Ephesians 4:1-16

Over the next few weeks we are going to explore these giftings God has given the church to make it whole and complete. Throughout this series we will be looking into how, through the Spirit, each of these giftings have been used for God’s purpose, glory and kingdom as well as how we’ve seen these giftings being used for immature purposes. 

However, before we get into each gifting let us look at Ephesians 4 - Paul doesn’t go into each of these giftings at first, or even at all really. No he points to their purpose - to unify the body of Christ. He reminds us of the firm foundation in which each of these giftings are built. Jesus. Jesus was the perfect apostle, the perfect prophet, the perfect evangelist, the perfect shepherd and the perfect teacher. When we don’t remember Christ, our gifts are used improperly because they are meant to be used to glorify Christ and to build up the church - that she may become complete and ready for the wedding feast as we see in Revelation 19. 

So Church, as we walk into a deeper study of these giftings, let us remember Christ who these gifts come from and who they are for. We use them in step with the Spirit. We use them for the advancement of the kingdom. We use them for the sake of every tongue, tribe and nation knowing and worshipping the One True God, Jesus Christ. Let us now forget this as we explore who God has made us individually and collectively to be.