July 7, 2012: Ephesians 4:1-16
Notes:
The first section of Ephesians 4 (verses 1 through 16) deals almost exclusively with the subject of unity in the church and its benefits to the individual believer and the mission of the church. Paul covers unity in three ways:
- The unity of the Godhead with the church and the individual believer (vs. 1-6)
- The unity of Spiritual gifts provided to believers for the church (vs. 7-12)
- Growth of the believer through unity of the church (vs. 13-16)
The unity of the Godhead with the church and the individual believer
Paul exhorts the Ephesians to walk in unity and describes the characteristics of unity as it applies to the church:
- The exhortation to walk in unity (to live in unity with one another) as they pursue the call of God (v.. 1)
- The characteristics of unity in the individual believer’s life, including:
- humility (v. 2)
- meekness (v. 2)
- patience through trials (v. 2)
- edification or lifting up one another in love (v. 2)
- a desire to keep unity through the Holy Spirit (v. 3)
- The representation of unity in the Godhead and the church:
- The church is one body led by one spirit (v. 4)
- There is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism for the church (v. 5)
- There is one God for the church and the individual believer (v. 6)
The unity of Spiritual gifts provided to believers for the church
Paul shows how unification allows the Spiritual Gifts of each individual believer to work together for the accomplishment of God’s work through the church:
- The assurance that the provision of grace is sufficient for every believer – there is no shortage of the gift of grace through Christ (v. 7)
- Christ bestowed gifts on every believer through the miraculous working of the gospel (vs. 8-10)
- The gifts to believers are varied so that the church is well-equipped to accomplish its mission – some are gifted as teachers, some as preachers, some as evangelists, etc. (v. 11)
- When used in unity in the church, these gifts have three purposes:
- To “perfect” or “complete” each individual believer; that is, to help them grow in the likeness of Christ (v. 12)
- To aid in the work of the ministry (v. 12)
- To “edify” or “lift up” the church as a whole, including individual believers (v. 12)
Growth of the believer through unity of the church
Upon explanation of the use of gifts in a unified body, Paul shows the purpose of these gifts through the desired result in the believer – growth and stability:
- For individual believers to grow more like Christ in every way as they mature in their Christian walk (v. 13)
- To be steady, demonstrating the characteristics of an adult grounded in the faith, not unstable and easily drawn away by cunningly devised words or works, which are a deception (v. 14)
- To speak the truth, without malice or judgment, but in love as an encourager to help others grow in Christ (vs. 15-16)
Questions:
- Why is unity so important to the church?
- How is unity demonstrated in a believer’s life?
- How would you describe unity in your youth group or small group? Does the group demonstrate unity or is there division?
- Can a group be unified and have cliques? Why or why not?
- How does the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit demonstrate unity?
- Why did Christ give the church Spiritual Gifts through individual believers?
- Does every believer have at least one Spiritual Gift? If so, how can you determine yours?
- Do you think that the church needs every member to exercise their Spiritual Gifts? What do you think might happen if some members choose to ignore their gifts and not use them in the church?
- How can an individual believer grow in the likeness of Christ?
- What is an indication that an individual believer is living, worshipping, and serving in unity with the church?
