
Ephesians 4
Big Idea: All that is true of Jesus,
“ 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… 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.” —Ephesians 4:1-13
How do we stand together in unity and love?
(1.) We allow the Spirit to instill in us the right
“ 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 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to glorious hope for the future.” —Ephesians 4:1-4
(2.) We realize that unity takes work and a reliance on the Spirit
“ 3 Make every effort to keep yourself united in the Spirit, binding yourself together with peace.” —Ephesians 4:3
“ 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.” —Ephesians 4:4-6
(3.) Unity comes as we anchor ourselves to the right foundation
“ 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 However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ… 11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: The apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 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.” —Ephesians 4:4-13