Christian Belief and Behaviour

An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians

www.easyenglish.info

Les Painter (Bible text by Cynthia Green)

This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

Words in boxes are from the Bible.

A word list at the end explains words with a *star by them.

About this letter

The *apostle Paul wrote this letter when he was in a prison in Rome. He wrote it to people in the town called Ephesus. This was about 61 years after the birth of Christ.

At one time, *Greek leaders had ruled Ephesus. Now the *Romans ruled the city. It was the capital of the *Roman region called Asia. It was a busy port and the centre of much trade. The *temple of the goddess (female god) Diana (or Artemis) was there. The business people sold models of Diana’s *temple there. But Paul’s *preaching affected their trade. This caused confusion and trouble in the city (Acts 19:23-41).

This letter is different from other letters by Paul. The main differences are:

a)         he does not give any special greetings;

b)         he does not send a message to any one particular person;

c)         he does not talk about special problems.

Paul wrote the letter to encourage the personal *faith of the Christians. It gives teaching, prayers and great *praises to God. It is about God’s Son, Jesus Christ. He came to our world in order to put right all the things that had gone wrong. Paul makes clear that Christ is the head of the *church. He will work out his purposes in and by the *church.

It is possible that Paul sent this letter to other *churches in Asia. Then they too could read it.

The letter is in two parts. First is the teaching part. It mainly teaches us about God’s plan for the world. This plan is for all time. It is about the gathering together of all things to Jesus Christ as head. God created men and women. He created them to be his friends. But now they are apart from him. They are his enemies.

There is no unity in a world without Christ. One person is against another person. Nations fight each other. *Jews and *Gentiles are against each other. There is a battle between evil *angels and good *angels. There is a battle between God and *Satan. Most people in the world do not know Christ. This is the reason for all that is wrong. But this is not God’s purpose for the world. There can be unity only when all things come together with Christ as head. Unity should first be inside the *church. Then it should be for all people everywhere. Then it should be with everything that God has made. This unity is for the entire world and for all ages. This is what Paul teaches in the first three chapters.

God’s plan is to fix the unity that is spoiled. The last three chapters teach about how God will use Christians in this plan. Paul teaches that the *church is like the body of Christ. Christians must be like Christ’s hands to do Christ’s work. Christians must be like his mouth to speak for him. They must be like his feet to take his *gospel to all the people in the world. God wants to deal with all the things that divide people. God will do this in and by the *church. Paul speaks about the different ways in which his message will apply. Change will come by the good behaviour of God’s people in the home and in the world.

Plan of Ephesians

Part 1: The place of the *believer in Christ (chapters 1-3)

1:1-2 Greetings

1:3-14 *Praise for all the *blessings of God

1:15-23 Paul’s first prayer

2:1-10 *Salvation by *grace

2:11-22 *Jews and *Gentiles are united in Christ

3:1-13 God has made his secret known

3:14-21 Paul’s second prayer

Part 2: The behaviour of the *believer in the world (chapters 4-6)

4:1-16 To live a life that has value

4:17-32 A different way to live

5:1-14 Love

5:15-6:9 Wisdom

6:10-20 The Christian life as a war

6:21-24 Final greeting

Part 1: The place of the *believer in Christ (chapters 1-3)

Chapter 1

1:1-2 ~ Greetings

Verse 1 Paul calls himself an ‘*apostle’. He is a person whom God has chosen. God has chosen him to be a leader in the *church and to act with God’s authority. First, Paul refers to himself as the writer of the letter. This was the custom at that time. Then he refers to his readers, as the ‘*saints’. The meaning of ‘*saints’ is ‘the holy persons’. It means those that God has set apart to live holy lives. These are the Christians in Ephesus. They remain strong in their belief. Paul greets them.

Verse 2 Paul changes the common *Greek word for ‘greetings’ to another word, ‘*grace’. The common *Hebrew greeting was ‘shalom’ or ‘*peace’. Paul brings the two greetings together as a *blessing and a prayer. He prays that his readers will know the free help of God the Father and the *Lord Jesus Christ. They do not need to earn this. He also prays that they will know peace with God. And he prays that they will have peace with each other. The *peace of God is not just the lack of trouble. The word ‘shalom’ has many meanings. It means to be well. It means to have enough for your needs. It means safety and health. We can have peace inside us even if life is difficult.

1:3-14 ~ *Praise for all the *blessings of God

In the original *Greek language, this song of *praise (verses 3-14) is one sentence. The thoughts of Paul follow from one to the next at great speed. It is as if he wants to say it all at once.

In this passage, Paul writes about the good things that the Father gives to us. The Father has *blessed us (verse 3). He has chosen us (verse 4). He has decided that we shall become his sons and daughters (verse 5). He has given his *grace to us (verse 6). *Grace is the gift of God that we cannot buy. Neither can we work to earn it (2:8-9). He has told us about his choice and purpose. It is to bring together all things in heaven and on earth. Then all will have one head, that is, Christ (verses 9-10).

1:3-6 ~ The Father has chosen us

Verse 3 God has *blessed us ‘in the *heavenly places with every *spiritual *blessing in Christ’. The *heavenly places refer to an area that you cannot see or touch. In that area, there are *beings that you cannot see. These *beings are both good and evil. The good *beings serve God and the evil *beings serve *Satan. The evil *beings try to rule society and the lives of people. Paul often uses the words ‘*heavenly places’. He uses them 5 times in this letter. If we are Christians, we live now in the *heavenly places. This is true even now whilst we live on earth. It refers to any place where Christ rules over all. His people rule with him too (1:20; 2:6).

Verse 4 Jesus Christ has always existed; he is *eternal. God chose us before our birth to be together with Christ. God made this choice before he made the world. This choice has nothing to do with the kind of person that we are. It does not depend on whether we are good or bad. Therefore, we cannot be proud. We cannot say that we have made the choice. We can only agree with what God has done. Christ *justifies us in front of God. Then we need to obey God. We must live holy lives as God intends.

Paul writes, ‘He wants us to live holy lives.’ The meaning of the *Greek word ‘holy’ is to be separate or different. Christians live in the world. But they must be different from the people round them. They will be different in their homes. And they will be different in the place where they work.

‘He wants us to do nothing wrong.’ The whole life of a Christian is like something that we are offering to God.

Verse 5 In the *Roman family, the father had great power. He could do as he wished to his sons. He could make them work without pay. He could sell them as slaves. He could hit them. He could even kill them. This power lasted all through the life of the son. It did not matter how old he was.

A father might decide to adopt a son. Then he would ask the court to give him legal authority to be the father of the child. The judge would pass all the power of the original father to this new father. All the rights of the old father then ended. The son became a new person. If he had any debts in the old family, the court ended them. It would be as if the debts had never existed.

That is what God has done for us. We were under the power of *sin and the *devil. God, by Jesus, removed us from that power. He put us into his new family. He took away the old debts (our *sins). It was as if they had never existed. We became part of his family and we became new people.

Verse 6 All this makes us *praise him for his wonderful *grace. This *grace is free. Moreover, he gave us this in the ‘son that he loves’ - Jesus. The *grace of God is everything that he has chosen to show us about himself.

1:7-12 ~ The Son gave his life for us

Verses 7-8 In Paul’s days, you might have been a slave. Sometimes a kind person would pay money to free you. The *Israelites had been slaves in Egypt, but God made them free. God made them his people (Exodus 15:13). A person could make a *sacrifice to God. God would then *forgive his *sin. *Sacrifice was the way by which God would *forgive you. It was the way that God could deal with *sin. ‘If there is no *sacrifice of blood, God will not forgive our *sins’ (Hebrews 9:22).

Christ himself became this *sacrifice. He gave his blood when he died on the *cross. This *forgiveness is because ‘God shows us his rich *grace’. This *grace is greater than we can understand. It is beyond any riches of the earth (Hebrews 11:26).

God is so kind to us. He gave us ‘wisdom and understanding. They pour over us like water from a great river.’ His *blessings never dry up. Wisdom is the gift to be able to see things as they really are. But this wisdom is not just an idea in your head. Wisdom gives you knowledge. You are then able to use your knowledge to solve the problems of daily life.

Verses 9-10 God lets us know ‘his secret plan that Christ would complete’. He makes it possible for us to understand this. But he did not show his plan before Jesus came.

God’s plan was that Jesus Christ will be the head (or ruler) of the whole *universe (heaven and earth). God arranges the time of all things. He does this in perfect wisdom. God has fixed all the ages and seasons. He has decided when they will end. God is now working out his plan (that Christ will rule the whole *universe). His plan is working all the time. One day God will complete it. History is ‘his story’.

Through the ages, God is bringing everything together under his rule. The meaning of the *Greek words is that God will add up everything. He will put it all under Christ as head.

It would be difficult for a person who is not a Christian to understand this. He would not make sense of history. Different events have taken place in different ages. They would not link with each other. Paul shows that God has a plan for the history of men and women. Once God hid this secret. Now he makes his plan plain. Christians today can now understand it. It is the job of Christians to tell the world about it.

Verses 11-12 From the beginning, God chose us to ‘have hope in Christ’, the *Messiah. He chose that we should be a part of his plan. God works out everything in agreement with his choice. Everything that he wants to do, he does. Everything will be as he said. This plan includes Paul and the *Jewish *believers (‘we’ verse 12). They were the first to hope in Christ, the *Messiah. They hoped in him before he came (see Acts 28:20). They looked forward to him as their *Saviour. The plan then includes ‘you also’ (the *Gentile Christians) who believe in him (verse 13).

1:13-14 ~ The mark of the *Holy Spirit

Verse 13 The most important thing is to hear God’s word. God’s word is the word of truth. The word of truth is the *gospel. The *gospel is the good news about *salvation. The knowledge of *salvation comes by hearing about Jesus Christ (Romans 10:14). Hearing, however, must lead to *faith. God can *bless us only if we have *faith.

So, when you believe, God marks you with a special sign. This is for both *Jews and *Gentiles. It is for those who have heard and believed. In those days, a *seal was a person’s own sign. It was a stamp or mark. It showed that he was the owner. He used it when he sent something important to another person. He would use this on a letter. It showed that everything was true and not false. It was a promise. You could be sure that no one had opened the letter and changed it.

The *Holy Spirit is the *seal for the Christian. The *Holy Spirit in him is a proof to himself of his *faith. It also shows other people how real his *faith is. The *Holy Spirit makes the Christian certain that he has *salvation. This *seal also keeps the Christian safe. No one can break the *seal. No one can break into his life. In the end, he will be safe with Jesus.

Verse 14 In those days, when you bought something, you paid some money. This was only a part of the whole price. You made a promise to the seller. You promised that later you would pay the rest of the price. The *Holy Spirit is God’s *seal or promise. It is a promise to all those who believe in him. He promises that one day he will make them completely his own possession. They will belong completely to him. That includes both *Jews and *Gentiles. This will be completely to God’s *glory.

1:15-23 ~ Paul’s first prayer

Verses 15-16 In the rest of this chapter, Paul prays for his readers. He asks God to give them real understanding. He wants them to understand how wonderful and exciting the good news is.

He speaks about their *faith and love. He tells his readers that their behaviour towards the *Lord is important. So too is their behaviour with each other. Paul says that he does not stop thanking God for them. He also remembers them all in his prayers.

Verse 17 Paul is always asking that God:

·          will give them wisdom and

·          that he will show himself to them so that they can know him better.

God the Father is a ‘wonderful Father’. All *glory and all power and all greatness belong to him. God made the earth, the sky and everything. We see his greatness in all that he has made. We see his greatness in the way that he provides. He provides for everyone and everything on the earth. It all comes from God.

By God the Son we have wonderful freedom from *sin. We see his greatness in this. That should cause us to wonder. It should increase our *faith when we pray. God the *Holy Spirit helps us to understand all this. He helps us to know God better.

Verses 18-23 We cannot understand such knowledge by ourselves. It is far too great. God must help us to understand. To know God is more than to know facts about him. It is to know him as a person and to share our lives with him.

Paul prays that three things will happen:

·          First, that they will know ‘the hope to which he has called’ them. God called us to himself at the very beginning. He called us to be united with Jesus Christ. He called us to be holy even as he is holy (4:1). This is the call that God brings to those without hope (2:12). The hope is about our future. We will then be with Christ for ever. We can think about a time after our present suffering. We can think about a wonderful future. God’s promise to us is that we can have the *Holy Spirit inside us now (verse 14). The promise is also about what he is keeping for us in the future.

·          Second, that they ‘will know the *glory of the rich *blessings that he (God) has prepared’ for them. God has given these rich *blessings to those who believe. Christians can expect to enjoy this *inheritance.

Peter describes the *inheritance that God has prepared for us. It never dies. It is not like rubbish. It never disappears. God is ‘keeping it in heaven for you’ (1 Peter 1:4). The children of God are the heirs of God. They are heirs together with Christ (Romans 8:17). Everything that belongs to a person will belong to his heirs one day. That is what ‘heirs’ means. One day our *inheritance will be complete. We shall be completely God’s possession. We do not know what it will be like. We do know that we shall see Christ. And we shall *worship him. When he appears, we shall be like him. We shall be like him in our bodies. We shall be like him in his character. We shall be united with each other. It will be perfect. God wants us to know about this. He wants us to think about it. He wants us to know how wonderful it will be.

·          Third, that ‘you will know how very great his power is’ (verse 19). Nothing compares with that power. It is far greater than any other power. We cannot measure it. By this power, God made everything in heaven and earth. This power is working ‘in (or ‘for’ or ‘towards’) those who believe’.

Paul describes this great power by three events (verses 19-23):

·          First, God made ‘Jesus Christ come back to life again’ (verse 20).

·          Second, ‘He used his power to cause Christ to sit at his right side in heaven.’ This was far above ‘all people with authority, *lords and other rulers on earth and in heaven’. It was above every title (or rank) that anyone can give. And ‘Christ rules over them now and he will rule over them in the future’ (verse 21).

·          Third ‘and God put all things under the authority and power of Christ. God put him in the highest place as head over everything for the *church’ (verse 22). ‘All things’ include the world, the stars and all physical things. ‘All things’ also include all people, good *angels and bad *angels. God made Christ head over all things. He also made him head over everything for the *church. The *church is his body. So both the *church and everything that is have the same head. He completely fills everything in every way. He also fills the *church (verses 22-23).

There are two powers that men cannot control. One power is death and the other power is the devil. Jesus Christ won the battle over both. He did this by his death and *resurrection. He can rescue us from both death and the devil. God raised Jesus from death. He raised him to new life where there is no more death. This new life lasts for ever and ever. God caused Jesus to sit at God’s right side in heaven. God made him king over every power that there is. Jesus rules in heaven as king. He rules over all people. He rules over all nations. He rules over all *spirits, both good and evil.

Verse 21 also includes every title (or rank) that anyone can give. In Genesis chapter 1, God told man to rule over all things. When Adam *sinned, people lost the power to rule. Christ now rules over everything. So he gives back to us the power to rule.

The *church is the body of Christ. The *church consists of his people (Christians). Jesus is the head of his *church. The job of the *church is to explain Jesus to the world. To do this, the *church needs to be full of his *Holy Spirit.

Chapter 2

2:1-10 ~ *Salvation by *grace

2:1-3 ~ Our past life

In this part, Paul shows what *sinful people are like. He then shows what we can become by the *grace of God. Jesus died, but God raised him to life. God then put him in a very high place in heaven. It is just like that for us. We were dead, but God raised us too. He placed us together with Jesus. We are close to Jesus. We are in heaven with him. This is true even whilst we live on earth.

Verses 1-3 All people are *sinners. Paul first makes this clear in verse 1. He says, ‘you were *spiritually dead because of your *sins and because you did not obey God.’ And then in verse 3, Paul uses the word ‘we’ (verse 3). ‘We all used to live like them.’ We are all *sinners.

Often you fail to be the person that wants you to be. That is *sin. Often you do not live as God wants you to live. That is *sin. You also *sin when you do something wrong. But sometimes you do not do something that you should do. That is *sin too.

The old way to live moves away from God. This old life, says Paul, is the way that ‘we all used to live’ (verse 3). Every thing that we did was against God. It moved away from God. It moved in the direction of evil things. Either we can walk with God or we can walk away from him. Paul speaks about this wrong way to live in three ways.

·          First, it is when you ‘used to copy the bad ways of the people in the world (non-Christians).’ In the *Greek language, it means ‘people who belong to the age of this world’. In the world, there are different systems. They could be political, social or money systems. The ‘age of this world’ might apply to any of these. It could refer to any system that does not have God in it. The people in these systems do not think about God. They do not discuss things with him.

·          Second, ‘the king who rules the *spiritual forces in the air’. This means *Satan, who is the head of all the evil *spirits. We cannot see them. However, they are there and they work in the world.

·          Third, they belonged to the person who ‘now controls the people who do not obey God’s rules’. Paul tells us that, ‘He is a *spirit.’ Again this means *Satan.

We have this *sinful nature as the result of Adam’s *sin. It means that I am at the centre of my life. Apart from God, I live with me at the centre. I think about myself. And I do what I want to do.

There is nothing wrong with physical desires. We have many of these. Some desires are for food, sleep or sex. God made our body to want these things. But they are wrong when we eat too much. They are wrong when we sleep too much. They are wrong when we have sex outside marriage.

Paul says that we all ‘did what our physical body wanted. God was angry with us.’ We all have Adam’s *sinful nature. It comes to us by Adam’s *sin. By his *sin, we share his *sinful nature. That is how we are children of Adam.

We need to understand the meaning of ‘God was angry with us’. It does not mean that he is in a bad temper. Nor that he hates us and he wants to punish us. God’s anger (or wrath) means that he is always an enemy of evil things. He hates evil things. He hates them very much. He never stops hating them. This is because he is God. He is a *righteous God. By his very nature, he cannot stop being angry against *sin.

2:4-6 ~ Our present life

Verse 4 Paul has described the sad situation of men and women. He has spoken about the anger of God. But this is not the last word. Paul now writes some wonderful words. He speaks about God’s goodness and *grace. God wants to forgive people. He pities those who do not deserve his *grace. Paul writes, ‘He loved us so much’. God wants to be kind, even to bad people. God has acted. We were dead, but God made us alive with Christ. God has acted because of our *sin. He is rich in kindness. That kindness comes from his great love. His love reaches down from heaven to us on earth. ‘While we were still *sinners, Christ died for us’ (Romans 5:8).

Verse 5 We were objects of God’s anger. We are now objects of his love. Think about what God has done to change our state. He has *saved us. ‘God’s *grace has *saved you.’ By his death, Christ suffered for our *sin. Our *sin was like a wall between God and us. It separated us from him. Jesus’ death removed that wall. By his *resurrection, he won the battle against death. God raised Christ from death. Because of that, he raised men and women from being dead in *sins. He won both in his body and in his *spirit. Now we have a new life with Christ and in Christ.

Verse 6 ‘God has raised us up with Christ’. Paul is not now writing about when God raised Christ. He is writing about us. God ‘gave each of us a new life in Christ’ (verse 5). God raised us with Christ. God caused us to sit with Christ ‘in the *heavenly places’. Here we see three events in history.

·          First, we see Jesus’ *resurrection.

·          Second, we see his return to heaven.

·          Third, we see him sitting at the right side of God. He sits there as the King in heaven. Some Christians say this in the Creed (statement of Christian belief). It says, ‘on the third day he rose again from death. Then he went up into heaven. Now he sits at the right side of God the Father.’

Here Paul writes about Christ’s *church. All together, we are one body ‘in Christ’. It does not matter what our nationality is. It does not matter whether we are men or women. It does not matter who we are. We are a part of Christ. Also, Christ is on the *throne (the seat of the king). So we are there too. We have a new life. We know that God is real. We have a new love for him and his people. We were dead and we are now alive. It was as if we were in chains. Christ has removed them. We are free. Now we sit with Jesus on the top seat!

2:7-10 ~ Our future life

Verse 7 Paul now comes to the purpose of God’s great power. He writes about the reason why God raised Jesus from death. And he writes about the reason why he raised us with him. ‘He did this to show for all time, his rich *grace.’ Nothing can compare with that. He showed this ‘in the kindness that he showed to us in Christ Jesus’.

Verses 8-9 These verses again show God’s *grace and kindness. We are in Christ Jesus. God has *saved us and he has shown his *grace towards us. He helps us to become free from our *sins. We are also free from God’s anger. *Grace belongs to God. It is his gift. To have *faith means to trust in God. We can trust him to give us all that he has for us. We turn to God because we are weak and empty. We turn to God because we need him.

We must have *faith in God. However, *faith itself is not enough. God wants to give us everything. We receive *salvation by *faith. We are *justified by *faith. But *salvation is by God’s *grace. *Faith itself does not give us any right to receive. Nor do good deeds give us this right. We would be proud if that were true. We might say, ‘This all comes from me. It is the result of my great *faith.’

Everything, including *faith, is a gift from God. He wakes us up, *spiritually. He causes us to think and to ask about him. Only by God’s power are we able to receive from him. We can live good lives and be good people. But that cannot *save us. However, if God *saves us, we will want to be good. That will be because we love God. And because we want to please him.

Verse 10 This verse ends this part of the letter. It ends it with two statements. ‘God made us in Christ Jesus. He had already prepared good things for us to do.’ He made us in a careful way. He made us in Christ Jesus to do good things. God prepared these good things for us to do. Paul has already described what *salvation is. Because of our *sins, we are like dead people. *Salvation is when God brings dead people to life. God frees us from our *sins. God has given us true life. (We cannot give ourselves life.) He has also prepared good things for us to do. We used to do wrong things. Now we do good things. God prepared these for us in the beginning. He prepared us to do these good things. God tells us what to do. We decide whether to follow him or not.

2:11-22 ~ *Jews and *Gentiles are united in Christ

2:11-12 ~ What the *Gentiles were without Christ

Verse 11 God chose *Israel to be a holy people. He intended them to be separate from the other nations. Many years before, he had made an agreement with Abraham. This separated the *Israelites for God. He made them his special people. This agreement did not depend on their goodness. It had nothing to do with how good, or strong or beautiful the people were. God chose them only because he wanted to. He did this in order that he could *bless all the other families on the earth. Then all the other families could come to know him as well. But the *Jewish leaders had different thoughts. They thought that their nation was better than the other nations. They thought that God loved only the people in *Israel. They thought that he would send the people in all the other nations to hell.

*Jews were ‘*circumcised’. *Gentiles were ‘not *circumcised’. God gave the custom of *circumcision to Abraham. It became part of the *Jewish religion. He gave it as an outer sign of his choice of the *Israelites. People could see that they were his special people. Paul refers to this *circumcision as ‘the *circumcision that men’s hands do’. He seems to be saying that the physical sign is not important. What happens inside us is important. In that way, *Jews and *Gentiles are the same.

Verse 12 Paul says this about the *Gentiles at that time. They were separate from Christ. They were not a part of the people of *Israel. They were without God in the world. They were without hope. God wanted the *Gentiles to belong to him. He wanted them to share the promises that he had made to the *Jews. God had made these promises to *Israel’s people. But he wanted them to be for everyone. He did not want the *Gentiles always to be separated from him.

But the *Gentiles did not know this because no one told them. So they ‘did not belong to God’ and they ‘had no hope in the world’. God made himself known to the *Jews. He had planned and promised to include the *Gentiles one day. But the *Gentiles did not know it. Therefore, they had no hope. Paul tells us in the letter to the *Romans that God shows his power and his character in *creation. That is, in the things that people can see (see Romans 1:18-20). Other than that, there was only one way that the *Gentiles could see God. That was by other people. This was our situation before we knew Jesus as our *Saviour and *Lord. We should always remember this and we should be grateful.

2:13-18 ~ The one body

Verse 13 Those who were once ‘far away’ were the *Gentiles. Sometimes a *Gentile might want to become a *Jew. Then the teacher would say that he would ‘come near’. There is good news for the *Gentiles. They can now be in Christ Jesus. God has brought them to him by the blood of Christ. It was like a closed door. Now it is like an open door. *Gentiles were ‘far away’ from God. Now God has brought them ‘near’. The door is open to everyone. We are now ‘in Christ’. We can now come near to God our Father.

Verse 14 Not only does Jesus bring us *peace. Now he ‘is our *peace’. Jesus Christ is the Prince of *Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Now God brings men and women together. They find peace with God. They find peace with each other. They leave behind their differences. ‘He has destroyed the hate which was like a wall between *Jews and *Gentiles.’ So he has made them ‘united’. There is now no division between the *Jews and the *Gentiles.

In the *Temple, where the *Jews *worshipped God, there were different courts (sections).

These were:

a)         the Court of the *Gentiles;

b)         the Court of the Women;

c)         the Court of the *Israelites;

d)         the Court of the Priests;

e)         the Most Holy Place.

Between the Court of the *Gentiles and the rest of the *Temple there was a wall. The *Jews did not allow the *Gentiles to pass this wall. There were warning signs on the wall. The message to the *Gentiles was this. ‘If you go past this sign, you will die!’

A few years ago, someone found one of these signs. It reads, ‘Let nobody from any other nation come inside the fence and boundary round the Most Holy Place’. It warned also that such a person would be responsible for his own death. This boundary, therefore, was like a fence to a *Gentile. *Jews thought that God was present in the Most Holy Place. So this fence kept the *Gentiles away from the place where God lived. The ‘wall between’ in the *Temple separated *Jews and *Gentiles. This made them enemies. God ‘destroyed’ this wall.

We know from history that the *Romans broke down the wall in the *Temple. But that was in *AD 70. It was when their army entered Jerusalem. The soldiers destroyed the *Temple. However, the wall was still there in the *Temple when Paul wrote his letter. No one had destroyed it yet. But in a *spiritual sense the wall was already destroyed. That happened about *AD 30 when Jesus died on the *cross.

Verses 15-16 These verses tell us how Jesus did this. He did it in three ways:

a)         First, for Christians, he ended the authority of the laws and customs of the *Jewish religion. These were about *circumcision, food and drink. They were also about holy days and seasons and many other things. These laws became of no use as a way to please God.

Jesus said that he did not come to end the law. (See Matthew chapters 5-7.) He ended the laws and customs of the *Jewish religion. But he did not end the moral law. That is about right and wrong actions. Jesus came to show us how to live as God intended. He did this by the example of his own life. Paul explains it in another way. He says, ‘the law is like a master at school. His job is to bring us to Christ’ (Galatians 3:24). Jesus died on the *cross. By his death, he ended these customs.

Jesus brought a new way for *salvation – *faith in him. He made the law complete. He brought new meaning to it. But we no longer have to keep the moral law as a way of *salvation. We cannot *save ourselves by our good actions. We cannot always do right things, however hard we try. We ought always to obey the moral law. That is what God requires from us. But it is impossible for us to do this. Not to obey the moral law separates us from God. It also separates us from each other. When we do not obey God, the result is death. However, the good news is this: When we confess our *sins, God will *forgive us our *sins. He will make us clean us from all that is wrong in us (1 John 1:9).

God accepts us not because we keep the moral law. He accepts us because we believe in Jesus Christ. Jesus obeyed the moral law completely in his life. He took our failure to keep that law upon him. He took all our *sin in his own body when he died. His death made it possible for God to accept us. Now both *Jews and *Gentiles come to God in the same way. They come not by keeping laws. They come by *faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus put away the regulations that were about ceremonies of the law. The moral law tells us that we are wrong and guilty. He put away that guilt too. Jesus put both things aside by his death on the *cross.

b)         Second, he ‘wanted to make the *Jews and *Gentiles into one people’. The *Jewish laws made *Jews and *Gentiles enemies. In his body, Jesus made them friends. Jesus has formed a new body, the *church. It consists of both *Jews and *Gentiles. He made the two into one. That made peace possible between them. All kinds of people are now in one body. There are *Jews and *Gentiles. There are men and women. There are rich and poor. There are people in prison and free people. All are equal in front of God. There is a new unity in Christ.

Third, God ‘wanted to unite them with himself. He wanted them to have peace with each other’. Jesus did this by the *cross. *Jews and *Gentiles are no longer enemies. Jesus has ended that. Neither are they enemies of God. Jesus has ended that too. The result of being an enemy of God is death. Now both *Jews and *Gentiles are together friends of God.

Verse 17 ‘Christ came and told you people who were far away to be at *peace. He told the same thing to those people who were near to him.’ The *prophet Isaiah spoke about this. He said ‘peace, peace, to those far and near’ (Isaiah 57:19). God has brought peace to those who were ‘far away’. Those were the *Gentiles. Before, they ‘did not belong to God’ and they ‘had no hope in the world’ (verse 12). God has also brought peace to ‘those people who were near’. Those were the *Jews. They were those who had ‘the promises that God had made to *Israel’s people’ (verse 12).

God gave these promises to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3). This was the promise to the *Jews about the *Messiah. The same promise came to *Israel as a nation. This was when Moses was their leader (Exodus 24:1-11). The promises brought *Israel’s people into a special relationship with God. It was a relationship of *grace. So they had hope for a future rescue and future *glory. But up to this time, the *Gentiles had not been included in these promises. They were a people without hope.

God chose *Israel out of all the nations to be his special people (Deuteronomy 7:6). God did not choose them because they were better than other nations. God’s purpose was that they should bring his *blessing to all the people in the world. But they forgot why God had chosen them. Later, other people would belong to God. God would *bless them all. These are his children. The promises were for the *Jews. But now the promises are also for the *Gentiles. Both now have *peace with God. And they have peace with each other.

Verse 18 ‘Because of Christ we all have the same Spirit and we can come near to the Father.’ Paul uses a word that means to have the right to come near to an important person. That person might be a king. You have a friend. Suppose he is also the friend of the king. He could take you to see the king. He could do this because he is your friend. He is the king’s friend too. This is what happens for us. Jesus is the friend of the King, his Father.

He is also the door, the way in (John 10:9). He gives us the right to come to the Father. Both *Jews and *Gentiles come by ‘the same Spirit’. The same *Holy Spirit is working in both *Jews and *Gentiles.

2:19-22 ~ The one building

Verses 19-22 Before, the *Gentiles in *Israel were ‘strangers and foreigners’. They might live with the people of *Israel. But they did not own land. They had no rights. But it is not like this in the *church. *Gentiles have the same rights as other people in the *church. They are all citizens together. They are citizens of King Jesus. They are in the *kingdom of God. They are also in the family of God. They are all together his children. God is their Father.

All are part of the *church. And the *church is like a *temple or a building. God built it on the base of the *apostles and *prophets. Jesus Christ himself is the chief corner stone. Paul first speaks about the base of the building. God builds his *Temple on this. It is the ‘*apostles and *prophets’. Jesus Christ himself is the most important stone. All the other stones fit into him. All the stones will then be straight and level. All the other stones depend on this important stone. It is the most important stone. This stone holds the building together.

God gave his word to the *prophets in the *Old Testament. When they received it, they spoke it. What they said happened. The *apostles are the first 12 whom Jesus appointed (except for Judas). They also include other people such as Paul himself, Barnabas and Silas. God is building the *Temple on this firm base. In Jesus, the building grows.

Verse 22 says, ‘God is building you together with Christ into a house where God lives by his Spirit.’ The people whom God builds together are *Jews and *Gentiles. Jesus Christ is the most important stone. He holds together both groups of stones. In him, they grow together. They can grow because they are like living stones (1 Peter 2:5). They come to Christ. Then God builds them together. They will be like a house where God himself will live.

The *Jews believed that God lived in the centre of the *Temple. But God is so great that we cannot contain him in a building. The whole *universe, the sun and all the stars in space cannot contain him. The central part of the *Temple was the Most Holy Place. In it there was a clear, bright light. It showed that God was near.

God did not make the new building out of stones. All the people together are the family of God. This is the *church. It is present in every age. It is all over the world. The *church is the home of God. Christ’s *church is living and growing.

Chapter 3

3:1-13 ~ God has made his secret known

3:1-6 ~ God made his secret known to Paul

Verse 1 ‘For this reason, I, Paul the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you *Gentiles –’. Paul does not finish this sentence in verse 1 but see verse 14. In verse 14, he repeats ‘For this reason’. The *Roman ruler, Nero, had put Paul in prison. They had put chains on him. Paul wrote this letter from prison. But now he has new understanding. He knows King Jesus as his *Lord. Now he thinks about himself as a prisoner of Jesus Christ. He does not think about himself as a prisoner of Nero, the *Roman ruler. He thinks about his whole life in a different way. Both good and bad events happen in his life. But Jesus controls his life. He is sure about that.

So Paul is in prison. He gives his *Gentile readers a reason for this. He is there because of them. Moreover, it is for their benefit. Now he is able to tell them the good news. This is the *gospel about Jesus Christ. Paul has been teaching about the *Gentiles. He has taught that they too are God’s chosen people (chapter 2). Both share in the promises. God gave these to Abraham. Paul has been teaching that the *Gentiles and the *Jews are members of the same group. By the *gospel, they have the same promise in the *Messiah Jesus. The *Jewish leaders believed that God had chosen *Israel alone to be his people. So the *Jewish leaders objected to what Paul taught. It was dangerous to their religion. Yes, the *Roman ruler had put Paul in prison. But what really put Paul there was what he taught.

Verse 2 God has given his *grace to Paul. By his *grace, God sent Paul to the *Gentiles. By his *grace, God gave Paul the honour to be their *apostle. Paul knows that he is responsible to use this special *blessing. He must use it in a responsible way. He must be a good *steward. God gave Paul special understanding about his plans for the *Gentiles. God also gave Paul the *grace to tell them about God’s plans. What God made known to him, Paul must make known to other people.

Verse 3 In this chapter, Paul uses the word ‘secret’ 4 times (verses 3, 5, 6 and 9). In many religions, only those who belong can understand. They hide it from other people. For the Christian, these ‘secrets’ are truths. They are truths that God makes known to us. However, these truths are not just for a few chosen people. They are for everybody. A ‘secret’ or *mystery is something that once God hid. Now he wants us to know about it.

Verses 4-6 The ‘secret’ is the good news that Christ has joined *Jews and *Gentiles together. He wants them to become one people. Jesus offers them life and *salvation. Both groups share that promise.

3:7-13 ~ God chose Paul to *preach this secret

Verse 7 God gave Paul the power to tell people the good news. Paul knew that he was not strong enough. He knew that he could not do the work without God’s help.

Verse 8 Paul says that he is ‘less important than any of God’s people’. In Latin (the language of the *Romans), Paulus (his name) means little or small. Paul thinks about himself like this because he feels so weak. He can do nothing without God’s help. He also remembers that he was once an enemy of God. He used to put Christians in prison. God has been so kind to him. God has *forgiven him. So now he thanks God.

God has given Paul a gift. It is the power to ‘teach the *Gentiles about his (God’s) rich gifts’. God’s riches are difficult to discover. No one can measure them. They are like wealth at the bottom of the sea. It is so deep that you cannot bring it to the shore. This wealth is the greatness of God. It is the riches of his wisdom, knowledge, beauty and power.

This wealth is not money and possessions. We can receive *spiritual riches now in our life upon the earth. The death of Jesus has made this possible. But there is even more wealth. We will share the life of Christ in heaven. This wealth is greater than anything that we can think of. Moreover, it is for ever.

Verse 9 Paul wants to ‘show everyone how to understand this secret’. The *Greek word ‘to show’ is something like the English word ‘photo’. It means to bring light to something. The message is for both *Jews and *Gentiles.

Verse 10 God wants to make known his ‘immense wisdom’. He has many different kinds of wisdom, which he wants men and women to learn. There are *spiritual authorities and rulers who are surrounding us. They are the good *angels and bad *angels that we cannot see. God wants them to know about it too. He makes this wisdom known ‘by the *church’. There is no other way that everybody can know it.

God has given Paul the special task to be the *apostle to the *Gentiles. God has made known the secret of his plan to Paul himself. He has also made it known to the other *apostles and *prophets (verse 5). We have seen the complete plan of God. First, he shows his plan to Paul. Then he sends Paul (and other people) to *preach the *gospel in the entire world. This is by the spoken message. It is the task of the growing *church. There are *angels in the air round us. We cannot see them. They watch the *church as it grows. So they see the immense wisdom of God too.

Verse 11 ‘This was the plan that God had in the beginning.’ It is all ‘in Christ Jesus our *Lord’. God is working out his plan in history. The whole world is included.

Verse 12 Paul has been speaking about the great plan of God in history. But in this verse, Paul explains what this means to Christians now. Christians have received the gift of *salvation from God. We have received it by *faith. We can now come straight to God. We can come without fear. We can come at any time. It is like a little child who runs to his father. That is how it is with us. Praise God!

Verse 13 Paul is suffering and he is in prison. Paul knows that there is a reason for this. It will benefit his Christian friends. He warns them not to be sad or afraid. The situation is becoming more and more to the *glory of God. Paul is certain about this. There is no better way for God to achieve his purpose.

3:14-21 ~ Paul’s second prayer

Verse 14 ‘For this reason, I kneel and I pray to the Father of our *Lord Jesus Christ.’ It was the custom of *Jews to stand when they prayed (see Matthew 6:5; Luke 18:11, 13). However, sometimes they would kneel. This would show a great desire to pray. Ezra prayed like this (Ezra 9:5). Jesus prayed like this. He fell to the ground in the garden. This was just before he died on the *cross (Matthew 26:39). Stephen prayed like this just before he died (Acts 7:60).

Verse 15 ‘Each member of his whole family in heaven and on earth has his name.’ Our Father in heaven is completely wise. He is completely loving. He is completely powerful. He provides everything that we need. He looks after us. He corrects us when we go wrong. A human father does all that he can for his children. Our Father in heaven is much greater. His ways with us are perfect and complete.

Verse 16 Our strength comes ‘from the riches of his *glory’. We can describe God’s *glory in many ways. It is his greatness. We see it in the powerful way that he made everything. He made it all out of nothing. His *glory is great and powerful. We see his *glory in Exodus chapter 19. Moses climbed Sinai Mountain to meet with God. There was thunder, lightning and a thick cloud over the mountain. Thunder is the loud noise that we hear during a storm. The noise was very great. It caused everyone in the camp to tremble with fear. Paul prays that God will make us strong by the ‘riches of his *glory’.

‘He will do this in you by his *Holy Spirit.’ God will give us *spiritual strength with power from his *Holy Spirit. It will be in our ‘inner person’. The inner person is the place where we experience our feelings. We can be happy. We can be sad. We can be angry. We can hate people. The inner person is the place where we think about things. It is where we make decisions. It is the centre of a person. It is where the *Holy Spirit lives. The *Holy Spirit works from this centre of our person. He works from there to change us. He changes us from one experience of *glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Verse 17 When we have *faith in Christ, he lives in our ‘inner person’. There he gives us his love. ‘Your lives will be like plants with roots in the ground of his love’. It is as if we have deep roots. It is like the roots of a strong tree. They go down deep into the soil. Christ’s love is like the soil that the roots grow into. His love gives strong life to the roots. He holds us firmly. In Christ, we are safe and we can grow. It is also like the firm rock under a building. With hard rock underneath it, the building cannot fall down.

Verse 18 The love of God is wide. It is for everyone in the world. Paul is talking especially about *Jews and *Gentiles. So it is for them. It is long enough for all time and every age. It is high enough to bring *praise to God in heaven. It is deep enough to reach down to the worst *sinner. The root is love in the inner person. It is not love in the head and the mind. It does not mean knowledge in the mind. Also, a person does not receive this love only for himself. He receives it together with ‘all the *saints’. We share this wonderful love with each other.

Verse 19 This love of Christ is ‘much too great to know completely’. Our minds are not large enough to understand it all. It is beyond our best prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes. This love is more than to know something in our heads. We need to express Christ’s love in all the daily experiences in life. His love is with us in our joys, difficulties and suffering too.

Here we have the most important part of Paul’s prayer. He prays that the Father ‘will fill you until you are full’ - ‘with the whole nature of God’. But God is completely powerful and he lives for ever. It is not possible to contain him inside any human person. In verse 19, Paul is asking that we receive all that we can of God. It is so that God can enter into us.

Also, we must go on and on receiving him. Christ now sits at the right side of God. Only at the end, in heaven, shall we be like him. We shall then be perfect and complete in his love.

Verse 20 Paul now starts a *hymn of *praise to God. God knows what we ask. And he knows it even before we ask. He knows our thoughts. He knows what we imagine. He knows what we dream. He has the power to go beyond any of these. His thoughts and his ways are greater than ours. He is able to do much more than we can ever ask or imagine. The power comes from Christ. He lives in our inner person by *faith. Paul writes about the same power that raised Jesus from death. The same power put Jesus at the right side of God. And it puts us there with him.

Verse 21 Everything that there is will give God *glory. It will be for ever and ever through all the ages. This is his great master plan of *salvation. He gave it to us by Jesus Christ. Christ’s love and power are in the Christian and in the *church. The *church will work out God’s purposes in the world. They will have the strength of God’s *Holy Spirit to do this.

Part 2: The behaviour of the *believer in the world (chapters 4-6)

Chapter 4

What Paul taught in chapters 1-3 was first about God and his Son Jesus Christ. Then it was about the *church and our *salvation.

What Paul teaches in chapters 4-6 is about how to live as Christians. We see practical ways in which God’s *glory enters the *church. Then Paul shows how the *church will express God’s *glory to the world.

4:1-16 ~ To live a life that has value

4:1-6 ~ Try hard to stay together

Verse 1 Christ has chosen us to sit with him in the *heavenly places (2:6). The name of Jesus is a statement about who he is. His name means ‘the *Lord *saves’. He is great and powerful. We are united with Jesus. We are with him at his side. We represent his name in our daily lives. In Ephesians 1:18, Paul speaks about the hope that we have in Christ. He now urges his readers to live as Christ taught us.

Verse 2 Paul now lists 4 qualities. The first is that we need to be ‘humble’. All people are of equal value to God. So no one Christian is more important than any other Christian is. To be humble means to recognise this. We should not be proud. We should not think that we are more important than other people. The *Greeks understood this differently from the *Jews. The *Greeks did not think that people should be humble. They did not want to be humble. To be humble was to be weak. They used a plant to describe it. This plant kept close to the ground and it always seemed to be trying to hide itself. The *Greeks did not like that. They did not think that to be humble was a good quality. Neither do many people today.

Paul, however, gives a new meaning to the word ‘humble’. A Christian should not have too great an opinion about himself. But he will want to know himself as he really is. He will look at the life of Christ. He will compare his life with his *Lord’s life. He will see then how weak and selfish he is. He will see the great difference. Then he will have a true opinion about himself. Because he thinks like this, he will respect other people. He will be kind towards them. Jesus was humble when he became a man (Philippians 2:6-7). Also, Paul says that it is not just ‘be humble’ but ‘be completely humble’. A Christian should be humble in every way.

However, a Christian can think well about himself and he should do so. But this is only when he understands the truth about himself. Yes, he has become the kind of person that God wants. But it is only by the *grace that God has given him. This means that God does not want you always to think that you are a bad person. He wants you to think about yourself for less time.

The second quality is to be ‘gentle’. This means to be under control. It is like a horse. He is strong but in perfect control. It is like a strong man who is able control himself. He uses his strength for good purposes. He is gentle with other people. He will be kind to them. It is like Jesus. He said about himself, ‘my attitude is gentle and humble’. A gentle person will not worry if someone hurts him. And he will not worry if someone does something wrong to him.

The third quality is to be ‘patient’ (or longsuffering). It means not to give up when things are against you. Suppose someone acts wrongly towards you. You must not do the same to them. This is what God is like (Romans 2:4). He does not act badly against us when we act badly against him.

The fourth quality is to be tolerant. This is to practise patience in daily life. It is to ‘show love to people who do not agree with you’. It is to be patient with the faults of another person. You continue to love a person when he does the wrong things. That means things that you do not like. Paul wants his friends to have these qualities only in love. Paul has already prayed for his friends (3:17). He prayed that they would ‘be like plants with roots in the ground of his love’ (3:17). Now he prays that Christians will have all these qualities in love.

Verse 3 Some people describe verses 4-6 as part of an early Christian *hymn. Paul uses the word ‘one’ 7 times. By Christ, we have unity. We should be united in the Spirit of God. This does not happen to us by our own efforts. However, we must work hard to keep it. We do this as we live in peace. The peace is the peace that Christ has given to us. We also live in peace with each other.

Verse 4 The *church is a like a body. It is a body of people - men, women and children. God has joined everyone together. Each person belongs to the other people. It is a group of people who work together for God. So people can see the *church. It is like the different parts of our physical bodies. Our bodies have many different parts. These parts all belong to each other. All the parts work together.

There is also ‘one Spirit’. He is the *Holy Spirit. There is only one body because there is only one Spirit. The *church consists of *Jewish and *Gentile *believers. Its unity comes from the one *Holy Spirit.

The *Holy Spirit is in the *church and he gives it life. He joins the people together. This makes unity in the *church. The *church is not a club or society. It is a body. It is alive and it is always growing. It grows by the power of the *Holy Spirit inside it.

There is ‘one hope’. This hope is that one day we shall all be like Jesus. We will live close to him for ever.

Verse 5 Next comes, ‘one *Lord, one *faith, one *baptism’. There is ‘one *Lord’, Jesus Christ. He is the *Lord of the *church. He is the same *Lord for all people. It does not matter who they are. They can be *Jews or *Gentiles. They can be black or white people. They can be rich or poor, great or small. Jesus Christ joins them all together and he keeps them together with him.

There is ‘one *faith’. All who love God share the same truths. These are truths about Jesus and his plan for our *salvation. *Faith in Jesus Christ means that we trust him for all of our life. All Christians share together in this.

There is ‘one *baptism’. We are not sure what Paul is referring to here. There is a *baptism in water. There is a *baptism into Christ (Galatians 3:27). There is a *baptism into one body (1 Corinthians 12:13).

Verse 6 ‘There is one God and Father of all. He is over all. He works by all and he lives in you all.’ In this one sentence, Paul speaks about the greatness and wonder of God. We live in a world where God is at the head of everything. This is what Christians believe. God is in control of everything. God keeps everything going and he holds everything together (Colossians 1:17). God is in all Christians. He knows about everything that happens. This same God is in us. He is working out his plan by us.

In verses 4-6, we see the Three in One God. We have the *Holy Spirit (verse 4), the *Lord Jesus (verse 5) and God the Father (verse 6).

4:7-12 ~ The gifts of Christ

Verse 7

God tells us to keep this unity in the Spirit (‘stay together’ verse 3). But it does not mean that we are all alike. It does not mean that we all have the same gifts. God gives many different kinds of gifts to the members of Christ’s body. No one has all the gifts but each member has some gift. All gifts come from God, so we cannot be proud of our gifts. We did not give ourselves the gifts. They come by God’s *grace.

There are two ways that we can use the word ‘*grace’. First, it is God’s *grace that *saves *sinners (2:5, 8). That is ‘*grace that *saves’. God gives this to everyone who believes in him. Second, there is God’s *grace in the special gifts that he gives to us. These help us to serve him. Here in verse 7, Paul says, ‘Christ has given a share of his *grace to each of us.’ He gives *grace in the way that he wants to distribute it. Christ gives us what he chooses to give us. He gives from the rich wealth of his gifts.

Verse 8 ‘When Christ went up to the highest place, he took prisoners with him. And he gave gifts to men.’

Paul now refers to a verse from the Psalms (Psalm 68:18). He starts his sentence with the words; ‘This is why scripture (the *Old Testament) says’. He is explaining what this verse means. It says, ‘When Christ went up to the highest place, he took prisoners with him. And he gave gifts to men.’ This speaks about the *Lord who has just won a war. He returns either to the *Temple or to heaven. This is what happened in *Old Testament days. The person who won the war would take valuable things from his prisoners. He would return home with his enemies as prisoners. He would then give the valuable things to his own people. After winning the war, he takes the prizes of war (gifts). He can now give them to his own people. But Paul says that this *Old Testament verse is about Christ. He has won the war against *Satan. Then he returns to be in the most high place with his Father. In that place, he is able to give good things to his people. Of course, the gifts that Christ gives to us come from God. They do not come from the enemy.

As he returns to the Father, Christ brings with him his enemies. These are the evil *spiritual forces of *spiritual rulers. He has defeated them. He has taken their *weapons. Now they have no power over us.

He also gives gifts to his own people. This is what Acts 2:33 means. It says that Jesus has ‘gone up to the right side of God’. ‘He has received from the Father the Spirit that the Father promised.’ ‘He has poured out what you now see and hear’ (the gift of the *Holy Spirit).

Verses 9-10 We understand ‘went up’ to mean his return to be in heaven with the Father. ‘He descended into the lower parts of the earth’. This is more difficult to understand. One possible meaning is this. He returned to the Father. Then he sent down his *Holy Spirit to the world below. It could be what Peter says in 1 Peter 3:19. He writes, ‘He went and gave a message to the *spirits in prison’ (see also 1 Peter 4:6). When Jesus died, God made his *spirit alive. Then he went to *preach to the *spirits of those who had already died (who were in prison). Another possible meaning is this. First, he came to earth from heaven as a baby. Then later he died on the *cross. There he suffered the worst pain possible (Philippians 2:5-11).

There may be doubt about the exact meaning of these words. But we can be certain about one thing: He did everything in order to fill the whole *universe. Jesus was here as a man on the earth. His body could be in only one place at one time. After the *resurrection, he is everywhere in the world by his Spirit. Everywhere Jesus is King. He is King in the heavens, on the earth or under the earth. Everything and everyone will be under his authority. And his *glory will fill the heavens and the earth (see Philippians 2:1-11).

Verses 11-12 In the original *Greek, it says that Jesus has given certain people to the *church as a gift. These people have different gifts. But together they are God’s gift to the *church. Here Paul describes the gifts that God has given to these people. He gives them the gifts to help other members of the *church. They then use their gifts and do their jobs in the *church. The result of this is that God can build up the *church. Now it can grow.

The first of these people are ‘*apostles’. These include the first 12 *disciples. They would include Matthias who replaced Judas. They include people such as Paul himself, Barnabas and Silas. The *Lord sent the *apostles out into the world. Everyone could see how God was using the *apostles. They worked by the power of the *Holy Spirit. People saw the wonderful events that took place. The results were powerful actions (2 Corinthians 12:12). The *apostles also taught the facts about Jesus. They taught about his life, death and *resurrection.

Together with the *apostles in the work of building the *church were the ‘*prophets’ (2:20 and 3:5). Their work was like that of the *Old Testament *prophets. It was to speak the word of God. This might mean to make the *sins of the people clear. Also it might mean to bring words of hope to the *church. This would give the people new strength. Judas and Silas did this in Acts 15:32. They encouraged the brothers with many words. They helped them to be strong in their *faith. This was like putting solid rock beneath the *church. Both the *apostles and the *prophets did this.

Next, come people with ‘the gift to tell out the good news about Christ’. We sometimes call a person who tells people the good news about Jesus an evangelist. Acts 21:8 describes Philip as an evangelist. In 2 Timothy 4:5, Paul tells Timothy to ‘do the work of an evangelist’. All Christians should be telling the *gospel (good news) to other people. But God has given some people a special gift to do that. Evangelists have the gift to teach the message of the *gospel. They do it in a way that people can understand. Then people can receive the offer of *salvation from Jesus.

Then there are ‘*pastors’ (that is *shepherds) and ‘teachers’. Paul does not separate these two gifts. They are together responsible to look after the *church. They teach the Bible to the members. The *shepherds and teachers have a duty. It is to feed the members of the *church with the ‘food’ of God’s Spirit. This ‘food’ is the word of God, the Bible. The *shepherds and teachers help people to understand the word of God. People will then remember it. The *pastors and teachers help people to obey God’s word. Then they will use God’s word in their daily lives. The *shepherds and teachers also guard the people. They keep them safe from attack. This might be from any enemy of the *gospel (1 Peter 5:2). Such an enemy might teach wrong things or cause trouble in the church.

The *church is the body of Christ. In the body, it is not necessary for any one member to have all the gifts. These gifts should be for all the members. God’s gift was for some people to be *apostles and for some people to be *prophets. Also, it was for some people to tell the good news about Jesus. And it was for some people to be *pastors and teachers. The purpose is to prepare ‘God’s people to do his work’. This is so that Christ can build up the *church, his body. The leaders’ work is to give the members the equipment that they need. Then the members can do their different jobs in the *church. Think about the reason for this. It is because God was ‘building them up into one body in Christ’.

The *apostles, *prophets, *pastors and other people that Paul mentioned earlier have their different gifts. They use these gifts to help all the members of the church to be Jesus’ servants. They can then do the work of Christ. They can tell people outside the *church about Jesus. Jesus Christ is the head. He gives gifts to each member. God then builds up his *church. And it grows as all the members use their gifts.

4:13-16 ~ *Faith and knowledge

Verse 13 To have the same *faith is not just to believe the teachers of that *faith. It is unity in knowing the Son of God. We cannot know people only with our minds. We must know them as they really are. It is like husbands and wives. They live their lives in each other’s company. In this way, they get to know each other. The person that we should really know is Jesus Christ the Son of God.

We need to grow and to become mature, that is to become completely developed in our *faith. We need to be like adults and not like children in our *faith (1 Corinthians 13:11). ‘Mature’ here means to be complete or ripe (like fruit that is ready to eat). It is what God wants for us.

We, all together, must ‘grow *spiritually into complete adults like Christ himself’. In every way, he is the complete and grown up person. He is our model. Jesus himself has the whole nature of God (Colossians 1:19). God wants us to receive the gifts and the *grace of Christ. His great desire is to give us these. God wants us to become more and more like Christ.

Verse 14 Jesus said that we should be like children. They have a simple *faith and trust in their parents. But there is one way in which we should not be like children. They may not have much knowledge about God’s word. We should not let things move us away from our *faith. The winds are like a picture of the false things that clever men can teach. They lead us away from the truth. It is like the snake that led Adam and Eve away from God.

Verse 15 Unlike such evil men, we should ‘speak the truth with love’. This means that we should not only speak the truth. We should also act the truth. We act the truth as we behave properly towards other people. Truth and love must be in the right balance. It is possible to have all truth but no love. It is also possible to have all love but no truth. We speak the truth ‘with love’ to help other people. We must spread the truth and we must love each other.

Verse 16 The whole body, the *church, depends upon Jesus. This verse is about a body like the human body. God joins the many parts of the body. They all work together. God is feeding the whole body. He is building it up (Colossians 2:19). The arm or the leg in the human body does not grow by itself. It is not there to satisfy its own needs. It grows for the benefit of the whole body. The *church grows as all the members use their gifts.

The *church grows when new members join it. But that is not the only way that it grows. The *church grows as the members learn to love each other more. More of Jesus’ love will grow in the people. Then more members will join (Acts 2:42-47).

4:17-32 ~ A different way to live

4:17-19 ~ How the *Gentiles live

In these verses, Paul describes how these people lived before they became Christians. The new Christians should have now stopped living that kind of life. But all round them are those who still live in a bad way. These people do not know God. Paul writes to those who are *Gentiles. But now, by the *grace of God, they are different from the other *Gentiles. They are no longer without God in the world. They are no longer without hope (see 2:12). They share the promises that God made to the *Jews.

Verses 17-18 Paul writes about the *Gentiles. ‘Their minds are confused. They are like blind men, who can see nothing.’ There is no real wisdom in their minds. Paul is now speaking very seriously. He wants the new Christians to be careful. He wants them to listen to what he is saying. ‘I say this in the name of the *Lord’, he says. He describes the kind of life that they used to live. They lived like that before they became Christians. It was the very worst kind of life that you can think of. It was very evil. That is how it was in Greece and Rome then. And it is like that in our world today.

The first description of this evil life is, ‘They do not know about the life that God gives.’ Their minds are confused. Many people who do not know God have no real purpose in life. They do not plan their lives well. However, all people are not as Paul describes. But this is how their lives will develop if they do not know God. This is how it is when people have no thought about God in their lives.

Next, they ‘refuse to listen to him’. These people are separate from God because they have no knowledge of God. They are separate from God, who alone gives life.

You could ask why these people did not know about the life that God gives. It might be because they did not hear the good news. But they are without excuse. This is because they have not lived by the knowledge that they already have (Romans 1:18-23). We cannot see God. But we can see the things that he has made. These things are everywhere for everyone to see. The *spirits and minds of these people have become like hard stones.

Verse 19 ‘They do many things that are wrong. But they are not ashamed. So they do all kinds of wicked things and they become even worse.’ They have no shame for their evil ways. Also, they are not sad about this. Wrong thoughts in the mind lead to wrong desires. Wrong desires lead to evil actions. They do not care about the effect that their actions have on other people. Neither do they care what people think about their *sin.

They put everything that they have into their evil actions. It is like their business or trade. They put all their time and energy into it. They do all kinds of disgusting things. They are *greedy for it. They want more and more of it.

4:20-24 ~ Take off the old nature and put on the new nature

Verse 20 ‘you know that Christ taught you a better way to live’. You are different from the people that Paul has just described. Your minds are not dark any more. God lights up your life as you live side by side with him. You have finished with all *sinful behaviour.

Verse 21 The Christians at Ephesus have heard about Jesus. Their Christian teachers have told them his words. Paul himself has taught them about the truth that is ‘in Jesus’. The whole truth is ‘in Jesus’. The truth is in Jesus because he is the truth. The truth is in his life, death and *resurrection.

Verse 22 A Christian should leave behind the old way to live. Before, you used to put yourself at the centre of everything. Your desires came from that centre. Your desires led to bad behaviour. That was your old way to live. An example is the effect that an insect has on a good apple. The good apple becomes bad. The effect that *sin has on human nature is the same. Paul taught people to take off this old person and to put on the new person. The old person is the old nature. We should take it off like a piece of clothing. We need to become a new person.

The old way to live was wrong and it led to death. It was ‘destroying you’. This way brought desires that you might think are pure. But they are not. They are pleasures that you want in order to please yourself. We think that they will give us joy. And we think that they will benefit us. But this is not true. All *sin is like that. We never get what we hope to get. *Sin damages all the good things that God has given. It leads to the death of the *sinner. But the Christian can praise God. God has *forgiven all these old *sins. He has put them away for ever.

Verse 23 You have stopped thinking in the old way. That was your old way to live before you became a Christian. This is so that you can ‘learn to think in a completely new way’. Your mind was dead and it has become alive again. It should continue to become alive every day and every moment. Your mind became dark. That was what went wrong in the first place. Now you have the Spirit of God in you. So you think in new ways. This leads to a new way to live.

Verse 24 ‘God has given you a new nature, so put it on’. Now that we have taken off the old nature, Paul asks us to put on the new nature. It is our new way to live. God *created Adam and Eve. He made them perfect and he gave them his own nature. It is a nature of true goodness and holy ways. God was close to them all the time. He walked with them and he talked with them. But their *sin caused everything to go wrong. They lost this close relationship and they lost God’s nature.

But now God has given that relationship back to us. This is by Christ who died for us on the *cross. It is the relationship of the new birth. By his death, men and women can be born a second time. God has given us again a relationship with himself. It is now as it was when God first created Adam and Eve. Jesus’ death made right all that the *sin of Adam and Eve had spoilt.

The new nature is the new *creation of God. It is the act of God alone. You cannot *create it. It is a new birth from God. You cannot yourself cause your physical birth. Neither can you cause yourself to be born again. You have now left behind your old person. You must therefore leave behind the old kind of behaviour. People can now see God in you. They can see him in you because ‘God will make you *holy and good’. The old nature was false. It made false promises (verse 22). The new nature is ‘*holy and good’. To be ‘good’ is to be right with other people. To be ‘*holy’ is to be right with God. This is God’s purpose for all of us.

4:25-32 ~ Live as a Christian

This part of the letter shows how we should be ‘*holy and good’. Paul has asked us to take off the old nature and to put on the new nature. He now gives a list of things that we should stop doing. He tells us what we should do instead.

Verse 25 The first thing is not to tell lies. This is something that every good person would agree with. Both Christians and those who are not Christians agree about that.

But if Christians lie, they damage their love and unity. Christians belong together in one body. Therefore, they must be honest with each other. To tell lies prevents the body (the *church) from working well.

Verse 26 Another part of the old nature is bad temper. This is anger that has no good cause. There is a right anger. Jesus himself showed this (Mark 3:5). Someone may do wrong things to another person. You feel angry towards the person who has acted in that way. It is then right that you feel angry. That is *righteous or right anger. Anger must not be the result of an attack against you. It must not be because someone has hurt your pride. We must be careful that there is no *sin in our anger.

Paul adds, ‘You must stop being angry before sunset’. People do wrong things to us. But we should not hold on to our anger for a long time. ‘If you are angry, you must not let this anger make you *sin.’ These words are from Psalm 4:4. It adds, ‘when you are on your beds, search your minds and be silent’. You may be angry when you go to bed. But then you will not be able to think good thoughts. You must stop being angry before you go to sleep. Otherwise, your anger will keep growing. You must first examine yourself about your anger. Then you will ask yourself, ‘Is my anger right?’ ‘Am I happy and at peace about it?’ If so, I can sleep in peace.

Verse 27 Paul gives a further thought in this verse. He writes, ‘Otherwise, the *Devil could make you do something that is wrong.’ To continue to be angry is like leaving a door open. The *devil can then enter. Then you will have bad thoughts and you will do wrong things. That spoils the unity of the body (the *church). The *Greek word for ‘devil’ is also the word for ‘slanderer’. A slanderer says things that are not true about another person.

Verse 28 Those who steal must stop stealing. Some people may have lived by stealing. A Christian must not take things from other people. They have had to work for these things. Instead, the Christian must use his hands to earn money. He must not be afraid of honest, hard work. Then he can look after his own family. And he can have what he needs himself. But he will also want to give to those who do not have enough. Jesus was not rich. But he gave to poor people from the small amount of money that he had (John 13:29). The same was true about Paul (Acts 20:34-35).

Verse 29 Paul now talks about the way that Christians should talk. ‘Do not use bad words that may hurt somebody. Your words should help other people’. We should speak only words that help other people. We should speak to help other people grow. God can help us to say the words that they need. How we speak is very important. Jesus taught that. There will be a day for judgement. Then Jesus will remind us about the words that we have spoken. We will have spoken many words without care and thought. He will want to know about these. James also spoke about the great importance of the tongue. We can use it to speak in a good way or in an evil way (James 3:1-12).

There should be no bad language or language that does not help anyone. ‘A man is happy when he gives a right reply. How good is a word that you speak at the proper time’ (Proverbs 15:23). Our words should not only be true and pure. They should help those who hear them. Our words should build up the Body of Christ (the *church). Our example again is Jesus himself. ‘All spoke well about him. The kind words that he spoke astonished them’ (Luke 4:22).

Verse 30 There was an instruction about anger in verse 26. Then a warning followed in verse 27, ‘the *Devil could make you do something that is wrong.’ It is the same in Paul’s instruction about how we talk. He follows it with a warning. He warns, ‘You must not make God’s *Holy Spirit sad’. All *sin makes God sad. The *Holy Spirit is a Person. He is the *Holy Spirit of truth. Anything that is not holy or true hurts the Spirit of God. He lives in a Christian.

And Paul reminds us that the *Holy Spirit is God’s promise (or *seal). He *sealed us for the day of freedom. This *seal of the *Holy Spirit gives the Christian certainty. It makes us sure about *salvation. It makes us sure that we will have a home in heaven for ever.

Verse 31 There are 5 things that the Christian must stop doing.

·          First, is to be ‘bitter’. A person may have done something wrong to you. And perhaps you refuse to become friends again. Or, you may have done wrong things to someone. They *forgive you, but you do not accept their *forgiveness. You continue to think angry, evil things about them. If so, then you are bitter.

·          Next come ‘*rage’ and ‘anger’. ‘Rage’ is a sudden burst of anger like a storm. Anger itself is a wrong feeling against an enemy. It is a deep, slow feeling. It grows inside you (please see explanation of verse 26).

·          We should not shout and ‘fight’. An angry man shouts. He thinks that everything that he says must be right. Someone has done something wrong to him. He wants everyone to hear about it. We should watch for times when we shout. We should watch when we are not speaking with a normal voice. We sometimes have arguments and we quarrel. But we must not be angry and shout at people.

·          We must not ‘say bad things about each other’. To ‘slander’ means to tell lies and offend people. The Bible uses this word for speaking against God. It uses it too for making wrong statements against another person.

·          Last, we must not ‘think or act because of spite’. This could mean to plan evil things against another person. It could include all the other *sins that we have described. It could also be other similar bad things.

Verse 32 We need to think in the way that pleases God. This will help us to stop evil words and actions. So ‘be friends’ and ‘be kind to each other.’ And ‘*forgive each other, just as God forgave you. God forgave you because of Christ.’ God shows his kindness even to those who do not honour him. God shows his kindness to us (2:7). Kindness is to put love into action. It is to think about someone else. You think about them as much as you think about yourself.

So Paul goes on to say, ‘forgive each other’. The *apostle knows, however, what prevents us from being kind and thinking good things about each other. We can all think of an occasion when another person did something wrong to us. We need to forgive that person. For ‘kind’, Paul uses the *Greek word for ‘*grace’. It means to act in *grace towards each other. It means to give *grace to someone. This is how God in Christ has acted in *grace towards us. You can be sure that God forgave you. You love God. So you too will want to *forgive (give *grace) to other people. God has put our *sin away. He has put it away as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). Jesus is our example of *forgiveness.

Chapter 5

5:1-14 ~ Love

5:1-7 ~ Live in love

Verse 1 ‘You must try to be as much like God as you can.’ By *grace God has made you his child. Children copy their parents. Therefore, copy God and continue to copy him. Then you will become more like him.

Verse 2 Our perfect example is Jesus himself. He lived his life on earth as we do. He loves us as the Father loves him. We must love other people as Jesus loves us (John 13:34; 1 John 4:10-11; 1 Corinthians chapter 13). Christ *sacrificed his life for us on the *cross. That is how he showed his love for us. Our love also should be a *sacrifice.

We see the meaning of *sacrifice in 1 John 3:16. It says, ‘this is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ gave his life for us’. Then it says, ‘and we ought to give our lives for our brothers (other Christians)’. The offering of Christ, however, was more than an example to us. It was an offering ‘to God’ and ‘for us’.

The *Old Testament described a *sacrifice as a sweet smell. This meant that God liked it. There was, however, a far, far greater *sacrifice by Jesus for us. In the same way, we should give ourselves to God and to other people. This is our life of *sacrifice. It is like a sweet smell to God. It is also like a sweet smell to other people. Paul gives the same thoughts in 2 Corinthians 2:14-16.

Verses 3-4 The *Greek people could see nothing wrong in bad *sexual behaviour. It was quite natural for a man to have sex with any woman. He would do this whenever it pleased him. Paul gave a completely new way to think.

Paul now starts to teach about wrong and *sinful acts. People do *sinful things. They think that they are acting with love. But it is a false kind of love. Paul is speaking about wrong *sexual behaviour. There is a proper use of sex. It is in marriage. Paul teaches that any other kind of sex is wrong. Sex in marriage is not wrong or dirty. There is a shared pleasure and delight in sex between a husband and wife. It is a gift from God. It brings him *glory.

But, to use sex in the wrong way is *greedy. It pleases one person but it hurts another person. God gives us some wonderful powers. It is not right to use them wrongly. God does not allow it for his holy people. We should not even talk between us about such things. It is not right for the people of God.

Paul now uses three more words. These describe a wrong way to live and a wrong way to talk. These ways should have no place in the Christian life. The first is talk that is ‘not suitable for God’s people’ or ‘obscenity’. Obscenity is bad talk, especially about sex. The second is to say ‘bad words’. These might be the words of a man who is drunk. Such words do not benefit the people who hear them. The third is to joke in a wrong way or to ‘say silly things’. This could mean to tell jokes that are not suitable for a Christian. But it does not mean that a Christian should always be serious. He should be able to laugh about amusing things.

Paul adds the words, ‘Instead, you should thank God.’ You should consider other people when you talk. Your words should be helpful to those who hear. It should not be silly, foolish talk. To thank God is the best kind of talk. Some people want wrong things for their own pleasure. This is the opposite of thanking God. You should thank God for his gifts. You should not joke about them. However, Paul does not forbid talk about sex. Also, he does not say that we should not tell jokes. But he says that our talk should be helpful to God’s holy people.

Verses 5-6 A person who has no morals is not pure. He is *greedy. Such a person does not *worship God. He or she has no place in the *kingdom of Christ and of God. Paul says that Christians should not listen to those who do not speak the truth. Otherwise, this will pull them away from God. God is angry with these people because of such things. They will have no place with God’s people in heaven. They are people who continue in their *sin. They do not *repent. Paul says that they can be sure that his warning words are true. But some people think that they are not important. Those people laugh at them.

In those days, there were people who thought that only the *spirit was important. The body did not matter. So they thought that it was good to *sin. You could *sin as much as you wanted. It would not matter because the body was not important. Other people even went further than that. They thought that the more you *sinned, the more God would *forgive you. He would be able to give you more *grace (see Romans 6:1). So, they thought that it benefited both you and God. But this is false. Those who think like this may try to ‘pull you away from God’. Such people are not part of the *kingdom of God. Only those people who turn away from their *sin can be in God’s *kingdom.

Paul adds more warning words: ‘God is angry with all those people who do not obey him.’ God is holy. This means that he is separate and completely different from us. Everything about God is right. Everything that God does is right. Because he is God, he can do nothing wrong. He is completely good and pure. He cannot allow anything not pure or not clean to come near him. He is like fire. He burns and destroys anything that is not good and pure. It says in Hebrews, ‘our God is like a fire that destroys’ (Hebrews 12:29).

Because God is like this, it is not possible for a *sinner to come near him. God is angry with all of us because of *sin. We deserve punishment from God. We must *repent and receive God’s gift of *forgiveness. There is no *sin in Jesus. ‘Christ did not know any *sin. But God made him become *sin for us. As a result, we can receive God’s goodness by him.’ (2 Corinthians 5:21). God is angry with *sin. But he loves the *sinner. Jesus *saves us from God’s anger. What Jesus did was to stand in our place in front of God’s anger. He did this when he died for us on the *cross. God asks us to *repent and to accept Jesus’ *sacrifice.

The *sins that Paul names in these verses are the same as those in verse 3. Here, however, Paul says that *greed is like the *worship of *idols. An *idol is a thing or a desire that we make more important than the *worship of God. A strong desire for money or for wrong sex is an *idol. The Bible says that *sexual *sins are serious. They result in broken marriages. Children usually suffer when a marriage ends. They lose the love and discipline of two parents. But pride, *greed and to live for oneself are also *sins.

Paul says that none of these people has ‘a share in the *kingdom of Christ and of God.’ These words put Christ and God together as equal. Jesus Christ became a man for us. But he is also God. The *kingdom of God is also the *kingdom of Christ. This *kingdom is only for people who are right with God. No one who is not right with God belongs to it. It is possible for any of us to *sin in many ways. But God will *forgive those who *repent. The story about David, Bathsheba and Uriah in 2 Samuel 11:1-27 is a good example. Some people continue in their *sin. They are the people who have no part in the *kingdom. The