When people join an organization, they subscribe to its goals and agree to live by its rules and standards. Membership in the body of Christ also demands certain conduct. If Christians fail to conform to the pattern of the body, it is not because they lack guidelines rather they lack love, for love fulfills the Law. Therefore, the true Chrisian’s response to their high position must be a humble, lowly walk. As believers we should be loyal to our calling in Christ no matter what the circumstances. In Ephesians 4:1, Paul challenges the reader to walk worthy of his calling – no matter what the price. Our vocation in this verse is not our job, profession or career, but rather our calling to salvation. The word “Walk” here in Ephesians 4:1 describes the Chrisitan’s’ daily conduct or lifestyle. A godly life reveals to those outside of the faith the various facets of God’s transforming grace and love. Perhaps the best explanation of the need to walk worthy is found in a phrase Paul uses in his letter to Titus in 2:10, “That they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.” If all believers today adorned the … READ MORE

The power for being equipped and matured into a lovingly authentic proclaimer is not in believers themselves, in their leaders, or in church structure. The power is found in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. The two present passive participles in Ephesians 4:16 are meant to express that the close, tight, compacted correlation of function in the Body as an organism is the result of Christ’s power. Who else could forge a bond in the 12 disciples? The proper working of each individual in the church recalls the importance of each believer’s gift. The growth of any church is not a result of clever methods but of every member of the Body fully using their spiritual gifts in close contact with other believers. The power in the church flows from the Lord through individual believers and relationships between believers. Where God’s people have close relationships of genuine spiritual ministry, God works. He does not look for creativity, ingenuity, or cleverness, but for willing and loving obedience. All of this is to be done in love, according to 1 Corinthians 13. When the church displays love to one another, the world will know that it is of the Lord, … READ MORE

Oneness in fellowship is impossible unless it is built on the foundation of a commonly believed truth. God’s truth is not believed and divided against itself, and when His people are fragmented and divided it simply means they are to the degree apart from His truth. Only a biblically equipped, faithfully serving, and spiritually maturing church can “attain to the unity of the faith” in accordance to Ephesians 4:13-15. We must understand that there can never be unity in the church apart from doctrinal integrity. Growing in the deeper “knowledge of the Son of God” is a life-long process that will not be complete until we see our Lord face-to-face. Therefore, the Christian is called to “walk in the same manner as [Jesus] walked” (1 John 2:6). To walk as our Lord walked flows from a life of prayer and obedience to God’s Word. This can only happen as we commit our minds to understanding the clear teaching from the Word of God. Despite our unprecedented education, sophistication, freedom, and access to God’s Word and sound Chrisitan teaching, it seems that every religious huckster can find a ready hearing and financial support from among God’s people. Authentic, mature believers whose … READ MORE