being fit together

Posted on September 11, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Ephesians 2:21-22 (JDV)

Ephesians 2:21 every building, being fit together1 to him, increases into a temple devoted to the Lord.

Ephesians 2:22 You are also being built together in him for God’s dwelling in the Breath.

being fit together

Even though Ephesus was a Gentile city, Paul’s readers could understand his allusion to the temple courts in Israel. But Paul uses a term here in verse 21 that paints a word picture of God putting on the temple courts like a uniform. Later, he uses the same word to describe how the ligaments in the body hold the bones together.2 When God gave the Israelites instructions on how to build the tabernacle – then the temple – he insisted that they follow the pattern because the temple below represented a reality above.

We are being fit together like a uniform for God to wear, so that he can do the work he wants to do down here. We will not all have the same work, but God can use us all.

Lord, remove from us anything that hinders you from doing your great work through us.

1συναρμολογέω

24:16.

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open gates

Posted on September 10, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Ephesians 2:19-20 (JDV)

Ephesians 2:19 So then you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the devotees, and God’s household members,1

Ephesians 2:20 built on the foundation of the missionaries and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone –

open gates

Foreigners and strangers were those who lived in Israel but were not part of the covenant community. They were protected by the Mosaic law, and citizens were urged to show care for them, but they were not integrated into the culture like full-blown Israelites. They had no tribal identity, and were not allowed to participate in the temple worship.

That was then (Old Testament) – this is now. Now, because of the completed work of reconciliation on the cross, Gentiles who accept Christ as their Savior are members of God’s household, buildings built at the new temple itself.

Lord, thank you for opening your gates to include all of us who believe the gospel.

1οἰκεῖος

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erasing the divide

Posted on September 9, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Ephesians 2:16-18 (JDV)

Ephesians 2:16 and so that he might reconcile both to God with one body through the cross, killing the hostility.

Ephesians 2:17 He came and proclaimed the good news of peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near

Ephesians 2:18 because through him we have access in one breath to the Father.

erasing the divide

Because of Jesus, you and I do not have to be born in a specific place, or come from a specific lineage to have access to the Father. He erased the boundary lines. He proclaimed peace with God on both sides of the divide, thereby erasing the divide.

We don’t have to perform a ritual, or say any power words, or sacrifice anything for this peace. All we have to do us say yes to him. He has already killed the hostility. All he asks is that we look at that cross and accept it as the price he paid for our acceptance.

Lord, thank you for reconciling us to yourself through the cross.

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both groups one

Posted on September 8, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Ephesians 2:13-15 (JDV)

Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near because of the blood of Christ.

Ephesians 2:14 You see, he is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility.1 With his flesh,

Ephesians 2:15 he made of no effect the law consisting of commands and expressed in regulations, so that he might create in himself one new human2 from the two, resulting in peace…

both groups one

Once a sacrifice has been accomplished, the regulations concerning it no longer serve as a barrier between God and the worshiper. But as long as the worshiper looks at completing that sacrifice as a means of getting on God’s good side, the sacrifice itself can be a barrier, separating people from each other. Those who do are proud of their accomplishments, those who don’t resent those who do.

Enter Jesus. He tore down the wall of hostility by becoming the sacrifice that the Mosaic sacrifices pointed to. He treated them as a prophecy and fulfilled them on the cross. Now, everyone has access to the same benefits of his sacrifice. Now the other sacrifices are obsolete, except to teach us the meaning of their fulfillment on the cross.

Lord, thank you for tearing down the wall, and making both groups one.

1ἔχθρα

2ἄνθρωπος

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remember what you were

Posted on September 7, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Ephesians 2:11-12 (JDV)

Ephesians 2:11 For this reason,1 remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh – called “the uncircumcised” by those called “the circumcised,” which is done in the flesh by human hands.

Ephesians 2:12 At that season you were without Christ, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world.

remember what you were

Paul goes into great detail to remind the Ephesian Christians of what they were before they accepted Christ as their Savior:

  • There was no sign linking them to God’s promise to Abraham.

  • They had no Messiah as their king.
  • They had no citizenship in the kingdom.
  • They had no covenants connecting them to God’s promises for the future.
  • They had no hope for a destiny other than death.
  • They were not connected to God in his world.

All of that changed by their simply accepting Christ into their lives. It can happen to you too!

Lord, draw more new citizens into your kingdom by introducing them to king Jesus!

1διό

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what we were recreated for

Posted on September 6, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Ephesians 2:8-10 (JDV)

Ephesians 2:8 You see,1 you are saved by favor through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift–

Ephesians 2:9 not from achievements,2 so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:10 You see, we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good achievements, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.

what we were recreated for

A person can never achieve salvation by doing good things, but once a person is saved by God’s favor, the door is open for a host of good achievements. It is what we are recreated for. You have to be “in Christ” for those good achievements to happen.

So, if you are not in Christ, and you just hope you can do enough good things to balance out the bad things you know you’ve done, that will never happen. But if you are in Christ, you can expect good things to happen. You are created in Christ for good achievements.

Lord, thank you for extending your favor to save us. We commit ourselves to doing good things, in response to your favor. It is what we were recreated for.

1γάρ

2ἔργον

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raised up and seated

Posted on September 5, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Ephesians 2:6-7 (JDV)

Ephesians 2:6 He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the sky realms in Christ Jesus,

Ephesians 2:7 so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his favor through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

raised up and seated

When did God raise up believers and seat them in the sky realms? The way I read this, it happened the same time he raised Christ from the dead, and seated him back in the sky realms. The words “with him” are not separate prepositional phrases like they are in English. They are part of the verbs συνεγείρω and συγκαθίζω. We appropriate the same power and kindness of God that he displayed by raising Jesus from the grave. We do this by faith in the working of God, who raised Him (Colossians 2:12).

We are now figuratively raised and seated in anticipation of being actually raised from the dead and taking our proper place in eternity. The Christian life is a process of seeking actually the things appropriate to that new status (Colossians 3:1).

Lord, when we feel at our lowest, remind us where we are in your sight.

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pre-resurrection

Posted on September 4, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Ephesians 2:4-5 (JDV)

Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great care that he had for us,

Ephesians 2:5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in violations. You are saved by favor!

pre-resurrection

Paul describes conversion as a pre-resurrection. We are not just converted to a new theological position, and we have not just joined a new team. We have been given new life, and that life is Christ’s resurrected life. We have been made alive with Christ.

The purpose of this pre-resurrection is not to take the place of the resurrection Jesus promised at the last day. Its purpose is to keep us from living like children of disobedience. It is to keep us from living in death. It is to restore God’s dominion over us that Satan had usurped.

Lord, we are ready to live the pre-resurrection life you have given us.

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the living dead

Posted on September 3, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Ephesians 2:1-3 (JDV)

Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in your violations and sins

Ephesians 2:2 in which you previously lived during the age of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the breath now achieving things among the disobedient sons.

Ephesians 2:3 Among whom we too all previously lived with our fleshly cravings,1 carrying out the preferences of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.

the living dead

No, Paul is not talking about the zombie apocalypse. He is describing the life lived by an unbeliever before God’s invitation came and changed things. It is a real life, but it is focused on the flesh. It is a real life, but it is the life of a child under wrath. It is a real life, but it is controlled by Satan. It is a real life, but it can only result in disobedient behavior.

Believers have been rescued from this night of the living dead. We can now walk according the power of the resurrected Christ, reflecting his image, being his body.

What will it be?

1ἐπιθυμία

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his body and fullness

Posted on September 2, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Ephesians 1:22-23 (JDV)

Ephesians 1:22 And he subjected everything under his feet and appointed him as head above everything for the congregation,1

Ephesians 1:23 which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.

his body and fullness

If the congregation is the body of Christ, and everything is under his feet – where is everything in relation to us? That’s right, it’s under our feet as well. We may not feel that way, and we may have experiences that discourage us from thinking like that – but that is the ultimate reality.

It is important to remember that when we pray. We pray as members of the body of Christ, and therefore can approach the throne in heaven with confidence. We are not just the body, we are also the fullness. Many of God’s creatures can reflect his image partially, but we are destined to reflect it fully.

Lord, show us how to function as your body, and reflect the fullness of your image.

1ἐκκλησία

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