Sermon Notes

4 I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg 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 making every effort 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 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 all.[a]
7 But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it is said
“When he ascended on high, he made captivity itself a captive;[b]
he gave gifts to his people.”
9 (When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended[c] into the lower parts of the earth?[d] 10 He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) 11 He himself granted that some are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity,[e] to the measure of the full stature of Christ. 14 We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.
(New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, NRSVue)

4 1-3 In light of all this, here’s what I want you to do. While I’m locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.
4-6 You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.
7-13 But that doesn’t mean you should all look and speak and act the same. Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given his own gift. The text for this is,
He climbed the high mountain,
He captured the enemy and seized the plunder,
He handed it all out in gifts to the people.
Is it not true that the One who climbed up also climbed down, down to the valley of earth? And the One who climbed down is the One who climbed back up, up to highest heaven. He handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with his gifts, filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ’s followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ’s body, the church, until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.
14-16 No prolonged infancies among us, please. We’ll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are easy prey for predators. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.
(The Message, MSG)

In Ephesians, the author addresses the importance of Christian unity that is not only talked about, but is lived out in practical ways. The practical actions of Christians (Christian ethics), is not simply about belonging to Jesus Christ, but it is about living in ways that reflect our understanding that we have been called to represent Jesus Christ in everything we do. Although Christians emerge from different geographical areas, different ethnic and ancestral backgrounds, and different socio-economic classes, we are unified by our membership within the body of Christ (the Church universal).
Further, according to the author of Ephesians, we are also unified by God’s grand “mysterious” plan for redeeming the entire cosmos through Divine love which includes everyone, discards no one, and gathers up all things in heaven and in earth into a cohesive whole through Christ Jesus. This plan was Divinely initiated before the foundations of the cosmos were laid, and always intended that all of creation would play apart it its final unfolding. While there are various leadership calls within the Church, because we are one body—ligament-ally connected through the body and blood of Jesus Christ, and the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit—mature Christians understand that the work of the Church is always worked out through the efforts of a unified Church, and not individual believers operating on their own.

The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians, was written in the final decades of the 1st Century (80-100 CE) to a Christian community within the Roman city of Ephesus in Asia Minor. However, like most of Paul’s letters—which are occasional pastoral theology—this letter does not mention a specific audience, a specific problem, or specific persons. The earliest Greek manuscripts of Ephesians did not have the phrase, “in Ephesus,” in 1:1. Further, the letter does not use the customary language of the undisputed Pauline letters (Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians and Philemon).
This lack of specificity, difference in linguistic evidence, the lack of any mention of the return of Christ, and the lateness of the letter’s authorship—it is written later than any of the undisputed Pauline letters—leads to a clear consensus among biblical scholars that Ephesians was not written by Paul. Instead, it was likely written by one of Paul’s disciples who assumes Paul’s voice (after the apostle’s death), to speak to leadership issues within this Christian community. Any references to the author as “Paul” are honorific.
Ephesians 4, is not the first time that a Pauline letter addresses the importance of Christian unity within the context of diversity. Both the Acts of the Apostles and The Letter of Paul to the Galatians recount instances when Paul vigorously defended the diversity of bodies and diversity of theological proclamation that should be embraced within the early Church. As last week’s lesson indicated, although discord emerged within the Galatian churches because of an aberrant theology being preached by the “Judaizers,” Paul was able to preach the “truth” of the gospel—that Jesus lived, died, and was resurrected by God—from a perspective that celebrated the ethnic diversity of the Galatian churches within the unified mutuality of early Christianity.
In this week’s lesson, the writer champions Christian unity as the primary defining characteristic of the Church. The lesson text (4:1 – 4:16) comes from a portion of Ephesians (4:1 – 6:20) that explores the ethical ramifications of living as a Christian. The letter assumes a person who has affirmed Jesus as Lord will have a moral and ethical stirring that transforms their daily lived existence. For the writer, Christian confession equals Christian ethics. Simply stated, one’s Christian “walk” must match their Christian “talk.” The lesson is divided into two major parts, 4:1-6 and 4:7-16.

1-3 In light of all this, here’s what I want you to do. While I’m locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences. 4-6 You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.
In the opening verses of the lesson text, the writer returns to the metaphor of the imprisoned apostle (slave/doulos) to establish a relationship between himself and the Ephesians. He uses paraenesis—a rhetorical device for exhortation, providing counsel, or giving someone advice—to make his point. Paraenetic speech provides ethical advice for practical living, reminds audiences of their shared values, and employs stylistic phrases such as, “you know,” to emphasize continued faithfulness. Other paraenetic literature in the New Testament is the Sermon on the Mount, Romans 12-15, and the Household Codes.
The writer opens his comments saying, “I beg,” (parakaleo in Greek), underscoring the importance of this request by appealing to the reader/hearer’s emotions. In other biblical literature, “please, I pray,” is a similar phrase that indicates emotional intensity and theological importance. When the writer says the Ephesians should “live a life worthy of their calling” (klesis in Greek), he passionately invokes the idea of divine election that all Jews would have affirmed. The writer implores the Church to live in ways that demonstrate they know they have been called to embodied devotion statutes. Although Christians are no longer under the law, divine election would have still permeated their theological worldview.
According to the writer, Christians should do everything with humility, gentleness, patience, and the spirit of love as they create and maintain unity through the Holy Spirit. The concern for Christian unity cannot be overstated. Perhaps what lies behind this statement are differences in interpretation concerning who Jesus was, the nature of the faith, or how membership was conferred (baptism) within the congregation. However, “Paul” clearly articulates the saints have shared inheritance that binds them together. There is only one Lord, one faith, and one baptism—a unifying point of theological reference—that provides clarification concerning their call and purpose. The virtues listed in verse 2 highlight the communal nature of the church and unity as the defining character of Christian community.
7-13 But that doesn’t mean you should all look and speak and act the same. Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given his own gift. The text for this is, He climbed the high mountain, He captured the enemy and seized the plunder, He handed it all out in gifts to the people. Is it not true that the One who climbed up also climbed down, down to the valley of earth? And the One who climbed down is the One who climbed back up, up to highest heaven. He handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with his gifts, filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ’s followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ’s body, the church, until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ. 14-16 No prolonged infancies among us, please. We’ll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are easy prey for predators. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.
In verses 7-16, the writer shifts the emphasis from common inheritances to complementary gifts that contribute to the unity of the Church. When Christians understand and embrace their place of service, the whole body of Christ is strengthened as it grows into fulfilling Divine mission and ministry. Verse 7 refers to the spiritual gifts or graces (charis in Greek) that Christ gives to every Christian for the edification of his Church. The writer undoubtably has Romans 12 on his mind as he discusses these spiritual gifts. At the forefront is the idea that Christians should not overestimate the importance of their individual gifts. Spiritual gifts are always related to the importance of edifying the entire Christian community, not for the personal gratification of an individual Christian.
Verse 8-10 link spiritual gifts with Christ’s descent and ascension. To support his position, the writer references Psalm 68 to show that spiritual gifts originate in Christ’s victory over death, the grave, and the enemies of Divine purpose. The writer also demonstrates that spiritual gifts are intimately related to humility. “Paul” shows us that in Jesus’ life and ministry, the way “up” was “down.” In terms of Soteriology, Christ took on humanity and was humbled through the incarnation. However, Jesus Christ was later elevated when he was resurrected and then ascended back to God the Father. This manner of biblical exegesis comes from the Essenes community at Qumran—the same people who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls. They connected their biblical interpretation to past, current, and future events. One of their writings, 1QpHab 7:4-5, connects Psalm 68 to God’s divine plan within their own time. According to the writer of Ephesians, God’s preordained plan is only fulfilled when Christ is exalted.
It is important to note that the gifts mentioned are those which are essential for all other gifts and ministries. The apostles and prophets have laid the foundation for the Church and ministry by establishing the teaching and doctrine of Jesus Christ. Evangelists proclaim the Gospel as defined by the apostles and prophets; they help to birth faith in the lives of those who hear. Pastor-teachers serve to keep the Gospel fresh, relevant, and applicable to the ongoing life of the Church. All ministry is dependent upon the operation of these gifts. The writer does not emphasize knowing a particular gift, but on finding a place of service. The focus here is not on the individual, but on the contribution that individuals make to the collective body of Christ.
The final verses of the lesson text further lift up agape, “speaking truth in love,” as the defining characteristic of mature Christian community. Love for each other defines what it means to be a Christian, and what it means to be a mature Church. The contrast between maturity and immaturity is key. Maturity is to no longer be like children; mature individuals and churches must grow into the image of Christ. Every part of the body of Christ—held together by the ligaments of Jesus—only works effectively when it does so together. The work of the Church is always worked out in unified, loving, Christian community.

i. Love Lazares Sechrest, Race and Rhyme: Rereading the New Testament, (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2022) 239-287.
ii. Jennifer G. Bird, “Ephesians,” in Gale A. Yee’s Fortress Commentary on the Bible: Two Volume Set (Kindle Edition) 3137.
iii. Mitzi Smith, “Ephesians,” in Brian Blount’s, True To Our Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary Second Edition (Minneapolis: Fortress Press), 377.
iv. Pheme Perkins, “Ephesians,” in The New Interpreter’s Bible: A Commentary in Twelve Volumes (Nashville, Abingdon Press, 2000) 420-421.