Ephesians 4

Ephesians 4 serves as the pivotal transition from Paul’s theological exposition of the church’s identity in Christ to the practical mandates for the Christian life. It exhorts believers to demonstrate unity and pursue holiness as a direct, necessary response to their high calling.

• Paul appeals for the preservation of unity, grounded in the singular nature of the Godhead and the common faith.
• Christ is identified as the source of diverse gifts given to the body for its growth and maturation.
• The reader is commanded to abandon the 'old man' of their former way of life and embrace the 'new man' created in righteousness.
• The chapter concludes with specific ethical exhortations regarding speech, labor, and interpersonal relations to be practiced within the body.

• The 'prisoner' (v1) appeals to his recipients.
• The seven-fold 'ones' (one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, v4-6).
• The quotation of Psalm 68:18 (v8).
• The 'old man' (v22) and 'new man' (v24) as defining states of existence.

This passage defines the church not as a social organization but as a living body sustained by Christ, where the believer’s internal renewal (the new man) is the only legitimate source for external ethical change.

Unity in the body of Christ is a spiritual reality maintained by active, diligent, and holy conduct among the members.

The chapter shifts from the corporate identity of the body of Christ to the individual responsibility of the believer to renew their mind, ending with concrete examples of what that renewed life looks like in practice.

• Christ will fill all things (v10)
• We will eventually come to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ (v13)
• We are sealed unto the day of redemption (v30)

• Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called (v1)
• Endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit (v3)
• Put off the old man (v22)
• Be renewed in the spirit of your mind (v23)
• Put on the new man (v24)
• Speak every man truth with his neighbour (v25)
• Let not the sun go down upon your wrath (v26)
• Grieve not the holy Spirit (v30)
• Be ye kind one to another (v32)

• Do not be tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine (v14)
• Do not walk as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind (v17)
• Do not give place to the devil (v27)
• Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth (v29)

• Paul writes as a 'prisoner' (δέσμιος, G1198) in Rome, emphasizing that his authority to exhort comes from his suffering for the Gospel.
• The 'vanity of their mind' (v17) refers to the intellectual and moral futility characteristic of the Greco-Roman pagan world.

• The metaphor of 'walking' (περιπατέω, G4043) was a common Jewish and Greek way to describe one's total life conduct or moral deportment.
• Matthew Henry observes that 'meekness' and 'lowliness' were considered weaknesses by the surrounding culture, but in the Christian context, they are essential strengths for maintaining unity.

• This chapter is introduced by the 'therefore' (οὖν, G3767), connecting the ethical imperatives to the theological truths established in chapters 1-3.
• The passage uses a standard Pauline structure: theological foundation followed by imperative application.

• Verses 8-10 allude to Psalm 68:18. Paul applies this to Christ's ascension and the subsequent giving of spiritual gifts to the church.
• The 'one baptism' (v5) is often debated historically; Matthew Henry argues this refers to the baptism of the Spirit through water initiation, noting it as the sign of regeneration.

• Ephesians 4:8 references Psalm 68:18. Paul interprets the 'receiving' of gifts in the Psalm as 'giving' gifts to the church, identifying Christ as the one who distributes these gifts.

• περιπατέω (peripatéō) [G4043]: Literally to 'walk around'; used figuratively for one's way of life.
• ταπεινοφροσύνη (tapeinophrosýnē) [G5012]: 'Humility of mind,' a virtue specifically Christian in its elevation, contrasting with classical Greek views of self-assertion.
• σπουδάζω (spoudázō) [G4704]: 'Make effort' or 'be diligent,' highlighting that unity is not automatic but requires intentional exertion.
• πνεῦμα (pneûma) [G4151]: Refers to the Holy Spirit, but also implies the mental disposition or 'spirit' of the mind (v23).

• The distinction between the 'old man' (our fallen nature) and the 'new man' is positional; believers are told to 'put off' what they already are not (in status) to become what they truly are (in practice).
• The gifts in verse 11 are not ends in themselves but exist for the 'perfecting of the saints' (v12).

• Verses 9-10 (Christ's descent): Historically, there is disagreement on whether this refers to the Incarnation (descent to earth) or the descent into the grave/Hades.
• Verse 11 (Office of Apostle/Prophet): A major historic disagreement exists between cessationists (who believe these were foundational/temporary offices) and continuationists (who believe these ministries continue in some form today).