He began by stressing the importance of walking (or living) in unity. God will not enforce unity in answer to prayer. Believers have a responsibility to obey Him as well.
4:1 "Therefore"or "then"refers to what Paul had said in chapters 1-3. To walk worthily or in balance means to harmonize one's conduct with his or her calling. Calling here refers to God's calling to live in unity as Jews and Gentiles in the church (2:13-16). To walk worthily then would involve behaving in a united way, living in unity with Jewish brethren if one is a Gentile or vice versa in the church. By referring to himself as the Lord's prisoner again (3:1), Paul reminded his readers of his authority to urge them to live this way. He was in prison because he had followed God's will faithfully.
4:2 Three virtues contribute to unity in the church. Humility is a proper assessment of oneself in God's program. A humble Jew or Gentile would regard his ethnic counterpart as equal with himself, not as inferior or superior to himself. Gentleness is the opposite of self-assertion. A gentle person is one whose emotions are under control.
". . . meekness is a virtue of the strong, those who could exert force to get their own way but choose not to."98
Patience is endurance even under affliction. When wronged, the patient person does not retaliate (cf. Gal. 5:22; Col. 1:11; 3:12; 2 Tim. 4:2).
Believers should practice all these virtues with loving forbearance toward one another.
4:3 Christians must preserve the unity between believers that God has created in the church. Paul viewed peace as what keeps potential factions together. He had in mind peace between all kinds of diverse groups in the church the most basic being Jews and Gentiles.
4:4 Seven elements of unity follow that unite believers in the church. Believers should remember them when tempted to break unity. Again all three members of the Trinity are in view and play a part in this process.
The one body is the church, the universal body of believers in the present age (1:23; 2:16; 3:6). The one Spirit is the Holy Spirit who indwells the church as a whole and every individual believer in the church (2:22; 1 Cor. 12:13). The one hope is the hope of the future that each Christian has and the whole church has (cf. 1 Pet. 1:3; 3:15). This hope began when God called us to salvation (1:4, 18; 2:7; 4:1). These identifications seem clear from their occurrences elsewhere in the epistle.
4:5 The one Lord is Jesus Christ, the Head of the church (1:22-23; Col. 1:18). The one faith is probably the faith that each Christian and the whole church has in Christ rather than Christianity viewed as a faith (cf. Col. 2:7). This identification unites faith with Christ in the context (2:8).
The one baptism may be the baptism that unites all believers in the body of Christ. This is Spirit baptism, which water baptism symbolizes. Both kinds of baptism were probably in Paul's mind.99However baptism falls in the second triad of elements that relate to Christ rather than to the first that relate to the Spirit in this verse. Therefore it probably refers to water rather than to Spirit baptism.
4:6 "All"refers to all believers. God is the Father of all believers, who are His children. He is over them in the sense of being their sovereign. He lives through them and manifests Himself in them.
Evidently Paul began this list of seven elements of unity with the Spirit's work because he had been speaking of the unity of the Spirit (v. 3). He then proceeded to discuss the gifts of the Spirit (vv. 7-13; cf. 1 Cor. 12:4-6).
Having described the basis of Christian unity Paul next explained the means by which we can preserve it, namely with the gifts that the Spirit gives.
4:7 Whereas each believer has received grace (unmerited favor and divine enablement) from God (3:2) God does not give each Christian the same measure of grace. Paul spoke of God's gift of grace here as ability to serve God. Though Jews and Gentiles both receive enabling grace from God, God gives this ability to different individuals differently (cf. v. 11; Rom. 12:4-6; 1 Cor. 12:4-6).
"Gifts are not toys to play with. They are tools to build with. And if they are not used in love, they become weapons to fight with . . . (1 Cor. 12-14)."100
4:8 Paul's paraphrase of Psalm 68:18 confirms his statement that God gives gifts to people. A military victor has the right to give gifts to those identified with him. Christ, the victor over sinful people, has the right to give those people to the church as gifts.101In Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 Paul spoke of gifts given to people (cf. v. 7), but here he spoke of people given to the church as gifts.
"Some have alleged that Paul erred in his citation from Psalm 68:18 on at least two counts: (1) he altered the verb of the psalm from received' to gave,' thus reversing its meaning, and (2) he gave an interpretation to the Old Testament passage that is unwarranted. With regard to the first point, the origin of the reading gave' is not to be found in Ephesians 4:8. Rather, this is a variant reading for Psalm 68:18 that has an ancient pedigree, as may be seen by its presence in both the Aramaic Targum and the Syriac Peshitta. However, Paul was not necessarily quoting with one of these sources in mind; the reading probably had a history not limited to its appearance in these particular sources. It was apparently a variant reading that was well known, especially within Jewish rabbinic circles. Furthermore, Paul must be permitted some latitude in his citation. His purpose was not to provide a formal and exact representation of the Old Testament phraseology, but rather to expound and apply the passage to the work of Christ as Lord of the church. That the apostle used a variant reading of the psalm should not in itself be overly surprising.
"Regarding the second point, it seems clear that Paul used an analogical patterning of Old Testament teaching within the New Testament context. This was common among New Testament writers. Such a practice does not obviate the Old Testament contextual setting, nor does it purport to provide the only fulfillment of the Old Testament passage. When Matthew, for example, related Hosea 11:1 (Out of Egypt have I called My son') to the flight of the holy family, he did not thereby deny that Hosea 11:1 refers to the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. He simply drew an analogy between the two events. Likewise in Ephesians 4:8 the application of Psalm 68:18 to Jesus as the bestower of gifts for ministry within the church does not eliminate or contradict the Old Testament application of the words to the victorious Israelite King. In keeping with common Midrash peshertechniques, but in a way that avoids the excesses to which the method was pushed by some nonbiblical writers, Paul made a valid application of Christological significance to the Old Testament passage. On the one hand, according to Psalm 68:18, God ascended Zion as a victorious king worthy of being the recipient of gifts of homage. On the other hand, according to Ephesians 4:8, Jesus also ascended to the heavenly Zion as the victorious Lord who lovingly bestowed on His church the gifts of ministry essential to her future well-being. The one passage provides the pattern for the other."102
A slightly different interpretation follows.
". . . Paul apparently followed the Jewish interpretation of the day (the Targum), which paraphrased this verse as follows: You did ascend to the firmament, O Prophet Moses! You led captivity captive; you taught the words of the Law; you gave [not received,' as in the Heb.] gifts to the sons of men.' (This interpretation saw Moses as God's representative.) Paul followed this Jewish exegesis because it explained that the conqueror distributedthe gifts to His loyal subjects. The apostle applied that idea to Christ's victory over the forces of evil and His granting spiritual gifts (cf. Eph. 4:11) to those on His side. By this analogy (based more on the Jewish interpretation of the psalm than on the exact Heb. wording) Paul emphasized the greatness of believers' spiritual victory in Christ."103
4:9 In verses 9-11 Paul commented on the meaning of "ascended"and "gave"in his citation.
For Christ to have ascended to heaven He first had to descend to "the lower parts of the earth."This is probably a reference to Jesus' grave (genitive of possession)104rather than to the earth (genitive of apposition)105or to hades (genitive of comparison)106in view of the context. In His death Jesus Christ gained the victory over sin, and He redeemed those whom He would give as gifts to the church.
4:10 Paul identified the descended Christ with the ascended Christ who now is in position to rule over all (cf. 1:23). He fills all things with His fullness (cf. Col. 1:18; 2:9; Prov. 30:4).
4:11 This verse explains "gave"(v. 8) and begins a sentence that runs through verse 16 in the Greek text.
After Jesus Christ ascended, He gave gifts to the church that enabled it to function. This order of events is in harmony with the revelation that the church is a new entity that came into existence after Jesus' ascension.107
Christ gave gifted people to the church as gifts to the church. He gave some individuals to be apostles in the church. "Apostle"means someone sent as an authoritative delegate. Twelve men plus Paul were official apostles who had seen the risen Christ and had received personal appointment from Him (Acts 1:21-22; 1 Cor. 15:8-9; Gal. 1:1; 2:6-9). However there were other men who while not apostles in this limited sense functioned as apostles. The New Testament writers called them apostles too (1 Cor. 15:7; Gal. 1:19; Acts 14:4, 14; 1 Cor. 9:6; Rom. 16:7; cf. 1 Thess. 1:1; 2:7; 1 Cor. 4:6, 9). The duty of the apostles was to establish the church and the churches (2:20; 3:5).
New Testament prophets (Gr. prophetes, one who speaks forth) provided edification, exhortation, and comfort to the church (1 Cor. 14:3). Some of them conveyed new authoritative revelation to the church (2:20; 3:5; Acts 11:28; 21:10-11). Much of this is the revelation that we have in the New Testament books. Most of the prophets, however, simply "spoke forth"truth that God had previously revealed (cf. Acts 13:1; 1 Cor. 11:5; 14:26-33).108
"Christians today do not get their spiritual knowledge immediatelyfrom the Holy Spirit, but mediatelythrough the spirit teaching the Word."109
Evangelists preached the gospel and served as modern missionaries both at home and abroad (Acts 21:8; 8:6-40; 2 Tim. 4:5). Paul did not identify these people as foundational to the church as he did the apostles and prophets (2:20). Nevertheless their ministry was and is essential. They equipped people to minister (vv. 12-13) at least by leading them to faith in Christ.
We might better translate the Greek phrase rendered "pastors and teachers"as "pastor-teachers."The Greek construction suggests that one kind rather than two kinds of people is in view. The Greek article translated "the"occurs only before "pastor."Moreover the Greek conjunction translated "and"between "pastors"and "teachers"is different from the one used elsewhere in the verse (kairather than de). However, the Greek construction may describe two types of gifted people whose ministries are among settled congregations in contrast to the itinerant ministries of the apostles, prophets, and evangelists. Probably the phrase describes the overseers of local churches who pastor and teach (cf. 1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:9; 1 Pet. 5:1-3).
4:12 The purpose of all these gifted leaders is to prepare the rest of the saints to minister and so build up the body of Christ, namely the church. "Equipping"(Gr. katartismon) means preparing, mending, or restoring people to their proper use (Gal. 6:1; cf. Matt. 4:21; 2 Cor. 13:11; Heb. 13:21). The role of these leaders is to minister the Word to the saints in the church so the saints can minister the Word in the world. All the saints should participate in service, not just the leaders.110Every Christian has a gift or gifts with which he or she can serve (4:7; 1 Pet. 4:10).
4:13 The end in view is completeness in Christ. As each believer exercises the gifts (abilities God has given him or her, v. 7), three things happen. First, the body enjoys unity (vv. 3-6). Second, it becomes more spiritually mature (v. 15). Third, it becomes more Christ-like (cf. 1:23; 3:19). Unity of the faith (cf. v. 5), full knowledge (cf. 1:17), and maturity constitute the three-fold goal in view. This equals the fullness of Christ.
"God is not trying to produce successful Christian business people who can impress the world with their money and influence. He is not trying to fashion successful church leaders who can influence people with their organizational and administrative skills. Nor is He trying to fashion great orators who can move people with persuasive words. He wants to reproduce in His followers the character of His son--His love, His kindness, His compassion, His holiness, His humility, His unselfishness, His servant attitude, His willingness to suffer wrongfully, His ability to forgive, and so much more that characterized His life on earth."111
4:14 One result of gifted people equipping the saints to serve the Lord and others is that believers may be stable in their faith. Infants are easily swayed and confused, as waves blown by the wind. False teachers create such winds by their teaching and seek to trick people into following them.
4:15 Another result is that believers should maintain truth in love in both speech and conduct. Paul contrasted the deception of heresy with the integrity of the gospel.
"This fundamental concern for the truth is the secret of maturity in the church."112
The church that stresses both the truth and love will produce spiritually mature Christ-like believers.
Loving, effective confrontation involves speaking the truth in love. The truth may be as medicine to the person who needs it, but love is the sugar that added to the medicine makes it palatable. Remember Mary Poppins' prescription: "A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down."
4:16 Jesus Christ is both the One into whom we grow (v. 15) and the One out of whom we grow as a whole church. The whole body grows as each part carries out its proper function. All parts of the body alluded to in this verse are Christians except the Head, Jesus Christ.113
The church then is a diverse body composed of many different people who must give attention to preserving their unity (vv. 7-16). Paul's emphasis was on body growth more than on individual growth in this passage. Each believer contributes to body growth as he or she exercises his or her particular gifts (abilities) in the service of Christ.
