Ephesians 4:11-16
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
God by grace gives some gifts for selected people to speak forth His word, speak it out, lead, and teach others within the body of Christ which is His church. This is to give us all what we need to minister to each other and build us up as a whole, together. The goal is to all see the truth of who God is and what He does from His word, thus growing up in Him by sound teaching, the resulting discernment, even in the midst of subtle and outright attacks on Christ in us and our message of truth and grace. Therefore we endeavor to speak this truth in love to mature as a church in loving Christlikeness, bound together in truth and love by this grace in which we stand, as we use the gifts toward His goal for us. We are to build each other up this way in order to be competent as good servant-ambassadors of reconciliation to the world. All must do their part by the gifts given to each, whether as servant leaders or other members of His body. Each must grow up in Christ to serve the other in His truth, love, and grace.
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