August Article -- By: Pastor Gino Rinaldi Garcia
United Towards Spiritual Maturity
I would like to share an insight from Ephesians 4:1-16. As we all know, Christian life is a walk. We are on a journey and our destination is heavenward. We are unable to walk this trip alone. As we take this journey together with other believers and do our part, we help in the growth of the church and the spiritual maturity of each believer. We can summarize today’s passage as follows: Our church’s unity is essential to growth and spiritual maturity.
Ephesians 4:1-16 shows us at least three important things to help us understand why our unity for our growth and maturity is important:
I. The Call To Unity (vv. 1-3)
Paul wrote about the Christian’s position in Jesus Christ in the first three chapters of the book. Beginning chapter 4, Paul digressed his line of thought and began discussing the practical aspect of Christianity. His first admonition is for Christians to live together in harmony and love, or to be united. Verses 1 and 3 echoes this theme: “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you received…make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” But how can we say that we have attained this or we are on are the way to achieving this unity? The qualities found in verse 2 further attest to this.
II. The Basis of Our Unity (vv. 4-6)
In this portion, Paul presents a list of what all Christians have in common. As believers in Jesus, we may come from different cultures, educations, or socio-economic levels. But these are not enough to foster division. We have the following in common to bind us: In verse 4 it says, “…one body…one Spirit…one hope.” Then in verse 5 we have “one Lord, one faith, one baptism…” Finally in verse 6, it says that we have “one God and Father of all…” What Paul would like to bring home is the truth that the Persons within the Trinity are sufficient reason to promote unity.
III. The Purpose of Our Unity (vv. 7-16)
The highlight of this section tells us that God equipped all believers from all walks of life with spiritual gifts and placed spiritually gifted people inside the church to be used for two reasons: To build up the body of Christ or the church, and secondly, to build up individual believer. The former is about corporate building up, while the later talks about individual person. The ultimate purposes are both our corporate and individual growth and maturity.
May God continue to do His work in our life and in the life of our respective churches, for in it we can show the world that we are one. We can attain much if we are all united!
By Pastor Gino Rinaldi A. Garcia
I would like to share an insight from Ephesians 4:1-16. As we all know, Christian life is a walk. We are on a journey and our destination is heavenward. We are unable to walk this trip alone. As we take this journey together with other believers and do our part, we help in the growth of the church and the spiritual maturity of each believer. We can summarize today’s passage as follows: Our church’s unity is essential to growth and spiritual maturity.
Ephesians 4:1-16 shows us at least three important things to help us understand why our unity for our growth and maturity is important:
I. The Call To Unity (vv. 1-3)
Paul wrote about the Christian’s position in Jesus Christ in the first three chapters of the book. Beginning chapter 4, Paul digressed his line of thought and began discussing the practical aspect of Christianity. His first admonition is for Christians to live together in harmony and love, or to be united. Verses 1 and 3 echoes this theme: “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you received…make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” But how can we say that we have attained this or we are on are the way to achieving this unity? The qualities found in verse 2 further attest to this.
II. The Basis of Our Unity (vv. 4-6)
In this portion, Paul presents a list of what all Christians have in common. As believers in Jesus, we may come from different cultures, educations, or socio-economic levels. But these are not enough to foster division. We have the following in common to bind us: In verse 4 it says, “…one body…one Spirit…one hope.” Then in verse 5 we have “one Lord, one faith, one baptism…” Finally in verse 6, it says that we have “one God and Father of all…” What Paul would like to bring home is the truth that the Persons within the Trinity are sufficient reason to promote unity.
III. The Purpose of Our Unity (vv. 7-16)
The highlight of this section tells us that God equipped all believers from all walks of life with spiritual gifts and placed spiritually gifted people inside the church to be used for two reasons: To build up the body of Christ or the church, and secondly, to build up individual believer. The former is about corporate building up, while the later talks about individual person. The ultimate purposes are both our corporate and individual growth and maturity.
May God continue to do His work in our life and in the life of our respective churches, for in it we can show the world that we are one. We can attain much if we are all united!
By Pastor Gino Rinaldi A. Garcia