Ephesians 4:14-16 says...
Today's verses are Ephesians 4:14-16, which read,
v.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;...
The question is "As a result" of what? What is happening that would result in us not being seen as children and not be tossed here and there by waves or carried about by every wind of doctrine or the trickery of men or the craftiness of deceitful scheming? The picture is someone who is weak minded and grabbing a hold of the next "new" thing that has hit the cyber screen. The person is thinking one way and then thinking another way in the next moment. Something is happening that makes us not that way.
What is it? It is the apostles and prophets of old and the evangelists and pastor/teachers of new who are equipping the church with the gospel message and the understanding the doctrines of God. Those events happening bring equipment to help the rest of us to serve and also to mature in the faith. The result are a Christian people who are stable against the waves and the wind of the world's doctrines fueled by Satan.
v.15, 16 - ...but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ 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.
The word "but" even though it is only three letters long is a big word in the Bible. We are not to be blown around in our thinking and actions "but" we are to be this way because we are receiving the equipping from our spiritual leaders giving us the gospel and its instruction in word and deed . That is how we were but this is how we are to be.
We are to speak the truth in love. We are to grow up in all aspects of Christ. We are to recognize that Christ is the head of the church. We are to be a faithful member of the body of Christ by working our spiritual gift given to us by Him to serve the rest of the body. We are to exercise that gift in love to see love increase within the body of Christ. This is how we are to be.
On the negative side, there are many times that we don't speak the truth in love. We use the truth to cut someone down and leave them there without a hand to get back up. Many times our focus in the church is not Christ but something sometimes so petty that grabs our interest and attention and Christ is put on the shelf. We set our agendas for the church and Christ's practices and commands are sidelined for a "better" or "more improved" way than the Savior of the world. The selfishness of our lives dictate what we do and not do for others for the love of self has become so much greater than the love of God or the love of others. We come into the body of Christ looking for what it is going to do for us rather than what we can do for others and ultimately what we can do for Christ.
The church can get very off in practice what is spoken of in Scripture of how we are to be. The only way we are given for this not to happen is to give proper time and attention to those who are giving us the gospel repeatedly and teaching us through word and deed its application to our lives therefore equipping us to serve rather than to be served. The church is built up in love by focusing on God's gospel of grace through the cross of Christ so that we can act out that love through the gifts of the Holy Spirit upon "one another." That focus will mature us and help us to stand stable when the waves and wind of this world blow against what we know through listening and learning about our God.
"Lord, how important it is that we continue to give time and attention to Your word and the instruction of it. How important it is for our maturity and the witness of Your church. How important is it for the stability the church so that it can actually speak the truth in love and people hear it and eventually feel it. May we not disregard Your set up for the church. Amen."
Pastor Adam
v.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;...
The question is "As a result" of what? What is happening that would result in us not being seen as children and not be tossed here and there by waves or carried about by every wind of doctrine or the trickery of men or the craftiness of deceitful scheming? The picture is someone who is weak minded and grabbing a hold of the next "new" thing that has hit the cyber screen. The person is thinking one way and then thinking another way in the next moment. Something is happening that makes us not that way.
What is it? It is the apostles and prophets of old and the evangelists and pastor/teachers of new who are equipping the church with the gospel message and the understanding the doctrines of God. Those events happening bring equipment to help the rest of us to serve and also to mature in the faith. The result are a Christian people who are stable against the waves and the wind of the world's doctrines fueled by Satan.
v.15, 16 - ...but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ 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.
The word "but" even though it is only three letters long is a big word in the Bible. We are not to be blown around in our thinking and actions "but" we are to be this way because we are receiving the equipping from our spiritual leaders giving us the gospel and its instruction in word and deed . That is how we were but this is how we are to be.
We are to speak the truth in love. We are to grow up in all aspects of Christ. We are to recognize that Christ is the head of the church. We are to be a faithful member of the body of Christ by working our spiritual gift given to us by Him to serve the rest of the body. We are to exercise that gift in love to see love increase within the body of Christ. This is how we are to be.
On the negative side, there are many times that we don't speak the truth in love. We use the truth to cut someone down and leave them there without a hand to get back up. Many times our focus in the church is not Christ but something sometimes so petty that grabs our interest and attention and Christ is put on the shelf. We set our agendas for the church and Christ's practices and commands are sidelined for a "better" or "more improved" way than the Savior of the world. The selfishness of our lives dictate what we do and not do for others for the love of self has become so much greater than the love of God or the love of others. We come into the body of Christ looking for what it is going to do for us rather than what we can do for others and ultimately what we can do for Christ.
The church can get very off in practice what is spoken of in Scripture of how we are to be. The only way we are given for this not to happen is to give proper time and attention to those who are giving us the gospel repeatedly and teaching us through word and deed its application to our lives therefore equipping us to serve rather than to be served. The church is built up in love by focusing on God's gospel of grace through the cross of Christ so that we can act out that love through the gifts of the Holy Spirit upon "one another." That focus will mature us and help us to stand stable when the waves and wind of this world blow against what we know through listening and learning about our God.
"Lord, how important it is that we continue to give time and attention to Your word and the instruction of it. How important it is for our maturity and the witness of Your church. How important is it for the stability the church so that it can actually speak the truth in love and people hear it and eventually feel it. May we not disregard Your set up for the church. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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