In the last lesson we went over the end of chapter 1 and a little bit of chapter 2.
Ephesians 1:15-23
15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
In verses 21 when it speaks of principality, power, might, and dominion some believe it is referring to angels and the hierarchy of them. They reasoning behind this is because we were made a little lower than the angels (Psalm 8 :4-5 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.)and we have gained an inheritance through Christ and rule with Him since we are the Body of Christ,the Church, with which He communes as stated in verse 18 and Hebrews 2. While it may be true I am not sure about it: though, it still does apply to the other meanings having to do with the rulers of the earth.
Now for Chapter 2's verses:
1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Verse 1 talks about the regeneration of our souls through by the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ.
Verse 2 talks about the prince of power of the air. This is referring to Zeus the Greek god of the sky. One thing you must realize is that back then demons were much more prevalent as God had aloud them to roam for various reasons. Many of the false gods were probably demons wanting to get the praise which God truly deserved: though, some gods were merely idols. Back in the days of the Roman Empire the worship of "the gods" was quite prevalent and confusing, as you had to know what sacrifices to give to what god for what reasons and if you were not careful if wanna of the gods(demons) was angry at another "god" you could be killed or cursed because even though you did what you were supposed to, you sacrificed to Poseidon while Zeus was angry at him so Zeus doesn't like what you did. In the modern world demons are less prevalent because Christ bound Satan after His death and resurrection and thus the power of the devil is more limited.
Verse 3 explains that in Christ we have all been changed.
Verse 4 In this verse the most important word is "but" because it shows how we are sinful but he decided to save us anyway. This was a foreign concept to the Greeks and Romans as they did not truly believe in an afterlife the closest thing they had to salvation was if a "god" thought you good enough to come live with him. They loved the idea of being saved but hated the idea "flesh" is good. You see they believed if all flesh is evil "it does not matter what I do with my body" because all flesh is evil; thus. the people had to give up adultery, gluttony, lusts, and all kinds of perversions of the flesh.
Verse 5 This verse talks about how we have been save by God's grace alone. For we were dead in sin, no dead man if you offered him life could accept it only if you could give him life it would be your choice it is not like he'd be like"Um , no I won't come back to life, because I don't want to." he could choose to kill himself afterwards but he could not refuse his resurrection. Its like when Jesus called Lazarus from the grave. Lazarus rose and came out. He had no choice for God had commanded it.
Now to talk a little about salvation. You must remember the Father Chose us before the foundation of the world, Christ died for us, redeemed us, and sent the Holy Spirit of Life to us, and while Christ's death was sufficient for the entire world it was only intended for the elect.
God has granted us grace and salvation which can not be lost.
Also remember to show love to others by rebuking them in wisdom and love being humble. Do not be disheartened if they do not listen for after showing him his sin it is now between him and God. Remember the foolish despise wise instruction but the wise man listens and increases in wisdom. If they bring up the "judge not lest you be judged" remember this John 7:24
Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
If you have a similar problem you may have another friend tell him while you deal with yours Matthew 7:3-5
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
But always remember to speak the truth in love.
Now go blessed and content in Jesus our savior knowing that the Father loves His children and he shall never forget you and shall love you always. Amen
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