Ephesians 4:1-16 - Called and Gifted for Ministry

Ephesians 4:1-16

Walk in Unity

1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Spiritual Gifts

7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says:

“When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men.”

9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 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; 14 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, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 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.

Living in a worthy way is based on our thanksgiving to God for His incredible grace in the gift of our salvation and of His residence in us as we are placed into Christ and His righteousness.  This should make us shout for joy and live for Him in willing response accordingly.  We often need to be reminded of this, unfortunately, as life in the world around us pulls at us and the trials and tribulations mount against us.  This is what the apostle wrote to the believers residing in Christ at Ephesus.  He called them to follow Christ with comfort and assurance while motivating them to obedience to honor and please God who had done all these things, the most of all being the must of all time being unveiled in their hearts and souls of Christ in them as the hope of glory now and to come!   This is what it means to be rooted and grounded in love (Ephesians 3:17-18) to really understand the work God has done in them in Christ.  We are told some way to live pleasing and worthy lives such as being humble and respectful instead of overbearing and proud.  We are also called to suffer with patience without expecting a quick resolution in relationships as we leverage godly love as of Christ for us while we seek peace with one another in true spiritual unity by the work and power of God’s Spirit living in us and guiding us (Isaiah 30:21).  We are reminded of the singular faith of one body under Him as our head that binds us together as brothers and sisters in Christ.  We all have the same hope because we experienced the same calling out of the darkness into His light (1 Peter 2:9) of grace.  We all have the same one Lord, faith, and baptism because we now know the same one sovereign God and Father of us and over us all.  This is true unity and the driving force to love each other in our lives and hearts according to the scriptures.  The grace we have been given also has specific gifts to each one to serve on another in this body under the direction and abilities given by the Lord, just as we read in Psalm 68:18-19 concerning these spiritual gifts of grace in our salvation.  We are reminded that we have been bought at such a price that the Son of God had to come down from heaven to the lower part of His creation, namely earth, to enter death and ascend back to where He came from in the heavenly place of His sovereign throne.  He has been everywhere in order to buy us back from our lost and hopeless state!  Therefore, we are told how these gifts are given for the work of continuing this good news (Matthew 28:18-20, John 14:12).  These include roles to minister to others in this body, roles such as apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, pastors and teachers, all so that this body may become healthy as it grows in the grace and knowledge (2 Peter 3:18) of the truth we all minister and proclaim.  We minister to equip others to continue this work of the gospel as we make disciples (2 Timothy 2:2) of those faithful followers who strive to live in a worthy way.  The goal is a unified understanding of the Lord according to the scriptures as mature and unmoving in the face of false doctrine and deception of the enemy’s foot soldiers.  With solid doctrine we are not moved away with mere emotion and tall tales, but are driven and guided by truth to spiritual maturity that we may continue to speak God’s truth in love in the face of such adversity and adversaries.  If we then do our individual parts to contribute to the whole of the body of Christ and not our own pursuits, then we find ourselves functioning as the Lord intends.  We build each other up in Christ with love as of His love for us, sacrificially and with purpose.  Whatever spiritual gifts we are given are not for show or to prove our calling, but as a result of our calling and for the good of the body with order and humility of purpose.  We are rightly wary of those who misuse these for anything else.  We are called and gifted for ministry in the body of Christ under His authority that we may know Him and the power of His resurrection (Philippians 3:10-11) as we make Him known to the world.