Reading: Ephesians 4:1-16
Context: How does “living a life worthy of the calling” connect to the previous chapters?
The previous chapters have outlined the honour and privilege of being joined to God’s great eternal purpose through the Lord Jesus Christ. This is glorious. We have been rescued from a life destined for God’s full wrath. We have been made joint heirs with Jesus. We are a part of the family of God and are being built as a living dwelling place for God by the Holy Spirit. We have tremendous power working in us and through us to fulfil God’s eternal purpose. So it makes a great deal of sense, based on that, that we’re now encouraged to live the life that fits all those glorious truths.
It’s worth noticing, too, that Paul doesn’t launch into this appeal as a distant theologian issuing commands from a comfortable seat. He calls himself “the prisoner of the Lord” as he makes it. That’s not incidental. A man in chains, writing to urge others toward humility, gentleness, patience, and unity, gives his words a weight they wouldn’t otherwise carry. The “therefore” in verse 1 does real heavy lifting here – it’s the hinge of the whole letter, gathering up three chapters of doctrine about who we are in Christ and turning them into a lived response. Being “worthy” doesn’t mean earning the calling; the Greek sense is closer to a set of scales in balance, where our daily walk simply matches the weight of what’s already been given to us. In other words, Paul isn’t handing us a new burden to carry alongside grace. He’s asking whether our lives are finally catching up.
Content: What are the elements that create and maintain unity?
Elements include humility, gentleness, patience to bear with one another in love, and an eagerness to be part of the unity and keep it going. As well as that, though, there’s the acknowledgement of the ones we share – body, Spirit, hope, Lord, faith, baptism, God and Father. There are the elements we practice, and there are the elements we treasure. Which I hadn’t appreciated before. The qualities that we express come from the truths we treasure.
It’s worth sitting with how deliberately Paul builds that list of “ones” in verses 4 to 6. Seven times he repeats the word — one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father — and that’s not just poetic repetition; it’s an argument. He’s saying our unity isn’t something we manufacture through good manners or shared preferences; it’s something we discover, because it already exists at the deepest level of who God is and what He’s done. That’s why “eager to maintain” is the phrase used rather than “eager to create” — we’re not building unity from scratch; we’re guarding something the Spirit has already forged. And that reframes the whole exercise. The humility, gentleness, and patience aren’t techniques for keeping the peace among people who happen to disagree; they’re the natural overflow of people who genuinely believe they’ve been joined together by one Lord and one Father, whether they feel like it on a given day or not.
Concept: How do spiritual gifts contribute to the body’s maturity?
Oooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhh. What a question. The body of Christ is growing to reflect the Head. The head who was sent (Apostle), the head that spoke on behalf of the Father (Prophet), the head that spread the good news of the rule of the Father (Evangelist), the head that taught people the way of God (Teacher) and the head who cares for and nurtures those who belong to Him like no other (Shepherd). Every gift in the Body of Christ, to some degree, helps us grow into becoming more and more like Him in both activity and character. It’s character as well as activity because we’re not just looking to reflect what Jesus did; we’re looking to become like Him in who He is. The gifts to the Body of Christ are given to help us grow into that reality.
And it’s worth catching where all this is heading, because Paul doesn’t leave the goal vague. He names it in verse 13: unity in the faith, knowledge of the Son of God, and “mature manhood” — growing up to the full measure of Christ’s own stature. That’s the target every gift is aimed at. Not celebrity ministries, not impressive titles, not one person doing all the work while everyone else watches — but a whole body being equipped for “works of service” so it builds itself up in love. So when an apostle sends, a prophet speaks, an evangelist proclaims, a teacher instructs, or a shepherd nurtures, they’re not just filling a role in the church programme. They’re deliberately working themselves out of a job, handing their function to the saints, until the whole body no longer needs to be carried but can stand, together, at the height of Christ Himself.
Conclusions: Where do you see your role in building up the body of Christ?
My role is to encourage people’s commitment to the Word – knowing it, applying it, sharing it, growing in it and seeing it in all its majesty, beauty and insight so that the love of the Lord Jesus Christ would grow more and more. I believe God strategically locates me to come alongside saints and cajole, stimulate, spark and challenge depth in knowing these wonderful words of Christ.
Looking back at verse 11, this is really the shape of the “teacher” gift Paul lists among the ones Christ gave to His body. The Greek word there, didaskalos, carries the sense of someone who instructs, explains, and helps others apply what they’ve been given — and that’s exactly the posture I recognise in myself, not standing over people with answers, but standing alongside them, helping the Word open up until they see its beauty for themselves. What matters is why that role exists at all: verse 12 says it’s “to equip the saints for the work of ministry,” not to keep them dependent on a teacher forever. And it doesn’t stop with information. Paul is clear in verses 15 and 16 that the goal is to speak truth in love so the whole body grows up into Christ, each part doing its own work and building itself up in love. So if I’m faithful to this role, the measure of success isn’t how much people learn from me — it’s whether they end up loving Jesus more and are better equipped to serve the rest of the body themselves.
Next time:
WIWO – Ephesians – Episode Nine: New Life, New Standards
Reading – Ephesians 4:17-32
God brilliantly designs one Body to express His manifold wisdom through compassion and humility towards each other, and reflecting who Christ is within and beyond. This exciting development reinforces the commitment we make to take His Word In so we can live His Word Out.
For His Name’s Sake
C. L. J. Dryden
Shalom
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