Day 24 (Tuesday, February 4th)
Day 24 (Tuesday, February 4th)
Ephesians 4:1-16
New International Version
Chapter 4
Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ
4 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it[a] says:
“When he ascended on high,
he took many captives
and gave gifts to his people.”[b]
9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions[c]? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 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.
14 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. 15 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. 16 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.
Chapter 4
Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ
4 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it[a] says:
“When he ascended on high,
he took many captives
and gave gifts to his people.”[b]
9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions[c]? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 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.
14 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. 15 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. 16 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.
Devotional: Unity in the body of Christ requires humility, gentleness, and patience. Every member has gifts to contribute, and together we grow into maturity in Christ. Our diversity of gifts serves to build up the whole body.
Application: Identify your spiritual gifts and find one specific way to use them to build up our church this week.
Prayer: Lord, help us walk worthy of our calling. Unite us in Your Spirit. Help each of us use our gifts to strengthen Your body. Amen.
Discover your spiritual gifts by taking a spiritual gifts assessment here. While this tool can provide helpful insights, we encourage you to prayerfully reflect on your results and engage with your NCA family for deeper discussion and discernment about how God has uniquely gifted you to serve.
Application: Identify your spiritual gifts and find one specific way to use them to build up our church this week.
Prayer: Lord, help us walk worthy of our calling. Unite us in Your Spirit. Help each of us use our gifts to strengthen Your body. Amen.
Discover your spiritual gifts by taking a spiritual gifts assessment here. While this tool can provide helpful insights, we encourage you to prayerfully reflect on your results and engage with your NCA family for deeper discussion and discernment about how God has uniquely gifted you to serve.
1 Comment
Hallelujah. We have been called before the foundation of the world to be the Righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.. We Magnify God with our bodies and soul.. we are not our own because we are bought with a price of Jesus precious blood ? our Creator that’s always present.. We are one body in Christ Jesus and in unity we work together… each one of us are called to do something and each one of us are given a Gift by God who divided the Gift generously according to Grace… we are to use our Gifts to Glorify the Name of Jesus and to serve others, used to edify each other.. Glory to God… thank you Deaconess Shunette for the Gifted, Passionate and Burning Fire ? Prayer and Praise.. our hearts were impacted with truth about the purpose of each Gift God gives us… the Greatest Gift is Love.. and everything we do should be in love.. we give Glory to and Magnify an all-Powerful God.. He is the living Word.