Ephesians Chapters 3 & 4

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Ephesians 3:1-6 When I think of all this( Eph2:18-22 ), I, Paul, am the prisoner of Messiah Yeshua on behalf of you Gentiles, 2 assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles, 3 how that by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I wrote before in few words, 4 by which, when you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Messiah[.] 5 God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets. 6 that the Gentiles are fellow heirs{with Israel} and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Messiah Yeshua through the Good News,

• Romans 2:28-29 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men, but from God.
• Colossians 2:11 In him{Messiah} you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the circumcision of Messiah,

Ephesians 3:7-13 [the Good News,] of which I was made a servant according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power. 8 Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Messiah, 9 I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, who created all things through Yeshua the Messiah, had kept secret from the beginning. 10 God’s purpose in all this was to use the assembly to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Messiah Yeshua our Lord. 12 In him we have boldness and access in confidence through our faith in him. 13 So please don’t lose heart because of my trials here. I am suffering for you, so you should feel honored.

• Hebrews 4:14-16 Having then a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Yeshua, the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Ephesians 3:14 For this cause, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.

• Notice that Paul prayed as Yeshua taught us to pray, "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name..."( Mt6:9-13; Lk11:2-4; )
• Regarding "the Creator", I have this study => http://sidnash.org/?1stAC

Ephesians 3:16-19 I pray that from his{Father's} glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit, 17 that Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith, to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be strengthened to comprehend with all the holy ones{saints} what is the width and length and height and depth, 19 and to know Messiah’s love which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

• Regarding "through his Spirit, that Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith" =>
  • John 14:23 Yeshua answered him, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
  • Ephesians 2:21 in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.
  • Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Messiah, and it is no longer I who live, but Messiah lives in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me.
  • Colossians 1:27 to whom God was pleased to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Messiah in you, the hope of glory.
  • 1 John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.
  • Acts 2:32 This Yeshua God raised up, to which we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you now see and hear.
  • Galatians 4:6 And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”
  • 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
  • 1 Corinthians 8:6 yet to us there is ... one Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, ...

Ephesians 3:20-21 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the assembly and in Messiah Yeshua to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

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Ephesians 4:1-2 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.

• Colossians 3:12-13 Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Messiah forgave you, so you also do.

Ephesians 4:3-4 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.

• 1 Corinthians 1:10 Now I beg you, brothers, through the name of our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
• Ephesians 2:18 For through him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

Ephesians 4:5-6 There is one Lord, one faith, one immersion{by baptism}, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.

• 1 Corinthians 8:4-6 ... there is only one God. 5 There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many lords. 6 But for us, There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live.
• John 17:1-3 ... Jesus looked up to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. 2 For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. 3 And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Yeshua the Messiah, the one you sent to earth.
• 1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Yeshua the Messiah. He{who has a Son} is the only true God, and he is eternal life.
• Jeremiah 10:10-12 But Yahweh[Jehovah] is the only true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King! The whole earth trembles at his anger. The nations cannot stand up to his wrath. 11 Say this to those who worship other gods: “Your so-called gods, who did not make the heavens and earth, will vanish from the earth and from under the heavens.” 12 But the Lord made the earth by his power, and he preserves it by his wisdom. With his own understanding he stretched out the heavens.

Ephesians 4:7 But to each one of us, the grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Messiah.

• Romans 12:3 For I say through the grace that was given me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think; but to think reasonably, as God has apportioned to each person a measure of faith.
  1 Peter 4:10 As each has received a gift, employ it in serving one another, as good managers of the grace of God in its various forms.

Ephesians 4:8-10 Therefore he says, “When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to people.” 9 Now this, “He ascended”{ Ps68:18 }, what is it but that he also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.

• Hebrews 7:24-26 But because Yeshua lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. 25 Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. 26 He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven.
• John 14:6 Yeshua said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.

Ephesians 4:11-16 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors{or, shepherds} and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up of the body of Messiah, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Messiah. 14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Messiah, who is the head of his body, the assembly. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

Ephesians 4:17-24 With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the rest of the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. 19 They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. 20 But you didn’t learn Messiah that way, 21 if indeed you heard him and were taught in him, even as truth is in Yeshua: 22 that you throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, may you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new man, who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.

• Where did Paul say we should be "renewed"? => He said, "be renewed in the spirit of your mind". So, where is your spirit? According to Paul, it is in your mind. Do you want the mind of our Messiah( Php2:5-11 )? He said that the words He speaks are spirit( Jn6:54,63,68 ). So, by putting Messiah's words in your mind, "the spirit of your mind" will "be renewed" with Messiah's "words of eternal life"( Jn6:68 ).
• John 8:31-32 Yeshua therefore said to those Judeans who had believed him, “If you remain in my word(spirit - Jn6:63 ), then you are truly my disciples. 32 You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
• John 14:6 Yeshua said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.
• 1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Messiah Yeshua,

Ephesians 4:25-27 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. 26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold{or, opportunity} to the devil.

• James 1:19 So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger;
• Psalm 37:8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Don’t fret; it leads only to evildoing.
• Proverbs 14:29 He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a quick temper displays folly.
• Ecclesiastes 7:9 Don’t be hasty in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools.
• Romans 12:19-20 Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

Ephesians 4:28 Let him who stole steal no more; but rather let him labor, producing with his hands something that is good, that he may have something to give to him who has need.

• 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 and that you make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, even as we instructed you, 12 that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and may have need of nothing.

Ephesians 4:29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

• Colossians 4:6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore exhort one another, and build each other up, even as you also do.
• Ecclesiastes 10:12 The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but a fool is swallowed by his own lips.
• Proverbs 15:7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so with the heart of fools.

Ephesians 4:30-32 Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God also in Messiah forgave you.

• Luke 7:47-48 “I{Yeshua} tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” 48 Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”