Ephesians 4:4-6

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Ephesians 4:4-6 mp3

Ephesians 4:4-6


In the New Testament book of Ephesians, at the beginning of chapter 4, the Apostle Paul makes a plea to believers (those in Christ) to walk worthy of the calling they have received by walking with humility and gentleness and by bearing with one another in love. Paul goes on to reinforce and strengthen his plea for unity among them with some statements designed to draw their attention to the apostolic truths around which they should be united. Here is the text.

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all.” NKJV

In today’s world of sectarianism and denominationalism it is hard to recognize those who name the name of Christ as one body. From Jehovah’s Witnesses to Mormons to Roman Catholics to mainline “Orthodox Christian” denominations like the Baptists or Methodists, all lay claim to the name of Christ for their unique and disparate doctrines. One is hard pressed to recognize a spirit of unity that would characterize them as one body. Internet sites document hundreds of denominations, and in many of these there are conflicting factions. Unity around Paul’s instructions seems a lost dream. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, has given us some basic truth in regard to what is genuine Christian ethics and doctrine.

Paul makes the point that there is only “one body”, meaning the individual members that are in Christ collectively (compare chapter 1:22-23), just as there is only “one hope” of the calling to which he is admonishing them to walk worthy of. There are not different hopes laid up in the gospel for differing groups of people. Paul spends some time in chapter 2 explaining that the division between Jew and Gentile has been broken. Whereas the Gentiles were without hope being strangers to the covenants of promise given to Israel, now in Christ we Gentiles can partake of the promise of God through the gospel (see chapter 3:6) and therefore have hope. The Gentiles can now enter into the promise of God to Israel, the promise that Jesus repeated from Psalm 37, namely that the meek shall inherit the earth. No wonder Paul admonishes the Ephesians to be humble, gentle and patient. The inheritance of the earth that is to be gained by the meek will happen when Jesus says to them “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you…” (Matt. 25:34). This is the same time of which Jesus spoke when he said, “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works” (Matt. 16:27).

There is only “one Lord”. This is a reference to Jesus being The Christ. Paul has already used the term Lord while referring to Jesus as The Christ numerous times prior to chapter 4 in this letter to the Ephesians (1:2,3,27, 3:11,14). The title “Christ” is equivalent to “Messiah ” (John 1:41). Messiah is the term or title used by the prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures to refer to the deliverer that God promised to Israel. The Messiah is God’s Agent to bring world peace. He will rule from Jerusalem, sitting on the throne of his ancestor, King David. The reign of the Messiah will be without end. There will never be a successor to his throne.

The “one faith” Paul talks about is the faith that Jesus is “the author and finisher” of, “the founder and completer” of (Heb. 12:2). Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame, and for what? For the joy that was set before Him. Kingship over the coming Kingdom of God was set before him. Jesus believed and trusted that the Father’s words to him were true and trustworthy. In the same way, there is a joy set before us. If we walk in the faith of Jesus despite hardships and persecutions, if we endure until the end, we will hear these words, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” (Matt. 25:21). The receiving of this reward is slated to occur at the resurrection, when Jesus calls forth those who are in their graves (John 5:28-29). Jesus showed us the way of faith. He trusted the Father all the way, to the giving of his life unto death. We are called to walk in the steps of Jesus. We are called to trust the words from the Father that Jesus gave us. Jesus said he only spoke the words the Father had taught him. Jesus said the words of the Father are truth. The truth of the gospel that Jesus preached is the “one faith” that was once for all delivered to the saints, and we are to contend earnestly for it (Jude 3).

The “one baptism” is a reference to Christian baptism. Paul speaks in Galatians 3:27 of being “baptized into Christ”. To be baptized into Christ is to have “put on Christ”, to be “clothed with Christ”. In the second chapter of Acts, at the end of Peter’s gospel message he said, “God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” by raising him from the dead and seating him at His right hand. The people were convinced of the error of their way and asked the Apostles what they should do. Peter instructed them to “be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ…” The attitude of repentance, obedience and submission that is to lead one to be baptized is incorporated here in Paul’s plea for unity by his reference to baptism.

There is “one God and Father of all.” Paul makes a very plain statement here. There is one God. The identity of this singular God is the Father. This is not an isolated statement that must somehow be understood in the light of pervasive Trinitarian teaching throughout the New Testament. There is no clear and concise Trinitarian teaching anywhere in the New Testament. Paul has already said in his letter to the Ephesians that this God is “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 1:3). This can seem difficult to comprehend for those of us that have been schooled in Trinitarian traditions, so let us also consider his prayer for the Saints that “the God of our Lord Jesus, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of Him”(Eph. 1:17). Paul’s definition of God being one and only one is in complete harmony with the massive amount of teaching in the Hebrew Scriptures where the nation of Israel is constantly instructed to adhere to strict Monotheism. Paul is not going out on a limb when he says that the Father is the God of Jesus. Jesus himself said the very same thing. After his resurrection from the dead Jesus told Mary to go and tell his disciples “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God”(John 20:17). Jesus is identifying the very same God that we call Father as his Father and God. And indeed, when Jesus prays to the Father in John 17 he says, “you (Father) are the only true God” (vs. 3).

God the Father is “above all”. There is no one that is His equal. The early councils of the church in the fourth and fifth centuries that gave us the doctrine of the Trinity did not agree with Paul here. They made decrees that were out of sync with the statements of Paul and Jesus. They made the pronouncement that Jesus and the Father were coequal. Jesus clearly says in John 14:28 “the Father is greater than I”. In John 6:19 Jesus tells us that he can do nothing of himself. He is dependent upon the Father for all the things that he does. According to the doctrine of the Trinity, Jesus was at all times God--coequal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “I can do nothing of myself” (John 6:19). Some will make the case that Jesus voluntarily laid down his abilities and attributes. And they will say this because of their understanding of Philippians 2:7-8. But is a god that is not omnipresent, omniscient and all powerful really the only true God? John, in his gospel (1:18), tells us that no one has seen God at any time. He himself had seen Jesus and had walked with him for over 3 years, as had many others. Could he have believed that Jesus was God and coequal with the Father and also have written that text? In John 6:57 Jesus says, “I live because of the Father”. The Father is self-existent. That is not coequality.

God is “through all and in all”. In the book of Acts, Paul incorporates the words of one of the Greek poets into his gospel presentation (Acts 17:28). “For in Him we live and move and have our being.” This is not an agreement with a monistic religious worldview that looks for God in rocks and trees. The very next verse would easily dispel that notion. Rather, it is the acknowledgement of the omnipresence of God. God is everywhere all at one time. Proverbs 15:3 tells us, “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” If we are aware of the omnipresence of God, of Him being through all and in all, that awareness should serve us in maintaining a humble, gentle and patient disposition towards others.

Ephesians 4:4-6 mp3

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