Untitled Sermon (7)

Write a paper on the Holy Spirit and the Body of Christ in Ephesians. You might employ material from other Pauline letters to supplement your discussion, but the focus should be on Ephesians. Questions to explore might include (but are not limited to) the following: 

How does Paul understand the Holy Spirit as an eschatological fulfillment?In what ways does Paul understand the Holy Spirit as Gods presence, both for individuals and for the body of Christ corporately?How is the body of Christ depicted in Ephesians? What is its purpose?

Unity in the Body of Christ

One of the main themes for Ephesians is unity. We were not created to be alone; God has called us to live our our greater purpose together. As Paul writes this letter, he believes that God has called us to not only recognize that we are a beautiful masterpiece in God’s eyes (2:10), but that we are to live a life full of humility, gentleness, patience, love, and unity of the Spirit (4:1-2). After Paul explains that we should be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (4:3), he goes on to give examples of what he means. He explains that there is one body and one Spirit (4:4), one Lord, one faith, one baptism (4:5), and one God and Father of all (4:6). There is a sense of us all being ‘one’ in the book of Ephesians, and one of the ways Paul describes this best as being united in the body of Christ.

The Dictionary of Paul explains that while the exact phrase “the body of Christ” is used only four times in Paul’s writings, there are twenty-one phrases that would be lumped into this such as “his body”, “one body”, and “the body of the Lord”. The writes then explain that these can be classified as three uses: the physical body of Christ, the body of Christ in Eucharistic contexts, and the body of Christ as a designation of the church. As Paul writes about the body of Christ in the book of Ephesians, he’s writing about the body of Christ as a designation of the church, and is using metaphorical language. This is most clear in .

Back in . Paul explains the purpose for apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers, and ultimately believers: “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” As Paul writes this, he goes on to explain that this should happen until believers “attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”. Picking up in verse 15, he says that instead of wavering in our truth and faith through human cunning and deceitful schemes, that we are to speak the truth in love. As believers learn to truly love one another, Paul explains how this ultimately makes us all grow as a body. Referring to the body as a metaphor, Paul says that Christ is the head (4:15). As he writes about all the other parts of the body, which are the believers, he says that the whole body is “joined and held together by every joint”. The ultimate goal is for us to all play our part and work together properly. When we do this, Paul says that it “makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (). Paul is ultimately concerned about believers being united in love, which should be no surprise given that the greatest commandments according to Jesus are to love God and to love others. Jesus, the head of the body, is the perfect example of what love looks like in this world. And it’s the ultimate example of love from God when He sent His only Son to the cross for us. According to Paul, if believers are not united in love, we’ve missed the point.

The Holy Spirit

Another focus that Paul has is the role of the Holy Spirit. According to Fee, Paul believes that we are living the life of the future in the present age while being empowered by the Spirit (p. 804). Fee continues by explaining that the resurrection of the dead and the gift of the Spirit were the two main events that have been set in motion and have marked the end of the ages (p. 805).

The first time that Paul mentions the Holy Spirit is in when he writes that we as believers have been “sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it.” In this passage, Paul uses the metaphors of a down payment and seal to describe the Holy Spirit’s role of our future.

First, Paul refers to the promised Holy Spirit as “the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it” (2:13). As Paul explains this, he wants believers to understand that the Spirit serves as God’s down payment of the future in our present lives. My understanding of the Spirit’s work in a believer’s life is that when someone decides to make Jesus Christ their Savior, the Holy Spirit enters and dwells within that person. Not only do we have access to the same resurrecting power through the Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, but we are also guaranteed eternal life. We are able to look to a bright future, while at the same time living our lives being led by the Holy Spirit.

The other metaphor Paul uses is a “seal. This occurs in as well. As Fee explains it on page 807, a seal usually referred to a stamped impression in wax which claimed ownership. Paul is emphasizing that with the seal of the Holy Spirit, God is claiming us as His own. We are not God’s children until we acknowledge Christ as our Savior and are sealed with the Holy Spirit. The beautiful thing about this is that the Holy Spirit doesn’t leave us. It is through the Holy Spirit that we are led, convicted of things, reminded of truth, and so much more. We do not need to worry that we’ll lose the Holy Spirit because of the way we live, but we ought to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us in our lives and transform it.

Walking in Love

At the beginning of , Paul urges believers to be “imitators of God, as beloved children”. What he is emphasizing here is that because we are united body of Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit, we ought to walk in love just as Christ loved us. He is the ultimate example of what love is. As Paul continues and lists things that united believers shouldn’t do (5:3-6), I believe that he is intending that we ought to live in step with the Spirit in order to do them. As Paul continues, Paul actually commands to be filled with the Spirit in 5:18. This lines up with what Paul writes in the rest of his letters, especially as he writes about being in step with the Spirit and what the evidence of that looks like as he describes the fruit of the Spirit.