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Ephesians 5:30 – God’s Body Love

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Will

For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.

Truth to Learn

Christians are part of God’s body which He loves.

Behind the Words

“For” is translated from hoti, a Greek conjunction which can be used to demonstrate something further (translated as “that”) or to show a causal relationship (translated as “because” or “for”). The latter appears to be the case here.

“Members” is translated from the Greek word melos, which refers to “a limb or other part of a body.”

The word translated “body” is soma, which (as we learned back in verse twenty-eight) can refer to “a physical body” or to “any organized whole made up of parts or members.”

The phrase “of His flesh and of His bones” does not appear in some of the better Greek texts and probably should be omitted.

Meaning Explained

In order to fully understand this verse, we have to go back to verse twenty-five. In that verse we were told that a husband’s love for his wife is to be the same kind of love that Christ has for the church. That love was demonstrated at the cross, where Jesus sacrificed His life in order to sanctify (set-apart) and cleanse His bride (the church). Then, Paul identified the love of a man for his wife as the same as that which we all have for our own body. The love for our own body is demonstrated in the way we provide for nourishment and comfort, “just as the Lord does for the church.”

Paul starts off today’s verse with hoti, showing the cause, or reason, for Christ’s loving care for us. It is because we are part of His body that our Lord and Savior provides for our nourishment and comfort.

A husband’s love for his wife is to be like the love that Christ has for His bride (the church.) But Jesus’ bride is also His body. In a very real sense, the members of the church are physical members of Christ’s body. Christ is the head of the body, He directs and instructs us, but we are the ones who do the work of the ministry. Some members of the church are specifically gifted to reach out to those outside the body, while others are specifically gifted to minister to the health of the body. This is the same as our physical bodies. Some parts of our body (the arms and legs, for instance) perform work directed outside the body. Other parts of our body (internal organs, for instance) perform work directed within the body to keep the body healthy.

“But I thought we were talking about the love of a husband for his wife?” you might ask. Yes, we are, but one of the characteristics of Paul’s teaching is that he often intermingles the teaching of two subjects into one. Here he is teaching about what God expects of a husband in the marriage relationship, but he is also teaching something about the relationship between us and our Lord.

God loved us enough to sacrifice for us, to give us eternal life. But His love doesn’t stop there. He loves us as His own body, providing for our nourishment and comfort on a daily basis.

Application

Do you sometimes feel like God is distant and that He doesn’t care about what’s happening to you? Think again, my friend. You are part of His body, which He dearly loves and cares for.

In God's service, for His glory,

Ephesians 4:4 – Only One

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Will

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;

Truth to Learn

All Christians are to work toward unity within the church.

Behind the Words

“One” is translated from the Greek word heis (pronounced hice). This is the masculine form of the word. The feminine form of this word is mia and the neuter form is hen. All three of these forms refer to the first cardinal numeral, one.

The word “body” is translated from sōma, meaning “an organized whole made up of parts and members.” It is the word commonly used to refer to a physical body or a representative body. In today’s verse it is a reference to the body made up of all Christians around the world, whether past, present, or future. Paul refers to us as “the body of Christ.”

“Spirit” is from pneuma, which is based on the verb pneō, meaning “to breathe” or “to blow.” Thus, pneuma literally refers to “a current of air.” Figuratively, it refers to “a spirit” or “a ghost.”

Elpis, is the word translated “hope.” This word is based on the verb elpō, which means “to anticipate” or “to welcome.” Whereas the English word “hope” implies a wish or a desire for something to occur, elpis expresses “an expectation of what is sure.” We can define elpis as “a hope for something, with the full expectation that it will happen.”

Meaning Explained

In this fourth chapter of his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul is instructing us regarding how we are to behave as Christians. This is in contrast to the first three chapters where he taught us what to believe. In the first verse of this chapter we were told to “walk worthy” of our calling. That is, we should behave in a manner consistent with God’s character and the job that He has given us to perform.

In yesterday’s verse Paul instructed us to be fast, that is, eager or diligent to guard the unity of the Spirit within the church. In other words, he is exhorting us to work hard at avoiding division. In today’s verse and the following two, he reinforces his argument by showing numerous examples of the unity that exists within the church.

He starts off reminding us that there is only one body of Christ. Sadly, throughout the centuries since the original formation of the church on the day of Pentecost (see Acts chapter 2), there have been divisions within the church. On the human level, the church is made up of Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox traditions. There are even divisions within each of these, most notably the Protestants of which there are numerous denominations. From God’s perspective, however, there is only one body, united by one Holy Spirit and infused with the same hope in our calling. That common hope is the assurance, or expectation, that we will exist eternally in God’s presence.

Application

Are you walking worthy of the calling with which you have been called? Are you diligent in performing your given responsibility in a manner that promotes unity within the body of Christ? If so, Paul would be proud of you!

In God's service, for His glory,

Ephesians 2:16 – Deadly Reconciliation

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Will

Ephesians 2:16 – Deadly Reconciliation

and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

Truth to Learn

We are reconciled to God because of Jesus Christ’s death.

Behind the Words

“He might reconcile” is translated from the Greek verb apokatalassō. This is made up of apo, meaning “from” or “away from,” kata, used as an intensifier, and allassō, meaning “to change.” This word implies a reconciliation which comes from a dramatic change. In other words, it refers to restoring harmony or fellowship between two parties as a result of a dramatic change on the part of one of them.

The word “body” is soma, which refers to “a body, either literally or figuratively.” In this case it refers to the physical body of Jesus Christ.

“Cross” is from the Greek noun stauros, which is derived from the base of the verb histēmi, meaning “to stand.” It refers to “a stake” or “a cross” (something set upright) to which criminals were tied or nailed as a form of execution.

The expression “putting to death” comes from the verb apokteinō, which is composed of apo, meaning “from” or “away from” and the verb kteinō, meaning “to slay.” Thus, apokteinō means “to kill” or “to put to death.”

Meaning Explained

This verse really focuses on the Greek word apokatalassō, the reconciliation of mankind to God. In other words, God has restored harmony and fellowship between us and Him as a result of a change in our status. That change is from being a condemned sinner to having the righteousness of Christ. But Paul makes a special point of declaring that both Jews and Gentiles have been reconciled to God. Jews needed reconciliation because they failed to keep the whole law. And Gentiles needed reconciliation as well because we were estranged from God and His blessing.

This reconciliation took place in the physical body of Jesus Christ. As the second person of the Godhead, Jesus is completely God. But, because He took on human form, that is, a physical human body just like you and I have, subject to pain, suffering, and death, He is also completely human. Because He became completely human and lived a life without sin, he was able to offer up His life in that body, through the pain and suffering of the cross, as the payment for our sins.

At this point Paul employs one of his “play on words” for which he is noted. He tells us that because of the death of His body, Jesus put to death the enmity, the hatred and hostility between Jews and Gentiles. By His death, He reconciled both Jew and Gentile with God and put to death the hostility between us.

Application

In his letter to the Romans, Paul said:

For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:10-11)

If we are dead to sin then it cannot have mastery over us, and we can live our lives to God as a result of the bodily death of Jesus Christ. Do you consider yourself to be dead to sin and alive to God?

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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Ephesians 1:23 – Spiritual Body Life

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Will

Ephesians 1:23 – Spiritual Body Life

which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Truth to Learn

All Christians are part of the body of Christ. As members of that body we each have a function to perform in the church.

Behind the Words

The word “which” is translated from hostis, a double relative pronoun that most literally translates to “which some.” In this case the meaning seems to be “seeing it is.”

“Body” is translated from the Greek noun soma, which refers to “the body” as a whole. It is used both literally and figuratively in the New Testament. Here it refers to the spiritual body of the resurrected Jesus.

The word “fullness” is from plēroma, a derivative of the verb plēroō, meaning “to fill full” or “to cram full.” It means to fill so completely that there is no room left to add any more. Plēroma refers to “the condition of fullness or completion.”

“Fills” is from the verb plēroō, which we just looked at. It is expressed here as a participle in the middle voice (the subject acting on himself).

Meaning Explained

Back in verse nineteen we learned that one of the things the Apostle Paul prays for is for all believers to understand the exceeding greatness of God’s power. Through that power, the Father raised Jesus from the dead and elevated Him to the highest position of honor and authority. And in yesterday’s verse he told us that the Father made Jesus to be the head over all things with regard to the church. Now, to get the full impact of the current verse, let’s look at it along with the previous verse.

And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:22-23)

God the Father made the risen Jesus to be the head of the church, which Paul tells us here is His body. The church universal is the body of Christ. It serves as His arms, hands, eyes, ears, nose, and feet. In his first letters to the Corinthian church and his letter to the Roman church, Paul explained a little more about the functioning of the body of Christ.

For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ … But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. (1Cointhians 12:12, 22)

so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: (Romans 12:5-6a)

All Christians have a part to play in the body of Christ. We each have abilities and spiritual gifts given specifically to us by God. We need to be using those gifts to build up the body.

Application

Do you know what your gifts are? Are there abilities that you have that others don’t? Are you using your talents and spiritual gifts to make your fellow Christians stronger in their faith?

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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Romans 8:13 – Evidence of Faith

Posted on June 6, 2010 by Will

Romans 8:13

For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Truth to Learn

Your actions indicate whether you are spiritually dead or alive.

Behind the Words

The words “you will” are from the Greek word mellō, which usually means “it is about to happen.” It is normally followed by a verb in the future infinitive form. However, in this verse it is followed by a verb in the present infinitive form. This makes the expression stronger than a future verb. It indicates a necessary consequence. Hence, we could translate this as “you are at the point of death” or “you are going to die.”

The word “deeds” is from the Greek noun praxis, which is from the verb prassō, meaning “to practice,” that is, to perform an action over and over. Therefore, we see that praxis refers to habitual, repeated actions.

“Put to death” is from the verb thanatoō, meaning “to kill,” that is, “to take an active part in causing the death of something.” Paul is telling us that a person who habitually satisfies their sin nature will cause their own death.

“Body” is from sōma, which refers to our physical body.

Meaning Explained

Let’s look at this one phrase at a time. Paul starts out with, “For if you live according to the flesh.” We have already talked about “according to the flesh,” meaning “satisfying the desires of the sin nature.” The end of this phrase is, “you will die.” It’s not a matter that you may die, but that you definitely will die. This is another indication that Paul is now talking about someone who is not saved. One of the characteristics of an unsaved person is that their actions are dictated by self, not by the Spirit of God, and he or she will suffer eternal death.

The second half of this verse is, “but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” In other words, if we personally take an active part in putting to death the deeds of our body, we will have life. This is a characteristic of a Christian. As born again Christians, we live by the power of the Holy Spirit, and we will actively fight against and put to death the selfish deeds of our sin nature.

Remember back in verse ten Paul said that if Christ is in you, the body is dead but the spirit is alive. He is now saying that one way for you to tell if Christ is in you (if you are truly saved) is that you will not continually be living to satisfy your sin nature because the Holy Spirit is living in you. Through the Holy Spirit we are continually working to kill the fleshly practices that our body (influenced by our sin nature) wants to do. But, those who are not saved are continually letting their body and its fleshly desires have their way. As a result, they are destined to die and be eternally separated from God. That’s precisely what James meant when he wrote:

Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (James 2:18b)

Application

So where do your actions say you will spend eternity? Do they say that you are destined to die eternally or that will live eternally in God’s presence as His adopted son or daughter?

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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Romans 8:10 – A Spirit of Righteousness

Posted on June 1, 2010 by Will

Romans 8:10

And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

Truth to Learn

Because we have been declared righteous, we are alive with a life that will last eternally.

Behind the Words

In order to fully understand the current verse we have to look at a Greek grammatical construction known as “Correlative (or paired) Conjunctions.” That is, a pair of conjunctions that have a correlation between each other. The conjunctions are men and de. They are used in the following manner, “men (followed by the first phrase) … de (followed by the second phrase).” The effect of this construction is to say, “on the one hand (first phrase), but on the other hand (second phrase).” In today’s verse men is used before the phrase “the body is dead because of sin” and de is used before the phrase ”the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”

The word translated “because of” is dia, which means “through.” As in English, this word has two meanings. The first is a preposition of motion; it implies motion through a place. The other is a preposition of instrumentality; it implies the instrument or cause of something In this situation it can be translated as “by reason of” or “because of.” In today’s verse dia is used instrumentally.

As we have mentioned before, in Biblical Greek there are three types of conditional clauses. The first class condition assumes the condition to be true and can sometimes be translated as “since,” although not always. In today’s verse Paul is speaking to Christians and is assuming “Christ is in you.”

Meaning Explained

What Paul says in this verse is “And if Christ is in you, (assumed to be true) on the one hand the body is dead because of sin, but on the other hand the spirit is alive because of righteousness.” In other words, if Christ is in you, that is, if you are saved, then your body is technically dead because of your sinfulness, but because you have accepted Christ as Savior, through the grace of God (who has declared you to be righteousness), your spirit is alive and you will spend eternity in the presence of God because of that righteousness.

In the next verse Paul will explain further what he means when he days that our Spirit is alive.

What he doesn’t say, but clearly implies, is that if you aren’t saved (if you don’t have the Spirit of Christ dwelling in you) then your body is still dead because of sin. But, because you are a sinner and have not been declared righteous, you have no hope of spiritual life. You will have to pay the penalty for your own sins and you will enter the presence of the Almighty as an unrighteous sinner; you are spiritually dead (now and forever).

Application

If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then praise be to God that your entrance into His presence will not be just as a cleansed former sinner, but as an adopted son (or daughter) whom God has declared “righteous.”

This salvation that we hold so dear is not just our “get out of Hell free” card. It’s not just our “ticket into Heaven.” It is the undeserved privilege and honor of standing before our Holy God as one who has fulfilled all righteousness and one who possesses His life giving Spirit for all eternity.

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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Romans 7:24 – Winning a Losing Battle

Posted on May 16, 2010 by Will

Romans 7:24

O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Truth to Learn

The ever presence of sin will bring a committed Christian to his or her knees … over and over and over and over …

Behind the Words

The Greek word translated “wretched” is talaipōros, which is based on talas, meaning “suffering” and a form of pōreō, meaning “miserable or distressed.” Hence, this word refers to someone who is suffering miserably.

“Deliver” is translated from rhuomai, which literally means “to draw out for oneself.” It is interpreted as meaning “to rescue” or “to deliver from danger or harm.”

The word translated “body” is the Greek word somatos, which in its basest meaning refers to the physical human body. Paul is using this word as a metaphor, however. So, it is not referring to our physical body, but something else.

Meaning Explained

As I shared with you in the previous verse, I get really irritated with myself when I do that which I know God wants me to avoid. It gives me a great sense of guilt that is only alleviated by personal confession and God’s grace. Obviously, the Apostle Paul feels similar. As a result of the battle between his intellect and his sin nature in which his sin nature carries him off as a prisoner of war and controls his actions against his own will, he declares, “O wretched man that I am!” And, he wants to be rescued from his body of death.

Our translation here (New King James Version) says “… this body of death;” however, the Greek text reads “the body of this death.” That is, Paul is using the word “body” to refer to something non-physical (the sin nature). He is saying that his sin nature has such control over him that it is as if his whole body is inhabited by and controlled by his sinful tendencies.

Some commentators suppose that Paul is referring to an ancient custom of tying a dead body to a captive. In this manner the prisoner had to drag the heavy and abhorrent, smelly burden behind him for the lengthy trek back to the homeland of the captor. Although this may not have been Paul’s intent, it certainly is a vivid picture of the constant burden of our sin nature.

I don’t need to ask you whether you ever feel this way or not. If you are truly a born again Christian, then you have felt this way. That’s the battle which rages within all Christians as we desire to please God and try to do His will. But this battle frequently ends in defeat when our sin nature sneaks up and takes us captive.

This is not a hopeless battle, however. Paul will begin to explain in the next chapter how we, as sinners saved by grace, can overcome the sin nature and experience personal victory by the grace of God through the blood of Christ!

Application

Don’t be too hard on yourself because you battle with sinful tendencies and the disobedience to God which follows. It doesn’t mean you have lost your salvation. In fact, it is a constant reminder that confession and humility before God are necessities for every Christian. The more we recognize our own sin, the more we have to humble ourselves and draw near to God. And He will ALWAYS forgive our sins.

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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