Ephesians 4 is the fourth chapter of the

Epistle to the Ephesians The Epistle to the Ephesians is the tenth book of the New Testament. Traditionally believed to have been written by the Paul the Apostle, Apostle Paul around AD 62 during his imprisonment in Rome, the Epistle to the Ephesians closely rese ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

of the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

. Traditionally, it is believed to have been written by

Apostle Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

while he was in prison in Rome (around AD 62), but more recently, it has been suggested that it was written between AD 80 and 100 by another writer using Paul's name and style. This chapter is a part of Paul's exhortation (Ephesians 4 –6), with the particular section about the mutual interdependence of the Christians as the church (verses 1–16) and how they should live in the world (4:17–5:20).

Text

The original text was written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...

. This chapter is divided into 32 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: *

Papyrus 46 Papyrus 46, also known as ''P. Chester Beatty II'', is an early Greek New Testament manuscript written on papyrus, and is one of the manuscripts comprising the Chester Beatty Papyri. It is designated by the siglum in the Gregory-Aland numberi ...

(~200) *

Papyrus 49 Papyrus 49 (Gregory-Aland), designated by 𝔓49, is an early copy of the New Testament in Greek. It is a papyrus manuscript of the Epistle to the Ephesians, surviving in a fragmentary condition. The manuscript has been palaeographically assign ...

(3rd century; extant verses 16–29; 31–32). *

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Old Testament and the majority of the New Testament. It is designated by siglum B or 03 in the Gregory-Aland numb ...

(325–50) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus (; Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), also called the Sinai Bible, is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old Testament, including the deuterocanonica ...

(330–60) *

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible,The Greek Bible in this context refers to the Bible used by Greek-speaking Christians who lived in Egypt and elsewhere during the early ...

(400–40) *

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus The Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (Paris, National Library of France, Greek 9) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, written on parchment. It is designated by the siglum C or 04 in the Biblical manuscript#Gregory-Aland, Gregory-Aland numbering of New ...

(~450; extant verses 1–16) *

Codex Freerianus Codex Freerianus, designated by I or 016 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), α 1041 ( von Soden), also called the ''Washington Manuscript of the Pauline Epistles'', is a 5th-century manuscript in an uncial hand on vellum in Greek. It is named afte ...

(~450; extant verses 9–11, 17–19, 28–30) *

Codex Claromontanus Codex Claromontanus, symbolized by Dp, D2 or 06 (in the Biblical manuscript#Gregory-Aland, Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1026 (Biblical manuscript#Von Soden, von Soden), is a Greek-Latin diglot uncial manuscript of the New Testament, written in an ...

(~550)

Old Testament references

* :

Psalm The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of H ...

* : Zechariah * :

The Church in its Calling and Confession (4:1–6)

Paul exhorts the church about its "calling", to live the whole life as a response to God's summons, while maintaining the unity in the Spirit; this a common calling for every believer, regardless of rank or ability, focusing on one common Lord,

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

Verse 1

* "Prisoner of the Lord": or "in the Lord" recalls Paul's physical status (also in ). * "Beseech": or "exhort, encourage", is a characteristic style of Paul when opening his exhortations (cf. ; ). * "Walk": is a Jewish "metaphor for daily conduct ('lead life')", from Hebrew word ''halakh'' ("walk") which becomes "

Halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

" ("rules for conduct").

Verse 3

* "Endeavouring" (KJV; NKJV: "endeavoring"): an 'eager determination to maintain the unity of the Spirit and the peace which benefits all'. * "Unity of the Spirit": The fact is 'this unity is given by the Spirit', originating from the 'shared experience of the one Spirit' (cf. ; ), not created by Christians, although they could destroy it.

Verses 4–6

The "triadic" confession one Spirit… one Lord… one God in the verses 4–6 recalls the scope of the unity in the church.

The Character and Purpose of Ministry in the Body of Christ (4:7–16)

This section can be seen as an elaboration of and , emphasizing that the church as Christ's body can only function effectively with the recognition of each church member's function within the body, and each individual function is appointed and made to work effectively by the enabling from Christ.

Verse 8

Psalm 68:18 reads:

Verse 11

* "Apostles": refer to the people who were directly called by

Christ, received the teaching from Him and the commission to preach it, guided by the Holy Spirit, "had a power to work miracles for the confirmation of their doctrine" as well as the authority to preach the Gospel everywhere, to plant churches, not confined to a particular place or church. An apostle was the first and chief office in the church, elected before Christ's ascension but not received power until the coming of the Spirit (on

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...

). The task of the apostle is not only to bear witness of Christ in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, but in the farthest ends of the earth. * "Prophets": are some people who are not private members of churches, but may prophesy or teach in a private way. They are not ordinary ministers of the word, but those who have a special gift of interpreting the Scriptures, the prophecies of the Old Testament, and foretelling things to come. Among these were Agabus and others in the church of Antioch (; ) * "Evangelists": are not meant the writers of the Gospels, as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, some of which were also apostles, but rather as preachers of the Gospel, distinct from the ordinary ministers. Their position was seen as below that of the apostles, but above those of pastors and teachers; however, they were the companions or assistants of the apostles, and helped them in their work. Among them were Philip (the deacon), Luke, Titus, Timothy, and others. They were not fixed ministers in any place, but were sent anywhere as needed. * "Pastors and teachers": (also called "doctors" of the church) may be thought to be different, because of: ** the place where they work: the pastors in the church, while the teachers in the (church or theological) school ** the different subject of their ministry: the pastors attending to practical, the teachers to doctrinal points ** the charge of the church: the pastors are the shepherds of the flock, as overseers, same as the bishops and elders, whereas the teachers can be the gifted members in the church, assistants to the pastors (ministers of the word) : Nonetheless, it should be seen as one and the same office, that the term "teachers" is only explanative of the figurative word "pastors" or shepherds.John Gill, ''Exposition of the Entire Bible'
Ephesians 4:11
/ref>

Verse 13

* "To a perfect man": Greek: "to a full-grown man".Note on Ephesians 4:13 in ESV

To Live as the Church in the World (4:17–32)

Stretching to 5:20, this part gives a general all-purpose set of instruction, with the classic "put off (vices) and put on (virtues)" in verses 22–32, using the familiar imagery of changing clothes for changing the character and lifestyle.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* King James Bible – Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate

''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.) {{Epistle to the Ephesians 04