Growing Up Into Unity in Christ

Last year, the New York Times published an article entitled,

How Social Isolation Is Killing Us.

And in the article, it says,

since the 1980s, the percentage of Americans,

American adults who say that they're lonely

has doubled from 20% to 40%.

And similarly, a quarter of Americans,

so one out of every four,

say that they have no one with whom they can confide

any personal information.

I mean, that's staggering, especially for Christians to think about

because we have the church community.

And that number also doubled from the number in the 80s.

And the wave of new research suggests that social isolation is bad for us.

It says individuals with less social connection

tend to have, among other things,

and this is a quote,

disrupted sleep patterns, altered immune systems,

more inflammation, and higher levels of stress hormones.

And one recent study found that isolation increases the risk of heart disease

by 29% and stroke by 32%.

Another analysis, it pulled data from 70 studies of over 3.4 million people,

and it found that socially isolated individuals

had a 30% higher chance of dying in the next seven years.

And that was highest,

that effect was highest among the middle-aged people.

And another longitudinal study,

and this is the last one I'll cite,

is that socially isolated children,

even when they controlled for other factors,

ended up having poor health 20 years down the road.

So despite this clear sociological diagnosis

that people are observing,

especially in a culture like ours,

living in a city,

the culture of it,

the very society,

the way it's structured,

it drives isolation.

It makes us further withdraw from each other.

It's the whole transience of the city, right?

It's the whole anonymity of the city,

where there's so many people,

and you don't know who they are, right?

It's the whole busyness of the city.

It drives isolation.

And ours is, if I may define it,

it's a consumeristic culture, right?

More than a communal culture, right?

We're defined more by transactions for things,

for goods, for services,

than relations with one another.

And unfortunately,

this kind of consumeristic mindset

could also creep into the church.

And the base motivation

for a lot of churchgoers

throughout the world,

throughout this country,

is self-centered and consumeristic.

Even though the Son of Man

came not to be served,

but to serve and to give his life

as a ransom for many,

many Christians today

come not to serve,

but to be served,

not to give,

but to receive.

Instead of relating to the church

as a community,

as the family of God,

many people nowadays relate to it

like a service provider.

If you don't provide the services I want,

if I don't get what I need,

if it displeases me anyway,

well then, see you later.

I'll just drive down to the other church

down in the neighborhood.

And in this passage,

Apostle Paul forcefully challenges

that individualistic and consumeristic mindset

and paints a picture

of this beautiful and glorious picture

of the family of God.

And his point is this,

that we grow up into our unity in Christ

by ministering to one another

the gospel in love.

So we grow up into our unity in Christ

by ministering the gospel

to one another in love.

That's the main point.

And I'm going to unpack that

in three phases.

The first, I'll talk about

the character of church unity,

verses 1 to 3.

Then I'll talk about

the call to church unity

in verses 4 to 6.

And then lastly,

I'll talk about the conduit

of church unity

in verses 7 to 16.

Paul begins in verse 1.

He says,

I, therefore,

a prisoner for the Lord,

urge you to walk

in a manner worthy

of the calling

to which you have been called.

And there's a reason

why he begins

with the word therefore

because he's rooting

everything that he's about to say now

into what he said

in the first three chapters

of the book of Ephesians.

In the first three chapters

of the book of Ephesians,

he exposited the gospel.

This is what God did

for us to save us.

And now in the next

three chapters of Ephesians,

he'll tell us how the church

should respond to that gospel.

So he's exhorting us

to live in light of the gospel.

So that's what he's doing.

And the expression

to walk in a manner

worthy of the calling

is simply he's saying

we should live

in a manner worthy

of the calling.

Walk is a common metaphor

for life, right?

We talk about life

as a journey.

We tell people

to walk the talk, right?

So that's what Paul

is doing here.

And then Paul

goes on to describe

what walking

in a manner worthy

of our Christian calling

looks like

in verses two to three.

And he proceeds

to describe the character

of church unity.

He says,

with all humility

and gentleness,

with patience,

bearing with one another

in love,

eager to maintain

the unity of the spirit

in the bond of peace.

First, it involves humility,

right?

And not just

the little dose of humility,

but he says,

all humility, right?

Bible consistently

and repeatedly tells us

that God despises pride

but loves humility.

For example,

1 Peter 5.5,

quoting Proverbs 3.34,

says,

clothe yourselves,

all of you,

with humility

toward one another.

For God opposes the proud

but gives grace

to the humble.

And the reason why

God does that

is because it's unseemly

for us as his creatures

to boast in ourselves

and to have pride

as we were the creator,

right?

When we glory

in our supposed abilities

and accomplishments

in relation to other people,

then,

and instead of recognizing

our weakness

and utter dependence on God,

then we are glorying in ourselves

and we are not being humble

as we ought to be.

If we glory

in our supposed morality

and spirituality

in relation to others

rather than acknowledging

his grace at work

in our lives

and our sinfulness,

then we are being prideful

and not being,

behaving as we ought to

as creatures

and as those

who have been,

received God's grace,

salvation by grace.

And humility

is always expressed

with relation to other people

in the same way

love is, right?

So you can't properly say

that someone is a loving person

if that person lives by himself

and is never interacting

with another person

because there's no one

to love, right?

In the same way

because humility

is expressed

in an absence,

it's an absence

of self-centeredness,

it's really considering

others better than oneself

so humility can really

only properly be said

to be expressed

in the context

of relationships

with other people.

And this is so wonderful

because humility

is distinctively Christian,

right?

You can peruse

all the existing

ancient Greek literature

out there

and you will find

not a single instance

where humility

is commended

as a virtue.

Every single instance

of humility

in other Greek writings

will say

that humility

is for the slaves,

it's for people

who are servile,

people who have no backbone,

that's humility,

that's weakness,

that's how the world

defined humility.

But in contrast

to that strain of thought,

following the example

of our Savior,

Jesus Christ,

who being in very nature

God did not consider

equality with God

something to be grasped,

but humbled himself

taking on the nature

of a servant,

taking his example

as a cue,

Christians praised

humility as a virtue

and commended it

to everyone.

And it's even true today,

isn't it,

if you think about it,

right?

If you think about our society,

you will hardly ever

find yourself meeting

a non-Christian

who says to himself,

ah, I was too prideful,

Levy.

You just won't

because that's not

something they value.

That's not something

that they think about.

And C.S. Lewis explains

that in his book,

Mere Christianity.

He says,

there is one vice

of which no man

in the world is free,

which everyone loathes

when he sees it

in someone else,

and of which hardly

any people except Christians

ever imagine

that they are guilty

of themselves.

I've heard people

admit that they are

bad-tempered

or that they cannot

keep their heads

about girls or drink,

or even that they are cowards.

I do not think

I have ever heard anyone

who was not a Christian

accuse himself

of this vice.

And at the same time,

I have very seldom

met anyone

who was not a Christian

who showed

the slightest mercy

to it in others.

There's no fault

that makes a man

more unpopular

and no fault

which we are more

unconscious of

in ourselves.

And the more

we have it ourselves,

the more we dislike it

in others.

The vice I am talking

of is pride

or self-conceit.

And the virtue

opposite to it

in Christian morals

is called humility.

End quote.

Isn't that true?

It's so wonderful.

It's great virtue

because it's about Christ.

It's what Christ

modeled for us.

That's why it's distinctively

Christian to pursue

this virtue.

And almost every time

I pray for all of you

and every time

I pray for myself,

I pray for this.

I pray for humility

because humility

is the fountain

of all virtue.

And I implore you

to pray for that

for one another

and for me as well

because if we're...

And this is critical

to maintaining

the unity of the spirit,

isn't it?

Because if you're prideful,

then you will have

a critical spirit, right?

So if you struggle

with being judgmental

of others, right?

If you struggle

with always thinking

that maybe this often

occurs to you

or maybe all the time

it occurs to you

that, you know,

I could probably do that

better than that person

is doing.

You know,

I probably understand

that better than that person.

You know,

if that's happening

to you all the time,

you're probably not right

all the time, right?

But that's an instance

of pride.

And it destroys community.

It destroys unity.

When we devalue

other people's opinions

and vaunt our own opinions,

right?

When we're prone

to assume the worst

of other people's motivations,

when we're quick

to entertain hearsay

that impugns

other people's character,

these are all examples

of pride.

And we need instead

humility

so that we can be united

and have the character

of the church unity.

Second,

Christian maturity

involves gentleness,

or as RSV puts it,

meekness, right?

It is one of the fruit

of the spirit

described in Galatians 5, 23,

and it refers to a disposition

that says,

I'm not going to take things

into my own hands.

Instead,

I'm going to entrust myself

to God

and let Him

be my defender.

And this is also critical

to maintaining

the unity of the church.

And this is, again,

like humility,

is consistently praised

and commended

throughout Scripture.

In the Beatitudes,

right,

Jesus said,

blessed are the meek

for they shall inherit

the earth.

Matthew 11, 29,

Jesus describes Himself

this way.

He says,

take my yoke upon you

and learn from me

for I am gentle

and lowly in heart.

They're two same words

used here,

humility and gentleness.

Nowadays,

it's common

common to confuse meekness

with weakness,

right,

with cowardice.

Some people do have,

just by their natural disposition,

kind of a low spiritness

and a lack of courage,

right?

And because of that,

they can appear meek,

right?

But that's not meekness,

right?

Because meekness

is not rooted in fear.

That's just timidity.

That's just lack of courage.

Meekness is rooted

in strength.

It's rooted in faith in God,

right?

And it's only the strong people

who can be meek,

right?

Because you have such a confidence

in God to be your defender,

such faith that He can come through for you.

You don't feel the need

to defend yourself

when you're under pressure,

when you're being criticized unfairly.

That's meekness,

right?

That's strength.

It takes faith to be meek.

And it's so people who are meek

are so essential to unity

because it's those people

that function kind of like

the tendons in the body,

right?

That can withstand pressure

and hold the muscles

and bones in the body together.

They're like the tendons.

And the reason why is this.

When Paul talks about

in Galatians 6.1

or 2 Timothy 2.25,

when we deal with people,

other members of the church

who are caught in sin,

who are going in the wrong direction,

they're in theological error,

right?

He says,

it's the people who possess

a spirit of gentleness,

same word,

that can restore them

and correct them.

Because if you don't have

the spirit of gentleness,

even though we might be

well-intentioned,

we'll probably do more harm

than good

when we try to restore

that person into the church.

That's why the people

who are meek,

who are gentle,

are essential

for maintaining

this unity of the church.

And third,

Christian maturity

involves patience.

The Greek word for patience

is literally a combination

of two words

that mean anger

and a long time.

So you could probably

figure out what that means.

This person takes

a very, very long time

to get angry.

It means long suffering,

right?

And once again,

God is described

in this way, right?

Every time God reveals

his character,

he says Exodus 34, 6,

he's a God merciful

and gracious,

slow to anger

and abounding in love

and faithfulness, right?

Anger stems from

small-mindedness,

and it poses

a great threat

to the church

because it's volatile

and frequently flares up

in dissensions

and creates factions.

And patience,

in contrast,

describes this resilience,

right?

A large-heartedness

that can overlook

inconveniences,

annoyances,

and be patient

to suffer long,

right?

Now,

that doesn't mean

that people who are patient

are immune to irritation,

right?

Rather,

it still hurts for them.

It's still hard for them,

but they suffer long.

They withstand it

for a long time.

They're patient

for the sake

of loving one another.

That's what that means.

And all these virtues,

humility and gentleness

and patience

can be summed up

in this last phrase

in verse 2,

bearing with one another

in love.

Love is what ultimately

enables us

to bear with one another.

And that's such a great word,

isn't it?

Bear with them,

right?

That word is used

in other parts of the Bible

to refer to

enduring persecution.

And that's so funny to me

because Paul understood,

he tells me that Paul understood

like we do,

that sometimes we,

even as Christians,

ourselves can be

totally insufferable.

So he tells us,

put up with them.

Bear with them.

Suffer long with them.

And not begrudgingly,

not reluctantly,

but in love.

In truth,

love is what enables us

to do all of this,

isn't it?

Because we're naturally

haughty and harsh

and hot-tempered

with people

that we don't love.

It's love

that enables

these virtues

to flourish.

So I'll speak of that

actually in greater length

later.

But this is

what describes

the character

of church's unity

and maturity.

That's what it looks like

to walk in a manner

worthy of the calling

to which we have been called.

And it's by walking

in this manner

that we can be,

it says in verse 3,

eager to maintain

the unity

of the Spirit

in the bond

of peace.

We need to be eager

to maintain it.

The word means

make every effort

to maintain it.

The word is used

to describe

the planning,

the elaborate planning,

extensive planning

that is required

for a long,

arduous journey.

Do we plan like that?

Do we strategize it?

Are we eager?

Do we make every effort

to maintain this unity?

And this is important

because Jesus said

in John 17,

it is by our unity

in being united

with one another

as He is united

with the Father

that the world

will know

that you sent me

and love them

even as you loved me.

That's what Jesus said

in John 17,

22 to 23.

The very credibility

of our witness

to the world

is contingent

on our unity.

That's an urgent matter.

That's why we need

to be eager,

make every effort

to maintain this unity.

We can't be content

to let disagreements,

contentions,

just sit and fester.

We can't do that.

We have no luxury

for that.

We need to be eager

and make every effort

to maintain unity

even though that

would require diligence

and necessitate

all humility

and gentleness

with patience.

But we don't have

to despair

in this endeavor

and the reason why

is this.

It's also in verse 3.

Take another look.

It says,

maintain

the unity

of the Spirit.

It doesn't say

attain the unity

of the Spirit.

It doesn't say

forge the unity

of the Spirit.

It says maintain

the unity

of the Spirit

because it's already

ours in Jesus Christ.

Because Jesus died

for our sins,

made a way for us

to be reconciled to God

and because

in that reconciliation

we have been filled

with the very Spirit

of God.

We all share

the same Spirit

of God.

That means we are

already one

in Christ.

We have the unity

of the Spirit.

That's the reality.

unity.

And now He says,

so that's why

it's not up to us

to forge that unity.

But He tells us

maintain that unity.

We're bonded

together,

the bonded peace.

And that brings me

to my second point,

the call to church unity.

This is the reason

why we don't need

to despair

in our pursuit of unity,

in pursuing that character

of church unity,

because we've been

called to it.

It's something that

God's already accomplished.

The word calling

is repeated twice

for emphasis

in verse 1.

It says,

walk in a manner

worthy of the calling

to which you have

been called.

It's intentionally

redundant.

Paul's using that language

to emphasize

the importance

of this call.

And it's repeated

twice more in verse 4.

There is one body

and one spirit

just as you were

called to the one

hope that belongs

to your call.

A call.

It's always passive

because it's God

who calls.

And when God calls,

when the king calls,

it's not just

this passive invitation.

It's a summons.

We're summoned

into his presence,

into relationship

with him.

And this word calling

is intimately related

to words like election

or predestination

that come up

all throughout

the book of Ephesians

and in other parts

of the Bible as well.

And that's why

it says in Romans 8.30,

and those whom

God predestined,

he also called,

and those whom

he called,

he also justified,

and those whom

he justified,

he also glorified.

And isn't this

so different

from the way

we typically conceive

of calling, right?

So Paul's talking

about our calling

to God himself

and through that

our calling

to one another, right?

But that's not how

we typically think

about calling, isn't it?

When we think of calling,

we think,

oh,

my vocational calling.

What do I do?

When we think of calling,

we think of what difference

can I make in the world,

right?

Right.

And that's because

we've adopted

our culture's narrative

and superimposed

that individualized,

that personalized,

that self-centered vision

for life.

That's why we think

of call only in that way.

The primary way

in which the Bible

conceives of calling

is to God

first and foremost

and to one another

as a church.

So if you're thinking

about your own calling

and you don't have

the church in that equation,

you don't have

what God has for you

in that equation,

that's not real calling

that God has for you.

So in verses 4 to 6,

he continues to describe

this great call we have

and he uses

three theological triads

based on the Trinity

to describe

our common calling

as a church.

And in this set

of descriptions,

he uses the word

one seven times

to drive home

his main point

that we have been

called to union

with the one God

and that that is

the basis

for our unity

in the church.

It's the call to unity.

In verse 4,

he begins by saying

there is one body

and one spirit

just as you recall

to the one hope

that belongs

to your call.

One body,

one spirit,

one hope.

There's only one body

of Christ.

It means only one

universal church.

And because of that,

you can't,

if you're a,

if you're,

by definition,

if you're a Christian,

you really are a member

of a church.

And it's because

that concept

of the fact

that every Christian

seems to be a member

is so neglected

that we now

as a church

have to formalize

membership

so that people

recognize

what they're committing

to when they become

a Christian.

They're part of the church.

But the Bible

assumes it.

It calls church

Christians members.

It calls it all,

every member

of the body

is intended

for God

to serve

in the context

of the church

for the glory

of God

and maturing

in God.

And that's why

it's so contradictory

when a Christian

says that he can

love God

without participating

in the life

of the church.

You can't love God

without loving

the people of God.

You can't love

the head of Christ

without loving

the body of Christ.

And 1 Corinthians 12,

13 says,

in one spirit,

we were all baptized

into one body

and all were made

to drink

of one spirit.

That's why baptism

and the spirit,

that's why the spirit

is tied here

to one body

because being one body

means we have

the one spirit.

And spirit of God,

the Holy Spirit

is particularly

associated with

the Christian virtue

of hope

because the spirit

is the down payment,

the guarantee

of our future inheritance.

Because of him,

we have hope.

So we have one body,

one spirit,

one hope

that belongs

to our call.

The second triad

is in verse 5.

He says that

we have one Lord,

one faith,

one baptism.

The word Lord

in the New Testament,

especially in Paul's writing,

is usually short

for the Lord Jesus Christ.

And especially

in this context

because it's preceded

by mention of the spirit

and followed by

the mention of the Father,

it almost undoubtedly

refers to the Lord

Jesus Christ.

And this phrasing,

one Lord,

recalls Deuteronomy 6,

4 to 5,

which the Jews

know as the Shema.

It's really one

of the most important

pieces of Jewish confession.

Something that they

recited to themselves

twice a day,

every day.

And it's this,

Hear, O Israel,

the Lord our God,

the Lord is one.

You shall love

the Lord your God

with all your heart,

all your soul,

and all your might.

This expressed the truth

that there's only one God

and because God is one

and he's a unity,

there's no division

within himself,

our allegiance to him,

our love to him

should be total,

complete,

undivided.

That's really the calling

here.

And so there's one Lord

and it's remarkable,

isn't it,

that Paul,

that faithful Jew,

that Pharisee

who observed

every minutiae

of the law,

he calls

the Lord Jesus Christ

Lord.

That's something

that Jews would have

never thought to say.

That guy that lived

2,000 years ago,

Jesus,

he's that one Lord.

Lord.

That's a staggering

theological statement

and that truth,

that doctrine

was formulated

not because they just

thought about it

in their head

but because of the reality

of the death

and resurrection

of Jesus Christ

because he proved

through his life

death and resurrection

essentially that he

is a son of God.

They had to adapt that

and say no,

he is the Lord,

he's a person

of the triune God.

And our faith,

just as hope

is peculiarly

associated with the spirit,

our faith is peculiarly

associated with

the Lord Jesus Christ

because the life,

death,

and resurrection

of the Lord Jesus Christ,

the gospel of Jesus Christ,

the good news

that he died to save us,

that is the core content

of our faith.

That's what we need

to have faith in

and that's Paul later

talks about that as well

when he tells us

to strive for that

unity of faith.

And it's in that faith,

into that faith

that we are baptized,

Colossians 2.12 explains,

we have been buried

with Christ in baptism

in which we were also

raised with him

through faith,

right?

That's what baptism

represents and we have

baptism coming up

at the end of next month,

right?

And baptism class

we're offering starting

next week after the service.

So if you are not a believer,

if you have not been baptized,

you should seriously

consider partaking in that

because baptism

is the initiatory rite

by through which we enter

into that communion,

that body of Christ.

Christ.

And that means

we have died with Christ.

It signifies that

we've died with Christ,

we have risen with him

and because that's why

he says here,

now we have one faith,

one Lord,

one faith and one baptism.

And if these were not

enough reason for us

to pursue unity

in the church,

he adds one more triad

in verse 7.

He says,

we have one God

and Father

who is over all

and through all

and in all,

right?

God the Father

is the fount

of all existence

and he rules

over all things

and God the Father

is the sustainer

of all things

so it's also

all through him

so he's the goal

and end of all existence

and that means

everything is in him

and for him

and to him.

So he says,

God the Father

who is over all,

through all

and in all.

Why is this a basis

for unity?

Because if there were

many gods in this world,

if there were

many deities

who ruled different

parts of the world,

then there would be

complete justification

for divisions

in the world.

If there were

many fathers,

then we would be

warranted in splitting

our allegiances.

But because there is

only one God

and one Father,

the church should be

united in its worship

of the one Father.

So our one call

to the one triune God

is the basis

for church unity.

And the fact that

Trinity,

which is three in one,

is the basis

for this unity

should also signal

to us that it doesn't

mean that he wants

uniformity,

rather he seeks

diversity within

university and that

unity and that's what

he talks about

in the following verses.

My final point,

the conduit of church

unity in verses

7 to 16.

Notwithstanding

the oneness

of the church

in God,

Paul notes in verse 7

that grace was given

to each one of us

according to the measure

of Christ's gift.

Now,

this word one

is in an emphatic

position in the

sentence structure.

It's the first word

in this sentence

in the Greek

and it's kind of

really,

you know,

kind of sticks out

after all those,

you know,

one words,

right?

One baptism,

one faith,

one Lord Jesus,

one spirit,

one hope,

one father

and all of that.

He says,

now each one of us

according to the measure

of Christ's gift

has been given

a grace,

right?

And this grace

is not a saving grace.

He's referring to

equipping grace

for ministry

as the context

of the following context

makes clear.

And the purpose

of God giving

each of us,

every single one

of believers

of this grace

is not so that

he can differentiate

the individuals

and elevate

one person

over the other

but it's to make

each one

indispensable.

It's to make

each one

fill a role

so that we've

together formed

this interdependent

body of Christ.

That's the goal.

That's the vision

of this each oneness

that God gives

the grace to.

And notice the precision

of this language.

This is so helpful

for understanding

how the gifts

operate in the church.

Grace was given

to each one of us

according to

the measure

of Christ's gift.

That means Christ

singled out

who will receive

what gift

and he measured

out how much

of it we would

receive.

God chose each

of you to receive

a particular gift

according to a

specific measure

so that you can

fulfill your ministry

in the body

of Christ.

You know Christ

didn't just you know

kind of walk across

and then just dump

all of his gifts

and then like confetti

and see oh let's see

who it lands on.

He singled you out

and measured

the gift for you.

Isn't that amazing?

That means you have

a part to play.

That means you have

an integral role

to play in the ministry

of the church

in the life of the church.

And each of us

is playing a role

that's uniquely suited

to us and notice

how it's described.

It's a grace.

That means it's a gift.

We don't earn it.

Some people

don't get it

just because

they're better than you

or they did something

more right than you.

No, it's God's

grace

that he sovereignly

apportions to you.

That means we don't need

to look around

and compare.

That means we don't need

to look around

and feel inferior

or superior.

That means we don't need

to be divisive

over who uses

what gifts

because the whole point

of it is

not independence

but interdependence

that we each use

our gifts

to grow.

And Paul

proves this

by quoting

Psalm 68, 18

in verse 8.

When he ascended

on high

he led a host

of captives

and he gave

gifts to men.

And then he continues

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.

Now if you have

the ESV

there's a slight

over translation

here in verse 9

because it says

that Christ

descended into

the lower regions

comma

the earth.

So that sounds

like it's a reference

the lower regions

is a reference

to the earth

which means

he'd be referring

to Christ's incarnation

but that's not

what he's referring to.

The NASB

the New American Standard

Bible gets it right.

It translates it

now this expression

he ascended

what does it mean

except that he also

had descended

into the lower parts

of the earth.

Right.

That's

the construction

in the Greek.

So he's not

referring to

earth as

the lower parts

he's referring

to lower parts

of the earth

and if you

like if you

search through

scripture

and check

the Old Testament

the Greek

translation

of the Old Testament

and find

this phrasing

the lower parts

or the lowest

parts of the earth

it always refers

to the realm

of the dead

right the Hades

right.

So he's referring

to the same thing

that Peter talks

about in 1 Peter

through 18-19

which is

for Christ

also suffered

once for sins

the righteous

for the unrighteous

that he might

bring us

to God

being put

to death

in the flesh

but made alive

in the spirit

in which he went

and proclaimed

to the spirits

in prison

right.

So he's saying

here that

between his death

and resurrection

Christ

in his spirit

went and proclaimed

his victory

over the imprisoned

spirits

in Hades

where the

disobedient spirits

were in prison.

So he descended

into lower regions

the earth

and after that

he ascended

he says

he who descended

is the one

who also ascended

far above

all the heavens

that he might

fill all things.

This language

is very similar

to chapter 1

verses 19-23

where he talked

about God

how Christ

subjected all powers

rulers and authorities

right.

Now he went

far above them

so he's talking

about spirits

right.

These rulers

authorities

powers and dominions

that were subjected

in the resurrection

of Jesus Christ

and having subjected

them he led

them out

like the host

of captives.

He declared

his victory

over them

they were the

captives

and with the

gifts that he

received from

the captives

he liberally

dispenses

to his people

and that's

what he was

referring to

and he receives

from God

the spirit of God

and he gives

that and that's

what Colossians

2.13-15

has in mind

it's a parallel

passage

and you

you who were

dead in your

trespasses

and the uncircumcision

of your flesh

God made alive

together with him

having forgiven

us all our

trespasses

by canceling

the record

of debt

that stood

against us

with its

legal demands

this he set

aside

nailing it

to the cross

he disarmed

the rulers

and authorities

and put them

to open shame

by triumphing

over them

in him

right

these evil

spirits

had a legal

right

over God's

people

because of

their sin

but by having

atoned for

their sin

and having

risen victoriously

Christ destroys

any claim

that they have

over God's

people

triumphs

victoriously

over them

and he puts

them to shame

and leads

them out

as host

of captives

that's what

he's

and this

would have

been so

comforting

for us

it's like

whoa

like Paul

you're going

some crazy

places here

but for the

Ephesians

this would

have been

so helpful

because

in Ephesus

these underworld

gods

were deeply

revered

and feared

and that's

why they

sought the

patronage

of Artemis

they believed

that Artemis

could offer

them protection

but what

what Paul

is telling

them here

is this

no

you need

Jesus

and Christ

alone

because he's

triumphed

he's subjected

all authorities

in heaven

and on earth

if you belong

to him

you have

nothing

to fear

and it's

because he's

the sovereign

lord

that he can

now dispense

his gifts

sovereignly

to his

people

Psalm 68

18

that he

quoted

here

is probably

in the

background

also

of Acts

233

which

describes

how

being

exalted

at the

right hand

of God

now

Jesus

having

received

from the

father

the promise

of the

Holy

Spirit

has poured

out

this

that you

yourselves

are seeing

and hearing

right

so having

received

the gifts

right

he's

received

the spirit

of God

from the

father

after his

victorious

triumph

and ascension

and it

is from

that gift

he gives

a measure

of his

gift

to his

believers

and so

we live

in this

new

covenant

age

and we

are to be

the conduit

that is

used by

God

that we

receive

the gifts

to fill

all in

all

to fill

the whole

earth

with the

glory

of God

with the

authority

of God

and that

has

not just

church

ecclesiological

implications

but also

missions

missiological

implications

because God's

intention

his plan

is to fill

everything

to fill

all in

all

and how

does the

gift of

Christ

manifest

itself

how is

the spirit's

fullness

manifested

in the

church

Paul says

in verse

11

and he

gave

the

apostles

the

prophets

the

evangelists

the

shepherds

and

teachers

these

people

are gifts

to the

church

because of

the gifts

they have

received

from Christ

and the

list of

gifts

here is

not intended

to be

exhaustive

since Paul

elsewhere

lists

additional

gifts

but the

fivefold

ministry

as this

verse

is typically

called

does represent

kind of the

foundational

aspect of

the gospel

ministry of

the church

all of these

gifts have

something to do

with proclaiming

by teaching

this ministry

of the

gospel

and

notice also

that Paul

doesn't seem

to have in

mind a period

of time

when these

gifts

will cease

but Paul

doesn't say

that these

gifts

will be

operational

only until

the end

of the

first

century

or the

second

century

these

are

gifts

for the

new

covenant

age

that we

live in

the

new

covenant

age

that

follows

the

ascension

of

Christ

it's

the

age

of

the

spirit

and

it's

that

age

that

we

are

currently

in

and

I'm

going to

go into

details

and explain

apostle

prophets

and

teachers

and evangelists

and shepherds