EPHESIANS: ETERNALLY ENCLOSED IN GOD’S PLAN

Part X: Promoting Godly Unity In Living

(Ephesians 4:1-3)

I. Introduction

A. Paul wrote Ephesians to encourage believers of God’s work to edify the Church regardless what happened to him in his imprisonment (Ryrie St. Bible, KJV, 1978, p. 1672: “Intro. to the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians”).

B. Ephesians 4:1-3 thus records Paul’s admonition that his readers might promote godly unity in living for the edification of the Body of Christ (as follows):

II. Promoting Godly Unity In Living, Ephesians 4:1-3.

A. After reporting of his prayer request in Ephesians 3:14-21 for Gentile and Hebrew believers to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit that they might be unified in Christian love, Paul exhorted his readers to live lives that were worthy of the great and gracious calling they had received from God in Christ’s salvation, Ephesians 4:1.

B. God’s unmerited favor in salvation logically demands that we relate to one another in grace, Ephesians 4:2-3:

1. We are called of God to relate to one another with humility, Ephesians 4:2a:

a. The Greek noun Paul uses in Ephesians 4:2a is tapeinophrosunes, what means “humility, modesty” (Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 812; Theol. Dict. of the N. T., vol. VIII, p. 25).

b. “In Greek culture, humility was thought of as a vice, to be practiced only by slaves” (Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 632) who groveled in inferiority before their masters, but as a Christian virtue, it takes on the positive idea of selfless consideration for the honor of others as well as submission to God out of appreciation for His unmerited gift of salvation in Christ (op. cit., Theol. Dict. of the N. T., p. 24-25).

2. We are called of God to relate to one another with gentleness, Ephesians 4:2b:

a. The Greek noun Paul uses in Ephesians 4:2b is prautetos, what means “gentleness” (loc. cit., Bible Know. Com., N. T.) and “mild and gentle friendliness” (op. cit., Theol. Dict. of the N. T., vol. VI, p. 646).

b. Like tapeinophrosunes, this word does not connote weakness, but “having one’s emotions under control” opposite “self-assertion, rudeness, and harshness” (op. cit., Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 633). For example, “(o)ne who is controlled by God is angry at the right time but never angry at the wrong time,” Ibid. “Moses was known as the meekest of all men (Num. 12:3 NIV). Yet he got angry when Israel sinned against God (Ex. 32). Christ was meek and humble in heart (Matt. 11:29). Yet He became angry because some Jews were using the temple as a place for thieves (Matt. 21:12-13),” Ibid.

3. We are called of God to relate to one another with longsuffering, Ephesians 4:2c:

a. The Greek noun Paul uses in Ephesians 4:2c is makrothumias, meaning “longsuffering, steadfastness, endurance” (op. cit, Arndt & Gingrich, p. 489; op. cit., Theol. Dict. of the N. T., vol. IV, p. 374-387)

b. It is the characteristic that “endures to the end in times of adversity (James 5:10)” and it “is the self-restraint which does not hastily retaliate a wrong (cf. Gal. 5:22; Col. 1:11; 3:12; 2 Tim. 4:2),” loc. cit., Bible Know. Com., N. T.

4. We are called of God to relate to one another by applying humility, gentleness and longsuffering to the practice of the Greek verb anecho, which means to “put up with, endure, bear with, forbear” (Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 65), Ephesians 4:2d.

5. Such forbearance in relating to one another with humility, gentleness and longsuffering is to be exercised in agape, the Greek term for God’s objective “love” that led Him to send His Son into the world to save it as John 3:16 stated! (Eph. 4:2e; U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 671, 330) In 1 Corinthians 13, this love is shown to be patient, kind, not envious, not proud, not dishonoring others, not boasting, not self-seeking, not easily angered, not keeping record of wrongs, not delighting in evil but rejoicing in the truth, always protecting, always trusting (until one is proven untrustworthy), always hoping and always persevering.

6. With this view, we must maintain the church’s unity that was made by the Spirit in the bond of peace, v. 3.

Lesson: God’s unmerited favor toward us in saving us through the substitutionary atonement of Christ obligates us believers to live worthy of our high calling in Christ by relating to one another with humility, gentleness and longsuffering as we forbear with each other’s weaknesses or failings in God’s love that is marked by patience, kindness, humility, selflessness, self-control, and affirmative living that always perseveres amid hardships.

Application: Due to God’s unmerited favor toward us in saving us through the cross of Christ, may we relate to one another worthy of our calling as those who are as gracious to others as our Lord has been gracious to us.