Useful Bible Studies > Ephesians Commentary > chapter 4
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). That was an extraordinary act of God’s wisdom and power.
Paul tells us that, at the present time also, God is creating something new. So, we can see that this too is an extraordinary act of wisdom and power. God is taking people who, by their evil deeds, have made themselves his enemies. By the death of Christ, he forgives their evil deeds and he gives them a right relationship with himself (Romans 5:6-10; Ephesians 2:11-17). He creates in their lives a new kind of people (2 Corinthians 5:17) - they become the children of God (Romans 8:14-18), and God’s own holy nation (1 Peter 2:9-10).
This is the beginning of God’s work to create a new heaven and earth (Revelation 21:1-5). God is completing the rule of his Son, Christ, over all things (Psalm 110). So, in the future world, when Christ rules over all things, everything will be right, good and holy (Isaiah 11:1-9). However, at the present time, God has already created a group of people who accept Christ’s rule over their lives. Christians are not yet perfect, but God is teaching them to do his work and to show his character (4:13-15). As they learn to obey God, their actions and attitudes are right and good (Romans 12:1-2). In this unholy and evil world, they behave in a holy manner. In other words, they act and think differently from how other people behave. They choose to respect God in all their thoughts, words and actions. They live in this world, but they belong to the future world (see Hebrews 11:13-16).
Next part: The problem of Christians who speak lies (Ephesians 4:25)
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© 2019, Keith Simons.