EQUIPPED FOR THE
MINISTY OF JESUS CHRIST
Ephesians 4:1-16
THE RIGHT ATTITUDE
V:1. "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech
you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called."
A. In order to do the
Lord's work effectively, we have to see ourselves as prisoners
of God.
1. A prisoner is
under the state in which he is kept.
2. We are prisoners
of the Lord and kept by Him.
3. We are to consider
ourselves under the commands of God.
B. The Lord has some
expectations for us.
Defn: vocation
=kleseos= invitation to a banquet, invitation to the kingdom
of God
1. He called us into the kingdom
of God
2. He called us to
walk worthy of the Kingdom.
a. The word
walk is our life or conduct.
b. We should conduct
ourselves according to God's commands.
c. When the
world looks at us, they ought to see the righteousness of God.
V.4:2. "With all lowliness and meekness, with
longsuffering, forbearing one another in love."
A. The
characteristics the world ought to see are these:
1. Lowliness=
tapeinophrosune= humble spirit
2. Meekness=
praiotes=gentle spirit
3. Long suffering=
makrothumia= patience
4. Forbearing=
anechomai= endure, suffer
B. Whatever we do for
one another has to be done out of love.
1.Whatever we do
for others must not be done for self gain.
2. What ever we do
for others must be done for their gain.
OUR WORK
V:3. "Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in
the bond of peace."
A. The word
"endeavor" means to labor or make an effort, be prompt.
1. We ought to
make it our business to be unified in the purpose and function
of the Lord's
work.
2. It is our
duty to see the goals and the aspirations of others as important as our
own.
3. Our purpose is to give God the glory and
there is more than one way to that end.
4. Every
believer has a way they want to serve God. Sometimes we have to step
back and let someone
else shine.
B. There is only one
Spirit in the Church and that is the Holy Spirit.
1. The Holy Spirit inspires us all in different ways
at different times, but all to the
glory of God.
2. We have been
given peace with the Father through Jesus Christ, therefore we
ought
to seek peace
with each other.
3. Sometimes
peace come by forgetting what we want, then seek the desires of
others
in the Lord.
ONE WITH CHRIST
V.4:4. "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye
are called in one hope of your calling."
A. There is one body,
the body of Christ.
1. All believers
are in the body of Christ
B. There is one
Spirit, the Holy Spirit.
1. All believers
have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
2. Since we are
all one, there should be unity.
C. We were called.
The Greek word, "kaleo", means bid to come forth.
1. We have one
calling. The word calling is the Greek, "klesis" meaning an
invitation
to the
kingdom.
2. Eternal life
is our hope. That hope is made possible because of Jesus.
V.4:5. "One Lord, one faith, one baptism."
A. There is one
Lord.
1. Lord is the
Greek word, "kurios" which is supreme authority.
2. This supreme
authority is Jesus Christ.
C. There is one
faith.
1. This one faith
is the belief in Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior.
D. There is one
baptism.
1. This baptism
is the Spiritual baptism.
2. We are all
baptized by the blood of Jesus Christ into a new life with Him.
a. We have been consecrated or devoted
to God by the blood of Jesus.
b. Jesus is
the only way to be devoted to God.
c. You have
to go through the Son to get to the Father.
V.4:6. "One God and Father of all, who is above all,
and through all, and in you all."
A. There is one God and Father of all.
1. God= theos=
supreme divinity
a. There are
not a lot of little gods.
b. There is
just one God.
2. Father= pather=
parent
a. God is
parent of all of us.
b. God is the
creator of all things, therefore the parent of all things.
B. This one God
"theos" is above all.
1. He sits high
and looks low.
2. There is no
authority above Him.
3. God is
supreme.
C. His handiwork is
in everything because He created everything from nothing.
D. He, theos is in
all believers by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
1. Since He is in
all of us, all of us are one in Him.
THE FAVOR OF GOD
V.4:7. "But unto every one of us is given grace
according to the measure of the gift of Christ."
A. Even though we are
one in God we are all unique to God.
1. God makes us
unique by giving us the gifts of Christ necessary for our set of
circumstances.
2. Grace means
God's favor.
a. Each of us
needs God's favor in different measures because of our
circumstances.
b. Each of us
has been enabled to live the life that God planned for us
successfully.
B. God's grace to us
is a gift.
1. We did not do
anything to deserve His favor.
V.4:8. "Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on
high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men."
A. Before Jesus
ascended back into heaven, He said, "all power over heaven and earth
was given to
me" Matt 28:18
1. Jesus had the
authority to give gifts to anyone He chooses.
2. He gave gifts to
those the Father chose to give eternal life.
3. He gave
believers spiritual gifts.
4. He gave
believers His holy Word.
5. He gave man
the ability to live life abundantly.
B. He freed men from
the bonds of sin with His shed blood on the cross.
1. To those He
called, He changed their natural appetite for sin to an appetite for
righteousness.
a. Any man in
Christ is a new creation. 2 Cor 5:17
b. This new
creation seeks the righteousness of the Father.
V:9. "(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he
also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?"
A. Christ came down
from the Highest heaven to earth to become man.
1. He gave up His
glory and became the least of men.
2. He who is God,
subjected Himself to the rule of man.
3. He humbled
himself before the Father to take on human flesh in the family of a
carpenter in
the worst neighborhood.
a. The question
was asked, "can anything good come from Galilee ?"
b. He gave up
everything so that we could have the best of things; eternal life.
B. God is spirit, so
He let His Spirit take on human flesh for the purpose of the cross.
1. At His death,
the earth quaked and dead saints came alive and walked the earth
giving reference
to the new life in Christ.
V:10. "He that descended is the same also that ascended
up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)"
A. The work of the
Lord was finished on the cross.
1. He uttered
these words on the cross, "It is Finished". John 19:30
2. His
sacrificial death fulfilled all the requirements of the Law.
a. Jesus said,
"I did not come to do away with the Law but to fulfill
the Law."
Matt 5:17
B. His death was
voluntary.
1. Jesus said,
"No one takes my life, I have the power to lay it down and
power to take
it back up again." John 10:15
2. To make sure
He was dead, the Roman soldiers pierced Him in the side
and out came
blood and water. John 19:34
a. The blood
was for the atonement of the sins of the world.
b. The water
was for the purification of those He called.
C. Because His work
was finished, He arose from the dead, ascended
back into heaven
and took His seat at the right hand of the Father.
EQUIPPED FOR CHRIST
V:11. "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets;
and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers."
A. Jesus gifted the
Church with different positions to edify and build up the body.
1. He gave some
as apostles.
a.
Apostles=apostolous= he that is sent, ambassador of the Gospel,
commissioned
by
Christ.
b. The
Church began with the 12 apostles, the 12 disciples of Jesus. His enter
circle.
2. He gave some
as prophets.
a.
Prophets=prophetas=inspired speaker, foreteller.
3. He gave some
as evangelist.
a.
Evangelist= euaggelistes= a preacher of the Gospel
4. He gave some
as pastors.
a. Pastor=
shepherd
b. A pastor is the shepherd of a group
of believers
5. He gave some
as teachers.
a. Teacher=
didiaskalous= doctor or master
B. Jesus gave
everyone gifts, but not the same gifts.
1. No one should
envy another believers gift.
2. All gifts are
equal and important.
3. No Christian
should ever feel less than anyone else.
4. We are all
the same in God's eyes.
THE PURPOSE OF GIFTS.
V:12. "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work
of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ."
A. For the perfecting
of the saints.
1. We all come to
Christ in need of help with issues and problems.
2. We come as
babes in Christ.
3. We need
training and encouragement in the Word.
4. God's intends
for His saints to be perfect and lacking nothing.
B. For the work of
the ministry
1. The ministry
of Jesus Christ involves bringing God's
elect to Christ.
2. The ministry
includes teaching, counseling and building up those in the body.
C. For the
edifying the body of Christ
1. One of the jobs
of the ministry is to build up Christians in the knowledge of the
truth.
V:13. "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."
A. "Till we all
come in the unity of the faith."
1. The objective
of the ministry of Jesus is to bring all Christians to the perfections
that is
Jesus Christ.
2. Christians
should have the same confidence in Jesus Christ and believe the same
truths.
B. "And the same
knowledge of the Son of God."
1. Bible study is
an important obligation of each Christian.
2. To know God,
you must study His Word.
3. Faith comes by
hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
C. "Unto a
perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ"
1. Jesus Christ
is the role model for all Christians.
2. It should be
the objective of all Christians to grow into the moral character of
Christ.
EFFECTIVENESS OF THE MINISTRY
V:14. "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed
to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of
men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive."
A. The objective of the
ministry of Jesus Christ is to grow Christians to maturity to trust
and to completely
rely on Jesus Christ.
1. With a
complete knowledge of the truth, Christians can easily discern the lies of
the devil.
2. Being
confident in the doctrines of Jesus Christ, Christians can easily recognize
and reject
the deception of the devil.
A. Love is the
greatest characteristic of a Christian.
1. It is our duty
to show love in everything we do.
2. Everything we
say must be the truth.
a. The Word
of God is the only truth.
b. Teaching
must be the truth about Jesus Christ in love.
B. Growth in the Lord
comes from our compassion and service to others.
C. Christ is the head
of the Church and the head of our lives.
a. Every thought
must begin with our love for Christ.
b. When we look
at each other, we should look with the love of Christ.
V:16. "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."
A. Every Christian
has an important job in building the body of Christ.
1. Since we are
joined together in one body, every Christian that is not using
their gifts,
weaken the body.
2. We have all been supplied with gifts to edify
the body of Christ.
B. Every gift given
is sufficient to be effective in building the body of Christ.
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