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Eph.4:1. Therefore I, a prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling to which you have been called. “I pray for you, I am a prisoner in the Lord.” The mention of bonds is enough to arouse even those suffering from extreme insensitivity to virtue. For for your sake, says the Apostle, I am bound with chains. If I didn’t want to preach, then, of course, I would be free from them. This is also worthy of surprise in the divine Apostle, who is more magnified by the bonds of Christ than by the diadem of the king. What are you praying for, Apostle? “It is worthy to walk with rank, faster than rank.” Love a way of life corresponding to your rank, do not disgrace good deeds with a lawless life. And since, using spiritual gifts, they performed miracles, spoke in different languages ​​and had prophetic effectiveness in themselves, and this was enough for them to think arrogantly about themselves, the Apostle first of all offers them an admonition about this. Eph.4:2. With all humility and meekness and long-suffering, bearing with one another in love. Eph.4:3. Trying to maintain the unity of spirit in the union of peace. With “all humility and meekness, with long-suffering, enduring one another in love,” “to be diligent in guarding the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” You have all been granted the same grace; a single source pours out various streams. Therefore, guided by humility and meekness, bear with one another according to the law of love and maintain the covenant of peace. Eph.4:4. There is one body and one spirit, just as you are called to the one hope of your calling. “One body, one spirit, just as your calling is swift in the one hope of your calling.” You have received one Spirit, you are one body, one has been given to you the hope of resurrection and the Kingdom of Heaven. Eph.4:5. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. Eph.4:6. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all. “One Lord, one faith, one baptism”, “one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in us all.” The Apostle used the words “one” and “one” everywhere, thereby bringing the Church into agreement. We have one Lord, he says, we have received one baptism, we have brought one faith, we all have one God and Father. Therefore, it behooves you, as brothers, to be of one mind with each other. This “over all” means dominion, “through all” means providence, “in all” means indwelling. Eph.4:7. Each of us has been given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. “To one of you was given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” She comforts those who have received him, apparently; lesser gifts and shows that the Lord Christ is distributing them, as if saying: “Do not be upset, because Christ Himself, as He knows, has measured out grace to everyone.” This word is confirmed by prophetic testimony. Eph.4:8. Therefore it is said: He ascended on high, took captivity captive and gave gifts to men. “He also says: ascending on high, you took captivity captive and gave gifts to man.” The Psalm says: “Thou hast accepted the giving of men” (Ps. 67:19); The Apostle put it: “dade.” He does both because, receiving faith, he rewards with grace. The expression used by the prophet is very accurate: “thou hast taken captivity captive”; because he did not take us captive when we were free, but he took us captive when we were captives of the devil, and gave us freedom. Then the Apostle explains what ascension means. Eph.4:9. And what does “ascended” mean, if not that He had previously descended into the nether regions of the earth? “And the hedgehog that came up, what is there, just as it came down before to the deepest countries of the earth?” The ascent indicates the descent. For, having first descended and arranged our salvation, he then “came up,” because the Apostle called death “the deepest countries of the earth.” So the Prophet says: “Having laid me in the pit of the grave” (Ps. 87:7); and again: “and my composition is in the depths of the earth” (Ps. 139:15). Eph.4:10. He who descended is also He who ascended above all the heavens to fill everything. “He who came down is also He who ascended above all the heavens, that he may fulfill all things.” For not one descended, and another ascended, but, to put it briefly, in another way, “he descended” and another, “he ascended.” For, having descended disembodied, he ascended with a body. The descent does not mean any local condescension, but shows the greatness of the Economy, namely, that the Almighty accepted such humiliation upon Himself. Eph.4:11. And He appointed some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, and others as shepherds and teachers. Eph.4:12. For the perfection of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the building up of the Body of Christ. “And He gave them two Apostles, two prophets, two evangelists, two shepherds and teachers,” “for the perfection of the saints, for the work of service, for the building up of the body of Christ.” At that time, as I have said more than once, there were those worthy of prophetic grace. The history of Acts mentioned the prophet Agave and others who prophesied in Antioch (Acts 11:27-28), and among them was the divine Apostle himself; there were also evangelists, and among them was blessed Philip, who has been for weeks (Acts 21:8); The Apostle calls those appointed in cities and villages shepherds and teachers, which is why he mentioned them after the evangelists, since the latter preached while walking from place to place. These gifts, says the Apostle, were given by the Lord for the edification and benefit of the believers, because he called them the body of Christ. Eph.4:13. Until we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. “We will achieve everything in the union of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, in a perfect man, to the measure of the age of the fulfillment of Christ.” We will achieve perfection in the future life. Therefore, in this life we ​​need the help of apostles, prophets and teachers. Eph.4:14. So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried away by every wind of doctrine, by the craftiness of men, by the cunning art of deception. “Let us not be infants, tossed about and tossed about by every wind of doctrine, in the lies of men, in the deceit of the wiles of flattery.” Infancy is still characterized by rashness and frivolity. Such, says the Apostle, we were before the calling, rushing here and there as if in waves and trusting deceivers. “Lie” (κυβεία) refers to cunning. This word in Greek comes from the verb “to play checkers”; It is common for players to move checkers back and forth and do it cunningly. And he called cunning means “the machinations of flattery.” For the devil does not openly command adultery, but either ensnares with the eyes or captivates with the ears; does not clearly encourage one to renounce God, but forces one to resort to bird divination, to omens, to the use of protective pendants. Eph.4:15. But with true love, everyone grew into the One who is the head, Christ. “In love let us grow all things into Him, Whose head is Christ.” The Apostle said this in his Epistle to the Romans: “love is unfeigned” (Rom. 12:9); He also said in the Epistle to the Corinthians: “in love without hypocrisy” (2 Cor. 6:6). So here he commands to have true love and with it to increase the wealth of virtue in the Lord Himself. For it is said: “every rod that produces no fruit in Me” is taken and thrown into the fire (John 15:2). And since the Apostle again called the Lord the head, it shows how many benefits are given from the head. Eph.4:16. From which the whole body, composed and copulated through all kinds of mutually fastening bonds, when each member acts in its own measure, receives an increase for the creation of itself in love. “From Him the whole body is composed and put together decently by all the touch of alms, according to the action of each one part, the return of the body creates itself into creation through love,” that is, just as the head imparts the power of sensation to all parts of the body, because the source of the power of feeling is the brain, so the Lord Christ, composing the head, divides the spiritual gifts, combining the members of the body into a single harmonious whole. The Apostle called the sense “touch,” because it is one of the five senses, and he called the whole “part.” Eph.4:17. Therefore I say and charge by the Lord that you no longer walk as other nations do, in the vanity of their minds. “This is why I say and obey in the Lord.” The apostle again returned to what was said at the beginning of the exhortation and is evidenced by the remembrance of the Lord. With the Lord as witness I will say this, he says. What does it indicate? “No one should walk among you, as other nations also walk.” He calls those who have not yet believed in other languages. How do they walk? “In the vanity of their minds,” driven by evil thoughts, idolizing the non-existent. Eph.4:18. Being darkened in their minds, they are alienated from the life of God, due to their ignorance and the hardness of their hearts. “Darkened by the meaning of existence.” God called ignorance darkness. Then he exposes the lawlessness of life. “Alienation from the life of God.” He called the life of God a virtuous life. He also tells the reason for the lawlessness. “For the ignorance that exists in them, for the petrification of their hearts.” So the prophet David says: “The fool says in his heart: there is no God. Corrupted and disgusted in my endeavors” (Ps. 13:1). The Apostle called extreme insensibility “petrification” of the heart, because in the body the petrified parts do not have any feeling, as if they were completely dead. This is what the divine Apostle said. For he adds: Eph.4:19. They, having reached the point of insensibility, gave themselves over to debauchery so that they commit all uncleanness with gluttony. “Those who have invested themselves in hopelessness” (there should be a punctuation mark here), “have given themselves over to the practice of desperation, to the doing of all uncleanness in covetousness.” They suffered first from lawlessness, then from satiety, because, having crawled into a lawless life, they soon began to suffer from insensibility. Then they fearlessly venture into every sin, indulging in a corrupt life to the point of satiety. For the Apostle called ignorance of proportion “covetousness.” From this we understand what was said in the Epistle to the Romans: “God gave them over to an unskilled mind” (Rom. 1:28). For that is what he called permission. Here he clearly showed that they had given themselves over to lewdness. Eph.4:20. But this is not how you came to know Christ. Eph.4:21. Because you have heard about Him and learned from Him, just as the truth is in Jesus. “But you have not known Christ in this way,” “but if you have heard Him, and learned about Him, as is the truth about Jesus.” These are the instructions of wickedness; the instructions of the Lord Christ are completely opposite. The Apostle also communicates these very rules. Eph.4:22. Put off your former way of life, the old man, which is corrupted by its deceitful lusts. Eph.4:23. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind Eph.4:24. And put on the new man, created according to God in righteousness and true holiness. “After your first life, put aside for you the old man, which is corrupting in the lusts of your soul”: “be renewed in the spirit of your mind”, “and put on the new man, created by God in righteousness and in the excellence of the truth. The Apostle called “the old man” not the very nature, but the effectiveness of sin. For the one who is baptized does not lay off his body, but his defiled sinful clothing. He called the one living according to the Gospel law a “new” “man.” And he called both virtue and vice human, because they are committed by people. And he called the spiritual aspiration of the mind “spirit of the mind.” He says what is characteristic of a new person. Eph.4:25. Therefore, putting away lying, speak the truth, every one of you, to your neighbor, for we are members of one another. “In the same way, putting aside lies, speak the truth to each of your sincere ones: we are pleased with each other.” It is most indecent for those who serve as members of each other to tell each other what is not. This is unusual for members. The eyes, seeing rapids and abysses, indicate to their feet so that they avoid and do not cause harm to the whole body. And the hearing, sensing sounds, lets the eyes know about it, and the senses do not lie to one another, because there is general harm from lying. Eph.4:26. When you are angry, do not sin; let not the sun go down on your anger. “Be angry” (put punctuation here), “and do not sin.” He gives a law proportionate to nature, because he knows that reason does not always bravely endure the attack of passion. Therefore, he commands to calm down anger as soon as possible. For he adds the following: "Let not the sun go down on your anger." I gave the measure of irritation as the measure of the day. For he fears that the thought, remaining silent at night, will intensify the illness. He also knows the cunning ways of the devil. Why did I add: Eph.4:27. And don't give room to the devil. “Below give place to the devil.” So, having offered a decent remedy to this passion, he moves on to another passion. Eph.4:28. Whoever stole, do not steal first, but rather work, doing useful things with your own hands, so that you have something to give to those in need. “Let him who steals not steal from anyone, but rather let him labor, doing good with his own hands, so that he may give to the one who demands.” Since this sin primarily gives rise to idleness, I rightly contrasted it with good deeds. For there is also evil doing; one of its types is tatba. The Apostle commands us to engage in work, not for the sake of the womb alone, but also for the needs of those in need. Thus, having cured a disease of the hands, he heals a disease of the tongue. Eph.4:29. Let no corrupt word come out of your mouth, but only what is good for edification in the faith, so that it may bring grace to those who hear. “Let no word that is rotten come out of your mouth. Word that is rotten is” foul language, slander, slander, blasphemy, lies, and the like. “But there is definitely good.” But even such a word commands to be pronounced on time. For he also added this: “To the creation of faith, may he give grace to those who hear.” He called “grace” pleasantness, that is, so that the word seems acceptable to those who hear. Eph.4:30. And do not offend the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. “And do not offend the Holy Spirit of God, by Him you are marked on the day of deliverance.” What offends the Holy Spirit is the opposite of what has been said—a lawless life. The All-Holy Spirit has made us the flock of God. Eph.4:31. Let all irritation and rage and anger and shouting and slander along with all malice be removed from you. “Let all grief and rage and anger, and crying and blasphemy be taken away from you, along with all malice.” The entire swarm of this passion must be exterminated by the roots. Eph.4:32. But be kind to each other, compassionate, forgive each other, just as God in Christ forgave you. “Be kind and merciful to one another, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave us.” Bear with each other’s shortcomings and become like the God of all, Who through the Lord Christ granted us forgiveness of the entire multitude of our sins. You might be interested in: