Ephesians 1

Ephesians 1
A Study on Ephesians 1
By: Richard D. Eutsler, Sr.
Edited By: Steven H. Atherton
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In this study of Ephesians, we will endeavor to lay aside those things that are commonly received by many and look at what the scripture says itself. If we find that it agrees with those understandings held by most of the denominational church world, then so be it. If we see that it does not, then we must seek further understanding into God’s plan for man.

1 ¶  Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

We will start with the obvious in verse one. The speaker here is the Apostle Paul, formerly known as Saul of Tarsus. Paul is stating his apostleship in the very beginning as he does in most of his letters. This serves two purposes:

  1. It lets the reader know which Paul is speaking and
  2. It places his authority on the letter which brings accountability to the reader.

The Greek word translated here as apostle, when looked up in the Strong’s Concordance, is:

652 apostolos, ap-os’-tol-os; from 649; a delegate; spec. an ambassador of the Gospel; officially a commissioner of Christ [“apostle”] (with miraculous powers):-apostle, messenger, he that is sent.

As we can see from this definition, and the fact that the same word apostles found in Acts 1:26 concerning the first twelve apostles is “apostolos”, Paul was every bit as much an apostle as Peter and James and the other apostles.

This brings up a point that must be looked at and dealt with. One common belief held by most of the church today is that there are no more apostles. After the last of the original apostles died there has been no more. This has been a grave error in the church and as you will see as we study Paul’s letter, it accounts for much of the confusion among the churches to this day. The argument used by many people today that there were only twelve apostles is false. We will see that there were many more. Another argument used today is that only those who had been with Jesus during his ministry from John’s Baptism to the time that He (Jesus) was taken up in the cloud, could be an apostle. Even Peter and the others believed this to be the case initially, as can be seen in Acts 1:21-26:

21 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

 22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.

By these two verses you can see that Peter wanted to keep the office of apostleship “in the family” so to speak. It was then that they appointed Barsabas and Matthias and cast lots to see who would win.

23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,

25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.

26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

(It is interesting to note that even though Matthias was chosen, you never hear from him again.)

But we can see from the following passage in Acts 9 that Jesus had other plans:

Acts 9:1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,

Acts 9:2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.

Saul, as he was known at this time was not a believer in Jesus Christ! He was a pharisee by faith and a Jew by birth. A member of the Jewish Sanhedrin and most zealous for what he thought was God’s way. After persecuting the church in Jerusalem, he wanted to take the persecution to other cities to stamp out the scourge of Christianity before it could grow and take over the world. It must be remembered that Saul “thought” that he was doing God’s will and wanted to serve him with all of his strength.

It must also be remembered that Jesus had prophesied that this would happen:

Mat. 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

Mat. 24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

And again:

Luke 11:49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:

Luke 21:12 But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering [you] up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake.

So, as you can see, Saul was fulfilling the words of Jesus concerning these things.

Going on in Acts 9, we read of the conversion of Paul (Saul):

3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:

4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought [him] into Damascus.

9 And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

(Jesus had other plans for Saul. We will look into this aspect more a little later in this chapter. But suffice it for now to know that God always knows what He is doing and why.)

10 And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.

11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,

12 And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.

13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:

14 And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.

(Ananias did not want anything to do with Saul. And no wonder! Saul and Christians did not seem to fare too well. But why did Jesus use Ananias? Why not Peter and James as He did with the Samaritans? Most likely two reasons. Distance is one and the other is that they would not accept Saul.)

15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

(This next verse shows how that Saul did not really have any choice in the matter!)

16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.

The Lord Jesus Christ picked Saul as His apostle even though Saul did not meet the requirements as set out by Peter and the others in Acts Chapter One.

God is still appointing His apostles as He chooses and we will see more on this subject later. Now back to Ephesians:

Eph. 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

Paul is stating that his apostleship is of Jesus Christ and further that it was by “the will of God”! Paul was not called by men as was with Matthias. Paul is stating here that it was not even his will but God’s will.

The next statement in this verse tells who Paul is writing to. First to the saints which are at Ephesus. This puts a limit of time and space to the letter. Second to the faithful in Christ Jesus.

Now this second part takes the limit of time and space off of the letter and replaces it with to the faithful, wherever and whenever they may be found.  Turning to the Strong’s we find the Greek word translated faithful to be:

4103 pistos, pis-tos’; from 3982; obj. trustworthy; subj. trustful:-believe (- ing, -r), faithful (-ly), sure, true.

3982 peitho, pi’-tho; a prim. verb; to convince (by argument, true or false); by anal. to pacify or conciliate (by other fair means); reflex. or pass. to assent (to evidence or authority), to rely (by inward certainty):- agree, assure, believe, have confidence, be (wax) confident, make friend, obey, persuade, trust, yield.

To the faithful in Christ Jesus is simply those who trust and obey Jesus Christ in all that He says.

Eph. 1:2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Here Paul is both extending grace and peace as well as declaring the same. Grace being the undeserved favor of God and peace is the cessation of war. Before we know God and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are at enmity with God. We are at war. This grace and peace is from God our Father and from Jesus Christ our Lord.

The next item that I want to talk about is going to take some time. Now is when we really are going to leave the church world behind and go out into territory that the others have not, for whatever reason, entered into.

Eph. 1:2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

In verse 2 I have underlined the word “our” for a reason.  The standard interpretation and understanding among most, if not all, churches is that Paul is speaking of all Christians here. This is not true!

If one is going to understand the doctrines of “free will”, “predestination”, “once saved, always saved” and “once saved you can lose your salvation” then you will need to understand fully what Paul is saying in this verse and the ones to follow.  I will endeavor to show you that he is not talking about the whole church in this verse when he says, “our”. He is, however, talking about a particular group of people. Once you understand this principle, then the rest of Ephesians and many of Paul’s other letters begin to make more sense. Paul is writing this letter so that Christians will understand how God works in the church and how the church gets its authority over Satan.

The word “our” in verse 2 refers to Paul, the other apostles and the prophets! To show you this I will have to print out verses 2 through 14 and I will add this mark (*) before the proper words so you can put “Paul, the other apostles and the prophets” in its place while you read. Please bear with me on this as the understanding will be made clear in due time.

Eph. 1:2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God *our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Eph. 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of *our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed *us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Eph. 1:4 According as he hath chosen *us in him before the foundation of the world, that *we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

Eph. 1:5 Having predestinated *us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

Eph. 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made *us accepted in the beloved.

Eph. 1:7 In whom *we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Eph. 1:8 Wherein he hath abounded toward *us in all wisdom and prudence;

Eph. 1:9 Having made known unto *us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

Eph. 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

Eph. 1:11 In whom also *we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Eph. 1:12 That *we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

Eph. 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

Eph. 1:14 Which is the earnest of *our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Now if you have not gotten mad and turned away yet, let me show you with the help of God’s Holy Spirit what this is saying and why it is so important to understand it. To do this I am going to put these verses down again with notes in parentheses ( ) so you will understand what I am showing you.

Put your seat belts on, because we are going to cover a lot of ground in a very short time. I will leave the “*” in to mean “Paul, the other apostles and the prophets” to save time and space. I will use a “#” followed by a number in Parentheses (#1) in the scripture text to let you know what note in each verse I am referring to. I will also underline that part that applies.

Eph. 1:2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God *our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Eph. 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of *our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed *us with (#1) all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

(#1) God has blessed the apostles and prophets with “all spiritual blessings” to serve the church and give to it the power that it needs to do God’s will. Later in our study we will go into more detail as to what is meant by “all spiritual blessings” and why God gave them to the apostles. Let it suffice for now to say that “all” means “all” and God gave them to the apostles for the equipping of the saints.

Eph. 1:4 (#2) According as he hath chosen *us in him before the foundation of the world, that *we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

(#2) To understand this and what he means here, we will have to cover a subject that is not understood by most Christians today. They are:

  1. God’s Elect Seed.
  2. Satan’s Seed
  3. Adam’s Seed.

We will start with God’s Elect Seed first:

(1) God’s Elect Seed

Isaiah 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

It is clear that in this verse God is speaking of Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus is God’s First Elect!

Isaiah 45:4 For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.

Here Israel is God’s elect. Jacob had found favor in God’s sight, because he had wrestled with God and prevailed. See Genesis 32:24-30. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel and from this, he and his seed became God’s elect. Jacob is also God’s elect by implication in this verse, but look at the next passage concerning Jacob:

Mal. 1:2 I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,

Mal. 1:3 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

And again;

Rom. 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

These verses clearly show God’s election of Jacob. But what about others? There are others written about that were God’s elect.

This is what God said concerning Jeremiah:

Jer. 1:4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Jer. 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

Jeremiah is a prime example of God’s election. And what can we say about Moses? Was he the only Jewish male child under two years old saved alive in Egypt? Yes, because he was God’s elect.

But let us go and look at what Jesus said concerning election.  In Jesus’ prayer, recorded in John 17, we find God’s election:

John 17:6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

. . .

John 17:9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

John 17:10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.

. . .

John 17:14  I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

John 17:15  I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

John 17:16  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

These are just a couple of examples of God’s election. Is Jesus saying in John 17 that the disciple chose Him? No.  They were chosen by God from the foundation of the world.  He even makes clear that they are not “of the world” in the same way that Jesus was not “of the world”.  Thus, when Jesus said in John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

He was not speaking of His disciples!  More on that later.

All of the prophets of the Old Testament including Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were God’s Elect! It is also clear that God’s apostles are also His elect! So we see that God has an elect seed that he will use to do His will.  Now let us return to Ephesians One.

Eph. 1:5 Having (#3) predestinated *us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

(#3) To further understand the elect seed one must accept the doctrine of predestination. But in truth as brought forth in the light of scripture. Not all are predestinated unto salvation or damnation. God’s elect are predestinated to do His work.

Adam was God’s elect seed that was predestinated to do God’s work.  As we saw earlier, Jeremiah was predestinated of God to be a prophet unto the nations. Another perfect example of predestination was Jonah. God had even prepared a whale for Jonah. So Paul could also say that he and the other apostles were predestinated by God to be his adopted children by Jesus Christ to serve him.

(2) The Seed of Satan

Next we will look at Satan’s seed. Jude, the Lord’s brother speaks of this seed generally, when he warns the church as follows:

Jude 1:4  For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

The first example of Satan’s seed is Cain. Many believe that Cain was Adam’s seed, but you will not find him mentioned in Adam’s line. If Cain was not Adam’s seed, then whose was he? Who was his father? Let’s go and look at his birth and see if we can find something out concerning this matter:

Genesis 4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.

If one reads this verse lightly, one could argue that Cain was the son of Adam. But I would have you to look at what Eve said: “I have gotten a man from the LORD.”  Does this statement have any significance to it other than her thanking God for a son? Look at this scripture:

Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Here God is talking to the serpent. This is the first prophecy concerning Jesus as Saviour of Adam and his seed. God clearly states that there will be a seed come from Eve that would defeat Satan. Now go back and look again at what Eve said. She was making claim to that seed spoken of by God in Gen 3:15!

Let’s go on and see the rest of what happened with Cain to find out if he was the one to fulfill Gen. 3:15:

Genesis 4:2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

Look at verse 2. It says that she again bare his brother Abel. It does not say that Adam knew Eve his wife again. Why not? Because he didn’t! Cain and Abel were twins. They had the same mother, but NOT the same father! Adam was the father of Abel. Satan was the father of Cain. This was Satan’s first attempt to bring into the world an Antichrist!  Look at the next verse:

Genesis 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.

It came time for the sacrifice and Cain brings his offering unto the LORD. He brings the fruit of the ground. What is wrong with this? Look at this:

Genesis 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

In Genesis 3:17 God has cursed the ground. If the ground is cursed, then that which comes from the ground is also cursed. Adam was cursed because he came from the ground and so are we! Until the curse is removed all are under the curse! Cain offered a cursed thing to the Lord.

Now let’s see what Abel did:

Genesis 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

We see here that Abel offered a good offering to God and God accepted it.

Genesis 4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

Here in verse 5 we see that God did not accept Cain’s offering.

In verse 6 we see that God asks Cain why he is upset.

Genesis 4:6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

In verse 7 God shows that He will not accept an offering that is cursed. He even tells Cain that if he did right God would accept him.

Genesis 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

Now let’s see what Cain does:

Genesis 4:8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

Cain ends up killing his brother Abel and is driven out by God. But does this make Cain the seed of Satan?  Let’s see what Jesus has to say on the subject.

John 8:41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.

Jesus was speaking to the Jews in this verse.  He stated that they did the deeds of their father.  They said “We be not born of fornication”! Who were they referring to? They knew that Jesus was likening them to Cain, that is why they said: We be not born of fornication. Look at the next verses:

John 8:42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

John 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Jesus told them that they were Satan’s seed just as Cain was and they understood it that way. Satan murdered Adam and all of mankind. Cain murdered Abel just like his father, Satan.

Another example of the seed of Satan was Pharaoh who held the children of Israel captive. God used him to show His great power against for the sake of His people.  See Exodus 9:13-21 and Romans 9:14-24.

Returning to John 17 let’s see what Jesus said concerning Judas.

John 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

Judas was the son of perdition (Satan).

At this point I would like to turn to Matthew 13 to show you how the parable of the wheat and the tares is really about the Elect Seed of God and the Seed of Satan.

Mat. 13:24 ¶ Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:

Mat. 13:25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

Mat. 13:26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

Mat. 13:27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

Mat. 13:28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

Mat. 13:29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

Mat. 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

In the parable of the wheat and the tares, we can clearly see God’s seed and Satan’s seed. The wheat is God’s seed planted in the earth. The tares are Satan’s seed also planted in the earth. The earth in this parable is Adam’s seed!  For Adam and his seed all come from the earth! Jesus was the seed of God, born of the woman, Mary, who was the seed of Eve. Cain was the seed of Satan, born of the woman, Eve. The antichrist who will come will also be born of a woman but he will be Satan’s seed.

(3) Seed of Adam

Now that we have lightly covered the seed of God and the seed of Satan, let us look at the seed of Adam.

Genesis 5:3 ¶ And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat [a son] in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:

Seth was the seed of Adam who replaced Abel on this earth.  If God has an elect seed and Satan has his seed, then what of Adam’s seed? Adam’s seed is the prize!

As we saw from the parable of the wheat and the tares, Adam’s seed is the earth. God made Adam from the dust of the earth and He uses certain people to be His elect from out of Adam’s seed. Jesus is both man and God, being the seed of Eve through Mary and the direct seed of God through the Holy Ghost.

Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Mat. 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

Therefore Jesus is both man (Adam) and God! Adam was made in the image of God, but Jesus was the “express image” of God as the next verse shows:

Heb. 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

To the children of Adam or the seed of Adam, God has this to say:

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

John 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

And now we come to that most famous verse:

John 3:16 ¶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

This verse that is used so much and misquoted many times is spoken for the seed of Adam.  Adam and his seed have a free will. They can and do choose to believe or not to believe.

There is one thing in this verse that is misquoted the most. The verse says that those that “believe in should not perish”.  God does not say in John 3:16 that those who believe in Him WILL NOT perish, but SHOULD NOT perish!

To understand, take a look at what Jesus said to his disciples before He was taken up in Mark 16.

Mark 16:14 ¶ Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.

Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

What is the gospel? Simply put it is God’s plan for restoring Adam’s seed to the original position that they would have held if Adam had not fallen. Jesus Christ had removed the curse from Adam and his seed forever if they would accept it.

Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Those that believe the Gospel and are baptized SHALL BE SAVED!

What is the difference between this verse and John 3:16?

The difference is in the baptized.  In John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” was a first step toward the promise.

Let us take another look at Mark 16 and verse 16. Jesus said those who believed AND were baptized would be saved.  There are three (3) baptisms for the believer and together they make up one.

In I John 5:7-8 it says:

I John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

I John 5:8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

We see in these verses that there is a trinity in heaven and in earth. That just as there are three persons in the Godhead: The Father, Son and Holy Ghost, there are also three baptisms in one: Spirit, Water and Blood.

The baptism of Blood takes place when you accept Jesus into your heart. The Passover lamb’s blood on the doorpost and lintels of the house in Exodus was a type and shadow of this baptism.  When you receive Christ, the blood of Jesus (the Lamb of God) is put on the doorposts and lintels of your heart.

The baptism of Water takes place when you go under the water as a confession that you have died with Christ and risen with Him again. This is the baptism into the body of Christ. When the children of Israel went through the Red Sea, they were baptized into God’s service as we are when we are baptized into water.

The baptism of The Holy Ghost, is a baptism of Power to do those things that God commands us to do.  When the children of Israel went through the River Jordan with Joshua and took possession of the promised land, that was a type and shadow of the baptism of The Holy Ghost. We as God’s people are to defeat Satan’s power here.

Now let us take another look at John 1:12:

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

The power to become the sons of God is through receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is also through this power that signs follow as we shall see soon. It is only when ALL THREE BAPTISMS are present that the believer can go on to do the following:

MAR 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

MAR 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

Jesus said that these signs SHALL FOLLOW THEM THAT BELIEVE!

These signs are just as much for today as they were when spoken by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ almost two thousand years ago!  If they are not for today, then there can be no believers for today! This is the litmus test that God has given to His people to know whether they believe or not! The signs are to glorify the Lord AND confirm our belief in God The Father and in Jesus Christ His Son!

Jesus also said:

John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

If you were to break this verse down into computer language, it would read something like this:

B$ = BELIEVE ON JESUS

W$= GREATER WORKS OF JESUS

D$= DISBELIEVE

INPUT I$

IF I$=B$ THEN W$

ELSE D$

Putting it another way:

IF you believe on Jesus THEN you will do greater works than Jesus did.

IF you do not believe on Jesus THEN you will NOT do His works!

You may ask what are the works of Jesus?

They are: preach the Gospel, heal the sick, cast out devils, raise the dead and perform miracles! This agrees with Mark 16!

As we return to Ephesians One, we see that God has chosen for Himself a people to do His will.

Eph. 1:6 (#4) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein (#5) he hath made *us accepted in the beloved.

(#4) Look at the wording here. To the praise of the glory. Not praise and glory, but praise of THE glory. This is the Glory that Jesus had with the Father from the beginning that He left in heaven with the Father and took unto Himself again when He ascended up on high. The object of this praise of the glory is God’s Grace.

(#5) Here Paul is stating that God has made Paul, the other apostles and prophets accepted in Jesus!  Beloved in this verse is usually thought of as meaning the believers, but it more accurately refers to Jesus as the beloved as the following verses confirm:

Mat. 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Mat. 12:18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.

Mat. 17:5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

Mark 1:11 And there came a voice from heaven, [saying], Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Mark 9:7 And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.

I think that these scriptures show who the beloved is here. So now we see that the beloved here in Ephesians 1:6 is Jesus Christ.

If the beloved were the church, as many believe, and the church did not receive Paul, would he be any less of an apostle? No! Paul would still be an apostle even if the whole world denied his apostleship. God made Paul an apostle because He chose to.  The church had nothing to do with it.

Continuing in Ephesians Chapter One, we read:

Eph. 1:7 In whom *we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

In verse 7, Paul is stating that he and the other apostles and prophets have redemption through the blood of Jesus and the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of God the Father’s grace.

Eph. 1:8 Wherein he hath abounded toward *us in all wisdom and prudence;

In verse 8, Paul is acknowledging God the Father’s wisdom and prudence by this action.

Eph. 1:9 (#6) Having made known unto *us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

(#6) This is one of the key verses that shows that Paul is speaking of himself and the other apostles and prophets. Has God given everyone in the church the mystery of His will? If so and we look at the churches today as an example, then God must be VERY confused! God forbid! It is not God who is confused but the CHURCH! Why is this? Because the church has thrown out God’s conduit of knowing and understanding ‘the mystery of God’s will”.

Turn to Ephesians, Chapter 3:

Eph. 3:1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,

Eph. 3:2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:

Eph. 3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,

Eph. 3:4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

Eph. 3:5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;

We can see clearly by Ephesians 3:5 that the mysteries of Christ are given to the apostles and prophets by the Spirit of God!  They are NOT given to the church as a whole, but to His Elect!  Paul received the mystery of Christ by revelation and it was his job to give this knowledge to the church.

Why did not God give it to everybody in the church?

This will be discussed later in this teaching. But for now, let us be content to know that He did not and it was according to His purpose.  Turn to 1 Corinthians 2:7:

1 Cor. 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

Here Paul is stating that he and the other apostles and prophets are speaking the wisdom of God in a mystery that was ordained before the world unto THEIR glory. The sense of the word glory here is to show that God has set them apart from others for honor. Strong’s says this concerning the Greek word translated glory:

1391 doxa, dox’-ah; from the base of 1380; glory (as very apparent) in a wide application (lit. or fig., obj. or subj.):-dignity, glory (-ious), honor, praise, worship.

1380 dokeo, dok-eh’-o; a prol. form of a prim. verb doko, dok’-o (used only as an alt. in certain tenses; comp. the base of 1166) of the same mean; to think; by impl. to seem (truthfully or uncertainly):-be accounted, (of own) please (-ure), be of reputation, seem (good), suppose, think, trow.

This knowledge was given to Paul to set him apart from the others in the church. Later when we get to chapter 4 of Ephesians we will discuss the line of authority that God has set up in the church and why He has set it so.

Returning to Ephesians One, we read

EPH 1:10 (#7) That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

(#7) God wants to gather all things together in Christ Jesus. His primary agent in performing this task is the Church!

As the Body of Christ, we are to be His hands, feet, eyes, ears, mouth and anything else that makes up His Body! When your body walks, it is the feet that are moved by the legs, but not without the command of the head. If your head says to walk and your legs or feet say no, how then will you walk? So it is with the Body of Christ! The church has lost its true identity in Christ! Satan has done his best to water down the Word of God and to steal the power that God has given to His Church.

One way in which Satan has done this is to get the church to think in a feminine way as a bride and not the body. The Church IS the Body of Christ!  It is not the Bride of Christ. We are to put on the whole armor of God to defeat Satan and his plans, not a wedding dress.

Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 5:13:

Mat. 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

The church is to be the salt of the earth. One of the most important things that salt can do is hold back corruption. When the church can no longer hold back corruption, then it will have no more power. When it has no more power, then men will trample it into the ground. Is that not what is happening to the church today?  Without a true identity and without the apostles and prophets, the church has lost most of its savor and is being “cast out and trodden under the foot of men”!

Eph. 1:11 In whom also (#8)*we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

(#8) The apostles and prophets have an inheritance in Jesus Christ. It is not the same as that of the church. They were predestinated by God the Father to do His will and build up His church and set it in order. This is something that is done continually from generation to generation. If it was done once and that is all, then the Second Law of Thermodynamics comes into play that God Himself created and the church falls into decay as we see today. The apostles and prophets are God’s way of assuring a vibrant and strong church until Jesus returns to take it out of the way. Only then can the antichrist be revealed in his time. This order of things was predestinated of God before Adam.

Eph. 1:12 That *we should be to the praise of his glory, who (#9) first trusted in Christ.

(#9) The disciples, less Judas, first trusted in Christ, and Paul in due season. They went and made disciples of men and women as Christ commanded:

Mat. 28:19 ¶ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Strong’s defines teach as:

3100 matheteuo, math-ayt-yoo’-o; from 3101; intrans. to become a pupil; trans. to disciple, i.e. enroll as scholar:-be disciple, instruct, teach.

So you can see that Jesus is telling them to make disciples of all nations. There is more to being a disciple of Jesus Christ than simply believing in Him. A disciple grows up and becomes a minister of Jesus Christ as we shall see in Ephesians Chapter 4.

Now look at verse 13 of Ephesians 1:

Eph. 1:13 In whom (#10) ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

(#10) Now Paul is changing his direction. In whom YOU also trusted, after YOU heard the word of truth, the gospel of YOUR salvation: in whom also after that YOU believed, YOU were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise!

If Paul had been talking about the church in verses 2-12 would he not have said we and us and our in verse 13?

Yes he would have.  But to show that he was NOT talking about everybody in the church, he said, we and us and our in verses 2-12 and YOU in verse 13 to show the difference between the Elect Seed of God, chosen by God before the foundation of the world, and the Seed of Adam, who are given Power to BECOME the Elect of God if they believe.

So we can clearly see that there is an Elect Seed of God that is predestinated from the foundation of the world to be saved and used by God to bring the Seed of Adam unto Salvation through Jesus Christ, if they will receive and accept God’s Plan: The Gospel! So, in Mark 16, we see how Adam’s seed can know if they have believed The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Continuing in Ephesians, Chapter One:

Eph. 1:14 Which is the (#11) earnest of *our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

(#11) Paul here is talking about the earnest of his inheritance and that of the other apostles and prophets.  The word “earnest” means:

728 arrhabon, ar-hrab-ohn’; of Heb. or. [6162]; a pledge, i.e. part of the purchase-money or property given in advance as security for the rest:- earnest.

It denotes the down payment on a thing until it is received in full. It is like one going to buy a car. When you see the car you like you leave an “earnest” or down payment on the car to hold it for you until you come to pick it up. So God has given an earnest or “down payment” on the inheritance of the apostles until He (God) receives them in Glory. Paul then is saying that his inheritance and that of the other apostles are the saints at Ephesus and the faithful in Christ Jesus that he and the other apostles have brought to Christ through the Gospel.

In verse 13 we read “ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise”. This earnest is the Baptism of The Holy Ghost which is the Spirit of Promise.

This brings us to another subject that needs to be covered here. As we said earlier, there are three baptisms. One of these is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. The question is, how does one receive this Baptism?

There is much confusion in the churches today on this subject, and I fear that it has opened the door to Satan to bring much hurt to the people of God. Let us first start with what I call a “law of doctrine”.  A doctrine is simply a teaching. But there are false doctrines and true doctrines. How can one tell between the two?

First of all, let’s go to the Word:

Deut. 19:15 ¶ One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

In this verse we see a principle: One witness can not testify against a man. There has to be two or three witnesses to establish a matter.

Mat. 18:16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

II Cor. 13:1 This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

I Tim. 5:19 Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.

All of these verses say the same thing: That there must be two or three witnesses to establish a thing.  With this in mind, the law of doctrine is this:  there must be two or more scriptures clearly agreeing on a thing for it to be a doctrine.

Now that I have gotten that out of the way, let us go on to see how God gives the Baptism of the Holy Ghost to His people.

Acts 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

Acts 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

Acts 2:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The first example of God giving out the Baptism of the Holy Ghost is in Acts Chapter 2. Here we see the disciples numbered with 120 people in the upper room. Then God pours out the Holy Ghost upon all of them.

This is an example of God moving as Sovereign to do His will.  This established the Church made up of Jews in Jerusalem. Now let’s see if we can find a match.

Acts 10:44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.

Acts 10:45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 10:46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,

Acts 10:47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?

Here in Acts Chapter 10 we find Peter being sent to the house of Cornelius, a Gentile.  I suggest that you go back and read the whole chapter to see how God had to deal with Peter in this matter. Up to this time Peter and the others had not preached to the Gentiles the Gospel of Jesus Christ and God had to show them that it was His plan that the Gentiles be saved also. We see here that while Peter was speaking, God poured out the Holy Ghost on the Gentiles in the same way as He did the Jews on the day of Pentecost. (See verse 47)

Do we have a match?

No. Acts Chapter 2 was God establishing the Jewish Church and Acts Chapter 10 was God establishing the Gentile Church!

We see that even though the act of the Holy Ghost falling on the believers was the same, they were different because one dealt with establishing the Jewish church and the other the Gentile church. We can and do say; that God is Sovereign to do as He sees fit and can establish a church any way He chooses. God had to deal with establishing the Gentile church in this way, because the apostles would not have done it otherwise for fear of the Jews and their own prejudices.

Now let us go on to see another example of receiving the Holy Ghost:

Acts 9:17 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

When we look at the conversion of Saul, we see God using a disciple named Ananias to lay hands on Saul that he be filled with the Holy Ghost.

Does this match?

No. God used Ananias, as we said earlier, because of distance from Jerusalem or because the apostles were afraid of Saul.  So here we find also a truth. Though we don’t find a match, God can use anyone He needs to, to perform His will!

We now go on to another example of believers receiving the Holy Ghost:

Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

Acts 8:13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.

Acts 8:14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:

Acts 8:15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:

Acts 8:16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

Acts 8:17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

Acts 8:18  And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,

Acts 8:19  Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.

Acts 8:20  But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

Philip was an evangelist who went down to Samaria and preached to them there. But after they received Jesus as Lord and Savior, the Holy Ghost did not fall on them. So, Peter and John went down and when they had laid their hands on them, they received the Holy Ghost. These new believers had only been baptized in water and had not received the baptism of the Holy Ghost until the apostles had laid their hands on them.

Now we go to one more example, in Acts 19, to see if we can find a match:

Acts 19:1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,

Acts 19:2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.

Acts 19:3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism.

Acts 19:4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.

Acts 19:5 When they heard [this], they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Acts 19:6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

Acts 19:7 And all the men were about twelve.

Now we have found a match! Paul had come across some of the disciples of Jesus who had believed because of Apollos’ preaching. Paul sees that they had not received the baptism of the Holy Ghost and questions them on the subject. Seeing that they have only received the baptism of water, he then lays his hands on them and they receive the Holy Ghost! We now have found two witnesses to form a doctrine for receiving the Holy Ghost.

It is clear from all of these scriptures, that God can pour out the Holy Ghost on his people, or that He can use an individual to lay hands on someone to receive the Holy Ghost. But if we are going to look at the Baptism of the Holy Ghost as a Doctrine, then we must conclude that God has set it up for the apostles to be the ones who give out the gift of the Holy Ghost.

This also agrees with scripture in that God gave Moses the inheritance for the people, yet it was Joshua who distributed the inheritance to the children of Israel. Later on we shall discuss in more detail how Moses and Joshua are types and shadows to the Church to understand how God works today.

So we see that in Ephesians 1:13 & 14 Paul says the Holy Spirit was given as an Earnest against the day that Jesus receives the Church to himself. This Earnest is the Baptism of the Holy Ghost.

Eph. 1:15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,

Eph. 1:16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making (#12) mention of you in my prayers;

(#12) It is important to pray for others in the Lord with like faith.  I would even go so far to say that it is good to pray for those whose faith is not quite the same as yours. Prayer is one of, if not the most important weapons against spiritual darkness and Satan’s devices that the believer can have. But one must know HOW to pray.

To know that, let’s take a look at James 5:16.  I have added numbers to the verse below to highlight the points that I will cover.

James 5:16 (1)Confess your (2)faults (3) one to another, and (4) pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The (5) effectual (6) fervent (7) prayer of a (8) righteous man (9) availeth much.

There are nine very important points that one can receive by breaking this verse down and taking a good look at it.

(1) Confess

What does it mean to confess?  Turning to Strong’s we learn that the Greek word translated confess is:

1843 exomologeo, ex-om-ol-og-eh’-o; from 1537 and 3670; to acknowledge or (by impl. of assent) agree fully:-confess, profess, promise. ^ exon. See 1832.

One of the first things that we get from this definition is: to acknowledge or (by implication of assent) agree fully. If you want God to answer your prayers, then the first thing that you have to do is to acknowledge your faults (sin), agree fully that they are wrong!

Many Christians that I talk to do not have good success in their prayer life, simply because of this one thing. They don’t want to accept their responsibility for their actions and sins.

It is never their fault or it is always beyond their control. You may deceive yourself, but you CAN NOT deceive God! If you want to be in a position for God the Father to hear your prayers AND ACT on them, you MUST acknowledge your faults and fully agree that they are WRONG!

(2) Faults

The next thing to look at in this verse is the word faults.  Strong’s tells us that the Greek word used is:

3900 paraptoma, par-ap’-to-mah; from 3895; a side-slip (lapse or deviation), i.e. (unintentional) error or (wilful) transgression:-fall, fault, offence, sin, trespass.

Here we can see that the word faults can mean anything from a simple mistake to a well thought out, full blown sin!

It can mean to side-slip or lapse from ones duties. I know that none of us EVER do that! But the truth of the matter is, that most of us do in more ways than we would like to admit! Sin is sin, is sin, is sin….. Get the point?

Any sin can cause you weakness in your prayer life. Satan will grab it and use it against you in a heart beat. Have you ever wanted to pray and found yourself not able to “get in the mood”? Have you ever tried to pray and found your mind wandering? This is an example of what it means to “side-slip” or lapse. Instead of making excuses for them, confess them and acknowledge that YOU are the one wrong here and stop trying to make excuses for them.

If you have committed an offense, go to that person and tell them. Ask their forgiveness. If they give it fine!  You have won a brother or sister. If they will not forgive you, well you have done the right thing and Satan can no longer use it against you.

If you have committed a sin, confess it to your heavenly Father who is faithful to forgive. Leave no ground for Satan to come in and steal your victory!

(3) One to another

One to another is hard.  We don’t need a Strong’s definition on this one, but we do need a little wisdom in the exercise thereof. I have seen more churches and families broken up over the mishandling of this verse and these words. I knew of a man one time who had cheated on his wife. She did not know that he had done it. He heard a teaching on this verse and others and was told that he should go and tell his wife. It destroyed their marriage!

If I had counseled him in this matter and found out that this thing had happened years ago in the beginning of their marriage before they were Christians and that she did not know about it, I would have told him to confess it to God and forget it!

BE CAREFUL WHO YOU CONFESS TO! I can’t stress this too much! BE CAREFUL WHO YOU CONFESS TO! Confession should only be made in the presence of a MATURE Christian.

Why should we confess one to another?

Simple, things hidden always have a way of coming out in the open. If they are not hidden, then you won’t live in fear of someone finding out. Fear is the faith killer! Fear is the enemy of Faith! One can not have FAITH and have FEAR! Get the point? Satan does and he will use it with everything that he has.

(4) Pray one for another, that ye may be healed

Now let’s take a look at this next part: pray one for another, that ye may be healed.  The first thing to notice about this phrase is that it DOES NOT SAY: Pray one for another, that THEY may be healed. What it DOES SAY is: Pray one for another, that YE may be healed!

Praying for other people HEALS YOU! This kind of prayer that James is talking about here, heals your SOUL, SPIRIT AND BODY! I am fully persuaded that if we could get a real handle on this verse that no Christian could be hit by sickness from Satan!

(5) Effectual

The word effectual, according to the Strong’s, is defined as:

1754 energeo, en-erg-eh’-o; from 1756; to be active, efficient:-do, (be) effectual (fervent), be mighty in, shew forth self, work (effectually in).

1756 energes, en-er-gace’; from 1722 and 2041; active, operative:-effectual, powerful.

It means to be active in an efficient and mighty way. To show forth yourself (unselfish).

How does one pray in an effectual way?

First you have to KNOW what you are praying about!  Another side of effectual prayer is powerful.

I want to show you a parable that Jesus told and point out a couple of things in it.

Mat. 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Jesus said: If ye have faith AS a grain of mustard seed. He was not talking about size here, He was talking about KIND or TYPE of faith. I don’t care what anyone says, it takes GREAT FAITH to move a mountain! Jesus was trying to tell us that. You must have the “type” of faith that a mustard seed has to move a mountain out of its place.

Now look at this parable:

Mat. 13:31 ¶ Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:

Mat. 13:32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

What is not made clear here to us, but to them made sense, is this.

First, mustard is an herb.  You know what herbs are, they are those little plants that we get seasonings from. Most herbs don’t get over two to three feet in height.

Second, if you put something over the seed of an herb, it will not germinate. Now if you had been sitting there with Jesus when He gave this parable, you would have seen large trees like mustard plants growing right out of the rocks!

You see, what sets the mustard seed apart from the other herbs, is that it can be buried under a boulder and left there and it will still germinate. After it germinates, it will find a crack in the boulder and begin to grow into that crack. It will grow until it splits that boulder in half! God put in that mustard seed a type of faith that tells it that if it continues to grow and does not give up, it will find the Sun in the sky!  This is the kind of faith that is effectual! It is the kind of faith that we, as believers in Jesus Christ, must develop!

How do we do it?

Check this verse out:

Jude 1:20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,

Jude tells us that we must build up ourselves ON our most holy faith by praying in the Holy Ghost!  Praying in the Holy Ghost is praying in Tongues!

If Satan can convince the church not to pray in tongues, he can rob it of mustard seed type faith! It takes FAITH to pray in tongues! Your mind rebels against it.

Effectual faith and prayer has to be developed, it does not come without a price. The price for this kind of prayer and faith is having to give up pride, stubbornness, self-will, disobedience and laziness.

(6) Fervent

Next we look at fervent. You can’t have effectual prayer without fervent prayer. The two just go together.

Fervent means to be serious. When you put effectual together with serious, you have a combination in the spirit that can be compared to putting hydrogen and oxygen together. They are explosive!

(7) Prayer

Prayer is the next word that we need to consider.  According to Strong’s the Greek word translated prayer is:

1162 deesis, deh’-ay-sis; from 1189; a petition:-prayer, request, supplication.

1189 deomai, deh’-om-ahee; mid. of 1210; to beg (as binding oneself), i.e. petition:-beseech, pray (to), make request. Comp. 4441. ^ deon. See 1163.

A prayer is a petition or request that you make to God your Father in the name of Jesus Christ. It also means to beg, as in binding yourself to the one you are petitioning.

A good example of this was Jacob, when he wrestled with the angel:

Gen. 32:24 ¶ And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

Gen. 32:25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

Gen. 32:26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

Gen. 32:27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.

Gen. 32:28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

Gen. 32:29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name?

And he blessed him there.

Gen. 32:30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

This is one of the best examples of ‘binding yourself’ to the one you are petitioning. Jacob wrestled with Jesus and refused to let go. For this he received a great blessing.

Another scripture to consider is found in Luke:

Luke 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

Luke 18:2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:

Luke 18:3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.

Luke 18:4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;

Luke 18:5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

Luke 18:6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.

Luke 18:7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

You can not give up when you pray, but pray believing that you will receive what you pray for.

(8) Righteous

When we look at this word righteous, we think of the righteousness that comes from God and is a free gift, as in right standing with God. But in this case the Greek word translated righteous is:

1342 dikaios, dik’-ah-yos; from 1349; equitable (in character or act); by impl. innocent, holy (absol. or rel.):-just, meet, right (-eous).

It means: holy, innocent and equitable.

God the Father does give us the gift of righteousness through Jesus Christ our Lord. And He forgives us our sins. We cannot be righteous of ourselves. But we DO have to stand in that righteousness by faith and not abuse it. Then are we innocent and right before Him who called us unto adoption as dear children.

For example, a parent whose child is always rebellious and misbehaving, is not likely to want to reward that child.  On the other hand, a parent whose child is attentive and obedient is a blessing to that parent and therefore the parent wants to do good things for that child.

(9) Availeth

The final word in this verse to consider is availeth.  According to Strong’s, the Greek word translated availeth is:

2480 ischuo, is-khoo’-o; from 2479; to have (or exercise) force (lit. or fig.):-be able, avail, can do ([-not]), could, be good, might, prevail, be of strength, be whole, + much work.

2479 ischus, is-khoos’; from a der. of is (force; comp. eschon, a form of 2192); forcefulness (lit. or fig.):-ability, might ([-ily]), power, strength.

It means to prevail with strength. To be forceful and mighty.

The prayers of a righteous man are forceful and strong. They produce results that can be seen by others. This is the type of prayers that we should be putting forth as believers in Christ Jesus.

Returning to Ephesians One, we now turn to a prayer that Paul prayed for the saints at Ephesus and the faithful in Christ Jesus. This is not only a prayer that should be received by every believer, it should be prayed by every believer. When you pray it, make it personal. Take out the “our” and replace it with “my”. As you begin to understand what this prayer means and what you can receive, your faith will begin to focus on Jesus as the source of all that God has for you.

Eph. 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the (#13) spirit of wisdom and (#14) revelation in the (#15) knowledge of him:

(#13) The first thing that Paul is asking God the Father to give us is the spirit of wisdom.  Here the word spirit refers to the spirit of the believer. To be prone to have in one’s spirit the trait of wisdom.

Wisdom is not to be confused with knowledge. Wisdom is the ability to know what to do with knowledge and how best to use it. This is a “spiritual” wisdom that can only come from above. It is not the earthly wisdom that can cause one to be puffed up with pride.

This wisdom is not for the benefit of the person who has it, but for those whom one deals with to benefit them.  A good example of this is King Solomon’s prayer:

I Kings 3:5 ¶ In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.

I Kings 3:6 And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.

I Kings 3:7 And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not [how] to go out or come in.

I Kings 3:8 And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.

I Kings 3:9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

I Kings 3:10 And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.

I Kings 3:11 And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;

I Kings 3:12 Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.

I Kings 3:13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honor: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.

I Kings 3:14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.

Solomon asked God for an understanding heart (spirit of wisdom) and God gave him that and much more. Solomon did not want the wisdom for himself, he wanted wisdom for God’s people.

When people want wisdom for themselves, they set themselves up for all kinds of trouble. A good example was Eve in the garden of Eden, as described below:

Gen. 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Here we see Eve being tempted by the Devil in three areas.

  1. Lust of the flesh. It was good for food.
  2. Lust of the eyes. It was pleasant to look at.
  3. Pride of life. A tree to make one wise.

The Apostle John tells us that these are the three areas where we will be tempted:

1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

Jesus was likewise tempted of the devil in these three areas:

Mat. 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

Mat. 4:2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered.

Mat. 4:3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

(1. Lust of the flesh.)

Mat. 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Mat 4:5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

Mat. 4:6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

(2. Pride of life.)

Mat 4:7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Mat. 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

(3. Lust of the eyes.)

Mat. 4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Mat. 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

So, you can see that Jesus was tempted with the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

Hopefully, you can now see that the wisdom that Paul was speaking of in Ephesians 1:17 was from above and not worldly.  Returning to that verse we find:

Eph. 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the (#13) spirit of wisdom and (#14) revelation in the (#15) knowledge of him:

(#14) Here Paul is also speaking of a spirit of revelation and not just revelation.  Turning to the Strong’s we find It means:

602 apokalupsis, ap-ok-al’-oop-sis; from 601; disclosure:-appearing, coming, lighten, manifestation, be revealed, revelation.

601 apokalupto, ap-ok-al-oop’-to; from 575 and 2572; to take off the cover, i.e. disclose:-reveal.

To have a spirit of revelation is to have the blinders taken off so you can see (understand) what God has for you and to know His word with a supernatural understanding. This is what Jesus was trying to tell Nicodemus in John Chapter 3.

There have been many teachings on Jesus’ interaction with Nicodemus and most of them that I have heard were wrong. Let’s take a look at the them and “see” what Jesus is talking about.

I will change my style a little here and break it down verse by verse. Some of this may seem trivial but please bear with me.

John 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

John 3:2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews (i.e. one of the 70 members of the Jewish Sannhedrin). He did not come to Jesus by night for fear of the Jews, as some suppose, because he states right up front that, “WE know that thou art a teacher come from God”. The “we” here are the other rulers of the Jews.  (In other words, Nicodemus came on a mission for the rulers.)   Nicodemus then went on to say: “for no man can do these miracles that you do except that God be with him. Now look at the answer Jesus gives Nicodemus.

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Many teach today that Jesus was telling Nicodemus that he must be born again to go to heaven. But this is FALSE! If Jesus was telling him that, then He (Jesus) would have not answered Nicodemus correctly.

Take a look at these verses:

Luke 13:17 And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.

Luke 20:26 And they could not take hold of his words before the people: and they marveled at his answer, and held their peace.

Luke 20:40 And after that they durst not ask him any [question at all].

Luke 21:15 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

These verses show that Jesus always answered those who spoke to him perfectly and accurately. If Jesus had answered Nicodemus by saying, “you must be born again to go to heaven it would not have had any bearing on what Nicodemus was saying. So let’s look at it again.

John 3:2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

When we look a little closer at what Nicodemus was saying, we find that he was “claiming” to have knowledge of the kingdom of God!  That is why Nicodemus said “we know that thou art a teacher come from God”.

Now look again at what Jesus said to him:

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Jesus was telling Nicodemus that he could not understand (i.e. see or perceive) the kingdom of God!

Nicodemus proved Jesus’ assessment correct by his next statement:

John 3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?

He did not have a clue as to what Jesus was telling him.

Now look at verse 5:

John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Again, Jesus was not telling Nicodemus that in order to go to heaven he had to be born of the water and of the Spirit. Jesus was telling him that in order to do the works of God, one must be born of the water and of the Spirit!

Here we see the three baptisms that were discussed earlier!

  1. The Baptism of Blood: To see or understand the kingdom of God.
  2. The Baptism of Water: For the service of God.
  3. The Baptism of Spirit: To do the works of God.

Together these three make one.

Nicodemus came to Jesus claiming to have a knowledge of the Kingdom of God.  That was a subject that, in fact, he did not understand at all.  Jesus was setting him straight.

While it is TRUE that one MUST be born again to go to heaven, in these verses that is not what Jesus is talking about. This is what revelation learning is all about! Seeing those things that God has given us clearly, while others miss the point, just as Nicodemus did.

Returning to Ephesians 1:17:

Eph. 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the (#13) spirit of wisdom and (#14) revelation in the (#15) knowledge of him:

(#15) Now we need to look at what Paul is talking about when he says: “in the knowledge of Him”.

First we will look at the word knowledge.  The Greek word used is:

1922 epignosis, ep-ig’-no-sis; from 1921; recognition, i.e. (by impl.) full discernment, acknowledgment:-(ac-) knowledge (-ing, -ment).

1921 epiginosko, ep-ig-in-oce’-ko; from 1909 and 1097; to know upon some mark, i.e. recognize; by impl. to become fully acquainted with, to acknowledge:-(ac-, have, take) know (-ledge, well), perceive.

As you can see, it means to recognize, by implication to have full discernment and knowledge. To perceive and know. To be fully acquainted with.

Knowing that the “him” referred to at the end of Ephesians 1:17, refers to Jesus, we understand that Paul is praying for the faithful in Christ Jesus to recognize and have full discernment of Jesus, to know Jesus and to be fully acquainted with Jesus.  To acknowledge or see the hand of Jesus, according to His word, in all things.

Continuing to verse 18, we read:

Eph. 1:18 The (#16) 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,

(#16) If you go to the Strong’s and look up eyes and then look up understanding, you will miss the full meaning of this phrase. In order to fully understand what Paul is asking for (the eyes of your understanding being enlightened), you will have to have a foundational understanding of what God wanted for man. But before we go into that, let us first look at the definitions of the words, eyes and understanding, then go back and get the foundation.

First we will start with the word eyes:

3788 ophthalmos, of-thal-mos’; from 3700; the eye (lit. or fig.); by impl. vision; fig. envy (from the jealous side-glance):-eye, sight.

3700 optanomai, op-tan’-om-ahee; a (mid.) prol. form of the prim. (mid.) optomai, op’-tom’-ahee, which is used for it in certain tenses; and both as alt. of 3708; to gaze (i.e. with wide-open eyes, as at something remarkable; and thus differing from 991, which denotes simply voluntary observation; and from 1492, which expresses merely mechanical, passive or casual vision; while 2300, and still more emphatically its intens. 2334, signifies an earnest but more continued inspection; and 4648 a watching from a distance): – appear, look see, shew self.

From these definitions we can get eye or vision with the sense of having your eyes wide open. Looking earnestly at a thing to see it clearly.

Now let’s take a look at the word translated understanding:

1271 dianoia, dee-an’-oy-ah; from 1223 and 3563; deep thought, prop. the faculty (mind or its disposition), by impl. its exercise:-imagination, mind, understanding.

1223 dia, dee-ah’; a prim. prep. denoting the channel of an act; through (in very wide applications, local, causal or occasional):-after, always, among, at, to avoid, because of (that), briefly, by, for (cause) …fore, from, in, by occasion of, of, by reason of, for sake, that, thereby, therefore, X though, through (-out), to, wherefore, with (-in). In composition it retains the same general import. ^ Dia. See 2203.

3563 nous, nooce; prob. from the base of 1097; the intellect, i.e. mind (divine or human; in thought, feeling, or will); by impl. meaning:-mind, understanding. Comp. 5590.

Here, understanding denotes mind. The ability for deep thought with the mind. Having intellect with divine and or human thought, feeling or will.

Now let’s go back and look at a few scriptures.

Genesis 1:26 ¶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

In this verse, God said: “Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness.

The Greek word translated image here is defined in the Strong’s as follows:

6754 tselem, tseh’-lem; from an unused root mean. to shade; a phantom, i.e. (fig.) illusion, resemblance; hence a representative figure, espec. an idol:-image, vain shew.

The word image here would denote the appearance of man. Man would be made to look like God in his outward appearance. He would have body parts as God has and would for all practical appearances look like God as an idol would look like the “god” that it depicted.

Now let us turn to the Greek word translated likeness:

1823 demuwth, dem-ooth’; from 1819; resemblance; concr. model, shape; adv. like:-fashion, like (-ness, as), manner, similitude.

1819 damah, daw-maw’; a prim. root; to compare; by impl. to resemble, liken, consider:-compare, devise, (be) like (-n), mean, think, use similitudes.

The word likeness here would not apply to the outward appearance of man. It would deal more with the faculties of man’s inner self. Man was given a soul and a spirit like God himself has. Just as God is three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, so He made man to be a triune being having a body, soul and spirit. When man was first created by God he was perfect. The body, soul and spirit working together in unity just like God.

To fully understand the importance of the fall of Adam, it helps to understand from whence he (Adam) fell! To understand that you will have to understand how the body, soul and spirit worked together in man when he was perfect.

First, let’s look at the Body.  The body is a “house” for the soul and spirit.  It was designed to operate in a three dimensional world. The body was given five (5) senses so man could operate freely in his environment here on earth. They are:

  1. Sight
  2. Hearing
  3. Smell
  4. Taste
  5. Touch

Second, let’s turn to the Soul.  The soul is the mind and intellect of man. It is the seat of his will and where all decisions are made. It is not to be confused with man’s brain. The brain is physical. Forgive my terminology, but the brain is more like an interface for the soul. The soul of man takes the information that it receives from the body – sight, hearing, smell, sound, touch – and makes decisions based upon the information available to it. The soul is the personality of man and is who a man is. The soul is also the seat of passions and what one may refer to as “soul” feelings, for lack of a better term.

Third, we have the Spirit.  The spirit of man is one of the most misunderstood elements of man. The spirit is referred to as man’s “heart”. It is also what gives life to man. Without the spirit, the body dies. Just as the branch that is cut off from the tree cannot live, neither can the body that is cut off from the spirit live. When Adam’s spirit was cut off, he, that is his body, began to die.

The spirit of man is also the spiritual counterpart of man’s body. It is with the spirit that man could know God and communicate with Him. Just as the body has five senses, so the spirit also has five senses. They are: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. These are spiritual senses and give man the ability to operate in the spiritual world of the Kingdom of God. Just as the body provides information of the natural world to the soul, the spirit provides information of the spiritual world to the soul. This was the condition of man before Adam’s fall.

Now let us take a look at a couple of other scriptures:

Genesis 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

God told Adam that if he ate of the tree of knowledge between good and evil, he would die. Now let’s look at another scripture that has a very direct bearing on those verses.

Heb. 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Here Paul tells us that the word of God, as a sword, pierces and divides asunder the soul and spirit.

When Adam sinned, the Word of God, as a sword, fell and Adam’s spirit was divided asunder from his soul.  No longer was Adam a “perfect” man and he died because he was cut off from his life source.  With Adam’s fall, mankind lost his ability to see, hear, smell, taste and touch in the spiritual world. This is a type of death that separated man from God and left a void in man’s soul that he has been trying to fill since the beginning of time. The only way that this breach can be repaired (grafted in again) “legally” is through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Now, let us return to us.  When a man is conceived,karen he is a perfect being. It works like this. The man provides the sperm that will fertilize the egg of the woman. Each one of them, the man and the woman, provides half of the genes that will make up the newborn baby. Look at this scripture:

Gen. 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

This is not saying that the man and woman “are” one flesh in the sense of the physical. After all you can see that each are separate from one another even after they have consummated their marriage. The man and woman may become “soul mates”, one in purpose and being. The “one flesh” it is referring to is what happens in the creation of a new person. The child being one flesh from both of them.

Now let’s take a look at this scripture.

Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Here God is telling us, through the Apostle Paul, that we can see God and how He works through nature.

God is a triune God. He is three in one.

Deut. 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God [is] one LORD: And again:

1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

We see by these scriptures that God is ONE, yet He is also THREE. How can this be?

Well, if what Paul said in Romans is true, then we can find an example in nature that will show us God’s Godhead!  We find it in Water!  Water is the basis of all life on earth, just as God is the creator of all life on earth. Water is made up of three atoms. Two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. Together these three atoms make up one molecule of water. Three in One. When you take two hydrogen atoms and put them with one oxygen atom there is a release of energy and an explosion takes place. The end result being water created.

Now the egg of the woman and the sperm of the man come together to form the body of the child to be born. Together they make up the one body, each parent providing half. It is at this time that God provides the soul and the spirit. The soul and the spirit being of like matter (“spiritual”), join with the body and there is a release of energy that can be measured. There is an explosion!  At that very moment a perfect life is created. This child is perfect, having both body, soul and spirit. This is one of the reasons that Satan loves abortion. It is from conception to birth that a man or woman is a perfect being and if he can kill them before they are born it is a great victory to him.

During the time that the baby is in the mother’s womb, the body begins to grow. The soul and spirit are fully mature. We can’t see this directly, but we can see the effects of this in a little child. When a child is very young he seems to always be trying to do things beyond his physical ability. This causes frustration for both the child and the parents. The parents are constantly telling the child, “no” you are not old enough and the child is constantly getting into “trouble”. The opposite in part seems to be the case as they get older. The young man or woman does not seem to want to “grow up” and the parents are constantly telling them that they have to. As a person gets older, they “feel” like they did when they were younger. Usually around their teens. I am not talking about the body, I am talking about the mind or soul. Although I am now fifty years old, I still “feel” eighteen.  In my mind’s eye, I still see myself as eighteen until I look in a mirror!

There is a scripture that says something about this phenomenon.

James 1:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

When I look in the mirror, I am sometimes surprised at how I look. It is not ME!  And I am right.  It is my body.  The ME is my SOUL!

The point is that the soul and spirit are of full age. The body has to grow up to meet the soul and the spirit. But because of the curse on mankind, the body grows old and the soul and spirit do not. (This is why Jesus Christ did not die for our “body”. He has a new one in Heaven waiting for us. He died for our souls and spirits!)

When the baby is born, at the moment of birth, then the Word of God takes effect:

Heb. 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

And the spirit is cut off from the soul.  Man (man or woman) is no longer perfect as God is perfect. Again, we see in children how sensitive they are to spiritual things, but as time goes on they tend to become dull to spiritual things. Yet man still seeks to repair this breach between his soul and spirit. They still have a “spiritual awareness”. Many today try to explain this phenomenon as a “sixth sense”. But in reality it is the soul remembering all five senses of the spirit of man, just as a man who has had a leg or arm cut off can still “feel” it after twenty years!

Now there are two ways that this breach can be repaired. One way is legal: Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and be “Born Again”. (Go back and read again what I wrote about Nicodemus and what Jesus said to him.)

The other is illegal:

John 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

And again:

John 10:7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

As you can clearly see, Jesus is the doorway into the sheepfold or Kingdom of God! To seek to enter by any other means makes one to be a thief and a robber.

When a person accepts Jesus as his or her Lord and Savior, believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then Jesus Himself repairs the breach between the soul and the spirt. As one becomes obedient to Jesus and the Holy Spirit, he is able to begin to operate in the spiritual realm of God. The Holy Spirit of God is the conductor (mediator) between man’s spirit and his soul, just as the brain is the conductor (mediator) between the soul and the body. Jesus is the conductor (mediator) between man and God the Father.

This is what Jesus was saying when He was praying to the Father in John 17.

John 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, [art] in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

John 17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

( Even as means in the same way or in like manner.)

John 17:23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

This is what it means to be perfect as God is Perfect!

Now let us go back to Ephesians 1:18.

Eph. 1:18 The (#16) 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,

When you look up the word enlightened in the Strong’s you find:

5461 photizo, fo-tid’-zo; from 5457; to shed rays, i.e. to shine or (trans.) to brighten up (lit. or fig.):-enlighten, illuminate, (bring to, give) light, make to see.

5457 phos, foce; from an obsol. phao (to shine or make manifest, espec. by rays; comp 5316,5346); luminousness (in the widest application, nat. or artificial, abstr. or concr., lit. or fig.):-fire, light.

The sense here is to illuminate and make to see.  Jesus told Nicodemus that he could not “see” or “understand” the Kingdom of God because he was not born again.

By simply looking at these words by themselves you could miss what Paul was saying. But, in effect, Paul is saying that he wanted us to be restored to that perfect state that

Adam was in before his fall so that we could know “what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints”.

Eph. 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

How can one know: “what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power,” if the curse of the fall of Adam is not removed?

How could one see what Stephen saw when he looked up to heaven and saw Jesus on the right hand of the Father?

Acts 7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

Acts 7:56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

Did he see this with his natural eyes? No! If he had, then the others would have seen it also and they would not have stoned him. He ‘saw’ with his spirit’s eyes!

How could one understand His power to us-ward without this great breach being repaired? This Great Power of God that He has given TO US! Let’s look at the word “power” for a moment:

1411 dunamis, doo’-nam-is; from 1410; force (lit. or fig.); spec. miraculous power (usually by impl. a miracle itself):-ability, abundance, meaning, might (-ily, -y, -y deed), (worker of) miracle(-s), power, strength, violence, mighty (wonderful) work.

1410 dunamai, doo’-nam-ahee; of uncert. affin.; to be able or possible:-be able, can (do, + -not), could, may, might, be possible, be of power.

This miraculous power He gave to us to be workers of miracles. The word us-ward means:

1519 eis, ice; a prim. prep.; to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (fig.) purpose (result, etc.); also in adv. phrases:-[abundant-] ly, against, among, as, at, [back-] ward, before, by, concerning, + continual, + far more exceeding, for [intent, purpose], fore, + forth, in (among, at, unto, -so much that, -to), to the intent that, + of one mind, + never, of, (up-) on, + perish, + set at one again, (so) that, therefore (-unto), throughout, till, to (be, the end, -ward), (here-) until (-to), …ward, [where-] fore, with. Often used in composition with the same general import, but only with verbs (etc.) expressing motion (lit. or fig.).

What a mouth full! What I want you to see is this: to or into (indicating the point reached or entered).  When we have received Jesus as our Savior and been baptized in water and in God’s Holy Spirit, then THIS GREAT POWER OF GOD COMES INTO US!

Eph. 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

It is the same power that God used to raise Jesus Christ from the dead and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places! This is the type of POWER THAT GOD HAS GIVEN TO THE CHURCH!!!!

Eph. 1:21 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:

This is the same power that God used to set Jesus Christ above all principality (rulers), and power (law), and might (force), and dominion (government), and EVERY name that is named! Not only in the world that we live in now, but also in the world which is to come when God sets up His Kingdom in the New Heaven and the New Earth.

Eph. 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

God by his Word has put all things under the feet of Jesus. All power and authority and everything that is, is under the jurisdiction of Jesus Christ. He then set Jesus to be the head over all things to the Church.

Eph. 1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

The Church is the body of Christ. It is the fulness of Him that filleth all in all. The church is not the bride of Christ, New Jerusalem is the Bride of Christ. We will live in New Jerusalem with Jesus.

O what GREAT things that God has given to His Church through Jesus Christ! And the Church has let them slip away because of Satan’s lies and deception, just like Adam did in the beginning. IT’S TIME TO TAKE IT BACK!