Unity - Ephesians 4:1-13

4:1-6 - Now that Paul has covered the why, how, and who of the gospel, he gets to go into more specific detail about what the Ephesians might be dealing with specifically. Let’s remember that Paul had spent many months or even years, I don’t remember, with the Ephesians and was probably in frequent contact with the church leadership there. Just like in Corinth and Galatia, I’m sure that he was receiving messages for guidance on specific topics that affected them directly. I do think it’s interesting though that the Ephesians seem to be so much further advanced spiritually than the other groups we’ve dealt with and the one difference seems to be that in Ephesus, there are no outside groups trying to actively lead the people away from the gospel. Like in Corinth and Galatia, there were groups of people trying to corrupt the saints there. It seems that there were two different groups, first were saints within the church trying to do their own thing, and second were outsiders who were familiar with the gospel, but disaffected, such as Jews who had not converted. This is an interesting way to look at dissention and conflict within the church. I had never considered how disruptive outside influences could be because I don’t respond to mockery, or intimidation really, I don’t care what other people think about me very much, etc. I just always thought that when people came from outside trying to tear me and my beliefs down that it was just a regular day, so, it doesn’t occur to me that other people might respond differently. But these different cities are good examples of just how disruptive a group of people can be who appear to be supportive of the cause but in fact are not. I guess this would be a good use of the phrase “wolf in sheep’s clothing.” So I guess that the question is, what to do when dissenting voices arise? I guess it would have to do with the nature of the dissention, if it’s just a differing opinion, then it’s probably best to listen and consider what they are saying because there might be some insight there that would be profitable for us. But what constitutes dissention? I guess a lot of that would come down to the Spirit letting us know what is true and what is not, and whether to engage or not, or what to say, because at the end of the day these people are just people and if they are trying to tear us down in our own beliefs then they have serious issues within themselves that need to be healed. I think that too often people dismiss the opinions of others because they deem them as “dissenters” and don’t want to engage. There’s a big difference between healthy conversation and vicious rhetoric, and I guess it comes down to recognizing that the things someone is saying is different than your beliefs, then recognizing why, listening to them by the Spirit and being guided by the Spirit to know what is true and how to respond in a way that is loving and profitable. Anyway, Paul beseeches them “that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” This is a good recipe for dealing with people, not just those that agree with your but also the dissenters that we just talked about. Engaging with each other in love, not dealing with ego, not trying to always be right or look like a spiritual expert, etc. If we engage with each other just trying to show love and peace, then we can have the Spirit with us to help us know what to do and say to show God’s love to others. He continues, “There is one body, and one Spirit… One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all.” If we all look to the same Savior, learn from the same scriptures, all partake in the same ordinances, with the same goal in mind, then we can work together to build up the kingdom of God. If we have different ideas about who God is, then it becomes a fight about who is right. If we use different scriptures, then who knows what is correct, and if we partake in different ordinances, then we get caught up in the minutiae of the details and can’t move forward. This goes back to what we discussed the other day, a strong centralized leadership being critical to the function of Jesus’ church on the earth. The article on this chapter from gospeldoctrine.com quotes Legrand Richards as stating, “my secretary checked for me the other day and she learned that last year in May a census was taken and it was found that there were 697 different churches here in the United States alone. If Paul were here, to which church would he go, for he said there is ‘on Lord, one faith, one baptism.’ And so we have to look for divine guidance to know where to go to find that true church if there is only to be one church, and that is our testimony.” 4:7-10 - This is Paul’s next point, “but unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” We are given the gift of the Holy Ghost so that we can know what’s true and what’s not. This can also mean that we are all given the gift of the resurrection, because Paul reminds us that when Christ “ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.” He first went into the earth in death, but then was raised from the earth unto life “far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.” The IM quotes Elder Bruce R. McConkie as teaching, “(Jesus Christ) overcame death; all men were the captives of death until Christ captured the captivator and made death subject to him.” This really gives an eternal perspective here, because we are all so caught up in our daily garbage that it’s hard for us to focus on the grand scheme of things. It’s really quite inspiring to think “hey, let’s not worry so much about what’s going on in our outside world, but how we can make things better in the eternal perspective. I think about what the absolute worst thing that can happen in this life is, and the only thing you can’t come back from and that’s death. But if we look at it from an eternal perspective, then as soon as you die, you are welcomed back into the arms of Jesus, at least that’s what Alma tells us. So it doesn’t matter how you die or if anyone knows about it, or if they never find your body or you’re dumped into the sea or anything like that. Jesus knows what happens, and he’s waiting for you and you get to be resurrected no matter what. I guess I’m just dealing with a lot of stuff right now, mainly coming to the realization that our democracy is dead and what that means for me and my place in a world. I think that this is just a small degree to which people of color have been living in the US this whole time, but I’m mourning the loss of what I thought my country was. But the more that I deal think about what’s changing or at least what part of my perception is changing the more I look toward the scriptures for guidance on what to do and how to act. And I look at Church leadership, and it’s been very uplifting honestly, looking historically what the church has been through, not only in this dispensation, but with Paul and ancient prophets as well. There’s an excellent guide in the scriptures about how to live in less than ideal circumstances, and I’m discovering it more and more and I’m truly grateful. 4:11-13 - Going along with not only Paul’s thing, but my thing as well, Paul reminds us of the structure that God has given us, such as, “apostles; and some prophets; and some evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers,” and Jesus gave us these positions “for the perfecting of the saints, for the world of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” The IM clarifies that in this verse, “evangelist” means “patriarch,” as in one who gives patriarchal blessings. Interestingly, the IM expands of Paul’s point, saying, “Paul recognized that a ‘unity of the faith’ cannot be reached without the presiding leadership of living Apostles and others.” This makes sense because if there is not unified leadership, then who are the people supposed to follow?” This might have worked when Jesus himself was on the earth as a mortal, but now that it’s just up to us, then it’s going to take a lot of people with the same exact goals to meet the demand of the Church. The IM quotes President Nelson as teaching, “The ministry of the Apostles- the First Presidency and the Twelve- is to bring about that unity of the faith and to proclaim our knowledge of the Master. Our ministry is to bless the lives of all who will learn and follow the ‘more excellent way’ of the Lord. And we are to help people prepare for their potential salvation and exaltation.” And the IM Also quotes Elder D. Todd Christofferson as teaching, “In the Church today, just as anciently, establishing the doctrine of Christ or correction doctrinal deviations is a matter of divine revelation to those the Lord endows with apostolic authority.” If we are going to be a part of God’s church, then it only makes sense that God leads it, and it would have to be an active, intensive, hands on leadership, otherwise we would all just be down here grasping at straws, which I guess is what happened for a long time after the apostles were killed.