Ephesians chapter four, verse one. I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called with all lowliness and gentleness, with long suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called in one hope, of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all. But to each one of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore, he says, when he ascended on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men. Now this he ascended, what does it mean? But that he also first descended into the lower parts of the earth. He who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens that he might fill all things. And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers for the equipping. of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 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, 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. But speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things into him who is the head, Christ, 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. So I said to you in my last message that the Apostle Paul gives us three reasons why pastor teachers were given by Christ to the church. They were given so that we would not remain children in the faith. They were also given so that we would learn to speak the truth in love. So now at this time, we will look together at the third truth, that pastors were given so that believers would learn to be more effectual, that they would effectually work together to see the growth of the body, it says here, for the edifying of itself in love. So from this verse then, I want to open up Three truths. First of all, that the whole spiritual body is joined and knit together by spiritual joints. Second, that there is an effective working by which every part does its share. And third, the result of this working is the growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. So let's see if we can better understand what the Lord is doing and what we should be doing on a regular, ongoing basis to establish the growth of the body on both the local and universal church levels. First of all, the whole spiritual body of Christ is joined and knit together by spiritual joints. So it's good for us to remember as Christians that we are joined together in one spiritual body. To our head, Jesus Christ, his body, which is the church, has these levels of local and universal, as I've said to you before. And you and I have a responsibility towards both. Our responsibility is to speak the truth in love. Now, I don't know if you've thought about it this way, because maybe you don't get along so well with people from other churches, or maybe you don't get along even so well with people in our own church here. But I'm saying to you that this passage is teaching us that you and I have a responsibility towards both the universal and the local church, and it is to speak the truth in love. Why? So that we will grow up into our head who is Christ, as Paul says in verse 15. So here we see that the whole body is joined and knit together by what every joint supplies. So let's take this on the larger level of the universal church first. We're talking about joints and what they do for the body. In the human body, joints connect the bones of the body. The joint is that which permits certain coordinated movements in the body. So if I flex my hand into a fist, if I realize that I'm seeing 14 joints in action, not to mention the joints and bones in my wrist and the ligaments and muscles that it took for me, to do that action. It's a coordinated effort coming from what my mind tells my hand to do. And if one or more of my joints has been injured or for whatever reason it does not work, then I could not complete that action of making my hand even into a fist. Now spiritually, if we can consider the skeletal bones of the body to spiritually be the true doctrines of the Bible and the joints as the connections between true believers in many churches and denominations, then I think that we can begin to conceive of what Christ has called us to do on the larger level of the body of Christ. What we're called together to do on this larger level is not to attempt ecumenical dialogue to see where we might compromise and come together to attain a unity contrived by us, but rather we're called upon to learn how we might preserve the unity of the faith that already exists. Because the Holy Spirit placed us all into the body of Christ at the time of our conversion to Christ. And it's because of that that we should study to do each other good. We should study to work together in service to Christ where we can. Now there are large, there are numbers of denominational and non-denominational churches in the world. There are multiplied thousands of churches. And there are millions of true believers in the world today. And if we are following the Lord in uprightness of heart, we are all trying to come to terms with how we should view each other. And I believe that we ought to study to see what we could possibly do with other believers in other churches, other denominational settings. to promote the truth of the gospel and the word of God, and in our case, the Reformed faith. This is very important, I believe, to the ongoing forward progress of the gospel of Christ. How other churches see us in this community, whether or not they can work together with us in some limited level, It is very important that the churches in this community understand that even though we are Reformed, and even though we believe in the doctrines of grace, and even though we have a very detailed doctrinal statement, that we love them as brethren. That doesn't change anything of our doctrinal perspective, our superstructure of our faith or what we do here as a church. But what it does do is it communicates to other believers something of the oneness that we have in Christ and opens up opportunities for us to talk more about and share more with them what we know of truth from the Word of God. Do you see that? Now this is very important that the people who drive by this church all the time, who cannot see into the windows of this church because of the stained glass, that they understand what kind of people we are as Christians. That we love other Christians, we want to teach other Christians the truth about the Bible, but we want to interact with them, not just ourselves. So this is very important. The whole body is joined and knit together around the world because the Holy Spirit's placed us into the same body. And I believe the Lord expects us to speak the truth and love to other believers who are in other denominational or non-denominational settings so that we might have an impact for good upon them. Where the Lord sees fit. So what I'm trying to say is practically this means that even though we do not go to the same church, that we will be thinking about what we can do to interact with them over the truth of the Bible. And we may at times be able to share with them certain activities of ministry, service to Christ, His cause, His kingdom. A good example of this here in our own church is the Bible Club. The Bible Club ministry, which our church conducts here for children four to 13, where Christian parents, even from other Bible-believing churches in this community, bring their children to that activity so that we might minister the truth to them. I believe that this shows Christian love, both on our part and theirs. And it promotes the cause of Christ here in this city. In this regard, Neither we nor they believe that we have compromised anything, that we personally believe doctrinally, or what either of our churches holds to doctrinally, but we affirm each other as believers who are learning together from Christ. How can we more effectively serve Christ? Together with them. So even though we're aware of the doctrinal disagreements that we have with them, we still believe that it's a good thing to work together with other believers outside of our church where we can. Now, sometimes we can't. I understand that. There might be many different situations where we cannot approve of certain types of evangelistic crusades that might take place even here in this community, but that's not what I'm trying to talk about. We do have to be wise. We have to be discerning. as a church and as people that make up this church. But what I'm trying to show you is that we don't simply want to keep truth to ourselves and not try at all to affirm other Christians as believers if we can perceive that we think that they are. So speaking the truth in love, it says we're to grow up into Christ. I want you to turn with me over to Mark chapter nine. I wanna show you something that happened with John and the Lord Jesus in Mark nine, verses 38 to 41. Jesus has just said in verse 37, whoever receives one of these little children in my name receives me. And whoever receives me receives not me, but him who sent me. Now John answered him saying, teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us, casting out demons in your name. And we forbade him because he does not follow us. But Jesus said, do not forbid him. For no one who works a miracle in my name can soon afterwards speak evil of me. For he who is not against us is on our side. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward. So there are several principles of truth that I want us to consider here. The fellow believers that John mentions were casting out demons, not by the power of demons, but in Jesus' name. But John forbade them because they weren't following Jesus and their group. But Jesus told John not to forbid him because anyone able to do a miracle in his name can't afford afterwards to speak evil of him. And then he gives this very revealing comment, for he who is not against us is on our side. And then he illustrates this truth by a good deed done by one believer for another. For whoever gives you a cup of cold water to drink in my name, because you belong to Christ, that person shall not lose their reward. So this makes it apparent that it's good to help other believers in the smallest of ways, and to do them good, or to promote the common interest in serving Christ that you both have. Now let's think about the local church level. of spiritual joints. If physical joints facilitate the movement of the various limbs of the body, enabling the body to move and accomplish various tasks of things physical, then we should understand that spiritual joints within the spiritual body facilitate our working together with other members of our body here in this church. And this is always done in relation to commonly held doctrine to glorify God. We consciously see ourselves connected together spiritually in the work, and we are all conscious that we are connected to Christ, our risen living head. We therefore want to put forth coordinated efforts to see things accomplished for Christ, that is in terms of our service to Him and all the good works that we hope to do to help people both within and outside the body. So practically this means that we think about each other, that you and I think about each other as members of this local church in terms of what you and I can do with each other. That's what the joints do. in the spiritual body of Christ in the local church. We're joined and we are knit together by what every joint supplies. And this means that we are consciously striving together for the faith. It means that we are consciously striving together to promote our commonly held doctrine. in relation to the Bible, most certainly, both in the church and outside of it, most definitely. And what will that become? It becomes a witness to this community. Sound doctrine is the strong skeletal bones of the body in the local church. But these skeletal bones must have joints and ligaments and muscles on them. All the members of the local church must strive to have real and living connection and interaction with each other over how we can glorify Christ, our head, in terms of promoting his person and the advance of his kingdom in this area. So we must think about what our own position is in the body in relation to our particular spiritual gift. And we must also think about what other people's positions are in the body in relation to their spiritual gift. And when we discover the truth concerning these things, then we will try hard to work together with each other. We will try hard to promote Christ's glory and his kingdom through our gift and out of a sincere love for one another. And then we will find that the Lord will be blessing us. in regard to our attempts to be fruitful in our service to Him. Second, there is an effective working by which every part does its job, or its share, it says here. So let's think together about the phrase, according to the effectual working. by which every part does its share causes growth of the body. The effective working that's being spoken of here is not our own striving to be effective in our own strength or by our own wisdom, but rather our being effective in our ministry and service to Christ according to the Holy Spirit's conception and His power because he will be teaching us how to use our gifts and our abilities. So it's the spirits making our ministry and service to Christ effectual to God's glory that causes the building up of the body in love for itself. How does the body of Christ in the local church grow with a growth that is from God? This growth takes place as the Holy Spirit leads us and guides us into the truth, each of us individually and all of us then in this body, the local church collectively together. And it teaches us how we can honor God in the use of our gifts and abilities. So that Christ is seen. He brings us to a humble assessment. of the things that we can do by his power to serve the Lord Jesus. And that service is thought of in terms of the church that we are here a part of. The Holy Spirit is teaching you, dear believer, how to be patient and how to be kind and how to be thoughtful and how to be loving. and how to manifest all the fruit of the spirit. He's teaching you how to apply truth. Not in the sense that you are trying to confront people in order to force them to the conclusions that you know are right in regard to doctrine or practice, but that you know how to come up alongside them and know how to interact with them as a friend or a brother or sister. It is that over time, your thought is that you might win them to that truth. And your hope is that they might see that truth in you first. These things are so important when we are thinking about the effectual working in which every part does its share. Let me ask, do you know that you have a share? You have a part in the growth of this body, this church? Growth takes place as the Holy Spirit guides you. into the truth about how you can honor God in the use of your gift. You have been given a gift, and you have been given certain abilities, and God expects you to use that. But it must be done in the way that he is telling us, Paul is telling us about here. You want to honor God with the use of your gift. and the abilities God has given you. A lot of people just think, I have this gift and I'm gonna use it. But you need to pray about other people in terms of how you minister to them, how you build them up, or whether you're building them up in their faith so that they're edified. It's in this way then that they will become stronger in their faith. so that they themselves will become more effective in their own personal ministry, in terms of the gift that God has given to them. So it's an interchange, it's a back and forth between you and them. A lot of times, unfortunately, pride enters in. And we don't think of how our gift should be used in terms of patience, kindness, or love. to other believers because we are good at a certain thing. This is the gift that we have been given. We're good at a certain thing and we go ahead and use it without thinking of the way that we come across to people around us. I want you to turn with me over to 1 Corinthians chapter 12. First Corinthians chapter 12, I'm going to read somewhat of a long passage here. It's long but it's powerful. First Corinthians 12, 14 to 26. The Apostle Paul says, For in fact, the body is not one member, but many. If the foot should say, because I am not a hand, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, because I am not an eye, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? And if the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them in the body just as he pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now, indeed, there are many members, yet one body, and the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary, and those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor, and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty. but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, so that there should be no schism in the body, no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care. for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. Or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ and members individually." Wow, is that ever powerful stuff? So we need to see here that the local church is an organic, living, spiritual body. And it's not composed of one member, but many. The problem that most frequently comes up, according to the Apostle Paul's assessment, is that people do not grasp the importance of all the members of the body. Notice how he words that in verses 15 and 16, if the foot should say, because I am not a hand, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, because I am not an eye, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? In other words, Christians in a local church often have a wrong conception of themselves. And they do not think of themselves as being a part of the body at all. and they place a great importance upon the hands and the eyes of the body, but they think little of the other members of the body. So if we should think about the hands of the body as being those members who are very practical and they're doing things for others in the church, and if we should think of the eye as being the person who watches over the church, watching over them for the good of their souls, you can see that a false assessment could be made. A person not having either of those gifts might consider themselves either to be an unimportant part of the body of Christ or not a part of it at all. But Paul says that there are many members in the body and that they are all very important. They're all important in terms of their working together to worship and serve Christ. to the glory of God the Father. So the diversity of gifts I'm trying to show you is very important to a God-glorifying representation of Christ. Not only of Christ, but also of the gospel. And also the truth of the Word of God entirely by the church. and others who are looking on. The issue in any local church is that the body would grow with a growth that is from God. Do you see that? It's not so important that we have great numbers. We would desire more numbers. But what is important is that we are growing up into Christ. Do you see that? That's what's important to God, and it should be very important to us. We want to grow with a growth that's from God. And the issue is whether that group of people, namely us, are interested in honoring God's choice of weaker members of the spiritual body. It's whether we understand that He wants to use them. Talking about the weaker members now. God wants to use them to demonstrate the power of His love. That's right. He wants to use them to demonstrate the power of His grace in relation to us. The way that we treat Him. The less presentable member of the body? The issue is not whether our church is honoring the most gifted members of the body. Paul says in verse 22 that those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor. In verse 24, he says that God has composed the body, having given greater honor to the part which lacks it. That is honor. That there should be no division or schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. This glorifies God when His strength is perfected in weakness. Do you see it? This is a good witness to the community around us. This is a great help to ourselves, even, in the way that we tend to, as we talked about earlier, we tend to put great preachers up on a high pedestal. And if they fall, it makes us all ashamed. But what I'm trying to say is that it's a beautiful thing when a Christian can come to the place where they recognize that every member of the body is important in God's sight and they should be in ours. And that's how our witness goes forward, how we treat such people in our body, how we look at them, whether we love them, whether we care about them, whether we see that they themselves have a gift and something to show us. in the body of Christ. Oh, it's a beautiful thing. That there be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. So I'm trying to show you this promotes a real consideration of one member for another as to how the strong can help the weak. This is how the less presentable parts of the body can be encouraged to use their gift for Christ. A person, for instance, with a gift of mercy may be very useful to our body, both within and outside of it, as a witness to people of Christ's compassion. Have you ever thought about that? We have gifts of mercy here in this church. This is a beautiful thing. It's a witness, I'm saying, to people outside of the church here of Christ's compassion. Now, we all ought to be compassionate. But a person with a gift, it's an amazing thing. Because when you see a person with a gift like that, you know what happens? People naturally gravitate toward them. I don't know if you've ever noticed this, but I've seen this over and over again because I'm very close to someone who has a gift of mercy. This is a beautiful thing. The gift of helps is very useful to both the pastor and the deacons of the church. In their ministries, as a person with a gift of helps can help many people in many ways. And they can help people who are mature or people who are immature to accomplish many tasks which would be a great burden to the leaders of the church if they were to go about to do them all on their own. That's how the body of Christ grows. The Holy Spirit makes the ministries of all effective as we learn to work together and he blesses us greatly when we humble ourselves greatly to consider each other. in our work or our labors. And then third, the result of this working is the growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. That is, we will see this effectual working bringing about the growth of the body when we learn to edify each other in love. In other words, we're going to be consciously seeking to build each other up in our most holy faith as we exercise our gift and love to others in the body. First Corinthians chapter 12, verse 31, but earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I will show you a more excellent way. The more excellent way, or the most excellent way, is the use of the gift that God the Holy Spirit has given you in a loving way. 1 Corinthians 13, 1, Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. But when I exercise my gift in love, real spiritual growth will be taking place in me. And it's gonna have the very beneficial effect of building others up in this local church. In other words, we're gonna become more like Christ in this holy way. And when we become more like Christ, It's because we are more and more exhibiting our love for one another as brethren. We show this to one another. I don't know if you see this as all important, but this is really important, both in terms of the strength of this body, the additions that will come to this church, and our witness to this community, that you understand what I'm talking about here. We become more like Christ the more that our love for one another as brethren is shown to each other and we will have a deeper appreciation of what God has given to each person in this local church in terms of the spiritual gift and abilities which Christ has given to them when we have this love for them. 1 Corinthians 13, 4-8a. Love suffers long and is kind. Love does not envy. Love does not parade itself. Love is not puffed up. It does not behave rudely. It does not seek its own. It is not provoked. It thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. And verse 13, now abide faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these, is love. So that's how the body grows with a growth that is from God, the Holy Spirit, when every part, every member does their share, contributing their part, the body then edifies itself and builds itself up in love. Let's pray together. Oh Lord, we thank you for this amazing passage in Ephesians, which tells us so much about the one body of Christ on both the universal and the local levels, and how thankful we are that we can see that the object in all these things is to bring glory to you by being able to share and spread, exhibit the truth of what you have done for us in your love. O Lord Christ, we ask that you will bless us with wisdom and understanding, in learning these truths that I've tried to impart to your people this morning, so that our own church might be gaining strength, stronger and stronger, going from strength to strength. And also then that our witness to other churches and people around us would grow stronger and stronger as well, and that we might bear fruit unto you and enjoy doing so because of our great love for you and for one another. We pray and ask these mercies in your precious name, Lord Jesus. Amen.