We shall now begin to consider Ephesians 4. But first, we must recall how, in Ephesians 2, Paul stressed the great concept of the unity of Jew and Gentile in Christ Jesus.
Through the Lord’s work, Jew and Gentile had become one. Paul had shown this by using the “with” prefixes — “syn” and “sym”. These prefixes have passed into English in such words as “sympathy” and “synthesis”.
The prefix we now have in mind is “huper”, or “hyper”, which appears in many English words: “hypersensitive”, “hyperactive”, etc. The Greek word can have two meanings. The one of interest at present is “over and above, beyond, more than”; this is brought out admirably in Ephesians 3:20:
“Now to him who by the power at work in us is able to do far more abundantly than we ask or think” (RSV).
In the previous v 19, the love of Christ “surpasses knowledge” (RSV). This love is a transcendent love, and the use of “hyper” brought this home to Paul’s readers in the first century.
The prisoner in the Lord
Having thus brought before his readers the inestimable privileges they enjoy in the Lord Jesus, Paul — whose mind can move on the highest level — is also fully conscious of the obligations placed upon every believer. This he does by the simple expedient of using the word “therefore”:
“I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called” (Eph 4:1).
It is the force of this word “therefore” that counts. Another well-known instance is at the beginning of Romans 12:
“I beseech you therefore, brethren… to present your bodies a living sacrifice” (v 1).
When we reflect upon the aspects of faith in the Lord that have been covered in this great Roman letter, we begin to appreciate the force of “therefore”. In the instance of his appeal in Ephesians 3:1, Paul had been a prisoner in Rome because of his special mission to the Gentiles. This explains his lengthy digression on the status of Gentile disciples in the Lord. Now he addresses himself to all his readers, Jew and Gentile. It is as a prisoner of the Lord that he speaks. Jesus himself had stressed in the upper room:
“Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am” (John 13:13).
As the result of his submission to his Father’s will in Gethsemane and Calvary, he had been given the name that is above every name (Phi 2:9). Now all Paul’s readers shared in the unique privileges available only to those who respond to the offer of salvation in Jesus.
“Walk worthy…”
Their walk, or conduct, is to be worthy of their calling, and the way this is to be exhibited is in keeping with the teaching of the Master: “with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love” (Eph 4:2). As is generally recognized, this insistence on lowliness and meekness is not in keeping with the philosophy of the Greeks and Romans; they were more often associated with the domination and subjection of slavery. But in Christ Jesus, God had called into existence a new society. For members of this society, there was a phenomenon at Colosse which would be incomprehensible to the Greco-Roman world: a master (Philemon) and his runaway slave (Onesimus) could sit in the same assembly on the first day of the week and break bread together in memory of the Lord who had died for them both. This completely new situation is described in Colossians 3:11:
“There cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman: but Christ is all, and in all.”
It is doubtful whether the quality of meekness will advance one’s cause in our contemporary world. But the Lord in his teaching makes its importance fundamentally clear:
“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt 5:5)…
“Verily I say unto you, Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven; whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (18:3,4).
The Lord himself is the supreme example of humility:
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matt 11:29).
The subject of the Lord’s own humility is indeed important: we can learn from him, and especially from his example. Passages commonly invoked in this connection are Philippians 2:5-11 and John 13:3-15. These are examples of humility displayed by our Lord during his earthly life, but the one we are now to consider speaks of the time when, as the Lord of all mankind, he will return with irresistible power, attended by the angels (see 2Th 1:7-10). It will be then that the glorified Lord will show his gratitude to his faithful servants. They will not be told to bow before him, which would be their spontaneous reaction. Rather, the emphasis is upon what the Lord himself will do:
“Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself [as in John 13:4], and make them sit down to meat, and shall come and serve them” (Luke 12:37).
What a joyful assembly that will be, far beyond anything we can experience now. But what is so unique about this event is the example of gracious appreciation shown by the Lord to those who, despite their weaknesses and failings, have endeavored to love and serve him. Now he treats them, not as servants, but as his honored “guests”. Thus we understand that, when Paul spoke of the Second Coming, the great prospect for him was simply to be with his Lord (1Th 4:17).
A call to unity
In Ephesians 4:3 there is a call to unity: they are to give “diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”. We recall once again the divisive action of the Judaizers in the Lycus valley. One of the sad features of human behavior is the ease and frequency with which a community can break up into factions. It is likely that Paul was reminded of the difficulties of the Corinth ecclesia when he wrote these words to the Ephesians:
“I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought” (1Co 1:10).
When we consult the Book of Acts, with its honest record of the earliest days, we do not have to proceed far before we read of the discontent about the distribution of assistance. The Greek-speaking Jewish believers felt the widows of those disciples who spoke Hebrew (i.e., Aramaic) were being favored at the expense of their own widows (Acts 6:1). Earlier there had been the dark episode when Ananias and Sapphira had sought to deceive the Holy Spirit, with tragic consequences (Acts 5:1-10). The sorcerer Simon, after his baptism, thought he could bribe Peter and John to give him the power to bestow the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14-23).
The great and vexing problem of the relationship of uncircumcised disciples to the Law of Moses has already received ample notice in this series of studies. It was, as we have seen repeatedly, the source of the problems among the Colossians. Paul’s letters are constantly concerned with difficulties that had arisen in the early ecclesias he had founded, and he had no illusions about the problems that would later arise. In his moving address to the Ephesian elders at Miletus, he declared:
“I know that after my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock” (Acts 20:29).
Even the apostle John was to encounter opposition: in his third letter he brings to our attention a certain Diotrephes. This believer loved to have the pre-eminence in his assembly, prating against John “with wicked words” (3Jo 1:9,10).
Personal ambition has no place in the life of true disciples. After baptism, the “old man” is still very much alive. Even Paul did not regard himself as an exception in this respect; he wrote to the Corinthians, whom he was seeking to correct:
“But I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected” (1Co 9:27).
There can be little doubt of his success, for among his final recorded words, there is this great assurance:
“Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day: and not only to me, but also to all them that have loved his appearing” (2Ti 4:8).
Schism and problems of various kinds have characterized the history of the faith from the earliest days. This reflection enables us to see our personal weaknesses and the problems that have beset our community in a proper and sobering perspective. Finally, as will be revealed in the great day, “there is one body, and one spirit… one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all” (Eph 4:4-6).
The quality of love
There could be no more sobering message than this. The apostle, in Ephesians and Colossians, helps us wonderfully to understand how that unity can be achieved. What will matter finally is the quality of love. After rehearsing, in Colossians 3, the attributes essential in a follower of the Lord — and these should be our preoccupation! — the apostle adds, significantly:
“And above all these things… love, which is the bond of perfectness” (v 14).
The NIV helps us here:
“And over all these virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
Paul is constantly speaking of love: in Ephesians alone it appears ten times. His awareness of what the Lord said in the upper room (see John 13:34; 15:12,17) is demonstrated in Ephesians 5:2:
“Walk in love, even as Christ also loved you.”
There is nothing vague about love: it is a fragrant compound, and Paul indicates the constituents that together give it fragrance in the celebrated chapter 1 Corinthians 13:
“Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends…” (vv 4-8, NRSV).
There may be variations in the rendering of the Greek, but the way love reveals itself is clear in all versions.
In this same chapter the apostle makes crystal clear that any record of discipleship that is not a manifestation of love is not acceptable. An individual’s record may be spectacular but, if it is not a manifestation of love, it carries no weight. This had to be understood by the readers of Paul’s letter: it is love (v 2) that gives real unity to the body, and so ensures peace (v 3). For there is only one body (v 4), to which life is communicated by one spirit — the spirit of love, the spirit of Christ:
“If any man hath not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Rom 8:9).
Paul continues to pursue the theme of unity: “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all, and in all” (vv. 5, 6). That there is but one God, the Creator, the sovereign of the universe, is a concept that need not detain us; the whole of Scripture testifies to this fundamental truth.
One faith and one baptism
However, when we consider the notion of one faith and one baptism, and look back over the history of Christianity, and indeed of any distinct community, we are faced with difficulty. What we have already considered is nevertheless a guide. Where doubtful issues have been debated — in a spirit of acrimony and self-righteousness, with a total absence of love, and failure or even refusal to understand what others are saying — the outcome is scarcely likely to receive the seal of divine approval.
But can we even hope to arrive at an understanding of what is a faith acceptable to our God and to the Lord Jesus? Paul must evidently have possessed this conviction; otherwise, how could he honestly speak of the unity of the faith?
What better can we do than look once more at Luke’s record in the Acts. On the day of Pentecost, in fulfillment of the Lord’s own promise, the Twelve received the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth. They too were to bear their personal witness (see John 15:26,27). Then when Peter (for the first time after the Lord’s ascension) preached the gospel of salvation in Jerusalem, he was invested with divine authority. There were 3,000 converts that day, Jews and proselytes, some living in Jerusalem, others from all over the Roman empire and beyond — who responded by being baptized (Acts 2:41). We can understand that after their baptism, they would want to know a great deal more about the Lord Jesus, the promised Messiah crucified by his own people. First we note Peter elaborated at some length on what is preserved of his discourse (“with many other words”: v 40). Then we take note of verse 42, referring to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship. This testimony would be the basis and substance of what is preserved in the four gospel records. The contents of the latter had to be in harmony with what those earliest converts learned on the day of Pentecost — otherwise there would have been confusion among the earliest believers.
We do well, therefore, to give special attention to Acts 2 and 3, if we desire to arrive at the unity of the faith.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One