Ephesians 4.4b-Christian Corporate Unity in a Positional Sense is Defined by One Spirit
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday November 19, 2024
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 4:4b-Christian Corporate Unity in a Positional Sense is Defined by One Spirit
Lesson # 203
Ephesians 4:1 Therefore, I myself, the prisoner because of the Lord’s will, exhort and encourage each and every one of you as a corporate unit to live your lives in a manner worthy of your effectual calling with which each and every one of you as a corporate unit have been effectually called 2 with the fullest expression of that which characterizes humility resulting in that which characterizes gentleness. Specifically, by each and every one of you as a corporate unit continuing to make it your habit of tolerating one another with that which characterizes patience by means of the practice of divine love. 3 In other words, by all of you without exception continuing to cause yourselves to make it a habit of making every effort to maintain the unity produced by the Spirit by means of the bond, which produces a peace, which is divine in quality and character. 4 It is defined by one body as well as one Spirit just as each and every one of you as a corporate unit were also effectually called into the state of experiencing one confident expectation of blessing which was produced by your effectual call. (Lecturer’s translation)
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.
Each of these verses contains a triad.
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.”
As was the case in Ephesians 1:23 and 2:16, the noun sōma (σῶμα) here in Ephesians 4:4 is used in a figurative sense to describe the church as being like the human body in that it has diversity among its members but yet they possess a unity.
The word refers to church age believers who are joined together as a corporate unit with the implication of each member having a distinctive function within this unit.
The referent of this word is of course the Jewish and Gentile Christian communities emphasizing not only the diversity between the two but also the unity that exists between the two as a result of both being declared justified through faith in Jesus Christ.
Simultaneously, the Holy Spirit placed them in union with Him and identifying them with Him in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the Father’s right hand.
The noun pneuma (πνεῦμα), “Spirit” refers of course to the Holy Spirit and it is modified by the nominative neuter singular form of the adjective heis (εἷς), “one,” which is ascribing to the work of the Holy Spirit in baptism at justification as being a single entity in contrast to more than one.
Thus, it emphasizes there is one Spirit, the Holy Spirit who unites all church age believers.
The baptism of the Spirit unites them not only with Jesus Christ and identifies them with Him in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father but also serves to unite them to every church age believer.
Like the noun sōma (σῶμα), “body, the noun pneuma (πνεῦμα), “Spirit” functions as a predicate nominative.
This indicates that it makes the assertion that Christian corporate unity in a positional sense is defined by one Spirit, the Holy Spirit in the sense that the Spirit permanently indwells each member of the body of Christ as one of the essential features of Christian unity, which serves as the basis for Christian unity in an experiential sense (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19-20).
Also, the work of the Holy Spirit at justification is another one of the essential features of Christian corporate unity in a positional sense, which serves as the basis for Christian unity in an experiential sense.
At the moment of justification, the baptism performed by the Holy Spirit identified the justified sinner with Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.
This union and identification with Jesus Christ serves not only as the basis for the church age believer’s eternal relationship and fellowship with the triune God and with other church age believers but also serves as the basis for Christian unity in an experiential sense.
Ephesians 4:4 is the seventh time Paul has mentioned the Holy Spirit.
The first instance was in Ephesians 1:13 which taught that the church age believer was sealed by means of the omnipotence of the promised Spirit, who is holy.
The second reference to the Spirit is found in Ephesians 1:17.
It asserts that Paul made it has habit of occupying himself with praying that God, that is, the glorious Father of the one and only Lord ruling over each member of the church, who is Jesus Christ, would cause each of them to receive divine wisdom, specifically, divine revelatory wisdom provided by the one and only Spirit with respect to an experiential knowledge of Himself.
Unlike Ephesians 1:13, Ephesians 1:17 does not refer to the work of the Holy Spirit on behalf of the church age believer at their justification but rather it mentions one of the post-justification ministries of the Holy Spirit.
The third time Paul mentions the Holy Spirit in this epistle is Ephesians 2:18.
In this verse, he teaches that through the personal intermediate agency of Jesus Christ both Jewish and Gentile church age believers are experiencing access by means of the omnipotence of the one Spirit to the presence of the Father.
Paul mentions the Spirit a fourth time in Ephesians 2:22 and asserts that by appropriating by faith their union and identification with Him, both Jewish and Gentile church age believers are being built together into God’s dwelling place by means of the omnipotence of the Spirit.
The fifth time he mentions the Spirit is in Ephesians 3:6.
In this verse, he teaches concerning the mystery of Christ and specifically, he teaches about the mystery that Gentile church age believers are co-heirs, co-members of the body and co-partakers of the Messianic promise because of their faith in Jesus Christ at justification and their union and identification with Him.
He asserts that this mystery was by no means made known to members of the human race in previous generations as it has now been revealed through the personal agency of His holy apostles as well as prophets by means of the omnipotence of the Spirit.
The sixth Paul mentions the Spirit is in Ephesians 3:16.
This verse asserts that he made it his habit of occupying himself with praying that according to the wealth produced by His glory that the Father would cause each one of the recipients of this epistle to be given strength by means of power through the personal intermediate agency of His Spirit for the benefit of your inner being.
Now in Ephesians 4:4, Paul refers to the Holy Spirit a seventh time by noting the work of the Holy Spirit at justification.
This is indicated by the fact that the expression hen pneuma (ἓν πνεῦμα), “one Spirit” is modified by a comparative clause, which speaks of the believer being effectually called by the Father at the moment of justification.
In 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, the apostle Paul discusses the unity of the body of Christ and that all members have received the baptism of the Spirit at their justification.
The apostle Paul also discusses the unity of the body of Christ in Romans 12:1-8.
