BellaOnline Forums Family Christian Living Ephesians 4:1-16

Continuing our study of Ephesians:
Read Ephesians 4:1-16

[color:"red"] 1. [/color]If we are to have unity in the church, should we all be uniform?

[color:"red"] 2. [/color] vs. 1-3 What are the characteristics of a life that is worthy of our calling?

[color:"red"] 3. [/color] How do these things help us maintane unity?

[color:"red"] 4. [/color] What are the seven 'ones' that Paul says we already have?

[color:"red"] 5. [/color] How do they contribute to living in unity?

[color:"red"] 6. [/color] What do you think about spiritual gifts? What are they used for?

1. Unity is meant to explain how we are all one body in Christ....like arms and legs...different yet part of the same...we can't operate independant of one another or the Lord...Division should not be part of our Christian lives.

2. Completely humble,gentle,patient,bearing with one another in love.Like members of the same family..always sharing in one anothers lives...never leaving our brother or sister to bear the storms of life alone.

3. By recognizing that without love, we are nothing. Without the experience of love and fellowship within the body, we would wilt under the pressure of the world. But standing together we are strong and can with stand allt he temptations and trials that come against us.

4. one body - all believers, one Spirit - The Holy Spirit alive residing within each of us, one hope - the eternal hope of living with Christ, one Lord - Jesus Christ above all things in our lives, one faith - the faith that he will come again to judge the living and the dead and establish his kingdom once and for all, one baptism - the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross that saves us from condemnation because of our sins, One God - the only true God there is no other before him or like him at all.

5. This is the basis of our faith and what makes us Christian

6. IMHO Spiritual Gifts are the measure to which God pours out his spirit to each of us...all the gifts are equal and worthy of honor. To serve comes as naturally to the one who is a servant as teaching comes to the teacher. the purpose of these gifts ios to serve the Lord. Our lives are to be dedicated to Him above and beyond everthing else. I ahve a link on my site calld the "Spiritual Gifts Tool" where you can answer a bunch of questions and have an idea about what your particular gifts are. Here is the link: http://www.cforc.com/sgifts.html

My gifts are Faith, Prophecy, Wisdom and Discernment...I also have some aptitude for teaching and preaching (unbelieveable, huh lol)

My husbands most abundant gift is Serving and Helps. If your in trouble, he is the guy to call, he will work with you to get you back on track...his main way of showing love is to do something for you...build you something or make a meal or clean something (car, housework)...

My sons special abundant gifts are Mercy and Giving...he is quick to forgive and to demonstrate that he forgives you he gives away something of himself...self sacrifice is evident in his long lasting friendships and the fact that he is considered among his friends to be loyal and steadfast....quite a litany for a 14 year old...

The online version fot his questionairre is disabled somehow but you can still download the offline version and find out what your gifts might be...

I'm a big proponent for the gifts of the Spirit for it's by the fruit that we will know each other as believers...

1. If we are to have unity in the church, should we all be uniform?
Unity in the church means that we all work together for the cause of Christ. We each bring individual gifts, abilities and personalities to the table. We even disagree sometimes. But we agree on the bedrock of our belief - the gospel of Jesus Christ. (That means "No, I don't think we are meant to be uniform!)

2. vs. 1-3 What are the characteristics of a life that is worthy of our calling?
humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love

3. How do these things help us maintane unity?
If we all make an effort to practice these things, we will be working together in the way God planned.

4. What are the seven 'ones' that Paul says we already have?
One body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God

5. How do they contribute to living in unity?
One body - that's who we are, the body of Christ
One Spirit - The Spirit reminds us of the word of Jesus.
One Lord - The head of the body.
One faith - We agree on that and it is so important that our differences don't (shouldn't) matter.
One baptism - A new life to live for Christ
One God - see one faith.

6. What do you think about spiritual gifts? What are they used for?
I think every Christian has one or more special gifts given by God. They are used to help spread the gospel and to benefit the church.

2. Completely humble,gentle,patient,bearing with one another in love.Like members of the same family..always sharing in one anothers lives...never leaving our brother or sister to bear the storms of life alone.

I like that description Jenna. Its a perfect description of what a body of believers should be like. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />