CALLED TO SERVE
Ephesians 4:1-15
POSITION OF THE CALL
V:1. \”Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.\”
A. All believers have been call to serve the Lord
1. Paul considered himself a prisoner.
2. A prisoner is under the authority of another person.
3. A prisoner takes his direction from another person.
B. Paul set the example for us to follow.
1. We should see Jesus as the total authority of our lives
2. We have His Word, which is the direction for our lives.
C. We are encouraged to walk in a manner worthy of the call.
1. The Church is the example for the world to follow.
2. We may be the only church the world sees.
3. We were called to be the world\’s example of Jesus.
ATTITUDE OF THE CALL
V:2 \”with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, \”
1. The attitude of a servant is to be covered in unselfish love.
2. the evidence of love toward our brothers and sisters are:
a. Humility is taking a low view of ones importance.
b. Gentleness is mild, calm and kind.
also described as meekness which is power under control
c Patience is enduring without complaints.
d. Tolerance is accepting others as they are.
UNITY OF THE CALL
V:3-6. \” being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.\”
A. A house divided cannot stand.
1. The church, the body of Christ has to maintain unity in all areas.
2. One way of Satan dividing the Church is through different interpretations
of scriptures.
3. Some religions see God the Father, but not God the Son or God the Holy Spirit.
4. Some religions see Jesus as a son created by the Father
B. The Apostle Paul said , I determine to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him
crucified.
1. As long as we argue about different interpretations, we will be confused
and divided.
2. It is the job of the Holy Spirit to teach us the correct interpretation
of scripture.
3. As the body of Christ, we must have the same goals and aspirations
in serving the Lord.
4. We should treat every believer with mutual respect, realizing that we
all have equal calling.
EQUIPPING OF THE CALL
V:7-10. \” But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ\’s gift.
8 Therefore it says, \”WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.\”
9 (Now this expression, \”He ascended,\” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) \”
A. To all God called, He gave His favor, that is His grace.
1. The grace He gave was measured out according to the gift that He gave.
2. It requires more grace to preach in the street than it does inside the Church.
3. It requires more grace to pray for a life changing wayward child than
to pray for the healing of a broken bone.
4. It requires more grace to be the pastor of a church, than to be the deacon
of the Church.
B. Christ, the only begotten Son of God took off His robe of glory to become man
so that we might see His glory.
1. At His death, Christ went into the tomb and His shed blood atoned for the
sins of all who died in faith before Him
2. Faith in Christ death and resurrection opens the door to heaven for all who
were captive by sin.
3. According Matthew 27:52, on the day of Christ death, dead saints got up
out of their graves and walked the streets of Jerusalem.
POSITION IN THE CHURCH
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;
A. Pastors and teachers are the main core group for educating the congregation
in the Church.
1. The pastor has the job of leading the church under the divine guidance of
the Holy Spirit.
2. The teachers under the vision of the pastor teach the Word of God to
give the congregation a clear understanding of God\’s word.
B. I believe the job of apostles, prophets and evangelist are combined into
one group taking the Word of God to ends of the earth. ( Matt 28:18)
1. There were only twelve apostles which where the twelve original disciples of
Jesus. After Judas committed suicide, he was replace by Matthias. The Apostle
Paul was added under the direction of Jesus. The Apostles were the eye witnesses
to the teaching and miracles of Jesus.
C. The Apostle Paul was both an Apostle and an evangelist.
1. Barnabas traveled with Paul, but he was not called an apostle.
2. Mark traveled with Paul, but he was not called an apostle.
3. There were other who worked with Paul in the ministry that were
not called Apostles.
D. If we look at how God selected and used prophets in the Old Testament, we
will find that they were selected by God and filled with the Holy Spirit.
a. The prophets were given revelations of things and events to come.
b. According to Revelation 22:18-19, the Bible is closed. You cannot add anything
to it or take anything away from it.
c. The position of a prophet as previous used is no longer necessary.
C. It is my belief that we only have three main teaching groups, Pastors,
teachers and evangelist.
1. The young Church needed all these positions initially. But as it has matured, some
these positions have been done away with. (See 1 Cor 13:11).
OBJECTIVE OF THE CALL
V:13-14. \” 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;\”
A. These two verses confirm in my mind 1 Cor 13:11.
1. The growth of the Church is based on sound Biblical teaching.
2. 2 Timothy 2:15 states, \”Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.\”
B. Faith come by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
1. Today we have no excuse for a lack of knowledge of the Word of God.
2. Our libraries are full with Bibles and commentaries on the Word of God.
3. Most importantly, every believer has the Holy Spirit as the teacher of the
Word.
4. If we submit ourselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we will all came to the
same interpretation of the Word.
C. Satan does a job on the church teachers and pastors by introducing strange
doctrine that don\’t agree with the Holy Scriptures.
1. If you don\’t know the scripture, you wouldn\’t know if the doctrine is the truth.
2. Remember sin started in the Garden of Eden, because Eve failed to study the
Word for herself.
MISSION OF THE CALL
V:15-16. \” 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. \”
A. The job of a believer is to continue to grow to be more like Christ. It is a life long
process.
1. We come to Christ with a lot of hang ups and baggage that we have to let loose.
2. We have traditions and misinterpretation of scripture that have to be corrected.
3. We have been taught that love is tied to our feelings.
4. Love is giving regardless of our feeling. Love is what we are willing
to sacrifice for the good of others.
B. Christ who sacrificed His life for us is the supreme role model for love.
1. Every believer has been given spiritual gifts to be used in building up
the body of Christ.
2. Those who use their gifts are active in the service of God.
3. Those who do not use their gifts are weak links in the body.
a. Failure to use your gifts is an act of selfishness,
b. Failure to use your gifts is disrespectful to the head, Jesus Christ.
THANK YOU JESUS FOR YOUR LOVE
Rev. M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church
5510 West Sam Houston Park Way North
Houston, Texas 77041
For more lessons, follow me on facebook or visit my blogs
goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot,com and revmmitchell.com
