Recap

So far in Ephesians, we've started the section dedicated to the theology of unity. Paul wrote Ephesians, or it was written in his name, addressing unity within the church.

Paul started his letter with greetings and then gave a short hymn blessing God. In this blessing Paul emphasised how believers are united in Christ, sharing in spiritual blessings. Through faith, they are adopted into God’s family, redeemed, and sealed by the Holy Spirit. Paul prayed for the Ephesians’ growth in wisdom, so they might fully grasp the hope and power they have in Jesus, who now reigns over all powers. The Ephesians, once dead in sin, were brought to life by grace, not by their own efforts.

Paul highlighted that in Christ, the divisions between Jews and Gentiles were erased, creating a new, unified humanity. This unity makes believers part of God’s household, with Jesus as their foundation. The central message is that believers are called to live out this unity as members of one body, reflecting God’s reconciliation and love to the world.

Ephesians 3-4

Having unpacked the theology of unity that is the gospel, Paul explains that this is why he now has this ministry to the Gentiles. It has so utterly gripped him he is now a prisoner for Jesus in spreading this gospel.

The mystery of this gospel had been revealed to Paul, and he had written to the Ephesians in a previous letter all about it, which Paul encourages them to read again to help them understand.

This gospel, that the Gentiles were to be included as heirs, part of the same body, had not been revealed to the generations before them. But the Holy Spirit had revealed it to the apostles, and they now share it openly.

Which is why Paul has the ministry he does. To take this gospel, that had always been God’s planned, and make it known to the Gentiles. This so the church can be established as a multi-ethnic body of believers who demonstrate the wisdom of God to the heavens.

And so Paul prays for the Ephesians again. He prays for their strength and that they may be rooted in love. He asks that they may have the power to truly understand the mystery of this gospel. To know the love of Christ that binds them all together. When they move in that, that’s when they are filled with all the fullness of God.

Now Paul switches to what it looks like to practice unity. He’s established that the Ephesians are united in one body. The mission of Jesus is to reconcile all things to himself. Understanding this and engaging with it is what brings the Ephesians inline with God.

Because of this, Paul begs the Ephesians to ‘lead a life worthy of [this] calling’ (Ephesians 4:1). It will require humility, gentleness, patience, and love from them, and it will require that they do everything they can to maintain the unity they now have in the Spirit. This unity doesn’t just happen. It has to be fought for.

Paul reminds them they are part of one body, and they are united in the one Spirit. They are all called to the same calling, follow the same Lord, share the same faith, are baptised in the same baptism, all because of the same God.

That doesn’t mean that they will all look the same and act the same. Each member is given a different gift, though they are all part of the one gift that Jesus gave his church.

Paul then paraphrases Psalm 68:18. In context, Psalm 68 is talking about God defeating Israel’s enemies and taking them captive. This would have been understood to come through battle and war, and the people would have taken the plunder they won from the war and given it back to God.

Paul repurposes this to talk about God defeating captivity itself. This can be understood as the powers of death and sin. But here God takes the plunder of this victory and gives it to his people.

Paul then gives a little sideline about the phrase ‘ascended’. He claims that for Jesus to have ‘ascended’, he must have ‘descended into the lower parts of the earth’ (Ephesians 4:9).

This simple side thought has caused lots of debate but can be interpreted in four different ways. Jesus’ descent was into Hades (the underworld known as sheol in the Old Testament) when he died, or his incarnation, when he first came down to be born as a human, or his burial after he died, or the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

But back to the main point of Paul’s argument, Jesus conquered the powers of death and sin and has given his people gifts. These gifts are different depending on the person, but they still all come from Jesus.

Paul then names some of the gifts; apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. There’s some debate whether this is five gifts, or whether pastor and teacher should be seen as one gift.

Either way, the purpose of these gifts is to equip other believers for ministry, and to build up the body of Christ, the church. This is so the believers are united in their faith, become mature, and therefore become more like Jesus.

The alternative is believers who are immature children, who are easily influenced by other who bring different theology or attempt to deceive them.

To combat this, the Ephesians need to be holding on to truth, and speaking it with love, all so they can grow more and more like Jesus. He is the head, and the one that gathers them all together into one body. And like a body, each part needs to be working properly and serve the health of the body as a whole.

Paul now moves towards addressing the specifics of how the Ephesians live. They must move away from their old way of life as Gentiles. Far from God, due to the hardness of their hearts, they were unable to understand what was good. They lived for their own desires, practicing greed and other impurities.

That should not be the case now that they are in Jesus. Instead, they should put away this old way of life that was corrupt and deceived by its own desires. Instead, they should allow their minds and thinking to be renewed, putting on new ways of living that are inline with God and lead to righteousness and holiness.

And so Paul gets very practical. The Ephesians should not lie, but always tell the truth. They should not let themselves be controlled by anger and resentment, as that makes room for the devil to get a root in.

No one should steal. Instead, they should work hard, not only for themselves but so they have enough to share with others. The Ephesians should watch what they say, avoiding anything evil and focusing on talking in a way that builds one another up.

All of these behaviours damage their unity. As they are united by the Holy Spirit, any damage to that unity grieves the Holy Spirit. In the same way, they should weed out any bitterness, wrath, anger, slander and malice.

Instead, they should be kind, and forgiving to one another, allowing for one another’s mistakes just as God has forgiven each of them. In all of this, they will better maintain the unity that Paul called them to do at the start of the chapter.

Psalm 7

It is attributed to king David, about a time he was wrestling with the accusations of a man named Cush from the tribe of Benjamin. While there is no specific mention of Cush elsewhere in the Bible, this is not surprising. Saul and his family were from the tribe of Benjamin, and so there would be many from that tribe that believed David had unfairly stolen the crown. We see examples of this in 2 Samuel 16:5 and 2 Samuel 20:1. 

This psalm fits into the category of lament psalm, specifically a prayer of someone innocent, who has been accused of something false. The structure of the psalm is a chiasm where the passage mirrors itself.

A) Psalm 7:1-2 - Declaration of trust in God

B) Psalm 7:3-7 - Let me be judged for my wickedness

C) Psalm 7:8 - God is my judge

D) Psalm 7:9a - Let the wicked die

D) Psalm 7:9b - Let the righteous be saved

C) Psalm 7:10-11 - God is my judge

B) Psalm 7:12-16 - Let the unrepentant be judged for their wickedness

A) Psalm 7:17 - Declaration of trust in God

Unlike some of the other lament psalms we’ve read so far, this psalm begins with a declaration of trust. From there, the psalmist repents for any wickedness in them. This is important. They don’t want pride to blind them from any truth in these accusations.

When praying to God about a struggle with someone else, it’s always beneficial to first look at yourself and see how you might be contributing to the problem. Jesus raises this point in the gospels (Matthew 7:3; Luke 6:41). 

The psalmist recognises God’s authority to judge. If he is wicked or righteous, let God decide. Either way, let the wickedness come to an end.

And then the psalm flips back round. Now that the psalmist has taken time to examine themselves, they bring their request to God. Establish the righteous. If after all this God finds the psalmist innocent, then may he save them.

Just as God is a judge who punishes the wicked, he also protects the innocent. Thinking now of his enemies, the psalmist asks God to punish them if they are not repentant like he has been. May they fall to the consequences of their own actions.

And so the psalmist ends, once more declaring his trust in God. He can be praised as both protector of the innocent and judge of the wicked.