Read Ephesians 4:1-16. What is God saying to you through these passages? Or how did God stir in you through the teaching of this passage on Sunday?
How or where do you feel like your freedom in Christ is most threatened?
Paul identifies himself in verse 1 as a “prisoner for the Lord”, focusing on his identity rather than his circumstance. How would you best identify yourself right now? Why?
Paul makes the assumption in verse 1 that all in the church are called. Do you know your calling? Do you know where the Lord has invited you to join him within the body of Christ?
Read vs. 2-3 – Where have you experienced this within the church? Where has this been challenged in you, or not lived out by another towards you within the church?
Read Galatians 5:13-15 – How does this verse speak to you or challenge you?
Where might God be reminding you to love first? Where/who in the church might He be reminding you to love first?
Who in the body of Christ helps to re-center you to oneness and unity with others in Christ? Are there those who distract you from that?
Jesus calls and gives gifts to the church leaders to “equip the saints for the works of service” (vs. 12). The saints are called to “works of service.” In the Greek, (Diakonia) means to minister, serve, and proclaim to build up the body. The result of a body being built up together is:
- The body is being built up (vs. 12)
- Unity in the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God (vs. 13)
- Spiritual maturity (vs. 14)
- Attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (vs. 14)
- Aware of the attacks of the enemy, and the deceit of men (vs. 15)
- Truth spoken in love (vs. 15)
- A mature body, with Christ as the head (vs. 15)
- Every part of the body working together to grow and build one another up in love (vs.16)
Where do you find yourself in these verses? How might God be inviting you to join Him in building this kind of church?
