Ephesians 4

Greetings,

The memory passage for Ephesians 4 is;

Ephesians 4:4-6, 22-24 (ESV)
⁴ There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
²² to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, ²³ and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

The outline theme is Unity and New Life in Him.

While the first 3 chapters of Ephesians deal with mostly doctrine, the last three deal with practical applications to doctrine. The first section is the talk, the last section is the walk. Ephesians chapter 4 is divided into two main themes; Unity in the body of Christ and New Life in Christ. Notice that 'walk' appears in the first verse of each section (1, 17)

Our walk in unity is first of all charged to be 'worthy of the calling' of the Lord. Elements of this worthy walk are humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, love, unity and peace. Continuing on the unity (only from the Spirit), Paul lists seven statements of oneness; one body (of Christ), one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God. Our oneness, with God and men, is completely reliant on Him.

The new few verses deal with the gifts of grace God gives the church. They include apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. The purpose of these gifts to the church is to equip the saints for ministry and build up the body of Christ. The goal of these gifts is that the body attains to the unity of faith, the knowledge of God, mature manhood, and fullness in Christ. Only by the work of Holy Spirit in sanctification can this be attained. Our growth, along with our unity, are completely reliant on Him.

This growth leads to maturity in Him. As children we are tossed back and forth by temptation and deception, being deceived by false doctrine, human trickery and schemes. Our growth leads us out of this instability. The alternative; speak the truth in love, grow up in Him (our Head), be joined together in the body by Him, and function in the body through Him to build up the body in love.

From our walk in the Unity of Christ, Paul moves to our walk in the New Life that He gives us. As a negative command, the Gentile believers were to no longer walk as they used to; in futility, darkness of understanding, apart from God, in ignorance, and with hardness of heart. The fruit of the old walk were callousness, sensuality, greed, and impurity.

To contrast, Paul states strongly that 'this is not the way you learned Christ!'. In Him we must put off the old way of life that is corrupt with deceitful desires and renew our minds (Rom 12:2) with the new self that is created after the likeness of God; righteous and holy. What a trade! Futility, ignorance, separation from God, hardness of heart, callousness, sensuality, greed and impurity for a renewed spirit and mind, the likeness of God in holiness and righteousness...that is His will for us and His gift to us.

Verses 25-32 consist of 5 exhortations that follow this general pattern; a. negative command, b. positive command, c. reason for the positive command. I'll summarize next.

1. (v25)
a. put away falsehood
b. speak the truth with his neighbor
c. for we are members of one another (in the same body)

2. (26-27)
a. in anger, do not sin
b. do not let the sun go down when you are mad
c. Anger, especially that stews, opens the door for the deceiver to work.

3. (28)
a. do not steal
b. do honest work
c. the result, along with providing for your family, is to have something to offer in charity.

4. (29)
a. do not speak corruption with your mouth
b. speak what is upbuilding and appropriate
c. this gives grace to those who hear you

5 (30-32)
a. do not grieve the Holy Spirit (who has sealed your inheritance)
b. put away bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and malice
c. so that kindness, mercy, and forgiveness can flow, as God has enabled us through Christ.


How does this affect my worship?
The whole first part of this chapter deals with the unity of the body of Christ that only comes from God. This unity shows itself in the ministry and upbuilding of the church, but it also has a lot to do with our worship. The worship of a unified chorus lifts an sacrifice of praise that is 'worthy of the calling' we have from God. To Him belongs all glory, and in Him we have the unity that is required to give Him glorious glory. I see it over and over in Scripture; true worship that is acceptable and pleasing to God must come from Him, flow through Him, and be for Him.

How does this affect my discipleship?
While in vv 11-13, Paul is addressing the gift of people to the church for the equipping and edifying of the church, I see a parallel to the work of disciplemaking. The goals are similar in each; to attain unity of faith, knowledge of Christ, maturity, and fullness of Christ. I'm not going to change Paul's words or meaning, but I see here the value in the body of these characteristics; they appear as our character becomes more like Christ's. Teaching all that He commands (in obedience to His command to make disciples) produces in the individual some of the same results that the ministry of these 'gifted people' provide for the church. Somehow they work together.

May you walk in His unity and new life,

Ethan