Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 4,210
“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
“As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:11-16 NASB1995)
As Christians, collectively, we are the universal body of Christ, the church, the people of God by God-provided and God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, not of human flesh, but of God. So, we humans do not get to define what that faith looks like. God does. And his word teaches us that biblical faith in Jesus Christ leads to us dying with Christ to sin, and being raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as servants of righteousness.
As those who are now belonging to God, by faith in Jesus Christ, we are individually gifted with Spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit, and we are given our body parts (our individual ministry assignments) by God within the body. Some people are gifted with the body assignment of spiritually equipping the saints of God for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ. But this must be done biblically, and not according to “church” business models and secular marketing schemes, but according to the word of God.
And what this means is that everyone of us has a spiritual role within the body of Christ, as a whole, for the building up of the body of Christ to spiritual maturity in our walks of faith in the Lord Jesus. So, we are also to be those who speak the truth of God’s word to one another, but spoken in love, to help one another to not be taken captive by certain people by their trickery and craftiness in deceitful scheming, so we will not be led astray to false doctrines of salvation and end up not in true relationships with Christ.
And then notice with me carefully what this says next:
“But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:15-16 NASB1995)
Do you see what this is saying? We who are followers of Jesus Christ, doing the will of God for our lives, are all necessary to the proper working of the body of Christ, the church. And the body can only work properly when every body part is provided the opportunity to supply his or her part to the proper working of the body. For God did not design his body to work like so many institutional market-driven beholding to the government, in partnership with the government “churches,” which are denying many body parts to function.
For, as the body of Christ, we are to be teaching and admonishing one another in all spiritual wisdom. And we are to be exhorting one another every day so that none of us may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. And we are to be stirring up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, but encouraging one another, and all the more as we see the Day drawing near. And encouragement is not all just the feel good stuff, but it includes to urgently counsel, to admonish, and to exhort.
And our meeting together does not have to be all in one place or on any specific day of the week or at any particular hour of the day or night, but it can be anywhere at any time at any appropriate location, which can include meeting on the internet, or via a phone call, or a text message, or a video call, or whatever other means of communication we might have. And “the church” is not a building that you go to, but it is the people of God who can meet together in small or large groups anywhere for the purposes of God.
[Acts 2:14-18,42-47; Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
Caution: This link may contain ads
The Proper Working of Each Individual Part
An Original Work / September 19, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
“As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:11-16 NASB1995)
As Christians, collectively, we are the universal body of Christ, the church, the people of God by God-provided and God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, not of human flesh, but of God. So, we humans do not get to define what that faith looks like. God does. And his word teaches us that biblical faith in Jesus Christ leads to us dying with Christ to sin, and being raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as servants of righteousness.
As those who are now belonging to God, by faith in Jesus Christ, we are individually gifted with Spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit, and we are given our body parts (our individual ministry assignments) by God within the body. Some people are gifted with the body assignment of spiritually equipping the saints of God for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ. But this must be done biblically, and not according to “church” business models and secular marketing schemes, but according to the word of God.
And what this means is that everyone of us has a spiritual role within the body of Christ, as a whole, for the building up of the body of Christ to spiritual maturity in our walks of faith in the Lord Jesus. So, we are also to be those who speak the truth of God’s word to one another, but spoken in love, to help one another to not be taken captive by certain people by their trickery and craftiness in deceitful scheming, so we will not be led astray to false doctrines of salvation and end up not in true relationships with Christ.
And then notice with me carefully what this says next:
“But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:15-16 NASB1995)
Do you see what this is saying? We who are followers of Jesus Christ, doing the will of God for our lives, are all necessary to the proper working of the body of Christ, the church. And the body can only work properly when every body part is provided the opportunity to supply his or her part to the proper working of the body. For God did not design his body to work like so many institutional market-driven beholding to the government, in partnership with the government “churches,” which are denying many body parts to function.
For, as the body of Christ, we are to be teaching and admonishing one another in all spiritual wisdom. And we are to be exhorting one another every day so that none of us may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. And we are to be stirring up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, but encouraging one another, and all the more as we see the Day drawing near. And encouragement is not all just the feel good stuff, but it includes to urgently counsel, to admonish, and to exhort.
And our meeting together does not have to be all in one place or on any specific day of the week or at any particular hour of the day or night, but it can be anywhere at any time at any appropriate location, which can include meeting on the internet, or via a phone call, or a text message, or a video call, or whatever other means of communication we might have. And “the church” is not a building that you go to, but it is the people of God who can meet together in small or large groups anywhere for the purposes of God.
[Acts 2:14-18,42-47; Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
Caution: This link may contain ads
The Proper Working of Each Individual Part
An Original Work / September 19, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
