Ephesians 4.13a-The Unity Produced by Obedience to the Christian Faith
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday February 27, 2025
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 4:13a-The Unity Produced by Obedience to the Christian Faith
Lesson # 234
Ephesians 4:7 Now, however, to each one of us grace was given corresponding to the incomparable Christ’s proportionate gracious giving. 8 Therefore, it says, “When he ascended to the highest place, he captured captives. He generously gave gifts to certain members of the human race.” 9 In other words, what is the meaning of the statement, “he ascended?” Namely that, he also descended into the lower regions, which are part of the earth? 10 He, the very one who has descended is the one who also has ascended above each and every one of the heavens in order that He would enter into the state of bringing to completion each and every animate and inanimate object. 11 Therefore, on the one hand, He Himself generously gave some to be apostles but on other hand, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors, specifically, teachers 12 for the purpose of equipping the saints for performing the work of service in order to ultimately build up the members of Christ’s body 13 until each and every one of us as a corporate unit attains to experiencing the unity produced by obedience to the one and only Christian faith. Correspondingly, until all of us without exception attains to the unity produced by an experiential knowledge of God’s Son. Until each and every one of us as a corporate unit attains to experiencing a mature man. Until all of us without exception attains to experiencing proportionately to the full stature of the one and only Christ’s character. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 4:13 is composed of four indefinite temporal clauses with the first being explicit and the last three being elliptical and thus implied.
Now, in the first indefinite temporal clause, the noun henotēs (ἑνότης) pertains to the quality of being united into one.
As was the case in Ephesians 4:3, it is used here in Ephesians 4:13 with reference to the recipients of this epistle, who again were Gentile Christians in the Roman province of Asia and Jewish Christians.
This is indicated by the first person plural person plural aorist active subjunctive conjugation of the verb katantaō (καταντάω), “we attain,” which as was the case with every first person plural in the Ephesian epistle up to this point, the referent is both Gentile and Jewish church age believers with Paul representing the Jewish wing of the church.
Therefore, the noun henotēs (ἑνότης), “the unity” is used with reference to the recipients of this epistle, who again were Gentile Christians in the Roman province of Asia, maintaining unity with Jewish church age believers experientially.
This would be accomplished by their obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ’s Spirit inspired command in John 13:34 and 15:12 to love one another as He loves them, which is the purpose of Ephesians.
Specifically, it speaks of the Gentile Christian community maintaining unity experientially with the Jewish Christian community through the practice of the Lord Jesus Christ’s Spirit inspired command in John 13:34 and 15:12 to love one another as He loves them, which is the purpose of Ephesians.
This interpretation is indicated by the fact that Paul discusses at great length the relationship between the two races in Ephesians 2:11-22 as the new humanity and in Ephesians 3:2-13, which describes both as fellow heirs, fellow members of the body of Christ and fellow partakers of the Messianic promise.
The articular construction of the noun henotēs (ἑνότης) is monadic, which expresses the “uniqueness” of the unity among Jewish and Gentile church age believers experientially in that it is produced by the obedience to the Christian faith, which is inspired by the Holy Spirit.
The articular form of the noun pistis (πίστις), “the faith” here in Ephesians 4:13 has three basic usages in the Greek New Testament.
The first is the active usage meaning “faith.”
There is also a passive usage meaning “that which is believed, the body of faith, doctrine” (Gal. 1:23; 2 Pt. 1:5; 1 Tm. 1:19; 4:1, 6; 6:10; 2 Tm. 2:18; 4:7; Heb. 11).
Lastly, the noun pistis is used as an attribute meaning “faithfulness, reliability” (Gal. 3:22; Titus 2:10; 2 Th. 1:4).
As was the case in Ephesians 4:5, the noun pistis (πίστις) here in Ephesians 4:13 is used in an objective passive sense for the Christian faith and specifically, it refers to the content of what Paul taught the churches or in other words it is another description of the gospel.
The word pertains to that body of doctrine which the church believes, teaches and practices and considers orthodoxy.
This word contains the figure of metonymy which indicates that the Christian faith is put for obedience to the Christian faith.
We can also say that this word pistis (πίστις) refers to the gospel originating from and about the Lord Jesus Christ and His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father, which provided eternal salvation for the entire human race.
This is indicated by the fact that Christian doctrine is about Jesus Christ’s the significance of His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.
This gospel was communicated by the Spirit to the apostles and asserts that the Lord Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father delivered the entire human race from eternal condemnation, condemnation from the Law, enslavement to the sin nature, Satan and his cosmic system, spiritual and physical death and personal sins.
It also asserts that this deliverance is received by the sinner through faith in Jesus Christ.
Thus, the gospel message is “good news” for the sinner.
So therefore, the articular form of the noun pistis (πίστις), “the one and only faith” here in Ephesians 4:13 is synonymous with the articular form of the noun euangelion, “the gospel.”
The articular construction of the noun pistis (πίστις) in Ephesians 4:13 is monadic, which indicates “the uniqueness” of the Christian faith or that which body of doctrine church age believes in and adheres to as well as teaches since unlike human teaching, the teaching of the Word of God is inspired by God the Holy Spirit.
The noun (πίστις) functions as a genitive of production, which expresses the idea that this Spirit inspired Christian faith “produces” unity among Jewish and Gentile church age believers experientially when they obey it.
The noun henotēs (ἑνότης), “the unity” is the object of the preposition eis (εἰς), which functions as a marker of experiencing a particular state or condition.
Therefore, this would express the idea of each member of the Christian community “existing in the state of” experiencing the unity, which is produced by their obedience to the Christian faith.
The verb katantaō (καταντάω) pertains to attaining or achieving a particular state or condition implying the reaching of a particular goal.
It is used in a figurative sense of the members of the body of Christ, and in particular both Jewish and Gentile church age believers “attaining” to the state or condition of experiencing unity with each other.
This unity is the result of obeying Paul’s Spirit inspired doctrine, which constitutes the Christian faith or that body of doctrine the church teaches and practices.
The referent of the first person plural form of this verb is Paul and the recipients of the epistle, who we noted were Gentile church age believers with Paul representing the Jewish wing of the church.
The articular nominative masculine plural form of the adjective pas (πᾶς) functions as a substantive and its referent of this word is Paul and the recipients of the epistle and specifically, both Jewish and Gentile church age believers.
Now, in Ephesians 4:13, the expression tēn henotēta tēs pisteōs (τὴν ἑνότητα τῆς πίστεως), “the unity produced by obedience to the produced by the one and only Christian faith” (Lecturer’s translation) is equivalent to the expression tēn henotēta tou pneumatos (τὴν ἑνότητα τοῦ πνεύματος), “the unity produced by the Spirit” (Author’s translation), which appears in Ephesians 4:3.
This is indicated by the fact that the Christian faith is inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21).
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. (Lecturer’s translation)
As we noted in our study of Ephesians 4:3, the noun henotēs (ἑνότης), “the unity”
is used with reference to the recipients of this epistle, who again were Gentile Christians in the Roman province of Asia, maintaining unity with each other experientially.
This would be accomplished by their obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ’s Spirit inspired command in John 13:34 and 15:12 to love one another as He loves them, which is the purpose of Ephesians.
The articular construction of the noun henotēs (ἑνότης) is monadic, which expresses the “uniqueness” of the unity among Jewish and Gentile church age believers experientially.
This is indicated by the fact that it is produced by the Holy Spirit when they obey the Lord Jesus Christ’s Spirit inspired command recorded in John 13:34 and 15:12 to love one another as He loved them.
The referent of the noun pneuma (πνεῦμα) is God the Holy Spirit and it functions as a genitive of production, which means that it “produces” the noun to which it stands related, which is henotēs (ἑνότης).
Therefore, this construction indicates that this unity experientially among Jewish and Gentile church age believer is “produced by” the Holy Spirit.
The articular construction of this word is monadic, which indicates “the uniqueness” of the Spirit distinguishing Him from other spirits in that He is God possessing the attributes of deity and is thus uncreated.
