Ephesians 4:11-16 (NLT)
11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 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.
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. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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.
I was at a meeting yesterday where we were encouraged to "speak the truth in love." In looking closer at this passage, I am amazed by the picture of unity these verses portray. These are some of the phrases that stand out to me:
~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
~speaking the truth in love
~growing in every way more and more like Christ
~whole body fit together perfectly
Can this be the body, the church, we are designed to be? Yes. It clearly says here that when 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. It concerns me that as the church we have isolated ourselves into individual bodies separating ourselves from one another under the headings of different denominations and individual churches. According to Paul, the more we grow, the more unified we will be. We need each other to truly represent Christ to the world around us. We need our Bible believing, Christ following brothers and sisters. Let's be careful not to simply apply the principles in this text to our own churches, but realize their purpose for the body of Christ as a whole. Together we are all followers of the Way. If we are functioning properly, we will see other parts of the body growing and the whole body will be healthy, growing, and full of love.
Father, use me to as a tool to help draw the body of believers in my neighborhood, city, state, country, and the world together! Unify us...use us!
Ephesians 4:5-6 (NLT)
5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all.
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