In Ephesians chapter four, Paul “preaches” in his letter about unity in the body of Christ, saying there is only one body and one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. In other words, as Christians we are all together in a unified effort of service to the Lord and in attempting to bring others with us to heaven.

When Jesus prepared to ascend into heaven, His disciples followed Him to the Mount of Olives (Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:15-20; Luke 24:44-53; Acts 1:9-12).

Paul talks about Jesus ascending “far above all the heavens.” I am reminded of some astronauts decades ago. Some, upon seeing the earth, had their faith increased. Others were cynical about not seeing heaven. They would have done well to not “lean upon their own understanding.” The physical and temporal universe God created for us is not a part of His dwelling place. He said that He “gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. And that is our job even today, since Peter said that we are “a royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9).

Although Peter is addressing Gentiles, he tells them (and us) that we must not “walk as the Gentiles do.” Those who have alienated themselves from God have done so out of ignorance and the hardness of their hearts. They have become callous, and given themselves up to sensuality and are “greedy to practice every kind of impurity.” He then lists many ways in verses 25-32 that we are to show kindness and purity to the world so that our behavior can give grace to the world.

/Bob’s boy

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click links below to read or listen to audio of one of this week’s chapters in Ephesians and Philippians

Eph. 4, Eph. 5, Eph. 6, Phil. 1, Phil. 2

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All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.