God's Secret Plan: File #8

In the first three chapters of Ephesians, Paul was going over the secret plan of God, showing the blessing we enjoy, sitting with Christ in heavenly places--focusing specifically on the church. The latter half of the book deals with the practical application of this--the need to walk with Christ and take a stand for Christ. Ephesians 4:1-16 stands at a transitional point and can be considered part of either section. (It may even be another case where Paul started to talk about one thing and then paused to talk about something else as in chapter 3.)  However, I think it should be included with the previous chapters because the emphasis here is on the church, on what it is and what it can be. It is a fuller development of what Paul has said previously, especially at the end of chapter 2.

At the beginning of this series, I said that Ephesians doesn't seem to have a specific reason why it was written, but I do wonder if there was some friction and disunity within the church since the theme of unity keeps reappearing over and over again throughout the letter. But it may simply be that Paul knew that in any church, no matter how good it is, there is always a danger of disunity. Unity, at any rate, is the main subject at the beginning of Chapter 4.

Ephesians 4:1-3. “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Paul begins this section by identifying himself again as a prisoner for the sake of Jesus and tying this address into the previous part of the book with the word “therefore.” In other words, in light of all that we have said thus far, in light of the fact that we are sitting in heavenly places with Christ we must therefore walk in a way that is worthy of such a calling; because we have received so great a salvation, we must live in a certain way. The rest of Ephesians deals with how we should live in accordance with our calling, but this section deals specifically with the idea of unity. Verses 2-3 tell us five things about the way we should live, all which seem connected to the same idea.

(1) With all lowliness or humility. This is the same word used in the famous passage in Philippians 2, where Paul enjoins Christians to have the same attitude that Jesus had. This was not humility in the modern usage--Jesus was never critical of Himself, never attacked or belittled Himself. He was very much aware of His own identity and rights--but He was willing to empty Himself and take the lowest place of all. His humility was a willingness to wave His privileges in order to fulfill the will of God and bring salvation. This is the pattern of our humility. (2) With meekness or gentleness--a refusal to become angry with others. (3) With longsuffering--unbounded patience. Clarke explains this, saying it is “never permitting a trial or provocation to get to the end of your patience.” (4) Forbearing one another in love--putting up with one another because of love.

You may have noticed a theme in these four exhortations.  Though phrased slightly differently and with slightly different nuances, they all have the common thought of living in peace with one another, with having a spirit which makes it possible to get along with others. Paul sums it up in his fifth and final exhortation: (5) Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Paul wanted the Ephesians to live a life of unity, bound together in peace, living in the unity of the Holy Spirit.

Most people realize that disunity spells disaster for any human project and would exhort people to live in unity. But Christian unity has a somewhat different foundation from this more general fact. In verses 4-6 Paul goes through what the foundation of this unity is. The unity which Paul calls for is intrinsically linked to God's plan of salvation.

Ephesians 4:4-6: “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

Once again we have the metaphor of the church as a body. There were many churches in the NT times. Paul wrote letters to seven of them. There were many churches and many members, but there was only one Body, and all Christians are part of it. Due to the limitations of space and other unfortunate realities, the body of Christ must meet at separate places and times, but there is still only one Body of Christ.

But what makes the body of Christ one body? There are continually new members being added and sadly there are sometimes members removing themselves. And the same question applies to our human bodies. We grow and change in size--we put on or lose weight, grew taller as we become adults and then perhaps become shorter later in life. And besides all that, the particular atoms that comprise our bodies are continually being lost and replaced. And yet for all that, throughout our life, we can say that we have one body. And we can roughly say it is because the body is under the control of the same spirit, the same mind, the same self. And in a parallel way, there is one body of Christ because it is filled with One Spirit, the Spirit of Christ. And because it is one body with one spirit, it has one destination, one intention: “Even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.” As a single-minded man presses forward towards his goal, every part of his body and every facet of his life united to that common purpose, so the body of Christ, single-minded in the Spirit of Christ, presses forward to the hope of its calling, or, as Paul puts it elsewhere, the high calling of God. “[T]hrough this process of justification actually carried out our Lord is gradually forming, person by person, believer by believer, a new spiritual community -- a people organic in him... one body in vitality of moral life, in identity of aim, and in the service and fellowship of love." (Curtis, The Christian Faith, Chapter 21)

Having mentioned three points of unity that seem to be built around a physical metaphor--one body with one Spirit and one Aim--Paul mentions another three which seem primarily religious. He says we have one Lord, one faith, one baptism. The term Lord in Greek literally means one who is supreme (Strong, #2962) and is used in a variety of senses. It “is a title of honor expressive of respect and reverence, with which servants salute their master... employed, too, by a son in addressing his father... by citizens towards magistrates.” And it is also used in reference to God, as the supreme master of all. (Thayer) By calling Jesus Lord and by specifically saying we have one Lord, Paul is saying that we have one master, one sovereign, one director of our life and one object of our faith. Under pantheistic religions in which there were many gods, worshipers sometimes ran into problems about which god they ought to obey, which god they ought to try to please. But we have one Lord. One Lord, one faith, and one baptism--which is to say, one religion. Unfortunately, Christians are divided about many points of doctrine and even over the meaning and mode of baptism, but fundamentally in so far as we are all Christians, we all have one faith and one baptism--one religion.

And finally, we have a third triad of unity related to God Himself. We have one God, one Father--who is above all, through all, and in you all. This phraseology is very reminiscent of other passages in the New Testament. (c.p. Romans 11:36, Colossians 1:16-17) Paul seems to have loved piling phrase on top of phrase in order to express the supremacy and all-encompassing nature of God. But while these other passages refer to God's supremacy over nature and the universe, in Ephesians, Paul seems to have had a more specific idea. He does not say that God is “in all” though that would be true in a certain sense. He says God is “in you all.” In other words, as Christians, we all have God living in us and through us. That is what it means to be a Christian. Just as the universe is made by, ruled by, sustained by God, so our world as Christians, as the church, is made by, ruled by, sustained by God. The words of a song say: “Grace has changed the world I'm living in.” But in this new world, as in the old world, all things come from and hold together through the power of God. And that is the final reason why we the church should be in unity--because God is living in all the church and the church exists only by the power of God.

These are the fundamental reasons why there should be unity within the church. But this unity does not mean that everyone in the church is exactly the same in nature or function. Every Christian has a particular and distinct nature and gift given them by God. As Paul says elsewhere, the church is like a body in the sense that every part of it is different and therefore necessary. Every part of the body is united because it works towards the same ends.

Ephesians 4:7-11. “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.”

The main point to notice here is Verse 7: “unto every one of us is given grace” or is given a gift. Though it is also true that each one of us has received grace in a general sense, Paul's specific thought here seems to have been the various gifts which God gives to his people. Paul uses the picture of a triumphant military hero, leading captive the forces of the enemy. It was customary for a conqueror to distribute gifts among his people to celebrate his victory. Just so, Christ has triumphed over death and over sin, leading them captive, and has given gifts to his people. There may even be another thought. As a conquering king gives offices and appointments in order to establish his new dominion (as Darius gave to Daniel or as Nebuchadnezer gave to Gedaliah), so Christ, our conquering king, has given gifts to the church as the basis for his new kingdom on this earth.

(Though it is not Paul's main point, he stops in passing to celebrate the supremacy of Christ, having both descended in His incarnation and death and then ascended in his resurrection and ascension, so that He now fills all things. Once again we have an echo of Chapter 1 and the theme of Christ's supremacy and centrality because of His life, death, and resurrection.)

There is an interesting progression here. In verses 7-8, Paul describes God as giving gifts to men. But in verse 11, he makes it more personal. The gifts are not just things, abilities, talents which God gives to men. Instead, they are the men themselves, the offices which comprise the church--apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Though commentators are by no means agreed on what exactly defines these offices, the main point to notice is that all of them are given to the church and each has a unique function.

We can understand this concept if we think of any human institution, like a restaurant. In a restaurant there are many different offices, some requiring certain abilities and some requiring multiple abilities--dishwashers, servers, cashiers, grill cooks, prep cooks, maintenance, managers. Certain unique abilities and skills are needed for these jobs and many of them require the same skills. So a server and a cashier both have to have the skill to work well with people, and a grill cook and a prep cook have to have a deal of similar knowledge about cooking and food safety and, ideally, a manager has to know a little bit about all the other positions as well as management. But the point is that for a restaurant to function, it needs all of these positions. A restaurant which had servers and dishwasher and no cooks would not be a very satisfying place to go. Each position is important for the restaurant to function. And in the same way, for the church to function properly, there are many different roles. Each one is, in its way, important and must be filled. That is why God has given people to the church to fill those positions. They may not always be those who, objectively considered, might seem most qualified, just as there are often people filling one job in a restaurant who might be equally capable of filling another job--and why in both cases a person may move from one role to another during the course of their life. But the bottom line is that each position is important and, by God's grace, will be filled by someone.

But a restaurant exists for a purpose--to produce food. Why does the church exist? What function are its members fulfilling? The church is a place where something should happen--the unity of the church and the gifts given to those in the church are all for a particular goal.

Ephesians 4:12-13. “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 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.”

You can give a man a hammer, but if you want him to build a house, you also have to give him some blueprints. Here Paul gives us God's blueprint for the church--what it is He expects the gifts given to us to be used to make.

Why did God give gifts to men, why did God appoint certain people in the church to do the work of preaching and teaching? It was “for the perfecting of the saints.” The word translated perfecting means completely furnished (Strong, 2677). The idea is that the saints, Christians, would have everything they needed. But have everything they need for what? “For the work of the ministry.” Note that “the ministry” is said to be the work of “the saints.” That is to say, all Christians, not merely of a few isolated individuals. But what is the purpose of the work of the ministry? “The edifying of the body of Christ.” The word translated edifying literally means house-building or architecture. (Strong, #3619) Once again, the body of Christ is compared to a building.

The gifts which God gave to the church are to the end that it may be built up, may grow, may become what God intended it to be. When God saves a man, He does not say: “Congratulations. You have been saved. Have a nice day.” The new birth (like the old birth) is only the beginning of a new phase of life. And when Christians come together in church it is not merely to check off a spot on their weekly responsibility chart. There is purpose and direction in the Christian life, a purpose and direction which includes all Christians in their corporate identity as the church. God intends to make his people into something. Just as a man lays out the plans of a great cathedral and slowly works to mold the rough timbers and stones into the image of his dream, so God is working with His people to build them into something specific.

However, Paul uses another analogy besides that of a building (Paul was very fond of throwing various analogies and metaphors together) and we can understand best if we look at that other analogy. In this passage, Paul compares the church to a child, growing up. Just as, at birth, a father has certain things he hopes his children will obtain--both individually and as a family unit--so, at the New Birth, our Heavenly Father has certain things he hopes and plans and determines we will obtain--both individually and as a family unit.

Verse 13 gives that goal: “till we all come... unto a perfect [complete/full-grown] man, unto the measure of the [full stature] of Christ.” Just as a man might hope his son will grow up to be as tall as he is, so God calls us to hope for a time when we, as the church, as a corporate entity, may grow up to the measure of Christ. In Chapter 1, we saw that God's plan for us as individuals was to be like Him, to be “holy and without blame before him in love.” But now we see that this plan is not just for individuals but for the whole church. Just as a family does (or can) have a unique, distinct characteristic, so the church is to have a unique, distinct characteristic, reflective of the Father.  Everything we do as individuals and as the church should be looking forward to one thing, that we “may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.” (v. 15) This is the purpose of the church, this is the purpose of those gifts which God gave to the ministers of the church. This is what the church, what the plan of redemption, what God's secret plan, is ultimately all about--to bring his people, not just as individuals but as a collective family, into an alignment with His own nature, into a full-grown man, measuring up to the full stature of Christ.

How can this come about? By unity (v. 13)--the unity of faith and knowledge--either a unity in our faith and knowledge or a unity caused by our faith and knowledge. (See Family Bible Notes, Ephesians 4:13) John Wesley says that “faith” here means a knowledge of the doctrines and teachings of Christianity while “knowledge” refers our personal and experiential knowledge of God. (NT Notes, Ephesians 4:13.) It is in our knowledge of and experience with our common God that we find unity despite differences of class, culture, occupation, or ethnicity.
Verse 14 gives the result of this--of the church moving forward in unity to become like Christ. That result is stability. “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.” In other words, Paul is saying that the church (and those in the church) needs to be a well-seasoned, established adult who has some experience under his belt and knows too much to fall prey to every theological con-man who comes peddling some new doctrine.

In verse 14 Paul vividly paints the acts of deceitful men who will attempt to lure Christians away from the truth: “by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.” In contrast to that, in verse 15 he says that another fruit of our establishment is “speaking the truth in love.” But this can also be translated: “living the truth in love.” Unlike the hypocrites and deceivers who surround us, we as the church should be characterized by both truth and love.

Speaking (and living) the truth in love is apparently one of the hardest things in the world to do. Some people sacrifice truth for the sake of love. Some people sacrifice love for the sake of truth. And a good many people seem to content to ignore them both. But Paul's call to the church is to exercise both.

In verses 15-16 Paul brings his metaphor to a conclusion. Early he spoke of the church as a man growing up to be like Christ. Now he brings it in a little closer. The church is like a body with Christ as its head. “[That we] may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 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.” These verse are a little complex and hard to follow in English. But the basic idea is this. The human body is composed of many parts, many individual organs with different natures and different purposes. But they are joined together to form one body. Each part has a particular role and by fulfilling it, it helps the rest of the body. The body functions through the mutual cooperation of each member. So it is in the church. (c.p. 1 Corinthians 12:12-13) Macknight expresses it in these words: “The apostle's meaning is, that, as the human body is formed by the union of all the members to each other, under the head, and by the fitness of each member for its own office and place in the body, so the Church is formed by the union of its members under Christ, the head.  Farther, as the human body increases till it arrives at maturity by the energy of every part in performing its proper function, and by the sympathy of every part with the whole, so the body or Church of Christ grows to maturity by the proper exercise of the gifts and graces of individuals for the benefit of the whole.” (Quoted in Clarke, Ephesians 4:16)

Paul says that the body works to build itself up in love or by love. The heart never says: “I had an argument with the stomach the other day, so I don't think I'll pump any blood to him.” In a healthy body, each part works together for the good of the whole, striving for the good of the whole. If there were hatred and feuds between the members in the body, the body would die. And if there are hatred and feuds between the members in the Church, the church will die.

This is the privilege we have been granted because of God's secret plan, the privilege of sitting with Christ in heavenly places--to be part of Christ's body, of a church where each part works together to build up the whole, so that we all may come together to measure up to the full stature of Christ. The decay and rot which has entered into the human race because of sin can be undone and we, as the church, may sit in the presence of God, sharing in and delighting in His nature. The Westminster Shorter Catechism says that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. But we can only do that if we are made to be like Him and this is possible (and only possible) through God's secret plan which allows us to sit with Him in heavenly places and to become part of His body, growing and edifying itself in love.