Ephesianschapter 4
32 verses · BSBEphesians book hub →
Speaks with:Colossians 3×71 Corinthians 12×6Ephesians 2×4Romans 12×3Colossians 2×31 Thessalonians 5×3
Summary
Chapter summary
I therefore beseech you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. In lowliness, meekness, longsuffering, forbearing. One body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father. He gave some apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. For the perfecting of the saints. Speaking the truth in love, grow up into him. Put off the old man; put on the new. Be ye angry, and sin not. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth. Be ye kind, tenderhearted, forgiving. Calvin reads the chapter as the worthy walk defined.
Context
Epistle · Paul — Ephesians overview
- A. 1–6 Walk Worthy: One Body, One Spirit, One Lord
- B. 7–16 He Gave Gifts: Equipping Until We Grow Up
- C. 17–24 Put Off the Old Self, Put On the New
- D. 25–32 Don't Let the Sun Set on Your Anger
The outline
A.Walk Worthy: One Body, One Spirit, One Lordvv. 1 to 6
Read vv. 1 to 6 →B.He Gave Gifts: Equipping Until We Grow Upvv. 7 to 16
Read vv. 7 to 16 →C.Put Off the Old Self, Put On the Newvv. 17 to 24
Read vv. 17 to 24 →D.Don't Let the Sun Set on Your Angervv. 25 to 32
Read vv. 25 to 32 →
The world behind this chapter
Ephesians 4The history
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.
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.
What it meant to them
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.
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.
Sources cited
- Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament
- F. F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free
The text of this chapter
This page carries no textual note on Ephesians 4. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
Connections from this chapter
v. 8 · A picture of Christ
He ascended on high and led captivity captive
Psalms 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.
MannaFest topical index
v. 32 · Written to them
Forgiving one another, as God for Christ's sake
topics/forgiveness→MannaFest topical index
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.