Ephesians 4.16c-Each Member of the Body is Fitted and United Through the Function of the Ligaments
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday April 15, 2025
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 4:16c-Each Member of the Body is Fitted and United Through the Function of the Ligaments
Lesson # 248
Ephesians 4:16 From whom, each and every member of the body does get fitted together, yes does get united together through the function of each and every ligament, which provide support for the purpose of working. Simultaneously, in proportion to each individual part belonging to the body does cause itself to grow for the purpose of building one another up by means of the practice of divine-love. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 4:16 is composed of two assertions:
(1) ex hou pan to sōma synarmologoumenon kai symbibazomenon dia pasēs haphēs tēs epichorēgias kat energeian (ἐξ οὗ πᾶν τὸ σῶμα συναρμολογούμενον καὶ συμβιβαζόμενον διὰ πάσης ἁφῆς τῆς ἐπιχορηγίας κατ ἐνέργειαν), “From whom, each and every member of the body does get fitted together, yes does get united together through each and every ligament, which provide support for the purpose of working.”
(2) en metrō henos hekastou merous tēn auxēsin tou sōmatos poieitai eis oikodomēn heautou en agapē (ἐν μέτρῳ ἑνὸς ἑκάστου μέρους τὴν αὔξησιν τοῦ σώματος ποιεῖται εἰς οἰκοδομὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἐν ἀγάπῃ), “Simultaneously, in proportion to each individual part belonging to the body does cause itself to grow for the purpose of building one another up by means of the practice of divine-love.”
The prepositional phrase dia pasēs haphēs tēs epichorēgias (διὰ πάσης ἁφῆς τῆς ἐπιχορηγίας), “through each and every ligament, which provide support” indicates that these communicators of the Word of God are the intermediate agency who Jesus Christ employs in order to produce growth in the individual members of His body, the church.
The source of the spiritual growth of the body of Christ is Christ Himself.
However, Christ affects this spiritual growth in the believer through the intermediate agency of those men with the gift of apostleship, teaching and prophecy.
The noun haphē (ἁφή) appears only twice in the Greek New Testament, here in Colossians 2:19 and also Ephesians 4:16.
In both instances, the word means “ligament,” which literally refers to the tough fibrous band of tissue in the human body which connects the articular extremities of bones or supporting an organ in place.
In both instances, it is used metaphorically for the communicators of the Word of God to the church which would include those men with the spiritual gift of apostleship, teaching and prophecy.
This interpretation is indicated by a couple factors.
First of all, the Scriptures make clear that the believer’s spiritual food is the Word of God and enables them to grow spiritually (cf. Matthew 4:4; 1 Peter 2:2).
Secondly, Ephesians 4:11-14 teaches that the major function of these three gifts was to equip the saints for the work of service, to build them up spiritually, to produce unity among the members of the church.
The exercise of these gifts was also to provide the church knowledge of the Son of God and to protect here individual members from false doctrine.
Lastly, in Colossians 2:19, Paul asserts that from the head, Jesus Christ, the individual members of the church grow spiritually and are united experientially through the intermediate agency of the joints and ligaments of the body.
Therefore, since the Christian grows spiritually by learning and obeying God’s Word and the function of the gifts of apostleship, teaching and prophets provided the Word of God for the church and the ligaments and tendons of the body enable the growth of the body of Christ, these ligaments and tendons in Colossians 2:19 and Ephesians 4:16 are a reference to these communication gifts.
Therefore, the noun haphē (ἁφή) is a reference to the communication gifts of apostleship, prophecy and teaching with the exception being the gift of evangelism which is designed to benefit the member of unregenerate humanity.
Also, the gift of teaching is the only communication gift, which is extant today because the gift of apostleship disappeared after the death of the last apostle, John at the end of the first century A.D.
Also, the gift of prophecy disappeared after the completion of the New Testament canon.
This noun also contains the figure of metonymy, which means that these three communication gifts are put for their function.
The noun epichoregia (ἐπιχορηγία) is used of those men with the gift of apostleship, prophecy and teaching who abundantly supply the Word of God for the spiritual growth of the members of the body of Christ.
The articular construction of this word is generic, which means that it is distinguishes those with the gifts of apostleship, prophecy and teaching from those in the body of Christ who do not possess these gifts.
The noun epichoregia (ἐπιχορηγία) functions as a genitive of product, which expresses the idea that these ligaments, which are figurative or metaphorical reference to those in the body of Christ who possess the gifts of apostleship, prophecy and teaching, “produces” or “provides” support for members of the body of Christ in the form of communicating the Word of God to them.
The prepositional phrase katʼ energeian (κατʼ ἐνέργειαν), “for the purpose of working” presents the purpose of the communicating gifts providing support in the form of the communication of the Word of God to members of the body of Christ.
This indicates that the members of the body of Christ functioning in their spiritual gift and serving one another through the function of their gift as a result of being trained in the Word of God to do is “the purpose” of the function of the gifts of apostleship, prophecy and teaching.
The noun energeia (ἐνέργεια) refers to members of the body of Christ “functioning” in their spiritual gift and serving one another through the function of their gift as a result of being trained in the Word of God to do so.
It is also the object of the preposition kata (κατά), which also functions as a marker of purpose.
Therefore, it marks serving through the function of one’s spiritual gift as “the purpose” of the function of the gifts of apostleship, prophecy and teaching.
