Ephesians Chapter 4

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!

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