The Unity of the Body of Christ - Ephesians 4:1-16

We reach a turning point in Paul's letter.  With increasing intensity and excitement he has been describing the marvelous mystery of what God did by sending Jesus into the world to offer New Life and Forgiveness to ALL nations of the world.  Last week we saw this come to a mighty crescendo with the doxology the end of chapter 3.  Today he turns to the 'so what question'.  What difference does this make in the way in which we live?  Unity and Holiness are held up as marks of true Christian faith.  Today's passage particularly emphasizes unity.  The following outline summarizes our conversation last Sunday:
I. CHRISTIAN UNITY DEPENDS ON OUR CHRISTIAN LIFE (EPH. 4:2-3).
Christian unity depends on our:  •HUMILITY •GENTLENESS •PATIENCE •TOLERANCE
II. CHRISTIAN UNITY EMERGES FROM THE UNITY OF OUR GOD  (Eph. 4:4-6)
There is:  •One BODY •One SAVIOR, •One HOPE, •One LORD, •One FAITH, •One BAPTISM •One GOD One FATHER.
III. CHRISTIAN UNITY IS ENRICHED BY THE DIVERSITY OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS.  (Eph. 4:7-12)
•APOSTLES •PROPHETS •EVANGELISTS •PASTORS, TEACHERS
IV CHISTIAN UNITY REQUIRES OUR GROWTH IN MATURITY(Eph. 4:13-16)
To grow in maturity we must: •Have a better knowledge of the SON  OF GOD and have Him as an example of perfect man (v.13) •Be careful with the "WINDS  OF  DOCTRINE  " (v. 14) Follow the TRUTH in love and COOPERATE with others (v.15-16)

Sadly, we had trouble with our recording equipment, so there is no audio version of this message to upload!