Unity in Body of Christ – Ephesians 4: 1- 16
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life 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 making every effort 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 of your calling, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
7 But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it is said,
“When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.”
9 (When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) 11 The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. 14 We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15 But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.
What does the passage say?
V. 1-6 Paul asks the church of Ephesus, and the people of God to strive to live for God’s purpose. The purpose Paul is asking the people to live for is very straightforward: living to love others in unity. He advises the people to live with humility, gentleness, patience, and to bear each other in Love. Why? Because we are saved by one Savior.
V.7-16 To fulfill this goal, Paul says that Christ gave gifts to many people in the church. All of them should carry out their various gifts for one reason; until we reach the unity of faith and knowledge of our Lord (v. 13). With the gift of the people, the church should reach this purpose. When the church can live out this unity, our faith reaches maturity.
What does this mean to me/us
This passage gives a clear direction the church needs to strive for: pursuing unity. When we reach that level of unity, it means that we are not infants in faith. What is the unity we should pursue?
We should start with the people who are in the church having the same understanding of the Gospel. Also, we should learn how to embrace our differences, in our thoughts and behaviors, and learn how to bear each other in love. When this happens, people from a different background will be coming. We might need to go through some changes, to bear each other in love, but it will be a joy as we grow in faith together.
We need to learn humility, gentleness, patience, as we strive for this purpose. We should have members utilizing their gifts to contribute to this unity. When we see this unity being real in our faith community, we will experience a taste of heaven.
What does this MEAN to you?
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