Ephesians 4:1-16 (NIV)

1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called ; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

7But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8This is why it says:

“When he ascended on high,

he took many captives

and gave gifts to his people.”

9(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Reflection

Time lapse videos enable us to see processes that would normally appear subtle to the human eye, such as snow storms or a flower blooming, and allow us to take a step back and see the big picture of how it all came to be. In this passage, Paul pictures Christ as the full-grown man and his church as the body of this full-grown man. However, the church is still in the process of growing up and being built up to the maturity and stature of Christ. Without time lapse, we might be stuck on the circumstances of the church at the current moment, forgetting what God has in store for the calling of his church. If we were to use time lapse to see the church, we would see the big picture in this passage. The aim of the church, what it is, how it works, and what we, the church, have received to do our amazing part. We are to be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love. We are to keep unity of the Spirit and to attain unity because it is an ongoing process. We are to be equipped, fixing up the parts that are broken or lacking, and being fitted for God’s service. We are to be gifts that God gives to his people. With all this in store, can we see the big picture now? It is the church body that gives full expression of Christ and God’s plan for eternity.

Responding to the Transmission

We might be thinking about the next minute, the next day, the next week, the next year, but today let’s fast forward and look at God’s blueprint for eternity. Let’s pray that we would grow up and mature into how Christ has called us. Let’s pray for the humility, gentleness, patience, and love towards one another. Let’s pray that we would not be blown by the things of the present moment (struggles and difficulties) but be caught in the expressions of God’s love for each moment and plans for eternity.