CHAPTER 4
We have now come to the practical side of Ephesians, and the earthly conduct of the Church. In this chapter the Church is portrayed as a new man. The New Man is to exhibit himself down here. The members of the invisible church are to make themselves visible, and they are to get out the Word of God. What follows is restricted to those who are in Christ. The Spirit of God is talking to saved people; to those who have been redeemed and have heard the Word of Truth.
ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER
This chapter is the commencement of the practical part of the epistle, and is made up, like the remaining chapters, of various exhortations. It is in accordance with the usual habit of Paul to conduct an argument in his epistles, and, then to enforce various practical duties, either growing out of the argument which he had maintained, or, more commonly, adapted to some particular state of things in the church to which he wrote. The points of exhortation in this chapter are, in general, the following:–
I. Paul gives ann exhortation to unity, vv. 1-6. –He:
A. Encourages them to walk worthy of their vocation (v. 1);
B. Shows them how it could be done, or what he meant; and that, in order to that, they should show meekness and kindness, (v. 2), and,
C. Particularly exhorts them to unity, (v. 3),
D. Point out they had one God, one Savior, one baptism, one faith, (vv. 4-6).
II. Paul shows them that God had made ample provision for His people, that they might be sound in the faith, and in unity of life and of doctrine,
and need not be driven about with every wind of opinion, (vv. 7-16). He assures them:
A. That to every Christian is given grace in the Redeemer adapted to his circumstances, (v. 7);
B. That the Lord Jesus ascended to heaven to obtain gifts for his people, (vv. 8-10);
C. That he had given apostles, prophets, and evangelists, for the very purpose of imparting instruction, and confirming them in the faith of the gospel, (vv. 11-12);
D. That this was in order that they might attain to the highest elevation in Christian knowledge and piety, (v. 13); and particularly,
E. That they might not be driven to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, (vv. 14-16).
III. Having these arrangements made for their knowledge and piety, he exhorts them not to live as the heathen around them lived,
but to show that they were under a better influence, (vv. 17-24).
A. Their understanding was darkened, and they were alienated from the life of God, or true religion, (v. 18);
B. They were past feeling, and were given over to every form of sensuality, (v. 19).
C. The Ephesians, however, had been taught a different thing, (vv. 20-21); and,
D. Paul exhorts them to lay aside everything pertaining to their former course of life, and to become wholly conformed to the principles of the new man, (vv. 22-24).
IV. He exhorts them to perform particular Christian duties.To put away certain evils, of which they and all others were in danger, (v. 25). he entreats them to avoid:
A. Lying, (v. 25);
B. Anger, v. 26;
C. Theft, (v. :28);
D. Corrupt and corrupting conversation, (v. 29);
E. Grieving the Holy Spirit, (v. 30);
F. Bitterness, evil-speaking, and malice, (v. 31); and,
V. He entreats them to manifest, in their intercourse with each other, a spirit of kindness and forgiveness, (v. 32).
Paul:
A. Exhorts them to walk worthy of their vocation, an To live in peace and unity, (vv. 1-6).
B . Shows that God has distributed a variety of gifts, and instituted a variety of offices in his Church, for the building up and perfecting of the body of Christ, (7-13).
C. Teaches them the necessity of being well instructed and steady in holy things, (v. 14).
D. Teaches how the body or Church of Christ is constituted, (vv. 15-16).
E. Warns them against acting like the Gentiles, of whose conduct he gives a lamentable description, (vv. 17-19).
F. Points out how they had been changed, in consequence of their conversion to Christianity, (vv. 20-21).
G. Gives various exhortations relative to the purification of their minds, their conduct to each other, and to the poor, (vv. 22-28).
H. Shows them that their conversation should be chaste and holy, that they might not grieve the Spirit of God;
that they should avoid all bad tempers, be kindly affectionate one to another,
I. And be of a forgiving spirit, (vv. 29-32).