Thursday, May 31, 2012

Ephesians 4:3


Copyright Ó 2012 J. Neely
Ephesians 4:3

3 Endeavouring [spoudazo] to keep [tereo] the unity [henotes] of the Spirit [pneuma] in [en] the bond [sundesmos] of peace. [eirene] KJV-Interlinear

3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  NASB

Endeavoring, ‘spoudazo,’ means to make an effort, to try really hard, to pursue with earnest, to be diligent, objective in your work or labor.

Unity, ‘henotes,’ means oneness, same, unity, consistency, unchanged.

Spirit, ‘pneuma,’ means a current of air, breathing, inhale or exhale, mental disposition, life entity.

Bond, ‘sundesmos,’ a joint tie as in a ligament, uniting principle.

Peace, ‘eirene,’ peace, quietness, rest, comfort, contentment.

The following verses will emphasize and define the meaning and focus of this verse.

But for now, this verse speaks to the continuity and uniformity of Bible doctrine as provided by God, exhale, and learned and understood by man, inhale.

All doctrine is God breathed. All doctrine comes into the soul by way of the human spirit under the power and direction of the Holy Spirit.

The same information is taught, the same information is learned by all when people study the scriptures under the mandated pattern and method authorized by God.

When God teaches two plus two, then everyone learns two plus two.

Unfortunately this world is full of religions, and numerous protestant groups, that all have their own ideas, rituals, and beliefs, that contain many truths, but have numerous falsities or invented ideas woven into their belief systems.

This mandate from God is demanding that believers pay earnest attention to truth, and pursue truth as directed by the scriptures. Instead there are so many versions and ideas out there, that the truth seems to get lost in the shuffle.

Satan is the master of invented lies that simulate truth, but are there to cause confusion and ambiguity and uncertainty, and therefore doubt and unbelief.  His goal is the discrediting of truth, such that people will disregard God and Christianity, and then pursue something else that seems more fitting or convenient to their lives.

Therefore, there is only one means of keeping doctrine clear and perspicuous, and that is through the one and only authorized method of learning doctrine. Namely through a legitimate daily study of the Word of God.

Apart from that, people will go their own separate ways and that is how the many different groups are formed, each selecting those things that they prefer, rather than the sum total of Gods truth.

Therefore, you are to make an effort in learning, in being objective, in listening and in sorting out what is true and what is not.

You do this by means of the thing you do without any conscious effort.  You breathe in and you breathe out. You study and learn and you apply to your life.  You listen and you keep on listening, and you keep on listening and you learn and you keep on learning.

You tie the principles of doctrine together tight, and you maintain them on a daily basis, with no preconceived ideas, with no pretense, with no bias, but with objectivity, and no arrogance or presumption.

The principles of the previous verses apply.

God makes the rules, you do not.  God provides the clarity of thought, you do not.  God reveals and interprets, you do not.

Each person is a student without portfolio.  You have nothing to say, no opinion to state.  You have but only to listen and learn.  We all do, for we are all students.

The repetition of and repeated exposure of doctrine day after day, will bring understanding and wisdom.

The reward of all of this, in part, is peace, a relaxed mental attitude, a quietness of soul and confidence in that which God has to teach, and you have but to learn.

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