Grow in Building Together: Ephesians 4:11-16
And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness. Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head—Christ. From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.
GROWING UP
Paul describes the church as a child who’s growing up. While we might use measuring tape or mark our height against a wall, how is our spiritual stature measured?
What does Paul say we’re all like as spiritual kids?
How was this (or is this!) true for you?
What are we like when we’re “all grown up?”
Can you look back and see how you’ve grown up?
You may have heard people talk about “speaking the truth in love” before. What do people mean when they say that?
What does that phrase seem to mean here?
What is this phrase contrasted with?
What does it look like today (maybe even in your own life!) to be tossed around by winds of teaching blowing differently, human cunningness, clever techniques of deceit, etc.?
What should be the goal of “speaking the truth in love?”
How does this challenge you to do it differently? …encourage you to do it more?
GROWING OTHERS
Paul says a bit about how we grow up in Christ. Besides speaking the truth in love, what - or who! - is responsible for helping us grow?
What does this inform the function or purpose of the church?
How does it shape what we should expect from the church at large - pastors, teachers, leaders, members, etc.?
Does it change what you look for / how you participate in church life?
What does Paul say towards the end of this passage about your part - and everyone’s part! - in building up the church?
On a practical level, do you think you know what it means to be promoting growth, building people up in love, encouraging each person in “working properly,” etc.?
How are you doing that? How can you do that moving forward?