Sermon Notes: Ephesians 4:1-16, Part 1 – Unite

These are the notes of a sermon preached by Andy Evans on the morning of the 22 May 2011. Click here to stream or download the sermon audio.

EPHESIANS 4:1-16, PART 1 – UNITE

Ephesians 4:1–16

¹ 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? 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 and teachers, 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, 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.

1. WALK

a. Theology and Doxology opens our minds (theology) and our hearts (doxology) to the expansive truth of the gospel

We return to the Apostle Paul’s great epistle to the church in Ephesus at something of a turning point. Paul begins,

Ephesians 4:1

I therefore […] urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called

The, ‘therefore’, points both forwards, to the remainder of Chapter 4, Chapters 5 and 6, and back, to all that has just gone before. Paul wants these believers in Ephesus and, indeed, believers everywhere, to remember and feel the weight of the great call of the gospel.

The gospel which begins with a God who is, who blesses, and who is at work for those who are his even before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:3-4).

The gospel which begins with a God who exists, eternal in love and who demonstrates his love by pouring out grace upon us (Ephesians 1:4-8).

The gospel which begins with a God who rescues hell-bound rebels and raises the dead to life (Ephesians 2:1-7).

The gospel which begins with the God who became flesh and preached to those who were far off and those who were near (Ephesians 2:17).

The gospel of the God who builds his church for his glory (Ephesians 2:22).

This is the gospel of the God who works all things to his glory and who will, in the fullness of time, unite all things, things in heaven and things on earth, under Christ Jesus to the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1:10).

Therefore, Paul writes, because of the lavish riches of his grace, because of the awesome magnitude of his power, because of his marvelous purposes; because of all he has done for us, therefore. Paul now points onward,

Ephesians 4:1

I therefore […] urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called

This is why theology matters. This is why it is important that we believe and think deeply about biblical, true and glorious things about God. Without such thinking, we will miss the importance of the ‘therefore’. Paul writes: because God has done this, because God is like this, then walk.

b. The expansive truth of the gospel compels us to walk in accordance with truth (in a ‘manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called’)

This, then, helps us understand the connection between theology, doxology and praxis. Right thinking leads to right worship and right living (indeed, these two outcomes cannot be separated). Therefore, because we understand who God is, all he has done for us and all that he is doing and will do for the good of his church and the glory of the Son of God, walk. If we do not see this, the ‘therefore’ will pass us by.

Moreover, if we do not see the blazing brilliance of the glory of God in the gospel, we will utterly fail to grasp the greatness of the call of the gospel.

If we fail to see the holiness of God, we will take sin lightly and we will fail to energetically pursue righteousness as we ought.

If we fail to see the grace of God, we will instead depend on our own virtue, strengths and abilities and, in so doing, make ourselves the means of our salvation.

If we fail to see the love of God, we will fail to love others. Instead, ours will be a cold, mechanical religiosity preoccupied and absorbed with those on the inside (however we might define inside).

If we fail to see the glory of God, we will make little of him and much of us. Such thinking, eventually, leads to human-centric gospel in which the gospel of God, the things of God and the purposes of God are made to serve our purposes: all of which belittles, shrinks and obscures the glory of the God who is.

If we fail to see the mercy of God, we will perceive him to be distant, hostile and severe and we will run from him, not to him, in our weakness and great need.

Wrong thinking leads to wrong living. Small thinking leads to a small gospel which is unable to help and fails to compel. Paul wants us to see and grasp the depth, expansiveness and glory of the gospel that we might live like we believe it,

Ephesians 4:1

I therefore […] urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called

Paul urges us to think rightly and, moreover, to live rightly. Consider the truth of this. Consider the great call of the gospel on our lives, on your life, on my life. ‘Now’, Paul says, ‘live it out’.

This is illuminating. Wrong living and faithless living is not simply a matter of willpower. A failure to live out the call is a failure to see the nature and sombre weight of the call. Paul understands that those who are his are compelled to live like him.

c. The cost of this walk

i. The Cost of Walking

Moreover, Paul reminds them and us of the cost of this call to walk,

Ephesians 4:1

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called

Paul reminds us that this walk, a walk consistent with the call of the gospel, will lead us to walk the most costly of roads.

Ridicule. Persecution. Opposition. Alienation. Imprisonment. Death.

Matthew 10:37–38

³⁷ Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

Paul’s walk led to imprisonment and, eventually, death. This should not surprise us. Christians are called to walk in the footsteps of Christ Jesus. We walk the road of Golgotha. We take up our cross. This is because we see the gloriousness of the call and we are determined, no, compelled to walk in a manner worthy of this calling.

Those who are his, walk like him.

ii. The Expansiveness of the Walk

But there is more. Ephesians 4:1 acts as a topic sentence for the remainder of the letter.^[1] Verse 1 is, in effect, a subheading which Paul then spends the remainder of the letter unpacking.

This matters; it is important that we see the expansiveness of the gospel call on our lives. We will see, through the succeeding chapters, that we are called to walk out the gospel in our socialising (Ephesians 18-20; in our relationships (Ephesians 5:21); in our marriages (Ephesians 5:22-33); families (Ephesians 6:1-4) and workplace (Ephesians 6:5-9).[2]

The call of the gospel is expansive, no, universal, touching every area of life and commanding obedience in all things. God will not strike deals with us. He will not allow us to maintain petty domains within our lives to which we will not allow him access. God demands obedience: totally, completely, and wholly. Moreover, the gospel of Christ Jesus compels us to obey. The Apostle John reminds us of the truth of the gospel dynamic,

1 John 4:19

We love because he first loved us.

We know love, because he loved us and this rich, deep, wide, infinitely sweet love commands that we, in return, love him. And this love works itself out in obedience. We obey, we serve, and we love in return. We walk.

This is why, elsewhere, the Apostle Paul writes,

2 Corinthians 5:14–15

¹⁴ For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; ¹⁵ and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

The love of Christ controls us. The death of Christ commands us to die to our wants, desires and priorities. The resurrection of Christ compels us to live fully, wholly, completely and joyously for him. And his great saving love controls us and motivates us to action.

Therefore, because of his great love, we walk, we serve and we obey: in everything.

2. WALK LIKE THIS

a. We Walked Like That

This language of ‘walking’ should be familiar to us as Paul has already utilized this same imagery to describe our former state before Christ Jesus powerfully intervened,

Ephesians 2:1–3

¹ And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³ among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Paul shows us the necessity of the gospel by reminding us of who we once were. It is not just that we did bad things (although this is most assuredly true). Rather our decisions and actions were governed by our own desires (‘the passions of the flesh’), the culture (‘the course of this world’) and, ultimately, Satan himself (‘the prince of the power of the air’). Our problem was greater than bad choices and bad deeds. The problem is that we walked in such things. Sin, disobedience and godless desires were so rampant that they came to define who we were and the kind of lives that we led. It is not just that we sinned; we were sinners. It is not just that we disobeyed, but that we walked in a lifestyle which epitomised wickedness, rebellion and sinfulness.

b. Now Walk Like This

Paul now shows us a better way. Paul shows us how to walk in accordance with the gospel of Christ Jesus.

i. ‘ with all humility and gentleness’

We begin with the first of two prepositional clauses (which show us how we should walk), which exhort us to embody three specific graces (humility and gentleness and patience, or long-suffering)

Ephesians 4:1–2

¹ 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…

In this we see the harsh distinction between our former walk (governed by ‘the course of this world’) and our present walk, patterned on Christ Jesus. In the Greco-Roman world, humility was not considered a virtue. Rather, humility was ‘associated with craven cowering or the obsequiousness of a slave’.^[3] Indeed, Ben Witherington makes the point that Epictetus (A.D. 50-120), the Stoic philosopher, placed humility first in a list of qualities not to be commended.[4] Moreover, the Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus presented humility as the chief attribute of a weak person.[5]

This remains the case in our day. We live in a culture which celebrates the strongest, the smartest, the wealthiest and the beautiful. We live in a culture which celebrates winners and denigrates losers. We live in a culture in which power, influence and authority is everything.

This is why we look down on the weaker members of society. This is why we frown at the poor. This is why we kick out at authority and refuse to submit.

Paul writes that, for believers, it must not be this way.

Let us be clear, as Paul is clear; the Christian walk is utterly out of step, indeed, actively opposed, to the pattern of the world.  Instead, for the believer, our pattern, the true example, is Christ Jesus. This is why, elsewhere, Paul appeals to the church,

2 Corinthians 10:1

…by the meekness and gentleness of Christ…

There is, of course, an ethical dimension to all of this. Paul is exhorting believers in respect of their behaviour towards one another. Paul is writing to the church in Ephesus and, by extension, to this church in Westwood. And Paul urges us to behave towards one another, to respond to one another, with gentleness and humility. Paul urges us to look to the good of others and to put the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ before our own. Paul urges us to walk the Golgotha road,

Philippians 2:1–8

¹So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, ² complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³ Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

And so, Paul exhorts believers to walk in accordance with the pattern and example of Christ Jesus and, in such a way, that the gentleness and humility of Christ is evident. The gospel calls us to behave towards one another with gentleness and humility, in a way which is utterly opposed to ‘the course of this world’. Paul calls us to work, no, live, for the good of our brothers and sisters.

ii. ‘with patience’

Again, we find the example of true patience, true long-suffering, in God himself. This God, our God, the God of the Bible, is the God who demonstrates exceeding patience towards sinful, rebellious man. This God, our God, is the God who reveals himself as thus to Moses,

Exodus 34:6–7

⁶ The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, ⁷ keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…

And this God now calls those who believe, those who are his, to live like him.

And so we are called to show patience, forbearance and long-suffering:

when we are slighted,

when we are wronged,

when we are mocked and ridiculed,

when our wives and children are insulted,

when we face persecution.

Even to the point where our lives are in peril: we are to respond with grace, love, patience and forbearance. We are to walk the road that he walked. We are to walk the road of Golgotha.

iii. ‘bearing with one another in love’

We now consider the first of two participial clauses which, here, function as imperatives (exhorting us to action). Consequently, Paul is reminding us that the gospel commands, that,

we bear with one another in love

and that,

we maintain the unity of the Spirit.

We begin with the first of the two imperatives,

Ephesians 4:1–16

¹ 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

The command that we bear with one another in love is very closely related to the exhortations towards humility, gentleness and patience. Paul reminds us that the gospel calls us to joyous, rather than begrudging, obedience. We behave with gentleness and humility towards one another because we love one another. We exercise patience towards one another, even when provoked, because we love one another.

Deeply.

Sacrificially.

And there is no sacrifice without cost and even pain. This is the test of our love for one another. Is our love costly? Is our love patterned upon the love demonstrated by the crucified Son of God?

And our love for one another is, in fact, the test of our love for him.

Paul calls us to bear with one another in love.

iv. ‘eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace’

Paul brings a second imperative and urges his readers to, ‘maintain the unity of the Spirit’. Moreover, there is an eagerness, and a desperation even, underpinning Paul’s instruction. It is almost as if there is a danger looming and Paul is motivating them to action. As Karl Barth paraphrases, ‘Yours is the initiative! Do it now!’[6]

This is the outcome of the humility, gentleness, patience and loving forbearance. Paul calls believers to walk in such a way as to maintain unity.

3. WALK TOGETHER (v. 3-6)

a. The Outcome – ‘eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace’

This is a stark and necessary caution for our individualistic and consumeristic society. Christianity is not a lone pursuit. The Christian life is walked out in fellowship. We are the church and we are called to serve and work for the good of the church.

Paul thus exhorts us to walk as Christ walked for the good of his church: maintain unity, strive after oneness.

The question we must ask, however, is what does this oneness, this unity, look like?

b. God grounded Oneness

Paul wants us to understand that the unity that he envisages for the church is firmly rooted in the reality of God and the truth of the gospel. Again, this is a necessary corrective for a vacillating church in our relative and pluralistic culture. Paul does not call us to unity at any cost. No, Paul calls us to pursue a unity grounded upon truth.

Paul, firstly, points us towards to the reality of the universe: that there is but one God and that this God is defined by both oneness and diversity,

Ephesians 4:4-6

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.

One Spirit, one Lord and one Father. God is defined by oneness; one Spirit, one Lord and one God and Father of all. There is no room for the pluralist within the church of Christ. We are a people who hold to the truth that there is just one God, the God of the Bible. This is the grounding of all of the exclusive claims made by Christianity, that Jesus alone is the way and the truth and the life (John 14:16). Paul reminds us that this reality is the foundation upon which we must build our lives.

We strive after oneness because the God of the bible is defined by oneness. But this particular God, defined by oneness, allows room for diversity. Consider the truth of this: one God, yet three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit within which we find oneness and yet diversity.

And so, God the Father sends forth God the Son into the world,

Galatians 4:4

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law

Consider, firstly, the unity in this activity.

God the Father sends and God the Son permits himself to be sent. Moreover, we find in the gospels that God the Spirit is active and instrumental in this sending. Indeed, the Son of God is conceived (Luke 1:35), publically anointed (Luke 3:21-22) and empowered for ministry by the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1, cf. John 3:34).

Secondly, consider the diversity within the Godhead.

God the Father sends. God the Son is sent. There is no mention of the God the Spirit exercising his divine authority (for he is coequal with God the Father and God the Son) in such a sending. God the Son becomes flesh whereas it cannot be said that either God the Father or God the Spirit were born of a woman.

Oneness and yet difference.

The church of Christ is called to inhabit such oneness and, next week, we will see that we are called to demonstrate a rich diversity and variety which will make the fullness of Christ manifest (Ephesians 4:7 and 13).

Oneness and yet difference.

c. Gospel grounded Oneness

But the focus of Paul’s exhortation is that believers pursue and maintain a oneness grounded upon the reality of the oneness evident within the Godhead. We are called to a oneness grounded upon the truth of the God of the Bible. Which leads us to the second great grounding of this oneness, consider,

Ephesians 4:4–6

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.

One hope, one faith and one baptism.

Again, the church is called to a oneness on God’s terms, not our own. Paul is clear; the Scriptures are clear, gospel truth matters. It matters what we believe.

But again, there is a call for balance. Yes, there are difficult and somewhat peripheral issues on which we may differ and yet are able to continue to still strive for oneness (matters of eschatology, for instance), but gospel truth matters.

This is why believers must defend and contend for the truth for once entrusted to the saints (Jude 3) and it is upon this same truth the church of Christ is grounded.

So, we are called to pursue and maintain unity, but this oneness finds its reference point in the truth of who God is, as revealed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Holy Scriptures. We pursue unity among those who hold to the one hope, the one faith and the one baptism.

Paul exhorts us to pursue a oneness which is grounded upon a gospel conviction of gospel truth.

d. Spirit enabled oneness

As we work through this great Epistle, we have sought to seek out and trace evidence the great theme of Gospel, the glorious grace of God. Even here, amidst the practical instruction and exhortation, we find the necessity and glory of the grace of God at work towards those who are his,

Ephesians 4:1-3

¹ 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.

Paul exhorts believers to ‘maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace’.

It is then, the Holy Spirit who creates and brings unity and peace to the church of Christ. It is the Spirit of God who makes it possible for you and I, with all our peculiarities and differences, to relate to one another, truly and deeply, as brothers and sisters in Christ.

It is he who, by the grace of God, softens hard hearts that we might grow in gentleness and humility. It is he, who, by the grace of God and through the cross of Christ, pours his love into our hearts enabling us to love one another even when the call to love is costly and painful.

He, the Spirit of God, brings peace and unity.

And we, the people of God, are called to treasure, maintain and pursue this Spirit-given peace and oneness. He leads and we follow. He energizes, and we work. He loves and we love in return.

The end of all of this is that we, his people gathered, the Church of Christ, might display a oneness, unity and love that makes the name and glorious grace of God famous in our generation.