Ephesians 4 Bible study: The unity of the Spirit

The letter turns here with I therefore: "I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called" (4:1). Earlier it said, "For this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles" (3:1). Here it says "the prisoner in the Lord" (4:1), and these notes don't say whom the Lord means there beyond the verse, or where he was held. The letter goes on: "with all lowliness and humility, with patience, bearing with one another in love" (4:2) (tap lowliness, humility, bearing), "being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (4:3) (tap unity). Then a list: "There is one body and one Spirit, even as you also were called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in us all." (4:4-6) (tap calling and body). In the WEB the three verses say one seven times. The letter gives the list without explaining each item, and these notes don't explain them either: they don't say whom one Lord (4:5) means beyond the verse, or what one baptism (4:5) is. The next verse says each one: "But to each one of us, the grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ." (4:7).

Psalms 68:18→leads toEphesians 4:9-10

The psalm says to God, "You have ascended on high. You have led away captives. You have received gifts among people" (Psalm 68:18). Paul (Ephesians 1:1) writes of "the gift of Christ" (Ephesians 4:7), and goes on, "Therefore he says, “When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to people.”" (Ephesians 4:8). Then he explains its words: "Now this, “He ascended”, what is it but that he also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?" (Ephesians 4:9), and "He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things" (Ephesians 4:10). The gifts, in Paul's next words, are people given "to the building up of the body of Christ" (Ephesians 4:12). Paul doesn't name the psalm, and the WEB words the line differently: the psalm has You have led away captives and received gifts among people; Paul has he led captivity captive and gave gifts to people.

ἑνότηςhenotessay hen-ot-AYS

Strong's: "oneness, i.e. (figuratively) unanimity". Thayer: "equivalent to unanimity, agreement". "being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (4:3), and "the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God" (4:13): behind unity both times is this one noun, and Strong's gives it as from G1520, the word behind each one in "There is one body and one Spirit" (4:4) and the two verses after it. The New Testament has it only in these two verses of this chapter (counted in RP2018, and in every edition TAGNT compares).