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Putting the theology into practice
4
Unity
1 So then, as the prisoner in the Lord I urge you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all humility and courtesy, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 taking pains to keep the unity of the Spirit*“The unity of the Spirit” presumably refers only to things that come from the Holy Spirit; it cannot include anything with which He does not agree. Note that we are not to ‘create’ the unity, we are to “keep” it. in the bond of the peace.†In verses 1-3 Paul is talking about how we relate to other believers. 4 There is one body and one Spirit (just as you also were called in one hope of your calling), 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all,‡Here is the Trinity again—the Spirit in verse 4, the Son in verse 5 and the Father in verse 6. who is over all and through all and in us§Perhaps 4% of the Greek manuscripts omit “us” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.), while another 4% read ‘you’ (as in AV and NKJV). all.
Building up the body
7 Now to each one of us the grace according to the measure of Christ's gift was given. 8 That is why He says, “When He ascended into the heights He captured the concentration camp, and distributed gifts to men.”*“He captured the concentration camp” does not sound very much like “He led captivity captive”, now does it. The point is that ‘captivity’ refers to people held in captivity, and they are freed. When an invading army takes a concentration camp, the prisoners are set free (usually). We have here a quote from Psalm 68:18, where the second half says, “You have received gifts from men”, just the opposite of “distributed”. What to do? The Targum (a Hebrew commentary) interprets as, “You have given gifts to the children of men”. Upon reflection this would appear to be obvious. When you put tithes and offerings in the offering plate at church, you are giving to God, but does that money literally go to Heaven? No, it is redistributed down here—some goes to the preacher's salary, some to a missionary, some to pay the light bill, etc. God does indeed receive gifts from men, but He does not stash them in Heaven somewhere; they are redistributed down here. When done properly He gets the credit: “He distributed gifts to men.” 9 (What does ‘He ascended’ imply if not that He also first descended into the interior regions of the earth?†This is one of several texts that lead me to understand that Sheol/Hades is beneath the crust of the earth somewhere. For one of the things He did down there, see 1 Peter 3:19. 10 He who descended is the very one who also ascended far above all the heavens,‡“All the heavens”—sounds like quite a few, more than three; and He is above all of them. that He might fill all things.) 11 Yes, He Himself gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,§One might imagine that this list follows the chronological sequence of the several ministries. An apostle introduces the Gospel into an area or context; a prophet gets the people's attention and an evangelist urges them to believe; but once people are regenerated then pastors and teachers come to the fore—they are the ones who equip the saints. However, in practice, especially in a pioneer missionary situation, there are seldom that many people around. The missionary preaches the Gospel and it is up to him to teach the first converts; he is alone. A pioneer missionary, the first one to introduce the Gospel to an ethnic group or area, has an apostolic function (whether or not he himself is an apostle). But he must also function as an evangelist and as a teacher (whether or not he has those gifts).
However, most of us live and work where there are established, functioning congregations. So what would be the function of an apostle within an established, functioning congregation? If he lives and worships in that community, probably none at all, in that specific capacity—he might function as a teacher or a prophet. In a country, or area, where there is no more pioneer missionary work to be done, the exercise of the apostolic function would be itinerant, acting as God's special emissary, an official intervener, for disciplinary and correctional purposes.
I will take up evangelist next; what would his function be within an established congregation? Well, can you evangelize someone who is already regenerated? Evidently the function of an evangelist is directed to unbelievers, who should not be members of the congregation (although some often are). Of course an evangelist might also function as a pastor or teacher. A truly gifted evangelist will function beyond the limits of a local congregation.
As for the prophetic function, I will address the question of supernatural revelation of information not available through existing channels. (1 Corinthians 14:3 speaks of ‘edification’, ‘exhortation’ and ‘comfort’ as coming from a prophet, but I will not take up such activity here.) We understand that the Canon of Scripture is closed; God is no longer giving written revelation that is of general or universal application. But that does not mean that God no longer speaks into specific situations. Divine guidance is a type of prophecy; He is giving information not otherwise available. I myself have been contemplated with a prophecy delivered by someone who had no idea who I was, and not in the context of a local congregation. The function of a true prophet cannot be limited to one congregation. Indeed, God may use a prophet at city, state or country level. Our world desperately needs prophetic voices.
A teacher will normally reside in a specific community, but his ministry may range beyond it. A pastor's function is local, just as he is chosen and ordained locally. It is simply a fact of life that someone with a shepherd's heart is not necessarily a good teacher, and an honest to goodness teacher often lacks a shepherd's heart. The functions are supposed to be complementary, and the object is to get all true believers involved in the work of the ministry. Life in Christ is not a spectator sport! 12 for the equipping of the saints into the work of the ministry, so as to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain into the unity of the faith and of the real knowledge of the Son of God, into a complete man, into the resulting full stature of Christ;*Verse 13 emphasizes the truth in verse 12—every believer is supposed to grow into full stature. Just because we do not reach a goal does not invalidate that goal. 14 so that we no longer be ‘infants’, tossed about as by waves and carried off by every doctrinal fad, through the underhanded dealings of the people who collect the fee for the error;†Before Paul wrote Ephesians, κυβεια always meant dice-throwing (but commentators usually don't like that, and so take evasive action). Why do people do that? Usually for material advantage. If the dice-throwing is ‘crafty’ then it is crooked—the dice are loaded. But this has to do with doctrinal fads (‘winds’). Why do people start and push fads? To get or to keep attention, which usually involves material advantage. But who throws dice by himself? To cheat you have to have a victim. But why is the other guy playing? He hopes to make a fast buck, too. So why do people buy into doctrinal fads? Often for material advantage—the purveyor makes promises (e.g. the ‘prosperity gospel’); sometimes for ‘spiritual’ or social prestige (which can translate into material advantage). You have to make the victim think that there is something in it for him. One of the basic meanings for μεθοδεια is ‘a method of collecting taxes’ or ‘debts’. If you want to shear the sheep, you need a method. But who would be vulnerable to any such ‘method’? Only a spiritual ‘infant’, who still thinks he can make a fast spiritual buck, who thinks there can be shortcuts. A “perfect man” (ανηρ, not ανθρωπος) is like Jesus—when Satan comes with his shortcuts he is not taken in.
Let us try to pull it together. The fad (ανεμος) is an error (πλανη), which carries a fee—the error is not free. The purveyor needs a method for collecting the fee (μεθοδεια) for the error he is selling. But it cannot be obvious, he needs to finesse it (κυβεια εν πανουργια) (he wants happy, unsuspecting sheep). Someone who is mature (verse 13) knows there are no shortcuts, so is not taken in by any cheap promise. Telling the truth in love (verse 15) contrasts with selling an error for gain (verse 14). 15 rather, speaking the truth in love, let us in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, the Christ; 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and knit together by what every joint supplies, as each individual part does its work, promotes its own growth,‡Any local congregation can promote its own growth by encouraging each member to exercise his gift(s); by making room for all the gifts and promoting their use. its own edification, in love.
Put away the old, put on the new
17 So then, I affirm and insist on this in the Lord: you must no longer carry on as the rest of the Gentiles do,§It sounds like some of them were not being altogether successful in breaking with their former way of life. Breaking free from the culture that surrounds you, so as to embrace biblical values, is not easy. in the futility of their mind, 18 having been darkened in their understanding, being alienated [as a continuing condition] from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts,*This works like a downward spiral: the ignorance feeds the hardening, that in turn increases the ignorance. The consequence is that they can never get out by themselves. Someone must take Christ's power to them to help them out, before they become ‘dead to hope’. “Having been darkened” is passive voice; they are darkened by Satan, directly or indirectly. 19 who, having become dead to hope, have abandoned themselves to depravity, greedily indulging in every kind of vileness.†What kind of person or being might be “dead to hope”? If someone is dead to hope, is he beyond hope, unrecoverable? And how should society defend itself against those who have “abandoned themselves to depravity”? The consequences of depravity always spill over into the surrounding society, and according to Psalm 5:5-6 the Lord hates such people, and so presumably will not ‘draw’ them (John 6:44). 1 John 5:16-17 teaches that certain sinners are beyond the reach of prayer, they have passed the point of no return. If someone cannot be saved, then he needs to be neutralized (because of the harm he causes to others) —we need to ask God to teach us how to do this. 20 Now that is not how you ‘learned Christ’— 21 if indeed you have heard Him and been taught by Him (as the truth is in Jesus): 22 that you put away, concerning your former way of life, the old man‡The “old man” cannot be cured; it must be rejected in favor of the new. (that keeps on being corrupted by the deceitful desires), 23 and that you be renewed§The verb here evidently means ‘renew’ and not ‘make new’, the implication being that a depraved mind represents a departure from a former condition. When a person is regenerated by the Holy Spirit he receives a new nature, but the old one is not obliterated or expunged. We must constantly choose to use the new one. in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new man, created in the likeness of God,*Wait a minute! Was not the first Adam created in the likeness of God? So when he fell did he lose that likeness? Probably not entirely, but Satan has been working at increasing the damage ever since—he works to remake men in his own image; in those who have “abandoned themselves to depravity” (verse 19) he has been successful. For someone to receive the “new man” requires a new act of creation. in true righteousness and holiness.
Practical instruction
25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,’†This is an exact quotation from Zechariah 8:16, though not presented as such. for we are members of one another. 26 ‘Be angry but do not sin’;‡This is an exact quotation from Psalm 4:4, though not presented as such. do not let the sun set on your angry mood, 27 nor give an opportunity to the devil.§Evil and injustice should make us angry, and legitimate anger should give rise to appropriate action. But if we do nothing except to sit and brood, we do not help the situation and we do give Satan opportunity. 28 The one who steals must steal no longer, but rather let him work, doing something good with his hands, that he may have something to share with someone in need. 29 Let no evil word proceed from your mouth, but only what is good for edification, as needed,*“As needed”—part of imparting grace is knowing when to keep quiet! that it may impart grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,†I imagine that any sort of disobedience on our part grieves Him. with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and slander be removed from you, with all malice.‡The focus in verses 31 and 32 is on how we treat other people. God has been good to us; we should be good to others. 32 Rather, be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as in Christ God forgave you.

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*4:3 “The unity of the Spirit” presumably refers only to things that come from the Holy Spirit; it cannot include anything with which He does not agree. Note that we are not to ‘create’ the unity, we are to “keep” it.

†4:3 In verses 1-3 Paul is talking about how we relate to other believers.

‡4:6 Here is the Trinity again—the Spirit in verse 4, the Son in verse 5 and the Father in verse 6.

§4:6 Perhaps 4% of the Greek manuscripts omit “us” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.), while another 4% read ‘you’ (as in AV and NKJV).

*4:8 “He captured the concentration camp” does not sound very much like “He led captivity captive”, now does it. The point is that ‘captivity’ refers to people held in captivity, and they are freed. When an invading army takes a concentration camp, the prisoners are set free (usually). We have here a quote from Psalm 68:18, where the second half says, “You have received gifts from men”, just the opposite of “distributed”. What to do? The Targum (a Hebrew commentary) interprets as, “You have given gifts to the children of men”. Upon reflection this would appear to be obvious. When you put tithes and offerings in the offering plate at church, you are giving to God, but does that money literally go to Heaven? No, it is redistributed down here—some goes to the preacher's salary, some to a missionary, some to pay the light bill, etc. God does indeed receive gifts from men, but He does not stash them in Heaven somewhere; they are redistributed down here. When done properly He gets the credit: “He distributed gifts to men.”

†4:9 This is one of several texts that lead me to understand that Sheol/Hades is beneath the crust of the earth somewhere. For one of the things He did down there, see 1 Peter 3:19.

‡4:10 “All the heavens”—sounds like quite a few, more than three; and He is above all of them.

§4:11 One might imagine that this list follows the chronological sequence of the several ministries. An apostle introduces the Gospel into an area or context; a prophet gets the people's attention and an evangelist urges them to believe; but once people are regenerated then pastors and teachers come to the fore—they are the ones who equip the saints. However, in practice, especially in a pioneer missionary situation, there are seldom that many people around. The missionary preaches the Gospel and it is up to him to teach the first converts; he is alone. A pioneer missionary, the first one to introduce the Gospel to an ethnic group or area, has an apostolic function (whether or not he himself is an apostle). But he must also function as an evangelist and as a teacher (whether or not he has those gifts). However, most of us live and work where there are established, functioning congregations. So what would be the function of an apostle within an established, functioning congregation? If he lives and worships in that community, probably none at all, in that specific capacity—he might function as a teacher or a prophet. In a country, or area, where there is no more pioneer missionary work to be done, the exercise of the apostolic function would be itinerant, acting as God's special emissary, an official intervener, for disciplinary and correctional purposes. I will take up evangelist next; what would his function be within an established congregation? Well, can you evangelize someone who is already regenerated? Evidently the function of an evangelist is directed to unbelievers, who should not be members of the congregation (although some often are). Of course an evangelist might also function as a pastor or teacher. A truly gifted evangelist will function beyond the limits of a local congregation. As for the prophetic function, I will address the question of supernatural revelation of information not available through existing channels. (1 Corinthians 14:3 speaks of ‘edification’, ‘exhortation’ and ‘comfort’ as coming from a prophet, but I will not take up such activity here.) We understand that the Canon of Scripture is closed; God is no longer giving written revelation that is of general or universal application. But that does not mean that God no longer speaks into specific situations. Divine guidance is a type of prophecy; He is giving information not otherwise available. I myself have been contemplated with a prophecy delivered by someone who had no idea who I was, and not in the context of a local congregation. The function of a true prophet cannot be limited to one congregation. Indeed, God may use a prophet at city, state or country level. Our world desperately needs prophetic voices. A teacher will normally reside in a specific community, but his ministry may range beyond it. A pastor's function is local, just as he is chosen and ordained locally. It is simply a fact of life that someone with a shepherd's heart is not necessarily a good teacher, and an honest to goodness teacher often lacks a shepherd's heart. The functions are supposed to be complementary, and the object is to get all true believers involved in the work of the ministry. Life in Christ is not a spectator sport!

*4:13 Verse 13 emphasizes the truth in verse 12—every believer is supposed to grow into full stature. Just because we do not reach a goal does not invalidate that goal.

†4:14 Before Paul wrote Ephesians, κυβεια always meant dice-throwing (but commentators usually don't like that, and so take evasive action). Why do people do that? Usually for material advantage. If the dice-throwing is ‘crafty’ then it is crooked—the dice are loaded. But this has to do with doctrinal fads (‘winds’). Why do people start and push fads? To get or to keep attention, which usually involves material advantage. But who throws dice by himself? To cheat you have to have a victim. But why is the other guy playing? He hopes to make a fast buck, too. So why do people buy into doctrinal fads? Often for material advantage—the purveyor makes promises (e.g. the ‘prosperity gospel’); sometimes for ‘spiritual’ or social prestige (which can translate into material advantage). You have to make the victim think that there is something in it for him. One of the basic meanings for μεθοδεια is ‘a method of collecting taxes’ or ‘debts’. If you want to shear the sheep, you need a method. But who would be vulnerable to any such ‘method’? Only a spiritual ‘infant’, who still thinks he can make a fast spiritual buck, who thinks there can be shortcuts. A “perfect man” (ανηρ, not ανθρωπος) is like Jesus—when Satan comes with his shortcuts he is not taken in. Let us try to pull it together. The fad (ανεμος) is an error (πλανη), which carries a fee—the error is not free. The purveyor needs a method for collecting the fee (μεθοδεια) for the error he is selling. But it cannot be obvious, he needs to finesse it (κυβεια εν πανουργια) (he wants happy, unsuspecting sheep). Someone who is mature (verse 13) knows there are no shortcuts, so is not taken in by any cheap promise. Telling the truth in love (verse 15) contrasts with selling an error for gain (verse 14).

‡4:16 Any local congregation can promote its own growth by encouraging each member to exercise his gift(s); by making room for all the gifts and promoting their use.

§4:17 It sounds like some of them were not being altogether successful in breaking with their former way of life. Breaking free from the culture that surrounds you, so as to embrace biblical values, is not easy.

*4:18 This works like a downward spiral: the ignorance feeds the hardening, that in turn increases the ignorance. The consequence is that they can never get out by themselves. Someone must take Christ's power to them to help them out, before they become ‘dead to hope’. “Having been darkened” is passive voice; they are darkened by Satan, directly or indirectly.

†4:19 What kind of person or being might be “dead to hope”? If someone is dead to hope, is he beyond hope, unrecoverable? And how should society defend itself against those who have “abandoned themselves to depravity”? The consequences of depravity always spill over into the surrounding society, and according to Psalm 5:5-6 the Lord hates such people, and so presumably will not ‘draw’ them (John 6:44). 1 John 5:16-17 teaches that certain sinners are beyond the reach of prayer, they have passed the point of no return. If someone cannot be saved, then he needs to be neutralized (because of the harm he causes to others) —we need to ask God to teach us how to do this.

‡4:22 The “old man” cannot be cured; it must be rejected in favor of the new.

§4:23 The verb here evidently means ‘renew’ and not ‘make new’, the implication being that a depraved mind represents a departure from a former condition. When a person is regenerated by the Holy Spirit he receives a new nature, but the old one is not obliterated or expunged. We must constantly choose to use the new one.

*4:24 Wait a minute! Was not the first Adam created in the likeness of God? So when he fell did he lose that likeness? Probably not entirely, but Satan has been working at increasing the damage ever since—he works to remake men in his own image; in those who have “abandoned themselves to depravity” (verse 19) he has been successful. For someone to receive the “new man” requires a new act of creation.

†4:25 This is an exact quotation from Zechariah 8:16, though not presented as such.

‡4:26 This is an exact quotation from Psalm 4:4, though not presented as such.

§4:27 Evil and injustice should make us angry, and legitimate anger should give rise to appropriate action. But if we do nothing except to sit and brood, we do not help the situation and we do give Satan opportunity.

*4:29 “As needed”—part of imparting grace is knowing when to keep quiet!

†4:30 I imagine that any sort of disobedience on our part grieves Him.

‡4:31 The focus in verses 31 and 32 is on how we treat other people. God has been good to us; we should be good to others.

© 2016 Wilbur N. Pickering, ThM, PhD