Inductive Study: Ephesians 4:17-18

17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of[a] the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;

Ephesians 4:17-18

Personal Mission - Be a man of God

Personal Vision - Lead like Christ, Walk with Christ, Love my wife and children in a way that they understand

We continue today to examine the word, "walk," one of the active words from my personal vision statement.  In this passage it is still the Greek word is peripateo which means conduct my life, regulates one life, make progress, make use of opportunities, be occupied with.  We'll continue to use the inductive study W.O.R.D. acrostic for this study: Worship, Observe, Reveal, and Determine.

Dear heavenly Father, please take away any distractions from my study today.  Help me to focus on You and Your scriptures.  Help me not to taint my understanding of this passage with what I want it to say.  Let the Scripture speak to me.  In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

For this study, we are in the book of Ephesians.  Ephesus was a center of culture in the Asian world during Roman times.  They're pride was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Temple of Artemis.  Artemis was considered a goddess of fertility and most of the priests in the temple were women.  In this letter to the churches of this region, Paul is talking to the Gentiles about how to live their lives.

The passage starts with "therefore" instructing us to examine the preceding paragraph(s).  In Ephesians 4:11-16, Paul points out that the Gentile believers should "no longer be children" fooled by "the trickery of men."  Paul "speaking the truth in love" that they may "grow up" in all things Christ.  They believe so their lives should reflect a change.

Understanding the context of the passage, let's delve deeper into the specific words.  Remember, the Bible was written in Greek not English.  By understanding the depth of key words and phrases, we can discover more about the passage.  The Bible translation that I use for my blog is the New King James Version (NKJV).  Other translations may use different words. 

Looking at different translations (NIV, NASB, ESV, NLT, Amplified) of the key words that I identified, only one word really used different words.  Alienated was also excluded, separated, wander, and banished.  The Greek word is apallotrioo which means estranged, excluded, shut out.

Let's examine some of the Greek words for deeper meaning.  First, let's understand Gentiles.  The Greek word is ethnos meaning a race, people, heathen world, unbelieving, common culture, foreign nations not worshipping God.  Gentiles are common, more abundant than believing Christians.  The word identifies the fallen, sinful, blinded world.

Some other words of interest are futility, mind, understanding, darkened, ignorance, blindness and heart.  The Greek word for futility is mataiotes or aimless due to lack of purpose of anything meaningful, vanity, emptiness, unreality.  Mind is nous or reasoning faculty, intellect, receiving God's thoughts through faith.  Understanding is dianoia or insight, balanced conclusions, moral understanding.  Darkened is skotoo is spiritual obscurity.  Ignorance is agnoia or willful blindness especially of things divine, closed minds.  Blindness is porosis which is obtuseness, callousness, dulled perception, stupidity.  Finally, heart is kardia or inner self, character, capacity of moral preference, inner man, feelings.

Paul instructs us to no longer live like the common, heathen, unbelieving world.  The world is aimless without direction or moral compass due to its lack of purpose.  The world can't recognize evil and is blind to balanced thought, closed minded to the Truth or any other belief that isn't common.

How does this apply to my life?  I need to be opposite of the world.  My purpose is to live for God and not myself.  I need a softened inner self that is open to hear both sides of the story to help determine what is good and what is evil.  Not so much "Fair and balanced" as understanding Truth being compassionate towards unbelievers to come to balanced God-centered conclusions.  How do I accomplish this? By studying His Word and viewing the world through God's eyes.

The Christian’s Walk

17 So this I say, and solemnly affirm together with the Lord [as in His presence], that you must no longer live as the [unbelieving] Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds [and in the foolishness and emptiness of their souls], 18 for their [moral] understanding is darkened and their reasoning is clouded; [they are] alienated and self-banished from the life of God [with no share in it; this is] because of the [willful] ignorance and spiritual blindness that is [deep-seated] within them, because of the hardness and insensitivity of their heart.

Amplified Bible

W.O.R.D. Study Sheet

Inductive Study: Ephesians 4:1

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called

Ephesians 4:1

Personal Mission - Be a man of God

Personal Vision - Lead like Christ, Walk with Christ, Love my wife and children in a way that they understand

Inspired by the movie, War Room, I started writing selected verses and posting them under my Vision headings in my office. To practice inductive bible study, I've started looking deeper into those posted Bible verses.  Inductive Bible study is an approach to the Bible that moves from a general overview to specifics. Through this study, we apply inductive reasoning, which is defined as using information and examining the details of Scripture to understand its context and to draw a conclusion.  I use the W.O.R.D. acrostic for this type of study's steps: Worship, Observe, Reveal, and Determine.  You can find my W.O.R.D. form and notes attached.

Dear heavenly Father, as I dig deeper into your Word, please give eyes to see and ears to hear.  Remove any preconceived notions and let the Holy Spirit speak to me through your Word.  Remove all anxieties and distractions, help me to concentrate on You and what You have for my life.  In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Our passage today comes from the book of Ephesians.  This is Paul's letter to the churches in western Asia minor near Ephesus, the Roman capital in Asia.  The city was a center of commerce and trade.  Nearly 250,000 people lived there.  It also housed the Temple of Artemis.  The people's belief structure is not so different from today.  What may be truth for you, is not truth to me.  In Ephesians 4:1, Paul, whose life is captive for the Lord, is instructing the Ephesian churches about God.

The passage starts with "therefore" instructing us to examine the preceding paragraph(s).   In Ephesians 3:14, the entire paragraph is predicated on the previous paragraph(s) - "For this reason."  Paul is here to preach to "the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ," which is God's "gift of grace."  By preaching the Gospel, Paul encourages us to be strengthened, have Christ dwell in our hearts, know the love of Christ, be filled with the fullness of God.  From these encouragements, he transitions to Ephesians 4:1.

Understanding the context of the passage, let's delve deeper into the specific words.  Remember, the Bible was written in Greek not English.  By understanding the depth of key words and phrases, we can discover more about the passage.  The Bible translation that I use for my blog is the New King James Version (NKJV).  Other translations may use different words. 

Looking at the following translations - NIV, NASB, ESV, NLT, "beseech" is replaced with urge, implore, appeal, and beg.  The Greek word is parakaleo which means summon, entreat, invite, exhort, comfort, and encourage.  Paul is passionate about what he is about to say, nearly begging but also encouraging.

"Walk" is replaced with live and lead.  The Greek word is peripateo or conduct my life, regulates one life, make progress, make use of opportunities, be occupied with.  Walk is the command in my vision statement, "Walk like Christ."  It will be the focus of future blogs.  Walk isn't a physical activity.  It is how we live our lives.

Worthy, Calling, and Called were used the same in all translations examined, but they are important words to study.  Examining the Greek, "worthy" is axios or suitable, after a Godly sort.  "Calling" is klesis or invitation, divine call, inviting people to receive God's gift of salvation (with all its blessings), embrace salvation.  "Called" is similar as kaleo or invite, appoint one to salvation.

Paul begs us to conduct our lives, making use of all God appointed opportunities, worthily of God's gift of salvation that we have received.  Think about it, Jesus died for your sins.  He took our punishment.  He died and rose again three days later claiming victory over that sin.  For whoever believes in Jesus, will have eternal life.  Live like you cherish that greatest gift.

How does this apply to my life?  I need to be an example of Christ, so people can see that example so when I share the Gospel, Jesus' good news, it will not be hindered by my hypocrisy.  To do this, I'll build confidence and security in my faith by studying the Bible and using that knowledge and the Holy Spirit within me to conduct my life in a manner that glorifies God.

The Amplified Bible expounds on the original text with more descriptions.  I'll use its version of this passage in closing.

So I, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to you to live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called [that is, to live a life that exhibits godly character, moral courage, personal integrity, and mature behavior—a life that expresses gratitude to God for your salvation]

W.O.R.D. Study Sheet

Reach and Teach

So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,
Acts 2:41-46

being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:3

I have to admit that I've struggled with this blog for some time.  Studying the Bible is straight forward enough, but trying to express the study can be intimidating.  After reflection and prayer, I've decided that I'll just start typing and see what the Holy Spirit says.

This blog is the last one for the acrostic F.L.O.C.K.  where "Kindred Spirit" represents "K."  The dictionary defines "Kindred Spirit" as "an individual with the same beliefs, attitudes or feelings as oneself."  A kindred spirit is someone who feels and thinks the way you do. In both Scripture verses cited above, the word "kindred" does not appear in the translation.  Why would we use these verses to express "Kindred Spirit?"

In most Bibles along with the chapters and verses, they may provide headings for certain paragraphs.  Our Scripture in Acts falls under the headings of "The Believers Form a Community" (NLT), "The Fellowship of Believers" (NIV, ESV), and "Life Among Believers" (ISV).  Our Scripture in Ephesians falls under the headings of "Unity in the Body" (NLT), "Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ" (NIV), "Unity in the Body of Christ" (ESV), and "To Be Mature" (ISV).  These headings speak of community, fellowship, unity and maturity.  Except for maturity, these words are defined similar to Kindred in the respect of joined sharing in same common beliefs, attitudes, interests and feelings.  Let's look for these themes as we examine our text.

Focusing on the latter verses in Acts, we see the believers were "together," "common," "sharing", and having "one mind." Homothumadon is the Greek word used for "one mind."  Delving deeper into the word, it speaks of one accord with the same passion, with the same faith.  In Ephesians, unity in the Greek is henotes which means oneness, unanimity, and harmony.  The believers have agreed on their path, direction, and goals in life.  This is not a compromise between the people.  This oneness is a consensus, group solidarity in sentiment and belief.

Therefore, pray for your church to be unified in its goals for Christ.  That the church will have a "Kindred Spirit." Specifically, that the church focuses on our Savior's last command.


And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Matthew 28:18-20