Ephesians 3 NIV: “Christ” and king imposed on Jesus

 Word study

Christ 15: Christian 0; body of – 1; mystery of – 1;

Church 2;

Gentiles 4:

Gift 2:

Glory 2: your – 1; to him be – 1; - in the church 1; (last 2 in the same phrase)

God 13:

Gospel 2:

Grace 4: God’s – 2; this – 1; - as Christ apportioned it 1;

Holy 3: God’s -apostles and prophets 1; - people 1; - Spirit of God 1;

Israel 1:

Jesus 5: Christ – 4; Jesus Christ 0;

Jews 0:

Lord 6: Christ Jesus our – 1; the – 4; the Lord’s 2; - people 1; - holy people 1;

Love 6: -of Christ 1; the truth in – 1:

Me 3: made known to – 1; Grace given to -1; grace that was given to - 1;

My 2: - insight 1; - sufferings 1;

Mystery 4:

Pagan 0:

Prisoner 2:

Revealed 1: Revelation 1:

Spirit 5:

 

Words in grey highlight come from thoughts that seem boastful by Paul.

 

[Lessening Jesus to “anointed one& king” may be humankind’s greatest tragedy:  If so, it can be corrected. Human-beings can& may accept the mysterious Jesus, continually pursue Jesus’ guidance, and continuously offer Jesus’s presence. Also, see essay about human duty, from Genesis 1, at the end of this study.]

Ephesians 3 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus [a Jew] for the sake of you Gentiles [non-Jews]— [In 1 Corinthians, Paul addresses “pagans”.]

² Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, ³ that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation [evidence does not comport to revelation], as I have already written briefly. ⁴ In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ [The mystery of Jesus addresses the mystery of God. See John 1:1, for example.], ⁵ which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. [The Spirit reveals what neither God nor Jesus reveals? Really? I don’t think so.] 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. [I doubt Jesus affirms this use of his name, and do not recommend the competition over “messiah” and kingship.]

⁷ I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. ⁸ Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, [What about the pagans?] 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. [The-God makes everything plain to humankind: See Genesis 1:26-28.]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, [This seems extremely against Genesis 1:26-28 which wills that humankind rule the earth, leaving the heavens to mystery.] ¹¹ according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord [This definition gets muddied elsewhere, for example, Holy Spirit effecting action.]. ¹² In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence [I prefer humility.]. ¹³ I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory. [Glory in Paul instead of Jesus?]

¹⁴ For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith [Does Christ compete with Jesus?]. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ [I wonder how Jesus feels about neglect of his name.], ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. [Practice Genesis 1:26-28?]

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, ²¹ to him be glory in the church [Why in the church?] and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 4

4 As a prisoner [Not according to Genesis 1:26-28 NIV.] for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ² Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God [the-God] and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

⁷ But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. ⁸ This is why it [or God] says:

“When he ascended on high,
    he took many captives
    and gave gifts to his people.” [Psalm 68:18] [To all who listen to Genesis 1:26-28 NIV.]

⁹ (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? ¹⁰ He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) ¹¹ So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. [How does Jesus feel each time this is read?]

¹⁴ Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. [For example, imposing “Christ” on Jesus.] ¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love [I prefer to converse in appreciation.], we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. [I caution Paul that Jesus may not approve of Pau’s imposition of “Christ”. I know it’s a stretch to imagine I could influence Paul. IDK] ¹⁶ From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. [The-civic-Jesus influenced the past, influences the present, and together past& present influence the future to “ourselves and our Posterity”, quoting the U.S. Constitution.]

¹⁷ So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles [non-Jews] do, in the futility of their thinking. ¹⁸ They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. ¹⁹ Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

²⁰ That, however, is not the way of life you learned ²¹ when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. ²² You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³ to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created to be like God [Genesis 1:26] in true righteousness and holiness [Moreover, opportunity, power, energy, and authority in the-God’s likeness yet facing death.].

²⁵ Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. ²⁶ “In your anger do not sin” [Psalm 4:4]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷ and do not give the devil a foothold. ²⁸ Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. [These are civic instructions more than spiritual.]

²⁹ Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. [Listening is a key to civic-integrity.] ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. [I advocate this thought in total humility to the-God. However, I accept that, according to Genesis 1, I am already in the likeness of God. Therefore, I fear not my afterdeath, that vast time after my body, my mind, and Phil Beaver stop functioning.] ³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. [Without objection, I caution Paul not to slight Jesus by citing the anointed one and king in English adaptation of the Greek “o’xhristos”. I think Jesus is no anointed one and king: he may be the-God.]

The importance of Genesis 1, a 5,500 year old Mesopotamian political philosophy:

[I apply Genesis-1-NIV perspective to Bible interpretation. I think Genesis 1:26-28 NIV, in the-civic-Jesus-messages (CJM), given each 1) mysterious-Jesus, offering appreciation to human being (verb) and 2) Jesus’s “my peace”, suggests that:  Human male unites-to female human-being (noun) and their spouse-hood can& may pursue comprehensive-safety& security to the living species and to the earth (SECURITY). Every person can& may accept personal duty to SECURITY. Some persons neglect, partially or wholly, mysterious-Jesus-appreciation, Jesus-peace& SECURITY-duty.

I call Genesis-1-NIV’s message, “responsible-human-independence” or RHI. Some human-beings throughout history practice, facilitate& encourage RHI; for example, Jesus exemplified RHI. From the past, RHI-individuals guide us and non-RHI-persons warn of error. I think the-civic-Jesus practiced, facilitated& encouraged RHI. “Civic” means reliable in human connections and transactions.

But I don’t know – IDK - the-ineluctable-truth. “Ineluctable” means: not to be avoided, changed, escaped, neglected, or resisted: I can& may choose either RHI or dependency, such as religious arrogance.

Persons appreciating contemporary human being (verb), during each generation, develop the CJM I advocate. In other words, I attribute to CJM the civic-appreciation that human being (verb) applied “before Abraham was born” and since then. Given the question, “Was Jesus a man?”, my response -- “IDK, yet value CJM”, seems sufficient& complete to my person. I advocate the-civic-Jesus.

Perhaps CJM always was the-good human being (verb). That potential was present at the Big Bang, 13.7 billion years ago. There’s joy in accepting IDK, seeking ineluctable-evidence, and reserving humility to RHI. Joy may facilitate happiness.

It seems the-laws-of-physics& progeny (PHYSICS) constrains the consequences of each person’s choices. That is, the laws of forces, mathematics, chemistries, biology, psychology, imagination, and their subsets. I choose to accept mysterious-Jesus and pursue Jesus’ “my-peace”, in-order-to commit-to and trust-in PHYSICS. For example, I work for food& shelter rather than accept what a bureaucrat might provide. I work to aid SECURITY rather than pray for an entity to usurp RHI. Make no mistake: if one of my loved ones seems threatened beyond my action, I pray.

I accept that Genesis 1:26-28 NIV urges me to constrain chaos in my way of living.]