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 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