EPHESIANS 4:1-10
ONE
Ephesians 4:1 (BSB) As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received:
SUSIE: In light of all the things Paul had written in the first three chapters, here is how the believer should respond.
SUSAN: Paul reminded the Ephesians that he was in prison due to his mission ordained by the Lord to preach the gospel—the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ for all who believe—to the Gentiles. His imprisonment was in accordance with divine design.
SUSIE: This would remind them that service to the Lord Jesus could come at a price to them as well. Paul admonished them to live a life worthy of their salvation . . .
SUSAN: . . . and the specific gifts the Holy Spirit had bestowed on them. They should be worthily living out the purpose for which they were created.
SUSIE: Not that they earned salvation in any way, but that their behavior would be evidence of the change brought about in them by the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 4:2 . . . with all humility and gentleness,G4236 with patience, bearing with one another in love,G26
The apostle now specifies four graces that evidence this essential proportion between calling and character: humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearance. These are all qualities necessary for good relations with others in the Christian community and beyond.
Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): New Testament
“4:2 lowliness. “Humility” is a term not found in the Lat. or Gr. vocabularies of Paul’s day. The Gr. word apparently was coined by Christians, perhaps even by Paul himself, to describe a quality for which no other word was available. Humility, the most foundational Christian virtue (James 4:6), is the quality of character commanded in the first beatitude (Matt. 5:3), and describes the noble grace of Christ (Phil. 2:7, 8).”
John MacArthur Study Bible
Blessed are the poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:3 (NIV)
SUSIE: Our Lord Jesus became human . . .
SUSAN: . . . and in that state of being a man, He was the perfect example of humility.
. . . rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!
Philippians 2:7-8 (NIV)
SUSIE: The Creator and Sustainer of the universe humbled Himself to be born as a human baby. We are to be like Him, not thinking ourselves better than others but realizing we are all in need of the forgiveness and grace of God. Let’s take a look at the next descriptive word in verse 2 which is “gentleness” in the Berean Study Bible and “meekness” in the King James Version.
G4236 πρᾳότης praiótēs, prah-ot’-ace; from G4235; gentleness, by implication, humility:—meekness.
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
SUSIE: Many people equate meekness with weakness, but they are not the same. We recently purchased a tool that will help us nail down its meaning:
G4236 . . . “Primarily it does not denote outward expression of feeling, but an inward grace of the soul, calmness toward God in particular. It is the acceptance of God’s dealings with us considering them as good in that they enhance the closeness of our relationship with Him.”
The Complete Word Study Dictionary, Spiros Zodhiates, ed.
SUSAN: Meekness involves submission and surrender to the will of God even when one cannot see the immediate “good” that it will bring. Esther exhibited meekness when she agreed to face the king to plead for her people:
Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast as you do. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.
Esther 4:16 (BSB)
SUSAN: Mary submitted to the Lord’s will in meekness when Gabriel told her she would be the mother of Jesus. She was probably a young teenager at the time and knew the probable consequences of being pregnant without having married. Yet, she willingly surrendered to the Lord. Basically, meekness toward God is putting His will ahead of our own regardless of the immediate consequences. It is trusting that ultimately what God calls us to do will be for our good and His glory. Let’s move on to the next grace listed. A great synonym for longsuffering (KJV) or patience (BSB) as used in Ephesians 4:2 is longanimous:
“longanimous – adj showing patient and unruffled self-control and restraint under adversity; slow to retaliate or express resentment. “was longanimous in the face of suffering” Synonyms: forbearing patient.
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/longanimous
SUSIE: Great word I’d never heard! Slow to retaliate reminds me of the instruction to believers in Romans 12.
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:21 (NASB)
SUSIE: Believers should be consistently characterized by humility and patience toward others by the power of the Holy Spirit working within them. Overall, our interactions with other believers should be the result of love, the kind of love that can only come from a relationship with the Lord Jesus.
G26 ἀγάπη agápē, ag-ah’-pay; from G25; love, i.e. affection or benevolence; specially (plural) a love-feast:—(feast of) charity(-ably), dear, love.
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
“Love” is a recurring theme in Ephesians. The four graces Paul recommends here are all aspects of love and are exemplified to perfection in Christ (Php 2:2, 5).
Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): New Testament
Bearing with one another in love—that is, making allowance for the faults and failures of others, or differing personalities, abilities, and temperaments. And it is not a question of maintaining a façade of courtesy while inwardly seething with resentment. It means positive love to those who irritate, disturb, or embarrass.
Believer’s Bible Commentary
SUSAN: The graces described in this verse and the love they exemplify can only be achieved when the Holy Spirit is flowing through believers as we present ourselves as instruments of God’s purposes. We cannot do any of this in our own strength. In Christ, we can do all He calls us to do, but without Him, we are incapable of accomplishing His will.
I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.
John 15:5 (BSB)
Ephesians 4:3 . . . and with diligenceG4704 to preserve the unityG1775 of the Spirit through the bondG4886 of peace.
G4704 σπουδάζω spoudázō, spoo-dad’-zo; from G4710; to use speed, i.e. to make effort, be prompt or earnest:—do (give) diligence, be diligent (forward), endeavour, labour, study.
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
G1775 ἑνότης henótēs, hen-ot-ace’; from G1520; oneness, i.e. (figuratively) unanimity:—unity.
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
SUSIE: Our longsuffering and seeking peace are a direct result of the love the Holy Spirit gives us for our fellow (and sister) believers. We are to have a “bond of peace.” What does this mean? We looked up bond and as a result of that, looked up “ligament”:
G4886 σύνδεσμος sýndesmos, soon’-des-mos; from G4862 and G1199; a joint tie, i.e. ligament, (figuratively) uniting principle, control:—band, bond.
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
LIG’AMENT, noun [Latin ligamentum, from ligo, to bind, that is, to strain.]
1. Any thing that ties or unites one thing or part to another.
Interwoven is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts.
2. In anatomy, a strong, compact substance, serving to bind one bone to another. It is a white, solid inelastic, tendinous substance, softer than cartilage, but harder than membrane.
3. Bond; chain; that which binds or restrains.
American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828.
SUSIE: The bond of peace that holds us together as the body of Christ is like the ligaments that hold our bones together. When I had torn ligaments and tendons in my ankle, surgery was required to restore the stability of that joint. At this point in history (January 2021), it seems that ligaments of Christ’s body have been injured. There is a divide among the people of this country and even among believers. We must “endeavor” as the King James Version translates this verse, to return to the bond of peace that unites us. The New Testament word for peace relates to the Old Testament “shalom” which involves wholeness or as Susan has defined it “nothing missing, nothing broken.” There is brokenness among Christians in America, and our sincere prayer is that the Holy Spirit will restore the bond of peace that unites us! Lord, help us be diligent to seek unity! Divisiveness in the church is harmful not only to those failing to come together in unity, but also harms those observing this behavior.
SUSAN: Think about the word “diligence” or “endeavor” in the King James Version: there is concentrated effort required to be at peace with others even within the body of Christ. However, that effort we need to make is to be more solidly connected to the Head of the body who is Jesus Christ. If we are walking in the Spirit—diligently pursuing relationship with Jesus and abiding in Him—rather than in the flesh—by our own desires—unity or “oneness” would be the result. The bond of peace goes hand and hand with the bond of love. The word “binds” in Colossians 3:14 is the same word for “bond” in Ephesians 4:3, and the love that binds us together is not brotherly love or romantic love, but agapē, love as an act of the will whether the recipient of that love pleases us or not—Christlike love.
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Colossians 3:14 (NIV)
Ephesians 4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;
SUSAN: The one body is the church, the Messianic community, those who believe Jesus to be the Messiah promised in the Old Testament. The word “one” is highlighted in purple because this ties into the theme of unity. If we are one body, we are unified in our purpose.
SUSIE: The one Spirit is the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity who indwells every believer. Our only hope is trusting Jesus . . .
SUSAN: . . . believing He died to redeem us by the grace of God. Once we surrender our lives to Jesus, the Holy Spirit takes up residence within us to teach, guide, and comfort us.
Ephesians 4:5 . . . one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
SUSIE: Jesus is the one Lord. Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, but He and the Father and the Holy Spirit are One God. Hard for our finite minds to comprehend, but true.
SUSAN: Jesus is one aspect of the triune God-head. Jesus spoke of His being one with the Father when he prayed for our unity in His high priestly prayer:
I am not asking on behalf of them alone, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
John 17:20-21 (BSB)
SUSIE: Our being one unified body in Christ serves as a witness to the world as we have stated before.
SUSAN: One faith is the doctrine we believe as revealed in the Old Testament and brought to light in the New Testament, the understanding that salvation is by grace alone through faith. One baptism would be the water baptism of a believer as a public demonstration of that faith.
SUSIE: Baptism by immersion in water does not contribute to our salvation. It is an outward witness of what has happened inwardly, the fact that Jesus has cleansed us of unrighteousness and made us whole in Him.
SUSAN: In other words, baptism is a public acknowledgement that Jesus has replaced our heart of stone with a pliable heart of flesh.
Ephesians 4:6 . . . one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
SUSIE: God is the Father of all people in the sense that He created them. He is sovereign—in control and in charge— over all creation.
SUSAN: Although God is sovereign over everything, He only makes His home in those who have trusted Jesus and the redemption He accomplished through His death on the cross and subsequent resurrection from the tomb.
SUSIE: Sometimes we forget what an incredible privilege it is to address the God of the universe, Creator of everything, as Father. We can approach His throne boldly, an amazing thought!
Ephesians 4:7 Now to each one of us grace has been given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
SUSAN: All believers have been given immeasurable saving grace. Each believer is given spiritual gifts according to how Jesus has designed each one for His use as His workmanship.
SUSIE: Not all are given the same gifts, but the gifts of each individual fit with the gifts of other believers to meet the needs of the church. Just as we are stones (jewels) or bricks in His temple, our gifts, like mortar, help to fit us together to strengthen the living building of the Messianic Community.
Ephesians 4:8 This is why it says: “When He ascended on high, He led captives away, and gave gifts to men.”
SUSIE: When Jesus ascended back into Heaven, he abolished our captivity to sin and death. It was after this ascension, that the Holy Spirit filled the believers at Pentecost and each believer from that time on. The Holy Spirit activates the gifts Jesus has for His followers. He had explained to His disciples that the Holy Spirit would not come until He had returned to Heaven.
But I tell you the truth, it is for your benefit that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
John 16:7 (BSB)
Ephesians 4:9-10 What does “He ascended” mean, except that He also descended to the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the very One who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things.
SUSAN: Jesus descended to earth as we noted earlier in the passage from Philippians chapter two, and served as the portrait, the example of humility and service.
SUSIE: The lowest parts of the earth may or may not refer to Jesus’ descent during the three days His body was in the tomb to announce his victory to the demons imprisoned there:
Ascension presupposes a prior descent, and Paul describes this as being made into “the lower, earthly regions.” The rendering of the NIV understands this phrase as referring to the incarnation of our Lord. It was from the earth that he ascended into heaven, and it had been to the earth that he came (Jn 3:13). Others link this verse with the belief that Christ descended to the underworld during the interval between his death and resurrection (see 1Pe 3:19-20; 4:6). The obscure expression in this verse may also simply signify death and burial.
Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): New Testament
The Anointed One suffered for sins once for all time—the righteous suffering for the unrighteous—so that He might bring us to God. Though He died in the flesh, He was made alive again through the Spirit. And in the Spirit, He went and preached to those spirits held captive.
1 Peter 3:18-19 (VOICE)
4:9 ascended. Jesus’ ascension from earth to heaven (Acts 1:9–11), where He forever reigns with His Father. first descended. This refers to Christ’s incarnation, when He came down from heaven as a man into the earth of suffering and death. the lower parts of the earth. These are in contrast to the highest heavens to which He afterward ascended (cf. Ps. 139:8, 15; Is. 44:23). The phrase here does not point to a specific place, but to the great depth, as it were, of the incarnation, including Christ’s descent, between His crucifixion and resurrection beyond the earth, the grave, and death, into the very pit of the demons, “the spirits in prison” (see notes on Col. 2:14, 15; 1 Pet. 3:18, 19).
MacArthur Study Bible, 2nd Edition
SUSAN: Now that Jesus has ascended back to His place of glory in Heaven, He is at the right hand of the Father fulfilling His position as Chief Priest and intercessor for all who believe.
But because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.
Hebrews 7:24-25 (BSB)
SUSIE: He also sustains the earth since He is restored to His rightful glory as a member of the God-head.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Hebrews 1:3 (NIV)
PONDER THIS: The Holy Spirit, through this letter of the Apostle Paul, repeatedly emphasized the word ONE. The Lord is drilling into us the unity that believers have and should experience in Christ. There should be no rifts between believers as there are in the world. When we share trust in the Lord Jesus, we should be able to have fellowship with one another within the church, between churches, in our communities, and around the world.
ASSIGNMENT: Is there anyone within the body of believers that you feel you are at odds with? Is there something you can do to restore the unity between you and that person? As much as it depends on you, pursue peace with them (Romans 12:18). Sometimes, there is a need to confront another believer who has wronged you in some way. Read Matthew 18:15-17 and list the steps to follow to correctly confront another believer. Keep in mind that the goal of such confrontation is reconciliation—to restore unity between believers.