To Be One in Christ: We Have Treasure in the Jars of Clay (6)-3

To Be One in Christ: We Have Treasure in the Jars of Clay -- the Series of Explanation and Analysis of Scripture (6)-3

The Explanation and Analysis of the Verses of Chapter 3 in EPHESIANS

“that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. ” ( EPHESIANS 3:3-6 )

The mystery of the Gospel is that the believers to be one in Christ.

After the believers were reborn, they receive the Holy Spirit of Christ to dwell in. Christians should deny oneself and let Christ be in charge of our lives and let Christ’s life shown in us so that to be one in Christ.

This is the mystery of the Gospel, and also the essence and core of the Gospel truth:

For to me, to live is Christ(Php 1:21). And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit(2Co 3:18). We shall be like him(1Jo 3:2). Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us(1Jo 3:24). Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test? (2Co13:5) But we have this treasure (-- dwelling-in Christ) in jars of clay(2Co 4:7). But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did(1Jo 2:5-6). I no longer live, but Christ lives in me(Gal 2:20). Christ(, who) is your life(Col 3:4). He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life(1Jo 5:12). You are of Christ(1Co 3:23). You are in me (Christ), and I (Christ) am in you (Joh 14:20). I (Christ) in them and you (heavenly Father) in me (Christ) (Joh 17:23). God want us to be brought to complete unity in Christ.

“To Be One in Christ” is the will of God for the new creation (Gal 6:15; Eph 2:15) -- Christians. Many believers do not know that after they are “righteous through faith” and reborn, for sure, every one of them received the Holy Spirit of Christ to dwell in themselves. However, sometimes even for some of them who feel the joy and their consciences are sharper than before, they don’t know what is that about. It results in the very slow change of one’s life, even remaining at the stage of babyhood. There are some others who only pursuing speaking in tongue and the special feeling of the bodies, and become a malpractice.

The Holy Spirit of Christ is surely in every Christian. The problem is that those who are willing to let the Spirit of Christ take the charge, are few. Therefore, some often doubt whether one self is reborn or not; and doubt whether the Holy Spirit of Christ dwells in one self or not, because it seems that they do not feel anything special. It is actually because the faith of the old selves are often weak and the old selves are not willing to deny one self and give up the ownership completely. The treasure is wrapped thick and tight in the jars of clay and no light appears. Other on-lookers could see nothing but the jars of clay.

The true spiritual men who are saved completely are the minority. Now and then, there are some who are even called “spiritual-great-man”. Actually, being really filled up with the Holy Spirit is: having true faith in Christ, having a desire heart, denying oneself completely; and from your life and behavior, others can see the likeness of Christ.

Being filled up with the fruit of Spirit to be one in Christ is the mystery of will of God for us. Men who are one in Christ are the new mankind.

A message from the Holy Spirit. All thanks, praises and glories be to God!

“ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ”

What we show outwardly are based on what we are inwardly; Whether our “inner being” is strong or weak, will determine whether our testimonies in life are good or bad. To make the inner being strong, one need to let the Holy Spirit be in charge of one’s life inside and work on him. In this way, the man will be strong. If the inner being is strong, one will have the power to overcome the tests and live in accordance to Holy Spirit, and become a spiritual man. The way of a Christian to deal with the difficulties is not about how to act, but about to deal with our spiritual situation first, that is, to let Christ take the charge of our life and through Holy Spirit to enhance our capabilities.

“ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,”

Faith is a touch on the spiritual facts inward. Our faith is the basis that Christ take charge of and control our life in us. Only when the inner being is strong(Eph 3:16), one will have strong faith. Only for those who have strong faith, LORD can dwell in them and take the charge of their life completely.

Faith also makes us believe that “Christ dwells in our hearts”. This is a fact, but not a slogan. Those who lack faith could never believe this fact.

We are built by God (1Co 3:9). We must be in love to be rooted and established; and this love results from Christ’s dwelling in our hearts.

True love comes from God. Only those who let Christ dwell in their hearts forever, will have a trustworthy and deep love. Without Christ, it is impossible for us to love those we regard as unlovable.

Faith and love are the conditions that we experience Christ; to know Christ requires faith; to enjoy Christ requires love. Faith is before love, but is not the root and foundation of love; for Christ Himself is the root and foundation of our love.

When we believe in LORD, He entered into us already. However, we must continually leave a room in our hearts everyday in order that He fills in every corner in us. The secret to gain power is in our life, to have Christ dwell in us; or to let Christ be in charge of everything in our life.

It is edited and compiled under the guidance of Holy Spirit. All thanks, praises and glories be to God!

EPHESIANS 3:1 “ For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles-- ”

(NOTES)

“For this reason ”:

shows that this verse is related to the truth in the previous two chapters.

“for the sake of you Gentiles”:

shows that the reason that he became the prisoner is because he preached Gospel to the gentiles.

“the prisoner of Christ Jesus ”:

shows that he became the prisoner for the sake of Christ. From the outside, it seems that Paul was a prisoner in the prison of Rome; however, Paul regarded himself as the prisoner of Christ Jesus and he is willing to lose his freedom for Christ.

Paul implies here that as long as we the believers see the true meaning that he was a prisoner and look at it with a proper attitude, we will see the glory of a Christian life.

EPHESIANS 3:2 “ Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you,”

(NOTES)

“the administration of God's grace ”:

“grace” is that in Christ, God let people enjoy His unsearchable riches. Therefore, “the administration of God's grace ” refers to the work of those who are faithful to administer the riches of Christ and also benefit the average believers with the grace of enjoying Christ.

This whole verse shows that Paul is the one entrusted by God to share God’s grace with the believers of gentiles.

EPHESIANS 3:3 “ that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. ”

(NOTES)

“revelation”:

that is, God reveal the mystery which was hidden before to let people know about it.

“the mystery ”:

refers to the will hidden in God. “the mystery” refers to “the mystery of Christ” (Eph 3:4). “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” (Eph 3:6)

(LIGHT IN WORDS)

(1) This verse tells us that the mystery has been revealed and men can know it now (Eph 3:6).

EPHESIANS 3:4 “ In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, ”

(NOTES)

“the mystery of Christ”:

The mystery of God is Christ (Col 2:2); this mystery is that the believers (Eph 3:6), all things (Eph 1:9-10) are one in Christ. This mystery is explained in details in (Eph 3:6): “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.”

EPHESIANS 3:5 “ which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. ”

(NOTES)

“in other generations ”:

the generations before the New Testament.

“which was not made known to men ”:

this does not mean that God never mentioned the mystery of Christ to men in the ages of the Old Testament ( in the Old Testament, there are many prophecies and typology about Christ). Here, it means that it was never be shown so obviously and be revealed so completely.

“now”:

refers to the age of the New Testament.

“has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets.”:

“holy apostles” refer to those who are sent by God. “prophets” refer to those who speak for God. God revealed all the truth of the New Testament to the apostles and prophets. After the book of REVELATION, God’s revelation was complete; no one can add anything or take words away from it any more (Rev 22:18-19).

(LIGHT IN WORDS)

(1) “apostles and prophets” imply that this mystery is not only revealed to Paul such that other apostles and prophets did not know about it.

(2) Unless from the revelation of God, we can not know the mystery of God. Therefore, we should pray and ask God to give us “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation” (Eph 1:17).

(3) God revealed this mystery to us. It is not for us to have the spiritual pride, but to make us preach it to others so that they will also know this mystery, share in it and work with God until the will of God fulfilled on us.

EPHESIANS 3:6 “ This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.”

(NOTES)

“heirs together with ”:

indicates that in Christ, the believers are adopted as the sons and could have the rights to inherit the Father’s possession.

“members together of one body”:

indicates that in Christ, the believers are one body of Christ.

“For it is said, "The two will become one flesh." But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. ” (1Co 6:16-17)

“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself?” (1Co 6:15)

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ” (1Co 6:19)

“sharers together in the promise ”:

indicates that in Christ, God promised every spiritual blessing to God’s children.

(LIGHT IN WORDS)

(1) After the believers were reborn, they receive the Holy Spirit of Christ to dwell in. Christians should deny oneself and let Christ be in charge of our life and let Christ’s life shown in us so that to be one in Christ.

(2) This is the mystery of Gospel and also the essence and core of the whole truth of Gospel:

For to me, to live is Christ(Php 1:21). And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit(2Co 3:18). We shall be like him(1Jo 3:2). Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us(1Jo 3:24). Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test? (2Co13:5) But we have this treasure (-- dwelling-in Christ) in jars of clay(2Co 4:7). But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did(1Jo 2:5-6). I no longer live, but Christ lives in me(Gal 2:20). Christ(, who) is your life(Col 3:4). He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life(1Jo 5:12). You are of Christ(1Co 3:23). You are in me (Christ), and I (Christ) am in you (Joh 14:20). I (Christ) in them and you (heavenly Father) in me (Christ) (Joh 17:23). God want us to be brought to complete unity in Christ.

(3) “To Be One in Christ” is the will of God for the new creation (Gal 6:15; Eph 2:15) -- Christians. Many believers do not know that after they are “righteous through faith” and reborn, for sure, every one of them received the Holy Spirit of Christ to dwell in themselves. However, sometimes even for some of them who feel the joy and their consciences are sharper than before, they don’t know what is that about. It results in the very slow change of one’s life, even remaining at the stage of babyhood. There are some others who only pursuing speaking in tongue and the special feeling of the bodies, and become a malpractice.

(4) The Holy Spirit of Christ is surely in every Christian. The problem is that those who are willing to let the Spirit of Christ take the charge, are few. Therefore, some often doubt whether one self is reborn or not; and doubt whether the Holy Spirit of Christ dwells in one self or not, because it seems that they do not feel anything special. It is actually because the faith of the old selves are often weak and the old selves are not willing to deny one self and give up the ownership completely. The treasure is wrapped thick and tight in the jars of clay and no light appears. Other on-lookers could see nothing but the jars of clay.

(5) The true spiritual men who are saved completely are the minority. Now and then, there are some who are even called “spiritual-great-man”. Actually, being really filled up with the Holy Spirit is: having true faith in Christ, having a desire heart, denying oneself completely; and from your life and behavior, others can see the likeness of Christ.

(6)Being filled up with the fruit of Spirit to be one in Christ is the mystery of will of God for us. Men who are one in Christ are the new mankind.

EPHESIANS 3:7 “ I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power.”

(NOTES)

“servant of this gospel ”:

refers to one who serve and preach the Gospel to others for the sake of others.

“the gift of God's grace”:

God give Himself to us which is the grace; God give us freely all kinds of spiritual gifts which is the gift.

“the working of his power”:

There is the power of resurrection working in the life that God give us. The working of the power produces the spiritual gifts.

EPHESIANS 3:8 “ Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, ”

(NOTES)

“less than the least of all God's people”:

extremely little, that is, it is not because he has any qualification that make him receive the special grace.

“the unsearchable riches of Christ”:

The riches in Christ is unsearchable for men.

(LIGHT IN WORDS)

(1) The central message of the Gospel is LORD Christ Himself.

(2) The Gospel is not bits and pieces of the truth about Christ. The glorious Gospel of God is the infinitely rich Christ Himself.

(3) Men’s knowledge and intelligence can not catch up with the revelation of God. The riches of Christ are unsearchable and beyond tracing out; men can not understand by themselves at all.

(4) The riches of Christ have no limit and never dry up. No matter how much we draw continuously from it, His riches are the same as the beginning.

EPHESIANS 3:9 “ and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. ”

(NOTES)

“make plain to everyone ”:

enlighten men to get the revelations.

“this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God”:

Before the creation of this world, God had a plan that He will get a group of people with the likeness of His Son to be the children of God and to be one in Christ so that to show Christ. However, this plan was hidden in God and was unknown to all the creations. Therefore, it was a hidden mystery.

“the administration ”:

God have the arrangement and administration in the universe, that is, to accomplish the mystery originally hidden in Him.

The mystery of “to be one in Christ” is unknown to the people in the ages of the Old Testament. Now it is proclaimed through the apostles so that to enlighten people to understand how this mystery hidden for ages are carried out step by step.

EPHESIANS 3:10 “ His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, ”

(NOTES)

“the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms”:

refer to the angels of all classes and ranks in the heavenly realms, might also include the devil and its angels. The church arranged by God is not only shown to the worldly people, but also shown to all kinds of angels (1Co 4:9; 11:10).

“the manifold wisdom of God”:

God’s wisdom is extremely abundant. This chapter mentions about God’s plan to church which is to show the rich wisdom of God.

(LIGHT IN WORDS)

(1) The church is an instrument of God on the earth. Through the church, not only the sinners on the earth get saved from her work and her declaration of Christ, even the angels in the heaven understand through her the manifold wisdom of God.

(2) God want people “now” know His manifold wisdom in church. Therefore, the church should be built up now on the earth, not wait till the future to show the glory.

(3) The church now on the earth is the household of God on the earth. Therefore, we must not regard the church now as the ordinary place.

(4) Here, using the word of “manifold” to describe the wisdom of God indicates that the wisdom and grace of God are incomparably rich.

EPHESIANS 3:11 “ according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. ”

(NOTES)

“according to his eternal purpose ”:

refers to the plan prepared by God before the creation of the world, or the eternal plan of God.

“in Christ Jesus our Lord”:

indicates that the plan was made in Christ, in another word, the plan is put into effects in Christ.

EPHESIANS 3:12 “ In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. ”

(NOTES)

“In him and through faith in him”:

The plan prepared by God is so profound, while we can share in it in LORD Jesus, what a grace it is!

“with freedom”:

There is no worries to be rejected and no bindings. It implies that one is free from the wick thoughts that hinder the prayers. In a word, there is no any kind of bindings, doubts and worries.

“with … confidence”:

indicates that in Christ, we are confident that we are accepted by God.

“approach God ”:

implies that we have received the special rights. Knowing that He will accept us and be pleased to have us come to Him, we will approach Him with freedom and confidence.

(LIGHT IN WORDS)

(1)The true faith is based on one thing, that is, through Christ Himself. He is the basis of our faith and also the object of our faith.

(2) We have rights to approach God. It is not because of ourselves, but because Christ brought us in front of God. Unless through our savior Jesus Christ, we can not pray to and approach God.

(3) The only way that we are confident to come to God, is that we know the Son of God bore our sins on the cross and was punished for our transgressions.

(4) We approached God with freedom and confidence. We must not rely on our feelings and emotions which are not reliable at all; what we can only rely on is Christ Himself and the salvation accomplished by Him.

(5) Paul come to God with freedom and confidence to kneel before Him (Eph 3:14). This remind us that “with freedom” does not mean shamelessly; “with confidence” does not mean rashly; and we absolutely do not come to God impolitely and shamelessly.

(6) Although we have the rights to come to God, it does not mean that we come to almighty God with chin up and chest out. We should walk humbly and realize that this is an extremely huge privilege.

EPHESIANS 3:13 “ I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.”

(NOTES)

“therefore”:

shows that the following verse is the conclusion of the previous verses.

“not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you”:

Paul said that he was the prisoner, for he got the revelation on the mystery of God and preached on Gospel. Therefore, they should not be discouraged.

“which are your glory”:

The believers who share in the sufferings for the will of God show and glorify God(1Pe 4:14-16).

(LIGHT IN WORDS)

(1) The ministries of Christ are destined to share in the “sufferings” of Christ. However, the sufferings are the glories, for it shows that he indeed has been united with Christ being crucified on the cross.

(2) When a servant of God is in the sufferings, and if it was regarded as a shame by other believers, it will make the servant of God feel most painful.

EPHESIANS 3:14 “ For this reason I kneel before the Father,”

(NOTES)

“For this reason ”:

shows that it continues the preceding text about God’s mystery of church.

“I kneel before the Father”:

“Father” implies that: (1) He is the source for us; (2) We were born from God.

“kneel” shows the humble and sincere attitude.

EPHESIANS 3:15 “ from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. ”

(NOTES)

“his whole family in heaven and on earth”:

those that God have created and give birth to are His whole family.

“from whom … derives its name.”:

“derives its name” means “is named”. All the created are named by the Creator; all that are born are named by the One who give the birth. “from whom … derives its name.” also implies that “from whom receives blessings” , for the blessings included in the name.EPHESIANS 3:16 “ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ”

(NOTES)

“glorious riches ”:

glory is the appearance of God; God show His rich glories through the whole family in the heaven and on the earth.

“out of his glorious riches ”:

God work on us out of His glorious riches.

“through his Spirit ”:

His Spirit is Holy Spirit who has the power of life. God work in the believers through the Holy Spirit so that the believers have the spiritual experience.

“power … in your inner being”:

“inner being” refers to the new life living in the spirit after the rebirth of the believers. It is part of one’s inner being and spiritual being, including the mind, thoughts, spirit of the renewed man. And this man is in Christ.

“strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being”:

The spiritual life of the believers are often weak due to the immatureness, and need to grow up to be strong.

(LIGHT IN WORDS)

(1) What we show outwardly are based on what we are inwardly; Whether our “inner being” is strong or weak, will determine whether our testimonies in life are good or bad.

(2) To make the inner being strong, one need to let the Holy Spirit be in charge of one’s life inside and work on him. In this way, the man will be strong.

(3) If the inner being is strong, one will have the power to overcome the tests and live in accordance to Holy Spirit, and become a spiritual man.

(4) Whatever is lacking in our inner being, God will grant it to us abundantly according to His nature.

(5) The prayers of Paul are: (1) absolutely spiritual: what he cared about was the spiritual situation of the believers, but not the material enjoyment. (2) detailed: his prayers are not empty and general, but are detailed with content in the prayers.

(6) The way of a Christian to deal with the difficulties is not about how to act, but about to deal with our spiritual situation first, that is, to let Christ take the charge of our life and through Holy Spirit to enhance our capabilities.

EPHESIANS 3:17 “ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,”

(NOTES)

“through faith”:

Faith is a touch on the spiritual facts inward. Our faith is the basis that Christ take charge of and control our life in us.

“dwell in your hearts ”:

that is, take the charge and has the authority in your mind. “hearts” in the Bible, usually refer to the center of a man, and not only indicate the part of emotion, but also include mind, thoughts and will. “hearts” could be called the castle of the soul.

“being rooted and established in love”:

“being rooted” implies that we are planted by God; “being established” implies we are built by God (1Co 3:9). We must be in love to be rooted and established; and this love results from Christ’s dwelling in our hearts.

(LIGHT IN WORDS)

(1) Only when the inner being is strong(Eph 3:16), one will have strong faith. Only for those who have strong faith, LORD can dwell in them and take the charge of their life completely.

(2) Faith and love are the conditions that we experience Christ; to know Christ requires faith; to enjoy Christ requires love.

(3) Faith is before love, but is not the root and foundation of love; for Christ Himself is the root and foundation of our love.

(4) Faith also makes us believe that “Christ dwells in our hearts”. This is a fact, but not a slogan. Those who lack faith could never believe this fact.

(5) Paul did not pray for us to have more love. Since whoever are the children of God, have love more or less.

(6) Our problem is that our love does not have root and foundation. Love without root and foundation is not reliable and varies with the time.

(7) Love with root and foundation can endure the tests. If the love is not tested, it is hard to tell whether the love is true or false, a fact or a slogan. Have we been tested on our love?

(8) The root and foundation are deep and primary. For the testimonies of church, we can’t have only the shallow and superficial love.

(9) True love comes from God. Only those who let Christ dwell in their hearts forever, will have a trustworthy and deep love. Without Christ, it is impossible for us to love those we regard as unlovable.

(10) When we believe in LORD, He entered into us already. However, we must continually leave a room in our hearts everyday in order that He fills in every corner in us.

(11) The secret to gain power is in our life, to have Christ dwell in us; or to let Christ be in charge of everything in our life.

EPHESIANS 3:18 “ may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,”

(NOTES)

“together with all the saints, to grasp … the love of Christ”:

the love of LORD is boundless and immeasurable. If only based on our individual experience, what we can grasp are quite limited; therefore, we must grasp the love of Christ together with all the saints.

“to grasp”:

to understand from heart.

“how wide and long and high and deep ”:

These are four measurements about the love of Christ: the extension is the widest, to all the nations on earth (Mat 5:45); the duration is the longest, is everlasting (Jer 31:3); the degree is the deepest, is deeper than the sins and pains of the mankind (Rom 8:35); the nature is the highest, is higher than the heaven (Psa 103:11).

EPHESIANS 3:19 “ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

(NOTES)

“know this love that surpasses knowledge”:

Our knowledge is only a little and quite limited; while the love of Christ surpasses knowledge, it is beyond the understanding and imagination of men’s thoughts. However, when we experience Christ in reality, we can get to know this love.

“all the fullness of God”:

indicates the overall power, strength and nature of God.

(LIGHT IN WORDS)

(1) Only when we see clearly that we are poor in love and be truly humble, we will have all the fullness of God fill us up.

(2) The believers should live a life filled with the fullness of God. However, nowadays, quite a few believers don’t show the fullness of God from them.

EPHESIANS 3:20 “ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,”

(LIGHT IN WORDS)

(1) The secret of a Christian to live a life is “all his energy, which so powerfully works in me” (Col 1:29). God’s power working in us is living power. If we obey and follow it, there will be immeasurably powerful effects.

(2) God do not let us sit still without moving a finger, but let us do according to His power that is at work within us, and through His mighty power to accomplish.

(3) We should ask or imagine something first so that we will be given something beyond what we ask and imagine.

(4) When we come to LORD, not only we should ask and imagine, but also what we ask should not be the smooth circumstance, what we imagine should not be the worldly joy and pleasure, but should be the spiritual achievement and the motive for the work.

(5) One who is spiritually undisciplined and careless absolutely can not withdraw the promise in this verse.

EPHESIANS 3:21 “ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

(NOTES)

“in the church and in Christ Jesus ”:

shows the unity between the church and Christ.

“to him be glory ”:

God being glorified “in the church” indicates that God are shown from all the saints. When people see the church, they will see God and give glories to God. While God being glorified “in Christ” indicates not only the church -- for Christ is the head of church, but also all things -- for in Christ Jesus, God show His glories through all things (Rom 1:20).

“for ever and ever! Amen.”:

This is about God are glorified: in terms of time, not only in the ages of church, but for ever and ever; in terms of space, not only church, but also all things. Therefore, without limit in time and space, all the glories be to God.

Reference:

1. Jiale Huang: “Christians’ Digest of the Scripture Analysis Series”.