Ephesians 1:2,3
Verse 2. Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Translation: Grace be to you, and peace, from God who is our Father and from his manifestation as the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
Translation: Blessed be the God who is the Spiritual Father of the flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has blessed us with spiritual blessings in heavenly places in himself, who is also our heavenly Father, in Spirit form (Isaiah 9:6, I Corinthians 10:4).
Ephesians 1:1-16
Let’s take a look at how Paul addresses the dual nature of God. One would have to always keep in mind that God is one. This will never change. In I Timothy 3:16. It says, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:……….This scripture goes on to explain that Jesus is God. The dual nature of God is a mystery to the carnal mind. However, to the spiritual mind and to the saint who believes in the oneness of God through revelation, it’s understandable.
Even though, I will explain this revelation to you, you will not get it if you don’t believe; for the scripture says, if this gospel is hid, it is hid to those that are lost. To understand Paul; here are some things we must keep in mind. God can;
1. Be in heaven and on earth at the same time. The Spirit of God always remained in heaven and yet that Spirit of God was in the body of Christ. This is the dual nature of God, human and divine. Same Spirit, same God. The Spirit of God can put himself in the body of Christ and declare that his glorified body has all power. (Colossians 1:14-19, 2:9, Matthew 28:18).
2. Reveal to us that all of his Spiritual power is now revealed in the body of Christ (Hebrews 1:1-3, 8). God made sure in these scriptures that we understand that His Spiritual form has taken on a glorified body. When we see the true God, he will appear as Jesus Christ (I John 5:20, Revelation 1:8, 11, 22:13). Then the Jews will mourn and weep because they did not recognize God, the Messiah, in his human form. Guess what? A number of Christians have not recognized Jesus as the One and only true God in his human form. On that special day appointed by the Lord, all nations will bow and recognize Jesus is the Lord God of heaven and of earth (Ephesians 3:9, 4:4-6, Isaiah 45:21-23, Philippians 2:10-11)
3. Have a name that has always been eternal (infinite). The prophets didn’t know God’s highest and eternal name (John 1:1, 3, 10, I Corinthians 10:4). The body of Jesus Christ was limited, it had a beginning (finite) and it had a human death. God put the infinite (name) and the finite (body) together. Therefore, there is one body, one person, and one name. It is a great mystery how God performed this miracle (John 14:6-11, I Timothy 3:16).
4. Show a distinction between the Spirit of God and the flesh of God so that we could understand, by revelation, what God was doing and how his manifestations were used to save man from his sins. God had to beget a lamb, and that lamb would be himself, God’s own flesh. (Acts 20:28, Revelation 1:5). The scriptures talk about the Father as “the Spirit” and it talks about the “Son” Jesus Christ as God’s fleshly manifestation (the Messiah). One God, dual nature – not two or three persons in one God. As aforementioned, God can be in heaven and on earth at the same time.
In light of this understanding, Paul said in verse 2. Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Translation: Grace and peace from the Spirit of God, the Father, even his fleshly manifestation (the Son) which we have seen here on earth
Verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,……
Translation:
Blessed be the Heavenly Spirit, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who manifested himself to us in the form of Jesus Christ.
Verse 4. God tells us that we were chosen in Jesus Christ (God’s eternal name) before the foundation of the world and we should be holy and without blame before him (Jesus Christ).
Verse 5-9. It was a pleasure for him (the Spirit) to adopt us to himself by the blood of Jesus Christ, His fleshly manifestation because our adoption was predestined.
Ephesians 1:10-23
Jesus returns to heaven as a Spiritual being. Paul is revealing to us that Jesus Christ who was raised from the dead has been elevated back into his Spiritual form as the Father and that Jesus Christ is the head of the church and all principalities, powers and dominions. Paul understood who Jesus was and he expounded on this fact on every occasion he was allowed to preach. The revelation of Jesus, as preached by Paul, is the understanding that not only was Jesus the Son of God in the flesh but he was God himself. The chief cornerstone (Matthew 28:18, Isaiah 9:6, I Timothy 3:16, Revelation 1:8, 22:13).
Ephesians 2:20-22
Jesus Christ is the chief corner stone. The gospel of salvation is built on the foundation of Christ, the Rock and chief corner stone, which was laid by the apostles (Acts 2:38-42). The sure foundation of salvation is being born again, by repentance, baptism in Jesus name and the reception of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ, God himself is the chief corner stone;……..Isaiah 28:16.
In Isaiah 28:16, God says that he is the corner stone and a sure foundation. Therefore, God’s name is Jesus Christ who is the chief corner stone and the sure foundation. There is only one God, whose name is Jesus Christ, and God has said in his Word that he doesn’t know of any other God besides himself (Isaiah 43:10, 44:8). If God doesn’t know of any other gods, why would we say that he is three persons? Paul learned that Jesus is God by revelation.
Ephesians 3:3-5, 9-11, 14-15
Paul learned that Jesus was God by revelation. Paul had told the saints about his revelation on more than one occasion. The revelation and mystery of Christ was only revealed to the apostles and the prophets by the Holy Spirit. The mystery that Jesus is God and that he created all things has been hidden from the beginning of the world (I Corinthians 8:6, John 1:10,14, Colossians 1:13-19). Let’s look at what Paul is saying in verse 14. Paul is bowing his knees to the Heavenly Spirit of the fleshly body – for it is the Spirit which begot the body. One Father, one Spirit, one body, one God. The whole heavenly family is named Jesus Christ. There is no other name under heaven whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12, Philippians 2:6, 10-11, Colossians 2:8-10).
Ephesians 4:4-6
Let’s take a look at how everything revolves around the name and body of Jesus Christ. There is one body and one Person in the Godhead (Colossians 1:19, 2:8-10, Hebrews 1:3). The Lord Jesus Christ is One Spirit - The Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Jesus Christ is in us (John 14:17) One Lord - Jesus Christ is Lord (Luke 2:11).
One faith - The apostles’ (Apostolic) faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 2:42, Ephesians 2:20).
One baptism -The baptism in Jesus name/Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38, review the entire book of Acts).
One God - Jesus Christ (I John 5:20, Revelation 1:8, 22:13)
One Father – Jesus Christ (Isaiah 9:6, John 14:9)
Who is above all things – Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:9-11, Colossiana 1:12-19).
Through all and in you all - The Holy Spirit is Jesus Christ in us and it holds the universe together. We have to rightly divide the Word to understand what God is saying. For example; look at how Jesus presents the Church to himself.
Ephesians 5:27
Jesus presents the Church to himself. There are times when we read the scriptures and we don’t get the full understanding of what we are reading. Look at this scripture closely. We know that Jesus Christ is our mediator who died for our sins and he will present the Church to God, holy and without blemish. Knowing the revelation that Jesus is the Almighty God, we can understand the statement that “Jesus will present the Church to himself.” In other words, Jesus Christ will present the Church to himself because he is the Almighty God of heaven and earth in body and Spirit (dual nature)(II Corinthians 5:19). Paul always spoke boldly about the mystery and Deity of Jesus Christ and he knew that everyone would not see it nor understand the mystery of God and the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 6:19
Paul speaks boldly about the mystery of the gospel. The mystery that Paul spoke of was that Jesus Christ, God himself, was crucified and shed his own blood for our sins (Acts 20:28). And that we are washed in the blood by “baptism In Jesus name” and our faith is in the operation of God through Jesus Christ, the God of heaven and earth (I Timothy 3:16). Paul spoke of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 6:23-24
God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. One many occasions Paul would give honor to the Heavenly Spirit and God’s fleshly manifestation. Paul was always trying to explain to the saints that through revelation, he could understand how God could be in heaven and on earth in the form of Jesus Christ at the same time. Paul had no problem understanding this mystery of God. Paul always knew there was one God who changed himself into a man. Therefore, Paul gave homage to the dual nature of God – The Spiritual and the Human nature. Even in the book of Philippians we see that Paul taught the same thing.
This is an edited excerpt from my book, "Understanding the Trinity, Three Persons vs Three Manifestations. To order call 1-888-280-7715
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