Prayer: Father, In all your dealings with us, you have guided our every move, fought every battle, and given us every victory. We implore you for insight into the study of chapter four. We are confident that through the Lord Jesus Christ we will worship you on high and sit at the throne of grace because of our savior’s death on the cross and resurrection.

Key Word - “renewed”

Ephesians

        Verses 1-7   essential theology of the believer

Verse  8-10  descended and raised

Verse 11-16  perfection of the saints

Verse 17-24  no longer gentiles

Verse 25-32  human relationships

Help our eyes study your Holy Word,

Help us learn O Father above,

Help our hearts to know thy truth,

Prepare our minds to receive your love.

Every time we look at the Holy Scripture we are reminded of the necessity to be diligent in the application of what we read to our everyday lives. Some parts of Holy Writ are easier than others to practice this truth. The necessary pragmatic applications, for the Christian, of this section of the Bible are tremendous. Every essential issue in a Christian’s life is at least touched upon. It is a veritable treasure trove of applicable Christianity. Let us begin to feast upon this section.

Ephesians 4:1-7

1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

 The word prisoner here is rich in implied meanings. Paul was indeed a prisoner at the time of this writing, yet here he is speaking much more. The word prisoner is the Greek word desmios (des'-mee-os). It comes from an earlier word meaning ligament or band of muscle in the body itself. [Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance] Paul was a willing vessel unto dishonor, if need be, for the Gospel of Christ, and this he felt down to the very ligaments that held him together. Heb 4:12

 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. KJV

 The word beseech comes from the Greek word parakaleo (par-ak-al-eh'-o); from to call near, i.e. invite, invoke. This is a form of the same Greek word used for the Holy Spirit. How wonderful is Paul’s word choice here. He is almost wooing us to listen and to learn He identifies with the Holy Spirit to such a degree that Paul becomes invisible and all we see is the Holy Spirit. What a depth of understanding he has in writing this passage.

It is at this point that we must insert a personal opinion. Whenever we see this type of scriptural depth, we stand resolute at the impossibility of the human hand being the author of the Bible. It is too coincidental to be coincidental. The Holy Spirit is indeed the author of the book of Ephesians. The Bible is the Word of the veritable triune Godhead.

The next word phrase to sink our teeth into is walk worthy. We saw something here that was just grand! The Greek word here is pateo (pat-eh'-o); (meaning a "path"); to trample (literally or figuratively): tread (down, under foot). We are to be so exemplary that our path is well visible. It should not be vague or easily misinterpreted. When we say God, for instance, it should mean the Judaic-Christian God. It should not be any old god, but the one true God.

Vocation or invitation uses the smaller form of the same Greek word kaleo and looks at a different root meaning. The definition from Strong’s is to incite us unto our calling. There is an impetus to our calling.  There is a time frame, but more importantly an urgency to commit ourselves to our calling.

2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

In studying verse 2 we saw more treasure when we looked up the Greek words in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance.

Lowliness means in the original language, self-humiliation of mind, i.e. modesty: the feelings of a sensitive nature. It is more of the concept of not being proud than being a doormat in our relationships to other folks.

Meekness means the humble mindedness of a man or woman who realizes their place in the presence of God. A meek heart is humble heart intent upon knowing more of the Lord Jesus Christ, and putting into practice the principles of Jesus to improve their lives and the lives of others

Longsuffering is a much different concept than our English for longsuffering. The nuance of this word is startling. This word carries the belief of impassioned forbearance. We must actively suffer with someone’s behavior, and be passionate, or enthusiastic about what their potential could be. Perhaps this is the only way to endure some types of behavior that we meet in our everyday lives.

Forbearing means to hold one self up against, to endure or put up with. These last two words mean essentially that even though we should be looking for the best results that are possible in everyone we meet, we may not see the good behavior in our lifetime and that we just have to trust Jesus for His wisdom.

Love or agape the primary Greek used in the New Testament for love is considered by many to mean God’s love. A higher love that is to be sought after as the epitome of Christianity. Yet in John 5:20 it states that God loved Jesus using the Greek word Phileo

For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. KJV

After years of looking at this precept, we have considered that Agape and Phileo are two sides of the love character of the Godhead. It would be of interest to correlate the purpose of each personage of the Trinity with the word for love.

3 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Endeavoring brought us another rich treasure. This word in the Greek means "speed", i.e. (by implication) dispatch, eagerness, earnestness. Here is this same nuance of passion that we saw in the last verse. We need to be a bridge of reconciliation and a searching ambassador of unity, if given the opportunity.

Keep to guard (from loss or injury, properly, by keeping the eye upon). We should also have a mindset watching for the enemy around every corner, ironically by placing the precious gift of unity in God’s hands.

Unity means oneness, i.e. (figuratively) unanimity. Oneness composed of many parts of which the main example is the Body of Christ.

Spirit pneuma is a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze. By analogy or figuratively, a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition. This is the common word used for the Holy Spirit.

Bond sundesmos (soon'-des-mos; a joint tie, i.e. ligament, (figuratively) uniting principle, control a form of the word used also as prisoner see verse 1 of this biblical chapter.

Peace eirene (i-ray'-nay); probably from a primary verb eiro (to join); peace (literally or figuratively); by implication, prosperity. This is a fascinating word essential for our hearts. There are many thoughts of peace and different nuances of the words for peace. This particular word denotes the type of peace concerning the desert at night with no wind or noises around. Peace, here, is culturally stating a kind of silence that unites itself with the vastness of the desert.

4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

There is no help in the Greek concerning these words. One means one although interestingly enough the word for one is different concerning “ one Spirit” from the other mentions of the word “one”. Called and calling are described above. Hope is another treasured word however.

 Hope uses the Greek word elpis (el-pece'); from a primary elpo (to anticipate, usually with pleasure); expectation (abstractly or concretely) or confidence. We are not only called to perform our sacred duty of telling others about our wonderful savior, but we should proclaim His message with joyful, and completely pleasured abandon.

 
5 One Lord, We cannot serve two masters. One faith, There is only the faith that believes there is a Father God who wishes to dialogue with His children. One baptism, that connects us to God the Father through Jesus the Son. The formula is irrelevant as to how it is done. The concept here is to identify with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. There is no room for a multiplicity of gods and goddesses.

7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

There is a small piece of our heavenly father in each and every one of us. When we do not satisfy the needs of that little piece of God then we have no peace with Him. Simply talking to Him will satisfy the urges that this microcosm of the Trinity needs. The problem is we cannot see Him. Without sight of Jesus, we sometimes lose confidence that He exists and doubt His salvation for our souls.