Ephesians Chapter 4
Now that you’ve seen the incredible things God has done for you, you are extremely grateful to Him, and ready to do whatever He asks of you. It is in that mindset that you have to read the rest of the book of Ephesians.
1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
Your amazing God has called you, and you are all pumped up and ready to walk in a manner worthy of your calling. How do you do it?
The first thing is to internalize the fact that you are a man (or woman) on a mission. You’ve been called, and you’ve got a job to do, and a purpose in life.
What is our calling? (Eph 1:4; Tit 2:11-14, 3:8).
Paul was called to be an apostle (Rom 1:1). He made it his passion.
We are called to be saints (Rom 1:7). A saint is a representative of God. That is how we should view ourselves, and that is what our behavior should represent.
We are called to be Christ-like (Rom 8:28-30). Therefore, we need to walk in a manner that is worthy of that. In situations, we should ask ourselves, “What would Jesus do?” and then proceed to do that.
We are called to have fellowship with Christ (1 Cor 1:9). Therefore, we should walk in such a way that our fellowship with God is not broken. When we do something to break that fellowship, we should do what is needed to restore that fellowship.
We are called to peace (1 Cor 7:15). Therefore, in life’s situations, we shouldn’t be fighting with people unnecessarily.
We should walk according to our calling (1 Cor 7:17-24).
2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,
If you want God to put you to work building the church, the first thing you must learn is how to handle your brothers and sisters in the church.
Now you might think that everyone else in the church is like you – passionate for Christ, and having a great desire to please Him. And then you meet Mr. Joe, the average Christian – self-centered, mediocre, and purposeless. You are tempted to look down on him, judge Him, and generally be impatient with him, right? How do you handle him? That is what verse 2 is talking about.
People are like ships – they don’t like to change direction, and when they do decide to change direction, they take a long time to do so. As a result, you will see a lot of misalignment and imperfection in the people of the church. There will be liars and cheats and gossips, and a lot of anger and resentment and bitterness and malice. Chances are high that husbands and wives will be at odds with each other. Parents and children will be at odds with each other, and brother and sister will be at odds with each other. There will be power hungry people and money hungry people in the church, and even in church leadership.
You have to be prepared for this! If you think that everyone is as gung ho as you, you will be in for a big surprise. Therefore, you have to be tolerant of all that misalignment, and love your brothers and sisters in spite of all their imperfections. Then, you have to be gentle and attempt to change direction only in as much as people want to be changed – with some, just a little at a time, and with a few others, may be more quickly. Further, you have to be patient, and give them sufficient time to change direction.
Why should we behave in this way? It is because we humbly recognize our own imperfections. Leaders who don’t recognize their own imperfections soon find that their own kids are going astray. God allows this to each us humility, so that we become tolerant of other people’s imperfections, and look down on no one.
I’ve met pastors who push people into following the standard of living of the church, and who look disdainfully upon those who are not quick to obey. They are not good examples of what Paul is talking about over here.
Paul told the Corinthians something similar. He talked about building the body of Christ using spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, but then in chapter 13 he talked about love as the motivation behind doing the whole thing.
Paul wasn’t always like that, but he had to learn things the hard way. In the beginning, he was quite impatient with a person like John Mark, but over the years, he acquired wisdom.
Satan’s strategy is to get believers to be at odds with each other. Further, our flesh gives us every opportunity to be tempted to be at odds with each other. For example, someone ignores you, and you can take it the wrong way. Someone else says something to you that you think shouldn’t have been said, or wasn’t said the right way, and you can take offense at that; or someone doesn’t say something when you think something should have been said, or someone doesn’t smile at you, and you can take offense. Someone’s personality is unusual to you, and you can take offense at that. When working together, you want to do things one way, and someone else wants it done another way, and that can get you offended.
How do you handle all this? You handle it with patience, showing tolerance towards each other in love – this is what Paul says.
This is the first step, and without mastering this step, no matter what spiritual gifts you have, you cannot build the church because most people will simply not trust you or listen to you or work with you if they sense that you are displeased with them.
Nevertheless, don’t forget the balance: love must be balanced with truth. Paul never compromised his message, or lowered his standard. He preached it clearly. The balance was that he didn’t stop loving those who ignored his teaching, and he didn’t become impatient with those who were slow to respond to his teaching. He let God judge them and deal with them, but he himself was gentle and patient and kind and tolerant to all.
3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Our philosophy should be that we should maintain a good relationship with others in the church – that is, there should be a bond of peace between myself and every other member in the church. This allows us to have a unity of Spirit – that is, a focus only on making God look good, and not ourselves. Therefore, if someone were to slight us, it is okay because it not about us, but about making God look good.
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.
What are some of the key guiding principles one should follow when attempting to build the church? Paul answers that in verses four to six.
There is one body. That is, while we remain on this earth, one thing matters, and that is the health and growth of the one body of Christ. More than anything else, our energies must be devoted to that goal.
There is one Spirit. That is, as we strive to keep that body healthy, there is one place from where we must draw power from – the one and only Holy Spirit. “Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit,” is how the Lord wants us to build His church (Zech 4:6).
There is one hope. That is, there must be one thing that we must look forward to, or hope for – the day when we will be like Jesus, with a body that cannot be tempted. Right now, even though we dearly don’t want to sin, we have a body through which we are tempted. This makes our life miserable because we are always fighting to overcome temptation. But one day, our temptable body will be replaced with one that cannot be tempted, and then, we will be able to remain without sin without having to fight – a day worth looking forward to, right?
There is one Lord. That is, one person must be our example in all things – the Lord Jesus Christ. When we go about building the church we must see how the head – Jesus – operated, and do things just like He did. For example, did He ever take a collection when He preached or healed? If He didn’t, neither should we.
There is one faith. That is, we all aim to believe the same truth, and if someone differs from what we regard as the truth we must let God work things out in them, or in us, and not try to push our truth upon an unwilling person. We can describe and explain our truth but we must never enforce it upon anyone.
There is one baptism (or immersion). That is, in all our dealings with one another, one thing must immerse or captivate us – our commitment to deny our own flesh and overcome sin. Rather than judge our brother, we must deny ourselves.
There is one Father. That is, in everything we do, our motive should be to make one person look good – God the Father, and not anyone else.
When we operate according to these principles then we can truly build the body of Christ.
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.
8 Therefore 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 does it mean except that He also had 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 gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the 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 knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
The goal is that everyone in the church should become a mature child of God, believing the same things, and behaving just like Jesus.
To make this happen, God gave spiritual gifts to different people in the church. Some of the key gifts are:
- An apostle starts up a church in a place where there wasn’t one before.
- A prophet connects the church with God, letting the members know what God is saying to them at the present time, so that if some member is off track, he can realize that he is off track, and get on track with God.
- An evangelist adds new members to the church.
- A pastor is like a parent, who guides and counsels the members of the church, helping them act upon the prophet’s word, as it applies to them, and helping them become the person that God wants them to be.
- A teacher explains to the members, the words that God has already spoken to the church in general.
This use of spiritual gifts for the building of the church was initiated when Jesus ascended to heaven. At the same time, Jesus took with him to the third heaven (where God is) all the saints who had died before Him, and were waiting in a holding place (Abraham’s bosom, mentioned in the story of Lazarus) for this precise moment.
14 As a result, 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;
You may be surprised to know this – but there is a lot of craftiness in deceitful scheming in the church today, just as in the days of Paul. This is because of Satan. People in power in the church will resort to all sorts of trickery to get your money or your respect.
If you are a child (spiritually speaking), and not a mature adult, you will swallow everything you hear, and be taken advantage of.
15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,
But the way that the church is supposed to operate is that we should be told the truth, and this should be done in love, with our own good in mind, so that we become more like Jesus.
Christ is the head of the church. That is, He tells us how to operate in the church. A church that really believes that Christ is their head does exactly as He says. It does not have any traditions beyond what is taught in the Bible (such as Christmas and Easter). It does all things (even evangelism) according to the Bible.
When we read such a verse we must judge ourselves and ask whether we are doing things exactly as mentioned in the Bible, and not using our own way to build the church. If we do not fully follow the pattern laid out in the New Testament then we will not grow up into all aspects into Christ.
16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
For the church to fulfill its purpose, every member must do its part, and must function smoothly with the members next to it. Love must be the fluid that resolves the potential friction between members working next to each other. Only then can the body grow properly and be built up according to the way that God wanted it to be.
17 So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind,
18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;
19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.
If you are a part of the church, you must be building. But there can be some people who are not only not building, but they are tearing down. They do this by living as if they are unbelievers. The above passage is for them. The point is that if you want to build you can’t be tearing down.
The unbelievers walk in the futility of their mind. That is, they live their lives based on what they think is right. That is futile, because on the Day of Judgment they will be judged based on what God thinks is right.
The road to becoming an unbeliever all starts with a hardening of the heart. That is, you sin, and when God convicts you, you don’t acknowledge that you’ve sinned against God, and you don’t repent. This makes you callous, or insensitive to sin, and as a result, you go ahead and sin without a thought. Soon your understanding of what is sin and what isn’t is darkened, or lost, and so you are now living by your own standard, and not God’s.
20 But you did not learn Christ in this way,
21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus,
22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,
23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
To become a believer, you have to reject your own standard and replace it with God’s standard. The truth is in Jesus, not in you. In doing this, you renew your mind. That is, you teach your mind what God wants. Then you begin doing what God wants – this is what is meant by ‘putting on the new self’. As a result, your life style changes and more and more reflects the standard that God has set.
25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE OF YOU WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another.
In doing so, you stop lying to others.
26 BE ANGRY, AND YET DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
27 and do not give the devil an opportunity.
You also learn to control your anger, and when people do things that you don’t like you don’t say or do things to hurt them.
The devil is always looking for people with a chip on their shoulder, because he can use them a lot, and he doesn’t need to do much to recruit them. If you are angry, watch out – the devil is at your door, seeking to recruit you to do his bidding. That is why you need to fix your anger quickly – before the sun goes down.
To fix your anger, you need to let go and let God deal with the other person – the one who has made you angry.
28 He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.
You also learn to not take what is not yours. You go beyond and help those who don’t have enough.
You stop taking credit at work for things you didn’t do – even if everyone else around you is doing that.
You stop cheating on your taxes.
You stop cheating on your spouse.
You stop cheating the contractor who is working in your home, or the customer who is paying you to do work in his home.
Those who do such things cannot build the church of God, no matter what spiritual gifts they may have.
29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
Your speech changes – you now speak to help others instead of speaking to get what you want.
30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
The day of redemption is the day when Jesus returns and when the saints get their new body – a body that cannot be tempted. On that day, we will become like Jesus. To assure us that God will indeed keep His promise and give us such a body, God gives us His Holy Spirit to dwell in us. On that day, all who have the Holy Spirit in them, and only those people, will receive the new body. This is how God will identify who gets the new body, and that is why the Holy Spirit is described in this verse as a seal, or identifier, of the recipients of the new body on the day of redemption.
When we sin, we grieve the Holy Spirit. You can imagine how a person obsessed with cleanliness will feel when dropped in a tub of feces and urine – that’s how the Holy Spirit feels, and worse, when He dwells in a person who sins without care or concern of Who is dwelling in him.
31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
When you repeatedly don’t get what you think you deserve you are tempted to become bitter. Bitterness is a deep lack of love for another person. You stop wanting the best for the other person. You secretly delight in the sorrows of the other person.
All these things – bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and wrath – are sin. Unless you firmly believe that all things work together for your good, because you love God (Rom 8:28-30), even though you cannot fathom how they work for your good, you will struggle with these things.
32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
But if you firmly believe Rom 8:28-30 and comprehend the breadth and length and height and depth of God’s love for you then you can overcome bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and wrath, and you can be kind, tender-hearted and forgiving.
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