Commentary - Ephesians 4:7-16

Bird's-eye view

In this dense and glorious passage, the Apostle Paul pivots from the foundational unity of the Church (vv. 1-6) to the functional diversity within that unity. The central theme is Christ's triumphant ascension, presented here as a victory parade where He, the conquering King, distributes the spoils of war to His people. These spoils, or "gifts," are not abstract talents or abilities, but are primarily gifted men given to the Church. The purpose of these gifts is profoundly practical: to equip the saints for the work of ministry. This work, in turn, builds up the entire body of Christ. The ultimate goal is corporate maturity, a state where the Church is no longer a gaggle of unstable, doctrinally naive children, but is rather a single, mature man, fully conformed to the stature of Christ Himself. This growth is organic, directed by Christ the Head, and requires every single member of the body to function properly, all of it animated and held together by truth spoken in love.

Paul's argument is rooted in an Old Testament citation from Psalm 68, which he masterfully re-applies to Christ's victory over sin, death, and the devil. The ascension is not a retreat from the world, but the establishment of Christ's command center from which He governs all things and provisions His Church. The passage provides a blueprint for a healthy church, where leadership trains the congregation, the congregation engages in ministry, and the whole body grows in stability, knowledge, and love, becoming an ever-clearer reflection of its triumphant Head.

Outline

Context In Ephesians

Ephesians is a book of two halves. The first three chapters are a soaring exposition of doctrine, detailing what God has done for us in Christ. We are chosen, redeemed, sealed, and seated with Christ in the heavenly places. Chapters 1-3 are the indicative; they tell us who we are. Chapters 4-6 are the imperative; they tell us how we are therefore to live. This passage, Ephesians 4:7-16, serves as a crucial bridge. It immediately follows Paul's magnificent description of the Church's sevenfold unity in verses 4-6 ("one body, one Spirit, one hope," etc.). Having established the ground of our unity, he now explains how God builds on that foundation using a diversity of gifts. This is not a contradiction, but a divine strategy. The unity is not a flat, monotonous uniformity. Rather, it is the unity of a living body, where different parts have different functions, all working together for the health of the whole. This section lays out the divine structure for the Church's growth, which is the necessary prerequisite for the practical instructions on holy living that follow.

Key Issues

The Spoils of Victory

We often think of Christ's ascension as the end of the story. He finished His work on the cross, rose from the dead, gave some final instructions, and then left. But the Bible presents the ascension as a coronation, an enthronement, a victory parade. When a Roman general returned from a successful campaign, he would lead a triumphal procession through the city. He would display his captured enemies and all the plunder he had taken, and then he would distribute gifts and largesse to the citizens. This is the picture Paul, quoting Psalm 68, paints for us here.

Christ descended into the battlefield of this world, engaged our great enemies, sin and death and the devil, and defeated them decisively. His resurrection was the proof of victory, and His ascension was the triumphal march back to the capital city, leading His conquered foes in chains. And from His throne, He now distributes the spoils of His victory to His people. And what are these spoils? They are not abstract concepts or warm feelings. They are gifted men, leaders, given to the church to equip her for her work in the world. The entire life and ministry of the church flows out of this accomplished victory of our ascended King.

Verse by Verse Commentary

7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

The chapter began with a profound emphasis on unity, but Paul immediately qualifies this. Unity does not mean uniformity. We are all one body, but we are not all the same part of that body. To each one of us, a specific portion of grace has been dispensed. And the standard of measurement is not our worthiness, our natural talent, or our desire. It is measured out by Christ Himself. He is the sovereign Lord who decides what gift, and how much of that gift, each member of His body receives. This is a grace-gift, unearned and undeserved, distributed according to the wisdom of the King for the good of His kingdom.

8 Therefore it says, “WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, And HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.”

To ground his point, Paul quotes from Psalm 68:18. This is a classic example of Christological interpretation of the Old Testament. The Psalm originally describes Yahweh's triumphal procession to Mount Zion. Paul applies it directly to Jesus. In His ascension, Christ led captivity captive. That is, He conquered and subdued our conquerors, the spiritual forces of darkness, sin, and death. He made a public spectacle of them. And having won the victory and received the spoils, He now gives gifts to men. The original Psalm says He "received gifts among men." There is no contradiction here. The conquering king first receives tribute and plunder, and then he distributes it to his subjects. Christ receives the spoils of His victory and then lavishes them upon His Church.

9-10 (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)

Paul inserts a brief parenthetical explanation to emphasize the sheer scale of Christ's victory. You cannot have an ascension without a prior descension. In order to go up, He first had to come down. This "descent into the lower parts of the earth" most likely refers to His incarnation and humiliation, culminating in His burial. He went to the lowest possible point. And from that lowest point, He ascended to the highest conceivable point, far above all the heavens. This is not just a return trip; it is an exaltation to the supreme place of authority in the universe. And the purpose of this cosmic journey is breathtaking: so that He might fill all things. His rule, His presence, and His authority are intended to permeate and reclaim every corner of creation. This is the engine of the Great Commission and the foundation of our postmillennial hope.

11 And He Himself gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,

Here Paul specifies what these gifts from the ascended Christ are. Notice, the gifts are not abilities; the gifts are people. He gave men to the Church. Apostles and prophets were the foundational gifts (Eph 2:20), their ministry being to lay the doctrinal foundation of the Church through inspired revelation. This office is closed. Evangelists are those gifted to preach the gospel on the frontiers, planting new churches. Pastors and teachers (likely one office, the teaching shepherd) are the ordinary, ongoing gift for the regular instruction and care of a local congregation. Christ did not just leave us a book of instructions; He gave us gifted leaders to teach and apply those instructions.

12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ,

This verse is the job description for church leadership, and it turns the modern conception of church on its head. The job of pastors is not to do all the ministry themselves while the congregation watches. The job of pastors is to equip the saints. The saints, the ordinary members of the church, are the ones who are to do the work of service or ministry. The pastor is the coach; the congregation is the team. He trains, teaches, and prepares them, and they go out and serve, minister, and evangelize. And the result of this proper division of labor is the building up, the edification, of the body of Christ.

13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ,

Paul now describes the goal line. What is all this equipping and building aiming at? It is a corporate destination. This is not about individual spiritual journeys. It is about what we all attain together. The goal is a robust unity, not of feeling, but of the faith, a shared body of doctrine, and a deep, personal, and accurate knowledge of Jesus. The end product is the Church becoming "a mature man," a single, corporate entity that has grown up. And the standard of this maturity is nothing less than the fullness of Christ Himself. The Church is to become a perfect reflection of her Lord.

14 so that we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming,

Here is the negative alternative. If we do not pursue this maturity, we remain spiritual children. And children are characterized by instability. They are tossed about by the waves of cultural pressure and carried away by every new and exciting theological fad. They are susceptible to the con men, the spiritual hucksters who use trickery and crafty scheming to lead people astray. Doctrinal stability, therefore, is not for seminary eggheads. It is a fundamental mark of Christian maturity and a necessary defense against a hostile world.

15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is Christ,

What is the engine of this growth? It is "truthing it in love." This is not about finding a 50/50 balance between truth and love as though they were opposites. It is about speaking the truth, the hard-edged, objective, doctrinal truth of the gospel, but doing so in a loving manner. Truth without love is brutality. Love without truth is sentimentality. But truth spoken in love is the means by which we grow up. And the direction of our growth is always upward, into our Head, who is Christ. Every aspect of our individual and corporate life is to be brought more and more into conformity with Him.

16 from whom the whole body, being joined and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the properly measured working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Paul concludes with a magnificent anatomical metaphor. Christ, the Head, is the source of all life and direction. The body is connected to Him and held together by the joints and ligaments, which represent the relationships and structures that connect us. But the growth itself happens when each individual part does its job. Every single Christian has a function. When each member is working properly, the body as a whole grows. And notice the final phrase: it causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. The church, empowered by the Head, builds itself. This is not a top-down corporate program, but an organic, grassroots, Spirit-empowered reality.

Application

This passage fundamentally challenges the consumeristic, passive model of church that is so prevalent today. The church is not a theater where you go to watch religious professionals perform. The church is a body, an army, a construction project, and every single member has a job to do. Your pastors are not given to you to do all the ministry for you; they are given to you by Christ to train you to do the ministry yourself.

So, the first application is to repent of any spectator mentality. Ask yourself: how am I being equipped by the leadership of my church? And then ask: how am I using that equipment in the work of service? What is my "properly measured working"? Are you a functioning ligament or a spiritual couch potato?

Second, we must take doctrine seriously. Spiritual maturity and doctrinal stability are inseparable. A church that disdains theology and just wants to "love Jesus" will be a church full of spiritual children, ripe for deception. We must commit ourselves to growing in the unity of the faith, which means growing in our shared understanding of biblical truth.

Finally, all of this must be done by "speaking the truth in love." We must be a people who are committed to the truth, who refuse to compromise on the essentials of the faith. But we must also be a people who communicate that truth, whether in encouragement or in rebuke, with a genuine love that seeks to build up the body. When every member is equipped, engaged in service, grounded in truth, and functioning in love, the church will grow up into the fullness of Christ, becoming a radiant and mature bride for her triumphant King.