CHAPTER 4

(A.D. 64)

OUR DAILY WALK

¹I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord (as stated, the Apostle is in prison in Rome; he regards himself as having been made a prisoner because the Lord so willed and ordered it), beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called (refers to the order of ones behavior; to walk right, the Believer must walk after the Spirit, which can only be done by understanding that all strength and help come to us through the Cross, thereby ever making the Cross the Object of our Faith),

²With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love (once again, all of these things are works of the Spirit, which means they cannot be done within our own ability; the help of the Spirit comes to us by our Faith being constant in the Cross [I Cor. 1:17-18, 23]);

³Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit (speaks of unity as it regards Faith in Christ and the Cross) in the bond of peace (Faith in things other than Christ and the Cross destroys peace, because it engenders self-righteousness).

⁴There is one body (the body of called-out Believers), and one Spirit (one Holy Spirit, Who always works through Christ and the Cross [Jn. 16:13-14]; this means that Faith in things other than the Cross is not of the Holy Spirit, but rather of spirits), even as you are called in one hope of your calling (our total hope is in Christ Jesus and what He has done for us at the Cross; that is our one and only hope);

⁵One Lord (Jesus Christ), one Faith (what He did at the Cross), one Baptism (our Salvation, referring to Believers Baptized into Christ, which was done at the Cross; it has nothing to do with Water Baptism [Rom. 6:3-5]),

⁶One God and Father of all (speaks of the Redeemed only; God is not the Father of the unsaved, as Jesus plainly said; their father is actually the Devil [Jn. 8:44]), Who is above all (refers to supremacy), and through all (Gods creative abilities), and in you all (by virtue of what Christ did for us at the Cross, and our Faith in that Finished Work).

THE GIFT OF CHRIST

⁷But unto every one of us is given Grace (however, this Grace can be frustrated by Believers turning away from the Cross to other things [Gal. 2:21]) according to the measure of the Gift of Christ (measured to each Saint according to need unless, as stated, it is frustrated).

⁸Wherefore He said (Ps. 68:18), When He ascended up on high (the Ascension), He led captivity captive (liberated the souls in Paradise; before the Cross, despite being Believers, they were still held captive by Satan because the blood of bulls and goats could not take away the sin debt; but when Jesus died on the Cross, the sin debt was paid, and now He makes all of these His Captives), and gave Gifts unto men. (These Gifts include all the Attributes of Christ, all made possible by the Cross.)

⁹(Now that He ascended (mission completed), what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? (Immediately before His Ascension to Glory, which would be done in total triumph, He first went down into Paradise to deliver all the believing souls in that region, which He did!)

¹⁰He Who descended is the same also Who ascended (this is a portrayal of Jesus as Deliverer and Mediator) up far above all Heavens (presents His present location, never again having to descend into the nether world), that He might fill all things.) (He has always been the Creator, but now He is also the Saviour.)

¹¹And He gave (our Lord does the calling) some, Apostles (has reference to the fact that not all who are called to be Ministers will be called to be Apostles; this applies to the other designations as well; Apostles serve as the de facto leaders of the Church, and do so through the particular Message given to them by the Lord for the Church); and some, Prophets (who stand in the Office of the Prophet, thereby, foretelling and forthtelling); and some, Evangelists (to gather the harvest); and some, Pastors (Shepherds) and Teachers (those with a special Ministry to teach the Word to the Body of Christ; Apostles can and do function in all of the callings);

PURPOSE OF THE GIFTS

¹²For the perfecting of the Saints (to equip for service), for the work of the Ministry (to proclaim the Message of Redemption to the entirety of the world), for the edifying of the Body of Christ (for the spiritual building up of the Church):

¹³Till we all come in the unity of the Faith (to bring all Believers to a proper knowledge of Christ and the Cross), and of the knowledge of the Son of God (which again refers to what He did for us at the Cross), unto a perfect man (the Believer who functions in maturity), unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ (the measure is the fullness of Christ, which can only be attained by a proper Faith in the Cross):

¹⁴That we henceforth be no more children (presents the opposite of maturity, and speaks of those whose Faith is in that other than the Cross), tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men (Satan uses Preachers), and cunning craftiness (they make a way, other than the Cross, which seems to be right), whereby they lie in wait to deceive (refers to a deliberate planning or system);

¹⁵But speaking the Truth in Love (powerfully proclaiming the Truth of the Cross, but always with Love), may grow up into Him in all things (proper Spiritual Growth can take place only according to proper Faith in the Cross [I Cor. 1:21, 23; 2:2]), which is the Head, even Christ (Christ is the Head of the Church, and is such by virtue of the Cross):

¹⁶From Whom (Christ Jesus) the whole body (Christ as the Head, and the Church as the Body) fitly joined together (presents the foot in the place it ought to be, and the eye in its proper place, etc.) and compacted by that which every joint supplies (one part is dependent on the other), according to the effectual working in the measure of every part (every part labors to produce a great result), making increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love (building itself up; will happen when we function according to Gods Prescribed Order, which is the unity of the Faith; again, refers to a proper understanding of the Cross).

MORAL STANDARDS

¹⁷This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord (given to him by the Lord as it regards our everyday lifestyle), that you henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk (how one orders ones behavior), in the vanity of their mind (refers to living in the sphere of emptiness; it denotes an ignorance of Divine things, a moral blindness),

¹⁸Having the understanding darkened (speaks of a process completed in the past [the Fall] but having results in the present), being alienated from the life of God (proclaims the only true life there is) through the ignorance that is in them (does not refer merely to intellect, but denotes an ignorance of Divine things), because of the blindness of their heart (it is a willful ignorance which brings about a willful blindness, i.e., spiritual blindness):

¹⁹Who being past feeling (moral insensibility, which brings about mans inhumanity to man) have given themselves over unto lasciviousness (a complete surrender of self unto evil), to work all uncleanness with greediness (such a person is greedy for such a lifestyle).

²⁰But you have not so learned Christ (stands in contrast to the insensitive, passion-dominated pagans who exist only to satisfy their lower nature; in other words, the Lord saves us from sin, not in sin);

²¹If so be that you have heard Him (the point is, Since it was Christ you heard Preached), and have been taught by Him (should have been translated, in Him, i.e., in this sphere of Christ), as the Truth is in Jesus (the Truth is not only in Jesus, it as well is Jesus [Jn. 14:6]):

²²That you put off (which can be done only by one placing his Faith exclusively in the Cross) concerning the former conversation (concerning the former manner of life) the old man (refers to the unsaved person dominated by the totally depraved nature [Rom. 6:6]), which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts (the unsaved person is subject to a continuous process of corruption, which grows worse as time goes on);

²³And be renewed (a continuous act) in the spirit of your mind (has to do with the human will; the mind of the Believer must be pulled from a dependence on self to a total dependence on Christ, which can only be done by making the Cross, ever the Cross, the Object of ones Faith [Rom. 12:1-2]);

²⁴And that you put on the new man (we are a new man by virtue of being Baptized into His Death, Buried with Him by Baptism into Death, all speaking of the Crucifixion, and being Raised with Him in newness of life [Rom. 6:3-5]), which after God is created in Righteousness and true Holiness. (This is what the new man is supposed to be, and what he can be, but only by reckoning himself to be dead indeed unto the sin nature [which was done at the Cross], but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord [Rom. 6:11].)

²⁵Wherefore putting away lying (the first item to be included in the putting off of the old self is falsehood, which refers to believing something other than Christ and the Cross; in other words, everything other than Christ and Him Crucified is a lie), speak every man truth with his neighbour (the Truth is Christ and the Cross, which brings about Righteousness and True Holiness): for we are members one of another. (Therefore, we should all speak the same thing, which is Christ and the Cross.)

²⁶Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath (the only anger allowed is Righteous anger; all other anger is a result of the old man, and must be put off; it has to do basically with our emotions, which can only be properly settled by the Holy Spirit; meaning for Him to work, we must ever have the Cross as the Object of our Faith):

²⁷Neither give place to the Devil. (Faith properly placed in the Cross gives Satan no place.)

²⁸Let him who stole steal no more (Christlikeness gives high moral standards): but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good (we are to earn our living by whatever honest method is at our disposal), that he may have to give to him who needs. (Instead of taking from others, we can now give to others.)

²⁹Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth (let no slander or faithlessness proceed out of your mouth), but that which is good to the use of edifying (does what we are saying buildup or tear down?), that it may Minister Grace unto the hearers (a Blessing).

³⁰And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God (proclaims the fact that the utterance of evil or worthless words is repugnant to the Holiness of the Spirit), whereby you are sealed unto the Day of Redemption. (This should have been translated, In Whom you are sealed unto the Day of Redemption. The Holy Spirit is Himself the Seal God has placed on us.)

³¹Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice (as the Believer puts His Faith in the Cross and keeps his Faith in the Cross, giving the Holy Spirit latitude to work, these evil things can then be put away from our lives):

³²And be you kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another (be quick to forgive), even as God for Christs sake has forgiven you. (Christs forgiveness of us is to always be the basis of our forgiveness of others.)