Ephesians 4.4c-Christian Corporate Unity in a Positional Sense is Defined by One Confident Expectation of Blessing
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday November 21, 2024
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 4:4c-Christian Corporate Unity in a Positional Sense is Defined by One Confident Expectation of Blessing
Lesson # 204
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)
Now, in Ephesians 4:4, Paul employs the adverb kathōs (καθώς) to mark a comparison between between the body of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit in baptism at justification and the church age believer’s effectual calling, which we noted took place at the moment of their justification.
The reason for the comparison is that the church age believer became a member of the body of Christ and indwelt by the Spirit and the beneficiary of the work of the Spirit, which placed them in union with Jesus Christ and identified them with Him through the Father effectually calling them, which took place at the moment of their justification.
As was the case in Ephesians 4:1, the verb kaleō (καλέω) here in Ephesians 4:4 refers to an act of summoning which effectively evokes from those addressed the response which it invites.
It refers to the “effective evocation” of faith through the presentation of the gospel by the Holy Spirit who united the believer to Christ according to the Father’s electing him to privilege and His gracious eternal purpose and predetermined plan.
The verb refers to not only the Father’s invitation to salvation for the Christian through the presentation of the gospel by the Holy Spirit, but it also refers to their acceptance of this invitation by faith and which invitation originates from eternity past.
The referent of the second person plural form of this verb is the recipients of this epistle, who we noted were Gentile church age believers located throughout the various cities and towns in the Roman province of Asia.
It not only pertains to them as a corporate unit but is also used in a distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions and thus refers to them as individuals as well.
The verb kaleō (καλέω) refers to an act of summoning which effectively evokes from those addressed the response which it invites.
The word refers to the “effective evocation” of faith through the presentation of the gospel by the Holy Spirit which unites the sinner to Christ according to the Father’s gracious purpose in election.
It is related to the adjective klētos (κλητός), which means, “chosen one” and appears in Romans 8:28 with the same idea.
Therefore, in Ephesians 4:4, the verb kaleō (καλέω) refers to the “effective evocation” of faith through the presentation of the gospel by the Holy Spirit who united the believer to Christ according to the Father’s electing him to privilege and His gracious eternal purpose and predetermined plan.
The verb refers to not only the Father’s invitation to salvation for the Christian through the presentation of the gospel by the Holy Spirit, but it also refers to their acceptance of this invitation by faith and which invitation originates from eternity past.
In other words, it does not refer to the “invitation” to receive the gift of salvation by trusting in Jesus Christ as Savior.
Rather, it refers to those sinners who have responded to the divine invitation or call of God when they were presented the gospel and have exercised faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Thus, it is an “effectual call” as many commentators describe it.
Therefore, this “effectual call” refers to the “effective evocation” of faith through the presentation of the gospel by the Holy Spirit who united the believer to Christ according to the Father’s electing him to privilege and His gracious eternal purpose and predetermined plan.
It refers to not only the Father’s invitation to salvation for the Christian through the presentation of the gospel by the Holy Spirit, but it also refers to their acceptance of this invitation by faith and which invitation originates from eternity past.
So therefore, when Paul in Ephesians 4:4 speaks of the calling of the recipients of epistle with which they have been called, he is referring to God the Father “effectually calling” each of them at the moment of justification and thus it refers to their conversion to Christianity or in other words, the moment of justification.
Again, the word “effectual” is used of that which produces the effect desired or intended or a decisive result.
Thus, the Father’s calling of them produced the effect He desired, intended from them and the decisive result, namely, to deliver them from their sins, the indwelling Adamic sin nature, Satan, condemnation from the Law, spiritual and physical death as well as eternal condemnation.
As was the case in Ephesians 1:18 and 2:12, the dative feminine singular form of the noun elpis (ἐλπίς) here in Ephesians 4:4 means “confident expectation of blessing.”
It refers to the church age believer receiving a resurrection body at the rapture or resurrection of the church and rewards for faithful service from the Lord Jesus Christ at the Bema Seat.
They appropriated this confident expectation of blessing the moment the Father declared them justified through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ and were simultaneously identified with His Son in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the Father’s right hand.
As is the case in Ephesians 4:4, Paul in Ephesians 1:18 connects the church age believer’s confident expectation of blessing to having been effectually called by the Father at their justification.
In fact, he teaches that this confident expectation of blessing was produced by the Father’s effectual call.
In Ephesians 2:12, Paul reminds the recipients of this epistle who were Gentile Christians that prior to their justification, they possessed absolutely no confident expectation of blessing.
Now, like the nouns sōma (σῶμα), “body” and pneuma (πνεῦμα), “Spirit,” the noun elpis (ἐλπίς) in Ephesians 4:4 is modified by the adjective heis (εἷς), “one,” which ascribes to the church age believer’s confident expectation of blessing as being a single entity in contrast to more than one.
Thus, it emphasizes the church age believer’s confident expectation of receiving a resurrection body and rewards for faithful service as one single entity.
Like the nouns sōma (σῶμα), “body” and pneuma (πνεῦμα), “Spirit,” the noun elpis (ἐλπίς) functions as a predicate nominative.
This means that it is making the assertion that Christian unity in a positional sense is defined by one confident expectation of blessing in the sense that it is one of the essential features of Christian unity, which serves as the basis for Christian unity in an experiential sense.
Now, as was the case in Ephesians 1:18 and 4:1, the noun klēsis (κλῆσις) here in Ephesians 4:4 means “effectual call” which is referring to the conversion of the recipients of the Ephesian epistle or in other words, the moment of justification.
The word “effectual” is used of that which produces the effect desired or intended or a decisive result.
Thus, the Father’s calling of the recipients of the Ephesian epistle produced the effect He desired, or intended from them and the decisive result, namely, faith in His Son Jesus Christ, which resulted in the Father imputed His Son’s righteousness to them and declaring them justified.
The articular construction of this noun klēsis (κλῆσις) is employed with the genitive second personal plural form of the personal pronoun su (σύ) to denote possession.
As has been the case throughout this epistle, the referent of the personal pronoun su (σύ) is the recipients of this epistle who Paul describes here in Ephesians 2:11 as Gentile Christians.
The word means “each and every one of you as a corporate unit” or “all of you without exception” because it not only refers to these Gentile Christians as a corporate unit but is also used in a distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions.
In other words, it not only refers to them as a corporate unit but also as individuals.
Therefore, this construction expresses the idea that this effectual call is “the possession of” church age believers.
The noun klēsis (κλῆσις) functions as a genitive of production, which indicates that the church age believer’s effectual call at the moment of justification “produced” this confident expectation of receiving a resurrection body at the rapture and rewards for faithful service at the Bema Seat.
The passive voice of this verb kaleō (καλέω) means that the recipients of this epistle as the subject of this verb received the action of being effectually called by the Father at the moment of their justification.
Thus, this is another “divine-passive,” which appears in this epistle. In context, the subject is the recipients of this epistle and the unexpressed agency but is implied from the contents of Ephesians 1:18 is the Father.
