Unity That Leads to Maturity
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Good evening students! I am so glad that you are here tonight. As we take a break from our series in the Gospel of Mark, flip over with me to the book of Ephesians as we will be looking at unity in the church from Ephesians 4.
If you remember from the last time we were in Ephesians, Paul is writing to a network of churches in Ephesus seeking to explain in depth the Gospel to these believers. As we have looked at the first three chapters of Ephesians, we have seen how Paul has explained that we have been saved through Christ by the drawing of the Holy Spirit. This is a free give of God that has saved us from slavery to sin. Then, Paul went on to talk about how Christ died to save both the Jew and the Gentile. Now, the church is made up of both Jew and Gentile as we are one in Christ Jesus. That is the mystery of the church. Then, Paul would go on to pray for the churches spiritual strength in chapter 3 bringing us now to chapter 4.
So, starting in verse 1 let’s read through verse 16.
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says,
“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.”
9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 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, 14 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. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 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.
Pray.
Here we see that Paul outlines how the church can and is to be unified. In being unified the church will grow in maturity and becoming more like Christ.
The Church is called to spiritual unity.
The Church is called to spiritual unity.
Let’s take a look back at verses 1-3
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Paul begins by reminding the Ephesian believers of his position. Paul is still in prison as he is writing to these Ephesian believers. This also serves to remind the Ephesian believers and us of our position. We are prisoner of Jesus called to live for Him and not ourselves. As Paul reminds us of our submission to Jesus, he also provides us and the Ephesian believers with an exhortation or strong encouragement.
Paul urges the Ephesians
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. Lets think about this for a moment. What is the calling to which we have been called? If we are Christians, God has called us to salvation through the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we have all been called to salvation through Christ if we are Christians. So, that calling to salvation is what we are to live worthy of.
Notice that Paul uses the term walk. This is an active word. Paul is calling the Ephesians and us to live in such a way that reflects our salvation. We are to live out our faith in Jesus Christ. We are to walk as Jesus walked. Therefore, living out our salvation calls us to be like Jesus. How do we live out our salvation? Let’s look back at verse 2-3
2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
As Paul calls these believers and us to walk according to our salvation, he outlines how we are to do so. Ultimately, we as Christians are called to be like Christ. The very name Christian means “little Christs.” Therefore, while we are not Jesus, we are called to be like Him as much as possible through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are to live with humility and gentleness. That is the call for us to be humble, looking out for others before ourselves. This is very countercultural as our society tells us to look out for ourselves before others. Culture tells us to do what is best for ourselves. Jesus calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves. With that in mind, the call is to be humble as Jesus was humble.
4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
We are called to look out for others loving them as Christ has loved us.
Likewise, Paul calls us to practice gentleness. Now, this is not a call for us to be timid or weak. This is the same call for us to be mild or self-controlled. Christians must be self controlled in order that they may honor Jesus through caring for others with a gentle spirit and being self controlled to fight against sin.
Next, Paul lists our patience and loving one another. Christians are to be patience with each other and look out for one another with love as Christ does. In practicing each of these Christlike qualities, Paul says we will be eager to maintain unity.
Tony Merida writes, “God unites us, and we are to seek to maintain unity by the Spirit’s help.”
Look back at verse 3,
3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
As Christians and as a church, we are called to be unified together. That is the call for us at Salem Springs and as a youth ministry. Each of us should look out for one another seeking to walk in a manner worthy of our salvation loving one another as Christ has loved us with humility, gentleness, patience, and love. If we are not unified, how can we be effectively used by God if we are at odds with one another.
So, as you are at school or see each other in the community, seek to encourage and build one another up in Jesus. Look our for one another and simply live for Jesus.
Paul continues to speak of unity when he gives us these “one statements.” Let’s look back at verses 4-7
4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
Here Paul speaks of the oneness of the church. Let’s evaluate each one.
One body refers to the church. We are one body of believers united by Jesus Christ who is the Head of the Church. This one body refers to all believers that are on the earth now.
One Spirit refers to the Holy Spirit that indwells each and every follower of Jesus. The Holy Spirit guides and leads us toward unity and fellowship as believers. He also empowers us to grow in our faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.
One hope refers to our hope in Jesus. Jesus died on the cross for our sins after fulfilling the law perfectly. Then, He rose from the grave after three days and later ascended to heaven where He now advocates for us as believers. He is our one and only hope as He is the only way in which we are saved from sin and hell.
One Lord refers to Jesus. Jesus is our One and Only Lord. WE submit to Him and Him alone as Lord. Meaning His is our master and we follow and trust in Him.
One faith refers to the truth that we believe. We as Christians hold to the truth which is God’s Word. This faith unifies us as Christians living out the Word of God.
One baptism is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That is, whenever we trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord, we are indwelled by the same Holy Spirit. Likewise, we enter into the baptismal waters as a profession of faith in Jesus Christ representing our death to self and new life in Jesus.
One God and Father. Last week, we talked about our adoption as sons and daughters of God. Whenever we place our faith in Jesus, we become children of God. Therefore, as Christians we are unified around our faith in Christ and share the same Father who is God. Likewise, God has all power and all authority as He is over all.
With each of these one statements, we see that we as the church are called to be unified and live out the salvation that we have in Jesus Christ.
The Church is called to spiritual maturity.
The Church is called to spiritual maturity.
Let’s look back at verses 8-10
8 Therefore it says,
“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.”
9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)
Paul continues writing these Ephesian believers. He now swaps over to speak of spiritual maturity. He says that whenever Christ ascended back to heaven, he gave gifts to men. Now, what Paul is talking about here is spiritual gifts. Do you remember us talking about these?
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
This was Paul writing to the church in Rome about spiritual gifts. Now, after Jesus ascended back to heaven, the Holy Spirit came to dwell within those who place their faith in Jesus. Upon the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, each Christian is given spiritual gifts as mentioned in the verses above to be used in the church.
Then, in verse 9 and 10, Paul speaks of Jesus’s descending from heaven to dwell upon the face of the earth. Jesus came from heaven to live among sinful humanity. As He descending, He came to earth to carry out God’s will and bring salvation to humanity. After His death on the cross, burial, and resurrection, Jesus ascended back to heaven with the Father where He now is seated and has all power and authority. And with His power and authority, Jesus set out specific offices within the church to builded up the church.
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 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, 14 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.
Jesus set apart apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherd, and teachers to build up the church through the preaching and articulating of the Gospel. Paul mentions apostles which really refers to the twelve disciples however that office in the church no longer is found. The office of prophet was listed as well. The prophet would proclaim the future things to come. However, after the completion of the Bible that office no longer exists. The offices of evangelist, shepherd, and teacher still exists. Evangelists are those gifted with the spiritual gift of evangelism and go about preaching and teaching. The Shepherd is those called to be pastors like pastor Kip and myself. Teachers are those gifted to teach God’s Word like Breanna, Tobie, and Brad.
With these offices, Paul writes that these leaders in the church are called to equip or train up other believers for the work of ministry. All Christians are called to minister and are gifted with spiritual gifts. Therefore, Christians must grow in their understanding of God’s Word and practice God’s Word putting into practice their spiritual gifts for the building up of the church.
Notice, Paul writes that the believers should grow to mature manhood. What Paul means is that Christians must seek out spiritual maturity. We must seek to constantly be growing in our faith and knowledge of Jesus. This is a call to be devoted to reading God’s Word, hearing preaching, and studying with other Christians in Sunday School.
Why do we do this, Paul says to that we will not be carried away by false doctrine. This is vital to the Christian faith. So many Christians get carried away by false teaching and end up out of church. That is why y’all as youth in the church must be devoted to the Word starting right now. So that whenever false teaching does arise, you can tell that it is false and run from it. Satan wishes nothing more that for you to be deceived and drift away from God. God wishes that you would focus upon Him and His Word seeking to allow for Him to grow you into the image of His Son.
Paul close with a firm and easy to understand statement.
15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 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.
As Christians may we speak the truth in love to one another as we seek to grow closer to God, use our spiritual gifts in the church, and be a unified body of believers.
Invitation.