As mentioned in the introduction, the last three chapters of the epistle are exhortations based on the doctrinal truth in the first three chapters. It was necessary for the Apostle to digress in the 3rd chapter to establish his authority for ministering the truth of the mystery, so that the exhortations that are now given in this 4th chapter would come to us with force.
Having explained the truth of the mystery, and having prayed for the saints, Paul now continues from the point where he broke off in chapter 3:1. As “the prisoner of Christ Jesus” (chap. 3:1) he unfolds the truth of the Mystery; as “the prisoner in the Lord” (chap. 4:1) he exhorts us to walk worthy of that great truth.
Note: the first verse should read, “I, the prisoner in the Lord ... ” The phrase “in Christ,” which characterizes the first three chapters, disappears in the latter half of the epistle, and “in the Lord” becomes prominent. This is significant; it is a phrase that refers to Christ’s Lordship authority. It is not difficult to see the reason for this change. When it comes to practicing the truth, the recognition of Christ’s Lordship is essential. It simply means to own His claims over us in redemption by submitting to His right to tell us what to do in all areas of our lives.
Moreover, we find the word “walk” mentioned a number of times in the last three chapters of the epistle (chap. 4:1, 17; 5:2, 8, 15; 6:15). It implies living out the truth practically in the whole course and conduct of our lives.
Three Spheres of Christian Responsibility
God would have our walk to be consistent with our calling. Therefore, we are enjoined to “walk worthy” of our calling in three spheres. They are:
The sphere of the assembly (chap. 4:1-16). In these verses we are seen as members of the body of Christ and are responsible to manifest that fact collectively.
The sphere of Christian profession in the world (chap. 4:17-5:21). In this series of verses we are seen as members of society and are responsible to manifest the character of the new man in Christ.
The domestic sphere of the household (chaps. 5:22-6:9). In these verses we are seen as members of households and are to recognize and respect God’s order in creation in our natural relationships.
Members of the Body of Christ
Chap. 4:1-16—The exhortations in the first sixteen verses of chapter 4 pertain to the first sphere—the assembly, the body of Christ. These verses present a beautiful picture of what the Church, as the body of Christ, should be in this world according to the mind of God. It does not factor in the failure of the Church in testimony, but gives us God’s ideal.
Vss. 1-3—It begins by exhorting us to “walk worthy” of our “calling.” We might well ask, “How are we to do that?” The Mystery reveals that we have been called into a privileged place as members of the mystical body of Christ. To walk worthy of such a calling is to manifest that fact in this world. God intends that the vessel of testimony He is forming for the display of His Son in the world to come should give expression to the truth that it is one body even now while it is here in this world. Paul does not go into detail in this epistle as to how the Church is to do this, but simply mentions that we are to manifest a practical unity that exhibits the union that we have in the body. It is the first thing the Lord looks for on the part of the members of His body as befitting the union which they have in “the Christ” (1 Cor. 12:12-13).
To express, in practice, the truth of the one body requires the members to be in a right state of soul, which is the fruit of nearness to the Lord. This is alluded to in the opening verse of the chapter. It involves giving the Lord His rightful place in our lives—His Lordship (vs. 1). Then, there is also a need of “lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering,” and “forbearing one another in love” (vs. 2). To walk together in practical oneness will require the exercise of these things in the members of the body.
“Lowliness” keeps self down, and “meekness” gives place to others. “Longsuffering” is exercising patience in the presence of another’s shortcoming, and “forbearing one another in love” is to overlook personal offences. The first two things are what we need in ourselves; the second two are what we need toward others when they are not exercising the first two. In short, we are to use longsuffering and forbearance in the presence of others who are not meek and lowly.
These practical things are to be exercised with a view to keeping “the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace” (vs. 3). We might ask, “What is the unity of the Spirit? It is a practical unity among believers that the Spirit of God is forming to give expression to the truth of the one body. Simply put: God desires that there would be a practical manifestation of the one body in this world. He would have us to put into practice what is true in fact, and the Spirit of God is working to that end with the various members of Christ’s body.
This unity finds its center in Christ. To talk of unity and work toward it without recognizing Christ’s authority in it is a work of the flesh. Also, keeping the unity of the Spirit involves being in fellowship with that divine Person who is called “the Spirit of holiness” and “the Spirit of truth” (Rom. 1:4; John 14:17). This means that the members of the body not only must recognize Christ’s authority in all things, but they also must walk in “holiness” and “truth.” This involves separation from everything that is inconsistent with His Person. If divine principles are sacrificed to achieve unity, it is not the unity of the Spirit. Modern ecumenicalism, for example, is a man-made unity; it is not the unity of the Spirit. The “uniting bond of peace” that Paul refers to here is not a peace at any price, but peace that results from Christ having His rightful place and believers being subject to the Spirit of God. Therefore, the unity of the Spirit is a unity that recognizes the Lordship authority of Christ and is separate from all that is unholy in doctrine and practice.
Note: we are not called to keep the unity of the body; that union God Himself keeps, for only He can. Nothing can break the bond that the members have with Christ, the ascended Head, by the indwelling Spirit. “The unity of the Spirit,” on the other hand, is a practical thing that the members of the body are responsible to keep. Hence, while all Christians have union with Christ, all Christians may not walk in the unity of the Spirit.
The unity of the Spirit is not merely an exhortation to unity in a local church fellowship; it is more than that. This unity has in view the one body, as the next verse states—“there is one body.” Since the members of the body of Christ are not in any one locality or in any one fellowship of Christians, this unity should be seen wherever Christians are found on earth. Hence, God intends Christians universally to move together in this unity, giving expression to the fact that they are one body. The act of breaking bread is a practical confession of this truth (1 Cor. 10:16-17), but the Church should also manifest the oneness of the body in practical matters of fellowship and discipline. The Corinthian epistles develop this side of the truth.
In the early days of the Church this unity was kept. The saints were “all with one accord” (Acts 2:1; 4:32), but sad to say, it didn’t remain that way very long. C. H. Brown said, “Evidently, the unity of the Spirit must have been broken.” J. N. Darby said, “Ananias and Sapphira were the first to interrupt it (Acts v); after that, you find the Hellenists murmuring against the Hebrews (Acts vi).” The fact that we are told to “endeavour” or use “diligence” means that there will be difficulty doing it. The flesh is against it. Therefore, to keep this unity will require energy on our part.
Three Concentric Circles
Vss. 4-6—The Apostle makes reference to three spheres of Christian responsibility. As mentioned, the exhortations in the rest of the epistle flow from the respective responsibilities in these three spheres. They are best understood if seen as three concentric circles.
The innermost circle is the sphere of Christian reality. “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling” (vs. 4). True believers (Christians) are the only ones in this circle. A person is introduced to this circle by the sealing of the Spirit, which happens when he believes the gospel of his salvation (Eph. 1:13).
The second circle is the sphere of Christian profession where there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (vs. 5). This is a larger circle including all in the first circle and all who make a profession of faith in Christ, whether they are real or not. A person is formally introduced to this circle by water baptism.
The third circle is the sphere of natural relationships, where there is “one God and Father of all” (vs. 6a). This circle includes all in the other two circles, but goes beyond that to take in every living person on earth. The fatherhood of God here is not His fatherhood in the Christian family but His fatherhood of all creation. In this sense, all men are “the offspring of God” (Acts 17:29). A person is introduced to this circle by natural birth. In adding, “And in you [us] all” (vs. 6b), Paul reverts back to the first circle. God is only “in” true believers (1 John 4:12, 15).
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The Function of the Gifts for the Edification of the Body
Vss. 7-16—Since it is the mind of God that the Church would visibly manifest that it is “one body,” Christ has ascended on high to make full provision for the members to move together collectively in this way. There has been given to each member “grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” The Lord has imparted to each of us a gift of spiritual powers (1 Cor. 12), and He has also given us the needed “grace” to use that gift ably in the place in the body where He has put us.
The Apostle borrows from Psalm 68:18, which celebrates the Lord’s victory over His enemies in a coming day (at His Appearing), and applies the principle of it to His victory over Satan at the cross. Having defeated Satan in death (Heb. 2:14), the Lord has brought believers into subjection to Himself who were once slaves of Satan. Just as when a conqueror returns victoriously from battle bringing with him the spoil taken from the enemy as proof of the victory, similarly, Christ has flaunted His victory by bestowing “gifts” on those who were once Satan’s captives (vs. 8). These gifts are spiritual powers, and have been given for the purpose of helping the saints walk together and thus manifest the glory of Christ.
Vss. 9-10—Before Christ ascended victoriously to the heights of glory, He first descended into the grave (“the lower parts of the earth”) to vanquish the enemy by rising from it. Having taken His place on high “far above all heavens,” as Head of the new creation He fills “all things” in the sense that everything in the new creation takes its character from Him and bears His stamp (Col. 3:11b). Christ has had to first take His place in heaven as the Head of the Church before gifts could be given. The Apostle’s point here is that all Christian ministry flows from Christ the ascended Head in heaven. We do not look on earth for any human organization from which the gifts take their direction, but to Christ in heaven. Human agencies, set up to send gifted persons to certain works in the service of the Lord, are well meaning, but they are foreign to Scripture.
Vs. 11—From His place on high Christ has given “some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some pastors [shepherds] and teachers.” These men possess distinctive spiritual powers for the public ministry of the Word and they have been given as gifts from Christ to the Church. The point here is not that Christ gives apostleship, but that He gives apostles, etc. The passage is not focusing on their spiritual powers but on the fact that they themselves are a gift from Christ to the Church.
“Apostles and prophets” were given to help lay the foundation of the Church in the first century through their ministry (chap. 2:20). Now that the foundation has been laid, these gifts are no longer being given, though we still profit from their ministry, which the Spirit of God has inspired them to write in the Holy Scriptures. We still have the exercise of prophecy in the sense of one telling forth the mind of God for the occasion in a word of ministry (1 Cor. 14:1, 31), but not in the sense of one having special revelations and foretelling the future—as was the case with Agabus (Acts 11:27-28; 21:10-11).
The Lord has also given “evangelists,” “pastors [shepherds],” and “teachers” to the Church. Again, this is not referring to the spiritual powers of evangelism, etc., but the men themselves have been given as gifts to the Church. Such men are still being raised up of the Lord to help the Church.
First Corinthians 12 speaks of the actual spiritual powers the Spirit of God conveys to, or deposits in, men such as these. For instance, the “word of wisdom” is the spiritual power or gift a “pastor [shepherd]” would have, and the “word of knowledge” is the spiritual gift a “teacher” would have. The emphasis in 1 Corinthians 12 is not on their wisdom or knowledge—for all the saints are to possess wisdom and knowledge—but that they have a special capacity to communicate their wisdom and knowledge. This is why it is called “the word of wisdom,” and the “word of knowledge.” Note: there is no mention here, or anywhere else in Scripture, that men possessing a spiritual gift for teaching or preaching, needing to be ordained by some human organization in order to function in the Church.
Vs. 12—These gifts have not been given for their own personal profit, but for the enrichment of the body of Christ. It’s true that he that waters shall be watered (Prov. 11:25), but what they have from the Lord is primarily for their brethren—the other members of the body. The purpose of these gifts is to help in “the perfecting of the saints.” Perfection, in the sense that it is used here, is “full growth.” Hence, these gifts are to help the saints grow spiritually. Furthermore, this “perfecting” is “with a view to the work of the ministry.” This shows that it is God’s desire that the members of the body would grow spiritually through the help of the gifts, so that they could be involved in “the ministry” too, and thus they would be useful in furthering the Christian testimony. Ministry is simply the exercise of our gift in the body. Since we all have a gift, we are all to be engaged in the ministry. There are no drones in Christianity; all the members of the body are to be involved in this work. All may not have a distinctive gift and be given to the Church as mentioned in verse 11, but all should be involved in “the work of the ministry” in some way. Each member can do his part in “edifying the body of Christ.” God did not intend for some of the members of the body to be mere spectators while the others were engaged in the work.
This work is to go on “till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect [full-grown] man” (vs. 13). This will not be reached in a collective sense until Christ comes again (the Rapture). Therefore, “the work of the ministry”—the calling, caring, and building up of the saints—will go on until the Lord comes for us. This means that these gifts for edification (vs. 11) will continue to be given until the Church is complete. However, there is no mention in Scripture that the sign gifts of tongues and healing, etc., will continue. History confirms that they have not.
Verse 13 gives us the ultimate objective of the gifts in ministry, but verses 14-16 give us their immediate objective. The immediate objective of “the work of the ministry” is to get the saints out of the state of spiritual babyhood. Paul says, “That we may be no longer babes, tossed and carried about by every wind of doctrine [teaching].” There is a pressing and immediate need of the saints getting established in the truth so that the enemy wouldn’t lead them astray. If this happens, the saints will not be able to properly fulfill their role in the body and be a positive help in the edifying of the other members. Paul speaks of these erroneous doctrines introduced by the enemy as “systematized error.” It will usually be found that behind certain wrong doctrines, there is a whole system of erroneous teaching.
Vs. 15—Our safeguard against the error is found not in knowing the error better so that we can refute it, but in “holding the truth in love.” This goes beyond knowing the truth and implies being affectionately attached to it—that we hold the truth in our affections and value it dearly. The Psalmist exemplifies this, saying, “Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee” (Psa. 119:11). The KJV translates this verse, “speaking the truth in love,” but this is misleading and implies that we are to present the truth to others in a loving and kind way. This is certainly something we should do, but the context has to do with being preserved from the doctrinal errors that are adrift. Speaking the truth to others in a loving and kind way is not what will keep us from these subtle errors; it is having a love for the truth itself. Paul’s point is that the truth must be held in our affections. It is then, and only then, that it will be a safeguard against the errors that are on every side. When the truth has its proper place in our affections, we will “grow up to Him in all things, who is the Head.”
Vs. 16—Not only will we grow spiritually and be preserved, we will also grow in our usefulness in the body as a “joint of supply.” We will contribute effectively to the edifying of the body in love. His desire is that “every joint” would have something to supply to the benefit of “the whole body.”
Summary of the Exercises Needed to Walk According to the Truth of the One Body
The practical recognition of Christ’s Lordship authority in our lives (vs. 1).
A personal exercise to walk humbly with our brethren (vs. 2).
Submission to the Spirit of God who leads to the unity He has formed (vss. 3-6).
Availing ourselves of the gifts given to the Church who will help us to function in our place in the body (vss. 7-16).
The Truth of the “One Body” Can Only be Practiced in a Remnant Testimony Today
Because the Christian Testimony at Large is in Ruins
Looking back over the first sixteen verses of chapter 4, we see God’s ideal for the Church as the body of Christ. His desire is that there would be a practical manifestation of unbroken unity among the members of the body as they function under the direction of the Head in heaven. If the members of the body heed these exhortations, there will be a happy community of saints on earth dwelling together in harmony and joy, functioning for the pleasure of God and the glory of Christ, and also for the edification of one another. There would be no denominational sects and divisions in the public testimony of the Church. What a wonderful thing this would be! It is what God intends for the Church.
As mentioned earlier, the truth presented in Ephesians does not factor in the ruin and failure of the Christian testimony because the Apostle’s focus is on God’s purpose and desire for the Church. Today, on account of the irremediable ruin that has come into Christendom, it is not possible to practice the truth of the “one body” with all the members of the body of Christ. Most of the members do not even know about God’s order for Christians meeting together for worship and ministry on the ground of the one body. They are quite happy in their denominational and non-denominational fellowships in the divided state of Christendom, and if they were enlightened to these things, they probably would not want to leave their ecclesiological positions. Therefore, it is simply not possible to practice the truth of the one body with the whole Church on earth today.
When this fact comes home to a person for the first time, it can be devastating. But there is no need for us to despair. God has fully anticipated the ruined state that would develop in the testimony of the Church and has made provision for these days of failure, so that Christians who are exercised about this truth are able to practice it. The Scriptures indicate that when wholesale failure comes in, a great principle which God falls back on is that He lets go of the public testimony as a whole (as He originally set it up) and works with a remnant. When what He has committed into the hands of men in testimony fails, He reduces its size, strength, glory, and numbers, and carries it on in a remnant testimony (Isa. 1:2-9). The word “remnant” signifies, “the residue” or “that which remains” of anything of what the original was set up for. God has acted on this principle in the history of Israel (1 Kings 11-12; Ezra 1-6), and now with the Church (Rev. 2:24-29), and will do it again in a coming day with the Jews in the Tribulation (Isa. 8:11-18; 10:21-22; 11:11; Joel 2:32; 3:1-2; Mic. 4:7; Zeph. 3:13; Rev. 12:17).
In divine prerogative and grace, God is taking one here and one there, and He is gathering them to the Lord’s name in a remnant position apart from the confusion and disorder in Christendom, where the truth of the one body can be practiced (Matt. 18:20). Those "gathered" to the Lord’s name are not the remnant. Properly speaking, all true believers among the mass of mere professors in Christendom are God's remnant, but ecclesiastically, the gathered saints occupy a remnant position in testimony, and are where the remnant (all true believers) should be, as gathered to the Lord’s name.
Since ruin now pervades the public testimony of the Church, we must look at the truth of the one body, as presented in Ephesians 4, through the porthole of 2 Timothy. This helpful little epistle gives the believer light for this difficult day in which we live.