Day 9 - Change Your Life!

Day 9 - Change Your Life!






Welcome to Day 9 and nearly the end of the week...well, today we are going to...








Pray, Read the book of Ephesians and Thank God








Study Scriptures:



Unity in the Body of Christ

4 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—

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 grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.

8 Therefore it says,“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,and he gave gifts to men.”

9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?

10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,

12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

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Study Questions:

1. How many God's are there? Do these scriptures solidify the Trinity or confuse you? Pray about it, read the first three chapters again paying close attention for the Trinity and the uniqueness of each of the Godheads

2. As Christians, how are we to walk? Why do you think Christ wants us to walk that way?

3. Do you have unity in your church body? Why or why not? Do you feel unity when you meet a fellow believer? Even when the non-essential doctrines don't agree? Do you know the essential doctrinal truths of Christianity? If not, you can look them up on various websites to discover the few things that unify all Christians.

4. Who receives gifts from Christ? Why did we get these gifts? Do you know of at least one gift you have? Do you use your gift for God's glory? If you don't know what your gift is, pray about it and search scripture--the Holy Spirit will reveal it to you

5. When you read about Christ descending, do you think He descended into hell? A lot of popular preaches teach this but read the scripture carefully and search other scriptures that illuminate Christ's death, burial and resurrection. God's Truth is in His Word!

6. What do you think it means to not be children tossed to and fro? Do you find yourself waffling on Christ's truths? Do you doubt what He tells you? Where do you go for counsel? Do you turn to prayer, fasting and His Word? He will reveal it to you

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Commentary from the ESV:

Paul exhorts the church to unity based on the truths of the one God and his one work of salvation.

Eph. 4:1 prisoner. Paul's imprisonment for the sake of the gospel is for the Lord (see 3:1). His exhortations have great power, since he himself has taken these matters seriously enough to suffer confinement in the Lord's service. Christians are to live in a manner worthy of the adoption, holiness, and unity to which they were called (see 1:4–5; 4:4).

Eph. 4:2 Humility was regarded as distasteful by the pagan world of Paul's day. Pride was more highly prized. All of the virtues mentioned—humility, gentleness, patience, and most of all, love—were displayed in Christ's own character and are to be evident in the daily walk of every Christian.
Eph. 4:3 Peace is a state of reconciliation and love and therefore acts as a bond to unite believers in Christ. Believers do not create unity but are to preserve the unity already established.

Eph. 4:4 Spirit. Just as a human body has one spirit that animates it, so Christ's body, the church, is enlivened by one Holy Spirit who enlivens Christians to eternal life. one hope. Christians do not have separate “hopes” but are together called to eternal life and to enjoy God forever in resurrection glory. They are also called to express that unity this side of eternity. On the church as a body, see Rom. 12:4–8; 1 Cor. 12:12–31.

One faith refers to the doctrinal truths Christians commonly confess. “One Spirit” (v. 4), “one Lord [Christ]” (v. 5), and “one God and Father” (v. 6) Paul exhorts the church to unity based on the truths of the one God and his one work of salvation.Eph. 4:1 prisoner. Paul's imprisonment for the sake of the gospel is for the Lord (see 3:1). His exhortations have great power, since he himself has taken these matters seriously enough to suffer confinement in the Lord's service. Christians are to live in a manner worthy of the adoption, holiness, and unity to which they were called (see 1:4–5; 4:4).

One Baptism. Christians have disagreed about the proper mode of baptism beginning in the early history of the church. “One baptism” here, however, may refer to the baptism of all believers into one body (as described in 1 Cor. 12:13), which is the result of the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit when one becomes a genuine believer in Christ.

If this view is correct, water baptism would be an outward sign of the inward reality of the believer being in Christ as the result of the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit (cf. John 3:5, 8; Titus 3:5). There is therefore a profound spiritual unity of all genuine believers who are “in Christ” (see John 17:21, 23), founded on “one faith” in “one Lord,” irrespective of denominational differences. Others hold that the reference here is to water baptism, but would disagree concerning the proper mode.

Eph. 4:6 over all . . . through all . . . in all. God is omnipresent (see Ps. 139:7–12; Isa. 66:1). Thus the Christian church is “one body” (Eph. 4:4), wherever its separate congregations may be found throughout the world (see Rom. 3:30).

Eph. 4:7–10 The Different Gifts. Paul describes diverse gifts in the church. These come from the ascended Christ.Eph. 4:7 Grace . . . according to the measure of Christ's gift does not refer to different levels of saving grace but of grace given to serve Christ's church. To hold an office in Christ's church (see 3:2; 4:11–16) requires a special calling from Christ himself, who rules his body as its head (see 1:22; 4:15; 5:23).

Eph. 4:8 it says. Paul cites Ps. 68:18, where the one who ascends is the triumphant Lord God. Paul sees this as referring to Christ Jesus in his resurrection as head of the church. gifts. In Ps. 68:18, the divine victor is seen “receiving gifts among men,” but Paul adapts the passage to his purposes (as NT authors sometimes do in citing the OT) to show that Christ gave gifts to his people from his spoils of victory (interestingly, ancient Syriac and Aramaic translations of Ps. 68:18 also have “gave”).

The “gifts” given by Christ turn out to be the church leaders described in Eph. 4:11. The captives over whom Christ triumphed are most likely demons (cf. this theme of victory over demonic forces in 1:19–22).


Eph. 4:9 lower regions, the earth. In the incarnation, Christ descended from the highest heavens to the lowest regions (i.e., to the earth), where he suffered, died, and was buried, but where he also defeated death and rose again. He then ascended (Acts 1:9) 40 days later to be seated in the highest heavens at the right hand of the Father (Acts 2:33).

Eph. 4:10 far above. Christ is the supreme head of the church who fills all things (see 1:23) with his glory, power, and sovereign prerogative to dispense gifts to his people (see 4:11–16).Eph. 4:11–16 The Gifts for Edification of the Church. The list in v. 11 is not complete since deacons are omitted. The focus here is gifted people who articulate the gospel.

Eph. 4:11 Christ gives specific spiritual gifts to people in the church whose primary mission is to minister the Word of God (v. 12). For apostles, see note on 1:1. Regarding prophets, different views on the nature of the gift of prophecy in the NT affect one's understanding of this verse (see notes on 2:20; 1 Cor. 12:10). Since the Greek construction here is different from Eph. 2:20 and 3:5, some see this verse as a broader reference to the gift of prophecy generally in the NT church, rather than a reference to the “foundational” prophets mentioned in 2:20 and 3:5. From the Greek word for the “gospel” (euangelion), evangelists denotes people like Philip and Timothy who proclaimed the gospel (Acts 21:8; 2 Tim. 4:5). shepherds (or “pastors” [esv footnote]). In the OT these are kings and judges (2 Sam. 5:2; 7:7). In the NT, elders “shepherd” by watching over and nurturing the church (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:1–2).

There is some uncertainty as to whether “shepherds and teachers” refers here to two different ministry roles or functions, or whether the reference is to a single “shepherd-teacher” ministry role (cf. esv footnote), since Paul uses a different Greek conjunction at the end of the list, joining the two nouns more closely together than the other nouns in the list. If “teachers” are a separate group, they can be understood as a special branch of shepherds (overseers, elders) responsible for instruction in God's Word (cf. 1 Tim. 5:17).

Eph. 2:20 Eph. 4:12 Those church leaders with various gifts (v. 11) are to equip the saints (all Christians) so that they can do the work of ministry. All Christians have spiritual gifts that should be used in ministering to one another (1 Cor. 12:7, 11; 1 Pet. 4:10).Eph. 4:13 The diversity of gifts serves to bring about the unity of Christ's people. Mature manhood extends the body metaphor used earlier for the church and contrasts with “children” in the next verse (see Heb. 5:11–14).

Some people think that the learning of doctrine is inherently divisive, but it is people who divide the church, whereas the knowledge of the Son of God (both knowing Christ personally and understanding all that he did and taught) is edifying and brings about “mature manhood” when set forth in love (Phil. 3:10). The work of the gifted ministers (Eph. 4:11) was to proclaim and teach the word centered on Christ rather than on speculative or eccentric teachings of their own (cf. 1 Cor. 2:2). measure. Christ Jesus is the standard of the maturity to which the church must aspire. Christ's fullness is the full expression of his divine and human perfection (see Eph. 1:23; 3:19; Col. 1:19; 2:9).

Immaturity in the truths of Christian doctrine makes the church like gullible children tossed helplessly by the waves and wind of cunning and deceitful schemes of false teachers (1 Pet. 2:1; 1 John 4:1–3; Jude 4; Rev. 2:2).

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Beloved, Christ did so much for us and truly, being filled with the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit you can understand and receive the word of God in all of its Truth and Holiness. Be free from man's positions and man's rules and limitations on God. Search the Word, Live Free, Live a life of boldness and joy and security in His Word.

The time you spend planting the firm foundation will serve you well when life's tides and the enemy come in to wash away your knowledge. If you root and ground and plant and water, the Master Vine can never be torn from your soul--He is bonded to you forever.

Let your yeas be yeas and your nays be nays, don't walk in a wavering fashion, but rather walk straight and confident in His love. Let others know of the freedom from the wickedness of this world for the ultimate peace. It is like Neo in the Matrix, once you see the Lord, once you taste of His bread and you feed on His Truth you can never see this world the same again. You know perfection, you know peace, you know love and you know forgiveness.

It is our obligation to share with others our hope. Do not fear, for He is with you wherever you go. He will give you the words and testimony and only speak the Truth in love. Be blessed Beloved Brother and Sister and walk worthy of your calling and guard your heart above all else. Until tomorrow be unified in glory, Sister Lisa