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| 1. As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4. There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- 5. one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6. one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8. This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." 9. (What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions ? 10. He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11. It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12. to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13. 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. 14. 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 men in their deceitful scheming. 15. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16. 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. We know from reading the Scriptures that patience is part of the fruit or virtue born in our lives by the Holy Spirit. And there is a good reason for this gift. Let’s face it. It’s not easy putting up with people. Especially when we meet with opposition. We do have a holy calling though and the Apostle Paul instructs us to honor our calling by making an honest attempt to get along with those who share the highways and sidewalks of the Kingdom of God with us. Oneness is one of the Kingdom realities. It’s more than sad, it’s tragic, that the singular blessed Body of Christ has been divided and subdivided until it seems to have all but lost its original beauty. It’s also tragic when we consider that differing denominations, even differing sects within given denominations, refuse to kneel together at an altar where the emblems of the Blood and Body of Christ are being shared. It’s time for something greater than a reformation of the Church. It’s time for a genuine restoration of the Church! How can the Church be restored? Paul gives us some suggestions in this passage of Scripture that are well worth heeding. First, heed what Paul says in verse seven. “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.” We need to realize that man has little to do with determining God’s appointments in the realm known as the Church. We may have the free will to yield to his appointment upon our lives, and in some ways even this is debatable, but ultimately God is the one who appoints those that he chooses. Our ordination comes from God and not from the hands of either an episcopacy or a presbytery. Thank God that the reformers in the sixteenth century, and at other times, realized this and dared to stand against the hierarchical heresies in their day! Where would we be without their daring? Second, heed what Paul says in verse eleven. “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers.” God makes the appointments and he anoints those that he appoints. Leadership in the Church is not modeled after leadership in our modern democratic society. God ordains us, and our credentials have nothing to do with manmade documents that we frame and hang on our walls. Our credentials have everything to do with the leadership gifts that he implants within us. Although the term “five-fold ministry” is relatively new in our Church jargon, the concept of the five-fold ministry is one that was born in the mind of God and made a matter of revelation and manifestation in the first century Church. Whether or not this term has been utilized in previous seasons is yet to be determined but it is more than evident that the implementation of the concept has taken place at different times in the history of the Church. The Church needs to be cared for with wisdom. However, the Church is not something to be run like any secular business. Nor are those in leadership to be concerned with satisfying those who are slothful, complacent, or disgruntled. Our business as ordained leaders in God’s Church is found in verses twelve and thirteen. This is the third point that we need to heed in this text of Scripture. Our business as leaders is “to prepare God's 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.” Jesus spoke of the Church doing greater works than he did. I find this to be extremely challenging and reject any liberal theology that attempts to explain away the words of the Son of God. If we are to rightly divide the word of truth, if we are to accurately interpret the Scriptures, it’s important for us to realize that in the Old Testament the Father said what he meant and meant what he said. Likewise, in the New Testament the Son said what he meant and meant what he said as well. The painful truth is that disunity is the visual image of the Church in the world today and the pursuit of the wisdom of man has replaced acquiring the knowledge of the Son of God. It’s also a bittersweet truth that those who genuinely desire to follow in the footsteps of Christ and mature into the fullness of the whole measure of Christ are going to have a difficult time finding comfort in any complacent denominational or theological system. Growing up in the grace of God brings with it the necessity to travel paths that often seem lonely and difficult. It’s not easy to face the lies and deceptions that have become commonly acceptable table fare in the Church world. But growing up in the faith demands that we find the courage to stand against all the wiles of the devil. Growing up in the faith demands that we work toward the restoration of God’s ideals and plans for the Kingdom of God. |
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| ©David Kralik Ministries, Inc. 2003 Email: matthewfivesix@hotmail.com |
| "Growing Up In The Grace of God" |
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| Ephesians 4:1-16 |
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