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Scripture Reading: Eph. 4:1-32
Ephesians 4 is a long chapter containing many “diamonds.” The first of these diamonds is the grace revealed in this chapter. Verse 7 says, “To each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Here grace is given according to the gift, but in Romans 12:6 the gifts differ according to grace. Grace is the divine life that both produces and supplies the gifts. In Romans 12 grace produces the gifts, and therefore the gifts are according to grace. But in Ephesians 4 grace supplies the gifts, and therefore grace is according to the measure of the gift. First the divine life produces the gift, and then it supplies the gift. Such a producing and supplying life is grace, which is given according to the measure of the gift.
The measure of the gift of Christ refers to the size of a particular member of His Body. This measure can be compared to the way blood is supplied to the members of our physical body according to their size. A shoulder, being a large member, receives a large volume of blood, whereas a finger, being a small member, receives a small amount of blood. The supply of blood is according to the size of the members of our body. In the Lord’s Body, the Body of Christ, certain members are large. These members include the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. Paul, Peter, and John were large members of the Body, and much grace and divine life were supplied to them.
According to Ephesians 4:7, grace is something high and profound. Grace is actually the divine life dispensed into our being to supply us as gifts in the Lord’s Body.
Grace is also mentioned in verse 29: “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but only that which is good for building up, according to the need, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Grace is Christ as our enjoyment and supply, and our word should convey this grace to others. The word that builds up others always ministers grace to those who hear. In verses 7 and 29 grace refers to Christ as the divine life dispensed into our being for our enjoyment and supply.
Another diamond in Ephesians 4 is reality: “If indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him as the reality is in Jesus” (v. 21). The reality in Jesus is the actual situation of the life of Jesus as recorded in the four Gospels. In the godless walk of the nations, the fallen people, there is vanity. But in the godly life of Jesus there is truth, reality. Jesus lived a life of doing everything in God, with God, and for God. God was in His living, and He was one with God. This is what is meant by the reality in Jesus. We, the believers, who are regenerated with Christ as our life and are taught in Him, learn from Him as the reality is in Jesus. The reality in Jesus is God Himself. According to the Gospels, Jesus lived a life not merely of morality or ethics but of God. His life expressed God. God was the reality of His life, and this reality is truth. Therefore, instead of saying “as the reality is in Jesus,” we may say “as God is in Jesus.”
Concerning reality, verse 24 says, “Put on the new man, which was created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the reality.” The definite article before reality in this verse is emphatic. As “the deceit” in verse 22 related to the old man is the personification of Satan, so “the reality” here related to the new man is God’s personification. As mentioned in verse 21, this reality was exhibited in the life of Jesus. In the life of Jesus righteousness and holiness of the reality were always manifested. In the righteousness and holiness of this reality, which is God realized and expressed, the new man was created.
Both grace and reality are covered in chapter 4 of Ephesians. In chapter 1 of the Gospel of John grace and reality are also mentioned. The Word was God, and the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, full of grace and reality (vv. 1, 14). The law was given through Moses, but grace and reality came through Jesus Christ (v. 17). Ephesians 4 is a full definition of the grace and reality found in John 1. If you would understand the grace and reality revealed in John 1, you need to study Ephesians 4.
Grace and reality are the elements of which chapter 4 of Ephesians is constituted. Ephesians 1 is structured with the Father’s selection and predestination, the Son’s redemption, and the Spirit’s sealing and pledging. In Ephesians 4 we have not only the Father, the Son, and the Spirit but also grace and reality. This indicates development and progress.
In both John 1 and Ephesians 4 there is a development of the Triune God. John 1:14 says that the Word, which was God, became flesh. The word became indicates development. This One who became flesh and tabernacled among us was full of grace and reality. This is a further development. As God, He was developed to become a man in the flesh. As God incarnate, He was further developed to become grace and reality to us. In Ephesians 1 we see the Triune God, but we do not have the full development of grace and reality. If we would see this development, we need to come to Ephesians 4.
The book of Ephesians is profound. This book cannot be understood by merely reading it according to the letters. We need revelation. This was the reason Paul prayed that the Father would grant the believers a spirit of wisdom and revelation (1:17). Natural intelligence or cleverness will not help us to understand such a deep book. We need divine wisdom and revelation.
In Ephesians 1 there is the dispensing of the Triune God to produce the church, the Body of Christ. In this chapter there is little development. But in chapters 2 and 3 there is a development that issues in the Body. The topic of Ephesians 4 is the Body; the topic of this chapter is not the Triune God. However, the Body has much to do with the Triune God. In chapter 1 there is the indication that the Body would be produced. But in chapter 4 we actually have the Body.
In Ephesians 4 Paul first speaks of the one Body and then of the one Spirit, the one Lord, and the one God, the Father. This indicates that the Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit — has been developed in the Body. This corresponds to John 1, where the eternal God became flesh and experienced a development in the flesh. In Ephesians 4 the Triune God has been developed not merely in the flesh but in the Body of Christ. Furthermore, in John 1 there is the development of God in the flesh issuing in grace and reality. In Ephesians 4 there is also the development of the Triune God issuing in grace and reality. In John the eternal God was developed in the flesh and issued in grace and reality, and in Ephesians the Triune God was developed in the Body and issued in grace and reality. In order to understand Ephesians 4 we need to see this development.
Another diamond in Ephesians 4 is the life of God found in verse 18: “Being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance which is in them, because of the hardness of their heart.” The Gentiles, who walk in vanity, have been alienated from the life of God and excluded from it because of the ignorance which is in them and because of the hardness of their heart. They are past feeling and have given themselves over to sinful things. The life of God in Ephesians 4:18 corresponds to life in John 1:4, which says, “In Him was life.” In John 1 we have grace, reality, and the life of God. In Ephesians 4 we also have these three matters. The difference is that in John 1 there is the flesh, but in Ephesians 4 there is the Body. In John 1 the flesh is the sphere, the element, for God’s development. In Ephesians 4 the mystical Body, the church, is the sphere, the element, for the development of the Triune God. However, in both cases the issue is the same — grace and reality of life. Both grace and reality are of life, and life is actually God Himself.
Ephesians 4 is on the Body of Christ as the development of the Triune God. The Body is mingled with the Triune God because with the Body the Trinity is mentioned in a detailed way. In Ephesians 4:4-6 we have one Body, one Spirit, one Lord, and one God, the Father. Therefore, the Triune God is closely related to the Body.
When Paul speaks of the one God and Father of all in verse 6, he says that the Father is over all, through all, and in all. This points to a mingling of the Triune God with the Body. How is it possible for God the Father to be in three positions — above all, through all, and in all? This is possible because God is triune. Even God the Father is triune. The Father’s position is above all, the Son’s position is through all, and the Spirit’s position is in all. Therefore, God the Father possesses all the positions of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. He is above all as the Father, He is through all as the Son, and He is in all as the Spirit. Hence, the church as the mystical Body is mingled with the Triune God.
With the one Body and the one Spirit, there is one hope (v. 4). At present our body is still in the physical life; it has not yet been transfigured. However, there is the hope that one day our physical body will be transfigured, that is, glorified. On that day the indwelling Christ will be manifested in glory. This glory is a hope to the Body with the Spirit. Thus, we have one Body and one Spirit with one hope. The mystical Body of Christ is wonderful, and the Spirit mingled with this mystical Body is also wonderful.
In Ephesians 4:5 Paul goes on to speak of the one Lord. As long as the Body is mingled with the Spirit, the Body is joined to the Lord. Actually, the Spirit is the Lord (2 Cor. 3:17). We cannot separate the Spirit from the Lord. As we pointed out in a foregoing chapter, when the Son comes, the Father comes also, and when the Spirit comes, both the Son and the Father come with Him. Now the Body is mingled with the Spirit, and the Spirit cannot be separated from the Son and the Father. We have the Spirit, the Son, and the Father. Therefore, because the Body is mingled with the Spirit, we also have the Lord.
With the Lord we have one faith and one baptism. Faith joins us to the Lord. When we believe in the Lord, we enter into an organic union with Him. In this life union we are joined to the Lord as one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). Faith joins us to the Lord because we have believed into Him.
Baptism has two aspects. On the one hand, we have been baptized into Christ; on the other hand, we have been terminated from Adam. We were born in Adam, but by baptism we were transferred out of Adam into Christ. Therefore, negatively, baptism signifies termination, and positively, it signifies union. By faith and baptism we have been transferred out of Adam into Christ. Now we have an organic union with Christ the Lord.
Because we have the Spirit, we have the Lord and also the Father, who is above all, through all, and in all. This is the issue of the divine dispensing.
The Trinity revealed in Ephesians 1 has been dispensed into all the believers, and this dispensing issues in the Body. In Ephesians 4 we see that the Body is mingled with the Triune God, who dispenses Himself into us. The Triune God is dispensing Himself into the believers in order to make them an organic Body, which is mingled with the Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
As members of the Body, we should no longer walk as the Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind (v. 17). Instead, we should walk in reality; we should walk as the reality is in Jesus. According to the four Gospels, when the Lord Jesus was on the earth, He never walked in vanity. He always walked in God, who is the reality. Now we should walk in the same God, in the One who has been dispensed into us as grace for our enjoyment and as truth for our reality. Today it is possible for us to have such a life, such a walk, full of enjoyment and reality. Grace and reality are the issue of the dispensing of the Trinity. The enjoyment is God as our grace, and reality is God as our truth. Hence, we may walk in enjoyment and reality. We may enjoy and experience God as grace and reality. If we do this, we will live in reality, not in vanity. This results from the dispensing of the Trinity into us as life.
Grace and reality, or grace and truth, are both of life. Life is the essence of grace. The divine life, the eternal life, the uncreated life of God, is also the essence of reality. This life is God Himself. This means that the being of the Triune God is life. The Lord Jesus clearly said that He is life (John 11:25; 14:6). Also, God is life. Speaking of God, John 1:4 says that in Him was life. Furthermore, the Spirit is the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2). Therefore, life is the being of the Triune God. In contrast, Satan is death. The being of our God is life, but the being of Satan is death.
When God dispenses Himself into us, we have life. On the one hand, this life is our grace for enjoyment; on the other hand, this life is our reality for us to live a real life. Our daily life should not be vain. We should not live in vanity or emptiness but should live in reality, in truth. This truth is the Triune God dispensed into us as our life.
Although chapter 4 of Ephesians covers many matters, the crucial matters revealed in this chapter are the Body, the mingling with the Triune God, life, grace, and reality. This chapter reveals that the Body is mingled with the Divine Trinity. This mingling is a matter of life. To say that the Body is mingled with the Divine Trinity means that the Body is saturated with life, permeated with life, and soaked with life. This life is nothing less than the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. In our daily walk this life is our enjoyment. This is grace. Furthermore, this life is also our reality so that we may have a real living. Therefore, we should not live in vanity; we should live in reality. In the divine life, which is actually the Triune God mingled with the church, we have grace, enjoyment. This life is also our reality. The experience of the divine life as grace and reality is due to the dispensing of the Divine Trinity.
Another diamond in Ephesians 4 is indicated by the word grow. The verb form is found in verse 15; the noun form, growth, in verse 16; and the participle form, full-grown, in verse 13. The sonship in Ephesians 1 is a matter of life dispensing. What is growth? Growth is the continuation of life dispensing. Life dispensing began in the new birth, and it continues with growth. This life dispensing never ceases. When the life dispensing first reached us, it caused us to have a new birth. Now the life dispensing continues daily, and as it continues, we grow. I am happy to see the saints growing in the churches. This is the growth in life by grace and reality. With the saints in the local churches in the Lord’s recovery, there are the enjoyment of grace and also the reality of the truth. Grace supplies, and reality shines. We are under this supplying and shining, and this causes us to grow.
Do not expect to grow in a fast way. If you make artificial flowers, you can produce many overnight. But you cannot produce real flowers overnight. You need to be patient and let these flowers grow. In the churches we should care for genuine growth. I am happy to see that the churches are growing through the dispensing of the divine life.
The growing by the dispensing of life is also the renewing. Verses 23 and 24 say, “That you be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new man, which was created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the reality.” In these verses there seems to be a contradiction. On the one hand, we are told that we have put on the new man; on the other hand, we are told that we are being renewed. Since we have already put on the new man, why must we be renewed? It is because of the situation in our soul and body that we need to be renewed. Our spirit has been renewed already, but our soul and body have not. Therefore, as far as our physical being is concerned, there is the need for renewing.
Where does this renewing take place? Paul tells us clearly that the renewing is in the spirit of our mind. Our mind is the main part of our soul. This indicates that our spirit must spread into the mind of our soul until it becomes the spirit of our mind. Our mind needs to be saturated with the spirit, and it needs to be under the control and direction of the spirit. Our mind should not be the main factor ruling over us; rather, the spirit of our mind should be the main factor ruling, reigning, and directing us in all things.
Since birth, we have behaved ourselves according to our mind. Verse 17 says that the Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind. As those who love Christ, we should not have vanity in our mind. Instead, we should have the spirit in our mind. Our mind should no longer be full of vanity but should be saturated with the spirit.
We should never belittle our spirit. When we believed in the Lord Jesus, He as the life-giving Spirit entered our spirit and regenerated us with Himself as life. Our regenerated spirit, therefore, is very significant. Because we have not only a human spirit but a regenerated spirit born of God, with the indwelling Christ as our life, we have become persons who are weighty and who have a high standard. We all have a wonderful mingled spirit. This mingled spirit is our inner man. In Ephesians 3 Paul says that we need to be strengthened by God the Father into this inner man (v. 16). Now in Ephesians 4 we see that this inner man should spread from our spirit into our mind.
We need to be continually renewed in the spirit that is saturating our mind. This means that we should not think anything without being controlled by the spirit. We must have a mind that is filled and saturated with the spirit. When our mind is saturated with the regenerated spirit, it is saturated with the Triune God, who is in our regenerated spirit. This means that our mind is filled with the spirit, which in turn is filled with the Triune God. In this way we are being renewed.
Renewing is equal to growth. Daily we are growing and are being renewed. Both the renewing and the growing are by the life dispensing of the Triune God. Therefore, we need to contact Him, pray to Him, call upon Him, and have fellowship with Him. We also need to read His Word. By doing these things we stay with Him, and we keep ourselves open to His life dispensing. While the Triune God is dispensing Himself into us as our life, we enjoy grace and reality, we are being renewed, and we grow.
Every member of the Body, whether small or large, has received something of the Triune God as supply, as grace ministered to that member. Large members, such as Peter and Paul, could minister the riches of Christ into all the churches. But even small members can receive grace and minister this grace to others. For example, at home you may minister grace to your wife or husband through your speaking, and this grace will build them up. This is the ministry of life. Do not think that you are too small a member to minister grace to others. Every member of the Body is able to minister grace.
Ephesians 4:16 speaks of the operation in the measure of each one part. According to the measure of every part, the Body enjoys the supply by which it grows. Of course, there are the joints of supply, which are large members such as Paul. Such members are life-joints full of supply. But even we who are small members have a measure, and according to the measure of every part, the Body is supplied to grow. This is the life dispensing of the Triune God for the building up of the Body.
Throughout the years I have seen many brothers and sisters, who are small members of the Body, minister grace as life supply to others. Because they are under the dispensing of the Triune God, enjoying grace and realizing reality, spontaneously they speak to their fellow members. This speaking conveys grace to the other members so that they may be nourished and grow. All the members in the local churches may be life suppliers. Whether we speak to others in a message or speak to them in our daily living, we may minister grace because we are under the life dispensing of the Triune God. Both in the meetings and in our daily life the principle is the same — it is a matter of ministering grace through the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity.
