Our unity and maturity as a body is attained and maintained by every individual serving with what Christ has given him/her to contribute.
I. Corporate Unity (vv.1-6) –> Individual Diversity (vv.7-10) –> Full Unity & Maturity (vv.11-16).
Our UNITY in our common salvation (4:1-6) . . . and the DIVERSITY in our individual giftedness (4:7-10) . . . –> full UNITY & MATURITY of our church (4:11-16).
“He is…deliberately qualifying what he has just written about the church’s unity. Although there is only one body, one faith and one family, this unity is not to be misconstrued as a lifeless or colourless uniformity. We are not to imagine that every Christian is an exact replica of every other, as if we had all been mass-produced in some celestial factory. On the contrary, the unity of the church, far from being boringly monotonous, is exciting in its diversity. This is not just because of our different cultures, temperaments and personalities…but because of the different gifts which Christ distributes for the enrichment of our common life.”—John Stott, The Message of Ephesians, p.155
“But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”—Eph 4:7
“For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them…—Romans 12:4-6
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service [ministries], 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… All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ… But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose… Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”— 1 Corinthians 12:4-27
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.”— 1 Peter 4:10-11
II. The equipping of every saint for “ministry,” the doing of “ministry,” and the results of “every-believer-ministry” (4:11-16).
All the saints being equipped for ministry (4:11-12a).
All the saints doing the work of ministry (4:12b).
The results of every believer ministering (4:13-16).
“Literally, it means, ‘truthing in love,’ and includes the notions of ‘maintaining,’ ‘living’ and ‘doing’ the truth. Thank God there are those in the contemporary church who are determined at all costs to defend and uphold God’s revealed truth. But sometimes they are conspicuously lacking in love. When they think they smell heresy, their nose begins to twitch, their muscles ripple, and the light of battle enters their eye. They seem to enjoy nothing more than a fight. Others make the opposite mistake. They are determined at all costs to maintain and exhibit brotherly love, but in order to do so are prepared even to sacrifice the central truths of revelation. Both these tendencies are unbalanced and unbiblical. Truth becomes hard if it is not softened by love; love becomes soft if it is not strengthened by truth. The apostle calls us to hold the two together, which should not be difficult for Spirit-filled believers, since the Holy Spirit is himself ‘the Spirit of truth,’ and his firstfruit is ‘love.’ There is no other route than this to a fully mature Christian unity.”—John Stott, Ephesians, p.172
APPLICATION:
1) Do you believe that you’ve been gifted by Christ to serve His body?
2) How are you doing in “being equipped”?
3) What is one way you sense the Holy Spirit nudging you to serve this week?