(Part 7)
February 22, 2021
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 ita]”>[a] says:
“When he ascended on high,
he took many captives
and gave gifts to his people.”b]”>[b]
9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regionsc]”>[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.
Footnotes
a. Ephesians 4:8 Or God
b. Ephesians 4:8 Psalm 68:18
c. Ephesians 4:9 Or the depths of the earth
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