How To Build The Church Together (Eph 4: 11-16)

Ephesians 4:11-16

(v11) God gives us resources - pastor, prophet, evangelist, teachers to equip the people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

This means that the people should not expect the leaders do everything, as we are expected to provide services to the Church. 

We can go to church to receive blessing from the leaders and workers. This is going to church with an empty bag. This put a lot of stress on them.

What we should do is to come with a bag full of blessings and do gift exchange with one another.

We come not to receive but to give blessings. We can come early to bless each other even before the service starts.

example: What if Chinese reunion dinner can be cooked together, rather then cooked by the mother.

Gal 5:13 - You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh ; rather, serve one another humbly in love.

If one if your leg is broken, then your hand must take over by carrying a crutch. Your body cannot stop moving. Similarly, if parts of the church do not exercise their gifts, then the church need to use people without the gift to do the work. Because the church need to move and go out and preach the gospel. This is why the church is not efficient or effective.

(v13) 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.

To reach "unity" all the members must have and agree on the same knowledge. If the leaders know a lot more, then there are those who does know, it is difficult to have full unity. Therefore each of us must become mature in our faith and knowledge of Jesus and the Word.

To be mature, we need to put in effort. It doesn't come automatically. It doesn't come with the years that you became a Christian. Young Christians can be more mature than those who were Christians for decades. Growth in maturity is intentional. We need to seek for help and bible lessons and fellowship to grow our maturity.

(v16) 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.

Each part of the body must build each other. To do this we must bond with each other, so we can correct each other without the risk of the person leaving the church. That's why a mother can scold the child in order he can grow, and he won't leave the mother.

Our faith is a communal faith. God bless us through the church. In Acts, God bless people through the church, such as financial needs, etc 

Together we serve, together we mature, together we bond.