An Exegesis paper

Vera Wilhelmsen

November 17^th, 2005

1. Introduction

Eph. 4:7-13 (NASB)

7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.   8 Therefore it says,

"WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN."  

9 (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth?   10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)  

11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,   12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;   13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.  

In this paper the meaning of these verses in The Epistle to the Ephesians will be investigated. Drawing on insights from Greek, other parts of the Bible and commentaries, the meaning of the text, as it was conceived by the original audience, will be established, as far as possible. The main objective is to investigate the topic of leadership, and how it is presented in the chosen passage. In particular, the relationship of the list of leadership functions which are given in verse 11 with the gifts of the spirit in general will be discussed, and whether there was an idea of church offices in the early church, different in nature from other spiritual gifts or functions in the church. The application of this insight in the present-day church will be discussed in a separate hermeneutics paper (forthcoming).

 The discussion will show that there is no basis for such a dichotomy when it comes to spiritual gifts and ministry gifts, and that the functions mentioned in Ephesians 4 are but a few of many gifts that need to be functioning in the church. A hierarchy is suggested, however, with apostles and prophet as the most important ones. Their purpose is to serve the church and build her up, so she becomes mature and ready to be united with Christ. The focus of the text, however, is on unity and building up the body, and not on the individual functions or gifts within the body

The present unit was chosen because it is coherent, as it refers to means of maintaining unity in the body of Christ through leadership.  The preceding section deals with Christian unity, which also is a theme in the selected passage, but it is put in the specific context of certain leadership functions and their role in the body.

In his book on Discourse Features of New Testament Greek, Levinsohn suggests that if the conjunction de. is to be used, it must contain not only something distinctive, but also a new development in the story or argument.[1] This might be the case in verse 7, which is introduced by de. (‘but’ or ‘and’). Verses 14-16 can be taken as a further development of the argument, expounding on the purpose of building up the body. Due to limited space in the present paper, and lack of relevance for the present discussion, these verses will not be given particular attention in this investigation.

2. Background materials

Ephesians lacks some of the characteristics of an epistle, such as a body of teaching giving instructions concerning specific problems or circumstances, but is still considered to have sufficient material in common with the epistles to fall under that category. It does however have the standard Pauline introduction and thanksgiving, as well as closing remarks and greetings. The style of the content is more like that of a sermon or a prayer than of a letter, and the letter is probably meant to read out loud in the receiving church or churches.

The epistle is believed not to be specifically to the church in Ephesus, but a circular letter to all the gentile believers in Asia Minor. The words ‘in Ephesus’ is not present in the earliest manuscripts, and is thought to be a later addition.[2] It might also have been substituted for other names, according to the location of the carrier, Tychicus. Internal evidence points towards an audience which the author did not know personally, but also a mainly gentile audience. This fits with the largely Gentile churches in Asia Minor, even though there would be some Jews in the churches, as well.

It is debated whether Paul is the author of the epistle, but there is no good explanation of why a disciple would write such a general letter under a pseudonym.[3] There are many arguments for and against his authorship, but this author found no reason not to believe that Paul did write the letter between A.D. 55 and A.D. 60, while in prison either in Ephesus, in Caesarea or in Rome.[4] Paul is therefore going to be the assumed author for the purpose of this paper.

 3. Context

In the immediate context of Ephesians Paul is moving from the passage of thanksgiving and prayer, where he in a very articulate manner expresses the foundations of the Gospel and the church. His concern throughout chapters 1-3 is that the Christians will grow in understanding and revelation concerning the hope, riches and power they have in Christ. Paul thereafter goes on to urge the Christians to live according to the calling they have received, a destiny which he reminded them of in the preceding section.

True Christian life will show itself in unity, which is made possible by the different gifts Jesus has given to each individual and to the church, especially through the ministries of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers. They serve the church in order to build her up, so she can be mature and strong, and grow up into Christ, which is the ‘head of the body’. Paul is concerned that the church becomes mature and not fall prey to false teaching, but that it is solidly founded in Christ, being filled with him and building each other up.

The lifestyle of the Christian needs to be different from the Gentiles, and different from their former way of living. They are exhorted to put away their old selves, and put on the new person. Paul describes what this looks like, in ethical and attitudinal terms. He then goes on to talk about submission to authorities and to each other, and finally, that they need to be strong and put on the armour of God. He then asks them to pray for him that he might declare the message fearlessly, even while in chains. His final greetings introduce Tychicus, who is the one bringing the letter. A final benediction follows.

The passage has a couple of parallels in the NT. In 1. Corinthians 12 and 14 and Romans 12 there are similar lists of functions in the church, referred to as spiritual gifts or gifts of grace. The range and function of such gifts needs to be examined, as well as their purpose in the church. All of these passages (including Eph. 4) also depict the church as a body, and the importance of unity is stressed, as each part of the body serves a different function.  The similarities and differences between these passages will be investigated in the paper.

4. Exegesis of the Text

7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.  

The theme of unity (from verses 1-6) is still present in our passage, but the focus shifts from the things that are in common to the individual, and the grace Jesus has given each and every one. This is the ‘diversity in unity’[5] which is evident throughout the whole passage. The word ‘each, every’,[6] in connection to the giving of gifts, reminds the reader of 1. Cor. 12 and 14 and Rom. 12, where the expression is used many times. Especially 1. Cor. 12:7, 14:26 and Romans 12:3 are significant, as they refer to how each and everyone is given a different gift, for the benefit of all. The link between gifts and the purpose of building up the church is very strong in these verses, as it is in our current passage.

8 Therefore it says,

"WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN."  

9 (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth?   10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)  

Paul backs up his statement by quoting Scripture (Psalm. 68:18), although the text is

not accurately cited. Much can be said about this, but that is beyond the scope of this paper, and has no bearing to the present discussion.[7] Paul’s main point is that God (through Jesus) gives gifts to men, including the gifts of grace (cf. 1. Cor. 12) he proceeds to list. The same guarantee of unity though diversity as the rest of the chapter asserts is demonstrated here.[8] The idea of giving gifts is of course central to the quote, and is probably the reason why Paul brings it into the discussion.

11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,  

Paul is emphasising that Jesus is the one who gave these gifts. He mentions some people that have specific functions in the church, such as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. The use of conjunctions seem to indicate that pastors (lit. shepherds) and teachers are parallel designations, maybe referring to the same function in the church (the pastor who teaches).[9] This fits well with his instruction to Timothy to ‘devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift...’ (1. Tim. 4:13-14). Timothy probably served in a pastoral role in Ephesus, so the command to preach and teach is appropriate for his ministry. Several commentaries makes no distinction between the terms pastor (shepherd), bishop (ejpivskopoß) and elder (presbuvteroß), as they all served as leaders of the church.[10] The roles of the pastor and the teacher are overlapping, in any case.

            The term ‘apostle’ is important with regards to the purpose of this paper. Tracing the origin of the word can give some insight to the meaning of it, although the early Christians might have assigned new meaning to the term as the church developed. The notion of one being sent out on behalf of an authority is present in the word, which comes from the verb ajpostevllw, ‘I send out’. The focus is not on the messenger, but on the message, and on the authority of the sender.[11] This fits well with the concept of apostles as messengers from God, who are given special insight into the ‘mystery of Christ’ (Eph. 3:3-5).[12]

            The focus of the NT concept of an apostle, however, seems to be not on personal insight and authority, but on function in the church. As with the other ministries that are mentioned in the list, the focus is on the function they have in the church, most notably one of leadership and preaching of the Word of God.[13] Schnackenburg[14] claims that the functions are not Spiritual gifts, and that this list is different from other lists Paul offers. But taking a close look at these lists, similarities are found, after all.

In Romans and 1. Cor. there are several lists which name some of the various gifts God gives to ‘each and everyone’:

Rom. 12:6-8: prophecy, serving, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, showing mercy.

1. Cor. 12:8-10:  Word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, effecting of miracles, prophecy, distinguishing of spirits, various kinds of tongues, interpretation of tongues.

There is an emphasis of ‘the common good’ in the context of these lists, and although the gifts are given to each one, everyone is a part of the same body.

There is another list, even more similar to the one in Ephesians: And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues (1. Cor. 12: 28, NASB). This list, as the one in Eph. 4:11, refers to some gifted persons,  but also to the gifts themselves. There does not seem to be a fundamental difference between the three first functions mentioned (apostles, prophets and teachers) and the other gifts, such as miracles, healing, helps and tongues. They all are expected to be present in the local church, and minister to the church body. The term ‘ministry gifts’ might be fitting to describe the nature of the gifting of these people.

From 1. Cor. 12:28 comes the idea that there is a certain hierarchy between the different gifts or functions in the church. The fact that is says ‘first ......, second.... third.....’ suggests that Paul has a hierarchy in mind, with apostles and prophets as the most important ones (or rather the most foundational ones). This might explain why Paul in Ephesians focus on the apostles and prophets, as they are the foundation on which the church is being built, and he claims that they have received revelation of the mystery of Christ.[15]

12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;  

The purpose of the function of the “ministry gifts” is highly debated among scholars. The origin of the debate is that the three preposition phrases in this verse are ambiguous when it comes to the syntactic relationship between them. If they are taken to be dependent upon each other, as the translation above suggests, the purpose is unified: to equip[16] the church for service, so that it can be built up in Christ. Bruce (p. 86) and Abbot (p. 119) prefer this interpretation. If however the three preposition phrases are all dependent on the main verb[17], some claim that it changes everything, and implies an office of clergy in the church.[18] This line of argument does not necessitate itself, however. Even if it is stated that one of the purposes of the ministry gifts is to do ‘works of service’, it does not follow that they are the only ones to serve in the church, or that they necessarily are clergy in the traditional sense.

            The context of the verse is, as we have seen, Christian unity, and there is an emphasis of how each and every one had been given grace and gifts from God. The purpose of these gifts is to build of the church, as the third preposition phrase also states, as well as the following verses. The ministers of the Word may have a special responsibility in leading and ministering in the church, but they are still servants of the Lord and of the church. In 1. Cor. 12:22-25 stress the value of each member, even giving more honour to the seemingly small and weaker parts. It is servanthood leadership style of Jesus that is reflected, as the leaders’ main job is to build up the church, so it can reach completion in Christ. The focus is still on the whole body, being built together in unity.[19]

13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

God’s purpose for the church is that she shall become a complete and mature, united in love and faith. This process will find its fulfillment when Jesus comes back, and everything is brought together under him (1:10). It is the corporate, universal church that is to attain this goal, and it cannot come from itself, but from the perfection that is found in Christ. Even though the ‘perfecting’ of the church is an ongoing process, it will not be fully realised before Jesus comes back.[20]

5. Conclusion

As acknowledged in the discussion, there was a certain hierarchy in the early church. The question is if this hierarchy means that there were specific church offices, and if the people who were appointed to them had a unique or elevated status in the church. Lincoln argues that there is no dichotomy between function and office.[21] The people who had earned the designations mentioned regularly served in the church, and in order to be able to function in such a role, they needed to be recognized and accepted by the church body.[22] They preached the revelation of the apostles and prophets, and were probably in high esteem in the church.

The question of these ministries as a church office is a question of definition. On one had the gifts Jesus gave to the church are gifts of grace, just as the Spiritual gifts mentioned in 1. Cor. 12 and 14. On the other hand, the people who function in the specific roles mentioned in  verse 11, had a special place in the church, ministering the Word and ensuring that the foundation they were building on was solid.

Still, their role in the church is one of service. The idea of leadership as a ministry and not a way of ruling was introduced by Jesus, and was demonstrated when he washed the disciples feet (John 13). In the Old Testament the leaders were kings and judges, and had a lot of authority in the society. Jesus revealed himself as a servant, however, even though he was God, the King of Kings. This model of leadership is carried on in Ephesians, where the leaders’ responsibility is to build up the body, and not to rule over it.

            Accordingly, there is no evidence of formal church offices in the early Christian church, as represented in Ephesians. The leaders have certain responsibilities, and certain people are acknowledged to have been given ‘gifts of ministry’, and therefore take on a prominent function in the church. This does not, however, separate them from the rest of the body, and put them in a position over and above the rest, but means that they in a special way can serve the body of Christ, and build it up towards maturity in Christ. In the words of Kenneth Gangel:

... if New Testament leadership means anything, it means serving other people. With meekness the church leader involves himself in concert with other believers to engage in ministry. The smog of selfishness and egoism lifts to make mutual ministry a biblical reality. [23]

1. Bibliography

Abbott, Thomas Kingsmill. A critical and exegetical commentary on the epistles to the Ephesians and to the Colossians. International critical commentary, edited by Driver, S.R, A. Plummer and C.A. Briggs, 1897. Edinburgh : T. & T. Clark, 1968

Barth, Markus. Ephesians: Translation and Commentary on Chapters 4-6. Garden

City: Doubleday, 1974.

Bruce, F. F. The Epistle to the Ephesians : a verse-by-verse exposition. Westwood, N.J.: Revell, 1961

Gangel, Kenneth. Biblical Theology of Leadership. Christian Education Journal, Volume 12, pp. 13-31 (1) 1991. La Mirada: Biola University, 1991.

Levinsohn, Stephen H.  Discourse Features of New Testament Greek. Unpublished ed. Dallas, Texas: SIL International, 2004.

Lincoln, A.T. Ephesians. World Biblical Commentary, edited by Hubbard, David and Glenn Barker. Dallas: Word, 1990.

Page, Sydney H.T. Whose Ministry? A Re-appraisal of Ephesians 4:12 Novum Testamentum, Volume 47, Number 1, 2005, pp. 26-46 (21). Brill Academic Publishers: 2005.

Schnackenburg, Rudolf. Ephesians: a commentary. Translated by Helen Heron. Edinburgh : T&T Clark, 1991.

Snodgrass, Klyne. The NIV Application Commentary: Ephesians. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1996.

The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume XI. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994.

Verbrugge, Verlyn, editor. The NIV theological dictionary of New Testament words. Grand Rapids, Mich. : ZondervanPublishingHouse, 2000.

Wilhelmsen, Vera. Discourse paper of Ephesians 4. Unpublished mts. Langley, BC: Associated Canadian Theological Seminaries: 2004.

Appendix 1

Word study: katartismov"

The masculine noun katartismov" occurs only one time in the New Testament in this form. It comes from the preposition kata, meaning ’down from, through out, according to, toward or along’, and the word artio", which means ’fitted, complete, perfect, or ’a special aptitue for given uses’. artio", can also mean suitable, complete, capable, sound, perfect or normal, referring literally to something that is straight and to even numbers (as opposed to odd numbers in math).

The related verb is katartizw, which can mean to put in order, restore, make complete, prepare, furninsh, or equip. It can also mean to ethically strengthen, perfect, complete, or  make one what he ought to be. The word is related to restoration (words like katartismov", katartisi" can mean restoration). In the Old Testament the word could mean completing the wall and the temple, set up, establish (literally), and to equip and to restore, often with Yahweh as the subject. In the NT it is used 13 times, referring to mending fishing nets, to form and equip. [24]

As for the noun itself, it can mean preparation, equipment, or restoration. It is translated as perfecting in KJV, as equipping in NASB and NKJV, and as prepare in NIV. There is one other passage where a form of artio" refers to the ’preparation and eqipment of believers and the church for the service of God and their fellow believers’, and that is referring to the Scriptures in 2. Tim. 3:17.[25] The idea is similar to the one found in our passage (Eph. 4:12).  Similarly, in 2. Cor.13:11[26] katartizw can mean to restore, as well as in Gal. 6:1[27]. In 1. Thess. 3:10[28], it can mean to put in a fit state or to make up.[29] In 2. Cor. 13:9[30] katartisi" also refer to the restoration or perfection of the church. The idea of restoration or to make something right, in fit state, comes from the functional meaning of God’s free grace and promise of salvation, which is the standard the church is measured against.[31]  The idea of putting in fit state or making something right fits well with the context in Eph. 4:12.

[1]Stephen H. Levinsohn. 2004. Discourse Features of New Testament Greek. Unpublished ed. (Dallas, Texas: SIL International), p. 72

[2] Markus Barth. Ephesians: Translation and Commentary on Chapters 4-6. (Garden City: Doubleday, 1974), p. 11

[3] See Klyne Snodgrass. The NIV Application Commentary: Ephesians. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1996), p. 22

[4] Ibid., p. 29

[5] Barth: Ephesians, p. 476

[6] Greek eJkavstw/

[7] According to Barth: Ephesians, (p. 477) he is using a contemporary rabbinic hermeneutics.

[8] Barth: Ephesians, p. 476

[9] Barth suggests that ‘teachers’ is a subgroup of ‘shepherds’ (pastors), and calls them ‘teaching shepherds’, p. 438

[10] e.g. F. F. Bruce. The Epistle to the Ephesians : a verse-by-verse exposition.( Westwood, N.J.: Revell, 1961), p. 85; Thomas Kingsmill Abbott. A critical and exegetical commentary on the epistles to the Ephesians and to the Colossians. International critical commentary, edited by Driver, S.R, A. Plummer and C.A. Briggs, 1897. (Edinburgh : T. & T. Clark, 1968), p. 118.

[11] Verlyn Verbrugge, editor. The NIV theological dictionary of New Testament words. (Grand Rapids, Mich. : ZondervanPublishingHouse, 2000),  entry for ajpostevllw

[12] Traditionally the term has been assigned to the 12 disciples of Jesus, where Matthias substituted Judas (Acts 1). Paul is said be an apostle of a special kind, which he himself often states or alludes to (e.g. 1. Cor. 15:9). But other people are also assigned the title, most notably Barnabas (Acts. 14:4, 14), Silvanus and Timothy (1. Thess. 2:6),  Junias and Andronicus (Rom. 16:7) and James, the brother of Jesus (1. Cor. 15:7, Gal 1:19).

[13] Rudolf Schnackenburg. Ephesians : a commentary. Translated by Helen Heron. (Edinburgh : T&T Clark, 1991), p. 180

[14] Ibid.

[15] Eph. 2:20 and 3:5

[16] For a word study of this term, see Appendix 1

[17] See also Sydney H.T. Page. Whose Ministry? A Re-appraisal of Ephesians 4:12 Novum Testamentum, Volume 47, Number 1, 2005, pp. 26-46 (21). (Brill Academic Publishers: 2005) for a strong argument in favour of  this interpretation.

[18] See Lincoln: Ephesians, p. 253-254. Abbott and Schnackenburg reject this interpretation for the same reason.

[19] Schnackenburg: The Epistle of Ephesians, p. 183

[20] cf. Rev. 19:7

[21] A.T. Lincoln. Ephesians. World Biblical Commentary, edited by Hubbard, David and Glenn Barker,. (Dallas: Word, 1990), p. 252

              [22] Ibid.                                                                             

[23] Kenneth Gangel. Biblical Theology of Leadership. Christian Education Journal, Volume 12, pp. 13-31  (1) 1991. (La Mirada: Biola University), 1991, p. 28-29.

[24] Verlyn Verbrugge, editor The NIV theological dictionary of New Testament words. (Grand Rapids, Mich. : ZondervanPublishingHouse, 2000), entry for artios.

[25] All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2. Tim. 3:16-17

[26] Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. 2. Cor.13:11

[27] Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Gal. 6:1

[28] Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith. 1. Thess. 3:10

[29] Verlyn Verbrugge, editor The NIV theological dictionary of New Testament words. (Grand Rapids, Mich. : ZondervanPublishingHouse, 2000), entry for artios.

[30] We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection. 2. Cor. 13:9

[31]Verlyn Verbrugge, editor The NIV theological dictionary of New Testament words. (Grand Rapids, Mich. : ZondervanPublishingHouse, 2000), entry for artios.