Ephesians 4:7-16 (continued)

Michael Calhoun
Mar 17
2 min read

Literary Context

In Acts 19:8 (ESV) we see that Paul preached in Ephesus for some time: “And he entered the synagogue and for 3 months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.” This in and of itself shows that Jews of the pre-Christian era were in fact established in Ephesus. Scripture goes on to say that after he was rebuked and the Way was spoken of in evil unbelief, Paul took the disciples to Tyrannus (Possibly a lecture hall where Paul taught about salvation through Jesus).[1] Now, after teaching that the salvation of grace is through faith alone and his own role in revealing Christ’s work to Jew and Gentile alike in Ephesians 2 and 3[2], Paul shifts to a narrative of unity for the first six verses of chapter four. In Eph 4:1, he even speaks of maintaining “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” In the verses examined for this paper, Paul writes of the gifts of grace in a voice of diversity in Christ’s apportionment of them. This diversity, immediately after preaching unity is a vital piece of instruction in sharing the New Covenant with those who, from all walks of life will be the early foundation of the Christian church. It is the body of Christ – in metaphor that through the New Testament in the future becomes His bride.

None of this is to say that the diversity spoken here is simply in the people. Paul also uses it in the context of God’s gifts. The gift of grace as referred to in I Cor 3:10,11 is Paul’s metaphor of Christ laying the foundation, and Paul (et al) building upon it. In Romans 1:5, Paul speaks of the gift of service through the “obedience of faith”[3] – the act of faith. Later in Romans, Paul pulls together the theme of unifying the various (diverse) gifts of God. Romans 12 speaks of the “measure of faith that God has assigned” to each of us, and in Romans 15:15,16 he reminds us of the gift of equality between Jew and Gentile within the Church.

In the last few verses of this papers subject Scripture, Paul paints a vivid portrait of the parts of the body coming together in the head of Christ saying that our common confession – our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the head of the body which: “from 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.” (Eph 4-16, emphasis added).

These are but a few literary examples and themes to be more closely examined in Paul’s meaning within the text of Ephesians 4:7-16 as the study begins to investigate each verse.