And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 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 in 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.
Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV
Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
Ephesians 4:11-12 (NLT)
#1 – When you belong you seek to be equipped, useful & available
Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
Ephesians 4:12 (NLT)
#2 – When you belong you aim to come into unity
This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
Ephesians 4:13 (NLT)
#3 – When you belong you lean in, grow & mature
This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children….
Ephesians 4:13-14 (NLT)
#4 – When you belong you become stable & planted
“… We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching….”
Ephesians 4:14 (NLT)
“Those who are planted in the house of the LORD Shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing, To declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”
Psalms 92:13-15 NKJV
#5 – When you belong you guard who influences you.
“…We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.”
Ephesians 4:14 (NLT)
#6 – When you belong you mentor, encourage, and love others
Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
Ephesians 4:15 (NLT)
#7 – Belonging means you’re responsible to find your place, fit in, and function
“He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”
Ephesians 4:16 (NLT)