Knitted Together in Christ

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Christ died to make one body out of people who had nothing in common but their need for grace. That’s where Paul begins in Ephesians 4. Before he asks anything of the church, he reminds them what God has already done. One body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father over all.

In this message, Caleb Adams walks through Paul’s call to walk worthy of that calling with humility, gentleness, and patience. Before Christ ascended, He gave the Spirit to His people, and with the Spirit He gave gifts to equip every believer for the work of ministry. The church is not patched on and hoping to hold. It is knit together, growing into maturity as each part does its work in love.

If you’ve wondered where you fit in the life of a church, or whether unity is worth the effort it costs, this message points you back to the Christ who prayed for our oneness on the night before the cross.

Key Takeaways

  • The grace of God knits us into the body of Christ
  • The body of Christ walks like Christ (Ephesians 4:1-3)
  • The body of Christ is united in Christ (Ephesians 4:4-10)
  • The body of Christ functions like Christ (Ephesians 4:11-14)
  • The body of Christ grows together in Christ (Ephesians 4:15-16)
  • The grace of God knits us into the body of Christ

Discussing and Applying the Sermon

  1. Take a minute to read Ephesians 4:1. Notice how Paul identifies himself before he asks anything of his readers. Why might it matter that this call to walk worthy comes from a man in chains rather than a man in comfort?
  2. Look carefully at the four qualities Paul names in Ephesians 4:2, humility, gentleness, patience, and bearing with one another in love. Which of these is described as an attitude, and which are described as actions toward other people? Consider how Christ describes Himself in Matthew 11:29 using two of these same words. If gentleness is part of Christ’s own self-description, what does that suggest about the kind of strength the Spirit produces in His people?
  3. Ephesians 4:3 says to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Notice that Paul doesn’t tell the church to create unity but to keep it. Now read John 17:11 and 17:20-23, where Jesus prays for oneness on the night before the cross. What does it tell us about the Father’s heart that this is what the Son asked for in that hour?
  4. Is there a fracture in your own relationships within the body that you have been treating as unavoidable rather than as something worth every effort?
  5. Count the seven things Paul says are one in Ephesians 4:4-6, then notice where the list ends, with one God and Father who is above all and through all and in all. Why do you think Paul grounds the unity of the church in the nature of God Himself? Read Ephesians 2:14-16 alongside this. If Christ has already torn down the dividing wall, what happens theologically when believers rebuild it over lesser matters?
  6. Ephesians 4:13-14 describes a church growing into maturity and then names the alternative – little children tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching. Read Colossians 2:6-8 alongside this. Why is doctrinal maturity presented as a matter of stability rather than merely knowledge? What voices have been shaping your convictions most consistently this past year, and what would it take to be rooted more deeply in the Word than in them?