Unity and Growth in the Body of Christ

 

Summary

In Ephesians 4:15-16, Paul emphasizes the importance of unity within the church, urging believers to grow into Christ, who is the head of the church. This growth is not just individual but collective, as the church is described as a body where each part is intricately connected and dependent on the others. The unity of the church is a reflection of the doctrine Paul has been laying out in the earlier chapters, and it is essential for the church to function effectively. Paul warns against being like children, easily swayed by false teachings, and instead encourages believers to speak the truth in love, fostering growth and maturity in Christ.

The church is equipped with various gifts, such as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, to build up the body of Christ. These gifts are meant to perfect the saints and promote unity in faith and knowledge of the Son of God. Paul stresses the importance of growing in all aspects of the Christian life, not just intellectually but also emotionally and behaviorally. This growth should be balanced and symmetrical, ensuring that no part of the body is overdeveloped or underdeveloped.

Paul uses the metaphor of the body to illustrate how the church should function. Just as the human body is fitly joined together and compacted, with each part working in harmony, so should the church be. The head, Christ, is the source of life and energy, and through the joints and bands of connection, this life is supplied to every part of the body. Each member receives what it needs according to its capacity, ensuring that the whole body grows and builds itself up in love.

Key Takeaways:

- Unity in the church is essential and is rooted in the doctrine of Christ. Believers are called to preserve this unity by speaking the truth in love and growing into Christ, the head of the church. This unity is not just a theological concept but a practical reality that should be evident in the life of the church. [01:28]

- The church is equipped with various gifts to build up the body of Christ. These gifts are not for individual benefit but for the perfecting of the saints and the promotion of unity in faith and knowledge. Each member has a role to play, and together, they contribute to the growth of the church. [03:35]

- Spiritual growth is essential for every believer. Paul warns against remaining in a childish state and encourages believers to grow in all aspects of their Christian life. This growth should be balanced, ensuring that no part of the body is overdeveloped or underdeveloped. [07:21]

- The metaphor of the body illustrates how the church should function. Just as the human body is fitly joined together and compacted, with each part working in harmony, so should the church be. The head, Christ, is the source of life and energy, and through the joints and bands of connection, this life is supplied to every part of the body. [21:35]

- Love is the ultimate goal of all growth and unity in the church. Intellectual knowledge, emotions, and works are all meaningless if they do not lead to love. The church is called to build itself up in love, reflecting the love of Christ, who is the head. [45:38]

Youtube Chapters:

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:10] - Introduction to Ephesians 4:15-16
[01:11] - The Theme of Unity in the Church
[02:33] - Gifts for Building the Church
[04:26] - Warning Against False Teachings
[06:31] - Speaking the Truth in Love
[07:21] - The Importance of Spiritual Growth
[10:12] - Balanced Growth in All Aspects
[15:18] - Growing into Christ, the Head
[21:35] - The Church as the Body of Christ
[26:42] - Fitly Joined and Compacted
[30:38] - The Supply of Life and Energy
[34:17] - The Purpose of the Church's Structure
[36:29] - Building Up in Love
[43:39] - The Glory and Responsibility of the Church

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide: Ephesians 4:15-16

Bible Reading:
- Ephesians 4:15-16

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Observation Questions:

1. What does Paul mean by "speaking the truth in love" and how does it contribute to the growth of the church? ([06:31])

2. How does Paul describe the relationship between Christ and the church using the metaphor of the body? ([18:43])

3. What are the roles of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers in the church according to the sermon? ([03:35])

4. How does Paul illustrate the concept of unity within the church in Ephesians 4:15-16? ([21:35])

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Interpretation Questions:

1. How does the metaphor of the body help us understand the importance of each member's role in the church? ([18:43])

2. In what ways does Paul suggest that spiritual growth should be balanced and symmetrical? How might this look in a believer's life? ([10:12])

3. What does it mean for the church to "build itself up in love," and why is love considered the ultimate goal of growth and unity? ([45:38])

4. How does the sermon suggest that false teachings can disrupt the unity and growth of the church? ([04:26])

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Application Questions:

1. Reflect on your own spiritual growth. Are there areas where you feel overdeveloped or underdeveloped? How can you seek a more balanced growth in your Christian life? ([10:12])

2. Consider the gifts you have been given. How are you using them to contribute to the unity and growth of your church community? ([03:35])

3. How can you practice "speaking the truth in love" in your daily interactions with others, especially within your church community? ([06:31])

4. Identify a specific way you can help foster unity in your church. What steps can you take this week to promote peace and understanding among members? ([01:43])

5. Think of a time when you were swayed by false teachings or misleading information. How can you guard against this in the future and help others do the same? ([04:26])

6. How can you ensure that your actions and knowledge lead to love, as Paul emphasizes? What practical steps can you take to build up your church in love? ([45:38])

7. Reflect on the metaphor of the body. How can you ensure that you are not a "diseased" part of the body, but rather contributing to its health and growth? ([44:29])

Devotional

Day 1: Unity as a Living Reality
In Ephesians 4:15-16, Paul emphasizes the importance of unity within the church, urging believers to grow into Christ, who is the head of the church. This growth is not just individual but collective, as the church is described as a body where each part is intricately connected and dependent on the others. The unity of the church is a reflection of the doctrine Paul has been laying out in the earlier chapters, and it is essential for the church to function effectively. Paul warns against being like children, easily swayed by false teachings, and instead encourages believers to speak the truth in love, fostering growth and maturity in Christ. [01:28]

Ephesians 4:3-6 (ESV): "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."

Reflection: Consider a relationship within your church community that may be strained. How can you take a step today to speak the truth in love and work towards unity?


Day 2: Gifts for Collective Growth
The church is equipped with various gifts, such as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, to build up the body of Christ. These gifts are meant to perfect the saints and promote unity in faith and knowledge of the Son of God. Paul stresses the importance of growing in all aspects of the Christian life, not just intellectually but also emotionally and behaviorally. This growth should be balanced and symmetrical, ensuring that no part of the body is overdeveloped or underdeveloped. [03:35]

1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (ESV): "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."

Reflection: Identify a gift or talent you have that can be used to serve your church community. How can you actively use this gift to contribute to the unity and growth of the church?


Day 3: Balanced Spiritual Maturity
Spiritual growth is essential for every believer. Paul warns against remaining in a childish state and encourages believers to grow in all aspects of their Christian life. This growth should be balanced, ensuring that no part of the body is overdeveloped or underdeveloped. The metaphor of the body illustrates how the church should function. Just as the human body is fitly joined together and compacted, with each part working in harmony, so should the church be. [07:21]

Hebrews 5:12-14 (ESV): "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil."

Reflection: Reflect on an area of your spiritual life that may be underdeveloped. What practical steps can you take this week to grow in that area?


Day 4: Christ as the Source of Life
Paul uses the metaphor of the body to illustrate how the church should function. Just as the human body is fitly joined together and compacted, with each part working in harmony, so should the church be. The head, Christ, is the source of life and energy, and through the joints and bands of connection, this life is supplied to every part of the body. Each member receives what it needs according to its capacity, ensuring that the whole body grows and builds itself up in love. [21:35]

Colossians 2:19 (ESV): "And not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God."

Reflection: In what ways can you ensure that Christ remains the central source of life and energy in your daily activities and decisions?


Day 5: Love as the Ultimate Goal
Love is the ultimate goal of all growth and unity in the church. Intellectual knowledge, emotions, and works are all meaningless if they do not lead to love. The church is called to build itself up in love, reflecting the love of Christ, who is the head. [45:38]

1 John 4:11-12 (ESV): "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us."

Reflection: Think of a specific way you can demonstrate Christ-like love to someone in your community today. How can this act of love contribute to the unity and growth of the church?

Quotes



The basic theme is the theme of unity in the church. It's that which he puts explicitly in the third verse, endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. That is the first great deduction which he draws from the mighty doctrine that he has been laying down in the first three chapters. [00:01:37]

The church is equipped with various gifts, such as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, to build up the body of Christ. These gifts are meant to perfect the saints and promote unity in faith and knowledge of the Son of God. Paul stresses the importance of growing in all aspects of the Christian life. [00:03:16]

We are to be no more children, he says, we to grow up so that as year passes here there should be evidence of maturity and development and growth in us and those who know us can see it and they say my word that men is maturing is developing he was a Christian before yes but there's something additional now. [00:08:36]

The growth of the Christian is to be symmetrical, it's to be in all things and in every respect. Not only must you develop in your mind and understanding but your heart and your feeling and your sensibility. Let's test ourselves then I say along those lines and in our conduct and in our behavior. [00:10:57]

The more we know Christ the more we must love him, the more we know any truth about him the more it must move us in a very deep and vital sense and in the same way we must grow in the matter of our conduct and of our behavior grow up into him in all things. [00:13:48]

Christ is the head of the church, he is the source of all her life, her energy, her growth, her everything else and apart from him there is no church and could not be. Christ as the head very well let's go on to consider our position and here he makes two statements. [00:22:19]

The head of the body is Christ, we are members in particular and these members are articulated they fit into one another everything goes into position ball and socket there it is articulated fitly framed together fitly framed together fitly join together all these terms mean exactly the same thing. [00:24:00]

The supply comes through the joint the supply comes through the band so that some would translate it like this through every joint for supply or every joint which serves for supply that's better in other words these joints that he's talking about these bends are the channels through which the supply of life. [00:28:42]

The church has been thus constituted in this marvelous manner in order that it may grow that's why you've got the joints fitting in that is why you've got these bends of communication that's the object of this abundant supply that all the body may grow the whole body you notice he says that. [00:34:49]

Love is the final perfection there abideth now faith hope and love but the greatest of these is love and in this matter of unity what is more important if the head is love the body must be love we are to conform to the head and he is love everlasting eternal love that became incarnate love. [00:35:49]

There is no value in intellectual knowledge unless it finally leads to love there is no value in any emotion unless it leads to love our works are useless if they do not produce this love though I give my body to be burned and have not charity what's the value of it what's the value of anything. [00:45:21]

The Apostle piled term upon term he was concerned to show the glory of the church the glory of our position as individual members of the church fancy being in such a body fancy belonging to the head fancy receiving the supply from him have you received up to your capacity are you fulfilling your function. [00:49:19]

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Transcript
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