Our Redemption “in Christ” Detailed to the Ephesians Volume 21

Paul declares to the Ephesians that both Jew and Gentile are placed into one Spiritual Building

Ephesians 2:20-22 And are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. KJV

Paul’s final metaphor he uses here is that of an Architectural Building or Structure that is huge and grand and captivating in size, and in quality of construction. In this final metaphor, Paul declares that the foundation or the basis for which this spiritual house is built or constructed seeing that the Gospel of Grace was begun by and explained and expounded throughout Israel by the Prophets of old such as Isaiah who spoke these words referring to Jesus Christ and His Gospel of Grace hundreds of years before our Lord, Master, and Savior was even born into the world, “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.” (Isaiah 28:16). Likewise the Apostles along with the Prophets also spoke of this foundation throughout the entire known world of which Paul is an Apostle and it was he that said, “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. According to the Grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:9-11).

Just as in an actual physical building the foundation is the most important part of the Structure as it is the Structures sturdiness, strength, and stability, so is our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ and His Gospel of Grace that He foretold through the Prophets of old like Isaiah and handed down to His Apostles declaring “true faith” as the Apostle Jude spoke of with these words in this manner, “Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you. Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.” (Jude 1:1-3). Paul refers to our Lord Jesus as the “chief corner stone” of the spiritual building and this phrase is translated by one Greek word akrogoniaios meaning one belonging to the extreme corner; according to W.W. Lloyd it is the primary foundation-stone at the angle of the structure by which the architect fixes a standard for the bearings of the walls and cross-walls throughout.

In other words, Jesus Christ is THE Standard and nothing outside of Him or vital union with Him will bring any soul peace here on the earth or in eternity or take them to Heaven at the moment of their physical death as our Lord Jesus Himself informed the Jewish leaders when He spoke these words, “Jesus asked them, Have you never read in the Scriptures: The very Stone which the builders rejected {and} threw away has become the Cornerstone; this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? I tell you, for this reason the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce the fruits of it. {And whoever falls on this Stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom It falls will be crushed to powder [and It will winnow him, scattering him like dust]. And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables (comparisons, stories used to illustrate and explain), they perceived that He was talking about them.” (Matthew 21:42-45). That Spiritual building or temple is the Body of Jesus Christ (the True Church) (Matthew 16:18).

Paul declares that it is our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ that has everyone in His Body “fitly framed together” (Ephesians 2:21). This English phrase “fitly framed together” is translated by one Greek word sunarmologeo and this word denotes union meaning to render closely jointed together, that is, organized compactly; to be fitly framed or joined together in an appropriate manner. In other words, it is complete harmony of true love, faith, and doctrine within the Spiritual Body of our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ and He joins together both Jew and Gentile constituting One True Church kept by His Mighty Power and made up of every nationality as the Apostle John wrote with these words, “And [now] they sing a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the scroll and to break the seals that are on it, for You were slain (sacrificed), and with Your blood You purchased men unto God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And You have made them a kingdom (royal race) and priests to our God, and they shall reign [as kings] over the earth!” (Revelation 5:9-10).

Paul declares that those who are in the Body of our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ “groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:21). The English word groweth Paul uses here is translated by the Greek word auxano which is a prolonged form of a primary verb meaning to grow, that is, enlarge (literally or figuratively, actively or passively); to increase. In other words, true believers are growing in the grace and knowledge of God (2 Peter 3:18) by virtue of God the Holy Spirit indwelling us. Paul declares that this growth is into a holy temple in Christ Jesus our Lord because every true believer is called the temple of God as Paul wrote with these words to the Corinthian believers, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) and also these words, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). God the Father dwelt with His people Israel in the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34-38) and this was where the Glory of God was manifested here on the earth. However, now when all true believers come together in one place there is where God dwells along with His Glory inside of every true son and daughter of His.

Paul just as he wrote these words above to the Corinthian believers, he now puts forth the same premise by calling these Ephesian believers “an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22). The English phrase “an habitation” Paul uses here is translated from the Greek word katoiketerion which means a dwelling place such as a house resided in or lived in permanently. In other words, God has settled down eternally in the hearts (i.e. the inner man or inner woman) of every sinful soul regenerated and born again by His Holy Spirit and we are now able to worship God the Father in spirit and truth (John 4:24) as the Apostle Peter declares with these words in this manner, “And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:4-5).

My own Personal Note: In the process of passing from death unto life, I had an experience that only a born again child of God can truly understand. It was a mysterious change, but an undeniably positive change. It was as though my old heart was taken out of me and cleansed, all its filth washed away, before it was put back into my soul. It was for me “a new heart and a right spirit”: a mysterious but yet an actual and real change! I immediately began to love people whom I formerly despised. To be truly converted, regenerated, or born again is a process by which the Holy Spirit ignites an explosion inside a person. The bomb (Holy Spirit) explodes on the inside of a person and destroys, or subdues, the old nature (sinful fallen corrupt nature) and the person is flooded with the (agape) love of God. 1 John 3:1 (AMP): “Behold, what manner (of what possible sort) of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God!” Romans 5:5 (AMP): “God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.” 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”

“The apostle now applies the metaphor to the purpose for which he produced it, retaining however some of the figurative expressions. As the stones in a temple are all properly placed so as to form a complete house, and be a habitation for the Deity that is worshipped there, so ye are all, both believing Jews and Gentiles, prepared by the doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles, under the influence of the Spirit of Christ, to become a habitation of God, a Church in which God shall be worthily worshipped, and in which He can continually dwell. Of this glorious Church every Christian soul is an epitome; for as God dwells in the Church at large, so He dwells in every believer in particular: each is a habitation of God through the Spirit. In vain are all pretensions among sects and parties to the privileges of the Church of Christ, if they have not the doctrine and life of Christ. Traditions and legends are not apostolic doctrines, and showy ceremonies are not the life of God in the soul of man.” Adam Clarke

“Throughout the Pauline letters we have frequent references to edifying, a phrase which has been so vulgarized by much handling that its great meaning has been all but lost, but which still, rightly understood, presents the Christian life as one continuous effort after developing Christian character. Taking into view the whole of the apostolic references to this continuous process of building, we cannot but recognize that it all begins with the act of faith which brings men into immediate contact and vital union with Jesus Christ, and which is, if anything that a man does is, the act of his very inmost self-passing out of its own isolation and resting itself on Jesus. It is by the vital and individual act of faith that any soul escapes from the dreary isolation of being a stranger and a foreigner, wandering, homeless and solitary, and finds through Jesus fellowship, an elder Brother, a Father, and a home populous with many brethren. But whilst faith is the condition of beginning the Christian life, which is the only real life, that life has to be continued and developed towards perfection by continuous effort. ‘Tis a life-long toil till the lump be leavened.’ One of the passages already referred to varies the metaphor of building, in so far as it seems to represent ‘your most holy faith’ as the foundation, and may be an instance of the doubtful New Testament usage of ‘faith,’ as meaning the believed Gospel, rather than the personal act of believing. But however that may be, context of the words clearly suggests the practical duties by which the Christian life is preserved and strengthened. They who build up themselves do so, mainly, by keeping themselves in the love of God with watchful oversight and continual preparedness for struggle against all foes who would drag them from that safe fortress, and subsidiarily, by like continuity in prayer, and in fixing their meek hope on the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. If Christian character is ever to be made more Christian, it must be by a firmer grasp and a more vivid realization of Christ and His truth. The more we feel ourselves to be lapped in the love of God, the more shall we be builded up on our most holy faith. There is no mystery about the means of Christian progress. That which, at the beginning, made a man a Christian shapes his whole future course; the measure of our faith is the measure of our advance. But the Apostle, in the immediately following words, goes on to pass beyond the bounds of his metaphor, and with complete indifference to the charge of mixing figures, speaks of the building as growing. That thought leads us into a higher region than that of effort. The process by which a great forest tree thickens its boles, expands the sweep of its branches and lifts them nearer the heavens, is very different from that by which a building rises slowly and toilsomely and with manifest incompleteness all the time, until the flag flies on the roof-tree. And if we had not this nobler thought of a possible advance by the increasing circulation within us of a mysterious life, there would be little gospel in a word which only enjoined effort as the condition of moral progress, and there would be little to choose between Paul and Plato. He goes on immediately to bring out more fully what he means by the growth of the building, when he says that if Christians are in Christ, they are ‘built up for an habitation of God in the Spirit.’ Union with Christ, and a consequent life in the Spirit, are sure to result in the growth of the individual soul and of the collective community. That divine Spirit dwells in and works through every believing soul, and while it is possible to grieve and to quench It, to resist and even to neutralize Its workings, these are the true sources of all our growth in grace and knowledge. The process of building may be and will be slow. Sometimes lurking enemies will pull down in a night what we have labored at for many days. Often our hands will be slack and our hearts will droop. We shall often be tempted to think that our progress is so slow that it is doubtful if we have ever been on the foundation at all or have been building at all. But ‘the Spirit helpeth our infirmities,’ and the task is not ours alone but His in us. We have to recognize that effort is inseparable from building, but we have also to remember that growth depends on the free circulation of life, and that if we are, and abide in, Jesus, we cannot but be built ‘for an habitation of God in the Spirit.’ We may be sure that whatever may be the gaps and shortcomings in the structures that we rear here, none will be able to say of us at the last, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’” Alexander MacLaren

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…

 

 

 

Our Redemption “in Christ” Detailed to the Ephesians Volume 20

Paul declares to the Ephesians that both Jew and Gentile are Citizens of Heaven and God’s children through faith in Jesus Christ

Ephesians 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; KJV

Paul writing completely under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit still was allowed by Him to use his own personality, background, and style in his writing and here we find Paul doing what he was so eager and enthusiastic to do in all of his letters and that is the use of metaphors to paint a word picture for his readers. Paul uses two (2) completely different but equal in meaning metaphor’s here in this verse to describe both Jew and Gentile who are now one “in Christ” (i.e. a city or country, and a family or household. First, we recall from the last study that Paul concluded that both Jew and Gentile “have access by one Spirit unto the Father” (Ephesians 2:18), therefore, he declares to these Ephesian believers that they are now “no more strangers and foreigners” (Ephesians 2:19). The English word stranger used here by Paul is translated by the Greek word xenos meaning literally an alien or by implication a guest. In other words, as we today categorize someone from another country being an “illegal alien” if they cross over the American border without permission from our country, Paul here declares that this is exactly what these Ephesian believers were before they heard and believed the Gospel of Christ to the nation or country of Israel, however, now through Christ’ Blood they are no longer strangers/xenos, but are now legal residents in the city or country of God.

YAWEH had made Jerusalem (located in Israel) His special dwelling place on the earth as He declared in this manner through the Prophet Joel, “The Lord will thunder {and} roar from Zion and utter His voice from Jerusalem, and the Heavens and the earth shall shake; but the Lord will be a refuge for His people and a stronghold to the children of Israel. So shall you know, understand, {and} realize that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion, My Holy mountain. Then shall Jerusalem be Holy, and strangers {and} foreigners [not born into the family of God] shall no more pass through it.” (Joel 3:16-17). This is exactly what these Gentile Ephesians were before Christ and His Gospel “strangers {and} foreigners [not born into the family of God]” (Joel 3:17) as the Prophet Joel proclaims in this text of Holy Scripture, but now Paul declares them to be “in Christ” and therefore, “fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19). The English word fellowcitizens Paul uses here is translated by the Greek word sumpolites meaning a native of the same town as are others; figuratively it means fellow Christians or born ones. In other words, not only were these Gentile Ephesians no longer “strangers and foreigners”, but now according to Paul’s first metaphor they were natives or citizens of the city (Jerusalem) or country (Israel) of God along with and just as every Jew belonging to our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ were through the new birth (John 3:3).

This city or country of God is in Heaven being the “New Jerusalem” as the Apostle John describes with these words, “He who overcomes (is victorious), I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of My God; he shall never be put out of it {or} go out of it, and I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends from My God out of Heaven, and My own new name.” (Revelation 3:12) and also the Apostle John says this, “And I John saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Revelation 21:2). Paul himself referred to our citizenship being no longer solely here on the earth, but now that we are “in Christ” we have become instantly citizens of Heaven as he declared it with these words written to the Philippian believers, “But we are citizens of the state (commonwealth, homeland) which is in Heaven, and from it also we earnestly {and} patiently await [the coming of] the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) [as] Savior, Who will transform {and} fashion anew the body of our humiliation to conform to {and} be like the body of His Glory {and} Majesty, by exerting that power which enables Him even to subject everything to Himself.” (Philippians 3:20-21).

Lastly, the English phrase “of the household” Paul uses here is translated by one Greek word oikeios meaning the dwelling place of a domestic or relative being those of the same house, home, and family. In other words, Paul declares these Gentile Ephesians and every native Jew to be brothers and sisters of the same Heavenly Household having the same spiritual blood from our Lord Jesus Christ. The Ephesian believers now have a new family totally separate from their earthly families and of far greater bond also than their earthly families (Galatians 6:10), even with the Jewish believers in our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ as put very crisp, concise, and compact with these words, “Sin has divided mankind, but Christ unites by His Spirit.” (Warren Wiersbe). This reality of a Heavenly Family is precisely what God the Father had in mind when sending His Son (Jesus Christ) to reconcile lost and sinful man back to Him as the Apostle John was so amazed and astonished at when he wrote these words, “SEE WHAT [an incredible] quality of love the Father has given (shown, bestowed on) us, that we should [be permitted to] be named {and} called {and} counted the children of God! And so we are! The reason that the world does not know (recognize, acknowledge) us is that it does not know (recognize, acknowledge) Him. Beloved, we are [even here and] now God’s children; it is not yet disclosed (made clear) what we shall be [hereafter], but we know that when He comes {and} is manifested, we shall [as God’s children] resemble {and} be like Him, for we shall see Him just as He [really] is.” (1 John 3:1-2).

My own Personal Note: Titus 3:3-5 (AMP): “For we also were once thoughtless, senseless, obstinate, disobedient, deluded and misled; [we too were once] slaves to all sorts of cravings and pleasures, wasting our days in malice and jealousy and envy, hateful (hated, detestable) and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving-kindness of God our Savior to man [as man] appeared, He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but because of His own pity and mercy, by the cleansing bath of the new birth (regeneration) and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3:3 paints us a picture of our state before regeneration or new birth occurs in our hearts. Recall that in chapters 2 and 3 we discussed the evidence of our unregenerate nature as defined in the scriptures. Now what actually happens to us when we receive this cleansing bath of the new birth (regeneration) and renewing of the Holy Spirit? In Matthew 18:3 (AMP) Jesus explains how we will be changed when we allow Him to enter our lives and change us: “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted (change, turned quite around, reversed) and become like little children [trusting, lowly, loving, and forgiving], you can never enter the kingdom of heaven [at all].” Little children hang on every word and action of their earthly parents. They want to follow their earthly parents wherever they go and eagerly look forward to spending all their time with them. Children accept everything their earthly parents say as the truth and in essence “worship” their earthly parents. They fear and even revere their earthly parents. In a similar way, conversion, regeneration, or new birth demonstrates those qualities of absolute trust and eagerness. That should be the new character and behavior of all true Christians or Disciples of Christ. The word “Christian” is used only twice in the entire Bible. It comes from the Greek word Christianos, which means “follower of Christ” or “little Christ.” When we encounter the living Christ, we begin to follow Him, wherever He leads, as a little child does his earthly parents. 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”

“In this chapter the Church of God is compared to a city, which, has a variety of privileges, rights, etc., founded on regular charters and grants. The Gentiles, having believed in Christ, are all incorporated with the believing Jews in this holy city. Formerly, when any of them came to Jerusalem, being, strangers, they had no kind of rights whatever; nor could they, as mere heathens, settle among them. Again, if any of them, convinced of the errors of the Gentiles, acknowledged the God of Israel, but did not receive circumcision, he might dwell in the land, but he had no right to the blessings of the covenant; such might be called, sojourners - persons who have no property in the land, and may only rent a house for the time being.” Adam Clarke

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…

 

 

 

Our Redemption “in Christ” Detailed to the Ephesians Volume 19

Paul declares to the Ephesians that both Jew and Gentile needed to be Reconciled to God

Ephesians 2:16-18 And that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. KJV

The Jew was satisfied in and with their worship of YAWEH by way of the Mosaic Ceremonial laws that were given to them through Moses. Therefore, they saw no need to be reconciled to God because they thought they were already right with God. On the other hand, the Gentile Ephesians did not even know about YAWEH and were satisfied in and with their pagan worship of the goddess Diana. However, Paul declares here in this passage that “He might reconcile both unto God” (Ephesians 2:16) that is Jew and Gentile despite neither seeing their need to be reconciled. The English phrase “that He might reconcile” Paul uses here is translated by one Greek word apokatallasso which means to be off or away from something that is near; it denotes separation or departure; to change mutually or to make different; figuratively to compound a difference or make (one thing) compatible with (another). In other words, both the Jew and Gentile were not acceptable to God the Father as they were still in their sins, so He sent our Lord Jesus Christ to make the Ephesian Gentiles and the Jews able to stand in His Presence because without our Lord Jesus, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are unapproachable as Paul declared of our Lord Jesus with these words to Brother Timothy, “Who alone has immortality [in the sense of exemption from every kind of death] and lives in unapproachable light, Whom no man has ever seen or can see. Unto Him be honor and everlasting power {and} dominion. Amen (so be it).” (1 Timothy 6:16).

This reconciliation brings the hostile Jewish and Gentile relationship into harmony (as we saw in the last study Volume 18), but now more importantly it breaks up the war between man and God due to man’s sin and brings about peace with God the Father as Paul wrote in this manner to the Roman believers, “THEREFORE, SINCE we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God) through faith, let us [grasp the fact that we] have [the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).” (Romans 5:1). Paul declares that our Lord Jesus Christ has “in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby” (Ephesians 2:16) has quieted or appeased the offence that man’s sin has been to God the Father. Because God’s perfect justice demanded a punishment for man’s sin, then it was satisfied by the battered, brutalized, bloodied, and broken body of our Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary. Paul uses the phrase “having slain” here which is translated by one Greek word apokteino which means to kill outright or put to death; figuratively to destroy. In other words, our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ by taking sin upon His Body and paying sins eternal penalty which is death (Romans 6:23), destroyed its condemnation over every Jew and Gentile reconciled in Christ New Body (the Church) as wells as freeing each one of us from sins gripping power and enslavement in our lives.

Paul declares the enmity between God and man is what Christ slew and this English word enmity is translated by the Greek word echthra which means to hate or be hateful (passively odious or actively hostile); by implication a reason for opposition. In other words, sinful man (whether aware or unaware) is hostile toward God and at war with God because of sin and is sensual, fleshly, and carnal i.e. marked by the appetites and passions of the body through and through as Paul declared to the Roman believers with these words, “[That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God’s Law; indeed it cannot. So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please {or} satisfy God, {or} be acceptable to Him.” (Romans 8:7-8). At the same time, God the Father is so Holy and free from sin that even to behold it is odious and detestable to Him as the Prophet Habakkuk declared with these words, “Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct. Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You cannot look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?” (Habakkuk 1:12-13).

Our Lord Jesus Christ after His Resurrection and right before His Ascension commanded the Apostles (the sent ones) to preach peace to the Jew and Gentile. The Jew was near to God, yet still devoid of true righteousness (Matthew 5:20), while the Gentile Ephesians were far from God (Colossians 1:20-22), but now both have had the Gospel of Grace or the Gospel of Peace proclaimed to them as the Prophet Isaiah foretold with these words, “Peace, peace, to him who is far off [both Jew and Gentile] and to him who is near! says the Lord; I create the fruit of his lips, and I will heal him [make his lips blossom anew with speech in thankful praise].” (Isaiah 57:19). It is through Christ Jesus our Lord only that Jew and Gentile Paul declares “have access by one Spirit unto the Father” (Ephesians 2:18). The English word access Paul uses here is translated by the Greek word prosagoge which means to approach or to bring near or draw near; admission. In other words, this passage alone (although the fact is supported everywhere in the Bible) declares that there is one and one way only to approach the One True and Only God and that is through Jesus Christ as He Himself declared with these words, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am THE WAY, and THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE; NO ONE comes to the Father but through Me.’” (John 14:6).

You can be a good Hindu, good Muslim, good Buddhist, good Witch or Wicca, or good Mormon, or good Jehovah Witness, or good Mason, or good friend, or good person, good whatever, but if you are not born again by the Spirit of Christ Jesus you will be a good whatever perishing eternally being tormented forever with every other soul that belongs to Satan in the Lake of Fire as the Apostle John declares with these words, “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hell gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hell were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:10-15).

In complete contrast these Ephesian Gentiles and ever believing Jew that comes to and through the Cross of our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ is affirmed with God the Father (Hebrews 7:23-28), and assured of being secure eternally (John 10:26-30), and have continual, constant, and continuous access/prosagoge to the Father (by the Holy Spirit) (1 Corinthians 12:13) knowing and being confident that He (the Father) hears us always as the Apostle John declares with these words, “The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” (1 John 5:10-15).

My own Personal Note: Ephesians 6:10 (AMP): “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides].” We have no strength of our own. That is why we must surrender our will to His will. To be “strong in the Lord” is to be strong or courageous in His cause; to feel that He is our strength, and to rely on Him and His promises. Philippians 4:13 (AMP): “I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].” The Holy Spirit will reveal to us—that is, give us revelations—from the Word where we find all of His promises, hidden truths, and instructions to empower us in our daily duty, walk, and living. We must give close and thoughtful attention to what the Lord Jesus speaks from the Word each day and apply the truth of that Word to our circumstances and problems. 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

“Now the effect of this peace is the free access which both Jews and Gentiles have unto God (Ephesians 2:18): For through Him, in His Name and by virtue of His Mediation, we both have access or admission into the presence of God, who has become the common reconciled Father of both: the Throne of Grace is erected for us to come to, and liberty of approach to that throne is allowed us. Our access is by the Holy Spirit. Christ purchased for us leave to come to God, and the Spirit gives us a heart to come and strength to come, even grace to serve God acceptably. Observe, We draw nigh to God, through Jesus Christ, by the help of the Spirit. The Ephesians, upon their conversion, having such an access to God, as well as the Jews, and by the same Spirit” Matthew Henry

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…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Redemption “in Christ” Detailed to the Ephesians Volume 18

Paul reminds the Ephesians that Christ has Destroyed the Hostility between Jew and Gentile

Ephesians 2:13-15 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the Blood of Christ. For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace; KJV

Paul once a high ranking Pharisee in the Jewish religion, even an esteemed member of the Sanhedrin now writes to people that during those days he considered to be sub-humans. The Jews and Gentiles over the centuries were at all times at odds with one another or to be real they hated one another, each not understanding the others way of life. God the Father (after He called Abraham out of his Father’s land) made a covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17:1-7) and from that point on God saw only two groups of people upon the earth and that was Jews (who came from Abraham) and Gentiles (all other human beings on the earth). Paul now declares that although the Gentiles were at a distance from the One True God and went about worshipping and serving false gods, now (in complete contrast) to “at that time” (Ephesians 2:12) they have been brought into fellowship with the One True God “by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13).

Even after our Lord Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead and then walking with the Apostles for 40 days before His Ascension, the Apostles did not realize or recognize that our Lord Jesus Christ would give the same Grace to sinful Gentiles that they too had received from Him. The Apostle Peter and other circumcised Jews who went with him to the house of a Gentile Roman Centurion named Cornelius did not expect any of them to be saved by God for they had not understood our Lord’s words in (John 10:16); they did not even want to go to them and this was their reaction when God did save their whole household as documented by Dr. Luke with these words, “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, ‘Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?’ And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.” (Acts 10:44-48).

It was the Will of God the Father to openly display our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ publically on that Cross showing His hatred for sin that He would subject His only begotten Son to such anguish, affliction, and agony physically and spiritually as He (our perfect sinless Lord Jesus) carried the sins of the world (1 John 2:2), but at the very same time showing His unconditional love for sinful fallen humanity that He (God the Father) would provide a sacrifice for our sins that we never could provide because He is “rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4). It is our union with our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ that makes peace with God and gives us peace within and makes us peacemakers in this wicked world we live in as aliens and pilgrims. Therefore, Paul now declares to these Ephesian believers that our Lord Jesus Christ has made Jew and Gentile one new human being in Himself by His sacrificial death on the Cross. Paul uses the English phrase “hath broken down” which is translated by one Greek word luo a primary verb meaning to loosen, break up, shatter, put off, dissolve, or destroy. What has our Lord Jesus destroyed? Paul calls it “the middle wall of partition” (Ephesians 2:14). Figuratively it refers to a fence erected to cause separation between two parties. In this case, Paul refers to the Jewish Mosaic Laws that no Gentile had any knowledge of or understanding of, so this is what caused the hostility between the two people (Jew and Gentile), but now Christ death has shattered this invisible imaginary wall and through or by His Blood ONLY now both Jew and Gentile have access to the Throne of God (Hebrews 4:16).

Paul uses the English phrase “Having abolished” to begin verse 15 and this phrase is translated by one Greek word katargeo which means to make void, put away, to make of no effect, or to render entirely idle or useless. What is it that our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ has made of no effect anymore? It is the hostility or opposition caused by “the law of commandments contained in ordinances” (Ephesians 2:15). In other words, our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ has “in His Flesh” completely destroyed the requirements for obeying the Mosaic Laws given to the Jews by fulfilling them by His coming as He declared with these words, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-20) and only being united to Him through regeneration and the new birth (John 3:3-5) can Jew or Gentile have TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Paul declares that our Great High Priest Jesus Christ has made Jew and Gentile into “one new man” (Ephesians 2:15), that is, one new quality of man and all the dissension, distrust, and disillusion between us has been removed permanently forever in His Flesh and nailed to His Cross as Paul wrote with these words to the Colossian believers, “And you who were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh (your sensuality, your sinful carnal nature), [God] brought to life together with [Christ], having [freely] forgiven us all our transgressions, Having cancelled {and} blotted out {and} wiped away the handwriting of the note (bond) with its legal decrees {and} demands which was in force {and} stood against us (hostile to us). This [note with its regulations, decrees, and demands] He set aside {and} cleared completely out of our way by nailing it to [His] cross. [God] disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us and made a bold display {and} public example of them, in triumphing over them in Him {and} in it [the Cross].” (Colossians 2:13-15).

My own Personal Note: Ah! Rest…. It is something that all human beings can relate to in the natural world. Our physical bodies demand rest and will break down unless we give them the proper rest they require. There is a rest, however, of the soul that is far greater than the rest of our bodies, and that rest comes only from the Lord Jesus Christ. What type of rest does Christ want to give to a lost soul? Matthew 11:28 (AMP): “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]” In this verse from the Gospel of Matthew, the word “rest” that Christ uses means “repose or a freedom from work, strain, or responsibility; the absence of mental or emotional stress or anxiety.” He is talking here about peace of mind. Not a false or made up peace, but the peace that only He can give. His peace enables a person to deal with the most tragic events of life with a calm confidence and assurance that such things are not happening in vain but for an eternal purpose. If we have truly entered into Christ’s rest, we will be eating His words daily and we will become daily what His word says, that we are kings and priests of God who are daily conformed into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. When this rest comes upon us…it is Heaven here on earth! 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”

“The ‘peace’ here referred to is that by which a ‘union’ in worship and in feeling has been produced between the Jews and the Gentiles formerly they were alienated and separate. They had different objects of worship; different religious rites; different views and feelings. The Jews regarded the Gentiles with hatred, and the Gentiles the Jews with scorn. Now, says the Apostle, they are at peace. They worship the same God. They have the same Savior. They depend on the same Atonement. They have the same Hope. They look forward to the same Heaven. They belong to the same redeemed family. Reconciliation has not only taken place with God, but with each other. ‘The best way to produce peace between alienated minds is to bring them to the same Savior.’ That will do more to silence contentions, and to heal alienations, than any or all other means. Bring people around the same cross; fill them with love to the same Redeemer, and give them the same Hope of Heaven, and you put a period to alienation and strife. The love of Christ is so absorbing, and the dependence in His Blood so entire, that they will lay aside these alienations, and cease their contentions. The work of the Atonement is thus designed not only to produce peace with God, but peace between alienated and contending minds. The feeling that we are redeemed by the same Blood, and that we have the same Savior, will unite the rich and the poor, the bond and the free, the high and the low, in the ties of brotherhood, and make them feel that they are one.” 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…

 

 

 

 

 

Our Redemption “in Christ” Detailed to the Ephesians Volume 17

Paul reminds the Ephesians of being alienated from God before they heard the Gospel

Ephesians 2:11-12 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: KJV

Paul having completed his discourse, dissertation, or disclosure of God’s salvation to sinners in general now reminds these Ephesians of their previous status in the world as compared to that of Jews. First, he refers to them as “Gentiles in the flesh” (Ephesians 2:11). The English word Gentiles is not one commonly used to describe any people today, but back then this word was used exclusively (by Jews) to refer to any person or group of people that were not Jewish. The word Gentile is translated by the Greek word ethnos meaning a race or a tribe of people specifically (non-Jewish) or foreign; by implication a pagan or heathen because the people did not know, recognize, or follow YAWEH. Paul wanted them to remember or recall their status in the world especially among the Jewish people that were around them in order that their present “faith in Christ” would be strengthened and their gratitude to God the Father would increase seeing how He has brought them out of such dark spiritual practices into His Presence through the Messiah Jesus Christ.

Paul writes this to them to bring back to their remembrance the degrading, debasing, and demeaning way they were recognized in the world by many Jews as merely the “Uncircumcision” which meant nothing more than a dog to many Jews at that time. It was a term of reproach when used by the Jews in speaking of Gentiles. However, it was not YAWEH’s desire, design, and determination for the Jewish Nation to respond to the Gentile Nations in such a negative manner because He spoke these words through the Prophet Isaiah, “He said to Me, ‘You are My Servant, Israel, In Whom I will show My glory.” (Isaiah 49:3) and also these words, “And He said, ‘It is a light thing that thou shouldest be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth.’” (Isaiah 49:6). It was God’s plan and purpose that Israel be a light to all Gentile Nations to show them the way to YAWEH, yet they thought they were chosen by YAWEH because they were a special people or better people than the Nations around them and so they developed a superior attitude and mentality.

Paul wants the Ephesians to be reminded that during that period of time of being alienated by the Jews and looked down on by them that that was not the worst part of their condition, but the fact that “ye were without Christ” (Ephesians 2:12). The English word without Paul uses here is translated by the Greek word choris which is an adverb having the idea of a chasm or vacancy (impassable interval), a gulf between, an empty room or a space that is separate or apart from others. In other words, these Ephesians and all other Gentiles were not privy to or at that time informed about the oracles of God or the utterances of God or more plainly the Word of God that prophesied of the coming of the future Messiah that would take away the sin of the world (Isaiah 9:6-7). Paul reminds these Ephesians that they did not even know themselves to be sinners having the wrath of God upon them (John 3:36) and certainly they did not know that there would be someone who would become sin for them and atone for or make up for, compensate or make reparation for their wrongdoing or causing offence (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Paul also refers to them as “being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel” (Ephesians 2:12). The English phrase “being aliens” is translated by one Greek word apallotrioo meaning off, that is, away from something near, that is, another’s or not one’s own; to be estranged or passively and figuratively to be a non-participant. In other words, these Ephesian were shut out, locked out, or closed out of all the promises that belonged to Israel because of God’s Covenant with Abraham (which these Gentile Ephesians knew nothing of). Paul’s use of the English word “commonwealth” (not one normally used today to refer to a Nation of people) is translated by the Greek word politeia meaning citizenship or community. In other words, these Ephesian believers (before hearing the Gospel) were not a part of the community or Nation of the Jewish people who had God’s Word at their disposal to Govern their lives by, that is, they had no citizenship in Israel and therefore, could not know the Governing rule of the Law of God in their lives.

Likewise this fact made all of their worship vain and empty and even wicked because it was not worship of the One True God (YAWEH) and this is why Paul wrote these words to the Roman believers (speaking of the Jewish Nation), “Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.” (Romans 3:1-2). We know now that the Jews rejected the Messiah (Jesus Christ) and because of their unbelief they are at the present time blind spiritually as a Nation (Romans 3:3 & Romans 11:25). This is why Paul wants them to see how blessed they are now that God the Father has given to them the gift of repentance to life (Acts 11:18).

Because they were at one time “strangers from the covenants of promise” (Ephesians 2:12) (that is they were completely ignorant of them) that Israel took for granted and it caused Paul to lament (strongly express his grief and regret for his Nation Israel) with these words, “I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.” (Romans 9:1-5).

Paul concluded them at the time prior to hearing the Gospel of “having no hope, and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12), which meant they were living under false hope of better things to come when worshipping their idol the goddess Diana (which was no god at all) and they were in essence godless or practical atheist, even though they carried on in their pagan worship as Paul said in this manner to the Corinthian believers, “You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led.” (1 Corinthians 12:2) and in this manner to the Galatian believers, “But at that previous time, when you had not come to be acquainted with {and} understand {and} know the true God, you [Gentiles] were in bondage to gods who by their very nature could not be gods at all [gods that really did not exist].” (Galatians 4:8).

My own Personal Note: Paul has done a masterful job in reminding these Ephesian brethren of their ignorance, darkness, and alienation from God, and so is it for all of us before we hear the Gospel of Grace and are born again. This was my spiritual condition before Grace came in as I described in this 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, “I was not willing to give honor to God as God. I was far from the Grace of God and the Blood of Christ. I was a carnal natural man through and through. I wanted to be in control of my own life. In fact, I thought I was in control. I thought I was having fun and living the good life. My mind became fixated on pornography, masturbation, strip clubs, and fornication. My heart was given over to the free indulgence of these sinful desires. Proverbs 5:22 (AMP): ‘His own iniquities shall ensnare the wicked man and he shall be held with the cords of his sin.’”

“The CONJECTURES of heathen philosophers as to a future life were at best vague and utterly unsatisfactory. They had no divine ‘promise,’ and therefore no sure ground of ‘hope.’ Epicurus and Aristotle did not believe in it at all. The Platonists believed the soul passed through perpetual changes, now happy, and then again miserable; the Stoics, that it existed no longer than till the time of the general burning up of all things.” JFB Commentary

“When the Apostle says ‘without God in the world,’ this qualification is both reproachful and sorrowful. To be without God in the world that He has made, where His ‘eternal power and Godhead’ have been visible from creation, argues a darkened and perverted heart. To be without God in the world is to be in the wilderness, without a guide; on a stormy ocean, without harbor or pilot; in sickness of spirit, without medicine or physician; to be hungry without bread, and weary without rest, and dying with no light of life. It is to be an orphaned child, wandering in an empty, ruined house.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary

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…

 

Our Redemption “in Christ” Detailed to the Ephesians Volume 16

Paul reminds the Ephesians of what God the Father prepared for them “in Christ”

Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. KJV

We human beings over the centuries have admired and even highly esteemed great human artist in the past such as Picasso, Van Gouge, and others for the great works of art they created, so much so that many of their works are worth millions of U S dollars today. Paul is not concerned with the greatness or supposed greatness of any men, but he now concludes his great essay analyzing the greatest of all artist God the Father the Creator of Heaven and Earth by declaring to these Ephesian believers and every one of us today who have been made alive from spiritual death (Ephesians 2:1) to be God’s greatest work of art. Paul declares us to be His “workmanship” and this English word is translated by the Greek word poiema which means to make or to do; a product or literally and figuratively the thing that is made. In other words, when these Ephesians and every one of us today were made alive from being dead in trespasses and sins, we were re-created (created anew) internally or in our inner man and inner woman by the Greatest Artist of all our Father in Heaven.

Paul declares these Ephesians and every one of us today to be “created in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:10). The English word created is translated by the Greek word ktizo which means to form, shape, i.e. to completely change or transform; through the idea of proprietorship of the manufacturer (God the Father in this case). In other words, God the Father has changed us making us different in nature “in Christ Jesus”. Paul affirms also the previous two verses Ephesians 2:8-9 that salvation is all of God and that both the grace and the faith is a part of the free gift or the Greek word for gift doran meaning a present or specifically a sacrifice and that sacrifice is the Blood of Christ Jesus who we are created anew in and by.

These Ephesians and every one of us today are the handiwork of God the Father through the sacrificial death of our Lord Jesus Christ, He has fashioned and forged us into the “new creations” (2 Corinthians 5:17) that we are. This new creation or workmanship/poiema is completely spiritual for we still live inside our decaying, deteriorating, and dying earthly bodies, but as Paul declared to the Corinthian believers our focus is on the eternally re-created real man or real woman inside of us, “Therefore we do not become discouraged (utterly spiritless, exhausted, and wearied out through fear). Though our outer man is [progressively] decaying {and} wasting away, yet our inner self is being [progressively] renewed day after day. For our light, momentary affliction (this slight distress of the passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing {and} producing {and} achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!], Since we consider {and} look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are visible are temporal (brief and fleeting), but the things that are invisible are deathless {and} everlasting.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). It is only by the Power of God that we have become these new creatures and our moral and spiritual renewal is not of anything which we have done or will ever do and this fact is the cause for Paul saying “lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:9).

Finally, Paul declares that these Ephesians and every one of us today have been made new by God “unto good works” (Ephesians 2:10). The English word good Paul uses here is translated by the Greek word agathos meaning beautiful or figuratively of moral excellence and morally valuable or virtuous; honest and upright. In other words, when God the Father re-creates us, it is in His own image we are re-made and consequently we should bear the likeness of God in our inner man or inner woman as Paul explained to these very same Ephesians latter on in this same letter with these words, “So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” (Ephesians 4:17-24).

God the Father “hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). The English phrase “hath before ordained” Paul uses here is translated by one Greek word proetoimazo which means to fit up or make ready in advance or prepare beforehand or to prepare in advance. Our Heavenly Father has already prepared a new pathway of spiritual life for us to live by that is in accordance with His Eternal Will that is for our benefit and that will allow us to reap harvest of good and not of evil, and He gives us His Power to overcome sin in our hearts and in this world that when acted upon brings about destruction in our souls/psuche which means the seat of the feelings, desires, affections, aversions (our heart) as the Apostle Peter pleaded with the Jewish converts to Christ to do when he said, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God’s] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds {and} display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people [at all], but now you are God’s people; once you were unpitied, but now you are pitied {and} have received mercy. Beloved, I implore you as aliens and strangers {and} exiles [in this world] to abstain from the sensual urges (the evil desires, the passions of the flesh, your lower nature) that wage war against the soul. Conduct yourselves properly (honorably, righteously) among the Gentiles, so that, although they may slander you as evildoers, [yet] they may by witnessing your good deeds [come to] glorify God in the day of inspection [when God shall look upon you wanderers as a pastor or shepherd looks over his flock].” (1 Peter 2:9-12).

My own Personal Note: 2 Corinthians 3:17 (AMP): “Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” What does this word “liberty” actually mean? Well this English word liberty comes from the Greek word eleutheria, which means “freedom; moral or ceremonial freedom.” What does this moral freedom produce? Christ is the Spirit who takes away that covering by working in hearts. The Law itself also works in hearts, though in vain because the Law speaks to the spiritually dead (those who are dead in trespasses and sin). The Holy Spirit makes alive or brings life (as I stated in chapter 9). The Lord Jesus Christ is represented as the Spirit. Christ is the end of the law for justification and righteousness to all who believe. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, and He is the dispenser of all gifts, graces, and influences. When I received the Gospel, the Spirit of the Lord was given to me. The Spirit of the Lord lives and works in me to bring this liberty or freedom from the slavery of sin and sin’s power. The Spirit of God gives light and clearness of view. This is a general truth. The Spirit of God removes obscurity and enables me to see truth plainly and clearly. This truth cannot be denied. Under the influence of the Spirit of the Lord, therefore, the Apostle Paul proclaims that he was able to speak with openness, and boldness. He had a clear view of truth and thus the Gospel that he preached was open, plain, and clear. The word “freedom” perhaps better conveys the idea. 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”

“The Apostle having before ascribed this change to Divine Grace in exclusion of works, lest he should seem thereby to discourage good works, he here observes that though the change is to be ascribed to nothing of that nature (for we are the workmanship of God), yet God, in His new creation, has designed and prepared us for good works: Created unto good works, with a design that we should be fruitful in them. Wherever God by His Grace implants good principles, they are intended to be for good works. Which God hath before ordained, that is, decreed and appointed. Or, the words may be read, To which God hath before prepared us, that is, by blessing us with the knowledge of His Will, and with the assistance of His Holy Spirit; and by producing such a change in us. That we should walk in them, or glorify God by an exemplary conversation and by our perseverance in holiness.” Matthew Henry

“The metal is molten as it runs out of the blast furnace, but it soon cools and hardens. Paul’s teaching about salvation by grace and by faith came in a hot stream from his heart, but to this generation his words are apt to sound coldly, and hardly theological. But they only need to be reflected upon in connection with our own experience, to become vivid and vital again. The belief that a man may work towards salvation is a universal heresy. And the Apostle, in the context, summons all his force to destroy that error, and to substitute the great truth that we have to begin with an act of God’s, and only after that can think about our acts. To work up towards salvation is, in the strict sense of the words, preposterous; it is inverting the order of things. It is beginning at the wrong end. It is saying X Y Z before you have learnt to say A B C. We are to work downwards from salvation because we have it, not that we may get it. And whatever ‘good works’ may mean, they are the consequences, not the causes, of ‘salvation,’ whatever that may mean. But they are consequences, and they are the very purpose of it.” Alexander MacLaren

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…