Ephesians 4:1-12 (NASB)

1Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling
with which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing
tolerance for one another in love, 3being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the
bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope
of your calling; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all who is over all
and through all and in all. 7But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure
of Christ's gift. 8Therefore it says, "WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH,HE LED CAPTIVE A
HOST OF CAPTIVES,AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN." 9(Now this expression, "He
ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the
earth? 10He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so
that He might fill all things.) 11And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and
some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints
for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
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SIGHT – ATTITUDE – PURPOSE – FAMILY

Intro: We’ve been using Philippians 2 as a broad-stroke outline:

-Be of the same mind (sight), -Be submissive to each other (attitude), -SO THAT at
the name of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under
the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father. (PURPOSE – 10/11)

1) Our purpose is Philippians 2:10-11. We see it several times throughout his writings,
as Paul uses a particular phrase “participants in the gospel” or “partakers in the
gospel”. We see it in/as the Great Commission.
2) We also see this not only as an individual’s purpose, but as a collective purpose that
is the target, or direction, of/for community.
a. This is the idea of Phil 2…and at Paul’s writing to the Christians at Ephesus
(we’ll take a look at this in a moment)
b. And a very quick look at 1 Corinthians 14:1-19
---Speaking in tongues vs. Speaking prophecy // Worship vs. Mission // Edify
Self vs. Edify the Church :: Both right, both good…but Paul emphasizes the
missional call

THE CALLING / vv.1-6

1) What does that mean, "to live a life worthy of the calling you have received"? What does it
take to accomplish this? They/we must recognize what the calling is…and begin to look at all
things through the lens of that calling.

vv. 2-6 list qualities that are necessary – My usual first response is that I need to be this way
for my sake…so that we’d have a good community..but this passage reveals that there is a
larger purpose (let’s look to 7-12)

Verse 7 is a tough verse…and this may have been a tough question:

THE GIFTING / vv. 7-12
2) What does v.7 mean “according to the measure of Christ”? Each believer is not given the
same gift and same measure.

Paul discusses the giving of gifts to each believer in v.7. In v.8 he quotes from Ps 68 and in
vv. 9-16, he applies it to the believers of this age by concentrating on 2 words from the
Psalm (1) in 9-10 and (2) in 11.
3) “Namely, that is, He gave” – He who? Emphatic linking it with the “He” of the previous
verse = “He who ascended” is also the “He” who gave gifts.

4) Based on vv. 1-6, why did He give the v. 7 gifts? So that they would be able to love life
worthy of the calling.

In v.10, - he states that Christ “ascended…that He might fulfill all things”.

V.11 provides the details of that filling.

5) What is different in the emphasis from v.7 to v. 11? 7=gift is given to each / 11=refers to
the giving of a gifted person.

6) Does this indicate a contradiction? Why/Why not? No – the person who receives a gift is
a gifted person. Paul does the same thing in 1 Cor 12 (gifts 4-11 and people 27-31). Also in
Romans 12:4-8. These are a gift of God to the church.

Gifted People to the Church

These are not gifts made to people, but rather gifts made of people.

These are considered as a group, and not in respect of their individual contributions. The
structure of his sentence in these repeating phrases mark out that there is distinctly different
gifted people, but it does not imply a contrast.

v.11 ALSO READ NIV OF 11

“Some TO BE” – brings out the distinction that each gifted person has a particular function
among the assembly of believers.

*Paul is listing “gifts” to the church, not “offices”.

-Everyone has a gift (Eph 4:7; 1 Cor 12:7, 11; Rmns 12:4), but not everyone holds an office
[hoefner 539]. This is important, b/c not everyone here is a professional pastor…or a
counselor…or a shepherd…or a home group leader…or teacher. The distinction helps us
avoid confusion – every believer is gifted for ministry!

In fact, I should mention that In the first century, the situation in respect to ministry was fluid;
it was only after AE’s time that titles and the functions attached to them began to harden.

7) The term “apostle” is used in the Bible to refer to 3 kinds of apostle. What are these (look
to Acts 1:21-22; 1 Corinthians 15:8-9; Ephesians 4:11)? Consider what is common about
the calling of these apostles. Acts 1:21-22 / Those who’d been with Christ…1 Cor 15:8-9 /
Paul…Here / those who are so gifted (biblical examples, Barnabas, James bro of X, Apollos,
Silvanus, Titus, Epaphroditus, Andronicus, Junia). MAIN FAUNCTION: to expand the
kingdom by establishing churches…moving the message into new areas…God’s
messengers to open up new territories.

8) Describe the task of the OT prophet. What is different about the task of the NT prophet?
The OT prophet was to deliver new messages from God to His people. The NT prophet
makes clear God’s messages that are in and consistent to the Bible. An OT proph was an
appointed office. A NT proph was simply called to edify, comfort, encourage and to
understand and communicate the mysteries of God to the church. (To fill in needed
revelation – preaching, dealing with social issues, counseling, ministering, instruct, improve
in spiritual knowledge).

Evangelists were to preach the gospel – inside and outside of the church. They were
continually focused on the message of Christ’s salvation. (ref. Acts 21:8-Philip and 2 Tim
4:5-Timothy)

Evangelists would win converts to the faith…Apostles would establish churches…

Prophets would fill in needed revelation.

“All pastors are to be teachers, though not all teachers are to be pastors.”

The distinction is there, but not total.

Pastor/shepherd – cares for the flock (remember this is a function, not an office)
Teacher – instruction in facts, skills, and moral evaluation. “to teach as Christ taught is to
teach with clear authority based on the scriptures.”

9) Is this list meant to be exhaustive? No. Every member of the body is given a gift (v7) –
those listed in v11 are not officers, but rather descriptive of some of the roles that help move
the church to it’s purpose of serving and building up the body.

10) Why does the Lord want to equip all the people in the church?

Christ has sovereignly given gifted people to the church. These gifts were not to be used for
self-promotion, but for building up the saints. READ v12.

The gifted persons in v11 serve as the foundational gifts used for the immediate purpose of
preparing all the saints to minister. This every believer must do the work of ministry.

11) What is to be the activity of the saints? This v12 indicates they are being
prepared/equipped for their purpose. BUILDING in physical sense = addition and in
educational sense = maturing “in order to ft his people for the work of service”.

12) What does the author mean by the “body of Christ”? Ref Ephesians 5 – Christ and his
body, the church.

What we find in the next few vv. Is that if a community of believers joins in the mission of
building up the body – they grow spiritually into what God has for them, evidenced by Christ
likeness, stability, truth joined with love cooperation.

This is consistent with Christ’s purpose:

-Declare and establish His Kingdom – Luke 4:43
-Build My Church – Mt 16:18

This is our last look at Ephesians…next week we will look at several situations for discussion
that combine these 3 principles that we have dealt with and see how they can function within
our families.

Ephesians presents the Church as the focal point of displaying God’s glory forever
(3:21) and I think the key text of this letter is (3:8-11).
EPHESIANS 3

21(BB)to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and
ever. Amen.

8To me, (V)the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to (W)preach to the Gentiles the
unfathomable (X)riches of Christ,

9and to bring to light what is the administration of the (Y)mystery which for ages has been
(
Z)hidden in God (AA)who created all things;

10so that the manifold (AB)wisdom of God might now be (AC)made known through the
church to the (AD)rulers and the authorities in (AE)the heavenly places.

11This was in (AF)accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in (AG)Christ
Jesus our Lord,