The apostasy has given the name “Holy Spirit” to the imaginary third person of their trinity, but in fact the Holy Spirit is God’s power, not a person. There is one Spirit and it sustains the universe, and this power of God has in the past been given to men.
Sadly, the Christian community did not remain united for long. Error was introduced into the body and many fell away from God’s truth into apostasy. A principal error, and now almost universally accepted, is to deny that there is “one God who is the Father of all and above all” v.6.Waiting for response for Ephesians 4:6 About three hundred years after the time of Christ, the pagan doctrine of the trinity was forced upon people by the Roman authorities who had adopted “Christianity” as the state religion. This false doctrine made Jesus a God and equal with his Father. To meet the objection that this denied the truth that God is one, they said the one God consisted of three persons - three in one and one in three! This is inexplicable but called “a mystery”. The truth, however, is simple. There is one God who is the Creator of the universe and over all. There is also one Lord v.5,Waiting for response for Ephesians 4:5 Jesus, who is certainly very great, being the Son of God, but he is also the son of Mary and subject to his Father as he himself declared John 5:30.Waiting for response for John 5:30 The apostasy has given the name “Holy Spirit” to the imaginary third person of their trinity, but in fact the Holy Spirit is God’s power, not a person. There is one Spirit v.4Waiting for response for Ephesians 4:4 and it sustains the universe, and this power of God has in the past been given to men.
The Holy Spirit was given to Jesus at his baptism, and he promised that the apostles would also receive it after he went to heaven. This was foretold in the Old Testament as Paul showed by quoting the Psalms v.8,Waiting for response for Ephesians 4:8 Psalm 68:18.Waiting for response for Psalm 68:18 They received the gifts of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost Acts 2:4Waiting for response for Acts 2:4 and they could pass the gifts on to other disciples. The principal gifts were those for teaching the truth, and are the only ones mentioned here by the apostle v.11.Waiting for response for Ephesians 4:11 These gifts were for the building up of the body of Christ which consisted of a great many disciples v.12Waiting for response for Ephesians 4:12 until it was mature (perfect) like an adult person. At first the church was like a child, easily blown away from the truth by false teaching, v.14Waiting for response for Ephesians 4:14 but the spirit gifts of wisdom and knowledge enabled the body to remain steadfast while it matured. These gifts were only to remain within the church “till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man” v.13.Waiting for response for Ephesians 4:13 By the end of the first century the gifts had been withdrawn and there has been no further inspired scriptures, no more knowledge sent from God, and no additions to the faith. Many claim to have the gifts today but can give no conclusive proof, as the apostles and first Christians could, and they rarely speak of the teaching gifts which were the most important ones.
The vital requirement for disciples in all ages is not the possession of Spirit gifts but the development of characters like Christ’s. True disciples have “learned Christ” v.20Waiting for response for Ephesians 4:20 and “been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus” v.21.Waiting for response for Ephesians 4:21 They do not live like other Gentiles v.17Waiting for response for Ephesians 4:17 who do not understand the truth v.18Waiting for response for Ephesians 4:18 and who devote themselves to their own desires (lasciviousness) v.19.Waiting for response for Ephesians 4:19 Rather, they become new people “created in righteousness and true holiness” v.24.Waiting for response for Ephesians 4:24 This is difficult to do because we are all subject to the sinful influences in our flesh. While there is no such person as the evil supernatural “devil” of popular superstition, there is the very strong “diabolos” (the word in the original Greek) which means “pierced through”, i.e. a very deadly enemy. It is mainly applied to the lust in our own sinful nature, the most deadly enemy, so the apostle exhorts us to give no place in our lives to this v.27.Waiting for response for Ephesians 4:27
Verses 2-6
Waiting for response for Ephesians 4:2-6Those who are called by the gospel are required to love one another, and to maintain unity in the truth, forming “one body”. Unity is an important concept for: “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all”.