Building Community | Ephesians 4:15-16

INTRODUCTION: Building illustration: We are in a building project. Learning experience for me. What does it take to build a building? Concrete, Metal, Electrical wires, etc…But also: money! perseverance, patience. You can’t have one without the other.

TENSION: We need each other. We need community. But it doesn’t happen by accident, just like the building ins’t going to just show up. Community won’t either. We have to intentionally build it. In our lives.

I have one main purpose today and that is to convince you to join community group.

Ephesians 4:15 (ESV)

15 Rather, speaking the truth in love,

speaking - present tense. We keep doing, not just a one time thing.

Rather - this links it to the previous verses by contrast.

Ephesians 4:11–14 (ESV)

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

V11: We talked about this last week. Some of us have a calling for specific ministries of leadership.

V12: Leadership jobs is to equip you. Give you the tools to do the work of ministry and building this church.

Saints - raise your hand if your a saint.

Mission Statement: CBC exists to Gather God’s People around God’s Word equipping them to Fulfill God’s Mission of making disciples.

V13: We can’t all attain unity by ourselves. It has to be a group effort. If you are growing, but not helping the people around you also grow then you still need to grow.

ILLUSTRATION : Our church is like teenage boy who grew a foot over the summer.

V14 - No longer children. grow up. Tossed around because you have no strength. You are listening to false doctrine and lies because you never grew up into Christ.

ILLUSTRATION: My kids love wave pools until they don’t . False doctrine is great until it isn’t

Ephesians 4:15 (ESV)

15 Rather, speaking the truth in love,

Community is built on truth.

The foundation is not shared interest or hobbies, but the foundation is God’s Word.

Ephesians 4:15 ESV

15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

Rather - So the rather here, isn’t contrasting the love from unloving, but truth vs untrue. Speak the truth to each other.

Truth - The truth is in inherently loving. Lies are hateful. Despite what the culture says.

ILLUSTRATION - button unbuttoned. Devin water bottle.

in love - Yet at the same time, to just speak truth harshly isn’t our goal.

1 Cor 13:4 - Love is patient and love is kind. - So if you are speaking truth, but not being kind you still aren’t what God has called us to.

Our goal isn’t 50% love and 50% truth. It’s all truth and all love.

ILLUSTRATION - Mom giving backhanded compliments. But I listen to her because I know my mom loves me.

we are to grow up - truth and love is like sunlight and water for plants. Do you want water or sun. You need both!

We want to a be a church that does both. Speak the truth in love.

Grow up - This is how we stopped being swayed by wrong doctrine and lies. We speak truth in love to each other.

Every way - increase in every way, both in numbers, but also in love and truth.

into Christ - He is the head of the church. He is the head of this church. We want you to grow and our church to grow

It’s impossible to see the truth when you already believe a lie, so we need others to speak the truth to us.

We all believe a lie at some point. It is so much easier to see that in others than yourself.

Visual illustration :LOG. The problem isn’t that we see the speck. Just that we don’t take the log out. - Matthew 7:3-5 “3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

Ephesians 4:16 (ESV)

16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped,

whole body - that’s us.

joined and held together - We are called to be connected. If you are not connected, you are not part of this body. literally means to be tightly bound together.

joined - 17 letters long in the greek. Held 14. He just added in all the words he could think of. They are held together like glue. What is the glue?

Every joint with which is equipped - Joints hold things together. You are the joint, when you are equipped and involved. We aren’t just called to do a job, we are called to do a job that holds the church together.

we talked about being equipped last week. An equipped member helps hold the church together because they are doing part of the body.

Ephesians 4:16 (ESV)

16 ... when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Working - energy. It takes energy and work to do this. It doesn’t just accidently happen.

properly - It has to work the way it was supposed to.

makes the body grow - when you are working properly you will cause the church to grow.

so that - purpose clause

it builds itself up in love - our job is to build yourself in love. Unconditional love.

If we grow in love, then the Lord will add more people to the body.

Community is built in love.

Main reason I want you to get involved in community is not for yourself but for others.

It is impossible to love others while all your attention is on yourself.

It is work, it is hard, but it is worth it.

CONCLUSION: Soldiers would lock shields together. We lock arms visual illustration.

Throw to video: Lippards