Ephesians 4 - The Church W3

Ephesians 4: 1-16

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, ³ being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Tolerance is really popular these days. In the era of political correctness, our culture is pushing us to accept non-Biblical positions like: Homosexuality is fine, Islamic views should be respected, Women should be able to choose wither or not to end a pregnancy, etc. How is the tolerance Paul is talking about different than the tolerance we hear preached from the evening news anchors?

-----Maybe--- How should we deal with non-believers when we are confronted with Biblical values vs. non-Biblical values?

⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

If there is only one body and one faith, why are there so many different churches? Do you think God is pleased with this variety of churches who are teaching 95% the same stuff?

⁷ But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸ Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men.” ⁹ (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) ¹¹ And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

According to V12 why did God give gifts to men? Equipping of the saints and for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ. Can anyone define the “Work of Service”? What are some examples of the “work of service”?

In some of my business classes I take students through theories and practices to measure various business processes. For example, you can use something called constraint management theory to measure how making a small change in one part of a manufacturing process can impact the overall cost and quality of the product. There are several ways to measure a business, but I think it is a little more challenging to measure a church. Two popular methods are by attendance and by the budget.

What are some other ways that we can tell if the body of Christ is being built up? If a church is doing well in building up attendance and increasing their budget, does that mean they are 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 a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. ¹⁴ 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; ¹⁵ but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

In addition to building up the Church, one of the ideals Paul highlights is the concept of a mature man. How does he describe a mature man? Can a person really get to that goal? How?

Challenge to consider: What is your part of building up the body of Christ? Are you striving to be a Mature Man?