Our Redemption “in Christ” Detailed to the Ephesians Volume 38

Paul Details the Purpose of the Spiritual Gifts given to Believers Part 2

Ephesians 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; KJV

Paul continues his definition of the purpose our Lord Jesus Christ gave varying gifts to men and women in His Body by saying “That we henceforth be no more children” (Ephesians 4:14). The idea Paul is conveying here (in the spiritual sense) is comparable to that in the natural/physical sense of parents with their children. Parents expect their infant babies to cry to get their parents attention because they are helpless from birth until they get older, but they do not expect or will they tolerate a 9 year old or 19 year old child falling out in the middle of the floor and crying in order to get their parents attention or affection. Likewise, here in the spiritual sense, Paul acknowledges that every believer is a “babe in Christ” early on after their conversion to Christ, but now (through the exercise of these variance gifts in Christ Body (the Church)), we all are expected by our Heavenly Father to grow in grace and knowledge (2 Peter 3:18) as we declared in the last study and become full grown mature adult sons and daughters of the Living God our Father in Heaven as Paul wrote with these words to the Corinthian believers, “Brethren, do not be children [immature] in your thinking; continue to be babes in [matters of] evil, but in your minds be mature [men].” (1 Corinthians 14:20).

Paul continues on with his discourse declaring why it is so important that we become mature believers through being taught the Word of God by those with the gifts given to them by Christ Jesus our Lord and the first concern Paul has is that these Ephesian believers and us today be not “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;” (Ephesians 4:14). The English phrase “tossed to and fro” is translated by one Greek word  kludonizomai which occurs only once in the Bible and carries the meaning of a billowing wave in the ocean or sea going or raging back and forth; to fluctuate, vacillate, or be unstable. In other words, Paul wants every believer to be firmly fixed on the Gospel of Grace and on every truth that is in our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ not wavering in our faith in Christ or the truths in the Word of God and this is what the gifted men and women are to be about establishing in Christ Body as the Apostle James declares in (James 1:2-8).

The English phrase carried about Paul uses here is translated by the Greek word periphero which means to convey around, that is, transport hither and thither: - bear (carry) about. In other words, the Apostle Paul has had to combat the teachings of false teachers in every region of the known world that he established local Churches for our Lord Jesus Christ, to the Galatian believers as he said with these words, “I am surprised {and} astonished that you are so quickly turning renegade {and} deserting Him Who invited {and} called you by the grace (unmerited favor) of Christ (the Messiah) [and that you are transferring your allegiance] to a different [even an opposition] Gospel. Not that there is [or could be] any other [genuine Gospel], but there are [obviously] some who are troubling {and} disturbing {and} bewildering you [with a different kind of teaching which they offer as a Gospel] and want to pervert {and} distort the Gospel of Christ (the Messiah) [into something which it absolutely is not].” (Galatians 1:6-7). Also to the Corinthian believers (2 Corinthians 11:12-15), therefore, Paul wants these Ephesian believers and us today to become full grown mature adults “in Christ” and no longer babes that we would not be fooled “by the sleight of men” at any time.

The English word sleight Paul uses here is translated by the Greek word kubeia which is used this one time in the entire Bible and means (a cube, that is, die for playing); gambling, that is, (figuratively) artifice or fraud: - sleight; A deceptive maneuver (especially to avoid capture). Here is what Adam Clarke says of this word Paul uses here to describe these false teachers, “The word refers to the arts used by gamesters, who employ false dice that will always throw up one kind of number, which is that by which those who play with them cannot win.” The English phrase “cunning craftiness” Paul uses here is translated by the Greek word panourgia which means skillful or shrewd performance or ability without difficulty, that is, (in a bad sense) trickery or sophistry (a deliberately invalid argument displaying ingenuity in reasoning in the hope of deceiving someone). This was the actions of the men that came behind Paul in all of the regions where he had proclaimed the true Gospel of Christ and taught the truth of God in every place, so Paul here warns these Ephesian believers and declares to them the purpose that Christ gave him and others (prophets, pastors, teachers, etc.) to them in order to keep them from these men who “lie in wait to deceive” them and take or carry them away from the simplicity that is found in Christ Jesus our Lord as Paul declared to the Corinthian believers with these words, “But [now] I am fearful, lest that even as the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning, so your minds may be corrupted {and} seduced from wholehearted {and} sincere {and} pure devotion to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3).

My own Personal Note: “The writer of Proverbs tells us that, “the dross must be taken away from the silver before it is ready to go to the Silversmith.” The Lord Jesus Christ is the Silversmith of all who place their faith and trust in Him. They then become refined as His sons and daughters. This is how He is preparing His people today and always: He places us in His refining fire to burn off all those impurities in our hearts. He controls the fire and thus guarantees the end result of the purification process—the removal of the dross. No man or woman who ever came to our Lord and Savior in true heartfelt repentance and faith and thereafter remained the same as before the life-changing encounter with the Lord of Glory.” Excerpt from my Book entitled, “Silent Assassins of the Soul: Finding Freedom from Sexual Impurity through the Lord Jesus Christ, A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs

“We should carefully examine what is truth, and having found it, should adhere to it, and not yield on the coming of every new teacher. We should not, indeed, close our minds against conviction. We should be open to argument, and be willing to follow ‘the truth’ wherever it will lead us. But this state of mind is not inconsistent with having settled opinions, and with being firm in holding them until we are convinced that we are wrong. No man can be useful who has no settled principles. No one who has not such principles can inspire confidence or be happy, and the first aim of every young convert should be to acquire settled views of the truth, and to become firmly grounded in the Doctrines of the Gospel.” Albert Barnes

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…