The Book of Ephesians

Chapter 4

Walk in Unity

Whenever a sentence starts out with a "therefore," it is there for a reason.  The Apostle Paul has spent the last three chapters giving the details of many of God's blessings that we have through the grace of God.  We have learned many of the keys of the Kingdom of God.

Now, as we begin chapter 4, we begin to deal with the practical application of how to live in those blessings. 

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,

Paul, being a prisoner of Christ, in prison for the sake of the Gospel, pleads with the Ephesian Church to walk worthy of the blessings that God has bestowed upon them as Gentile believers.  As believers, whether Jew or Gentile, then or now, we are all called by God.  It is not only Paul's deep desire, but God's desire as well that all of His people to walk worthy of the calling that is laid upon their life.  The heart of God is that all believers fully understand what that means so that they can walk worthy of their calling. When we truly come to know and understand how much God loves us and all that He has done for us, it then becomes a natural response to love Him in return, with a heart to obey and walk in that calling. 

• The human side of us, however, would want to take pride in what we have from God....which is not how God wants us to walk. 

How To Walk Worthy

2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3  endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 

A worthy walk before God will be marked by humility, gentleness, and patience, which are all part of walking in the fruit of the Spirit.  To push our personal desires and agenda to get ahead, especially at the expense of others, is not the plan of God for our life, because it is God, in His great pleasure Who works out all things for our good and for His glory.  

• God has a plan for each of our lives, and when we try to get ahead of God, or do things our way, God can't use us.  We then become a hindrance to our own success in life, and the plan of God in the earth. 

God's plan for our lives is that we are patient with ourselves and with others.  This humble attitude towards each other then brings unity to the Body of Christ in the Spirit.  That means each member, individually, purposes to live according to the Word of God in all aspects of our life.  If all Christians lived according to the Word of God, the Church would avoid a lot of problems that are so prevelent in the Body of Christ today. 

• Sadly, even the Church in the days of the Apostle Paul struggled with unity in the Spirit, for Jews and Gentiles each came from different backgrounds that caused division.  While unity in the Spirit does not necessarily mean giving up our cultural way of life, it does mean that each individual purposes to follow Christ according the Word of God, as the Scriptures teach us.  It begins by having love and respect for one another.

What is Unity in the Body?

4  There is one body and one Spirit, just as 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 above all, and through all, and in you all.

Looking at the common denominator for unity in the Body of Christ, we see ONE body and ONE spirit,  ONE hope of our calling, ONE Lord, ONE, ONE faith, ONE baptism (into Christ), ONE God and Father of all - Who lives within us - in us all.

• Therefore, we must look at the Body of Christ as ONE - One everything!  That is the Gospel of Christ - Christ came as THE ONE to join all believers together in God.  Being ONE in all aspects brings unity to the Body of Christ.
• As we purpose to follow the Word of God, we must keep in mind the oneness of everything that we have in Christ.

Unity Through Spiritual Gifts

⁷ But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸ Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.” ⁹ (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) 

As New Covenant believers in Christ, we are privileged to have God's grace upon us.   Part of that grace are the gifts and talents He gives out to us.  We don't deserved it, but it is God's unmerited favor toward us as believers in Christ.  

• Can you see the gifts that God has given you from this chart?  You have at least one gift, and probably more.

Grace covers a multitude of areas in our life, but this verse specifically speaks of God's grace according to the measure of Christ's gifts given to us.  What does that mean?

The apostle prefaces this by stating that after Jesus was crucified and died, He first descended into the lower parts of the earth.  In Hebrew, the lower parts of the earth is referred to as Sheol - the place of the dead.  In Greek, it is translated into the word Hades.  It was then translated into English to be the word hell. 

Diagram by Clarence Larkin

Looking at other scripture, we see that Jesus entered the place of the dead, which included several separate compartments of the underworld. 

• Paradise:  The place of the righteous in God (Before Jesus was resurrected, which was then either emptied out or transferred into heaven. (Matt 15:27)
  • Luke 16 tells us the story of the rich man and Lazarus.  They both died.  Lazarus, as a believer in God, went to Abraham's Bosom, which many believe was in Paradise.  The rich man, as an unbeliever, went to hell, suffering in fire and torment.
• Hades/hell:  All unbelievers in God/Jesus - under the Old and New Covenant.  Remains open today with unbelievers being sent them continuously as they die.
• Tartarus:  The place where some of Satan's angels are cast into and chained (awaiting final judgment by God into the eternal lake of fire) because they impregnated women who delivered mutated giants into the earth before the flood of Noah.  They were all lost in the flood, and sent to this place called Tartarus  (I Peter 3:19-20; 2 Pet 2:4; & Jude 6). 
• The Abyss (Bottomless Pit):  The place where Satan will be chained up during the time of the 1000-year Millennial Period.  
• Eternal Lake of Fire:  Many believers claim it to reside in the earth, while just as many believers claim it to be in outer darkness.  

Jesus' resurrection changed the landscape of hell where most biblical scholars claim Paradise (Abraham's bosom) was emptied out and those believing Jews (under the Mosaic Covenant) who were resting there were translated to Paradise in heaven.  Other biblical scholars claim that Paradise itself was translated from hell to heaven with all of its residents who were believers in God and the Mosaic Covenant when Jesus was resurrected from the dead. 

• Either way, Jesus led captivity captive when God resurrected Him from the dead.  Jesus then, through the power of the Holy Spirit, gave gifts to men (Eph 4:7-10; Psm 68:18).

¹¹ And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 

Jesus established these offices of the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher.  They are the work and appointment of Jesus, not of men.  In other words, God calls certain ones whom He knows will complete the task to be a part of this church leadership.

• Apostles:  Means "sent out ones" who are special ambassadors of God’s work to go out to build a foundation that is centered upon Christ Jesus.
  Prophets:  Those who speak forth words from God that lines up with the foundations of the Old and New Testament.  Many times they are futuristic in their prophecies.
  Evangelists:  Those who are specifically gifted to witness the Gospel of Jesus, bringing in many into salvation in Jesus Christ.
  Pastors:  One who shepherds over the flock of Christ.  They also are teachers in the respect that they teach the Word of God to those they shepherd over.
  Teachers:  One who is called to teach the Word of God to the Body of Christ.

Often called the five-fold ministry gifts, these called-out ones are generally found to be church leaders because they are called and equipped to equip the believers for the work of the ministry.  They are to lead the Body of Christ with their gifting the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Their responsibility is to present Jesus as Savior and Lord to whomever will listen and receive, along with teaching them the keys to the Kingdom of God so that they too can walk in the fullness of Christ, so they too can pass that message on to the next generation.

• We have seen over and over these 19 blessings to gives us the keys to the Kingdom of God. 
• These believers in Ephesus, as well as you and I need to really get these keys down deep into our heart, and God has blessed us by giving us these five-fold ministry gifts to use them to minister out to others.  That way the Body of Christ can be strengthened and grow in their faith in one and unity.  These leaders have the responsibility to equip the Body, and the Body then is the ones who does the work of the ministry.
• I will point out here that all Christians have gifts and callings that were given by God to be used for the Body of Christ.  In other words, whether you operate in the five-fold ministry or within the general Body of Christ, you have gifts and talents that God wants to use you so you can operate in them. 

¹³ till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 

To fully come the unity of our faith in Christ, we need to purpose to walk in unity with other believers by using our gifts and talents with the Body.  Our gifts and talents must never be considered things that we possess for ourselves, but gifts to be used for others.  In that way we are sharing with one another what God has given us.  Remember, we are God's workmanship and our gifts and talents are never meant for ourselves, but to minister out to others.

The five-fold ministry gifts generally operate within the church setting.  The apostle start churches, while the evangelists brings people to Christ so they can be a part of the Church.  The prophet brings forth the Word of God while the pastor watches over his flock and the teacher teaches the Word of God to the Body.  The Body uses their gifts to edify one another, and we all grow in the unity and knowledge of Christ.  Ephesians 1:10 tells us that we are all Christ's workmanship for good works, and that we should walk in them.  When all of the Body works together in unity, the saints are properly equipped and encouraged, growing in their faith and intimacy with the Lord. 

Grow in Spiritual Maturity  

¹⁴ that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,

It's when the Body refuses to work together as "one" that the enemy comes in to divide and destroy, ultimately conquering.  John 10:10 tells us that the thief, meaning Satan, comes in to rob, kill and destroy in any way that he can - if we allow him to.  When he comes on the scene, maturing within the believers wane, carnality begins to take over within the believers individual, the carnal as a Body within the church.  False prophets and false teachers come in bringing in every wind of doctrine of confusion, with the enemy using every crafty trick in the book to stop the unity within the Church.   

As believers, we must all mature beyond that of children in the Lord.  As the years continue on after we accept Christ, we should not only grow older in Jesus, but more mature in Him as well - both as individuals and as a corporate body together.  We all have a part to play and a part to share!  As such, we need to guard against Satan's ploys by purposing to keep unity within the church. 

¹⁵ but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

By lovingly, but firmly maintaining the truths of the Word of God, the goal of unity is to grow in spiritual maturity in the Lord as each believer does his or her part.  The leaders and the saints within the Body are all doing their job.  It isn't that the leaders are doing all the work, they are the ones equipping the Body, and the Body does the work of the ministry.  That way, every joint is giving their supply.  When this happens, there will be a natural growth in the Body as individuals and the whole Body grows in their relationship with the Lord.

No Longer Walk as the Rest of the Gentiles

Again, we find ourselves with the word "therefore."  That means it is there for a reason.  Let's read it.

¹⁷ This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, ¹⁸ having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; ¹⁹ who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

If you don't take off the old man, considering it dead to you, and then put on the new man, you will not truly learn the truths of Christ for your life.  We must break from the past.  The old man was corrupt in his mind, and the new mind must be renewed as directed by the Holy Spirit to the Word of God.  

Rom 12:2  Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

When we do, we then come to know, understand and walking in God's righteousness and holiness - the way He intended all of His children to live in.  This is so fundamental to the Christian life - something that all Christians must know and follow.

The Apostle Paul, as directed by the Holy Spirit, now gives a list of things that will grieve the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.  As part of the Godhead, grieving the Holy Spirit also grieves God and Christ. 

²⁵ Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. ²⁶ “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, ²⁷ nor give place to the devil. ²⁸ Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. ²⁹ Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 

The Apostle is now speaking how Christians are to treat one another in the Body of Christ. 

Let's list them one by one:

• Put away lying.  That's pretty self explanatory.
• Speak the truth to your neighbor.  In other words, don't lie, and always tell the truth.  We are all members of one body, and there is no place for lying.
• Be angry, but sin not.  We all get angry from time to time.  It's how we handle it that becomes important.  Flaring off in a temper rage is not only non-productive, it brings on sin, which sets off a lot of other sins.  The devil loves to accuse and divide the family of God.  We have to learn how to control our anger, giving no place to the devil. 
• Let him who stole steal no longer:  The new man does not steal from others.  In replacing stealing, God is saying that we work with our hands to provide for ourselves and our family.  In addition, we will then have something to give to others who have a need.
• Let him labor:  Working for your own needs and the needs of your family must come from honest labor.  That way, there is no need or reason to steal.  And again, when we labor for our own, God then gives us ample to give out to others in need.
• Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth:  Watch your tongue always.  Let us all speak edification out of our mouth toward one another in the Body of Christ.

Do Not Grieve the Spirit