Commentary - Ephesians 4:1-6

Bird's-eye view

Ephesians 4:1-6 marks a crucial turning point in the epistle. Having spent three chapters laying a breathtaking doctrinal foundation of our salvation in Christ, the Apostle Paul now pivots from theology to ethics, from creed to conduct, from indicatives to imperatives. The hinge on which the whole letter turns is that glorious word, "Therefore." Because God has chosen, redeemed, sealed, and united us to Himself in Christ, making one new man from Jews and Gentiles, therefore we are to live a certain way. This passage is the headwaters of all the practical instruction that follows. The central command is to "walk worthy of the calling," and the primary expression of this worthy walk is the diligent preservation of spiritual unity. Paul then grounds this duty in the objective reality of God Himself, listing seven foundational "ones" that constitute the bedrock of our unity. This is not a unity we create, but a unity we are commanded to keep, guard, and maintain through the cultivation of Christ-like virtues.

This section is a masterclass in connecting doctrine and duty. The high calling of God in election and redemption is not a license for licentiousness, but the very fuel for a life of humility, gentleness, patience, and love. The unity of the Spirit is not a sentimental feeling but a robust, objective reality established by the Triune God. Our responsibility is to live in a manner that corresponds to this reality, binding ourselves together in the peace that Christ purchased. This passage reminds us that Christian ethics are never untethered from Christian theology; what we do is always a result of who we are in Christ.

Outline

Context In Ephesians

The first three chapters of Ephesians are a torrent of doctrinal truth, what the old theologians called the credenda, the things to be believed. Paul has scaled the heights of God's eternal purposes, detailing our election before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4), our redemption through Christ's blood (Eph 1:7), our being made alive when we were dead in trespasses (Eph 2:1), and the mystery of the gospel, which is the union of Jew and Gentile in one body, the church (Eph 3:6). The tone is overwhelmingly indicative; it is a declaration of what God has done. Chapter 4 begins the agenda, the things to be done. The word "therefore" in 4:1 is the load-bearing pillar that connects the two halves of the book. All the ethical commands that follow in chapters 4, 5, and 6, concerning unity, purity, speech, marriage, family, and spiritual warfare, are built upon the foundation of the gospel realities laid out in chapters 1-3. This passage, then, serves as the grand introduction to the practical section of the letter, establishing the preservation of unity as the first and foremost application of the gospel.

Key Issues

A Unity We Keep, Not Create

It is crucial to note what Paul says here. He tells us to be diligent "to keep the unity of the Spirit." He does not tell us to create it, manufacture it, or organize it. The unity of all true believers is an accomplished fact. It was created by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and is applied to every individual who is born again. When you are regenerated, you are baptized by the Spirit into the one body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13). You are given this unity. You don't have to strive for it or attain to it; it is a free gift. The task of the Christian, therefore, is not to build bridges to other believers where no bridge exists. The bridge is already there; it is Christ Himself. Our task is to not blow up the bridge with our sin.

This is why Paul immediately follows the command with the necessary virtues: humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearance. What disrupts the unity that the Spirit has given? Pride, harshness, impatience, and an unforgiving spirit. Our sin is what throws a wrench in the works. Our arrogance is what makes the existing unity difficult to see and enjoy. The hard work of the Christian life is not creating a unity from scratch but rather mortifying the sins that would fracture the beautiful unity that is already ours in the gospel. We are to guard it, treasure it, and preserve it in the bond of peace.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthy of the calling with which you have been called,

The book pivots on this "Therefore." Because of the majestic truths of the first three chapters, this is how you must now live. Paul appeals to them not as an apostle throwing his weight around, but as "the prisoner in the Lord." His chains are his credentials. He is suffering for the very gospel he is calling them to live out. The central exhortation is to walk worthy. The Christian life is a walk, a steady, step-by-step progression. And this walk must be worthy of, or in keeping with, the high calling we have received. God has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light, from death to life, from being slaves of sin to being sons of God. This is an aristocratic calling, a royal summons. Our behavior, therefore, must not be shabby or cheap. It must have a moral weight and dignity that corresponds to the immense privilege of being called by God.

2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

Paul immediately defines what this worthy walk looks like, and it is the polar opposite of the world's idea of greatness. It begins with humility, a lowliness of mind. This is not a groveling self-hatred but rather a sober self-assessment in light of God's majesty. It is knowing your place. Next is gentleness or meekness, which is not weakness but rather strength under control, like a powerful horse that is perfectly responsive to the reins. Then comes patience, or long-suffering. This is the ability to endure provocation from others without retaliating. It is the refusal to have a short fuse. Finally, he summarizes these virtues in the phrase bearing with one another in love. This means putting up with each other's faults, quirks, and sins, not with a grimace, but in genuine love. These are not optional extras for the super-spiritual; they are the basic uniform for anyone who wants to walk worthy of the calling.

3 being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Here is the first great task of the worthy walk. We are to be diligent, this requires effort, zeal, and haste. It is a priority. And the task is to keep the unity of the Spirit. As noted above, this unity is a given. The Spirit has made all believers one. Our job is to act like it. What breaks this unity? Sin. What preserves it? The virtues listed in verse 2. And this unity is kept "in the bond of peace." Peace is the ligament that binds the body of Christ together. When we are at peace with God through the blood of Christ, we are enabled to be at peace with one another. This peace is both the environment in which unity thrives and the bond which holds it together.

4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;

Paul now grounds the duty to keep unity in seven objective realities, seven foundational "ones." The first three are here. There is one body. The church is not a collection of individuals; it is a single, unified organism, the body of Christ. If you are a Christian, you are a member of this one body, whether you feel like it or not. This is possible because there is one Spirit. The same Holy Spirit who indwells a believer in Moscow, Idaho, is the one who indwells a believer in a persecuted church in China. He is the divine lifeblood of the one body. And we were all called in one hope. Our calling is not to a vague optimism, but to a concrete, glorious future: the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. We are all heading to the same destination, and this shared hope should unite us on the journey.

5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

The second triad of "ones." There is one Lord, Jesus Christ. He is the undisputed Head of the one body. There are no competing allegiances. To confess Jesus as Lord is the central tenet of our faith. And this leads to the one faith. This does not mean "one act of believing," but rather the one body of truth that is believed, the gospel. It is the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3). While Christians may differ on secondary matters, we are united by our common confession of the core truths of the apostolic gospel. And there is one baptism. This refers to the one entrance rite into the visible covenant community. By being baptized into the name of the Triune God, we are publicly marked off as belonging to Him and to His people. It is the uniform of the King's army.

6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

The list culminates with the ultimate source of all unity: God Himself. There is one God and Father of all. This is not a statement of universalism, that God is the Father of every human being in a saving way. Rather, He is the Father of all who are in Christ, the Father of this one body. He is over all; His sovereignty is absolute. He rules over His church with supreme authority. He is through all; His providence is active, working out His purposes through every member and every event in the life of the church. And He is in all; His presence is intimate. Through the Spirit, He indwells His people, making the church His temple. This magnificent, all-encompassing reality is the ultimate ground of our unity. We are one because God is one.

Application

The message of this passage is profoundly counter-cultural. Our world prizes autonomy, self-expression, and division into countless affinity groups. The gospel calls us to a radical, supernaturally-created unity that transcends all natural distinctions. The application for us is therefore direct and challenging. Are we walking worthy of our calling? Does our daily conduct reflect the high station to which God has elevated us in Christ?

We must begin by cultivating the foundational virtues. We live in an age of pride, outrage, and impatience. We are called to humility, gentleness, and long-suffering. This means we must be the first to confess our own sin and the last to take offense at the sins of others. It means we must be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. When disagreements arise in the church, as they inevitably will, our first instinct must not be to fight for our rights or prove our point, but to diligently preserve the peace.

Furthermore, we must ground our pursuit of unity in the objective truths of the gospel. Our unity is not based on having the same personality, political affiliation, or cultural tastes. It is based on the fact that there is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father. We should meditate on these seven "ones." When we are tempted to break fellowship with another believer over a secondary issue, we must ask ourselves: Are they part of the one body? Do they have the one Spirit? Do we share the one Lord? If so, then we have a blood-bought, Spirit-wrought obligation to bear with them in love and keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.