The churches in surrounding Ephesian were given the appeal to change the way they lived their lives. Apostle Paul stressed the necessity of the body to be united to build itself up through love. Therefore, Paul exhorted the churches to live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. Paul stress that through love the body would become united. Through this unity of love, the body would continue to grow in harmony. Paul indicated that maturity and growing faith would be evident by truth and love. He stressed that believers are to become mature so that they will not be carried away by erroneous teaching. In this passage, Paul described immaturity as being “tossed back and forth” and “blown here and there” that is, being easily confused and deceived by false teachings. ARGUMENT: How should maturity be evident in our lives?
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Living the truth in love is both the means of growth and the result of growth (Arnold 207). As we live out our encounter in Christ, his qualities will become more evident in our lives and we will be more like him. Being like Christ, we would share in each other’s lives as the body does the work of building its self-up. Taking into account the act of “building” in this passage, the term refers to “restoring”, therefore believers would restore each other as they care for one another and being expressed through everyday interactions and the evidence for maturity of fellow-believers. ILLUSTRATION: My Utmost for His Highest: Bring Sons into Glory and Making All things a New Oswald Chambers: Spiritual maturity is not reached by the passing of the years, but by obedience to the will of God. Some people mature into an understanding of God’s will more quickly than others because they obey more readily; they more readily sacrifice the life of nature to the will of God. APPLICATION: As the body of Christ, we are not only united to Christ, but we are also united to others. We are bonded together in Christ. As a result of this union, everything is done in the context of love. Through maturity, we understand that we are to support one another. We are not alone in our faith, but God unites us to our fellow man and to Himself. As believers, we live in unity with others and share in each other’s lives. As lives are shared, needs are met and act of true love can be express through the response of care by fellow-believers. Although, living in community doesn’t mean that disagreements would not occur, but that we are called to practice sacrificial love (Agapao) for the functioning of the church. It is vital that we “grow up into Him” if we are to be a valid expression of Jesus in this world. The whole body “grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work. Transition Statement: As the Body of Christ, our maturity shows in our daily interactions and as such, we should be held together for service, therefore let us see what scripture has to say about this matter. DIVISION STATEMENT (3): Being held together for service Key Verse: 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by
Living the truth in love is both the means of growth and the result of growth (Arnold 207). As we live out our encounter in Christ, his qualities will become more evident in our lives and we will be more like him. Being like Christ, we would share in each other’s lives as the body does the work of building its self-up. Taking into account the act of “building” in this passage, the term refers to “restoring”, therefore believers would restore each other as they care for one another and being expressed through everyday interactions and the evidence for maturity of fellow-believers. ILLUSTRATION: My Utmost for His Highest: Bring Sons into Glory and Making All things a New Oswald Chambers: Spiritual maturity is not reached by the passing of the years, but by obedience to the will of God. Some people mature into an understanding of God’s will more quickly than others because they obey more readily; they more readily sacrifice the life of nature to the will of God. APPLICATION: As the body of Christ, we are not only united to Christ, but we are also united to others. We are bonded together in Christ. As a result of this union, everything is done in the context of love. Through maturity, we understand that we are to support one another. We are not alone in our faith, but God unites us to our fellow man and to Himself. As believers, we live in unity with others and share in each other’s lives. As lives are shared, needs are met and act of true love can be express through the response of care by fellow-believers. Although, living in community doesn’t mean that disagreements would not occur, but that we are called to practice sacrificial love (Agapao) for the functioning of the church. It is vital that we “grow up into Him” if we are to be a valid expression of Jesus in this world. The whole body “grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work. Transition Statement: As the Body of Christ, our maturity shows in our daily interactions and as such, we should be held together for service, therefore let us see what scripture has to say about this matter. DIVISION STATEMENT (3): Being held together for service Key Verse: 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by