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Ephesians, Language, Teaching

Ephesians 4:1-16 – Sheltering from the hurricanes of philosophy

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I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it is said,

“When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.”

(When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

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This is the Epistle selection from the Episcopal Lectionary for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, Year B 2018. In the numbering system that lists each Sunday in an ordinal fashion, this Sunday is referred to as Proper 13. It will next be read aloud in an Episcopal church by a reader on Sunday August 5, 2018. It is important because Paul (once again) clearly stated one’s complete sacrifice to God allows one to be reborn as Jesus Christ.

To cherry-pick a few words written by Paul to analyze (rather than turn 316 words of Paul into a short book on the meaning of these sixteen verses), the word translated as “prisoner” is “desmios.” This word certainly says “prisoner,” but equally says, “one bound, one in bonds, and one captive,” where “prisoner” can imply judgment and/or force to make one go where one would not choose freely to go – a prison. However, this prison is “in [the] Lord,” where “Kyriō” means “one who has control of, as the master,” which makes “the Lord” like a prison warden.

That is not the case at all, as Paul (and the Christians of Ephesus) were servants (not prisoners) to “the sovereign, prince, or chief” – the Lord. While one can assume “the Lord” means Jesus Christ, the reality is God is the ultimate LORD. When one is in the Lord, then one is one with God and Christ. When that oneness is seen as being “bound in,” as “captive within,” one is under the control of God, which then emanates as one being “in Jesus Christ,” as Jesus of Nazareth reborn.

Jesus Christ is captive in my flesh. I will not set him free because he came to me!

This is the meaning of Paul writing, “There is one body and one Spirit.” It is important to grasp each individual’s captivity in this way. Each Apostle is captivated by love of God and God’s love in return, through oneness. Paul wrote to other individuals who were just as one with God and Christ, so “one body and one Spirit” equally means a church or assembly, where all members of that body are the individual resurrections of the Son of God. However, to jump to that meaning without realizing the individual must be one body and one Spirit first, one is putting the cart before the horse and there is no equation to a church body of ordinary people who all agree they believe Jesus (one body) was one who was the Son of God (one Spirit).

When Paul wrote, “Just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all,” this has nothing to do with some external ritual that fell under Roman Church discretion, three hundred years later. Each individual has become captive by one Lord of their physical bodies and spiritual souls – Jesus Christ. Each individual has personal experience of what oneness with Jesus Christ is, so belief (external words written or spoken) has transformed to faith – the knowledge of the Christ Mind. Each individual has had his or her soul washed clean of all past sins by the Holy Spirit – not bathed by water. Finally, each individual has to be adopted by God above as His Son, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, so God then truly becomes one’s Father – the Father of all like individuals who have each been adopted in the same way.

When Paul then wrote, “Each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift,” one cannot envision Jesus Christ being some external Spirit standing like a woman on All Hallows Eve, passing out free candy to those stopping by.

The Greek word “charis” is translated as “grace” so often that few know what that means. The word means “favor, gratitude, and thanks,” which comes from God above, the LORD. As thanks for one’s sacrifice of self-ego (each individual’s), God gives the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are duplications of those talents possessed (also gifted by God) by Jesus of Nazareth. Therefore, all gifts are facets of Jesus’ powers on earth, which Paul measured as seven in total.

When Paul wrote (as a quote), “When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive,” the Greek words “ēchmalōteusen aichmalōsian” are better stated as, “he held captive a multitude of captives.” Again, this element of captivity is the oneness of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ with a multitude of individuals who have become changed into Jesus of Nazareth reborn. Jesus of Nazareth was himself captive to God’s Holy Spirit, which made him the most holy Son of God; but it was his death (the rising of his soul spirit to heaven) that created the possibility for many others to become the same most holy Son of God on earth.

To grasp Paul’s writing, “he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth,” this is not solely meaning Jesus’s Holy Spirit went to Sheol and looked at all the souls who had died, freeing them to go to heaven. God IS the Father of all souls, so God decides who comes to heaven, who gets recycled back into a new human body, and who gets eternally banished from ever returning to heaven. This means Paul said Jesus of Nazareth was dead as a human being, after three days of death. However, that death was with purpose, so Jesus Christ could descend upon the sinners of the world who were living (dead as mortals destined to die and be reincarnated) and cleanse their souls for eternal life with the Father.

When Paul then wrote, “The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ,” this long series states God’s gifts to those reborn as His Son. Take note that the Greek word “hagiōn” (translated as “saints”) is a basic identification of Christians, as all apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers are ministers as Saints – those “set apart by God as holy and sacred.” The gifts of God’s Christ are not given to special people who will lead the ignorant masses, but only to Saints, for the purpose of creating more Saints.

This means that no Christians are without these gifts of God that build up “the body of Christ” (individually and collectively) in faith and knowledge, as that held by Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God. It means that all Christians are required to be Saints, worthy of heavenly gifts.  So, one cannot call oneself Christian if one is not a Saint, without belittling what a true Christian is.

When Paul then wrote, “We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming,” this means maturity is the measure of “the full stature of Christ.”  This means growing up spiritually, which usually takes (minimally) decades of belief and study.  However, maturity means no longer requiring someone external to oneself to tell him or her what to do and what to believe.

In this regard, I recommend reading the accompanying Proper 13 interpretation that I published, about the optional Old Testament reading from Exodus, where manna is spiritual baby food. Growing up means taking responsibility for one’s own spiritual soul, requiring faith and knowledge that can only come through being reborn as Jesus Christ. Without that sacrifice, one is blown by the wind of Big Brain philosophies, which are never going to reward the masses with anything more than misery, and are always going to reward the cheaters and deceivers with worldly gains and the eternal frustrations of death.

Finally, when Paul wrote, “Speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love,” this states one’s commitment to God. One must fall in love with God and show God one’s willingness to be fully submitted to His Will, where one becomes one with God through a marriage in one’s heart (in love).

The consummation of that marriage replaces the Big Brain of self motivations with the Mind of Christ. The immersion of one’s soul with the Holy Spirit then allows all parts of one’s body to become outlets for the gifts of Christ – his touch, his voice, and his presence. This build-up in the individual then spreads to others, who then also experience individual growth in their bodies, with the whole body (assembly or congregation) also growing as one.

As the Epistle selection for the eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s personal ministry to the LORD should be underway – an individual reborn as Jesus Christ in support of a collective of individuals likewise reborn – the message is being captivated by God’s love. A minister of the LORD projects the thrill and joy of being led by the Mind of Christ to know the experience of Jesus Christ reborn. This projection becomes the aura depicted in paintings around the heads of Saints; and that is not to signify personal achievement, but the radiant attractiveness surrounding one from the Holy Spirit, that acts as a magnet to others.

The natural way this began, when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost (on the first day of the week – Sunday), twelve Apostolic priests held twelve church services at once in the same place, with each in a different language and with each telling the truth of the Word that Jews from many nations had heard before, but never known. They believed the words of Scripture; but they had never had faith overwhelm them, because of the stories in the Torah only seemed historical. Hearing the Word of truth converted three thousand Jews into true Christians, because the spirituality of truth hit their hearts. This, then, is the true power of a sermon preached.

So, you know by telling the truth you are helping God?

Paul continued this preaching of the Good News – the Euaggelion – the Announcement of the Truth. Paul then wrote to those whom he converted to Christianity, to further speak the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to those likewise filled with the Holy Spirit. All the Apostles, explained the Prophets, as Prophets. They were Evangelists because they sought out Jews and scattered Israelites who might not yet have heard that the Messiah had come. It was the truth of the Word that turned those believers into practitioners of faith, as Jesus Christ reborn. All then became pastors of flocks and teachers of their families and neighbors, with none ever going to a school to be taught classes in sermon writing and oration.  None ever interviewed for a position as official priest of Yahweh.

Then, relatively suddenly, that way of Christ’s voice, touch, and presence became silenced by an empirical Church.  The collapsed Roman Empire, led by Constantine, saw profit to be made from forcing religious belief on pagans that followed lesser gods. Regardless of the thought processes involved, they were doctrinal, from Big Brains, and not from the Christ Mind.  The system God created (which works perfectly still) was scrapped for the organizational expertise of Rome.

The weathering that change, from reborn Jesus Saints coming from low-level devotees to systemic practices spoken in Latin by men in big hats, reverted back to beliefs, away from true faith.  Over the next fifteen hundred years, that wind of philosophy has left the flag of Christianity torn and tattered, “tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming.” Simply by foretelling that future, Paul was gifted the talent of prophecy, proved when the words he wrote came true.

In these dangerous times, when people sit in pews, separated by an aisle that puts the goats to the left and sheep to the right, the Word of God is read aloud and then a political oration takes place. The brevity of an Episcopal “sermon” is the only goodness served up now days, often only pretending to be the Gospel. The ministers of the LORD are given fewer and fewer flocks to pastor, leaving them without an easy ability to replenish the Christian population.

With fewer Apostles and Saints in the world, the more dangerous the world becomes. The leaders of the world (those currently in power and the ones subverting those in power, so they can scratch and claw on top) are less the cause of the destruction of Christianity, than they are the result of it.  The people who idly sit by and allow this devolution to happen are who own the lion’s share of responsibility in this demise. Still, all is not lost as long as God keeps the torch of truth alive.

God wants His children back from waywardness. Jesus Christ wants the truth be told. Saints risk persecution so God and Christ are pleased, through their willful obedience. The only thing missing is seekers of the truth. The world can be saved when they get on board.

Ephesians, Language, Teaching

Ephesians 4:1-16 – Capitalizing on the truth

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I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it is said,

“When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.”

(When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

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This is the Epistle reading to be presented aloud on the tenth Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 13], Year B, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. This will be preceded by one of the two pairing possibilities of Old Testament and Psalm readings. Track 1 places focus on Yahweh telling Nathan to tell David his fate for sinning. Track 2 places focus on the Israelites complaining about hunger, so Yahweh promised to send them manna from heaven. The two Psalms then support themes of lament and praise, in accompaniment. All will accompany the Gospel reading from John, where the people followed Jesus to Capernaum and wanted more free bread.

I wrote about this selection and published it publicly on my website. I welcome all to read what I had to say about in 2018 and posted it on my website, which can be found by searching this site. Because the Epistles are designed to force a seeker to delve deeply into the meaning of what the Saints wrote, so much is possible to be seen that it requires more than a casual English translation to begin to unfold its truth. The Epistles are written in this way to prove a priests is indeed filled with the Spirit of truth; and, they are written in this manner to expose the truth to the true seekers, so seeing for oneself raises their souls to a state of faith. For that reason, I will simply analyze a portion of this Epistle selection, as an approach that differs from that taken in 2018. What I wrote then is still applicable, as what I add now only supports that meaning.

The New Testament is made up of writings produced by people after Jesus’ life on earth had ended. It becomes important to see the entire “new bible” as being the writings of men [and women too in apocrypha], who all had become the spiritual resurrections of Jesus. There is no need to canonize any book written by anyone less possessed spiritually. This means the New Testament is the fulfillment of the promise that was presented in the Old Testament, after Yahweh sent Moses to collect human being possessing souls and teach them to become possessed by Yahweh’s Spirit, which became the writings of those individuals who divinely knew that history, wrote divinely inspired songs and became the prophets who were the prototypes of Jesus resurrected [before his birth].

For anyone to believe anything in the Holy Bible is just a book of opinions, written by men who wanted to make a name for themselves, with that opinion possibly flawed [as seen when apparent contradictions seem to make human flaws stand out], there is no benefit to be found from reading Scripture. Holding that opinion means one cannot explain Scripture so others can be led to their souls marrying Yahweh, allowing Jesus to be resurrected within them, saving their souls from another wasted life in the flesh. Only those who see the divinity of every word written, as coming from the voice of Yahweh speaking through a divine author, can one be a continuation of the New Testament.

The Epistles are the test of one’s learning to see the truth of each word. The amazing power of that truth speaks loudly in many ways, which takes their discernment far above and beyond the limitations of normal syntax. It is now with that declaration of the Epistles being Yahweh speaking through Paul that I want to focus here on the capitalized words written in these sixteen selected verses from his letter to the true Christians of Ephesus. The extraction of only those words becomes a letter within a letter.

In these sixteen verses there are seventeen capitalized words.

“Parakalō” – “Invite” [“Advocate”]

“Kyriō” – “Lord”

“Pneumatos” – “of Spirit”

“Pneuma” – “Spirit”

“Kyrios” – “Lord”

“Theos” – “God”

“Patēr” – “Father”

“Heni” – “One”

“Christou” – “of Anointed one”

“Anabas” – “having Ascended”

“Anebē” – “he Ascended”

“Kai” – A marker word denoting importance to follow. [It begins verse 11.]

“Christou” – “of Anointed one”

“Huiou” – “of Son”

“Theou” – “of God”

“Christou” – “of Anointed one”

“Christos” – “the Anointed one”

Every capitalized word must be viewed as a divinely elevated statement, above and beyond the ordinary or normal meaning. For example, a “lord” or a “master” can be anything to which one is enslaved or in submission to, which can range from a job that pays the bills and an addiction that one cannot kick. The capitalization, however, makes the word take on the meaning of Yahweh’s presence within one’s soul-flesh, where “Lord” becomes a Spiritual “Master” that one’s soul has bowed down before. All of the capitalized words take on this heavenly association; and, this is the only reason the Apostles [Saints] ministered and then wrote to continue that ministry.

Without any of the other words written by Paul seen, simply take these capitalized words and read them as them making a most divinely elevated command. They form as: “Invite Lord of Spirit – Spirit Lord – God Father – One of Anointed one having Ascended – he Ascended * – of Anointed one of Son of God – of Anointed one the Anointed one.” If one struggles with hearing what Yahweh is saying through these words alone, then one is far away from salvation; and, more personal work must be done to open one’s soul to Receive the Spirit of understanding.

At the place where I placed an asterisk [*], this is where a capitalized “Kai” is written. The word “kai” should not be read as a word, but instead as a marker of importance to follow. In Ephesians 4 are found 26 uses of “kai,” with two capitalized. In these sixteen verses, there are fourteen of the twenty-six, with only the one capitalized. The capitalization comes at the beginning of verse eleven, which makes the first segment of words in that verse most important to grasp in a heavenly sense, with the whole of the verse maintaining that elevated sense of meaning. That means understanding verse eleven is most important to realize, as necessary information that goes along with this capitalized meaning found in these verses.

Verse 11 then states: “autos edōken tous men apostolous , tous de prophētas , tous de euangelistas , tous de poimenas kai didaskalous .” Translating to: “soul placed them truly messengers , them indeed prophets , them indeed missionary preachers , them indeed shepherds and teachers .” This becomes an important statement about all of the capitalized words stated prior. The primary elevated statement says the “selves” [“autos” means “self,” with a “self” elevated spiritually as a “soul”] are those “souls” that have listened to the “Urgency” for Spiritual marriage and allowed Yahweh’s “Spirit” to become their “Lord.” In those “souls” a divine union has made “God” their “Father,” as His “Son,” each “having Ascended” Spiritually to a state of “One.” Here, those “souls” are called “messengers” [“apostles” and also “elohim” in Hebrew], such that God’s creations become “prophets, evangelists, shepherds,” with this importantly noted to be “teachers” or “rabbis” [in Hebrew].

It is vital to realize these capitalized words can only be found in the Greek text [Hebrew has no capital letters in its alphabet] and not the English translations. Many English versions will take the liberty of taking a word like “autos” and capitalizing that as “He,” if they want the reader to follow their line of though [an agenda] that says the pronoun refers to Jesus. That misses the truth that a “soul” or a “self” is not elevated until it has married Yahweh and become His wife [a “Christ”].

In the quote stated by Paul: “When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people,” it is important to realize this is parsed from Psalm 68:18. The NRSV states that verse fully as: “You ascended the high mount, leading captives in your train and receiving gifts from people, even from those who rebel against the Lord God’s abiding there.” In that, the truth is David did not write “the Lord God’s.” He wrote, “Yah elohim,” which must be understood to say, “Yahweh gods,” where “elohim” or “gods” are what these sixteen verses of Paul’s epistle are speaking of, in capitalized letters.

As an Epistle reading selected to be read aloud on the tenth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s personal ministry to Yahweh should already be well underway, Paul is teaching what a true “messenger” of Yahweh is. It is a soul who has fully submitted itself to Him, to be the soul that will resurrect as His “Son” Jesus, as two souls that have become “Anointed one” in the same body of flesh, all “One” with “God.” If one’s “Lord” is not Jesus, through his divine rebirth within one’s being, then one is only pretending to be religious; and, that leads the flock away from Yahweh, which harms one’s soul as a false shepherd.