Ephesians 4

Paul makes a shift here from theology to practice. He focuses less on our calling from God and more on how we should act when so called. He starts by calling himself a prisoner of the Lord, which typically has two meanings in Scripture—that for the Lord’s purpose he is literally in prison, and that having been called he has been taken for the Lord’s purpose. Context dictates here that the latter is more likely in this case.

He then asks them to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling.” This marks the transition between the two halves of this letter, yet unifies them as both relating to God’s calling. He asks them to treat each other in a loving manner so that they may “preserve the unity of the Spirit.” Since one Spirit has called them, this passage argues that they should act out of one purpose.

While we are to act as one, Jesus has given us different abilities. Like any body, the body of Christ (that is, the church) has different parts, and no one part can do everything. For this reason, no single person has all of the gifts listed here. (Certainly, however, we can be expected to act in some capacity in all of them—for example, we must evangelize when needed, even if we do not have this gift in a great capacity.)

The first two gifts, apostleship and prophecy, should be dealt with carefully. In each case one must separate the office from the gift, as the office has been closed but the gift remains. Regarding apostleship, the only apostles were those appointed in person by Christ. However, the word for “apostle” in the chapter here simply means “messenger.” Since the canon is closed, no prophets (in the mold of Daniel and Jeremiah) exist, but prophecy can happen. I would also believe that if the other gifts in this chapter exist, then these two also can exist.

The other spiritual gifts listed here are relatively clear and without controversy, so I will not cover them here. I will, however, cover the purpose of the spiritual gifts. These gifts, Paul writes, were given to us so that the saints (that is, those who are set apart for the Lord) would be equipped, and for the strengthening and education of the church. The gifts, he writes, will be necessary until our maturity and unification. He provides Christ himself as a measure of this necessary maturity, which means that as long as we live on this earth, we will need to rely on God’s grace, some of which came in the form of these gifts. Once this happens, we should be more mature in our faith than mere children. We will be able to stand our ground against Satan’s attacks on our doctrine, and will be able to respond out of love.

He then calls his readers to stop walking “as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind.” He describes them as showing greed for the opportunity to act wickedly. He calls them, as people under God’s grace who have been separated from their old life, to act as a new creation.

He calls them to speak the truth to others, for they are all part of the same body. He directly invites them to show anger, but not to act rashly or sin because of that anger. He asks those who stole for a living to move on to productive work so that they could share with the needy. He calls them only to speak in order to strengthen another. He asks them not to grieve the Holy Spirit, which means not causing him sorrow. Paul wraps up his exhortations by asking that they turn from bitterness and wrath and any desire to cause harm to another, and to forgive others as Christ has forgiven us.