Ephesianschapter 4
32 verses · Paul, by tradition · AD 60 to 62 · Paul's letters
And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
Introduction
Paul, by tradition, Paul's letters, Ephesians Overview.
Paul wrote this chapter to congregations made of Jews and Gentiles who had no natural reason to live together. After three chapters of praise and prayer, the letter now turns to daily conduct, and every command rests on what came before. The chapter first speaks of the church as one body with many gifts and then of the single believer who must change the way he lives. Listen for the word walk, which returns at each new section of the letter's second half. Read it as the plan for a church that grows up together.
Context
- Who
- Mixed churches learning to be one body out of populations that had no reason to mix.
- What
- A call to walk worthy of the calling, keeping the unity of the Spirit, growing through Christ's gifts, and putting on the new self.
- Where
- Written from Paul's custody, traditionally at Rome, to the churches of Asia.
- When
- About AD 60 to 62 on the traditional dating, during Paul's first Roman imprisonment.
- Why
- To show a mixed church how God's grace shapes its common life, its ministry and each believer's speech, work and temper.
Historical context
The seven "ones", one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father, read like a confession being recited. Early congregations used such summaries to fix what everyone held in common, which mattered enormously in a movement spread across cities with no central office.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
The picture of Christ ascending and giving gifts draws on a psalm about a victor returning from battle distributing spoil. Roman triumphs did something similar: a general's victory produced largesse for the city.
The instruction that thieves should stop stealing and work with their hands so they have something to share addresses a real situation. Petty theft was endemic in crowded cities, manual labour was despised by those with any status, and giving to others was the mark of a patron. The verse quietly rearranges all three assumptions.
"Do not let the sun go down on your anger" fits a world where the working day ended at dusk and disputes among neighbours living wall to wall could not be avoided by driving away.
Significance
The first hearers were being told that the gifts given to the church, apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers, existed to equip the saints for the work of ministry, not to do it on their behalf.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
The rest was the unglamorous work of putting off an old way of life and putting on a new one: truthful speech, honest labour, words that build up, kindness and forgiveness because God in Christ forgave them.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Walk Worthy: One Body, One Spirit, One Lord
Ephesians 4:1-3
walk in a manner worthy of the calling: you have received follows the walk of 2:2 and 2:10. Worthy translates axios, a weight matching a scale.
Ephesians 4:1
“Translate, according to the Greek order, "I beseech you, therefore (seeing that such is your calling of grace, the first through third chapters) I the prisoner in the Lord (that is, imprisoned in the Lord's cause)." What the world counted ignominy, he counts the highest honor, and he glories in his bonds for Christ, more than a king in his diadem [THEODORET].”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Ephesians 4:1
“Those who love Christ follow him. They are bonded with him in the ties of love. There is also another explanation [i.e., Origen's], which it is the reader's prerogative to accept or not: Suppose what is called here the prison is the body. Because Paul has taken on the body for the ministry of the gospel, he is consequently said to be in bondage to Christ.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 4:1patristic
Ephesians 4:1
“Whatever belongs to Christ, though in the eyes of men it may be attended by ignominy, ought to be viewed by us with the highest regard. The apostle's prison is more truly venerable than the splendid retinue or triumphal chariot of kings. This is a general sentiment, a sort of preface, on which all the following statements are founded.”
John Calvin · Commentaries (1554)reformed
bearing with one another in love: Patience renders makrothumia, which Clarke calls long-mindedness, a patience that outlasts every trial and provocation. Barnes ties meekness to the way injuries are received. Chrysostom finds the method in the last words, since love makes forbearance possible, and the Master bears with those who bear with their fellow servants.
Ephesians 4:2
“Anyone who understands what it is "forbear one another in love" will understand that this is a precept appropriate to the faithful. It is not indeed saints who have any need to "forbear one another." Rather it is those in the earlier stages of Christian life, who being human are still under the control of some passion. Nor is it strange that this should be said to the Ephesians. Among them there were surely some who still had to bear patiently with others.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 4:2patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Ephesians 4:2
“With all lowliness - It is by acting as the apostle here directs that a man walks worthy of this high vocation; ταπεινοφροσυνη signifies subjection or humility of mind. Meekness - The opposite to anger and irritability of disposition. Long-suffering - Μακροθυμια· Long-mindedness - never permitting a trial or provocation to get to the end of your patience.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
the unity of the Spirit: Chrysostom reads the unity of the Spirit as the oneness the Spirit creates, as a spirit holds the members of one body together. Calvin and Barnes take it as harmony of views and affection among believers. Clarke sees Jewish and Gentile converts at Ephesus behind the charge.
Ephesians 4:3
“The unity of the Spirit - A united spirit, or oneness of spirit. This does not refer to the fact that there is one Holy Spirit; but it refers to unity of affection, of confidence, of love. It means that Christians should be united in temper and affection, and not be split up into factions and parties.”
1 more voice on this verse
Ephesians 4:3
“Some consider the unity of the Spirit to mean that spiritual unity which is produced in us by the Spirit of God. There can be no doubt that He alone makes us "of one accord, of one mind," (Philippians 2:2,) and thus makes us one; but I think it more natural to understand the words as denoting harmony of views.”
John Calvin · Commentaries (1554)reformed
Ephesians 4:4-6
There is one body and one Spirit: Seven ones stand in three verses. One body, one Spirit and one hope answer to the Spirit, and one Lord, one faith, one baptism to the Son. One God and Father answers to the Father.
Ephesians 4:4
“There is one body - Viz. of Christ, which is his Church. One Spirit - The Holy Ghost, who animates this body. One hope - Of everlasting glory, to which glory ye have been called by the preaching of the Gospel; through which ye have become the body of Christ, instinct with the energy of the Holy Ghost.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 4:4
“His words one body and one Spirit can be taken most simply to mean the one body of Christ, which is the church. Or it could refer to the humanity of the Lord, which he assumed from the Virgin.… Yet indeed the one body can also refer to life and the works that are called in Greek "the practical life." These are distinguished from the oneness of the Spirit in the heart that finds its unity in contemplation.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 4:3-4patristic
Ephesians 4:4
“As the "SPIRIT" is mentioned here, so the "LORD" (Jesus), Eph 4:5, and "GOD the Father," Eph 4:6. Thus the Trinity is again set forth. hope--here associated with "the Spirit," which is the "earnest of our inheritance" (Eph 1:13, 14). As "faith" is mentioned, Eph 4:5, so "hope" here, and "love," Eph 4:2.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
one Lord, one faith, one baptism: One Lord, Barnes notes, means the same Savior for Jew and Greek, for rich and poor. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take faith as the act of believing by which that Lord is received. Baptism is named because it joins a person to the one body of verse 4.
Ephesians 4:5
“Compare 1Co 12:13, "Faith" is not here that which we believe, but the act of believing, the mean by which we apprehend the "one Lord." "Baptism" is specified, being the sacrament whereby we are incorporated into the "one body." Not the Lord's Supper, which is an act of matured communion on the part of those already incorporate, "a symbol of union, not of unity" [ELLICOTT].”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 4:5
“There are many kinds of baptisms, but one baptism, declares the Apostle. Why? There are baptisms of the Gentiles, but they are not true baptisms. They are washings, but they cannot be baptisms. The body is washed, but the guilt is not washed away; indeed, in that washing it is contracted. However, there were baptisms of the Jews, some excessive, some symbolic. And the symbol itself benefits us, because it is a messenger of truth.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · On the Sacraments 2.1.2patristic
Ephesians 4:5
“One Lord - This evidently refers to the Lord Jesus. The “Spirit” is mentioned in the previous verse; the Father in the verse following. On the application of the word “Lord” to the Saviour, see the notes on Act 1:24. The argument here is, that there ought to be unity among Christians, because they have one Lord and Saviour. They have not different Saviours adapted to different classes; not one for the Jew and another for the Greek; not one for the rich and another for the poor; not one for the bond and another for the free.”
one God and Father of all: Athanasius reads the three phrases of the Trinity. The Father is over all as author and source, through all by the Word, in all by the Holy Spirit. Origen compares the sun, which stands above the earth, passes through it by its rays, and is present wherever its light reaches.
Ephesians 4:6
“For the Father bears the creation and His own Word simultaneously, and the Word borne by the Father grants the Spirit to all as the Father wills. To some He gives after the manner of creation what is made; but to others [He gives] after the manner of adoption, that is, what is from God, namely generation. And thus one God the Father is declared, who is above all, and through all, and in all.”
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Against Heresies Book Vpatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Ephesians 4:6
“One God - The fountain of all being, self-existent and eternal; and Father of all, both Jews and Gentiles, because he is the Father of the spirits of all flesh. Who is above all - Ὁ επι παντων· Who is over all; as the King of kings, and Lord of lords. And through all - Pervading every thing; being present with every thing; providing for all creatures; and by his energy supporting all things.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
He Gave Gifts: Equipping Until We Grow Up
grace has been given according to the measure of the gift of Christ: To each one of us grace has been given names a specific enabling for service. The measure of the gift of Christ makes Christ the one who apportions, each believer receiving a differing amount.
Ephesians 4:7
“A motive to unity (Eph 4:3). Translate, "Unto each one of us was the grace (which was bestowed by Christ at His ascension, Eph 4:8) given according to," &c. the measure--the amount "of the gift of Christ" (Ro 12:3, 6).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
Ephesians 4:7
“But unto every one of us - Every Christian. Is given grace - The favor of God; meaning here that God had bestowed upon each sincere Christian the means of living as he ought to do, and had in his gospel made ample provision that they might walk worthy of their vocation. What “are” the endowments thus given, the apostle states in the following verses. The “grace” referred to here, most probably means “the gracious influences of the Holy Spirit,” or his operations on the heart in connection with the use of the means which God has appointed.”
Ephesians 4:8-10
This is why it says cites Psalm 68:18, a victory psalm of the ark's ascent to Zion, read of Christ's ascension. Where the psalm's Hebrew has received, Paul writes gave gifts to men, which some trace to a Jewish reading of the verse.
Ephesians 4:8
“Wherefore he saith - That is, in reference to which God saith by David, Having ascended on high, he led captivity captive - He triumphed over all his enemies, Satan, sin, and death, which had before enslaved all the world: alluding to the custom of ancient conquerors, who led those they had conquered in chains after them.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 4:8
“Wherefore he saith - The reference seems to be to Psa 68:18, which, however it may speak of the removal of the tabernacle, appears to have been intended to point out the glorious ascension of Christ after his resurrection from the dead. The expositions of various commentators have made the place extremely difficult. I shall not trouble my reader with them; they may be seen in Rosenmuller. When he ascended up on high - The whole of this verse, as it stands in the psalm, seems to refer to a military triumph.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Ephesians 4:8
“Let us set ourselves to think of the ascension of Jesus Christ: that our blessed Redeemer, having risen from the dead, in gone to heaven, where he sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high, which completed the proof of his being the Son of God.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Cross references
Ephesians 4:8
- QuotingPsalms 68:18“You have ascended on high; You have led captives away. You have received gifts from men, even from the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there.”
'When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive' ('he saith')
ConnectionsPsalms 68:18
the lower parts of the earth?: Chrysostom reads the descent as the argument of Philippians 2, Christ the pattern of lowliness, and takes the lower parts of the earth as death. Barnes weighs the logic. The ascent in the psalm, applied to the Messiah, points to a descent that in Christ's case came first.
Ephesians 4:9
“But what is it that ascends except that which also descends into the lower parts of the earth? He who is said to have ascended, ascended because he had descended before. This means: 'But what is it that ascends except that which has also descended.' Therefore, we must look into that which is written elsewhere: 'No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man' (John 3:13), how did he ascend before descending?”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 4:9patristic
2 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 4:9
“As much as if he had said, "When David speaks of Christ's ascension, he intimates the knowledge he had of Christ's humiliation on earth; for, when it is said that he ascended, this implies that he first descended: for what is it but a proof or demonstration of his having done so?" Into the lower parts of the earth; this may refer either to his incarnation, according to that of David, Ps. cxxxix.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Ephesians 4:9
“Christ, as Lord of all, took possession first of the earth the unseen world beneath it (some conjecture that the region of the lost is in the central parts of our globe), then of heaven (Ac 2:27, 28). However, all we surely know is, that His soul at death descended to Hades, that is, underwent the ordinary condition of departed spirits of men.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
in order to fill all things: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the filling as a continuing work, done by Christ's divine presence and Spirit. They add a distinction: as God, Christ is present everywhere, and as glorified man he can be present anywhere. Henry sees members of the church filled with gifts and graces.
Ephesians 4:10
“He that descended - And he who descended so low is the same who has ascended so high. He came to the lower parts of the earth - the very deepest abasement; having emptied himself; taken upon him; the form of a servant, and humbled himself unto death, even the death of the cross; now he is ascended far above all heavens - higher than all height; he has a name above every name. Here his descending into the lower parts of the earth is put in opposition to his ascending far above all heavens.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Ephesians 4:10
“Learn then, ye foolish men, that Jesus who suffered for us, and who dwelt among us, is Himself the Word of God. For if any other of the Aeons had become flesh for our salvation, it would have been probable that the apostle spoke of another.”
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Against Heresies Book Ipatristic
it was He who gave some to be apostles: It was He who gave names Christ's own provision, given toward the goal of verse thirteen. Pastors and teachers share a single Greek article covering both nouns, which many read as one office named two ways. That office stands apart from the apostles, prophets and evangelists before it.
Ephesians 4:11
“And he gave some, apostles - He gave some to be apostles. The “object” here is to show that he has made ample provision for the extension and edification of his church On the meaning of the word “apostles,” and on their appointment by the Saviour, see the notes on Mat 10:1. And some, prophets - He appointed some to be prophets; see the Rom 12:7, note; 1Co 12:28, note; 1Co 14:1, notes. And some, evangelists - see the notes on Act 21:8; compare 2Ti 4:5. The word does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament.”
1 more voice on this verse
Ephesians 4:11
“From this passage Paul clearly confirms the divinity of the Father and Son. What Christ is here said to have bestowed [as in his first letter to the Corinthians] is nothing less than the gift of God. … Failing to understand this, Sabellius confused the Father and the Son, not grasping that, though distinguishable, they work together with single intent.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 4:11-12patristic
to equip the saints for works of ministry: To equip translates katartismos, from the root Galatians 6:1 uses for restoring a fallen brother and Mark 1:19 for mending nets. The word names a setting right for use.
Ephesians 4:12
“For the perfecting of the saints - For the complete instruction, purification, and union of all who have believed in Christ Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles. For the meaning of καταρτισμος, perfecting, see the note on 2Co 13:9. For the work of the ministry - All these various officers, and the gifts and graces conferred upon them, were judged necessary, by the great Head of the Church, for its full instruction in the important doctrines of Christianity. The same officers and gifts are still necessary, and God gives them; but they do not know their places.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Ephesians 4:12
“For--with a view to; the ultimate aim. "Unto." perfecting--The Greek implies correcting in all that is deficient, instructing and completing in number and all parts. for--a different Greek word; the immediate object.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
until we all reach unity in the faith: Mature renders teleios, full-grown or complete. The full measure of the stature of Christ sets Christ as the standard the church grows toward. The gifts of verse eleven serve until it is reached.
Ephesians 4:13
“God's children, as long as they are in this world, are growing. Dr Lightfoot understands the apostle as speaking here of Jews and Gentiles knit in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, so making a perfect man, and the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
Ephesians 4:13
“We must ask: Who are the all whom he speaks of "coming together in the unity of faith"? Does he mean all the people of God or all saints? Or rather all who are capable of reason? He seems to me to be speaking of all the people of God because there are so "many winds of doctrine" blowing about them. When these blasts and billows are aroused, people in general are carried here and there by diverse errors, uncertain of their course.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 4:13patristic
no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves: The clever cunning of men draws on a gambler's word for a dice trick. Scheming renders methodeia, the word 6:11 uses of the devil.
Ephesians 4:14
“Be no more children - Children, here, are opposed to the perfect man in the preceding verse; and the state of both is well explained by the apostle’s allusions. The man is grown up strong and healthy, and has attained such a measure or height as qualifies him for the most respectable place in the ranks of his country. The child is ignorant, weak, and unsteady, tossed about in the nurse’s arms, or whirled round in the giddy sports or mazes of youth; this seems to be the apostle’s allusion.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Ephesians 4:14
“Translate, "To the end that"; the aim of the bestowal of gifts stated negatively, as in Eph 4:13 it is stated positively. tossed to and fro--inwardly, even without wind; like billows of the sea.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Ephesians 4:15-16
speaking the truth in love: answers the instability of verse fourteen. The verb alethuo means to deal truly in word and deed, and paired with love it produces growth.
Ephesians 4:15
“But speaking the truth in love - Margin, “being sincere.” The translation in the text is correct - literally, “truthing in love” - ἀληθεύοντες alētheuontes. Two things are here to be noted: (1) The truth is “to be spoken” - the simple, unvarnished truth. This is the way to avoid error, and this is the way to preserve others from error. In opposition to all trick, and art, and cunning, and fraud, and deception, Christians are to speak the simple truth, and nothing but the truth.”
through the work of each individual part: Jerome notes that the growth leaves each member its own measure. Every part is perfected according to its own function, and the members reach differing degrees of maturity. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown link the verb for growth to 4:15, so the body's increase carries forward the growing up into Christ.
Ephesians 4:16
According to the effectual working of grace in each member (or else, rather, "according to each several member's working"), proportioned to the measure of its need of supply. every part--Greek, "each one part"; each individual part. maketh increase--Translate, as the Greek is the same as Eph 4:15, "maketh (carrieth on) the growth of the body."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 4:16
“This entire upbuilding, by which the body of the church increases cell by cell, is being accomplished through the mutual love of one for another.… This does not imply that to each member will be distributed the same level of maturity. It is an error to assume, for example, that all human beings will be formed anew into angels. Rather every member will be perfected according to its own distinctive measure and function. Humanity, which has been expelled from paradise, will be restored to the cultivation of paradise again.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 4:16patristic
Ephesians 4:16
“From whom the whole body - Dr. Macknight has a just view of this passage, and I cannot express my own in more suitable terms: “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.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Put Off the Old Self, Put On the New
Ephesians 4:17-19
no longer walk as the Gentiles do: Having lost all sense of shame renders apalgeo, calloused beyond the reach of pain. The end is sensuality pursued with a craving for more, pleonexia, a wanting that never reaches enough.
Ephesians 4:17
“This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord - I bear witness in the name of the Lord Jesus, or ministering by his authority. The object of this is, to exhort them to walk worthy of their high calling, and to adorn the doctrine of the Saviour. With this view, he reminds them of what they were before they were converted, and of the manner in which the pagan around them lived. That ye henceforth walk not - That you do not henceforth live - the Christian life being often in the Scriptures compared to a journey.”
alienated from the life of God: The life of God, as Jamieson, Fausset and Brown explain it, is the life from which spiritual life in believers is kindled. They call the ignorance willful, as in Romans 1:28. Chrysostom compares the darkened mind to a man deep under water, unable to see the sun above him.
they have given themselves over to sensuality: Romans 1:24 says that God gave them up. Here they give themselves over, and Chrysostom reconciles the two by reading God's act as permission, while Barnes finds the statements consistent. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown explain the practice of impurity as a deliberate pursuit, worked at like a trade.
Ephesians 4:19
“Who being past feeling - Wholly hardened in sin. There is a total want of all emotion on moral subjects. This is an accurate description of the state of a sinner. He has no “feeling,” no emotion. He often gives an intellectual assent to the truth, But it is without emotion of any kind. The heart is insensible as the hard rock. Have given themselves over - They have done it voluntarily. In Rom 1:24, it is said that “God gave them up.” There is no inconsistency.”
Ephesians 4:20-21
the way you came to know Christ: In verse 20 the Greek reads learned Christ, with Christ Himself the content learned. The ethical teaching that follows rests on a person the readers actually know.
Ephesians 4:20
“But ye have not so learned Christ - Ye have received the doctrines of Christianity, and therefore are taught differently; ye have received the Spirit of Christ, and therefore are saved from such dispositions. Some would point and translate the original thus: Ὑμεις δε ουχ οὑτως· εμαθετε τον Χριστον· But ye are not thus; ye have learned Christ.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Ephesians 4:20
“THE first two words of our text call attention to the distinction which must always be drawn between true Christians and other people, "But you." The Apostle had been writing concerning other Gentiles and the evil lives they lived, so, to the Believers at Ephesus, he said that they were not to walk as unbelievers ordinarily did. Thus we learn at the very opening of our subject that if we are, indeed, Christians, there is a manifest distinction between us and the men of the world.”
Charles Spurgeon · written before 1892 · The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2719: “True Learning” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition)Particular Baptist
Surely translates a Greek conditional, if indeed. Clarke and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take it as an assumption, seeing that they have heard, while Barnes allows a faint doubt in it. They read taught in Him as instruction received in living union with Christ, as in Romans 16:7.
Ephesians 4:21
“If so be that ye have heard him - If you have listened attentively to his instructions, and learned the true nature of his religion. There may be a slight and delicate doubt implied here whether they had attentively listened to his instructions. Doddridge, however, renders it, “Seeing ye have heard him;” compare notes on Eph 3:2. And have been taught by him - By his Spirit, or by the ministers whom he had appointed. As the truth is in Jesus - If you have learned the true nature of his religion as he himself taught it.”
1 more voice on this verse
Ephesians 4:21
“If all who seem to hear Christ did indeed hear him, the apostle would never had said this to the Ephesians. They were those to whom he had already revealed the promises of Christ. Why would he then say conditionally: "if indeed you have heard him?" To know Christ is the same thing already as knowing virtue. To hear of Christ rightly is the same as being attentive to all the virtues: wisdom, justice, temperance, fortitude and the other names by which Christ is called.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 4:20patristic
Ephesians 4:22-24
to put off your former way of life, your old self: The new self renders the phrase 2:15 uses of Jew and Gentile made one. So personal renewal and corporate reconciliation share one vocabulary.
Ephesians 4:22
“The "old nature" whom he tells them to put off has, in my opinion, been aged by wickedness. For, going constantly astray in his former way of life and in the desires of waywardness and acting like a beast in works of corruption, he himself suffers corruption and decay.… But the Word of God kills in such a way as to make the dead one come alive. He then seeks the Lord whom he did not know before his death. He does not corrupt but kills the old man. … As the outer man decays the inner man is renewed.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 4:22patristic
2 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 4:22
“That ye put off - And this has been one especial part of our teaching, that ye should abandon all these, and live a life totally opposite to what it was before. The old man - See the note on Rom 6:6, and especially see the notes on Rom 13:13, Rom 13:14 (note). Which is corrupt - The whole of your former life was corrupt and abominable; ye lived in the pursuit of pleasure and happiness; ye sought this in the gratification of the lusts of the flesh; and were ever deceived by these lusts, and disappointed in your expectations.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Ephesians 4:22
“In contrast to "the holiness of the truth," Eph 4:24, and "truth in Jesus," Eph 4:21; and answering to Gentile "vanity," Eph 4:17. Corruption and destruction are inseparably associated together. The man's old-nature-lusts are his own executioners, fitting him more and more for eternal corruption and death.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
to be renewed in the spirit: Be renewed translates ananeoo, which Barnes notes occurs only here in the New Testament, close to the renewal of 2 Corinthians 4:16 and Colossians 3:10. Chrysostom stresses that the same person is renewed. Jerome holds spirit and thought together, each renewed along with the other.
Ephesians 4:23
“We are not being renewed in our thinking process apart from the renewal of our spirits. Nor are we renewed in our spirits without thinking. We are being jointly renewed "in the spirit of our mind." Hence as we sing psalms in the spirit, so we also sing them in our thoughts. As we pray in the spirit, so we also pray in our thoughts. The renewal of "the spirit of our mind" means that when the thought is clear and pure … then the spirit is rightly joined to it.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 4:23-24patristic
2 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 4:23
“And be renewed - That is, it is necessary that a man who has been following these should become a new man; see the notes on Joh 3:3 ff., compare the notes on 2Co 4:16. The word used here - ἀνανεόω ananeoō - does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament; but it has the same meaning as the word used in 2Co 4:16, and Col 3:10. It means to make new, and is descriptive of the work of regeneration.”
Ephesians 4:23
“The "spirit" of man in New Testament is only then used in its proper sense, as worthy of its place and governing functions, when it is one spirit with the Lord. The natural, or animal man, is described as "not having the Spirit" (Jude 19) [ALFORD].”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
created to be like God: True holiness renders a phrase Jamieson, Fausset and Brown give as holiness of the truth, a holiness that flows from following the truth of God. Clarke hears Genesis 1:27, and Gregory of Nyssa identifies the new self with Christ, whom Romans 13:14 tells believers to put on.
Ephesians 4:24
“Put on the new man - Get a new nature; for in Christ Jesus - under the Christian dispensation, neither circumcision avails any thing, nor uncircumcision, hut a new creation. Therefore ye must be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Which after God is created in righteousness - Here is certainly an allusion to the creation of man. Moses tells us, Gen 1:27, that God created man in his own image; that is, God was the model according to which he was formed in the spirit of his mind.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Ephesians 4:24
“The metaphors of creating and establishing are never spoken of in Scripture except in great works. The world is created. A city is established. But observe that a house, however grand it may be, is more commonly said to be built than established or created. Note then that it is a great work of God when it is said that "the new person is created by God in Christ." This creature towers over the other creatures.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 4:23-24patristic
Don't Let the Sun Set on Your Anger
speak truthfully to his neighbor: quotes Zechariah 8:16 nearly word for word. The command first given to restored Israel now applies to the restored body of Christ.
Ephesians 4:25
“To be members one of another points to a great mystery. He is speaking of those who are very close to us in faith. For people are not generally "members one of another." But the faithful indeed are members of the faithful. Christians are members of the body of Christ. We are members with the saints who embody purity of heart and consummate goodness.… Hence we are being instructed to speak intimately of the truth of this mystery with the neighbor—to speak of the fullness of God's truth.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 4:25patristic
2 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 4:25
“Wherefore putting away lying - It may seem strange that the apostle should seriously exhort Christians to put away “lying,” implying that they were in the habit of indulging in falsehood. But we are to remember: (1) That lying is the universal vice of the pagan world. Among the ancient pagans, as among the moderns, it was almost universally practiced. It has been remarked by a distinguished jurist who had spent much time in India, that he would not believe a Hindu on his oath.”
Ephesians 4:25
“For "to," Paul quotes it "with," to mark our inner connection with one another, as "members one of another" [STIER]. Not merely members of one body. Union to one another in Christ, not merely the external command, instinctively leads Christians to fulfil mutual duties.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Cross references
Ephesians 4:25
- QuotingZechariah 8:16“These are the things you must do: Speak truth to one another, render true and sound judgments in your gates,”
'Speak every man truth with his neighbour'
Ephesians 4:26-27
Do not let the sun set upon your anger: Be angry, yet do not sin cites Psalm 4:4, and the command allows that anger can stand without sin. It forbids anger that sins or outlasts its hour. Do not let the sun set upon your anger sets a literal daily limit.
Ephesians 4:26
“Be ye angry, and sin not--So the Septuagint, Ps 4:4. Should circumstances arise to call for anger on your part, let it be as Christ's "anger" (Mr 3:5), without sin. Our natural feelings are not wrong when directed to their legitimate object, and when not exceeding due bounds.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
3 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 4:26
“Be ye angry, and sin not - That is, if ye are angry, take heed ye sin not. Anger at sin is not evil; but we should feel only pity to the sinner. If we are angry at the person, as well as the fault, we sin.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Ephesians 4:26
“This is taken from the fourth psalm, as I am sure no one doubts. It may seem contrary to what is said of anger elsewhere, that we must put away all anger. … It is an oversimplified interpretation that does harm, especially when people imagine that the constraints against anger are being here relaxed. It is not only among us but among philosophers too that anger is spoken of in a double sense. Anger emerges first when we are understandably aroused by a natural stimulus after being wounded by an injury.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 4:26patristic
Ephesians 4:26
“Be ye angry, and sin not - Οργιζεσθε, here, is the same as ει μεν οργιζεσθε, If Ye be angry, do not sin. We can never suppose that the apostle delivers this as a precept, if we take the words as they stand in our version. Perhaps the sense is, Take heed that ye be not angry, lest ye sin; for it would be very difficult, even for an apostle himself, to be angry and not sin.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Cross references
Ephesians 4:26
- QuotingPsalms 4:4“Be angry, yet do not sin; on your bed, search your heart and be still. Selah”
'Be ye angry, and sin not'
do not give the devil a foothold: Clarke and Henry note that diabolos can mean a slanderer, so the charge may warn against talebearers who feed anger. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown link the sunset of verse 26 to the devil as ruler of the darkness in 6:12. Chrysostom pictures a crack between the stones of a wall.
Ephesians 4:27
“Neither give place--that is, occasion, or scope, to the devil, by continuing in "wrath." The keeping of anger through the darkness of night, is giving place to the devil, the prince of darkness (Eph 6:12).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 4:27
“Those who persevere in sinful anger and in wrath let the devil into their hearts, and suffer him to gain upon them, till he bring them to malice, mischievous machinations, &c. " Neither give place to the calumniator, or the false accuser" (so some read the words); that is, "let your ears be deaf to whisperers, talebearers, and slanderers." 3.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Ephesians 4:27
“He is showing us how an opportunity is being given to the devil by these acts and desires. Once he has entered our body, he takes full possession of us. Or if he cannot take full possession, he at least pollutes the soul, having stuck his flaming darts into us unawares. At times these pierce us with a wound that goes down very deep. At other times we are merely temporarily inflamed. But it is indeed seldom that these burning darts are easily extinguished. They find their place to wound.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · On First Principles 3.2.4patristic
must steal no longer: He who has been stealing must steal no longer addresses a converted thief in the congregation, a church still carrying old habits into new life. The hands that once took now labor to supply another's lack.
Ephesians 4:28
“Let him that stole steal no more - It is supposed that, among the rabbins, stealing was not entirely discountenanced, provided a portion was given to the poor. The apostle here teaches them a different doctrine: as they should speak truth every man with his neighbor, so they should in every respect act honestly, for nothing contrary to truth and righteousness could be tolerated under the Christian system.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 4:28
“Those who live in the midst of this life's intense business appear to be forced, for the sake of food and necessary provisions, to buy and sell certain things and to seek unfair profit from business. It is difficult even for those who have been set free from the other passions—namely fornication, idolatry, adultery and murder—to escape being caught by this subtle vice.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 4:28patristic
Ephesians 4:28
"Let the stealing person steal no more." Bandits frequented the mountains near Ephesus. Such are meant by those called "thieves" in the New Testament. but rather--For it is not enough to cease from a sin, but the sinner must also enter on the path that is its very opposite [CHRYSOSTOM].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths: Unwholesome talk translates sapros, the word used elsewhere of rotten fruit or decaying fish. Speech is pictured as something that can spoil.
Ephesians 4:29
“To the use of edifying - To forward them in repentance, faith, or holiness. That it may minister grace - Be a means of conveying more grace into their hearts. Hence we learn, what discourse is corrupt, as it were stinking in the nostrils of God; namely, all that is not profitable, not edifying, not apt to minister grace to the hearers.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Ephesians 4:29
“Let no corrupt communication proceed - see the notes on 1Co 15:33. The word rendered “corrupt” (σαπρὸς sapros) means bad, decayed, rotten, and is applied to putrid vegetable or animal substances. Then it is applied to a tree that is of a useless character, that produces no good fruit; Mat 7:17. Then it is used in a moral sense, as our word “corrupt” is, to denote that which is depraved, evil. contaminating, and may denote here anything that is obscene, offensive, or that tends to corrupt others.”
do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God: speaks of the Spirit as a person wounded by conduct, for grief belongs to a person. The verse sits in a list of ordinary sins and names the Spirit's grief as the deepest reason to lay each aside.
Ephesians 4:30
“That we have been "sealed" with the Holy Spirit means that both our spirit and our soul are impressed with God's own seal, signifying that we belong to him. By this we receive in ourselves that image and likeness in which we were created at the outset.… You are sealed so that you may be preserved to the end. You may show that seal on the day of redemption, pure and unblemished and not damaged in any part. You are thereby ready to be counted with those who are redeemed.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 4:30patristic
2 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 4:30
THERE IS SOMETHING very touching in this admonition, “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God.” It does not say, “Do not make him angry.” A more delicate and tender term is used—“Grieve him not.”
Ephesians 4:30
“There is to be a day of redemption; the body is to be redeemed from the power of the grave at the resurrection-day, and then God's people will be delivered from all the effects of sin, as well as from all sin and misery, which they are not till rescued out of the grave: and then their full and complete happiness commences.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Ephesians 4:31-32
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger: Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other answers each vice with its positive opposite. Just as in Christ God forgave you names the standard and the ground together.
Ephesians 4:31
“Let all bitterness - see the notes on Eph 4:2. And wrath - The word here does not differ essentially from anger. Anger - see the note on Eph 4:26. All cherished, unreasonable anger. And clamour - Noise, disorder, high words; such as men use in a brawl, or when they are excited. Christians are to be calm and serious. Harsh contentions and strifes; hoarse brawls and tumults, are to be unknown among them. And evil-speaking - Slander, backbiting, angry expressions, tale-bearing, reproaches, etc. With all malice - Rather, “with all evil” - κακίᾳ kakia.”
2 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 4:31
Wrath is the outspewing of indignation in the mind when anger overflows. Bitterness and wrath are varieties of anger. Anger desires vengeance after rage has been subdued. Anger wishes to harm the one by whom it believes itself injured.… Vengeance wants to return evil to the one it considers guilty of injury. A Christian ought not to return evil for evil but "overcome evil with good."
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 4:31patristic
Ephesians 4:31
"I am not angry," says one; "but it is my way to speak so." Then unlearn that way: it is the way to hell. And evil speaking - Be it in ever so mild and soft a tone, or with ever such professions of kindness. Here is a beautiful retrogradation, beginning with the highest, and descending to the lowest, degree of the want of love.
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
tenderhearted to one another: Kind translates chrestoi, which Barnes renders benign and courteous, and Clarke reads tenderhearted, eusplanchnoi, as compassion easily moved. Chrysostom presses the comparison. God forgave at the cost of his Son, while people often withhold a pardon that would cost them nothing.
Ephesians 4:32
“Be ye kind one to another - Γινεσθε - χρηστοι· Be kind and obliging to each other; study good breeding and gentleness of manners. A Christian cannot be a savage, and he need not be a boor. Never put any person to needless pain. Tender-hearted - Ευσπλαγχνοι· Compassionate; having the bowels easily moved (as the word implies) to commiserate the state of the wretched and distressed.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Ephesians 4:32
“Paul wants us to be gentle, approachable people, people who have left anger, bitterness, wrath and slander behind. If we are merciful and serene, taking the initiative in reaching out to others, our very approachability will overcome the shyness and fear of those for whom we reach out.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Commentary on Ephesians 5:1patristic
Ephesians 4:32
“THIS is the great argument of awakened sinners when they seek mercy at God's hands. Once they could boast of their own righteousness. They could rest upon their feelings, their resolutions, their goodness of heart, or their prayers—but now that God the Holy Spirit has shown them what they are and revealed to them the desperate evil of their hearts, they dare not offer any other plea than this—"For Christ's sake." They look and there is no man to succor.”
How this psalm is built
The form: A preface to the letter's commands, on which all the following statements are founded, as Calvin classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| Seven ones | Verses 4 to 6 name one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God and Father, seven in all. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the Spirit, the Lord and God the Father as the Trinity set forth again, with faith, hope and love placed beside them.Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, on Ephesians 4:4. | Ephesians 4:4, Ephesians 4:5, Ephesians 4:6 |
| Put off, put on | Verse 22 tells the readers to put off the old self and verse 24 to put on the new, and verse 25 applies the same verb to falsehood. Wesley reads the old self as the whole body of sin, with desires that promise happiness they cannot give.John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, on Ephesians 4:22. | Ephesians 4:22, Ephesians 4:24, Ephesians 4:25 |
| Walk, the letter's second half in one verb | The verb walk stands six times in the Berean text of the letter, at 2:2, 4:1, 4:17, 5:2, 5:8 and 5:15. After 2:2 each use opens a new section of commands, and this chapter holds the first two.The Berean text of Ephesians, counted from the store, The verses table, translation id 3, Ephesians 1 to 6. | Ephesians 4:1, Ephesians 4:17 |
The structure
5 more paragraphs on the patterns
The chapter falls into two parts, each opened by the verb walk. Verses 1 to 16 call the church to walk worthy of its calling, name the seven things it holds in common, and describe the gifts Christ gave for its growth. Verses 17 to 32 call each believer to walk no longer as the Gentiles do, to put off the old self and put on the new, and then give the commands that follow from it. The last verse of the chapter runs straight into 5:1, and Calvin holds that the chapter break divides parts of one subject (Commentaries, on Ephesians 5:1).
The debate: gave gifts or received gifts
Verse 8 cites Psalm 68:18, where the psalm says the victor received gifts among men and Paul writes that He gave gifts to men. Chrysostom holds that the one is the same as the other (Homily on Ephesians 11, on Ephesians 4:8). Wesley reads the captives as Satan, sin and death, led in chains after the manner of ancient conquerors (Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, on Ephesians 4:8).
Where the chapter reaches
Verse 26 quotes Psalm 4:4 in the Greek form, be angry and do not sin. Verse 25 draws on Zechariah 8:16, speak the truth each to his neighbour. The sealing of the Spirit in verse 30 looks back to 1:13, and the command to walk in love in 5:2 carries the chapter's last verse forward.
Keep studying
Studies27
- The Fivefold Ministry: Ephesians 4:11-13
- The Gifts of the Spirit: 1 Corinthians 12-14
- Taw: The Mark of God
- Afterlife Vocabulary
- Anger and Murder of the Heart
- Forgiveness and Health
Show the next 6 titles
Words12
Trails1
Subjects2
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The form and classifications
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, on Ephesians 4:4; John Calvin, Commentaries, on Ephesians 4:1 and Tertullian, On Exhortation to Chastity, on Ephesians 4:1.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Athanasius of Alexandria, Commentary (church-history corpus); Gregory of Nyssa, AGAINST EUNOMIUS 3.1.52; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome; John Calvin; John Chrysostom; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.