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Ephesians
The Ephesians epistle was a circular letter written to the same churches to whom John mentioned in Revelation. Paul wrote this in A.D. 62 while in his second Roman imprisonment.
Paul was born as a Roman and was known as Saul of Tarsus. Though young, he was among the greatest of the Pharisees of the Sanhedrin Counsel. Saul/Paul had a false personal sense of destiny . . . was extremely moral, strict, arrogant, zealous . . . a religious activist . . . chief of sinners . . . dogmatic . . . and a persecutor and killer of Christians. God took the greatest sinner of all time and, after salvation, turned him into the greatest Apostle and arguably the greatest believer of all time.
Paul had a writing style, which the hearer did not have to be present to understand exactly the content and the tone of his message. He was the greatest communicator of Bible Doctrine in the Church Age and arguable . . . ever. He also may have been the greatest genius in the ancient world. His earthly mentor was Gamaliel, one of the greatest students of the Law and a rising star of Judaism.
This epistle presents the Plan of God, which we call GRACE, from a positive viewpoint. Galatians presents Grace from the negative viewpoint.
Chapter
1
{Chapter
1 - The Predetermined Plan/protasis of God}
1~~Paul
{means 'little'} . . . an apostle
{highest rank in the Church Age}
of
Christ {Christos} Jesus
through
God's will/purpose/design
{addressed}
to those being saints {hagios}
and
faithful {pistos}
in
Christ Jesus.
{Note: The phrase 'at Ephesus' is in the KJV but is NOT in the original manuscripts. Also, by leaving out 'dearly beloved', RBT says this indicates Ephesians was actually a circular letter . . . written to the same churches that John mentioned in Revelation.}
{Note: Christos means the 'appointed one'. It is a title for Jesus Christ. It is the same as the Hebrew 'Messiah'. Mentioning it first puts emphasis on His role as the Savior.}
{Note: Hagios translated 'saints' means to be 'set apart to God'. In the salutation, it is referring to 'the one in whose interest the epistle is written' . . . so it is written to ALL believers. And, pistos does mean faithful.}
2~~Grace
{charis} to you
and
peace/prosperity/benefit/welfare/tranquility {eirene}
from
the ultimate source of God the Father
and
the Lord Jesus Christ.
{Note:
Charis means grace. This is the name and principal of the plan of
God. It is 'all that God is able to do FOR YOU . . . based on the
work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross'. Eirene in the non-technical
sense means prosperity, benefit, welfare, and
tranquility
. . . which are the benefits of grace.}
{Note: Ephesians 1:3-14 is one of the longest sentences in English literature. Greek punctuation is very definite and establishes syntax perfectly.}
{Relationship
of Trinity to the Plan of God/'protasis' - Verses 3-14}
3~~Worthy
of praise and glorification {eulogetos}
the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
the
One {Father}
having
provided us benefits/blessings {eulogeo}
by
means of every spiritual benefit/blessing
in
the heavenlies
in
Christ . . .
{Doctrine of Positional Truth - Union with Christ}
{Note: In the New Testament, eulogetos is ONLY used for Deity and means 'worthy of praise and glorification'. Next, 'eulogeo' is the Greek word used for blessing mankind.}
{Note: 'Every spiritual blessing' refers to the 40+ things God provided believers at the point of salvation. And, 'having provided blessings' is an aorist participle. The action of the aorist participle precedes the action of the main verb. The main verb is in the next verse 'has elected'. This means 'the blessings' preceded His election of YOU! And, both occurred billions of years before YOU existed!}
4~~even
as He {God the Father}
has
chosen/elected us
{'chosen' is the main verb of this long sentence}
for
Himself
in
Him {Jesus Christ}
before
the beginning/foundation of the world {eternity past}
for
the purpose that
we
keep on being 'set apart to God'/saints/holy {hagios}
even
unblemished/blameless
before/'in
the presence of' Him' {God the Father} . . .
{Note: Hagios means to be set apart to God . . . saintly . . . holy. It represents Positional Sanctification. Jesus is perfect. We share His perfection 'positionally'. Therefore because of what HE did, WE are set apart to God. We are not 'saints' based on what WE do!}
{Note: The last prepositional phrase 'by means of virtue love' starts the next verse in thought.}
5~~'in
love'/'by means of virtue love' {agape}
having
predestined/pre-designed us
with
the result
of
the 'appointment of adult sons'/'adoption' {huiothesia}
for
Himself
through
Jesus Christ
according
to the benevolent/grace purpose
from
the source of His will . . .
{Note: Agape is a relaxed mental attitude and soul love. The absence of mental attitude sins.}
{Note:
Huiothesia is a compound word meaning 'adult son and placement' so
it means the appointment of an adult son - a form of 'adoption'. But
it is different from what we think of as adoption of a small child
today. This is the Roman custom of heir-ship. If eldest
son
was a lemon, the father adopted another adult as a 'son' and
heir
. . . one who HAD integrity.}
6~~resulting
in recognition/praise of the glory
from
the source of His grace
from
which He {God the Father}
has
pursued us with grace
in
the One having been loved {Jesus Christ} . . .
{Note: Grace is not something you can chase after. God actually PURSUES us with His grace. All we have to do is accept it! It is a gift from God.}
{Work
of the Son - with the Plan of the Father Verses 7-12}
7~~
in Whom {Jesus Christ}
we
keep on having and holding the redemption {apolutrosis}
through
His blood
the
cancellation/forgiveness {aphesis}
of
sins {parapton}
according
to the norm of the wealth/riches
of
His grace . . .
{Note: Apolutrosis is a strong word for the purchasing of a slave from a slave market . . . for the purpose of freeing him immediately. The doctrine of redemption means Jesus Christ freed us from the slave market of sin on the cross.}
{Note: Redemption is the principal of salvation. The blood of Christ represents the mechanics of salvation. Christ was alive when He said, "It (salvation work) has been completed". He died spiritually on the cross for our sins.}
{Note: Aphesis is the Greek work used for forgiveness, granting a pardon, and canceled guilt. Here it means there in no more judgment of sins for unbelievers and believers alike.}
{Note: Parapton is a specialized work for sin . . . meaning all sins against God.}
{The
Father's Plan is Centered in the Son - Verses 8-10}
8~~from
which {grace}
He
{God the Father}
has
caused to super abound toward us {SuperGrace believers}
by
means of all wisdom/'doctrine in the right lobe' {sophia}
and
by means of 'divine viewpoint'/'objective thinking' {phronesis}. . .
{Note: Sophia is the Greek word for bible doctrine (epignosis) resident in the right lobe.}
{Note: Phronesis is the Greek word for objective type thinking. It is bible doctrine on the 'launching pad' in the right lobe ready to be applied to the experiences of life.}
9~~having
made known to us
-
to our advantage -
the
mystery of His will/purpose/design
according
to the norm of His 'good thinking'/'gracious intention'
from
which source
{His good thinking}
He
{God the Father}
pre-determined/pre-designed
in
Him {Christ} . . .
10~~with
reference to
the
dispensation of the 'full measure'/fullness {pleroma}
of
the times
{that}
He might bring together
for
Himself {God the Father}
under
one Head {Jesus Christ}
'the
all things'
{dead believers and alive believers}
by
means of the Christ
those
in the heavens
{Christian dead}
and
upon the earth
{living believers}
in
Him . . .
{Note: In the 1972 tapes, RBT believed 'the full measure of times' referred to the millennium. Later he grew to believe it more likely referred to the Church Age - See also Galatians 4:4. Pleroma means 'fullness' and RBT in later years uses this as a term for SuperGrace Believers.}
11~~in
Whom {Jesus Christ} also
we
have {in eternity past}
received
a 'destiny'
{allotment/escrow/inheritance}
having
been pre-designed/predestinated
according
to a predetermined plan {and purpose}
from
the One {God the Father}
putting
into operation
the
all things
according
to the decree
from
His will/design . . .
12~~with
the result that
we
should be
for
the purpose of maximum/super praise
of
His {God the Father's} glory
having
previously placed our confidence
in
the Christ . . .
{Ministry
of God the Holy Spirit in the 'protasis' of God}
13~~
in Whom {Christ}
you
all also
having
heard the expression
of
the doctrine/'word of truth'
the
gospel/'good news' of {your} salvation
in
Whom {Christ} having believed
you
were stamped with a seal {sphragizo}
by
means of the spirit of promise
by
means of the Holy One {God the Holy Spirit} . . .
{Note: You HEAR the gospel first, then you respond with belief. And when you believe you are eternally saved.}
{Note: Sphragizo does mean "you were stamped with a seal". It indicates the deal is DONE. It never changes. You are SAVED eternally! It is in the form of 'aorist passive indicative'. It is a culmunative aorist. As a result of being saved we are stamped with a seal. The passive voice means the believer . . . at the moment he is saved . . . doesn't earn or deserve or work for salvation. The indicative mood is used to indicate both the reality and the main verb for all the aorist participles. "The action of the aorist participle occurs BEFORE the action of the main verb.}
14~~Who
{God the Holy Spirit}
is
the 'down payment'/guarantee/pledge
of
our inheritance
because
of the redemption {Phase III}
of
the 'purchased property'/possession
{redemption of believers from the Slave Market of Sin}
toward
the Super-praise of His glory.
{Note: The down payment on the plan of God for YOU in eternity future is being indwelled and filled with God The Holy Spirit.}
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