Ephesians 6 [Author’s Translation]
 
1 Children, you are to listen to/obey the instruction of your parents in the Lord/LORD, for this is right/just. 
2 “Honour/revere your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promised blessing: 
3 “In order that it may be well with you and you may live long on the land.” [Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16; ref. Mark 7:10; Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9]
4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to rage, but bring them up in the training and exhortation of the Lord/LORD.
5 Servants, be obedient to your human masters, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart/core being kardia[G], as to the Messiah; 
6 not only while they’re watching, as men-pleasers, but as servants of Messiah, doing the will of the God from the spirit psuche[G] (ruach[H]), 
7 with kind enthusiasm, doing service as to the Lord/LORD, and not to humans, 
8 knowing that whatever good a person does, he will receive the same from the Lord/LORD, whether servant/slave or free.
9 And you, masters, do the same things to them, letting go of threats, knowing that your own Lord/LORD is in heaven (the highest heaven), and there is no partiality with Him. [Deut. 10:17]  
10 Hereafter, my brothers and sisters, be strong in the Lord/LORD and in the power of His strength. 
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand (στῆναι stenai: firmly fix your stance) against the schemes of the devil. 
12 Since our wrestling is not against blood and flesh, but against principalities, against authorities, against the world powers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual forces of wickedness in the heaven (first heaven: earth’s atmosphere ref. 2:2). 
13 Therefore (because of what has preceded) take up the complete armour of the God, so that you may be able to withstand (ἀντιστῆναι antistenai[G]) in the day of evil, and having done all, to stand (στῆναι stenai[G]: firmly fix your stance).
14 Stand (στῆτε stete[G]: in the presence of others) therefore (because of what has preceded), having your loins girded about with truth, and be clothed with the breastplate of righteousness, 
15 and your feet bound with the ἑτοιμασίᾳ hetoimasia[G] readiness/foundational understanding of the Gospel of the peace; [Isa. 52:7; Rom. 10:15] 
16 In all, taking the large door shaped shield (θυρεὸν thyreon[G]) of faith with which to extinguish all the fiery arrows of the wicked one. 
17 And take the helmet perikephalaia[G] of the salvation, and the large knife machaira[G] of the Spirit, which is the living spoken word rhema[G] of God; 
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, adding to this be watchful with all perseverance and entreating for all the holy ones kedoshim[H] (saints)— 
19 and for me, that word/essence logos[G] may be given to me, that I may open my mouth in boldness to make known the mystery of the Gospel, [Psa. 45:1] 
20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; in order that in it (Word Essence: logos[G] of God) I may speak boldly, that which my bindings insist I speak.
21 So that you also may know my affairs and what I practice, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord/LORD, will make all things known to you; 
22 I’ve sent him to you for this purpose, in order that you may know how we are, and that he may comfort your hearts/core being kardia[G].
23 Peace/wholeness/well-being to the brothers and sisters, and all-encompassing love agape[G]  with faith, from God, Father and Lord/LORD Yeshua the Messiah. 
24 Grace be with all those who personally love agapao [G] the Lord/LORD our Yeshua the Messiah with incorruptible, perpetual, sincerity.
 
Line By Line
 
1 Children, you are to listen to/obey the instruction of your parents in the Lord/LORD, for this is right/just. 
 
This is a continuation of “Submit yourselves one to another, husbands love your wives, wives submit to your husbands.” With the subsequent inclusion of a message to servants and masters the entire first century Greco-Roman household is exhorted with a halakhah[H] (a way of practicing faith in the midst of changing societal norms: lit. “the walking”).
 
Both the Torah and the very nature of the Biblical family unit demand that children listen to and obey their parents. It is a command of Torah because God understands that children born into a sin affected creation will lean toward the yetzer hara[H] (evil inclination) and rebel according to the fallen nature of humanity. Therefore, while it seems an obvious necessity for a child to obey his or her parents in order to survive at very least the early years, it is nonetheless commanded as an instruction against rebellion. We note that the instruction of the parents is to be “in the Lord.” This command does not obligate children to obey a parental command that contradicts the moral standard set by God’s holiness. To rebel against rebellion is to obey, and to curse a curse is to bless.
 
Both Jewish and Greco-Roman societies of the first century agreed that children should obey parents. This seemed “right and just” in both cultural paradigms. In some cases though the Greco-Roman insistence on obedience leaned toward abusive beatings rather than toward godly discipline and instruction. Biblical Jewish discipline took its direction from Torah. Discerning application of discipline was expected (reasonable corporal punishment but not beatings). However, it should be remembered that in extreme cases of rebellion among adult children the Torah required a death sentence (Deut. 21:18-21). God takes the rebellion of wicked adult children very seriously because left unaccounted for it has the potential to breed an entire generation of rebellious people who tear down society from within.
 
“18 “If a man has a wilfully rebellious and bitterly contentious son who will not listen to and obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and having been chastened, will not heed them, 19 then his father and mother will take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city. 20 And they will say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is wilfully rebellious and bitterly contentious; he will not listen to or obey our voice; he is a worthless squanderer and a drunkard.’ 21 Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you will put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear.”
 
-D’varim (Deuteronomy) 21:18-21 [Author’s translation]
 
“Anyone who curses his father or mother must surely be put to death: he has cursed his father or mother, his bloodguilt is upon him.”
 
-Vayikra (Leviticus) 20:9 [Author’s translation] (Ex. 21:17)
 
“The eye of the one who mocks his father, who shows contempt for and refuses to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley will pick it out, and the young eagles will eat it.”
 
-Mishlei (Proverbs) 30:17 [Author’s translation]
“Whoever curses his father or mother, his light will be extinguished in a time of deep  darkness.”
 
-Mishlei (Proverbs) 20:20 [Author’s translation]
 
“For God said, ‘Honour your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses, speaks evil of, mistreats his father or mother shall be put to death.’”
 
-Mattityahu (Matthew) 15:4 [Author’s translation]
 
2 “Honour/revere your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promised blessing: 
 
“Honour your father and mother: so that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD YHVH your God Elohim (Judge) gives you.”
 
-Shemot (Exodus) 20:12 [Author’s translation] Ref. Matt. 15:4
 
Rav Shaul (Paul) is of course quoting the fifth of the 10 Words (Commandments). It’s worth noting that such is the importance of this commandment, that it is the last of the commandments that reflect the honouring of God. In other words, the father and mother are a foundational representation of the Person of God, expressing both His masculine and feminine attributes and being the head and origin of the family unit. Understanding this sheds light on why the punishment for a wilfully rebellious and unrepentant son is so severe. Such a son is rebelling against perhaps the most significant figurative representation of God Himself. This is also why the figure of marriage is used to convey Messiah’s relationship with the body of faith (5:22-32).
 
We note that Exodus 20:12 gives the positive outcome of long-life while inferring the negative outcome of death, which is explicitly stated in Exodus 21:17.
 
“But if any widow has children or nephews, let them learn first to express worship at home, and to give what is owed to their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.”
 
-1 Timothy 5:4 [Author’s translation]
 
3 “In order that it may be well with you and you may live long on the land.” [Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16; ref. Mark 7:10; Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9]
 
In its original context this promise refers specifically to the children of Israel inheriting the land of Israel and in obedience to God the Father, living long lives in that land. This was a commandment received only months after Israel’s escape from Egypt, soon after her sinful rebellion in worship of the golden calf. Therefore, it is both an admonishment and a promise of the reward that will result in and from obedience.
 
Here however, Paul does not quote the entire text but leaves out, “which the LORD YHVH your God Elohim (Judge) gives you.” He does this because he is using the command of Torah as a d’rash (comparative teaching), a principle for all believers in Messiah to follow, both Jew and Gentile. The “land” in the original command is specifically Israel, whereas the “land” here is intended to be understood as the “earth” which is in fact a legitimate alternate translation of both the Greek ge[G] and the Hebrew eretz[H].
 
Therefore, in both cases the principle promise concerning long life is the same, whereas the land in question differs between Jews and Gentiles. Having said that, in reality all believers will gather in Jerusalem in Israel at the descent of the New Jerusalem and the dwelling of God and the Lamb among Israel and all of redeemed humanity (Rev. 21:1-3).
 
“The following are the things for which a man enjoys the fruits in Olam hazeh this world while the principal remains for him in Olam Haba the world to come: Honouring one’s father and mother; The performance of righteous deeds; And the making of peace between a person and his friend; And the study of the torah is equal to them all.”
 
-Mishnah Peah 1:1
 
4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to rage, but bring them up in the training and exhortation of the Lord/LORD.
 
The way a father disciplines must not rely on taunting, provocation or injustice. Where punishment is necessary it must fit the crime. Where instructional conversation is necessary it must align with God’s word and be done in such a way as to respect the child’s worth and identity in God and within the family. A godly father starts with these things in mind and proceeds with the proactive aspects of parenting accordingly.
 
“Initiate, dedicate, train a young child upon the mouth, in the way he should go, also when he is old he will not be turned aside, or be removed from out of it.”
 
-Mishlei (Proverbs) 22:6 [Author’s translation]
 
“On the mouth” means teach through verbal repetition the Instruction (Torah) of the LORD. Repetition is employed throughout the TaNaKh (OT) because God is well familiar with our human propensity for forgetfulness when it comes to right action.
 
“The Way” in question is the Way of God’s redemptive instruction: of moral law, of atonement for sin, of the receipt of Messiah. The early body of believers, both Jewish and Gentile became known as a Jewish sect called “The Way,” הדרך Ha-derekh (Acts 9:2; 16:17; 18:25-26; 19:9, 23; 24:14, 22).
 
From the cherubim who were placed to guard “the Way” to the tree of life in the aftermath of the fall of humanity (Gen. 3:24) to David’s plea to God for clear direction so that he might walk in “the Way” that is everlasting (Psa. 139:23-24), and in the fullness of time the revelation of “The Way,” Himself Yeshua (John 14:6), the LORD God of Israel has established redemption for all who believe and in repentance receive His Son our King Redeemer and Intimate Friend Yeshua the Messiah.
 
“bring them up in the training and exhortation of the Lord/LORD” therefore, means bring them up in the training of the Way of Yeshua Who is Lord/LORD, in God the Father YHVH, LORD.
 
If a child is truly trained in the moral laws of Torah those laws will point him to Messiah (Rom. 10:4), Who in turn will deliver him through atonement from the indictment of Torah unto eternal life.
 
“For the Torah of the Spirit of life in Messiah Yeshua has made me free from the Torah of sin and death (Torah of Moses).”
 
-Romans 8:2 [Author’s translation]  
 
5 Servants, be obedient to your human masters, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart/core being kardia[G], as to the Messiah; 
 
There is some debate as to the meaning of the Greek doulos, “Servant, bondservant, slave.” Both paid household servants and slaves in the Greco-Roman context are named using the same word.
 
Rav Shaul is not advocating for slavery but rather giving instruction to Messiah followers in all walks of life for the purpose of furthering the Gospel in the lives of those around them.
 
In the case of the believing slaves and servants of Ephesus and other Roman cities, Paul is asking that they consider their service to be in and unto Messiah, from a sincere heart. This is because in doing so they will have opportunity to share their faith with their pagan masters and, or, honour the households of their believing masters, who, in turn, will elevate them in wages and holdings to the position of equal members of the household according to Paul’s exhortation in verse 9.
 
This instruction is consistent with the meaning of the Hebrew word for a household servant שִׁפְחָה shiphchah, often mistranslated as slave (Gen. 16:1). שִׁפְחָה shiphchah is from the Hebrew root שפה shaphah, “wide sweep,” which forms the Hebrew word for family משפחה mishpachah, which essential means “swept together.” The relationship then between a Hebrew household servant/bond-slave and the blood born family members is one of inclusion into the wider family. This is the principal Rav Shaul is teaching to the Gentile believers of Ephesus.
 
6 not only while they’re watching, as men-pleasers, but as servants of Messiah, doing the will of the God from the spirit psuche[G] (ruach[H]), 7 with kind enthusiasm, doing service as to the Lord/LORD, and not to humans, 
 
There is a lesson here for all believers. Put into today’s context Paul is essentially addressing the equivalent of the employer and employee relationship. As Messiah followers we are to give our best effort in the workplace whether our employer is watching or not. Whether he’s righteous or not. We are to honour our allotted break times and give reasonable notice when making leave requests. We are not to feign sickness in order to take days off etc. Why? Because ultimately we are working in, from, and unto Messiah in all things. We are exhorted to do all this with kind enthusiasm, as service to the LORD.
 
8 knowing that whatever good a person does, he will receive the same from the Lord/LORD, whether servant/slave or free.
 
Good, right action, righteousness, are the fruit of Messiah in us. Whatever good a person does in the LORD he will receive back in kind from the LORD regardless of social standing, position, honorifics, or the lack thereof.
 
When a godless prime minister and a righteous nobody stand at the judgement, the righteous nobody will enter the world to come in Messiah, while the godless prime minister will be thrown into the lake of fire. “God is no respecter of persons.”

“Kefa (Peter) opened his mouth and said: ‘I now understand clearly, that God does not show partiality, but in every nation the person who fears Him and does what is right is accepted by Him.’” 

-Acts 10:34-35 [Author’s translation]
 
9 And you, masters, do the same things to them, letting go of threats, knowing that your own Lord/LORD is in heaven (the highest heaven), and there is no partiality with Him. [Deut. 10:17]
 
This is not a command to those outside the body of believers but specifically to masters who are believers. In most circumstances this refers to masters of servants rather than slaves (in the modern sense). However, where it was the case that believers had come to faith as masters of slaves, they were on a journey toward disregarding the slave practices of the Greco-Roman world and toward offering their slaves freedom and then, if it was best for the once enslaved person, they would offer them a position as a paid household worker. A position many ex-slaves were grateful for in the same way an out of work person today is grateful for a paid house cleaning job.
 
At one time I was out of work and in great need and was grateful to righteous people for their willingness to employee me to do household chores, painting, repairs, even toilet cleaning, in order to support my family. I recall praising God as I cleaned the toilets. I was genuinely grateful and content in Him as I carried out menial tasks.
 
Therefore, we must be careful to properly contextualize Scripture and understand the historical implications of our interpretations so as not to draw a false equivalence between ancient definitions and current norms.
 
Believing masters, be they masters of servants or masters of slaves in the context of first century Roman society, are required to act in a godly way toward their servants/slaves. The believing masters were to put themselves in the shoes of their servants and act accordingly. While it was customary for Roman masters to beat, whip and threaten their servants, it was not an acceptable practice for a soul converted in Messiah.
 
Rav Shaul (Paul) concludes this verse with yet another reference to the Torah:
 
“17 For YHVH the Lord your Elohim God (Judge) is Eloheiy God (Judge) of haelohim  the gods and Adoneiy Lord of haadoniym the lords, HaEl Hagadol the great God (Judge), mighty and terrifying, Who shows no favour based on a person’s status (paniym: faces) nor does He take a bribe.”
 
-D’varim (Deuteronomy) 10:17 [Author’s translation]
 
10 Hereafter, my brothers and sisters, be strong in the Lord/LORD and in the power of His strength. 
 
“Hereafter” means “From now on” find your strength in the LORD in the power of His strength and not in exercising power (via human strength) over those who you deem to be lower in the societal construct.
 
What Paul does here, by the discernment of the Spirit, is profound. He has just addressed parents, children, servants/slaves and masters, all within the faith community and now calls all, “My brothers and sisters.”
 
Paul, their revered teacher, the one who by God’s hand brought the Gospel of Messiah to their city, a man in whom God performed great miracles by the power of His Spirit through Yeshua, is saying to slave and master alike, “In Yeshua, to the glory of God, we are co-heirs, siblings, equals.”
 
Notice Paul does not give credence to position, works, bloodlines, prestige, education, or any other thing esteemed by human society as elevating a person’s status. Rather, He makes God the Father the focus in Messiah, and faith in Him by grace alone the qualifier.
 
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand (στῆναι stenai: firmly fix your stance) against the schemes of the devil. 
 
Selah, pause, contemplate, receive, and understand, “The whole armour of God!”
 
Many debate the intended physical origin of the figurative armour of Ephesians 6. Foolishly they pit Priestly garments against Roman armour in a theological battle over whether this writing of Paul intends to utilize a symbol known to the Greco-Romans in order to convey these Messiah essential Gospel tools of protection, or on the other hand is he attempting to convey a Hebrew paradigm based in the priesthood of Israel. This debate is utter folly! A typically Christian tertiary false choice! And ironically, given that the fiercest proponents of an alternative view are so called “Messianics,” it is entirely out of character for Jewish scholars and thinkers to entertain false choices such as those posed by this unproductive argument.
 
The godly understanding guided by the Holy Spirit in Messiah accepts that Paul is doing both these things to some degree and neither of these things entirely. Added to this is the fact that armour is used here as a figure only. The armour is not the focus, God is!
 
Therefore, we examine the text carefully in Messiah. Here are some helpful things to consider as you approach understanding this section of Ephesians 6:
 
1.     The armour is “of God” (Eph. 6:11) and not of humanity. Therefore debating what Paul’s figurative language means based on ethnic or religious bias is in fact ungodly

2.     Paul is a Jew. (Rom. 11:1) A well-educated and wise rabbi, a Pharisee, (Acts 23:6) and a passionate Messiah follower, who has encountered Messiah Himself (Acts 9)

3.     Paul is committed to finding ways to effectively minister the Gospel to all ethnicities, cultures and people of a variety of religious backgrounds (1 Cor. 9:19-23)
 
This is the whole armour of God. Therefore, God informs the armour. The prophet Isaiah describes YHVH wearing armour:
 
“For He puts on righteousness as a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
And He puts on the garments of vengeance for clothing,
And was covered with zeal as a cloak.”
 
-Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 59:17 [Author’s translation]
 
Paul, by God’s Spirit is inspired to use figurative language that both conveys a Hebrew paradigm drawing on the priesthood of Israel and a Greco-Roman paradigm drawing on the armour of a first century CE Roman soldier.
 
So does the armour described reflect the priesthood of Israel or the Roman soldier? The answer is yes!
 
“Put on the whole armour of God” God has given every believer armour as a gift of divine clothing. Like any gift of clothing, we must receive it and wear it. Not part of it, but all of it! Why? So that we might, “be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”
 
The armour in question is essentially incorporeal, spiritual armour.
 
Who wears armour? A soldier of course, and therefore, a Roman soldier, and in one sense the High Priest of Israel wears symbolic armour as a spiritual soldier. Both the High Priest and the Roman soldier are warriors.
 
The Scriptures describe God figuratively as, “A man of war, a warrior.” (Ex. 15:3; Isa. 42:13; Psa. 24:8; Joel 3:9-11 etc.)
 
“YHVH The Lord will go forth like a mighty man (a Hebrew phrase that denotes a warrior of great strength);
He will stir up His zeal like a warrior (man of war).
He will cry out, yes, shout aloud;
He will prevail against His enemies.”
 
-Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 42:13 [Author’s translation]
 
Because the armour is of God it is created and powered by Him. We clothe ourselves with it, but we do not empower it. Rather, we rely on His power at work through the armour.
 
The armour of God is not some mantra recited list that affords us extra power in any given circumstance, but a practiced rhythm of recalling the tools and power already available to us in Messiah. We are not wizards standing alone wielding spells in our armour, rather we are soldiers in an army who clothe ourselves with the armour given us by our Commander.
 
Take careful note, the armour is not only for the individual but is also for the sake of  the soldier standing on either side of us, and those behind and before us. We are together, clothed individually with the armour of God.
 
12 Since our wrestling is not against blood and flesh, but against principalities, against authorities, against the world powers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual forces of wickedness in the heaven (first heaven: earth’s atmosphere ref. 2:2). 
 
Why do we require spiritual armour rather than physical armour? Because the battle we’re in is ultimately a spiritual battle.
 
Yeshua speaks of blessing being manifest in the revelation of His identity to Peter:
 
“Shimon Kefa (Peter) answered and said, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ And Yeshua answered and said unto him (Peter), Blessed are you, Shimon Bar Yonah (covenant son of Jonah): for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father which is in heaven.”
 
-Mattityahu (Matthew) 16:16-17 [Author’s translation]
 
Jacob’s wrestling with the Man/Angel was both physical and spiritual (Gen. 32:22-32; Hosea 12:4).
 
Notice that we, “wrestle.” This denotes close proximity and ongoing struggle rather than a picture of armies facing off in shield walls. Ultimately, in Messiah, the battle is already won (outside of our time trapped perspective). The imagery Paul employees places us past the initial onslaught of battle and into the midst of the one on one struggle with enemy entities. The Satanic forces cannot un-save us, therefore, they attempt instead to make us as fruitless as possible. We are not doing battle for God but in Him and with His armour.
 
“our wrestling is not against blood and flesh,” does not mean it will never involve defending ourselves or our loved ones physically but that the primary forces at work are spiritual. Many pseudo-Christian and Jewish apostate teachers infer that because our battle is spiritual we should never act physically in self-defence, just warfare and so on. This is satanic nonsense that Ironically shows that those teaching it are not adorned with the armour of God, part of which is the belt/girding of Truth! Scripture teaches clearly the God appointed times of just warfare and the obligation of self-defence. Based on Scripture, God is either a pacifist and a hypocrite, or He is not a pacifist!
 
The following is the list of descriptors of the types of forces we wrestle with as believers in Messiah Yeshua:
 
1.     Principalities - … of the darkness of this age (ἀρχάς archas: means origin/beginning, and while it can refer to magistrates and even religious rulers, its ultimate meaning here seems to be “The original fallen angels/spirits who align with Satan.”

2.     Authorities - … of the darkness of this age (ἐξουσίας exousias: means the authority to permit, to do as one pleases. This is not freewill (which is a gift of God) but self-determination (a counterfeit of Satan). It’s ultimate meaning here is “Authorities that promote libertarian or hedonistic freedom as sub demons under the original sin embracing Angels.”

3.     World powers - of the darkness of this age (τοὺς κοσμοκράτορας tous kosmokratoras: means this world’s powers. חשוכי עלמא Choshuchiy olama Darkness of the age (Zohar on Lev. Fol. 19. 3.)That is, the fallen spiritual forces of heaven trapped beneath the first heaven and therefore permitted power in the sin affected world. “World powers” then means “Powers of the sin affected world.” This ultimately refers to “The prince of the permitted power of the lower air (Satan) and its minions.” The sages also call Satan שר של חושך Sar shel choshekh Prince of darkness (Pesikta in Ketoret Hasamim in Targum in Gen. fol. 9. 4.)

4.     Spiritual forces of wickedness in the heaven (first heaven: earth’s atmosphere ref. 2:2). (πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας pneumatika tes ponerias: simple means all the spiritual forces of evil operating in both the lower and upper air of the earth’s atmosphere. This is a summation of the aforementioned distinct descriptors of the entities at work in seeking to advance the Satanic goal (which will never be realised).
 
“Now is the judgment of this world/kosmos: now the prince of this world (Satan) will be cast out.”
 
-John 12:31 [Author’s translation]
 
13 Therefore (because of what has preceded) take up the complete armour of the God, so that you may be able to withstand (ἀντιστῆναι antistenai[G]) in the day of evil, and having done all, to stand (στῆναι stenai[G]: firmly fix your stance).
 
Once again we are exhorted to take up the gift of the full armour of God and remind ourselves of our access to its elements in Messiah. In one sense, “Take up” means, “Don’t neglect what you’ve been given.”
 
Take note again, the armour is of God.
 
“For He puts on righteousness as a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
And He puts on the garments of vengeance for clothing,
And was covered with zeal as a cloak.”
 
-Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 59:17 [Author’s translation]
 
“So that you may be able to stand firm” infers that if we neglect our God given gift of armour we will possess a shaky stance. We may even suffer spiritual injury. This does not mean we can loose our salvation but that we may unnecessarily experience harm that we might have avoided (from our time trapped perspective).
 
“the day of evil” is now and until the permitted conclusion of the sin affected world. And, it is also a specific day of an escalation of evil unto the final battle at the coming of the Messiah.
 
“and having done all, to stand.” Being in Him our doing is from Him and our obedience forms action that when completed leave us with nothing more to do but stand in Him in faith, and thus, in Him we are firmly fixed in eternity regardless of temporal circumstances and perceived losses or victories.
 
14 Stand (στῆτε stete[G]: in the presence of others) therefore (because of what has preceded), having your loins girded about with truth, and be clothed with the breastplate of righteousness, 
 
This is now the third time in quick succession (“stand” is used 4 times in total in this chapter) that we are told to “Stand.” The Greek follows this pattern in verses 13-14:
 
1.     ἀντιστῆναι antistenai: withstand, stand against, stand firmly against
2.     στῆναι stenai: stand, firmly fix your stance, establish, set in place
3.     στῆτε stete: stand in the presence of others
 
Therefore, verse 14 essential begins with, “Standing in the presence of others (brothers and sisters in Messiah, godly Angelic beings, the all present Messiah, the Spirit of God, in the Father).”
 
“having your loins girded about with truth” combines the idea of both the priestly undergarment (Ex. 28:42-43) and waste sash (Ex. 39:29), and the first century CE Roman soldier’s belt.
 
The combining of these ideas by Paul is clearly intentional. It bridges the gap between Hebrew and Roman thought in an illuminating figure of spiritual protection.
 
The girding of the loins indicates not only a firm binding of the waste by a belt or sash but also the protecting of the seat of fruitfulness/progeny. A protection of the sexual organs as a symbolic protection of generational faith (received by the individual within a godly family).
 
The predominant Jewish view is that the girded loins are a symbol of atonement for sexual sin, and the belt/sash a symbol of atonement for emotional sin.
 
“and a sash/belt made of fine woven linen of blue, purple, and scarlet, made by a weaver, as YHVH the Lord had commanded Moshe.”
 
-Shemot (Exodus) 39:29 [Author’s translation]
 
We note that so far is it might reflect the priestly sash, the belt of truth combines three symbolic colours.
 
1.     Blue – The heavens, a symbol of God’s dominion over all creation.
2.     Purple – Royalty, a symbol of the King YHVH God.
3.     Scarlet – A symbol of blood atonement.
 
The belt of truth thus denotes the work of God in securing the wearer in God, Who is the All Existing Creator, enthroned in the heavens, King over all things, and the One Who atones for sin by His own essence through the Messiah Yeshua.
 
Truth is defined by Truth Himself, Yeshua. His attributes are seen in every piece of armour/priestly attire.
 
Why is “Truth” represented in the girding of the loins? In part it is to do with the power of the Truth to govern the seat of emotion, which in Biblical Hebrew is the lower stomach. The middle of the body acts as a centre of gravity that helps to enable a firm stance (something the wearer has been exhorted to do three times already). In other words, Truth is the primary tool offered for empowering the firm stance of the believer.
 
What does that look like in practice? For one thing it means that a believer with His eyes firmly fixed on Messiah, Who is the Truth, being familiar with the whole of God’s Word, will not easily be swayed by the lies and distractions of this sin affected world and the dark spiritual forces that have already been alluded to. The believer will choose in Messiah not to allow his or her emotions to govern them or define truth, but will instead look to the Living Word, His Word essence and His written Word as the source for defining and acting on Truth.
 
We note that the Messiah Yeshua, the rod from the stem of Yishai (Jesse) is said to have His loins girded with faithfulness.
 
“Righteousness will gird His hips, and faithfulness will gird His loins.”
 
-Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 11:5 [Author’s translation]
 
Therefore, the armour being of God and of God With Us (Yeshua), is revealed in the meta-narrative of Scripture which shows that faithfulness and truth go hand in hand. The belt of Truth protects and atones. Thus the wearer stands firm in both Truth and Faithfulness.
 
“be clothed with the breastplate of righteousness,” First and foremost this is a breastplate of God Himself.
 
“For He (YHVH) puts on righteousness as a breastplate…”

-Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 59:17 [Author’s translation]
 
Once again there is also a beautiful convergence here between the imagery of the breastplate of the High Priest of Israel (Ex. 28:15-29) and by nature of Messiah’s Priesthood, a picture of His breastplate.
 
The breastplate of the High Priest atones for sins of error in judgement and carries the embedded stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel. It denotes a practice of coming before God with atoning sacrifice and with the 12 tribes of Israel represented over the High Priest’s heart/core being in a petition for blotting out sin and atoning those the High Priest represents. In the case of Yeshua as High Priest over all peoples, He atones and represents both Jewish and Gentile believers before God, interceding for us in every moment.
 
Therefore, the breastplate of righteousness, so far as it reflects the priesthood, represents both an individual and corporate responsibility to stand before God atoned and with right action, which is righteousness. There is no such things as righteousness devoid of right action.
 
We further note that the אורים Urim (lights) and תמים Tumim (completions/perfecting) are kept in the breastplate (Ex. 28:30). These are used to determine answers from the LORD concerning direction. They were not used as many suppose. They are not like runes or dice or some other pagan occult technic for determining the future or seeking counsel from spiritual beings. To the contrary, the Urim (lights) would light up when the High Priest sought God’s council on a matter, and if the answer was affirmative the Tumim (complete/perfect) would light up as an indication that this was the right course of action.
 
Therefore, the breastplate of righteousness also concerns God’s direction imparted to the believer.
 
On the other hand, in reflection of the Roman armour the breastplate of righteousness is a figurative protection. It guards the heart (Hebrew seat of core being, where all aspects of soul converge), that is the centre of soul being, from a potentially deadly piercing blow in the midst of battle.
 
In summation, the breast plate of righteousness conveys a sense of both protection (Roman armour) and ongoing sanctification (Priestly breastplate).
 
15 and your feet bound with the ἑτοιμασίᾳ hetoimasia[G] readiness/foundational understanding of the Gospel of the peace; [Isa. 52:7; Rom. 10:15]  
 
Let’s repeat to ourselves again, “This is the armour of God, God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit!”
 
“What beauty upon the mountains the feet of him who brings news (Gospel), who publishes shalom peace, wholeness, wellbeing, who brings good news (Gospel) of happiness, who publishes yeshuah salvation, saying to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’”
 
-Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 52:7 [Author’s translation]
 
Feet bound with the readiness of the Gospel of peace are feet that reflect the feet of the Messiah as described in Isaiah 52:7.
 
Therefore, the clothing and footwear of Messiah (God with us) are the ultimate figure from which Rav Shaul gleans the illumination of the armour of God.
 
The High Priests of Israel ministered before the LORD barefoot (Ex. 3:5; 28; 39; Lev. 8; Josh. 5:15). It is likely, given the lack of Biblical and extra-biblical evidence to show otherwise, that the Priests of Israel who ministered before the LORD simply did not don footwear, probably not even while journeying from one camp location to the next. Why? Because the removal of footwear in the presence of the LORD was an established precedent (Ex. 3:5; Josh. 5:15), and the priests were essentially always in the presence of the LORD, even when carrying the articles and elements of the Tent of meeting from location to location during Israel’s wandering.
 
Priests ministering barefoot continued through the second Temple period:
 
“One should not enter the Temple Mount with a staff, or with shoes on, or with a money belt, or with dusty feet.”
 
-Mishnah Berakhot 9:5
 
“The Sages say that the importance of showing respect for the congregation is derived from here: The halakha is that the priests are not permitted to ascend the platform to recite the benediction in their sandals, as is taught in a baraita. And this halakha is one of nine ordinances that Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai instituted.”
 
-Mishnah Sotah 40a:15
 
With this in mind it must be pointed out that those desperate to push a one sided view of the armour of God in favour of the Priestly garments alone, are left without a foot to stand on (pun intended). If priests of Israel did don footwear at all, it was not while ministering to the LORD. Priestly footwear therefore, can only be surmised through conjecture. This is not firm ground for an interpretive argument. We are called to be teachers of truth, and not of conjecture. Conjecture that refuses to submit to the right division of the Word of truth is error.
 
The Roman soldier of the first century CE wore a hobnailed military sandal that was bound to the foot leaving room for aeration on long marches and provided a reasonable amount of protection from blows while leaving the soldier agile enough to maneuver quickly in battle. The hobnails driven into the sole of the shoe gave firm grip in battles on various types of terrain (with the exception of stone streets within ancient cities) and added to the durability of the sandal throughout long campaigns.
 
In the case of God’s armour the feet are bound with the readiness of the Gospel of peace. An ironic phrasing given that armour is understood as being of use in war time and is then discarded in peace time. However, so far as it concerns the struggle against the evil forces at work in the sin affected world, peace establishes the steps of the believer just as truth strengthens the stance. As far as the armour of God is concerned, peace is a weapon of war. This affirms the fact that being a peacemaker requires action. In the entire history of this sin affected world there has never been a peace that has not resulted from a war fought against tyranny.
 
More specifically, the binding of the feet concerns readiness. It is reminiscent of the exhortation to “be ready to give and account of what you believe to all who ask…” (1 Peter 3:15)
 
The Greek ετοιμασια hetoimasia translated “readiness” conveys the sense of a “base”, or “foundation.” It’s used this way in the Septuagint translation of Zechariah 5:11. Here it represents a foundational knowledge of the Gospel.
 
To don the shoes of the readiness of the Gospel of peace means to intentionally rise and bind our feet with an eager preparedness to carry the Gospel of peace into the spiritual struggle of each day. This is to be done from a firm foundation of knowledge of the Gospel in Messiah.
 
It is in one sense an expression of our first response to Messiah’s love for us. Love God, love neighbour is seen here. When we arise from slumber in Messiah’s love the first part of the armour of God that we put on is the underwear/belt of loins girded in truth, the second, the breastplate of righteousness (Messiah’s righteousness in and over our hearts), and the third, are the bound feet of the readiness of the Gospel of Peace. “The feet of Him Who brings good news.”
 
16 In all, taking the large door shaped shield (θυρεὸν thyreon[G]) of faith with which to extinguish all the fiery arrows of the wicked one. 
 
Again, first and foremost this armour is of God. God Himself is a shield to the righteous.
 
“After these things הדבר Ha-davar the Word of YHVH the LORD came unto Avram in a vision, saying, No fear Avram! I Am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
 
-Bereishit (Genesis) 15:1 [Author’s translation]
 
“Every Word of God is pure: He is a shield to those who place their trust in Him.”
 
-Mishlei (Proverbs) 30:5 [Author’s translation]
 
“For You, YHVH LORD, will bless the righteous; with favour You will encompass him like a shield.”
 
-Tehilim (Psalms) 5:12 [Author’s translation]
 
“For YHVH the LORD Elohim God (Judge) is a sun and shield: YHVH the LORD will give grace and glory: no good will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”
 
-Tehilim (Psalms) 84:11 [Author’s translation]
 
The shield described here doesn’t represent a physical shield associated with the High Priest. It can’t, because the particular Greek word for shield here describes a large almost door size battle shield used in the Roman shield wall and in other defensive applications as a means of shielding above the heads of an army unit while other shields interlocked around the century (approx.. 80 men) or contubernium (8 men).
 
Because this imagery essentially means that the shield/shields protect the entire length of the body and in combination, the heads of the soldiers as well, there is a place for pointing to the Gold shield/plate that adorns the High Priest’s turban/kippah (Ex. 28:36-39). That gold shield/plate is placed over the forehead and has the words קֹדֶשׁ לַיהוָה Kadosh l’Adonay (Holy unto the LORD) engraved on it. This is done so that the High Priest bears the iniquity for the defiling of holy things on behalf of the children of Israel. This plate is always on the High Priest’s head so that Israel might have favour before HaShem (YHVH).
 
“So it will adorn Aaron’s (High Priest) forehead, that he may bear the iniquity committed regarding the holy things, which the children of Israel set apart as all their holy gifts. It is always to be on his forehead, so that they may have favour before YHVH the LORD (Mercy).”
 
-Shemot (Exodus) 28:38 [Author’s translation]
 
Therefore, like the large Roman shield, the gold plate over the forehead protects the High Priest before the LORD as one who is atoned for and set apart unto the LORD. The positioning over the forehead denotes authority over the entire body and thus reflects the same figurative meaning as the large Roman shield, which protects the entire body of the soldier.
 
In the case of the Roman shield, which was made from wood and often covered in animal hide, soldiers would soak their shields in water prior to attacking an enemy like the Parthians, who relied heavily on their bows, and when laying siege to fortresses. This of course fits the imagery of extinguishing the fire darts of the enemy.
 
In the case of the High Priests gold plate/shield, which resided over the forehead, His identity in belonging to God also spiritually quenched the fire darts/lies of the enemy.
 
In both representations the entire being is protected and the identity of the believer established in the priesthood and army he or she belong to. The Master of which is YHVH.
 
17 And take the helmet of the salvation, and the large knife machaira[G] of the Spirit, which is the living spoken word rhema[G] of God; 
 
“And a helmet of salvation on His (YHVH) head…”
 
-Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 59:17 [Author’s translation]
 
First, this helmet of salvation is representative of the headship of God the Creator and His Salvation in the Person of the Son Yeshua who’s name means Salvation. This is enough of an interpretation, and one established by Scripture.
 
As we have established, this is spiritual armour. Therefore, the High Priests Turban (Ex. 28:4), which represents kaparah atonement over His head (just as the modern Jewish kippah/yarmulke does today for all observant Jews), is like a helmet of protection of the assurance of salvation. Both as mental assurance, and as security of atonement over the whole being, represented in the head.
 
Likewise the Roman helmet protects the brain and the intellectual understanding of faith.
 
This should not be confused with consciousness, which in the Biblical Hebrew context resides at the centre of being and not in the intellect. Nor is the consciousness subject to physical death, though for the wicked it will be subject to the second death following the judgement.
 
“The large knife” reflects both the knife the priests of Israel used for sacrifice (מאכלת ma’akelet Gen. 22:6, מחלף machalaph Ezra 1:9, חרב chereb Eze. 5:2) and the short sword used by Roman soldiers in the midst of battle from behind the shield wall. We note that this knife/sword is of the Spirit, which is the living word Rhema[G] of God. As distinct from the written word כתבי ketvi[H] and the Word Essence דבר davar[H]/Logos[G]. The Rhema[G] is the present participatory Word of the Spirit of the Father and the Son.
 
The Jewish sages consider the Torah to be a sword חרב תורה chereb Torah (Bereishit Rabbah, sect. 21. fol. 19. 1.
 
We should remember that this spiritual armour is gifted us unto the culmination of all that is to be done (“and having done all, to stand.” 6:13), and thereafter we will have no need of armour. We will not be wrestling with evil in the Olam Haba world to come. This is why the helmet of salvation is over the head, the seat of intellect, because the fallen intellect is prone to disbelief and thus needs the protection of the helmet of salvation so as to maintain the certain hope of eternal life and the assurance of security in Messiah.
 
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, adding to this be watchful with all perseverance and entreating for all the holy ones kedoshim[H] (saints)— 
 
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,” includes but is not limited to intellectual prayer, emotional groanings, recited Scripture as prayer, and so on.
 
Notice “all prayer,” meaning that there are many ways to pray: sing, speak, think, know, look, receive, understand, to name a few. Added to this is “supplication,” which is seeking God and entreating Him for the sake of others. This reflects the role of a priest. We are all priests in Messiah under His Priesthood, which is over all people (Heb. 4:14-16; Rev. 1:6, 5:10, 20:6).
 
“adding to this be watchful with all perseverance and entreating for all the holy ones kedoshim[H] (saints)” In all our conversation in and with God we are to be diligent, to practice kavanah (intention) and be watchful. We are to persevere even when things are difficult or seem hopeless, being honest with ourselves before God Who knows our prayers before we pray them (Psa. 139:4). This is for our good. We are also to specifically entreat God for the good of all our fellow holy ones (saints). Once again, this is an act of priesthood.
 
19 and for me, that word/essence logos[G] may be given to me, that I may open my mouth in boldness to make known the mystery of the Gospel, [Psa. 45:1] 
 
Paul asks that the Ephesian community add to their prayers, prayers that specially uplift him before God.
 
Paul specifically asks that the Ephesian community pray in affirmation with the Spirit of God, the prayerful Psalm of the sons of Korah:
 
“To the Chief Musician. Set to the shoshanim, tune of ‘The Lilies.’ A maschil contemplation/meditation of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love. My heart/core stirs with a good davar word; I speak of my work concerning the King; My tongue is the pen of a skilled Writer.”
 
-Tehillim (Psalms) 45:1 [Author’s translation]
 
Paul is desiring that the Word Essence Himself (Davar[H], Logos[G], Yeshua: John 1) be given to him and upon his tongue in a manifest and powerful way in order that he might speak and make known the mystery of the Gospel with boldness. Note Paul’s selfless motivation and the fact that the Gospel mystery is not being hidden but is being made known.
 
The phrase, “that I may open my mouth” is rabbinical.
Our rabbis say, “When Moshe wrote the scripture, ‘let us make man in our image,’ (Gen. 1:26) he said before the Master of the worlds, ‘Why do You give פתחון פה, (pitchon pei: opening of the mouth), to heretics?’ That is, giving them occasion to object to us, and try to convince us of a plurality of persons in the Deity… The response is, ‘wherever you find פתחון פה, an opening of the mouth to heretics, you will find an answer by its side, or along with it.’” (Bereishit Rabbah, sect. 8. fol. 7. 1. & Vayikra Rabbah, sect. 21. fol. 163. 1. Megillat Esther, fol. 94. 1, 3.)

Therefore, Paul is asking that the Ephesian community join him in prayer that he might be given Holy Spirit appointed words with which to refute the heretics who seek to pollute the Gospel message of God in Yeshua, just as heretics in the past had attempted to defile the Torah message in regard to the creation account and the identity and character of God.
 
20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; in order that in it (Word Essence: logos[G] of God) I may speak boldly, that which my bindings insist I speak.
 
Paul considers himself called to be a messenger of God dressed in the chains of earthly imprisonment for the sake of the Gospel. He notes that his bindings insist that he speak the Gospel boldly to those who otherwise would never have heard it.
 
Paul considers his chains to be employees of God, the King Messiah and even of Paul.
 
21 So that you also may know my affairs and what I practice, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord/LORD, will make all things known to you;
 
Paul, being considerate of those in the Ephesian community who are concerned for his wellbeing, lets them know that his trusted fellow worker Tychicus will give them the necessary details and updates concerning Paul’s wellbeing, suffering, and ongoing “criminal proceedings.”
 
Tychicus was a fellow believer from Asia Minor who accompanied Paul/Shaul to Jerusalem (Acts 20:4). Paul sent him to the Ephesian believers with this letter (1 Timothy 4:12), and to the believers in Colossae with a letter addressed to them (Colossians 4:7).
 
22 I’ve sent him to you for this purpose, in order that you may know how we are, and that he may comfort your hearts/core being kardia[G].
 
Once again, Paul’s concern is not with promoting his pious suffering but with the comfort of those who care about him.
 
23 Peace/wholeness/well-being to the brothers and sisters, and all-encompassing love agape[G]  with faith, from God, Father and Lord/LORD Yeshua the Messiah. 
 
Paul concludes with a familiar Jewish blessing, adding the Messianic illumination that will one day be on the tongues of all Jews:
 
שלום עליכם אחים ואהבה עם אמונה מאלוהים אב ואדון ישוע המשיח
 
“Shalom aleichim achim, v’ahavah im Emunah m’Elohim, Av v’Adon, Yeshua haMashiach.”
 
24 Grace be with all those who personally love agapao [G] the Lord/LORD our Yeshua the Messiah with incorruptible, perpetual, sincerity.
 
Paul is careful to specifiy that his blessing is upon those who genuinely and “personally love the YHVH Yeshua, the Messiah,” those who bear fruit, “with incorruptible and continuing sincerity.”
 
Copyright 2025 Yaakov (Brown) Ben Yehoshua

​Ephesians 5 [Author’s Translation]
 
1 Therefore (according to what preceded) you are to be imitators of the God as dearly loved children. 
2 And walk in all-encompassing love agape[G], just as also the Messiah has loved agape[G] us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to the God for an aroma, a fragrant scent (alt. a quieting aroma).
3 But sexual sin and all impurity or greed, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for kedoshim holy ones (saints); 
4 not obscenity, nor foolish talk, nor vulgar jesting, which are not fitting, but rather greater thankfulness. 
5 For this you see, knowing that no sexual sinner, unclean person, or covetous person, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of the Messiah and God. 
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these the wrath of the God is on the sons/children of disobedience.(2:2) 
7 Therefore do not be co-participants with them.
8 For you were once darkness, but now light in the Lord/LORD. As children of Light walk 
9 (for the fruit of the Light is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 
10 examining, proving what is well pleasing to the Lord/LORD. 
11 And don’t be co-participants with the unfruitful works of darkness, but to a greater degree refute them. 
12 For it’s shameful to even speak of those things done by them in secret. 
13 But all these things are refuted by the Light, in order that everything be exposed by the manifest Light.  
14 Therefore He says:
“Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead, [ref. Jonah 1:6]
And the light of Messiah will shine on you.” [ref. Isaiah 9:2, 26:19, 60:1]
15 See to it that you walk diligently, not as fools but as wise ones, 
16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Because of this do not be foolish, but understand what is the will of the Lord/LORD. 
18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is debauchery; but be filled in the Spirit, 
19 speaking to one another in psalms of strings and songs of praise and spiritual songs, singing and making music in your heart to the Lord/LORD, 
20 Be thankful always in/beyond all things in the Name of our Lord/LORD, Yeshua the Messiah, the God and Father, 
21 Submit yourselves equitably one to another in the fearful awe of Messiah.
22 The wife to her own husband as to the Lord/LORD.
23 Because a husband is to be head, first (in order), of the wife, like also the Messiah is the head, first (in order) of the gathered believers. He the Saviour, Deliverer, Preserver of the body.
24 Nevertheless in the same way the gathered believers submit to the Messiah, in this manner also the wife, the husband, in place always each one.
25 The husband is to love agape[G] (fully in every way) the wife, as also the Messiah loves (fully in every way) the gathered believers, indeed, giving Himself (Messiah) for her (gathered believers).
26 In order that He (Messiah) might separate, acknowledge, dedicate, hallow, cleanse by the washing with the water of the living voice, spoken word rhema[G].
27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious assembly, without stain or wrinkle or any such thing, in order that she should be holy and blameless, without spot or blemish. 
28 So husbands owe a debt of all-encompassing love agape[G] to their own wives as to their own bodies; he who fully loves agape[G] his wife fully loves agape[G] himself. 
29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cares for it, just as the Messiah does for the assembly of believers. 
30 Since we are members of His body. 
31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” [Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:5; Mark 10:7] 
32 This, the mystery is great, but I speak concerning Messiah and toward the assembly of believers. 
33 However, let each one of you himself in the same way, fully love agape[G] his own wife as himself, and let the wife show reverent awe for her husband.
 
Line By Line
 
1 Therefore (according to what preceded) you are to be imitators of the God as dearly loved children. 
 
Because in Messiah, God has forgiven us in all-encompassing love (4:32), we are to imitate Him according to the overflow of His love poured out upon us as treasured בְנֵי־הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙ (b’nai HaElohim) children of the God.
 
In short, because we are secure in His love we are to express that love to one another. This is especially important in the context of marriage, and is part of the reason for the exhortation of verses 25-29.
 
The love of God expressed to others is therefore the overarching force in all our relationships.
 
“Speak to all the congregation of the B’nai Yisrael (children of Israel), and say to them: ‘Become kedoshim (saints) holy ones, because Holy Am I YHVH (Mercy) your Elohim (God, Judge).”
 
-Vayikra (Leviticus) 19:2 [Author’s translation]
 
Here Paul exhorts believers (predominantly Gentile) to be imitators of God, Who is holy. He is teaching a now predominantly Gentile Ephesian faith community one of the core instructions of Biblical Jewish faith. Elsewhere Paul, John and Barnabas (Author of the book of Hebrews), exhort all believers to be imitators of Messiah (1 Cor. 11:1; Philippians 2:5; 1 Thess. 1:6; Heb. 12:2; 1 John 2:6), thus the unity of the Godhead is reflected in the New Testament exhortations to imitate the character of YHVH.
 
Jewish tradition teaches that humans should be merciful in imitation of God’s mercy:
 
“Abba Shaul says: Ve’anveihu should be interpreted as if it were written in two words: Ani vaHu, me and Him [God]. Be similar, as it were, to Him, the Almighty: Just as He is compassionate and merciful, so too should you be compassionate and merciful.”
 
-Talmud Bavliy, Shabbat 133b:6
 
It’s interesting to note that the rabbi quoted in this Talmudic passage is a תנא Tana (founding interpreter: teacher) of the Mishnaic period (200 CE), and shares his name with Paul the Apostle, who’s Hebrew name is Shaul. Additionally, Abba Shaul of the תנאים Tannaim, a disciple of Rabbi Akiva, was known for his unique perspectives on certain halakhot and traditions, in which he differed from his contemporaries.
 
2 And walk in all-encompassing love agape[G], just as also the Messiah has loved agape[G] us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to the God for an aroma, a fragrant scent (alt. a quieting aroma).
 
The love we walk in is to reflect the love of Messiah. Note that His love is sacrificial, in fact the love of God displayed in this sin affected world is made manifest through sacrifice.
 
Many in the modern faith community are happy to take the love of God but reticent to exhibit the same sacrificial love to others. The false gospel lacks the accountability required to inspire selfless love in the believer. Like Messiah we are to love (in and from Him) by giving ourselves up for the good of others, which is a sweet smelling aroma, an offering pleasing to the Father.
 
The TaNaKh (OT) speaks of sacrifices, both animal and grain offerings as being “an aroma of quieting.” This is in fact what Paul is quoting when he refers to Yeshua’s atoning death as a “Fragrant scent.” In the context God’s post flood promise following the sacrifice offered by Noah we read:
 
“And the LORD smelled an aroma of quieting. Then the LORD said in His core being, ‘I will never again curse the ground (ha-adamah) because of humanity (ha-adam), although the inclination (yetzer) of the heart of a human is evil (ra) from youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I’ve done.’”
 
-Bereishit (Genesis) 8:21 [Author’s translation]
 
(Ref. Gen. 8:21; Ex. 29:18, 25, 41; Lev. 1:9, 13, 17, 3:16)
 
The Hebrew phrase in Genesis 8:21 is וַיָּ֣רַח יְהוָה אֶת־רֵ֣יחַ הַנִּיחֹחַ֒ vayarach Adonay et-reiach haniychoach and translates literally as, “And YHVH smelled an aroma of quieting,” that is, an aroma that quiets the just wrath of God. This is why many English translations render the Hebrew “a pleasing aroma.” The translators are attempting to convey the idea that God is pleased by the aroma because it comes from a blood sacrifice that atones for sin, or an associated offering connected to the Sanctuary rites, and therefore satisfies His just wrath and makes way for forgiveness, repentance and reconciliation.
 
Ezekiel speaks of a future time when, in true repentance, all Israel will be accepted in a quieting aroma, and as a result God will be worshipped as holy among the Jewish people in the presence of the Gentile nations. This is exactly the message Paul is relaying in affirming that the Gospel makes way for the inclusion of the Gentiles into the commonwealth of Israel.
 
“39 ‘As for you, O house of Israel,’ thus says Adonay YHVH: ‘Go, serve every one of you his idols. But afterward you will certainly listen to Me and no longer profane My Holy Name with your gifts and idols. 40 For on My holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel,’ says Adonay YHVH, ‘there all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, shall serve Me; there I will accept them, and there I will require your offerings and the first fruits of your tributes, together with all your holy things. 41 In an aroma of quieting I will accept you when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will be worshipped as holy in you before the Gentiles.’”
 
-Ezekiel 20:39-41 [Author’s translation]
 
Therefore, Messiah’s sacrifice has become an all effective aroma of quieting to God the Father and makes it possible for us to become a quieting aroma in Him.
 
It's important to recognize that the love described throughout this chapter, including between husband and wife, is agape[G] (all-encompassing love). It does not concern sexuality except as part of a godly marriage. Sexuality is to do with knowledge יָדַע yada[H], not love אהבה ahavah[H].
 
3 But sexual sin and all impurity or greed, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for kedoshim holy ones (saints); 
 
Both Paul and John include lists of vices in their writings as indictments against such acts. This was apparently common practice among some forms of ancient writing. (Rom. 1:29-31; 1 Cor. 6:9-10; Gal. 5:19-21; Rev. 21:8)
 
Sexual perversions and greed of many kinds were prevalent in Greco-Roman society and in reality, have and continue to be prevalent among humans of all tribes and tongues.
 
Sexual sin was clearly also a significant problem among people of Messianic faith in Greco-Roman society. It remains a significant problem in the modern body of believers.
 
Sexual sin includes all sexual acts forbidden by Torah:
 
Adultery, premarital sex (defiles the wedding bed), the homosexual sex act, the lesbian sex act, intercourse with animals, sexual intercourse with close relatives, and, as Yeshua illuminates, sexual intercourse with a divorced man or woman (Mark 10:11-12).
 
Sexual sin is linked to all forms of impurity and greed, and is therefore the practice of idolatry (the worship of something other than God). This is why the TaNaKh (OT) often uses sexual immorality as a metaphor for idol worship.
 
Paul admonishes the Ephesian believers not even to discuss these things in social conversation, not casually, not at all.
 
4 not obscenity, nor foolish talk, nor vulgar jesting, which are not fitting, but rather greater thankfulness. 
 
This is a concise list of the type of talk that comes to the tongue from a heart that is intent on engaging in illicit practices. This is associated with a broader meaning of לָשׁוֹן הָרַע lashon hara (wicked tongue/slander/gossip) as a unique aspect of its literal meaning “tongue of evil.”
 
Obscenity of the mouth נבול פה nebul peh, is a familiar phrase in Rabbinical commentary.
 
“א. מִי שֶׁמְּדַבֵּר נִבּוּל־פֶּה, בְּיָדוּעַ שֶׁלִּבּוֹ חוֹשֵׁב מַחֲשָׁבוֹת אָוֶן.
 
Whoever speaks obscenities clearly has been thinking sinful thoughts.
 
ב. עַל־יְדֵי נִבּוּל־פֶּה בָּא חֲנֻפָּה.
 
Obscene language leads to flattery.
 
ג. בַּעֲווֹן נִבּוּל־פֶּה צָרוֹת וּגְזֵרוֹת מִתְחַדְּשׁוֹת, וּבַחוּרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵתִים, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, וִיתוֹמִים וְאַלְמָנוֹת צוֹעֲקִים וְאֵינָם נַעֲנִין.
 
Because of the sin of obscene language, suffering and harsh decrees are renewed; the young men of Israel die, God forbid; and orphans and widows cry out, but are not answered.”
 
-Sefer HaMiddot, Obscene Language 1-3
 
Pornographic content was prolific in Roman cities and throughout the Greco-Roman world. Pornographic images were drawn on the walls of inns depicting the various acts a prostitute might engage in with a prospective customer and the prices for each respective act.
 
Sexually explicit joking and innuendos were prominent in all forms of entertainment, specifically in the mimes and comic novels of the first century Roman culture.
 
The same can be said of popular media, entertainment, and everyday conversation in the Western world today (which is in fact the progeny of Greco-Roman Empire).
 
Thankfulness in greater amounts is a practical solution for combatting sexual immorality and impurity of every kind. A tongue engaged in thankfulness toward God is born of a heart focussed on Messiah. When our parts are employed in worship of God there is no room for them to be misused.
 
5 For this you see, knowing that no sexual sinner, unclean person, or covetous person, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of the Messiah and God. 
 
This describes perpetual and unrepentant sin practice. No one who continues to wilfully engage in a lifestyle of intentional sin will inherit the Kingdom of God.
 
“19 Now the works of the flesh (evil inclination) are manifest, they are these: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, shamelessness, 20 idolatry, witchcraft, hostility, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, drunken carousing, and the like; concerning which I warn you beforehand, just as I also warned in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
 
-Galatians 5:19-21 [Author’s translation]
 
“But those who practice cowardice, the faithless, disgusting souls, murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
 
-Revelation 21:8 [Author’s translation]
 
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these the wrath of the God is on the sons/children of disobedience. (2:2) 
 
Empty words refers to false doctrines that deceive. The phrase also refers to words that are technically correct but are not reflected in a person’s actions.
 
As in the first century CE, so too today in the modern body of believers (church) there are those who teach a compromised pseudo-moral gospel that allows for the aforementioned sin practices to be syncretised with a “Christian” or “Jewish” faith lifestyle.
 
Among those who teach such things today are theologians, pastors rabbis and so on. We are not to allow them to deceive us or those we shepherd. Those who teach that God is okay with adultery, pre-marital sex (which defiles the wedding bed), homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, transgenderism etc, who say, “Love is love” in an attempt to camouflage perversity, are apostate and according to Scripture, “the wrath of the God is on” them. Not “will be on them,” but “is on them.”
 
The “Children of disobedience” refers the reader back to chapter 2 and those who under the influence of “the prince of the permitted power of the lower air.” They are in wilful disobedience and therefore under wrath.
 
“in which, in the past, you walked according to the age of this world, according to the ruler of the power permitted over the lower air, the spirit who is now active in the children of the disobedience/obstinate opposition/wilful rebellion,”
 
-Ephesians 2:2 [Author’s translation]
 
(Ref. Rom. 1:18; Col. 3:6; Rev. 19:15)
 
7 Therefore do not be co-participants with them.
 
Those who abide the aforementioned false teachers, who, knowing what they teach, nonetheless allow them to continue in the community of faith, dine with them, consider them friends, are walking in disobedience. We are not to participate with such false teachers in any way.
 
“But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother or sister in Messiah, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkard, or a swindler—don’t even to eat with such a person!”
 
- 1 Corinthians 5:11
 
(Ref. 1 Cor. 5:9-14, 7:12-16; 2 Cor. 6:14; 2 Peter 2)
 
We live in a sin affected world where deceivers abound and their theories and empty words permeate our media and places of education. Paul does not say “remove yourselves from the world” but, “do not be co-participants with them.”
 
This reflects the principle present in Yeshua’s prayer for believers (John 17:16-26).
 
8 For you were once darkness, but now light in the Lord/LORD. As children of Light walk 9 (for the fruit of the Light is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 
10 examining, proving what is well pleasing to the Lord/LORD. 
 
“This is the message we have heard from Him (Yeshua) and announce to you, that God is Light (all existing), and in Him there is no darkness.”
 
-1 John 1:5 [Author’s translation]
 
God has called Israel in Messiah to be a “light to the Gentiles,” manifesting this calling in the fullness of time through the King Messiah Yeshua (Isa. 42:6, 49:6, 60:3). Therefore, the inclusion of certain Messiah essential Gentiles into the commonwealth of Israel according to the Gospel of Yeshua means that those Gentiles saved by grace through faith, who join the commonwealth of Israel are also called “children of Light” just as the God fearing Jews of every generation have been known throughout Biblical history and to this day.
 
The writers of the New Testament use light and darkness in a figurative sense to represent good and evil. The Scriptures teach that God is all existing Light but not that created light is God. The Scriptures teach that darkness as a figure for evil has no place in the manifest presence of God, however, the created darkness, like all things, exists in God the Creator.
 
In Rabbinical literature the Gentiles are considered to be as darkness. Rav Shaul is once again emphasizing the fact that the Gentile believers in Ephesus were once alienated from the covenants of God and were under wrath. They were, “darkness, but are now light in the LORD.”
 
“ויבדל אלקים בין האור ובין החושך "and G'd separated the light from the darkness."...This is an allusion to the separation between the Jewish people and the Gentile nations, the former always looking forward to the Messiah and redemption, whereas the Gentiles are content to remain in spiritual...darkness.”
 
- Rabbeinu Bahya, Bereshit 1:2:5
 
Our identity is informed by the one we worship. We were darkness (figuratively speaking) before we received Messiah, but now in Him Who is the all existing Light, we become light (figuratively speaking) in YHVH. Therefore, we walk as children of the Light in His goodness, righteousness, and truth. We test, examine and prove all things according to His Spirit in us and present to God that which pleases Him.
 
Yeshua says, “I am the Light of the world!” (John 8:12), and also calls His disciples “the light of the world,” in reflection of His all existing Light (Matthew 5:14-16).
 
Yeshua also refers to those who belong to God as “sons of light” (Luke 16:8; John 12:36).
 
Elsewhere Paul refers to believers as “sons of light” (1 Thessalonians 5:5).
 
This figurative language was also common to the Essenes and certain priests of the intertestamental and first century period (cf. Milhamah Scroll [Qumran Cave 1] and Serek Hayahad [Qumran Cave 1] 3:13-4:14).
 
“the fruit of the Light,” albeit a mixed metaphor, denotes the productive power of light. For example, in the growth of a plant. Those who receive God’s all exiting Light produce righteousness, the actions of light reflecting the character of God. Those who live in darkness, like seeds planted in darkness, produce nothing good, decaying and rotting away unto death.
 
“22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no torah (indictment).”
 
-Galatians 5:22-23 [Author’s translation]
 
Compare John 1:4-5, 8-9, 3:19-21, 12:36.
 
11 And don’t be co-participants with the unfruitful works of darkness, but to a greater degree refute them. 
 
We note that there is, “fruit of the Light,” but that the works of darkness are, “unfruitful.”
 
The ancient initiations into Greek mystery cults normally occurred at night and often involved immoral sexual acts. Nocturnal banquets that involved orgies were also practiced in ancient Roman cities. All these acts were fruitless in both the physical and spiritual sense.
 
To the Corinthian community of faith Paul writes:
 
“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship does righteousness have with unrighteousness? and what communion does light have with darkness?”
 
-2 Corinthians 6:14 [Author’s translation]
 
To the Corinthian believers, as to the Ephesians, Paul is making a d’rash (comparative teaching) concerning mismatched things that cannot work together:
 
“You shall not plow with an ox and an ass yoked together.”
 
-D’varim (Deuteronomy) 22:10
 
Our rabbis write:
 
"(Deut. 22:10) intimates that a righteous man, שלא ישתתף, "should have no fellowship" with a wicked man;''
 
- Baal HaTurim on D’varim (Deuteronomy) 22:10
 
Not only are we not to be co-participants with the unfruitful works of darkness, we are tasked with actively and intentionally refuting them, and to do so to a greater and greater degree. We are not only to refuse to associate with false teachers, we are also to refute them. The false gospel of “nice” doesn’t allow for this, but the Scripture demands it in Messiah.
 
“Therefore, to he/she who knows the good he/she should do and does not do it, to him/her it is sin.”
 
-Yaakov (James) 4:17 [Author’s translation]

Light exposes darkness. Therefore, in Messiah we who are children of Light will by nature of our identity, expose the darkness in the lives of those around us.
 
12 For it’s shameful to even speak of those things done by them in secret. 
 
Paul reinforces for emphasis the fact that it’s shameful even to speak of the wicked things done by the wilfully disobedient in secret.
 
Paul, by the Holy Spirit, is calling those things that Greco-Roman society prided itself in, shameful. As then, so today, many in the body are praising things that God has called “wicked,” even, “abomination.” Paul’s instruction to the believers at Ephesus leaves no room for this kind of pseudo-Christian compromise. We should take note and walk accordingly.
 
13 But all these things are refuted by the Light, in order that everything be exposed by the manifest Light. 
 
The Light Himself, Yeshua, Who lives in us by His Spirit, refutes the immoral things so that all the deeds done in secret/darkness are brought into the Light. This is a process of sanctification that is at work among believers in order to purify the Bride of Messiah.
 
Sin is exposed in the community so as to bring us to repentance. Those who refuse to repent prove that Messiah is not in them and should therefore be put out of the community of faith. This applies specifically to those who claim to be Messiah followers but prove by their fruit that they are not.
 
“9 I wrote to you in my letter that you should not keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly didn’t mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother or sister (In Messiah), who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a mischievous brawler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—don’t even eat with such a person. 12 For what do I have to do with judging those also who are outside (the body of believers)? Are you not to judge those who are inside? 13 But those who are outside, God judges. Therefore “remove the evil person from among yourselves.”
 
-1 Corinthians 5:9-13 [Author’s translation]
 
14 Therefore He says:
“Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead, [ref. Jonah 1:6]
And the light of Messiah will shine on you.” [ref. Isaiah 9:2, 26:19, 60:1]
 
While most scholars attribute this quote to an early Messianic prayer or hymn, I am inclined to understand it as a quote from the scroll of the prophet Jonah. The preceding verse refers to the Light Himself, Yeshua Who refutes and exposes all things by His resurrected glory and eternal majesty.
 
The phrasing “Therefore it is spoken,” also translated, “Therefore He says,” could be interpreted as referring to a saying of the early church inspired by the Holy Spirit. However, it seems more consistent with Paul’s style of writing to attribute what follows to Scripture. Given that elsewhere when Paul uses this introductory phrase it is to introduce a Scripture quote. 2 Timothy 2:11 uses the phrase, Πιστὸς ὁ λόγος Pistos ho logos, “This is a faithful word,” to refer to a saying of the early body of believers, whereas the present text reads, διὸ λέγει Dio legei, “Therefore it says.” Notice that 2 Timothy allows for the understanding that what follows is a truth from a common saying among believers, whereas Ephesians 5:14 allows only for an understanding synonymous with, “It is written.” A clear reference to Scripture. The only question then is, “Which scripture or scriptures is Paul alluding to?”
 
As a result of hyper literal interpretation many have concluded that the words that follow do not exactly match a Scripture text, and therefore can’t refer to Scripture. This position fails to consider the Targums and Midrashim that paraphrase Scripture and therefore often word the text in a slightly different but consistent way. I believe Paul is quoting the scroll of Jonah 1:6.
 
 וַיִּקְרַ֤ב אֵלָיו֙ רַ֣ב הַחֹבֵ֔ל וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ל֖וֹ מַה־לְּךָ֣ נִרְדָּ֑ם ק֚וּם קְרָ֣א אֶל־אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ אוּלַ֞י יִתְעַשֵּׁ֧ת הָאֱלֹהִ֛ים לָ֖נוּ וְלֹ֥א נֹאבֵֽד׃
 
“So the great pilot (captain) approached him (Jonah), and said to him, “How is it that you sleep? Arise! Call on your God; perhaps your God will shine (yit’asheit) on us, so that we may not perish.”
 
-Yonah (Jonah) 1:6 [Author’s translation]
 
The Hebrew יִתְעַשֵּׁ֧ת yit’asheit, from the root עשת ashat, means, “to be smooth, shine, gleam, and to think.” All these are correct English renderings for the text. Therefore, I have translated it as follows: “perhaps your God will shine (yit’asheit) on us.”
 
Messiah has already been established as God with us and is called in this letter of Paul “Yeshua the Messiah, the God and Father.” (v.20)
 
Therefore, “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead (sleep)” equals, “How is it that you sleep? Arise!” And, “the light of Messiah will shine on you,” equals, “your God will shine (yit’asheit) on us.”
 
It seems that Paul is in fact making a d’rash (comparative teaching) on the text of Jonah. Jonah being a prefigure for the King Messiah.
 
The captain and crew of the boat carrying Jonah were sailing away from Israel, the place where God had placed His Name. Nonetheless, in the storm they repented and turned to God through Jonah, whom they asked to awake (Yeshua also slept in a boat), and arise (resurrection), and ask that God (in Messiah) shine on them.
 
Paul, by the Holy Spirit appears to be saying (based on the preceding verse) that the believers of Ephesus (and indeed all believers), should arise from their sleep (lack of diligence) and allow Messiah to raise them from the death of the fallen world, so that His light will shine on them in their redeemed state and therefore expose the evil deeds kept secret in the community of faith.
 
Paul may also be collecting together the following passages from Isaiah 9:2, 26:19, 60:1:
 
“1 (2) The people (ha-am: people of Israel) whose walking's (Haholchim) are in darkness (Choshek: Genesis 1:2) have seen, (perceived and understood) great light (Or gadol: Genesis 1:3-5); those living (dwelling, remaining) in the land (B’eretz: Land of Israel) that lies in the shadow of death, light has enlightened (rested upon) them.”
 
-Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 9:1 (2) [Author’s translation]
 
“Your dead will live; my dead body will arise. Awake and sing, you that dwell in the dust; for your tal dew (night mist) is oraot lights, talecha your night mist, vearetz and the land/earth will cast forth the dead.”
 
-Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 26:19 (2) [Author’s translation]
 
“Kumiy Get up (arising), Oriy shine; kiy va oreich for your light is come, uchevod and the glory of HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) alayich upon you zarach rises, breaks out.”
 
-Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 60:1 [Author’s translation]
 
The Mishneh Torah links the awaking of sleeping ones to repentance
 
“Even though the sounding of the shofar on Rosh HaShanah is a decree, it contains an allusion. It is as if [the shofar's call] is saying:

‘Wake up you sleepy ones from your sleep and you who slumber, arise. Inspect your deeds, repent, remember your Creator. Those who forget the truth in the vanities of time and throughout the entire year, devote their energies to vanity and emptiness which will not benefit or save: Look to your souls. Improve your ways and your deeds and let every one of you abandon his evil path and thoughts.’”
 
- Mishneh Torah, Teshuvah
 
There is a sense of urgency in Paul’s exhortation that connects it with his exhortation to the Roman community of faith:
 
“11 Do this, knowing that at the present time (olam hazeh), it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; For now, salvation (Yeshua) is nearer to us than when we first believed. 12 The night (olam hazeh, the present world subject to wrath) is almost gone, and the day (olam haba, the world to come) is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the hoplon (Greek shield) of light (Hebrew: Or, to illuminate, expose, lay bare, unhidden, revealed, shine, luminous). 13 Let us walk (halakh) properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in quarrelling and jealousy. ”
 
-Romans 13:11-13 [Author’s translation]
 
15 See to it that you walk diligently, not as fools but as wise ones, 
 
Walking well means being diligent, not swayed by the winds of false doctrine and conspiracy like fools, but instead living in the wisdom of God, which is imparted by His Spirit to every believer.
 
16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
 
The time in question is sin affected. Time and space as they exist in the fallen creation, are by nature sin affected and in need of redemption. Thus, in Messiah our every moment is a journey of redemption. His work in us, overflowing to others.
 
Time that was once used for impure acts must, in Messiah, be employed for acts of righteousness.
 
In Hebrew, right actions that redeem the time are collectively seen in the practice of תיקון עולם Tikkun Olam (repairing the world). Sadly, the modern rabbinical form of Tikkun Olam concerns our efforts to repair rather than being a practiced outworking of God’s work. It is therefore a false gospel of works for God rather than the true Gospel of right action in and from God. We cannot save ourselves or our world. Salvation is in and from God alone. We receive it or we don’t, anything else is a false gospel.
 
(Ref. Acts 2:40; Gal. 1:4)
 
17 Because of this do not be foolish, but understand what is the will of the Lord/LORD. 
 
Because the days are evil we are tasked with turning our backs on vile thoughts and actions and in Messiah understanding what the will of God is.
 
What is the will of God?
 
“12 ‘And now, Israel, what does YHVH (Mercy) the Lord your Elohim (God, Judge) require of you, but to fear YHVH (Mercy) the Lord your Elohim (God, Judge), to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve YHVH (Mercy) the Lord your Elohim (God, Judge) with all your core being (heart) and with all your soul, 13 and to keep YHVH (Mercy) the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?’”
 
-D’varim (Deuteronomy) 10:12-13 [Author’s translation]
 
“He has told you, human, what is good;
And what YHVH (Mercy) the Lord requires of you
But to act justly, to love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your Elohim (God, Judge)?”
 
-Micah 6:8 [Author’s translation]
 
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to obtain and provide for his own vessel in sanctification and honour, in in lust chasing sinful desire, like the Gentiles who do not know God;”
 
-1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 [Author’s translation]
 
“Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful unto repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not be damaged in anything through us. For godly sorrow produces repentance unto salvation without regret, but the sorrow of this world produces death.”
 
-2 Corinthians 7:9-10 [Author’s translation]
 
“Who gave Himself  (Messiah) for our sins so that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of the God and Father of us,”
 
-Galatians 1:4 [Author’s translation]
 
“to whom (kedoshim: saints) God willed to make known what are the riches of the judgement of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Messiah in you, the hope of glory.”
 
-Colossians 1:27 [Author’s translation]
 
“in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Messiah Yeshua.”
 
-1 Thessalonians 5:18 [Author’s translation]
 
“For this is the will of God, that by righteous actions you make silent the wilful ignorance of foolish people.”
 
-1 Peter 2:15 [Author’s translation]
 
“Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit the guarding of their souls to Him doing what is right according to the faithful Creator.”
 
-1 Peter 4:19 [Author’s translation]

“7 But the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire by His Word, reserved for the day of judgment and destruction of those people who hate God. 8 But beloved, don’t be ignorant of this one thing, that with the Lord/LORD one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 9 The Lord/LORD is not slow in fulfilling His promise, as some assess slowness, but is longsuffering toward you (Jewish believers, the original recipients of Peter’s works), not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.”

-2 Peter 3:7-9 [Author’s translation]
 
Therefore God’s will is:
 
1.     To fear God and walk in His ways (Deuteronomy10:12-13)
2.     To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Him (Micah 6:8)
3.     That we be sanctified (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5)
4.     That we be made sorrowful unto repentance and salvation (2 Corinthians 7:9-10)
5.     That Messiah die in order to deliver us from the present evil world (Galatians 1:4)
6.     To make known to the holy ones (saints) the riches of His glory in the inclusion of the Gentiles (Colossians 1:27)
7.     That we give thanks in all things in Messiah Yeshua (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
8.     That by right actions (in Him) we shut the mouths of wilfully ignorant, foolish people (1 Peter 2:15)
9.     That in suffering we trust ourselves to God the Creator and do what is right (1 Peter 4:19)
10.  The destruction by fire of the wicked (2 Peter 3:7)
11.  That none among the believing Jewish community should perish eternally (2 Peter 3:9)
 
18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is debauchery; but be filled in the Spirit, 
 
Biblical Jewish faith tradition despises drunkenness.
 
“Sexual immorality, wine, and new wine take away the heart (core being, inner person).”
 
-Hosea 4:11 [Author’s translation]
 
“Wine is a mocker, strong drink a roar of rage,
And whoever is deceived by them proves unwise.”
 
-Proverbs 20:1 [Author’s translation]
 
“19 You listen, my son, and be wise,
And guide your heart (core being) in the way.
20 Don’t hang out with heavy drinkers,
Or with gluttonous eaters of flesh;
21 For the drunkard and the glutton will be overcome with poverty,
And a hangover will clothe a person in rags.

-Proverbs 23:19-21 [Author’s translation] (ref. 29-35)
 
Ancient Greco-Roman religion and philosophy gave licence for drunkenness and the use of substances for inducing spiritual experiences.
 
Drunken debauchery was common in the Mediterranean culture of the time, and was practised at late night banquets/sex parties predominantly attended by the upper class. The poor too had access to such immoral opportunities. Local taverns provided ample alcohol and bar maids that offered sexual services to patrons.
 
Intoxication induced by alcohol and other substances was employed for pagan religious rites and used for inspiration. One such practice invoked possession by the Greek god of wine Dionysus. Rites like this often also included sexual promiscuity and violence.
 
Wine is not the problem, Yeshua drank wine. Intoxication is the problem, in all its forms, because it weakens the integrity of the intoxicated person by impairing their mental faculties and it defiles the sound reason of the mind, leading the one who is intoxicated to lose control. Thus it heightens the human propensity toward evil which ends in debauchery and death.
 
We note that, “Be filled with the Spirit,” is an exhortation to trust God to fill us with His Spirit.
 
“Be filled with the Spirit,” is in the Greek present tense and denotes an ongoing and repeated filling of the Spirit of God unto inspiration in spiritual matters. This does not discount the mark/seal of the Spirit upon every believer as an established sign of salvation unto eternal life (Eph. 1:13-14), nor does it discount the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which is received by grace through faith and in immersion (John 14:16-17; Romans 8:9; 1 Cor. 6:19). Nor does it refer to the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is a one-time event that is part of the baptism commanded by Messiah. The exceptions in Scripture occur during the early growth of the church and the progression of learning about the various baptisms. In all cases where a genuine believer receives the baptism commanded by Yeshua, that person is baptised in and receives the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
 
The text does not say, “Be drunk with the Spirit,” as some false teachers say. This misrepresentation is satanic, abhorrent to God, because it impugns the character of God’s Spirit. Have nothing to do with people that teach this practice. They are being made drunk by a spirit, and not by the Spirit of God.
 
19 speaking to one another in psalms of strings and songs of praise and spiritual songs, singing and making music in your heart to the Lord/LORD, 
 
This is said to all. It’s something that is done individually and corporately. Even one who is not talented musically can make music in his heart (core being).
 
Why does Paul specify so many types of psalms, songs? I believe he is alluding to the various types of Psalms recorded in the scroll of Tehillim (Psalms).
 
“Speaking to one another in psalms מִכְתָּם Miktam (a sacred psalm), of strings נְגִינוֹת Negiynot (psalm played on a stringed instrument), and songs of praise הלל Hallel (Psalms of ascent), and spiritual songs משכיל Maschil (a thoughtful or instructional psalm), שִׁגָּיוֹן Shigayon (a lament or passionate song)…”
 
By making a list of specific types of Psalms Paul is educating the Gentile Ephesian believers in the ways of Israel’s faith history and the use of the Biblical Psalms in praise and worship.
 
In one sense, Paul is saying that every Spirit filled believer, can, like David, make music in their heart (core being) to YHVH.
 
20 Be thankful always in/beyond/above all things in the Name of our Lord/LORD, Yeshua the Messiah, the God and Father,  
 
The Greek ὑπὲρ hyper, translated “for” in many English versions, means, “above, beyond, more than, in, for” respectively. This is why I’ve chosen the translation, “Be thankful always in/beyond/above all things,” which is more consistent with the context of Paul’s writing and establishes the truth that in Messiah we can be transcendently thankful in the midst of any and every circumstance. In short, Paul is not saying “be thankful always for all things,” but “be thankful always in and beyond all things in the Name of our LORD, Yeshua the Messiah, the God and Father.”
 
Therefore, this does not mean that we are to be thankful for evil things. At best it may include being thankful for deliverance from evil things. The key to understanding this is the phrase, “in the Name.” We are to be thankful always in all things in the Name of our LORD YHVH, Yeshua the Messiah, the God and Father. Meaning, in His character, nature, being, identity, deity.
 
Thankfulness in and of itself is not godly. Many today as part of the so called mindfulness movement, teach thankfulness mantras as a means for wellbeing in and of themselves.
 
Thankful for what and to whom? Unless thankfulness is to God in Whom we exist and have life, our thankfulness is empty. Any peace derived from vain thankfulness is empty temporal peace. The thankfulness Paul speaks of here is “in the Name of our LORD, Yeshua the Messiah, the God and Father!”
 
Note that the Greek text when translated literally reads, “in the Name of our LORD, Yeshua the Messiah, the God and Father.” Yeshua is God. He is God the Son and the manifestation of God the Father in Human form (Col. 2:9).
 
21 Submit yourselves equitably one to another in the fearful awe of Messiah.
 
This speaks of everyone in the body of believers and therefore speaks to both husband and wife as an equally important exhortation.
 
Paul need not begin this section of his letter with an exhortation to, “love one another” because that has already been well established in chapter 4 and verse 2 of the present chapter. Therefore, the love of God at work in us is the foundation for the instruction unto submission in fear of Messiah.
 
Notice that Messiah is placed in the phrase “fearful awe of Messiah” where God would usually be placed “fearful awe of God.” Fear of Messiah is fear of God. Without fear of Messiah the believer is incapable of godly submission to another believer in any relationship.
 
Verse 21 begins a Messianic code of conduct for household relationships. In God’s love mutual submission to one another in Messiah is rule one. Therefore, the following instructions must submit to rule one. This is something that misogynistic leaders fail to realise.
 
As early as the fourth century BC Greek philosophers codified household conduct that established protocol for how the male leaders of wealthy families should manage the relationships and affairs of the home. These household codes taught the male head how to rule over the subordinate members of the household, wives, children and slaves.
 
Romans were suspicious of the Biblical Jewish family and the way it valued members of the household as equal and uniquely gifted contributors to the wellbeing of the family unit. In ancient Biblical Judaism as today, the women of the Jewish home were honoured as carriers of faith tradition to be passed on to children generationally. Jewish rituals such as the Kabbalat Shabbat ceremony pay special attention to the honouring of women. These aspects of Jewish practice made Roman men uncomfortable.
 
On the other hand, certain Greco-Roman cities practiced a Matriarchal societal norm which often demeaned men and established another kind of inequity within households.
 
Paul brings a Messiah essential Jewish code of conduct that, having been established in love begins with mutual submission. He establishes his teaching in the teaching of Yeshua the King Messiah, Whom he has personally and transcendently encountered (Acts 9).
 
“42 But Yeshua called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones wield power over them. 43 But, it will not be so among you; rather whoever desires to become great among you will be your servant. 44 And whoever of you desires to be first will be servant of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
 
- Mark 10:42-45 [Author’s translation] (Ref. John 13:14-15)
 
When counselling married Christian and Messiah following Jewish couples my wife and I first remind each one that in Messiah they are fully loved and secure, therefore, having been filled with Messiah’s love they are tasked not with seeking what they can get out of the marriage but with allowing the overflow of the love of God to minister to the other. Once again, this emphasises self-sacrificial love. Next, we remind each person in the marriage that the Scriptures written to men are to be the focus of the man, and the Scriptures written to women are to be the focus of the woman. In short, stop using Scriptures written to your partner as ammunition, instead concentrate on your obligation according to Scripture.
 
Pastors, teachers, Rabbis and laypeople would do well to remember this when teaching these Scriptures to their communities.

22 The wife to her own husband as to the Lord/LORD.
 
It was not uncommon in Greco-Roman society and therefore in Ephesus, for a man to have a wife and a consort, or for a wife to have sexual relations with a favoured male servant, and so on. Paul has just admonished the community to turn away from sexual immorality, and so he continues to detail what that means here.
 
The wife is to submit herself (her sex) to her own husband and to no other, just as she and all believers are to submit to One God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
 
Paul has established mutual love (Eph. 4) and mutual submission (Eph. 5:21). He now focuses on the respective areas that women and men struggle to excel in.
 
Women are inclined toward love and devotion, whereas men are more inclined toward conquering and ruling.
 
Women find submission difficult primarily based on the fruit of the first sin of humanity. And men take rule for granted based on that same sinful fruit.
 
“Your desire will be to usurp your husband’s authority,
And yet he shall rule over you.”
 
-Genesis 3:16 [Author’s translation]
 
God created the man and the woman to be partners with unique roles who submit one to the other in Him. Sin left this ideal unbalanced and opened the way for an ungodly power struggle between the man and the woman.
 
Paul’s exhortation first teaches Gentile believers the Biblical Jewish ideal and then focusses on those areas each partner will struggle with. For the woman that area is submission and for the man that area is all-encompassing love agape[G] (not sex).
 
It’s important to note that a wife’s submission to her husband is premised on mutual submission, as previously stated, and that the wife is not required to submit to abuse or participation in sinful practices, which would contradict the Torah and the context of Paul’s teaching. (Ref. 1 Samuel 25)
 
““For YHVH the Lord Elohim God/Judge of Israel says That He hates divorce, and one who wears violence as a garment,” Says YHVH the Lord Who goes warring (of hosts). “Therefore practice self-control over your spirit, That you do not deal faithlessly.”
 
-Malachi 2:16

23 Because a husband is to be head, first (in order), of the wife, like also the Messiah is the head, first (in order) of the gathered believers. He the Saviour, Deliverer, Preserver of the body.
 
The husband is first in order as a reflection of Messiah being the Origin, first in order over the body of faith (the Bride). When a husband performs his role well he has no need to demand submission from a godly wife. Seeing Messiah in him she is willing to submit to his God appointed role.

24 Nevertheless in the same way the gathered believers submit to the Messiah, in this manner also the wife, the husband, in place always each one.
 
Look carefully husband. There is a great weight of obligation on you unto purity. After all, if the wife is to submit to the husband in order of authority she does so providing the husband is submitted to Messiah in that same order.
 
Therefore, know your place and walk in humility.
 
Wife, you also be warned. Failure to submit to a husband who is endeavouring to honour Messiah and lead the household in a godly way is an equally weighty obligation. A wife who won’t allow her husband to lead, sins against the LORD, her husband, and herself.

25 The husband is to love agape[G] (fully in every way) the wife, as also the Messiah loves (fully in every way) the gathered believers, indeed, giving Himself (Messiah) for her (gathered believers).
 
The believing husband’s love for his wife must reflect the self-sacrificial love of the King Messiah.
 
A husband that makes only demands and is concerned only with his own rights and what he can get from his wife is not exhibiting the love of Messiah.
 
In truth, a godly wife longs for a Messiah-like husband who through self-sacrificial love leads his household in righteousness. The wife of such a husband willingly submits to his God given authority. The wife that does not, proves herself to be ungodly.

26 In order that He (Messiah) might separate, acknowledge, dedicate, hallow, cleanse by the washing with the water of the living voice, spoken word rhema[G].
 
The “He” here is the Messiah, Who gave Himself for all believers so that in His resurrection power He might separate out sin from us, dedicate His love in us, hallow the set apart nature of us in Him, and by the water of His living voice, wash us, sanctifying us within time and space on our journey toward eternity.
 
The washing of the water of the living voice of Messiah is reflected in the ancient (and modern orthodox) Jewish betrothal קידושין kiddushin (sanctifying, setting apart) rite of טבילה במקווה tevilah b’mikveh (immersion in the mikveh). This is entered into by both the bride and the groom prior to the wedding ceremony. We note that Yeshua was immersed by John, not because of a need for cleansing but as High Priest and Groom, in preparation for the fullness of His role. We in turn, having agreed to His proposal, enter immersion (baptism) in preparation for the wedding feast of the Lamb.
 
For more detail on the ancient Jewish betrothal and wedding customs, please read my article titled Eternal Security in the Ancient Jewish Art of Betrothal & Marriage 

​27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious assembly, without stain or wrinkle or any such thing, in order that she should be holy and blameless, without spot or blemish. 
 
The Mishnah Ketubot draws a corelation between blemishes that make a priest unfit for marriage and blemishes that make a woman unfit for marriage:
 
“If he betrothed her on condition that she has no blemishes, and it was subsequently discovered that she did have blemishes, she is not betrothed. But if he married her without specification, and it was subsequently discovered that she had blemishes, she may be divorced without payment of her marriage contract. The mishnah clarifies what qualifies as a blemish: All of the blemishes that are listed in tractate Bekhorot involving significant physical deformities that disqualify priests from service similarly disqualify betrothal of women, as a mistaken transaction.”
 
- Mishnah Ketubot 7:7b
 
Messiah prepares us through His blood and by His Spirit, insuring that every blemish is removed from our wedding garments by His precious blood atoning work.
 
“You are complete in beauty, my love,
There is no blemish in you.”
 
-Song of songs 4:7 [Author’s translation]
 
See my article on the Jewish wedding rites:
 
https://www.bethmelekh.com/yaakovs-commentary/eternal-security-in-the-ancient-jewish-art-of-betrothal-marriage-revised-updated
 
28 So husbands owe a debt of all-encompassing love agape[G] to their own wives as to their own bodies; he who fully loves agape[G] his wife fully loves agape[G] himself. 
 
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
 
-Genesis 2:24
 
Rabbinical tradition teaches that a man’s wife is כגופו kegufo, “as his own body” (Talmud Bavliy Berakhot 24a:6; Hilchot Bechorot c.2 sect. 7; Tzror HaMor 18:2 ).
 
“The Sages taught: One who loves his wife as he loves himself, and who honours her more than himself, and who instructs his sons and daughters in an upright path, and who marries them off near the time when they reach maturity, about him the verse states: And you shall know that your tent is in peace.”
 
-Talmud Bavliy Yevamot 62b
 
This practical example is also a beautiful promise. Messiah is Groom to the body of believers (v.32) and thus loves us as His own body.
 
29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cares for it, just as the Messiah does for the assembly of believers. 
 
There is an allusion here to the kind of fasting that pleases the LORD.
 
“Is it (the fasting God requires) not to divide to the hungry your bread, and the poor that are wandering  bring in to thy house; when you see a naked one, and you cover him; and from your own flesh, do not hide?”
 
-Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 58:7 [Author’s translation]
 
The bar for the husband is set in the highest heaven according to the Messiah’s care for the body of faith. A husband with His mind on Messiah has little time to complain about his wife’s performance.
 
30 Since we are members of His body. 
 
This is both an assurance of security and an exhortation to purity.
 
31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” [Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:5; Mark 10:7] 
 
Paul quotes Genesis 2:24, a passage authored by and quoted on the lips of Messiah (Matt. 19:5; Mark 10:7) in emphasising the purity that God demands must be present in marriage. Why? Because of what follows.
 
32 This, the mystery is great, but I speak concerning Messiah and toward the assembly of believers. 
 
Just as God is Husband to Israel, Yeshua is Groom to the body of believers. This is not a mystery hidden but one that is being revealed in Messiah unto the fullness of all things. It is now and not yet fully revealed to us.
 
Marriage between a man and a woman reflects the love relationship God desires to have with humanity. This is why the Torah requires the death penalty for adultery. The defiling of the marriage bed (both adultery and premarital sex) is an affront to the redemptive, reconciliatory love relationship established through Messiah between God and humanity.
 
33 However, let each one of you himself in the same way, fully love agape[G] his own wife as himself, and let the wife show reverent awe for her husband.
 
To the men first, love your wives, and second, to the wives, show reverent awe for your husbands.
 
When either partner refuses to obey God’s instruction by the Holy Spirit upon the pen of Paul, the marriage relationship descends into a sinful war set on domination, each one seeking to rule over the other.
 
When we seek to rule over our marriage partner we prove that we are not submitted to God in love. The man who refuses to love his wife sacrificially is in rebellion toward God and the woman who refuses to submit to her husband is equally in rebellion toward God (abuse and infidelity notwithstanding).
 
Therefore, “Submit yourselves equitably one to another in the fearful awe of Messiah.”
 
Copyright 2025 Yaakov (Brown) Ben Yehoshua

Ephesians 4 [Author’s Translation]
 
1 Pleading with you therefore (according to what has preceded), I the prisoner in the Lord/LORD, ask that you also walk in a worthy manner according to the calling with which you were called, 
2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in all-encompassing love (αγάπη agape[G]), 
3 hastening to keep/guard the unity of the Spirit in the bond of the peace/wholeness/wellbeing. 
4 One body and one Spirit, just as indeed you were called in one hope of your calling; 
5 One Lord/LORD, one faith/trust, one immersion (טבילה במקווה tevilah b’mikveh[H]); 
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in all.
7 But to each one of us was given according to the measure, the grace/unmerited favour of Messiah’s gift. 
8 Therefore He says (YHVH by His Spirit on King David’s tongue/pen):
“When He ascended on high,
He took captivity captive,
In order to give gifts to humans.” (Septuagint. Psalm 68:18 [19])
9 (Now what is meant by, “He ascended”— but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth. [Psalms 139:15] 
10 He Who came down is also the One Who ascended above all the heavens, in order that He might fill all things.)
11 And He Himself gave some as apostles (sent ones), some prophets, some evangelists (bringers of good news), and some shepherds and teachers, 
12 for the equipping of the holy ones (saints) for the work of service, for the building up of the body of Messiah, 
13 until we all come to the unity of the faith/trust and of the precise correct knowledge of the Son, the God, toward a man perfect, toward the measure of the height of the fully filled Messiah; 
14 that we should never again be young children (not yet of the age of moral understanding), tossed about and driven around with every wind of teaching, by the cunning of people (soul stealers), in the craftiness of the schemes of the error, 
15 But being truthful in all-encompassing love (αγάπη agape[G]), grow up toward Him the all, Who is the head—Messiah— 
16 from Whom the whole body, joined and knitted together through all that each joint supplies, according to the active energy in measured precision by which every element does its part, causes growth of the body for the building up of itself in all-encompassing love (αγάπη agape[G]).
17 This I say, therefore (according to what has preceded), and testify in the Lord/LORD, that you should never again walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their thinking, 
18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of the God, because of the ignorance (wilful rejection of knowledge) that is in them, because of the wilful blindness of their heart (inner being); 
19 who, being intentionally numb, have given themselves over to unbridled lust, to work all impurity with greediness.
20 But you haven’t learned that, you have learned Messiah, 
21 if indeed you have heard/listened to/received Him and have been taught by Him, just as the truth is in the Yeshua: 
22 To put off, according to your former conduct, the old human which destroys according to the lust of the deceit, 
23 to be renewed, in the spirit, the mind (intellect) of you,
24 and be clothed with the new human which is created according to God, in righteousness and holiness, the truth.
25 Therefore, to put aside the lie, “each one speak truth with his neighbour,” (Zechariah 8:16) for we are members of one another. 
26 “Tremble, stand in awe, quake with rage/agitation/excitement (רִגְזוּ rigzu – shake, be agitated, rage) Be angry (Ὀργίζεσθε orgizesthe – an instance of settled opposition), and do not sin” (Psalm 4:4[5]): do not let the sun go down on your indignation, 
27 Don’t give space to the devil/slanderer/false accuser. 
28 Let the one who stole steal no longer, but rather let that one labour, working with hands to do what is good, so that person may have something to give the one who is in need. 
29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good and needed for building up, in order that it might impart grace/unmerited favour to those who hear. 
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of the God, by Whom you were sealed/marked for the day of redemption/liberation. 
31 Let all bitterness, wrath, festering anger (ὀργὴ orge - a teeming general state of constitutional opposition), belligerent shouting, and evil speaking/distractions be put away from you, along with all evil intent to injure. 
32 And be kind to one another, compassionate, giving grace/unmerited favour to one another, just as the God in Messiah gives grace/unmerited favour to you.
 
Line By Line:
 
1 Pleading with you therefore (according to what has preceded), I the prisoner in the Lord/LORD, ask that you also walk in a worthy manner according to the calling with which you were called, 
 
Based on all that Paul has written in the first three chapters he pleads with the Ephesian ecclesia (body of believers) asking that they walk out their faith according to the calling of God on their lives. Paul says this as “the prisoner in the LORD” and thus draws the attention of the Ephesian believers to the self-sacrificial nature of the calling all believers receive from God in Messiah, and the fact that God is ultimately in control of all things, including Paul’s imprisonment.
 
This exhortation to act from faith is common to Paul’s letters. Notice, that it is act from faith and not act for faith.
 
“Therefore, my beloved ones, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but now much more so in my absence, with fear and trembling work out of the salvation of yourselves.”
 
-Philippians 2:12 [Author’s translation]
 
What follows in the later chapters of Ephesians is a guide to spiritual practice, the sum of which is “walk in a worthy manner according to the calling with which you were called.” (Ref. Romans 8:1; 12:1; Col. 1:10; 1 Thess. 2:12)
 
Up to this point in his letter Paul has mostly focused on Messiah’s supremacy, the Gospel inclusion of the Gentiles and praise. He now shifts his language toward inspiring his readers/listeners to act in the strength of Messiah. Faith and works in unity.
 
“You will know them by their fruit.”
 
-Yeshua (Matt. 7:20)
 
2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in all-encompassing love (αγάπη agape[G]), 
 
This chapter begins and concludes with an exhortation to bear with and forgive other believers from a place of humility in the all-encompassing love of God in Messiah. This is part of what it means to “walk in a worthy manner according to the calling.”
 
3 hastening to keep/guard the unity of the Spirit in the bond of the peace/wholeness/ wellbeing. 
 
The Greek σπουδάζοντες spoudazontes translated “hastening, endeavouring, making every effort” etc. means “diligently move forward, act with excited intentionality!”
 
The Ephesian believers are not tasked with creating unity (acting in such a way as to manufacture it by their own strength) but are asked to “keep/guard the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” The unity that the Ephesians are exhorted to keep is established by God’s Spirit in Peace Himself, the King Messiah Yeshua.”
 
Sadly many in the body of believers today make unity the goal and therefore become idolaters. Unity is not the goal, Messiah is the Goal (Rom. 10:4). Unity at all costs is idolatry. We do not establish unity, we guard (keep) it. Unity is a gift of the Spirit of God which is bound up in the peace defined by the Prince of Peace Who has made godly unity among believers possible through His blood atoning work on the cross.
 
God forbid that we should overlook apostacy in order to maintain a counterfeit form of unity. Instead, let us guard the unity of the Spirit in the bond of the peace!
 
In the context of the letter to the Ephesians (2:13-22) the unity spoken of concerns the inclusion of the Gentiles and the continuing obligation on both Jews and Gentiles to guard the Spirit given unity of the body of believers, Jew and Gentile, which has been purchased by the blood of Messiah.
 
At the time of Paul’s writing (60 CE) the Ephesian church had become predominantly Gentile with the Jewish believers now in the minority. Therefore, Paul is also specifically warning Gentile believers of their ongoing obligation to maintain a safe worship environment for the Jewish believers who are part of the reason that the Gentiles were able to receive the Gospel in the first place.
 
Paul’s exhortation to unity is based on Messiah’s prayer for the unity of His disciples and of all who would believe and become part of the ecclesia throughout the ages until His return (John 17).
 
4 One body and one Spirit, just as indeed you were called in one hope of your calling; 
 
One body in Messiah Who is the Head. One Spirit, the Holy Spirit poured out upon all believers, marking those appointed to eternal life (1:13-14). Both Jew and Gentile called in one hope of redemption and eternal life in right relationship with God through Messiah (1:5, 10; 2:7). Not one of these elements concerns ethnicity, sex, religious genre, financial status etc. Those who misuse verses like this to seek to dissolve ethnic uniqueness, individual calling, tribal affiliation and so on, do so at the risk of severe discipline. The Body of Messiah is a pure, diverse, godly unity. Converted souls, celebrated ethnicities, sexes, God honouring expressions of tribe. We remain free to be tribal but do not practice tribalism.
 
Jewish tradition teaches that in the world of souls all stand equal:
 
“Except for the affairs of the soul, in which the poor and the rich are equal.”
 
-Tzror HaMor on Torah, Exodus 30:15
 
5 One Lord/LORD, one faith/trust, one immersion (טבילה במקווה tevilah b’mikveh[H]); 
 
One LORD:
 
Messiah is One, therefore, One Lord. God is One, therefore, One LORD.
 
As explained in my commentary on 1:3, the Septuagint (Greek OT) uses the Greek κύριος Kurios, meaning “Lord” to translate יהוה YHVH some 7,000 times. Of the 748 uses of κύριος Kurios in the New Testament approximately 700 refer directly to Yeshua and the remainder with few (if any) exceptions qualify either an “Angel of the LORD” or “The LORD God.”
 
Ephesians 4:5 is one of over 700 times where κύριος Kurios is used of Yeshua and also denotes YHVH. There is no need for a false choice that demands we choose one or the other. While it’s true that Paul is stating the unity/oneness of the Godhead and the body of Messiah  in an ordered way: one body, one Spirit, one Lord/Master, one faith, one God, Father. He is also aluding to oneness according to its nature, which denotes a complex unity where distinctions exist rather than separations.
 
One Faith:
 
אמן – אמונה Aman/Emunah (faith) is given by Messiah Who defines faith (Rev. 3:14) and returned in Him to God, therefore, One faith.
 
One Immersion (Baptism):
 
One Immersion refers to the immersion commanded by Messiah, to be performed in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). An immersion that includes water (Acts 8:36-38), the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; 1 Cor. 12:12-13), symbolic death and resurrection (Romans 6:3-4), forgiveness of sin (Acts 2:38) and so on.
 
To limit this immersion to the immersion of the Holy Spirit alone is to contradict Messiah’s instruction and to misunderstand Paul entirely.
 
Salvation is not reliant on immersion (baptism) [Luke 23:43] but ongoing discipleship and identification with the body of believers is (Matthew 28:19).
 
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in all.
 
God is One YHVH, therefore, One Father in Whom all things exist and have their being. Father denotes Creator. Yeshua is One with the Father, and the Spirit of the Father and the Son is One (John 10:30; Matthew 10:20 and Romans 8:11; Galatians 4:6, Romans 8:9).
 
“For in Him (Yeshua) all things were created: things in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him (Yeshua) and for Him (Yeshua).”
 
-Colossians 1:16 [Author’s translation]
 
7 But to each one of us was given according to the measure, the grace/unmerited favour of Messiah’s gift. 
 
Every believer has received the gift of unmerited favour which is of Messiah, and this in unique measure according to our place within the body of Messiah. (Ref. 1:6; 3:7-8)
 
The gift of Messiah is measured out into various gifts that build up the community of faith as explained in verses 11-22.
 
No one individual has all the gifts, that would defeat the purpose of a body made up of many parts. We are gifted individually as members of a body that finds its health and maintenance in Messiah in the employment of all the gifts. In addition, every believer is a gift to the body. Those who refuse to meet with the believing community are stealing from the community the gift that they have been created to be.
 
8 Therefore He says (YHVH by His Spirit on King David’s tongue/pen):
“When He ascended on high,
He took captivity captive,
In order to give gifts to humans.” (Septuagint. Psalm 68:18 [19])
 
“You have ascended on high taking captivity captive, receiving gifts in the man (humanity), also for rebellious ones, that Yah Elohim (Mercy the Judge) might dwell among them.”
 
-Tehillim (Psalms) 68:18[19] [Author’s translation from Hebrew text]
 
The Hebrew text of Tehillim (Psalms) 68:19 [18] reads לָקַ֣חְתָּ מַ֭תָּנוֹת בָּאָדָ֑ם “receiving gifts in the man,” meaning that Messiah received gifts in Himself to impart to rebellious humans who repent and receive His blood atoning work (Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:1-5).
 
“4 But the God, Who is rich in mercy, by means of His great love which He loved us with, 5 even when we were dead in our deviation from the truth, He made us alive together with the Messiah. [By grace/loving kindness you have been saved/rescued/kept safe], 
 
-Ephesians 2:4-5 [Author’s translation]
 
Contrary to the attempts of anti-missionary Jewish groups, the Septuagint text of Psalms 68:18 [19] quoted by Paul does not contradict the Hebrew text of Psalms 68: 18[19]. Both the Hebrew text and the Septuagint agree that Messiah (the subject of the Psalm) ascended to the highest position in the heavens (just as Paul has already alluded to [1:20] ) having put death to death (made a captive of captivity, thus setting free the captives), and has now received gifts (from God the Father) to give to human beings, even to rebellious human beings who repent and receive His blood atoning work. These gifts include but are not limited to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the giftings of being apostles (sent ones), prophets, evangelists (bringers of good news), shepherds and teachers. Each of the gifts are spiritual and not the product of human intellect. God gives them to us in Messiah. They are not born of our fallen humanity but of God. In one sense, hall human beings are talented (naturally gifted by nature of the Creator’s work), but only Messiah essential people are gifted from above with the transcendent giftings of the Spirit of God.
 
Therefore, the Messiah’s gift of unmerited favour purchased by His eternal blood essence, branches off into multiple gifts that build up the faith community. Thus, faith begets faith in Messiah. The Unity of the Godhead begets unity of the body of believers with Messiah as Head.
 
9 (Now what is meant by, “He ascended”— but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth. [Psalms 139:15] 
 
“And no man has ascended up to the heavens, except He that came down from the heavens, the Son of man which is in heaven.”
 
-John 3:13 [Author’s translation]
 
Messiah is God in the beginning, all existing (John 1), and in keeping with God’s redemptive purposes and for the sake of humanity He came down to earth as a man (John 1:1, 14; Philippians 2:5-8).
 
Yeshua descended, being born of the virgin. He also descended into Sheol (Hades: Holding place of the departed) [Acts 2:27, 31; Rom. 10:7] but not into Gehenna (Luke 16:19-31).
 
1 Peter 3:18-22 does not teach that Messiah descended to Gehenna. The text very clearly premises Peter’s preaching to the imprisoned as happening “After being made alive” (v.19). Please see Appendix for clarification.
 
The plain meaning of Ephesians 4:9 denotes Yeshua’s humanity (God with us). The phrasing “lower parts of the earth” being a direct quote from Psalms 139. Paul is using this line from the Psalm as a reference point to establish a midrash (comparative teaching) on the entirety of Psalm 139, which alludes among other things, to all that exists in God and to the Creator’s foreknowledge of the intricate creation of humanity both the first man Adam and all human beings individually and collectively. We note that Psalm 139 is a prophetic Psalm of King David the progenitor of the line of the King Messiah, David’s Greater Son, Yeshua.
 
“If I ascend up into the heavens, You are there: if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, now, pay attention, You exist… My substance was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, intricately woven together in the lowest parts of the earth.”
 
-Tehillim (Psalms) 139:8 & 15 [Author’s translation]
 
The phrasing “My substance was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, intricately woven together in the lowest parts of the earth,” is both a description of the creation of Adam the first man and at the same time a figurative way of describing the growth of every human being in a mother’s womb (Targum, Iben Ezra, Kinchi, Yarchi, Ben Melekh). “The lowest parts of the earth” can also denote Sheol, which is generally considered to be below (Job 33:28; Psalm 143:7; Ezekiel 26:20).
 
Yeshua is the creating Word in Whom the first Adam was made. Yeshua is also the last Adam, the perfect human and Redeemer (1 Corinthians 15:45).
 
10 He Who came down is also the One Who ascended above all the heavens, in order that He might fill all things.)
 
This continues the midrash on Psalm 139, which affirms Yeshua’s ascent to the heavens and His dominion over all things seated at the right hand of the Father (1:20-22).
 
The phrasing “in order that He might fill all things” expresses Messiah’s deity (Colossians 1:16-20).
 
The phrase “He Who came down is also the One Who ascended” first denotes death and resurrection and then “above all the heavens” to the reigning position at the right hand of the Father (Philippians 2:9-11).
 
This is also an assurance to all believers that our resurrection is established in Messiah’s resurrection life and eternal reign.
 
11 And He Himself gave some as apostles (sent ones), some prophets, some evangelists (bringers of good news), and some shepherds and teachers, 
 
He Himself the Messiah, being God the Son, came down, gave of Himself in atoning work in order to set the repentant captives free and having risen from the dead putting death to death, ascended to the right hand of God and is resurrected, trans-locational, unbound by time, space or any other thing, all things made subject to Him in the Father.
 
Therefore, the list of roles/giftings that follows, while applying to the body of believers post Yeshua’s resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the first century CE, also predates the first century body of believers, Yeshua being both the all existing Word essence of God in the beginning and the head, originator, beginning of the ecclesia (body of believers) past, present and future. Meaning, the ecclesia “Church,” did not begin at Shavuot/Pentecost in 33 CE, rather the fulness of Messiah’s work within time and space is revealed to humanity in 33 CE and the mystery of the inclusion of the Gentiles is forthcoming. Yeshua’s atoning work being the perceived catalyst for the impartation of the gifts mentioned in Psalm 139. “The lamb slain before the foundation of the world.” (Rev. 13:8) All this in order that He (Yeshua) “might fill all things” (v.10).
 
Rav Shaul (Paul) then, in addition to explaining Messiah’s equipping of the first century body of believers both Jew and Gentile (which follows Yeshua’s ascent to the right hand of God), is also explaining the progression of the Gospel within God's Kingdom (from its inception: Bereishit [In the Head/Origin/Beginning] Genesis).
 
God (Father, Son, & spirit) sent Apostles (Shaliachim, sent ones, servant messengers), like Avraham, Moses, Joshua (All of them sent by Messiah: “The Word of the LORD came to Avraham [Gen. 15:1]). Then in the fullness of time, Yeshua, the ultimate Apostle Shaliach, and subsequently the twelve, including Paul, and so on. Through the ministry of the Apostles (Sent Ones) God seeded Prophets (Nevi'im, truth tellers), such as Jonah, Habakkuk, Ezekiel, and in the fullness of time, Yeshua (Hebrews 1:1-2), in order to keep people accountable to the message of the Apostles (Sent Ones). By learning from the Apostles (Sent Ones) and being held accountable by the Prophets, some who received the message wanted to pass it on, these became Evangelists (Proclaimers of the Good news), such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, and in the fullness of time, Yeshua, and Yaakov (James), Yochanan (John), Kefa (Peter) etc. They spread the message and thus, communities were established (Rome, Corinth, Ephesus etc.). Communities need Shepherds (Rabbis/Pastors), and Teachers (Godly scholars/Rabbis/Scribes) of sound doctrine.
 
Thus, the so called fivefold ministry is not a model for some mystical invocation of God's manifest work, rather it is the outworking of what God is already doing. We are servants and sons, not dictators and wizards. The purpose of these roles/giftings is not to establish a hierarchy but to build up and perpetuate the community of faith in Messiah. Therefore, each of these roles/giftings are the titles/functions of servants, not the honorifics of self-promoting tyrants.
 
When, in pride, a modern leader or prophet or otherwise employees one of these titles/roles/giftings as an honorific, e.g. “I am Apostle such and such,” they are by the nature of the title/gifting/role, contradicting its purpose and defiling it. In doing so they prove themselves counterfeit. Repentance is needed.
 
In one sense every believer is an Apostle (Shaliach), a sent one!
 
“1 In many parts, many ways and with many variations, turnings, revolutions of old, in former days the God spoke to our forefathers in the hand of the prophets; before, toward, in reference to these the last days, He speaks to us in the hand of His Son 2 Who He set in place, established, appointed, named as heir of all things individually and collectively, and also through Whom He formed in His hand the unbroken age, ages, world, worlds, universe, universes.”
 
-Hebrews 1:1-2 [Author’s translation]
 
Due to the ambiguity of the Greek text some enter into a needless argument over whether Shepherd and Teacher are the same role/gift. They are unique and convergent roles/giftings. In short, the answer to the question, “Are shepherding and teaching one gift or two?” is “Yes!”
 
12 for the equipping of the holy ones (saints) for the work of service, for the building up of the body of Messiah, 
 
Verses 12 to 13 explain clearly that these roles/giftings are for the building up of the community in Messiah as acts of service in which even those serving are beneficiaries of the sanctifying work imparted through these roles/giftings in Messiah, “until we all come to the unity of the faith/trust and of the precise correct knowledge of the Son, the God, toward a man perfect, toward the measure of the height of the fully filled Messiah.” Therefore no one is to boast in these roles/giftings
 
13 until we all come to the unity of the faith/trust and of the precise correct knowledge of the Son, the God, toward a man perfect, toward the measure of the height of the fully filled Messiah; 
 
This in part describes the sanctifying work that continues as believers live out faith in fear and trembling within time and space journeying in Messiah toward the fullness of all things revealed in the fullness of His Person at the end of days.
 
“For by one, first agreeable offering He has perfected, made whole forever those who are being sanctified, made holy.”
 
-Hebrews 10:14 [Author’s translation]
 
The phrase “toward the measure of the height,” or, “the measure of the stature,” שעור קומה shiur komah, is used in Jewish tradition and points to the perfection of the heavenly state of being in the enjoyment of God in Messiah (Rambam on Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1:22,
Zohar, Bereshit 18:207).
 
“33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says YHVH: I will put My Instruction in their inward parts, and write it on their core being (hearts); and I will be to them their God (Judge, Ruler), and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every person teach his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know YHVH,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says YHVH. For I will forgive their perversion, and their sin (missing the mark set by God’s holiness) I will remember no more.”
 
-Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) 31:33-34 [Author’s translation]
 
Both Jeremiah and Paul agree in the Holy Spirit, that this is yet to be fully filled. In Messiah we are one and being made one. In Messiah we are perfect, and being sanctified. The Kingdom is now and not yet fully revealed to us. So we keep our eyes upon the Son!
 
We are reminded that unity is, “of the faith/trust and of the precise correct knowledge of the Son, the God!” Meaning that we cannot experience the unity of God’s Spirit unless we share faith and a correct knowledge of the Son, the God. Only those who receive the revelation of the Person of Yeshua can walk in the unity of faith. “Correct knowledge” is not intellectual assent alone but the transcendent knowledge imparted by Messiah.
 
14 that we should never again be young children (not yet of the age of moral understanding), tossed about and driven around with every wind of teaching, by the cunning of people (soul stealers), in the craftiness of the schemes of the error, 
 
The Greek νήπιοι nepioi is translated as “infant, young child” etc. Here it denotes a child that is not yet of the age of moral understanding. Being uncertain of things the young child is susceptible to all voices, deceptive and truthful alike and is therefore prone to being tossed about, going in one direction and then the other (Yaakov [James] 1:6-9).
 
The believers of Ephesus are being exhorted to remember that in Messiah they are no longer devoid of the God given gift of spiritual discernment (Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 12:10). They are no longer young children being drawn in every direction but are tasked with testing everything against the measure of God’s holiness in Messiah (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22). Young children are vulnerable and can be led astray by deceptive people but a discerning adult is able to refute and expel such people so as to keep himself and those over whom he has a duty of care, safe from the lies of the cunningly wicked and the destructive outcomes that result from false teaching.
 
The Greek κυβεία kubeia translated here as “cunning” is From κύβος kubos (a “cube”, that is, die for playing). This Greek word was adopted into Hebrew קוביא (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 22a:8, Talmud Bavliy Eruvin 82a:3) and used to describe a game master/deceiver/thief קוביוסטוס, a title that is used figuratively to describe a person who steals souls, deceiving and corrupting them (Talmud Bavliy Chullin 91b:13). It makes sense then that Rav Shaul (Paul) uses the term to warn against false teachers.
 
“קוביוסטוס - גונב נפשות: kubiustus (Cunning one) – Gonev nefshot (Stealer of souls)”
 
-Rashi on Talmud Bavliy Chullin 91b:13
 
False teachers are ultimately in the service of “the error.” They are children of “the disobedience,” under the influence of “the prince of the lower air.” (2:2)
 
We know that the Ephesian believers took Paul’s warning seriously (Rev. 2:1-7).
 
15 But being truthful in all-encompassing love (αγάπη agape[G]), grow up toward Him the all, Who is the head—Messiah— 
 
At a time in history when both truth and love are being downgraded and redefined by wicked progressive secularists, Christian and Jewish Scholars, we are tasked with properly defining these two words.
 
Truth is established according to the holiness of God. God determines absolute truth as the Creator and Ruler of all things. Truth is not subjective, nor is there such a thing as “my truth” or “your truth.” There is only the Truth, as defined by God in Messiah.
 
Love is also established according to the holiness of God. God determines and expresses love. A good definition of the love of God would be: A decision established through sacrifice and maintained by commitment.
 
The love described in the Scriptures concerns relationship in God. Sex is not love, though it may play a part in a godly marriage between a man and a woman, in and of itself it is not love. Sex is to do with knowledge (יודע) [Gen. 4:1] whereas love (אהבה) [Gen. 22:2; Psa. 45:7, 47:4; Jer. 31:3] transcends knowledge.
 
The love that is of God encourages righteousness but does not enable sin. The love of God is kind but does not practice societal niceness (a counterfeit of the fruit of the Spirit of kindness and self-control).
 
Therefore, to “Be truthful in love,” or “speak the truth in love,” as some render, means just that. It means even when the truth is offensive, if we love those to whom we are conveying the truth we will act it out and speak it regardless.
 
To “Be truthful in love,” does not mean, “be nice no mater what.” Today the body of believers is under the bondage of a false gospel perpetuated in the soil of the vice of nice. We have become enablers of sin quoting John 3:16 but failing to speak John 3:18. Why? For one thing it’s easier to only speak part of the truth. Paul exhorts us, along with the believers of Ephesus to “speak the truth in all-encompassing love (αγάπη agape[G]),” that we, “may grow up toward Him Who in all things is the head—Messiah—” If we fail to do this we prove ourselves to be aliens from the body of Messiah.
 
A part truth is by definition a lie of omission. The modern church must repent and return to the full Gospel now!
 
16 from Whom the whole body, joined and knitted together through all that each joint supplies, according to the active energy in measured precision by which every element does its part, causes growth of the body for the building up of itself in all-encompassing love (αγάπη agape[G]).
 
Messiah is the One from Whom we receive the unity and diverse beauty of the body of believers. We are many unique parts in Him, all acting according to our God appointed roles and giftings in order to maintain healthy function, supplying nutrients to the whole body, strength to the limbs, oxygen to the brain, life blood from and to the heart and so on.
 
It is God’s active energy at work through Messiah that powers our community of faith and builds us up in and toward Love Himself. The body of Messiah, the community of faith is “joined and knitted together” by God. Each joint, sinew, muscle, bone and organ working together in Him. We cannot function as a whole healthy body without each other. So in Messiah we strengthen the weaker parts and understand that the removal of one is to the detriment of all.
 
“23 Let’s hold firmly, keep, possess the profession [projected testimony], in the knowledge of our faith, hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let’s consider how to provoke, incite, irritate, rouse one another, brothers and sisters in all-encompassing love and good deeds, 25 not abandoning, forsaking assembling ourselves together as is the habit, manner, way, moral practice, modus operandi, custom, perpetual intention of some people, but comforting, encouraging, exhorting, desiring one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”
 
-Hebrews 10:23-25 [Author’s translation]
 
17 This I say, therefore (according to what has preceded), and testify in the Lord/LORD, that you should never again walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their thinking,
 
Paul is speaking specifically to Gentile believers in the Ephesian body of believers.
 
Simply put, don’t return to your former sinful way of life guided by יצר הרע the yetzer hara (evil inclination). A way of life that was pagan (Gentile) in custom and habit. A state of being that left you as children of disobedience destined for wrath under the deceptive spirit of the prince of the lower air (2:2).
 
Paul admonishes the Gentile Ephesian believers to “never again walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind.” Futility of mind, circular logic, self-defeating arguments, stupidity and wilful ignorance are all evidence of a person who is alienated from the covenant of God in Messiah Yeshua. This futile way of living and thinking was, is and until the LORD’s return, will be the way of the Gentiles (Nations), and those Jews who follow after and adopt the wicked ways of the Gentiles.
 
18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of the God, because of the ignorance (wilful rejection of knowledge) that is in them, because of the wilful blindness of their heart (inner being); 
 
Ignorance is not lack of knowledge but the wilful refusal of knowledge. This verse makes it clear that God is just and that the darkened understanding of those alienated from the life of God is the result of their wilful blindness. Yes the prince of the lower air influences and seeks to deceive the children of disobedience, however, each human being is responsible for their own choices.
 
Blindness of heart:
 
סַמְיוּת הַלֵּב sam’yot haleiv “Blindness of heart (core being)” is a rabbinical phrase that denotes not just intellectual blindness but a blindness at the core of one’s being.
 
“The Sages taught: “For a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise” (Deuteronomy 16:19); a fortiori it will certainly blind the eyes of fools. “And perverts the words of the righteous” (Deuteronomy 16:19); a fortiori it will certainly pervert the statements of the wicked. The Gemara asks: Are fools and the wicked suitable for judgment, i.e., to be appointed as judges? Rather, this is what the tanna of the baraita said: “For a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise”; even if he were very wise but he took a bribe, he will not leave this world without suffering blindness of the heart, i.e., he will eventually turn foolish. “And perverts the words of the righteous”
 
- Talmud Bavliy Ketubot 105a:16
 
“13 No one is to say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, that which is worthless, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is under his own lustful desires being dragged away and entrapped. 15 Then when the lusting has conceived, it gives birth to sin, missing the mark set by God’s holiness; and sin, when it reaches its goal, brings forth the specific death.”
 
-Yaakov (James) 1:13-15 [Author’s translation]
 
19 who, being intentionally numb, have given themselves over to unbridled lust, to work all impurity with greediness.
 
Notice, “who, being intentionally numb, have given themselves over to unbridled lust.”
 
“Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight--
That You may be found just when You speak,
And blameless when You judge.”
 
-Tehillim (psalms) 51:4 NKJV
 
20 But you haven’t learned that, you have learned Messiah, 
 
Verse 17-19 describe what the Ephesian believers are not and are therefore not to return to.
 
Verse 20 establishes that they have not learned disobedience from the teaching of the Gospel, rather they have learned Messiah.
 
21 if indeed you have heard/listened to/received Him and have been taught by Him, just as the truth is in the Yeshua: 
 
Here Paul leaves a caveat to sift out those among them who have not truly received Yeshua.
 
A personal relationship in, through and with Yeshua the King Messiah is essential to walking in step with God’s Spirit. The body of believers is a community of individuals made one in intimate, right relationship with God through Messiah. The believer doesn’t just hear, he listens, receives and acts according to what he hears from and in Messiah, and this is ongoing. Not a sinners prayer or a baptism, or a profession alone, for, “you shall know them by their fruit!” (Matt. 7:20)
 
Yeshua is the Origin (John 1) and the Goal (Romans 10:4).
 
22 To put off, according to your former conduct, the old human which destroys according to the lust of the deceit,
 
Act according to Messiah in you. Intentionally putting off the nature (yetzer hara) of the sin motivated human you once were and wilfully rejecting the ways that, born of lust lead to deceit (falsehood).
 
In Messiah we are expected to respond in right action, intentionally putting off the old sin nature (inclination toward evil) [Gen. 6:5].
 
23 to be renewed, in the spirit, the mind (intellect) of you, 
 
Not “renew your mind” as some foolish mantra focused “Christian” truth coaches misteach, but “be renewed” or “by the renewing.” Messiah renews our spirit and mind. We trust that renewal process to Him and respond in right action according to the mind of Messiah at work in us.
 
We are renewed (as whole beings) and both our spirit and our intellect are a specific and distinct part of that renewal.
 
The intellect was important to Greco-Roman thinkers and is therefore addressed specifically. To the Hebrew, the mind is part of the heart, the seat of consciousness being the core being rather than the brain. The Greeks and Romans however understood the consciousness to reside in the brain.
 
24 and be clothed with the new human which is created according to God, in righteousness and holiness, the truth.
 
New/renewed man/human איש חדש iysh chadash, is used by the rabbis of Jewish tradition to describe a man who has turn away from sin and has not returned to it.
 
“And he is איש חדש a new man. As they say to the people, ‘He was born because he was formed.’ And it is said of him, ‘Today I have begotten you.’ And so how is it fitting that he should die? For he is a different man. Therefore, the one who repents is honourable in the eyes of God…”
 
- Tzror HaMor on Torah, Deuteronomy 30:11:2
 
The new human is the Messiah essential human each of us were created to be. Messiah in us the hope of glory (Col. 1:27). Where once our every inclination was toward evil as sin affected human beings (Gen 6:5), now in Messiah, the last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45) we are being aligned with the mind/consciousness/heart nature of Messiah (1 Cor. 1:10, 2:16; 2 Cor. 10:5; Rom. 15:5-6).
 
Notice that where verse 22 says “Put off… the old human” the present verse says “Be clothed with the new human.” God clothes us with the Messiah essential self. The new, renewed, whole human being that we become in Yeshua is “created according to God!”
 
Therefore, we respond to the redemptive, renewing work of God in Messiah Yeshua, the receipt of the new human (v.24), by putting off, in His strength, the old sin motivated human (v.22). In Messiah, having already passed from death into life everlasting, and having received Messiah and the transformation into the new human Messiah essential self, a believer sins only when he forgets who he is.
 
“Therefore, if anyone is in Messiah, that one is a new creation; the old has gone, behold, now, pay attention, the new is come.”
 
-2 Corinthians 5:17 [Author’s translation]
 
“Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.”
 
-John 5:24
 
25 Therefore, to put aside the lie, “each one speak truth with his neighbour,” (Zechariah 8:16) for we are members of one another. 
 
Don’t just put aside lying but put aside the lie that establishes all lying. Paul quotes Zechariah 8 as a reminder of the fact that all believers were once under God’s wrath and are now in Messiah, tasked with acting according to His nature. Loving one’s neighbour by practicing truthful speech, presiding over disagreements without partiality (favouritism), acting justly and pursuing peace. Why, because to harm a fellow believer is to harm one’s self, given that we are all members of one another.

“14 “For thus says YHVH Who goes warring:
‘Just as I determined to punish you
When your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’
Says YHVH Who goes warring,
‘And I would not relent,
15 So again in these days
I am determined to do good
To Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
No fear.
16 These things you shall do:
Speak each person the truth to their neighbour;
Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace;”
 
-Zechariah 8:14-16
 
26 “Tremble, stand in awe, quake with rage/agitation/excitement (רִגְזוּ rigzu – shake, be agitated, rage) Be angry (Ὀργίζεσθε orgizesthe – an instance of settled opposition), and do not sin” (Psalm 4:4[5]): do not let the sun go down on your indignation, 
 
Once again Paul quotes the TaNaKh (OT). His consistent TaNaKh quotations presume that the Ephesian believers, including the Gentiles, have access to and awareness of the Hebrew Scriptures. Given that the New Testament writers quote most often from the Greek translation of the TaNaKh (OT) in order to make the Gospel message accessible to both Jews and Gentiles, it is reasonable to presume that the Gentile believers relied heavily on the Greek text, while the Jewish believers maintained a base knowledge in the Hebrew text. Both Hebrew and Greek were kosher languages for writing Torah scrolls in the first century CE.
 
“Tremble, stand in awe, quake with rage/agitation/excitement (רִגְזוּ rigzu – shake, be agitated, rage), and do not sin”
 
-Tehillim (Psalm) 4:4[5]
 
Like all good rabbis Paul intends that the reader should consider the entirety of the Psalm and not just the line quoted for the purpose of making a d’rash (comparative teaching).
 
“1 To the head musician, a song on stringed instrument of David
 When I call, respond to me Eloheiy my righteousness!
In my distress You have enlarged mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
2 You children of men, how long will you celebrate my glory turning to shame?
How long will you love vanity and deceit? Selah (pause, consider, contemplate)
3 But know that YHVH has set apart for Himself the chasid (faithful one);
YHVH will hear when I call to Him.
4 Be angry, stand in awe, tremble and do not sin.
Meditate within your (pl.) core beings/hearts on your beds, and be still. Selah (pause, consider, contemplate)
5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,
And put your trust in YHVH.
6 There are many who say,
“Who will show us good?”
YHVH, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us.
7 You have put transcendent joy in my core being/heart,
More than in the season that their grain and wine increased.
8 In peace I will experience the unity of lying down and sleeping;
For You alone, YHVH, make me dwell in security.
 
-Tehillim (Psalm) 4 [Author’s translation]
 
In verse 4 David, who has been set apart to God as a faithful one, having been delivered from his hateful enemies (v.3), counsels himself and others who would be set apart to God, to be angry at those things that anger God, and to tremble before God in awe, so as to allow God to guide their anger toward righteousness so that they do not sin by acting on their anger from the evil inclination.
 
The text doesn’t say “Be angry and don’t act on your anger,” rather it says, “Be angry and don’t sin.” Those who fail to act to protect the innocent from the wicked, sin! This verse does not excuse the inaction and subsequent injustice of banal pseudo-biblical pacifism.
 
Yeshua, in anger, took time to weave together a whip, then, in premeditated anger turned over the trading tables in the Temple and whipped the vendors (Matt. 21:12-13; Mark 11:12-17; John 2:13-17). Did He sin in His anger? A curse on that foolish idea!
 
Regarding the phrase “do not let the sun go down on your indignation.” It is understood to be a Hebrew idiom that, while based on a practical guide for just action (Deut. 24:13), is also understood to mean, “Don’t stew on something indefinitely.” For example, if someone offends you in the morning, deal with it in a godly way and move on, don’t stew on it all day and let it build up so that the next morning you react out of festering human emotion rather than in godly response. 
 
27 Don’t give space to the devil/slanderer/false accuser. 
 
Space for the devil/forces of darkness to manipulate us is given when we fail to address offence in a godly way at the time of its occurrence.
 
In societies where the cultural pretence of niceness is the norm and people don’t say what they mean, simply in order to “keep the peace (a false peace),” there is ample room for the devil to provoke people to act in ungodly ways from a place of grudge holding. A grudge can’t build up if we address offence at the source in a godly way. In Messiah we respond rather than react to offences. We speak to the offender face to face and not behind his or her back. We give the offence forward to God whether the offender repents or not. We act justly, and when necessary we act in defence of others. When we address an offence that provokes us to anger at its source in a godly way, we leave no room for the devil to provoke us from a state of fallen human self-fuelled hatred.
 
28 Let the one who stole steal no longer, but rather let that one labour, working with hands to do what is good, so that person may have something to give the one who is in need. 
 
The believer, saved by grace through faith is tasked with turning away from his past sin practices, not in his own strength but in Messiah’s strength. This has practical application both for the community as observers of the transition and discipleship of the new believer, and for the believer himself. We do not tell a brother or sister who is falling back into old ways of sin that it’s okay, rather we encourage them to repent and do what’s right.
 
Where a new believer was once a thief the community looks for work to sustain him and he responds by working and not returning to stealing from others. Thus, the one who once stole from others destroying their lives, now works in order to provide for himself and give of his excess to others in order to build up their lives. Work fulfils a need that provides for the needs of others and establishes in the worker a sense of accomplishment that affirms his or her God created worth.
 
29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good and needed for building up, in order that it might impart grace/unmerited favour to those who hear.
 
Corrupt or evil words include but are not limited to blasphemy, foul language, curses, slang that carries sexual connotations, false accusations, slander, gossip, false teaching, vain conjecture, unverifiable conspiracy theories, lies, misuse of Scripture, course joking, words that demean, and so on.
 
Words that build up in order to impart the unmerited favour of God to others include but are not limited to Scripture, encouragement, factual information, just assessments, kind observations, godly advice, discerning counsel, warnings against sin and so on.
 
We are all aware of our words and the impact they can have for good or evil. Therefore, in Messiah we seek to speak of Him and not for ourselves. May our hearts be filled with the ink of His essence and our tongues be His pen as we recite the song of a godly life before our King YHVH.
 
“My heart is stirred by a noble theme
    as I recite my verses for the king;
    my tongue is the pen of a skilful writer.”
 
-Tehillim (Psalms) 45:1 [2] NIV
 
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of the God, by Whom you were sealed/marked for the day of redemption/liberation. 
 
In context Paul is warning the believer of the grief that the Holy Spirit experiences when we let corruption proceed from our mouths. This grief is deeply felt both within and without. The Holy Spirit marks each believer for liberation from death unto eternal life and indwells each believer. He is also outside each believer and manifest in creation as God’s breath. When we act backward toward the evil inclination, both our redeemed human spirit and the Holy Spirit Who indwells us, the Spirit of the Father and the Son, are grieved, hurt, saddened, uneasy.
 
The Greek λυπεῖτε lypeite, translated as “grieve,” denotes sorrow and uneasiness. Those of us who have walked with the LORD for some years are well familiar with the uneasiness that comes in the moments preceding and following a misspoken word or wilfully sinful thought process. That uneasiness which alerts us to the grief caused to the Holy Spirit and results in godly sorrow which leads us to repentant action, is in fact a gift of God’s present Person.
 
We are told not to grieve the Holy Spirit because God knows we will and need reminding of the sorrow it causes Him in relationship with us. God has the integrity of character to tell us what grieves Him so as to give us the opportunity to seek forgiveness and act in love toward Him. We should do the same in our interactions with others.
 
God doesn’t hold a grudge as a result of being grieved. Therefore, being filled with the Spirit of Messiah we are exhorted to…
 
31 Let all bitterness, wrath, festering anger (ὀργὴ orge - a teeming general state of constitutional opposition), belligerent shouting, and evil speaking/distractions be put away from you, along with all evil intent to injure.
 
Notice again that we are to “Let” all bitterness… evil speaking “be put away from” us. This is His work. He is here ready to do the work of putting these things away from us. The question is, will we “Let” Him?
 
32 And be kind to one another, compassionate, giving grace/unmerited favour to one another, just as the God in Messiah gives grace/unmerited favour to you.
 
Be kind, love your brother or sister enough to speak the truth in love both as encouragement in righteousness and discouragement from sin. Do so with compassion, speaking to each one in the way you would have them speak to you. Be ready to forgive, showing unmerited favour, undeserved grace to your brothers and sisters in Messiah. Why? Because He has shown unmerited favour to us and has loved us to overflowing. Once again this is a matter of allowing His love in us to overflow toward others. This, not of ourselves, lest anyone should boast.
 
Appendix:
 
A Correct Understanding of 1 Peter  3:17-21
 
“If you suffer for righteousness' sake, be glad: and don’t be afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify (Kiddush) HaShem (Merciful) Elohim (Judge) in your core being (heart): and be ready always to give an answer to every human being that asks you the reason for the hope that is in you with humility and reverent awe: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed who falsely accuse your good conduct in Messiah. For it is better if God’s will is that you suffer for doing well than for doing evil. For Messiah also at one time suffered for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Ruach (Spirit). By Whom (The Spirit) He also went and made proclamation to the ruachim (spirits) in prison (φυλακῇ phulake: foo-lak-ay[G]). Who were formerly disobedient, when at one time the longsuffering God waited in the days of Noach (Comfort), while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is eight souls were saved by water (mikveh: gathering of water). This figurative likeness being a representation of the immersion (baptism) that now also saves us (not the washing of the flesh but the earnest seeking of a good conscience toward God) by the resurrection of Yeshua (Jesus) Messiah.”

 –1 Peter  3:17-21[Author’s translation]
 
In the context of Peter’s letter, the community of believers is being encouraged to share their faith with anyone who asks, and not to shy away from suffering if that is what God’s will entails.
 
Peter then offers Yeshua as an example of One Who suffered and shared His message in the Spirit of God. It is explained that Yeshua’s suffering puts to death the sinful practices of the flesh and resurrects each believer in the life giving Spirit of God. It is by this same Spirit that the resurrected Messiah (not in sheol) transcends time and space, and thus traverses time and space by the Spirit, to proclaim His saving work to those spirits of human beings who were still living in the flesh at the time of Noah prior to the flood. The text explains that during the time of Noah only eight imprisoned spirits received Yeshua’s message and were delivered through the figurative tevilah immersion (baptism) of the flood, which the author shows to be a prefigure of the same tevilah immersion (baptism) that believers in Messiah have received unto salvation.

From the p’shat (plain) meaning of the text and the subsequent, remez (hint), d’rash
(comparative teaching) and sod (mystery), we see that it does not place Yeshua in sheol in relation to His proclamation but shows that it is by the Spirit of God following His resurrection that He spoke to the imprisoned spirits of humanity past.
 
“For Messiah also at one time suffered for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Ruach (Spirit). By Whom (The Spirit) He also went and made proclamation to the ruachim (spirits) in prison (φυλακῇ phulake: foo-lak-ay[G]).”
 
This text is not teaching anything even remotely to do with communicating with imprisoned dead people or angelic spirits. To the contrary, it simply teaches that God is just and that all humanity from Adam to the end of days has and will have an opportunity to either reject or receive the message of Messiah. This text shows how in the Spirit (of God), the resurrected Messiah transcends time and space, is trans-locational, and manifests the supernatural reality that He was both literally and figuratively slain before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).
 
Copyright 2025 Yaakov (Brown) Ben Yehoshua

Ephesians 3 [Author’s Translation]
 
1 For this reason therefore, I, Paul, the prisoner of Messiah Yeshua for the sake of you Gentiles— 
2 if indeed you have heard of the management of the grace of the God which was given to me toward you, 
3 that according to revelation He made known to me the mystery (of which I have already written a small amount, 
4 which will be to your advantage, when you read it, in order to understand with the understanding I have in the mystery of Messiah), 
5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons (children) of humanity, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy (set apart) apostles and prophets: 
6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Messiah through the good news, 
7 of which I became a servant according to the gift of the grace of the God, given to me by the active energy of His power.
8 To me, the least of all the holy (saints: set apart ones), to give this, the grace, that among the Gentiles I should announce the good news of the unsearchable riches of the Messiah, 
9 and to illuminate, reveal to all (individually and collectively) concerning the management of the mystery, concealed from the beginning of the ages in the God Who created all things; 
10 In order to make known now the origin and the authority in the heavens, through the body of believers (ecclesia[G]), the many colours of the wisdom of God, 
11 according to the purpose of the ages which He accomplished in Messiah Yeshua our Lord, 
12 in Whom we have unreserved freedom and access in confidence through the faith which is of Him. 
13 Therefore, I ask that you not lose heart because of my affliction for you, which is your glory.
14 For this reason therefore, I bow my knees to the Father, 
15 from Whom all family lineage (Patriarchy) in heaven and on earth is named, 
16 in order to give to you, according to the riches of the judgement of His power, to be strengthened through His Spirit in the inner person, 
17 so that the Messiah may dwell through the faith, in your hearts (core being); that you, might be rooted in a foundation of all-encompassing love (agape[G]), 
18 In order that you may have the power to comprehend with all the holy (saints: set apart ones) what is the width and length and height and depth— 
19 to comprehend the all-encompassing love (agape[G]) of Messiah which transcends knowledge (intellect); in order that you may be fully filled with all the fullness of the God.
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or understand, according to the power that is active in and to us, 
21 to Him glory in the body of believers (ecclesia[G]) in Messiah Yeshua, to all generations, in the unbroken age, the worlds without end. Amen[H] (Agreed, faith, trust, firmly established, concluded).
 
Line By Line
 
1 For this reason therefore, I, Paul, the prisoner of Messiah Yeshua for the sake of you Gentiles— 
 
“For this reason,” refers to the work of God explained in the previous verses. The supremacy of Messiah, the inclusion of the Gentiles, the eternal dwelling etc.
 
“The prisoner of Messiah Yeshua.” Regarding Paul’s physical imprisonment, at that time it is likely that the letter was written while he was under house arrest (Acts 28:16, 30). However, the phrasing submits Paul’s temporary locational imprisonment to the Rule of Messiah Yeshua. Paul is not simply a prisoner of Rome but a prisoner of Messiah Yeshua. Like Yeshua Paul has sacrificed his own wellbeing in order to minister the Gospel to the nations (Gentiles).
 
Practically speaking Paul is a prisoner for the sake of the Gentiles as a result of his appeal to Caesar. Had he not appealed to Caesar he would not have ended up under house arrest and then subsequently imprisoned in Rome. It was not for the sake of his own vindication but for the sake of the Gospel (that is, in order that he might share the Gospel more widely among the Gentiles) that Paul appealed to Caesar, knowing that he would certainly have gone free had he not done so (Acts 25:9-12; 26:31-32). There is an important lesson here for believers who are constantly fixated on temporal justice. In this sin affected world there will be times when we are treated unjustly. There will also be times when we are afforded an opportunity by God to utilize our unjust circumstances as a vehicle for sharing the Gospel. May God give us the courage to look to Him in every circumstance.
 
Spiritually speaking Paul’s imprisonment reflects the self-sacrificial nature of the Messiah Yeshua Whose Gospel he carries to the nations. In Messiah Paul is willingly imprisoned, not because he enjoys suffering but because he considers the riches of God of greater value than temporal human comfort (Heb. 11:26).
 
After this opening verse Paul breaks off into an explanation of the “mystery” of the revelation of the Gospel, which is given to both Jews and Gentiles.
 
2 if indeed you have heard of the management of the grace of the God which was given to me toward you, 
 
As is the case with numerous other ancient works of the first century CE, Paul digresses here by way of explanation of the mystery revealed in Messiah and his role as one who has been given management of the growing household of faith. He doesn’t return again to the “reason” (v.1) until verse 14. The reason ultimately being the impartation of the knowledge of the indwelling of the Person of Messiah, made continually available to the Jew and also to the Gentile.
 
The management of the grace of God, given toward the Ephesian believers is, as the following verse says, “according to revelation… made known to” Paul (Acts 9).
 
3 that according to revelation He made known to me the mystery (of which I have already written a small amount, 
 
The mystery made known to Paul by the revelation of the Person of Yeshua is being conveyed to the Ephesian believers in order that they might receive, by revelation the Person of Yeshua in full comprehension of His power and indwelling. Part of the fullness of that mystery is the inclusion of Gentiles in the redemptive purposes of God (1:9). An inclusion that grafts Gentiles on to the native plant Israel but neither usurps Israel’s continued and unique identity, nor steals the identity of the Gentiles, instead it unites the two in Messiah (Romans 11).
 
“Of which I have already written a small amount,” references the previous two introductory chapters which are a type of overview of the mystery of the Gospel. Paul’s initial words (chapters 1 & 2) reveal aspects of the mystery of the Gospel such as the fact that God decided beforehand, and therefore chooses by election, redeems in justice, regenerates through the Messiah, saving by grace through faith.
 
Mystery, as it’s understood by the godly Biblical Hebrew consciousness, most often refers to things once hidden that are now being revealed, made known, accessible to the humble (Daniel 2:18-19, 27-30, 47).
 
We should not understand mystery as being revealed only to the initiated. This is the satanic modus operandi of the mystery religions. To the contrary, through Yeshua the Messiah God reveals His mystery of redemption to the uninitiated so as to make them more than initiates. By the work of God we are redeemed unto an inheritance as children of God adopted through Messiah. The demonic mystery religions on the other hand involve a constant searching after greater mysteries in order to elevate the self toward god status. Adherents of vain/false religion are always initiates, never heirs.
 
4 which will be to your advantage, when you read it, in order to understand with the understanding I have in the mystery of Messiah),
 
Paul expects the holy ones (saints: set apart ones) to understand with the understanding he has received from God through Yeshua because he trusts God to reveal Himself and by His Spirit illuminate the consciousness of every humble believer. Paul is not relying on his ability to articulate truth but on God’s revelatory power in Messiah (Galatians 1:12; 1 Corinthians 2:1).
 
5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons (children) of humanity, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy (set apart) apostles and prophets: 
 
Paul is not saying that the mystery was not revealed at all in the past but that it “was not made known… as it has now been revealed.” After all, the TaNaKh (OT) does make this mystery known to a certain extent.
 
It’s important to understand that Paul is pointing back in order of chronology to the prophets of Israel via the apostles of Messiah. The mystery of the inclusion of the Gentiles is “Revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles” (Acts 15:15-21) “and prophets” (Amos 9:11-12).
 
6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Messiah through the good news, 
 
“Fellow heirs” and not Supersessionist (Continuationist, Replacement, Successionist) usurpers. A curse on the apostate replacement gospel of many in the modern (apostate) church (Galatians 1:8-9)!
 
7 of which I became a servant according to the gift of the grace of the God, given to me by the active energy of His power.
 
Paul, by God’s grace, he being the greatest of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15), became a servant of the Gospel of Yeshua HaMelekh through the living and active power of God (Acts 9).
 
8 To me, the least of all the holy (saints: set apart ones), to give this, the grace, that among the Gentiles I should announce the good news of the unsearchable riches of the Messiah, 
 
Paul identifies as “the least of the holy ones” because of his persecution of the community of faith prior to salvation in Messiah (1 Corinthians 15:9).
 
The phrase, “Least of the saints/pious devotee” (קְטָן חֲסִידִים) is a rabbinical descriptor used of Rabbi Yossi of Babylon to infer that he was a scoundrel or on the other hand, that he was the last of the Chassidim (devoted ones), presumably following the exile (Mishnat Eretz Yisrael on Pirkei Avot 4:20:6). The Penei Moshe on Jerusalem Talmud Bava Kama 3:7:2:3 affirms this meaning.
 
The Tosefta Kifshutah on Sotah 14:5:3 uses the title to infer that Rabbi Yossi of Babylon is least among the Chassidim (pious devotees).
 
We need not make a false choice here. Paul is both “the least” in terms of his previous acts of persecution and the “last” in terms of his unique role among the apostles as the last to whom Yeshua revealed Himself in a unique way in manifest post resurrection meta-physical form. Paul’s inclusion in the 12 apostles and their ministry of disseminating the Gospel, is predicated on this unique personal encounter with the Person of Yeshua.
 
Paul writes according to his calling, announcing the good news of the unsearchable riches of the Messiah.
 
9 and to illuminate, reveal to all (individually and collectively) concerning the
management of the mystery, concealed from the beginning of the ages in the God Who created all things;
 
Paul understands his role as being one of conveying the good news to the Gentiles, trusting the illumination of that saving mystery to God, and working in Messiah to properly manage the growing body of faith as the Apostle to the nations. All this in God the Creator, Who had concealed the full mystery of the Gentile inclusion in His redemptive purpose from the beginning of the ages.
 
Establishing the mystery of the Gospel in God as Creator points to Paul’s previous allusion to the election of believers from before the foundation of the worlds (1:4).
 
What Paul says of the Gospel here is also said of the Torah in Jewish tradition. Our rabbis say that many ages before the creation of all things the Torah was written and rested in the bosom of God awaiting its gifting to Moses, Israel and by the light of Israel in God, to the nations (Talmud Bavliy Shabbat Chapter 9: Amar Rabbi Akiva 88b):
 
“And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: When Moses ascended on High to receive the Torah, the ministering angels said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, what is one born of a woman doing here among us? The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to them: He came to receive the Torah. The angels said before Him: The Torah is a hidden treasure that was concealed by You 974 generations before the creation of the world, and You seek to give it to flesh and blood? As it is stated: “The word which He commanded to a thousand generations” (Psalms 105:8).”
 
- Talmud Bavliy Shabbat Chapter 9: Amar Rabbi Akiva 88b [Sefaria]
 
10 In order to make known now the origin and the authority in the heavens, through the body of believers (ecclesia[G]), the many colours of the wisdom of God, 
 
God, in the first century CE, made manifest within time and space His Person in the Son Yeshua the promised Messiah (Colossians 2:9), establishing the knowledge of Yeshua’s deity from the beginning (John 1) and His Kingship over all things including the body of believers through whom He now reveals Himself to the wider world in the many colours (the pure diverse unity) of His wisdom. This picture of God’s wisdom likens it to the pure white light that feeds the prism of colours, the rainbow of redemptive significance once given as a sign to Noah and to all the earth. This makes perfect sense given that the rainbow predates the Torah and its commandments, the dividing wall and its resulting animosity/hostility (2:14).
 
11 according to the purpose of the ages which He accomplished in Messiah Yeshua our Lord, 
 
God purposed and accomplished all this from before the beginning and throughout the ages of humanity in Messiah Yeshua, Who is God in the beginning and God with us, revealed at the appointed time in history unto the salvation of all who believe, past, present and future unto eternity.
 
12 in Whom we have unreserved freedom and access in confidence through the faith which is of Him. 
 
“We” means both Jews and Gentiles. Both Paul and the Ephesian ecclesia are part of the “we.” All believers have “unreserved freedom and access in confidence” to the Father “through the faith which is in” Yeshua.
 
We note that confidence in Messiah is not arrogance. We are confident because of His work and not arrogant based on our own efforts.
 
13 Therefore, I ask that you not lose heart because of my affliction for you, which is your glory.
 
Some may well have worried excessively about Paul’s incarceration. Some perhaps were becoming dejected over the apparent failure of God to rescue Paul. Therefore, he reminds them that he is a prisoner for their sake and that his affliction is for their good and a badge of honour in Messiah. Paul’s temporal suffering reflects the sacrificial love of God in Messiah.
 
14 For this reason therefore, I bow my knees to the Father, 
 
“This reason,” describes the reason of verse one, which, among other things is the revelation of the mystery of God’s including the Gentiles in His redemptive purposes.
 
Paul uses the phrase “I bow my knees” to denote a prayer posture. Jews pray in many different positions, standing, sitting, kneeling, prostrate etc. Here Paul is referencing the prayer posture of certain ancient Biblical Jews such as Melekh Shlomo (King Solomon) [1 Kings 8:54].
 
15 from Whom all family lineage (Patriarchy) in heaven and on earth is named, 
 
The name and role of a “father” in every family in all creation, stems from the Father in the heavens. God is family before creation, Father, Son, and Spirit. Therefore, all lineage, progeny, and the families of the heavens and the earth owe their very existence to Him, the angelic beings, the Jew perpetually first and also the Gentile (Romans 1:16).
 
Jewish tradition frequently alludes to the family of angels, the family above and the family below (e.g. Talmud Bavliy Berakhot 17).
 
16 in order to give to you, according to the riches of the judgement of His power, to be strengthened through His Spirit in the inner person, 
 
From the beginning God the Father purposed to give to every believer, the Holy Spirit in the inner person. In Messiah, having been born of the womb we are now born from above (often mistranslated “born again”) of the Father and filled with the Spirit of the Father and the Son (John 3:1-21; 1 Peter 1:23; Matthew 10:20; Romans 8:9-11; Galatians 4:6).
 
17 so that the Messiah may dwell through the faith, in your hearts (core being); that you, might be rooted in a foundation of all-encompassing love (agape[G]), 
 
The Spirit of God imparted to the believer is the Spirit of the Son within us, Who dwells through faith (faith that He has given and we have received and returned to Him [Rev. 3:14]). As a result of our salvation by grace through faith we are now rooted in a foundation of all encompassing love. The love of God, which is a decision established through sacrifice and maintained in commitment. As long as God endures we are secure in the Messiah. That is, we are eternally secure.
 
18 In order that you may have the power to comprehend with all the holy (saints: set apart ones) what is the width and length and height and depth— 
 
God has established all this so that we might have the power (of Him) to comprehend His all-encompassing love, its width, its length, its height, its depth. The use of these measures is idiomatic and denotes the four corners of the universe and all that is contained in creation under God’s rule. In short, there is nowhere we can go to escape Gods love.
 
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, not angels nor principalities not powers, nor things present nor things to come, not height nor depth, not any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Messiah Yeshua our Lord.”
 
-Romans 8:38-39 [Author’s Translation]
 
19 to comprehend the all-encompassing love (agape[G]) of Messiah which transcends knowledge (intellect); in order that you may be fully filled with all the fullness of the God.
 
God gives us the ability to comprehend the love of Messiah beyond the bounds of human intellect, so that we might be set free from the delusion of our minds and be fully filled with the fullness of God the Father.
 
Stupidity relates to the intellect. It is not only the uneducated who are prone to stupidity but the educated also. Stupidity is the progeny of Pride, the brother of delusion. It resides in the soil of the evil inclination and numbs us to the reality of God. Messiah has come to put stupidity to death and give us transcendant comprehension through His atoning blood and life giving Spirit, to the glory of God the Father.
 
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or understand, according to the power that is active in and to us, 
 
God is able, without limitation, to act beyond our comprehension. We are secure in Messiah.
 
21 to Him glory in the body of believers (ecclesia[G]) in Messiah Yeshua, to all generations, in the unbroken age, the worlds without end. Amen[H] (Agreed, faith, trust, firmly established, concluded).
 
All glory is God’s in Messiah our King Redeemer and Intimate Friend! Now and into worlds without end. We agree with the agreement that is in Messiah, Who is the Amein (rev. 3:14)!
 
Copyright 2025 Yaakov (Brown) Ben Yehoshua

Ephesians 2 [Author’s Translation]
 
1And you who are now to be (the body 1:22-23), were dead in your deviation from the truth and missing the mark set by God’s holiness, 
2 in which, in the past, you walked according to the age of this world, according to the ruler of the power permitted over the lower air, the spirit who is now active in the children of the disobedience/obstinate opposition/wilful rebellion, 
3 among whom we (Jews/Paul & the other Apostles & those first to believe) too once lived (overturning ourselves) in the lusts of our flesh (physical body, evil inclination), acting out the desires of the flesh and of the mind (inner thoughts), and were by nature children of wrath, just like the rest.
4 But the God, Who is rich in mercy, by means of His great love which He loved us with, 
5 even when we were dead in our deviation from the truth, He made us alive together with the Messiah. [By grace/loving kindness you have been saved/rescued/kept safe], 
6 and raised us up together, and sitting us down together in the heavens in Messiah Yeshua, 
7 In order to show in the ages that are to arrive, His surpassing riches, His grace in moral purity/integrity/kindness toward us in Messiah Yeshua. 
8 For by the grace/loving kindness you have been saved through faith/trust/belief (in conviction of the truth), and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 
9 not by works/deeds/actions, in order that no one should boast. 
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Messiah Yeshua unto (upon) good works, which God prepared beforehand in order that we should walk in them.
11 Therefore remember that you, formerly Gentiles in the flesh (physical body)—who are called Uncircumcision (Pagans) by those called the Circumcision (Jews) made in the flesh (body) by hands— 
12 that at that time you were without Messiah, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and foreigners (pagans without access) to the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in this world. 
13 But now in Messiah Yeshua you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Messiah.
14 For He Himself is our peace, Who has made both (Jews & Gentiles) one (echad [H]), and has broken down the wall/partition, the barrier/fence, 
15 in order to loose the hostility in His flesh (body, nature), the Torah, the commandment in doctrine, which is to be unemployed/idle/inactive, so as to create in Himself one new person/human being from the two, thus making peace, 
16 Indeed, that He might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, thereby putting to death that which caused the hostility. 
17 And He came to speak the good news of peace to you who were far off (Gentiles) and to those who were near (Jews). 
18 For through, and of Him (Messiah) we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
19 Now, therefore (based on what has already been stated), you are no longer foreigners (pagans without access) and neighbours without citizenship, but fellow citizens with the holy ones kedoshim[H] (saints, specifically Messiah essential Jews) and members of the household of God, 
20 having been built on the foundation of השליחים (ha-sh’lichim[H]) the sent ones (Apostles: all of whom are Jews) and prophets (of the TaNaKh [OT], Jews with the possible exception of Job), Yeshua the Messiah Himself being the highest corner/pinnacle, 
21 in Him the whole building, joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord/LORD (Κυρίῳ  [kyrio] YHVH, Both the Father and the Son), 
22 in Whom you together are also being built toward the dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
 
Line by Line:
 
1And you who are now to be (the body 1:22-23), were dead in your deviation from the truth and missing the mark set by God’s holiness, 
 
“You who are now to be the body,” as alluded to in the previous two verses (1:22-23):
 
“22 And He put all under His foot, and gave Him headship over all the assembly (ecclesia: body of believers), 23 which is His body, the fullness of the all in all to completion.”
 
-Ephesians 1:22-23 [Author’s translation]
 
Those in the Ephesian community of faith who are truly Messiah essential people are being affirmed as having joined the body of Messiah even though at this point in time many of them are not Jews. At the same time they’re being reminded where they have come from, having once been spiritually dead in their sinful deviation, the missing of the mark set by God’s holiness.
 
Jewish tradition sees the descriptors deceiver, idolater, and a dead man, as synonymous:
 
“Perhaps my father will feel me, and I will be in his eyes as a deceiver כִּמְתַעְתֵּעַ
[kimetatei’a]” – like a dead man/corpse כְּמֵת [kemeit], an aberration וּכְתוֹעֶה [ukheto’eh], and an idolater.”
 
-Bereshit Rabbah 65:15 [Sefaria]
 
2 in which, in the past, you walked according to the age of this world, according to the ruler of the power permitted over the lower air, the spirit who is now active in the children of the disobedience/obstinate opposition/wilful rebellion, 
 
“The age of this world,” reflects the sin affected created order and the death that has resulted.
 
The Ephesian believers once walked according to the evil inclination, a practice that was seeded by the “Ruler of the power permitted over the lower air.” This refers to Satan as having been cast down into the earth’s atmosphere and permitted to have temporal power within the earth’s atmosphere (Rev. 12:9). Its (his) spirit is at work influencing those who rebel against God. Satan is not omnipresent but has a host of fallen angelic beings with it (him) in service of its (his) self-deifying rebellion.
 
Ruler/Prince of the Air
 
בַּעַל־זְבוּב (Baal-zevuv/Beelzebub), meaning Master/Husband/Lord of the Flies (Matt. 12:24), is, based on the airborne ability of the fly, another title reflecting the Prince of the Air, Satan. The flies it (he) is lord over are of course the fallen angels/demons who are aligned with it (him).
 
Babylonians/Chaldeans, Greeks (Pythagoras, and Plato), and Jews all believed that demonic forces were in the air באויר (bavir).
 
Jewish tradition calls the Prince of the Air רַבְּהוֹן דְּרוּחָיָא (Rabehon Deruchaya), Prince of the spirits:
 
“He went to kindle the lamp and a demon, the prince of the spirits, accosted him.”
 
-Vayikra Rabbah 5:1 [Sefaria]
 
Children of the disobedience
 
Children of disobedience are those who by their own wilful and continued rejection of God, continue to walk in unrepentant pride (self-deification), in line with the modus operandi of the Prince of the Air, Satan.
 
Children of disobedience is synonymous with בְּנ֣וֹת הָֽאָדָ֔ם (benot haadam) [Gen. 6:2], daughters of man (Adam). In other words, daughters (those who give birth to progeny) of the evil inclination of humanity. Both Children of disobedience, and בְּנ֣וֹת הָֽאָדָ֔ם (benot haadam) are the opposite of בְנֵי־הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙ (b’nai HaElohim), children of the God (Judge), also known in the latter Jewish tradition as בְּנִי מְהֵימְנוּתָא (beniy meheiymenuta), children from faithfulness (Zohar Bereshit 83:230)
 
3 among whom we (Jews/Paul & the other Apostles & those first to believe) too once lived (overturning ourselves) in the lusts of our flesh (physical body, evil inclination), acting out the desires of the flesh and of the mind (inner thoughts), and were by nature children of wrath, just like the rest.
 
Paul acknowledges that the Jewish believers were also once given over to sinful rebellion against God, acting out the same lusts of the fallen nature that the Gentiles perform. We note that both the sinful lusts of the physical body and the sinful lusts of the mind are addressed. We’re reminded that the Torah speaks against physical acts of sin (You shall not murder [Ex. 20:13]) and against thought sin (You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife [Ex. 20:17]). Yeshua reaffirms this when He says, “If a man lusts after a woman in his heart (core being) he has committed adultery with her.” (Matt. 5:28)
 
Paul goes on to affirm that the Jewish people were also once children of wrath just as the Gentiles are.
 
“Children of wrath,” is synonymous with “Children of disobedience,” (v.2) and refers to those who are under God’s righteous judgement condemned to just punishment except for the remission of sin purchased through blood atonement.
 
“2 YHVH (Mercy) the LORD looks down from the heavens
    on all humanity
to see if there are any who understand,
    any who seek God.
3 All have turned away, all have become corrupt;
    there is no one who does good,
    not even one.”
 
-Tehillim (Psalms) 14:2-3 [Author’s translation]
 
“for all have missed the mark set by God’s holiness (sinned) and fall short (have failed to meet the standard) of the glory of God”
 
-Romans 3:23 [Author’s translation]
 
“how can you say that you have not sinned? and behold your first father has sinned, and he is the first man, for man מוטבע בחטא (mutba bechatei) [imprinted in sin], ‘is naturally in sin’;”
 
-Rav David Kimchi RaDaK [Sefaria]
 
“And seeing, יהוה  HaShem, what  רַבָּה רָעַתrabah ra’at great evil humanity perpetuated in the earth, and that all the inclination and the thoughts of their core being לִבּוֹ libo were only evil all the day.”
 
-Bereishsit (Genesis) 6:5 [Author’s translation]
 
“The believer in, on, toward, for Him is not separated, condemned, put asunder: but the disbeliever, one who has chosen disbelief, is separated, condemned, put asunder already, because he has not believed, trusted in, become convinced of the Name (identity, character, nature) of the One only begotten (Singular in kind) the Son of the God.”
 
-John 3:18 [Author’s translation]
 
4 But the God, Who is rich in mercy, by means of His great love which He loved us with, 5 even when we were dead in our deviation from the truth, He made us alive together with the Messiah. [By grace/loving kindness you have been saved/rescued/kept safe], 6 and raised us up together, and seated us down together in the heavens in Messiah Yeshua,
 
The good news that Paul is reiterating to the Ephesian community of faith is that God has had mercy on the Jewish people and so can be trusted to have mercy on all people who come to Him in Messiah by grace through faith.
 
God’s great love is eternally present. This is why the text says, “by means of His great love which He loved us with.”
 
So great is God’s love that even when we were in a state of wilful rebellion, hating Him and His holiness, reaping death, He came to make us alive in Messiah the sacrificial Lamb, God with us. Paul interjects, “By grace/loving kindness you have been saved/rescued/kept safe,” and concludes, “and raised us up together, and seated us down together in the heavens in Messiah Yeshua,”
 
“Seated us down together in the heavens in Messiah Yeshua.” Some misuse this part of the text to claim that we go to heaven when we die. Scripture teaches that when we die, we who are in Messiah go to Sheol and into Paradise where we await the resurrection and the Judgement, and following the Judgement that we who are in Messiah enter the World to Come (New Earth) where we dwell in and with God forever (Luke 16:19-31; John 3:13; Hebrews 9:27). It does not teach that we go to heaven when we die.
 
The present text is not saying we literally go up to heaven and sit beside Yeshua. How can it mean that, given that Paul uses the past tense making our position in Messiah a completed reality, and yet Paul is still alive on earth when writing the text and the recipients are still alive reading, and hearing the text.
 
Therefore, Paul is emphasizing the fact that through Messiah’s death and resurrection we are delivered from death into life and our eternity is established with Him in His reign and authority at the right hand of the Father. A reign and authority that will be made fully manifest at His return when He will descend to reign over the New Earth, bringing our established life in Him, with Him. We are at present together with Messiah in spirit in the same way meant when Paul says elsewhere “I am with you in spirit” (1 Corinthians 5:3-4; Colossians 2:5).
 
7 In order to show in the ages that are to arrive, His surpassing riches, His grace in moral purity/integrity/kindness toward us in Messiah Yeshua. 
 
Our salvation, resurrection and life everlasting are established now in Messiah in order to show what is to come. That is, “His surpassing riches, His grace in moral purity/integrity/kindness toward us in Messiah Yeshua” in the עולם הבא )Olam Haba(, World to Come.
 
We note that the Greek text reads ages/worlds plural, denoting worlds/ages everlasting. Perhaps meaning that, at the return of the Messiah, distinct ages unfold within the day/season of the Judgement and the transition to the World to Come. We are reminded that in a transcendant view of time a day is as a thousand years to HaShem. Meaning time is relative in eternity. In eternity where there is no beginning or end, how would one establish a measure for time? If one were to count time passing where would one begin? If there were a beginning (there is neither beginning or end in eternity), what end is one counting toward in a world without end?
 
8 For by the grace/loving kindness you have been saved through faith/trust/belief (in conviction of the truth), and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not by works/deeds/actions, in order that no one should boast. 
 
We see that neither grace nor faith are of ourselves but are a unity and converge as the gift of God, grace being the impartation of unmerited favour through the faith given by God.
 
All are saved by God’s grace through the faith אמן (aman) given to us by God in Messiah, Who is the faith agreement, the “Amen” (Rev. 3:14) of every believer. Our salvation is eternally established in Salvation (Yeshua) Himself and cannot be established or disestablished by our actions. Once received (freewill), because our salvation is not our work but His (decided beforehand), it cannot be lost! It is the gift of God. And, in order to receive the benefit of a gift one must open it (freewill). Therefore, salvation is pre-established (decided beforehand) because God knows the end from the beginning, and it is received by a choice of will (freewill) by those who acknowledge their need and open the gift. Thus, predestination and freewill are distinct parts of a whole and not, as some foolishly continue to insist upon, a debate over “this or that!”
 
In order to be absolutely clear Paul states explicitly “and that not of yourselves!” And again, “not by works/deeds/actions, in order that no one should boast.” In short, don’t say “I have changed my standing before God by doing what’s right” because the very ability to do what’s right and the clean slate afforded you prior to your turning from evil toward God, are all the work of God. Therefore, He alone is worthy of the credit, and in Messiah the faith He has given you, which you have received, is accredited to you as righteousness. Messiah is your righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:21).
 
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Messiah Yeshua unto (upon) good works, which God prepared beforehand in order that we should walk in them.
 
We are His workmanship, and not our workmanship. This reinforces the fact that we are saved by grace through faith.
 
We are not “created for good works” as some mistranslate, rather we are “created in Messiah Yeshua unto (upon) good works.” The good works are the fruit of Messiah in us the hope of glory (Col. 1:27). In Messiah we do not do for God but in and from Him. We are created in Messiah upon His good deeds and unto good deeds that originate with Him. Therefore, being in Him we walk in His good works.
 
We are not created for good works, worship or any other thing, rather we are created in relationship unto right relationship, worship and good deeds being the acts of returning to God that which He has given us.
 
The good works are prepared beforehand so that we might walk in them, and not so that we might invent or create them. Therefore, the good works we do in Messiah are received, an opportunity to walk in God’s established will. We don’t manufacture deeds, rather we look for what God is doing and we agree with it and join in it, in Messiah. None of this is done in our own strength but in His strength. Thus in Him we become Messiah essential versions of ourselves, redeemed, rescued from the perversion of self that we once engaged in.
 
It's worth noting that human beings receive the wages of sin because we have worked for those wages by sinning. Whereas, we receive the gift of Salvation, not by our work, but according to the works of God. Wages are earned, the gift is received.
 
Put concisely, God created us in Messiah. We are created upon Messiah’s good works. Our right actions result from Messiah in us. All of which is established before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4) in order that the fullness of God’s love might be revealed to us in eternity.
 
11 Therefore remember that you, formerly Gentiles in the flesh (physical body)—who are called Uncircumcision (Pagans) by those called the Circumcision (Jews) made in the flesh (body) by hands— 12 that at that time you were without Messiah, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and foreigners (pagans without access) to the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in this world. 
 
Like the prior warning Paul had given the Gentiles in the Roman community of faith (57 CE), the present warning reminds the Gentile believers in Ephesus that without the Jewish Messiah Yeshua they cannot access the covenant promises of God (Rom. 11:13-36). Likewise, Paul alludes to his former rebuke of the arrogance of certain Jewish believers in the Roman community of faith (Rom. 2:17-29)
 
Paul adds to this an explanation of spiritual conversion beyond physical circumcision. He is alluding to the circumcision of the heart, which God had demanded of Israel from her earliest days of disobedience (Deut. 10:16; 30:6; Jer. 4:4). By inference Paul now reminds the Gentile believers of Ephesus that in Messiah they have received circumcision of the heart.
 
Prior to the revelation of Messiah, the Gentile believers were aliens, pagans who worshipped false gods or had no god and were therefore in either case not part of the commonwealth of Israel. They were foreigners, idol worshippers who had no access to the covenants and therefore were devoid of hope for eternal life and without the comfort of God in the present age.
 
We note that “commonwealth” here is like the commonwealth of Great Britain. Paul is referring to both ethnic religious Israelites and those Gentile foreigners who submitted to the God of Israel and the Jewish people and thus lived among the commonwealth of Israel, even as early as the Exodus from Egypt. Paul is not inferring that Gentiles who receive Messiah become “Spiritual Jews” (an oxymoron that mixes an ethnic noun with a spiritual paradigm). In order to understand this in simple terms one need only know that Israel is an ethnic noun referring uniquely to blood descendants of Jacob and his twelve sons. Post Babylonian exile when all the tribes returned to Judea, the locational use of the noun Judah became a synonym for Israel and is now the ethnic noun that describes all Israel’s tribes. Therefore, Jews and Israel are synonymous today, both being ethnic nouns describing the 12 tribes of Israel, the blood descendants of Jacob the historical human being.
 
Therefore, a converted Gentile is invited to join the commonwealth of Israel but does not lose their ethnic uniqueness in order to do so. The converted Gentile is a converted soul and not a converted ethnicity. Likewise, the converted Jew remains a Jew because it is his soul that is turned from sin toward God (conversion), while his ethnicity, sex, skin colour etc do not change.
 
13 But now in Messiah Yeshua you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Messiah.
 
In Messiah Gentiles are welcomed into the commonwealth of Israel and afforded access to the covenants of God that are not ethnically specific.  
 
14 For He Himself is our peace, Who has made both (Jews & Gentiles) one (echad [H]), and has broken down the wall/partition, the barrier/fence, 15 in order to loose the hostility in His flesh (body, nature), the Torah, the commandment in doctrine, which is to be unemployed/idle/inactive, so as to create in Himself one new person/human being from the two, thus making peace,  
 
Messiah Yeshua is our peace, wholeness and wellbeing, and has made both Jews and Gentiles who receive Him, one people, diverse and unified.
 
“Even the name of the Messiah is called שלום, "peace"; as it is said, (Isa. 9:6) ‘the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace’;”
 
-Rabbi Yosef the Galilean (Contemporary of Rabbi Akivah) [Sefaria]
 
“Who has made both (Jews & Gentiles) one (echad [H]), and has broken down the wall/barrier, the partition/fence, 15 in order to loose the hostility in His flesh (body, nature),”
 
The Greek text does not say “dividing wall” but “wall/partition.” While it’s true that walls divide, the text does not say that specifically but infers it.
 
The Hebrew equivalent to the Greek text is מחיצה (m’chitzah), “the middle wall of the boundary fence.”
 
This is without doubt the wall חיצה (chitzah) surrounding the first century Temple, on which there was a sign “which forbade any foreigner to go on pain of death.” Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 15:11:5; War of the Jews 5:5:2, 6:2:4.
 
In a similar way to the tearing of the veil at the entry to the Holy of Holies, which opened access to intimacy with God to all who would receive Yeshua’s atoning work, so too the wall separating Gentiles from Jews has been torn down by Messiah.
 
We note that just as there was a dividing wall that kept Gentiles from entering into the court of Israel, there was also a wall of separation preventing women from entering beyond the court of women.
 
In modern orthodox synagogues there is a מחיצה (m’chitzah) separating the women from the men. This reflects the first century Temple. No such wall existed in the synagogues of the first century, where men and women worshipped together, an ancient Jewish equivalent to a community centre, with the added component of Scripture readings and worship rites.
 
Paul’s teaching to the Galatians seems to allude to a diaspora synagogue practice of separating women from men. Concerning salvation through faith in Messiah Paul writes, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile… male nor female” (Galatians 3:28)
 
Therefore, Messiah has torn the veil, broken down the wall separating the Gentiles and the wall separating the women, and the wall separating the Israelite from the priests, and has opened clear access to all who receive Him, right through to the Holy of holies and intimacy with the Father God.
 
Note that where the wall in the synagogue which separates men and women is taken down in the reformed or progressive synagogue of today, and men and women sit together as in the first century synagogues of the land of Israel, that they sit together but do not lose their unique physiology. Their sex doesn’t change based on their location. So too, when the wall separating out Gentiles is removed the Gentiles come in toward the Holy of holies and join in worship with their Jewish brothers and sisters but do not change their ethnicity. In Messiah Jews remain Jews and Gentiles remain Gentiles. We are one in the Spirit of Messiah, a diverse unity. A commonwealth. Paul is not teaching Gentiles to appropriate Jewish life but to be the Messiah essential persons that God has created them to be.
 
As a Messiah follower and a Jew I ask you not to appropriate our culture, or God forbid, claim to be a Jew when you are not, but instead according to Scripture, I welcome you in Messiah to Join with us, and honour Messiah by being your Messiah essential self.
 
Put concisely, through His blood atoning substitutionary sacrifice and resurrection Messiah has made it possible for Jews and Gentiles to come together without the hostility of the sinful inclination that took advantage of the indictment of Torah, getting in the way.
 
The wall was viewed as divisive, causing hostility between Jews and Gentiles in the sense that the Jews were seen as having special access to YHVH that Gentiles didn’t have. However, the hostility or enmity is not concerning the wall alone but also “the Torah, the commandment in doctrine, which is to be unemployed.”
 
Jewish commentators describe the Torah figuratively as a “Wall”:
 
“When Reish Lakish came before Rabbi Yoḥanan and reported the exchange to him, Rabbi Yoḥanan said to him: What is the reason that you did not quote this verse to him: “I am a wall and my breasts are like...towers”, which may be explained as follows: “I am a wall”; this is referring to the Torah.”
 
-Bava Batra 7b:16 [Sefaria]
 
“The Gemara interprets another verse: “I am a wall and my breasts are like towers” . Rabbi Yoḥanan said: “I am a wall”; this is a reference to the Torah....“And my breasts are like towers”; these are the Torah scholars, who, by disseminating their Torah and influencing the masses protect them like watchtowers....And Rava said: “I am a wall”; this is the Congregation of Israel....“And my breasts are like towers”; these are the synagogues and study halls in which the Congregation of Israel is nurtured by the Torah, from which it draws its spiritual strength.”
 
-Pesachim 87a:8 [Sefaria]
 
The Torah itself is not hostility/enmity, nor is it the cause of the hostility/enmity (Rom. 7:5-14), rather, as an indictment against sin the Torah’s existence means sin has an opportunity by misusing Torah as a trigger for the idea of acting on the sin which is commanded against (Rom. 5:12-21).
 
For the Messiah essential person Torah becomes unemployed in the sense that our nature is being transformed and sanctified to reflect the Person of Messiah. There is no need for a law that says “You shall not steal” if by nature a person doesn’t steal. Therefore, the law exists only as an indictment against the one who steals. The law is a warning that points to Messiah. Once Messiah is met, and as long as the believer’s eyes are set on Him, there is no need of Torah. Torah remains until the fullness of all things as a measure against sin (Matt. 5:18).
 
Therefore, in Messiah, having been made new creations, the old sin nature gone, the new Messiah nature come, we sin when we forget who we are. Thus the Torah points us back to Messiah and the knowledge of who we are in Him. The result of right relationship in Messiah is right action without Torah. After all, in the Olam Haba where there is no sin there is no need of commandments against sin. Thus, Messiah is not Torah but the Author of Torah. Messiah is the דבר Davar Word essence and not Torah the Instruction. The perfect Instructor is not subject to the instruction but is the Author of it.
 
In Messiah Jews and Gentiles are made one new human being. Again, this is not literal. We do not become a transgender multi-ethnic blob of humanity. To the contrary, we are one in spirit in Messiah and remain unique parts of the body of Messiah. Not all are hands, not all are feet, not all are heart or brain, but all are one body.
 
It is more than foolish, it is satanic to say as some do, “See, being Jewish or Navajo, or Britain, or Celt, or Maori doesn’t matter anymore because we are all one new man.” What utter nonsense! To steal the uniqueness of ethnic identity and assimilate it into a collective soup is to oppose Scripture:
 
“9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation (Yeshua) belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”
 
-Revelation 7:9-10 [Author’s translation]
 
The Kingdom of God is a unique and diverse unity and not an assimilating empire.
 
The peace that is in Messiah comes through His blood and establishes a celebration of all that is godly in every ethnicity and culture. Peace is not the denying of uniqueness but the celebrating of it.
 
16 Indeed, that He might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, thereby putting to death that which caused the hostility. 
 
Messiah comes to reconcile us through His sacrifice, first to God and also to one another. His saving work puts to death the cause of the hostility between us. Messiah’s sacrificial death has put to death idolatrous rebellion, which is the root of all sin.
 
In Messiah we are no longer seeking our own elevation, rather, because Messiah is elevated above all, and we are submitted to God in Him, we elevate one another in Him. The one who has received the fullness of God’s love in Messiah is tasked with allowing that love to overflow toward others in perfect unity. Being your unique Messiah essential self is a gift to the body of faith. Don’t steal that gift by pretending to be something or someone you are not. Be tribal, but don’t practice tribalism.
 
17 And He came to speak the good news of peace to you who were far off (Gentiles) and to those who were near (Jews). 
 
The good news of Messiah is for all, perpetually first to the Jew and also perpetually to the nations (Romans 1:16).
 
18 For through, and of Him (Messiah) we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
 
Messiah alone gives as access to the father, Jew and Gentile.
 
19 Now, therefore (based on what has already been stated), you are no longer foreigners (pagans without access) and neighbours without citizenship, but fellow citizens with the holy ones kedoshim[H] (saints, specifically Messiah essential Jews) and members of the household of God, 
 
Now, in Messiah, the Gentile believers of Ephesus, and by extension all Gentile followers of Yeshua, are no longer pagans and foreigners estranged from God’s people but are now grafted into the commonwealth of Israel by grace through faith and have become fellow citizens with the Jewish believers and members of God’s household/family. Heirs in His House/Temple (heavenly).
 
20 having been built on the foundation of השליחים (ha-sh’lichim[H]) the sent ones (Apostles: all of whom are Jews) and prophets (of the TaNaKh [OT], Jews with the possible exception of Job), Yeshua the Messiah Himself being the highest corner/ pinnacle, 21 in Him the whole building, joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord/LORD (Κυρίῳ  [kyrio] YHVH, Both the Father and the Son), 
 
Paul reminds the Gentile believers again that all this has been made possible through Messiah and built on the foundational work of God established through the Jewish Apostles and their predecessors the Prophets of Israel (Jews). All these being established in Messiah Who is the highest Corner, the top point of the House/Temple of God (alternatively, the foundational cornerstone of the Temple of God).
 
In Messiah both Jew and Gentile grow together into an everlasting metaphysical Temple. Not a Temple made of stone but a living Temple made up of unique people who are one in Messiah to the glory of God (1 Peter 2:4-9; 1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19). Thus, the New Jerusalem will have no Temple, because God Himself and the Lamb are its Temple (Rev. 21:22).
 
“Yeshua the Messiah Himself being the highest corner,” refers to Psalms 118:22, which reads:
 
“The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner”
 
-Tehillim (Psalms) 118:22 [Author’s translation]
 
We note that while many versions translate “cornerstone,” neither the Greek nor the Hebrew text explicitly say this. While it’s possible the corner foundation stone of certain ancient buildings might be meant (Isa. 28:16; Matt. 21:42; 1 Peter 2:6-8), it seems more likely that in the context of Paul’s letter to the Ephesian community, in keeping with Paul’s description of Yeshua as being above all things, that he is in fact referring to the highest panicle of the Temple and Yeshua’s headship over the body of believers, who are being referred to here as the living stones of the Temple which is Messiah’s body.
 
There is at very least a remez (hint) here at a connection between Messiah’s headship over the living temple of the body of believers and the attempt by Satan to get Yeshua to throw Himself down from the pinnacle of the Temple in Jerusalem. The symbolism is clear. The Enemy is tempting Yeshua to put God to the test and to throw down His headship and authority over the ecclesia (coming body of believers) [Matt. 4:5].
 
That being said, there is a mystical Jewish tradition that speaks of the world being founded through the foundation stone האבן (Ha-even) in the Holy of Holies, which is also said to be the stone on which Jacob lay his head on the night he received the vision of the stairway to the heavens, the same stone being said to be the place where Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac and the stone through which man was created (M. Yoma 5:2; T. Yoma 2:14; B. Yoma 54b; Lev. Rabah 20:4 etc.). While this is a mystical tradition and not Scripture, it’s nonetheless consistent with the creating Word, God with us, Yeshua the King Messiah, through Whom all things are created (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16).
 
22 in Whom you together are also being built toward the dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
 
And where will the manifest dwelling place of God be in the future fullness of the World to come? It will be on the New Earth in the New Jerusalem, the city being the sum of its inhabitants (Rev. 21).
 
Therefore, this last verse of chapter 2 is ultimately pointing to eternal life in God for all who receive and are bound together in Messiah.
 
Copyright 2025 Yaakov (Brown) Ben Yehoshua

Introduction:
 
Writer: Paul (Shaul) the ἀπόστολος (apostolos) Apostle, שָׁלִיחַ (shaliach) Emissary (Sent one) [1:1; 3:1, 7, 13; 4:1; 6:19-20].
Date:
 
Probably written around 60 C.E. while Paul was imprisoned in Rome.
 
Recipients:
 
“The holy ones [קדושים (kedoshim) saints: body of true Messiah followers], faithful to Messiah, who are in Ephesus (60 CE).”
 
This letter doesn’t include Paul’s usual personal greetings, and some early manuscripts are devoid of the phrase “Who are in Ephesus.” Therefore, some believe it to have been intended for circulation among all of the faith communities in the Asia Minor region.
 
However, there is not sufficient evidence to conclusively disprove the traditional view that the letter was specifically written to the Ephesian community of faith and was possibly also shared among other communities in the region. In fact, this is the most reliable view given that we entrust the transmission of Scripture in its original languages to God, and are not reliant on the flawed revisionist scholarship of the post enlightenment academic collective of hubris.
 
Style:
 
The text is written in first century Greek and the style of writing is reminiscent of a rabbinical דרש d’rash (comparative teaching/discourse).
 
This makes sense given that Shaul (Paul) is a first century Jewish rabbi, a פָּרוּשׁ Parush (Pharisee: Phil. 3:4-6) of the highest caliber and is tasked by Yeshua to be an emissary to the nations (Gal. 2:8).
 
Part of what Paul offers Greek/Gentile believers is an insight into the Hebrew foundation for their new found faith in the Jewish Messiah, and Savior of all who receive Him in faith.
 
Historical Context:
 
At the time of Paul’s writing this letter Ephesus was considered one of the most important cities in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). It had a harbor that connected to the Aegean Sea via the now silted up Cayster River. It was at the center of several major trade routes and therefore became a major commercial concern of the Roman Empire, sharing prominence alongside other great cities like Corinth, Antioch and Alexandria.
 
The city’s largest temple was dedicated to the goddess Ἀρτέμιδος Artemis (Roman: Diana), and considered one of the ancient world’s seven wonders. The original temple was built in the 7th century BCE, and was destroyed by a flood. It was reconstructed approximately 550 BCE, and was modified to a grander size, measuring approximately 115 meters long by 46 meters wide with pillars standing 13 meters high. In 356 BCE, the second iteration of the temple burned down. After the death of Alexander the Ephesians paid for the repair and rebuilding of the temple. Work started in 323 BCE and continued for many years. The third temple was larger than the second; boasting a length of 137 meters by 69 meters wide and 18 meters high, with more than 127 columns.
 
Therefore, the temple of Artemis was in its largest iteration at the time of Paul’s writing to the Ephesian community of faith in 60 CE.
 
Ephesus was filled with orators and philosophers, and was famously superstitious in culture and practice. In addition to the cult of Artemis there are indications that Ephesians also engaged in various mystery religions and occult practices (Acts 19:18-20). 
 
Paul had previously preached publicly to large crowds of people in Ephesus, ultimately provoking the disdain of the silversmiths who earned their livelihood in the production of idols. As a result, Paul narrowly escaped a great mob in the theatre (capacity 25,000) at Ephesus which was located on the side of Mt Pion at the end of the famous Arcadian Way*.
 
*The Arcadian Way was named in honor of the Roman Emperor Flavius Arcadius Augustus# (383-408 CE) and was therefore not known by that name in 60 CE. At the time of Paul’s writing to the Ephesians the Arcadian Way was probably known as the beginning of the Sacred Way and converged at a T junction with the main part of the Sacred Way which led up to the temple of Artemis.
 
#Flavius Arcadius Augustus was supposedly a Nicene Christian (Nicene Christianity refers to Christians who adhere to the teaching of the Nicene Creed [we note that Biblical Judaism is not a credal religion]. The Nicene Creed was codified at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 CE and amended at the First Council of Constantinople in 381 CE).
 
It’s worth noting the origin of the noun Arcadian. An Arcadian was someone from Arcadia, a region named after the mythological Greek figure Arcas. Arcas was said to be the son of Zeus and Callisto/Megisto. Callisto was a nymph who accompanied Artemis, thus the connection to Ephesus and the temple of Artemis. Arcas was a hunter and is said to have taught the people of the region of Arcadia the art of agriculture and bread making. The Romanized Arkadia referred to a type of pastoral utopia. Therefore, the Arcadian Way was essentially considered representative of the ideal utopian way, a type of pagan antithesis to הדרך )Ha-Derekh( the Way (Acts 19:9, 23, 24:14, 22; 2 Peter 2:2). 
 
The Cult of Artemis/Diana:
 
For obvious reasons Ephesus was a center of worship of Artemis/Diana, the Greek Pantheon goddess of fertility, childbirth and nature. Worship of Artemis included athletic and musical competitions, plays, and a regular procession along the Sacred Way where her statue was carried by women up to the temple at night and “bathed in light.” One of the primary festival celebrations of Artemis called Artemisia sometimes coincided with the season of the Jewish Biblical festival of Pesach (Passover) [March April].
 
As a result of the influence of the pagan religious worship of Artemis Ephesus had become a matriarchal society that stood in opposition to the traditional Biblical Hebraic family unit.

It’s known that the most prominent teachers of Greco-Roman spirituality in the city were women. Thus, women teaching satanic doctrines. One such doctrine taught contrary to Scripture that woman was created first. 
 
Ritual sacrifice was common in worship of Artemis, and included animal sacrifices of sheep and goats, and votive offerings such as figurines, jewelry, and miniature vases.
 
When the Ephesian Ecclesia (Church) Began:
 
The Ephesian faith community began like many others in the diaspora (outside the land of Judea [Israel]) with the Apostolic work of Paul. As was his custom he first visited the Jewish community, teaching in the Ephesian synagogue of the Jews (Acts 18:19-21). This work was added to by the Jew Apollos and Paul’s Jewish friends and fellow believers Priscilla and Aquila while Paul was in Jerusalem, Antioch, Galatia and Phrygia (Acts 18:22-28).
 
Paul then returned to Ephesus while Apollos was in Corinth. He taught the now growing number of Jewish and Greek believers (who had received the baptism of repentance taught by John the Baptist) the full immersion of Messiah and the importance of receiving the Holy Spirit.
 
As a result of Shaul’s (Paul’s) teachings some in the Ephesian synagogue sought to poison their fellow Jewish brothers and sisters against Shaul, so he took the Jewish followers of the Way and the Greek God fearers who had joined them with him, and used the school of Tyrannus as a base for teaching the growing number of Jewish and Greek followers of Yeshua and enriching their understanding of the faith. This continued for two years, and thus established the Ephesian believing community in sound doctrine (Acts 19:1-12).
 
As the Ephesian believing community continued to grow God wrought miracles in their midst. On one occasion a group of Jewish exorcists attempted to cast out a demon by invoking the names of Paul and Yeshua. The demon, recognizing that they were not believers in Messiah, attacked them, beating them to within an inch of their lives. As a result of this, awe of the power of Yeshua the Messiah struck the people of Ephesus. Some of the earlier believers, who had made professions of faith but had continued to syncretize other occult practices now came and admitted their evil deeds, publicly burning their occult scrolls in repentance (Acts 19:13-20).
 
While Paul was still in the region a silversmith of Ephesus named Demetrius, who made his living by making idols, incited other tradespeople against the Jewish sect the Way, and against Paul, who had brought the message of the Gospel to Asia. He publicly criticized Paul and incited the Ephesians to riot in defense of their great goddess Artemis (Diana). The enraged Ephesian crowd seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s traveling companions, and Paul wanted to go into the midst of the tumult to speak, but his disciples would not let him. Once the situation had died down Paul encouraged the disciples of Ephesus and then left for Macedonia (Acts 19:13-20:1).
 
All these things took place between 50 and 55 C.E. approximately 5 to 10 years prior to Paul’s writing his letter to the Ephesian believing community. In that short space of time the Greek believers grew to outnumber the Jewish believers and a sound understanding of the Jewish roots of the Messianic faith was beginning to wane in what had become a predominantly Gentile Ephesian faith community.
 
It's worth noting that 1 Corinthians was written while Paul was in Ephesus (1 Cor. 15:32; 16:8 approx. 50-55 CE). Additionally, after writing his letter to the Ephesians in 60 CE Paul wrote to encourage Timothy to remain in Ephesus in order to admonish certain people not to teach doctrines other than those which Paul had brought to them (1 Tim. 1:3 approx. 63-66 CE). This gives insight as to the dynamics at play within the Ephesian faith community even from its inception.
 
Following Paul’s letter to the Ephesian believers in 60 CE John was given the Revelation of Yeshua in 70 CE, in the record of which Ephesus is the first church to be both praised and rebuked by Yeshua.
 
From Yeshua’s words to the Ephesian community (70 CE), we can glean that they took the guarding of sound doctrine seriously in obedience to the teaching of both Paul and Timothy, but that they had grown cold regarding intimacy with Yeshua, in the joy of first receiving Him, and thus had neglected their first love in Messiah (Rev. 2:1-7).
 
Ephesians 1 [Author’s Translation]
 
1 Paul (Shaul[H]), a sent one of Yeshua the Messiah (Christou[G]: Anointed One) by the determined will of God, to the holy ones (kedoshim[H]-saints) who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Messiah Yeshua:
2 Grace to you and peace, wholeness, wellbeing, prosperity from God our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah.
3 Blessed/Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, Who has blessed us with all spiritual blessing in the heavens in Messiah, 
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before the face of Him in complete love, 
5 having decided beforehand to adopt us as sons and daughters through Yeshua the Messiah toward Himself, according to the good desire of His will, 
6 to the praise of the judgement of His grace, by which He encompassed us with favour in the Beloved.
7 In Him (the Beloved) we have been released through the ransom of His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the wealth of His grace 
8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and understanding, 
9 to make known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good desire which He revealed in Himself, 
10 that in managing the fullness of the times He might sum up into one, all things in Messiah, the things in heaven and the things that are on earth—in Him. 
11 In Him also we (Jews) have obtained an inheritance, decided beforehand according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 
12 toward us (Jews) who to the praise of His judgement first hoped beforehand in Messiah.
13 In Him you (Greeks/Gentiles) also heard the word, the truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in Him also, having trusted, you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit, 
14 Who is the guarantee (promissory note) of our inheritance until the release through ransom of the purchased possession, to the praise of His judgement.
15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Yeshua and your love for all the holy ones (kedoshim[H]-saints), 
16 don’t stop giving thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 
17 in order that the God, of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, the Father of judgement, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 
18 the illumination of the eyes of your heart (core being); that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the judgement of His inheritance in the holy ones (kedoshim[H]-saints), 
19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His strength toward us who trust, according to the working of the force of His power 
20 which He worked in Messiah when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavens, 
21 far above all origins and power and strength and lordship, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come (Olam Haba[H]).
22 And He put all under His foot, and gave Him headship over all the assembly (body of believers), 
23 which is His body, the fullness of the all in all to completion.
 
Line by Line:
 
1 Paul (Shaul[H]), a sent one of Yeshua the Messiah (Christou[G]: Anointed One) by the determined will of God, to the holy ones (kedoshim[H]-saints) who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Messiah Yeshua:
 
The opening phrasing is nearly identical to several other letters of Paul (Rom. 1:1; 1 Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1; Gal. 1:1 etc.)
 
Paul, a.k.a Rabbi Shaul, from Tarsus (Acts 13:9) is sent by Yeshua Whom he had encountered on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), and is thus employed according to the determined will of God, YHVH.
 
An ἀπόστολος Apostolos[G] or שליח Shaliach[H], sent one, is an emissary sent out to convey a message. A Shaliach is not “equal” to the sender as some foolishly suggest, but is “like” the sender (Matthew 10:24-25).
 
He is writing specifically to the holy ones (believers) in the city of Ephesus in the first century (approx. 60 CE), who have remained faithful in Messiah Yeshua.
 
Alternatively, given that the earliest Greek manuscripts exclude “Ephesus,” it’s possible that this letter was intended for all of the communities of faith in the region and was left with a blank space for writing in the respective community.
 
Regardless, Paul is writing not to “holy ones (saints),” but to “holy ones, faithful in Messiah Yeshua.” Therefore, this letter is not written to those who claim to be “Christians/holy ones/saints,” but to those Christians/holy ones/saints who in Messiah remain faithful. For some of us repentance is required in order for us to be able to receive what the Spirit is teaching through this letter.
 
By the time of Paul’s writing this letter, the Ephesian church was likely predominantly Greek/Gentile with a small remnant of Jewish believers among them (Timothy the Jew would become a teacher and shepherd among the Ephesian ecclesia). This was also true of many other fellowships in Asia at that time, with the exception perhaps of the Roman ecclesia who probably had an equitable ratio of Jews and Gentiles following the return of Jews to Rome after the death of Claudius in 54 CE. The Letter to the Romans was written approximately 57 CE (AD).
 
2 Grace to you and peace, wholeness, wellbeing, prosperity from God our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah.
 
The grace and peace Paul extends to the faith community is “from God our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah.”
 
Grace is used 12 times in this letter and peace 7 times. These two primary faith nouns are emphasized because the fruit of right action cannot exist without the peace that comes from grace through faith.
 
Concerning God as Father, I was once told by a Christian Bible Teacher that “We Christians know God as Father because Jesus revealed God as Father and taught us to pray ‘Our Father,’ whereas you Jews did not know God as Father prior to Jesus teaching you this concept.” This is of course utter nonsense.
 
700 years before the birth of Messiah through the womb of the virgin, Isaiah the prophet writes:
 
“For You are our Father; for Abraham doesn’t (personally) know us (because he has passed away), and Israel/Jacob can’t acknowledge us (because like Abraham, Jacob has passed away); You, YHVH, are our Father, our Redeemer from everlasting is Your Name.
 
-Y’shayahu (Isaiah) 63:16 [Author’s translation]
 
Ref. Isa. 64:8; Jeremiah 3:4, 19; Psalm 68:5, 89:26, 103:13
 
The Greek/Gentile Ephesian believers know God as Father due to the Gospel of Yeshua brought to them by Jews who have known God as Father from ancient times.
 
3 Blessed/Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, Who has blessed us with all spiritual blessing in the heavens in Messiah, 
 
This opening blessing is reminiscent of the first line of the Amidah תפילת העמידה (the standing prayer), a prayer that is central to the worship tradition of rabbinical Judaism and begins:
 
“Praised be You Adonay our God, and the God of our fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, the great, mighty and revered God, the most high God, Master of the heavens and the earth.”
 
The Amidah is prayed at each of the three daily prayer services of Orthodox Rabbinic Judaism.
 
Shaul (Paul) uses Jewish ברכות brakhot (blessings/benedictions) in his letters, as does Kefa (Peter) in his (2 Cor. 1:3-7; 1 Pet. 1:3-4).
 
Here Shaul’s (Paul’s) opening בְּרָכָה brakhah denotes the teaching of Yochanan (John 1:1; 20:17), and reveals that God has established all blessing in Messiah Yeshua, Who is עמנו אל Imanu – El, God with us.
 
The Greek Θεὸς Theos is used here to reflect the Hebrew יהוה YHVH, the Holy proper noun (unpronounceable) for the God of Israel. The Septuagint (Greek OT) translates יהוה YHVH as Θεὸς  Theos over 250 times. However, in addition to this the Septuagint (Greek OT) uses the Greek κύριος Kurios, meaning “Lord” to translate יהוה YHVH some 7,000 times. Of the 748 uses of κύριος Kurios in the New Testament approximately 700 refer directly to Yeshua and the remainder with few (if any) exceptions qualify either an “Angel of the LORD” or “The LORD God.”
 
Ephesians 1:3 is one of over 700 times where κύριος Kurios is used specifically of Yeshua.
 
There are some in the so called Messianic movement, who, to their shame, avoid adding the facts concerning the Greek κύριος Kurios and cite only the Septuagint’s use of Θεὸς Theos. This seems to be an intentional act that seeks to avoid addressing the deity of Yeshua, which is irrefutably taught by the Scriptures (both TaNaKh [OT] and Habrit Hachadashah [NT]).
 
Yeshua is God! He is God with us the Son! This may be offensive to some of our Jewish brothers and sisters, sobeit, it is the teaching of Scripture, testified to by the Holy Spirit, established in God the Father. God is One!
 
The phrase “spiritual blessing” is used to distinguish between temporal blessing experienced in the sin affected and therefore time trapped world which is fading away, and the everlasting blessing of God which are established in eternity, past, present and future in Messiah. Paul’s use of the phrase “spiritual blessing” is yet another proof of his desire to teach Gentile believers the rhythm of the Biblical Jewish faith perspective in Messiah. We Jews make the distinction between temporary blessing and eternal blessing: טובות זמניות (tovot zemaniyot) “temporary good things (blessings) and טובות רוחניות (tovot rochaniyot) “Everlasting good things (blessings) ref. Tzror HaMor 79:2 (Commentary on the Torah written by Rabbi Avraham Saba).
 
The phrase “In the heavens” or “In the heavenly realms” is used five times in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. First we note that this is plural “realms,” and denotes the three distinct heavens as a unity. The first heaven being the earth’s atmosphere, the second being the universe/universes (all creation) and the third being outside the universe/universes/worlds (all creation), all of which exist in God, outside of Whom nothing exists.
 
Second, Paul establishes the use of this phrase “in Messiah.” In short, the heavens exist in Messiah while He is also seated at the right hand of God in the highest heaven (Colossians 1:16; 1 Peter 3:22). For the time trapped this language seems contradictory. It is not. The distinct heavens are in the Creator and therefore subject to Him, and the Creator is in them but not subject to them. This concerns a perceived positional separation but does not discount the fact that in God nothing is truly separate, only distinct.
 
“And they shall put My Name upon the children of Israel and I will bless them in My Word…”
 
- Targum Yonatan on Bamidbar (Num.) 6:27
 
Third, Paul is making the foundational point that Messiah has been positioned by the Father to be above and over all creation. Therefore, all spiritual blessing in the heavens (all three) is the domain of Messiah in Whom those blessings reside and from Whom they are poured out of the Father. Any temporal authority afforded Satan as Prince of the lower air (earth’s atmosphere ref. Eph. 2:2) is thus ultimately made subject to Yeshua, Who is in authority over all creation.
 
Finally, Paul will later allude to the spiritual battle that is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces in heaven (the lower heaven ref. Eph. 6:12). However, we should not be enticed by the delusion of many Gentile scholars who see some kind of equitable fight between God and the Devil. The fight is neither equitable nor fair. God is like an ocean of universes and the Devil, like a microscopic speck of dust beneath God’s toe nail. The illusion of equity in the spiritual battle is incinerated by the All existing Light of the King Messiah.
 
It's worth noting that Revelation (Rev. 12:7-12) makes it clear that Satan and its (his) angels have been cast out of the third heaven and are now confined to the first heaven (earth’s atmosphere) until their temporal imprisonment and final judgement unto condemnation [Rev. 20].
 
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before the face of Him in complete love, 
 
Paul uses the phrases “In Him” and “In Messiah” collectively twenty times in his letter to the Ephesians. The foundational truth of our identity in Messiah establishes our eternal security in Him, and not in our deeds or lack thereof.
 
Paul, like John and Peter, understands that the redemptive work of Messiah is established before creation. Therefore, the solution precedes the problem of sin, the instigator of sin being a created being (Satan), which therefore, did not exist before the foundation of the worlds/universe/created order.
 
Our being chosen in Messiah is established in the blood of the Lamb slain before the foundation of the worlds/universe/created order (Revelation 13:8). We are established to be holy and blameless through the redemptive work of Yeshua, Who is God in the beginning (John 1).
 
Ref. John 17:24; Colossians 1:15-22; 1 Peter 1:19-20; Revelation 13:8
 
We are made holy and blameless through Messiah toward intimate face to face relationship with and in God, Who completes love for us who have formerly lived with incomplete love in the sin affected world.
 
Many a fool has enlisted the present text to attempt to prove that freewill doesn’t exist. The present text establishes God’s foreknowledge, it does not disestablish our lack of knowledge and the choices we must make as time trapped human beings.
 
The false choice demanded by Christian theologians who say, “Does the Bible teach predestination or freewill?” is a satanic misdirection. The answer is that the Bible teaches both and that those who debate the mater and choose one over the other prove that they are incapable of receiving the mystery of God (Deut. 29:29).
 
5 having decided beforehand to adopt us as sons and daughters through Yeshua the Messiah toward Himself, according to the good desire of His will, 
 
Translating this verse to read “He predestined us” is to burden the modern English reader with baggage that makes properly understanding the text almost impossible. The word predestined is often misunderstood to mean predetermined and thus impugns God’s character by making Him unjust. After all, there is no justice in condemning a robot for acting according to its predetermined programming. A curse on the abhorrent idea that God is unjust!
 
The Greek προορίσας (proorisas) meaning “decided beforehand” does not allow the reader to presume fatalistic injustice because the all-knowing God is described as deciding based on His seeing the end from the beginning and not by being a tyrannical Greco-Roman deity that predetermines selected human beings as demonic robots devoid of the ability to choose between right and wrong.
 
The omniscient nature of God is testified to by the whole of Scripture. Only those who wilfully grieve the Holy Spirit, or are devoid of the Holy Spirit, speak of God as being limited in anyway except of course if in our time trapped delusion we speak of His inability to compromise His own character/nature.
 
The language of adoption speaks to both the Jewish and Gentile members of the now predominantly Gentile Ephesian ecclesia. While the ethnic religious people Israel remain chosen as a unique people, all human beings regardless of ethnicity must be adopted through the blood of Messiah with regard to spiritual condition. For example, a Jew who receives the Jewish Messiah Yeshua becomes a converted soul and remains a Jew. Likewise a Navajo who receives the Saviour Yeshua becomes a converted soul and remains a Navajo. Adoption concerns our spiritual conversion and the redemption of our sin affected being, which God decided beforehand based on seeing the end from the beginning. In Messiah both Jew and Gentile are secure! (Ref. Romans 8:23; Galatians 4:5)
 
6 to the praise of the judgement of His grace, by which He encompassed us with favour in the Beloved.
 
We note that “the Beloved” refers to the Beloved Son of God Yeshua the King Messiah.
 
All blessing comes from God and is returned to Him in praise of His glorious judgement in which grace is offered and in His present countenance, is manifest around us to whom He has shown unmerited favour in the beloved King Messiah.
 
Those who misapply Isaiah 60:21, 61:3 and Jeremiah 13:11 to the present text must be reprimanded for their failure to emphasise that these texts concern God’s glory being manifest in the reconciliation of Israel, His chosen, ethnic, religious, empirical people and do not apply to Gentile believers. Yes, His glory is manifest in the redemption of Gentiles, but this is not what the aforementioned texts teach. Therefore, they should not be used to qualify the present text except as forerunners to the inclusion of all who believe, Jew and Gentile.
 
7 In Him (the Beloved) we have been released through the ransom of His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the wealth of His grace 
 
“In Him” refers to “the Beloved [Messiah].” Therefore, in Yeshua we have been released [from the just penalty for sin] through the ransom [price paid] of His blood [essence, eternal], and have received the forgiveness of sins, which exhibits the extent of the riches of His grace, loving kindness, practiced love, charity.
 
“without shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.”
 
-Hebrews 9:22
 
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.”
 
-Vayikra (Leviticus) 17:11 NKJV
 
“Giving thanks to the Father, Who has made us to be partakers of the inheritance of the holy ones (kedoshim[H]) in light: Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has transferred us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In Him we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins:”
 
-Colossians 1:12-14 [Author’s translation]
 
8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and understanding, 
 
Our redemption is His work, He has made it abound in the wisdom and understanding that emanates from His Person. Our atonement is not of ourselves.
 
9 to make known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good desire which He revealed in Himself, 
 
The mystery of His will which He revealed in Himself does not remain a mystery to those who have received Him. Unlike the mystery religions and their pseudo-Christian companions, the mystery of God’s will is now made known, accessible to all who receive the Messiah rather than being offered only to initiates of higher knowledge. Redemption is offered to all but only the repentant receive it.
 
This is particularly important to the context of this letter because mystery religions were prevalent in Ephesus and throughout the Roman Empire.
 
10 that in managing the fullness of the times He might sum up into one, all things in Messiah, the things in heaven and the things that are on earth—in Him. 
 
Simply put, the revelation of the mystery of God’s redemptive will established in Messiah before the foundation of the worlds, has been managed/ordered in the fullness of all time, past, present and future, in Messiah through His blood atoning work on the cross. Therefore, Messiah, seated at the right hand of God in authority over all creation, orders all things to completion in Himself.
 
11 In Him also we (Jews) have obtained an inheritance, decided beforehand according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 
 
Having established that Messiah has dominion over all things, Shaul (Paul) now makes a unifying distinction between the Jews who first believed, having a long history of looking forward to Messiah, and in verse 13, to the Gentiles, in particular Ephesian believers, who have also trusted in Messiah as a result of hearing the Word (Gospel) from the likes of Shaul/Paul (a Jew) and others (Apollos, Pricilla, Aquilla [also Jews]).
 
In Messiah [slain before the creation of the world] we Jews [Shaul speaking of himself and his people] have received right relationship in God as our inheritance. And, because God sees the end from the beginning, He decided in Himself [Father, Son and Spirit] that we would be established through His sacrificial love. The love of God being a decision, established through sacrifice and maintained by commitment.
 
The full redemption of the entire remnant of the Jewish people (Israel: descendants of Jacob) alluded to in Zechariah 12:10; John 19:37; Romans 11:25-27 was “decided beforehand,” that is, “before the foundation of the worlds.”
 
12 toward us (Jews) who to the praise of His judgement first hoped beforehand in Messiah.
 
Toward us Jews [Shaul/Paul speaking of himself and his people], who due to God’s praise and judgement, first hoped in Messiah.
 
“24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God (Israel, ethnic, chosen, empirical, religious) than to enjoy the temporary pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the scolding Messiah suffered, greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.”
 
-Hebrews 11:24-26 [Author’s translation]
 
13 In Him you (Greeks/Gentiles) also heard the word, the truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in Him also, having trusted, you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit, 
 
In the same Messiah you Gentiles also heard the Gospel and in Him, having trusted, you too have been sealed with the mark of the Holy Spirit, just as we Jews have.
 
Note that by the simple act of trusting in Messiah the believer is marked with the Holy Spirit.
 
“The word of the truth” is similar phrasing to that of the Jewish tradition concerning a sublime heavenly doctrine. The Hebrew is מלה דקשוט (melah dakshut) “a word of sublime/lavish decoration” [Zohar on Numb. 76:3].
 
14 Who is the guarantee (promissory note) of our inheritance until the release through ransom of the purchased possession, to the praise of His judgement.
 
The one who receives Yeshua is marked with the Holy Spirit, Who Himself is the guarantee of our (Jew and Gentile) inheritance (God Himself), until the sin affected world reaches its goal and the entire collective of redeemed souls are united in the fullness of God’s now and not yet fully realised Kingdom. All this unto the praise of His judgement. Praise being the response to His just decision.
 
Ref. 1 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5; Romans 11
 
15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Yeshua and your love for all the holy ones (kedoshim[H]-saints), 
 
Paul indicates here that he is writing to those who are indirectly associated with His initial ministry in Ephesus. He has heard of their faith, therefore, they are those who have come to faith in his absence. What’s more, he has heard of their love for the holy ones (kedoshim-saints) such as Apollos, Priscilla, Aquila and others of the Jewish community who had come to faith as a result of his missionary journeys, along with many Gentiles also.
 
16 don’t stop giving thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 
 
Paul thanks God from his home detention/prison cell for the good news that Messiah is being taught and received and the community of faith is growing without Paul’s help. Therefore, He petitions God for their good in Messiah constantly.
 
17 in order that the God, of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, the Father of judgement, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 
 
Paul desires the Ephesian believers to receive revelation and godly wisdom in the knowledge of God in Messiah. Paul knows from personal experience that knowledge of texts and traditions, even impeccable Torah observance is no substitute for divine revelation. In fact devoid of divine revelation no one can correctly understand Scripture or walk in the redemptive atonement of the King Messiah Yeshua.
 
In this verse Paul makes a distinction between the Father and the Son Yeshua but does not make a separation. This verse is to be understood in relationship to Paul’s teaching in Colossians 2:9 (62 CE):
 
“For in Him (Yeshua the Messiah) dwells all the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form;”
 
The description “Father of judgement” can also be read “Father of glory,” and corresponds to the Hebrew מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד Melekh Hakavod “King of glory.”
 
“7 Lift up your heads, O you gates!
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
YHVH The Lord strong and mighty,
YHVH The Lord mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Lift up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
He is the King of glory. Selah, contemplate, receive, consider and apply”
 
-Tehillim (Psalms) 24:7-10 [Author’s translation]

“Spirit of wisdom and revelation” recalls the promised Messianic Davidic Ruler who is prophesied by Isaiah:
 
“1 V’yatza And then will come out khoter a shoot (seed, stem) migeiza from the stump (stock) of Yishay (Jesse: I exist, I possess, I have substance), v’neitzer and a green branch (from natzar: guard) misharashayhu from his root yiphreh will bear fruit.
2 V’nakhah And resting upon Him, the Ruach Spirit (breath, wind) of HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), Ruach Spirit (breath, wind) of chokhmah wisdom uvinah and understanding (insight, skill), Ruach Spirit (breath, wind) of eitzah counsel u’gevurah and might (strength, greatness), Ruach Spirit (breath, wind) of da’at knowledge (perception) v’yir’at and of the fear (awe, reverence) of HaShem (YHVH: Mercy).”
 
-Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 11:1-2 [Author’s translation]
 
Joshua son of Nun is also said to have been filled with “the spirit of wisdom” (Deut. 34:9). He shares his name with the King Messiah.
 
In addition, it’s worth noting that Bezalel the son of Uri is said to have been given “the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,” in order to craft the sacred elements of the Tent of Meeting (Exodus 31:1-11). This is poignant in the present context because it provides a d’rash (comparative teaching) that says believers in Messiah are gifted with “the spirit of wisdom and revelation” in order to act in accordance with Messiah’s redemptive calling in the application of living worship (Romans 12:1).
 
18 the illumination of the eyes of your heart (core being); that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the judgement of His inheritance in the holy ones (kedoshim-saints), 
 
The Biblical Hebrew לב leiv (heart) is the core being where all elements of person converge. The eyes of the heart (core being) are illuminated by God in Messiah. The Biblical Hebrew עַיִן ayin, eye, also means “spring” and connects sight and undefiled water as a source of life. A spring being an eye in the earth from which מים חיים Mayim Chayiym, living water flows.
 
Another way to translate this might be, “the eye of your understanding be illuminated.” The phrase עין השכל (ayin haskeil) “the eye of understanding” is Rabbinical and is found in numerous Jewish sources [Zohar in Deut. fol. 119. 3. Yetzirah, p. 22. 78. Ed. Rittangel. R. Levi ben Gersom in Gen. fol. 14. 3. & Philo de opificio Dei, p. 15.]
 
The Hebrew עיני הלבבות (ayin halevevot) eyes of the hearts is also used by ancient Jewish writers [Bechinat Olam, p. 260.]
 
This illumination is not an illumination of the seat of emotion (the compartmentalised heart), but of the core being, from which human action proceeds.
 
The illumination of God in Messiah is purposed to reveal the knowledge of the hope of the resurrection and everlasting living already established for the believer in the receipt of being called to His ministry of sacrificial love. [Ref. Rom. 8:25; Php 3:14; Heb. 3:1]
 
The riches of His judgement/Glory is the receipt of right relationship in God by the redeemed saints, holy ones, we who have received His gift of loving redemption through Yeshua’s blood. God Himself is our inheritance! Yeshua is enough! [Ref. Col. 1:12]
 
“The statutes of YHVH the Lord are right, rejoicing the core being (heart);
The commandment of YHVH the Lord is pure, illuminating the eyes (springs);”
 
-Tehillim (Psalms) 19:8
 
“Open my eyes, that I may see
Wondrous things from Your Torah.”
 
-Tehillim (Psalms) 119:18
 
Note that we can’t see “wondrous things from” His Torah unless He opens our eyes.
 
19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His strength toward us who trust, according to the working of the force of His power 
 
The strength of God in Messiah is “toward us who trust/have faith” a gift that is eternally present in the manifestation of His power, a fruit of His present Spirit, the Comforter. Power and the Holy Spirit are intrinsically connected. Yeshua says to some of our ancient religious leaders, “You are in error because you do not comprehend, know, have revelation of the Scriptures or the Power of God!” (Matthew 22:29). Yeshua is revealing Himself as He Who  offers the unity of Word and Power. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father and the Son [Matthew 10:20 and Romans 8:10-11; Romans 8:9 and Galatians 4:6] poured out and present as both the guarantee and strength of every true believer in Messiah.
 
“Greatness, strength, force and power” are synonyms used in a quadruplet rhythm reflecting Jewish poetry, which uses repetition for emphasis rather than rhyming.
 
“Both riches and honour are from You,
And You reign over all.
In Your hand, power and might;
In Your hand is the power to make great
And to give strength to all.”
 
-1 Chronicles 29:12 [Author’s translation]
 
“Lift up on high your eyes, and behold. Who has created these things? He Who brings out their host by number: He calls them all by name by the meirov multiplication of oniym His generative power, for He is strong in vigour; iysh a man lo not nedar failing.”
 
-Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 40:26 [Author’s translation]
 
20 which He worked in Messiah when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavens, 
 
The resurrection of Messiah establishes the resurrection of all at the last day.
 
With regard to the chronology of events within time the believer’s access to the power of God appears to have a specific place in history. Added to this is the fact that the Lamb is slain before the foundation of the worlds (Rev. 13:8) and that the resurrected Messiah transcends time and space unbound and unlimited, trans-locational.
 
The Father has seated the Son at His right hand in the heavens in a position of dominion over all creation. The right hand is the position of strength and authority in Biblical Hebrew thought. Paul writes using both symbolic language and literal location, but not limited location. Messiah is seated at the right hand of the Father and at the same time is in the midst of two or three believers gathered together (Matt. 18:20). This cannot be understood from a sin affected time trapped paradigm. Part of the transformation of the believer by the renewing of the mind is the transition from time trapped thinking to eternal thinking.
 
“A melody of David;
YHVH The Lord said to Adoniy my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Until I make Your enemies Your stool under Your feet.”


-Tehillim (Psalms) 110:1 [Author’s translation] (Ref. Matt. 22:44; Heb. 1:13)
 
21 far above all origins and power and strength and lordship, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
 
Scripture teaches that angelic beings are given authority by God to administer rule over certain elements and entities within creation (Daniel 10:13, 20). The present verse makes clear that Yeshua is given authority in the Father over these angelic rulers.
 
Messiah has authority over all creation. Though He made Himself of no reputation, coming in the likeness of humanity, He is nonetheless Superior to all created things, being God in the beginning (Php 2:6-7; John 1).
 
Yeshua is Ruler, “not only over this present age (sin affected world, time trapped) but also over the age to come (eternity).”
 
This further establishes the fact that in spite of the temporary power that God has allowed Satan to have as “Prince of the air” (Eph. 2:2) in the fallen creation, Yeshua is nonetheless Ruler over Satan and the limited power permitted it (Satan) for a time. Thus, Yeshua rules over all creation now and forever. Therefore, to attribute power to Satan greater than that which it (Satan) has, is to impugn the character and authority of Messiah. The paper thin veil of darkness is soon to be consumed in a furnace of all existing Light.
 
“13 I was watching in the night visions,
And behold, One like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.
14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one
Which shall not be destroyed.”
 
-Daniel 7:13-14 NKJV
 
22 And He put all under His foot, and gave Him headship over all the assembly (ecclesia: body of believers), 
 
“A melody of David;
YHVH The Lord said to Adoniy my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Until I make Your enemies Your stool under Your feet.”


-Tehillim (Psalms) 110:1 [Author’s translation] (Ref. Matt. 22:44; Heb. 1:13)
 
“24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.”
 
- 1 Corinthians 15:24-25 NKJV
 
“8 You have put everything, individually and collectively in subjection under his feet.” [ Psalm 8:4-6] For in subjecting all things, individually and collectively to Him, He left nothing that is not subject to Him. But now we do not yet see all things individually and collectively subjected to him. 9 But now we do see Him Who was made for a little while lower than the angels /messengers, Yeshua, through His suffering death crowned with glory and honour, splendour, so that by the grace, unmerited favour, practical love of God He might eat death for everyone, individually and collectively.”
 
-Hebrews 2:8-9 [Author’s translation] (Ref. Heb. 10:13)
 
Because all is under Yeshua’s authority, He is specially the Head over the body of believers, the ecclesia.
 
“3 But I want you to know that the head of every man/husband is Messiah, the head of woman/wife is man/a husband, and the head of Messiah is God/The Father. “
 
- 1 Corinthians 11:3 [Author’s translation]
 
“1:24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,… 2:19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.”
 
-Colossians 1:24; 2:19 NKJV
 
In his letter to the Ephesians Paul goes on to compare the body of believers, the ecclesia to a building (2:20-22; 1 Cor. 3:16-17), and a wife (5:25-33; Rev. 19:7-9).
 
23 which is His body, the fullness of the all in all to completion.
 
The ecclesia is one in Yeshua and is therefore part of His body made perfect through His atoning work and the completion of all things existing in all creation, in God.
 
The Greek πλήρωμα pleroma translated “fullness” was used by the Gnostics (ancient equivalent to the modern “new agers”, or esoteric mystery religions) to refer to the sum of the angels or “aeons” that they supposed mediated between God and humanity.
 
Gnosticism was essentially a self-deification philosophy. Gnostics saw secret knowledge as a vehicle for perfecting themselves to a higher plain of existence. Gnosticism minimized the issue of sin as simply a collection of mistakes made to learn from on the path to divinity, teaching that created matter is evil and the spiritual is divine.
 
Paul uses the word πλήρωμα pleroma which they had hijacked, to instead reflect its true application under the authority of Him Who is the Creator of all things. The misuse of something does not define it.
 
Paul goes on to use the Greek πλήρωμα pleroma to express his prayer that the Ephesian body of believers would “know (comprehend and receive) the love of Messiah which surpasses knowledge (intellect)” and that they “may be filled with all the fullness (pleroma) of God.” [Eph. 3:19]
 
It’s interesting to note that some of our Jewish sages interpret Psalms 24:1 to refer to the souls of the righteous, and of the united tribes of Israel. [Zohar in Gen. fol. 50. 2. & in Exod. fol. 21. 2.]
 
“A melody of David. The land is Adonay’s and all that fills it—the world, and those dwelling on it.”
 
-Tehillim (Psalms) 24:1
 
Unlike the Gnostics, Paul teaches that access to the fullness of God is only possible through the blood atoning redemptive work of Yeshua the Messiah, without Whom there is no salvation or perfection.
 
Appendix:
 
Approximate Dating of Associated Texts
 
1 Corinthians  -           53-55 CE (AD)
Romans           -           57 CE (AD)
Ephesians       -           60 CE (AD)
Colossians       -           62 CE (AD)
1 Timothy       -           63-66 CE (AD)
Revelation       -           70 CE (AD)
 
Copyright 2025 Yaakov (Brown) Ben Yehoshua