Ephesians 4:11-16 English Standard Version

¹¹ And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴ so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. ¹⁵ Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

The gift spoken of yesterday in Kingdom living is shown here but is not what we might see on the surface in the list of the service ministries. It is found in the words in verse 15, grow up into Him. The first gift to the lost is a new home built up by the love that abounds within the body of believers.

The service ministries are to build up the whole body so that the whole body shares the love that permeates in a place of safety, support, encouragement, and love. Love spreads from the top on down and throughout. Christ is the head but His love must reach every member within the body to supply that part which shines within us all.

When seeking a new place of worship, the service gifts should have the effect of providing a safe place for strangers. It should feel like coming home. The abiding love is an abounding love.

Hebrews 6:18 English Standard Version (ESV) so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.

When we escape the trap of sin we might not think of ourselves as refugees. We live in the same city, home or apartment we lived in before coming to Christ but now we live in a new kingdom, the Kingdom of God. We are refugees from the world so let us look at our refugee status in comparison with what we know about refugees in the natural world.

Refugees will flee imminent danger being displaced by war or persecution. There is an immediacy to their escape taking only the clothes on their backs and the ones they love. When fleeing sin, it is not so apparent that we are now refugees from the world. We still have all that we had in the world, clothes, cars, toys, and friends that are still lost in a world of sin.

It is in the Word of God that we must find our new station in life, one of kingdom dwelling and our refugee status. It is living in the world but not of the world. It is a change of address in the mind and heart, not our street address.

Spiritual concepts are new to the spiritual refugee and there is one thing in common with these two types. That is one of dependency on the gracious kindness afforded us. In this spiritual kingdom, it is God’s good graces that provide for all our needs in this new life. We might not understand it right away but that does not stop God from providing for us.

The hope that is set before us in Hebrews 6:18 are the promises of God and in this He is not a liar and will provide. To understand all those promises and just how they work, we must study the Word of God and come to understand how these promises are supplied. Worldly refugees have distribution centers where food and water are dispensed. In God’s Kingdom, they are provided in His Word, His church, and His precious gifts.