1: I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you
that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called 2: With
all lowliness and meekness with longsuffering forbearing one another in love 3:
Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace Romans
12:18 4: There is one body and one Spirit even as you are called
in one hope of your calling 5: One Lord one faith one baptism[1] 6:
One God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all 7:
But to every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of
Christ 8: Wherefore he says When he ascended up on high he led captivity
captive and gave gifts to audawm[2]
9: Now that he ascended what is it but that he also descended first into
the lower parts of the earth[3] 10: He that descended is the same also
that ascended up far above all heavens that all things [be] fulfilled 11:
And he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some
pastors and teachers 12: For the perfecting of the saints for the work
of the ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ 13: Until we all
come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God into
fully mature individuals unto the measure
of the stature of the fullness of Christ[4] 14:
That we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with
every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness whereby
they lie in wait to deceive 4:15 But speaking the truth in love may grow
up into him in all things who is the head even Christ 16: From whom the
whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint
supplies according to the effectual working in the measure of every part makes
increase of the body to the edifying of itself in love[5] 17:
This I say therefore and testify in the Lord that you henceforth walk not as other
ethnos walk in the vanity of their minds 18: Having the
understanding darkened being alienated from the life of God through the
ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their hearts 19:
Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness to work all
uncleanness with greediness 20: But you have not so learned Christ 21:
If so be that you have heard him and have been taught by him as the truth is in
Jesus 22: That you put off concerning the former manner of life the old audawm which is corrupt according to deceitful
lusts 23: And be renewed in the spirit of your minds 24: And that
you put on the new audawm which after
God is created in righteousness and true holiness 25: Wherefore putting
away lying speak every one truth with their neighbors for we are members one of
another 26: Be angry and sin not let not the sun go down upon your wrath
27: Neither give place to the devil 2 Kings 18:17-20 We cannot give
in to Satan enough. He always wants more. 8: Let them that stole
steal no more but rather let them labor working with their hands the thing
which is good that they may have to give to them that need 29: Let no
corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth but that which is good to the
use of edifying that it may minister grace to the hearers 30: And grieve
not the holy Spirit of God in whom you are sealed till the day of redemption[6] 31:
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away
from you with all malice 32: And be kind one to another tenderhearted
forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you
[1] It is the Baptism of the Spirit—not
water baptism—that translates the saved from the Kingdom of Darkness into the
Kingdom of God’s dear son. All Christians are baptized into the Body of Christ
by the Holy Spirit 1 Corinthians 12:13.
[2] Before the resurrection of Christ, when the body died, the
souls of the righteous were carried by the angels to a place called Paradise or
Abraham’s Bosom. The souls of the unrighteous went directly to hades and were tormented Luke
16:19-31, 23:43. The righteous dead were held captive, for their
protection, in a place called Abraham’s
Bosom, which was located somewhere in the heart of the earth. This place
was beautiful enough to be called paradise, but it was not Heaven Luke
16:22-25, Ezekiel 31:16, Job 14:13.
When Jesus ascended into Heaven, after his resurrection, he took these
captive souls with him, but first he had to descend
into the “lower parts of the earth” to get them Ephesians 4:8-10. We
read in scripture, that Jesus was quite busy during the three days his body lay
in the tomb, and he did not spend any of that time burning in hell fire Luke
23:43, 1 Peter 3:19-20.
Another proof that Jesus never suffered in hell, was when he told the
thief who was crucified with him, that they would be together in Paradise—on
the very day they both died.
Remember, according to his own words, the price was completely paid
while he was still hanging on the cross.
Had Christ failed in his mission and refused to die on the
cross during that long-ago Passover, possession of the captive souls in
Abraham’s Bosom/Paradise would have defaulted to Satan, and they would have
been doomed forever.
Not only would they have been
left without hope, but the entire human race, throughout all of history (past,
present, and future), would be without hope as well.
[3] While Christ’s body
lay in the grave, sleeping, he
(Christ) was preaching to the spirits who were in prison (that’s another
study), the disobedient ones (Fallen Angels) from the days of Noah John 8:56, 1 Peter
3:18-20.
Jesus never suffered in hell during the three days his body laid in the
grave. The Bible does not teach the concept of penance and Jesus never did
penance in Hades. His redemptive work was completed before he was ever taken
down from the cross. His suffering was over the moment he gave up the ghost. He
said so himself when he cried out, “It is
finished (paid) John 19:30!”
[4] Verse :13 dispels the myth that the
ministry gifts of apostle and prophet were only available to the early church.
All the ministry gifts were given to the Body of Christ for the purpose of
building and edifying the Body of Christ throughout the entire dispensation of
grace (the time of Christ IN
You, which will be completed and consummated when the First Resurrection is
initiated by the dead IN CHRIST coming out of their graves and those who are
alive and remain caught up with
them to meet them in the air) 1
Thessalonians 4:16-18, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52.
God has given ministry gifts to the Body of Christ—his
Church (which is a dynamic living organism,
not a static, man-made--organization), in the
form of Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers. Those who
possess these gifts are instructed to use them for the feeding of the sheep
(all believers) John 21:16-17 the equipping of the Saints (all
believers), the service of God, and the building up of the Body of Christ Ephesians
4:11-13. The illustration of Jesus distributing to his disciples and the
disciples then distributing to the people, cannot be taken to mean that Jesus
came to set up a hierarchal New
Covenant system with an inviolable separation between laity and clergy. It does
mean that those called of God to win souls and feed God’s flock, should take
that calling seriously, remain humble, and remember that they will answer to
God for how they did or did not obey him in serving those under their care or
within their spheres of influence. The New Covenant (Received Text) instructs
all believers—Older, younger, pastors, church members, men, women, etc.—to be
subject to one another (meaning to yield to/prefer one another before themselves) 1
Peter 5:5.
For Luke to state (in the book of Acts) that Phillip’s
daughters were New Testament prophets Romans 12:6, 1 Corinthians 12:28,
Ephesians 4:11-13, means the gifts of the Holy Spirit and calling of God
on these women in ministry was recognized and respected. Some denominations define
prophesying as preaching. So be it. The daughters of Phillip the evangelist
were preachers. They spoke publicly and authoritatively to anyone God called
them to speak to—including men. Nowhere in scripture, do we read that the gifts
and callings of the Holy Spirit are distributed according to gender.
[5] Jesus is the creator. He is before all
things and all things are made by him. He
used a building metaphor in referring to himself as the Chief Cornerstone (Capstone
[which is a primary angle]). When Paul writes of his function as
“head,” he uses building and physical body metaphors which clarify that he is referencing the
creation of the Church, building and encouraging its universal membership, and
nourishing the health of his entire “Body” (which is his ekklesia). The only male in the history of the universe who can claim
“Headship” over anything, is Jesus, because he is the only one in whom we live
and move and have our being.
[6]
This is a scripture referenced by those teach eternal security (once saved always
saved).
