Ephesians 4:11-21

 (Ephesians 4:11-21)

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.  But ye have not so learned Christ If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: (Ephesians 4:11-21)

The Bible does not teach how to live in this world with the word of God, but it is a book that tells about eternal life, who it came from, and how to get it. Although the Israelites (Pharisees) have long been waiting for the Messiah, they have crucified Jesus, the Messiah (Jesus Christ), to death. It wasn't the Messiah they thought. Likewise, when people look at the Bible the way they think, they cannot know the word of heaven.

The Bible says, "Don't be addicted to the trend of the world, or to be deceived by man's deception and clever temptation, like a child. The trend of the world means traditions that have been passed down since ancient times.

For example, offering ancestral rites or superstitious events. In particular, while Christians say that they do not follow the law, they are bound by the law and live a religious life. They said, "You have to pay tithing, you have to make a donation to build the temple. You have to keep the Sabbath (some people think Sunday is like the Sabbath),". Say that you are baptized, but if you sin, you must be forgiven of the sins of Jesus. It is said that human beings are forced to sin. This is unbiblical. Because 1 John (5:18, 3:9) speaks differently.

Tithing is part of the law and must be expressed as a donation for the operation of the church, not tithing, as Jesus has completed it. In the temple, Jesus is the temple, and the saint is the temple. The church building is not a temple. So, those who represent church buildings as temples are like denying what Jesus did. Baptized, but those who repent of their sins every day are not dead on the cross with Jesus.

Romans 6:3 explains the meaning of baptism.『 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 』 Baptism means that the old man dies. God forgives all sins (past, present, and future) of the dead on the cross with Jesus. In 6:6, 『For he that is dead is freed from sin. So, those who pray for forgiveness of sins every day don't know what Jesus meant by baptism.

『 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 』 Today, the people of the Church believe in and know not the Son of God. They believe, but they are not united with Jesus. When you become one with God, you become a perfect person. To be perfect is to recover as a person of God-given spirit. When the spirit comes to life, it becomes one with God in Christ. Thus, we come to the fullness of Christ. Even if the human spirit dies and becomes a soul, we can know who Jesus is. But to be one, the soul is dead and the spirit is alive. So, there is a case where what we believe and what we know cannot be one. To be one with Christ, the soul (old man) must die.

In Romans 10:17, 『So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But, in Romans 10:18-21,『 But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.  But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.  But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.  But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people. 』 The gospel is said to have been delivered. It wasn't that they didn't know because they didn't listen, but they didn't obey when they heard it.

In Hebrews 4:2, 『For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. When they hear the word, they do not accept any facts with their heart.『 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive』 In the meantime, it is said that the people of the Church did so with the Gentiles. 『Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 』
They do not know what the Bible says, they interpret it in their own way, become insensible, say they believe in God, live with the world, and eventually become one who believes in their own power. Those who believe in their own powers are those who look to see if they have sinned on the basis of the law, and who are willing to try and do righteousness. So, if they sin, they demand the blood of Jesus. These acts are like those of Israel who have lived on the basis of the law in the past. However, Jesus said, “But ye have not so learned Christ; 』 What Christ teaches is to give up. You cannot be saved from God unless you die with Christ.

Today, the salvation most church people think is different from what the Bible says. Salvation is the saving of the spirit. The dead spirit gains life. In order for the spirit to be saved, the flesh (old man) must die with Jesus. In John 6:63, it is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. In Romans 6:6 『Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 』