NOTES for Eph 4:11-13

The apostle Paul tells us today that the purpose of teaching in the Church is that we all come “to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.” Sometimes we think that knowing Christ is reserved for a chosen few, for teachers, monks... In fact, this is precisely why the Church exists: so that the Lord may reveal Himself to us. He reveals Himself in the sacraments, in His word, in the teaching of the Church, and in fellowship among brothers. The Lord gives His gifts so that everyone may benefit from them—not only the person to whom a gift is given, but all those around him as well. And each of us is called to seek knowledge of the Lord, knowing that even if I do not have the gift of understanding or teaching, someone in the Church does have this gift, and it was given for me too.

When we look at the parallel passage in the Psalter quoted by the Apostle Paul, we see that there is a slight but significant difference. The epistle says: Therefore it is said, “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” But the Psalter says: “You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, even from the rebellious, that the Lord God might dwell there.” What does “led captivity captive” mean? He made those who had been captives of Satan His own captives; in effect, He redeemed them in order then to set them free. But the words “gave gifts” and “received gifts” are a little more difficult. It must be said that this difference occurs not only in the Russian translation but also, for example, in the Vulgate. The apostle is therefore deliberately introducing a new meaning. In fact, this is something very important. A gift. The gifts brought to the infant Jesus are precisely what unites this apparent discrepancy: gifts to the One who offered Himself as a gift. He receives gifts and gives a gift, the greatest gift. How wonderful that this reciprocity suddenly becomes clear in what seemed to be a simple variant reading, almost an error. The Holy Gifts. “This bloodless sacrifice,” “the sacrifice of praise,” which is “the mercy of peace.” Suddenly we merge, and it becomes impossible to distinguish what Christ gives me from what I give Him. O. Henry has a story called “The Gift of the Magi” about two very poor lovers who desperately want to give each other a Christmas present, but have no money. She secretly cuts off her beautiful hair, sells it, and buys him a chain for his watch, while he sells the watch and buys her a comb for her hair. From a material point of view it all looks so absurd and unfortunate, yet in truth this is happiness. These are the very gifts that we bring to one another and to God every day of our lives. Let everything turn out awkwardly. We give what is most precious.

The Apostle Paul says that each of us “was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” What, then, is this measure? The measure of Christ’s gift? The measure of His gift is His life, given for us! His gift is He Himself. Thus the measure of the gift is boundless. In other words, the grace given to each of us is also boundless. To each one. We love to avoid responsibility by saying that we have no special gifts and are modest people... Yet the Lord has already given everyone everything—grace without measure! And for each of us this gift is not only a present but also a responsibility.

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.