It was as a Christian and in the cause of Christ he suffered bonds. As you are partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ, “ I therefore beseech you.” I the prisoner, not of, but in the Lord, ἐν Κυρίῳ He was a prisoner because he was in the Lord and for his sake. The exhortation is a general one it flows from the preceding doctrines, and is enforced by the authority, and the sufferings of him who gave it. The design of the ministry is the edification of the church, and to bring all its members to unity of faith and knowledge, and to the full stature of Christ that they should no longer have the instability of children, but be a firm, compact, and growing body in living union with Christ its head, Ephesians 4:12-16. The gifts which Christ bestows on his church are the various classes of ministers, apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors who are teachers, Ephesians 4:11. This is confirmed by a passage from the Psalms which speaks of the Messiah as giving gifts to men which passage it is shown must refer to Christ, since it speaks of a divine person ascending to heaven, which necessarily implies a preceding descent to the earth, Ephesians 4:9-10. This unity, however, is consistent with great diversity of gifts, which Christ distributes according to his own will, Ephesians 4:7. The church is one because it is one body, has one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father who is over, through, and in all its members, Ephesians 4:4-6. Such a walk should be characterized by humility, meekness, long-suffering, and zeal to promote spiritual unity and peace, Ephesians 4:1-3. The apostle exhorts his readers to walk worthy of their vocation. 1-16 - an exhortation to holiness and to specific virtues, vs.
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