Eph 4:1-3 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
“Because the basic facts of our holy faith are such as have been set forth, Christians ought to live in accordance with them; their character and conduct should match their creed and confession. In this epistle, where Christians are taught the hope of their calling (Ephesians 1:18), Paul insists that their earthly behavior should be worthy of that calling. Those who have been chosen by God to sit with Christ in the heavenly places must remember that the honor of Christ is involved in their daily lives… There are many situations in which we shall find no detailed precept of Scripture to tell us what to do, but here is a principle to guide us in every situation... [bearing with one another in love]...” (F. F. Bruce)
[endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace] “The Holy Spirit has made all true believers one in Christ; the body is indwelled by One Spirit. This is a basic unity that nothing can destroy… To keep the unity of the Spirit means to live at peace with one another. Peace is the ligament which binds the members of the Body together in spite of their wide natural differences. A common reaction when differences arise is to divide and start another party.” (Believer’s Bible Commentary) The truth of the faith must be maintained by a Gospel minister… and others must gather around in love.
Eph 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
“Paul now introduces a sevenfold uniqueness, which is fundamental for Christian faith and life. First, there is one body. That is, of course, the body of Christ... Secondly, there is one Spirit. The Spirit who came down in power on Jewish believers at Pentecost is the same as fell on Gentile believers in the house of Cornelius... Thirdly, there is one hope. The hope of our calling – the hope which God set before us when he called us by his grace – is the hope of sharing the glory of Christ… Fourthly, as Paul had said in an earlier epistle, ‘to us there is … one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through Him’ (1 Corinthians 8:6)… Fifthly, there is one faith. Faith… may mean the substance of one’s belief… ‘the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints’ (Jude 3)… Sixthly, there is one baptism…. When our Lord said, ‘John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 1:5), he did not mean that water-baptism would be superseded by baptism with the Spirit. On the contrary, when the descent of the Spirit on the first Gentile believers reminded Peter of these words of his Lord (Acts 11:16), the first thing he did was to command these converts ‘to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ’ (Acts 10:48), and it is made quite plain that this was water-baptism. … Water-baptism remains in force throughout the Christian age… the point here is that Jewish and Gentile believers alike acknowledged one Lord, shared one faith in Him, and had undergone one baptism into His name. Seventhly, there is one God and Father. Here Paul echoes the language of an Old Testament prophet: ‘Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us?’ (Malachi 3:10)…. The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has accepted us for Christ’s sake and listens to our prayers, is ‘the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth’ (Isaiah 40:28), ‘one God and Father of all.’” (F. F. Bruce)
“Verse 5 groups ‘one Lord’ with ‘one faith’ and ‘one baptism,’ indicating we must condition our faith and our baptism on the person, name, and work of the Lord Jesus, not just on a belief in God as a Spirit.” (David Bernard)
“One God and Father of all, who is {c} above all, and {d} through all, and {e} in you all.
(c) Who alone has the chief authority over the Church.
(d) Who alone pours forth his providence, through all the members of the Church.
(e) Who alone is joined together with us in Christ.” (Geneva Bible) The great mystery of the faith is described in another place as “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians:1:27b)
In Matthew 28:19, Jesus gives the Great Commission to teach and baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. "Name" is singular. And in Acts 2:38, the baptism is performed in the name of the Jesus Christ. "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power." (Colossians 2:9-10)“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles,'“Men and brethren, what shall we do?'
38 Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.’"
Eph 4:7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
“But unto everyone of us is given grace... Which… may be interpreted of justifying, pardoning, adopting, sanctifying, and persevering grace, bestowed upon them all, freely and liberally, not grudgingly, nor niggardly….according to the measure of Christ's gift.” (Gill's Exposition)
Eph 4:8-10 Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.’(Psalm 68:18) (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
“The ascent… implied that he had come down from heaven, a striking proof of his interest in and love for the children of men. And the descent was… not merely to the surface of the earth, but to the lower parts of the earth. This has sometimes been interpreted of Hades, but… if the expression denotes more than Christ's humble condition, it probably means the grave. This was the climax of Christ's humiliation; to be removed out of men's sight, as too offensive for them to look on - to be hidden away in the depths of the earth, in the grave, was indeed supremely humbling.” (Pulpit Commentary)
In the Tabernacle, past the outer court (court of the Gentiles) and inner court (reserves for ritually pure Jews) was the Holy Place and Most Holy Place. The object at the center of it all was the Ark of the Covenant. "In the ark were the tablets of the law which Israel had broken. The broken law demanded judgment and death for the transgressors. The law could not save them; it could only condemn them. It could not take away sin; it could only reveal sin. It could not give life to sinner; it could only kill the transgressor." The mercy seat was over the ark, above the broken law, between it and God, who came down upon it in the shekinah pillar of holiness and fire. The mercy seat is a perfect picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. The mercy seat was made of beaten gold; Christ was beaten prior to His death on the cross.
Whenever the ark set out on journeys, Moses said: Rise up, O LORD! Let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before You. (Num 10:35; Psalm 68:1-2) “With the words of the first two verses the ark is uplifted, and the procession begins to move.” (C. H. Spurgeon) “The sight of the sacred chest under way suggested the time when God arises to action [as in His humiliation and death]. For His enemies it means disaster and dispersal; for the righteous, deep-seated joy... This is Israel’s national processional, in which the journey of the Ark of the Covenant from Mount Sinai [law] to Mount Zion [grace] is seen as symbolizing the march of God to ultimate victory. To the Jewish mind, the ark rightly represented the presence of God; when the ark moved, God moved.”(Bible Believer’s Commentary)
“In Psalms 68:3-6, the godly in the assembly are exhorted to commence their joyous songs, and arguments are adduced to help their joy. ‘But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God; yes, let them rejoice exceedingly. Sing to God, sing praises to His name. Extol Him who rides on the clouds, by His name YAH, and rejoice before Him. A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation. God sets the solitary in families; he brings out those who are bound into prosperity; but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.’…
Then the glorious march of Jehovah in the wilderness is sung: Psalms 68:7-10: O God, when You went out before Your people, when You marched through the wilderness, Selah. The earth shook; the heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God; Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel. You, O God, sent a plentiful rain, Whereby You confirmed Your inheritance, when it was weary. Your congregation dwelt in it; you, O God, provided from Your goodness for the poor…
[NEXT, IN THE LAND OF CANAAN], victories in war are celebrated in verses Psalms 68:11-14: ‘The Lord gave the word; great was the company of those who proclaimed it: ‘Kings of armies flee, they flee, and she who remains at home divides the spoil. Though you lie down among the sheepfolds, yet you will be like the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.’ When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was white as snow in Zalmon.’...
The joyous shouts are louder as Zion comes in sight, and the ark is borne up the hill: Psalms 68:15-19: ‘A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan; a mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan. Why do you fume with envy, you mountains of many peaks? This is the mountain which God desires to dwell in; yes, the LORD will dwell in it forever. The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of thousands; the Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the Holy Place. You have ascended on high, you have led captivity captive; you have received gifts among men, even from the rebellious, that the LORD God might dwell there. Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation! Selah’ (Ps 68:15-19).” (C. H. Spurgeon)
"The mountains of Bashan (including Mount Hermon) stood at the northern boundary between Judea and the heathen world. So here, David is using the mountains of Bashan as a symbol of the world’s majesty, and comparing those mountains to ‘the mountain where God chooses to reign’, that is, Mount Zion. From the world’s viewpoint, the mountains of Bashan were more beautiful and majestic than Mount Zion. Nevertheless, the mountains of Bashan ‘gaze in envy’ at Mount Zion, because God dwelled on Zion. The majesty of the mountains of Bashan came from their God-given, rugged features. The majesty of Mount Zion came from God’s choice to dwell there. It was a spiritual grandeur, as opposed to the physical grandeur of Bashan.” http://www.scripturestudies.com/vol11/k9/wis.html
“This seems to be an allusion to a military triumph. The conqueror was placed on a very elevated chariot. The conquered kings and generals were usually tied behind the chariot of the conqueror-- bound to it, bound together, and walked after it, to grace the triumph of the victor.' And gave gifts unto men;' <Eph. 4:8>. At such times the conqueror threw money among the crowd.” (Adam Clarke)
The “descent and ascent of Ephesians 4 parallels the flow of Philippians 2:7-8, in which Christ descends to this earth at the incarnation and even went down so far as to take the form of a servant and die the death of the cross. In Philippians an ascent follows that incarnational descent when after the crucifixion God ‘highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name (Vs 9). That understanding fits both Ephesians 4 and the general flow of the epistle.” (George R Knight)
“His abasement was unparalleled; so also is his exaltation. That he might be the fountain whence all blessings might flow; dispensing all good things to all his creatures, according to their several capacities and necessities; and, particularly, fill both converted Jews and Gentiles with all the gifts and graces of his Holy Spirit.” (Adam Clarke)
“The quotation from Psalm 68:18 does, however, have one serious problem. The Psalm has ‘received gifts,’ whereas Paul cites it as ‘gave gifts.’… certain logic does lead from a victor accepting gifts from the vanquished only to turn around and bestow gifts on his faithful followers. It finds a parallel in the day of Pentecost, after being exalted to the right hand of God, received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, and then ‘poured out’ the gift on His followers (Acts 2:33). The important thing from Paul’s perspective is that Christ endowed the church with gifts.” (George R. Knight) “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”(Eph 4:11-12)
Eph 4:11-16 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head-- Christ-- from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Eph 4:17-329 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, an d that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another. "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.
[This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord] “Paul is emphasizing here in verse 17 that this is God talking to you; this is Christ’s word to you.” (Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III) [that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God.] “This is not to say that man, in his rebellion against God, is not capable of mighty intellectual achievements. But it is to say that all such achievements fall short of true wisdom, because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10)… ‘The thought is not that unregenerate minds are empty. It is that they are filled with things that lead to nothing.’ (Vaughan)…” (Guzik) [because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart;] “But My people would not heed My voice, and Israel would have none of Me. So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels.” (Ps 81:11-12) “God turned and gave them up to serve the host of heaven.” (Acts 7:42) “Because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved; and for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness (2 Thes 2:8-12).” [being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.]
[But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus] “Who’s the Teacher from whom Christians learn Christ? Christ. He’s not only the subject, He’s the speaker. He’s not only the content, He’s the teacher.” (Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III) Christ “must be the choice Companion of your morning hours, he must be with you throughout the day, and with him you must also close the night; and as often as you may wake during the night, you must say, ‘When I awake, I am still with thee.’” (C. H. Spurgeon) [that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts] “There is a moral dimension to the Christian faith. We have died with Christ, and thus laid aside our old self and our old life. There is a moral transformation that comes with being a Christian, in which we are morally different from the world around us. It is not that the Apostle Paul is saying ‘Be good, and God will save you; be good, and God will love you; be good, and you will earn your salvation.’ But he is saying that once you have embraced the free grace of God in Jesus Christ, there will be a moral response …” ( Dr J Ligon Duncan III) [and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,] –“the very ground of your heart.” (John Wesley) [and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.] “The new man is the regenerate man … having become a partaker of the divine nature and life 2Pet 1:4 Col 3:3,4 and in no sense the old man made over, or improved 2Cor 5:17 Gal 6:15 Eph 2:10 Col 3:10. The new man is Christ, ‘formed’ in the believer Gal 2:20 4:19 Col 1:27 1Jn 4:12.” (Scofield Reference Notes)
["Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,] The unconverted teach their tongues to speak lies, (Jer 9:5) thus affirming that a profitable lie is better than a hurtful truth. “Therefore the apostle exhorts them to cease from lying, from everything that is contrary to truth… for: We are members one of another. Truth is a debt we owe to one another; and, if we love one another, we shall not deceive nor lie one to another. We belong to the same society or body, which falsehood or lying tends to dissolve; and therefore we should avoid it, and speak truth.”(Matthew Henry) Thus says the LORD, “…These are the things you shall do: speak each man the truth to his neighbor; give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace. Let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor; and do not love a false oath. For all these are things that I hate.” (Zech 8:16-17)
["Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.] “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; have mercy on me, and hear my prayer. How long, O you sons of men, will you turn my glory to shame? How long will you love worthlessness and seek falsehood? Selah. But know that the LORD has set apart for Himself him who is godly; the LORD will hear when I call to Him. Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD. There are many who say, ‘Who will show us any good?’ LORD, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us. You have put gladness in my heart, more than in the season that their grain and wine increased. I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.” (Psalm 4:1-8)
[Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.] “We are here warned against the sin of stealing, the breach of the eighth commandment, and advised to honest industry and to beneficence.… ‘that he may have to give to him that needeth’… others…who are disabled…”(Matthew Henry)
[Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.] “We must not only put off corrupt communications, but put on that which is good to the use of edifying. The great use of speech is to edify those with whom we converse. Christians should endeavour to promote a useful conversation: that it may minister grace unto the hearers; that it may be good for, and acceptable to, the hearers, in the way of information, counsel, pertinent reproof, or the like. Observe, It is the great duty of Christians to take care that they offend not with their lips, and that they improve discourse and converse, as much as may be, for the good of others.” (Matthew Henry)
[And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God] “The new man will not grieve the Holy Spirit, knowing that He is our seal both in the sense of identification and protection… ‘Sin everywhere must be displeasing to the Spirit of holiness, but sin in his own people is grievous to him in the highest degree. He will not hate his people, but he does hate their sins, and hates them all the more because they nestle in his children’s bosoms. The Spirit would not be the Spirit of truth if he could approve of that which is false in us: he would not be pure if that which is impure in us did not grieve him.’ (C. H. Spurgeon)
[by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.] “It is a good reason why we should not grieve him that by him we are sealed unto the day of redemption. There is to be a day of redemption; the body is to be redeemed from the power of the grave at the resurrection-day, and then God's people will be delivered from all the effects of sin, as well as from all sin and misery, which they are not till rescued out of the grave: and then their full and complete happiness commences. All true believers are sealed to that day. God has distinguished them from others, having set his mark upon them; and he gives them the earnest and assurance of a joyful and glorious resurrection; and the Spirit of God is the seal. Wherever that blessed Spirit is as a sanctifier, he is the earnest of all the joys and glories of the redemption-day; and we should be undone should God take away his Holy Spirit from us.” (Matthew Henry)
[Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.] “Our forgiveness to others is patterned after the forgiveness of Jesus towards us. When we think of the amazing way God forgives us, it is shameful for us to withhold forgiveness from those who have wronged us… ‘If anyone here who is a Christian finds a difficulty in forgiveness, I am going to give him three words which will help him wonderfully. I would put them into the good man’s mouth. I gave them to you just now, and prayed you to get the sweetness of them; here they are again! ‘For Christ’s sake.’ Cannot you forgive an offender on that ground?’ (Spurgeon).” (David Guzik)
Ephesians 4:11-16 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
“In this bestowal of gifts by the ascended Christ, Paul finds the fulfillment of an Old Testament passage (Psalm 68:18) which… was associated in the synagogue calendar with Pentecost.” (F. F. Bruce) And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers… “He gave.—In the original ‘He’ is emphatic—He and He alone, as the ascended Head of humanity. The word ‘gave,’ instead of the more obvious word set, or ‘appointed’ (used in 1Corinthians 12:28), is, of course, suggested by Ephesians 4:8. They who are ministers of His gifts are themselves gifts from Him to the Church.” (Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers)
for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,… The body of Christ is his Church, see Ephesians 2:20, etc.; and its edification consists in its thorough instruction in Divine things, and its being filled with faith and holiness.” (Adam Clarke)
till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God...“To both an exact agreement in the Christian doctrine, and an experimental knowledge of Christ as the Son of God.” (John Wesley)
to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;… “One thoroughly instructed; the whole body of the Church being fully taught, justified, sanctified, and sealed…” (Adam Clarke) that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,… “And carried about with every wind of doctrine - With no firmness; no settled course; no helm. The idea is that of a vessel on the restless ocean, that is tossed about with every varying wind, and that has no settled line of sailing. So many persons are in regard to religious doctrines. They have no fixed views and principles. They hold no doctrines that are settled in their minds by careful and patient examination, and the consequence is, that they yield to every new opinion, and submit to the guidance of every new teacher. The ‘doctrine’ taught here is, that we should have settled religious opinions. We should carefully examine what is truth, and having found it, should adhere to it, and not yield on the coming of every new teacher. We should not, indeed, close our minds against conviction. We should be open to argument, and be willing to follow ‘the truth’ wherever it will lead us.” (Barnes Notes on the Entire Bible)
But, speaking the truth in love,… Herman Gockel writes: “In our attempts to deal with …truth and error, we deliberately and prayerfully adopt a strategy of love. We can count on our old Adam to vote ‘No’ to such an attitude. But we can also pray the Holy Spirit for a special measure of his grace, …enabling us both to speak the truth, and to speak it in love.” (Daily walk with God)
It is rightly said: “In the theocracy of grace, there is in fact no laity.” (E.K. Simpson) We are all called to speak the truth in love. The end being that each member “may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” A perfect example is Stephen. In the book of Acts (Chapter 6), there was murmuring in the church because some widows were being neglected. And the disciples said “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” … And among those chosen was Stephen “a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit.” It was not that he was unable to understand doctrine or speak the Word of God. All saints must be thus equipped. In chapter 7, Stephen gives a most insightful proclamation of the Gospel and was martyred for his faith.
“The apostle's meaning is, that, as the human body is formed by the union of all the members to each other, under the head, and by the fitness of each member for its own office and place in the body, so the Church is formed by the union of its members under Christ, the head. Further, as the human body increases till it arrives at maturity by the energy of every part in performing its proper function, and by the sympathy of every part with the whole, so the body or Church of Christ grows to maturity by the proper exercise of the gifts and graces of individuals for the benefit of the whole.” (Macknight)
Eph 4:17-19 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord… “Paul is emphasizing here in verse 17 that this is God talking to you; this is Christ’s word to you.” (Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III) that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God… “This is not to say that man, in his rebellion against God, is not capable of mighty intellectual achievements. But it is to say that all such achievements fall short of true wisdom, because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10)… ‘The thought is not that unregenerate minds are empty. It is that they are filled with things that lead to nothing.’ (Vaughan)…” (David Guzik)
because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. “But My people would not heed My voice, and Israel would have none of Me. So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels.” (Ps 81:11-12) “God turned and gave them up to serve the host of heaven.” (Acts 7:42) “Because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved; and for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness (2 Thes 2:8-12).”
Eph 4:20-24 But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, an d that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus… “Who’s the Teacher from whom Christians learn Christ? Christ. He’s not only the subject, He’s the speaker. He’s not only the content, He’s the teacher.” (Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III) Christ “must be the choice Companion of your morning hours, he must be with you throughout the day, and with him you must also close the night; and as often as you may wake during the night, you must say, ‘When I awake, I am still with thee.’” (C. H. Spurgeon) that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts… “There is a moral dimension to the Christian faith. We have died with Christ, and thus laid aside our old self and our old life. There is a moral transformation that comes with being a Christian, in which we are morally different from the world around us. It is not that the Apostle Paul is saying ‘Be good, and God will save you; be good, and God will love you; be good, and you will earn your salvation.’ But he is saying that once you have embraced the free grace of God in Jesus Christ, there will be a moral response …” ( Dr J Ligon Duncan III) and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,…“the very ground of your heart.” (John Wesley) and put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness... “The new man is the regenerate man … having become a partaker of the divine nature and life 2 Pet 1:4 Col 3:3,4 and in no sense the old man made over, or improved 2Cor 5:17 Gal 6:15 Eph 2:10 Col 3:10. The new man is Christ, ‘formed’ in the believer Gal 2:20 4:19 Col 1:27 1Jn 4:12.” (Scofield Reference Notes)
Eph 4:25-32 Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another. "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.
And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you... “Our forgiveness to others is patterned after the forgiveness of Jesus towards us. When we think of the amazing way God forgives us, it is shameful for us to withhold forgiveness from those who have wronged us… ‘If anyone here who is a Christian finds a difficulty in forgiveness, I am going to give him three words which will help him wonderfully. I would put them into the good man’s mouth. I gave them to you just now, and prayed you to get the sweetness of them; here they are again! ‘For Christ’s sake.’ Cannot you forgive an offender on that ground?’ (Spurgeon).” (David Guzik)