Ephesians 4: Obtaining Unity In God’s Kingdom

Ephesians 4 is a hallmark chapter in the New Testament. It continues teaching us about the importance of unity in the body of Christ and goes into righteous living.

Christians should refresh themselves with this chapter because we are not better than anyone else. Remember Paul said God doesn’t choose favorites. And it’s a good reminder of that.

Ephesians 4 reminds us that we are to live righteously in the light. We need to flee the mental state of the world, and God is for us. We do this by connecting to God and giving our lives fully to him.

Now more than ever the church needs to unite. There are wars on the horizon, corrupt leadership, and the financial world could collapse at any moment. But none of that matters, Jesus is the great unifier because he is the only way to God.

If we love our neighbors, we’ll tell them about Jesus, that should always be our goal. But before that, we should be helping them, by building relationships with them too.

Ephesians 4 Unity in the Body

4 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. ² Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 

³ Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. ⁴ For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.

⁵ There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
⁶ one God and Father of all,
who is overall, in all, and living through all.

⁷ However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. ⁸ That is why the Scriptures say,

“When he ascended to the heights,
    he led a crowd of captives
    and gave gifts to his people.”

Ephesians 4:1-8

I love how Paul continues pushing unity in Ephesians 4, while he started in the 3rd chapter. He’s hammering the point home here.

Christians are extremely divided today. Whether, you’re catholic, pentecostal, baptist, etc. There is only one baptism, one God, and one Father. We need to remember this. Only our faith in Jesus matters. If someone is a follower of Jesus, what does anything else matter?

God will lead us into all truth. My sin has to be left in the past, and I will strive for Jesus.

Unity Will Make Or Break Us

As I read Ephesians 4 I’m reminded of the story in Genesis about the tower of Babel. After the great flood, the people rebelled against God by building a great tower that reached heaven.

God looked down and said the people are united and nothing will be impossible for them.

There’s a power in being unified, and Ephesians 4 goes into that. However, that power in the wrong hands will lead us down the wrong path. Look at Germany in WW2, they were unified in purpose, but they were led down a dark, evil, and destructive path.

Be careful what banner you unify under, Christians should only be unified under the banner of Jesus Christ. He’s the only one who’s loved us enough to die for us.

Ephesians 4: Jesus Descended & Ascended

⁹ Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended into our lowly world. 10 And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.

¹¹ Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. ¹² Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. ¹³ This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

¹⁴ Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. ¹⁵ Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. ¹⁶ He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

Ephesians 4:9-16

Earlier in Ephesians 4, Paul alludes to God’s Mysterious plan, even today we’re still discussing it. Jesus came down to earth to rescue us. It’s almost like he brought a lifeline, and tethered it down here for us.

Then he climbed back up, and now he’s reeling us in from the top. However many people don’t know, or even want to climb the rope.

And some don’t know how.

That’s why he gave the gifts to the church. He gives us apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. These are offices given to us so we can learn how to climb the rope and teach others about Jesus who will lead us to rescue.

I know I’m simplifying this, but Ephesians 4 is about showing the way, finding the way, and following the way. This is the main theme of Ephesians 4.

Jesus didn’t have to come to earth. Instead, his love for us drove him to come, he could’ve stayed in heaven in the highest places. But instead, He and God hatched a plan, to rescue their sinful children. It was the only plan that would work.

This is because God’s nature puts limitations on what he can do. For example; He is love, therefore he won’t change us into mindless zombies who love him. That wouldn’t be love.

He won’t lie, because his nature is truth.

Some of the beliefs we have in Christianity are wrong. maybe they’re well-meaning, but they distort the truth, of who God is.

God is love, and anybody who follows him will be filled with that love. They will not lie, cheat, or steal. Instead, they will live righteously following after him.

Ephesians 4 Living as Children of Light

¹⁷ With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. ¹⁸ Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. ¹⁹ They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.

²⁰ But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. ²¹ Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, ²² throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. ²³ Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. ²⁴ Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

²⁵ So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. ²⁶ And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷ for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

²⁸ If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. ²⁹ Don’t  use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

³⁰ And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. ³² Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Ephesians 4:1-32

The later part of Ephesians 4 gives us a standard to live by. If we want to please God this is a standard of Righteousness we should follow.

When you choose to follow Christ, you are giving up yourself. You surrender your future for his future, whatever that might be.

However, with this surrender, you receive eternal life and a traveling partner. I can’t imagine what life would be like without the Holy Spirit working in my life. He walks next to me every day and speaks to my heart. I receive wisdom, peace, and direction from him.

I’ve tried living without God, and it’s tempting to walk away. However, life without him isn’t real life. He’s the source of everything good and holy.

If you’re reading this, don’t follow Jesus because you’ll receive eternal life. Follow him, because he gives you strength to get through life. My life is better because I know him, but that doesn’t mean things go well. It’s the opposite most of the time.

However, when you live in the light of righteousness and are unified with other Christians, you can face anything and come out smiling. I love Ephesians 4 because it describes exactly who we need to be in Christ, and Ephesians 4 shows what our difference from society should be.