Ephesians 4:1-16

What personal gifts have you identified that you can start using this week in your community?

What does Paul mean by 'walking in a manner worthy of the calling'?

Why is it important to maintain the unity of the Spirit in our interactions?

How does recognizing that we are all part of one body change the way we view our role in the church?

Ok lets settle down

Could anyone tell me what we talked about last week

Correct, we talked about that God’s love is greater than we could ever understand

Tonight, we are going to talk about what do we do with that

What are the positions on a football team?

First, I am going to need some help, Guys. I'm going to need some help here.

Can someone explain to me the different players in a football team?

Rember i dont know anything about sports

( have the student explain different positions)

So they all need each other so they can be built together?

What would you say if I said the church was that way to?

That's what we are going to see in Ephesians, Christians all have different gifts or positions to play,

but we are all united with one common goal

That is Christ that unites us

Lets read Ephesians 4:14

Ephesians 4:1–16 “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 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, 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. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

PRAY IN

Main point: The Church is united in Christ, while still consisting of a variety of Gifts

Ok here it is! my frying pan statment

If you forget everthing else in theis message rember this!

Ephesians 4:1–6 “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Ok lets pick up here from last week, -

We are called to walk in unity

Verse 1: we are to walk as worthy

Verse 2: bearing with one another in humility and gentleness

(v.1) paul is saying because God’s love is unexplainable, we are now to walk in a manner worthy of that call. ,:

Read (V.2)

(v.2a) ok what does Paul mean by humility and gentleness.

First this is allready the charater of Christ

Matthew 11:29 ESV

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

This is about transforming are hearts to look like Christ

I love what John Piper says that humility and getnleness, is not about being inscure, its about putting all of are trust in God.

(v.2b) What does this lead us to do? beear with one another

Have you ever had some “beef” with other Christians?

What Paul is saying here is “yeah we dont do that”

No (V.3) says we should be eager to bring peace and unity

And this is a supernatural thing becuase what is unity surpossed to be in

In the spirirt

Why we are united

(v.4) explains this is because there is one body, he means the church

(.5)we all have the same spirit, becuase we all beilive in one Lord

Who is that, JESUS!

In him we are in one faith, Christianity,

One baptisim, we all practice the same spritual practice.

Baptism,

whats up with that

If you are a christian you are called to be baptized, it repestesents what has allready happened on the inside of you

When you are baptised, its not surpossed to be the diffrent from everyone else”

Its surpossed to mean you know live for Christ

And that means that all Christians should for Christ and thus have unity

(V.6) there is only one God, and he rules he is king of all

ok i know that this is fast, so whats Paul getting at here.

As Christians we are united, we have the same alligiance

or if you want to use the sports alleogy we are on the same team

Do you guys know that i am for you?

Did you know that this is not my youth group, it is our youth group

But firstyly its Christs youth group

Lets stop making faulse Devission

But that does not mean we are all the same.

Verses 7-12: We each are given our own Spiritual gift

Ephesians 4:7–12 “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,”

(v.7), all of us recive grace, and we each have a unique gift

(v.8) Qotes

Psalm 68:18 “You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.”

I love what the enitre verse says even to the rebliuos

Why because we are rebeloius alot of the time

(v.9) this is bassically Paul making a logical conclusion

How?

God is hernetly by his nature, the highest, the greatest, part of existents.

So if he assended he must have defended.

(v.10) ok so we have Christ both desending and ascending

Desending is simply the incarnation, Christmas

John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Assending is Christ now sits at the right hand of the father in Heaven, this is seen in Dan 7

(v.11) Lets read this again

Ephesians 4:11 “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,”

This is a list of gifts that Christ has given like we saw in (v.7)

(v.12) ok we are not just given gifts for no reason

But for the work of the ministry

to build up the church

Do you know that you guys are in ministry

you are called to build up one another, with your gift?

whats your place, have can you build up the churh

How can you help us grow here at youth group.

We all have a place to serve and help grow

We should never stop growing,

I want to look back at my own life each year and be able to say i have grown

and honslty, i want to look at you guys and see you grow.

Each of you in your own gift

you might not be a person who is called for worship,

but maybe you have a place in leading others in small groups, or maybe making youthgroup hospitable

you all have a place here where you can serve with your gift, so wee can all build one another up

Guys, i also to let you know that ive seen you grow

Think about where we were all at when i first came

Alot has changed right

We all should grow personally and idvigual into the gift that Christ has given us,

Somethings though we all grow in the same way

Verses 13-16: What should we should grow towards

what we should grow towards

verse 13: being united in Faith and understanding

verse 14: immturinty means to not know the truth

verse 15: We Grow by speaking truth in love

verse 16: When we work proprly together grow in love

Ephesians 4:13–16 “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, 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. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

(v.13) hey are goal is to be united with all Fatih and understadning of Christ, ant that is when we will be mature

I hate to burst your bublle but we are not there yet

We will not reach full maturity, unitl Jesus returns or we reurn home

But this should be where are aim is

To mature

I want to adress i lie i think alot of us believe

That maturity, means we should not ever have joy or have fun

rember joy is a fruit of the spirit

A Christian with no joy, and is bassically just a walling fact book of the bible is immature

being mature in Christ, means we will actually be filled with joy.

(v.14) ok what does immaturity look like

It bassically means we are tossed around by all short of diffrent ideas

Paul is painting a picture, of a boat in the sea

just getting pushed around by what ever hits them

No we need a direction, we need to grow

Immautirty, means not to have a direction, so what ever you hear you bassically say sure that sounds good

(v.15) Ok look in here, how do we grow

We speak the truth in love

Guys there are some hard truths we just need to know.

But we have to speak in love, that maturity not either or, its both and

imagine a doctor who has tell a person they have a dealdy sickness

It would not be loving to lie to them and say they are fine

and at the same time they should not be angry and says “YOU ARE BASSICALLY DEAD”

no what would they say, they would be honest that the person is sick, but they would give them ways to help, and they would be gentle

(v.16) We see here that we are all apart of the body, we have diffrent roles, there a lot of good stuff here but lets focus on the last part

When we work properly together we are built up in love

We cant do this on our own.

we need one another

Application:

Take time this week to think what your gifting is, pray and talk to people

How can you use your gifting at youth group

Hey, who likes the ways that youth group has grown?

The reason is because you guys were apart of it, good work

But lets not stop here, all those ideas we talked about a couple weeks ago they are possible

But by myself we will never reach them

So come talk to me or your leaders and lets find a place for each of you to add to youth group.

Be united together by using your gift to serve

Ok so we talked today that we are all united in Christ, and we should seek and bring peace

But we all have uyniqe gifts that are meant to be used to serve others.

So this week take some time to pray and talk to others about what you are gifted at

Then lets find a place for you to serve here at youth group

Hey we are all still growing as idivgulas and together, so lets do it well

we are a team, a family, the body of Christ.

lets pray.