Bible Study Ephesians 4: 1-16

 

A Commentary of the Book of Ephesians

By Dr. Barry L. Jenkins

Text Used: Legacy Standard Bible

Bible Study Ephesians 4: 1-16

Text:

Unity of the Spirit

4 Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore [a]it says,

“When He ascended on high,
He led captive a host of captives,
And He gave gifts to men.”

9 (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what [b]does it mean except that He also [c]descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) 11 And He Himself gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the [d]saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the [e]full knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature [f]which belongs to the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness [g]in deceitful scheming, 15 but [h]speaking the truth in love, [i]we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being joined and held together [j]by what every joint supplies, according to the properly measured working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Verse by verse commentary

Verse 1: “Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthy of the calling with which you have been called,”

For the remainder of this letter, Paul unfolds the “walk,” or life of obedience. The theological discussion is over, now on to how to live the Christian life.

Paul earlier spoke of a hope to which believers are called; now he focuses on the life to which they are called. Remember, there is no salvation unless you are called. The called elect know this and will respond to that calling. Paul exhorts the called to walk worthy and he is going to explain what that means.

Verse 2: “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,”

Humility, is one of the most foundational Christian virtues, is the quality of character commanded in the first beatitude, and describes the noble grace of Christ. “Meekness,” an inevitable product of humility, refers to that which is mild-spirited and self-controlled.. The Greek word for “patience” literally means long-tempered, and refers to a resolved patience that is an outgrowth of humility and gentleness. Humility, gentleness, and patience are reflected in a forbearing love for others that is continuous and unconditional. Yet, how often do we find these traits in our churches today? Sadly, the answer is seldom. The reason is that most of the people in the church have never been born again. They said a prayer, asked Jesus into their hearts or just joined a church. True salvation borne through Holy Spirit conviction changes a person. The truly saved will manifest these traits. Not all at once, but in the process of sanctification, these traits will be manifested.

Verse 3: “being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

The Spirit-bestowed oneness of all true believers has created the bond of peace, the spiritual cord that surrounds and binds God’s holy people together. This bond is love. However, never forget that love is not to be separated from truth. This is not a peace at all costs. It is a peace based on love and God’s truth as revealed through His Word. We don’t compromise with sin to keep peace.

Verse 4: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;”

The church, the body of Christ, is composed of every believer since Pentecost without distinction, by the work of the “one Spirit.” The “one hope” is the pledge and promise of eternal inheritance given to each believer and sealed to each believer by the one Spirit. Our hope is based on God’s election and calling to His church. There is only “one body,” and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. We are baptized into the body of Christ by the work of the Holy Spirit. This is not subsequent to salvation, but occurs when one is born again.

Verse 5: “one Lord, one faith, one baptism;”

There is only one Lord who exists in three persons, that is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The “one faith” is the body of doctrine revealed in the New Testament. The “one baptism,” probably refers to the water baptism following salvation, a believer’s public confession of faith in Jesus Christ. Spiritual baptism, by which all believers are placed into the body of Christ, occurs at salvation.

Verse 6: “one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”

This is the basic doctrine of God taught in Scripture. The Jews say a daily prayer called the “Shema.” The Shema is the centerpiece of the daily morning and evening prayer services and is considered by some the most essential prayer in all of Judaism. An affirmation of God’s singularity and kingship, its daily recitation is regarded by traditionally observant Jews as a biblical commandment. It is found in the following Scriptures: Deuteronomy 6: 4-9; 11: 13-21; Numbers 15: 37-41.

Verse 7: “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”

All Christians share the grace of salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Each Christian is also given some particular gift of grace to benefit the church. Note that the verse makes clear that grace was a gift from God. You can’t be saved without His grace. It is not your will or works that saves you, only His grace and mercy.

Verse 8: “Therefore it says,

“When He ascended on high,
He led captive a host of captives,
And He gave gifts to men.”

The spiritual forces of darkness were defeated at the Cross. Christ has won the victory over sin, death, hell and the grave. While Ps. 68:18 describes the victorious Lord receiving gifts from men, Paul pictures Christ as sharing His tribute with men. We receive gifts from Him daily as we follow Him as our Lord and Savior.

Verse 9: (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth?”

Christ came to the exalted position He now enjoys through humiliation. His incarnation was His descention when He took on a human nature here in “the lower parts of the earth”. This pattern of service is to be imitated by believers. “The lower parts of the earth” does not point to a specific place, but to the great depth, as it were, of the incarnation, including Christ’s descent, between His crucifixion and resurrection beyond the earth, the grave, and death, into the very pit of the demons, “the spirits in prison”. There is so much contained in this verse and it is easily overlooked. Christ descended from the glories of heaven to die for His sheep chosen before the foundation of the world. He did that for you and me. What He went through to accomplish this for us brought Him much pain, humiliation, and suffering. But today, He is seated at the right hand of God the Father. His mission is complete and final.

Verse 10: “He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)”

After the Lord ascended, having fulfilled all prophecies given in the Scriptures and all His divinely ordained redemptive tasks, He obtained the right to rule the church and to give gifts, as He was then filling the entire universe with His divine presence, power, sovereignty, and blessing. Christ completed His covenant with the Father and Holy Spirit to save His sheep. The Father elected His chosen ones to salvation. Christ agreed to descend and die for the elect. And the Holy Spirit agreed to apply this truth to the hearts of those who would believe.

Verse 11: “And He Himself gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,”

Apostles refers to, in a restricted sense, those who had been with Jesus and witnessed His resurrection (or received a special revelation of the risen Jesus) and who had been commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ to be founders of the church. There are no Apostles today in this sense. In a general sense, there are “apostles” with a little “a” meaning they are being sent somewhere for ministry duties. The New Testament prophets conveyed special revelation to the early church. Their functions included prediction, exhortation, encouragement, warning, and explanation. With the closing of the canon of Scriptures, there is no more need for prophets as in Bible days. Be very concerned when people try to draw you into any movement of the prophetic today. If the “prophecy” says what the Scripture says, it is unnecessary. If it contradicts the Scriptures, it is an error. Evangelists are people especially gifted to proclaim the gospel. The words “pastors and teacher” go together to refer to a single set of individuals who both shepherd and instruct God’s flock from the Word of God, not their personal notions or convictions. Be wary of any pastor or teacher that goes outside the written Word of God.

Verse 12: “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ,”

The purpose of Christ’s gifts are not for the minister to make money, conduct conferences and teach the prophetic. The gifts are to build up the body of Christ. You will know this is being done when you see people repenting from sin, walking in holiness and having a life of obedience to the Word of God.

Verse 13: “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ,”

Faith here refers to the body of revealed truth that constitutes Christian doctrine, particularly featuring the complete content of the gospel including the necessity of repentance to be saved. Oneness and harmony among believers is possible only when they are built on the foundation of sound doctrine, which is found only in the Word of God. Unity must be based on sound doctrine.

Verse 14: “so that we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming,”

Spiritually immature believers who are not grounded in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ through God’s Word are inclined to uncritically accept every sort of beguiling doctrinal error and fallacious interpretation of Scripture promulgated by deceitful, false teachers in the church. They must learn discernment from the Word of God as taught by the Holy Spirit. When the Word of God is not the center of doctrine, the door is open to deception. Prosperity teachers appeal to the itching ears of those that seek only fleshly blessings based on Scriptures taken out of context. The Scriptures are “cherry picked,” which means they are taken out of context and given a new meaning not intended by the Author. 

Verse 15: “but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is Christ,”

Evangelism is most effective when the truth is proclaimed in love. Remember, there is no love without truth. This can be accomplished only by the believer who is thoroughly who knows the Word of God and has been trained in correct doctrine. Love does not ignore sin, but rather calls sin out. You don’t try to woo someone out of a burning house, you tell them the truth so they can escape the fires in the natural sense. In the same way, we tell someone the truth so they can escape the eternal flames of hell.

Verse 16: “from whom the whole body, being joined and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the properly measured working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”

Paul uses the analogy of the human body. Believers are not given gifts for their own private benefit, and no one can grow to maturity in isolation. Fruit is for others to consume. The tree does not eat its own fruit, it is for others. The gifts we receive from the Lord are to further His kingdom, not ours.