1. "The problem with falling on a cow farm is that as you're falling, you realize, I don't think that's mud. So my team falls, the other team wins, and as we are covered in cow dung, I am realizing after the fact, the goal of this whole game was to move as one."

2. "I had a great sense of urgency to win when I should have had a great sense of urgency to work as one with my team."

3. "Humility is a recognition of the worth and value of other people coupled with a desire to serve them for the glory of God."

4. "Meekness is not weakness. It is strength under control. It is strength channeled in empathetic ways and kind ways. It is not a desire to claim one's own rights, but to help others and be kind to others and be empathetic."

5. "Nothing destroys unity quite as fast as pride and arrogance. And nothing builds unity in a community like ours quite as fast as humility and gentleness."

6. "Be eager to maintain unity because it is a unity of the Spirit. It is a unity that has already been created by God. Therefore, maintain that which God has already given."

7. "We can come to church with yogurt mentality. I want my way. I'm the most important person here. I have my preferences. But what humility and gentleness does is it prefers others. It sits back and asks, how can I serve you? How can I feel you? What are you going through? What do you need?"

8. "God wants unity, not uniformity. We are not made the same way. We are not gifted the same way. Each one of us has been given a different grace."

9. "As they say, truth without love is harsh and love without truth is seduction. Truth spoken in love is life-giving."

10. "You have been equipped by God to help another human being remade in the image of Christ to be what they were first designed to be—like Christ to the glory of God."

Observation Questions

1. In Ephesians 4:1-2, what specific attitudes does Paul urge believers to adopt as they walk worthy of their calling?

2. According to Ephesians 4:3, what are believers called to be "eager" to do, and what is the result of maintaining this?

3. In Ephesians 4:4-6, how many times does Paul use the word "one," and what seven things does he identify as shared among believers?

4. According to Ephesians 4:11-12, what gifted people did Christ give to the church, and for what purpose did He give them?

5. In Ephesians 4:14, what does Paul say mature believers will no longer be like, and what dangers does he warn against?

6. According to Ephesians 4:15-16, what happens when each part of the body works properly and members speak the truth in love?

Interpretation Questions

1. Why does Paul begin verse 1 with "therefore," and how does understanding the first three chapters of Ephesians help us understand the urgency of his appeal in chapter 4?

2. Paul says believers should be "eager to maintain" unity rather than "eager to create" unity. What does this distinction reveal about the nature of Christian unity and its source?

3. How do the seven "ones" in verses 4-6 (one body, Spirit, hope, Lord, faith, baptism, God and Father) provide the theological foundation for the practical unity Paul calls for in verses 1-3?

4. What is the relationship between the equipping work of pastor-teachers (verse 12) and the body building itself up in love (verse 16)? How do both work together?

5. In verse 15, Paul instructs believers to speak "the truth in love." Why are both truth and love necessary for the church to grow into Christlike maturity, and what happens when one is emphasized without the other?

Application Questions

1. The sermon described humility as "recognizing the worth and value of other people, coupled with a desire to serve them for the glory of God." Who is one specific person in your church whom you could intentionally serve this week, and what would that service look like?

2. Paul calls believers to "bear with one another in love," making allowance for others' shortcomings. Is there a fellow church member whose faults or habits you have been impatient with? What would it look like to respond with patience and forbearance instead of frustration or avoidance?

3. The sermon warned against creating "a body within the body" based on natural affinities like life groups, nationalities, or similar backgrounds. In what ways might you be tempted to limit your meaningful relationships to people who are most like you, and how could you intentionally pursue unity with someone different from you?

4. The passage teaches that each member has been given spiritual gifts to build up the body. What is one way you are currently using your gifts to serve your church, or if you are unsure of your gifts, who could you ask this week to help you identify how you might serve?

5. Verse 15 calls believers to speak the truth in love to one another. Is there someone in your church with whom you have a deep enough relationship to lovingly address an area of concern in their life? If not, what steps could you take to build that kind of relationship with a fellow member?

Additional Bible Reading

1. Philippians 2:1-11 — This passage provides the supreme example of Christ's humility and calls believers to have the same mindset of considering others more significant than themselves, reinforcing the attitudes Paul commands in Ephesians 4:1-3.

2. 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 — Paul uses the body metaphor extensively here to show how diverse members with different gifts are essential to the unified functioning of Christ's church, paralleling the one body theme in Ephesians 4.

3. Colossians 3:12-17 — This passage echoes the call to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and letting the peace of Christ rule in the community.

4. Romans 12:3-8 — Paul teaches that believers should think of themselves with sober judgment and use their diverse gifts to serve one another as members of one body, supporting the sermon's emphasis on spiritual diversity within unity.

5. John 17:20-23 — In Jesus' high priestly prayer, He prays for the unity of all believers so that the world may know the Father sent Him, showing that church unity is central to the church's witness and mission.

Sermon Main Topics

I. The Three-Legged Race: A Picture of Urgency for Unity

II. One Walk: God Urges Us to a United Walk Worthy of Our Salvation (Ephesians 4:1-3)

III. One Body: God Has Made Us One Body Composed of Many Parts (Ephesians 4:4-12)

IV. One Goal: God Urges Us to Grow in Christlikeness as a Body (Ephesians 4:13-16)

V. Call to Action: Building Each Other Up in Christ

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Detailed Sermon Outline

Good morning. I consider it a massive privilege to be with all of you here today. My wife Sheila and I were members of this church while we were here and we have been so well loved and taken care of by you. And you have been a blessing to churches all over the world in Kenya and in the UAE. And so we thank God for you.

If you have your Bibles, please turn to Ephesians chapter four. Ephesians chapter 4, we will be in Ephesians chapter 4 from verse 1 to 16. Ephesians 4:1-16. And as you're turning there, I wonder, have you ever run a three-legged race? For those of you who are not familiar with it, it's this strange game where they tie your feet to three or four other people.

And the idea is you have 20 or 30 meters to run, and the first team wins and gets bragging rights or whatever it is. The first time I played this game, I played it on a cow farm. So we were young and it sounded like fun and we've been tied to each other and the other team has been tied to each other and I was tied with people who I would deem a little slower than myself. So I figured I've been tied to them, I will make them move quickly. Let's go.

So the guy said on your marks, set and Christian is out. And surprisingly, my team lost balance and started. Falling. The problem with falling on a cow farm is that as you're falling, you realize, I don't think that's mud. So my team falls, the other team wins, and as we are covered in cow dung, I am realizing after the fact, the goal of this whole game was to move as one.

That's why you've been tied to each other. I had a great sense of urgency to win when I should have had a great sense of urgency to work as one with my team.

In much the same way, in this passage of Scripture, what God through Paul is trying to communicate to his church is that they, we should have a sense of urgency about being one, about being united. And that's my hope for us today, that we would have a sense of urgency. We, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, we'd have a sense of urgency about being one and being united with each other. So let's read Ephesians 4:1-16. When I'm finished reading, I will say, this is the Word of the Lord, and you will respond by saying, Thanks be to God.

Trisex. This is the Word of the Lord. Ephesians 4:1. I therefore, a prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father over all, who is over all and through all and in all.

But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, when he ascended on high, he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. In saying he ascended, what does it mean? But that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth. He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. This is the word of the Lord. Almighty God, would you speak to us, we pray. Help me step out of your way speak to me and speak through me to the end that our lives may glorify you.

Forbid it, Lord, that anyone except you should get glory at this time. And so, Lord, what we do not have, please give us through your word. What we are not, please make us through your word. And what we do not know, please teach us through your word. We pray these things for your glory and our joy in Jesus name.

Amen. If you're looking for a simple way, three mental handles or so to work through the text, I'm hoping you see that God is urging us to one walk. He's urging us to be one body and he's pointing us toward one goal. One walk, one body, one goal. So let's just dive in.

One walk. God urges us to to one united walk, a walk worthy of our salvation. So Paul starts out by saying, I therefore in scripture, whenever we see a therefore, we have to ask wherefore that therefore is therefore. In the first three chapters, Paul has explained this Mighty salvation God has given us through Christ. Now he is saying, walk as those who have been ransomed by Christ.

He spent three chapters explaining who we are in Jesus Christ. He now spends the next three chapters explaining how we live as Christians. And he starts with himself saying he's a prisoner of the Lord. Paul is actually writing this from prison. And he's imprisoned because he has been preaching the gospel.

And what he longs to see is gospel unity in the church. He urges, and that's an interesting word, I urge you. Here's an apostle of Jesus Christ carrying all this apostolic authority and that word urges I appeal almost like I beg I plead with you I exhort you please walk in a manner worthy of your calling. The word walk there referring to our conduct how we live it's not literally walking but in view of the fact that we have been selected by the Father saved by the Son sealed by the Spirit in view of the fact that we have been saved by grace through faith in view of the the fact that God is now using not just our individual lives, but us as a church to display his glory to the powers and principalities in view of all that Mighty salvation. Now walk in a manner worthy of that salvation.

And at that point, you can almost hear the Ephesians kind of leaning and say, ah, Paul, that's great. Quick question. How, thankfully. The Spirit speaking through Paul explains how they're to walk in a manner worthy of this great salvation they have received. He gives them three attitudes and one action.

The three attitudes are humility, gentleness, and patience. And the one action is bear with one another. First attitude, humility. It's a recognition of the worth and value of other people. Coupled with a desire to serve them for the glory of God.

Jesus, who was in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but humbled himself and made himself a servant. That's the attitude he's shooting for. That humility is lowliness. Jesus, again, the prime example of humility says, I am gentle and lowly. In heart.

He came to serve, not to be served. And he coupled that humility, a desire to serve others, recognizing their worth and value, with gentleness, sometimes called meekness in different translations. And meekness is not weakness. It is strength under control. It is strength channeled in empathetic ways and kind ways.

It is not a desire to claim one's own rights, but to help others and be kind to others and be empathetic. And we see how the two naturally go with each other. Humility wants to serve, gentleness is happy to serve. And we can also understand why Paul would say this, because nothing destroys unity quite as fast as pride and arrogance. And nothing builds unity in a community like ours quite as fast as humility and gentleness.

The next attitude he tells them to cover themselves with is patience with one another. Patience is sometimes called long suffering because it is suffering for a long time. Suffering what exactly? Other people's shortcomings and sins, as they do the same with us. To be patient or forbearing means we make allowance, we make room for people's shortcomings.

It means we are not quick to rebuke but we make room for those shortcomings. Which is why the action called for is forbearance, actually putting up, actually forbearing with other people's sins. And Paul doesn't say just put up with their sins, he says do this in love. So yes, make room, make allowance for their sins as we still seek their highest good in Christ. Because that's really what love is, seeking someone else's highest good in Christ.

He then says, be eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace. That word eager has a sense of urgency. It's almost like if you're going to rush to do something, rush to do this. Usually in the Bible, being in a hurry or rushing to do things is not a good thing. Here it is.

If you're going to rush to do something, if I'm going to rush to do something, we rush to maintain the unity of the spirit, be in a hurry to be United. Interesting, he doesn't say, be eager to achieve unity or be eager to attain unity. He says, be eager to maintain unity because it is a unity of the Spirit. It is a unity that has already been created by God. Therefore, maintain that which God has already given.

When I was a child, my mom used to tell all of us kids, God has given you good teeth. Maintain them by brushing them. In the same way God has already created spiritual unity and we maintain it. And that word maintain means it's a lot of hard work. That's what he's explaining to the church.

And when we are in a rush to maintain, when the church is in a rush to maintain Unity, we will have the bond of Peace. No schisms or divisions along Gentile lines versus Jewish lines. Because the spiritual unity they have far supersedes whatever natural cleavages and differences they may have. When I had been married for about two weeks or maybe less than two weeks, it was wonderful. We got married, we went on honeymoon, we came back and my wife sent me for yogurt and we both like yogurt.

So I bought myself like vanilla or strawberry and she likes more than natural yogurt. Brought them home, put them in the fridge, drank mine, And then I was still hungry, wanted more yogurt. I saw hers and I said, hey, let me drink hers. So I'm starting to drink hers and she sees me and she's like, hey, hey, that's my yogurt. You had yours.

And I was upset, like all sorts of upset. In my head, I'm thinking, less than two weeks ago, you stood before God and people, you told them all that I have, I share with you. Now you can't even share I have your yogurt with me and I'm stuck with you for life.

All sorts of upset. And for like two days we weren't talking to each other. She'd ask like, monosyllabic answers, how are you? Fine. Where are the keys?

I don't know how you guys do it, but in African culture you point with your mouth when you're too upset to point to your finger. They're there, yeah, yeah. Very mature godly behavior, as you can see here. And after like two days we reconciled. I wish I could say that I initiated the reconciliation that would be inaccurate.

And after we finally reconcile, I remember thinking to myself, Christian, you're ridiculous. Yogurt. Like, seriously, my guy, yogurt. We're going to fight about. This is a thing that's going to shut down communication in your marriage.

But yogurt wasn't the problem, right? My selfishness was the problem. My pride was the problem. The fact that I wasn't thinking about her that she would also like some yogurt was the problem. The fact that I had no idea of serving her for the glory of God, those things were not in my mind, right?

In much the same way, we can come to church with yogurt mentality. I want my way. I'm the most important person here. I have my preferences. But as Isaac Adams taught me, we should probably be a little bit suspicious of our preferences.

Because what humility and gentleness does is it prefers others. It sits back and asks, how can I serve you? How can I feel you? What are you going through? What do you need?

When it comes into contact, when we come into contact with one another's shortcomings, We don't rebuke, we pray for one another. We look for opportunities to bless one another. We seek each other's highest good in Christ while still speaking the truth. In the words of John 13:34-35, Love one another as I have loved you. By this will all men know that you are my disciples, so that even when unbelievers look at how we are gentle with each other, humble with each other, patient with each other, forbearing with one another.

They will conclude you must serve a very patient God because of how patient you are with each other. But we also rejoice in the fact that not only has God called us to live this way, he has enabled us to live this way. Philippians 2:13, it is him who is at work in us to both will us and to work according to his good pleasure. God the Holy Spirit has individually filled us with himself. So that we have a real genuine unity, that we can genuinely do what he's asking us to do.

But honest advertising, this is going to be a lot of hard work for a very long time. Actually, it's going to be a lot of hard work for the rest of our lives. For the rest of our lives, we are going to be fighting to maintain unity. We are going to have to remind ourselves to be in a rush to maintain unity. But as we do that, what we will get is remarkable peace.

Not perfect peace, not on this side of heaven, but remarkable peace. Because then we won't be fighting over yogurt. We won't be fighting over small things that are not helping us become more like Christ. We will be urging one another to pursue Christ. So let me ask a couple of questions.

Where do you and I need to be a little more humble with a member of this church today? Where do we need to look to serve them? Where do we maybe even need to recognize that they are image bearers of God remade in the image of Christ? Where might we need to be gentle with a member of this spiritual family?

Where maybe have we been impatient with a brother or a sister in this one body? Where have we had a hard time bearing with someone else's shortcomings?

And you're just about done because you're like, I'm just tired of this. Scripture urges us be in a hurry to bear with them. And perhaps you've been the one who is sowing seeds of discord. And compromising their unity by gossiping about others or slandering others instead of approaching that person and loving them and looking for ways to bless them instead of speaking about them. God has not only created and commanded unity by His Spirit, He has given us the same Spirit to maintain and protect that unity.

This is the walk that is worthy of our salvation. And He has called and enabled us to do this. But not only that, He has not only given us one walk, the same God who has called us to one walk, has made us one body in Christ. And recognizing that we are one body actually helps maintain that unity. God urges us to be who we are, one body composed of many parts.

If verses 4 to 10 say this, there is one body, one spirit, just as you are called to, one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and in all and through all. The repeating word is one. And that's what Paul is emphasizing. And he gives us a very good reason why we should be one. Here it is.

Be one because you are one. His whole point is be who you are. Ephesian Church. Because you are one, be one. Seven times in three verses, he tells them to be one.

One body in reference to the body of Jesus Christ, not a Jewish body and a Gentile body, but one body, not only one body that is Global and international, composed of all believers in Jesus Christ all over the world, but one body, because every local church is a manifestation of the body of Jesus Christ. One Spirit, every believer is indwelt by the spirit. The same spirit that indwelt the Jews in Acts chapter two is the same spirit that indwelt the Gentiles in Acts chapter 10. One hope. The Bible tends to use that word hope.

To refer to the second coming of Christ, to refer to the end times. And he's saying our hope is the same. The Jewish hope, the Gentile hope, the hope of the believer is the same. They have a hope right now that Christ is making them by his Spirit, both as individuals and as a church. He's making us more like him.

That's our hope. And we have the hope of seeing him when he comes back for us.

One Lord, Jesus Christ, our God and our King. One faith, and I think there's a double entendre there. A double meaning that on the one hand, we have one faith, we have all believed in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. That's the only way we became members of one church in Christ. But also one faith, the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

The one true biblical historic faith. There's no other kind of Christianity. Only one. One baptism. I think there's another double meaning there.

It is both baptism into the spirit that happens the minute we get saved, that these Ephesians have been instantly baptized into the spirit because they were saved by Jesus Christ and in dwelt by the spirit. And one baptism, a baptism of those who have so believed in Christ are now baptized by water in obedience to the Great Commission. One God and father over all. Every child of God is a child of God. God has no grandchildren.

That Jew and Gentile are both equal children of God. And did you notice the whole Trinity is on this, isn't on this? One Lord, one father, one Spirit. The same way the Trinity is one and reflects that Oneness. The church, though composed of different parts, is to reflect the unity and Oneness that we see in our one God, one father.

Imagine if you are the conductor of an orchestra and you had the percussion section and you had the wind section and you had the string section. And you have all agreed that you're going to play Handel's Messiah. Right. I think maybe it's in four, four time. Bobby Jameson might correct me.

So you say, okay, let's go. One, two, three, four. And just as you're about to start, the wind section starts playing Kenny G. The string section starts playing, take me to the moon. And the percussion section starts playing beat it by Michael Jackson. Your reaction is not going to be, oh, I love the initiative.

This is so wonderful. Your reaction will be, stop. We are one band, different parts, one band. We are designed to play the same thing. That doesn't mean we are not different, but it does mean we have one agenda, not different agendas.

So let me ask you and I and press in on you and I. Where are we tempted, you and I tempted, to be a little like those bandmates and start playing our own tune? A little bit like those bandmates creating a body within the body. So that my real church is my life group. My real church is my college mates.

My real church is my Kenyan countrymen. And I start creating a new body within the body. And God says, no, there's nothing wrong with those natural differences, but they are not how we maintain or build unity. We do that by recognizing all these people are one with me and I am one with them.

If you're here and you're an unbeliever, and you kind of think these guys at CHBC are weird, that's because they are.

The reason they tend to love each other as though they are siblings is because they are. The reason they love each other like siblings is because they have been saved by Jesus Christ. Who was sent by God the Father to ransom them. And because he lived a perfect life, died on their behalf as sinners, rose again, and they put their faith in him. One faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

They now have his spirit at work within them and recognize each other as brother and sister forever. So you're right, they are strange.

Because natural differences of race, natural differences of country, natural differences of political persuasion don't sway them. What they are moved by is this is my sibling in the faith. And if you don't know that Jesus Christ, today could be the day that you become part of this eternal family. If you don't know what it's like to be in an eternal family, we offer ourselves to you as that eternal family. But the only way is through Jesus Christ.

And if you came here with someone or you know any Christian here, please talk to them after the service. They'd love to explain to you more of what that means. God has called us to one united walk, but he has also made us spiritually diverse.

Look at verse 7. But grace was given to each one of you, rather to each one of us, according to the measure of Christ's gift. Every single member of the church has spiritual gifts. God wants unity, not uniformity. We are not made the same way.

We are not gifted the same way. Each one of us has been given a different grace. The Ephesian church has been given a different grace and gift by God. And then in verse 8 he says, therefore it says, when he ascended on high, he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. Verse 9 in saying he ascended, what does it mean?

But that he also descended into the lower regions, the Earth. He who ascended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. Here's the picture. Paul is quoting from Psalm 68. Paul is saying that in Psalm 68, what the psalmist was remembering and rejoicing over is how the children of Israel left Egypt.

And as they left, they plundered Egypt. So God gave them everything they needed to not only leave Egypt, but be a display, a light for the Gentiles to show all the world who Yahweh is, who God is. Paul is now saying there's a greater Exodus that happened. That the children of God through Jesus Christ were taken out of darkness into light and God gave gifts to them so that as a church they would have everything they need to be a light to all the world, to be a light to the nations of who God is and especially of this mighty salvation through Jesus Christ that he spent the last three chapters talking about. In short, because God has given every single member these precious, diverse spiritual gifts, they are to now use these gifts to maintain unity and serve one another in the church.

In fact, in verse 11, he gives them a different kind of gifts, not just for each member. Now he gives the whole church a certain kind of gift. Verse 11, and he gave the, he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers. The gifts he gives are people. The gifts he gives his whole church are these apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, pastor teachers.

Now, you might be looking at that phrase and going, what's with apostles and prophets? Well, Ephesians chapter 2 verse 20 says that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets with Christ himself as the cornerstone. So these apostles and prophets were part of the founding of the whole church, the international global church. And that word foundation from that building analogy is intentional, right? We build this building has a foundation, but we didn't build a foundation, then rebuild it at the third floor, and then rebuild a foundation at the fifth floor, right?

It's once it's done in the same way the apostles and prophets that oh, those offices have ceased. They're not there anymore because they were part of the foundation. How about evangelists? Well, I'm not sure if I'm being honest, but I suspect it goes along with the apostles and the prophets. I don't think when Paul was writing this, depending on how old you are, he was thinking Billy Graham.

I think it was more akin to what the apostles and prophets themselves are doing because in Acts chapter 21 the apostle Philip is called an evangelist. But pastor teachers, shepherds, that remains, that has not ceased, that is still here. And for what purpose did God give this gift called pastor teachers to his church? He tells us in verse 12 to 13, Verse 12, to equip the saints for work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ until we attain to the keyword unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. The whole goal of giving these gifts of pastor teachers to the church was to maintain unity and it's a unity and maturity that comes in two ways.

One in knowledge and two in spiritual maturity. These pastors, sometimes in the Bible called elders or bishops, those words are interchangeable, are to help the whole body grow in their knowledge of God, to know who they have believed in and what exactly they have believed in.

To the end that it would just not be knowledge in their heads, but there would be spiritual maturity that comes from knowing God, from knowing what they believe, that they would also grow in Christlikeness. In other words, they are to help the whole congregation get united around belief and behavior. What is right Christian belief and how should Christians behave?

I wonder, have you ever seen people at a football match, a soccer match, football match, I mean the one where you use your foot to move the ball, football. If you watch a football match, what you will see in the spectators are people who have a running commentary about how the game should work. He should have passed the ball. If they scored more goals, they would have won. Well, yes.

But then, during the halftime or at the end of the game, they actually get former players, right, to analyze the game. And their analysis is very different because they've been on that pitch, they understand how the game works, they've played the game. They are quote unquote expert players, not sitting spectators. The Holy Spirit has given each one of us individually and all of us as a body, the ability to be, not spectators, expert players. The idea behind the gifts he has given us for ourselves individually, and the gifts he has given us in these pastor teachers, is that they equip us to play.

They equip us to walk in a manner worthy of our salvation, to be united, to be gentle, to be humble, but also to know what we are supposed to know about who God is and what He has done for us. He has made us spiritually diverse, praise God. And He intends for us to actually use these gifts He has given us to serve the body. Now, how do we serve the body as one and maintain that unity? How do we get to know what our spiritual gifts are?

Well, here's what we should not do. Do not go to the internet, for a spiritual gifts inventory. That would be a bad use of your time. Instead, pray and ask God, how would you have me serve this body? Instead, think about it and ask, how am I wired?

How is it that I enjoy serving this body? Instead, ask. Ask fellow members of the church, younger ones and older ones, ask your pastors, ask them, where can I serve? And then try, try serving. And it doesn't have to be in these big visible ways.

It could be something as simple as giving an intern coffee at the door because you see him and you recognize he needs it.

Try serving. And Capitol Hill Baptist Church, God has given you some of the best shepherds you can find anywhere. Love them. Trust them.

I know this because I watched them at work. They are constantly praying for you. They are constantly reorganizing their days and their lives around you and how to serve you. Be honest with them. They won't judge you.

Be vulnerable with them. They won't be harsh with you. They love you. They are your shepherds. And they want to see more than anything else.

You become like Christ. Not just individually, but as a body. God urges us to one walk. He urges us to one walk, a worthy walk of our salvation. He urges us to be one body that is built up so that we may achieve the one goal of Christlike maturity as a body.

God urges us to grow in Christlikeness, our one goal. Not just as individuals, but as a body. Paul tells us, here's the goal from verse 14. So that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning and craftiness and deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.

That the idea It seemed like they were in the first century and in the 21st century and every century until Christ returns, these people who are using cunning and deceit and craftiness to lead astray the church. And Paul is saying the goal of this unity, the goal of this equipping from the pastors, the goal of this serving one another is so that we are not tossed to and fro, that the church is not tossed to and fro and carried along and taken away by every so-called new teaching. Rather they are to speak the truth in love. Verse 15 rather speaking the truth in love we are to grow up in him rather we are to grow speaking the truth in love we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head into Christ from whom the whole body joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped when each part is working properly makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love that we speak the truth in love God's word is truth that now as members of the church, the Ephesians are to start speaking the truth that they've been hearing from their pastor teachers. That they are to do this in love.

As they say, truth without love is harsh and love without truth is seduction. Truth spoken in love is life-giving. They are to grow up into Christlikeness, spiritually growing in their knowledge of God and growing in their fruit of the Spirit. And they're growing up into Christ in such a way that the whole body is united and equipped, working properly together, each part doing or playing its part. And it grows spiritually.

It grows in love and obedience to the Lord. It builds itself up. Did you notice a change? Earlier it was the shepherds. Who are equipping.

Earlier it was the shepherds who are telling the truth. Earlier it was the shepherds who are helping to build them up. Now they are speaking truth to one another. Now they are building each other up. Now the body is building itself up.

It's growing up. So quick question. Is the church building itself up according to this passage? This is the audience participation section. Is the church building itself up?

Yes. Did Jesus say, I will build my church? Yes. Which one is it? Yes.

He is building his church. It is him working in us, through us, for us, among us. And we are building each other up. That we are strengthening one another, being gentle with one another, humbling with were humble before one another, looking for excuses to serve one another. We are now speaking the truth, God's word to one another.

Sometimes it might hurt, but we say it in love. We are now committed to building the members of this church and doing them spiritual good until they and we become like Christ, not just as individuals, but all of us. We are committed to seeing others here at CHBC become like Jesus Christ. And this is the urgency we need to have about being like Christ individually and as a body. So couple of quick questions.

Where this is concerned, where the idea of being one, not just in walk, not just as a body, but one so that we all attain this maturity goes, who are you helping become like Christ? Right here in this body of believers. Who are you studying scripture with? Not just here, which is of course our primary command, Hebrews 10 24 to 25, but outside of this place. How are we looking for excuses to speak God's word to one another?

By text, by call, by meeting on a life group, by sharing verses and apps, whatever it is, who are we helping grow in Christ likeness by speaking the truth in love? Who is it that we have depth of relationship with that we can genuinely, gently, lovingly confront and say, hey, I saw how you did X. I don't think you should be doing that. I love you, but that's not how Christ has called us to live. Or do we just kind of pass it off to one of the pastors and say, yeah, you take the hit. Who are we helping?

In that sense. The joy of this walk is you have just as much to bring to the table as I do, because you have the same Spirit I have. You have been equipped by God to help another human being remade in the image of Christ to be what they were first designed to be.

Like Christ to the glory of God. And when we are all doing that for each other, we become this big shining light of who God is, inexplicable but intriguing to the world, because they will look at us and say, look how they love one another. Look how they walk as one. Look how they function as a church.

Is Christ building His church? Yes. Are we building each other up? Yes. Which one is it?

Yes. Let's pray. Father we thank you for your word that is living and active and sharper than a double-edged sword. Would you help me? Would you help us?

Would you help this precious body walk in a manner worthy of their salvation, to be united as one body because that is who they are, and all to attain the maturity of Christlikeness. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.