Ephesians 4.4-6-The Basis for Christian Corporate Unity in an Experiental Sense
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday November 14, 2024
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 4:4-6-The Basis for Christian Corporate Unity in an Experiential Sense
Lesson # 201
Ephesians 4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you too were called to the one hope of your calling, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (NET)
In Ephesians 4:4-6, Paul continues to discuss with the recipients of this epistle, who were Gentile Christians living in the Roman province of Asia the subject of corporate unity in the body of Christ.
However, in these verses, he discusses the basis for this corporate unity among members of the Christian community and specifically, the unity that exists among Jewish and Gentile church age believers in a positional sense.
In these verses, Paul presents seven essential fundamental elements or spiritual realities that serve as the basis for corporate unity in the body of Christ in an experiential sense with all seven centered upon the three members of the Trinity.
Ephesians 4:4-6 presents the basis for the three exhortations, which appear in Ephesians 4:1-3.
Ephesians 4:4 presents the first of three seven essential fundamental elements of Christian corporate unity in a positional sense.
In other words, in Ephesians 4:4-6, the apostle Paul presents seven basic fundamental and essential spiritual realities that unite all church age believers in a corporate sense regardless of denomination or lack of denomination.
These verses contain yet another triadic pattern because the Spirit is mentioned in verse 4, the Son in verse 5 and the Father in verse 6.
The first appears in Ephesians 4:4 which mentions the body of Christ, the Holy Spirit and the church age believers effectual call, which took place the moment of their justification.
The second triad appears in Ephesians 4:5 which mentions the Lord Jesus Christ, followed by the Christian faith and then the baptism of the Spirit.
Ephesians 4:6 speaks of the Father as the member of the Trinity whose sovereign authority every creature and all of creation are subjected to including both His Son and the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 15:1-28).
In fact, the first two triads centered upon the Spirit and the Son respectively are united under the third which is centered upon “one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all.”
Peter O’Brien writes “It has been argued that Paul is citing an early Christian confession or creed. This is possible but unlikely. The order (Spirit, Lord, and God) is quite different from that of the early confessions (Father, Son, and Spirit), while several clauses point rather to an ad hoc creation. So, for example, the expression ‘even as you were called in one hope of your calling’ (v. 4) is not the usual credal style, but is characteristic of Paul’s own expressions. The most that can legitimately be claimed, then, is that Paul may have utilized some items of credal material as he stresses the need for unity. ”
In Ephesians 4:4-6, the apostle Paul employs the figure of asyndeton.
The common practice of the Greek language was to connect each clause with the preceding by some connective word.
The term for the lack of such a connective is “asyndeton.”
The use of conjunctions came to be very common in the Greek so that the absence was noticeable and was called “asyndeton,” which literally means, “not bound together.”
This figure is a vivid stylistic feature that occurs often for emphasis, solemnity, or rhetorical value (staccato effect), or when there is an abrupt change in topic.
Thus, it is found, for example, with commands and exhortations, put forth in rapid succession (cf. John 5:8; Eph 4:26-29; Phil 4:4-6; 1 Thess 5:15-22), sentences in a series (cf. Matt 5:3-11 [the beatitudes]; 2 Tim 3:15-16), sentences unrelated to each other/topic shift (cf. 1 Cor 5:9).
The purpose of the figure in Ephesians 4:4-6 is to emphasize the solemn importance of the seven assertions contained in these verse, which present seven fundamental essential elements or spiritual realities from the positional aspect of Christian unity.
These seven serve as the basis of Christian unity in an experiential sense.
This figure is designed to present an emphatic reminder to the Gentile Christian community in the Roman province of Asia that Christian corporate unity in an experiential sense is based upon the positional aspect of this unity.
The latter is defined by one body, one Spirit, one confident expectation of blessing, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father.
The seven fold use of the adjective heis (εἷς), “one” in Ephesians 4:4-6 also serves to emphasize this unity among Christians in a positional sense, which is composed of seven essential fundamental spiritual realities, and which spiritual realities we noted serve as the basis for Christian unity in an experiential sense.
Paul is not only employing the figure of asyndeton in Ephesians 4:4 but is also employing the figure of ellipsis because he is deliberately omitting the third person singular present active indicative form of the verb eimi (εἰμί), though it is clearly implied from the context.
In this context, the verb eimi (εἰμί) means “to define” since the word pertains to identifying the essential nature of something or making a statement which expresses the essential nature of something.
The referent of the third person singular present active indicative form of the verb eimi (εἰμί) is the noun henotēs (ἑνότης), which we noted appears in Ephesians 4:3 and means “unity” since the word pertains to the quality of being united into one.
In context, the word is used of Christian unity in a positional sense, which the recipients of this epistle, who again were Gentile Christians in the Roman province of Asia, were to maintain with each other experientially and with Jewish Christians.
Therefore, this word serves as the nominative subject in each of the six predicate nominatives that appear in Ephesians 4:4-6.
Ephesians 4:4-6 contains seven essential, fundamental elements or spiritual realities of Christian unity in a positional sense, which are identified by the nouns sōma (σῶμα), “body,” pneuma (πνεῦμα), “Spirit,” elpis (ἐλπίς), “confident expectation of blessing,” kurios (κύριος), “Lord,” pistis (πίστις), “faith,” baptisma (βάπτισμα), “baptism,” and theos (θεός), “God.”
All seven are modified by the nominative form of the adjective heis (εἷς), “one.”
Each constitute the basis for Christian unity in an experiential sense.
Therefore, the verb eimi (εἰμί) expresses the idea that Christian unity in a positional sense “is defined by” these seven essential fundamental constituent elements, which are identified by the seven nouns in Ephesians 4:4-6.
Thus, it expresses the idea that Christian unity in a positional sense “is defined by” one body, one Spirit, one hope of the believer’s effectually calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Again, these seven serve as the basis of Christian corporate unity in an experiential sense.
The present tense of the verb eimi (εἰμί) is a gnomic present, which expresses the idea that Christian unity in a positional sense is “as an eternal spiritual truth” defined by one body, one Spirit, one hope of the believer’s effectually calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
