We like to pick out certain verses from Eph 4... speaking of the various gifts and positions within the body, of unity, etc. But when read in context, it paints a bigger, more beautiful picture of God's desire for His people and their function together for His purpose...
Paul begins by saying, " I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling..."
He then says, "But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men."
We have been given grace "according to the measure of the gift of Christ." The next word is WHEREFORE. The gifts we have been given have been given by grace. They are not ours to keep to ourselves or to elevate ourselves. They are given "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…" To what end? "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:"
Do you see the purpose here? God's desire and requirement is that we be in UNITY...growing together in the knowledge of His Son...becoming more and more like Him - TOGETHER. This is why we must be "speaking the truth in love." We can't water down the truth of God's Word simply because someone else might not be comfortable with it, or because it doesn't please some people. We are REQUIRED by God to speak the truth in love so we may encourage and help one another to "grow up into him in all things...From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. " We MUST work together, each of us doing our part to contribute to the growth of the body "unto the edifying of itself in love." Edifying doesn't mean sugar-coating the message, edifying doesn't mean speaking a "feel-good" message only. Edifying means speaking out against sin; edifying means speaking out against unbelief; edifying means speaking the truth in love.
Paul goes on to exhort us to clean and pure living and ends with a directive to "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."
Our words, our edification, must "minister grace to the hearers." Sometimes speaking the truth may seem harsh to the hearer - often because the Holy Spirit is doing His work of conviction. However, that doesn't mean we stop "speaking the truth in love." We must continue together in love and unity. As parents, it is our responsibility to warn our children of danger. We teach them not to touch a hot stove , to look before crossing the street, etc. As members of the body of Christ, we must warn, admonish and encourage one another also. The key is to be led by the Spirit to speak that truth in love so it may "minister grace to the hearers." As a united body, encouraging one another, there is no place for the things Paul mentions in the final verses. We must put away...get rid of...avoid...anything that is not conducive to love and unity.
Remember, the chapter and verse divisions we see in our Bibles were added for convenience, but were never part of the original. Paul continues this thought at the start of chapter 5 by saying, "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour." All that we do as members of the body of Christ must be done in love so we, as a body, become and continue to be a sweet smelling fragrance unto the Lord.
Seek the LORD and his strength,seek his face continually. -1 Chronicles 16:9-11
God wants so much more than we tend to give Him. Reading His Word, praying a few times through the day – these are all good things, but God wants more. He wants us to seek Him more and more, so that our time in His presence is continual -- all the time.What does God want? Let’s personalize it…
§God wants me to be always in tune with His heart, always listening.
§God wants me to be always at the feet of Jesus, no matter where I am or what I am doing.
§God wants me to be always in conversation with Him --always with an open door for His Spirit to speak His Words of life, blessing and instruction to my heart.
§God wants me to be always listening to His voice -- always ready to obey.
§God wants me to be always abiding under His wings.
§God wants me to be always in the Spirit. -- always looking upon the face of my Savior.
§God wants us to be always standing in the light of His glory -- always resting on His strength.
§God wants me to be always in harmony with Him -- always delighting in Him, just as He delights in me.
This is what Jesus said we should do. He said, "Abide in Me." All of the above is just that -- abiding in Him. This is what Paul meant when he said...
“That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being…” Acts 17:27-28
And in Colossians 3:3-4, “...your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”
Do you see it? Jesus is not just the One who gave us life; He is not just the gracious Savior who gave us eternal life.... He is so much more.... He IS our life!!! He wants us to involve Him intimately in every detail of every moment of every day of our lives. Abide... stay... dwell... live... in His presence... continually.
When we spend time with Jesus for a while in the morning, and talk with Him a few times during the day, then again at night before going to bed, what have we done? Have we lived (abided, dwelled) in His presence? No. We have only VISITED Him. He wants all of us all the time, to dwell with Him and in Him.
Oh Jesus, help us to dwell... abide... stay... in Your presence... to live in You and through You all the time.
While looking for something else this afternoon, I came across a passage in Deuteronomy that kind of jumped off the page at me. Shortly before his death, Moses bestowed a blessing upon each of the tribes of Israel.
"And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him; and the LORD shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders. " (Deut. 33:12)
There are no other passages with references to shoulders quite like this one (I searched the concordance). So I pondered a bit...
The chest is, of course, between the shoulders. I wonder if that's what this passage is referring to when it says, "and he shall dwell between his shoulders."
In Isaiah 40:11, we are told, "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young."
John 13:23 says, "Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved."
The blessing in Deuteronomy 33 was directed to the Tribe of Benjamin, "the beloved of the LORD." John was called the beloved disciple, but WE are also "the beloved of the LORD." WE are "the elect of God, holy and beloved" (Col. 3:12).
The Lord says He will "gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom." WE are His lambs - His sheep. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine." (John 10:14)
We can lean on His bosom, be carried in His bosom and dwell between His shoulders. This is our security zone, our haven of peace, our place of rest and an expression of His love. What a wonderfully blessed place to be! We simply have to choose to draw near. He is waiting for us with His arms open wide to fold us into His bosom, to carry us and to keep us there, close to Him.
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us! (1 John 3:1)that we should be privileged to dwell "between His shoulders!"
YOU are a unique, beloved child of God. YOUR LIFE and your experiences are unique to you. YOUR STORY may be exactly what another person needs to hear. YOUR TESTIMONY of God’s grace may bring another person closer to Him.
YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE who can share it.
Please consider how GOD might want YOU to bless others by sharing what HE has done for YOU. Contact us.
But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.. From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. (Eph 4:7&16)
It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound. For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. -Psalm 92:1-5
What are you praising the Lord for this morning?If we sat down and tried to list all the great things He has done and all the great aspects of His character, we could write for a lifetime and never list them all. He has indeed done great things. Praise Him!
He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.- Deuteronomy 10:21, The Message
Think about the great and awesome wonders God has performed in your life. He sent His only Son to die in your place, He saved you and has reserved a place for you in heaven. He is with you each and every day, providing every need of your heart and life.
Now think about who He is for a moment. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, He is the Creator of all that is, He is holy, He is mighty, He is love, He is just, He is good, He is righteous, He is merciful, and He is so much more.
God is worthy of all our praise, not just for the wonderful things He has don, but for who He is. Praise Him!
I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. - Psalm 9:1
To Messiah is for... YOU To Messiah is for... sharing To Messiah is for... growing To Messiah is for... encouraging To Messiah is for... learning To Messiah is for... glorifying God!
We need YOU! We need YOU to share what God has done in YOUR life to bless others. YOUR testimony may be exactly what someone else needs to hear!
To share your salvation testimony or something God has taught you or something He has done in your life, please contact us.
RSS Feed