#14 Maturity & Unity: Ephesians 4:7-16

Translation

“But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says,

‘When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,

and he gave gifts to men.’

(In saying, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all 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, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”¹

• Footnote

  1. Unless otherwise specified, all Bible references in this paper are to the English Standard Version (ESV) (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016).

Exposition

Ephesians 4:7-16 is a wonderful passage that explains how Jesus gifted the church with the Apostles and elders in order for them to be “[His] assistants [in] shepherding His churches.”² By examining this section of Scripture, readers will come to understand that Christ is the chief administrator over all other administrators, including the administrators and leaders He establishes, and the church offices are to communicate God’s Word and promote unity under the headship of Christ. 

The section begins by stating that Christ gives grace according to the measure of His gift. Christ grants this grace to believers, not for their worth, but from His own. However, this grace “is not saving or sanctifying grace, but ministry grace.”³ Moreover, it is important to remember that these ministerial gifts (Paul switches from the Greek word for grace, charis, to the greek word for gift, charisma)⁴ that Paul is about to talk about are given at the discretion of God who may give certain gifts to some and different gifts to others.⁵ Paul then quotes the Old Testament with moderation⁶ in verse eight to confirm the claim that Jesus gives gifts and elaborates how Christ does this in verses nine and ten. Christ descended to earth and to the grave; He ascended to Heaven in order to “fill all things” (v. 10) and to equip His church.

In verse eleven, Paul lists different occupations or offices that are determined by the gifts that Christ gives: “the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds [or pastors/elders] and teachers” (v. 11). All of these offices “communicate God’s Word. The apostles are eyewitnesses who proclaim and inscripturate Jesus’s words and deeds. Prophets deliver direct words from the Lord. Evangelists herald the gospel.”⁷The last two of the list are connected. The Greek grammar does not separate the roles of shepherds and teachers and, therefore, it is obvious that “teaching is at the heart of the office of elder.”⁸ The purpose of all of these offices is to “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ… to mature manhood” (vv. 12-13). This maturing is then explained as “to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children” (v. 13). Prior to this building up and edification through the giftings of church officers, believers were “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” (v. 14). The church offices are there to help church members into maturity by the means of the Word. However, these offices do not exist to do ministry on their own, rather they exist to “equip [all of] the church to carry out the work of ministry effectively.”⁹ Only then, is Christ’s mission of maturing His people possible.

The distribution of offices also promotes unity. In the previous verses of Ephesians 4, Paul discusses diversity in the body of Christ, but he brings it all together in verse 7 and onwards. These offices, given by the sovereignty of God, are diverse in gifts but unified in calling and purpose. Therefore, the church offices and roles promote unity in a diverse church.¹⁰ The reason for this distribution is so Christians “will know that in the church there are different gifts and functions, but in spite of their variety, they are all given with one end in mind.”¹¹ Officers and indeed all Christians are unified under the headship of Christ, who they are to grow up into (v. 15). Christ’s whole body is “joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (v. 16). When the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds/teachers work together, the body is unified and builds itself up.

• Footnotes

  2. Jeramie Rinne, Church Elders: How to Shepherd God’s People Like Jesus (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014), 14.

  3. Benjamin L. Merkle, Ephesians, ESV Expository Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018), 72.

  4. Ibid.

  5. Gerald L. Bray, ed., Reformation Commentary on Scripture, 17 vols. (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2017), 10:1110.

  6. Ibid., 10:1116

  7. Rinne, 46.

  8. Ibid., 33.

  9. Merkle, 77.

  10. Ibid., 72.

  11. Bray, 10:1127-1128.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bray, Gerald L., ed. Reformation Commentary on Scripture, 17 vols. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2017.

Merkle, Benjamin L. Ephesians. ESV Expository Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018.

Rinne, Jeramie. Church Elders: How to Shepherd God’s People Like Jesus. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014.