Ephesians has always been my favorite book in the New Testament. It must be the armor thing. That was always a great lesson in Seminary, FHE, Primary, even Gospel Doctrine. There\u2019s just something about being warriors for Christ.<\/p>\n
As I have grown in understanding of the gospel, I have learned to love Ephesians even more. Paul just has a way of bringing it home. He even broaches \u201cunpopular subjects\u201d, that we tend to skirt around in our time period.<\/p>\n
So, accept my take on this book\u2026with love.<\/p>\n
Paul starts off with this beautiful, clear statement: \u201cBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings\u2026\u201d Three beings in this sentence-God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, the spiritual revealer.<\/p>\n
In Ephesians 1:10, Paul talks about the dispensation of the fullness of times. Is he talking about us? According to Victor L. Ludlow, Paul is the only one who talks about dispensations. \u201cThe Greek word means oikonomia, describing the administration or stewardship of a household or group\u2026an extended family or large group working together under centralized leadership\u2026In a gospel dispensation, the prophetic leaders administer the spiritual affairs of the group\u2026As the group loses its cohesiveness, the dispensation comes to an end.\u201d (Principles and Practices of the Restored Gospel, p. 503). Paul is telling us that all of us, who accept Christ, will be gathered together, both in heaven and earth, in the last dispensation, into one big family unit.<\/p>\n
His discussion about mercy is beautiful.<\/p>\n
Then he gets into a sticky subject, about Gentiles being \u201coutsiders\u201d.\u00a0 Apparently, Outside of the temple, in Jerusalem, was the Court of the Gentiles. That\u2019s where all the moneychangers, sacrificial bird sellers, etc. hung out. Beyond that was a wall that protected the temple from outsiders. ONLY Jews could pass beyond this wall, lest the temple become unclean, unworthy, and completely spoiled.<\/p>\n
In 1871, one of the pillars, that held up this wall, was discovered. Inscribed in the pillar were these words, in Greek: \u201cNo man of another nation to enter within the fence and enclosure round the temple, and whoever is caught will have himself to blame that his death ensures.\u201d I guess they meant business.<\/p>\n
Well, this is the beautiful part. Christ broke down this wall when he suffered for our sins. By accepting Christ, and His gospel, we can all enter into our Heavenly Father\u2019s presence. \u201cNow therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.\u201d (Eph. 2:19)<\/p>\n
Christ is peace. He brought peace with Him, He invites us all into His peace. Eph. 4:5 says, \u201cOne Lord\u201d=whom we all worship, \u201cOne faith\u201d=the doctrine we espouse, \u201cOne baptism\u201d=the ordinances we practice. (Dallin H. Oaks, Foundation Principles and Ordinances Regional Representative Seminar, 1990)<\/p>\n
Jesus Christ, who descended below all things, will rise above all things; and take us up with Him. He who brought life and light into the world, He who deserved to suffer least, suffered most; for me. Paul hopes that we will all choose Christ, and His gospel, \u201cuntil we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God.\u201d (Eph. 4:13). To attain \u201cthe measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ\u201d, it \u201crequires far more than acquiring knowledge. It is not even enough for us to be convinced of the gospel; we must act and think so that we are converted by it. In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something.\u201d (Dallin H. Oaks, CR Oct. 2000).<\/p>\n
The word repent, in Greek is \u201cmetanoeo\u201d,\u00a0 a verb. \u201cThis powerful word has great significance. In this word, the prefix meta means \u201cchange.\u201d The suffix relates to four important Greek terms: nous, meaning \u201cthe mind\u201d; gnosis, meaning \u201cknowledge\u201d; Pneuma, meaning \u201cspirit\u201d; and pnoe, meaning \u201cbreath.\u201d Thus, when Jesus said \u201crepent\u201d, He asked us to change\u2014to change our mind, knowledge, and spirit-even our breath.\u201d King Benjamin said that to change one\u2019s breath is to breathe with grateful acknowledgment of Him who grants each breath. (Mosiah 2: 23-24) (Russell M. Nelson, CR Apr. 2006)<\/p>\n
This next part has many women questioning this very gospel, but I testify that this is what each of us MUST come to understand and accept in order to truly Come Unto Christ.<\/p>\n
Paul tells women to submit and obey their husbands. The very word \u201cobey\u201d means to \u201clisten under\u201d. In the temple, we see very clearly the line of authority, or rather the line of submission. Jesus submits to Heavenly Father as Adam submits to Jesus Christ. This order brings unity and oneness.<\/p>\n
Heber C. Kimball said, \u201cWhen a wife is obedient to her husband there is union, there is heaven, that is, there in one heaven, though it is a little one; and a righteous union is what will make a heaven. There are many kinds of sin, among which is the sin of confusion; and I tell you there is plenty of confusion in a family where each one wants to be head. Just look at it, what a heaven that is! We all have to make our heaven, or do without one.\u201d (Nov. 1856)<\/p>\n
The priesthood places upon the fathers the responsibility of being the head of the family and the home\u2026 Nowhere does the doctrine of this church declare that men are superior to women\u2026We holders of the priesthood should honor good women in and out of the Church as true sisters\u2026I believe that of the two parties in a male-female relationship, the bearer of the priesthood has the greater duty to see that the commandments of God, the standards of the Church, and parental authority are honored. Likewise, when male and female violate these commandments, I believe the priesthood holder is generally more blameworthy because he has been entrusted with the great, righteous power to act in the name of God. One who violates this trust demeans both this ultimate power and himself and seriously injures the woman who has his confidence.\u201d (James E. Faust, CR, Apr. 1988)<\/p>\n
As we humbly approach our Savior, he clothes us with His \u201carmor of light\u201d. As all things point to the temple, we now put on the Holy Robes of the Priesthood that mark us His.<\/p>\n
\u201cReal disciples absorb the fiery darts of the adversary by holding aloft the quenching shield of faith with one hand, while holding to the iron rod with the other (Eph. 6: 16, 1 Ne 15: 24, D&C 27: 17). There should be no mistaking, it will take both hands! (Neal A. Maxwell, CR Apr. 1987)<\/p>\n
Who doesn\u2019t love Bro. Maxwell\u2019s poetic voice? I leave you with one final meaty verbage from his lips.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the agonizing atoning process, Jesus let His will be \u2018swallowed up in the will of the Father.\u2019 (Mosiah 15: 7). As sovereigns, choosing to yield to the Highest Sovereign is our highest act of choice. It is the only surrender which is also a victory! The putting off of the natural man makes possible the putting on of the whole armor of God, which would not fully fit before! (Neal A. Maxwell, CR Apr. 2001).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This painting is called \u201cKing and Queen\u201d, and is by Mongolian sculptor, Sukhbaatar Badral<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ephesians has always been my favorite book in the New Testament. It must be the armor thing. That was always a great lesson in Seminary, FHE, Primary, even Gospel Doctrine. There\u2019s just something about being warriors for Christ. As I have grown in understanding of the gospel, I have learned to love Ephesians even more. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3209,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[425,13,12,6],"tags":[167,622,423],"class_list":["post-3206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","category-family","category-priesthood","category-scriptures","tag-covenants","tag-priesthood","tag-testimony"],"yoast_head":"\n