The American Wisdom Series

Presents
Pamphlet #4592
Ephesians 4:1  ¶I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2  ¶With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3  Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5  One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6  One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
7  But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
My highlighted verses:Ephesians 4:8  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
[8] Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
Christ received gifts for men from the Father.
Paul here is quoting the 68th Psalm:Psalm 68:18-19Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them. [19] Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.
So Christ ascended, but He also descended. What does that mean?
Ephes 4:9 (Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
That Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross and was buried in the tomb, we know.
But while there, He "knocked on Satan's door" and preached (offered salvation now that He had paid the price) to those held captive by Satan, even those from all the way back to Noah's time (1 Pet 3:18).

9  (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
10  He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Ephesians 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14  That we henceforth be no more children, 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;
15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
[12] For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Hey, so we can be perfect.
Wrong!
Perfecting means "maturing", i.e. becoming full grown.
So grow-up.
[13] Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
How do we come to the unity and knowledge?
By endeavoring!
We become mature man and women measured by the full stature of Jesus Christ, measured by the Word of God!
[14] That we henceforth be no more children, 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;
If we don't "endeavor" we are doomed to remain Biblically illiterate.
And guess what?
Ignorance can be tossed about like a little row boat upon the surging waves.
Many Christians are so shallow in their beliefs and faith that they do not want to discuss, nor do they question, the doctrines that they have been and are being taught.
Shame on us all!
We, as mature Christians, need to hold our ministers, our politicians, and the teachers of our children accountable for what they do and what they teach.
Have you ever read in the New Testament what those audacious Bereans did?
They had the "nerve" to "check out" the Apostle Paul himself, the man who wrote the majority of the New Testament!
Acts 17:10-11 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. [11] These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
They searched the Bible to see if what Paul was teaching them was SCRIPTURAL.
They are called "more noble" for doing so.
God likes it.
It helps keep the unity!
So (here comes common sense again) if the Apostle Paul is not above the scrutiny of scripture by "laymen" then should your minister, or the bishops, or the popes, or anyone else be?
I think not.
Start "endeavoring" wherever you attend and whomever you listen to!
(Tell them you are treating them with the same respect given the Apostle Paul.
But be gentle, do it in love, exercising wisdom.)
What shall we say then?
Don't be a baby Christian.
Endeavor and become mature in the Grace and Knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Ephes. 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
There is a difference in simply speaking the truth and speaking the truth "in love".
The latter exercises discernment and wisdom from being mature in Him.
[16] From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
The body is held together by every ligament, according to each working part, and grows mature in love.
Not all of us are the same "part", but it takes all of us to make the body "increase".

17  ¶This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
18  Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
19  Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20  But ye have not so learned Christ;
21  If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
22  That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24  And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
[20] But ye have not so learned Christ;
[21] If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
[22] That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
If you are going to follow Christ, then your old conduct must be abandoned.
The "inner man", now having received the spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit, must take charge, and through Him, overcome the old self, i.e. we must "put to death" the old self.
That is part of what baptism symbolizes.
[23] And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
[24] And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
And that is what the other part of baptism symbolizes.
Don't think for one minute that you can completely put off the "old man", for it would seem that he is tireless.
But we must always "try" and when we do fall short, repent and move on in Him.

25  Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
26  Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
27  Neither give place to the devil.
28  Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
29  Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Ephesians 4:30  And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption
[30] And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Do you recall chapter one when we learned a "mystery", how we were "chosen before the foundation of the world".
Look up the word "sealed" used here in Strong's concordance.
It means you have been privately, or secretly, marked for preservation.

31  Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32  And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you accomplish both.

This "American Wisdom Series" pamphlet

is.

Published by:

Rhine Publishing Co.
E-mail address - americanwisdomseries@verizon.net

If you would like to have your essay published
as part of the American Wisdom Series
submit your manuscript to Rhine Publishing Co
at the address above for consideration.

Click Here to Return to "The American Wisdom Series" home page.