September 15, 2024
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 Leviticus and 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.……Continue Reading
Ephesians 4
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/eph.4.32.NIV
Ephesians 4
Ephesians 4
We are to put on the new man in Christ and turn away from anything that would be of the old man. Christ has saved us from corruption and sin so why should we walk in the way that we were before? Rather as Paul teaches here; we are to be renewed in the spirit of our minds. vs 23 We are to follow Jesus who is the Truth. vs 21. For Jesus teaches us by His holy word through the Spirit. We are to interact with each other in all lowliness and meekness, with long suffering, forbearing one another in love. vs 3. As it says in verses 15 and 32; we are to speak the truth in love being kind to each other. And notice this statement: We are to forgive each other as Christ forgave us. Do you know what this means? Think about it. How dare we not forgive others. This can be hard but remember what Christ did for us. Why are we to do all these things that Paul taught through the Lord? That we may all grow as one body in Christ being unified. Once we have become His children and are saved; What things can we do to grow in the Lord and understand what He wants of us? We are doing some of it by reading His Word in this study. But also going deeper by studying His word. He also commands that we should memorize His word. Whenever I come to the word I always ask Christ to help me to understand it and teach me. Even when I use to try to memorize His word. He always helped me. I have found that at times when I wasn`t near my Bible; the Lord would bring scripture to my mind as I needed it. Remember brothers and sisters the Holy Spirit indwells us and will guide and teach us along the way. The Lord also desires us to pray to Him, have fellowship with each other and witness for Him. And a final note is remember that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit which means that we cannot lose our salvation. vs 30. {And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.} God has His hand upon us. God bless you all.
How important it is for us to maintain unity as a body of believers recognizing the centrality of the things that define and bind us. And yet we must choose to conduct ourselves according to all the positive qualities mentioned in this chapter and put off all those things mentioned near the end of the chapter. We must be conscientious about our mindset and treat each other well. But even though we are united in the truth of God we are also unique in our gifting and the service we perform. We need to be built up in the knowledge and conviction of the word so we can be stable in our person and therefore represent God well in the world. Because the world is set on a path of sin and destruction and as it becomes darker, pour hope is the our light will become brighter. But that is only if we do not succumb to the same sin and evil that world lives in. And to do that we need to put off the old man and put on the new…choosing against our nature of sin and choosing for our new nature that only knows how to follow God. So it starts in a choice of nature, but translates to a pattern of behavior. As we do so, may we see a difference in our hearts and may people see a difference in our character and our choices.
Ephesians 4
Ephesians 4
We are called to live a life of humility, gentleness, patience, sensitivity to truth, free from cursing, bitterness, rage, anger, slander and malice. Being kind and compassionate, never forgetting that we should forgive others as God has forgiven us. Not easy to do, but Jesus has given us everything we need to equip us.