(from In Christ–the Church at Ephesus, forthcoming.) God is in the process of bringing heaven here, not abandoning this world to Satan. God’s intention is to destroy Satan and his works, but not the world. God’s intention is the destruction…
Category: Ephesians
Wiles
(From In Christ–the Church at Ephesus, forthcoming.) The purpose of wearing the armor of God is to “stand against the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:11). Schemes (μεθοδεία) is translated wiles in the Authorized Version. It is a compound word…
Sex
(from In Christ–The Church in Ephesus, forthcoming.) And speaking of pheromones, Paul continues to address sexual issues. “But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints” (Ephesians 4:3). Paul’s…
Passion
(from In Christ–the Church at Ephesus, forthcoming.) Paul continued his discussion of the Gentiles, whom we are not to emulate, by saying that “they have become callous” (Ephesians 4:19). The Authorized Version reads, “who being past feeling.” The Greek word…
Fixity
from In Christ–the Church at Ephesus (forthcoming). Why to the Gentiles do what they do? Paul said that it is “due to their hardness of heart” (Ephesians 4:18). The Authorized Version calls it “blindness of heart.” The Greek word (πώρωσις)…
Some Early American History
(from In Christ–the Church at Ephesus, forthcoming.) Christianity has not followed Paul’s leadership and instructions to not “walk as the Gentiles do” (Ephesians 4: 17) as well as it should have. Many Greek, Gentile and worldly ideas and practices have…
Tossed To And Fro
(from In Christ—The Church At Ephesus, forthcoming) Paul looked forward to the day when Christians would not be “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4: 14). Again, this phrase suggests…
Peace
(from In Christ—The Church At Ephesus, forthcoming.) And we are to do all of this “in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3), without the ravages of war and strife, without theological conflict and opposition, and with a spirit of harmony…
Forbearance
(from In Christ—The Church At Ephesus, forthcoming.) We are to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience” (Ephesians 4:1-2). The Authorized Version translated μακροθυμία as longsuffering.…
Peace
Peace is not the absence of conflict. The Greek word translated as peace (εἰρήνη) literally means to join, which fits right into the larger context of eliminating the wall of division between the circumcised and the uncircumcised. Peace comes when…