Did we miss something? We backtrack to finish chapter 4, Paul continues to instruct from the Tanakh to teach the Ephesians that incorporation into the Commonwealth of Israel brings with it an expectation of obedience to Yahuwah’s Torah and setting aside of non biblical pagan customs. If Israel’s chief undoing was syncretism, we will not fare any different in an economy of grace.
We left of in chapter four with The Five Fold Ministry which put in place to:
Ephesians 4:12 to equip the kedoshim for the work of service, for building up the body of Messiah. Ephesians 4:13 This will continue until we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of Ben-Elohim—to mature adulthood, to the measure of the stature of Messiah’s fullness.
Western Individualism is our biggest obstacle to overcome in achieving the ‘raised tabernacle of David – the Kingdom of Elohim!
Incompleteness is the reason for peoples stunted growth: incomplete marriages, incomplete families, incomplete healing, health and generational prosperity.
The body is a dynamic growing organism; and as such, ministry has to be approached strategically not solely administratively.
Ephesians 4:14 As a result, we are no longer to be like children, tossed around by the waves and blown all over by every wind of teaching, by the trickery of men with cunning in deceitful scheming.
New English Bible translation of v.14: “whirled about by every fresh gust of teaching, dupes of crafty rogues and their deceitful schemes”.
Divisions in the assembly come when Spiritual Authority is forestalled and a spirit of individualism takes over.
The Colossians were suffering from this same spirit of disunity, philosophical a kind of proto-Gnosticsm – ‘having knowledge’ without discernment.
Ephesians 4:15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all ways into Messiah, who is the Head.
Remember from Ch. 5 we discovered Kephale’ in the LXX is translated from the Hebrew ‘rosh’, ‘nephesh’ – and found within source and soul language in the Tanakh.
Yahusha is our source, from which we receive salvation (the Living Waters) sourced from the heavenly mountain of Yah; from which life flows:
Ephesians 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
strong>Exodus 26. the boards and sockets of the Tabernacle:
“Set in order one against each other.” “Mishilabot ishshah el echotah – and equally connected, each one to it’s sister.”
‘Tenon’ – ‘Yated’ = ‘nail’ – a nail will hold the structure of the congregation together making the whole equally connected, each one to it’s sister. Masoretic text ‘Yated’ is spelled ‘Yadot’’ = ‘hand.’
LXX and Masoretic = “nailed hand holds the whole structure together.”
Yeshua was more than a carpenter! Greek tektōn – ‘carpenter’. Hebrew – charash – ‘designer’/‘architect’.
Exodus 26:30 And you shall raise up/quwm the Tabernacle according to the fashion of it that was shown you on the mount.
Shall raise up – Hebrew/‘quwm’ – ‘the Tabernacle’. LXX ‘raise up’ – ‘anasteseis’ – in the Brit = RESURRECTION!
Exodus 26:15 Make boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood standing up. Make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; They shall be coupled together beneath, and they shall be coupled together above the head of it unto one ring: Make bars of shittim wood; Overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for places for the bars: and thou shalt overlay the bars with gold. 30 And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shewed thee in the mount.
Silver – the currency of man.
Ephesians 4:17 So I tell you this, indeed I insist on it in the Master—walk no longer as the pagans do, stumbling around in the futility of their thinking. Ephesians 4:18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of Elohim because of the ignorance in them due to the hardness of their heart. Ephesians 4:19 Since they are past feeling, they have turned themselves over to indecency for the practice of every kind of immorality, with greed for more.
One such practice: Jeremiah 10:2: Learn ye not the ways of the heathen, …..For the customs of the heathen are vainity; they cut down a tree out of the forest, the work of the decorator, with a saw. They are beautified with silver and gold tinsel, they afix them with hammers and nails; they will set them up upon stands so they may not topple.
2 questions:
Why did George Washington cross the Delaware River, on the night of December 25, 1776?
Who were the Hessian forces in Trenton, New Jersey, and why were they so surprised by this attack.
Christmas was banned by the Puritans in England in 1644. The Puritans of New England followed suit. Christmas was outlawed in Boston from 1659 to 1681, and the Plymouth colony made celebrating Christmas a criminal offense.
Christmas didn’t even become a legal holiday until 1856 in New England – they’ve only been bewitched by this form of apostate Christian syncretism for 150 years.
Ephesians 4:20 However, you did not learn Messiah in this way— Ephesians 4:21 if indeed you have heard Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Yahusha. Ephesians 4:22 With respect to your former lifestyle, you are to lay aside the old self corrupted by its deceitful desires, Ephesians 4:23 be renewed in the spirit of your mind, Ephesians 4:24 and put on the new self—created to be like Elohim in true righteousness and holiness.
Israel’s chief undoing was syncretism, how do we think we’’ll fare any different in an economy of grace?
Jeremiah 13:10 , you refuse to hear my words, and walk in the imagination of your own heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them.
Incorporation into the Commonwealth of Israel brings with it an expectation of obedience to YHWH’s Torah and setting aside of non biblical pagan customs.
Ephesians 4:25 So lay aside lying and “each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. Ephesians 4:26 “Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun go down on your anger. Ephesians 4:27 nor give the devil a foothold.
The pagan way of life that encapsulates Christmas is characterized by an insatiable desire to participate in more and more forms of cultural festivity; refusing to address the reality of the bible, history and syncretism in the life of a believer.
There’s a clear re-working of already received and accepted teaching’s from the Tanakh here: Psalms, Isaiah and Zachariah. The first century assembly was undoubtedly being taught from the Tanakh.
Zachariah 8:16 These are the things that you shall do; Speak you every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: 17 And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith יהוה .
Ephesians 4:28 The one who steals must steal no longer—instead he must work, doing something useful with his own hands, so he may have something to share with the one who has need.
Addressing the slave class.
Ephesians 4:29 Let no harmful word come out of your mouth, but only what is beneficial for building others up according to the need, so that it gives grace to those who hear it.
James 1:19 So then, my beloved Yisraelite brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger: 20 For the wrath of man does not bring about the tzedakah of vuvh. 21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and receive with humbleness the engrafted Torah, which is able to save your souls.
We’re all made, collectively in the image of an angry Elohim!
We need to learn how to harness the anger within us and direct it from its divine origin.
There’s a good anger and bad anger – it’s never neutral!
The Scriptures are full of anger, in-fact they’re a record of anger – the anger of יהוה and the anger of man! Kadosh -Tzadik, anger of יהוה – confronting the un-holy, unrighteous anger of man! Our ways, our rights, our kingdom verses the His ways, His righteousness and His Kingdom!
These two angers, the anger of יהוה and the anger of man run through the veins of Scripture, they can never coexist! In-fact they’re on a collision course, an inevitable collision course and that collision course, is the wrath of יהוה nailing Yahusha to the tree & the wrath of man doing the very same thing!
We manifest our anger in wickedness and יהוה manifests His anger in righteousness!
‘Be angry and not sin’! Redeem our anger, transform it and restore it into righteousness!
James 1:20 For the wrath of man does not bring about the tzedakah of vuvh.
Our anger is active its productive , it’s pursuing something, it’s not aimless and random its actively seeking something! It has a purpose and attempts to achieve something! ‘let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger:’ – its active and productive!
Idolatry is the heart of it, the heart of all our anger!
Four personality types:
easily angered, easily calmed – he looses what he gains
hard to anger, hard to calm – what he looses he gains
hard to anger and easy to calm – a righteous man
easy to anger and hard to calm, a truly wicked man.
Ephesians 4:30 Do not grieve the Ruach ha-Kodesh of Elohim, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:31 Get rid of all bitterness and rage and anger and quarreling and slander, along with all malice. Ephesians 4:32 Instead, be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other just as Elohim in Messiah also forgave you.
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