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Isaiah 48:12-50:11; Ephesians 4:17-32; Psalm 69:1-18; Proverbs 24:5-6
“And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness. Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head – Christ. From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.
Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their thoughts. They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts…But that is not how you learned about the Messiah, assuming you heard Him and were taught by Him, because the truth is in Jesus: you took off your former way of life, the old man that is corrupted by deceitful desires; you are being renewed in the spirit of your minds; you put on the new man, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.” (Ephesians 4:11-18, 20-24)
God’s desire is that we all grow up in unity, faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ, taking a true measure of our progress against Jesus, not others. As we grow, we won’t be freaking out on every new thing that comes along or deceived by people who act like they know something. God has given us people in the fivefold ministry to bring us to this place of maturity. As we grow, we are to teach others what we know and in so doing we are helping to expand the body of Christ with solid, healthy people.
PRAYER:
Lord, I pray for more knowledge of You. I want to mirror You. Thank You for awakening my spirit and giving me an opportunity to know You. I choose to be faithful in church attendance, prayer and Bible study, not as duties, but out of my love and desire to know more about You. Asking You to make me all You have called and created me to be. I’m yielded. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
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