Ephesians 4:1-10

After providing some of the most difficult doctrinal teaching, Paul builds on his foundation by exhorting the Christians to apply what they have learned to their daily lives. The book is not separated into two separate sets of instructions but rather, it is all one continuous teaching. In order to avoid legalism, our actions must be undergirded by an understanding of what God has done.

1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,

2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,

3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

• Paul strongly urges them to walk in a manner worthy of their calling. Note that their calling is an awesome one and that a life worthy of this calling is one characterized by humility. The calling is high and the life is low.

• Longsuffering can also be known as patience. We are not allowed to live with short tempers, bitterness or jealousy. this is true even if someone has wronged you, you may not continue in that behavior. We must have a high standard of what offenses we seek retribution for but it would be better to be characterized as one who gave up their right to an apology.

• If we take pride in our understanding of the doctrines that Paul has just taught us, then we still do not understand.

4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;

5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

• The fact that there is one calling, means that we all will share in the same inheritance. We cannot just take our share of the inheritance and go our own ways.

7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.

8 Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men."

• Paul quotes Psalms 68:18 and apparently uses the Aramaic Targum as his source document. This would have been a very common document for him to use as the Hebrew language was at best second to him because of the Hellenistic influences.

• Although the entire invisible church has received the same eternal calling by the same Lord, that same Lord has uniquely given gifts to the people in the church. We know from verse 12 what the nature of the gifts are that Paul is referring to. These gifts are all to be used for the edification of the church. By design, not all people in the church have the same gifts. We are therefore unified in our diversity of gifts.

• Many have understood the term "he led captivity captive" to refer to the shift in location of Paradise out of Hades. All of the saints who died under the old covenant went to Sheol when they died -- both saved and unsaved. Hades is the Greek word for Sheol. We also learn from the new testament that Hades is divided into two distinct areas by a deep, impassable chasm. The righteous inhabit one side and the unrighteous live in the other in torment. It appears that after the resurrection that those who expected to die, no longer expected to go "down" to Hades but rather went "up" to Heaven to be with the Lord. Therefore, many have taken this verse in Ephesians to substantiate the changing in location of the intermediate resting place of the righteous.

9 (Now this, "He ascended"-- what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?

10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) (NKJ)

• The descension and ascension of Christ most likely refers to His incarnation where He left His position to become a man and after His resurrection returned to the right hand of the Father. By ascending to a height above the highest heaven, there is nothing above Him and thus He is over all things and He fills all things.