Ephesians 4:11–13 (NASB 95)
11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
Examine / Explain
Every believer is given gifts of the Spirit to serve others. The body of Christ is to grow spiritually and strive toward oneness with Christ and others. We are to come out of immaturity and understand and know what it means to be a man of God. We can be complete in Christ and look more like Him daily.
What’s the application?
Again, I come back to how I am using my gifts and how I am growing. My gift is to help build up the body of Christ. Does that mean helping the lost become found? Does that mean helping the found grow spiritually? Both? Or could it be helping everyone arrive at a place of oneness in Christ? In my mind, this does reach the lost and the found. Not that a gift is the only way that we should be Christ to those who don’t know Him, but we are equipped in specific ways. I can reach certain people better than someone else, and there are those people I would never have a chance to get. I would be utterly unrelatable to them. We are to live our lives where we are and be Christ-like in everything we do. Our measuring stick is Christ! We can’t get into the comparison trap and what other people do. Our guide is the bible. The way we come out of our immaturity is to gain understanding. We read, we relate, and we reconcile it within us. We live out our calling and purpose by knowing God and others. We keep it simple: love God and love others. If the church did that, I think there would be more oneness in it. Except we are human, we all have an angle. We all have our agendas. I don’t care how much we claim that our actions align with God’s calling for the church; we have some degree of doing it our way. Because God made us a certain way, he gave our gift to be used through us. There is a plan and purpose in everything He does. So, why do we not accept or trust what others do while leading from a position of authority? We do this in our jobs as well. Pride? We all want to be ‘gods’ of our kingdoms, and when they don’t meet our expectations or do it our way, then they are wrong. How about we be more Christ-like by loving others and dying to ourselves? Slow down and keep our eyes up, looking for the next opportunity to build someone up so they can experience the fullness of Christ.
What’s my response?
Dad, I let my pride get in the way more than I would like to admit. You have given me natural abilities, spiritual gifts, and an upbringing that make me who I am. What am I doing with all those things? Helping others through the podcast? Yeah. But is that all I’m called to do? Where do I stop, and You begin with my ambitions and expectations? How else can I lead broken men to You? How else do we help marriages that are falling apart? I want to stay within Your plans for Angi and me. But I also see what the future could be. I hope that is where you are taking us. I pray that I continue to die to myself while on this journey. Here is one of those things where two things can be true at the exact same time. We are on a journey, and we are running the race. A race we focused on the finish line. A journey is about the trip, slowing down, and not missing the things along the way. The beauty of Your creation in faces around me. The chance to get to know someone’s story and hear about their natural abilities, spiritual gifts, and their upbringing that made them who they are. I get to do that. I get to be curious about others. I get follow You. I get to talk to You. I get to know the creator of the universe and I know He loves me. Amen
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