Where Did He Go?

Sermon Title: Where did He go?

Scripture Text: Ephesians 4:1-16

Now hear the reading of God’s word. There will be a few stops on our way through our Scripture Text too.

Ephesians 4:1-16 NLT

Unity in the Body

4 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.

3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.

4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.

5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

(my words “Holy Spirit Baptism-Not speaking in tongues. The Spirit marks us as God’s own children along with a lot of other things.”

6 one God and Father of all,

who is over all, in all, and living through all.

These next verses 7-10 have been discussed and even argued over every since they were written in AD62. It was very plain to me without little effort.

John Wesley had sayings that really reach out and grab you. This is one of them: ‘In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and in all things, charity”

-I don't believe the following Scriptures are essentials to be argued over – discussed yes for sure if we disagree. I want liberty to believe what God gives me through the Holy Spirit and his leading me to the right understanding if I’m wrong. But one thing for sure ALL SHOULD BE DONE IN GODLY CHARITY OR IN OUR LANGUAGE TODAY – DONE IN LOVE.

-The essentials are that Christ came in flesh and blood and was totally human and totally God. He is the door to our salvation because he gave his life for us on Golgotha.

-Those 3 days that his body was dead, but not his spirit, he went and preaches the Good New to those that died before the Law that pointed to Christ as our Savior.

7 However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. 8 That is why the Scriptures say,

“When he ascended to the heights,

    he led a crowd of captives

    and gave gifts to his people.”

9 Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. 10 And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself by the Holy Spirit.

11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

***Maybe these Seven gifts given in Isaiah 11:2-3 are given for our help to dwell on this earth. Maybe they were the gifts that Christ gave to us when he ascended to set on the right hand of our God.

• Wisdom: We see God at work in our lives and in the world. For the wise person, the wonders of nature, historical events, and the ups and downs of our lives take on deeper meaning.

• Understanding: A person with understanding is not confused by all the conflicting messages in our culture about the right way to live.

• Counsel (Right Judgment): With the gift of counsel/right judgment, we know the difference between right and wrong, and we choose to do what is right.

• Fortitude (Courage): A person with courage is willing to stand up for what is right in the sight of God, even if it means accepting rejection, verbal abuse, or even physical harm and death.

• Knowledge: We understand the meaning of God. The gift of knowledge is more than an accumulation of facts.

• Piety (Reverence): We have a deep sense of respect for God and the church. A person with reverence recognizes our total reliance on God and comes before God with humility, trust, and love.

• Fear of the Lord (Wonder and Awe): This gift is described by Aquinas as a fear of separating oneself from God.

14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.