LESSON 5-Ephesians
Chapter 4
BEING THE CHURCH OF CHRIST
Ephesians 4:1-32
Eph.4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
Eph. 4:5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
Eph. 4:6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
4:4 We are identified in one expectation (hope), there is no plan B. We bear the same surname.
4:5 We are employed by the same Boss, we share the same faith, and our baptism says the same thing (we are equally included in His death and resurrection.)
4:6 There is only one God. He remains the ultimate Father of the universe. We are because He is. He is present in all; He is above all, through all and in all. (He is not far from each one of us, in Him we live and move and have our being, we are indeed His offspring. Acts 17:24-28). Mirror Translation
The One God over all, in His sovereignty and by His grace.) IN THE APOSTLES CREED-
“as you were called”
The passive voice of the verb indicates that every believer receives this calling from God the Holy Spirit; and the indicative means that this is a dogmatic assertion. Every believer is in one body, elected.
“in one hope” – ELPIS, “expectation; confidence; prospect” G1680 – elpis
“your calling” – the descriptive genitive of the noun “calling”. Being a member of God’s family, the Body of Christ, in your station in life!
“one faith” – PISTIS-
Everyone is saved the same way. Those who have placed their faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ are members of the Church, members of His Body, members of God’s family.
THE BODY OF CHRIST-Each member of the Trinity is related to the Body of Christ. God the Father places Christ as the Head of the Body.
Eph. 1:22,23 “And has put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that fills all in all.”
Col. 1:18,19; Eph. 5:23,24- The Holy Spirit forms the Body of Christ and sustains the Body.
1 Cor. 12:12-14, “For as the body in one, and has many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Greeks, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.” See also1 Cor. 6:15; 6:19,20.
Christ is the Savior of the Body
Eph. 5:23, “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church; and he is the savior of the body.” Eph. 5:25,30.
Christ is the Sanctifier of the Body.
Heb. 2:11, “For both he that sanctifies and they who are sanctified are all of one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.”
Heb. 13:12, “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate.”
The Body of Christ participates with the Lord Jesus Christ in tactical and strategic victory over satan and his forces of evil.
Eph. 1:22,23, “And has put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that fills all in all.”
Every Christian is a member of the Body of Christ. The Body includes Gentile believers and Jewish believers.
Ephesians 3:16, “And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.”
The Body of Christ is the recipient of many spiritual gifts.
Rom. 12:4,5, “For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.”
1 Cor. 12:7,8, “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit. For to one is given, by the Spirit, the word of wisdom, to another, the word of knowledge, by the same Spirit…”
“one baptism” (Here we are talking about baptized into Jesus, all placed in the Body of Christ))
This is a good place to study the doctrines relating to baptism. There are actually seven types of baptism mentioned in the Bible, including the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It’s important to be able to distinguish among the types of baptism and to know which type is being discussed in a particular context.
Four of the types of baptism mentioned in the Bible are real baptisms and three are ritual /symbolic baptisms.
Real Baptisms
The Baptism of Moses
The Baptism of the Cross (or Cup)
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
The Baptism of Fire
Ritual Baptisms
The Baptism of John
The Baptism of Jesus
The Baptism of the Christian Believer
Since the scope of the immediate context shows Paul is writing of the spiritual unity of the church, this reference to baptism has no bearing upon the mode of Christian baptism. In the same manner as there are expressly stated to be two circumcisions, one with hands, which is the sign (Ro 4:11) of the real, made without hands (Ro 2:29. Col 2:11).
Scripture teaches there are at least two baptisms: ritual baptism with water, and real baptism by the Holy Spirit. Since ritual baptism is the mere symbol of real baptism, the “one baptism” of this passage must refer to real baptism, by which we are all placed in the one body (1 Co m12:13). Paul is not contradicting himself or the rest of Scripture when he speaks here of one baptism, since there is only one real, spiritual baptism which places all believers into the one body.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
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
David & Mary Sue