Bro Gyme Sunday School 11/6/11

Bro Gyme Sunday School 11/6/11

Ephesus had about 200,000 people.  Paul was steadfast and faithful and did not quit when he met resistance.  He kept working.  These marvelous writings are for us today.  There is nothing new under the sun.  As the saints we may face difficult things, but we are not facing anything that hasn’t come up before. 

The point we’ve emphasized through these lessons is unity.  Paul instructed the Ephesians to be a united people.

Eph 3:11  According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

We were a part of God’s plan from the beginning.  We were not an afterthought.  God had a plan that we could be part of a unified family.

Eph 3:12  In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

Eph 3:15  Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

Eph 3:16  That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

Eph 3:17  That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

Eph 3:18  May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

In verse 1 or 2 he talks of being quickened or alive.  This quickening comes from the Spirit.  We all must have the same spirit and be quickened.  If we have the same spirit then our fellowship is with the father and we will have unity with one another.

We must be grounded that we may be able to comprehend.

Eph 3:19  And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

This was His plan from the beginning.

Eph 3:20  Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

Eph 3:21  Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Adam Clark said that this was a prayer.  He bowed his knees to the father at the beginning and at the end said Amen.  This was his prayer for these people. 

Think of how Paul’s conversion was.  Think of how he was before and how he was after.  If you went to the altar and are still the same creature then you didn’t get it.  The word Saul means destroyer, the word Paul means worker.

Eph 4:1  I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

Eph 4:2  With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

Lowliness means subjection and humility of mind.  Usually when I study the word of God, it is for me.  God always shows me what I need.

Meekness is the opposite to anger and irritability of disposition.  We are a prisoner of the Lord.  When we are given over to Him, everything else is shut out.  All of the world and everything that would take us away is shut out.  He then leads us into green pastures.

Longsuffering, longmindedness – never permitting a trial or provocation to get to the end of your patience. 

Vocation means calling, an invitation from God to receive all the gospel privileges. 

Adam Clark on Forbearing - Sustaining one another - helping to support each other in all the miseries and trials of life: or, if the word be taken in the sense of bearing with each other, it may mean that, through the love of God working in our hearts, we should bear with each other’s infirmities, ignorance, etc., knowing how much others have been or are still obliged to bear with us.

You don’t have to be around people very much to see how background affects everyone.  This does not mean that we cannot be unified with one purpose or goal.

Eph 4:3  Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

There is an action to keeping peace, to having unity and keep together.  You can allow an attitude to work on you and it will lead you down a wrong path.  Once you see it and God convicts you then you can decide to not go down that path.  After that peace comes.

The longer you go down a path the harder it is to get off of it.  When we first know that a thought isn’t right, get rid of it.  Don’t entertain it.

Bond of peace – bond means to join or tie, a uniting principal.  The Bible is a uniting principal.  If we will walk in the principals that the Word shines on our path then it will bring unity.

The God of Hope fill you will all peace.  When we put it all together then we see that our entrance into the kingdom is through the Spirit.  The kingdom of Heaven is…

Adam Clark - By the unity of the Spirit we are to understand, not only a spiritual unity, but also a unity of sentiments, desires, and affections, such as is worthy of and springs from the Spirit of God. By the bond of peace we are to understand a peace or union, where the interests of all parties are concentrated, cemented, and sealed; the Spirit of God being the seal upon this knot.

Eph 4:4  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

Eph 4:5  One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

Eph 4:6  One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

This does away with many ways to get to heaven.  There is one body and one spirit; we have no excuse if we think something else.  There is only one road that will lead you to heaven.

I’

m glad that is the way that it is.  If there were a lot of different roads, you would get lost.  God has made it easy for you and me to know how to go.  First you must really want to know.

Eph 4:7  But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

Eph 4:8  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

I’m glad to not be in bondage any more.  I remember all the things that I was in bondage to and it was not that I didn’t want to quit.  I was in bondage.

Eph 4:9  (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

Eph 4:10  He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

These things are in God’s hands and no one can tell you the will of God for your life.  The only one that can tell you is God.  The more people that you ask what the will of God for your life it the more opinions you will hear.  Some like me will have three or four opinions. 

Many will tell you how to raise your children.  We can learn from others, but the only one that will stand before God responsible for your children is you. 

The Spirit of God will witness to you that “This is the way.”  I haven’t always received the counsel that I wanted to hear, but the Spirit of God witnessed to my heart that “This is right.”  Once I decided to take the counsel, peace came and the weight was gone.

We are going to give an account to God for what we have done and we are responsible, but with that we need to be easily entreated.

Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

1Pe 2:1  Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,

1Pe 2:2  As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

If we want to grow, we must desire growth.

1Pe 2:3  If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

1Pe 2:4  To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,

1Pe 2:5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.