Ephesians 4:15-16

Ephesians is another favorite of mine. I'm an "underliner" and I think the entire book of Ephesians is underlined in my Bible and a good bit of it is highlighted. I also have this book of the Bible downloaded on my ipod and I listen to it as I do odd jobs around the house. Listening to God's Word is a great way to lift your mood....anyway....on to our verse.

Ephesians 4:15-16
"But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love."

First of all, as believers, we have to operate out of the truth of the gospel message. That is the basis for all of our actions, and truth has to be grounded in love...in a right spirit. From that foundation, we can grow in Christ. As individuals we have to be actively pursuing Christ every single day. As we pursue Him, fall in love with Him, and become more intimately connected to Him, He will begin to show us our spiritual gifts, our passions, and our calling that will benefit the entire Body of Christ, which is the church.

Beth Moore said it this way..."If you want to know your purpose, pursue the heart of God and you'll have a head-on collision with your calling." We have to stop striving, or just spinning our wheels, and start seeking Him. The closer we get to Jesus, the more clearly we will understand His purpose for our lives. When we know that purpose then we will have a fullness of joy about what we are doing to grow the body.

At the moment that we received Christ as our Savior, we also received a spiritual gift (or gifts), that was thoughtfully chosen by our heavenly Father to help us fulfill His plans for us. Your spiritual gift indicates the way God designed you to serve and complete the body of Christ. We each play a vital role in supporting other parts of the body through love in action. Without each person knowing and using their spiritual gifts, the body is incomplete and is hindered from reaching its full potential.

We have to know and believe that God wants to make an impact for the kingdom through our lives. As we grow in our relationship with Him, we have to look for ways to allow God to do just that. Only then will the body of Christ be complete!

Until next time...

(*Some thoughts were taken from our study A Confident Heart)