Bible Study log
Cyto says 'be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 4:24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. 4:25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another. 4:26 BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN, do not let the sun go down on your anger, 4:27 and do not give the devil an opportunity. 4:28 He who steals must steal no longer, but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands wha'
Cyto says 'something to share with one who has need. 4:29 Let no * unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. 4:30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 4:31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 4:32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, jus'
Cyto says 'just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.'
Cyto says 'okay raise hands when you've read through'
Cyto beams a smile at Miah.
Tyrael says 'what scriptures again'
Cyto says 'ephesians 4'
Vayrim raises his hand in response.
Tyrael says 'ok'
Cyto smiles happily.
Tyrael raises his hand in response.
Cyto says 'okay as your going through that did ye notice anything'
Cyto says 'anything make you think'
Cyto says 'any questions?'
Vayrim says 'Paul says much in the chapter.'
Cyto nods.
Vayrim says 'Early in the chapter, it talks about unity. That seems to be something lots of Christians are having trouble with these days.'
Cyto nods.
Cyto says 'okay lets go through section by section'
Cyto says 'we've gone through the first section A LOT!!!!'
Cyto says 'so we're going to skip to the second'
Cyto says '4:7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. 4:8 Therefore it says, "WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN." 4:9 (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth ? 4:10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) 4:11 And He gave some 3303a> as apostles, and some as prophets'
Cyto says 'and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 4:12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ,'
Cyto says 'okay what does that have to do with unity'
Cyto says 'well first its talking about what Christ did'
Vayrim says 'It shows that we each have a role to play in the body of Christ? No human can play every role, so we need each other?'
Cyto says 'that's true'
Cyto says 'that's the second part'
Cyto says 'the first part talks about what Christ did'
Cyto says 'Christ descended and he also ascended'
Cyto says 'okay by reading that i get the ression that Paul is trying to tell us somethign that we're not getting'
Vayrim says 'Ah.'
Cyto says 'I get the impression that there's som e signifigance there, that I don't know is obvious'
Cyto says 'however'
Cyto says 'The man who descended into the depths of the earth'
Cyto says '(some think the grave, some think hell)'
Cyto says 'in the same who who ascended to heaven'
Cyto says 'he has the keys to sin and death and the grave'
Cyto says 'it says he raised the captives'
Cyto says 'so he has power and authority over death'
Vayrim nods.
Cyto says 'he has all power and authority'
Cyto says 'it says he ascended so that he might fill all things'
Cyto says 'Now if Jesus had simply died what good would it bee'
Tyrael says 'it would be of very little use'
Cyto says 'if jesus is not resurrected we are the most pitiable of all men'
Cyto says 'we put our faith in someone who can do nothing for us'
Cyto says 'we put our faith in a lie'
Cyto says 'but Jesus is arisen'
Cyto says 'when Jesus arose'
Cyto says 'we were raised IN him'
Cyto says 'Jesus having arisen gave gifts to men'
Cyto says 'he said that He went to prepare a place for us'
Cyto says 'it said that if he didn't go, The helper would not come'
Cyto says 'This spirit fills us with power'
Cyto says 'it works in us'
Cyto says 'to make us in Christ's image'
Cyto says 'The spirit reminds us of Scripture, he is with us always, guiding, empowering'
Cyto says 'So this one who descended to the depths, humbling himself has raised above all the heavens'
Cyto says 'v 4:12'
Cyto says 'For the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ,'
Cyto says '4:13 untill we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.'
Cyto says 'lets think about that a moment'
Vayrim nods.
Vayrim says 'I think it provides yet another reminder that without Christ, we are nothing.'
Vayrim says 'Another reminder that we can't save ourselves, and can't do anything apart from Christ.'
Cyto says 'true'
Cyto says 'well anything worthwhile'
Vayrim says 'True.'
Cyto says 'but lets look at what this is saying'
Cyto says 'we are given gifts why?'
Cyto says 'why are we given gifts'
Vayrim says 'I think the answer may be in verses 12 and 13.'
Vayrim says 'Looks like I was too slow.'
Cyto smiles happily.
Cyto says 'for the equipping of the saints and the building up of the body'
Cyto says 'unto what'
Cyto says 'we talked about that in previous weeks'
Cyto says 'in the first part of ephesians 4'
Cyto says 'we talked about what God wanted the body to look like'
Cyto says 'what kind of unity'
Cyto says 'you all remember'
Cyto says 'Paul spoke of the unity God wanted for us'
Cyto says 'we are learning here How we obtain it'
Cyto says 'it is through the working of the Spirit'
Cyto says 'until when'
~Verse to Room from Cyto~
Ephesians 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:
Cyto says 'okay well'
~Verse to Room from Cyto~
Ephesians 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:
Cyto says 'untill we come the the knowledge of the Son of God'
Cyto says 'and Faith'
Cyto says 'unto a perfect man'
Cyto says 'which is translated Mature in the NASB'
Cyto says 'unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of CHRIST!!!!!!!!!'
Cyto boggles at the concept.
Cyto says 'to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.'
Cyto says 'soooo'
Cyto says 'we receive spiritual gifts till when?'
Cyto says 'take a look at verse 14'
Cyto says 'take a look at verse 13'
Cyto says 'er'
~Verse to Room from Cyto~
Ephesians 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:
Cyto says 'this criteria for receiving spiritual gifts, not needing them any more'
Cyto says 'what will we be like when we get there?'
Miah says 'g2g'
Miah bursts into tears.
Cyto gives Miah a brotherly hug.
Cyto says 'It will be Glorious'
Cyto says 'the study is logged miah'
Cyto says 'you can catch it later'
Cyto smiles at Miah and greets her with, "Shalom, the Lord's peace be with you."
Cyto says 'We will be fully one with each other and Christ'
~Verse to Room from Cyto~
Ephesians 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:
Cyto says 'we will have faith'
Cyto says 'faith unto salvation'
Cyto says 'we will have knowledge'
Cyto says 'we will understand him'
Cyto says 'we will Be MATURE!'
Cyto says 'perfected!'
Cyto says 'To the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ'
Cyto says 'well think about that'
Cyto says 'we will be as perfect mature to the extent of the fullness of christ'
Cyto says 'is that not amazing'
Cyto says 'it says earlier'
Cyto says 'that the body of Christ is the full expression'
Cyto says 'the Church is the Expression of Christ'
Cyto says 'now that seems pretty amazing'
Cyto says 'I mean'
Cyto says 'the church doesn't look so pretty now'
FionaRose says 'That's why I'm so passionate about bringing abou tunity..'
Cyto says 'but The spirit of God gives us spiritual Gifts for the edification of the body till it is as Mature as Christ'
Cyto says 'Christ's fullness'
FionaRose nods.
Cyto nods at FionaRose.
Cyto says 'look at the beginning of v 13'
Cyto says 'until we all attain the unity of the faith'
Cyto says 'the beginning of the chapter talked about oneness with each other'
FionaRose nods.
Cyto says 'that oneness with each other is oneness with each other IN God, so tis oneness with God too'
Cyto says 'the Spirit is bringing about what we were talking about in the beginning this Glorious unity'
Cyto says 'that was made possible by Christ's descent and ascent'
Cyto says 'having the keys to sin death and the grave and taking many captives with him'
Cyto says 'he now has authority to save'
Cyto says 'he sends us the Spirit'
Cyto says 'so what happens'
Cyto says 'what's all that mean'
Cyto says 'practically?'
Cyto says 'what should be different about us'
Cyto says 'not rhetorical questions...'
Cyto says 'ooooh'
Cyto says 'if anyone doesn't understand ANYTHING'
Cyto says 'please don't be embarassed or think you'll embarass me'
Cyto says 'please interrupt, because i'm only going like this cuz i assume you all know what i'm talking about'
Cyto says 'but if you don't please stop me so as eveyrone can benefit'
Cyto says 'sometimes i can be obtuse'
FionaRose chuckles politely.
Cyto says 'any questions???'
FionaRose says 'Can we quote you on that? ;)'
Cyto nods in enthusiastic agreement with FionaRose.
Vayrim says 'I think the first 2 verses of the chapter say some things that should be different about us.'
Cyto must like Vayrim a great deal to beam at him so broadly!
Cyto nods.
~Verse to Room from Cyto~
Ephesians 4:1-2
1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
Cyto says 'yup'
Cyto says 'verse 14 goes into some specific details about how we can be there'
Cyto says '4:14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming,'
Cyto says 'now how does verse 14 relate to verse 1 and 2'
FionaRose says 'Well in order to be loving, patient, and humble, we can't latch on to every thing that comes our way because it is "churchy" or whatever'
Cyto says 'Give the Girl TWO cookies'
FionaRose says, 'ooOOooOOooOOoo.'
Cyto says 'well if we were to latch on to everything that was churchy or whatever, what would the effect be on others'
Cyto says 'how could that negatively effect others'
Vayrim says 'It would show Christianity as being legalistic?'
Cyto nods at Vayrim.
FionaRose says 'Frequently, the ideas and doctrines are divisive, and it creates an us and them mentality.. it creates the righteous and the unrighteous, which makes it really difficult to come together as the Church'
Cyto nods at FionaRose.
Cyto says 'that's one way'
Cyto says 'it can happen the other way too'
FionaRose says 'Also, it keeps us from studying the Word of God, because we have someone to tell us what to believe'
Cyto nods at FionaRose.
FionaRose says 'So then we can't get connected to Christ'
Cyto nods sagely at FionaRose.
Cyto nods sagely.
Cyto says 'This man's Doctrine we must be eager to spread'
Cyto says 'no our own'
Cyto says 'or anyone elses'
Cyto says 'though its not necessarily legalistic'
Cyto says 'you could have permissive doctrines too'
Cyto says 'that could also be problematic'
Cyto says 'how could that be?'
Cyto says 'the answer follows'
Cyto says 'whatever you let in'
Cyto says 'that is contrary to Christ'
Cyto says 'is Corrupt'
Cyto says 'it has some evil intention behind it'
Cyto says 'now a person could be well intentioned'
Cyto says 'but we don't battle with people'
Cyto says 'we battle with powers and principalities'
Cyto says 'and THEIR intention is NOT'
Cyto says 'good'
Cyto says 'nor will the result be'
Cyto says 'lets take an example of a doctrine that people can all go to heaven as long as their "good"'
Cyto says 'even if they don't believe in Chris'
Cyto says 'Christ'
Cyto says 'obvious problems with that'
Cyto says 'we will be less motivated to evangelize'
Cyto says 'men will not hear the Gospel'
Cyto says 'the Church will be preaching a lie'
Cyto says 'the youth will be poisoned against those who preach the truth thinking them too harsh'
Cyto says 'say the church will be divided in war as acrimonious as democrat vs. republican'
Cyto says 'people will think they understand everything'
Vayrim nods.
Cyto says 'they will get upset with tohers won disagree with them'
FionaRose says 'And worst of all, people will end up somewhere else than they expected'
Cyto says 'when you Go outside the will of God for your doctrine'
Vayrim nods at FionaRose.
Cyto says 'other things go out of place too'
Cyto says 'well when you start disobeying God'
Cyto says 'say it gets you out of tune with his Spirit'
Cyto says 'and the Spirit is what lets us maintain unity'
Cyto says 'and its interesting how'
Cyto says 'you can be INTIMATE with God'
Cyto says 'you can really feel that presence'
Cyto says 'but you let things go'
Cyto says 'and it fades'
Cyto says 'checking your spirit'
Cyto says 'praying'
Cyto says 'asking direction'
Cyto says 'that can keep us out of trouble'
Cyto says 'when we stop doing that, then our words and actions are in danger of causing division among the body of Christ'
Cyto says 'cuz we're not really interested in God's will or opinion anymore but our own'
Cyto says 'We have one Spirit'
Cyto says 'and that is what brings about unity'
Cyto says 'but if we let another spirit make our decisions, what effect is it?'
FionaRose says 'Dischord'
Cyto says 'we are unified under One Man's doctrine'
Cyto says 'and that doctrine is the one, that is perfect'
Cyto says 'it is planned from before the beginning of the universe to be for the best'
Cyto says 'for God is GOOD'
Cyto says 'as C.S. Lewis might put it'
Cyto says 'VERY GOOD, not Tame but VERY GOOD'
Cyto says 'omnisentient, omnipotent, so He planned, and we need to have faith, that His plan'
Cyto says 'whether or not it makes sense, according to Our understanding REALLY is GOOD'
Cyto says 'THE BEST GOOD'
Vayrim nods.
Cyto says 'Longsuffering, humility, gentleness, self-control'
Cyto says 'its all part of it'
Cyto says 'when we are humble and accept Christ's will'
Cyto says 'when we are longsuffering, and accept that it might take some time'
Cyto says 'that others may abuse us in the interim'
Cyto says 'that we may have lots of pain in this world'
Cyto says 'but its okay'
Cyto says 'we have self control'
Cyto says 'GOD control, we obey God anyway'
Cyto says 'because we know He's gooder than us'
Cyto says 'and smarter'
Cyto says '(humility)'
Cyto says 'well then things work out'
Cyto says 'its all part of one plan'
Cyto says 'one mind'
Cyto says 'one Body'
Cyto says 'one way of being'
Cyto says 'there's a certain way of being that Paul presents'
Cyto says 'its refreshing'
Cyto says '4:15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 4:16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together * by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.'
Cyto says 'how does that fit in?'
FionaRose says 'I would also add that it takes humility to admit when we aren't following God's will, and allow ourselves to be confronted and brought back into the true Spirit'
Cyto looks at FionaRose and proclaims 'Amen!'
Cyto says 'Right hard indeed'
Cyto says 'unpleasant'
Cyto says 'very necessary'
FionaRose says 'Which ties into speaking the truth with love :)'
Cyto nods at FionaRose.
Cyto says 'it also ties into not being doubleminded'