Wednesday, October 27, 2022
But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift… And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ. until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Ephesians 4: 7; 11-16
What Unity Does For You
God gives gifts to the leaders – for the purpose of equipping the saints to do the work of the ministry. The leaders in our church – pastors, Bible study leaders, etc…, have the high calling of leading the lay people in the church. That includes helping them find spiritual gifts and teaching them how they can do the work that God has called all His children to do.
A spiritual gift is a God-given ability to serve God and other Christians in such a way that Christ is glorified, and believers are edified. This is what leaders do for us and then we go and do the work of God in the world. We are dependent on one another to fully express the body of Christ and perform the work of the church. This is unity in action in the body of Christ. The equipping of the saints is what unites the church for ministry and service. Serving others to glorify God and advance His kingdom is what God gave us our individual gifts for.
The unity that we find in the Body maintains the balance of the growth of the body. It is a perpetual cycle of growth as we fill up and spill out to others. The cycle keeps going and the body keeps growing.
What Unity Does For The Body of Christ
Sound in doctrine - As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; Ephesians 4:14
The more we talk about what we believe, and explain to others what we believe, we will better understand what we believe.
Strong in testimony but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, Ephesians 4:15
As we walk in His love and share His love we will become more like God. As we get to really know Him in a deep, abiding relationship, we can share about that relationship and the love we have from Him.
Strengthened through cooperation - from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part. Ephesians 4:16a
We are gifted individually but work together as a whole. Our gifts compliment each other’s and we are ministered to by each other.
Service in love causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. Ephesians 4:16b We will learn to love one another as we serve with one another.
As we grow individually and together, we mature individually and together. As we grow in Him and become more like Him, the goal is to reflect His image. It should always be about Him and for His glory, never our own.
When we seek to mature in our lives, Christ works through us to build His church – not just by numbers but in spiritual growth. Unity is the foundation for a church that will impact the world, but it doesn’t happen automatically. It takes us working individually and together. In unity together we can become equipped and do the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ.
