"Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all."
In today's quote, Paul commended the Ephesians for their faithfulness and told of his prayers to God on their behalf.
In the last part of the text, Paul identified the true Church as the "body" of Christ. He said, in essence, that God appointed Jesus "to be the head over all things to the church, WHICH IS HIS BODY, the fulness of him that filleth ALL IN ALL." This means that very soul who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ becomes a part of the "body" of Christ and is, as was promised in an earlier lesson, sealed therein by the Holy Spirit.
This text makes clear why the term "baptized" as it is applied in Galatians 3:27, does NOT refer to the ritual of water immersion (baptism). The saved are made members of the body of Christ through faith in the supreme sacrifice of that same Jesus, and thereby their spirits are "baptized" (immersed into or buried within) Jesus Christ Himself. Paul said; "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ HAVE PUT ON CHRIST. To "put on Christ" is to enwrap oneself, by faith, within Jesus Christ as one would wrap oneself inside a protective coat or cloak.~
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