JASON MARTIN
Ephesians
Paul spent most of the first 3 chapter of his letter to the Ephesians telling us what God has done for us. He will spend the remaining three chapters telling us how we should live now - in light of what was done.
Chapter 4 is broken into 4 major sections that we will look at in two halves;
1. UNITY IN THE CHURCH (1-6)
2. GIFTS AND MATURITY (7-16)
a. split
3. OLD SELF & NEW SELF (17-24)
4. PRACTICAL TRANSFORMATION (25-32)
Ephesians 4:1–6 “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
• Ephesians 4:1 “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,”
• Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
• In Scripture, believers are often referred to as the called ones or the saints.
• Abram was called out of Ur, Israel was called out of Egypt, and the Church is being called (separated ) from the world into Christ.
• So we don’t earn the calling - we walk worthy of it.
• “Christianity is lived, not merely claimed” - Alistair Begg
• Ephesians 4:2–3 “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
• We do not create unity - God creates it by His Spirit. We maintain it.
• Our unity in Christ crosses;
• ethnicity
• background
• age
• status
• Our differences are real, but what unites us (the Spirit) is much stronger.
• But unity doesn’t mean abandoning the truth - because God Himself defines truth.
• We maintain unity by walking in;
• humility
• gentleness
• patience
• love
• This echoes;
• the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23.
• and a similar list in Colossians 3:12–15....
• Unity is real, but it can be costly - especially when others aren’t pursuing it. But we’re still called to do our part.....
• Ephesians 4:4–6 “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
• Paul repeatedly says “one” here. He is building a structure of unity in Christ - built around shared identity in Christ - not individual distinctions.
• one body - the Church, made up of both Jews and Gentiles - of which Christ is the Head (1 Cor 12:12 one body with many members)
• one Spirit - the Holy Spirit that indwells all who believe (1 Cor 12:13)
• one hope - our unity is also future oriented. We are headed toward the same inheritance in Christ
• Ephesians 1:18 “having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,”
• Titus 2:11–13 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,”
• One LORD - Christ alone
• Zechariah 14:9 “And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.”
• ONE FAITH - the Gospel that saves Jews and Gentiles the same way - by grace, through faith in Jesus
• ONE BAPTISM - In the N.T., baptism language is used in different ways;
• water baptism is an outward sign of repentance and faith
• Spirit baptism as being brought into Christ by the Spirit
• sometimes metaphorical language describing identification with Christ
• Paul isn’t focusing on those distinctions here. He is emphasizing one shared belonging in Christ for all believers. That’s why this sits alongside one LORD, one faith, one God.
• ONE GOD - the Shema
• Deuteronomy 6:4 ““Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”
• God is not divided. He is over all, through all, and in all.
• Paul isn’t giving seven separate doctrines here. He’s building one single unified statement:
• We are one people, because we belong to one LORD, are saved by one faith, identified by one baptism, indwelt by one Spirit, moving towards one hope, under one God and Father.
• When Paul talks about unity and God reclaiming people, he’s building on Scripture...
• In Deuteronomy 32:8-9, God divided the nations
• In Psalm 82, corrupted spiritual powers are being judged
• In Acts 17:30, God now calls all people back
• The story moves from scattering to gathering. From dividing to restoring
• So if we’re one unified people, the question becomes:
• How does that unity actually work in everyday life?
Ephesians 4:7–16 “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
• Ephesians 4:7 “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”
• Paul transitions from corporate unity to diversity within unity. Every believer is gifted, but the gifts are given by Christ, not earned.
• The grace given enables us all to carry out whatever our particular ministry is - no believer is excluded. This does not make any believer more valuable than another - it means Christ decides HOW each person contributes to the body.
• There is no room for;
• insecurity - (i don’t have much gifting)
• pride - ( I have more gifting)
• Jesus didn’t make a mistake when He gifted you and me
• Ephesians 4:8 “Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.””
• In the ancient world, when a king won a battle, he would march back in victory and distribute the spoils to his people.
• Paul is quoting Psalm 68:18, which is about YHWH’s victory and ascent, and applied it to Jesus.
• The Psalm says He received gifts - like a victorious warrior-king receives tribute
• Paul says He gave gifts - the victorious King distributes the spoils (gifts) to His people.
• 7 out of 8 commentaries consider the ‘host of captives’ to be the spiritual powers listed in Ephesians 1:20-22, Colossians 2:15, and Ephesians 6:12.
• The enemy thought the cross would kill Jesus. But it was through the cross that Jesus defeated sin, death, and hostile spiritual powers - ascends in victory - then distributes gifts to His people. Checkmate
• And if Christ has triumphed over the powers of darkness, then the gifts He gives aren’t just for personal growth - they are part of God reclaiming and rebuilding His people in a world that was at one time handed over to rebellion.
• Ephesians 4:9–10 “(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)”
• The descending here is debated. I believe this is speaking of the incarnation and the Lord’s descent from Heaven and into humanity. (Some people tie this to 1 Peter 3:18-20 which talks about Jesus preaching to the spirits in prison.). Either way, Paul’s point is the full humiliation and exaltation of Jesus.
• Regardless of when this specific descent was, this points back to Ephesians 1 where Christ is seated far above all rule, authority, power, and dominion
• Ephesians 4:11 “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,”
• Leadership is a gift from Jesus to the Church - not a self-appointed authority. It functions in these ways;
• Apostles = the foundational witnesses of Christ’s resurrection (through these we have our N.T.)
• Prophets = Spirit-empowered proclaiming of God’s Word(s)
• Evangelists = go out and preach the gospel
• Shepherds / Teachers = a connected role of providing instruction and discipling believers
• All share the same purpose;
• Ephesians 4:12 “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,”
• This completely overturns the spectator style of church.
• The pastors are not the ministers - and the people are not the audience -
• The pastors EQUIP the ministers - and the ministers ARE the people
• Ephesians 4:13 “until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,”
• The goals are
• unity of faith
• knowledge of Jesus
• maturity = completeness / perfection - not of just a person, but of the body
• These lead to Christlikeness instead of cultural Christianity
• Ephesians 4:14 “so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”
• Immaturity = instability
• wind
• waves
• drifting doctrine
• sources of instability;
• human cunning
• deceitful schemes
• Truth produces and protects maturity. Notice that false teaching isn’t always obvious - it can come through partial truths and subtle distortions. (did God really say....?)
• This is exactly what we see today. People changing beliefs based on trends or social pressure
• Without maturity in Christ, we have no anchor of Truth and can drift with whatever sounds good at the moment.
• Ephesians 4:15 “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,”
• People ignore truth for the sake of ‘love’ - but that isn’t love at all. That’s holding your hand right off a cliff
• other ignore love for the sake of harsh truth - we can say the right things the wrong way
• Truth without love crushes people
• Love without truth deceives people
• Biblical maturity holds love and truth together. (God is love and truth) And Jesus is the perfect example;
• John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
• Ephesians 4:16 “from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
• Christ = Head
• Church = body
• each person = connected & necessary
• growth happens through
• proper connection
• functioning joints (relationships)
• each part working properly
• the final result is a body that ‘builds itself up in love’ - that’s the outcome of spiritual maturity
• Christ is;
• the ascended King
• the Giver of gifts
• the Head of the body
• the Goal of maturity
• the Source of growth
• the Church doesn’t mature into an idea, it matures into ‘the fullness of Christ’
• If we are ‘in Christ’, we are not accidental in the Church, we were placed. We should stop;
• Consuming church as an audience experience
• comparing gifts instead of using ours
• Intentionally isolating from the body
• A healthy church;
• equips people instead of only entertaining
• multiplies ministry instead of centralizing it
• measures maturity by Christlikeness, not specific activities
• The Church doesn’t grow by adding more spectators - it grows by activating more participants.
• Christ already gave the gifts, the question is - are we using them?
• are we being equipped or only attending?
• are we using our gifting to build others up?
• are we stabilized in Truth or easily moved by trends and culture?
• Unity is the foundation (vs 1-6), diversity of gifts is the means (vs 7-12), and maturity in Christ is the goal (vs 13-16)
Ephesians 4:17–24 “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
• Ephesians 4:17 “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.”
• Paul’s moving from how the Church functions (unity and gifts) - to how believers should live.
• This is not optional. We must no longer behave like those who are outside of Christ. Being ‘born again’ and becoming part of the new creation comes with a new lifestyle that leaves our old godless lifestyle behind.
• Ephesians 4:17–18 “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.”
• Paul lists the root problems
• futile - empty, purposeless
• darkened understanding - inability to discern truth
• alienated - spiritual separation from God
• Why do they have these problems?
• due to their hardness of heart.
• it’s not a lack of information
• hardness leads to blindness - not just intellectual, but moral and spiritual blindness
• this shows that spiritual blindness isn’t neutral - it’s usually the result of resisting truth. People don’t fail to see as much as they refuse to see - and over time they lose the ability to clearly see.
• Ephesians 4:19 “They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.”
• See the progression;
• a hard heart leads to a darkened mind which then leads to a calloused or dead conscience
• They surrendered to sin > and that sin becomes insatiable
• sin doesn’t just break rules - it reshapes desires
• Ephesians 4:20–21 “But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,”
• We pray and study the word of God because we don’t just learn ABOUT Christ - WE LEARN CHRIST
• Paul doesn’t say we learned information - he says we learned Christ
• When we learn Christ, we learn truth because Truth is embodied in Jesus. When we surrender to sin, we abandon that Truth
• That means Christianity isn’t just information - it’s transformation through relationship
• Ephesians 4:22 “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,”
• PUT OFF = change clothes (out of prison clothes)
• James 1:21 “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”
• Colossians 3:8 “But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.”
• 1 Peter 2:1 “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.”
• James, Paul, and Peter are all saying with one voice - you are no longer the old person - put that junk away.
• Sin doesn’t just tempt - it deceives. It promises good and delivers death
• Sin pretends to make you feel better - but like the affirming person holding your hand off the cliff - it only leads to death and separation from God.
• Ephesians 4:23 “and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,”
• This is a present tense - it’s an ongoing process that we call sanctification
• the transformation starts internally with a renewed mind, not just changing behaviors
• Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
• Do we see how Scripture is still always talking about renewal / restoration / reconciliation?
• Ephesians 4:24 “and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
• The new self is restoring the image that mankind was originally given at creation - before sin separated us from properly displaying that image
• 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Ephesians 4:25–32 “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
• Ephesians 4:25 “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.”
• if i cut my finger and my finger says it’s not cut - the body can get infected
• if i go barefoot in the snow and my foot says it doesn’t have frostbite - the body suffers
• if i lie about my struggles, I cut myself off from the very help God designed the body to give
• Unity in the family demands truth
• Ephesians 4:26–27 “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.”
• like most things, anger by itself isn’t always sinful......but it can get there quickly, so we need to deal with it quickly
• Righteous anger is directed at sin and injustice - sinful anger is usually rooted in wounded pride...
• the word for ‘foothold’ or ‘opportunity’ used here literally means ‘a place’
• we can actually give the devil a place to attack us from when we hold on to our anger.
• unresolves sin, especially anger can create a ‘place’ for the enemy to influence and disrupt us.
• Ephesians 4:28 “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”
• transformation isn’t just stopping sin - it’s replacing it
• don’t steal (sin)
• work honestly - why?
• to give to others in need
• transformation turns selfishness into generosity
• notice the reversal - the thief doesn’t just stop stealing, he becomes a giver. That’s not just a change of behavior - it’s a transformed identity.
• Ephesians 4:29 “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
• CORRUPTING = rotten, bad, worthless, decaying
• replace that kind of talk with words that build up and give grace to the hearer.
• before we speak, we should ask ourselves;
• do our words build people up or tear people down?
• Ephesians 4:30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
• Paul is warning the Ephesians about what happened when Israel grieved the Spirit;
• Isaiah 63:9–10 “In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.”
• When we rebel against God, we might find ourself to be His enemy
• When were we sealed?
• Ephesians 1:13 “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,”
• But when we still sin, that causes grief to the Spirit living in us. If we belong to God - we should live like it. The Holy Spirit is not just with us - He is in us - and our sin affects that relationship
• Ephesians 4:31–32 “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
• replace these relational sins;
• bitterness
• wrath
• anger
• slander
• malice
• with this;
• kindness
• tenderheartedness
• forgiveness
• do we hold on to things like bitterness?
• do we forgive “as God in Christ forgave you”
• how did He do that? He didn’t forgive us halfway - He forgave fully, freely, and at a great cost to Himself...
• the Gospel is the pattern for our relationships..
• do we follow that example? That is the calling..
• The Gospel isn’t just what saves us - it’s what reshapes us.
If we belong to Jesus, we don’t live like we used to anymore. The old way was empty and separated us from God. In Christ, we are being made new. So, like old clothes, we take off the old and put on the new life - truthful, loving, forgiving. It’s not about following rules - it’s about becoming like Jesus in how we think, talk, and treat others.
The Gospel doesn’t just forgive our past - it transforms our present lives and shapes our future.
Gifts and service help the Church grow bigger - holiness and transformed lives helps the church grow deeper.
In Christ, we are all ministers...each equipped by the LORD to build up the body
Exported from Logos Bible Study, 8:41 AM June 26, 2026.