The Four Categories of Negative Things That Damage the Church Life (Life-study of Ephesians, Messages 85 and 95)

 

The Four Categories of Negative Things That Damage the Church Life (Life-study of Ephesians, Messages 85 and 95)

Ephesians 2:14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hatred,

Ephesians 2:15 In his flesh he has abolished the law of commandments and regulations, that he might create in himself one new man, making peace;

Ephesians 4:14 so that we might no longer be like little children, drifting to and fro by the waves, tossed about by the winds of every teaching, which is deceitful and cunning in leading us into a system of error;

Ephesians 4:22 so that we might put off the old self, corrupted by the desires of the deceitful flesh,

Ephesians 5:27 so that he might present himself as a glorious church, without blemish, wrinkle, or any such disease, that she might be holy and spotless. 

Category	Scriptural Basis	Aspect of the Church (New Man / Bride)	Key Points	How It Damages the Church Life	How to Deal with It	Difficulty
1. Ordinances	Eph. 2:14-15	The creation of the new man	Composed of the law of the commandments; related to religion, culture, and human nature	Causes enmity and is the main source of division among Christians; any practice becomes an ordinance when it is imposed or opposed	Abolish and annul. Christ has already abolished them on the cross; they are replaced by the mingling of the Spirit with our spirit	Easiest
2. Doctrines	Eph. 4:14	The growth of the new man (functioning)	The “wind of teaching,” meaning doctrines; even scriptural doctrines are harmful if they draw people away from Christ and the church	Blows people away from the building up of the Body of Christ and gives rise to denominations	Put them aside. Care for the reality of Christ, receive the word as nourishment, and be generous concerning doctrines	Easier
3. The old man	Eph. 4:22	The daily life of the new man	Originates from Adam; created by God but fallen through sin; includes the old way of living	The natural disposition and old manner of living damage the church life	Put off the old man and put on the new man	Harder
4. Spots and wrinkles	Eph. 5:27	The beauty of the bride (presented to Christ)	Spots are related to the natural life; wrinkles are related to oldness	They do not affect the church’s function but greatly diminish her beauty, so she is not beautiful enough in Christ’s eyes	They cannot be abolished or put off; they can only be removed by Christ’s sanctifying, cleansing, nourishing, and cherishing element, through transformation and metabolism	Hardest

 

*Supplementary Points 

• Order: Paul deals with these four categories in a very orderly manner. For the creation of the new man, rules must be abolished; for the growth of the new man, doctrine must be diminished; for the proper daily life of the new man, the old man must be shed. After dealing with these three things, the difficulty of spots and wrinkles remains. 

• Why are they the most difficult: Spots and wrinkles are subjective, already organized in the organic composition and natural structure of life, so they cannot be abolished or shed. They cannot be removed by external changes or teachings alone, but only by the inner supply of life. 

• The way to practice: Do not correct or adjust others from the outside, but supply them with the elements of Christ's sanctification, purification, nourishment, and care. To prepare to be the Bride is to replace one's own spots and wrinkles with His elements by "eating Christ." 

• Function and beauty: The new man needs function (chapter 4), and the Bride needs beauty (chapter 5). This beauty is a reflection of Christ shining from within us, not our own works. 

• Ultimate Goal: Christ will obtain a church without rules, doctrines, the old self, spots, or wrinkles. Such a church is the bride prepared in Revelation 19, clothed in bright and clean linen.

 

*Please refer to Ephesians Life-Study, Chapter 95: The Beauty of the Bride

Comparison of Law and Grace

 

Comparison of Law and Grace

Law	Grace
The law was written on tablets of stone  (Ex. 24:12)	Grace is engraved on the tablet of the heart  (2 Cor. 3:3; Jer. 31:33)
The law prohibits (Ex. 22 / 26)	Grace invites (Rom. 5:2)
The law puts the rebellious son to death  (Deut. 2; 11:18/21)	Grace forgives the rebellious son  (Luke 15:20/23)
The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees	Your righteousness (Matt. 5:20)
The law exposes outward sinful acts  (dealing with the result)	Grace replaces the inward sin nature  (dealing with the root)
The law is a signpost pointing the way  (Prov. 4:11)	Grace unites God and man through the cross  (Eph. 2:16; Col. 1:20/21)
The law teaches people to hate their enemies  (Matt. 5:40)	Grace teaches people to love their enemies  (Matt. 5:44; 3)
The law has been fulfilled in Christ (Matt. 5:17)	Grace endures forever (1 Pet. 1:23)
The law has the adulterous woman stoned (John 8:5)	Grace does not condemn her (John 8:11)
The law condemns people (Rom. 2:12)	Grace redeems from sin (Eph. 2:8)
The law shuts people’s mouths before God (Rom. 2:23)	Grace opens people’s mouths to praise God  (Ps. 51:15)
The law curses people (Rom. 2:23/24)	Grace blesses people (Rom. 5:15)
The law condemns people’s sin (Rom. 3:19)	Grace justifies people (Rom. 3:24)
The law reveals people’s sin (Rom. 3:21)	Grace atones for people’s sin (John 1:29)
The law says: the one who sins must die (Rom. 5:12, 21)	Grace says: live by faith in Jesus (1 Cor. 15:20/21)
The law came in alongside, added later (Rom. 5:20)	Grace was there from the beginning (2 Tim. 1:9)
The law says: “The wages of sin is death”  (Rom. 6:23)	Grace says: “In Christ there is eternal life” (Rom. 5:21; 6:23)
The law holds us in bondage (Rom. 7:6)	Grace sets people free (James 1:25) (Rom. 6:18, 22)
The law says: “Pay what you owe” (Rom. 13:8)	Grace says: “Freely forgiven of everything”  (Rom. 3:24) (1 John 2:9)
The law makes people accursed (Gal. 3:13)	Grace redeems people from the curse
The law makes people stay far from God	Grace brings people near to God
The law makes people fear God	Grace makes people love God
The law says “do” (Gal. 3:10, 12; 11:6) (Eph. 2:8, 9)	Grace says “believe” (Rom. 4:4, 5)
The law is the status of the maidservant  (concubine) (Gal. 4:4/7)	Grace is the status of the free woman  (the wife)
The law makes people slaves (Gal. 4:4/7)	Grace makes people sons
The law demands from people	Grace gives to people
The law kills the sinner (Eph. 3:1)	Grace makes the sinner alive (Eph. 2:1)
The law makes people die (2 Cor. 3:6)	Grace makes people live (Eph. 2:4, 5)
The law says: “Do it this way” (James 1:25)	Grace says: “Everything has already been accomplished” (John 17:4; 19:30)
The law only demands obedience (James 2:10)	Grace gives people the strength to obey (Rom. 6:17)
The law was given through Moses  (John 1:17)	Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ  (John 1:17)

The Sermon on the Mount contrasts (Matthew 5)

 

Law	Grace
“You shall not murder; whoever murders is liable to judgment” (Matt. 5:21)	“Whoever is angry with his brother is liable to judgment” (Matt. 5:22)
“You shall not commit adultery” (Matt. 5:27)	“Everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt. 5:28)
The law says: “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth”  (Matt. 5:38)	Grace says: “Whoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also” (Matt. 5:39)
	“Whoever would take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well” (Matt. 5:40)
	“Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles” (Matt. 5:41)
“You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy” (Matt. 5:43)	“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:43)
	“Love those who love you” (Matt. 5:46)
	“Greet only your brothers” (Matt. 5:47)
	“The sun rises on the evil and the good, and the rain falls on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matt. 5:45)

Please refer to: 2026 Autumn Training for Elders and Responsible Brothers, general theme: “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” Message 3: “The Allegory of the Two Women.”

 

Children Born According to the Spirit vs. Those Born According to the Flesh

Children Born According to the Spirit vs. Those Born According to the Flesh

Galatians 4:22–24

“For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one out of the maidservant and one out of the free woman. But the one out of the maidservant was born according to the flesh, but the one out of the free woman was born through promise. These things are spoken allegorically, for these women are two covenants, one from Mount Sinai, bringing forth children unto slavery, which is Hagar.”

Galatians 4:25–26

“Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.”

Galatians 4:28–31

“But you, brothers, in the way Isaac was, are children of promise. But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. But what does the Scripture say? ‘Cast out the maidservant and her son, for the son of the maidservant shall by no means inherit with the son of the free woman.’ So then, brothers, we are not children of the maidservant but of the free woman.”

1. Integrated Comparison Table

Comparison Item	Children Born According to the Spirit	Those Born According to the Flesh
Abraham’s two sons	Abraham had two sons.	Abraham had two sons.
Their mothers	One was born of a free woman.	One was born of a slave woman.
How they were born	The son of the free woman was born through promise.	The son of the slave woman was born according to the flesh.
Spiritual significance	These things are allegorical: the two women signify two covenants.	These things are allegorical: the two women signify two covenants.
The two covenants	The covenant of promise given to Abraham, associated with the New Covenant, the covenant of grace.	The covenant of law given through Moses, which is entirely unrelated to the New Covenant.
The two women	Sarah was a free woman, signifying the covenant of promise.	Hagar was a slave woman, signifying the covenant of law.
Abraham’s descendants	Abraham’s spiritual descendants.	Abraham’s natural descendants.
Their Jerusalem	His spiritual descendants belong to the Jerusalem above, under the covenant of promise in the freedom of grace.	His natural descendants belong to the Jerusalem below, under the covenant of law in the slavery of the law.
The principle of birth	Those born through the covenant of promise are born according to the Spirit.	Those born through the covenant of law are born according to the flesh.
Right to inherit God’s promised blessing	Children born according to the Spirit have the full right to participate in God’s promised blessing.	Children born according to the flesh have no right to participate in God’s promised blessing.
New Testament believers and Judaism	New Testament believers under the freedom of grace are children of the free woman and are to inherit the blessing of the promised Spirit.	Jews practicing Judaism under the slavery of the law are children of the slave woman and cannot inherit God’s promised blessing—the all-inclusive Spirit as the ultimate expression of the Triune God.
Spiritual identity	Believers in Christ.	Jews practicing Judaism.
The two sons	Isaac.	Ishmael persecuted Isaac.
Their relationship to believers	We believers in Christ are not children of the law under the slavery of the law; rather, we are children of grace under the freedom of grace, enjoying the all-inclusive Spirit with all the riches of Christ.	The Jews, Abraham’s descendants born according to the flesh, also persecuted the believers.
Romans	Romans 8. Verse 8:2: “For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death.”	Romans 7. Verse 7:24: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?”

2. God Chooses the Second, Not the First

The document emphasizes the following principle: What God desires and chooses is the second, not the first.

Comparison Item	The Second — Chosen by God	The First — Not Chosen by God
Sphere	The second belongs to heaven.	The first belongs to the earth.
Nature	The second is spiritual.	The first is natural, belonging to the flesh.
Isaac and Ishmael	Isaac was Abraham’s second son, yet God chose Isaac.	Ishmael was the firstborn son, the elder brother.
Jacob and Esau	Jacob was the younger son, the second brother, yet God chose Jacob rather than Esau.	Esau was also the firstborn son, the elder brother.
Ephraim and Manasseh	Ephraim was the second son, yet God chose Ephraim.	Manasseh was the first son.
Solomon and Bathsheba’s first son	God loved Solomon, the second son born to David and Bathsheba.	God struck David and Bathsheba’s first son, and the child died.
David and Saul	God wanted David, the second king. God said that David was a man according to His heart.	God did not want Saul, the first king.

3. Key Spiritual Emphasis

The Spiritual Line

From the flesh to the Spirit; from slavery to freedom

 

The Covenant of Law

Hagar → Ishmael → Birth according to the flesh → Slavery under the law → The earthly Jerusalem

 

The Covenant of Promise

Sarah → Isaac → Birth according to the Spirit → Freedom under grace → The Jerusalem above

 

The result: Believers in Christ, as children of grace, enjoy the all-inclusive Spirit and all the riches of Christ and inherit God's promised blessing.

4. Biblical References

Romans 8:2

“For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death.”

Romans 7:24

“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?”

One-Sentence Summary

God’s purpose is not fulfilled by what originates from the natural man and the flesh, but by what comes through His promise and is born according to the Spirit; therefore, believers in Christ are children of grace, enjoying the all-inclusive Spirit and inheriting God’s promised blessing.

Sources Referenced

1.         Recovery Version of the New Testament — Galatians, outline and footnotes.

2.         2026 Fall International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones — General subject: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; Message Three: The Allegory of the Two Women.