Made New: A New Diversity
Week Six • October 13, 2024 • Ephesians 4:1-16
Open in Prayer
What are some obstacles to leaning toward those who are different than us
What are some influences in our world that propagate distance between those who disagree?
Read Ephesians 4:1-16
Unity in the Body
1 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.
5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 one God and Father of all,
who is over all, in all, and living through all.
7 However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. 8That is why the Scriptures say,
“When he ascended to the heights,
he led a crowd of captives
and gave gifts to his people.”9 Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. 10 And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.
11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
Discuss Together
Read Ephesians 4:1-3 and Discuss An Open Heart
What are some reasons we might find it difficult to approach one another with humility, gentleness, and patience? What internal feelings that inform how we approach one another?
How do these verse shape your view of the posture God desires for us?
Read Ephesians 4:4-6 and Discuss The Unity of God
How does the reality that God himself is three (distinct), yet one shape your view of oneness with those around us?
What might it look like to see those around through the lens of our common connection to the triune God? How might it shape our engagement with one another?
Read Ephesians 4:7-13 and Discuss The Diversity Among Us
In what ways might the varying traits we become a source of tension among us? How have you experienced this?
How is this call toward oneness in our differences shaping your view of our engagement with one another?
Read Ephesians 4:14-16 and Discuss Becoming One
What stands out to you from the description of community described in these verses?
In light of all we've seen in this passage, what might it practically look like for us to press into such a life?
Close in Prayer
Pray for one another and pray for unity as a body of believers.
