Ephesians 4:1-32
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
8 Therefore He says: “WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVITY CAPTIVE, AND GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.”
9 (Now this, “HE ASCENDED”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,
18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;
19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But you have not so learned Christ,
21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:
22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,
23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
25 Therefore, putting away lying, “LET EACH ONE OF YOU SPEAK TRUTH WITH HIS NEIGHBOR,” for we are members of one another.
26 “BE ANGRY, AND DO NOT SIN”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,
27 nor give place to the devil.
28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.
29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Though we are fearfully and wonderfully made with incredible abilities, this isn’t provided just for our personal application. It comes with a job description, a vocation that is a necessary part of the body of Christ. This is why there is a requirement of humility for any realization of its purpose, where self is lost for the place it’s been given in the body. The grace, or power of God, that is the true source of our strengths is something that was won for us in the resurrection life of Christ. It’s not something we’ve come by on our own, but came as a gift with a body-functon. Every gift is meant to be part of a single purpose in Christ that, when activated in love produces a bonding together in peace, powerfully demonstrating the love and passion of the Father. The part we fulfill in the body of Christ far exceeds the significance of any pride-driven selfish ambition. Revelation of this responsibility makes way for deliverance from the flesh-driven bondages of an independent, Christless mentality. There is “putting away” of ungodly attitudes that only yield division, strife, separation, and destruction when who we are discovers its purpose in Who’s we are.
Living and walking in the new life Christ won for us is only experienced through the door of humility and love. True joy isn’t found in self achievement and promotion, but in service to a higher calling in Christ and His body. Pride and personal promotion opens the door to sin-slavery, while humility liberates and empowers fulfilling gifts for an eternal purpose. To accept this truth and apply it to a soft and receptive heart is to activate elevating grace, while rejecting it and holding on to self-driven motives disables God’s power in demonstration.
I like this verse in the NLT:
“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.”
❤️ I am so thankful the weight of our task does not come down on one member of this body, and that each of us do our own special work that enables the other parts to grow!
I love that our purposes in Him is not meant to be in isolation, it can not be fulfilled in isolation. Being connected to His body and operating together, each bringing supply matures us all together. A toe can not mature faster than the foot, leg and hips it is connected to. A body is vitalistic and so we are to be connected in This life.