Unity of Faith
Ephesians 4:11-13 NIV
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
As followers of Jesus Christ,
we are all part of one body, and each part does not have the same function, but
we are all necessary, no matter our part.
There are some people within
the body of Christ whose gifts and whose roles (parts) serve specifically to
equip the saints of God for service to their Lord, though not all who serve in
these capacities actually do that. Many people who serve in these roles
(functions) today are not leading their people to be followers and servants of
the Lord, but rather they are leading them to be followers and servants of man,
and of human organizations.
And, some of them do this
because they are not actually part of the body of Christ, but they are thieves
and robbers, wolves in sheep’s clothing, who have come into the sheep fold by a
door other than through Jesus Christ, and they are there only to kill, to steal
and to destroy the church, not to help her to grow to maturity in Christ Jesus.
So, be wise, and be discerning.
We Will Grow Up
Ephesians 4:14-16 NIV
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
When we have leaders within
the church who truly equip the saints of God for service to the Lord, led by
the Lord, as God has assigned each of us specific roles he wants us to fill,
then the body functions as it ought to. Then, each part is able to do its work
within the body of Christ so that we all reach unity with Christ, in faith, and
we all become mature followers of Christ, who listen to him, and who do what he
says to do.
So much of today’s church,
though, is all lopsided, with Christ not given the honor due him as the head,
but with man serving as head, and with the Word of God not used as the sole
authority for the teaching in the church, but with teachings of humans being
used as the authority, oftentimes, even if their teachings contradict God’s
Word, in many cases.
And, instead of allowing Christ
to gift and assign roles within the church, business techniques and marketing
schemes are oftentimes determining the roles in the church and who fills those
roles, based on human thinking, and based on humans’ desire to attract the
world to the church.
So, the gatherings of the
church are often filled with the ungodly or with infantile Christians who never
grow to maturity in Christ because what they are being fed is often more of the
world than it is of Christ, and it is often contrary to the teachings of
scripture, in many cases, so that those who attend many of these church
services are being tossed back and forth
by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the
cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.
And, if those who have been
gifted of God to fill their God-given roles, speak the truth in love to Christ’s
body, so that they are not being led astray by the cunning and craftiness of
people in their deceitful scheming, and so that they can grow up in Christ, who
is the true head of his church, then it is likely that they will be cast aside,
for they don’t fit in with man’s business plans and marketing schemes. But,
this doesn’t mean we give up trying.
Futility of Thinking
Ephesians 4:17-24 NIV
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
If we want to reach maturity
in Christ, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ, so that we
are no longer infants being tossed back and forth by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming, then
we must understand and follow the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Jesus died that we might die
to sin and live to righteousness, plain and simple. This is the essence of the
message of the gospel of our salvation. There is no other truth that we must
follow. Paul, when called of Jesus Christ to be a minister of the gospel, was
called to open spiritually blinded eyes, to turn them from darkness to light
and from the power of Satan to God so that they might receive forgiveness of
sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ. So,
it is out with the old; in with the new.
When we believe in Jesus
Christ, with childlike faith, which is divinely persuaded as to God’s will for
our lives, we don’t keep living like we did before. Our lives are radically
changed of the Spirit of God. Our sin is put to death and we are given new
lives in Christ to be lived to his righteousness (See: Rom. 6:1-23). This is
what it means to be “born again.” We start life anew, with a new lease on life,
of the Spirit of God. And, now our desire is for our Lord, to please him with
our lives.
Nonetheless, we still live in
flesh bodies, and we are still tempted to sin, and we still have the propensity
to sin. But, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, he made the way for us, not
only to be delivered from the curse of sin, but also from our enslavement to
sin so that we can now become slaves of His righteousness (See: Rom. 6:1-23).
Now we are free from the control of sin over our lives and we are free to live
godly and holy lives, pleasing to God, all in the power and working of His
Spirit now living within us, and all to the glory of God. Amen! This is the
GOOD NEWS!
Put off Lies / Put on Truth
Ephesians 4:25-32 NIV
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Our salvation from sin is a
process of sanctification in our lives, of the Spirit of God, as we cooperate
with God’s work of grace in our lives. We are saved (past), we are being saved
(present), and we will be saved (future) when Christ returns. So, part of that
process involves daily dying to sin and self, and by the Spirit putting to
death the misdeeds of our flesh, and putting on daily the armor of God (Lu.
9:23-25; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 6:10-20).
So, in the power of the
Spirit within us, we put off lies, and we make it our practice to tell the
truth. When we feel anger over a situation, we deal with it. We recognize why
we are angry, and we pray for the Lord to show us what action he wants us to
take - to show us what needs changed in our own hearts, and/or what good
purpose he wants to fulfill through us.
If we have been taking from
others, out of selfishness, we need to stop doing that, and we need to start
being those who give of ourselves, our time, our talents and our resources to help
meet the legitimate needs of others. And, instead of making it our practice to
gossip about others and to judge them unfairly, by our human standards, or
hypocritically, we need to say about them and to them what is beneficial for
them, what is for their good, and what will help to bring them to maturity in
Christ.
And, we are not to grieve the
Holy Spirit. How is he grieved? He is grieved in the same way a spouse is
grieved over an unfaithful partner. He is grieved when our hearts wander to
follow after the gods of this world, or when our hearts pursue what is ungodly
and unholy, and what is immoral and impure, rather than pursuing God’s
righteousness and holiness with our lives.
The Holy Spirit is also
grieved when we treat one another with hate, disdain, bitterness of spirit,
jealousy (envy), rage, slander, and every form of malice. Instead, we are to be
kind and compassionate toward one another, forgiving one another, just as in
Christ God forgave us. If God, who is holy and pure, could forgive us
everything, who are we to withhold forgiveness from another who has sinned
against us?
Shine Jesus Shine / Graham Kendrick
Jesus, Light of the world,
shine upon us
Set us free by the truth You
now bring us…
Lord, I come into Your
awesome presence
From the shadows into Your
radiance
By the blood I may enter Your
brightness
Search me, try me, consume
all my darkness
Shine on me…
Friday, May 11, 2018, 7:05
a.m. – Yes, Jesus, shine on us, and remove from us all that hinders our walks
of faith, so that we can walk in your holiness.
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