LESSON 5-Ephesians
Chapter 4
BEING THE CHURCH OF CHRIST
Ephesians 4:1-32
Eph. 4:23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
4:23 (Pondering the incarnation, the truth about you displayed in Christ) will cause you to be completely reprogrammed in the way you think about yourself! (This happens in the spirit of your mind, on a much deeper level than a mere intellectual and academic consent.) Mirror Translation
Spirit of the mind
The heart is the center or mind of the spirit. (Eph 4:22-23) That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; mind of the spirit (heart)
Greek- Strong’s # 2588 { kar-dee’-ah} GK – 2840 { kardiva } the heart
1)denotes the center of all spiritual life
2) the center and seat of spiritual life
3)of the middle or central or inmost part of anything
4)the center for understanding. (see diagram from lesson 1)
So the heart is the mind of the spirit
Eph. 4:24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
4:24 Immerse yourself fully into this God-shaped new man from above! You are created in the image and likeness of God. This is what righteousness and true holiness are all about. Mirror Translation
What To Put On: Put off old man, put on new man.
OLD MAN LED BY SENSE REALM; NEW MAN LED BY SPIRIT
Old man ~double minded; New man ~ Christ minded:
Old man~ Good and evil; New man ~ only good :
Old man~ light and dark; New man ~ LIGHT:
Old man ~ judgment by appearances ; New man ~ Love
Old man ~sense, natural senses; New man ~ spiritual senses;
Old man ~ religion/ thought you were separated from God; New man ~ no separation/ONENESS:
Colossians 1:21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled.
Old man ~sense realm, reasoning; New man ~ Faith:
Old man ~ sin conscious; New man ~ Son conscious/ righteousness conscious
Old man ~ self conscious; New man ~ Christ conscious:
Old man ~ Law; New man ~ Grace and Truth.
Related Scripture:
Colossians 3:10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
Synonyms for Edification· Light. Eph. 5 “…walk as children of light. “Christ formed in you” Gal. 4:19, connotes edification. “The new man,” Eph. 4; Col. 3, refers to edification· “The perfect/mature man,” James 1:4. “Imitators of God,” Eph. 5
1 Cor 14:26, “When you assemble, let all things be done for edification.”(building up)
Acts 9:31, “All the church were having prosperity, having been edified, (built up) and advancing in occupation with Christ.
The Root of a Prosperous Life
The Word calls the devil the enemy of all righteousness (Acts 13:10). Why is this? Because the enemy knows that righteousness is the key to all victory in our lives. And that’s why the enemy spends all his time attacking the gift of righteousness in your life—trying to put inferiority back on you and trying to keep you thinking lower of yourself than what God says about you.
The enemy only works in your mind if you allow it. Researchers have found that depression starts with a thought. You cannot experience all that God has for you until you are established in righteousness.
Righteous means you have “right standing.” It means you have the right to stand in the presence of God—without a sense of guilt or shame or condemnation, without a sense of inferiority, without a sense of fear. In other words, it means that God is pleased with you! It’s a gift, of course—made possible by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
But when you receive the gift of righteousness by faith, you’ll understand that you’re not in the process of being made the righteousness of God—but you’re in the process of learning about that righteousness in you and in the process of living out that righteousness.
2 Cor. 5:21 God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that God’s righteousness would be produced in us. ISV
We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!!
Righteousness is the taproot to all other blessings—
• the taproot to favor (Psalm 5:12).
• the taproot to prosperity (Proverbs 13:22).
• the taproot to healing (Malachi 4:2).
• the taproot to victory over sin (1 Corinthians
15:34) in soulish realm. Christ already paid for
and has the victory!!
• the taproot to wisdom (Proverbs 2:7).
• the taproot to spiritual growth (Ephesians 4:14-
15).
Righteousness is a gift that will protect you and provide you with favor, wisdom, insight, power, authority and the anointing! The Bible says we can be established in righteousness (Isaiah 54:14). The gift of righteousness will provide an unshakable foundation for our lives—a rock to stand on in the midst of every storm.
Jesus never said that the wise man wasn’t going to have storms. He just said that the wise man built his house upon the rock—this man was established in righteousness because he built his life upon the Rock of God’s Word ( hearing, understanding and doing the Word of God)
Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
Keys:
• Recognize that you need to get understanding. You need a revelation of who you are and what God has done for you now and from the beginning. We will not reign in life without the gift of righteousness, and we will not reign in life without understanding the gift of righteousness.
• God wants our minds filled with a consciousness of righteousness because He knows that the enemy gains access into our minds when we lack confidence in who we are in Christ. (ignorance)
• Sow into righteousness. Plant your best seed toward a harvest of righteousness in your life.
Isaiah 32 says, “And the work of righteousness shall be peace and the effect of righteousness is quietness and assurance forever…When it shall hail, coming down on the forest, and the city shall be low in a low place, you’ll be blessed because you sowed beside the waters”—
Isaiah 32:1-2 Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, And princes will rule with justice.2 A man will be as a hiding place from the wind, And a [a]cover from the tempest, As rivers of water in a dry place,
Is. 32:16 The Lord’s justice will dwell in the desert, his righteousness live in the fertile field.17 The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.18 My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.19 Though hail flattens the forestand the city is leveled completely,20 how blessed you will be, sowing your seed by every stream, and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.
You’ll be blessed because you sowed the seeds of righteousness!
(2 Co 5:21) For He has made Him who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Righteous Conscious vs. Sin Conscious
We are the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God IN CHRIST! Because HE has made us RIGHTEOUS, we can be no more righteous tomorrow than we are today! We can be no more {HIS} Righteousness a year from now than we are today! The problem with people is that they speak to the dirt {Adam} & not the Seed {Christ}, thus, you have a works mentality which is rooted in a sin consciousness! You can preach all day to the dirt {Dirty messages}, but give me the substance of that Seed planted and full grown! Give me the Christ and His Finished Work!
We will continue with Lesson 5 next week.
The blessings of the Lord are upon you whether by blood, adoption/sonship or assignment. The blessing of the LORD makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. Prov. 10:22