Podcasts about Ephesians 4

Try our Online Bible College here!: https://5lxiiva.pushpress.com/open/interested In this episode, my brother and I walk through Ephesians 4:1–11 and talk about what it truly means to live worthy of the calling we've received as believers. We focus on:

Send us your feedback — we're listeningEphesians 4:2–3 — Early-Morning Prayer for Healing in the Family Home, Relational Calm and Peace During December Pressure From London to Auckland, from Nairobi to Toronto, from Dubai to Cape Town — recorded live here in London, England — a global 5 A.M. prayer within the DailyPrayer.uk 24-Hour Devotional Cycle.  Scripture (NIV) Ephesians 4:2–3 — “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Colossians 3:15 — “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…” As morning rises, global searches increase for help with family tension, emotional strain and the pressure of December gatherings. Ephesians 4:2–3 remains a leading scripture worldwide for unity, patience and relational healing. Prayer  Father, this morning I bring my home, my relationships and every place of tension before You. Heal the atmosphere where emotions feel stretched and conversations feel fragile. Bring peace where there is strain, understanding where there is frustration and gentleness where there is pressure. Soften my heart, guide my words and steady my reactions. Restore calm in my home, strengthen patience in my spirit and fill this day with Your presence. Let Your peace rule in every interaction and bring healing to every strained connection. Prayer Points prayer for unity, prayer for peace at home, prayer for emotional healing, prayer for calm, prayer for gentleness, prayer for patience, prayer for understanding Life Application Speak Ephesians 4:2–3 today, inviting God to bring unity, gentleness and peace into your home and relationships. Declaration I declare that God heals and restores peace in my home today. Call to Action Share this prayer and visit DailyPrayer.uk for global devotional resources.24-Hour Arc ConnectorPrevious: 3 A.M. — Healing from LonelinessThis Episode: 5 A.M. — Healing for Family CalmNext: 9 A.M. — Persecuted Church (New Rotation)ephesians 4 prayer, family tension prayer, healing for relationships, december family stress prayer, reverend ben cooper, dailyprayer.uk, global prayer podcast, daily prayer podcastSupport the showFor more inspiring content, visit RBChristianRadio.net — your home for daily devotionals, global prayer, and biblical encouragement for every season of life. We invite you to connect with our dedicated prayer hub at DailyPrayer.uk — a place where believers from every nation unite in prayer around the clock. If you need prayer, or would like to leave a request, this is the place to come. Our mission is simple: to pray with you, to stand with you, and to keep the power of prayer at the centre of everyday life. Your support through DailyPrayer.uk helps us continue sharing the gospel and covering the nations in prayer. You can also discover our ministry services and life celebrations at LifeCelebrant.net — serving families with faith, dignity, and hope. If this devotional blesses you, please consider supporting our listener-funded mission by buying us a coffee through RBChristianRadio.net. Every prayer, every gift, and every share helps us keep broadcasting God's Word to the world.

Todaywe continue our study of Ephesians 4:11–16. We have spent a significant amountof time on these verses because they are vitally important for every member ofthe body of Christ—every believer, every follower of Jesus Christ—to understandexactly what their purpose and role is within the body. Up to this point, thisentire chapter has focused on that very theme: the unity of the Spirit and theunity of the body—one body working together for one purpose.We'vediscussed that when the work of the ministry is being carried out,Christlikeness will be evident in the lives of believers. Each believer will begrowing into the likeness of Christ. Along with that growth comesstability. We will “no longer be like children”—arguing, actingselfishly, seeking positions of prominence, competing with one another, orpromoting ourselves. That kind of behavior is childish. We are no longerchildren. Additionally, we will not be easily swayed by false doctrine ordeceptive teaching, whether it comes from within the church, the surroundingculture, or the internet. Anothervital outcome of this passage is what we might call cooperation—workingtogether as one body. This is emphasized in verse 16: “From whom the wholebody, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to theeffective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the bodyfor the edifying of itself in love.”  Whenevery member is functioning according to the spiritual gifts they have beengiven, actively exercising those gifts within the local church, the body isknit together in love. It builds itself up. It is strengthened and edified.What a beautiful picture that is. And once again, we see the purpose beingfulfilled. Whatis that purpose? The saints are being equipped “for the work of theministry and for the edifying of the body of Christ”. We have beengiven spiritual gifts not for self-importance, not for personal praise orrecognition, but so that the entire body—every joint, every member—can becomeall that God intends it to be. Every part matters. Every member is important.In God's sight, every believer who faithfully serves is a hero, fulfilling thework of the ministry. Nowremember what the work of the ministry is. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:6,that “God has made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant—not of theletter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul continues by saying that because we have received thisministry, we do not lose heart. We do not quit. Even though Satan has blindedthe minds of unbelievers, even though we may be knocked down, afflicted, orpersecuted, we get back up. Why? So that the message of Jesus Christ and theglorious gospel might be made known—even through our physical bodies—as welabor together. This does not mean everything will be easy or perfect, but itdoes mean the work is worth it. ThenPaul clearly defines this ministry in 2 Corinthians 5:18: “Now all thingsare of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and hasgiven us the ministry of reconciliation.” There it is. As the body ofChrist, we work together to tell the world who Jesus Christ truly is.  Throughour Lord Jesus Christ, we have peace with God. And as believers workingtogether within the body of Christ—the church—we fulfill the work of theministry by proclaiming reconciliation. We tell the world that they can comeback to God. They can have a personal, real relationship with Him. Their sinscan be forgiven. They can experience wholeness, peace, joy, and the life Godcreated them to live. That is reconciliation—restored fellowship with God. Areyou exercising your spiritual gift in the work of ministry, theministry of reconciliation, and the building up of the body of JesusChrist for the glory of God? 

17 So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.  (NASB 1995)

Ephesians Series

11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. 14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 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. (NASB 1995)

❖ Follow along with today's reading: www.esv.org/Ephesians4:1–6:24 ❖ The English Standard Version (ESV) is an 'essentially literal' translation of the Bible in contemporary English. Created by a team of more than 100 leading evangelical scholars and pastors, the ESV Bible emphasizes 'word-for-word' accuracy, literary excellence, and depth of meaning. ❖ To learn more about the ESV and other audio resources, please visit www.ESV.org

Thefirst thing that we see as an evidence of spiritual maturity and spiritualgrowth is that we are Christlike in our attitude, actions and speech. Jesus wasalways submitted to the will of His Father. Read the Gospels. Jesus always didHis Father's will. This quote from Psalms is most descriptive of Jesus: “Ihad delight to do Thy will. Oh my God. Thy law is written within my heart” (Psalm40:8). That was the heart and mind of Jesus, my friend. That's what happens tous when we're submitted in obedience to the will of God. As Oswalt Chamberssaid in one of his writings.  We'vebeen perfectly adjusted to the fact that Christ lives in us, and we now know andlive in His righteousness. We're robed in that righteousness, and we want towalk with Him with all of our heart. It's a surrendered life, as Andrew Murrayput it. Thenwe see the second evidence of our spiritual growth is stability. We're nolonger children tossed to and fro. Today, we looking at the third evidence of our spiritual growth that wefind in verse 15: “But speaking the truth in love may grow up in allthings unto Him who is the head Christ”. The third evidence of spiritualmaturity is that we consistently “speak the truth in love”. Someonehas said that truth without love is brutality, but love without truth ishypocrisy. We somehow another, by the grace of God, can combine the two. Youmust have truth expressed in love. I love that verse in Psalm 85:10 where itsays, "Love and truth and mercy have met. Righteousness and peace havekissed." I believe this happened at the cross of Calvary. It was therethe truth of God, that we're sinners that our sin must be punished, met withthe love and mercy of God, as Christ died in our place for our sins. We now canbe set free from our sin and experience peace along with God's righteousness! Nowwe can speak truth out of a heart of love to those around us because we'veexperienced the love of God. 1 John 4:7-11 tells us where this love comes from:"Beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God, and everyone wholoves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God. ForGod is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God hassent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. Inthis is love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to bethe propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to loveone another." Evidencethat we have spiritual maturity is that we can love, but we love in truth. We speakthe truth in love. We don't speak the truth to hurt, to condemn, todestroy, to tear down. We speak it in love to build up, to encourage, to help aperson get back on track. We speak the truth in love. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8tells us the kind of love that God has and that we should have. “Lovesuffers long. Love is kind. Love does not envy. Love does not parade itself. Isnot puffed up. Does not behave rudely. Does not seek its own. Is not provoked.Thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, rejoices in the truth, love bearsall things.” Whenwe have a heart that is surrendered and obedient to the will of the Lord GodAlmighty, we will have the mind of Christ, and we will speak the truth withlove. It will be evidence that there is something in our heart that's differentthan when the natural man is in control of our lives and tearing down anddestroying the lives of those around us as we see so often in Christian circles.God help us to have this mark of spiritual maturity, and spiritual growth, andthat is “speaking the truth in love”. Godbless!

The unity provided to the Church by Christ brings God glory. As such, it must be preserved. Thus, God calls us to walk worthy, putting off the old life and putting on the new life in Christ. Unity is preserved by putting on the righteousness of Christ as we put off the old life.

By Every Word, 12-12-25

These verses are vitallyimportant to the unity of the church, to the growth of the believer, and to thewitness of the church in the community. That's why we're taking so longcontinuing to look at this passage of Scripture. Remember the leaders of thechurch are told to lead and teach the people to grow in their Christianmaturity, to grow in faith, and to understand how that as a body of believersthat are diverse, that have different opinions, have different ideas, maybeeven different cultural backgrounds, that it is vitally important that they loveone another, and care for one another.  Readthe New Testament. Read the book of First John. Read all the Epistles. Almostall of them speak about this love for one another. Jesus, in His last words inthe upper room were that His disciples might be one. His prayer was that theywould be one (John 17). That they would be one in Christ, one in unity, one inlove, caring for one another. Then they would be a witness to the world aroundthem. That's why this passage in Ephesians 4 is so important. Now,one of the things that will happen whenever God's at work, you can rest assuredthat the devil is also at work and he has his angels, agents of false teachersto lead people astray. Today, my friend, the internet and churches are full offalse teachers who would cause people to follow after them with false doctrines.That's why Paul, Peter and others writers of the New Testament wrote aboutthese people. Even in the first century church, Jude wrote about them. John, warnedof them in his epistles of 1st and 2nd John. Almost everyNew Testament Apostle, teacher, leader warned about these false teachers. Evenhere in Ephesians 4, where Paul is saying to build up the people in the unityof the faith he goes on to say in verse 14 that we should “no longer bechildren tossed to and fro”. Tossed to and fro by what? Because we would be“carried about by every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men and cunningcraftiness of deceitful plotting”, by the false teachers. In Acts 20:28-31,Paul in his last visit to the church at Ephesus, warned the elders: “Thereforetake heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit hasmade you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with Hisown blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come inamong you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up,speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.  In2 Peter 2:1-3, Peter warned the believers he's writing to about these false teachers:“But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will befalse teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, evendenying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. Andmany will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth willbe blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words…”.  Like Paul, he is warning us not to be deceivedby false teachers with their false doctrine. Acharacteristic of a Christlike Christian is that he is not only bathed in thetruth, living in the truth, walking in the truth, but he is stable. He issteadfast. He's not tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. Everybody thatcomes along with some new teaching about this or that or especially about theLord Jesus Christ and who He is. My friend, you must be careful what you'relistening to and make sure you look at everything in light of the context ofthe entire word of God. Then listen to faithful teachers and preachers who havestayed the course over many many years. Again,these are very important words because the devil is at work to destroy theunity of the church with false teachers. We must be aware of them. They'reeverywhere. So be aware, don't be children about this danger. Grow up, listento the truth, and walk in the truth. 

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? - 2 - Ephesians 4:11-15 - Tossed Or CrossedGod meant for the children of Israel to leave Egypt in order to cross the Jordan river into the land of promise. Yet they wandered in disobedience and unbelief until they died 40 years later in the desert. Directly from the word of God we find out why they were tossed around walking in circles and never crossed over to receive the promise. Get your Bible, listen, and be blessed…For more of That's The Truth! :https://godly.tv/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa0NAl8n9-Iuq7gO2LHFZSg/featuredArchive of preaching videos on YouTubehttps://www.facebook.com/LinkedWithGodLive stream every Sundayhttps://tttpodcast.lifeAudio recordings of sermons free to listen and downloadhttps://livingbreadoflife.wordpress.comA daily blog of KJV Bible verseshttps://live365.com/station/That-s-The-Truth--a70520Internet radio station with non-stop around the clock preaching

The giftsand offices to the early church in order that the people of the church, thebelievers, would grow to spiritual maturity and display to the world what itreally means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Acts11:26 tells us that the believers, the disciples, were “first calledChristians at Antioch” of Syria. Remember that this was a church made up believersfrom various nationalities and backgrounds. There were Gentile believers. Therewere Jewish believers. And no doubt, some were there from other nationalities. Itwas a mixed group of believers but we find that these people worked together insuch a way they were called Christians, which means they were Christlike. Thespiritual life is not a destination that we finally arrive at, and we are now spirituallymature. No, my friend, the real spiritual mature believer's life is a journey,it is a daily walk in the right direction. Yesterday we talked about the wascalled “a perfect man” in these verses. What it means to be “perfect”.Christ tells us that we should be perfect even as our Father in heaven isperfect. That means we are like Christ. Which means that we are in a placewhere we are being obedient to the Lord and the Holy Spirit's leading and doingand living out the will of God moment by moment in our daily lives.  Ilike what Oswald Chambers says about this. When we really have grown to a placeof spiritual maturity, on our journey, “we are walking by faith, not by sight”.He said, that it is not a matter of trying to figure out and doing the will ofGod, but “we are the will of God”.  Wesee that in these verses. We're not like children any longer, walking accordingto the lust of the flesh, walking according to the desires of our heart, doingwhat we want to do. No, we're living in the Holy Spirit, walking by faith, inthe Word of God. Again notice, that the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastorsand teachers were given for the equipping of the saints for the work of theministry and for the edifying of the body of Christ. Paul,as awesome as he was as an Apostle and disciple and follower of Christ andchurch planter, he said, "I've not yet arrived. I still reach forth."(Philippians 3:12-14).  We're alwaysreaching forth. We are still every day coming to the knowledge that I have somuch more to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. It's a growthevery day. It is a daily going in the right direction!The“work of the ministry” also includes the edifying of the body of Christ. Thisproduces unity in the church. That's why they were called Christians first atAntioch. There was that unity of believers despite their background, despitetheir culture, despite where they came from, rich and poor, etc. They worktogether in love displaying the characteristics of Christlikeness in theiractions and attitudes. Paulgoes on to say that we have come to the “unity of the faith”. Which is based onthat body of truth concerning the person of Jesus. What do you believe aboutJesus. That's why he goes on to say and of the knowledge of the Son of God. Whois Jesus? If someone doesn't believe that Jesus is Christ, the Son of God, Godin the flesh, He is deity, and that He is divine, the apostle John and otherwriters of the New Testament make it very clear, they are antichrist. They are nota true follower of Christ. (Read 1 and 2 John). TheChristian life is a walk of faith. “We walk by faith not by sight” (2 Corinthians5:7). And “We are no longer children tossed to and fro” (v. 14).Children are selfish. Children live on their emotions. They feel good and theyshow in their attitude and actions that they feel good. But then when they feelbad, in their actions and attitude they act bad and they treat others wrong. Theylive by their feelings. There are too many people in the church like that. Godwants us to always be growing spiritually where we're displaying thecharacteristics of Jesus Christ in our attitude and in everything we say and do. 

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Before I get into these verses, let me just mention that I'll be going toIndia from January the 15th through the 25th 2026, with a team fromGlobal Partners in Peace and Development. First, I'm asking for your prayersfor our team and myself as we go on this trip to India. We're going to be ableto do so many different things such as meet and speak to pastors, participatein dedicating a number of freshwater wells, and distribute gifts given through theGPPD gift catalog to the widows and Indian children. Also we'll be providinganimals for different folks to help provide food for them. We will be able toimpact and bless many precious Indian people and influence them for Christ. So pleasepray, pray, for safety and strength for this trip.  Alsosecondly, if you would like to financially help me cover the expenses for thetrip and with taking some gifts and money to give to pastors, simply donate itto “Mission Travel Support” through the PayPal donate button on our website: https://www.pmiministries.org/  Or you can send a gift to the address listed onour website where I have my office. Thank you in advance for your prayers andsupport. We're so blessed to have friends like you who've supported us over theyears and have helped us continue to do this wonderful ministry. Now,back to Ephesians 4:11-16. I want to share something that I noticed yesterdayin my devotional time, that I believe will speak to your heart, too.  Remember the Apostle Paul in this chapter has alreadytalked about the grace of unity, the ground of unity, and the gifts of unity, inverses 1-11. Now he's talking about the growth of unity (vv. 11-16).  When we have true spiritual growth in ourpersonal and individual lives, we will also experience growth in our churches. Paultells us that the offices and gifts of the apostles, prophets, evangelist, pastors,and the teachers are given to the church for the perfecting of the saint forthe saint to grow to spiritual maturity. He describes this as, “To a perfectman”, (or “woman”). Yesterdayin my devotion time, while reading a devotion by Oswald Chambers, he spoke ofwhat it means to “be perfect”.  Thinkingabout it, I remembered back in Matthew 5:48, Jesus had said in His Sermon onthe Mount, "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father inheaven is perfect." Then in Matthew 19, a rich young ruler came toJesus asking, "What can I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answeredand told him, "If you would be perfect…." Now, what does itmean to be perfect?  OswaldChambers tells us, "Beware of mental quibbling over the word ‘perfect'. Perfectiondoes not mean the full maturity and consummation of a man's power. But perfectfitness for doing the will of God (Philippians 3:12-15). Supposing Jesus Christcan perfectly adjust me to God, to put me so perfectly right that I shall be onthe footing where I can do the will of God, do I really want Him to do it? Do Iwant God at all cost to make me perfect?” (From his book, “It Thou Wilt bePerfect”, page 116) Thequestion for you and me today is, do I really want to be the person that'sspiritually mature to the place where I will be willing to yield my life sofully to God so that I'm always “about my Father's business”. Am I doingthe will of God right now? The first characteristic of spiritual maturity is “Christlikeness”. Godbless!

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In this teaching we look at the different roles that God has given in the church: elders, deacons, and saints (believers). We also study the importance of character in leadership.

Ephesians Series: Ephesians 4:32b-The Believer Must Be Characterized by Kindness, Compassion and Forgiveness-Lesson # 303

Ephesians Series: Ephesians 4:32b-The Believer Must Be Characterized by Kindness, Compassion and Forgiveness-Lesson # 303

Tomorrow I will be in Roanoke, Virginiaparticipating and speaking at a celebration of life service for a dear, dearsaint of God, Nancy Young. I'll tell you more about Nancy's and her life thatwas, “A Life Well Lived”, later in this blog. Matterof fact her life “measured up to the stature of the fullness of Christ”, thatPaul desired for every believer here in Ephesians 4. Today we begin looking atthis next section of the chapter where we learn about the “growth of unity” inthe local church. From verse 11 we are told this growth takes after, “HeHimself gives some apostles, and some prophets, some evangelists, and somepastors and teachers.” He does this for the purpose which we find in verses12-16. Thisis a very special passage of scripture that gives us exactly what the pastorsand leaders of the church should be doing. That is equipping the saints for thework of the ministry and for the spiritual growth and maturity of theindividual members.  Overmy 50 plus years as a pastor, if I ever knew someone that was a part of comingto the fullness of unity in Christ, coming to a place of full maturity in thebody of Christ and building up the body of Christ, and doing their part to makesure the church of Christ, the body of Christ, was the kind of church it shouldbe, it was Nancy Young. I've had the privilege of being her pastor for the pastthirty-some years now. As I think about the ministry we had together in thelocal church there at Rainbow Forest Baptist Church, of which she was a faithfulmember for the last 40 years, I watched as the Lord used Nancy in a wonderfulway to touch the lives of so many people. Manyof you probably didn't know that Nancy grew up in Africa with her parents, whowent there in 1945 when she was 3 years old. They were first missionaries inthe Congo, and then in Burundi, where during their ministry, there was aterrible genocide taking place. In her personal eight-page typed testimony thatshe recently wrote for her RFBC Sunday School class, she said from birth shewas taught the Word of God by her parents and had memorized Psalm 23 by thetime she was one year old. How amazing is that!!!!  Nancygrew up in Africa up to the time, when as a teenager she went to WheatonCollege back in the states. It was at Wheaton College that she developed apassion to teach children God's word. Not long after college, that she gotinvolved in WRE, (Weekly Religious Education). Now for over 55 plus years,every week you could find her teaching children the Bible in the public schoolsystem, usually meeting in a small trailer across the street from the school,like she did at Colonial Elementary School near where I lived. Ijust am so thankful for her faithful dedication to this ministry because manyof my grandchildren sat under her Bible teaching. Nancy actually taught mydaughters-in-law, Crystal Floyd Grooms when she was a girl. Remember Crystal,(and she won't mind that I say this), today is in her 40s. Yet when she was alittle girl at Colonial Elementary, she sat under Nancy's teaching. Nancyis a wonderful example of someone who loved the Lord, loved her husband, lovedher family, loved ministry, loved teaching God's Word, and had a grasp of the Wordof God in its entirety. She truly was an example of a mature believer who livedin the fullness of Jesus Christ. Oh, what a blessing it has been to be herpastor. We're celebrating her homegoing tomorrow (Tuesday) with her family.We're excited about how God's going to speak to the lives of many even in theservice.  Itrust you have been encouraged by her testimony that I have shared in today'schat. I trust that you are being equipped for the work of the ministry likeNancy Young was. May the Lord also use you to affect and influence the lives ofhundreds of others as He blesses and leads you.  Godbless!

Wesee the gifts of the Spirit are given so that the whole body of Christ mightprofit as we read in 1 Corinthians 12:7. Now we notice that Paul is keying inon four specific offices that are vitally necessary for the leading, theoversight, and the feeding of the church. He mentions those here in verse 11.He gave some Apostles. Those were the initial twelve men that Jesus Himselfcalled. Then alongside these Apostles, with the next gift and office were the prophets.Together these two callings, gifting and offices, laid the foundation of the church(Ephesians 2:20).  Thenwe notice the next office and gifting was, “some evangelists”. Of course, theseare the ones who spread the word of God with a special gifting as they traveledand as they ministered in different locations. They most likely were the churchplanters. Like Peter, when they would preach people would respond to the gospelunder conviction of sin and come to know Christ as their Savior. This officeand gifting is especially exercised for the growth and expansion of the church. ThenPaul gives the last office, and He uses two names that indicates two specificgiftings. “Some pastors and teachers”. The fact that the word"some" is not repeated indicates that we have here one office withtwo ministries. The word pastor means shepherd. A shepherd is someone who caresfor the sheep. Two other words are used for the same office in the NewTestament, which are elder and bishop. We see them in 1 Timothy 3 and also in 1Peter 5.  In1 Peter 5:1-4, Peter had a specific message for the elders as leaders in thechurch.  “The elders who are among youI exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ,and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock ofGod which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly,not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted toyou, but being examples to the flock; Notice he toldthem to fulfill the role of shepherds as pastors.  Ibelieve one of the special callings that God revealed to me as a young believer,along with a special gift that goes along with, was to be a pastor shepherd to theflock of God, and to care for His sheep. To be a shepherd means you love thesheep. Remember Psalm 23 where David writes, “The Lord is my shepherd, Ishall not want”. What example do we have from the Lord Jesus Christ? Hecared for the sheep. He leads the sheep. He leads them by example and He gaveHis life for the sheep.  No doubt Peter isthinking of this in 1 Peter 5. Again the “good shepherd, cares for the sheep, feedsthe sheep the Word of God, leads the sheep, and protects the sheep from falseteachers and doctrines (Acts 20:28-30). That'swhy the companion gift of teaching has to be in the life of a pastor. When Paulgave the instructions for the elders in the early church, they had to be ableto teach God's word, understand God's word, have the knowledge of what God's Wordrepresented, stood for, and how it should be proclaimed. This is all verycrucial for the church, the flock of God, to be healthy and productive. So,pastors and teachers, these are gifted people who help care for the flock,protect the flock, lead the flock, and they take time to visit the orphans andthe widows, as we read in James 1:27. “Pure religion and undefiled beforeGod and the father is this. To visit the fatherless, the orphans and the widowsin their affliction and to keep themselves unspotted from the world”.  Apastor does this by example as he cares, protects, teaches, feeds, and leadsthe flock of God. Pray for your pastor today as he fulfills this wonderfulministry to the church! And pastors, we would do well to take heed to Paul'sparting words to young pastor Timothy, “But you be watchful in all things,endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2Timothy 4:5). Godbless!

Alreadywe talked about the office of apostleship. Thespiritual gift and office of evangelists means that these are those in thechurch who “bear the good news”. That's what evangelist means. “Evangel”, “Abearer of good news”. Someone who takes the good news of the salvation that'savailable through Jesus Christ to the world that's lost and dying and on itsway into an endless eternity to a terrible place called hell. This gift iscrucial to the outreach and expansion of the church.  As I have looked at this passage and thoughtabout the spiritual gifting of the church, I want to remind you every gift, those17 gifts that were given to the baby church, that listed in Romans 12, 1Corinthians 12-14, and here in Ephesians 4, were all necessary for the localchurch, so that it could be a healthy and growing church that fellowships, thatworships, that evangelizes, that disciples, that builds up one another,ministers and cares for one another and changes the culture and the world inwhich it's placed. Oh, how awesome that is.  Ipersonally believe that every believer has at least one primary gift. I believethese primary gifts are the seven that are listed in Romans 12. You have atleast one of those as your primary gift. But in some since we call all practicethe gift of serving, the gift of giving, the gift of ministering. We all canpractice most of the gifts, but we have that one primary gift.  Ithas also been very interesting to me that the way we look at things in thechurch, and respond to challenges that the church might have, will be based onthe spiritual giftedness that God has given to each one of us. But all thegifts are necessary. They are very necessary for the church to be a healthychurch. Every member exercising their particular gift. When you're exercisingyour gift, instead of wearing you out, there's something that energizes you,that frees you, that gives you fulfillment and contentment, and a sense ofpurpose in the church. It is vitally necessary and very important for you toknow your spiritual gift.  Whenwe look at spiritual gift and office of the evangelist, we might think ofpeople like Peter who on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, who preached and 3,000souls are saved. He is the main spokesman for the church in the early chaptersof Acts. He is sent to Cornelius in Acts 10 and wins the first Gentile to the Lord.We even think the Apostle Paul had must have had this gift of evangelism. Laterhe would write to the church at Corinth how, “some plant and some water, butGod gives the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:7-8).  Paultold Timothy, who I believe had the gift of pastor, serving in the office ofpastor in many of the churches that Paul planted, and yet he told him do thework of an evangelist. In other words, all of us can be witnesses for JesusChrist. At the same time understanding and exercising our individual Spiritual gifts. Ithink of men in days past, like my dad, J. O. Grooms, D.L. Moody, Billy Sunday,Baily Smith, and Billy Graham, and today men like Rick Via and Steeven Kumar, whoobviously have that Spiritual gift, and fulfilled the office of evangelist, andhave been used to spread the Gospel around the world. We need these wonderfulmen of God as they go forth, and they bring new believers into the Kingdom.Then the pastors and teachers come in, and disciple and grow them. What awonderful thing it is to see God functioning and working through the localchurch of believers to glorify His son Jesus Christ.  Whata wonderful passage of scripture reminding us that each of us has a place inthe church. May the Lord help us to discover our spiritual gifts, and then alsoexercise them today in the body of Christ. Godbless!

Join us for our livestream Thursday, December 4, at 7:30PM HST. Pastor Leitu will teach on the roles of the Father, Jesus the Son, and The Holy Spirit. We will partake in Communion as well.Social MediaMobile & TV Apps: https://subsplash.com/calvarychapelkaneohe/appProphecy Website: http://jdfarag.orgChurch Website: http://www.calvarychapelkaneohe.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/JDFaragFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/JDFaragInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/JDFarag

Yesterdaywe talked about what it means to be apostle. Those were the 12 that Jesusoriginally chose (Matthew 10:1-4). Specifically, these Apostles had to be a witnessof Jesus life and ministry since His baptism and also His resurrection (Acts1:21-22). These were specially chosen men we read about in the Book of Actsthat laid the foundation of the church. But also other special group thatassisted in laying the foundation of the church in the first century were menwho were called the prophets. Nowwe usually think of a prophet in the Old Testament of someone that predicts thefuture. God gave these men special revelation and insight to talk about thingsto come. But in the New Testament, the prophet was someone who forthtold theword of God. Remember in the first century New Testament church in the book ofActs, they did not have a New Testament. Most of the believers did not havecopies of the Old Testament. Those were on scrolls and these were in thesynagogues. Therefore, they needed the office of a prophet who also laid thefoundation of the church along with the apostles.  Thesepeople were gifted by the Holy Spirit with special knowledge and wisdom. Weread in 1 Corinthians 13:2, "Though I have the gift of prophecy andunderstand all mysteries and all knowledge…." This gift and officegave them special insight to God's truths. They could proclaim to the localchurch a direct revelation from God that would help the early believers to knowand understand the truth and will of God concerning the mystery and ministry ofthe church along with specific application of God's Word concerning theirlives. At the same time many of these gifted men, like Paul, also gave revelationabout future events concerning the future of the church in the last days asthey were inspired to write letters to the churches. Inthe book of Romans 12:4-8 we find that there are seven spiritual gifts that arementioned. The first one that is mentioned in Romans 12:6 is prophesy alongwith instruction on how to exercise the gift. I believe that as important andnecessary as it was for all the spiritual gifts to be exercised in the localchurch that it also appears that these gifts are listed in order of theirimportance as far as their use in the church. Here in Ephesians 4:11 the giftand office of Apostleship is of course the first one. And as far as this giftand office is concerned, it was for very a specific purpose and for a veryspecific time period at the beginning and foundation of the church. Nextin importance would be the gift of prophecy.  In 1 Corinthians 14:1, Paul writes: “Pursuelove, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy”. Thenhe goes on to explain what the purpose of prophecy is in verses 2-5: “But he who prophesies speaksedification and exhortation and comfort to men. Sothis spiritual gift of prophecy was given to the men to come alongside the menwho had the gift of Apostleship to specially lay the foundation. You see thisin Ephesians 2:20: “Having been built on the foundation of the apostles andprophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone”. So they preached JesusChrist. They taught that Jesus was the head of the body, the chief cornerstone. Ibelieve that today it is possible the gift of prophecy is still able to beexercised, but it has to do with a person who is able to lead the church insuch a way that he understands and has special discernment of what is right andwrong in a specific way and is able to call out evil. Still, other Biblescholars believe the gift of prophecy expired with the early church when the NewTestament was completed. What matters today is that we still have love andunity and make the name and salvation of Jesus known to everyone we can! Godbless!

"1. In Ephesians 4, Paul talks about the church growing up into maturity, with every part of the body doing its work. How can kids (and adults) begin to see themselves as part of the body of Christ, not just the future of the church but the church right now? 2. Paul tells believers to ‘walk in love' (Eph. 5:2) and to ‘walk as children of light' (Eph. 5:8). What does that look like for kids at school, at home, or even on the playground? What about adults at work? 3. Ephesians 6 tells children to obey their parents in the Lord, and parents to bring them up in the instruction of the Lord. How do you explain this to kids in a way that doesn't just feel like another rule, but helps them see God's good design for family? Do adult children still need to obey their parents? When does that stop? Additional References about spiritual gifts: Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4; 1 Peter 4 You can also check out the Join The Journey Jr. Podcast: Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/join-the-journey-junior/id1660089898 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6SG7aaE1ZjjFkgB34G8zp3?si=c960a63736904665 Check out the Join The Journey Website for today's devotional and more resources! https://www.jointhejourney.com/ Amazon Storefront: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Watermark-Community-Church/author/B0BRYP5MQK?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1755623322&sr=8-1&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=8aeeec3b-6c1c-416d-87ae-5dfbbb6981df"

John Busch continues through Ephesians 4, which speaks about how the right tools, both literal and metaphorical, are crucial for achieving spiritual goals. He explains how Ephesians highlights the heart's motives and the need for renewal in Christ. He shares that embracing trials leads to spiritual purity, and explores themes of generosity, accountability, and the Holy Spirit's role, encouraging kindness and unity among believers.

Todaywe continue to look at Ephesians 4:7-11. Weneed to understand the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the unity of the church isvitally important to sharing this great message of the Gospel of Christ to theworld around us. God has chosen the church today to do this. The New Testament churchcan best be describes as a local body of baptized believers, under thediscipline of the Word of God, being led by the Holy Spirit, exercising thegifts of the Spirit, organized under spiritual leadership for the purpose ofworship, fellowship, discipleship, evangelism, and ministry, and fulfilling theordinances of the church—the Lord's Supper and baptism. That is the localchurch. Inthat church God has placed people with various spiritual gifts to make surethat body functions properly in such a way that they are able to fulfill,complete, and carry out God's great commission. That is the purpose of thespiritual gifts. We see that specifically as we look at the passage here inEphesians chapter 4, verses 7-11.It says in verse 11, “And He Himself gavesome to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors andteachers.” Interesting,as you look at all three passages in the New Testament speaking specificallyabout spiritual gifts, you will find that in Romans 12, and also 1 Corinthians12-14, that Paul lists many gifts. Some people estimate up to 18 differentspiritual gifts were given to the church initially. But here in Ephesians 4:7,it appears that Paul is talking not so much about the gifts of the Spirit as heis talking about some of the offices that are being fulfilled because of thegift of the Spirit that were given to particular people in his day. Thefirst one Paul mentions was the Apostles. “He gave some to be apostles”.The word apostle means one who is sent with a commission. Jesus had manydisciples—even one time 70 disciples are mentioned—but we know that He onlyselected 12 apostles (Matthew 10:1-4). The disciple is a learner, a follower.But an apostle is a divinely appointed representative. For someone to be anapostle, he had to have witnessed the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Acts1:21-22). In Acts 1, when they were replacing Judas as one of the twelveapostles, they prayed about it, sought God's will about it, and particularlychose one person, Matthias, to become that twelfth Apostle (Acts 1:26). Today,there are no apostles in the strictest New Testament sense. These apostles laidthe foundation of the church along with the prophets as we are told in Ephesians2:19-20, “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, butfellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, havingbeen built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himselfbeing the chief corner stone.”  Oncethe foundation of the church, the New Testament church, was laid, there was nolonger a need for apostles. Today when I hear someone saying, “I'm an apostle,”I hope they mean that they are one who is sent with a commission. Because allof us as believers are sent. As Jesus said to the disciples and to theapostles, “As the Father has sent Me, even so send I you.” Every believer inthat sense is sent. We are sent with a commission to share the good news ofJesus Christ. Butthere were only twelve who laid the foundation of the church in the NewTestament. That is very important to know. Today we should not claim to be anapostle. We should claim to be a follower, a disciple of Jesus Christ. We havebeen sent even as an Apostle was sent, but we are not apostles because we didnot physically witness the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That was thequalification given in Acts 1. Aswe study these four offices of the church that are mentioned by Paul here, theyshould encourage us to be what God wants us to be with our spiritual gift inthe church so the body of Christ can function as it should. Godbless!

Interestingly, when you come to the subject of spiritual gifts in the NewTestament and in the church today it can be a matter of division rather thanunity. People have so many different opinions and ideas and biblical teachingsthat they're given about spiritual gifts that there's division in the churchover the gifts. That happened in the church of Corinth. It is apparent that inthis early church some believers thought because they had certain spiritualcharismatic type gifts that they were more spiritual than other people. Theywere puffed up about it. No doubt that's why Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 13, wherehe talked about love. Basically, he writes and tells us that the exercise ofthe gifts of the Spirit without the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit, whichis love, the gift “profits nothing”.  Weshould practice and exercise our spiritual gifts that we have been individuallygiven in the spirit and motivation of love to glorify God. When we do that, webuild up the body of Jesus Christ, encourage and comfort, and edify one anotheras we read in the three passages of scriptures that have to do especially withspiritual gifts. Remember the three main passages in the New Testament on thissubject are Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, 13 and 14 and here in Ephesians 4.Itis important to remember as we look at the subject of Spiritual gifts that thereare difference of opinions. I personally teach that the gifts can be dividedinto three categories which are, the speaking gifts, the service gifts, and thesign gifts. For examples, in the early church the speaking gifts, would haveincluded teaching, exhortation, and prophecy. The service gifts would have includedadministration, giving, ministering, and mercy. The sign gifts would haveincluded healing, miracles, tongues and interpretation of tongues.  Whenit comes to the giving and exercising of the sign gifts, I personally believe, (andrealize that many Bible teachers and others, and some of my best friends woulddisagree with me when it comes to this particular category of gifts), that thesign gifts ceased with the completion of the New Testament being written. Thesegifts were only for the baby church. Remember in 1 Corinthians 13 when Paulwrote, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, butwhen I became a man, I put away childish things”. , I believe, Paul isindicating that when we have a complete Bible that we did not need the signedgifts. Nowthis doesn't mean that today somebody couldn't speak miraculously speak in anotherlanguage and share the gospel to someone else. It doesn't mean that someonecouldn't pray and experience a healing for themselves or for someone else. Itdoesn't mean that someone can't pray for a miracle and a miracle takes place. Ibelieve all those things are still possible. But as far as a gift to aparticular person who could walk into hospital and empty it because he or she hasthe gift of healing. I just have never met that person today. I don't believeit's necessary because we have the complete Word of God and we don't need signs. Again,this is my opinion, and I have great fellowship with pastors and friends whofeel and believe differently about this particular subject, because we love oneanother and agree the main thing is that lost people need to experience salvationthrough Jesus Christ.  Itrust this has not confused you today but that we focus on exercising our Spiritualgifts for the purpose of edifying, encouraging, and exhorting one another inthe body of Christ with love and unity, and most of all glorify the Lord JesusChrist! Godbless!

Ephesians 4 shows us how change happens in the Christian life: we put off the old self, renew our minds with God's truth, and put on the new self created in Christ. In this episode we talk through that pattern and how it plays out in marriage, parenting, friendships, our time, and our words. Head over to ThankfulHomemaker.com for full show notes on all the links and resources mentioned in today's episode.  EP 183: Killing the Sin of Selfishness Joy of Self Forgetfulness Podcasts & Posts on our Speech   RESOURCES: Join Thankful Homemaker for access to the Free Library of Resources Follow ThankfulHomemaker on Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest & Instagram Patreon Support Join the Thankful Homemaker Facebook Group Subscribe to the Podcast on Your Favorite App  Online Courses & Printables Thankful Homemaker Merchandise Buy Marci a Cup of Coffee xo     

Ephesians 4:1-6 with Pastor Greg Denham

Scripture is our guideline to understanding the unity of the body of Christ. We are told how the Church is loved by Christ and how to love one another, and the results of what this unity in Christ accomplishes. In this episode, Associate Pastor Josh Randol talks about how God has fulfilled his promises to unify the body of Christ through the Gospel of His Son from Ephesians 4:1-16.Get Connected! https://linktr.ee/reachtulsa

567. Ordination Sunday Exodus 31:1- 2, Ephesians 4:7, Hebrew 5:1-4 Rev. Emmanuel Oset 30112025 by City Church Lagos

Todaywill continue to look at Ephesians 4:7-11. These verses are about the Spiritualgifts that God gives “to each one of us” for unity in the church.These gifts can either be used to build us up or used to tear us down. God hasalready given us the Gift of the Holy Spirit at the moment of our salvation. Atthat time, we were baptized into the body of Christ, and the Holy Spirit cameto dwell within us. This great truth is taught throughout the Epistles in theNew Testament.  Butalong with the Gift of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit,also imparted Spiritual gifts into our life. These gifts are many and you willfind them listed in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12-14 and also in Ephesians 4. Weneed to also understand that these Spiritual gifts are not the naturalabilities that we're born with, such as mechanical ability, musical ability,athletic ability, or artistic ability. No, those are natural abilities anddifferent people have different natural abilities.  Butthese are Spiritual gifts and this gifting is very important for us tounderstand as believers. I'm convinced, we will not find real fulfillment,satisfaction, and real contentment in our lives unless we're fulfilling thepurpose for which God created us. Remember in Ephesians 2:8-10 we learned that Godsaved us by His grace, not just so we could go to heaven when we died, butbecause, “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, whichGod prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” He saves us to do “goodworks” for Him through the abilities we have from our Spiritual gifts.  Godknew exactly what gifts the body needed in that particular local church and He “preparedbeforehand” and gifted every believer that became a part of that localchurch with specific spiritual gifts to build up that body of Jesus Christwhich builds up the whole body of Christ around the world. So these arepowerful verses to understand and make sure we begin to comprehend and apply to“each” of our lives as we see in verse 7: “But to each one of us,grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift”.  Paulsaid something similar in Romans 12:4-6: "For aswe have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the samefunction. So we being many are one body in Christ and individually members ofone another." Having then gifts differing according to the grace that isgiven to us, let us use them”. We should make sure we're exercising thosespiritual gifts that God has given us. Thenin verses 8-10, we read something very interesting. These are wonderful versesreminding us that Jesus Christ first descended that He might ascend. And He ledcaptivity captive. I believe the meaning of this is that just as we werecaptive to Satan by sin before salvation, Jesus Christ because He wasvictorious over death and sin and hell and the grave, He now takes us captivefor His glory, and gives the Spiritual gifts that we need to serve Him. “Jesusdescended that He might ascend”. He descended in obedience to “death of thecross and for that God has highly exalted Him and given Him the Name that isabove every name…” (Philippians 2:8-11).  Jesus“descended to the lower parts of the earth”. I believe that this couldmean that Jesus took there those in paradise previous to the cross and He ledthem up to the third heaven. And Jesus also delivered us from our captivity tosin and Satan and made us His captives to be free to live holy and Godly livesand gave us the Spiritual gifts to serve Him.  Ohmy friend, aren't you so thankful that Jesus “though He was rich, He becamepoor that we through His poverty might be rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Wehave the riches of Christ, and the Spiritual gifts that He's given “toeach one of us”, the wealth of Christ Himself living within “eachone of us” today.  Doyou know your Spiritual gifts? Are you using them for the glory of God and thebuilding up of the body of Jesus Christ?

Nowwe are looking at the unity that especially needs to be there because of thegifts of the Spirit which differ for individuals in the church. In the body ofChrist, the Church, we have different gifts, but we should still have unitybecause we need each other, with each other's Spiritual gifts to be built up inthe body of Jesus Christ. We're going to see that this is what Paul is talkingabout in these verses.  So,in these verses 7-11, Paul moves on from what all Christians have in common tohow Christians differ from each other. He's discussing the variety andindividuality within the unity of the Spirit because God has given eachbeliever at least two to three gifts. You find this taught in 1 Corinthians12:4-11: “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And thereare differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there arediversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. Butthe manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal…..Butall these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every manseverally as He will.” Didyou notice that the “Holy Spirit gives to each man severally as Hewills." I believe that's speaking of at least maybe two to threegifts. I believe we have one primary spiritual gift along with a few others. Ialso believe we can still all practice many of the Spiritual gifts such asserving, giving, faith, and so on. You find these Spiritual gifts listed inthree main passages in the New Testament: Romans 12; here in Ephesians 4, andalso in more detail in chapters 12 through 14 in 1 Corinthians. There you'llfind the list and the discussion of Spiritual gifts by the Apostle Paul tothese three churches: The church at Rome, the church at Ephesus and the churchat Corinth.  Rememberthat the church at Corinth was having major divisions over the use and purposeof Spiritual gifts. It is also very important that we understand from 1Corinthians 12 and from this Ephesians 4 passage of Scripture that the HolySpirit gave the gifts for the unity and the building up of the body. One of thebest definitions of a Spiritual gift I have found is that: A Spiritual Gift is aGod-given ability to serve God and other members in the church in such a waythat Christ is glorified and believers are edified. Which means when the giftsare being exercised properly in the Church, they build up the others as theybuild up the body of Christ.  Thisis what Paul really keys in on here in this passage before us. We'll be lookingat these verses the next few days and how we have a wonderful Christ Who hasgiven these gifts because He's “ascended”. The Holy Spirit has beengiven to the church. He is the “gift of the Spirit” (Acts 2:38-39). Youreceive this “Gift” at the moment of your salvation. But then there are the differentgifts of the Spirit that build up the body of Christ. You personally also receiveyour specific particular gifts at the moment of your salvation even though youmight discover them at a later time. This is what we will be studying overthese next few days.  Today,do you know what your Spiritual gifts are? Godbless!

Pastor Matt Nelson teaches that in a culturally divided world, the Church must become a radically united people by keeping Jesus—not opinions, preferences, or politics—at the center. Drawing from Ephesians 4, he emphasizes that diversity is not a threat but a strength when submitted to Christ. He warns that unity will never happen accidentally. We must fight for it, cling tightly to the essentials of our faith, and rely on the Holy Spirit to make us one. Listen and be challenged. Support the show

In the Gospel of John, Jesusused the word “Father” 126 times when He spoke of His relationship withGod. The last of the seven spiritual realities that Paul speaks of, that is theground of our unity, is “one God and Father of all who isabove all and through all and in you all” (v. 6). Nowinteresting Paul basically said the same thing to the church at  Corinth in 1 Corinthians 8:5-6: “... yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are allthings, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things,and through whom we live”. Paul often used this word Father when he referredto God. (Over 46 times in his epistles). Many times, Paul said, “God theFather”. He also said, “God and Father”. Then Paul would often say “Godour Father”.  “Godour Father”.That the God of the universe, the God who created all things. In a sense, theFather of everything that is in this world came and emanated from our CreatorGod. Yet, that truth doesn't make every one of us today one of His children.Because, as you know, we're told in Ephesians 2, that we are born “childrenof wrath, children of disobedience”. That means we are under the control ofour old nature, of Satan himself in a sense. We are alienated in our minds ourby our wicked works against a holy God (Colossians 1:21).  ButGod loves us so much (John 3:16). He wants us to be in His family. That's whyJohn 1:12 says, "But as many as receive Him, to them He gives thepower, the authority to become the children of God." Then in the bookof 1 John 3:1-2, John again reminds us of this awesome relationship we can havewith God with these words: “Behold what manner of love the Father hasbestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! … Beloved, now we arechildren of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we knowthat when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is”.Wow! What love and what a great promise!!!! This is the truth of thespiritual reality that anyone, anywhere, can experience when they believe andtrust the Lord Jesus Christ to be their personal Lord and Savior! Paulin Romans 8:14-17, puts it this way: “For as many as are led by the Spiritof God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondageagain to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out,"Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit thatwe are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and jointheirs with Christ…”  Inour despair and pain we can “cry Abba Father, dear Father, daddy Father”. Weare close to Him. He is a Father who cares for us, who loves us, who draws usnear to His bosom, who holds us close. “He is Father of mercies and the God ofall comfort," (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).Oh, what an awesome Father God that you and I have who cares for us so deeplythat He would send His Son, His only Son. He's the Father of our Lord JesusChrist in the trinity. He is Father of us as we trust Him to be our Lord andSavior. Oh my friend, you can call Him, “my Father”. The Lord's prayerteaches us to pray “Our Father who art in heaven”. Why? Because againit's speaking of the unity of believers.  So,in these seven spiritual realities that Paul points out, we have the purity ofour doctrine. Oh my friend, that's who weneed to worship. The true, the living God, the God who sent His Son, JesusChrist. Be encouraged today if you're a believer. Despite what else ishappening around you, what's going on that might be bad or tragic in your life,God can be your Father today. He loves you. He cares for you. He yearns for youto come to Him with all your needs, with all your hurts, with all your pain.He's ready to heal them through His Holy Spirit and through the blood of JesusChrist He will cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Would you come to Himtoday? He's waiting for you just as the father waited for the prodigal sonthere in Luke 15.

Todaywill continue to look at Ephesians 4:4-6 where we talk about the ground of ourunity. Remember in verses 1-3, Paul was talking about the grace of our unity.We have longsuffering, gentleness, and humility. We bear with one another inlove. That's the grace of our unity and now we need the basis of our unity.What gives us unity? Oneness in Jesus Christ. Oneness in our church. Unitywhere there's diversity and yet we have a unity of love and kindness and gracewith each other.  Theworld should see this love and oneness that Jesus prayed about in John 17 becausewe are one with Christ and in Christ. Because we are one with God we can loveone another despite our differences. Oh, my friend, how the church needs thatunity today. The local body of Jesus Christ caring for one another, praying forone another, working together as we serve the one Lord and God of our Father ofour Lord Jesus Christ.  SoPaul writes about the seven spiritual realities that we in verses 4-6. Thefirst five being: one body, one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith. Now, thelast two of these spiritual realities are one baptism and one God and Father inverses five and six.  “Onebaptism”.I believe the baptism here that the Apostle Paul is writing about is thebaptism that takes place at the moment of our salvation. In 1 Corinthians 12:13Paul wrote, "For by one Spirit we are baptized into one body."For sure there is a difference of opinions when it comes to the teaching of thebaptism of the Spirit in the New Testament. I personally believe that there wasan initial, unique, one time in history experience, that took place when the120 disciples in the upper room praying in one accord (Acts 2:1-3).  Thishappened on the day of Pentecost, (that's 50 days after Passover), when theHoly Spirit came down on these disciples with tongues of fire and they werebaptized into the body of Christ and the church was birthed. Jesus had toldthem to: "Tarry in Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father, theHoly Spirit", in Acts 1. For 10 days they had waited and prayedtogether. Then on that tenth day, a one-time historical event took place as the120 were baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ. Laterthat day, when Peter preached, 3,000 souls were saved. At the moment of eachsalvation of those 3,000 people, each one individually was baptized into thebody of Christ. If you want to read details about this, read Acts 1-2. Anotherpassage that speaks of this spiritual experience that takes place in the lifeof each believer when they get saved, is 1 Corinthians 12. Paul speaks of the diversityof gifts but “the same Spirit”. There are differences of ministry orservice but “the same Lord”. In verse 6, he says there's diversities ofactivities, but “the same God” who works all in all.  Youwill see this theme throughout this chapter, one spirit, same God, one God, oneLord Jesus Christ. And remember Paul is writing to the church at Corinth that'shaving tremendous divisions amongst themselves. He's reminding them when onebody, one spirit, one God, one Father. And now he is doing the same with thechurch at Ephesus.  Sotoday, we need to remember this baptism he is speaking of in Ephesians 4:5 isnot a second experience, third, fourth, fifth, sixth experience of baptism.This baptism only takes place at the moment of your salvation. You're baptizedat that moment into the body of Christ. Read Romans 6:3, where Paul speaks ofwhat takes place at this baptism of the Spirit. "Don't you know that asmany of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ, we were baptized into Hisdeath?"  Again, this takes placeat our salvation.  So,there is only “one baptism”, and you don't need to look for asecond, third, or fourth, or fifth baptism. It's already taken place. Surely, aswe dwell on these things and think about what God has done for us in Christ, wecan have true unity one with another. Godbless!

Todaywe're looking specifically at Ephesians 4:5 where we read of the fifthspiritual reality, “One faith”. Sofar in verse 4, Paul has already mentioned one body, one Spirit, one hope. Andyesterday we talked about one Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is Lord overall. Now today we're talking about the next word, one faith. One faith. Nowit's important that we remember we're talking about unity. What brings aboutunity in the local body of Christ amongst believers is found in this essentialspiritual reality that is called “one faith”. Now the word “faith”here is not speaking of a personal faith that we have. Like when we say, I haveput my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I put my faith in His resurrectionpower. I have faith to believe that God's going to do this or that. No, thisword here is not speaking of that kind of faith. That's a personal faith.  The“One Faith” here, is speaking of an objective faith. This “onefaith" transcends mere personal conviction or subjectivetrust; it represents the objective, divinely revealed body of doctrine thatforms the bedrock of Christianity. This “one faith” is speakingof the body of truth were find in the Word of God that you and I hold dear toour hearts we're not going to let change. So, it's “one faith”.There are not many paths to God. There is only one path to God. That path isthrough the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not “two faiths”, “five faiths”, or “tenfaiths”. It's “one faith”, one body of truth that brings us into arevelation, a knowledge of who God really is through His son Jesus Christ.  Wecan't miss the importance of this truth! We live in a day of apostasy. We livein a day when the Gospel message has been watered down. We have a good God, a gooddevil, a good everybody. Be good. Do your best. Go to church. Try to keep theten commandments the best you can do, and God will understand in the end. Butmy friend, that's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible gives us one faith, onebody of truth that guarantees us an eternal salvation through our faith inChrist, in Christ alone. So, we have “one faith”.  Theessentials of this faith include the Lordship of Jesus Christ and His deity. Heis God manifest in the flesh! I believe a great verse that speaks of this isJude 1:3. Jude writing to the believers says, "Beloved, while I wasvery diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found itnecessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faithwhich was once for all delivered to all the saints. For certain men have creptin unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly menwho have turned the grace of our God into lewdness deny the only Lord God ourLord Jesus Christ." Sothe faith that he's speaking of here is this body of truth, this original bodyof truth that the apostles have delivered to us once for all, it's unchanging.It's not negotiable. It has been always the same. My friend, Jesus Christ isthe same yesterday, today, and forever. “One faith”. This includes Jesus Christ'svirgin birth, His sinless life, His atoning death, His bodily resurrection, Hisascension into heaven where He's seated at the right hand of the Father rightnow. This includes salvation by grace through faith alone, not works. Thisspeaks of the Trinity, God in three persons, Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Thisspeaks of the authority of the Holy Scriptures as inspired and infallible. Thisspeaks of moral ethical living, holiness, love, and avoidance of sin in ourlives.  This“one faith” speaks of the hope of Jesus Christ and His bodily returnone day and eternal life that is through Him alone. My friend, that's the “onefaith” we must hold dear in our hearts and “earnestly contend for” eventoday.  Godbless!

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.

When God chooses a person to be His child, He also places them into a church family for ministry to them, and for them to provide ministry to others. Today we're looking at Ephesians 4 and see how God blesses us with gifts that we might all grow together in spiritual maturity and holiness. Join us for yet another exciting study in the Word of God! Check out our Bible Study Guide on the Key Chapters of Genesis! Available on Amazon! To see our dedicated podcast website with access to all our episodes and other resources, visit us at: www.keychapters.org. Find us on all major platforms, or use these direct links: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6OqbnDRrfuyHRmkpUSyoHv Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/366-key-chapters-in-the-bible/id1493571819 YouTube: Key Chapters of the Bible on YouTube. In 2025, we were awarded #10 on the list of the "Best 100 Bible Podcasts" list from www.millionpodcasts.com. We are grateful to be included in the "Top 100 Bible Podcasts to Follow" from Feedspot.com. Also for regularly being awarded "Podcast of the Day" from PlayerFM. Special thanks to Joseph McDade for providing our theme music.   

❖ Follow along with today's reading: www.esv.org/Ezekiel12–13;Psalm119:105–112;Ephesians4 ❖ The English Standard Version (ESV) is an 'essentially literal' translation of the Bible in contemporary English. Created by a team of more than 100 leading evangelical scholars and pastors, the ESV Bible emphasizes 'word-for-word' accuracy, literary excellence, and depth of meaning. ❖ To learn more about the ESV and other audio resources, please visit www.ESV.org

Join us for our livestream Thursday, November 20, at 7:30PM HST. Pastor Leitu teaches on Ephesians 4:1-3, which describes how God wants us to 'Walk Worthy' of our calling in life. He has gifted us and prepared us before we were born to step into that which He's designed for us as we live as His kids here on earth.Social MediaMobile & TV Apps: https://subsplash.com/calvarychapelkaneohe/appProphecy Website: http://jdfarag.orgChurch Website: http://www.calvarychapelkaneohe.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/JDFaragFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/JDFaragInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/JDFarag

“What is the Mark of the Beast in Revelation?” In this episode, we explore this intriguing question alongside topics such as the implications of electrical implants as potential marks and the interpretation of Ephesians 4:29. Join us as we delve into these thought-provoking discussions and more. Join the Catholic Answers Live Club Newsletter Invite our apologists to speak at your parish! Visit Catholicanswersspeakers.com Questions Covered: 01:35 – What is the Mark of Beast in Revelation? 12:50 – Could electrical implants in the body be the mark? 24:30 – I don't think the Catholic Jesus fulfills 1 John 1:9 and Hebrew 10:12-14. 44:45 – When the Old Testament says the Lord appears to different people, what would that look like? 49:06 – What Catholic Bible do you recommend? 52:20 – Could you explain what Ephesians 4:29 means?