Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all. However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. That is why the Scriptures say, “When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people.” Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself. Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 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. 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. 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. 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.
Ephesians 4:1-16 NLT
The Church is not made to work like a business, sports team, or any other group. The Church is the Body of Christ. The Church is made up of God's children—those called by Him and filled with His Spirit. There should be humility and unity with peace and love. We have been forgiven and so we forgive. The Church is not perfect; if forgiveness is to happen, there must be something to forgive. God’s Family is where we speak the truth in love, growing the courage to confront what needs to be dealt with, the patience to deal with the minor differences, and the wisdom to know the difference. This is unity full of variety and personality. Our unity is not in uniformity but in our love for Christ and our commitment to follow Him.
Christ has come and given gifts of leadership to His Church—gifts to proclaim and build unity and grow maturity. Every part of the Body is empowered to work together so that the Body grows and is full of love. The Church is not about our power but about His power through us. It is not about our talents but about His gifts in us to unify His Body. It is not about our ambition or pride but about His mission—to bring the whole world into His love.
What are your thoughts about the Church—the good and the bad? Reading these Bible verses, how does God want you to be involved in your local church?
