March 15, 2023
Author: Pastor Bernard Ibrahim
March 15, 2023
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner
worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility
and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager
to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one
body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs
to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of
all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to
each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it
says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave
gifts to men.” (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he
had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended
is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might
fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the
evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the
work of ministry, for the building up 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 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 4:1-16
So, in this passage I thought it was very interesting very similar to
what we’ve been hearing in our most recent men’s conference—the unity
and diversity of marriage. There are a lot of similarities there with
us and Christ. I want you to look at these 2 themes in these first 16
verses which are actually not novel to this passage. You will see the
same themes throughout the Old Testament and New Testament—you know what
comes to mind is that passage in Romans 12 which Pastor Cook has been
preaching through and those 3 chapters in 1Corinthians 12, 13, and 14.
The first theme is unity in the Church and that we should pursue it. It
should be a conscious priority for us and you see that in Ephesians
4:3—eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Also, verse 4—There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called
to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one
baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and
in all. Unity—you see it in verse 13—until we all attain to the unity
of the faith. Verse 16—from whom the whole body, joined and held
together by every joint with which it is equipped. You can see there
we’re held together. It’s another ideal of unity and oneness.
The
2nd theme which may at first appear contradictory, but is completely
woven in seamlessly through this passage’s diversity of gift in the
Church, and we should use that diversity, we should pursue unity and use
the diversity of gift. The diversity of gift is given to us by Christ
for the good of the church. You can see there in verse 7—But grace was
given to each one of us— each one of us—you can see that it is to the
measure of Christ’s gift. He’s already giving a hint that its
individuals that are given individual gifts. Verse 11—And he gave the
apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers
individual manifestations of gifts. Verse 16—Again, now you start
seeing in that same passage that we saw unity we see diversity. So the
whole body—verse 16—joined and held together by every joint and then you
see that when each part is working properly, the diversity of the parts
or members of the body makes the body grow. And so, as I was looking
at this passage I said to “To what end is this pursuing unity and the
gifting by God through the Holy Spirit, the gifts of Christ, to what
end?” You see it there in verse 13. I think this is a good
encapsulation—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. To the end that we all individually
and together mature spiritually as it says here, mature manhood—the same
word that we have been studying over the weekend—honor manhood, adult
male full maturity in the fullness of Christ. Verse 15—we are to grow
up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ. We desire that
we be more like Christ and that’s why in love, you see that theme
throughout, in love verse 2, in love verse 15, in love verse 16. We
pursue unity, we speak the truth in love, and we use the gifts so that
we would all grow up into the maturity of Christ. You see now the
beauty and intricacy and the amazing design that Christ has for his
Church for the gifts, knowing that we are just weak sinful individuals
brought together to pursue building one another up into the likeness of
Christ. May this be an encouragement to you every time we get together,
every opportunity you have to use the gifts God has given you to
encourage, build up and to bring a brother and sister closer to the
likeness of Christ.
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