Speak Truth in Love

“…but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ...“ Ephesians 4:15. 

Love and truth are the key pillars in the teaching of Christ. Truth was the foundation of the Old Testament and teaching of Moses, but understanding of everlasting and unconditional love of God came to us through revelation that Jesus gave us. Bible teaches us not to like, but always speak the truth, yet the spirit in which we have to do it is based on love. Otherwise, we would simply be talking condemnation, bitter criticism or judgment to one another, which is not what God wants us to do.  

No More Children

“…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...“ Ephesians 4:14.

In many cases Bible uses example of children as a positive one, but in this one as a negative one. Children can easily trust any manipulator who would come with some scheme or evil plans. We should not be like that. We have to be able to check anything we hear in the light of the Word of God and if it is right, accept it, but if it is wrong, reject it. Saying no to the things that are wrong is a character feature of a mature Christian. So, let’s grow up spiritually.

Purposes of Edification

“…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...“ Ephesians 4:13. 

In the last post I mentioned that the aim of five ministries were to edify us. Where does edification lead us or what are the aims of it? God’s is intending to bring us all to the unity of faith and also to make us like Christ through knowledge of Him. 

Unity of faith is not that we logically agree in all points, but that we have deep inner convictions and live our lives based on them. Knowledge of Jesus is not some intellectual understanding of what He says, but living that knowledge out, embracing it, enjoying it and staying in it.

Ministry Gifts for Edifying

„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...“ Ephesians 4:11-12. 

God’s kingdom is about love and service one to another. Nobody is given a position to show off or attract attention, popularity. We are not given gifts to attract people to ourselves, but rather to Christ. Five ministries in the Body of Christ are meant to make you more like Christ, to prepare you for SERVICE and for upcoming kingdom. We do not boast about our gifts, we boast about our God. Pray that God may reveal your mission and gift that will be used for the expansion of the Kingdom.

Grace to Everyone

“But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift...” Ephesians 4:7. 

You might be saying to yourself and others that you are not talented and not capable of doing anything valuable. That is not true. Everybody has got some kind of gift or grace from God. It maybe smaller in size or effect when it is used, but it is not about the size of gift, but about using it according to God’s given purpose. You see, God sees the value of things differently than us. We look at the size and tend to exalt talents that are more powerful, attractive, and impressive or make more money. God values people who faithfully use what they have been given. And it does not matter how big is your gift, but how faithfully you use it. You are valuable, because God created you and loves you, not because of what you have or don’t. Never forget that!