Ephesians 4

April 6, 2022

Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.

Reading along with us in Ephesians? Here’s today’s reading:

Ephesians 4 (NIV)

Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ
1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all............Continue Reading

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This Post Has 7 Comments

  1. I love this chapter….always been one of my favorites as it is a reminder of what our lives should look like once we come to Christ and follow Him. That we might live in unity with each other, care for one another, that we would not let anger over take us but deal with issues as they arise and do it with love. That we would serve and fulfill our part of the church body with the gifts and talents that we have because of Christ. That we would seek wise counsel and follow His words not the ways of this world. So much good stuff in this chapter!

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  2. Living in unity with one another not always easy. But Paul has a strong argument. Same God. Same Lord. Same baptism. No one is perfect. If we have a problem with another believer. Go to thrm immediately in love And talk it out. Vs 9. Jesus is the lord of the entire universe. Nothing is hidden from him. Past present or future. Vs 17-24. We should be living lives that people will realize we are different than a non believer. It’s a process as we grow to become mature and not be tossed back and forth. Have to keep listening to God and be changed. Vs 29. Still learning that one. Hard sometimes to not ridicule. But I definitely do not want to grieve the Holy Spirit. Can’t imagine reaching out to our Lord and not feeling his presence

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  3. Ephesians 4 Paul from prison is telling Christian’s how to live among each other with unity and love. God has given us different gifts that work together to raise up Christ. He wants us to love one another, be kind and compassionate.

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  4. Salvation, so rich and free, is to impact the kind of people we are. There are not only expectations of behavior, but also the natural results that come in behavior as one believes in Jesus and receives all the benefits and capacities that come with it. It effects who and what we are and how we effect other people as well. God establishes unity in what He provides for us, so therefore we should choose to love in unity…..a unity that is enhanced by distinctions in personality, understanding and giftedness. And God establishes a body of believers where we can be established and built up in the faith to be strong for the tasks at hand. It is also a testing ground for us to live out the standards that God seeks for us to live in. And primarily we are to turn away from the way the world does things and the way our old selves would dictate. How encouraging that God gives us a nature to put on that is created to be like Him so the Christian life is something that flows from within and is not only something we do but is something we are or have become through Christ and the new nature. But for this nature to reign, we must also put off our old self, resolving that it will not dictate or control who we are.

    It then changes how we speak, how we handle emotion, and how we engage with one another. But these behaviors become both the things we choose as well as the litmus test of knowing what the new nature is producing. And to think that we not only have this new nature in us encouraging and empowering right behavior, but the Holy Spirit as well. And as we are not grieving Him, we also won’t be grieving other people, because He will be fostering the very thing in us that people will want us to be: humble, kind, compassionate, encouraging, and forgiving and without all that ugly stuff that was part of the old person that we continue to choose to set aside…..

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  5. I’m here, just a day or two behind, I love Ephesians due to it feeling like it was written with me in mind to help me grow in spiritual maturity

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  6. Paul describes the new life that the Gentiles/we should be walking and how we have been equipped to do so.
    – humble, gentle, of one accord – “one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all.” I think this was to drive home that Jew and Gentile are one body now, there isn’t a division in Christ.
    – Jesus Himself equips us for ministry.

    The function and purpose of the body is described in detail. Ministering gifts given for unity, for edification, for knowledge, a standard of perfection, a guard against deception, truth and growth.

    NO LONGER walk in your former ways. Put off the old man.
    Put on the new man – renewed mind, created according to God in righteousness and holiness.
    This isn’t a daily change of clothes, or putting on your “new man” for Sunday church. But a permanent change. I think of all the verses that say that we are “dead” – dead to sin; I am crucified with Christ, therefore I no longer live; baptized into His death, etc.

    In case they/we were wondering what that means for their/our life, Paul gives some practical actions.
    – no more lying
    – speak truth with his neighbor
    – Be angry, and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil
    – no more stealing
    – work with your hands what is good
    – give to him who has need.
    – let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
    – do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
    – Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
    – be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

    I find it easier to digest Paul’s run-on statements if I break them into lists!

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