Ephesians 4.13b-The Unity Produced by an Experiential Knowledge of God's Son
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Saturday March 1, 2025
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 4:13b-The Unity Produced by an Experiential Knowledge of God’s Son
Lesson # 235
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.
The first of these clauses is composed of the expression mechri katantēsōmen hoi pantes eis tēn henotēta tēs pisteōs (μέχρι καταντήσωμεν οἱ πάντες εἰς τὴν ἑνότητα τῆς πίστεως), “until each one of us as a corporate unit attains to experiencing the unity produced by the one and only Christian faith.”
The second is elliptical because the expression mechri katantēsōmen hoi pantes eis tēn henotēta (μέχρι καταντήσωμεν οἱ πάντες εἰς τὴν ἑνότητα), “until all of us without exception attains to experiencing the unity” is omitted but implied.
It would go before the expression tēs epignōseōs tou huiou tou theou (τῆς ἐπιγνώσεως τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ), “produced by an experiential knowledge of God’s Son.”
The third is also elliptical because it omits the expression mechri katantēsōmen hoi pantes (μέχρι καταντήσωμεν οἱ πάντες), “until each one of us as a corporate unit attains” though it is implied.
It would go before the prepositional phrase eis andra teleion (εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον), “to experiencing a mature man.”
The fourth is also elliptical because it too omits the expression mechri katantēsōmen hoi pantes (μέχρι καταντήσωμεν οἱ πάντες), “until all of us without exception attains to” though it is implied.
It would go before the prepositional phrase eis metron hēlikias tou plērōmatos tou Christou (εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας τοῦ πληρώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ), “experiencing proportionately to the full stature of the one and only Christ’s character.”
As we noted in our study of Ephesians 4:11 and 12, only the gifts of apostleship, prophecy and teaching are in view with the contents of Ephesians 4:12-13 because the function of these gifts is to benefit the church while on other hand, the gift of evangelism is to benefit the unregenerate.
The gifts of apostleship and prophecy are no longer extant because the last apostle John died at the end of the first century and the New Testament canon closed at the end of the first century.
Thus, since the end of the first century A.D. the gift of teaching alone has been and continued to be used by the Lord to produce this unity experientially among the members of the body of Christ.
Therefore, the first indefinite temporal clause asserts that the Lord Jesus Christ gave the gifts of apostleship, prophecy and teaching for equipping the saints for performing the work of service in order to build up the members of Christ’s body “until each and every member of that body attains to the unity produced by obedience to the one and only Christian faith.”
The second asserts that the Lord Jesus Christ gave the gifts of apostleship, prophecy and teaching for equipping the saints for performing the work of service in order to build up the members of Christ’s body “until each member attains to the unity produced by an experiential knowledge of God’s Son.”
It corresponds to the first because not only is unity experienced between believers by obedience to the Christian faith but also an experiential knowledge of God’s Son is accomplished by the same means.
The third asserts that the Lord Jesus Christ gave the gifts of apostleship, prophecy and teaching for equipping the saints for performing the work of service in order to build up the members of Christ’s body “until each member attains to a mature man.”
Now, as was the case in Ephesians 1:17, the noun epignōsis (ἐπίγνωσις) here in Ephesians 4:13 means, “an experiential knowledge.”
This is indicated by the fact that the word pertains to possessing an experiential knowledge of someone or something and being affected by this encounter in that a person gains more practical wisdom and as a result matures in character.
As we noted in our study of Ephesians 1:17, the noun epignōsis (ἐπίγνωσις) speaks of recipients of the Ephesian epistle personally encountering the Father by exercising faith in Paul’s Spirit inspired apostolic teaching and being affected by this encounter in that they gain a practical wisdom and more of the character of Christ.
However, in Ephesians 4:13, the noun epignōsis (ἐπίγνωσις) refers to an “experiential knowledge” of the Lord Jesus Christ in the sense of personally encountering Him through the process of fellowship as He is revealed by the Holy Spirit in the pages of Scripture and prayer and being affected by this encounter with the Lord.
Specifically, in Ephesians 3:14-21, Paul prayed that the recipients of this epistle would know experientially the four dimensions of Christ’s love for them, which was manifested through His becoming a human being and fulfilling perfectly the Law for them and suffering for them at the cross the consequences of not fulfilling the Law perfectly.
The referent of the noun huios (υἱός), “Son” is of course Jesus Christ and is employed here as a title for His deity describing the relationship between Himself and the Father.
The noun expresses three fundamental concepts regarding the Lord Jesus Christ:
(1) His eternal relationship with the Father.
(2) His appointment to the office of Savior and Messiah.
(3) His divine essence.
This word expresses the Lord Jesus Christ’s eternality and that He is infinite and eternal God (John 1:1-2, 14; John 8:58; 10:30a; Col. 2:9a; Rev. 1:8) indicating His equality with the Father (Matthew 17:1-5; John 10:30, 37-38; 14:9; 17:5, 24-25; 20:30-31; Romans 1:1-4; Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 1:3).
The articular construction of the word is also monadic expressing the uniqueness of the Son in that He is the one and only Son of the Father.
The referent of the articular genitive masculine singular form of the noun theos (θεός) is of course, God the Father.
The word functions as a genitive of relationship indicating a familial relationship between God the Fathe and God the Son.
The articular construction of this word in the Greek New Testament commonly signifies the first member of the Trinity unless otherwise indicated by the context.
