Ephesians Chapter 3
• Paul's ministry to Gentiles
• Paul's Mystery and Revelation
• Church to make Mystery Known
• Paul Prays the the church knows the mystery
January 1 - Evening
"Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." Genesis 1:26
The Creation of Man
God planned the creation of man and said,
“Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule.” Genesis 1:2
The word for image in Hebrew is tselem and the word for likeness is demuth. These two words are basically synonyms in the Old Testament (5:1; 9:6). Tselem refers to a shaped or fashioned figure or image. Some people have tried to interpret this word as referring the physical aspect of man. Demuth describes the abstract idea of something being similar to something else. This word has been used to try to identify the immaterial part of man. The combination of these two words is an attempt to communicate the complex nature of reproducing a replica of the eternal God in the created world. The focus of this verse is to introduce man as a unique creation made to be like God so as to be able to relate to God and interact with God in a very personal way. Human dignity comes from this very idea.
The image of God in man means several things:
- Man’s body is used to express the image and likeness of God that is in man.
Man does not simply live in a body – the body is part of the man and will be
resurrected as an eternal, spiritual body because man continues to exist for
eternity. - Living existence is part of man’s essential being. Since God is living, so is man.
Worship of stone and gold as an idol is therefore absurd. - The free will of man is like God’s free will in that man can use his intelligence and
his ability to make decisions to control the outcome of the world of which he was
given dominion. - Since the original man was like God, he could relate to, interact with, understand,
and be at peace with God himself.
Man was an instantaneous creation of God himself. Evolution is a false philosophical theory that will continue to be undermined by difficult and impossible scientific facts as technology and knowledge continue to advance. Scripture does not support evolution in the context of the biblical creation account. The Bible does not allow for man to evolve from the animals. It is very clear that Eve did not evolve since she was a second human creation of God. We can test the meaning of “dust” from Genesis 2:7 when it says “the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the earth.” Could this possibly be an allegorical reference to man’s evolving from an animal? The meaning of dust in the mind of the author is not allegorical, since in Genesis 3:19 Adam is told that when he die he will “return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” If dust were an allegorical reference to evolution from animals then men should be turning back into animals when they die. The very fact that men return to dust when they die is an unavoidable indicator that the early verses of Genesis are literal and not allegorical.
Sarx (Gr) - Flesh (Eng) - sarx is a Greek word for "flesh." Sarx is used by Paul to refer to three areas of the human experience:
- 37x to refer to the physical body of man (Rom. 2:28)
- 24 times to identify things that are human (Rom. 3:20)
- 27 times to refer to the evil human nature that is in mankind (Rom. 7:5)
Do I see other people as possessing the image of God?
Or, do I see other people as fallen sinners?
I will realize that all men have been marred by sin and are in need of redemption,
yet these same men retain and reflect the image of God they were given at creation.
Or, do I see other people as fallen sinners?
I will realize that all men have been marred by sin and are in need of redemption,
yet these same men retain and reflect the image of God they were given at creation.
Bible Reading Descriptions Here
Personal
Right words for the
right moment
right moment
Church
Increase Spiritual hunger
Nation
National Debt
World
Korean Peninsula tension between failing dictatorship and affluent democracy
A photo of the Kidron Valley looking south while standing on top of the Eastern Wall of Jerusalem. The Mt of Olives is rising of the left side of the photo. The Lions' Gate is just a little further down this wall with the Golden Gate being in front of the Dome of the Rock.
Notes from Ephesians 3 concerning Paul's ministry of the mystery of New Testament revelation to the Gentiles.
Someone to Quote
"There is nothing unscriptural in planning, although to hear some people talk today one would think there is. I fear that some are in danger of subscribing to a new form of 'the god of the gaps,' so that the Holy Spirit is only at work in the spontaneous and immediate."
- Melvin Tinker
Something to Ponder
Six biblical reasons may be given as to why the apostolic office is not for today:
- The church was founded upon the apostles (Eph. 2:20)… Their role was to give grounding, support, direction – to provide the underpinning for a fledgling church. They were the church’s founders. That role was fulfilled by them and by definition can never be repeated.
- Apostles were eyewitnesses to the resurrection (1 Cor. 9:1)… There is no trustworthy evidence that (Jesus) has appeared to anyone since the close of the apostolic era.
- Apostles were chosen personally by Jesus Christ (Mt. 10:1-4).
- Apostles were authenticated by miraculous signs (Ac. 3:3-11; 5:15-16; 9:36-42; 20:6-12; 28:1-6)… No such miracles were ever performed – even in the apostolic era – by anyone other than the apostles and those commissioned by them.
- Apostles had absolute authority (Jude 17)… When the apostles spoke, there was no discussion.
- Apostles have an eternal and unique place of honor (Rev. 21:14).
- John MacArthur
Here’s a Fact
It is interesting that even though mankind is considered an animal, there is a distinct difference in the fact that mankind has been conscious of a divine presence since the dawn of time. Animals show no ability to seek, honor, recognize or acknowledge the existence of a God, yet man shows that he was created with a natural understanding and desire to seek, honor, please, worship and receive strength from a higher power. Dogs don’t seek or believe in a super-dog, but men have always, and in every culture sought a super-being who was like they were, but infinite. In today’s Western world educators at higher levels are trying to intellectualize themselves and their students out of this consciousness of God and instead train men to think like animals.
Proverb
"My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them."
- Proverbs 1:10
Coach’s Corner
God supplies the power and ability, but we do the work and develop the gifts and ability.
Genesis 2
New International Version (NIV)
2 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Adam and Eve
4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”
24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
New International Version (NIV)
2 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Adam and Eve
4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”
24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
Genesis 3
New International Version (NIV)
The Fall
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
15
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
16 To the woman he said,
“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.
18
It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
19
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.
21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
New International Version (NIV)
The Fall
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
15
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
16 To the woman he said,
“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.
18
It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
19
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.
21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.