Ephesians 4:5-12

Order of Service

• Sunday School Lesson — Ephesians 4:5-12
• Closing Prayer

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Sermon Title: Unity, Diversity, and Gifts Within the Body of Christ

Scripture: Ephesians 4:5-12

I. Review: The Worthy Life and the Seven-Fold Unity (Verses 1–6)

A. Five characteristics of the worthy life (Ephesians 4:1-3)

1. Humility — illustrated by the Chinese farmer who pumped water into his neighbor's fields
2. Gentleness and meekness — illustrated by Hoss Cartwright from Bonanza
3. Patience / long-suffering
4. Bearing with one another — enduring uncharitable behavior from fellow Christians
5. Love — the crown of all virtues; see 1 Corinthians 13

B. The seven-fold repetition of "one" in verses 4–6 reflects a Trinitarian structure presented in reverse order (Spirit → Son → Father), arguing from effect to cause

1. One body, one Spirit, one hope (Ephesians 4:4); the Spirit is the seal and guarantee of our inheritance (Ephesians 1:14)
2. One Lord, one faith, one baptism (Ephesians 4:5) — all centered on Christ; baptism as public identification with Christ (Galatians 3:27-28)
3. One God and Father of all (Ephesians 4:6) — "all" refers to God's family, not all people universally

C. John Stott: the church's unity is as indestructible as the unity of the Godhead — one cannot split the church any more than one can split the Godhead

D. The visible and invisible church distinction reconciles apparent disunity

1. In the mind of God, the church's unity is an invisible reality
2. Visible disunity contradicts but does not destroy that reality
3. Therefore Ephesians 4:3 calls us to eagerly maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace
4. Marcus Barth on the Greek spoudazō: not mere diligence but the full effort of the whole person — will, sentiment, reason, and strength; no passivity permitted

II. The Diversity of Grace-Gifts Given by Christ (Verse 7)

A. Paul shifts from "all of us" to "each of us" — unity does not mean uniformity

1. Grace (charis) is the basis of our unity; gifts (charismata) are the basis of our diversity
2. "Service grace" equips believers to serve, distinct from saving grace given to all who believe
3. The entire church is a charismatic community; the term should not be applied to only one group

B. The Giver of gifts is Christ, established by quotation from Psalm 68:18

1. Psalm 68 is a psalm of triumph, possibly celebrating the ark's arrival in Jerusalem
2. Paul applies the image to Christ's victory on the cross and his ascension to the right hand of God
3. The descent in Ephesians 4:9-10 is understood by Calvin and most Reformed commentators as the Incarnation; other views include Pentecost or descent into Hades (1 Peter 3:19)
4. The humiliation and exaltation of Christ illustrated from Philippians 2:5-11
5. Gifts are properly Gifts of Christ; Romans 12 also attributes them to God — the persons of the Trinity should not be sharply separated here

III. The Character of the Gifts (Verse 11)

A. Five gifts listed by Paul; at least 20 gifts appear across five New Testament lists (1 Corinthians 12:4)

B. Apostles and prophets — foundational and no longer continuing offices

1. Apostles: the Twelve, Paul, James the Lord's brother, and possibly a few others
2. Prophets: paired with apostles as the foundation of the church (Ephesians 2:20); that foundation is complete

C. Evangelists — a continuing gift; the noun appears only three times in the New Testament

1. Philip the Evangelist (Acts)
2. Timothy (2 Timothy 4:5)
3. Here in Ephesians 4:11
4. All believers are obligated to share the gospel, but some are specially gifted for it

D. Shepherds (pastors) and teachers — a continuing gift

1. The absence of the definite article before "teachers" suggests they may overlap with pastors, though Calvin distinguished them
2. Every gift listed relates to the ministry of teaching; Stott: nothing is more necessary for building the church than an ample supply of God-gifted teachers

IV. The Purpose of the Gifts (Verse 12)

A. Ephesians 4:12 — to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ

B. The comma controversy in the 1946 RSV after "saints"

1. With the comma: pastors/teachers perform three separate roles — equip the saints, do the work of ministry, build up the body — implying ministry belongs to clergy alone
2. Without the comma (correct reading per Armitage Robinson): pastors equip all the saints so that they do the work of ministry
3. Removing the comma is not merely grammatical — it is a major ecclesiological statement: ministry belongs to the laity

C. Practical implication: the role of pastors and elders is to help every member discover, develop, and exercise their God-given gifts

1. Illustrated by St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Darien, Connecticut — their bulletin listed "Ministers: the entire congregation" and their mission was "to know Christ and to make him known"
2. Their later decline and dissolution under denominational pressure serves as a cautionary example of visible disunity