Ephesians 4 Part 1

On Sunday we looked at the first 16 verses of Ephesians 4 and had some good discussion around the unity of the body of Christ and building one another up towards Christlikeness. The format we followed in studying it was pretty loose and informal, so I don't have a helpful lesson plan or outline to post. However, I did want to jot down a few of the things that stood out to me during the preparation and discussion. Please add your comments if there are other things that you want to highlight.

• We are called to humility, gentleness and patience with one another to maintain unity and peace in body of Christ, but it is so easy to allow our pride to cause dissension between us, in a larger context (between denominations or believers of different styles) and within our own group.
• It is God's design that we are equipped by individuals in the church (apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers) that we might build up the individuals in the church towards Christlikeness. God chooses to mature us through our interaction with each other, despite the fact that we are all screw ups.
• "We are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ" If we are building one another up without pushing one another closer to Christ, then we are not accomplishing the work of the Church.

Mark Beers