OET interlinear EPH 4:5

Section 4:1–16: Believers are united in Christ

In the previous sections, Paul taught the important truths of the Christian faith. In this section, Paul showed how those truths should affect the way we live. He urged the Ephesian Christians to behave in the way that would keep their unity. He explained in detail the basis of this unity. He also explained that Christ gives believers power to do different tasks so that the church may become strong and mature. Mature believers should no longer be influenced by false teaching. Instead, they will proclaim the truth, and the church, with Christ as its head, will grow as it should and become strong.

Here are some other examples for a heading for this section:

Unity of the body of Christ

Christ’s gifts to the church

Live in unity, using God’s gifting to strengthen believers

Paul urges the Ephesians to live a life of unity in Christ

Believers in Christ should live in unity, strengthening each other

one Lord, one faith,

• There is one Lord, one faith,

• We all have the same Lord. We all believe the same teaching/doctrine

one baptism;

• and one baptism.

• We all have received the same baptism.

• Each of us have been baptised into that same faith/belief

General Comment on baptism

• Use a term for a similar ritual that is already used in your culture. You may need to indicate that in this context it has a special connection with God. For example:

  God’s ceremonial bath

  initiation water for God

• Use a term that is already accepted by the local churches. In some areas this term may have been borrowed from the national language or transliterated from Greek or English.

The meaning here is that we all have been baptized with the same baptism. Paul also meant that we all were baptized as a symbol that we are Christians. In the first century, when Paul wrote this letter, baptism had not yet become an issue that Christians argued about. So he was not talking about the method of baptism (sprinkling, immersion or some other method). Baptism was something that all Christians had in common.

Some people think Paul was talking about being baptized by the Holy Spirit here (see 1 Corinthians 12:13), but most people think he was talking about water baptism. Your translation should be general and should not specify any one kind or mode of baptism.