Ephesians 4
English Standard Version
Anglicised (ESVUK)
Unity in the Body of
Christ
4
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of
the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness,
with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 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. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the
measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore it says,
“When
he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.”
9
(In saying, “He ascended”, what does it mean but that he had also descended
into the lower regions, the earth?[a] 10 He who descended is the one who also
ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he
gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds[b] and
teachers,[c] 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up
the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,[d] to the measure of the
stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children,
tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by
human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are
to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the
whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped,
when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds
itself up in love.
The New Life
17
Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the
Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their
understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is
in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have
given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practise every kind of impurity.
20 But that is not the way you learned
Christ!—21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as
the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self,[e] 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.
25
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with
his neighbour, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin;
do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the
devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labour, doing
honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with
anyone in need.
29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your
mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it
may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,
by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and
wrath and anger and clamour and slander be put away from you, along with all
malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as
God in Christ forgave you.
The Bible Panorama
Ephesians 4
V
1–6: UNITY Paul urges the Ephesians to a worthy walk which reflects the oneness
of the body of Christ in spiritual unity. In so doing, he clearly emphasises
that there is only ‘one Lord, and one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of
all’. Unity for him does not mean sacrificing truth. It is because of his stand
for God’s truth that he writes as ‘the prisoner of the Lord’.
V
7–10: INDIVIDUALITY This unity does not detract from the fact that grace is
individually given to each person who trusts Christ, and that God gives
enabling gifts to individual believers. He is the universe’s highly ascended
Lord, and can do that easily!
V 11–16: COMMUNITY God has given certain
gifted people to His church. They are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors
and teachers. His aim, through them, is to equip and edify His people so,
together, they know Christ, stand firm on biblical doctrine against those who
would deceive, and recognise how they all together fit into the body of Christ
of which He is head.
V 17–19: FUTILITY The Christian Gentile is to
be contrasted with the other Gentiles who, as unbelievers, walk ignorantly,
blindly, and in sin and greediness.
V 20–24: IDENTITY In coming to know Christ,
their old ways are dispensed with and the ‘new man’ is put on, in righteousness
and holiness. There is a spiritual renewal of the mind and a radical change of
identity for the born-again Christian.
V 25–32: QUALITY There is a new quality of
life of the Christian which reflects the fact that he does not ‘grieve the Holy
Spirit of God’. He rejects former sinful ways, words and works, and applies
himself to replacing them with positive good. He gives the devil no place in
his life and rejects his former negative behaviour and sin. His new quality of
life is shown by tender-heartedness, showing forgiveness to others, and
avoiding grieving the Spirit. The springboard for this is that ‘God in Christ
forgave you’.
The
Bible Panorama. Copyright © 2005 Day One Publications.
Dictionary of Bible
Themes
5904 maturity, spiritual
The development of
Christlike character and behaviour in the Christian through a renewed mind and
tested faith.
Christlikeness
as the goal and model for spiritual maturity
Eph
4:13-15 See also Col 2:6-7; Heb 12:2
Marks
of spiritual maturity
Spiritual
understanding Col 2:2 See also Ro 15:14; 1Co 2:6; 1Co 14:20; Eph 1:17-18; Heb
5:12-6:1
Discernment
of God’s will and changed behaviour Col 1:9-10 See also Ro 12:2; 1Co 3:1-3; Gal
5:22-23; Eph 4:22-23; Php 1:9-11; 2Th 1:3
Stability
Col 4:12 See also Eph 4:14; 2Pe 3:17-18
Care
for the weaker brother Ro 15:1 See also Gal 6:1-2
Maturity
is to be the aim of the Christian
Php
3:13-15 See also Lk 8:14 a reason for spiritual immaturity; 2Co 7:1; 2Co 13:11;
1Ti 6:11
The
process of maturity
God
causes spiritual growth Php 1:6 See also Gal 3:3; Heb 10:14
Possessing
gifts of ministry Eph 4:11-13 See also Ro 1:11
Being
equipped by the word of God 2Ti 3:16-17 See also Ro 15:4; 1Pe 2:2; 1Jn 2:5
Persevering
through trials Ro 5:3-5 See also Heb 2:10; Jas 1:3-4; 1Pe 5:10
The
concern of the pastor is to help others to maturity
Col
1:28-29 See also 2Co 13:9-10; Gal 4:19
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