GOD S PATTERN FOR THE CHURCH
Paul calls the church the body of Christ. Why do you think this is a good metaphor? In what ways does your church serve and work together as one body? In what ways do churches struggle with unity?
After three chapters of solid instruction in the foundational truths of God, Paul shifts emphasis from doctrine to duty, from principles to practice, from beliefs to behavior. He has set forth all the blessings, honors, and privileges of being a child of God. Now he reminds believers of their consequent obligations and requirements as members of God s family. Paul explains to the congregation in Ephesus that they must live up to their new identity and calling in Christ. Next, he describes the characteristics of true believers and how believers who are committed to the glory of God will live together in unity. This unity cannot occur unless each individual does his or her part. God has given each member of His church one or more gifts for the building up of the body. Corporately and individually we are to grow up and mature in faith, always on our guard against erroneous ideas spread by deceitful teachers.
The Body of Christ The human body is by far the most amazing organic creation of God. While marvelously diverse and complex, it is yet unified, exhibiting unparalleled harmony and interrelatedness. Christ s body the Church shares those same characteristics. Just as a human body has connected tissues, muscles, bones, ligaments, and organs, the body of Christ is comprised of members who are responsible to one another. No member exists detached from the rest of the body, any more than lungs can lie on the floor in the next room and keep a person breathing. The health of the body, its witness, and its testimony depend on all members faithfully ministering to one another.
Spiritual Gifts The Greek word for spiritual literally means pertaining to the Spirit, referring to that which has spiritual qualities or characteristics or is under some form of spiritual control. Spiritual gifts are driving enablement's for ministry that the Holy Spirit gives in some measure to all believers. They are to be completely under His control and used for the building of the church to Christ s glory. The word gifts comes from the Greek word charisma and means essentially gift of grace or free gift and in sixteen of its seventeen New Testament uses is connected to God as the Giver.
4:1 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 4:2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other s faults because of your love. 4:3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4:4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 4:5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 4:6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.
4:7 However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. 4:8 That is why the Scriptures say, When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people. 4:9 Notice that it says he ascended. This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. 4:10 And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself. 4:11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.
4:12 Their responsibility is to equip God s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 4:13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. 4:14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.
4:15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 4:16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
4:1 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Therefore This is the transitional word that indicates Paul s shift from discussing doctrine to discussing duty. Prisoner for serving the Lord Although Paul is still in prison he reminds us that his real captor is Christ. Beg (beseech) To call to one s side, with the intention of needing help; this word implies strong feeling or desire and suggests pleading or begging.
Mirror 4:1 The fact that I am in prison does not in the least diminish my awareness that I am in Christ! My complete existence is defined and confined in him. The detail of your day-to-day life flows from the consciousness of your true identity and worth as defined in him. Mirror Note: We are indeed seated together with him in heavenly places! No distraction or contradiction can reduce my life to any other reality.
Ephesians 4:2-6 We see that being united is the responsibility of each believer and is to be pursued earnestly.
4:2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other s faults because of your love. Humble Modesty, lowliness, humble-mindedness, a sense of moral insignificance, and a humble attitude of unselfish concern for the welfare for others. It is the total absence of arrogance, conceit, and haughtiness. Only by abstaining from selfaggrandizement can members of the Christian community maintain unity and harmony. Gentle A disposition that is even-tempered, tranquil, balanced in spirit, unpretentious, and that has the passions under control. The word is best translated meekness, not as an indication of weakness, but of power and strength under control.
4:2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other s faults because of your love. Patient The word denotes lenience, forbearance, fortitude, patient endurance, longsuffering. Also included is the ability to endure persecution and ill-treatment. It describes the person who has the power to exercise revenge but instead exercises restraint. This quality is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). Making Allowance The word carries the idea of persevering, tolerating, bearing with, putting up with, standing firm, and not losing courage under pressure.
4:3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. Make every effort To exert oneself, make every effort, give diligence, make haste, be zealous, strain every nerve, and further the cause assiduously. The word combines thinking and acting, planning and producing. It sees a need and promptly does something about it. The word covers inception, action, and followthrough. United in the Spirit The Spirit-bestowed oneness of all true believers. Peace A state of rest, quietness, and calmness; an absence of strife; tranquility. It generally denotes a perfect well-being. Includes harmonious relationships between God and men, men and men, nations, and families. Jesus as Prince of Peace gives peace to those who call upon Him for personal salvation.
4:4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. Hope This doesn t mean I hope so, like hoping you get a raise or bonus at work. It carries with it assurance for the future. When we were lost, we were without hope but in Jesus Christ, we have a living hope that encourages us day by day. Hope This is not the sense of an opportunistic outlook or wishful thinking without any foundation, but in the sense of confident expectation based on solid certainty. Biblical hope rests on God s promises, particularly those pertaining to Christ s return. So certain is the future of the redeemed that the New Testament sometimes speaks of future events in the past tense, as though they were already accomplished. Hope is never inferior to faith, but is an extension of faith. Faith is the present possession of grace; hope is confidence in grace s future accomplishment.
4:5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, Baptism The word emphasizes the result of the act rather than the act itself. In Christian baptism the stress is on the baptized person s identification with Christ in death, burial, and resurrection. The word describes the experience of a convert from initial acceptance of Christ to initiation into the Christian community. Mirror 4:5 We are employed by the same Boss; we share the same faith, and our baptism says the same thing. Mirror Note There is only one faith! Not what we believe about God but what God believes about us! Baptism declares that we are equally included in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Our faith does not invent God; his faith defines us!
4:7 However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. Gift Greek word used here is the same as Grace 4:9 Notice that it says he ascended. This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. 4:10 And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself. Paul explains that the quote from Psalm 68:18 applies to the ascended Christ. An ascent implies a prior descent. Christ s descent to our lowly world is literally the lower part of the earth and has been variously interpreted as a descent into hell, and descent into Sheol/Hades, or as symbolically referring to His incarnation, a descent carrying Him to the depths of humiliation.
4:11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. The five ministry offices listed here are gifts that Christ gave for the nurture and equipping of His church, not for hierarchical control or ecclesiastical competition. Beyond the distinct role filled by the original founding apostles, the New Testament mentions enough additional apostles to indicate that this office, with that of prophets, is as continuing a ministry in the church as the more commonly acknowledged offices of evangelists, pastors, and teachers. There is no prescribed formula or gift-mix for any particular office, as God uses different people in different ways in each of these five ministries Christ has given. Uniqueness is manifested in individuals according to the varied gifts God the Father has given them and joined them with whatever gifts the Holy Spirit distributes to or through them.
4:11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Apostles A special messenger, a delegate, one commissioned for a particular task or role, one who is sent forth with a message. In the New Testament the word denotes both the original disciples and prominent leaders outside the Twelve. Marvin Vincent records three features of an apostle: 1) One who had a visible encounter with the resurrected Christ 2) One who plants churches 3) One who functions in the ministry with signs, wonders, and miracles Pastors The word means a herdsman, sheepherder; one who tends, leads, guides, cherishes, feeds, and protects a flock. The New Testament uses the word for a Christian pastor to whose care and leadership others will commit themselves.
Mirror 4:11 What God has in us is gift wrapped to the world: some are commissioned to pioneer, others are gifted prophetically, some as announcers of good news, some as shepherds with a real gift to care and nurture, and others have a gift to ignite instruction through revelation knowledge. Mirror Note: Couriers, communicators, counsellors, and coaches. Rob Lacey
4:12 Their responsibility is to equip God s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. Equip A making fit, preparing, training, perfecting, making fully qualified for service. In classical language the word used for setting a bone during surgery. The Great Physician is now making all the necessary adjustments so that church will not be out of joint.
Ephesians 4:13-16 We see a progress in maturity, stability, and integrity, taking place in every individual member s experience, results in the whole body s growing, which represents both a numerical expansion and internal strengthening.
4:13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Mature Refers to that which has reached an end, that is, finished, complete, perfect. When applied to persons, it signifies consummate soundness, and includes the idea of being whole. More particularly, when applied to believers, it denotes maturity.
4:14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Lies Versatile, cleverness, astute knavery, sophisticated cunning, unscrupulous conduct, evil treachery, deceptive scheming, arrogant shrewdness, and sly arrogance. The Greek word is only used 5 times in the New Testament, it refers to Satan s deceiving (2 Cor 11:3); the Pharisees try to trick Jesus (Luke 20:23); the deception of false teachers (Eph 4:14); the self-entrapment of the worldly wise (1 Cor 3:19); and the improper method of presenting the gospel (2 Cor 4:2). Sound like the truth Metaphorically, the word denotes a going astray, an error. In the New Testament the straying is always in respect to morals and doctrine.
Mirror 4:14 The most dangerous life you can live is an ignorant one. You re left like an infant on a ship out of control in the waves and winds of the storms of life. The fall of the dice dictates while the deceptive teachings of men and their distracting tricks entertain.
4:16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Work Working, action, operative power. The English word energy comes from this word. This word usually describes the work of God, but is used of Satan s empowering the man of lawlessness (2 Thes 2:9). Mirror Note The church is not a dismembered, dysfunctional body, but a fully functional, coordinated lover of people.
The church was never intended to be only a building a place where lonely people walk in, listen, and walk out still alone but a place of fellowship. In true fellowship Christians don t judge one another; they don t bite and devour each other; they don t provoke, envy, lie to one another; speak evil, or grumble about one another. Since true fellowship builds up, the godly will receive on another, and be kind and tenderhearted toward one another. They will forbear and forgive one another, serve one another, practice hospitality ungrudgingly to one another, admonish, instruct, submit to one another, and comfort one another. That is the true fellowship of Christ s body life touching life to bring blessing and spiritual growth. The great need of the church has always been spiritual maturity rather than organizational restructuring.
The German poet Heinrich Heine once said to some Christians: You show me your redeemed life and I might be inclined to believe in your Redeemer. How do you respond to this statement? How does it challenge you? What obstacles can impede the spiritual growth and maturing of an individual Christian? Of a whole congregation? Is there a specific obstacle that we as a body can help you overcome? Romans 12:4-18 talks more about what it means to be the body of Christ.