Equipping the Saints: Ephesians 4:1-16

Our sermon scripture reading comes from Ephesians chapter 4, verse 1 through 16.

Ephesians 4:1–16

Ephesians 4, 1 through 16.

And you'll find it in page 918 in your cheer Bible.

If you want to look up in there.

Here now the reading of God's holy word.

I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call.

One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.

Therefore it says, When he ascended on high, he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.

In saying he ascended, what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions of the earth?

He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful schemes.

Rather, speaking the truth and love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Let us pray.

Your purposes and your plans.

And so, Father, we ask and we pray that by your Spirit you would enable us to apply this to our own hearts, to apply this to our own need to follow and be used of you for your glory.

We ask and we pray these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So this morning, uh our focus is on unity and equipping the body of Christ.

Unity and equipping the body of Christ.

This has been a very active season in the life of this church body.

It's been an exciting season.

It's a wonderful thing to see all that God is doing in our midst.

I often say to people when they ask me how I'm doing, I say, well, it's kind of like a plane taking off, and and uh I'm alone, I'm along for the ride along with uh everyone else.

Uh there's a certain degree of momentum and uh movement that we enjoy as a body.

And there's a lot to be thankful in that.

God is at work in this ministry.

And often what I've noticed is that in the midst of all this, though, uh when I find myself busy with all that there is to do, one of the first things that tends to happen is I tend to neglect my body.

Uh for example, I don't prioritize exercise like I should.

And what I've come to see is that that can have uh some problems in my life.

Uh when when it can express itself in some negative ways.

There was a time when I thought the neglect of exercise uh didn't have too much of an impact on my ability to serve, but I've come to see otherwise.

For example, it has a way of impacting my mood and my energy levels and the way that I come across to others.

I can be exerting a lot of mental energy, but um, but my body itself can be stationary and not very active, and it has a negative impact.

And I say that because it reminds us of how intimately woven we are together, mind and body.

And that's the word picture the Apostle Paul uses here to describe the church.

It's like a body joined to Christ as its head.

And his concern is that the body not suffer from neglect.

There's always a tendency for us to do that.

And so he urges the Ephesian church to not neglect the body.

And so there are three ways in which he urges us to apply ourselves for the benefit of the body.

The first is to walk in a cohesive way.

To walk in a cohesive way.

The second is to be eager to maintain our unity.

And then the third is to exercise our given function and gifts.

The first is to walk in a cohesive way.

When we are born into a new life in Christ, we are born in infancy.

We're not born in maturity.

And so there's a lot that we need to grow and learn.

If we think of the early development of a child, for example, there are a couple of early milestones, aren't there?

One milestone is the milestone in which a child starts drinking milk, but then later goes on to maybe pureate foods, and then on to solids.

That is a sign of development and maturity within that child.

It's a milestone.

Another is the ability to roll around and then to crawl, and then eventually to walk.

That is another milestone that we see, a healthy development taking place.

But they're not born walking.

And it's like that in the body of Christ.

We need to learn to walk, but we also need to learn to walk in a cohesive way with one another.

And the Apostle Paul is specific about what this kind of walk looks like.

He says, I want you to walk in humility.

And I want you to walk in gentleness and in patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

He calls us to walk in these ways toward one another.

And I want to step back for a moment just to remind us of how we get there.

I don't want to assume that we have all learnt how this walk ought to look.

I don't want to assume that we know the steps of this walk.

And the way in which we come to see that is the Apostle Paul, like a good physician, begins with heart health.

We see his attention to heart health in chapter 3, verses 14 through 20.

And so the context is important here.

He has been sharing with them how he is praying for them.

And what he asks the Father for is that they would know the love of Christ within them.

He asks that the Spirit would so strengthen them that with his power that in their inner being that Christ would remain in their hearts.

And that having him and his love in their hearts, as they give room and board and hospitality to his love, that is, as they nurture and protect his love within them, that his love would produce these graces within them.

And they would flow from them.

And why he prays for that is because this is where the heart of the battle lies for them and where it lies for us.

What the scriptures tell us is that we are being made into a dwelling place for God.

Pastor Tom talked about that last week.

We are being made into a dwelling place for God.

But our struggle is with the flesh, which opposes this work.

And that's why this unity is not easy for any one of us.

That's our most intimate day-to-day reality.

And so we could liken the flesh to a squatter in our house.

We could liken it to a squatter that settles into the basement of our home.

Because we've been made into a dwelling place for God, it has no right and it has no title to be there.

It doesn't own our home, it doesn't ask to be there, and it doesn't even pay rent.

And as far as we're concerned, we would like for it to be evicted.

But it assumes the role of living in our basement.

And it loves to make all kinds of demands from us.

It can be found shouting its destructive desires to us in order to be gratified.

But even then it's never satisfied.

And so that's the nature of the flesh.

That's the things that we deal with.

And so when we talk about the pride, when we talk about trying to exercise a domineering spirit over one another, when we talk about competition and somehow trying to one-up one another, all of these things are opposed to the graces of the Holy Spirit.

The flesh is opposed to the spirit.

And that's why the apostle can say later in verse 21 put off your old self.

If you want to learn this walk, put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds.

Putting on the new self, created after the likeness of God and true righteousness and holiness.

And so what we need to understand here is that the only way we can put on these cohesive graces so that we walk in this way toward one another is by abiding in the love of Christ.

That's where the power is for transformation.

Being renewed in the spirit of our minds.

And so they're called fruits for a reason.

They're fruits because they are a product of being connected to Jesus and all of the love that He sheds abroad in our hearts.

Now, what are these fruits?

Humility.

Seeking the interests of others.

We just read that wonderful passage in Philippians earlier.

A great reminder to us this morning to remember to seek not only our own interests, but to seek the interests of others.

Ahead of our own.

To seek that humble and lowly place of serving one another.

And to do so with gentleness.

Not with a domineering spirit, but with a spirit that's concerned to walk with other people.

In such a way that it gets close, leads by example, and where there is give and take, and you're able to rub off on one another in good and positive ways.

We're also not to be so wound up that one small thing sets us off and we just snap.

But we're to extend a gentle and a lowly attitude that is also patient.

And so there is a forbearance that's required within the body so that we bear with one another in love.

We aim to keep our accounts short with one another and extend forgiveness to one another and seek forgiveness from one another.

We're to be eager, not lazy, to maintain the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace.

These are the fruits that stem from the love of Christ that dwells within us.

That's the way we are to walk in a cohesive way toward one another.

That's the first principle.

To walk cohesively.

The second is to be eager to maintain our unity, to be eager to maintain our unity.

What's interesting to see here is the apostle doesn't urge the Ephesians to do something without giving them reasons for it.

I think that shows a degree of maturity too.

He doesn't just tell them to do something without also appealing to their minds.

He wants them to see why it's good for them to do what they should do and to know for themselves why it's a good and necessary thing to pursue.

And so he doesn't throw them back on their own resources.

He's not into self-help.

But he appeals to their mind here so that they might have the mind of Christ.

And the reason he gives for why we should be eager to maintain this unity is because of the unity that we possess in God Himself.

So often our struggle for unity and our struggle for unity, we tend, I think, to begin with ourselves, don't we?

We can tend to make it all about ourselves.

And the result is that we get stuck in our own subjective experiences, our views, our preferences, our opinions take over, and that's what runs the show.

But that's not where the apostle begins here.

He begins with the triune nature of God as a reason for unity within the body.

Now notice the repetition of the oneness that we possess.

There is, he says, one body, there is one spirit, just as you're called to the one hope that belongs to your call.

One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

And so you see the intentional emphasis on oneness here.

You might also notice that these are group grouped together in such a way that they're grouped around the persons of the Trinity.

And he does that for a reason.

God as Father, Son, Holy Spirit, are diverse in their personhood and yet one as a Godhead.

Intimate oneness they possess.

And so Jesus' prayer before he was crucified was that the Father would keep all those who were his in his name, and they may be one as he and the Father are one.

That's the reason he gives for unity.

That's the basis for it.

That he is one.

And when we think of a body, it's important for us, I think, to think of its organic unity before thinking of the various functions that are performs.

And what I mean by that is a body isn't made by going out and grabbing a number of different parts, diverse parts and pieces, and putting it all together and saying, here I have a body.

That's how we might treat uh that's how we might go about it if we're going to build a house.

It's how we might go about it if we're going to do some kind of engineering, machine.

But a body is something different.

It is something that grows by the multiplication of cells.

It's organic in that way.

And so Paul really is trying to get at the fabric of the body.

Often when we consider the body, we tend to begin with what we can see with our eyes, don't we?

And we begin there.

What denomination is it?

Who are the people that belong to it?

What are they like?

What are they doing?

That kind of thing.

But all of these things are the body's outward expressions.

And so we're not to see the body primarily only in that way.

We're to first see it in its organic nature.

And that's what he directs our attention to.

Now, there's a lot we could say about the organic nature of the church and of the body.

Just like there could be a lot that we would say about cells in our own bodies.

There's a lot to be able to study there.

But what's important here, and I want to want to press home, is that we are to be eager to maintain these seven unifier.

Look at verse 3.

It says, Let us be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit.

Compare that to verse 13.

Paul uses there the word attain.

And so there is both a unity to be attained, which we'll I'll go on to talk about in a minute.

But before that, there is a unity to be maintained.

And that's what he's talking about here.

And what he's saying here is that our triune God is central to the organic unity within the body.

Without him, the church is just like a machine or some other institution.

Like any other.

And so that's where he begins.

But then, having drawn awareness to the unity that we are to maintain, he then draws attention to the unity that we are to strive to attain.

There is a unity that we're to strive for.

And the way he would have us to reach this unity is by performing our function within the body.

And that's where Jesus' ascension comes in.

Oftentimes we don't really give a lot of time or thought to the ascension.

We might know that Jesus was watched by a number of people as he went up into heaven after he was resurrected, but we don't often give much time thinking about this.

But here we're told of the great significance of his ascension.

Verse 8 through 10.

Paul draws from Psalm 68, which metaphorically describes God as ascending Mount Zion with his enemies as captives to portray Jesus as a conquering king who has won a victory.

That is the reality of what Jesus has done.

He has won the victory on the cross, the battle was won.

And as a part of that victory parade, ascending into heaven, he has defeated our spiritual adversaries, sin, death, and Satan.

All of these powers are now overcome by the power of the king.

And so having made that ascent to heaven in victory, Jesus uses his power and his fullness to bestow gifts on his people.

That's the significance of his ascension.

It's the ascending victory march by which Jesus then, uh, through all of his goodness and fullness, uh, lavishes gifts upon his body, the church.

And so we read in the likes of Ephesians 1, 22, 23.

He put all things under his feet and gave him his head over all things to the church, which is his body.

The fullness of him who fills all in all.

Peace by the blood of his cross.

And then again, John 1:16.

John 1:16

For from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace.

And what that means is that Jesus is the one who out of his fullness, lavishly and generously showers gifts upon his people for their benefit, for the benefit of his body.

That's what he's about.

That's why, that's part of his ascension.

And what are those gifts?

We read the apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers.

Notice that they're not qualities, first and foremost, but people.

God gives people to shepherd and to serve and equip the body.

And so when Jesus gives godly leaders to a church, they are a gift.

It is a gift to be able to elect new shepherds, elders.

They are sent by Jesus, who is filling heaven and earth with his fullness, and they play an important role in his body.

That may be a new thought to you, but it ought to encourage you to pray for the leaders in the church.

And that God would be faithful in sending and raising up new leaders.

Godly leaders are a sign of God's favor.

And we go on to see why in a minute.

Because the duty of a teacher of leaders is to teach and serve for the purpose of causing the members of the body to flower and to become productive.

That's their role.

The leaders are not to do the work of ministry, but they are to equip the saints for the work of ministry.

That's their function.

Their gifts are not for themselves, but for the benefit of the body.

And so they're called to equip the members of the body so that it may be built up in love.

How does that happen?

Primarily through these leaders exercising a ministry of the word and prayer in its midst.

How does that build up the body, you might ask?

It does, sir, because God's word is a creative word.

We just sang of that earlier in the song Glorious Christ, right?

You spoke, and all creation came to be.

How did God create this world?

He spoke.

His word has a creative power within it.

And so what does it mean to equip?

Well, the verb equip is used in Matthew 4.21, where James and John are mending nets and repairing them to make them fit for service.

And it was used in medicine as well for repairing broken bones and mending up, reconnecting dislocated limbs.

And so one commentator says Paul is vividly describing the healing, restorative, powerful ministry of God's Word.

The ministry of God's word is never merely to inform, enlighten, and expand our minds.

It does do that, but it does more than that.

God has given the ministry of his word to his church in order to transform it, to heal it of all of its various spiritual sicknesses, to make it whole and to restore it to a fit working order, thereby enabling it to exercise a work of ministry that will build up the body of Christ.

And I'd underscore the point that the word is never meant to merely inform the mind and give us a bigger head.

God has given the ministry of his word to his church to transform it, to heal it, to make it whole and to restore it and to generate movement and life within it.

That's his purpose.

And so we're not to think of ourselves like passengers on a train along for the ride with the pastor as a conductor up the front.

We're more to think of ourselves like an orchestra, each given an instrument and playing to the same piece of music.

We've all benefited, no doubt, from the beauty of music when it's played like that, all the fullness of the sound with all the instruments all playing their part.

And this beautiful piece of music that's been composed, played, and listened by our ears.

A beautiful fullness emerges when the members of the body are exercising their given function.

There's a real beauty to that.

Think about when the members of the body are equipped, and along with the word that they've stored up in their hearts, they use their gifts in mercy.

That part of the body is built up and it increases in fullness as a place of hope.

Think about when the members of the body use their gifts in evangelism, and that part of the body is being built up and increases in fullness.

It becomes a place of new birth.

When members of the body use their gifts in counseling, and that part of the body is built up, and a fullness emerges, it becomes a place of healing and wisdom.

You see the fullness begin to develop, don't you?

And that's only a few gifts.

There are many others.

All of these parts working together, serving one another, speaking the truth and love to one another, make the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

That the body that is growing to maturity, in other words, is a body that is moving and active, and all of its members recognize their importance with respect to one another.

For its health and for its unity.

And that's an ongoing process.

That is a work of maturity as a church becomes more and more like that.

That is a sign of maturity.

Charles Spurgeon said in his day, he said, I believe that many professing Christians are cold and uncomfortable because they are doing nothing for their Lord.

But if they were actively to serve him, their blood would begin to circulate spiritually and it would all be well with them.

And I see this all the time.

A person begins to serve in the body.

They come to understand their function and place within the body.

And soon they begin to experience spiritual growth.

And the reason is that the blood is starting to circulate.

The movement that is taking place within them produces a greater appetite for spiritual food.

We know that of ourselves.

You go for a run.

You come home, what do you do?

You often go to the pantry or the fridge.

You have an increased appetite for food.

You're exercising and you need to replenish your body.

There is an increased spiritual appetite when we do that in the body of Christ.

We know that we need more spiritual food to sustain us.

But there's also something else that happens.

There's also a greater peace that I've noticed when people are exercising their function within the body.

And they deepen in their knowledge and relationship to Jesus.

The blood is circulating spiritually.

And so I'd ask you this morning: are you doing what God has made you to do within the body?

Or are you neglecting your function and gifts?

Are you exercising the function that God has given you as a part of his fullness?

You are a vital member of this body.

No matter how mature or how far along that journey you are.

And I would say to that, I would say, I would welcome a conversation with any one of you who is still seeking to discern perhaps your gifts and the way in which you might be a blessing to other people within the body.

I would certainly welcome the ability to talk with you about that at another time.

As I consider the season we are in as a body, we have so much to be thankful for.

There is a lot of equipping taking place.

But I also believe that we haven't arrived.

There is more maturity to be enjoyed, and there is more unity to be attained.

As I look back on my life, I'm I'm increasingly thankful for the body.

I don't think I could have always said that, but it's certainly something that I can say without resignation today.

I have benefited from the evangelism of the body, birthing me into a saving knowledge of Jesus.

I've benefited from the teaching of the body, helping me to grow.

I've been a recipient of the mercy of the body, giving me hope.

I've been served by the counsel and wisdom of the body, helping me gain direction and healing.

But in all of this, God works for the purpose of growing us to a greater maturity and love for Christ.

That is the purpose to where all our gifting and function is headed.

That's the purpose for our service and ministry.

The purpose of all of this is to grow in the unity of the faith and an increasing knowledge of the Son of God.

A more stable and steadfast anchoring in these great truths of the scriptures that have been passed on down to us, but also a growing heart knowledge and fellowship with Jesus so that we become more like Him.

Oh, may we learn to walk in a cohesive way.

May we be eager to maintain the unity that we possess and strive to attain to maturity.

It doesn't happen overnight.

Maturity never does.

But it's all working toward the day when Jesus' body will be complete.

And on that day it will adorn all of its beauty.

All of the beauty of Christ's fullness will be adorned and on display.

And that's our hope.

And so we pray.

Amen.

Gracious, merciful Father, we praise and we thank you for your wisdom.

Lord, your wisdom and your love that has united us to Jesus Christ as our living head.

Lord, we thank you for the way in which you have lavished us with grace upon grace.

Lord, none of us are without your grace toward us.

And Lord, you have more for us.

Father, we pray and we ask that you would continue to pour out your grace upon us, that we might be a people who are striving to walk in a cohesive way toward one another, in a way that seeks to maintain the unity that you have exemplified in your own nature.

But Lord, also that we would attain to the maturity that you would have for us as your body.

Lord, help us to acknowledge and recognize our own importance as members of your body.

And Lord, we ask and we pray that you would be glorified in it all.

We ask and we pray all these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.