NOTES for Eph 4:1-16
1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, |
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; |
3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. |
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; |
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, |
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. |
7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. |
8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. |
9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? |
10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) |
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; |
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: |
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: |
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; |
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: |
16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. |
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When Paul speaks about the unity of the church community, he clearly has in mind more than organizational or doctrinal unity. For him, the unity of the church community is first of all evidence of the normal and full spiritual life of the Christians who belong to it. The apostle understands perfectly that unity is not an end in itself and not even a means for solving particular tasks facing the church. The unity of the community is the natural consequence of normal relationships among Christians as inhabitants of the Kingdom. If God is truly not only "over all," but also "in all" and "through all" (v. 6), then the unity of "all" is implied by itself; there can simply be no other relationships among people who live in the Kingdom and breathe one breath with God.
But for a person who has not yet been transformed completely, it is easy to lose the Kingdom by making concessions to his own sinfulness. That is why Paul urges the Ephesian Christians to preserve unity (vv. 1-6). On his lips this appeal sounds like a call not to forget the Kingdom and spiritual life. Paul judges church ministries from the point of view of how much they bring those who serve closer to the fullness of life in the Kingdom. For him, the very concept of grace is inseparable from service; it is given to a Christian for service, and it is given as an inseparable part of the relationship that binds him to the Risen One (vv. 7-10). For Paul, service is also inseparable from the spiritual life of the one who serves. If the Church were an ordinary religious organization, everything would be simpler: future ministers would simply be trained the way people in our still untransformed world are trained for any work requiring special knowledge and skills, and after their training they would be sent to their ministries like young specialists going to work after completing their studies.
But in the Kingdom everything is different. Here it is impossible to learn anything or prepare for anything without being rooted in the life of the Kingdom and without transforming one's own nature, so one has to learn service in the process of serving. The life of the Kingdom is so whole that it cannot be separated from service in the narrow, concrete sense of the word, and no one is ready for it, above all because one can learn to live in the Kingdom only by entering it. The ministries of the Kingdom can be learned only by living in it. Life in the Kingdom itself becomes service, and service becomes part of the life of the Kingdom. It is no accident that Paul considers the main meaning of all church ministries to be the building up of the body of Christ, and the main task of those who serve to be the attainment of that fullness of spiritual life which, in familiar language, can be called adulthood, when a person becomes so mature in every respect that any task can already be entrusted to him, as it is entrusted to an adult and responsible person (vv. 11-16). The Church is a community of inhabitants of the Kingdom, and only the Kingdom can be the means, goal, and meaning of any church ministry.
Readings for 16 July 2025
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