Ephesians 4:1-6 [4:1] I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, [2] with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, [3] eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. [4]There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call-- [5]one Lord, one faith, one baptism, [6]one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (ESV).
If there has been one controversial action that health departments have commented on during this time of COVID, it has been the instruction on wearing masks. Beside obvious areas of long-term care homes and hospitals, debate has raged over the use in public. Not only have there been specific instructions for churches to instruct those attending to wear a mask especially if singing, theologically we can point to passages like Romans 14, that talk about voluntarily restricting our liberty by wearing a mask in order to show kindness to others who do not feel the same liberty. Durham region itself has instituted a new code of conduct for anyone in a commercial establishment, that they must be wearing a mask.
In some ways, these types of instructions are not new. Social clubs, sports teams, business and the Church itself, have codes of conduct to regulate behavior. The idea is to have a particular standard of expectation that would match the public message of the organization. Unfortunately for the visible Church in general too many Christians are glad to have the spiritual security, blessings, and promises of the gospel but have too little sense of responsibility in conforming to biblical standards and obeying its commands.
As such, in the first three chapters of Ephesians Paul has set forth the believer’s position with all the blessings, honors, and privileges of being a child of God. In the next three chapters he gives the consequent obligations and requirements of being His child, in order to live out salvation in accordance with the Father’s will and to His glory. The first three chapters set forth truth about the believer’s identity in Christ, and the last three call for the practical response. Capters 1–3 provide the theological basis for Christian unity, then chapters 4–6 contain the practical instruction for its maintenance. Unity has been established (the indicative); now it becomes the duty of the believers to strengthen and maintain unity in their fellowship (the imperative). (Patzia, A. G. (2011). Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon (p. 228). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.)
In Ephesians 4:1–6 Paul appeals to believers to walk worthy of their high position in Jesus Christ. In describing that walk he discusses its 1) Call (Ephesians 4:1), 2) Characteristics (Ephesians 4:2-3), and its 3) Cause (Ephesians 4:4-6).
In order for believers to walk worthy of our calling, we must first understand:
1) The Call to the Worthy Walk (Ephesians 4:1)
Ephesians 4:1 [4:1] I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, (ESV)
As in other Pauline letters, the doctrine expounded in the earlier part is to be worked out according to the practical guidance given in the later part, the transition from the one to the other being marked by the adverb “therefore. (cf. Rom. 12:1; 1 Cor. 4:16; Col. 3:5.)” As members of the new humanity, the readers have already been reminded of the purpose to which God has called them: the hope of their calling (Eph. 1:18) requires lives which are in keeping with their high destiny (Bruce, F. F. (1984). The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians (p. 333). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)
But, before giving his appeal, Paul once again refers to himself as a prisoner of the Lord (see 3:1). By mentioning his imprisonment, he gently reminds his readers that he knows the worthy Christian walk can be costly and that he has paid considerable cost himself because of his obedience to the Lord. The chains of his imprisonment limited his bodily movement, but his life was most truly controlled by the fact that it was ‘of the Lord’. (Foulkes, F. (1989). Ephesians: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 10, p. 114). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
• By far the prevalent presentation of Christianity in western circles from evangelism, books and other media sources is for immediate befits from Christianity. It is presented as the solution to your marriage, dealing with your kids, your job, health, wealth, mental state and on and on. Christianity can fix all the things I have just mentioned but what must be understood is that all those things are secondary to the glory of God. It is the height of irony to represent Christianity as the immediate solution to these problems, for in its name, Christianity bears the name of Christ, who was misunderstood and persecuted.
Paul made no apology for pleading with people to do what he knew was right. For him to urge/entreat (Parakaleoµ ) his hearers/readers is for them to call to one’s side, with the idea of wanting to help or be helped. It connotes intense feeling, strong desire. In this context it is not simply a request but a plea, an imploring or begging. Paul was not giving suggestions to the Ephesians but divine standards, standards apart from which they could not live in a way that fittingly corresponded to their being children of God. Paul never exhorted on a take–it–or–leave–it basis. He could not rest until all those given into his spiritual care walked in a manner worthy of the calling to which (they had) been called. God’s gracious calling not only bestows great privileges on them; it also carries with it solemn responsibilities. His election and predestination of them for adoption into his family (1:4, 5), together with his preparing good works beforehand for them to walk in (2:10), do not remove the responsibility of their heeding the apostolic injunction (O’Brien, P. T. (1999). The letter to the Ephesians (p. 275). Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
Walk is frequently used in the New Testament to refer to daily conduct. Worthy has the root meaning of balancing the scales—what is on one side of the scale should be equal in weight to what is on the other side. By extension, the word came to be applied to anything that was expected to correspond to something else. A person worthy of his pay was one whose day’s work corresponded to his day’s wages. The believer who walks in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called is one whose daily living corresponds to his high position as a child of God and fellow heir with Jesus Christ. This is a situation where ones practical living matches their spiritual position. Paul is insisting that there shall be a balance between profession and practice. So, he provides a criterion by which possible courses of action can be weighed (Wood, A. S. (1981). Ephesians. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Ephesians through Philemon (Vol. 11, p. 55). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
• Every one of these descriptions of the worthy walk is not natural. The human mind and inclinations will always point in the opposite direction. It is only the Holy Spirit changed, and scripturally renewed mind that will direct the actions down the worthy walk.
Please turn to Philippians 3
The calling to which you have been called is the Lord's sovereign, saving, effectual call to salvation (cf. Jn. 6:44, 65, 15:16; Rom. 8:30; Eph. 1:4; 1 Thess. 2:12). Our calling (kleµsis) is a high calling, a “heavenly calling” (Heb. 3:1), and “a holy calling” (2 Tim. 1:9). The Greek word for church, ecclesia, is made up of a prefix and a root. The prefix is ek—out of. The root is the verb coleo, to call. The church in the New Testament is made up of those who are called out from the world, from darkness, from damnation, from paganism, to become members of the body of Christ (Sproul, R. C. (1994). The Purpose of God: Ephesians (p. 95). Scotland: Christian Focus Publications.).
The faithful, responsive Christian is determined, as the Apostle Paul expressed it to the Philippians:
Philippians 3:12-21 [12] Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. [13] Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, [14]I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. [15] Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. [16] Only let us hold true to what we have attained. [17] Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. [18] For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. [19] Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. [20]But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, [21]who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (ESV)
• Paul’s life is purposeful, for he constantly aims toward a heavenly goal. The prize is the fullness of blessings and rewards in the age to come, most especially being in perfect fellowship with Christ forever (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2286). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.).
Illustration: Worthiness 776
Cal Ripken Jr. was the Iron Man of baseball. On September 6, 1995, he broke the record held by Lou Gehrig of 2,130 consecutive games played. Of course, there were days when that consecutive streak was in danger. In a June 1993 Ripken twisted his knee, and when he woke up the next morning, he couldn’t put his weight on it. He told his wife, Kelly, he might not be able to play that night. According to Kelly, “Just before he left for the ball park, I said, ‘Maybe you could just play one inning and then come out.’ He snapped, ‘No! Either I play the whole game or I don’t play at all.’ Ripken did play the full nine innings that night. In fact, he has played in 99.2 percent of every Orioles game since the streak began. In any high pursuit, we face the temptation to lower our standards, to do just enough to get by. Cal Ripken Jr. had committed himself to walk worthy of the title Iron Man (Steve Wulf, “Iron Bird,” Time, 11 September 1995, 68–74.).
In order for believers to walk worthy of our calling, we must understand:
2) The Characteristics of the Worthy Walk (Ephesians 4:2-3)
Ephesians 4:2-3 [2] with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, [3] eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (ESV)
Here Paul gives five essentials for faithful Christian living, five attitudes on which walking worthily in the Lord’s call are predicated. These characteristics, of which humility is the foundation, form a progression, the genuine exercise of one leading to the exercise of those that follow. Humility (Tapeinophrosuneµ) is a compound word that literally means to think or judge with lowliness, and hence to have lowliness of mind. John Wesley observed that “neither the Romans nor the Greeks had a word for humility.” The very concept was so foreign and abhorrent to their way of thinking that they had no term to describe it. Apparently, this Greek term was coined by Christians, probably by Paul himself, to describe a quality for which no other word was available. To the proud Greeks and Romans, their terms for ignoble, cowardly, and other such characteristics were sufficient to describe the “unnatural” person who did not think of himself with pride and self–satisfaction. When, during the first several centuries of Christianity, pagan writers borrowed the term tapeinophrosuneµ, they always used it derogatorily—frequently of Christians—because to them humility was a pitiable weakness. But humility is the most foundational Christian virtue. We cannot even begin to please God without humility, just as our Lord Himself could not have pleased His Father had He not willingly: “made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond–servant, and … humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:7–8). In the words of an oft-quote paraphrase of C. S. Lewis’ observations in Mere Christianity: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less.” (Coekin, R. (2015). Ephesians for You. (C. Laferton, Ed.) (p. 114). The Good Book Company.)
• Humility is essential to unity. Pride lurks behind all discord, while the greatest single secret of concord is humility. It is not difficult to prove this in experience. The people we immediately, instinctively like, and find it easy to get on with, are the people who give us the respect we consider we deserve, while the people we immediately, instinctively dislike are those who treat us like dirt. If, however, instead of maneuvering for the respect of others (which is pride) we give them our respect by recognizing their intrinsic God-given worth (which is humility), we shall be promoting harmony in God’s new society (Stott, J. R. W. (1979). God’s new society: the message of Ephesians (pp. 148–149). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.).
Humility always produces the second quality: gentleness/meekness. Gentleness (Praoteµs) refers to that which is mild–spirited and self–controlled, the opposite of vindictiveness and vengeance. Jesus used the adjective form in giving the third beatitude (“Blessed are the meek/gentle,” Matt. 5:5) and to describe His own character (“For I am gentle,” Matt. 11:29). Gentleness is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:23) and should characterize every child of God (Col. 3:12; cf. Phil. 4:5). This gentleness is not to be confused with weakness (as contemporary Graeco-Roman thought regarded it), but has to do with consideration for others and a willingness to waive one’s rights (O’Brien, P. T. (1999). The letter to the Ephesians (p. 278). Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
• It was used of wild animals that were tamed, especially of horses that were broken and trained. Such an animal still has his strength and spirit, but its will is under the control of its master. The tamed lion is still powerful, but his power is under the control of his trainer. The horse can run just as fast, but he runs only when and where his master tells him to run.
A third attitude that characterizes the Christian’s worthy walk is patience, which is an outgrowth of humility and gentleness. Makrothurmia (patience) literally means long–tempered, and is sometimes translated longsuffering. The patient person endures negative circumstances and never gives in to them. Abraham received the promise of God but had to wait many years to see its fulfillment. “Thus,” the writer of Hebrews tells us, “having patiently waited, he obtained the promise” (Heb. 6:15). God had promised that Abraham’s descendants would be a great nation (Gen. 12:2) and yet he was not given Isaac, the child of promise, until after Abraham was nearly a hundred years old. “Yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God” (Rom. 4:20). The same evidence of faith was seen in Noah, Moses (Heb. 11:25–27), Jeremiah (Jer. 1:5–19), Isaiah (Isa. 6:9–12), and Paul himself (Acts 21:13). Patience is believing God’s timetable is good, no matter what it is. “O Lord, give me patience, and hurry!” is the prayer of most of us. Patience does not always come quickly. Patience is a characteristic of mature people. When we have a proper expectation, it actually helps us be patient. (Anders, M. (1999). Galatians-Colossians (Vol. 8, p. 149). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
• Patience means looking to God's perspective on situations and not feeding our human pride and impatience for immediate action. As much as we would have liked to find a new building by now, God has a reason for the delay. Perhaps it is to bring us to a place of unity and cooperation that entering this “promised land” will mean leaving behind any destructive baggage and coming together in faith.
• The patient saint accepts God’s plan for everything, without questioning or grumbling He does not complain when his calling seems less glamorous than someone else’s or when the Lord sends him to a place that is dangerous or difficult.
A fourth characteristic element of the worthy Christian walk is bearing/forbearance with one another in love. The directive to ‘one another’, makes it clear that Paul is thinking primarily of behavior within the community and not of that directed at those outside it While bearing/forbearance (??e??s?a?) could suggest an attitude of endurance, a resignation to suffering, or a willingness to tolerate what others are doing in order to avoid trouble, it indicates here the more dynamic attitude of love (it reappears in v. 16). To bear with another (literally, “hold him up”) is to put up with (others) faults and idiosyncracies, knowing that we have our own (Wood, A. S. (1981). Ephesians. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Ephesians through Philemon (Vol. 11, p. 55). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.).
• As God has long-suffering patience with believers’ faults and weaknesses, we should continue to deal with others in the same gracious way. Believers must put others for whom Christ died before themselves (cf. Phil. 2:3; 4:5). This self-giving emulates Jesus (cf. 1 John 3:16). (Utley, R. J. (1997). Paul Bound, the Gospel Unbound: Letters from Prison (Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon, then later, Philippians) (Vol. Volume 8, p. 109). Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International.)
The forbearing with one another described here in Love is never passive but always active, looking to see where others may be helped. It is the primary virtue in relationships (1 Cor 13) and the basis of all behaviour (Rom 13:9, 10; Gal 5:14). No one ever finds it easy to see and allow for the point of view and the actions of others; within the community Christians do not escape this but have regularly to deal with what they regard as the faults of their fellow-Christians and for this love is essential. Peter tells us that: “love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Pet. 4:8). It throws a blanket over the sins of others, not to justify or excuse them but to keep the sins from becoming any more known than necessary. “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions” (Prov. 10:12). Forbearing love takes abuse from others while continuing to love them. Forbearing love could only be agapeµ love, because only agapeµ love … that goes out even to enemies and prays for its persecutors (Matt. 5:43–44). That is why the bearing/forbearance of which Paul speaks here could only be expressed in agapeµ love. (Best, E. (1998). A critical and exegetical commentary on Ephesians (p. 364). Edinburgh: T&T Clark International.)
The ultimate outcome of humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearance is, as verse 3 describes being eager/diligent to maintain/preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The Greek verb for ‘eager’ (spoudazontes) means that we are to ‘spare no effort’, and, being a present participle, it is a call for continuous, diligent activity. ...This looks to not only haste and passion, but a full effort of (our whole selves), involving will, sentiment, reason, physical strength, and total attitude. The imperative mood of the participle found in the Greek text excludes passivity, quietism, a wait-and-see attitude, or a diligence tempered by all deliberate speed. Yours is the initiative! Do it now! Mean it! You are to do it! I mean it!—Such are the overtones in verse 3.’ Some Christian fellowships are marred by rivalries between individuals or groups which have been allowed to fester for years.... We need to be ‘eager’ for love, unity and peace, and more active in seeking it (Stott, J. R. W. (1979). God’s new society: the message of Ephesians (pp. 153–154). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.).
• It’s easy to think of our individual growth, we can sometimes be concerned for growth in others, it takes concentrated effort to focus on our growth together. Without concerted effort, we will continually slip to more and more individualism. God has brought us together as a congregation to grow together as a congregation.
Preservation of the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace should be the diligent and constant concern of every believer. Paul is speaking of the inner and universal unity of the Spirit by which every true believer is bound to every other true believer. As Paul makes clear, this is the unity of the Spirit working in the lives of believers. It does not come from the outside but the inside, and is manifested through the inner qualities of humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearing love. Our call is not to create spiritual unity but rather to manifest spiritual unity by relational unity. Paul calls for unity in the third verse and spends the next thirteen verses elaborating on it (Anders, M. (1999). Galatians-Colossians (Vol. 8, p. 149). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
Please turn to John 17
Spiritual unity is not, and cannot be, created by the church. It is already created by the Holy Spirit. “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit … There are many members, but one body” (1 Cor. 12:13, 20; cf. Rom. 8:9).
It is this very unity of the Spirit for which Jesus so earnestly prayed in the Upper Room shortly before His betrayal and arrest:
John 17:11-23 [11] And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. [12] While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. [13] But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. [14]I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. [15]I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. [16] They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. [17] Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.[18] As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. [19] And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. [20]"I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, [21]that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. [22]The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, [23]I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. (ESV)
• Believers are given to Christ by the Father. The unity they possess is internal, associative and of one spiritual substance as the Godhead is one (v.11) They are kept by Christ (v.12) separated from the world through truth (v,17) are united in belief through the word of God (v.20) and this unity would testify to the mission of Christ (v.21) and glorify the Father (v.22)
The church’s responsibility, through the lives of individual believers, is to preserve the unity by faithfully Walking in a Manner Worthy of God’s calling (v. 1), manifesting Christ to the world by oneness in Him (cf. Rom. 15:1–6; 1 Cor. 1:10–13; 3:1–3; Phil. 1:27). The world is always seeking but never finding unity. All the laws, conferences, treaties, accords, and agreements fail to bring unity or peace. Someone has reported that throughout recorded history every treaty made has been broken. There is not, and cannot be, any peace for the wicked (Isa. 48:22). As long as self is at the center; as long as our feelings, prestige, and rights are our chief concern, there will never be unity. Truth must first be pursued. Those who reach it, will at last reach unity, because truth is one; while those who seek unity as the first thing, may purchase it at the sacrifice of truth….(Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 349). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.)
The bond that preserves unity is peace, the spiritual belt that surrounds and binds God’s holy people together. It is the bond that Paul described in Philippians as: “being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose” (Phil. 2:2). Behind this bond of peace is love, which is: “the perfect bond of unity.” (Colossians 3:14) If by love (which the parallel passage in Col. 3:14 [AV] calls ‘the bond of perfectness’) people can live in the peace that Christ has brought them, then unity will be kept indeed. (Foulkes, F. (1989). Ephesians: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 10, p. 117). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
Humility gives birth to gentleness, gentleness gives birth to patience, patience gives birth to forbearing love, and all four of those characteristics preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. These virtues and the supernatural unity to which they testify are probably the most powerful testimony the church can have, because they are in such contrast to the attitudes and the disunity of the world. No program or method, no matter how carefully planned and executed, can open the door to the gospel in the way individual believers can do when they are genuinely humble, meek, patient, forbearing in love, and demonstrate peaceful unity in the Holy Spirit.
Illustration: Unity
If you have ever gone early to hear a symphony orchestra, you will notice a strange practice. Before the performance, various orchestra members will come out at different times playing various things. Each one will play different things against others. There is no coordination, melody or harmony. They will all disappear before the performance. When they return, this time they are in full dress with white shirts and bow ties. Each one comes to their own instrument, but this time, no one dares play it. Then the spotlight goes to the side of the stage and caches the conductor as he walks out. He will bow several times and receive applause. Then he will pick up a little stick and turn his back to the audience. When he lifts that baton, you can hear a pin drop in the auditorium. When he lowers it, the orchestra plays in unison.
Compare that, with life on this earth. Out in the world every person is playing their own little tune. Everyone is trying to be heard above the clamor of voices or carrying their own little placard of protest. Everyone seems to be out of tune, out of harmony, with everyone else. It doesn’t look very hopeful in the world today, and people look to the future with pessimism. But one of these days there is going to step out from the wings of this universe, from God’s right hand, the Conductor. He is called the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He will lift that baton, that scepter, with nail-pierced hands. When He does that, the whole world will be in tune. He is eminent and He is transcendent. He is “above all, through all, and in you all” So don’t give up—the Conductor is coming. He will get us all in tune (McGee, J. V. (1997). Thru the Bible commentary (electronic ed., Vol. 5, p. 252). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.).
Finally, in order for believers to walk worthy of our calling, we must understand:
3) The Cause of the Worthy Walk (Ephesians 4:4-6)
Ephesians 4:4-6 [4]There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call-- [5]one Lord, one faith, one baptism, [6]one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (ESV)
Everything that relates to salvation, the church, and the kingdom of God is based on the concept of unity, as reflected in Paul’s use of seven one’s in these three verses. The cause, or basis, of outward oneness is inner oneness. Practical oneness is based on spiritual oneness. To emphasize the unity of the Spirit, Paul recites the features of oneness that are germane to our doctrine and life. Paul does not develop the particular areas of oneness, but simply lists them: body, Spirit, hope, Lord, faith, baptism, and God and Father. His focus is on the oneness of those and every other aspect of God’s nature, plan, and work as a basis for our commitment to live as one. It is obvious that verse 4 centers on the Holy Spirit, verse 5 on the Son, and verse 6 on the Father. The trinitarian structure of vv. 4, 5 bears out the assumption that here we have an incipient creed. It was on the basis of such biblical passages that the historic affirmations of faith were developed. The reiteration of “one” distinguishes Eastern from Western creeds (the Nicene Creed has “I believe in one God the Father Almighty”). (Wood, A. S. (1981). Ephesians. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Ephesians through Philemon (Vol. 11, p. 57). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
First, the one Father creates the one family. Secondly, the one Lord Jesus creates the one faith, hope and baptism. Thirdly, the one Spirit creates the one body. There is only one body of believers, the church, which is composed of every saint who has trusted or will trust in Christ as Savior and Lord. There is no denominational, geographical, ethnic, or racial body. There is no Gentile, Jewish, male, female, slave, or freeman body. There is only Christ’s body, and the unity of that body is the heart of the book of Ephesians. (Stott, J. R. W. (1979). God’s new society: the message of Ephesians (p. 151). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
Obviously there is but one Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God, who is possessed by every believer and who is therefore the inner unifying force in the body. Believers are individual temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16–17) that are collectively: “being fitted together [and are] growing into a holy temple in the Lord, … being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:21–22). If all Christians were walking in obedience to and in the power of the Holy Spirit, first our doctrine and then our relationships would be purified and unified. The spiritual unity that already exists would be practically manifested in complete harmony among the people of God. The Spirit does not divide, but makes us all members of one body (1 Cor 12:13). (Boles, K. L. (1993). Galatians & Ephesians (Eph 4:4). Joplin, MO: College Press.)
Believers are called to be unified in the one hope. Our calling to salvation is ultimately a calling to Christlike eternal perfection and glory. In Christ we have different gifts, different ministries, different places of service, but only one … calling, The calling to “be holy and blameless before Him” (Eph. 1:4) and “to become conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29), which will occur when we see the glorified Christ (1 John 3:2). It is the Spirit who has placed us in the one Body and who guarantees our future glory. The hope of that high calling would give us a new basis for all our priorities, and a guide for the investment of our energies. (Dunnam, M. D., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Galatians / Ephesians / Philippians / Colossians / Philemon (Vol. 31, p. 198). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.)
Please turn to Romans 5
Just as obviously, as verse 5 indicates, there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ our Savior. Consequently, there can only be one faith. Paul is not referring here to the act of faith by which a person is saved or the continuing faith that produces right living, but rather the body of doctrine revealed in the New Testament. In true Christianity there is only one faith, “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” and for which we are to contend (Jude 3). The crucified, resurrected Lord is the object of that faith. To confess Jesus as Lord is to express the faith of the church and to unify oneself with all members of that church. (Anders, M. (1999). Galatians-Colossians (Vol. 8, p. 150). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
Paul explained it to the Romans:
Romans 5:1-5 [5:1] Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. [2] Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. [3]More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, [4]and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, [5]and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (ESV)
• The hope of the glory of God (v.2) refers to the promise that Christians will be glorified and perfected at the last day—a hope that results in joy. The people of God rejoice not only in future glory but in present trials and sufferings, not because trials are pleasant but because they produce a step-by-step transformation that makes believers more like Christ (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2165). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.)
Back in Ephesians 4:5 we can see that there is but one baptism among believers. Spiritual baptism, by which all believers are placed into the Body by the Holy Spirit, is implied in verse 4. The visible action of inner baptism of the Holy Spirit is outward water baptism: The common New Testament means of a believer’s publicly confessing Jesus as Savior and Lord. Water baptism was extremely important in the early church, not as a means of salvation or special blessing but as a testimony of identity with and unity in Jesus Christ. Believers were not baptized in the name of a local church, a prominent evangelist, a leading elder, or even an apostle, but only in the name of Christ (see 1 Cor. 1:13–17). Those who by one Lord are in one faith testify to that unity in one baptism. Christians need only “one baptism” by which they publicly acknowledge their one faith in one Lord. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit” (NRSV). This expression of faith through baptism brings unity to believers (Barton, B. B., & Comfort, P. W. (1996). Ephesians (p. 78). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.).
Finally, in verse 6, how do we come to understand how the one God is Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all? In one important sense all humans are related to God. They have been created by Him, in His image and likeness (cf. Gen. 1:26–27). But in this context, the focus is not on creation but recreation, the second birth, redemption through the efforts of the Triune God (cf. 1:3–14). All humans are not right with God by means of creation but by personal repentance and faith in the finished work of Christ (cf. Mark 1:15; Acts 3:16, 19; 20:21) (Utley, R. J. (1997). Paul Bound, the Gospel Unbound: Letters from Prison (Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon, then later, Philippians) (Vol. Volume 8, p. 110). Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International.).
• How then does our outward unity reflect the doctrine of God? We exhibit the oneness of the Godhead yet in that unity exhibit distinct personhood and role.
Walking worthy of our calling fosters true growth in grace. Jesus claimed that He was the genuine vine, His Father the gardener and believers the branches. The oneness of the church in Christ and the Father was to the end that the world might come to believe. This growth is only fostered on a genuine unity of basis, a unity of life in Christ, not a uniformity which ignores the truth of Christ. Doctrinal impurity, factions, power-seeking, reluctance to seek reconciliation, failure to maintain discipline and unwillingness to help needy believers must be (condemned). The best way to avoid these is to cultivate growth on the basis of a unity we already have, recognizing apostolic fundamentals in confessional standards and agreeing to disagree, where possible, on non-essentials. This is not an easy path, but it is the only route to follow (Uprichard, H. (2004). A Study Commentary on Ephesians (p. 206). Darlington, England; Auburn, MA: Evangelical Press.).
