Ephesians / 4

  • Anger, Sin, and the Devil

    Ephesians 4:26-27

    If sinful anger can give the Devil a foothold in our churches and in our relationships with friends and family, then defusing anger is an essential part of spiritual warfare. Insofar as it depends on us, we must strive to ...Read More

  • Be Angry, Do Not Sin

    Ephesians 4:25–32

    It is easy for us to think we are being righteously angry when we are really just manifesting unjust ire. It is also easy for us to get so wrapped up in a righteous cause that we forget to pray ...Read More

  • Be Angry, Do Not Sin

    Ephesians 4:25-32

    We can too easily fall back under the sway of sin, which makes our hearts “deceitful beyond all things” (Jer. 17:9). We can trick ourselves into thinking our anger is godly when it is not pleasing to the Lord ...Read More

  • Every Member Ministry

    Ephesians 4:12-13

    Do you consider yourself a minister in the church? Although you might never be ordained to a church office, your gifts are critical to the healthy functioning of Christ’s body. Determining your specific role may not be easy, but ...Read More

  • Gift-giver and Protector

    Ephesians 4:7–12

    “The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still” is the cry of the believer’s confidence in the protecting work of Christ. We may suffer in this world, but in Jesus we are kept from everlasting destruction. We ...Read More

  • Gifts from the Ascended Christ

    Ephesians 4:8-10

    Christ’s ascension to the right hand of God the Father demonstrates His sovereign authority to distribute good gifts to us as He wills. Because He has conquered death and hell, Jesus can give what is best to each of ...Read More

  • God’s Work Ethic

    Ephesians 4:28

    God’s people are called to be generous, not foolish. We want to provide real help to widows, orphans, and others who are in true need, first in our churches and then in the world. As we seek to help ...Read More

  • Grieving the Holy Spirit

    Ephesians 4:30

    Just as we experience the joy of restoration upon repentance, so we make amends for grieving the Spirit when we turn from our sin and seek to do His will. When we sense a distance in our relationship to God ...Read More

  • Ignorance and Hardness

    Ephesians 4:17-19

    Sin affects our entire being, including our ability to love, our capacity to reason, and our physical bodies. The longer we persist in sin, the harder it is to see and do the will of God, so we must endeavor ...Read More

  • Learning Christ

    Ephesians 4:20-22

    John Calvin writes, “He whose life differs not from that of unbelievers, has learned nothing of Christ; for the knowledge of Christ cannot be separated from the mortification of the flesh.” Scripture never asserts that sinless perfection is attainable before ...Read More

  • Leaving Childhood Behind

    Ephesians 4:14

    The church’s greatest advancements in understanding doctrine have come when great heresies have threatened the church. The Arian controversy helped believers delimit the canon’s teaching on the Trinity. Crises over justification and the authority of Scripture led to ...Read More

  • One Body, One Spirit, One Call

    Ephesians 4:4

    Although we all have different roles in the body of Christ, our call is the same — to live together in loving unity with other believers as we worship the Lord in the beauty of His holiness and proclaim the gospel ...Read More

  • One in Spirit

    Ephesians 4:2-3

    We cannot sacrifice truth for the sake of a superficial visible unity, which is an error evident in the liberal arm of the ecumenical movement. Still, we should not think that all efforts at visible church unity represent liberalism, for ...Read More

  • One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism

    Ephesians 4:5-6

    Water baptism does not guarantee that the person baptized has true faith in the Messiah, but it is so closely tied to the baptism of the Spirit we receive at conversion that people should not be rebaptized even if they ...Read More

  • Privileges and Responsibility

    Ephesians 4:1

    Living in a manner worthy of our calling is not following a legalistic checklist of do’s and don’ts. Instead, it is a gratitude-inspired pursuit of God-given growth in personal holiness. Even though this is our duty, it should ...Read More