Letter to Ephesus
The letter from Paul to the believers in Ephesus is a great reminder for us as Messianic believers in the 21st century. In this letter, Paul is addressing believers in the Messiah in hopes of unifying them through the teachings of the Messiah. He outlines how the teachings of Messiah should impact every person, relationship, and aspect of our daily lives.
We see that the first two chapters of the letter to Ephesus outlines many different times when Paul is attempting to communicate that very unity. It is okay for us to disagree on things and still walk as believers in unity. After all, unity doesn’t equal uniformity. The Bible is full of stories on how believers have different roles in the kingdom of God and when we walk in those roles we are actually stronger by having differences.
“until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” – Ephesian 4: 13-15
Ephesians chapter four outlines the need for speaking the truth in love. It is absolutely possible for us to speak truth without love. It is also possible to speak in love without truth. It is only when truth and love are combined that the teachings of Messiah can truly bring unity to groups of believers who might have disagreements. And this goes beyond just speaking. In all our interactions with other believers, let it be done with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:2-3) The goal is not uniformity, it is walking in unity with fellow believers.
For many years, we have seen many who operate in the spiritual giftings of teachers. In the last two years, we have seen a spiritual development that we believe is so exciting. We are seeing the Holy Spirit raise up men and women who are operating in the spiritual giftings of pastors, apostles, evangelists, and prophets. While many of us are familiar with those who have claimed to operate in these spiritual giftings while we were a part of different Christian denominations, we are starting to see Sabbath keeping, whole Bible practicing believers starting to walk in these various roles. This is so encouraging and exciting for in the letter to the Ephesians Paul tells us that those roles are necessary to truly equip the saints for their functions. Those offices are necessary to build the body of Messiah.
In part of Paul’s edification, he writes to the Ephesians “…that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Messiah which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:16-19
Have we ignored these words to our peril? Are we equipped to face today, tomorrow, and the future? Are we equipped to face daily challenges that block our path that are inconvenient reminders of Who we are supposed to emulate and rise above our flesh? Do we forget Who we represent? With all the promises in chapter 1 of Messiah’s equipping us to do well in this life of conflict, do we seek to use those giftings to help us love our brothers and adjust our tone when we disagree and be kind to the feeble, and so on? These godly traits help us attain that unity of the faith. Without that supernatural assistance, we will revert backward to the flesh.
Looking again at Chapter 4, Paul also tells us that until we attain to that unity we will be like children, tossed to and fro by the waves of doctrines and human cunning. We have never met individuals who want to be tossed or fall prey to human cunning. The Lord has blessed this ministry over the last 26 years to meet so many amazing brethren in Messiah. Their hearts and zeal for God are so encouraging. Their desire to grow closer to God and be obedient to His word has been crucial to help us continue to minister even when things in this world seem dark and dim. To see the Holy Spirit raising up individuals with these giftings give us great hope for the next generation of Messianic believers in addition to encouraging our elders to live out their lives without fear, but in loving fellowship in their communities.
We must not grow weary in our pursuit of living a holy life dedicated to God. We must continue to pray and encourage one another so that they recognize there is work to be done in our individual relationships with God and be willing for God to help bring and equip all believers together for the growth of His kingdom.
As we look at the events of this world, the rule of human fleshly desires, and the anti-God culture that is be propagated by media and our culture, we must remember that God combats that by raising up and equipping those who are called by Him to be the light. We must testify of the greatest of the Holy One of Israel. We must occupy (grow up in Messiah’s character traits through the trials God allows for our teaching, and use what we’ve learned to help others along the way) until Messiah returns. We must look to speak truth in love and continue to walk in our identity as Hebrews. We are heirs according to the promise of God through Abraham.
