As in Ephesians 3:1, Paul began his thoughts in Ephesians 4:1 with a reminder that he was “the prisoner of the Lord.”[1] His comments in Ephesians 4-6 focus more on what we might call “practical Christianity.” We must remember they are based on Paul’s theological/doxological insights in chapters 1-3. The closing doxology of Ephesians 3:16-21 provided the foundation for his practical applications in the remainder of the letter. This was because Paul believed that the Messiah dwells in our personal and corporate lives with divine love enabling us to live in loving ways beyond human natural ability. This divine power, evidenced in our lives by and through the presence of the Holy Spirit, means that God “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (3:20).
Any effort to understand Paul’s teachings in Ephesians 4-6 that is not connected to Ephesians 1-3, especially 3:16-21, risks misinterpreting Paul’s intentions. His emphasis on unity, gifts of the Spirit, how we live in relation to one another, becomes human effort without the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. Always along with human effort comes pride, judgementalism, competition, self-justification.[2]
The point about unity is clearly made by Rev. Paul Evans, an IPHC minister with excellent insights on Wesleyan holiness, Scripture, and life: “As the focus narrows from God’s eschatological goals in chapter 1 to unity among believers in chapter 4, with its practical implications in chapter 4:25-6:9, Paul is making the points that union with Christ is the ground of unity among believers, and that God’s goal, in any case, is for the final reconciliation of all things to himself, the harmonious reunification of creation to God under his eternal rule (cf. 1 Cor. 15:20-28).”[3]
Two other citations are insightful for us from Paul Evans in Hope for Holiness about unity, especially considering Ephesians 4:1-6:
“Right relationships and proper, compassionate, or gracious treatment of fellow believers in the believing community of the church is paramount for Paul. Even elements of the armor of God (italics by Evans), play their part as critical for Christian life and character, which, when deliberately and purposefully embraced for the sake of the church and its unity, increase and promote fellowship. . .These ideas of mutuality in the church are at the heart of Pauline theology of the church, and of relationships between believers in the community of faith, which is demonstrably a key theme in Ephesians. For that reason, we see that our passage (Eph. 4:22-24) which focuses on character reflecting the holiness and righteousness of God, builds on his call for unity in the church, and serves as the foundation, and even the rationale for making every effort to preserve the unity which the Spirit has established through his application of the grace of God in their lives (Eph. 4:3).”
“The apostle makes the point that unity in the church, initiated by the action of the Spirit, established by him in the church through a shared common experience of the grace of God in each member the body of Christ, is served by their personal experience of transformation. By the transformation of their nature, God has implanted righteousness and holiness in them at initial salvation so that they might thoroughly laid aside the old life of selfish preoccupation and ambition (Eph. 4:17-29). To say there is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of us all and who is over and through all things, and who is all in all, is to acknowledge the divine foundation upon which the unity in the church is established (Eph. 4:4-6).”
As you read Ephesians, keep in mind how the Apostle Paul developed the theme of unity and the seriousness of Holy Spirit empowered discipleship in keeping the unity that has been initiated by God Himself.
Ephesians 4:1-3 describe ways that followers of Jesus are to live so that the unity of Jew and Gentile as the “one new man” can be evidenced. When we study Ephesians 4:4-6, we will see how this unity is connected to the very nature of God and His self-revelation in the gospel.
The language of Ephesians 4:1 is characteristic of the Apostle Paul in that the death, resurrection, and mission of Jesus the Messiah is meant to be lived in and through transformed lives. Twenty-nine times in his letters Paul used “walk” to describe the Christian life.[4] We know from Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22 that first century Christians referred to following Jesus as “the Way.” Paul knew and used that terminology in Acts 22:4 and 24:14. Interestingly Paul used this term when defending himself before Jewish and Roman authorities, an indication that they were familiar with the term as designating followers of Jesus.
The Apostle Paul expressed three interconnected themes in Ephesians 4:1-3. First, in verse one, Paul spoke of the call (klesis) we have received from the Lord and that we are to “walk worthy” (axios; worthy) of that call. Let’s look at the “call” first. Paul used the noun klesis and the verb kaleo in verse one. When we reflect on the Biblical use of “call,” there are at least two aspects to its meaning. There is the sense of the “gospel call,” whereby we hear the gospel message that 1) we are sinners condemned to eternal punishment, but 2) God has mercifully intervened to save us through the death and resurrection of His only begotten Son, Jesus. The human response to this act of grace (which is what preaching and hearing are, acts of grace through human instruments (Romans 10:6-17)), is that we “repent, and believe the gospel” (the preaching of Jesus, Mark 1:15). All Christian vocation begins with that “call.”
But that “call” leads to how we live in the world testifying by word and deed of God’s gracious love for lost humanity. Markus Barth described this “vocation” as “a prescribed way in a fixed order, comparable to the march of Israel under God’s guidance in the wilderness.”[5] I like the way that William Willimon describes this second part of the call: “Everyone who claims ‘I have taken Jesus into my heart’ ought to be asked, ‘So where is Jesus now taking you?’”[6]
Every follower of Jesus has a vocation, a call, to serve Jesus in Christian community and in the world. Spiritual gifts become part of our life when we “repent and believe the gospel,” (Mark 1:15). The mission of discipleship begins upon conversion. Through discipleship, that is, transformative relationships through the Holy Spirit and Scripture through regular engagement with other Christians, we discover those gifts that the Holy Spirit gives, develops, and deploys for the glory of God.
One more thought before we leave these comments about “call, vocation.” As adults we find an occupation. An occupation is the work/job we do that provides finances and opportunities. We are educated in some fashion for occupations which may change throughout our lives. Hopefully, our occupation is fulfilling and meets our personal and family needs.
For some of us, our vocation, our calling, is the same as our occupation. That is true for more than us who serve the church in full-time ministry. For example, my wife served as a pharmacist for over forty years in hospital pharmacy administration. She viewed that as a vocation, a calling from God as well as an occupation. That is true for many of you reading this blog whether you are a schoolteacher, plumber, lawyer, carpenter, physician. But there are many others who “have a job” but are looking for more in life. This is where the divine call comes into focus, the vocation of spiritual gifts and opportunities to serve Christ in the world and in the church. Your teaching and carpentry skills find their service in short-term or life-long mission work helping create a better life for others.
But what does it mean to live “worthy” of God’s call on our lives? Paul used this word to refer to followers of Jesus in Romans 16:2; Philippians 1:27; Colossians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:12; 2 Thessalonians 1:5, 11; 1 Timothy 5:17, 18. Axios has the sense of worthy as in someone is suitable, fitting, acting proper before God’s revealed standards of godly living.[7]
Second, Ephesians 4:2 named four characteristics of a “worthy” life: lowliness, gentleness, long suffering, bearing with one another in love.
Lowliness (tapeinophrosune) means “’lowliness of mind,’ the humble recognition of the worth and value of other people, the humble mind which was in Christ and led him to empty himself and become a servant.” In Paul’s time, as often in our time, this kind of humility is not admired. Stott wrote, “the Greeks never used their word of humility (tapeinotes) in a context of approval, still less of admiration.” [8]
What makes this word important in Christian unity is that it is precisely this attitude that makes unity possible from the human perspective. Stott called it “the greatest single secret of concord is humility.”[9] All of us have experienced how pride, selfishness, arrogance create disunity within families, businesses, sporting events, and yes, the church.
Gentleness (prautes) is anything but weakness. Stott wrote that this word was used in domesticating animals. The trainer had to have the necessary strength in words and actions to train the animal but without destroying the animals’ spirit and ability.[10]
Stott’s paragraph on the final two characteristics is worth quoting in its entirety: “The third and fourth qualities also form a natural pain, for ‘patience’ (makrothymia) is longsuffering towards aggravating people, such as God in Christ as shown towards us, while bearing with one another speaks of that mutual tolerance without which no group of human beings can live together in peace. Love is the final quality, which embraces the preceding four, and is the crown and sum of all virtues.”[11]
The third interconnected theme is found in verse three, “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” While Christian unity is established by the Father acting through the Son and the Holy Spirit, it is the human response actively working to maintain that unity which we have received as members of the Body of Christ.
Markus Barth translates “endeavoring” as “take pains. It is hardly possible to render exactly the urgency contained in the underlying Greek verb. Not only haste and passion, but a full effort of the whole man is meant, involving his 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 in the initiative! Do it now! Mean it! You are to do it! I mean it!”[12]
This is our call as followers of Jesus, “take pains” to maintain something that has been given to us. We do not maintain unity by compulsion but by “the bond of peace.” Love, peace, along with gentleness and longsuffering, are all fruit of the Holy Spirit, the evidence that God is truly among us. It is imperative we remember that we are all members of one body, as verse four will show. The head is Jesus. We are under His control as members of His body. To maintain the unity that shows the world that He is Lord is one of our primary tasks in the world. It’s demanding work. It’s a constant challenge. Satan uses every means available to divide us and the evil one often succeeds. But until Jesus returns, our assignment is to “take pains” to maintain the spiritual unity revealed in Holy Scripture.
[1] This is the second of three references in Ephesians to Paul’s status as related to the Roman Empire. The third reference is in Ephesians 6:20. The apostles in Acts 5:41, viewed their interrogations and their beatings, acts of public shame, as a badge of honor in that they were counted worthy to experience such shame. Likewise, Paul viewed his imprisonment and chains are a badge of honor. In fact, in Ephesians 6:20, Paul referred to himself as “an ambassador in chains” (NKJV). The word he used, presbeuo, is often translated elder, but also refers to someone of stature, maturity, who represented a king at the court of another ruler.
[2] On the perils related to Christian unity, I refer you again to Bonhoeffer’s Life Together, especially the chapter titled “Community.”
[3] This quote is from Hope for Holiness, an unpublished and of this date unfinished study by IPHC minister Rev. Paul Evans. In his studies, Rev. Evans has published these two studies: Holiness Reconsidered: A Fresh Look at the Wesleyan Doctrine of Sanctification (Xulon Press, 2016) and Help for Holiness: Rediscovering God’s Resources for Practical Sanctification in Galatians 5:16-25 (Bloomington, Indiana: Westbow Press, 2018). These are serious Biblical and theological studies and I highly recommend them. I am not using page numbers for the citations of Evans unpublished current study of Ephesians. On a personal note, Evans grew up in Bristol, England under the ministry of Rev. Noel Brooks, the premier IPHC Wesleyan theologian of the second half of the 20th century. Evans studied at Holmes Bible College and received a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies at Berean School of the Bible in Springfield, Missouri. After completing Holmes, Evans remained in the United States and pastored in the North Carolina Conference. His books are available online at Amazon and are highly recommended as IPHC examples of serious Biblical, theological, and pastoral literature. The yet unpublished Hope for Holiness studies the Apostle Paul’s instructions for Christian living in Ephesians 4:22-24.
[4] This count is based on the New King James Version.
[5] Markus Barth, Ephesians: Translation and Commentary on Chapters 4-6 (New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1974) 427. In his translation, Barth used “vocation” to translate “call.”
[6] William Willimon, Accidental Preacher: A Memoir (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2019) 113 Kindle. Willimon was Dean of the Chapel at Duke University for twenty years and served as Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church from 2004-2012.
[7] Paul also used the Greek word hikanos, which is sometimes translated “worthy,” in 1 Corinthians 15:9; 2 Corinthians 3:5; Colossians 1:12; 2 Timothy 2:2. It means to be sufficient, adequate, qualified. The distinction appears to be that hikanos implies capacity, ability, while axios denotes actualized character.
[8] John Stott, The Message of Ephesians, 111. Both quotes in this paragraph are from Stott.
[9] Stott, 111.
[10] Stott, 111.
[11] Stott, 112.
[12] Barth, Ephesians, 428. The italics is from Barth.
