Ephesians 4:1-16 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
This last Sunday, our church continued through the sermon series through the Pauline Epistle to the “Ephesians”. My study notes explain that the Apostle Paul wrote this letter to expand the horizons of his readers, so that they might understand better the dimensions of God’s eternal purpose and grace, coming to appreciate the high goals God has for the church. A life lived out, where the practical daily life of the Believer continues to work out the purposes of God. The ascended Lod Jesus Christ gave spiritual gifts to the members of His church to enable them to minster to one another and so promote godly unity and maturity. The unity of the Christian church under the headship of Christ foreshadows the unity of “all things in heaven and on earth” under Christ.
Our pastor preached that this goal of growth, maturity and unity is evidenced through (1) walking the talk of Christianity. What matters the most in “kingdom” life on this side of eternity is the Gospel message lived out in biblical oneness walking in the Spirit aligned with the Word of God. (2) A biblically informed worldview coupled with humility. IT is the Word of God applied to our lives as the standard by which to live in willful and joyful obedience, and with no compromise so that we have a firm, solid foundation on which to build a godly life.
(3) A deepening commitment to the work of ministry. Christ Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. All Christians are called his disciples, as they follow Jesus as Lord and profess to learn and receive His doctrines and precepts. But by the call of Christ, the church disciples then [speaking the truth in love and humility] ministers to their fellow man by going and make disciple of nations. The result is a community transformed by the power of Christ and kingdom growth and maturity flourishes for the glory of God.
The fields of our fallen in sin world are ripe for the harvest unto salvation, so kingdom workers must engage our culture with the Gospel truth that a lost and dying world may hear and experience Gospel love and find forgiveness and redemption for themselves at the foot of the Cross.
In Christ, Brian
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