Ephesians Lesson 24 of 39 part 6

2Timothy 3:16

"All scripture (from Genesis through Revelation) is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"

Since the cross and Christ's ascension and then the return of His ontological essence as the Holy Spirit all scripture is now understood in the Light of our restored spiritual reality. But there remains those who remain in an attitude of the literal, temporal and material world and for them the scriptures are a problem a stumbling block. Because they do not understand them nor do they rightly divide them, as the old and the New. For they fail to understand that God is Spirit and the as the Father of spirits He is the Head of All things, yes even Christ Jesus as Spirit. So for us who have hear and understand we have chosen the Way of Jesus and Paul through the ancient path of death, death to the flesh, the husk of the seed. This husk is circumcised from the heart during the Marriage Feast and Passover which is a reverse of the first Passover. When the angel of death killed the first-lines, the first born children and animals of Egypt, the very thing the Pharaohs magicians could Not replicate. And the churches of Religion can not replicate either, though they do all the usual customs, traditions, and ceremonies of man as a creation of mans flesh dictates, they seem to have a form of Godliness but there is NO power of resurrection in them. Just as Egypt's magicians priest's could not replicate God's activities, they remain in darkness.

Getting back to our subject, that applies to the whole of Scripture, but it has a unique application to Paul’s seven Church letters, as we refer to them. And, the first 3 would be Romans, the two Corinthians, and Galatians. The next three are where we are now and that would be Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. And then the 7th would be the two Thessalonians letters. I could throw in the epistle of Hebrews as it contains allot of valuable information for our instruction in righteousness, reproof and correction. At this time we would like to remind everyone again that in these first letters of Romans, the Corinthians, and Galatians, we have doctrine, correction, reproof, and then we jumped up a level in the prison epistles which get into even higher ground spiritually, in Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. Then later we will go even on to a higher level than those last three when we get to the two Thessalonians letters which will be instructions in righteousness, because they refer to the Lord’s coming. 

Always keep these formats in mind as we study the seven Church letters of Paul. Now that should tell us that Ephesians is primarily "doctrinal." It is not so much practical as doctrinal. What is doctrine? Doctrine is what God expects us to believe! Doctrine is teaching, and today there is so little doctrine. We remember talking to an individual on one of our visits to a food bank, he was from one of these ecumenical groups. But as we were speaking to this young man, we asked him some questions about his ecumenical group and he said, "Now, remember, we don’t deal with anything doctrinal." To which we said, "Well then that says it all. That just tells me exactly where you are coming from, because if you do not have doctrine, you have absolutly nothing. You might as well shut the Book and go home, because we have to rest on doctrine of what does God expects us to believe. He has laid it out so plainly for the Church Age through this apostle." We know we are living in a time now like that young man, where people think that doctrine does not count. They think all we have to do is get along with our neighbors, and love every one which came out of the love movement of the sixties and then do the best we can, and somehow we will make it, but you see that is not what the Scriptures teach. The Scriptures says, "Thus saith the Lord!"

In Ephesians chapter 4, and remember we are up on a higher level of teaching doctrine than even Romans is. This is what we are looking for. "What does God want us to believe, and what are we to share in a teaching mode with those around about us, which would be primarily believers?" Though they are in all actuality disbelievers, based on what that young-man and a few others have said since then. Now as we have shared many call themselves believers but when asked “what do you believe or upon what is your faith based” many do not know or just can not tell us. Doctrine is primarily for the believer. It does not leave the unbeliever without doctrine of course, but once we become a believer, then we have to be established in our faith with doctrine.

Ephesians 4:1-3

"I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."