Ephesians 4 Part 11
Bible Study Time 12-11-05
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
Bible Study Time 12-11-05
Last week in our study of Ephesians 4, we saw that we need to grow in our knowledge of the Son of God in order to grow in the unity of the faith and into the full measure of the stature of Christ. This is God’s ultimate goal for the Church which is the Body of Christ. We must look to the word of God for our knowledge of Jesus Christ, for all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable in that it fully equips us for every good work.
The Bible is our only completely reliable source of information concerning Jesus Christ in that it was the only book which was written by the Holy Spirit of God. Fortunately for us, the one who interprets the Bible for us is the Holy Spirit of God who lives within us. Without the working of the Holy Spirit, the Bible can not be understood. The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians that no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God, but we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
Ephesians 4 gives us two reasons why it’s important for us to grow in our knowledge of the Son of God. First, we need this knowledge to avoid being tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine. As we grow in our knowledge of Jesus Christ there will be fewer and fewer doctrines which threaten our faith. The preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes spoke in very human terms and said:
Ecclesiastes 1:9 (NKJ)
9 That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.
If someone tells you that their religion is a brand new religion, you’d better take that with a grain of salt because there’s really nothing new under the sun. Their religion may have a new name, and it may have been tweeked a little here and there, but the chances are pretty good that it’s just a variation of one of the age old religions.
When we are young in faith and young in knowledge, we are more vulnerable to the deceptive ploys of the devil. Some of those who come to us with false doctrine may be very sincere even though their doctrine is deceitful. However, we can rest assured that false doctrine will always be exposed by the word of God. If we faithfully and prayerfully study the word, the Holy Spirit will lead us into that which is correct.
In Ephesians 4, Paul particularly warns us about those who come by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. It would be a grave mistake to think that all religious people have pure motives. The Apostle Paul knew from personal experience the cunning craftiness and deceitful plotting of religious people. He may well have been one of those who offered payment for the false testimony which was given at Stephen’s trial, and the Bible plainly declares that Paul stood there and watched as Stephen was stoned.
Paul told Timothy that some who teach false doctrine have been robbed of the truth and think that godliness is a means to financial gain. Well, whether their motive is financial or political, we must be on guard for such hypocrisy. Paul made sure that nobody could accused him of serving the Lord for financial gain. He worked as a tentmaker providing for his own financial support even though he had every right to claim support from his followers. In I Corinthians 9, he said:
1 Corinthians 9:11,12,18 (NIV)
11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?
12 If others have this right of support from you, shouldn't we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.
18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.
When Paul warned the Ephesians about being tossed about by every wind of doctrine, he was not giving them or us an excuse for closing our minds to any doctrine that we’ve never heard before. Nothing could be further from the truth. The essence of growth is an open mind. How can we grow, if we never learn anything new?
Paul praised the Bereans because they were willing to search the scriptures to see if his doctrine was true. To be sure no one had ever heard Paul’s doctrine before because this was something that was new. Paul clearly stated in his book to the Galatians that he did not get his doctrine from men, but it came to him as a direct revelation from God.
Paul, himself, at one time stubbornly held to the doctrines of the Pharisees, but after he met the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus, he realized that his motivation was selfish and worldly. As he grew in his knowledge of the Jesus Christ, he said that he counted the selfish glory of his former religion but loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ. God went to great lengths to reveal Himself to this man who was very close minded. Ultimately, Paul opened his mind and his heart to Jesus Christ.
As Paul defended himself before Festus and King Agrippa, he told of his conversion and of the fact that Jesus Christ had been raised from the dead and had actually spoken to him from heaven. Festus closed his mind and his heart and said, “Paul, much learning has made you mad.” King Agrippa on the other hand, opened his mind but not his heart and said, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.”
The first step to having an open heart is having an open mind. But if we have an open mind, how can we avoid being tossed about by every wind of doctrine? That is a dilemma which every believer must face. If we really study the scriptures, our beliefs will be challenged because some of our beliefs are wrong, and God wants to change our minds on those things. Would any of us claim to be infallible in our doctrine? If we do, there’s something wrong.
In general terms, the solution to this problem is to keep an open mind, keep studying the word, and keep praying for discernment. Some items we just have to put on the back burner for a while. God will give us a perfect understanding of all things in His own time.
It’s also important to remember that knowledge is not the end of the growth process, but it is the beginning. II Peter, Chapter 1, says:
2 Peter 1:5-7 (NKJ)
5 . . . giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,
6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,
7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
This indicates that true knowledge will lead us to a more perfect love. In I Corinthians 13, Paul agreed and said, though I have all knowledge and have not love, I am nothing.
The knowledge which is offered by the Holy Spirit will lead us to love, but there is a type of human knowledge which leads not to love but to arrogance and pride. Paul spoke of this kind of knowledge when he said:
1 Corinthians 8:1-3 (NIV)
1 . . . Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
2 The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.
3 But the man who loves God is known by God.
Again, love is seen a superior to knowledge. Paul probably had the people at the tower of Babel in mind when he wrote Romans 1 and said:
Romans 1:22-25,28 (KJV)
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 (Ultimately, they) changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, . . .
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
The knowledge which comes from the Holy Spirit leads us to know and love Jesus Christ, but the people at the tower of Babel had closed their minds to God because they did not want to retain God in their knowledge. Those who refuse to believe in God have to close their minds to the truth, but those who love God have no reason to fear the truth because truth always leads to Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life.
Unbelievers who profess themselves to be wise have a knowledge which is not based on truth. Those who believe in evolution, for example, profess themselves to be wise, but their doctrine ignores the evidence. Knowledge which ignores the evidence is false knowledge. Paul warned Timothy about those who possess false knowledge when he told him to avoid profane and idle babbling and all that is falsely called knowledge. Paul went on to say that those who are obsessed with disputes and arguments are destitute of the truth.
Human knowledge puffs up and leads man to think that he no longer needs God. But the knowledge which comes from the Holy Spirit leaves us kneeling before our Creator with a humble desire to learn more. As we open our hearts and minds to the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit, we grow in our knowledge of the Son of God and this knowledge keeps us from being tossed about by every wind of doctrine.
In Ephesians 4, Paul give us another reason to grow in our knowledge of the Son of God, and that is that we might be able to speak the truth in love. To grow up into Jesus Christ, who is the head of the Church which is His Body, we need to learn about Him, and we need to speak about Him. And, of coarse, God would have it no other way but that we should speak the truth in love. In II Corinthians 2, Paul said that we are to diffuse the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ in every place.
When my wife, Joan, and I go into a department store, you can bet that Joan will eventually find her way to the perfume counter. She loves to check out any new fragrance and the older ones too. There’s just something special about a beautiful fragrance. It’s not something you can easily forget.
When the people around us sense the fragrance of Jesus Christ, they will be drawn to Him. I saw a Louis Palau television special the other day in which the actor Stephen Baldwin gave his testimony. When he and his family moved to Los Angeles, they hired a housekeeper who spoke often of her faith in Jesus Christ. Stephen and his wife could not help but notice the joy and the peace that this lady brought into their home. Today the Baldwins serve Jesus Christ and are very active in several youth ministries in the southern California all because this housekeeper brought the fragrance of Jesus Christ with her to work. When people see the Lord Jesus for what He really is, they will seek Him, and they will find Him.
If you are listening this morning, and you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior, you can accept Him today. By simply believing God’s word, that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and that He was buried and that He rose again the third day, you can become a child of God and receive everlasting life, and God will begin to reveal the fragrance of Jesus Christ in your life.
If you’re listening this morning, and you already know Jesus Christ, let us dedicate ourselves to Christ so that everyone around us will sense the beautiful fragrance of Jesus Christ. May the lost see Him through us and come to Him for healing, for cleansing and for everlasting life.
I see our time is gone this morning. Thank you for listening. I’ll look forward to being you again next week at this same time.
The Bible is our only completely reliable source of information concerning Jesus Christ in that it was the only book which was written by the Holy Spirit of God. Fortunately for us, the one who interprets the Bible for us is the Holy Spirit of God who lives within us. Without the working of the Holy Spirit, the Bible can not be understood. The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians that no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God, but we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
Ephesians 4 gives us two reasons why it’s important for us to grow in our knowledge of the Son of God. First, we need this knowledge to avoid being tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine. As we grow in our knowledge of Jesus Christ there will be fewer and fewer doctrines which threaten our faith. The preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes spoke in very human terms and said:
Ecclesiastes 1:9 (NKJ)
9 That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.
If someone tells you that their religion is a brand new religion, you’d better take that with a grain of salt because there’s really nothing new under the sun. Their religion may have a new name, and it may have been tweeked a little here and there, but the chances are pretty good that it’s just a variation of one of the age old religions.
When we are young in faith and young in knowledge, we are more vulnerable to the deceptive ploys of the devil. Some of those who come to us with false doctrine may be very sincere even though their doctrine is deceitful. However, we can rest assured that false doctrine will always be exposed by the word of God. If we faithfully and prayerfully study the word, the Holy Spirit will lead us into that which is correct.
In Ephesians 4, Paul particularly warns us about those who come by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. It would be a grave mistake to think that all religious people have pure motives. The Apostle Paul knew from personal experience the cunning craftiness and deceitful plotting of religious people. He may well have been one of those who offered payment for the false testimony which was given at Stephen’s trial, and the Bible plainly declares that Paul stood there and watched as Stephen was stoned.
Paul told Timothy that some who teach false doctrine have been robbed of the truth and think that godliness is a means to financial gain. Well, whether their motive is financial or political, we must be on guard for such hypocrisy. Paul made sure that nobody could accused him of serving the Lord for financial gain. He worked as a tentmaker providing for his own financial support even though he had every right to claim support from his followers. In I Corinthians 9, he said:
1 Corinthians 9:11,12,18 (NIV)
11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?
12 If others have this right of support from you, shouldn't we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.
18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.
When Paul warned the Ephesians about being tossed about by every wind of doctrine, he was not giving them or us an excuse for closing our minds to any doctrine that we’ve never heard before. Nothing could be further from the truth. The essence of growth is an open mind. How can we grow, if we never learn anything new?
Paul praised the Bereans because they were willing to search the scriptures to see if his doctrine was true. To be sure no one had ever heard Paul’s doctrine before because this was something that was new. Paul clearly stated in his book to the Galatians that he did not get his doctrine from men, but it came to him as a direct revelation from God.
Paul, himself, at one time stubbornly held to the doctrines of the Pharisees, but after he met the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus, he realized that his motivation was selfish and worldly. As he grew in his knowledge of the Jesus Christ, he said that he counted the selfish glory of his former religion but loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ. God went to great lengths to reveal Himself to this man who was very close minded. Ultimately, Paul opened his mind and his heart to Jesus Christ.
As Paul defended himself before Festus and King Agrippa, he told of his conversion and of the fact that Jesus Christ had been raised from the dead and had actually spoken to him from heaven. Festus closed his mind and his heart and said, “Paul, much learning has made you mad.” King Agrippa on the other hand, opened his mind but not his heart and said, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.”
The first step to having an open heart is having an open mind. But if we have an open mind, how can we avoid being tossed about by every wind of doctrine? That is a dilemma which every believer must face. If we really study the scriptures, our beliefs will be challenged because some of our beliefs are wrong, and God wants to change our minds on those things. Would any of us claim to be infallible in our doctrine? If we do, there’s something wrong.
In general terms, the solution to this problem is to keep an open mind, keep studying the word, and keep praying for discernment. Some items we just have to put on the back burner for a while. God will give us a perfect understanding of all things in His own time.
It’s also important to remember that knowledge is not the end of the growth process, but it is the beginning. II Peter, Chapter 1, says:
2 Peter 1:5-7 (NKJ)
5 . . . giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,
6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,
7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
This indicates that true knowledge will lead us to a more perfect love. In I Corinthians 13, Paul agreed and said, though I have all knowledge and have not love, I am nothing.
The knowledge which is offered by the Holy Spirit will lead us to love, but there is a type of human knowledge which leads not to love but to arrogance and pride. Paul spoke of this kind of knowledge when he said:
1 Corinthians 8:1-3 (NIV)
1 . . . Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
2 The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.
3 But the man who loves God is known by God.
Again, love is seen a superior to knowledge. Paul probably had the people at the tower of Babel in mind when he wrote Romans 1 and said:
Romans 1:22-25,28 (KJV)
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 (Ultimately, they) changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, . . .
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
The knowledge which comes from the Holy Spirit leads us to know and love Jesus Christ, but the people at the tower of Babel had closed their minds to God because they did not want to retain God in their knowledge. Those who refuse to believe in God have to close their minds to the truth, but those who love God have no reason to fear the truth because truth always leads to Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life.
Unbelievers who profess themselves to be wise have a knowledge which is not based on truth. Those who believe in evolution, for example, profess themselves to be wise, but their doctrine ignores the evidence. Knowledge which ignores the evidence is false knowledge. Paul warned Timothy about those who possess false knowledge when he told him to avoid profane and idle babbling and all that is falsely called knowledge. Paul went on to say that those who are obsessed with disputes and arguments are destitute of the truth.
Human knowledge puffs up and leads man to think that he no longer needs God. But the knowledge which comes from the Holy Spirit leaves us kneeling before our Creator with a humble desire to learn more. As we open our hearts and minds to the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit, we grow in our knowledge of the Son of God and this knowledge keeps us from being tossed about by every wind of doctrine.
In Ephesians 4, Paul give us another reason to grow in our knowledge of the Son of God, and that is that we might be able to speak the truth in love. To grow up into Jesus Christ, who is the head of the Church which is His Body, we need to learn about Him, and we need to speak about Him. And, of coarse, God would have it no other way but that we should speak the truth in love. In II Corinthians 2, Paul said that we are to diffuse the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ in every place.
When my wife, Joan, and I go into a department store, you can bet that Joan will eventually find her way to the perfume counter. She loves to check out any new fragrance and the older ones too. There’s just something special about a beautiful fragrance. It’s not something you can easily forget.
When the people around us sense the fragrance of Jesus Christ, they will be drawn to Him. I saw a Louis Palau television special the other day in which the actor Stephen Baldwin gave his testimony. When he and his family moved to Los Angeles, they hired a housekeeper who spoke often of her faith in Jesus Christ. Stephen and his wife could not help but notice the joy and the peace that this lady brought into their home. Today the Baldwins serve Jesus Christ and are very active in several youth ministries in the southern California all because this housekeeper brought the fragrance of Jesus Christ with her to work. When people see the Lord Jesus for what He really is, they will seek Him, and they will find Him.
If you are listening this morning, and you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior, you can accept Him today. By simply believing God’s word, that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and that He was buried and that He rose again the third day, you can become a child of God and receive everlasting life, and God will begin to reveal the fragrance of Jesus Christ in your life.
If you’re listening this morning, and you already know Jesus Christ, let us dedicate ourselves to Christ so that everyone around us will sense the beautiful fragrance of Jesus Christ. May the lost see Him through us and come to Him for healing, for cleansing and for everlasting life.
I see our time is gone this morning. Thank you for listening. I’ll look forward to being you again next week at this same time.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
Church links:
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