Trusting God

Ephesians 4

I pray God is revealing Himself to you in a deeper way and that you’re growing closer to Him daily. Before we begin, take a moment to talk with Him in prayer and ask Him to speak to you through His Word. 

As we continue in Ephesians, today we are going to talk about unity. In the first three chapters Paul has thoroughly explained and helped us understand what Christ has done for us, who we are in Him, and how much we are loved, chosen, and blessed in Christ Jesus. 

Read Ephesians 3:8-4:16.

Quotes from the NKJV. 

At the end of chapter 3, Paul continues praying for them (us). Starting in verse 14 it reads, 

“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” 

Remember in chapter 1:15-22, Paul prayed that they (us) would be given revelation, wisdom, and understanding of God, who He is, what He’s done for us, and who we are in Him. Here he continues to pray that we would be strengthened with might through His Spirit, that we may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. And to know that He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.

 He goes on in chapter 4:1-6  

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, I beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

He says, “I beseech you”.

Beseech means to ask (someone) urgently and fervently to do something; implore; entreat. He is urgently, fervently, imploring us to walk together in unity. Just like we talked before in chapter one about how we forget where God has brought us from when dealing with unbelievers, we also sometimes get caught up in thinking our way is the only way and that all believers should think and act the way we do. Yes, we all agree that there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”  But if you continue reading chapter 4:7-16, he explains that we are all part of the same body but each given different gifts and callings. We all have a different job to do but each of us should work together like a well oiled machine. Each of us should use our gifts for the “equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,” (v.4:12) When we do this, it also causes us to be stronger together in our faith. To be able to stand firm “that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up and all things into Him who is the head – Christ – from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” (v.4:14-16)

The enemy wants to keep us confused and distracted, caught up in our own selves because he knows that together in Christ we have power to defeat him. 

Do you know what your gifts are?

Do you know what calling God has on your life?

Are you using these things to build up the body of Christ?

Are you unified with your brothers and sisters in Christ?

My challenge for us today is if you don’t know what your gifts are, take a spiritual gifts survey. Spend some time asking God what you need to do to serve in the body. How can you help to bring unity? Pray for your church family. Pray and seek God’s will in every step.

Click here for a spiritual gifts survey. Please keep in mind that this is just a tool to help you get started. Spend time seeking God and reading His word. Seek the counsel of godly people in your life. Think through what excites you, what your talents are, what you love to do. God will reveal His purposes for your life and where, when, and how He wants you to serve.

I pray that each of us step up and take our place in the body. 

Have a great day!

Here are links to read other posts in this series. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7.