Character and Competence

Ephesians 4:1–16 NIV

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.” (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

4 - Introduction: Serve for the Sake of Pete video

Snapshots of serving attitudes in the Church

-Person feels guilty because they are not doing enough.

-Person who serves a ton, just to be recognized, to somehow show God that they are worthy of being saved, or out of some kind of religious duty.

-Person who does not care to serve at all, someone else can do all of that.

-The person who gets involved with everything, and then becomes bitter and upset when they don’t see others picking up the slack.

Paul has already set the tone for why we serve...

21 - The Gospel of Grace Produces a Healthy Church.

vs. 7 Each one given grace - IJM Story - took captive captivity.

Ramesh and his wife were once forced labor slaves, trapped in a rice mill for more than six years. Their work was brutal and exhausting. The process of boiling, drying and processing rice took three days per cycle - including shifts beginning before dawn, throughouth the day and into the night. They received about sixty cents per cycle - barely enough to eat.

IJM and local police rescued Ramesh and his family from the brutal rice mill in an operation last year, but they had no place to go in their newfound freedom. IJM Chennai Director of Aftercare explains the common struggle: “Freedom is an adjustment to many of the laborers we serve. They must be reminded of their rights as citizens of India, because for so long they have been treated as property and robbed of the most basic rights.”

No longer victims, the former slaves are emerging as strong community leaders. ONe woman said, “We’ve experienced bonded labor because no one told us. Now that we are free, we want to warn people about it.

Summary of 1st part Ephesians

God’s Purpose was to restore all things in Jesus - That he chose the church from before the foundations of the earth to be the body of Jesus who was placed far above all rulers and authorities in Heaven and Earth.

That God is doing that individually for us by saving us from being dead to sin by making us alive again in Jesus, and he did that by Grace through faith.

And by doing this Jesus broke down the dividing wall that kept the Gentiles out of the people of God. He united Jews and Gentiles into one Church (so all races and people groups) who is the body of the new temple (Jesus) where heaven and earth meet. We are citizens in the Kingdom of Heave with all of its rights...

So the implication is that according to Paul, the gathering of the Church is an unwinding of people from the authority of demons or the gods of the nations. There inheritance was once the gods assigned at the tower of Babel, now their inheritance is the one true God.

And because of this fantastic news that has cosmic impact. Paul wants us to know how wide and long, and deep and wide is the Universe sized love of God.

- This starts the second part of Ephesians - Paul wants us to know and be rooted in the love of the Gospel because.

Redeemed people do not serve out of compulsion but the joy of freedom - because of love. And so he urges us to live according to that Joy and love, that hope we have...

22 - God out of his love has put this people together. It is a gift and an obligation.

Hold up a Monopoly game board or at least the playing card that says, “Get out of jail free.” It was never God’s idea to give us the gift of salvation as a “Get Out of Hell Free” card, so that we could go on living whatever way we want and not grow any more past our conversion. God’s idea of saving us is to transform us from the inside out so that we continue to grow in a relationship with him. If we have never grown, we need to ask ourselves soberly if we really know him personally.

Belhar Confession.

Belhar Confession.

that unity is, therefore, both a gift and an obligation for the church of Jesus Christ; that through the working of God's Spirit it is a binding force, yet simultaneously a reality which must be earnestly pursued and sought: one which the people of God must continually be built up to attain ();

Application Point: The Gospel implies that we work for unity and Christ’s mission together.

In order to work for that unity we need grow in two areas of our life - Character and Competence.

23 - The Church needs the Character of Christ.

All together excercise: I’m going to say four words, and I want you to decide which word best represents your interest and raise your hand. (sports, food, books, music).

Now I’d like each of these groups to divide into more specific sections. Sports group (football, basketball, hockey, other). Food group (Chinese, Mexican, Italian, seafood, other). books group (mystery, biography, romance, other). Music (pop, rythym and blues, classical, country, other).

Look at the vast differences we represent. We could also divide according to political differences, business differences, social views, and so on. But there is one factor we all have in common - our love for Jesus Christ.

It is ultimately that Love that is the glue. That love also includes these traits of humility and gentleness - Speaking the Truth in love....

A freedom from arrogance that grows out of recognition that all we have and are comes from God. The Greek philosophers despised humiliy because to them it implied inadequacy, lack of dignity, and worth-lessness. This is not the meaning of Biblical humility. Jesus is the supreme example of humility and He is completely adequate and of infinite dignity and worth. Biblical humility is not a belittling of oneself, but an exalting or praising of others, especially God and Christ. Humble people focus more on God and others than on themsevles. - Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Paul urges us to take up these Character Traits even if they are not natural to us in order to work for the unity God has already bought us. They enable us to bear with one another, and make the effort to preserve unity.

And Unity is important if the Church is going to be the place where the world recognizes is the place (the people) where heaven and earth meet.

Application Point: Grow in the Character of Christ.

Unity does not mean conformity. The Church is full of diversity… Christ has given us each gifts.

24 - The Church needs the Competence of Christ.

Create your Own Team Building Activity - Invite volunteers at the beginning of the service.

A little creative deception is required for this activity. Announce the completely fake problem: You were supposed to lead the group in a problem-solving activity, but you don’t know any, and you don’t want them to repeat one they’ve already tried before. So the goal is to have each group come up with a completely unique team-building activity, then present their finished activity to the group. This fun “meta” exercise promotes creativity and improves communication and collaborative skills.

Questions: Who seemed to get the ball started? Who shared ideas? Was there anyone who made sure the ideas were appropriate? Was there anyone who made sure everyone participated? Was there anyone?

APEST

Other gifts...

The Gospel Story - Jesus Ascended after his resurrection and the Father gave him all authority in Heaven and Earth. And with that authority he sent his spirit to his church, in order to save us and make a masterpiece out of each one of us. He gave us spiritual gifts that when activated make a beautiful masterpiece out of the Church.

Gifts given to grow the church into unity, so that everyone grows spiritually - In essence to Build each other up.

1 Corinthians 12:7 LEB

But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is beneficial to all.

Manifestation of the Spirit -

- When we serve according to our gifts we are actually seeing the Holy Spirit working through you in order to be beneficial to the church.

- When we serve according to our gifts we are actually seeing the Holy Spirit working through you.

When we don’t discern our gifts and serve with them, we miss what the Holy Spirit wants to do through you.

When we don’t discern our gifts and when we don’t use our gifts we short-circuit that unity our own growth, and the growth of others. Serving according to our gifts is about loving God and Loving Others. God’s purposes rooted in his love will always succeed, but you will actually miss out on participating in that work with him.

- Discernment - Ask the Holy Spirit to discern, ask the Holy Spirit to Empower (no burnout).

Application Point: Serve according to your gifts in order to Glorify God and Build up the Others.

Application Point: Serve according to your gifts in order to Glorify God and Build up the Others.

Conclusion: Invitation to sign up at the Ministry Fair.

Reference the Reformed Confessions: The Reformed Confessions are statements of faith written to clarify the Gospel at times when the Church was in crisis. Heidelberg Catechism: Q&A 32, 46-51, 54-55, 76, 82, 86, 107, 124 Belgic Confession: Articles 24, 27-28, 30 Canons of Dort: Head V, Articles 1-15 Belhar Confession: Articles 1-3