 14:5'>Rev 14:5</a></em>); and being holy and blameless before Him is exactly how we will be at the judgment seat (<em><a href='B:720 1:24'>Jud 1:24</a></em>). Yet right now, he who lives in love, a love unpretended and unfeigned, lives in the blamelessness and holiness of his Lord, whose righteousness is imputed to him. Paul so loved his Thessalonian brethren that he joyed "for your sakes before our God" (<em><a href='B:590 3:9'>1Th 3:9</a></em>). "Before our God" is very much the language of judgment day; and he had earlier reflected: "what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye&nbsp;<em>are</em>&nbsp;right now our glory and joy" (<em><a href='B:590 2:19-20'>1Th 2:19-20</a></em>). They were in this life his joy, as he lived out his life "before our God" and they would be again in the day of judgment.</p><p>Not only are paragraph and chapter breaks sometimes misleading, verse breaks can be too. Inserting punctuation into translation of Hebrew and Greek texts is very difficult. Thus <em><a href='B:560 1:4-5'>Eph 1:4-5</a></em> in the AV reads: “:::that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us”. Shift the colon and another emphasis is apparent: “:::that we should be holy and without blame before him: in love having predestinated us”. When stuck with a ‘difficult’ verse (and they all are in some ways), don’t be afraid to try re-jigging the punctuation a bit. The love and grace of God is shown so clearly in the way we were "foreordained" or predestinated to be His children, when others were not. This was and is all of grace, for no works had been done by us to warrant this calling. The initiative was his.</p>


text:
<h4><em><a href='B:560 1:5'>Eph 1:5</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Having foreordained us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will-&nbsp;</em>The idea of adoption is also used in Romans 8, and is in the context of the gift of the Spirit. By being "in Christ", we have His righteousness imputed to us; but the Spirit works within us to make us in reality how and what we are counted as by status. Hence <em><a href='B:520 8:15'>Rom 8:15</a></em> speaks of the Spirit of Christ as "the spirit of adoption". Those who receive the adoption of sons therefore have the Spirit of God's Son sent forth into their hearts, by which they relate to God as Jesus did: "Abba, Father" (<em><a href='B:550 4:5-6'>Gal 4:5-6</a></em>). And here in Ephesians 1 the context is the same; for <em><a href='B:560 1:3'>Eph 1:3</a></em> has spoken of the blessings of the Spirit received by believers, and the whole process of adoption results in the praise of His grace, His&nbsp;<em>charis</em>&nbsp;or "gift"- that of the Spirit (:6). All this was according to His "will", which might seem axiomatic until we allow Romans 8 to fill out the idea. Our choosing to be given the Spirit was His choice, His will- and not our own. This therefore is the parade example of His grace.</h4><p>An understanding of predestination helps us towards true humility and appreciation of grace; see on :4. This is the very context in which Paul introduces the idea in Romans; he wished his readers to appreciate grace by reflecting upon how predestination involves something far over and above anything we could ‘do’ or ‘be’ in our own rights. Paul speaks here of predestination as a sign of God’s grace- and thus we are “predestinated… to the praise of the glory of His grace”. Predestination brings with it an appreciation of grace, and real praise for it. Predestination by grace doesn’t motivate to lethargy and fatalism- if it’s properly understood. When the Lord speaks of how we have been chosen, above and beyond any effort on our part, He goes on to teach that exactly because of this, we have a responsibility to produce fruit, to pray, to love one another (<em><a href='B:500 15:16-17'>Joh 15:16-17</a></em>). Despite predestination, there are countless thousands of freewill decisions for us to make each day. Try to bear that in mind some mornings as you wake up. Whatever situation we’re in, life takes on an excitement and meaning and challenge. The simple fact of predestination, of having been chosen by grace, should radically inspire us in every one of those freewill decisions. The true Biblical idea of predestination mustn’t be confused with non-Biblical ones. The Romans, Greeks, Egyptians etc. all believed that they had been elected by the gods, predestined to be the special race that alone had true connection with the divine… but they assumed this predestination was because of their natural superiority. Biblical predestination is radically different- that the weak are chosen and the strong rejected, not because they are smart, beautiful, hard working, successful, lucky… but exactly because they are weak and just who they are. This is the grace of true predestination. And it’s so wonderful that nobody can be passive to it. On this very basis, Paul urges Euodia and Syntyche to resolve their differences because their names were written in the book of life (<em><a href='B:570 4:2-3'>Phi 4:2-3</a></em>). That book was written from the foundation of the world, and the fact our names are written in it is a reference to the concept of predestination. This reality means that in practice we simply shouldn't be at loggerheads with others who share in that same grace of predestination</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 1:6'>Eph 1:6</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:490 1:28'>Luk 1:28</a></em>.</p><p><em>To the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the beloved</em>- As noted on :5, our calling was by God's will, not ours. The grace or gift of the Spirit is available to transform us into the image of the Christ in whom we are by faith and baptism. We are counted as Him, with His righteousness imputed to us. Our predestination to this state is again His grace. The issues of 'And what about all the others who weren't called?' remain with us, but we are invited to focus instead on praising Him for His grace toward us. We thankfully receive the lifebelt thrown to us, rather than wondering why others weren't thrown one. We are "made accepted", or literally, 'graced', by being in Christ NEV "bestowed on us". All who wish to enter into Him are clothed with Him, and so the operation of grace through the Spirit is enabled.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 1:7'>Eph 1:7</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:510 20:28'>Act 20:28</a></em>.</p><p><em>In whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace</em>- Salvation and all the wonderful processes which are a part of it are enabled by being "in Christ". This is a status we have to decide to enter, of our own freewill. Clearly baptism is "into Christ", and that surely is why the act of baptism by immersion of an adult is as it is- to provide an opportunity for us to wilfully demonstrate we of ourselves wish to consciously become in Him. We have "redemption" right now in that we have forgiveness of sins (<em><a href='B:520 3:24'>Rom 3:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:530 1:30'>1Co 1:30</a></em> say likewise); but "redemption" comes to its final term in "the redemption of the body" at the last day (<em><a href='B:520 8:23'>Rom 8:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 1:14'>Eph 1:14</a></em>), "the day of redemption" (<em><a href='B:560 4:30'>Eph 4:30</a></em>). This means that our experience of forgiveness of sins today is the foretaste and guarantee of the final redemption to be given at the last day. If we wonder about our eternal salvation, we need to ask ourselves whether we have known forgiveness now. We should be able to taste that forgiveness; Peter did, and on that basis insisted that he was a personal witness that the Lord Jesus was really in Heaven mediating forgiveness to us. These wondrous things are indeed according to the riches of His grace. To hear all this but turn away from it is indeed to despise the riches of His grace (<em><a href='B:520 2:4'>Rom 2:4</a></em>). Paul therefore will pray the Ephesians will perceive these riches of grace (<em><a href='B:560 1:18'>Eph 1:18</a></em>). Those riches can be tasted right now; but at the last day, He will lavish the riches of grace upon us in the redemption of our bodies into eternal life (<em><a href='B:560 2:7'>Eph 2:7</a></em>). The present experience of the riches of grace is in the receipt of the gift of the Spirit in our minds (<em><a href='B:560 3:8'>Eph 3:8</a></em>). To deny these riches is really to despise those riches, no matter how politely worded is our theology in doing so. These riches are described in <em><a href='B:580 1:27'>Col 1:27</a></em>; <em><a href='B:580 2:2'>Col 2:2</a></em> as being of Christ in us, the trust we have of our future glorification; and the riches of the full assurance of understanding- that by grace, we really will live eternally in His Kingdom. The experience of the Spirit, of forgiveness, of Christ in us, is the earnest of the possession (:14; <em><a href='B:540 1:22'>2Co 1:22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:540 5:5'>2Co 5:5</a></em>), the full assurance of salvation (<em><a href='B:580 2:2'>Col 2:2</a></em>).</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 1:8'>Eph 1:8</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Which He lavished on us in all wisdom and prudence</em>- The Spirit gifts of wisdom and prudence are lavished upon us in that we have had the Gospel revealed to us (:9). There may be a reference to the miraculous gift of wisdom in the 1st century, but for us in our age we have wisdom lavished upon us in knowing the Christ who is the full wisdom of God.</p><p>God has been extravagant with His grace. And in dealing with those whom we consider to be hard, spiteful and unreasonable towards us in the brotherhood, we have the ideal opportunity to reflect such grace. It hurt God, to an extent we cannot fathom, to lavish that grace upon us in the death of the cross. And of course it must hurt us to show it to others. In the same way as we seem unable to focus our attention for very long on the ultimate issues of life, so we find it difficult to believe the extent of God's grace. He is extravagant with His grace- God “lavishes” grace upon us. The covenant God made with Abraham was similar in style to covenants&nbsp;made between men at that time; and yet there was a glaring difference. Abraham was not required to do anything or take upon himself any obligations. Circumcision cp. baptism was to remember that this covenant of grace had been made. It isn’t part of the covenant thus we are under this same new, Abrahamic covenant, but don’t require circumcision. Perhaps this was why Yahweh but not Abraham passed between the pieces, whereas usually both parties would do so. The promises to Abraham are pure, pure grace, a lavishing of grace.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 1:9'>Eph 1:9</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Making known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure which He purposed in him</em>- The Gospel is 'made known to us'; the emphasis is upon His action. It is not our Bible reading which revealed it to us, but rather His initiative in revealing it to us. This was part of His will; and we noted on :5 that the repeated references to God's will are another way of saying that we were called to the Gospel not by our works nor initiative, but by His will, His predestination. That revelation of the Gospel to us was planned "in Christ" in God's plan which was before time and continues to beyond time (:10). The moment or process through which we were called had therefore been waiting for infinite time to come about, and shall have eternal consequence, beyond time. Our preaching of the Gospel therefore has eternal moment for each person who hears the call from us; words fail to express the significance of that work. The alleviation of human suffering is never to be ignored nor devalued, but the preaching of the Gospel is of far greater moment when viewed in this perspective.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 1:10'>Eph 1:10</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:580 1:20'>Col 1:20</a></em>.</p><p><em>In a plan which runs to the fullness of the times: To sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth</em>- God's purpose with each of us existed&nbsp;<em>before</em>&nbsp;and not just&nbsp;<em>from</em>&nbsp;the foundation of the world (:4), and His purpose with us runs to the fullness of the&nbsp;<em>kairos</em>, time itself. This is the impression of absolute infinity, within the limitation of words to describe it. Our eternity, to infinity and beyond, is "in Christ"; the AV adds at the end of this sentence "even in Him". We become "in Christ" by faith and baptism into Him now; and we shall eternally exist in Him. The whole atmosphere of our lives must therefore be of Him; for in this sense we can live now the life which shall be eternally. "All things", quite literally, both persons and spiritual ideas, all of God's spirituality, believers and Angels, shall all be summed up in that one unique man, Christ- and shall eternally be so.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 1:11'>Eph 1:11</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:470 25:34'>Mat 25:34</a></em>.</p><p><em>In whom also we were made His heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of Him who does all things after the counsel of His will</em>- We are God's portion / inheritance (<em><a href='B:50 4:20'>Deu 4:20</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 9:29'>Deu 9:29</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 1:18'>Eph 1:18</a></em>), and He is our inheritance (<em><a href='B:230 16:5-6'>Psa 16:5-6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 73:26'>Psa 73:26</a></em>; <em><a href='B:310 3:22-24'>Lam 3:22-24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 1:11'>Eph 1:11</a></em> RV); we inherit each other. In infinite time and space, we are what He has as His very own, what He longs for and has planned for over infinite time. This helps us better understand the significance He places on our extension of His purpose to others by evangelism; and the deep anger He has at causing any to stumble out of that grand purpose He has for them. We are to constantly ask ourselves: 'Will this in any way cause anyone to stumble from this marvellous grace personally planned for them?'. This grand purpose is not simply according to God's will, which would be axiomatic, but "after&nbsp;<em>the counsel of</em>&nbsp;His will". That "counsel" is a reference to the Gospel and His word to man. Paul addressed the Ephesian elders with a reference to how he had entirely declared to them "the whole counsel of God" (<em><a href='B:510 20:27'>Act 20:27</a></em>). This suggests that Ephesians may have been a follow up letter to those elders, and then it was adapted for more general usage to all the faithful (:1). This kind of thing would be typical of responsible missionary work; I have several times written letters to back up such face to face meetings in missionary contexts, and then reused the material in a more general form. Paul seems to have done the same, under Divine inspiration.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 1:12'>Eph 1:12</a></em>&nbsp;<em>So that we who had first hoped in Christ should be for the praise of His glory</em>- The next verse "In whom you also believed / hoped" could suggest that the "we" here refers to Paul and his missionary team. But "first hoped",&nbsp;<em>proelpizo</em>, carries the sense of "to hope in advance of other confirmation" (Strong). Having written and implied so much about God's predestination of us, and the outworking of His will in choosing us, Paul may be balancing that by saying that we have to also show initiative. Faith is in a sense a leap in the dark. No amount of clever apologetic arguments can ever take that away from what it means to believe / hope in Christ. Most of the apologetic arguments in any case refer to God, the Bible, the creation record etc:- and not to faith in Christ. Faith in Christ is spoken of here as hope,<em>&nbsp;elpizo</em>, a solid expectation and assurance- that He shall save us eternally. And no apologetic arguments can give you that. This is a leap which must be taken. But the idea of "to hope in advance of other confirmation" begs the question: 'What confirmation, then, comes after we have taken this leap of faith and hoped in Christ?'. The next verse answers this- "In whom you also believed, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, and were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise". Human belief / hope in Christ is indeed confirmed from God's side. The promised Holy Spirit confirms and seals that faith.</p><p>Thus we “have obtained an inheritance” through being “in Christ”. This is just another way of expressing the great truth of <em><a href='B:550 3:27-29'>Gal 3:27-29</a></em> - that through baptism into Christ, we receive the promise of the inheritance promised to Abraham. But Paul continues in <em><a href='B:560 1:12'>Eph 1:12</a></em>: “That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Gk. ‘into’- through baptism Christ”. The fact we are in Christ by baptism and thus have the Abrahamic promises leads to praise of God’s grace. Yet we will only achieve this if we firmly grasp the real, pointed relevance of the promises to us; that we who are baptized are each one truly and absolutely in Christ, and the promises apply to&nbsp;<em>me</em>&nbsp;personally.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 1:13'>Eph 1:13</a></em>&nbsp;<em>In whom you also believed, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, and were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise</em>- This sealing is the confirmation of our trust / solid hope that we really will be saved in Christ; see on :12. Our trust / belief / hope in "the word of the truth" doesn't refer to our having figured out a true set of theological propositions called "the truth". Our solid faith and hope in Christ is related to "the truth"- we consider the word of the Gospel as "the truth", we take it as truth. And the greatest personal truth for each believer is that we have heard "the gospel of salvation", we really shall be eternally saved. And we are "sealed", confirmed in our faith, by the gift of the Spirit (see on :12). The "promise" of the Spirit surely refers to the promise of the Comforter within us in John 14-16, and this in turn is alluded to in <em><a href='B:550 3:14'>Gal 3:14</a></em>, which speaks of our receipt of "the promise of the Spirit through faith". Thus the gift of the Spirit at baptism is a promise to all who shall believe at all times, and not just in the first century (<em><a href='B:510 2:39'>Act 2:39</a></em>).</p><p>At our baptism we became "in Christ". Through that act we obeyed all the Lord's invitations to believe "in Him", or as the Greek means, to believe&nbsp;<em>into</em>&nbsp;Him. We believed&nbsp;<em>into</em>&nbsp;Him after we heard the Gospel, by baptism. We are now connected with the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ; we are treated by God as if we are His Son, and therefore the Spirit of His Son is given to us, to make us in reality as we are by status.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 1:14'>Eph 1:14</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Which is a guarantee of our inheritance, of the final redemption of God's own possession, for the praise of His glory</em>- This "guarantee" is the "earnest" spoken of in <em><a href='B:540 1:22'>2Co 1:22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:540 5:5'>2Co 5:5</a></em> - the gift of the Spirit in our hearts. As explained on :12, we take the step of faith in hoping in Christ, in believing that really this word of salvation is ultimate truth for us (:13; we "first hoped",&nbsp;<em>proelpizo</em>, "to hope in advance of other confirmation" (:12). And that confirmation that we shall really be saved, as we first believed we shall be, is in the gift of the Spirit. The New Testament promises "all joy and peace through believing" the good news of salvation in God's Kingdom; and this of itself implies that we have some confirmation of that future salvation. For otherwise we can hardly rejoice and feel peaceful in such a hope. And that confirmation is in the gift of the Spirit. The Spirit is the sign God owns us; He possesses us by and with the Spirit, and this thereby guarantees that we shall be finally redeemed by Him as His very own at the last day. But we must let that Spirit work and function; for the Corinthians were given the same Spirit, but were "not spiritual" and fell away (<em><a href='B:530 3:1'>1Co 3:1</a></em>).</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 1:15'>Eph 1:15</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For this cause, I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you and the love which you show toward all the saints</em>- Paul felt warmly towards all others who had really believed in Jesus as their Saviour and were rejoicing in sure hope of salvation because of the confirmation they had received from the Spirit (see on :12-14). This is indeed the 'basis of our fellowship' rather than some intellectual commonality on some theological issues. That faith and hope elicits love; hence faith, hope and love indeed go together in Paul's thinking. We take the step of faith in response to God's grace in calling us; we have a sure hope in salvation, confirmed by the gift of the Spirit; and the wonder and joy of it all has to be shown forth quite naturally in love. We are given fellow believers as a particular outlet for that love; hence the reference to "the love::. toward all the saints".</p><p>Paul heard of the spiritual development of the Ephesians (<em><a href='B:560 1:15-19'>Eph 1:15-19</a></em>), therefore he prayed that God would grant them more knowledge and understanding (:16,17). The dynamic in this Divine confirmation of their freewill effort was God's Spirit power:&nbsp;&nbsp; Paul repeats the prayer in <em><a href='B:560 3:14-21'>Eph 3:14-21</a></em>: ":::be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that::. (ye) may be able to&nbsp;&nbsp; comprehend::. to know::. to be filled with all the fullness of God". It is thus by God's Spirit acting on our "inner man" that this greater comprehension of our glorious calling is achieved. He tells them later to be "renewed in the spirit of your mind" (<em><a href='B:560 4:23'>Eph 4:23</a></em>), alluding to the Ezekiel passages which speak not only of Israel making themselves a new heart / spirit / mind, but of&nbsp;<em>God</em>&nbsp;giving this to them (<em><a href='B:330 18:11'>Eze 18:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:330 36:26'>Eze 36:26</a></em>), in confirmation of their efforts. There are examples galore of God acting on the minds of men to give them a certain attitude which they would not otherwise have had (consider how He gave Saul another heart, or gave Israel favour in the eyes of the Egyptians so that they lent to them, <em><a href='B:20 12:36'>Exo 12:36</a></em>).</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 1:16'>Eph 1:16</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers</em>- If all the wonderful things of :11-15 are true, then we can only constantly give thanks that those we have preached to shall really be eternally saved. Only if the wonder of that slips, will we find ourselves demotivated in our prayer life.</p><h4>One practical caveat needs to be mentioned in the context of praying for others. It is all too easy to slip into the habit (and slipping into bad prayer habits surely dogs every prayerful man) of reeling off a list of names each night, something like "Dear Father, be with David, and please be with the children, and with Sister Smith, and with Karen, and with::.". There's nothing in itself wrong with this. But over time, it can become a kind of incantation, with us fearful that this evening we let one of those names slip. Paul writes often that he "makes mention" or 'remembers' his brethren in regular prayer (<em><a href='B:520 1:9'>Rom 1:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 1:16'>Eph 1:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:590 1:2'>1Th 1:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:640 1:4'>Phm 1:4</a></em>). The Greek&nbsp;<em>mneia</em>&nbsp;is the word used in the LXX for the "memorial" of the incense or the meal offering (<em><a href='B:30 2:2'>Lev 2:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 2:16'>Lev 2:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 6:15'>Lev 6:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 24:7'>Lev 24:7</a></em>), or the constant fire on the altar (<em><a href='B:30 6:12-13'>Lev 6:12-13</a></em>). That fire, that flour, that incense, had to be carefully and consciously prepared; it had to be the result of man's labour. And likewise, Paul seems to be saying, he first of all thought through the cases which he then presented to the Father. This is a high standard to keep up. It is through this constant prayer that we are in God's tabernacle presence and in sacrificial relationship with Him.</h4><p>Compare the following passages:<br/>“I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence,&nbsp; And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth” (<em><a href='B:290 62:6-7'>Isa 62:6-7</a></em>)<br/>with<br/>“Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him” (<em><a href='B:560 1:15-17'>Eph 1:15-17</a></em>).</p><p>The ideas of praying without ceasing and making mention occur in both passages. Surely Paul had the Isaiah passage in mind. It seems that he saw the ecclesia as the spiritual Zion. In the same way as Zion’s watchmen were exhorted to pray for her without ceasing until the Kingdom is established there, so Paul prayed for the spiritual growth of his brethren. The implication is surely that once a certain level of spirituality had been achieved, then the Lord will return to establish His Kingdom. When the harvest is ripe, then the sickle is put in. <em><a href='B:500 17:23'>Joh 17:23</a></em> speaks of how the church will “be perfected into one” (RV), as if this process is ongoing and comes to a finality at the Lord’s return. This is an urgent imperative to unity amongst us- and yet as these apparently “last days” wear on, we become increasingly&nbsp;<em>dis</em>united. This ought to be a true worry to us.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 1:17'>Eph 1:17</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:500 6:27'>Joh 6:27</a></em>.</p><p><em>That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him; so that you may have</em>- Paul has explained in :12-15 that the believers are given the Spirit in confirmation of the hope they had in Christ for eternal salvation. But Paul wants them to perceive that Spirit, and to really feel and experience the guarantee of final salvation which it offers. The Corinthians likewise were given the gift of the Spirit on conversion, but were "not spiritual" (<em><a href='B:530 3:1'>1Co 3:1</a></em>). They failed to let the Spirit transform them. So Paul prays that his converts would be given an appreciation of the solid hope of salvation which they had. "The Father of glory" refers to how God's glory will be revealed at the final salvation of His people (<em><a href='B:470 16:27'>Mat 16:27</a></em>); and Paul therefore asks the Father of glory to open the eyes of the believers to the glory which awaits them (:18). The giving of the Spirit is incremental; for they had been given the Spirit (:13), but Paul prays that the Spirit will be given them to open their eyes further to the wonder of their future salvation. The prayers of third parties, therefore, can potentially influence the spirituality of those they pray for. We are not left to just work out our own salvation; the prayers of others can play a part in it. And seeing that is the case, we are to constantly be in prayer for each other.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 1:18'>Eph 1:18</a></em>&nbsp;<em>The eyes of your mind enlightened, that you may appreciate what is the hope of His calling, what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints</em>- See on :17. The Ephesians already had the Spirit, the guarantee of their future salvation; but Paul wanted them to perceive the utter wonder of it all. The Spirit therefore works on the human mind, opening our perceptions and appreciation. To limit it to miraculous manifestations in the first century is to seriously miss out on a major Biblical theme. And again we note that our prayer for others can potentially influence their perceptions and mental attitudes. The enlightening is by the gift of the Spirit (:17); proof enough that the promised Spirit gift is essentially an internal, mental operation rather than external miraculous gifts. "Enlightenment" is associated with being partakers in the Holy Spirit&nbsp;and tasting the Heavenly gift i:e. the Spirit in <em><a href='B:650 6:4'>Heb 6:4</a></em>. And <em><a href='B:650 10:32'>Heb 10:32</a></em> speaks as if this "enlightenment" was a standard part of the Christian path ("::. after you were enlightened::."). The same word for "enlightened" is found in <em><a href='B:500 1:9'>Joh 1:9</a></em> - the Lord Jesus is the light of our world and enlightens every man who comes into that world. Once we take the step in faith of entering His world, then the gift of the Spirit enlightens us. He is therefore not passively sitting in Heaven awaiting the time of His return; He is busy enlightening believers, and He does this through the operation of His Spirit.</p><p>Our eyes have been enlightened, now we see (<em><a href='B:560 1:18'>Eph 1:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 5:8'>Eph 5:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:580 1:13'>Col 1:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:670 2:9'>1Pe 2:9</a></em>). And yet in other ways we are blind spiritually. We see through a glass "darkly" (Gk. 'enigmatically'; <em><a href='B:530 13:12'>1Co 13:12</a></em>). The things of the Spirit are largely enigmas to us. Therefore Paul prays that his Ephesians would have "the eyes of their understanding" progressively enlightened, even though they had already been turned from darkness to light (<em><a href='B:560 1:17-18'>Eph 1:17-18</a></em>). The disciples had been turned from darkness to light, but the Lord rebuked them for their blindness in not expecting His resurrection.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 1:19'>Eph 1:19</a></em>&nbsp;<em>And what the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to that working of the strength of His might</em>- The same Spirit power which resurrected the Lord Jesus (:20) is at work internally within us. <em><a href='B:520 8:11'>Rom 8:11</a></em> says the same about the Spirit gift that is now within us: "But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies- through His Spirit that dwells in you". Paul knows that they have heard the theory of the Spirit gift and that they have received it, but he wants them to perceive how hugely powerful is this gift. I find myself praying this same prayer, both for myself and for my brethren.</p><p>"His power&nbsp;<em>toward</em>&nbsp;us" uses<em>&nbsp;eis</em>, which can as well be rendered "in" or "within". The huge power,&nbsp;<em>hyper</em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>mega</em>&nbsp;NEV "exceeding greatness", is working within us, which is exactly where we need empowerment. It is the energy&nbsp;<em>energeia</em>, "working" of His mighty force&nbsp;<em>ischus</em>, "might". These are all powerful words. The energy of this force within us is only limited by our acceptance of it and actual desire to change.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 1:20'>Eph 1:20</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:560 3:9-10'>Eph 3:9-10</a></em>.</p><p><em>Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised him from the dead and had him sit at His right hand in heaven</em>- See on :19. The same force internally at work in transforming us was at work in the resurrection of the Lord (<em><a href='B:520 8:11'>Rom 8:11</a></em>). The Lord's resurrection thus becomes a pattern for the breaking forth of new spiritual life within us. In spiritual terms, we too are raised from the dead and exalted to heavenly places in Christ. Verse 3 has used the same phrase, in stating that we are now in "heavenly places" through the work and blessing of the Spirit. And <em><a href='B:560 2:6'>Eph 2:6</a></em> will repeat this.</p><p>The Jews strongly believed that Satan had authority over the old / current age. Their writings speak of the rulers, powers, authorities, dominions etc. of this present age as all being within the supposed system of Satan and his various demons / Angels in Heaven. In <em><a href='B:560 1:20-22'>Eph 1:20-22</a></em> Paul says that Christ is now “above every ruler (<em>archê</em>), authority (<em>exousia</em>), power (<em>dunamis</em>) and dominion (<em>kuriotês</em>) and any name that can be named not only in this age but the age to come::. All things have been put in subjection under his feet”. Paul’s teaching that no spiritual being can oppose the exalted Christ. He’s using the very terms used in the Jewish writings for the rulers, powers etc. of Satan’s supposed system. So when in <em><a href='B:540 4:4'>2Co 4:4</a></em> Paul speaks of Satan as “the god of this age”, he’s not necessarily claiming that this is now the case – rather is he merely quoting from the well known Jewish belief about this.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 1:21'>Eph 1:21</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world but also in that which is to come</em>- Just as the Lord Jesus is far above all human governments and dominions, so the persecuted believers in Ephesus should remember that whilst not 'above the law', they were spiritually in a sphere far above all the authorities who were persecuting them. "Far above" translates yet another superlative;&nbsp;<em>huperano</em>&nbsp;is literally 'above the upper things'. And Ephesians 1 is full of such&nbsp;<em>hyper</em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>mega</em>&nbsp;words, mixed with powerful adjectives; all seeking to demonstrate the huge force available to us and operative within us. The terms for rule, authority, power, dominion and names could allude to the Judaist tendency to elevate the worship of Angels, and to consider some "names to be named" as greater even than Messiah. Recall how the Lord had to demonstrate that David considered Messiah to be his "lord" (<em><a href='B:490 20:44'>Luk 20:44</a></em>), because the Jews considered the "son of David" to be less than David, and certainly inferior to Moses. This would explain why the name of the risen Lord Jesus is to be understood as greater than any name in the world which is to come, i:e. the Kingdom age.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 1:22'>Eph 1:22</a></em>&nbsp;<em>And He put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to us to be head over all things in the church</em>- The Lord's exaltation means that we are to be subject to Him. The Lord Jesus as the head of the body is going to as it were fill His body with His Spirit and direction. For the context here is of the transforming gift of the Spirit to those who are "in" the body of Christ.</p><p>The body of Christ, the ecclesia, is one form of the personal self-revelation of the person of the Lord Jesus. We don’t only and solely receive His self-revelation through accepting dogma or doctrine. It comes to us also through the way He mediates His personality to us, His self-revelation, through His Spirit in His body. His fullness is to be found in the church, His body- He fills “all believers / members of the church in all” (<em><a href='B:560 1:22-23'>Eph 1:22-23</a></em>). I take this to mean that the fullness of His personal character, person, spirit, truth… is to be found in His body on earth, i:e. the community of believers. Each of them manifest a different aspect of Him. This is the Biblical “unity of the spirit”- whereby the body of Jesus reveals Him consistently, as a unity, thus binding together all who share that same one spirit of Christ. This is the way to unity- not enforcing intellectual assent to dogmatic propositions.</p><p>All things were put under the Lord’s feet because of His exaltation (<em><a href='B:560 1:22'>Eph 1:22</a></em>); but now we see not yet all things put under Him (<em><a href='B:650 2:8'>Heb 2:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:530 15:24-28'>1Co 15:24-28</a></em>). The “all things” matches with <em><a href='B:580 1:18'>Col 1:18</a></em> speaking of the Lord being placed over the church. We are the “all things”. The great commission has the same thought sequence- because of the Lord’s exaltation, therefore we must go and tell all men and bring them into subjection to the exalted Christ. In prospect His body is “all in all” (<em><a href='B:560 1:23'>Eph 1:23</a></em>), but the “all in all” phase will only be realized in practice at the end of the Millennium (<em><a href='B:530 15:28'>1Co 15:28</a></em>). It is for us to grasp the height of His exaltation and the fact that it means that potentially, all men, all of existence, is under Him. And then we respond to this by going out and seeking to bring all men under Him.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 1:23'>Eph 1:23</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Which is his body, the fullness of him that fills all in all</em>- See on :22. The 'filling' of the Lord's body is by His Spirit; the gift of His Spirit "in the inner man" is what enables Him to fill His body with all God's fullness (<em><a href='B:560 3:16'>Eph 3:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 3:19'>Eph 3:19</a></em>). We note the connection between the Spirit gift and being filled in <em><a href='B:560 4:10'>Eph 4:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 5:18'>Eph 5:18</a></em>.</p><p>There is a clear connection between this idea of the fullness of God, and <em><a href='B:20 34:6'>Exo 34:6</a></em>, where God proclaims His Name to be "Yahweh, a God&nbsp;<em>full</em>&nbsp;of compassion", grace and His other characteristics (see R:V:). So by bearing God's Name, we have His fullness counted to us; and the filling of the Spirit makes us in practice what we are by status. As Christ had the fullness of God dwelling in Him in a bodily form (<em><a href='B:580 2:9'>Col 2:9</a></em>), so the church, as the body of Christ, "<em>is</em>&nbsp;(Christ's) body, the fullness of him (God) that fills all in all" (<em><a href='B:560 1:22-23'>Eph 1:22-23</a></em>). So you see the intensity of our unity; we&nbsp;<em>are</em>&nbsp;the very body of Christ, He exists in and through us (although of course He still has a separate personality). Likewise, the&nbsp;<em>fullness</em>&nbsp;of God is in Christ and thereby in us. We are not just one part of God's interest, our salvation is not just one of His many hobbies, as it were. He only has one beloved Son; He was human and born on this earth for&nbsp;<em>our</em>&nbsp;salvation. The fullness of God, even though we scarcely begin to comprehend it, dwelt fully in Christ, and is counted to us. We really should have a sense of wonder, real wonder, at the greatness of our calling. See on <em><a href='B:560 3:19'>Eph 3:19</a></em>.</p><p>The church is "His body, the fullness of Him (God) that fills all in all". Thus we are "<em>the</em>" fullness of God and Christ. "We beheld His glory::. full of grace and truth (alluding to Exodus 34)::. and of His fullness have all we received" (<em><a href='B:500 1:14'>Joh 1:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 1:16'>Joh 1:16</a></em>). The word "fills" in <em><a href='B:560 1:23'>Eph 1:23</a></em> is the same as 'complete' in <em><a href='B:580 2:9-10'>Col 2:9-10</a></em>: "In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And you are&nbsp;<em>complete</em>&nbsp;"filled" in Him". Christ is filled with God's fullness of the righteous attributes of glory, and in Christ we are also filled by the Spirit of Christ. Seeing that we are the body of Christ it follows that the ecclesia&nbsp;<em>in toto&nbsp;</em>manifests the fulness of Christ's and therefore God's glory, through each of us manifesting a slightly different aspect of God's glorious character to perfection. Thus Peter reasons that the quicker the ecclesia spiritually develops, manifesting those attributes, the earlier Christ can return (<em><a href='B:680 3:11-15'>2Pe 3:11-15</a></em>). See on <em><a href='B:570 1:11'>Phi 1:11</a></em>.</p><p>The body of Christ is His "fullness" through which He fills us all. I take this to mean that each member of the body of Christ manifests something unique about Jesus, so that between us, we show all of Christ to the world- e:g. one may reveal His patience, another His zeal, etc. By limiting our definition of the body of Christ, we limit our perception and experience of Him; and thus we limit the extent we are filled with His fullness, if we refuse to accept that which every member of the body supplies to us, in order that we might grow up in Him (<em><a href='B:560 4:16'>Eph 4:16</a></em>). God will be "all in all" through the full expression of His Name. But <em><a href='B:560 1:23'>Eph 1:23</a></em> says that right now, all the fullness of God fills "all in all" in the church; in other words we should now be experiencing something of that total unity which will then be physically manifest throughout all creation.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 2:1'>Eph 2:1</a></em>&nbsp;<em>You once were dead in the trespasses and sins</em>- We were spiritually dead and have now been resurrected, in spiritual terms, made alive in Christ (:5). This is indeed an allusion to baptism, but the connection is to the preceding argument in <em><a href='B:560 1:19-20'>Eph 1:19-20</a></em> - that the same Spirit which raised the Lord Jesus is mightily at work within us, internally transforming us into His image (as taught in <em><a href='B:520 8:11'>Rom 8:11</a></em>). There is an allusion here to the LXX of <em><a href='B:290 57:4'>Isa 57:4</a></em>, and we shall find allusions to that part of Isaiah throughout this section : <em><a href='B:290 57:4'>Isa 57:4</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 57:12'>Isa 57:12</a></em> "no hope"= &nbsp; <a href='B:290 56:10'>Isa 56:10</a>; :2 =<a href='B:290 57:5'>Isa 57:5</a>; :14=<a href='B:290 57:19'>Isa 57:19</a>; :5 =<em><a href='B:290 57:10'>Isa 57:10</a></em> (RV) ;:19&nbsp;= <a href='B:290 56:1'>Isa 56:1</a>; :6 = <a href='B:290 57:15'>Isa 57:15</a>; :21 = <a href='B:290 56:7'>Isa 56:7</a>; :12 = <a href='B:290 56:7'>Isa 56:7</a>; :19&nbsp; =<em><a href='B:290 56:6'>Isa 56:6</a></em> (RV) ;:22 = <em><a href='B:290 57:15'>Isa 57:15</a></em>. The Isaiah references are to the possibility of revival at the time of the restoration from Babylon, and also at the time of Hezekiah. The returned exiles could have entered the new covenant and received the working of the Spirit to transform them into God's new people, according to Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 34-37. But they refused. And so the new covenant community, those baptized into Jesus and partaking in the new covenant, therefore have the same promises of Spirit-led restoration and transformation. Judah dead in sins without hope could indeed have been revived by the Spirit; but they preferred to remain in spiritually dead Babylon. And so the promises were fulfilled but with a somewhat altered focus- in that they were transferred to those who were baptized into the Lord Jesus in New Testament / covenant times.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 2:2'>Eph 2:2</a></em>&nbsp;<em>In which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, according to the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience</em>- The transformation of the believer from dead in sins to alive in Christ is by his Spirit. But this Spirit is antithetical to the spirit of the world, whereby sin and selfishness are the spirit which shapes all thought and action.</p><p>“The prince of the power of the air” is one of the references in Ephesians which specifically refers to problems in Ephesus. This clearly alludes to the mythological concepts of Zoroaster – the kind of thing which Paul’s readers in Ephesus once believed. Paul says that they once lived under “the prince of the power of the air”. In the same verse, Paul defines this as “the spirit (attitude of mind) that… works” in the natural man. Previously they had believed in the pagan concept of a heavenly spirit–prince; now Paul makes the point that actually the power which they were formally subject to was that of their own evil mind. Thus the pagan idea is alluded to and spoken of, without specifically rebuking it, whilst showing the truth concerning sin.</p><h4>But Paul re-casts the "prince of the air" as essentially referring to the life of the flesh, and thereby makes his specific allusion to a problem in Ephesus relevant to all believers (see on :1):&nbsp; “Walking” (i:e. living) according to the prince of the power of the air, is defined in :3 as living according to the lust of our fleshly mind. The “lusts of our flesh” come from within us (<em><a href='B:480 7:21-23'>Mar 7:21-23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:660 1:14'>Jas 1:14</a></em>) not from anything outside of us. “The prince” is “the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience”. The spirit frequently refers to an attitude of mind (e:g. <em><a href='B:50 2:30'>Deu 2:30</a></em>; <em><a href='B:240 25:28'>Pro 25:28</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 54:6'>Isa 54:6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 61:3'>Isa 61:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:330 18:31'>Eze 18:31</a></em>; <em><a href='B:480 14:38'>Mar 14:38</a></em>; <em><a href='B:490 2:40'>Luk 2:40</a></em>; <em><a href='B:540 2:13'>2Co 2:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:540 12:18'>2Co 12:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 4:23'>Eph 4:23</a></em>). This is confirmed by :3 – such peoples’ lives are controlled by “fulfilling the lusts of our flesh (which come from our heart – <em><a href='B:660 1:14'>Jas 1:14</a></em>), fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind”. Fleshly people do not allow their lives to be controlled by a physical “prince” outside of them, but by following their fleshly desires which are internal to their minds. A physical being cannot exist as a “spirit” in the sense of an intangible essence. A spirit does not have flesh and bones, i:e. a physical body (<em><a href='B:490 24:39'>Luk 24:39</a></em>); therefore because “the prince” is a “spirit”, this must be a figurative expression, rather than referring to a physical being. The “spirit” or attitude of mind is a figurative prince, as sin is a figurative paymaster (<em><a href='B:520 6:23'>Rom 6:23</a></em>). This passage (and :11) speaks of their former Gentile lives. <em><a href='B:670 4:3'>1Pe 4:3</a></em> speaks of life before conversion as: “In the time past we wrought the will of the Gentiles… we walked in&nbsp;<em>lusts</em>”. Their own flesh was their “prince”. Thus walking according to the prince of the air is parallel with walking in the flesh (:11). The more common antithesis to walking in spirit is walking after the&nbsp;<em>flesh</em>&nbsp;– here termed “the course of this world”. George Lamsa, a native speaker of Aramaic, understands “the prince of the power of the air” to be the dynamic equivalent of the Arabic / Aramaic&nbsp;<em>resh shultana</em>, which he claims would’ve been understood as meaning simply ‘the head of the government’, with no intended reference to the literal air (George Lamsa,&nbsp;<em>New Testament Light</em>&nbsp;(San Francisco: Harper & Row) p. 24). So the allusion could be to how they had lived under Roman or Jewish spiritual domination, which they were now liberated from in Christ.</h4><p>Athanasius argued that the death of Jesus cleansed the air where the demons / fallen angels now live, and therefore physically opened up a way for supposed immortal souls to find a way into Heaven (See Nathan K. Ng,&nbsp;<em>The Spirituality of Athanasius&nbsp;</em>(Bern: Lang, 2000)). Not only was all this unBiblical, it reflects a literalism which reduces God to a being hopelessly bound by physicality. In short, this kind of thinking arose from a basic lack of faith in God as the Almighty, who doesn’t need to build bridges over problems which men have created for Him in their own minds. It should be noted that the idea of saying “Bless you” when someone sneezes derives from Athanasius’ idea that demons can become so small that they enter a person from the literal air. This is what happens if we insist that the Devil was thrown out of heaven and some of his angels are still in the literal air – it’s literalism gone wrong.</p><p>Verse 1 defines the “you” as the believers at Ephesus who had formerly been dead in sins. Verses 2 and 3 then express the reason for this in four parallel ways:<br/>(a) “:::you walked according to the course of this world”&nbsp;<br/>(b) “:::according to the prince of the power of the air”<br/>(c) “:::the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience”<br/>(d) “:::were by nature the children of wrath”.</p><p>The “whole world lays in wickedness (<em><a href='B:690 5:19'>1Jn 5:19</a></em>). “The children of disobedience” show this by their lives “fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind” (vv. 1,3). Thus “the prince of the power of the air” is re-cast as our evil, fleshly mind, i:e. the real Devil. There are many links between Ephesians and Colossians. One of the clearest is between these verses and <em><a href='B:580 3:3-7'>Col 3:3-7</a></em>. <em><a href='B:580 3:3'>Col 3:3</a></em> speaks of us having died to sin as <em><a href='B:560 2:1'>Eph 2:1</a></em> does. Verses 5–7 amplify what are “the lusts of the flesh” which “the children of disobedience” fulfil: “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: in the which you also walked some time, when you walked in them”. These things of v. 5 are “the works of the flesh” mentioned in <em><a href='B:550 5:19'>Gal 5:19</a></em>. These things come from within us, not from anything outside (<em><a href='B:480 7:21-23'>Mar 7:21-23</a></em>). Therefore the prince of the power of the air, which causes these things, is again redefined as our evil desires.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 2:3'>Eph 2:3</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Among whom we also all once lived in the lust of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by our natural condition destined to be children of God’s wrath, even as the others</em>- See on :2. The contrast drawn in this section is between how believers were before baptism, and the status they are now in. The "we" here are different to "the others", the world generally. Our status as being the children of wrath has now been changed, as we no longer live in the lusts of our flesh. So it would be wrong to think that "children of wrath" refers to some natural condition we are born into by nature and can only get out of by ceasing to be human. "Children of::." is a Hebraism that doesn't refer to natural birth as children. The children of peace or of a town mean the people associated with that thing or place. So "children of wrath" doesn't mean we are born into a situation where God is as it were mad with us. The wrath of God is not upon every foetus conceived or baby born. His wrath refers to His condemnation of sin actually committed in thought or deed. But we are not now related to that, since we are now in Christ with His status and righteousness counted to us. We are not sinners by nature; for all we posit about human nature we state about the Lord Jesus, who was of our nature, and was all the same holy and undefiled before God in His life.</p><p>We don’t sense enough, perhaps, that this world is not just passively disinterested in God. All outside of Christ are active enemies towards Him, subjects of God’s wrath (<em><a href='B:560 2:3'>Eph 2:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 2:15'>Eph 2:15</a></em>). This isn’t how we tend to see the world around us. But to the first century believer, it was clearly so. The greatness of the gulf that divides was clearly felt. Our world is (overall) more tolerant than it has ever been; but let’s not forget that the ruling powers are ‘satan’, an embodiment of the flesh. All around is subtly articulated enmity against true spirituality and the cause of Christ. The more we see that, the more we will realise how close we are to each other who are the other side of the great divide, “in Christ” along with us. What differences of emphasis and personality there may be between us we will more naturally overlook. &nbsp;The world is therefore seen by God as actively sinful. For the man who does not accept salvation in Christ, "the wrath of God&nbsp;<em>abideth&nbsp;</em>on him" (<em><a href='B:500 3:36'>Joh 3:36</a></em>)- it isn't lifted. We are therefore subject to the wrath of God until baptism (<em><a href='B:560 2:3'>Eph 2:3</a></em>). It doesn't seem or feel like this. And yet God experiences this sense of anger with sin, albeit unexpressed to human eyes. But it need not "abide" on us, we need not remain by nature the children of wrath- for we can come into Christ.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 2:4'>Eph 2:4</a></em>&nbsp;<em>But God, being rich in mercy, for the sake of His great love with which He loved us</em>- God's great love is exhibited in the manner in which He intervened in our lives whilst we were still sinners (:5). He didn't notice our righteousness and respond accordingly. His love was and is the way He takes the initiative to intervene and call. And this is the love we are to emulate in all areas of life; from radical forgiveness of the impenitent to grace in family squabbles to taking the initiative to present the call of God's grace to those in the world who were not even looking for it. The same word for "riches" is used in <em><a href='B:520 2:4'>Rom 2:4</a></em> of how God's rich mercy is shown in Him leading us to repentance; taking the initiative to call the impenitent and unrighteous. But that wealth of mercy can be "despised" if we refuse to respond. Romans goes on to speak of the "riches" of grace manifest in God's sovereign calling of us, when not all have been called (<em><a href='B:520 9:23'>Rom 9:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:520 11:12'>Rom 11:12</a></em>; <em><a href='B:520 11:33'>Rom 11:33</a></em>). God's intervention in our lives is His grace and the richness of His mercy; that He simply wants&nbsp;<em>me</em>&nbsp;to be saved. All the endless questions about "And what about all the others?" remain as they do, with various possible responses; but they are not to take us away from the riches of His mercy in calling us. In this sense, love is taking the initiative, intervention by grace and not in response to goodness. And we are to reflect it.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 2:5'>Eph 2:5</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace have you been saved)</em>- See on :4. We were made alive when we were dead. A dead person can do nothing. In this God's grace is revealed in connection with our salvation. The reference is to baptism, but 'making alive' is also speaking of the way in which God's Spirit is the vehicle for His grace in provoking new spiritual life and enlivening us spiritually. It is the Lord Jesus through His Spirit who makes us alive (<em><a href='B:500 5:21'>Joh 5:21</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 6:63'>Joh 6:63</a></em>). It is the Spirit of Jesus in us right now which makes us alive and shall be the same principle by which are mortal bodies are changed to immortal at the last day (<em><a href='B:520 8:11'>Rom 8:11</a></em>). The Lord Jesus is a Spirit which makes alive (<em><a href='B:530 15:53'>1Co 15:53</a></em>), right now, and not only at the last day. It is the Spirit which 'makes us alive' (<em><a href='B:540 3:6'>2Co 3:6</a></em> s:w:). As made clear in Romans 8, so here- the enlivening work of the Spirit is what gives us life spiritually, and is the parade example of God's grace. But the Spirit doesn't just zap an unbeliever and make them believe regardless. We who were dead in sins were "quickened together with Christ" (<em><a href='B:560 2:5'>Eph 2:5</a></em> AV). If we believe in Christ Jesus' resurrection, we will therefore repent, confess our sins and know His forgiveness. Thus believing in His raising and making confession of sin are bracketed together in <em><a href='B:520 10:9-10'>Rom 10:9-10</a></em>, as both being essential in gaining salvation.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 2:6'>Eph 2:6</a></em>&nbsp;<em>And raised us up with him; and in Christ Jesus, has made us sit with him in the heavens</em>- The two stages of resurrection are laboured; we were made alive with Him (:5), and raised up with Him. And just as He is in Heaven as a result of the ascension, so are we, in spiritual terms. All that is true of Him becomes true of us if we are "in Christ Jesus". The term "Christ Messiah Jesus" may be a reminder that the Jewish Messiah was Jesus of Nazareth- another hint that as in every church founded by Paul, there was Jewish opposition to his work, and so he addresses Gentiles in terms appropriate to Judaism.</p><p>Our difficulty in believing ‘we will be there’ is perhaps related to our difficulty in believing that in prospect, we ‘are there’ right now, through being “in Christ”. This most basic truth, that we are “in Christ” through baptism, carries with it very challenging implications. We are well familiar with Paul’s reasoning in Romans 6, that through being immersed in water at baptism, we share in the Lord’s death and resurrection. As He rose from the dead, so we rise from the waters of baptism. But what happened to Him next? He ascended to Heaven, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God in glory. And each of those stages is true of us right now. We are now in ‘the heavenlies’; and not only so, but we&nbsp;<em>sit together</em>&nbsp;there with Christ. And He now sits upon His throne of glory. Even now we in a sense sit with Him in His Heavenly throne, even though in another sense this is a future thing we await (<em><a href='B:490 22:30'>Luk 22:30</a></em>; <em><a href='B:730 3:21'>Rev 3:21</a></em>). No wonder Paul goes on to make a profound comment: “That in the ages to come the aions of future eternity, He might show Gk:- to indicate by words or act the exceeding riches of his grace which was shown through his kindness toward us through Christ”. Throughout the ages of eternity, God will demonstrate how pure and wonderful His grace was to us in the few brief years of this life- in that, He will demonstrate, He counted us&nbsp;<em>right now in our mortality</em>&nbsp;as having resurrected, ascended to Heaven, and reigning / sitting with Christ in glory. The wonder of what we are experiencing now, the height of our present position, is something that will be marvelled at throughout eternity as an expression of God’s grace and kindness. And we will be the eternally living witnesses to it. And we can start that witness right now.</p><p>So often does Paul speak of life "in Christ". We become "in Christ" by entering into the body of Christ by baptism; yet the "body of Christ" refers to the body of believers. A fair case can be made for interpreting Paul's phrase "in Christ" as very often having some reference to life in the community of believers. "In Christ" appears to be often a shorthand way of saying "in the body of Christ". It's because we are of "the same body" that we are sharers in all that is "in Christ" - whatever is true of Him becomes true of us. If He is the seed of Abraham, then so we are we, etc. (<em><a href='B:560 3:6'>Eph 3:6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:550 3:27-29'>Gal 3:27-29</a></em>). Salvation was "given&nbsp;<em>us</em>&nbsp;in Christ Jesus" (<em><a href='B:620 1:9'>2Ti 1:9</a></em>) as a community, just as Israel were saved as a body, "the body of Moses", when they were baptized at the Red Sea. This is why we usually read about "you" plural as being "in Christ", rather than of an individual alone being "in Christ":&nbsp;<em>We&nbsp;</em>were created "in Christ" (<em><a href='B:560 2:10'>Eph 2:10</a></em>); "<em>all you</em>&nbsp;that are in Christ" (<em><a href='B:670 5:14'>1Pe 5:14</a></em>);&nbsp;<em>you</em>&nbsp;are now&nbsp;<em>all</em>made near "in Christ" (<em><a href='B:560 2:13'>Eph 2:13</a></em>);&nbsp;<em>we</em>&nbsp;are in heavenly places "<em>together</em>::. in Christ" (<em><a href='B:560 2:6'>Eph 2:6</a></em>);&nbsp;<em>all&nbsp;</em>God's children are gathered&nbsp;<em>together in one</em>&nbsp;"in Christ" (<em><a href='B:560 1:10'>Eph 1:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:550 3:28'>Gal 3:28</a></em>). God's whole purpose is "in Christ" (<em><a href='B:560 3:11'>Eph 3:11</a></em>); His plan to save us was through our joining a community, the body of Christ, headed up in the person of Jesus. It can't really be so, therefore, that a believer can live "in Christ" with no association with the rest of the body of Christ. This is how important fellowship is</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 2:7'>Eph 2:7</a></em>&nbsp;<em>His intention was that throughout the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus</em>- We note "intention"; for God will never force. His passionate desire is to lavish His grace upon us eternally; but many ignore or resist His love. The "will" of God should be read more as His "intention", rather than a determinate force which shall make itself come true one way or another in the life of a person. That is the way of Islam, but it is not the God revealed in Christ.</p><p>Just as God must’ve ‘thought out’ His wonderful plan of lavishing grace upon us for ‘the word’ existed first and then ‘became flesh’, we too will need to take time to think out our plans for showing grace to others. <em><a href='B:560 2:5-8'>Eph 2:5-8</a></em> speaks of God working with us now, so that He can lavish His grace upon us for eternity. This is what He is all about. And it’s what we should be all about; taking a Divine joy in forgiving, being generous, caring, showing grace. God simply loves lavishing grace; there is no response to human goodness as deserving it. And so our showing of grace should be likewise. Being kind and gracious for the sake of it, rather than as some calculated response to behaviour.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 2:8'>Eph 2:8</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For by grace have you been saved through faith, and that faith is not of yourselves, it is a gift from God</em>- This is grace indeed. In the same way as repentance is given as a gift of the Spirit (<em><a href='B:510 3:25-26'>Act 3:25-26</a></em>), so is faith. As noted on :5, we were made alive whilst we were dead, when we could do nothing. Faith in this grace is also a gift. It was God's psychological intervention in our lives and thinking which gave it to us, a setting up of situation and circumstance which resulted in our believing.</p><p>But this is not to say that human response is totally not required. If we believe and grasp the wonder of it all, we cannot be passive. Time and again, faith and works are bracketed together. Abraham was justified by faith, Paul argues in Romans; and by works, says James. Even within Genesis, his faith was counted for righteousness in <em><a href='B:10 15:6'>Gen 15:6</a></em>; but <em><a href='B:10 22:15-18'>Gen 22:15-18</a></em> stress that because he had "done this thing" and been obedient, thereby was he justified. The Centurion meekly said to the Lord: “I am not worthy::. neither thought I myself worthy"; but his&nbsp;<em>faith</em>, not his humility as&nbsp;<em>we</em>&nbsp;might have expected was commended by the Lord. That faith brought forth humility; just as John's letters see faith and love as parallel. The woman who washed the Lord's feet was likewise commended for her 'faith', although her actions were surely acts of devotion. But the Lord's analysis cut through to the essence that lay behind them: faith. There is a beauty to all this, in that salvation is by faith that it might be by grace (<em><a href='B:520 4:16'>Rom 4:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 2:8'>Eph 2:8</a></em>). And therefore <em><a href='B:420 2:4'>Hab 2:4</a></em> says that living by faith is the antithesis of being proud. The life of faith, trusting thereby in grace, is a life of humility. All the fruits of the Spirit thereby come together. In this sense, salvation is not by works. But if we can comprehend something of the purity of that grace, of God's willingness to save us regardless of our works; then we will&nbsp;<em>believe&nbsp;</em>it. And if we believe it, we will live a life of active and humble&nbsp;<em>working&nbsp;</em>for the Lord, not that we might be saved, but in thankful faith and gratitude for the magnitude of our experience of a grace, the height and depth of which, unfathomed, no man knows. We will "live", i:e. work through life, by faith (<em><a href='B:420 2:4'>Hab 2:4</a></em>). If we truly accept God’s ways, then we will walk in them; to not walk in them is to reject them (<em><a href='B:330 5:6'>Eze 5:6</a></em>). This ultimately is the importance of doctrine.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 2:9'>Eph 2:9</a></em>&nbsp;<em>It is not of works, that no one should boast</em>- As noted on :8, faith cannot be passive; it will issue in works. But those works are not the basis of our salvation. And Paul emphasizes this. For both Judaism and paganism considered works as the basis for salvation. The good news of salvation without works is unique to true Christianity. The connections with Romans continue here, in that boasting was associated with Jewish boasting in legalistic obedience (<em><a href='B:520 2:17'>Rom 2:17</a></em>; <em><a href='B:520 2:23'>Rom 2:23</a></em>). Our boasting instead is in our sure hope of salvation by grace through the cross of the Lord Jesus (s:w. <em><a href='B:520 5:2'>Rom 5:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:520 5:11'>Rom 5:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:540 12:9'>2Co 12:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:550 6:14'>Gal 6:14</a></em>).</p>


text:
<h4><em><a href='B:560 2:10'>Eph 2:10</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God beforehand prepared that we should walk in them</em>- Having said that salvation is not by works, we are told that the worker is God, the potter as it were working on us the clay. Baptism into Christ is a new creation (<em><a href='B:540 5:17'>2Co 5:17</a></em>), which means that through the Spirit, He will be working on us with hopes and expectations of our response to His grace in specific ways. Man is never better than when working at what is clearly his calling and empowered by God in doing so. We need to pray that God will reveal to us what are those specific works which He has prepared for us to do- and make them the thrust of our lives. For it's unlikely that His intention and hope was that we should get qualified, climb the career ladder, improve our homes, go up the ladder of cars, holiday homes and expensive gadgets::. and die in a comfortable nursing home leaving what was left over to our kids or someone else as a kind of short cut towards that same sad life we thought we did so well in. The only other time the Greek word for "workmanship" occurs is in the enigmatic <em><a href='B:520 1:20'>Rom 1:20</a></em> - and I have noted so far many connections with the early chapters of Romans. There we learn that God's invisible principles are made known to the Gentile world by "the things that are made". Those "things" are "His workmanship"- us. Entry into Christ, therefore, is a beginning and not an end. Nor is it merely an assent to the correctness of a set of theological truths. Rather is it an opening of ourselves to His workmanship upon us, and working for Him.</h4>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 2:11'>Eph 2:11</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Wherefore remember, that once you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by those called Circumcision (which is in the flesh and made with hands)</em>- The reference to circumcision as being "made with hands" connects with the preceding statement that we are not saved by works what is done with hands but we are instead the work of God (:10). Instead of circumcision of the flesh, done with human hands, we have God working upon our most intimate and personal inner being by His transforming Spirit. The connection is again to Romans: "But he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not of men but of God" (<em><a href='B:520 2:29'>Rom 2:29</a></em>). In this sense "we are the circumcision who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh" (<em><a href='B:570 3:3'>Phi 3:3</a></em>).</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 2:12'>Eph 2:12</a></em>&nbsp;<em>You were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and living without God in the world</em>- This is clear evidence that not all religious roads lead to the true God. Apart from Christ, we have no hope and are without relationship with God. Separation or Gk. distance from Christ is parallel with alienation from the community of "Israel", the people of God. Paul will go on to demonstrate that therefore connection with Christ is connection with the community of believers. The covenants of promise are clearly understood by Paul as being the basis of the Christian Gospel. For the promises to Abraham are presented by him in Romans as being the foundation of the new covenant or testament. The "hope" in Christ is therefore the hope of Israel, salvation in the Messiah Jesus. How hard it would be for Roman citizens, or those who aspired to it, to realize that the highest honour was to be part of “the commonwealth of Israel”, that pokey, undeveloped, despised corner of the great Roman empire. And the call of Christ to middle class 21st century citizens is just as radical.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 2:13'>Eph 2:13</a></em>&nbsp;<em>But now in Christ Jesus you that once were far off are made near by the blood of Christ</em>- The allusion is to <em><a href='B:290 57:19'>Isa 57:19</a></em> LXX: "Peace upon peace Biblical "peace" often refers to forgiveness and peace with God to them that are far off, and to them that are nigh: and the Lord has said, I will heal them". Judaism spoke of Gentile converts as coming near when they became proselytes. The idea of being made near continues the thought of :12, that we were once separate, at a distance, from both the Lord Jesus and from the community of God's people. Being made near therefore speaks not only of connection with the Lord Jesus, but also with the community of "Israel", God's people, who are in Him.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 2:14'>Eph 2:14</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For he himself is our peace, who has made us one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility</em>- "Peace" continues the allusion to <em><a href='B:290 57:19'>Isa 57:19</a></em> (see on :13). The Lord Jesus was our peace in the sense He is the source of our peace, our peace offering. The enmity "hostility" is the 'alienation' from the community of Israel spoken of in :12, physically manifest in the stone dividing wall between the court of the Gentiles and the temple proper. The first century unity between Jew and Gentile must have been especially impressive. Philo records of Jamnia: “There lived a mixed population, the majority of them Jews but the rest a number of foreigners who had nested there as vermin from neighbouring territories”. And there are many other such references to the bitter hatred between them. This “enmity” (AV) between them was taken away for those who were in Christ (<em><a href='B:560 2:14'>Eph 2:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:580 3:11'>Col 3:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:550 3:28'>Gal 3:28</a></em>). It must have made a startling and arresting witness. And yet sadly, it didn’t continue; the old tensions and feelings rent apart that unity. The issues facing the body of Christ today are not simply Jew : Gentile tensions; there are enmities and oppositions between groups and persons which are only resoluble by common membership in the body of Christ. &nbsp;</p><p>The offerer put his hand on the head of the animal, thereby associating himself with it. In a sense, the animal therefore represented the offerer. But it had to be "without blemish" (<em><a href='B:30 3:1'>Lev 3:1</a></em>), and to produce a "sweet savour" when burnt (<em><a href='B:30 3:16'>Lev 3:16</a></em>). But how are we to offer ourselves as an unblemished sacrifice? We are surely each aware of our desperate sinfulness. The answer is in the fact that the language of the peace offering sacrifice is applied to Jesus. "He is our peace" (<em><a href='B:560 2:14'>Eph 2:14</a></em>), our peace offering by metonymy (in the same way as Christ was made “sin" for us, i:e. a sin offering). He is the unblemished animal (<em><a href='B:670 1:19'>1Pe 1:19</a></em>), and if we are in Christ, we too will be counted as being without spot and blemish (<em><a href='B:560 5:27'>Eph 5:27</a></em>). We ought to know whether we are in Christ. If we are, we will be seen by God as just as pure as He is. See on <em><a href='B:560 5:2'>Eph 5:2</a></em>. We thereby become mediators of peace to all manner of divided groups and persons.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 2:15'>Eph 2:15</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:490 11:22'>Luk 11:22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:650 2:14'>Heb 2:14</a></em>.</p><p><em>Having abolished in the flesh the enmity, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that he might create in himself of the two one new man, making peace</em>- The source of alienation between Jew and Gentile was the Law, but the thought here goes far beyond that. It was human sin, transgression of God's commandments, which created alienation between God and man. This too has been removed, with the result that connection with the Father and Son is likewise connection between all others who are in Christ, i:e. the community of God's people, "Israel". But that unity has to be felt and expressed by us in practice. Hence Paul uses the fact that we are all "in Christ" as the basis of His appeal for true unity amongst the believers- with all the patience, forbearing etc. which this involves. By baptism into Christ, we are baptized into the same body of Christ as many others (<em><a href='B:520 12:5'>Rom 12:5</a></em>). Therefore we "sit together::. in Christ" (<em><a href='B:560 2:6'>Eph 2:6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 1:10'>Eph 1:10</a></em>). He has made in Himself one new man, so making peace between all those in Him (<em><a href='B:560 2:15'>Eph 2:15</a></em>). This is why division between those in Christ is ultimately an impossibility. Christ is not divided (<em><a href='B:530 1:10'>1Co 1:10</a></em>).</p><p>The body of Christ&nbsp;<em>is</em>&nbsp;Christ; the members of that body between them reflect every aspect of the Lord Jesus (<em><a href='B:560 2:15-16'>Eph 2:15-16</a></em>). We may each be given a different aspect to reflect, and groups of believers in different historical periods may have been focused on different aspects, but the end result is that at the second coming, the body of believers will have reflected Christ fully. We were redeemed in one body by the cross; and&nbsp;<em>therefore</em>, Paul reasons, we are "<em>fellow</em>citizens with&nbsp;<em>all</em>&nbsp;the saints, and of&nbsp;<em>all</em>&nbsp;the household of God::. in whom&nbsp;<em>all</em>&nbsp;the building fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded&nbsp;<em>together</em>&nbsp;for an habitation of God" (<em><a href='B:560 2:16-22'>Eph 2:16-22</a></em>). Christ died for all of us in the one body, and therefore we who benefit from this are built up&nbsp;<em>together</em>&nbsp;into a temple in which God will eternally dwell. To refuse fellowship to other stones of the temple is surely a denial that they are part of that one body which was redeemed by the cross. He died to make us all one, to abolish all that humanly might keep us apart, "for to make in himself one new man, so making peace" (<em><a href='B:560 2:13-15'>Eph 2:13-15</a></em>). To uphold division and disharmony within the "one new man" is well nigh a blasphemy against the body and blood of the Lord. From the Lord's pierced side came His bride, after the pattern of Eve from Adam, through the blood (memorial meeting?) and water (baptism?). The creation of the one body was a direct result of His death. The Greek word for "fellowship",&nbsp;<em>koinonia</em>, is used outside the New Testament to refer to peoples' joint sharing of a common property. We are "in fellowship" with each other by reason of our relation to a greater whole in which we have a part. And that 'property', the greater whole, is the person and work of the Lord Jesus- for our fellowship is "in Him". This background of the word shows that it's inappropriate to claim to have 'withdrawn fellowship' from anyone who is in Christ. They are joint sharers in Christ just as much as we are- so we cannot tell them that they don't share&nbsp;<em>koinonia</em>&nbsp;with us. To say that is to judge either them or ourselves to be not sharing in Christ- and according to the Lord's plain teaching, any such judgment will lead to our condemnation. It is the Lord's body, His work, and He invites who He wishes to have&nbsp;<em>koinonia</em>&nbsp;in Him. It's not for us to claim that&nbsp;<em>we</em>&nbsp;have withdrawn fellowship from anyone who has&nbsp;<em>koinonia</em>&nbsp;in Him.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 2:16'>Eph 2:16</a></em>&nbsp;<em>And might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, thereby having slain the enmity</em>- The enmity between God and man has been dealt with in Christ, and this means that likewise the natural enmity between persons has likewise been ended for all those in Christ. Reconciliation with our separated brethren therefore can be achieved; because potentially the enmity is slain, we are already reconciled in one body by the cross. It’s for us to live this out in practice. We can move away from the tribal, jungle mentality that ‘my enemy’s friend is my enemy’- if we see and believe how God loves them too as His dear children. The Lord Jesus reconciled all true believers unto God "in one body by the cross". All who are reconciled by the Lord's sacrifice are therefore in the one body, and therefore we have a duty to fellowship with others in the one body. If we refuse to do this, we in some way attempt to nullify the aim of the cross. He died in the way that He did in order that the love which He had showed might be manifested between us (<em><a href='B:500 17:26'>Joh 17:26</a></em>). To break apart the body is to undo the work of the cross.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 2:17'>Eph 2:17</a></em>&nbsp;<em>And he came and preached peace to you that were far off, and peace to them that were near</em>- He could remind the Ephesians that Christ personally “came and preached peace to you” after His resurrection, when it was in fact Paul who did this, motivated as he was by the resurrection of Christ. Paul, like us, was therefore the manifestation of the Lord Jesus when he preached Him. As the Lord is the light of the world, so we are the light of the world. All that is true of Him becomes true of those "in Christ" and we are to act accordingly. Those considered by Judaism 'far' Gentiles and 'near' Jews all needed the good news of peace preached to them. The idea of the Lord Jesus coming and preaching to people is found also in <em><a href='B:670 3:19'>1Pe 3:19</a></em> (see note there). The language of going, coming or moving is often used in relation to the preaching of a person – e:g. <em><a href='B:470 9:13'>Mat 9:13</a></em>: “<em>but go&nbsp;</em>and learn what that means”. The Lord didn’t intend that they literally went away somewhere. Likewise <em><a href='B:340 12:4'>Dan 12:4</a></em> and <em><a href='B:420 2:2'>Hab 2:2</a></em> bid those who understand God’s word to “run” – not literally, but in response to the word preached. God Himself is spoken of as coming, descending etc. when He ‘preaches’ to humanity (e:g. <em><a href='B:10 11:5'>Gen 11:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 19:20'>Exo 19:20</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 11:25'>Num 11:25</a></em>; <em><a href='B:100 22:10'>2Sa 22:10</a></em>). In <em><a href='B:300 39:16'>Jer 39:16</a></em>, the imprisoned Jeremiah is told to “go, tell Ebed-melech::." a word from the Lord about him. Jeremiah couldn’t have literally left prison to do so – but the idea is that a person encountering the Lord’s word has as it were experienced the Lord ‘going’ to him or her. And in this sense the message of the Lord Jesus (in its essence) could ‘go’ to persons without Him physically going anywhere or even existing consciously at the time.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 2:18'>Eph 2:18</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For through him we have our joint access in one Spirit to the Father</em>- The extent of our peace with God is that we have access to the Father in the Spirit. There is only one Spirit- not one for the Jews and another for the Gentiles. <em><a href='B:670 3:18'>1Pe 3:18</a></em> has a connected idea; and we noted on :17 that <em><a href='B:670 3:19'>1Pe 3:19</a></em> is connected also to this passage: "Christ once suffered for sins::. that He might bring us s:w. "have access" to God on account of having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit". We too have been made alive with Him by the Spirit (see on :5). "To the Father" ,&nbsp;<em>pros</em>&nbsp;the Father, is a phrase used about the status and place of the ascended Lord Jesus now (<em><a href='B:500 13:1'>Joh 13:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 13:3'>Joh 13:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 14:12'>Joh 14:12</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 14:28'>Joh 14:28</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 16:10'>Joh 16:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 16:16'>Joh 16:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 16:28'>Joh 16:28</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 17:11'>Joh 17:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 20:17'>Joh 20:17</a></em>; <em><a href='B:690 2:1'>1Jn 2:1</a></em>). Those references in John are largely in the context of the Comforter, the gift of the Spirit, enabling us to be&nbsp;<em>pros&nbsp;</em>the Father as the Lord Jesus now is. Or as Ephesians 2 has put it, we died, rose and ascended to Heaven with the Lord Jesus if we are in Him. This access to God is for both Jew and Gentile. We are both brought to the same place, in the Father's presence in Heaven, by the work of the Spirit which we received because we are in Christ. This of itself should unite us in our earthly relationships. Paul goes on to say that he prays&nbsp;<em>pros</em>&nbsp;the Father (<em><a href='B:560 3:14'>Eph 3:14</a></em>).</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 2:19'>Eph 2:19</a></em>&nbsp;<em>So then you are no longer strangers and pilgrims, but you are fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household of God-</em>&nbsp;We who were "strangers" have been accepted; and this in practice should motivate us to accept "strangers" (<em><a href='B:470 25:35'>Mat 25:35</a></em>; <em><a href='B:470 25:38'>Mat 25:38</a></em> s:w:). The Lord's crucifixion led to "strangers" being able to be buried within Jerusalem (<em><a href='B:470 27:7'>Mat 27:7</a></em> s:w:). In a sense we are "strangers and pilgrims" to the surrounding world (<em><a href='B:650 11:13'>Heb 11:13</a></em>). But not to God. In first century society, there was a strong sense of identity based upon geographical origin. To sacrifice this for the sake of an abstract association with the citizenship of God's people, "Israel" (:12), was no small thing. And it is no less radical for us- to exchange our sense of identity and social security for association with the still immature community of "Israel". Paul again urges them to see their connection with God as a connection also with His family.</p><p>The Romans allowed the existence of the autonomous&nbsp;<em>politaea</em>, the city-state, so long as within its religion it featured the worship of the Emperor. And yet the NT writers speak of the ecclesia as a city which is independent, defiantly devoted to the worship of the one and only true God (<em><a href='B:560 2:19'>Eph 2:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 3:20'>Eph 3:20</a></em>; <em><a href='B:650 12:22'>Heb 12:22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:650 13:14'>Heb 13:14</a></em>; Revelation 21). The writers must have nervously penned those inspired words, knowing the problems it would create. The Spirit of God could have chosen not to so directly challenge this world; and yet there is a chasmic difference between the community of God and the surrounding world, which the New Testament unashamedly triumphs in. The whole basis of this radical separation is the fact that Christ died for us. He died to unite us who believe in what the NT terms “<em>the</em>&nbsp;unity”, without seeking to further define it (<em><a href='B:500 11:52'>Joh 11:52</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 17:23'>Joh 17:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 1:10'>Eph 1:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 2:14'>Eph 2:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 4:3'>Eph 4:3</a></em>). We were reconciled to each other as well as to God “in one body by the cross” (<em><a href='B:560 2:16'>Eph 2:16</a></em>). His death unites us in that standing before His cross, all our pettiness disappears, and we are impressed again with the reality that if He so laid down His life for us, so we must lay down our lives for the brethren (<em><a href='B:690 3:16'>1Jn 3:16</a></em>). It really and truly is a case of one for all, and all for one.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 2:20'>Eph 2:20</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone</em>- The reference is surely to the New Testament prophets whose inspired utterances formed the New Testament documents, which were the foundation of the new temple of God's people. The Heavenly Jerusalem of the closing visions of Revelation likewise features the apostles as the foundation stones. What was then all so abstract will be turned to visual reality when the Lord returns, and reveals how things really are from God's viewpoint. We are "being built", rather like we are the workmanship of God (:10). The metaphor requires us to allow ourselves to be shaped and put into place within God's wider plan for saving a community. His building is done through other builders (<em><a href='B:530 3:10'>1Co 3:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:530 3:12'>1Co 3:12</a></em>) and through our response to the word of grace which builds us up (<em><a href='B:510 20:32'>Act 20:32</a></em> s:w:). In that sense we build ourselves up (<em><a href='B:720 1:20'>Jud 1:20</a></em>) through allowing His building of us.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 2:21'>Eph 2:21</a></em>&nbsp;<em>In whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord-&nbsp;</em>The equivalent in Colossians is the statement that we are "grounded and built up in Him" (<em><a href='B:580 2:7'>Col 2:7</a></em>). The whole process of preparation, which is what building is largely about, involves being used in cooperation with the other materials in the building. So much of His work with us therefore involves our association and dovetailing with others; and this is exactly the aspect of His work which leads so many to give up. This is exactly why the frictions which are part of church life are all so necessary. To opt out by pushing off into splendid isolation, whilst professing to maintain our faith in Christ, is to miss the purpose of His work with us; and risks us being left out of the final total building. This is not to say we should not quit abusive churches and church situations, but the essence of "being fitted together" must not be ignored. This same word is only used again in <em><a href='B:560 4:16'>Eph 4:16</a></em>, where in a different metaphor, we are the body parts which cannot exist separately to each other, but are all fitted together by God's operation in order to function. Solomon built the temple of stone already prepared (<em><a href='B:110 6:7'>1Ki 6:7</a></em>); Christ is the builder of the spiritual temple, in which the stones should fit together without strife (<em><a href='B:560 2:21'>Eph 2:21</a></em> alludes to <em><a href='B:110 6:7'>1Ki 6:7</a></em>).</p>


text:
<h4><em><a href='B:560 2:22'>Eph 2:22</a></em>&nbsp;<em>In whom you also are being built up together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit</em>- The repeated "in whom" (:21) again suggests that "in Christ" is a terms which often has reference to our collective experience with others who are in His body. As noted on :21, the metaphor emphasizes how we are built "together". The Spirit of God dwells in the assembled temple, and not just in isolated individuals who want nothing to do with the building as a whole. The churches to whom Paul was writing were extremely immature; yet he never once advocates separating from them. Nor does the Lord in His letters to the churches. And it is the perceived immaturity of others in the church which is the main reason why believers push off into isolation. Such impatience and quitting of the building site, as it were, should not be glorified as 'standing up for the Truth'. It is nothing of the sort- just being cranky and selfish, and failing to perceive God's work through the Spirit. God is now dwelling within us, individually and collectively, by the Spirit; but this is in anticipation of how He shall do so eternally. To be without the Spirit now means we shall not be eternally inhabited by it.</h4>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 3:1'>Eph 3:1</a></em><em>&nbsp;For this cause, I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles</em>- The "cause" is that in the preceding verse, <em><a href='B:560 2:22'>Eph 2:22</a></em>. There, Paul has taught that God is working through His Spirit so that He may indwell His people through the Spirit. When he finishes his parenthesis, he continues praying "For this cause::." that the Spirit will dwell in them richly (:14-19).</p><p>Understanding the way Paul breaks off into another theme and then resumes is the key to understanding some of the more difficult passages in his writings. Here we have a huge bracketed section, as it were: "For this cause I, Paul&nbsp;<em>the prisoner of Jesus Christ</em>::. "; and then there is a parenthesis of 13 verses, until then he resumes:&nbsp;<em>For this cause</em>&nbsp;I bow my knees" (<em><a href='B:560 3:1'>Eph 3:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 3:14'>Eph 3:14</a></em>). There are other examples in his letters: "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare&nbsp;<em>his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say</em>&nbsp;at this time his righteousness" (<em><a href='B:520 3:25-26'>Rom 3:25-26</a></em>). "But if I live in the flesh&nbsp;<em>this is the fruit of my labour::. nevertheless to abide in the flesh</em>&nbsp;(this) is more needful for you" (<em><a href='B:570 1:22-24'>Phi 1:22-24</a></em>).</p><p>"The prisoner" suggests Paul wrote to them from prison in Rome. He feels that his imprisonment was for the sake of the Gentiles receiving the Gospel. And so it was; for it was Jewish fury and jealousy over this issue which led them to get him imprisoned. But we recall that he was sent to the Gentiles, and Peter to the Jews. So much could&nbsp;</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 3:2'>Eph 3:2</a></em> - See on <em><a href='B:560 4:7'>Eph 4:7</a></em>.</p><p><em>If indeed you have heard</em>- This doesn't mean that they had not heard of the fact that Paul by God's grace was sharing with the Gentiles the news of salvation. He means rather 'If you have really appreciated', and he will go on in :16-19 to pray that they will be helped by the Spirit towards such an appreciation. <em><a href='B:670 2:3'>1Pe 2:3</a></em> has a similar idea: "If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious". There was no doubt that they had heard that the Lord was gracious. It was a question of appreciation.</p><p><em>Of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you</em>- Paul surely alludes to how he was the especially commissioned apostle to the Gentiles, with the role of taking God's grace to them.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 3:3'>Eph 3:3</a></em>&nbsp;<em>As I wrote before in few words: How by revelation was the mystery made known to me</em>- Perhaps Paul had written a brief, unpreserved letter to the Ephesians before. Or maybe the reference is to Galatians, where he explains that he received the ideas concerning grace to the Gentiles by revelation from the Lord Jesus Himself, and not from men.</p><p>God’s ways are described as a secret, a mystery; the Hebrew word used in this connection means ‘A confidential plan revealed to intimate friends’; and yet they are revealed to the true believers (<em><a href='B:370 3:7-8'>Amo 3:7-8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 23:18'>Jer 23:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 23:22'>Jer 23:22</a></em> AV mg:; <em><a href='B:230 25:14'>Psa 25:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 3:3-6'>Eph 3:3-6</a></em>). Therefore the congregation of true believers is called “the secret assembly of the saints”(<em><a href='B:230 89:7'>Psa 89:7</a></em> Heb:).</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 3:4'>Eph 3:4</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Whereby, as you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ</em>- This is not boasting as to how much Paul understands; rather he wants them to perceive his understanding and share it as their own. He will go on to pray, as he has done earlier, that their eyes will be opened by the Spirit to perceive the mystery of Christ (<em><a href='B:560 1:18'>Eph 1:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 3:18'>Eph 3:18</a></em>). His prayers for their enlightenment would therefore mesh with their own reading or hearing of his words to them. The gift of the Spirit to perceive therefore opened their eyes to the real import of the written words; just as the Ethiopian commented that he could not understand the word he was reading without extra help.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 3:5'>Eph 3:5</a></em>&nbsp;<em>This in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit</em>- The "other generations" could equally be rendered "other ages", as if Paul recognized the Jewish division of human history into ages. The inclusion of the Gentiles is stated in the Old Testament, both directly and obliquely. But the obvious truth had not been "made known" or "revealed". Just as we noted on :4 that the Spirit would give the Ephesians understanding of the written word so that they 'got it', likewise Paul is saying that all those Old Testament references (which he himself brings to our attention in his letters) needed "the Spirit" to reveal their (now) obvious meaning. And the Lord worked through the apostles and New Testament prophets to make that revelation- through His Spirit. This is yet more evidence that man does not face off against God over an open Bible alone; the Spirit reveals the meaning at the right time.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 3:6'>Eph 3:6</a></em>&nbsp;<em>That the Gentiles are fellow-heirs and fellow-members of the body and fellow-partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel</em>- This is "the mystery of Christ" of :4. "The Gospel" had already been revealed to Abraham, in the form of the promises which clearly implied the acceptance of the Gentiles into His seed (<em><a href='B:550 3:8'>Gal 3:8</a></em>). But as noted on :5, this (now) obvious truth had to be revealed by the Spirit. The words on paper required an interpretation which was given by the Spirit at the right time. The delay in revealing this truth was surely because the body of Christ was not then in existence, and His work and sacrifice had not then been completed. And seeing He had genuine freewill, there was the possibility He could have failed. In this we see the thrill of victory when he finally dies perfect and morally triumphant, and the endless wonder and significance of His resurrection. &nbsp;</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 3:7'>Eph 3:7</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Of which I was made a servant, according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of His power</em>- All preaching work is to be done as a servant, after the pattern of the Lord Jesus, the servant of all. Being&nbsp;<em>made</em>&nbsp;a servant recalls Paul's language about how the Lord Jesus throughout His life and supremely in his death was "made a servant" (<em><a href='B:570 2:7'>Phi 2:7</a></em>). Paul made himself a servant of all (<em><a href='B:530 9:19'>1Co 9:19</a></em>), and yet here he says he was "made a servant" according to God's powerful working. God's game plan with us is to humble us, make us slaves- and insofar as we willingly seek to go along with that plan, He will work with us as we with Him. "His power" in that sense is perfected in human weakness (<em><a href='B:540 12:9'>2Co 12:9</a></em>). "The working of His power" is a phrase Paul uses about God's work in each and every believer through the Spirit given to us (<em><a href='B:560 1:19'>Eph 1:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 4:16'>Eph 4:16</a></em>), a "working" or Gk. 'energy' released within each of us through our baptismal association with the Lord's resurrection (<em><a href='B:580 2:12'>Col 2:12</a></em>). Paul was not therefore a special case; we each have the same power working in us to achieve and enable the Lord's intended mission for each of us. It is only our dysfunction which doesn't allow it to operate fully.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 3:8'>Eph 3:8</a></em>&nbsp;<em>To me, who am less than the least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ</em>- Twice (also in :7) Paul marvels at the grace we have received in order to share the Gospel with others. Preaching is not therefore a mere duty, to be performed in the spirit of glum witness to a disinterested world. It is a wonderful grace given that we should have the honour of inviting others to eternity. Whenever Paul talks about preaching, he talks of humility. In one of his earliest letters, Paul stresses that he felt like the least of the apostles, he honestly felt they were all better than he was (<em><a href='B:530 15:9'>1Co 15:9</a></em>). However, he reminisces that in his earlier self-assurance, he had once considered himself as not inferior to "the very chiefest apostles" (<em><a href='B:540 11:5'>2Co 11:5</a></em>). Some years later, he wrote to the Ephesians that he felt "less than the least of all saints" (<em><a href='B:560 3:8'>Eph 3:8</a></em>). This was no Uriah Heep, fawning humility. He really felt that he was the worst, the weakest, of all the thousands of believers scattered around the shores of the Mediterranean at that time. As he later faced his death, he wrote to Timothy here that he was "chief of sinners" (<em><a href='B:610 1:15'>1Ti 1:15</a></em>), the worst sinner in the world, and that Christ's grace to him should therefore serve as an inspiration to every other believer,&nbsp;<em>in that</em>&nbsp;none had sinned as grievously as he had done. Paul coins a word here to emphasise his humble status in contrast to the honour of being a preacher: "less than the least" (<em>elachistotero</em>). He was a preacher despite the fact he was chief of sinners (<em><a href='B:610 1:15'>1Ti 1:15</a></em>); only through mercy / forgiveness had he received the commission he had (<em><a href='B:540 4:1'>2Co 4:1</a></em>).</p><p>Paul felt he was&nbsp; less than the least" of all saints, that he would be the least in the Kingdom (<em><a href='B:560 3:8'>Eph 3:8</a></em>). He uses a closely related word to that used by John when he spoke of how he must "decrease" (<em><a href='B:500 3:30'>Joh 3:30</a></em>). It was as if he felt like John at his most 'decreased', in prison fearing death; and remember that Paul wrote Ephesians from prison too. But John was weak in prison; he doubted (momentarily) whether Jesus was the Messiah, "him that should come" (<em><a href='B:490 7:19'>Luk 7:19</a></em>). Yet Paul seems to allude to this when he says that "he that shall come will come" (<em><a href='B:650 10:37'>Heb 10:37</a></em>)- as if to say 'John, my hero, you had your weak moments too, but I've tried to learn the lesson from them'.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 3:9'>Eph 3:9</a></em>&nbsp;<em>And to make all men see what is the intention of this mystery which for ages has been hid in God who created all things</em>- To 'make see' is the same word used in <em><a href='B:560 1:18'>Eph 1:18</a></em>, where Paul prays for the eyes of the believers to be "enlightened". The "all men" therefore particularly has in view those who have already believed (see on <em><a href='B:470 20:27'>Mat 20:27</a></em>); he wishes both Jew and Gentile believers to perceive the wonder of the unity which God's program has in mind for us. He will go on in <em><a href='B:560 3:18-19'>Eph 3:18-19</a></em> to pray that the believers will be empowered by the Spirit to comprehend and know the wonder of the Gospel and its implications in personal relationships. All this prayer and concern about realizing the implications of the Gospel is proof enough that the Christian life is not simply knowing or preserving a set of doctrines. That alone will not save. We need the Spirit to open our eyes to the implications of these things. The comment that "God created all things" may be a reference to the new creation of believers (<em><a href='B:540 5:17'>2Co 5:17</a></em>; AV adds "by Jesus Christ"); but it may be simply making the point that all things literally were created in order to merely provide a backdrop for God's essential intention- the "fellowship" (AV, NEV "intention") between persons in Christ. The fact the church is riven with so many inter-personal tensions is sadly a reflection of the way that we have missed the point of the Gospel, and remained on the level of technical knowledge of propositions rather than allowing the Spirit to enlighten us as to the implications in practice. These things were "hid in God" in the sense that they could only be actualized by the Lord Jesus, His work and sacrifice. But in Him and through the members of His faithful body, they are now revealed.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 3:10'>Eph 3:10</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:550 6:6'>Gal 6:6</a></em>.</p><p><em>The intention was that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places</em>- We note the idea of "intention" (as in :9). God will not force His way upon those who refuse Him, and even with those of us who accept His way, He bears with our dysfunctions- which mean that His ideal intentions remain not fully achieved in this life. We waste so much potential by our slowness and obtuse dysfunction in spiritual matters. The wisdom of God was seen by Paul as being His plan to save and unite all men, Jew and Gentile, within His Son (<em><a href='B:520 11:33'>Rom 11:33</a></em>; <em><a href='B:530 1:24'>1Co 1:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:530 2:7'>1Co 2:7</a></em>). That wisdom is given to us by the Spirit (<em><a href='B:560 1:17'>Eph 1:17</a></em>); it is ours for the asking (<em><a href='B:660 1:5'>Jas 1:5</a></em>). The unity of Jew and Gentile in the church is the context here, and that was to be the public exhibition of God's manifold wisdom. We can read "the rulers and authorities" as referring simply to the rulers of this world; for 'the heavens' can Biblically refer to those in authority over the masses on 'earth'. The church at Ephesus had been born within a background of conflict with the rulers of this world; and the unity between Jew and Gentile in the church was intended to witness to them of God's manifold wisdom. The church is the body of Christ; He is manifest only through us. We are Him, in that sense. Our bodies are members of His body (<em><a href='B:530 6:15'>1Co 6:15</a></em>). All that we do, in word and deed, is in the Name of the Lord Jesus- i:e. as representing Him whose Name we called upon ourselves in baptism (<em><a href='B:580 3:17'>Col 3:17</a></em>). We are the words of His epistle to both the world and the brotherhood; He has no other face or legs or arms than us (<em><a href='B:540 3:3'>2Co 3:3</a></em>). We can thereby limit Him if our disunity fails to manifest His wisdom as intended.</p><p>But Paul was a Jew writing to those influenced by Judaism. It could be that "principalities and powers" (AV) could refer to Angels, which were a major aspect of Jewish thought in the first century. In this case it would appear that the Angels learn and increase their knowledge from watching our response to the Gospel. "Principalities and powers" is a phrase apposite to the Angels and&nbsp; it is clearly used regarding the Angels who gave the Law in <em><a href='B:580 2:15'>Col 2:15</a></em>. In this case <em><a href='B:560 3:9-10'>Eph 3:9-10</a></em> could be read like this: "To make all (both Angels and Christians- AV "men" is not in the original) see what is the fellowship of the mystery (that both Jews and Gentiles can be saved), which from the beginning of the world has been hid in God (and therefore from the Angels too)… to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be made known by the ecclesia the manifold wisdom of God". We share the heavenlies with the Angels- and in any case, why cannot 'the heavenlies' refer to literal Heaven also in a sense? As Christ was resurrected and ascended to literal Heaven, the Heavenlies of <em><a href='B:560 1:20'>Eph 1:20</a></em>, so we are baptized and spiritually ascend to Heaven straight afterwards (<em><a href='B:560 1:20'>Eph 1:20</a></em>). An Angelic interpretation would avoid the difficult that the human principalities and powers to whom the mystery was made known&nbsp;would not accept that mystery, according to <em><a href='B:530 2:7-8'>1Co 2:7-8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:530 2:14'>1Co 2:14</a></em>: "We speak the wisdom of God (cp. Ephesians 1 "the manifold wisdom of God") in a mystery (cp. "the mystery… which hath been hid" in Ephesians 1)… which none of the princes of this world knew (principalities and powers)… the natural man (i. e. the princes of this world) receives not the things of the Spirit of God (the "mystery" of :7), for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned". Because Angels control world rulers, "principalities and powers" could perhaps refer both to them and the Angels behind them.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 3:11'>Eph 3:11</a></em>&nbsp;<em>According to the eternal purpose which God purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord</em>- I noted earlier that God's purpose with us in Christ was not simply hatched from the beginning of this present world; but from eternity, from before time- and it shall continue beyond time, for eternity. The unity in Christ, this fellowship between the redeemed which the cross enabled, had been God's original intention; how tragic, therefore, is our disunity within the church. The mystery of His will, His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself from not merely 'the beginning' but from eternity, was that "in the dispensation of the fullness of time he might gather together all things in Christ" (<em><a href='B:560 1:10'>Eph 1:10</a></em>). Thus the unity of the redeemed is not just an incidental product of our redemption and unity in Christ; it was the essential intention and goal of God from before the beginning of the world, and was only revealed through the unity achieved by the cross (<em><a href='B:560 3:9-10'>Eph 3:9-10</a></em>). This was His "eternal purpose" (<em><a href='B:560 3:11'>Eph 3:11</a></em>). These passages in Ephesians need meditation; for it is easy to underestimate the tremendous emphasis given to how the mysterious unity of the body of believers,&nbsp;<em>together</em>&nbsp;glorifying His Name, was so&nbsp;<em>fundamentally</em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>eternally</em>&nbsp;God's main purpose:&nbsp;And so Paul marvelled that&nbsp;<em>he</em>&nbsp;had been chosen to plainly reveal this, God's finest and most essential mystery, to all men; for it was not revealed at all in the OT, nor even (at least, not directly) by the Lord Jesus. And we may likewise marvel that we have a living part in it:&nbsp;That I, the little boy with glasses from the council estate behind Grove Park railway station in an anonymous South London suburb::. was known from eternity by God, to live for eternity in unity with the rest of His people::. And you too. What a tragedy it is when a person steps out of that purpose, opts out because of some petty argument with others, or is thrust out of it because they didn't get this or that right or messed up or fellowshipped this one or that one, or got maxed out on earning more money to buy that dream house or car ::. and what a glory, an honour, to be able to extend a place in that eternal purpose to those around us.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 3:12'>Eph 3:12</a></em>&nbsp;<em>In whom we have boldness and access in confidence through our faith in him</em>- The “boldness” with which we come before the “throne of grace” right now, is the “boldness” with which we will come before that same throne at the final day of judgment (<em><a href='B:650 4:16'>Heb 4:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 3:12'>Eph 3:12</a></em> cp. <em><a href='B:690 4:17'>1Jn 4:17</a></em>). Faith in the Lord Jesus therefore produces this boldness and confidence; faith in Him therefore means believing, trusting in Him, that He has saved us and shall do so at the last day. Faith in Him doesn't simply mean believing He once existed, for about everyone from atheist Communist to Judaist to Muslim believes that much. Nor does it refer to a mere knowledge of some propositions about Him. It is trust that really, He has and will save us eternally, and on account of Him we have a place in God's eternal purpose which was always in Him (:11). Prayer therefore will be with such confidence- not confidence that we shall absolutely receive the requests made in the terms in which we asked for them, but a confidence in God's presence as we speak with Him:&nbsp;</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 3:13'>Eph 3:13</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory</em>- Our confidence in the Heavenly throne room explained in :12 should mean that nothing on earth makes us waver. They had heard and perhaps witnessed Paul's tribulations at Ephesus for them, and were aware he was in prison in Rome. He was a living exhibition of the sufferings which come from being "in Christ". And it naturally made the converts worry at what might be coming their way. Instead of fearing as a result of Paul's sufferings, they were to instead glory in them.</p><h4>"Lose heart" is a phrase elsewhere translated "faint not" and it occurs in <em><a href='B:490 18:1'>Luk 18:1</a></em>: "He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint”. There are so many allusions by Paul to this verse and the ensuing parable. This shows just how like us Paul was; he had his favourite parables, one or two that really stuck in his mind, just as we do. And he alluded to them They were in his heart, to inspire and motivate him, just as the Lord intended. Paul picks up the idea of not fainting in <em><a href='B:600 3:13'>2Th 3:13</a></em>: "Brethren, be not weary (s:w. "not to faint") in well doing" . What well-doing did Paul have in mind? Attending the Sunday meetings? Being patient with some difficult sister in the ecclesia? The connection with <em><a href='B:490 18:1'>Luk 18:1</a></em> tells us what he had in mind: keep on praying intensely. It's no co-incidence that Paul started that section of 2 Thessalonians 3 (in v:1) with the exhortation: "Brethren, pray for us". And he concludes it with the same rubric: "Brethren, be not weary" (faint not), in your prayers. He knew from the parable that repeated prayer was powerful. And so he asks them to keep at it for him, because he needed it. Perhaps Paul had the same thing in mind here when he wrote to the Ephesians (<em><a href='B:560 3:13'>Eph 3:13</a></em>): "In (Christ) we have boldness and access with confidence (to God, in prayer, cp. <em><a href='B:650 4:16'>Heb 4:16</a></em>):::&nbsp;<em>wherefore</em>&nbsp;I desire that ye faint not (s:w. <em><a href='B:490 18:1'>Luk 18:1</a></em>) at my tribulations"; is he not implying 'You know how powerful prayer is, so don't faint in it, you know what struggles I'm having,&nbsp;<em>please</em>&nbsp;keep on praying for me, like that persistent widow in the parable'. This fits in with a number of other passages in which Paul unashamedly begs his brethren to pray for him. In this we see his humility, his high regard for other brethren who were almost certainly weaker than him, and also the physical desperation of his daily life:&nbsp;</h4>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 3:14'>Eph 3:14</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:560 1:15'>Eph 1:15</a></em>.</p><p><em>For this cause I bow my knees to the Father</em>- This resumes the train of thought from "this cause" in :1. The intervening verses, as noted there, are a parenthesis. What we now read until the "Amen" in :21 is a unique transcript of Paul's prayer for them, said on his knees, and also mixing praise with worship; for to bow the knee is an idiom for praise as well as the prayer of request. Paul uses the same words in writing of how every knee shall bow to God at the day of judgment (<em><a href='B:520 14:11'>Rom 14:11</a></em>); but he lived in prayer now as he would before the day of judgment. That was exactly the sense of his idea of being "confident" both in prayer now and the day of judgment in the future- see on :12. Our attitude in prayer to God now will be out attitude at the day of judgment.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 3:15'>Eph 3:15</a></em>&nbsp;<em>From whom every family in heaven and on earth is named</em>- "Every family" may be a reference to every church, especially appropriate given that most of the early churches were house churches, meeting as family. The phrase can equally be rendered "the whole family". Paul chooses to use the word&nbsp;<em>patria</em>&nbsp;to describe this new “family in heaven and earth” to which we belong in Christ. The word&nbsp;<em>patria&nbsp;</em>is defined by Strong as meaning “a group of families” that comprise a nation s:w. <em><a href='B:510 3:25'>Act 3:25</a></em> “all kindreds of the earth”. The various family units / house churches comprised the overall body of Christ, the nation of the new Israel. <em><a href='B:560 3:15'>Eph 3:15</a></em> takes on a new meaning in the light of the house-church nature of early Christianity. God is the&nbsp;<em>pater&nbsp;</em>father- the head of the house from whom every home&nbsp;<em>patria</em>&nbsp;in heaven and on earth is named”. We’re invited to see God as a family God, with us as “the household of God” (<em><a href='B:560 2:19'>Eph 2:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 3:15'>Eph 3:15</a></em>). See on <em><a href='B:510 8:3'>Act 8:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:580 1:20'>Col 1:20</a></em>. By baptism into the Name, we have His family Name named upon us. To be aware of who Yahweh is, of the characteristics outlined in <em><a href='B:20 34:5-7'>Exo 34:5-7</a></em> that comprise His Name… this must surely affect&nbsp;<em>our</em>&nbsp;behaviour, seeing we bear that Name. It is an understanding of the Name that inspires our faith in forgiveness. "Though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name's sake: for our backslidings are many" (<em><a href='B:300 14:7'>Jer 14:7</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 14:9'>Jer 14:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 14:21'>Jer 14:21</a></em>). The Name is called upon us in baptism (<em><a href='B:300 14:9'>Jer 14:9</a></em> = <em><a href='B:560 3:15'>Eph 3:15</a></em>), and this is why we urge men to be baptized into the Name to wash away their sins. See on <em><a href='B:650 13:15'>Heb 13:15</a></em>.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 3:16'>Eph 3:16</a></em>&nbsp;<em>That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, that you may be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man</em>- This is evidence enough that the function of the Holy Spirit is within the inner man, and the gift of Spirit strengthening doesn't refer solely to the temporary miraculous gifts. And this verse is likewise evidence enough that the Spirit doesn't simply enter us through Bible reading. For Paul prays that God would give them this gift. There is a strong element of external agency here, the prayer of a third party for this working in the inner man to happen. There are many examples even in the Old Testament of God working directly upon human hearts / spirits. There is a huge wealth of spiritual strength with God- "the riches of His glory". Although we are given the Spirit at baptism, we continue to receive it, and it appears from this prayer that it can be also given in response to the prayers of third parties. John the Baptist was "strengthened in the Spirit" (<em><a href='B:490 1:80'>Luk 1:80</a></em>), and yet "John did no miracle" (<em><a href='B:500 10:41'>Joh 10:41</a></em>). The reference is to internal strengthening; to palm off all references to the Holy Spirit as referring to the temporary miraculous gifts is just not the correct interpretation. We are to humble ourselves under the strengthening hand of God (<em><a href='B:670 5:6'>1Pe 5:6</a></em> s:w:); His activity seeks to humble us that we might be exalted in due time. The Spirit is given at baptism, and Paul prays that that indwelling gift might give them strength. The Corinthians had received the gift, but were "not spiritual" (<em><a href='B:530 3:1'>1Co 3:1</a></em>). We too have the same gift but need to realize the potential. These promises of internal spiritual strengthening don't mean that we shall not sin; the only other reference to "the inner man" is when Paul laments that he delights in God's law "in the inner man" (<em><a href='B:520 7:22'>Rom 7:22</a></em>), but still sins because he is in the flesh. We should not therefore ignore the promises of the Spirit's work because we know we are sinners and shall continue sinning throughout our mortal lives.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 3:17'>Eph 3:17</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:490 6:48'>Luk 6:48</a></em>.</p><p><em>That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, to the end that you would be rooted and grounded in love</em>- It is the "spirit of Christ" which dwells in us (<em><a href='B:520 8:9'>Rom 8:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:520 8:11'>Rom 8:11</a></em>). This is the promised Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, which would dwell within us to the extent that the Lord's physical absence would be compensated for by His Spirit making His presence real to us. And the simple end result of that is, in a word, "love". Such love, both the love of Christ for us and our response in lives of love, will become our root and foundation. And if we are “rooted and grounded in love”, then :18 promises that we will come to appreciate yet more “the love of Christ”. There is an upward spiral of spirituality. It is the love principle which alone can give stability to our otherwise unstable existence. People do not know really how to live, how to think, how or what to be. It is having a foundation in the love principle which constantly and consistently provides the answers to our endless questions as to how to respond to all the mental and secular issues which we meet hour by hour.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 3:18'>Eph 3:18</a></em>&nbsp;<em>That you might be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height</em>- As noted on :17, the gift of the Spirit enables us to perceive the love of the Father and Son. <em><a href='B:520 5:5'>Rom 5:5</a></em> says the same- "the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us". Again we have in view a gift of the Spirit within our spirit, or as Ephesians terms it, "the inner man". The gift of understanding something of the dimensions of the Lord's love is not received by us in isolation; the heightened comprehension is "with all the saints".</p><p>"The love of Christ" often refers to the Lord's sacrifice. We cannot sit passively before the cross of the Lord. That “love of Christ" there passes our human knowledge, and yet our hearts can be opened, as Paul prayed, that we might know the length, breadth and height of it. The crucified Son of God was the full representation of God. The love of Christ was shown in His cross; and through the Spirit's enlightenment we can&nbsp;<em>know</em>&nbsp;the height, length, breadth of that love (<em><a href='B:560 3:18-19'>Eph 3:18-19</a></em>). But this passage in Ephesians is building on <em><a href='B:220 11:7-9'>Job 11:7-9</a></em>: "Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is high as heaven, what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? The measure thereof is longer than the earth and broader than the sea". The purpose of the connection is to show that through appreciating the love of Christ, unknowable to the unenlightened mind, we see the Almighty unto perfection, in a way which the Old Testament believers were unable to do. It was as high as Heaven, and what could they do? And yet it must be confessed that we do not in practice attain to such fullness of knowledge and vision. We look to the Kingdom, one of the excellencies of which will be the full grasp of the Almighty unto perfection, as manifest in the death of His Son. All we&nbsp;<em>now</em>&nbsp;know is that that cross was the fullness of God, it was "the Almighty unto perfection”. But then, we shall know, we shall find it out. And yet, paradoxically, in some sense even now we can&nbsp;<em>know&nbsp;</em>“the love of Christ" a phrase often used about the cross that&nbsp;<em>passes</em>&nbsp;human knowledge. Speaking of His upcoming death, the Lord warned that where he was going, the disciples could not then follow; but they would, afterwards. This doesn’t necessarily mean they too were to die the death of the cross. Rather could it mean that they later would enter into what His death really meant; then they would see with some understanding, rather than run away from the vision of the cross. And for us, one of the Kingdom’s riches will likewise be that we shall then understand that final climactic act the more fully. Yet we begin that discovery now.</p><p>God has more spiritual culture, for want of a better way of putting it, than to describe the love of Christ just with a string of superlative adjectives. Paul prayed that his Ephesians would be strengthened by the Spirit's working in the inner man, so that they would "be strong to apprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge" (<em><a href='B:560 3:18-19'>Eph 3:18-19</a></em> RV). There is a paradox here; to know something that can't be known, that passes knowledge. We can only know that love by God working on our inner man, so that we realize the experience we have of the love of Christ, and by seeing it manifested in others.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 3:19'>Eph 3:19</a></em>&nbsp;<em>And to truly know and understand the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God</em>- "To truly know" doesn't mean that we know to perfection every aspect of the Lord's love. It rather means that we know His love for us as the ultimate truth. "The truth" is not so much a set of doctrinal propositions as the simple fact that the Lord loved us to the end, and we shall live eternally with Him through that love:&nbsp;</p><p>It is surely apparent that it would be pointless to pray for our brethren if in fact those prayers have no power at all, and if ultimately we are all responsible for our own spiritual path:&nbsp; There is in all this an incredible and most urgent imperative. This is why Paul bowed his knees in prayer for the Ephesians, knowing that his words could really increase and enrich the quality of their relationship with God, if not their very salvation (<em><a href='B:560 3:14-19'>Eph 3:14-19</a></em>). If my prayers can influence your eternal destiny, if they can lead you from condemnation to the eternity of God’s Kingdom: then I must, if I have any gram of love and care within me, dedicate myself to prayer for you. And you, likewise, for me. Prayer for others’ spiritual well-being becomes no longer something which is ‘tacked on’ to our tired, repetitious evening prayers.</p><p><em>All</em>&nbsp;the fullness of God dwelt in Christ (<em><a href='B:580 1:19'>Col 1:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:580 2:9'>Col 2:9</a></em>);&nbsp;"and of his fullness have&nbsp;<em>all</em>&nbsp;we received" (<em><a href='B:500 1:16'>Joh 1:16</a></em>). God's fullness, the full extent of His character, dwelt in Christ, and through His Name which speaks fully of that character, that fullness of Christ is reckoned to us. And so, in line with all this, <em><a href='B:560 3:19'>Eph 3:19</a></em> makes the amazing statement. And it is amazing. We can&nbsp;<em>now</em>&nbsp;“be filled with&nbsp;<em>all</em>&nbsp;the fullness of God". Let's underline that, really underline it, in our hearts. We can be&nbsp;<em>filled</em>&nbsp;with&nbsp;<em>all</em>&nbsp;the fullness of God. Filled with all the fullness of God's character. See on <em><a href='B:560 1:23'>Eph 1:23</a></em>. We are counted righteous, counted as if we have the Lord's moral perfection; but as Romans 8 explains, the Spirit is given in order to help us become in reality what we are counted as being by status. The language of 'filling' is used about being filled with the Spirit in our inner person (<em><a href='B:510 13:52'>Act 13:52</a></em>; <em><a href='B:520 15:13'>Rom 15:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 4:10'>Eph 4:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 5:18'>Eph 5:18</a></em>). It is the filling by the Spirit which reveals to us the fullness of God.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 3:20'>Eph 3:20</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Now to Him that is able to do immeasurably above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us</em>- This is one of several allusions to Paul's final address to the Ephesian elders; I suggested on <em><a href='B:560 1:1'>Eph 1:1</a></em> that Ephesians was initially a follow up letter to that meeting:</p><p><em><a href='B:510 20:19'>Act 20:19</a></em> = <em><a href='B:560 4:2'>Eph 4:2</a></em> "lowliness of mind"<br/><em><a href='B:510 20:27'>Act 20:27</a></em> = <em><a href='B:560 1:11'>Eph 1:11</a></em> "counsel", God's plan.<br/><em><a href='B:510 20:32'>Act 20:32</a></em> = <em><a href='B:560 3:20'>Eph 3:20</a></em> God's "ability".<br/><em><a href='B:510 20:32'>Act 20:32</a></em> = <em><a href='B:560 2:20'>Eph 2:20</a></em>. Building upon the foundation.<br/><em><a href='B:510 20:32'>Act 20:32</a></em> = <em><a href='B:560 1:14'>Eph 1:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 1:18'>Eph 1:18</a></em> "The inheritance of the saints."</p><p>Answers to prayer are described as “great and mighty things, which you know not” (<em><a href='B:300 33:3'>Jer 33:3</a></em>)- i:e. the very nature of answered prayer is that it is above all we ask or think. It leads to a sense of wonderment with this God with whom we are in relationship. And answered prayer is indeed part and parcel of a living relationship with the Father and Son. But Paul may simply mean that the spiritual help he has just prayed for is far beyond anything the Ephesians could "ask or think" of requesting. He urges them to believe that God is indeed "able" to work the spiritual transformation he has just prayed for. And that ability is potentially within each of us; for each baptized believer has received "the power that works in us", it is a question of allowing it to operate. Again we note that the Spirit works&nbsp;<em>within</em>&nbsp;us; there is no reference to the miraculous gifts, they were an incidental, temporal external witness to the profound fact that God's Spirit power has been given into the hearts of believers and is at work there. God is at work in our hearts, in our psychology- but we must be open to this.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 3:21'>Eph 3:21</a></em>&nbsp;<em>To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations for ever and ever. Amen</em>- The allusion seems to be to the concluding doxology of the model prayer: "For Yours is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever, Amen". "The power" has been defined in :20 as the Spirit power which works within us. Our glorification of God is therefore due to our thankfulness for His power working within us to transform us into persons who shall live for ever and ever to His glory.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:1'>Eph 4:1</a></em>&nbsp;<em>I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called</em>- Paul repeatedly expresses his resentment and frustration with his "bonds"; but he saw those limitations as "in the Lord". We are all frustrated by limitation of situation or health; but they are to be experienced as "unto the Lord". Living "worthily" or appropriately to our calling, of the Lord, of God, of our status as believers, is a major theme with Paul (<em><a href='B:520 16:2'>Rom 16:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:570 1:27'>Phi 1:27</a></em>; <em><a href='B:580 1:10'>Col 1:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:590 2:12'>1Th 2:12</a></em>). Our lives are to be full of fruits worthy or appropriate to repentance (<em><a href='B:470 3:8'>Mat 3:8</a></em>; and Paul repeats this teaching of John in <em><a href='B:510 26:20'>Act 26:20</a></em>). The tendency then as now is to accept the Gospel but not to live and feel in response to that calling. Yet the way of the Spirit is to make us in practice what we are in status. Our calling was by grace- the fact we were called and others were not is a parade example of grace toward us, according to Romans 8 and <em><a href='B:620 1:9'>2Ti 1:9</a></em> (Who has called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to His own purpose and grace"). Paul has already prayed that the Spirit would open their eyes to the huge implications of being a called person (<em><a href='B:560 1:18'>Eph 1:18</a></em>). We have heard the Gospel- we are called. Of that there is no question, for the call is in the Gospel of the Kingdom. This should have a huge effect upon us; we are to walk appropriate to such a calling, making our calling sure (<em><a href='B:680 1:10'>2Pe 1:10</a></em>).</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:2'>Eph 4:2</a></em>&nbsp;<em>With all lowliness and meekness, with patience making allowance for each other in love</em>- The experience of having been called from eternity, part of God's "eternal purpose", not just 'from the beginning' but from infinite past eternity, should elicit in us appropriate humility and patience. For God waited patiently for infinite time until He called us, and is so patient with us now in our brief moment of opportunity as we live out this life. Exactly because we are the elect / chosen ones, we should put on lowliness (<em><a href='B:580 3:12'>Col 3:12</a></em> s:w:). This is the outworking in practice of appreciating our calling and predestined place in God's purpose- humility and patient love of others. The equivalent of this verse in Colossians is the command to make allowance for each other and therefore forgive them (<em><a href='B:580 3:13'>Col 3:13</a></em>). Forgiveness is assisted by making allowance, by considering why a person is acting as they are, rather than taking their words or actions as they stand and judging them for them, which is how natural human justice behaves.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:3'>Eph 4:3</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:500 17:23'>Joh 17:23</a></em>.</p><p><em>Giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace</em>- The patient forgiveness and making allowance for others just spoken of (:2) will in practice mean that the unity the Spirit has potentially created will be realized in practice. We have here another encouragement to live in practice what we are by status- a united community. The implication is that by dividing, by intolerance, both of practical and intellectual matters, we are going against the unity which the Spirit has potentially created; and we are thereby out of step with the Spirit. It is "peace" which is to be the bond or uniting principle; and "peace" is often a reference to peace with God through the forgiveness achieved in the Lord Jesus. An awareness of our own experience of forgiveness is what will connect us with others who have experienced the same in Christ; mere adherence to the same set of theology will not, and evidently does not, create true spiritual unity between believers.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:4'>Eph 4:4</a></em>&nbsp;<em>There is one body and one Spirit, even as also you were called in the one hope of your calling</em>- Seeing there is only one Spirit and we have each received the same calling to the same hope, we are only one body. There are not different callings and different hopes. The order of things in the list of essential doctrines in <em><a href='B:560 4:4-6'>Eph 4:4-6</a></em> is marvellous: "One body" (us) comes first, and "One God" comes last. Behold here the humility of God in inspiring this teaching in this way, and the paramount importance placed on unity between believers.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:5'>Eph 4:5</a></em>&nbsp;<em>One Lord, one faith, one baptism</em>- It is possible to discern within the NT letters the beginnings of a body of teaching about moral behaviour. The same outline themes are discernible in Colossians, Ephesians, 1 Peter and James:; I suggested on <em><a href='B:560 1:1'>Eph 1:1</a></em> that Ephesians was indeed written to the Ephesians, but it became the basis for a more general set of teachings which was employed in the early church and was repeated, verbatim at times, to the believers in Colosse:&nbsp;</p><table><tr><td></p><h4>Theme</td><td>Colossians</td><td>Ephesians</td><td>James</td><td>1 Peter</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The new birth baptism&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:580 2:12'>Col 2:12</a></em>&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:560 4:4-6'>Eph 4:4-6</a></em>&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:660 1:18'>Jas 1:18</a></em>&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:670 1:23'>1Pe 1:23</a></em></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The things of the old life that must be left behind&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:580 3:9'>Col 3:9</a></em>&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:560 4:22'>Eph 4:22</a></em>&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:660 1:21'>Jas 1:21</a></em>&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:670 2:1'>1Pe 2:1</a></em></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The image of God and Jesus; the new life that must be put on&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:580 1:19'>Col 1:19</a></em>&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:560 4:24'>Eph 4:24</a></em>&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:660 1:18'>Jas 1:18</a></em>&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:670 2:21'>1Pe 2:21</a></em></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The theme of submission to Jesus as Lord of our lives&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:580 3:18'>Col 3:18</a></em>&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:560 5:22'>Eph 5:22</a></em>&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:660 4:7'>Jas 4:7</a></em>&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:670 2:13'>1Pe 2:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:670 5:11'>1Pe 5:11</a></em></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Exhortation to stand strong against temptation / the ‘devil’&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:580 4:12'>Col 4:12</a></em>&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:560 6:11'>Eph 6:11</a></em>&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:660 4:7'>Jas 4:7</a></em>&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:670 5:8-9'>1Pe 5:8-9</a></em></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Watch and pray, endure to the end&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:580 4:2'>Col 4:2</a></em>&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:560 6:18'>Eph 6:18</a></em>&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:660 5:16'>Jas 5:16</a></em>&nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td><em><a href='B:670 4:7'>1Pe 4:7</a></em></td><td></td></tr></table>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:6'>Eph 4:6</a></em>&nbsp;<em>One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all-</em>&nbsp;The theme here is of unity amongst the believers, and so the "all" here I would take as referring to all believers. For through the Spirit, God works through and in within all believers. That is a major theme of Ephesians. The "all" is surely the "each one of us" of :7, and the "men" of :8. The emphasis that "all" believers, "each one of us", have God urgently active in our hearts and lives through the Spirit was and is necessary because there will always be those in any believing community who feel they are just amongst the crowd, and God's activity is through the leadership and they are mere spectators at a show.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:7'>Eph 4:7</a></em>&nbsp;<em>But to each one of us was the grace given, according to the measure of the gift of Christ</em>- As noted on :6, "each one of us" has been given the gift of the Spirit by the Lord Jesus, and not just the leadership or those who appear to have more spectacular usage by Him. We have all sinned, so we have all received grace, and that grace is manifest in the gift of the Spirit within each forgiven believer. This emphasis is necessary because Paul will now further speak of how the miraculous public gifts were given to some in the first century; but each of us has been given a measure or portion of the Spirit gift of Christ.</p><p>When Paul speaks of the stewardship of God’s grace given to him (<em><a href='B:560 3:2'>Eph 3:2</a></em> RVmg:), he is alluding to the parable of the talents (see on <em><a href='B:470 25:15'>Mat 25:15</a></em>). He saw the talents as the amount of grace shown, and for him, he knew this to amount to many talents; and he invested them, in response, through the preaching of the Gospel. And he carries on the allusion in <em><a href='B:560 4:7'>Eph 4:7</a></em>, speaking of how unto every one of us Christ has given a gift, namely, grace. Whilst grace will produce unique response in each of us, we are bound together by the same basic experience of having been saved by grace.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:8'>Eph 4:8</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:530 15:28'>1Co 15:28</a></em>.</p><p><em>Wherefore He says: When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men</em>- Ascension refers to the Lord's literal ascent to Heaven, but it is also used as a metaphor of His 'ascent' in victory over sin. What held us captive was sin, and when this was made captive by the Lord's victory on the cross, we were given gifts. The "men" are the "all men" of :6, the "each one of us" of :7. The context of <em><a href='B:230 68:18'>Psa 68:18</a></em> is the victory song at the Red Sea deliverance. The gifts were those taken from Egypt / sin / the world. Such gifts were not available before the victory. They therefore refer primarily to the various victories over sin which are now possible. The miraculous manifestations of the Spirit were seen in Old Testament times too, so they are not the primary reference. Although the internal gifts to the "inner man" were testified to in the first century by miraculous endowments, to make the point- that God's Spirit is now indeed given to men. <em><a href='B:510 2:33'>Act 2:33</a></em> speaks of how the Lord received the Spirit and gave it to men, and the Comforter passages in John 14-16 speak likewise. <em><a href='B:230 68:18'>Psa 68:18</a></em> continues: "Yes, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them". The purpose of the gifts was that even the backsliding might be transformed to have God dwelling within them. And <em><a href='B:230 68:19-20'>Psa 68:19-20</a></em> define the gifs as the benefits which the Lord daily loads us with- salvation. The daily blessings are not miraculous gifts but forgiveness, and guidance towards salvation. It is these blessings with which He internally fills all in Christ (:10).</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:9'>Eph 4:9</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Now this, He ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?</em>- The ascent to receive these gifts for us required the Lord's death and burial. The victory song of Psalms 68 could only be ultimately sung because of the Lord's death "first". We find here yet another connection with the thought of Romans, this time to <em><a href='B:520 10:7'>Rom 10:7</a></em>, where 'descending s:w. into the deep' is connected with the resurrection of the Lord from the dead. His three days in "the lower parts of the earth" was therefore whilst He was dead; and death, Biblically, is unconsciousness. This puts paid to all speculations about the Lord doing conscious battle in some underworld with the powers of evil. "The lower parts of the earth" is a phrase used in <em><a href='B:230 63:9'>Psa 63:9</a></em> and <em><a href='B:230 139:15'>Psa 139:15</a></em> LXX for the grave.</p><p>But many times the same Greek word for "descended" is used for the Lord's 'descent' from Heaven; He 'came down' from Heaven in the same way as the manna 'descended' from Heaven- it was sent from God, but created here on earth. In this case, we would read the height of His ascent, in spiritual terms, as a reflection of His total connection with the lowest things of earthly life. "The lower parts of the earth" would be a quotation from <em><a href='B:290 44:23'>Isa 44:23</a></em> LXX, which uses the term to describe the lower ranks of people upon earth. This would then explain the possible connection with <em><a href='B:500 3:13'>Joh 3:13</a></em>, "no man has ascended up to heaven, but He that descended from Heaven".</p><p>It could be that both interpretations have validity; the Lord's descent from Heaven, His sending from God, involved His descending into the grave itself. His sinless association with humanity and finally His dying the death of all men was what qualified Him to be so highly exalted.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:10'>Eph 4:10</a></em>&nbsp;<em>He that descended is the same also that ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things</em>- It was "the same" essential Jesus who died as who ascended; in terms of personality, He is the same yesterday, today and forever (<em><a href='B:650 13:8'>Heb 13:8</a></em>), just as who we essentially are is who we shall eternally be. The Jesus who loved little children and was pitiful to the weak is the same Jesus with whom we have to do now, and whom we shall meet at judgment day. Likewise "that same Jesus" who was crucified is the one who is now exalted Lord in Heaven (<em><a href='B:510 2:36'>Act 2:36</a></em>).</p><p>Paul's description of&nbsp;Christ 'ascending up far above all heavens' seems to be rooted in his vivid re-living and imagining of the scene in <em><a href='B:490 24:51'>Luk 24:51</a></em>, where the record says that Christ was "parted from them, and carried up".</p><p>The risen Lord has filled "all things" with His spirituality, "the whole universe", i:e. the believers (<em><a href='B:560 3:19'>Eph 3:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 4:10'>Eph 4:10</a></em> NIV). This is based on God's attitude in the OT; that Israel were His people, His 'world', and the other nations were "not a people"; effectively, they weren't people, in God's eyes (<em><a href='B:50 32:21'>Deu 32:21</a></em>). Is this Biblical evidence for a social Gospel? These words are true of all those who are out of covenant relationship with Him, including those who have fallen away. Thus Elisha told the apostate king of Israel: "Were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah,&nbsp;<em>I would not look toward thee, nor see thee</em>" (<em><a href='B:120 3:14'>2Ki 3:14</a></em>). The 'filling' surely refers to the filling of believers with the Holy Spirit in their hearts, leading to the fruits of the Spirit such as joy, peace etc. (<em><a href='B:520 15:13'>Rom 15:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 3:19'>Eph 3:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 5:18'>Eph 5:18</a></em>).</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:11'>Eph 4:11</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:490 11:22'>Luk 11:22</a></em>.</p><p><em>And he gave some to be apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers</em>- The miraculous manifestations of the Spirit were given in the first century in order to visibly reflect the huge power of new spiritual life now given into the hearts of believers by the Lord's ascension. The fact that the miraculous manifestations of those gifts are not now possessed doesn't mean that the essential gift of the Spirit is not now received by us. And yet it is true that each member of the Lord's body not only has its unique function, but the Spirit enabling in order to fulfil those functions.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:12'>Eph 4:12</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For the perfecting of the saints, to the work of holy service, to the building up of the body of Christ</em>- The allusions to priestly service and building all recall the gifts of the Spirit given to enable the building of the tabernacle / sanctuary, which was representative of the people of God, the body of Christ. Therefore the more visible gifts of leadership in :11 were only given in order to prepare the congregation for acts of service themselves ("the work of holy service"). “Christianity was no slick imitation of existing ecclesiastical organisations. It made no attempt to set up a hierarchy modelled on previously existing institutions. It preferred&nbsp;<em>diakonia</em>, lowly service, to the grandiose ideas of the Gentiles”. The "building up" of believers in the first century was partly through the Spirit gift of prophecy, whereby inspired New Testament prophets spoke relevant words from God to the newly converted illiterate believers (<em><a href='B:530 14:3'>1Co 14:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:530 14:5'>1Co 14:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:530 14:12'>1Co 14:12</a></em>). And yet the building up of the body today is by the contribution of&nbsp;<em>every</em>&nbsp;part (<em><a href='B:560 4:16'>Eph 4:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 4:29'>Eph 4:29</a></em>). In the special case scenario of the first century, the miraculous Spirit gifts were given; their withdrawal doesn't mean that God's work of "building up" His people through the Spirit is over. It's just that the mode of operation has changed.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:13'>Eph 4:13</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:650 2:10'>Heb 2:10</a></em>.</p><p><em>Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a full grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ</em>- "The unity" and "the faith" each have the article and grammatically do not together mean 'the one faith'. They refer to the unity created by the one faith. And that is Paul's theme here- of unity between Jew and Gentile created by having the same one faith, which is the knowledge of the Son of God. And 'knowledge' refers to the knowing which refers to relationship, rather than knowing an identical set of theological propositions about the Son of Go. It is&nbsp;common relationship with Him which creates unity between groups and individuals as diverse and separated as Jew and Gentile were in first century towns like Ephesus. It is that unity between persons within the church which is the sign of maturity, of having grown up into stature of the Lord Jesus, and in which His fullness will dwell. His fullness refers to the full total sum of His personality, His 'Name', in Old testament terms. Each individual believer has various parts of His total personality, and between us, the united, mature church is completely His body to the world, they are Him in total. But division amongst us precludes us on a collective level from being Him in totality.</p><p>The body of believers is progressively educated, matured, built up, until finally at the Lord's return we are all brought to be like Christ, to know Him fully, and to "the unity of the faith". The implication would therefore be that there will never be total understanding of "the faith" in its fullness, nor will there be "unanimity" amongst us on every point as a body, until the Lord is back.</p><p><em><a href='B:560 4:13'>Eph 4:13</a></em> parallels the knowledge of the Son of God with "the unity of the faith". To know the one faith is to know Christ as a person. He&nbsp;<em>is</em>&nbsp;the essence of the one faith. Academic knowledge of a series of theological propositions in a 'statement of faith', no matter how accurate their formulation may be, is still not the same as 'knowing Christ'. To perceive those doctrines as they really are, to know the unity, the sum of the one faith, is to know Christ as a person and come to "the fullness of Christ". The&nbsp;<em>unity</em>&nbsp;of the faith thus parallels the&nbsp;<em>fullness</em>&nbsp;of Christ. Those doctrines as propositions are a means to an end; and unless that is perceived they are little worth. So very often men have argued over those propositions, and in their argument have revealed that they really 'don't get it'- they simply don't know Christ as a person. They got caught up on the means rather than perceiving the end- which is to know the Son of God.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:14'>Eph 4:14</a></em>&nbsp;<em>That we may no longer be like children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine devised by the trickery, craftiness and deceitful scheming of men</em>- The intended unity of the body around the one faith spoken of in :13 requires of course that we have the one faith, and are not therefore swayed by the false teachings of men. The crafty, deceitful schemes of men referred to suggests far more than a genuine intellectual misunderstanding of some Bible verses. The reference is surely to the campaign of the Judaizers, who schemed to destabilize the churches Paul founded. The language recalls the serpent in Eden, whom Paul in Romans and <em><a href='B:540 11:3'>2Co 11:3</a></em> (s:w. "craftiness") has used as symbolizing the Judaizers, the great satan or adversary to his work. The teachings were "devised" as part of a "scheming of men"- clearly the reference is to a purposeful program of leading others astray, rather than an innocent misreading of Bible verses by sincere if misguided believers. <em><a href='B:650 13:9'>Heb 13:9</a></em> uses the same word about not being "carried about" with doctrines which take us away from the heart being stabilized by grace. It was legalism and Judaism which was the antithesis of grace.</p><p>Judah was condemned to being tossed to and fro (<em><a href='B:140 29:8'>2Ch 29:8</a></em> RV; <em><a href='B:290 54:11'>Isa 54:11</a></em>); and yet the spiritually unstable also allow themselves to be tossed to and fro (<em><a href='B:560 4:14'>Eph 4:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:660 1:6'>Jas 1:6</a></em>), and thereby they effectively live out their condemnation now, ahead of the gnashing of teeth which awaits them. The type of natural Israel being rejected in the wilderness must be instructive as to the position of those who are the "goats" of spiritual Israel.<br/>In <em><a href='B:560 4:14-15'>Eph 4:14-15</a></em>, the point is made that because we are not blown around with every wind of doctrine, therefore we deal truly in love (RVmg:). Truthfulness with each other within the one body of Christ is related to our having known and deeply believed the truth of God. The implication is also that by speaking and preaching truth, we "grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ", who is "the Truth" in every way. Notice how Ephesians 4 stresses the need for true doctrine because this is related to truthfulness with each other; if we are not tossed to and fro by false doctrines, then we will speak the truth in love (<em><a href='B:560 4:14-15'>Eph 4:14-15</a></em>); “If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus… wherefore because of this put away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour” in the one body of Christ (<em><a href='B:560 4:21'>Eph 4:21</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 4:25'>Eph 4:25</a></em>).</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:15'>Eph 4:15</a></em>&nbsp;<em>But speaking the truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him, who is the head- Christ</em>- As noted on :14, having true doctrine is related to “speaking the truth”, “dealing truly” (<em><a href='B:560 4:13-15'>Eph 4:13-15</a></em> RVmg:) with each other- as if the sensitive, heartfelt preaching of truth should result in our own truthfulness. English does not have a verb “to truth,” but Paul uses such a verb when he urges the Ephesians that “‘truthing’ in love” they should grow in Christ in all things. We might understand this as “speaking the truth in love,” but more probably we should see truth as a quality of action as well as of speech. Paul wants his converts to live the truth as well as to speak it. Real spiritual growth is only possible by a way of life that ‘truths it’.</p><p>The state of perfection which we shall finally reach, hopefully in church life now but supremely in the Kingdom, is described as us (the complete church of all ages) having reached, "a perfect man::. the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ", having grown up into Christ, who is the head of the body (<em><a href='B:560 4:13'>Eph 4:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 4:15'>Eph 4:15</a></em>). We are now 'growing up into Him', we are on a journey, and the end point of it is to be fully as the Lord Jesus. This is the end point- where we spend eternity is one issue, but the essence is that we shall be like Him. We are indeed the body of Christ, but we are counted as that, the status is imputed to us; and the Spirit is at work to develop us to actually become as Him.</p><p>When&nbsp;Christ comes, we will each individually be made ruler over&nbsp;<em>all</em>&nbsp;that He has (<em><a href='B:470 24:47'>Mat 24:47</a></em>), we will each individually be fully righteous, fully manifesting the Lord Jesus. There seems to be marked connection with the fact (brought out in the parable of the talents) that we will each have&nbsp;<em>all</em>&nbsp;the Master's goods, and the description in the next parable of those goods being distributed between us in this life (<em><a href='B:470 24:47'>Mat 24:47</a></em>; <em><a href='B:470 25:15'>Mat 25:15</a></em>). In the Kingdom we will no longer know partially, as a result of seeing parts of the whole picture; we will see face to face (<em><a href='B:530 13:9'>1Co 13:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:530 13:12'>1Co 13:12</a></em> Gk:). See on <em><a href='B:490 19:13'>Luk 19:13</a></em>.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:16'>Eph 4:16</a></em>&nbsp;<em>By him all the parts of the body fit and are knit together, with every joint supplying something according to its unique purpose, thus making the body grow as it builds up itself in love</em>- Each member of the body contributes to the overall strength and health of the body. As noted on :6 and :7, there is great emphasis on the fact that each and every believer is unique and has a role to play in the overall strengthening of others- and not just those with more visible gifts or higher profile roles. No member can say they do not need the others; the problem with 'out of church Christians' is that they are tempted to forget that they too have something to contribute. The body “makes increase of itself” and builds itself up in love, strengthened by the nourishment mediated by the other members (<em><a href='B:560 4:16'>Eph 4:16</a></em>). There&nbsp;<em>is</em>&nbsp;therefore strength and power from outside of ourselves within the body of Christ. Tragically, the body of believers is perceived by many sinners to be judgmental, shaming, not understanding etc:, when the idea of association with the Lord's body is that we are built up and also contribute towards the building up of others. We enter the body in order that we may contribute, and not simply to take, or because we see baptism as the seal of our doctrinal assent to a set of propositions.</p><p>The builder of God’s house is ultimately God, the builder of all (<em><a href='B:650 11:10'>Heb 11:10</a></em>). We are God’s building (<em><a href='B:530 2:9'>1Co 2:9</a></em>). But we are also Christ’s building, in that God has delegated this work to Him. And yet we build each other up (<em><a href='B:520 14:19'>Rom 14:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:520 15:2'>Rom 15:2</a></em>), Paul was a master-builder (<em><a href='B:530 3:10'>1Co 3:10</a></em>), and the body builds itself up (<em><a href='B:560 4:16'>Eph 4:16</a></em>). As God has delegated the building to Christ, so He has delegated it to us. The Ephesians were built up on the foundations of the apostles’ work- not that they are the foundation, for no other foundation can there be except Christ (<em><a href='B:560 2:20'>Eph 2:20</a></em> cp. <em><a href='B:530 3:11'>1Co 3:11</a></em>). The building up of those early brethren was on account of the work of the apostles. They were the foundation, they were ‘Christ’ to those brethren and converts. Hence they are called the foundation, whereas Christ is the only foundation. This is how far His work has been delegated to us. Without the work of the apostles, if they had been lazy or spiritually selfish, there would have been no Ephesus ecclesia, nor spirituality within it. Quite simply, we&nbsp;<em>are</em>&nbsp;a function of the efforts our brethren and sisters make to build us up. See on <em><a href='B:580 2:19'>Col 2:19</a></em>.</p><p>The various parts of the one body&nbsp;<em>supply</em>&nbsp;strength to the rest of us. But the very same Greek word rendered “supply” occurs in the <em><a href='B:570 1:19'>Phi 1:19</a></em>, about the&nbsp;<em>supply</em>&nbsp;of the spirit of Jesus Christ. How does He&nbsp;<em>supply</em>&nbsp;our need and strengthen us? Through the very human members of the one body. Which is why we so desperately need them, and to walk away from them, reasoning that they ‘give nothing’, is in a sense to turn away from the supply of the spirit of Jesus.</p><h4>Cyprian taught that "Whatever and whatsoever kind of man he is, he is not a Christian who is not in Christ's church::. he cannot have God for his Father who has not the church for his mother". And Church membership depended upon "submission to the bishop::. rebellion against him is rebellion against God::. the schismatic, however correct his doctrine or virtuous his life, renounces Christ and bears arms against the church". Individual spirituality and correctness of faith meant nothing; obedience to the leaders was paramount. Cyprian even went so far as to say that "the church is founded on the bishops::. held together by the glue of the mutual cohesion of the bishops". This is a glaring contradiction with the Biblical emphasis upon Christ as the only foundation (<em><a href='B:530 3:11'>1Co 3:11</a></em>), and the body being held together on account of being "in Him", compacted and built up by what "every joint supplies" (<em><a href='B:560 4:16'>Eph 4:16</a></em>). This shift from the internal, the spiritual, to the external and visible, the perception of Christianity as a human organization we belong to, has been seen in the lives of many individual Christians, churches, denominations, groups etc. over time. The warning is for us to remain disciples of the Lord Jesus, following Him as it were around Galilee, focused upon Him alone, and finding the unity with others doing the same which will naturally follow.</h4><p>“The whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work" (<em><a href='B:560 4:16'>Eph 4:16</a></em> NIV). In the context, Paul is demonstrating the necessity of Jew and Gentile to work together in the ecclesia; they couldn't just run parallel ecclesial lives, even though there seems to have been temporary concessions to their humanity at the beginning. The newly baptized, Old Testament-ignorant Gentiles had something to contribute to the Bible-saturated Jewish believers; and, of course, vice versa.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:17'>Eph 4:17</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Therefore, this I say and testify in the Lord: You are to no longer walk as the Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind</em>- Paul reminds them that his teaching here is a direct testimony from the Lord Jesus. A new section of practical advice now follows. The way of the flesh, be it wanton immorality or simply living in the vanity of the mind, is not as the Ephesians had been taught the Gospel of Christ before their baptisms. That basic Gospel had very practical implications (<em><a href='B:560 4:17-27'>Eph 4:17-27</a></em>). And more than this. The new wine of the Gospel will destroy a man who holds it unless he changes his life (cp. the wine skin), so that it too is new. The new cloth of the Gospel will rip a man apart who doesn't change from his old clothing. Leaven is an apt symbol of the Gospel, in that it corrupts terribly&nbsp;<em>if it is left idle</em>. If the principles of the Truth lie dormant in our lives, they can only destroy us. The idea of 'walking' connects with the opening charge of :1, that we are to walk in a way appropriate to our calling. "The mind" is Biblically called "the spirit". Unbelievers think in vanity, and we catch ourselves spending large amounts of mental time imagining or chattering within ourselves about vain things. How we think in the mind is how we walk in practice. The receipt of God's Spirit into our spirit will therefore issue in a quite different walk. Vain thinking is a particular malaise of our online world. The inane and meaningless have been glorified.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:18'>Eph 4:18</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart</em>- The language of darkening and hardening could suggest that "the Gentiles" in :17 refer to those who have left the Lord's way. Perhaps those who left were labelled "the Gentiles" as a kind of technical term in the early church. Their "ignorance" was not natural ignorance, but the ignorance that comes from a darkening and hardening of the heart, which resulted in an alienated position. These people had stopped "feeling" and had given themselves over to immorality (:19). This is all the language of those who leave one way of life for another, rather than those who had never known the way of righteousness. Paul has prayed that the eyes of the Ephesians will be enlightened- and yet the work of the Holy Spirit in achieving this is matched by "an evil spirit from the Lord" of the type which pushed king Saul into a downward spiral, and which hardened Pharaoh's heart because he himself hardened his heart. "The life of God" would then refer to the gift of the Spirit which these people had been given at baptism, but they were now alienated from it. The life given by God is the concept used by John to describe what Paul would term the gift of the Holy Spirit; for John's writings speak of the eternal life given by God into the heart of the believers, the power to live now as we shall eternally live. The Corinthians were given the Spirit but were not spiritual (<em><a href='B:530 3:1'>1Co 3:1</a></em>), and the burden of Paul's writings is that we are to make use of the potential of the Spirit which we have within us. Those who leave the faith are alienated from that potential life or spirit within them.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:19'>Eph 4:19</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Who being past feeling gave themselves up to sensuality, to work all uncleanness with greediness</em>- As noted on :18, this language refers to those who leave one way of life for another, rather than those who had never known the way of righteousness. The Lord gave Himself over for us on the cross (s:w. <em><a href='B:560 5:2'>Eph 5:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 5:25'>Eph 5:25</a></em>), but in response, these people had given themselves over to pleasing the flesh. The sensuality in view was provoked by the false teachings of :14. These teachings turned God's grace into sensuality (<em><a href='B:720 1:4'>Jud 1:4</a></em>); the words of these false teachers allured believers into sensuality (<em><a href='B:680 2:18'>2Pe 2:18</a></em>). So it was not simply a case of believers falling for the temptation to live the life of the world; the false teachers were encouraging the converts to engage in the sensual practices of idol worship in the name of serving the Lord Jesus. This was the problem at Corinth and was widespread; the false teachings were attractive because they enabled believers to live the life of unbelievers whilst still thinking they were within the body of Christ.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:20'>Eph 4:20</a></em>&nbsp;<em>But that is not the way you learned Christ</em>- When the Ephesians learnt their first principles from the mouth of Paul and other preachers, they "heard Him (Christ), and (were) taught by Him" (<em><a href='B:560 4:20-21'>Eph 4:20-21</a></em>); the preacher of Christ closely manifests his Lord. And part of the basic Gospel was a call to deny immorality and sensuality. The Gospel of the Kingdom as taught by the Lord Himself was essentially an appeal for a way of life in practice.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:21'>Eph 4:21</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus</em>- Paul wonders whether they had really been taught about the moral dimensions of the Gospel when they first heard it (see on :20). The "you" refers to those whom Paul earlier calls "Gentiles" in :17; he has in view those who had left the faith (see on :17,18). But they were apparently still within the community at Ephesus to whom Paul was writing. "The truth in Jesus" referred to a way of life rather than theological truths of themselves; and Paul may mean that he wonders whether they were any longer aware of that early teaching of the Gospel which they had received. In illiterate societies there would have been a need to keep teaching the message initially preached, and perhaps that had not been done. The Lord's letter to the Ephesians in <em><a href='B:730 2:1-6'>Rev 2:1-6</a></em> commends them for having rejected false teaching; so it would seem that Paul's appeal here was heeded, but the Lord lamented their lack of love, which was going to lead to their rejection.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:22'>Eph 4:22</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Those things belonged to your former manner of life, which was corrupt through deceitful desires</em>- We must "put off the old man" (<em><a href='B:560 4:22'>Eph 4:22</a></em> AV); and yet "you have (already) put off the old man" (<em><a href='B:580 3:9'>Col 3:9</a></em>), it was crucified with Christ at baptism (<em><a href='B:520 6:6'>Rom 6:6</a></em>). Have we, or haven't we? In God's eyes we have, in that the new man has been created, and the old man died in the waters of baptism. But of course we are still in the flesh; and the old man must yet be put off. What happened at our baptism must be an ongoing process; of laying the old man to rest in death, and rising again in the newness of life. The Gospel 'instructs us to the intent that, having once and for all put away ungodliness (i:e. in baptism) and worldly lusts, we should live in a holy manner' (<em><a href='B:630 2:12'>Tit 2:12</a></em> Gk:). Having put these things off in baptism, we must live a life of putting them off. We are to live in practice what we are counted to be by status in Christ.</p><p>Our lusts are deceitful (<em><a href='B:560 4:22'>Eph 4:22</a></em>), and so the Devil or ‘deceiver’ is an appropriate way of describing them. They are personified, and as such they can be spoken of as ‘the Devil’ – our enemy, a slanderer of the truth. This is what our natural ‘man’ is like – the ‘very Devil’.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:23'>Eph 4:23</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:560 1:15'>Eph 1:15</a></em>.</p><p><em>But you, being renewed in the spirit of your mind</em>- The sensuality of :19 is listed as a work of the flesh (<em><a href='B:550 5:19'>Gal 5:19</a></em>). The key to growth was to allow the Spirit they had received to renew them. They were to "be renewed" (AV), they were to allow the process of renovation to operate. And the locality and method of that renewal was by the Spirit within their minds. Again and again it is clear that the arena of the Spirit's operation is within the mind, "the inner man" of chapter 3, and the reference is not to the external manifestations of the Spirit in miraculous gifts. It was this re-newing which could create the new man of :24. The Spirit had been given to them, as to all believers, at their baptism. But some of them were alienated from that life / Spirit of God within them. They were to allow that Spirit free course to make them new again, to form again the new man within them.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:24'>Eph 4:24</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Put on the new man, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness</em>- The creator of the new man is God through His Spirit- see on :23. The likeness of God is the Lord Jesus, who in His perfect character was the image of God (<em><a href='B:580 1:15'>Col 1:15</a></em>). We put on "Christ", "the new man", at baptism (<em><a href='B:550 3:27'>Gal 3:27</a></em>), but we are to put Him on throughout our lives (<em><a href='B:520 13:14'>Rom 13:14</a></em>). The sense of the Greek is 'be clothed with'. Again there is the impression not of steel willed obedience but of allowing ourselves to be clothed, permitting the creative process of the Spirit to operate. "<em>True</em>&nbsp;righteousness and holiness" may be a reference to the righteousness and holiness offered by an apostate Judaism.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:25'>Eph 4:25</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Therefore, putting away falsehood, each one of you speak the truth with his neighbour. For we are members one of another</em>- As noted on :15, the truth of Christ leads to our being truthful. Dishonesty, lying and gross exaggeration were very much part of Middle Eastern culture, and Paul is urging the converts to change in this. Because the intended unity earlier spoken about in this chapter can never happen when lying is part of our culture. In some cultures and situations to this day, this exhortation and implication of the truth of Christ needs particular emphasis. "Putting away" is the word that has just been used in :22 for putting off the old man; and it would seem that Paul saw telling lies as symptomatic of the old man. "Members one of another" is a reference to us as different limbs in the one body of the Lord Jesus. But Paul accepted there would be members of that body who had not put off the old man, who had not stopped lying nor stealing (:28). He urges them to act appropriately to their status as the Lord's body. Membership of the Lord's body is here spoken of as being members of one another. Our connection with Him is inextricably linked with our connection with each other. Evil practices such as disfellowship, mud campaigns etc. are a denial of this connection; our attitude to each other, immature as we may find each other to be, is our attitude to the Lord Jesus. We cannot therefore push off out of the body into splendid isolation.</p><p>We are the body of Christ. We are counted righteous because we are baptized into Him. We are counted as Him; and we are parts of His body, hands, feet, eyes, internal organs. As such, we are inextricably linked in with the other members of the body. We cannot operate in isolation from them. “We are members one of another::. we are members of his body” (<em><a href='B:560 4:25'>Eph 4:25</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 5:30'>Eph 5:30</a></em>). Only insofar as we belong to each other do we belong to Him. We must perceive ourselves not so much as individual believers but as members of one body, both over space and over time. <em><a href='B:560 4:25'>Eph 4:25</a></em> draws a practical conclusion from the one body of Christ: "Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour:&nbsp;<em>for</em>&nbsp;we are members one of another". If we are one body, there should&nbsp;<em>therefore</em>&nbsp;be truthfulness between us. No white lying, no gross exaggeration, no gossiping, no presentation of facts in a distorted way. Why? Because "we are members one of another". If we&nbsp;<em>do</em>&nbsp;behave like this, we are really saying that we are not members of the one body. The one body is Jesus; and all that is true of Him must be true of us. He is not divided, and neither should we be, either within our own beings, or as a community.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:26'>Eph 4:26</a></em>&nbsp;<em>In your anger, do not sin Do not let the sun set while you remain angry</em>- This is in the context of appealing for unity between the members of the Lord's body (:25). Unresolved anger with other limbs of the body is a sure way to stop that body functioning. Anger in itself is a purely natural reaction, and is seen in both God and His Son. The issue is, how to "be angry and sin not" (<em><a href='B:560 4:26'>Eph 4:26</a></em>)? God "made a path for His anger" with Egypt, by bringing plagues upon them and slaying their firstborn (<em><a href='B:230 78:50'>Psa 78:50</a></em> RV). Anger has to go somewhere, for otherwise it burns within us and rises up ultimately into extremely damaging and inappropriate forms of behaviour. I say 'inappropriate' because pent up anger has a way of bursting forth upon anyone in its way, who may likely be nothing to do with the cause or object of the initial anger. Anger is a form of energy, and as such it must be harnessed. Throughout the Old Testament, we often read of God being "provoked to wrath" by human sin, and His anger burning. There's very little said about this in the New Testament; and I wonder if this is because the ultimate path which God made for His anger was in giving His Son to die for human sin, rather than endlessly seeking to punish human sin and be hurt by it. Immediately let's take an obvious lesson: don't waste your anger energy on endlessly fighting those who provoke you, but use it positively. Throw it in to some project or other for the Lord. For anger is to some extent reflective; whilst we remain horns locked with a situation, both our opponent and ourselves are feeding off each others' anger. Hence the wise advice of <em><a href='B:240 22:24-25'>Pro 22:24-25</a></em>: "with a wrathful man you shall not go: lest you learn his ways". Disengage from anger situations.</p><p>In any case, we are to seek to not end any day angry. The only way to end the day without anger is to forgive- for if we make our anger dependent upon the repentance or improved behaviour of another party, then we will not be able to stop our anger. The teaching here is clearly that we have power over our own anger, and can cease it if we wish- regardless of the situation or individuals provoking the anger. The quotation "Be angry and sin not" is from <em><a href='B:230 4:4'>Psa 4:4</a></em> LXX- David had anger with Saul and yet rose above it, perhaps by not allowing it to cripple him because David forgave Saul. Psalms 4 continues: "commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still". It seems Paul is interpreting that as meaning that we should within ourselves decide to forgive and not be angry, and fall asleep "still" and in peace.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:27'>Eph 4:27</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Give no opportunity to the Devil</em>- The devil here may refer to the great enemy, sin and sinful desires within; for it is through anger and deceit of each other that sin is provoked. But so often, "the devil" or "satan" refer to a human organization or group. The Judaist 'satan' was clearly in view in :14 see notes there. Interpersonal frictions within the church were going to be capitalized upon by this group.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:28'>Eph 4:28</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Let him that stole, steal no more, but rather let him labour, working with his hands what is good, so he may have something to give to him that has need</em>- As noted on :25, there were members within the body of Christ who were lying and stealing. This was going to stop the development of the unity within the body which was so essential to jointly coming to the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Lord Jesus. Paul's ambition for the converts is amazing. Those who stole so much that they didn't do a normal job were permitted in the church; but his belief was that they could be so transformed that they would stop doing this, get a job, and be generous to those who were in need; and grow up into the full stature of the Lord Jesus:&nbsp;</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:29'>Eph 4:29</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:470 12:33'>Mat 12:33</a></em>.</p><p><em>Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but as the need arises, speak that which is good for encouragement, that it expresses grace to those that hear you</em>- As observed on :28, Paul's converts included some rough types- liars, those who stole so much they didn't have a day job, and those who used "corrupt speech". Paul's hope for their transformation was realistic because he believed in the huge available power of the internal gift of the Spirit. He hoped that those who once stole would work and&nbsp;<em>give</em>&nbsp;to the needy; and here he sees the possibility for those with foul mouths to instead come to use language that was expressing grace, reflecting the&nbsp;<em>charis</em>&nbsp;or gift of the Spirit within them, in a way which would transfer that grace to them too. Such corrupt fruit of the lips cannot grow on a good tree (<em><a href='B:490 6:43'>Luk 6:43</a></em> s:w:). There would either be transformation, or the corrupt tree would be cut down. But that was for the Lord to do; Paul's view of the body of Christ was that it would include such immature people. "Encouragement" is the same word used in :16 for 'building up'. Coarse language and terminology is not going to build up the rest of the body; our words and conversation should be a reflection of our sense that we have a role to play in building up our hearers. The hearers in view are therefore other members of the Lord's body.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:30'>Eph 4:30</a></em>&nbsp;<em>And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by which you were sealed until the day of redemption</em>- All the bad behaviour of :19-29 is at variance with the Spirit which has been given to each believer, and which seeks to bring forth in us spiritual behaviour. But we are grieving or effectively frustrating this process if we refuse to be transformed. The gift of the Holy Spirit is in our hearts- God has "sealed us and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts" (<em><a href='B:540 1:22'>2Co 1:22</a></em>). This gift of the Spirit is the foretaste of our final redemption (<em><a href='B:540 5:5'>2Co 5:5</a></em>). After we believed, we were given this promised gift of the Spirit (<em><a href='B:560 1:13'>Eph 1:13</a></em>). Those who lied, stole and swore were given it. But by remaining in the old life and ways, they were not allowing it to function. The allusion is to how Israel in the wilderness had been baptized in the Red Sea and yet they grieved God's Spirit (<em><a href='B:290 63:10'>Isa 63:10</a></em>) in the form of the Angel who wished to lead them to the Kingdom of God:&nbsp;</p><h4>The "Holy Spirit" may allude to a specific Angel set apart for this purpose of strengthening us so that we might reach the Kingdom, like the wilderness Angel provided Israel with the manna (= the word of God, so the Lord Jesus reasons in John 6) and every type of sustenance in order that they should get through the wilderness to the promised land. In the same way, the Holy Spirit is associated with our calling and choosing. The Angel was associated with the sealing of the believers (<em><a href='B:730 7:2-3'>Rev 7:2-3</a></em>). We must not "grieve the Holy Spirit of God (cp. how Israel vexed the Holy Spirit Angel- <em><a href='B:290 63:10'>Isa 63:10</a></em>) whereby ye are sealed". <em><a href='B:560 4:30'>Eph 4:30</a></em> also links this grieving the Holy Spirit (referring to the Holy Spirit Angel of <em><a href='B:290 63:10'>Isa 63:10</a></em>) and abusing God's sealing of us, as if by the unspiritual behaviour Paul is speaking of in Ephesians 4 we will truly grieve or sadden the Angel who has sealed us.</h4>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:31'>Eph 4:31</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and railing be put away from you, along with all malice</em>- Again we note that all these things were going on amongst those who were members of the Lord's body, and who had received the Holy Spirit gift in their hearts. The intended growth of the body in unity unto the image of the Lord Jesus could not happen on a communal level if these attitudes remained in the hearts of the individual members. We note that they are all internal issues- which could be overcome by the Spirit of God within the human mind. It is spiritual mindedness which is the essence of Christianity.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 4:32'>Eph 4:32</a></em><em>&nbsp;And be kind to each other, sensitive, forgiving each other, even as God in Christ also forgave you</em>- The problem was that the Ephesians were not allowing the Spirit to work in their hearts. Therefore the internal attitudes of :31 remained; Paul urges that these should be replaced by the sensitivity to others which leads to kindness and forgiveness. And we recall that those who had left the faith were "past feeling" (see on :19). It is a lack of basic empathy or sensitivity which is the root of so much bad thinking and action. Captain Gustav Gilbert was the army psychologist who worked with the Nuremburg trial defendants; he concluded: "In my work with the defendants I was searching for the nature of evil and I now think I have come close to defining it. A lack of empathy. It’s the one characteristic that connects all the defendants, a genuine incapacity to feel with their fellow men. Evil, I think, is the absence of empathy”. The gift of the Spirit creates sensitivity; because that same Spirit is operative in the hearts of others, and is the heart of God- who is the ultimately sensitive, seeing and knowing all things. The kindness which leads to forgiveness is the antidote to all the anger and associated issues spoken of in :31. As noted on :26, it is for us to overcome our anger by forgiving, regardless of whether there has been repentance. We are forgiven by God "in Christ"; we were granted imputed righteousness, by reason of our status in Him, rather than on the basis of our specific repentance over the millions of sins we have between God and us, whether or commission or omission.</p><p><em><a href='B:470 6:14'>Mat 6:14</a></em> is surely alluded to here. The Lord Jesus said: "If you forgive, you'll be forgiven". Paul subtly changes the tenses: "You've been forgiven already, so forgive". It's as if Paul is saying: 'Think carefully about <em><a href='B:470 6:14'>Mat 6:14</a></em>. Don't think it means 'If you do this, I'll do that for you'. No. God has forgiven you. But that forgiveness is conditional on the fact that in the future you will forgive people. If you don't, then that forgiveness you've already been given is cancelled. This is what Jesus really had in mind'. This would suggest a very close analysis of those simple words of Jesus, using all the logic and knowledge of Biblical principles which Paul had.</p><p>Paul does not say we should forgive as Christ&nbsp;<em>is forgiving</em>&nbsp;us. Our forgiveness was granted at baptism; the power of sin in our lives was overcome by baptism into Christ's death, which destroyed the devil. Therefore anyone baptized into Christ is not a servant of sin, unless they leave Christ. Of course, we know that in practice we all keep on sinning. But our spiritual man is in Christ, God looks upon&nbsp;<em>that</em>&nbsp;side of us, not upon the devil within us. We cannot destroy the devil within us- his destruction is in death (<em><a href='B:520 6:23'>Rom 6:23</a></em>). That natural man cannot be made subject to God's word (<em><a href='B:520 8:7'>Rom 8:7</a></em>; <em><a href='B:550 5:17-18'>Gal 5:17-18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:660 3:8'>Jas 3:8</a></em>). What God requires is a growth in the spiritual man, living in a way of life which on balance shows that the new man is more fundamentally 'us' than the old man, and a 'putting off' or disassociation from the old man, of the type we see made by Paul in <em><a href='B:520 7:15-25'>Rom 7:15-25</a></em>. As God eagerly looks upon that new man within us, so we too should perceive the new man in our brethren. Too often extreme brethren look upon how bad the old man is in a brother, and how publicly he is manifested (e:g. in marital problems)- rather than assessing the new man, "the hidden man" which is surely to be found deep within all believers.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:1'>Eph 5:1</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Therefore, as beloved children, be imitators of God</em>- The understanding seems to be that a child will imitate the one who shows love. And experiments on babies raised in orphanages in Communist regimes observed the same- the carer perceived as showing love was imitated by the baby. The love we have been shown is in the gift of God's Son; it is the cross, therefore, which elicits imitation or (Greek) 'mimicking' of God:&nbsp;</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:2'>Eph 5:2</a></em>&nbsp;<em>And walk in love- just as Christ also loved us and gave himself up for us-&nbsp;</em>As noted on :1, our exposure to His love is the basis for imitating it, in the form of a life lived or walked in love. In His love is the ultimate motivation to love. Do we struggle to live the life of true love, to endure people, even our brethren; are we simply tired of people, and living the life of love towards them? Does the past exist within us as a constant fountain of bitterness and regret? “Let all bitterness, and wrath and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake the sake of His cross hath forgiven you::. walk in love,&nbsp;<em>as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us</em>" (<em><a href='B:560 4:31'>Eph 4:31</a></em> to <em><a href='B:560 5:2'>Eph 5:2</a></em>).</p><p><em>A fragrant offering and sacrifice to God-&nbsp;</em>The peace offering was to make a sweet savour. Through His death on the cross, the Lord was this: "Christ::. hath given himself for us an offering (a peace offering?) and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour" (<em><a href='B:560 5:2'>Eph 5:2</a></em>). If we are in Christ, then God will see us too as a sweet savour. And this is exactly what <em><a href='B:540 2:15'>2Co 2:15</a></em> says: "We are unto God a sweet savour of Christ". Yet we must fellowship His sufferings if we are in Him, really fellowship them. The peace offering was to have the fat and rump "taken off hard by the backbone" (<em><a href='B:30 3:9'>Lev 3:9</a></em>). The ruthless division of flesh and spirit within Christ (shown superbly in the way His wilderness temptations are recorded) must be seen in us too. We must ask if we are really taking off the fat hard by the backbone. Are we even prepared for the pain, the pain of self- knowledge and self denial which this will necessitate? For His love, His sacrifice, is not only counted to us but is to be ours.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:3'>Eph 5:3</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:60 23:7'>Jos 23:7</a></em>.</p><p><em>But fornication and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not even be named among you- as is appropriate among saints</em>- These terms are all elsewhere used about sexual immorality, particularly in the context of cult prostitution. There was a tendency to mix Christian worship with the prostitution of the surrounding cults, just as there is for any Christian convert to mix their new faith with previous concepts of religion. This was particularly a problem in Corinth but clearly it was also elsewhere in the first century.</p><p>We need to let passages like <em><a href='B:560 5:3-5'>Eph 5:3-5</a></em> have their full weight with us. Fornication, covetousness, all uncleanness should not be “named amongst us”, in the same way Israel were not to take even the names of the Gentile idols onto their lips (<em><a href='B:20 23:13'>Exo 23:13</a></em>) – “but rather giving of thanks”, knowing that those who do such things will not be in the Kingdom of God. The Exodus allusion suggests that idol worship with its associated sexual vices is what is in view in this passage, rather than young couples in love 'going too far'. A thankful attitude, thinking and speaking of those things with which we will eternally have to do, is to replace thinking and talking about all the things which shall not be our eternal sphere of thought in the Kingdom age. And yet our generation faces the temptation like none before it – to privately watch and read of those things, vicariously involved in them, whilst being under the illusion that we’re not actually doing them ourselves. For this is what the entertainment industry is based around.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:4'>Eph 5:4</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Nor filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor crude joking, which are not befitting saints; but rather the giving of thanks</em>- Paul always gives an antidote, a new channel into which to channel the energy which would otherwise be expended on the forbidden action. Paul's vision for personal transformation is remarkable; he envisages those accustomed to coarse language instead using words of praise.</p><p>According to the New Testament, having a spirit of true thankfulness to God&nbsp;<em>in all things</em>&nbsp;should help swamp our tendency to sinfulness; the concept of praising God in gratitude should get such a grip on our way of thinking that the thinking of the flesh is thereby suppressed. <em><a href='B:560 5:3-4'>Eph 5:3-4</a></em> states this in so many words. It reels off a list of forbidden sexual thoughts and actions; and then the antidote is stated: "Let (them) not once be named among you:::&nbsp;<em>but</em>&nbsp;<em>rather</em>&nbsp;giving of thanks". A few verses later the same medicine is prescribed; this time as the antidote to an unsaintly abuse of alcohol: "Be not drunk with wine:::&nbsp;<em>but</em>&nbsp;be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms::. singing and making melody in your heart::. giving thanks always for all things" (<em><a href='B:560 5:18-20'>Eph 5:18-20</a></em>). This is a laboured, triple emphasis on praise as being the antidote to drunkenness.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:5'>Eph 5:5</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For this you know for sure, that no fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God</em>- <em><a href='B:560 5:3-5'>Eph 5:3-5</a></em> has some surprises for the attentive reader; the black words on white paper have an uncanny power: "This ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person,&nbsp;<em>nor covetous man</em>, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ". It's easy to assume that the coveting is of a sexual nature. But frequently Paul reels off a list of spectacular sins and inserts in the list one or two issues we would consider rather common to all men and of a different order of failure. He does this to highlight the seriousness of those apparently lesser sins. The list of sexual perversions here are the sort of words we whisk past, in the relieved confidence that&nbsp;<em>they</em>&nbsp;don't apply to us. But covetousness is there listed as a carnal sin, along with sexual perversions. That's how bad it is. No one who is covetous will be in the Kingdom. And therefore it's hard for a rich man to be in the Kingdom. In fact, the Lord says, it's humanly impossible for a rich man to get there; it's only through God's gracious working to make it possible that it can happen, that a rich man will scrape into the Kingdom (<em><a href='B:470 19:23-26'>Mat 19:23-26</a></em>):&nbsp;<em>Every one of us has the elements of covetousness very close to the surface:&nbsp;</em>Materialism is perhaps the direct equivalent of idol worship under the old covenant. They were to not even desire “the silver and gold that is on them… for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God… thou shalt utterly detest it; and&nbsp;<em>thou</em>&nbsp;like God shalt utterly abhor it” (<em><a href='B:50 7:25-26'>Deu 7:25-26</a></em>). God despises idolatry; and we also must go a step beyond merely avoiding materialism; we must despise it.</p><p>"This you know for sure" suggests that this hard line against covetousness and idolatry was known by all Christian converts as part of their instruction in the Gospel. "The Kingdom of Christ and God" is an unusual phrase, as usually "the Kingdom of God" is spoken about. Perhaps the idea is that God's Kingdom is also going to be that of Christ, and He should therefore reign as King over His people, who should be devoted to being Christ-like.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:6'>Eph 5:6</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:470 24:4'>Mat 24:4</a></em>.</p><p><em>Let no one deceive you with empty words</em>- This would be appropriate to a warning to better control the platform and not allow false teachers to deceive the congregation with vain words, words lacking in or empty of the Spirit.</p><p><em>For because of these things comes the anger of God upon the sons of disobedience</em>- Those characterized by disobedience would surely refer to those who had heard the call to disobedience and refused it. The wrath of God is coming upon them in particular at judgment day. Paul may well have in view "the wrath to come" upon Israel in AD70 (<em><a href='B:490 3:7'>Luk 3:7</a></em>; <em><a href='B:590 1:10'>1Th 1:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:590 2:16'>1Th 2:16</a></em>). In this case, "the sons of disobedience" would be the Jews, and those claiming they would not be so judged would be Judaist false teachers, who clearly were the big problem for Paul's churches.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:7'>Eph 5:7</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Therefore do not associate with them</em>- Being "parkers" (AV) with those who are not Kingdom people is the opposite of being partakers in Christ (<em><a href='B:650 3:14'>Heb 3:14</a></em>) and of the Holy Spirit (<em><a href='B:650 6:4'>Heb 6:4</a></em>); we are partakers in the promised Holy Spirit (<em><a href='B:560 3:6'>Eph 3:6</a></em>). If we partake in Christ, then we partake in His Spirit. To partake in the spirit of the world is therefore impossible if we are partaking in His spirit. This contrast with the way of the Spirit would explain why in the AV, :9 starts talking about the Spirit as if this is in view in the context: "For the fruit of the Spirit::." (AV).</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:8'>Eph 5:8</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For you were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light</em>- This is another example of appealing for us to live in practice who we are by status. This is why Romans progresses from talking about imputed righteousness and our status in Christ, to the language of the Spirit actually transforming us in practice into who we are by status. Although the readership were not walking as children of light, yet Paul says that there were "now light in the Lord", and no longer in darkness. He surely refers to their status rather than actuality, and appeals for them to live according to the status they have been granted by grace. Likewise he says that every believer at Thessalonica was one of "the children of light" (<em><a href='B:590 5:5'>1Th 5:5</a></em>) when clearly there would have been some finally who were not. But they were counted that way by status.</p><p>At times it seems Paul&nbsp; 'unconsciously' uses a phrase from the parables, out of context, but as an indication that they were running through his mind (e:g. "children of light" in <em><a href='B:560 5:8'>Eph 5:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:590 5:5'>1Th 5:5</a></em> is quarried from <em><a href='B:490 16:8'>Luk 16:8</a></em>):&nbsp;</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:9'>Eph 5:9</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth</em>- Some manuscripts, followed by AV, read "the fruit of the Spirit". This may seem out of context, but I have argued on :7 that the entire argument here is an appeal for the Spirit rather than the flesh to be the dominant principle in Christian thought and behaviour. All kinds of goodness and truth are the fruit of the Spirit. A way of life is elicited by the Spirit / light. Light is not therefore merely correct understanding of some doctrinal points. Our participation in the Lord Jesus (:7) will elicit a life and thought pattern like his.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:10'>Eph 5:10</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Proving what is well-pleasing to the Lord</em>- "Proving" can mean 'experiencing'. I have argued on :7 and :9 that the context here is of the movement of the Spirit. The same Greek words for "proving" and "well-pleasing" / 'acceptable' are to be found in <em><a href='B:520 12:2'>Rom 12:2</a></em>: "Do not conform to the mould of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may experience s:w. "proving", <em><a href='B:560 5:10'>Eph 5:10</a></em>) what is the good and acceptable s:w. "well-pleasing", <em><a href='B:560 5:10'>Eph 5:10</a></em> and the perfect will of God". The renewing and transformation of the mind / spirit is the work of the Spirit gift which we accept at baptism into the Lord Jesus. Here in Ephesians Paul is asking us to allow the Spirit free course, to experience- for this is the way to transformation in practice, rather than by trying to force our flesh to change by steel willed self control.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:11'>Eph 5:11</a></em>&nbsp;<em>And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them</em>- "But rather reprove them" continues the theme so often seen in this section- of redirecting mental and spiritual energy from sin towards positive spirituality. Not sharing in the works of darkness is one thing; but enforcing our separation from wrong doing is of itself negative. The positive thing is to redirect that mere avoidance of sin into actually trying to save the sinners. Having written here of light and darkness (:8), perhaps Paul's mind is in <em><a href='B:500 3:20'>Joh 3:20</a></em>, which says that the light is what reproves. If we are of the light we will naturally reprove the darkness; so this is an appeal in another form to live as light. Verse 13 will make this point explicitly- it is the light which reproves. I have argued throughout this section that Paul is urging us to live the life of the Spirit rather than the flesh; and it is by the Comforter, the Holy Spirit within us, that we reprove the world of sin (<em><a href='B:500 16:8'>Joh 16:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:530 14:24'>1Co 14:24</a></em>).</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:12'>Eph 5:12</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret</em>- The sin of Ham in relation to Noah's drunkenness included the fact that he told his brothers about Noah's shame (<em><a href='B:10 9:22'>Gen 9:22</a></em>). This incident seems to be alluded to by Paul when he says that it is a shame to speak of what sinners do in secret. A large amount of the communication which would be called 'gossip' includes the communication of sinful things which would be better not entering the minds of saints in any case- one tends to gossip about a neighbour's adultery rather than his lost cat. So the appeal here is to rebuke such wrong behaviour- but directly to the person responsible, and not by way of gossip. Nothing of course is ultimately done "in secret", so as so often in the Bible, this is recorded from the mistaken perspective of the persons involved, without specific correction. The language of demons is another example.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:13'>Eph 5:13</a></em>&nbsp;<em>But all things when they are reproved are revealed by the light. For everything that is revealed then becomes light</em>- The day of judgment will be the ultimate bringing to light and manifesting of all supposedly hidden things (<em><a href='B:480 4:22'>Mar 4:22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:530 4:5'>1Co 4:5</a></em> s:w:). But we ahead of that time are used to reveal the hidden things; because light reveals, and we are the light of the world. But this is no call to become the Lord's forensic policemen, ever intent on uncovering the failings of others and constantly investigating vague hunches or conspiracy theories. Light reveals hidden things quite naturally; we as the light of the world by our nature and example will reveal and thereby reprove that which is in darkness. Likewise the revelation of human sin at the last day will largely be through the fact of sinners being in the personal presence of the Lord Jesus, just as happened during His ministry. His presence and personality of itself convicted people of their sins. The revelation of the hidden things in this life is so that those things revealed "then become light", i:e. that there is real change and transformation. The revelation of hidden things at the last day will be too late. And we have noted throughout this section that Paul envisages a radical transformation now of darkness to light; he who steals now gives to the needy, the curser instead utters words of grace etc.</p>


text:
<h4><em><a href='B:560 5:14'>Eph 5:14</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Therefore it is said: Awake, you that sleep, and arise from the dead and Christ shall shine upon you</em>- At baptism, we were "quickened together with Christ" (<em><a href='B:580 2:13'>Col 2:13</a></em>). But Paul wrote this to the baptized saints at Ephesus. As in Romans 6, he is asking them to live out in practice what they are by status. It is thought that Paul is quoting here from a first century baptism hymn; he is encouraging them to be as it were baptized again, spiritually, in coming to life in Christ. Note that the Ephesians were active in the outward work of the Truth (<em><a href='B:730 2:2-3'>Rev 2:2-3</a></em>); but their real spiritual man was asleep. The resurrection from the dead with Christ at baptism was by the work of the Spirit; the same Spirit that resurrected Him likewise gives us internal new life in the Spirit (<em><a href='B:520 8:11'>Rom 8:11</a></em>). That life will therefore have the Lord Jesus as the light, ever searching out our hidden things. After 'arising from the dead', the light of "Christ shall shine upon you". Paul has already prayed that the eyes of the Ephesians will be enlightened (<em><a href='B:560 1:18'>Eph 1:18</a></em>); he sees them as needing to arise with Christ and have His searching light shine upon them.</h4>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:15'>Eph 5:15</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Therefore, look carefully how you walk, not as the unwise but as the wise</em>- "Carefully" is better "diligently", and is the same word used about Apollos who was "diligent" or 'careful' in his faith at Ephesus, and would have been known to the initial readership (<em><a href='B:510 18:25'>Act 18:25</a></em>). Our way of life is not to simply left at a default position, as it is with most people. Life in Christ is to be consciously lived, examined and adjusted consciously. This is the true wisdom; the wise of this world are spiritually unwise, which thought provides yet another connection with the early chapters of Romans (<em><a href='B:520 1:14'>Rom 1:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:520 1:22'>Rom 1:22</a></em>). <em><a href='B:660 3:13'>Jas 3:13</a></em> likewise defines "the wise" as those who live in practice a spiritual life:&nbsp;</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:16'>Eph 5:16</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Redeeming the time, because the days are evil</em>- They should hurry up and make the changes Paul and their status in Christ require of them. In contexts regarding the evil of our surrounding world, Paul teaches us to 'redeem the time' (also <em><a href='B:580 4:5'>Col 4:5</a></em>). This is a word classically used of the market place, in the sense of 'buying up' while the opportunity is there. But it is used of how the Lord has redeemed us (<em><a href='B:550 3:13'>Gal 3:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:550 4:5'>Gal 4:5</a></em>). His redemption of us elicits a conscious redemption by us of our time, in His service. Yet the context demands that this pressing need to buy up time be understood in the light of the evil world around us. Is it not that Paul is saying 'Buy up all the opportunities to gain back time from this world', in the same spirit as he told slaves "If thou mayest be made free, use it rather" (<em><a href='B:530 7:21'>1Co 7:21</a></em>)? This means we shouldn't glorify the use of time for the necessary things of the world. If we&nbsp;<em>must</em>&nbsp;spend our time in the things of the world, as the NT slaves simply had to, then God will accept this as done in His service. But we shouldn't use this gracious concession to do all we can in the life of the world, justifying it by saying it is done 'unto the Lord'. This concession, in its context, only applies to those who by force of circumstances really must spend their time in the things of the world (<em><a href='B:560 6:5-7'>Eph 6:5-7</a></em>; <em><a href='B:530 10:31'>1Co 10:31</a></em>). We must "break up our fallow ground" (Heb. 'plough the unploughed'), analyse ourselves from outside ourselves, and use our time and our “all things” to the utmost of their potential (<em><a href='B:300 4:3'>Jer 4:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:350 10:12'>Hos 10:12</a></em>). We were created "unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (<em><a href='B:560 2:10'>Eph 2:10</a></em>); we were redeemed that we might be zealous of good works (<em><a href='B:630 2:14'>Tit 2:14</a></em>)- not that we might drift through life playing with our hobbies and with the fascinations of our careers.</p><p>"Because the days are evil" may be a reference to the day of evil coming upon the world in AD70, which Paul expected to be the second coming of the Lord Jesus. His idea would then be that because the Lord's coming draws near, we should therefore use our time the more wisely. <em><a href='B:580 4:5'>Col 4:5</a></em> parallels this passage by asking us to redeem our time in the context of walking wisely towards outsiders, and perhaps the idea is that we should use our time in witnessing to them the more intensely as we see time running out for this world.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:17'>Eph 5:17</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is</em>- Paul is asking baptized believers not to be foolish, but to be wise by understanding the Lord's will. The reference seems to be to the Lord's urging of those who know their Lord's will to prepare themselves for His return (<em><a href='B:490 12:47'>Luk 12:47</a></em>). The foolish servant was getting drunk rather than serving the Lord's extended family (<em><a href='B:490 12:43-45'>Luk 12:43-45</a></em>); and Paul goes on to speak of precisely those kinds of weaknesses (:18). We see here a call to seek understanding of what the Lord's will is for each of us personally, what specific service He hopes for in us and has potentially enabled; which good works He has "before ordained that we should walk in them" (<em><a href='B:560 2:10'>Eph 2:10</a></em>).</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:18'>Eph 5:18</a></em>&nbsp;<em>And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit</em>- Paul always offers an alternative to sinful behaviour, reflecting the Hebrew idea of 'holiness', which means both separation&nbsp;<em>from</em>&nbsp;sin and separation&nbsp;<em>unto</em>&nbsp;spiritual behaviour. Instead of alcoholism, being filled with hard spirits, we are to be filled with the Spirit. Remember he was writing to those already baptized, who had been given the Spirit at baptism. But we can be further filled with the Spirit, if we allow that to happen. The Greek&nbsp;<em>asotia</em>&nbsp;"debauchery" is literally 'not-saving'. Alcoholics can be saved; but the behaviours associated with alcoholism, as with any sin, are not the way to salvation. Filling with the Spirit is the answer to the alcoholic life, and has been witnessed many times in the transformation of alcoholics. Earlier in Ephesians we have read of being filled with God's fullness through the gift of the Spirit (<em><a href='B:560 1:23'>Eph 1:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 3:19'>Eph 3:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 4:10'>Eph 4:10</a></em>). This filling will as it were displace the alcoholic life- for a whole new vista of existence is opened up. Clearly there were alcoholics in the Ephesian church, and Paul doesn't advise their excommunication, but rather urges transformation by the Spirit. Paul was keen for others to copy John the Baptist, to find in him the inspiration which he too had found. So he encourages his Ephesians not to drink wine but instead be filled with the Spirit- the very language of John (<em><a href='B:490 1:15'>Luk 1:15</a></em>). In other words, 'Be like that Spirit-filled zealot John rather than enjoying the sloppy pleasures of this life'.</p><p>There are clear parallels between <em><a href='B:580 3:16'>Col 3:16</a></em> and <em><a href='B:560 5:18-19'>Eph 5:18-19</a></em>: "Let the&nbsp;word of Christ&nbsp;dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual&nbsp;songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord… but be&nbsp;filled with the&nbsp;Spirit;&nbsp;Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing&nbsp;and making melody in your heart to the Lord;&nbsp;Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name&nbsp;of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Clearly the&nbsp;<em>Word of Christ</em>&nbsp;is equated with being "<em>filled with the Spirit</em>":&nbsp;This is not to create a primitive, direct connection between 'word' and 'Spirit'. The word of Christ refers to the simple message that if we believe in Him, we shall be saved. And as a result, the Spirit of Christ fills our hearts (<em><a href='B:550 4:5'>Gal 4:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:550 4:8'>Gal 4:8</a></em>).</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:19'>Eph 5:19</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Speaking to one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart</em>- On :17 we detected reference to the parable of the servant who was to focus upon caring for others in the household rather than getting drunk. The opposite to the selfishness of alcohol abuse is to care for others; to be filled instead with the Spirit in order to speak to one another in spiritual terms. We noted on <em><a href='B:560 4:29'>Eph 4:29</a></em> and <em><a href='B:560 5:4'>Eph 5:4</a></em> that the antidote to swearing and blasphemy was to speak to the grace of others; it is our commitment to others which will motivate the changes required. This is exactly why we need the church, interaction with others and taking responsibility for assisting their spiritual path. And that should be precisely why we attend church or are involved with other believers- in order to contribute to them.</p><p>The Greek translated "to make melody" means 'to twitch or twang, i:e. to play on a stringed instrument' (Strong)- evidently it's a musical term. The implication is that we should so know our own heart and spend time in communion with our own mind that we know how to rouse our own feelings in praise. Such self-knowledge is a sure antidote to fleshly thinking. So by all means get into Christian music; “speaking to yourselves (a reference to self-talk? Although it likely means 'speaking to each other') in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (<em><a href='B:560 5:19'>Eph 5:19</a></em> AV).</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:20'>Eph 5:20</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ</em>- Gratitude is again cited as an antidote to the selfishness of alcoholism and other unspirituality. That gratitude is not to be occasional but "always and for everything", a worldview that is grateful for all things, praising in the heart (see on :19).</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:21'>Eph 5:21</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ</em>- Another help against alcoholism and the life of the flesh is to see the Christ in others. We will submit to others in that they too are representatives of the Lord Jesus. The carnal mind, from which arises alcoholism and all unspirituality, is not subject to the spirit of Christ (<em><a href='B:520 8:7'>Rom 8:7</a></em>); submission to Him means having His spirit within us, and so we will not be submissive to the mind of the flesh. <em><a href='B:530 15:28'>1Co 15:28</a></em> suggests that all things are undergoing a progressive process of submission to the Lord Jesus, and when this is achieved, then the Lord Jesus will be enthroned fully in glory. This could mean that when the body of Christ is sufficiently submissive to Him, when spiritual fruit is ready for harvest, then He will come. And whilst the number of true believers appears to be in decline in the world, it would seem that true spirituality amongst them is on the increase. "All things" have been submitted under the Lord Jesus (<em><a href='B:560 1:22'>Eph 1:22</a></em> s:w:), but we are to live this out in practice by submission to Him in our minds and living. <em><a href='B:650 2:8'>Heb 2:8</a></em> uses the same word in explaining that God has indeed&nbsp; "put all things in subjection under His feet::. but now we see not yet all things subjected under Him".</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:22'>Eph 5:22</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Wives, submit to your husbands, as to the Lord</em>- This is a specific example of the principle of :21; we should submit to all in the Lord's body "out of reverence for Christ", because each member represents Him. Women were to see in their husbands the representation of the Lord Jesus, just as all members of the church were to see it in each other. Perhaps Paul particularly mentions the case of women because there may have been a tendency in Ephesus for women not to respect their believing husbands.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:23'>Eph 5:23</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For the husband is the head of the wife and Christ is the head of the church- himself being the saviour of the body</em>- The general principle of submission to each other in Christ, which includes men to women in Christ, doesn't mean that the woman is not to regard the believing husband as not being "the head". But Paul carefully balances against abuse of this by emphasizing that it is Christ who is Himself the saviour of all his body. The husband is not the saviour, but is of course to manifest that passion for salvation to his wife.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:24'>Eph 5:24</a></em>&nbsp;<em>But as the church is subject to Christ, so the wives should also be to their husbands in everything</em>- The AV adds, following other manuscripts, "to their&nbsp;<em>own</em>&nbsp;husbands", as if there was a tendency for women to be subject to other men or teachers, instead of their husbands. This subjection to the husband is in response to his attempt to love the wife with the self-sacrificial love of the Lord Jesus for us all (:25). Perceiving any realistic attempt at emulating that should elicit respect and submission in that the woman perceives that the husband's game plan and intention is her salvation. These principles therefore apply only to man and woman in Christ; there is no suggestion here that males&nbsp;<em>per se</em>&nbsp;are to be submitted to by females simply by reason of their gender.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:25'>Eph 5:25</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:550 2:20'>Gal 2:20</a></em>.</p><p><em>Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for it</em>- The Greek for “gave himself" is mainly used of the Lord Jesus giving up the spirit to the Father. We have shown elsewhere that His death was as an act of the will, He gave up His life rather than it being taken away from Him. This matchless peak of self-control and self-giving for us must somehow be replicated in the humdrum of daily domestic relationships. No wonder therefore that Paul urges the wife to respond to the husband's attempt to reach this level with respect and submission.</p><p>The Lord carried our sins "<em>that&nbsp;</em>we, being dead to sin, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes (Gk. wheals- Peter saw them) you were healed" (<em><a href='B:670 2:24'>1Pe 2:24</a></em>). The husband should love his wife, "even as Christ also the church; because we are members of his body" (<em><a href='B:560 5:30'>Eph 5:30</a></em> RV). Jesus loved us as much as He loves Himself; He "cannot be separated from the work which He came to do" (R:R:). He saved Himself so as to save us. And this isn't just atonement theology- this is to be lived out in married life. As Christ died for us and gave up His last breath for us, so as a supreme act of the will, the husband must give up his life for his woman. And she can only but respond to this. These are high ideals. But the very height of them can transform human life in practice.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:26'>Eph 5:26</a></em>&nbsp;<em>That he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word</em>- The allusion is to the laver, the large bath in which the priests washed in order to be sanctified and able to serve in the tabernacle. The Lord's death was to purify us so that we might serve; and the thoughtful love of the husband for the wife is likewise aimed at providing her opportunities to serve. There is clearly an allusion to baptism; the Lord died so that we might be washed in baptism, so that we might be sanctified and thereby ready for His usage, prepared unto all good works (<em><a href='B:620 2:21'>2Ti 2:21</a></em>). This guiding of the wife into the Lord's service is part of a husband's love for his believing wife.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:27'>Eph 5:27</a></em>&nbsp;<em>That he might present the church to himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and blameless</em>- "To Himself" suggests that indeed beauty is in the eye of the beholder; the Lord Jesus aims through His love, death and work with us to present the church without spot in His eyes. The final salvation of the wife is likewise to be the husband's aim. And in that process, despite the wrinkles of passing years, he will come to see his wife increasingly as "without spot". This is the very opposite direction to the thrust and direction of secular relationships, in which men tend to hanker after the young and physically unwrinkled. In Christ, there comes an increasing respect and positive view of our partners, matched by increasing respect on the part of the wife. This dynamism and growth in perception and respect ought to be the hallmark of true Christian marriage.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:28'>Eph 5:28</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Thus husbands ought also to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loves his own wife loves himself</em>- This and :29 are not an appeal to selfishness, as if men ought to love their wives because actually they are loving themselves by so doing. The Lord Jesus joins together husband and wife as one flesh (:21). The husband who is willingly part of this process will therefore not separate his own agendas and aims from those of his wife. Love of the partner becomes love of self in that the two are joined as one by the Lord's process of binding the two parties together.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:29'>Eph 5:29</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:520 6:19'>Rom 6:19</a></em>.</p><p><em>For no one ever hated his own flesh but nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ also the church</em>- See on :28. There is of course self harm and self hatred especially in our mixed up world. But the idea that nobody hates themselves was common in the classical writers. Curtius, “<em>Corporibus nostris quoe utique non odimus</em>” - “We do not hate those things that pertain to our own bodies”; Seneca “<em>Fateor insitam nobis esse corporis nostri charitatem</em>” - “I confess that there is implanted in us the love of our own body". It could be that Paul is alluding to these ideas, not completely correct as they are, and building an argument upon them. The Bible is unafraid to do this, without footnoting, as it were, that there is an error in the original idea. The usage of the language of demons is typical. But another option in interpretation arises from considering that "hated" can mean 'to love less', as in <em><a href='B:490 14:26'>Luk 14:26</a></em>. The Lord Jesus did not love us less than himself, and neither should the husband love his wife less than himself. The Lord's personal salvation was tied up in ours; as Robert Roberts put it, His death was "for Himself that it might be for us". And the husband's salvation likewise. The unity between man and woman is such that he will not separate his salvation from that of his wife. They are on the journey together. Hence "flesh" is used instead of "body" because of the allusion to God's joining of man and woman as one flesh (<em><a href='B:10 2:23'>Gen 2:23</a></em>). Nourishing and cherishing refer to nurturing with a view to growth (<em><a href='B:560 6:4'>Eph 6:4</a></em>; <em><a href='B:590 2:7'>1Th 2:7</a></em>). This nourishing is provided by the Lord to the body in the form of the Spirit, which is administered through the various members of the body (<em><a href='B:560 4:16'>Eph 4:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:580 2:19'>Col 2:19</a></em>). And so likewise the husband should be the spiritual nourishment for his wife; but each member of the body should be likewise for the others, including the wife for the husband.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:30'>Eph 5:30</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Because we are members of his body</em>- The man represents Christ, and the woman the ecclesia. But the ecclesia, all of it,&nbsp;<em>is</em>&nbsp;the body of Christ; so in this sense husbands should love their wives "as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh" (<em><a href='B:560 5:28-29'>Eph 5:28-29</a></em>). The more we appreciate the strength and power of typology, the more we will realize the spiritual unity which there should be between brethren and sisters. The physical body of Christ is not divided- there is only one Jesus in Heaven. If brethren represent Christ and sisters typify His body, then there should be no division- either between husbands and wives, or amongst brethren and sisters within Christ's body. Thus marriage breakdowns and internal ecclesial strife are equally wrong- they both spoil the typology presented in Ephesians 5. They effectively tear Christ's body apart, as men tried to do on the cross. We say&nbsp;tried to" because ultimately Christ's body is indivisible- in the same way as in a sense His body was "broken" (as it is by division in the body), whilst in another sense it remained unbroken, in God's sight. Likewise, the ecclesial body in God's sight is even now not divided- we are one in Christ.</p><p>The figure of&nbsp;<em>being</em>&nbsp;somebody's body could not be more intense and personal, indeed it almost alludes to the sex act itself. You touch your own body, feel your bones beneath your flesh- that's fundamentally&nbsp;<em>you</em>. Whilst of course Christ does have a separate bodily existence, we are fundamentally Christ. Without us and our sin, Christ would not have come into existence, nor would He now exist. Joseph’s brothers said: "He is our brother and our flesh" (<em><a href='B:10 37:27'>Gen 37:27</a></em>). And some manuscripts here add: "We are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones" (<em><a href='B:560 5:30'>Eph 5:30</a></em> AV).</p>


text:
<h4><em><a href='B:560 5:31'>Eph 5:31</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh</em>- "For this cause" is hard to interpret. Because of what? Does Paul mean that the whole marriage and bonding process is to teach us of our personally becoming one with the Lord Jesus? The special psychological bonding which is given by God whereby two persons become one, over time, therefore points to the work of the Spirit in the life of the individual who is attached to Christ. And as there must be a leaving of the family of origin, so there is to be a leaving of previous spiritual associations. That point had to be emphasized to the new converts to whom Paul wrote, be they from paganism or Judaism.</h4><p>The radical value attached to every individual in Christ is brought out especially by the New Testament teaching about family life. There were many pagan 'household codes', which basically exhorted the slaves, children and women to be subordinate to the male leaders of the family. Paul frames his family teaching in exactly the terms of these 'household codes' in order to bring out the significant differences between God's way and the way of society in this vital area. The fact Paul and Peter in their 'household codes' speak of the head of the house being submissive and having responsibilities to love, as an act of the will, was quite radical. But those male leaders had to learn that in Christ, everyone matters, and people can't be treated by their brethren as they are by society generally, as nothing and nobody, mere cogs in a machine. The&nbsp;<em>familia</em>, or extended family in contemporary thought, was of itself devaluing to persons. A woman married into her husband's extended family, and effectively lost so much of her uniqueness as an individual- indeed women were so often treated as faceless. But Paul teaches, on the sure foundation of Genesis, that a man should&nbsp;<em>leave</em>&nbsp;his parents and&nbsp;<em>cleave</em>&nbsp;to his wife (<em><a href='B:560 5:31'>Eph 5:31</a></em>). This was far more radical than may now appear. The man was being taught that merely perpetuating the extended family, using the woman you received in your arranged marriage in order to continue and expand the family, was not in fact God's way. He was to&nbsp;<em>leave</em>&nbsp;that extended family mindset and personally&nbsp;<em>cleave</em>&nbsp;to his wife in love- love which was an act of the will. He was to start a new family unity; to love his&nbsp;<em>wife</em>&nbsp;rather than his extended family "as himself". Likewise fathers are told to bring their children up in the instruction of the Lord Jesus (<em><a href='B:560 6:4'>Eph 6:4</a></em>)- when the task of training up children was left to the women, older children and slaves (especially the&nbsp;<em>paidagogos</em>) in the extended family. The value of persons implicit here was thus a call to be essentially creative, independent, perceiving the personal rather collectively-imposed value in both oneself and others in ones' family.</p><p>“God hath&nbsp;<em>tempered</em>&nbsp;the (ecclesial) body together::. that there should be no schism in the body" (<em><a href='B:530 12:24-25'>1Co 12:24-25</a></em> AV) uses a related word as in <em><a href='B:560 5:31'>Eph 5:31</a></em> concerning how a man "shall be&nbsp;<em>joined</em>&nbsp;unto his wife::. I speak concerning Christ and the church". Because both man and woman ultimately represent Christ, there should be no schism between either believers, nor husbands and wives:&nbsp;Husbands and wives become "one flesh". But "flesh" is almost equivalent to "body" (see <em><a href='B:560 2:15-16'>Eph 2:15-16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:580 1:22'>Col 1:22</a></em>)- their union of "one flesh" is parallel to the union of the “one body" within the ecclesia. &nbsp;We should all be "perfectly&nbsp;<em>joined</em>&nbsp;together (marriage language) in the same mind" (<em><a href='B:530 1:10'>1Co 1:10</a></em>). Recall how “Israel&nbsp;<em>joined</em>&nbsp;himself unto Baalpeor" (<em><a href='B:40 25:3'>Num 25:3</a></em>) in a sexual context. <em><a href='B:350 9:10'>Hos 9:10</a></em> comments on this as meaning that Israel "Separated themselves unto" Baalpeor. We cannot be 'joined to' something unless we are 'separated from' something else. If we are truly joined to Christ and each other, we&nbsp;<em>must</em>&nbsp;be separated from idolatry. It is impossible to experience this 'joining' with believers who are not 'separated'- one cannot be 'joined' in intercourse to more than one person. We&nbsp;<em>cannot</em>&nbsp;serve two masters without&nbsp;<em>hating</em>&nbsp;God.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:32'>Eph 5:32</a></em>&nbsp;<em>This mystery is great, but I speak in regard of Christ and of the church</em>- The idea of "mystery" has been used earlier in Ephesians concerning the strange and profound unity possible between Jew and Gentile in Christ. The idea of two becoming one has been used earlier about the unity of Jew and Gentile in the body of Christ, the church. The bond between persons enabled by the Spirit is indeed a mystery which has now been exhibited in practice. This is why the Lord in John 17 spoke of the unity which His sacrifice would enable as something new, unique and powerfully persuasive as a witness in this world. The connection with the language of Jew-Gentile unity is to make the point as noted on :31- that unity within the church is to be reflected between believing partners.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 5:33'>Eph 5:33</a></em>&nbsp;<em>However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband</em>- The simple practical point is that the love of the husband for the wife, after the pattern of the Lord's love for the church on the cross, is to elicit respect from the wife to the husband. This addresses the female need for love and the male need for respect- and it all reflects the far higher level of the Lord's love for us and our submission towards Him.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 6:1'>Eph 6:1</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Children, obey your parents in the Lord. For this is right</em>- Given the predominance of slaves, children and women in the early churches, we are to imagine the house church meetings with plenty of women, nursing mothers, kids running everywhere. <em><a href='B:560 6:1'>Eph 6:1</a></em> and <em><a href='B:580 3:20'>Col 3:20</a></em> seem to suppose that children would be present at the church gatherings and would listen attentively to what was said. But "in the Lord" may mean that this obedience is not simply because parents are parents. It could be a continuation of the theme of respect for the sake of being "in Christ" which was developed at the end of chapter 5. Believing children should obey their parents "in the Lord"; or perhaps, for the sake of the fact that they are "in the Lord", seeing them as the manifestation of the Lord Jesus. The whole passage in <em><a href='B:560 6:1-3'>Eph 6:1-3</a></em> is a strange allusion to Jacob; " Jacob obeyed his father and his mother" (<em><a href='B:10 28:7'>Gen 28:7</a></em>) by going to Padan Aram (actually he fled there, but the record frames it as if he did so purely out of obedience to his parents and from a desire to find a wife in the Faith). Because Jacob did this, God promised him at Bethel that it would&nbsp;<em>be well</em>&nbsp;with him (<em><a href='B:10 32:9'>Gen 32:9</a></em> = "that it may be well with you", <em><a href='B:560 6:3'>Eph 6:3</a></em>), and he too was given the Abrahamic promises of living long on the earth&nbsp; / land (= "the::. commandment with promise", <em><a href='B:560 6:2'>Eph 6:2</a></em>). Thus Jacob's fleeing to Padan Aram is seen by the Spirit in Paul as a righteous act of obedience to faithful parents, which resulted in him receiving the promises. And yet his flight was rooted in fear, and at the time he did not accept the promises as relevant to him, neither did he believe Yahweh was his God (<em><a href='B:10 28:20'>Gen 28:20</a></em>). And yet the positive side of Jacob (i:e. his obedience to his parents) is seized on and held up as our example.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 6:2'>Eph 6:2</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Honour your father and mother (which is the first commandment with promise)</em>- See on :1. Paul clearly saw "the promise" of the old covenant as being the hope of the new covenant; the hope of the promises made to the Jewish fathers was the Christian hope, as Paul so clearly stated at his trials. This involves eternal possession of a glorified earth- and not going to Heaven on death as an immortal soul.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 6:3'>Eph 6:3</a></em>&nbsp;<em>That it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth</em>- The promise of 'long life' now means eternal life in God's Kingdom on earth. "Well" is the equivalent of the promise that "it may go well with you" (<em><a href='B:50 5:16'>Deu 5:16</a></em>). The same Hebrew word is used of the blessing of Abraham to be received in the land of promise (<em><a href='B:10 32:9'>Gen 32:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:10 32:12'>Gen 32:12</a></em>). Again, the promises to Abraham are seen as the basis of the Christian hope (<em><a href='B:550 3:8'>Gal 3:8</a></em>).</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 6:4'>Eph 6:4</a></em> - see on <em><a href='B:560 5:31'>Eph 5:31</a></em>.</p><p><em>And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger; but nurture them in the training and instruction of the Lord</em>- This confirms that the parents and children in view are "in the Lord". The balance within the verse suggests that the opposite of nurturing in the Lord is to provoke them to anger, perhaps referring to anger at a later stage in the child's life. "Nurture",&nbsp;<em>paideia</em>, is literally 'education' or 'training'. The idea is that the Lord Jesus should educate our children; in the sense that we are to allow Him to operate through us in training them. We are to be the Lord Jesus in training our children; if we do not show them Him then we are not Him to them. We are to provide this nurture; Sunday School or church programs for kids are all very well, but the essential responsibility is with the parent. And any "admonition" is to be from the Lord, and not therefore motivated by a flash of anger or frustration.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 6:5'>Eph 6:5</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Servants, be obedient to those that according to the flesh are your masters, with respect and fear, in singleness of your heart, as if to Christ</em>- As with the commands about parents, children and marital partners, this would seem to apply to servants and masters within the church. As we each manifest the Lord Jesus because we are in Him, so servants should perceive the Christ in their believing masters. Seeing the Christ in others is what can so elevate and transform human relationships, including the difficult ones, such as between believing master and believing slave. The believing slave would have been sorely tempted to despise their believing masters, considering that really they should release them from slavery and shouldn't even be involved in slavery in the first place. To respect those who are not living as they might in Christ is hard indeed, but again, it is because they are "in Christ" that we can find the sort of respect for them which Paul found even for the Corinthians.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 6:6'>Eph 6:6</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Not in the way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers; but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart</em>- Whether or not the master was in Christ, the slave was allowed to serve them as if serving Christ. All the wonderful ideals of serving the Lord Jesus in works, such as evangelism and caring for others, would have seemed unrealistic for those who were slaves. They had no freedom nor ownership even of their bodies. With what relief they would have read that their secular service could be accepted as service to the Lord. This is a comfort likewise today to those who are effectively in slavery, working on minimum wage and paying high rent and taxes. It can all be accepted as done unto the Lord, and therefore is not to be done as work done just when the master is watching "eyeservice", but knowing that the Heavenly Master is watching at all times, and we are pleasing Him and not men. Slaves could also reflect that their position and labour was "the will of God". By obeying the will of their masters, they were obeying the will of God. But we need to be aware that many masters asked their slaves to perform immoral deeds, especially sexually. Paul does not call for rebellion against such masters, which would likely have resulted in mutilation or death. And yet the Bible is clear that we should be obedient to men only insofar as we are not thereby disobedient to our Master in Heaven, Peter's example with regard to preaching being perhaps the clearest. The fact the question is not directly addressed is surely because we are to this day left with many such nuanced situations, where principles appear to be in conflict, and it is not the case that not following the highest path shall lead to the Lord's rejection.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 6:7'>Eph 6:7</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Giving service with a good will, as if to the Lord and not to man</em>- "Giving service" is literally 'being in bondage'. We are His slaves, and the force of that metaphor should not be lost upon us. The depth of that servitude should mean that our 'slavery' in secular things is not significant, compared to our deep sense of bondage to the Lord. He is our exclusive Lord, and so any human servitude is to be performed as unto Him.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 6:8'>Eph 6:8</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Knowing that whatever good thing each one does, the same shall he receive in return from the Lord, whether he be slave or free</em>- The 'receiving in return' is at judgment day; the same word is used of our 'receiving' a reward in response to life lived today. Not in this life, when the righteous often suffer for their goodness:&nbsp;<em>Every</em>good deed will then have its recognition. "Each one" again encourages us that we are taken notice of as individuals; the slaves, who probably rarely attended church meetings, may have felt that they were somehow insignificant to the Lord. Paul is encouraging them that every act of service performed in their secular lives- yes, every errand run and meal prepared- could be accepted as service to the Lord and would be rewarded at judgment day. Our status as slave or free will not be significant:&nbsp;</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 6:9'>Eph 6:9</a></em>&nbsp;<em>And you, masters, do the same things to them, and stop your threatening; knowing that he who is both their master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him</em>- "The same things" refers to the good things of :8. For masters to do good to slaves was a paradigm breaking idea in the first century world, where a slave was not considered a person but a machine. Clearly it is believing masters who are being addressed here, and some of them practiced "threatening"; quite against the spirit of their Lord who when He suffered, "threatened not" (<em><a href='B:670 2:23'>1Pe 2:23</a></em> s:w:). Masters were to realize that they too are in slavery- to the Lord Jesus. He will not take account of someone's social status in His judgments of people- "there is no partiality with Him" matches the comment in :8, "whether he be slave or free". Surely nobody actually said in so many words that the Lord took account of their higher social status; but in their hearts they assumed this, and so Paul directly tackles that attitude. I noted on <em><a href='B:560 5:32'>Eph 5:32</a></em> that Paul uses the same principles about the unity of Jew and Gentile to reason that husband and wife are to be united in Christ. Here too, "there is no partiality with the Lord" is used both about the unity between Jew and Gentile (<em><a href='B:520 2:11'>Rom 2:11</a></em>) and now here about the essential unity between master and slave in Christ. Paul is teaching far more than that masters and slaves should be civil, reasonable and tolerant towards each other; but beyond that, they were in fact united together as one in Christ. This is the result of baptism into the same Lord (<em><a href='B:550 3:27-29'>Gal 3:27-29</a></em>).</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 6:10'>Eph 6:10</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might</em>- Here we have the two aspects brought together: human endeavour meshed with the Lord's activity. We are to be strong, but in His strength. The strength of the Lord's might clearly refers to His Spirit. We are strengthened with His might (<em><a href='B:560 1:19'>Eph 1:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:580 1:11'>Col 1:11</a></em>), and that strengthening is by the might of His Spirit in the inner man (<em><a href='B:560 3:16'>Eph 3:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 3:20'>Eph 3:20</a></em> s:w:). The strengthening envisaged is therefore internal, psychological strengthening. But we must wish for it- this will not happen against our will. We must seek to be strong in the Lord, putting on the armour (:11), and will be strengthened by this internal Spirit strengthening.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 6:11'>Eph 6:11</a></em>&nbsp;<em>Put on the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil</em>- Having spoken of the strengthening of the Spirit in :10, we are reminded that we must seek that strengthening; we must put on the armour. Our battle is essentially spiritual (:12), and so we need the armour of the Spirit. It is the Spirit which will empower us against temptation, but we must seek to put it on. See on :12.</p>


text:
<p><em><a href='B:560 6:12'>Eph 6:12</a></em>&nbsp;<em>For we do not wrestle only against flesh and blood, but also against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies</em>- At least three possible interpretations present themselves. The language is partly relevant to Angels; yet also to the Judaizers and also to the Roman authorities. Those three possibilities can mesh with each other. Paul is writing in Jewish terms to a group under the influence of Judaizers and Jewish thinking. The Old Testament presents the world as under the control of Angels, with each power group having Angelic representatives in the court of Heaven. For "spirits" see on <em><a href='B:340 10:20-21'>Dan 10:20-21</a></em>. Paul sees the Christian conflict as not only against their own flesh and blood, or even against individual humans; but against systems of wickedness, both Judaist and Roman. Both groups were involved because the Jews were seeking to use Roman power and litigation to destroy the Christians, just as they had in the crucifixion of the Lord. And yet Paul frames the conflict in terms of Angels because he sees great comfort in the fact that all situations on earth are allowed by Angelic control, and God is not unaware of the earthly situation. We find this kind of approach commonly used in Revelation. Here, the "principalities and powers" can refer therefore both to literal Angels and to those they represent in the Roman system; the wicked spirits in heavenlies can refer to Judaizers within the church as well as to their representatives in the throne room of Heaven.</p><p>As regards common misunderstanding of this passages, note that the world is under God’s control, not that of evil beings in heaven (<em><a href='B:340 4:32'>Dan 4:32</a></em>). “All power” in heaven and in earth has been given to Jesus (<em><a href='B:470 28:18'>Mat 28:18</a></em>) by God (<em><a href='B:730 3:21'>Rev 3:21</a></em>; <em><a href='B:490 22:29'>Luk 22:29</a></em>), so it cannot also be possessed by wicked beings in heaven. There can be no sinful being in Heaven itself (<em><a href='B:230 5:4-5'>Psa 5:4-5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:420 1:13'>Hab 1:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:470 6:10'>Mat 6:10</a></em>). There is much figurative language in vv. 11–17 – the armour of the Christian is figurative, as is the wrestling, seeing that “the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men” (<em><a href='B:620 2:24'>2Ti 2:24</a></em>); v. 12 should be similarly interpreted. If the “Devil” was cast out of heaven in Eden, how could he and his followers still have been in the literal heavens in Paul’s time?</p><p>The same phrase "Principalities and powers" is used in <em><a href='B:580 2:15'>Col 2:15</a></em> concerning the Angels who gave the Law. The phrase "wiles" (:11) is only used again in <em><a href='B:560 4:14'>Eph 4:14</a></em> ("Lie in wait") regarding the Judaizer-devil circulating false doctrine. The rulers of the Jewish heavenlies were both literal Angels and the Judaizers whom they represented in the court of Heaven. <em><a href='B:560 6:13'>Eph 6:13</a></em> warns of a forthcoming battle: "Take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day"- the spiritual battle between the Law of Moses and that of Christ which is detailed in Revelation 12. Paul could see that in the final conflict against the Judaizers, he would need courage to speak out as he should: "Pray::. for me::. that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the Gospel" (v. 19)- a phrase often used in connection with Gentiles and Jews having equal standing with God through Christ.</p><h4>The Greek for "wrestle" in <em><a href='B:560 6:12'>Eph 6:12</a></em> is the same word as "cast out" in Revelation 12. The battle of the Christians then was not to cast out men- "we wrestle not against flesh and blood". This is a real difficulty for any 'explanation of difficult passages' that tries to make this refer to human rulers alone. It was the Jewish devil that needed casting out, and the Angel principalities and powers which co-ordinated it. There is no doubt that "principalities and powers" does also refer to Jewish and Roman authorities (<em><a href='B:490 12:11'>Luk 12:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:490 20:20'>Luk 20:20</a></em>; <em><a href='B:470 7:29'>Mat 7:29</a></em> etc). This is to be expected once we understand that the devil and satan of the New Testament often refers to both Jewish and Roman systems and the Angels behind them. Remember that the Angels rule the world. God's system of manifestation remains constant. In the same way as the "pattern of things in the Heavens" in the Angelic organization there was repeated on earth through the organization of the tabernacle and the&nbsp;<em>elohim</em>&nbsp;of Israel's judges and priests, so that Heavenly system is maybe also reflected through the judges and leaders of the world, every one of whom is controlled by an Angel. Hence the identical language used for both Angels and worldly rulers- in the same way as&nbsp;Angel-Cherubim language is used concerning both Angels and earthly armies, e:g. of Babylonians, who fulfilled their will.</h4><p>This passage seems a footnote to the epistle: "Finally, my brethren::." (v. 10). This is similar to the footnotes begun in <em><a href='B:570 3:1'>Phi 3:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:550 6:12'>Gal 6:12</a></em> and <em><a href='B:610 6:20'>1Ti 6:20</a></em>, all of which warn against the Judaizers - indicating the immense importance Paul attached to the coming struggle with the "Principalities and powers”.</p><p>The context is set in v. 13. The preparation was to be because the church was facing “the evil day”. This refers to a period of especial persecution of the church, which was to come at the hands of the Romans, seeing they were the only people with enough power to create an “evil day” for the Christian church at the time Paul was writing. (<em><a href='B:670 4:12'>1Pe 4:12</a></em>; <em><a href='B:670 5:8-9'>1Pe 5:8-9</a></em>). The wrestling was against “the rulers of this dark world”, who at the time were the Romans. Note that the wrestling is spiritual wrestling to keep the faith (<em><a href='B:540 10:3-5'>2Co 10:3-5</a></em>). This time of evil had already begun as Paul was writing (<em><a href='B:560 5:16'>Eph 5:16</a></em>) – “the days are evil’. “Principalities” is translated “magistrate” in <em><a href='B:490 12:11'>Luk 12:11</a></em>; human “rule”, in the sense of human government, in <em><a href='B:530 15:24'>1Co 15:24</a></em>, and the “power” of the Roman governor in <em><a href='B:490 20:20'>Luk 20:20</a></em>. So it does not necessarily have reference to any power or prince in heaven. “Powers” is translated as the “authority” of the Roman governor in <em><a href='B:490 20:20'>Luk 20:20</a></em>, and regarding one having “authority” in <em><a href='B:470 7:29'>Mat 7:29</a></em>. We must “be subject to principalities and powers” (<em><a href='B:630 3:1'>Tit 3:1</a></em>) in the sense of earthly governments, insofar as they do not ask us to do things which are contrary to the law of God (<em><a href='B:510 5:29'>Act 5:29</a></em>; <em><a href='B:510 4:19'>Act 4:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:470 19:17'>Mat 19:17</a></em>). If “principalities and powers” are evil beings in heaven whom we must resist, why are we told to be subject to them? If we accept that they refer to human governors and authorities, then this is easily understandable. “Heavenly places” may also refer to positions of authority in the secular world. Thus the king of Babylon was a figurative “star” in heaven (<em><a href='B:290 14:12'>Isa 14:12</a></em>), i:e. a great ruler. Jesus is the “sun” (<em><a href='B:460 4:2'>Mal 4:2</a></em>), the saints are the “stars” (<em><a href='B:340 12:3'>Dan 12:3</a></em>) of the future order. The present “heavens” of man will be replaced by the new Heavens when the Kingdom is established on the earth (<em><a href='B:680 3:13'>2Pe 3:13</a></em>), i:e. the positions of power and rulership, now in the hands of sinful men, will be handed over to the true Christians. The saints of the Most High shall possess the kingdoms of men (<em><a href='B:340 7:27'>Dan 7:27</a></em>). Thus wicked spirits in the “heavens” could refer to men of wicked minds in places of power in the world who were persecuting the Christians.</p><p>“Wicked spirituals in high (heavenly) places” does not refer to wicked beings in heaven itself. The exalted position of the true believers in Christ is described as being “in heavenly places in Christ” (<em><a href='B:560 2:6'>Eph 2:6</a></em>). “Spirituals” can be used to describe those in the church who had the gift of the spirit; having given a list of commands as to how the gifts of the spirit should be used, Paul concludes: “If any man (in the church) think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual (i:e. spiritually gifted, see N:I:V:), let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord” (<em><a href='B:530 14:37'>1Co 14:37</a></em>). 1 Corinthians 14 shows there was a big problem in the church of believers misusing the spirit gifts. <em><a href='B:650 6:4-6'>Heb 6:4-6</a></em> describes some Jewish Christians in the first century who had the gift of the spirit, but who were leading the church away from true Christianity by their attitude. These would be a prime example of wicked spirituals in the heavenlies (i:e. in the church). The temple and ark are sometimes referred to as the heavens (<em><a href='B:100 15:25'>2Sa 15:25</a></em>, cp. <em><a href='B:110 8:30'>1Ki 8:30</a></em>; <em><a href='B:140 30:27'>2Ch 30:27</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 20:2'>Psa 20:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 20:6'>Psa 20:6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 11:4'>Psa 11:4</a></em>; <em><a href='B:650 7:26'>Heb 7:26</a></em>). The church is the new temple. In the same way as wicked people could be in the temple, so, too, they could be in the heavenlies of the church. Possession of the Spirit did not mean that someone was necessarily acceptable in God’s sight, e:g. Saul possessed it for a time (<em><a href='B:90 10:10'>1Sa 10:10</a></em>) as did the judges of Israel (<em><a href='B:40 11:17'>Num 11:17</a></em>) although they were not righteous; they did not believe the report of Joshua and Caleb and therefore were condemned to die like the other Israelites, despite their having the Spirit – <em><a href='B:230 82:1-7'>Psa 82:1-7</a></em> says as much. For a period the churches of Revelation 2, 3 possessed the gifts despite their errors, until eventually their candlestick was removed (cp. <em><a href='B:510 20:28-29'>Act 20:28-29</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 4:11'>Eph 4:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:730 2:5'>Rev 2:5</a></em>). Thus the wicked spirits in the heavenlies were apostate Christians within the church, in league with the Judaists, leading the church into an “evil day” of temptation.</p><p>Thus the threat to the church was twofold: from the Roman/Jewish persecution and from the (often Judaist) “false apostles” (<em><a href='B:540 11:13'>2Co 11:13</a></em>) within. Remember <em><a href='B:560 6:11-13'>Eph 6:11-13</a></em> was written to the church at Ephesus. Paul had previously warned them about this threat from within: “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (<em><a href='B:510 20:29-30'>Act 20:29-30</a></em>). Rotherham’s translation brings this out well: “Our struggle is against the principalities against the authorities against the world – rulers of this darkness, AND against spiritual wickedness in heavenlies”.</p><p>It is possible to still interpret “the Devil” in v. 11, as having a certain degree of reference to the “Jewish Satan”. The “Heavenly places” of v. 12 may refer to the Jewish heavenlies; 2 Peter 3 and <em><a href='B:50 32:1'>Deu 32:1</a></em> speak of the Jewish heavens. This is strengthened by the fact that the “sun, moon and stars” are sometimes figurative of the Jews (e:g. <em><a href='B:10 22:17'>Gen 22:17</a></em>; <em><a href='B:10 37:9'>Gen 37:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:340 8:9-10'>Dan 8:9-10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:340 8:24'>Dan 8:24</a></em>). We have shown that the wicked spirituals may have reference to the Jewish Christians who were spirit–gifted, but turned to apostasy. They would thus be in both the Christian and Jewish “heavenlies”. The threat from within the church posed by the Judaizers infiltrating the church, who were Jews. Thus “the Devil” was manifested in the Roman authorities&nbsp;<em>and&nbsp;</em>the Jews within the Christian church. The two entities were connected insofar as the Jewish synagogue powers often informed the Roman authorities against the Christians.</p><p>The “wiles of the Devil” offers support to the Jewish context in that the Greek word for “wiles” is elsewhere translated “to lie in wait to deceive”, in a verse which talks about the Judaizers subtly trying to introduce false doctrine into the church: the church was being “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (<em><a href='B:560 4:14'>Eph 4:14</a></em>). If the “heavenly places” also represent the Jewish system, further meaning is given to <em><a href='B:560 3:3-10'>Eph 3:3-10</a></em>: “The mystery::. that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs (with the Jews), and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the Gospel::. To make all men (both Jews and Gentiles) see what is the fellowship of the mystery::. To the intent now that unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God”, i:e. that by the church showing the unity that existed between Jew and Gentile within it, the Jewish leaders (“principalities and powers in heavenlies”) might come to appreciate “the manifold wisdom of God”. This, in turn, opens up <em><a href='B:500 17:21'>Joh 17:21</a></em>: “That they all (Jews and Gentiles) may be one::. that the world (this phrase almost always means the Jewish world in John’s Gospel) may believe that You have sent me”. The “evil day” of v. 13 would be a result of the Judaizers, who were “evil men and seducers” (<em><a href='B:620 3:13'>2Ti 3:13</a></em>).</p><p>Another approach is to be found by considering the view that many of the later New Testament documents are full commentary upon and critical allusion to popular ideas of false religion which were circulating at the time. The commentary of David Pitt-Francis on&nbsp;Ephesians 6 bears quoting at more length:</p><p>“The object of the Christian message was to shake such imagined deities out of their places, so that men would give real glory to Christ, and to the God of Heaven alone. Paul describes the conflict of Christian witness as a struggle, not against flesh and blood but::. “against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness; against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places”. To many unacquainted with the real impact of the gospel, both sun and moon seemed to have personalities which they did not possess, as did the stars of heaven, heaven itself, and those exalted parts of nature such as mountains and islands. Thus Isaiah 2, which contains primarily a prophecy against idolatry in Israel and describes idol–worship in the context of ‘high mountains’ and ‘lofty hills’ contains a description of the flight of men into caves and holes of the rocks from the terror of God, and this description is borrowed in Revelation. The end of the worship of sun, moon and stars is also foretold by Isaiah in a later passage, where the imagined gods of heaven are described as being punished: “On that day, the Lord will punish the host of heaven, in heaven – and the kings of the earth, on earth – they will be gathered together as prisoners in a pit::. then the moon will be ashamed, and the sun confounded for the Lord of hosts will reign” (David Pitt-Francis,&nbsp;<em>The Most Amazing Message Ever Written</em>&nbsp;(Irchester: Mark Saunders Books, 1984) chapter 4).</p>


