seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Ephesians 4:1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says:
“When he ascended on high,
he took many captives
and gave gifts to his people.”
he took many captives
and gave gifts to his people.”
9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
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IMHO
Westerns seem to be full of plots that display the Biblical Truths of the day. It was a way to entertain in the home without corrupting the people into couch potatoes or brain washed dummies. Back in the 40's and 50's we weren't so worried about AI. We had plenty of problems with "brainwashing" by the Government. I think it was because of the atrocities people witnessed during WWII and Korea. I think "brainwashing" was an experiment dreamt up to cure PTSD.
Anyway, The Tales of Wells Fargo, is the western that comes to mind. In a few of those shows, Jim Hardy goes to a town to investigate a robbery or a murder for Wells Fargo. When he gets there, he finds that the person he hired, or a person he befriends, is somehow involved in the robbery or murder. In the end, the person Jim Hardy knows or befriends, shows his "real good self" to Hardy and it works out that he helps Hardy save the day. Hardy figures out a way to forgive him and let him work for Wells Fargo. It was to show us that good acts [inherent in all "good men"] rule the day.
It's like Jesus finds us when we are [or will be] hooked up in a bad thing [like addiction] and sees the good in us, and pulls us up out of our muddy minds, and shows us how to grow "that light inside of us".
Paul [Saul] says God wants a hierarchy in His church. God wants Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, and Preachers to help the Christians grow. God wants the Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, and Preachers to teach people about Salvation and Being a Christian.
God did not want the Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, or Preachers to lie or kowtow to the people. God did not want the newbies to be tainted by a predator disguised as a preacher. God wants the hierarchy in the Church, to be on the watch for demons and liars who would take over the pulpit and lead the Christians off on a Path of destruction.
So, IMHO, these verses are about "maturing" safely in the church, without being afraid that the predator preacher or evangelist or wannabe apostle, distorting our faith.
We need to read the Bible for ourselves. We need to pray directly to God for understanding. Sure, we need to be in church with the rest of the "good Christians" but we need to be wary of the predators and liars who are only in that position so they can destroy the church or make a profit from it.
Some Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, and Preachers were never truly called. They are in that spot because they are slick talkers who want the adoration and money.
Interesting... I think Paul [Saul] was addicted to power... and here Paul's [Saul's] warning us to trust the hierarchy of the church.
These verses are about "maturing" safely in the church!
Maturing safely in the church...
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Here's a link to the commentary I read. Please follow the link to the commentary and read it in its entirety.
Therefore: Paul spent three chapters spelling out in glorious detail all that God did for us, freely by His grace. Now he brings a call to live rightly, but only after explaining what God did for us.
Walk worthy of the calling with which you were called: When we really understand how much God did for us, we will naturally want to serve and obey Him out of gratitude.
The idea is clear. We don’t walk worthy so that God will love us, but because He does love us. It is motivated out of gratitude, not out of a desire to earn merit.
With all lowliness and gentleness: A worthy walk before God will be marked by lowliness and gentleness, not a pushy desire to defend our own rights and advance our own agenda.
Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace: This humble, forgiving attitude towards each other naturally fulfills this gift of the unity of the Spirit.
We must endeavor to keep this unity — we do not create it. God never commands us to create unity among believers. He has created it by His Spirit; our duty is to recognize it and keep it.
This is a spiritual unity, not necessarily a structural or denominational unity. It is evident in the quick fellowship possible among Christians of different races, nationalities, languages, and economic classes.
When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men: Paul did not quote the passage exactly as it appears in Psalm 68. Either he altered it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit or under similar inspiration he quoted from an ancient translation (called a Targum) that quotes the Psalm in this manner.
And of the knowledge of the Son of God: When the gifted offices work right and the saints are properly equipped, Christian maturity increases and there is greater intimacy in the experience of God.
To a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: The gifted offices and equipped saints bring the saints to maturity, according to the measure of Jesus Himself. As years pass by, we should not only grow old in Jesus, but more mature in Him as well, as both individuals and as a corporate body.
We should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine: The gifted offices and equipped saints result in stability, being firmly planted on the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:20).
Those who do not mature in this way are targets of deceivers, who are effective precisely because they operate with trickery and cunning craftiness — and they lie in wait to deceive. They are out there like land minds that the mature can avoid.
According to the effective working by which every part does its share: The evidence of maturity — that the leaders and the saints are all doing their job — is this effective working. This means every part and joint provides what it can supply in a coordinated effort. When this happens, it naturally causes the growth of the body (both in size and strength), but especially growth for building itself up in love.
Some people think of the church as a pyramid, with the pastor at the top. Others think of the church as a bus driven by the pastor, who takes his passive passengers where they should go. God wants us to see the church as a body, where every part does its share.