Unity in the Body

4 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. ² Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. ³ Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. ⁴ For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.

⁷ However, he has given each one of us a special gift^[a] through the generosity of Christ. ⁸ That is why the Scriptures say,

⁹ Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world.^{[c] 10} And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.

¹¹ Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. ¹² Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. ¹³ This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

¹⁴ Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. ¹⁵ Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. ¹⁶ He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

The Lord’s Glory Leaves the Temple

10 In my vision I saw what appeared to be a throne of blue lapis lazuli above the crystal surface over the heads of the cherubim. ² Then the Lord spoke to the man in linen clothing and said, “Go between the whirling wheels beneath the cherubim, and take a handful of burning coals and scatter them over the city.” He did this as I watched.

³ The cherubim were standing at the south end of the Temple when the man went in, and the cloud of glory filled the inner courtyard. ⁴ Then the glory of the Lord rose up from above the cherubim and went over to the entrance of the Temple. The Temple was filled with this cloud of glory, and the courtyard glowed brightly with the glory of the Lord. ⁵ The moving wings of the cherubim sounded like the voice of God Almighty^[a] and could be heard even in the outer courtyard.

⁶ The Lord said to the man in linen clothing, “Go between the cherubim and take some burning coals from between the wheels.” So the man went in and stood beside one of the wheels. ⁷ Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand and took some live coals from the fire burning among them. He put the coals into the hands of the man in linen clothing, and the man took them and went out. ⁸ (All the cherubim had what looked like human hands under their wings.)

⁹ I looked, and each of the four cherubim had a wheel beside him, and the wheels sparkled like beryl. ¹⁰ All four wheels looked alike and were made the same; each wheel had a second wheel turning crosswise within it. ¹¹ The cherubim could move in any of the four directions they faced, without turning as they moved. They went straight in the direction they faced, never turning aside. ¹² Both the cherubim and the wheels were covered with eyes. The cherubim had eyes all over their bodies, including their hands, their backs, and their wings. ¹³ I heard someone refer to the wheels as “the whirling wheels.” ¹⁴ Each of the four cherubim had four faces: the first was the face of an ox,^[b] the second was a human face, the third was the face of a lion, and the fourth was the face of an eagle.

¹⁵ Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the same living beings I had seen beside the Kebar River. ¹⁶ When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved with them. When they lifted their wings to fly, the wheels stayed beside them. ¹⁷ When the cherubim stopped, the wheels stopped. When they flew upward, the wheels rose up, for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.

¹⁸ Then the glory of the Lord moved out from the entrance of the Temple and hovered above the cherubim. ¹⁹ And as I watched, the cherubim flew with their wheels to the east gate of the Lord’s Temple. And the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them.

²⁰ These were the same living beings I had seen beneath the God of Israel when I was by the Kebar River. I knew they were cherubim, ²¹ for each had four faces and four wings and what looked like human hands under their wings. ²² And their faces were just like the faces of the beings I had seen at the Kebar, and they traveled straight ahead, just as the others had.

Judgment on Israel’s Leaders

11 Then the Spirit lifted me and brought me to the east gateway of the Lord’s Temple, where I saw twenty-five prominent men of the city. Among them were Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, who were leaders among the people.

² The Spirit said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who are planning evil and giving wicked counsel in this city. ³ They say to the people, ‘Is it not a good time to build houses? This city is like an iron pot. We are safe inside it like meat in a pot.^[c]’ ⁴ Therefore, son of man, prophesy against them loudly and clearly.”

⁵ Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon me, and he told me to say, “This is what the Lord says to the people of Israel: I know what you are saying, for I know every thought that comes into your minds. ⁶ You have murdered many in this city and filled its streets with the dead.

⁷ “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: This city is an iron pot all right, but the pieces of meat are the victims of your injustice. As for you, I will soon drag you from this pot. ⁸ I will bring on you the sword of war you so greatly fear, says the Sovereign Lord. ⁹ I will drive you out of Jerusalem and hand you over to foreigners, who will carry out my judgments against you. ¹⁰ You will be slaughtered all the way to the borders of Israel. I will execute judgment on you, and you will know that I am the Lord. ¹¹ No, this city will not be an iron pot for you, and you will not be like meat safe inside it. I will judge you even to the borders of Israel, ¹² and you will know that I am the Lord. For you have refused to obey my decrees and regulations; instead, you have copied the standards of the nations around you.”

¹³ While I was still prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah suddenly died. Then I fell face down on the ground and cried out, “O Sovereign Lord, are you going to kill everyone in Israel?”

Hope for Exiled Israel

¹⁴ Then this message came to me from the Lord: ¹⁵ “Son of man, the people still left in Jerusalem are talking about you and your relatives and all the people of Israel who are in exile. They are saying, ‘Those people are far away from the Lord, so now he has given their land to us!’

¹⁶ “Therefore, tell the exiles, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Although I have scattered you in the countries of the world, I will be a sanctuary to you during your time in exile. ¹⁷ I, the Sovereign Lord, will gather you back from the nations where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel once again.’

¹⁸ “When the people return to their homeland, they will remove every trace of their vile images and detestable idols. ¹⁹ And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart,^{[d] 20} so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God. ²¹ But as for those who long for vile images and detestable idols, I will repay them fully for their sins. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”

The Lord’s Glory Leaves Jerusalem

²² Then the cherubim lifted their wings and rose into the air with their wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them. ²³ Then the glory of the Lord went up from the city and stopped above the mountain to the east.

²⁴ Afterward the Spirit of God carried me back again to Babylonia,^[e] to the people in exile there. And so ended the vision of my visit to Jerusalem. ²⁵ And I told the exiles everything the Lord had shown me.

The Lord’s Chosen Servant

A Song of Praise to the Lord

Israel’s Failure to Listen and See