Questions for Reflection:

• After coming to church, what issues have you dealt with in yourself? Share your experiences.

• What qualities do you think brothers and sisters should possess to maintain the unity of the church? Provide examples.

• What gifts do you know are for building up the church? In which gifts do you think you can leverage your strengths?

Before summarizing Ephesians Chapter 4, let us revisit what was discussed in the first three chapters. We see that Ephesians Chapter 1 speaks of a transcendent faith, referring to how we receive all spiritual blessings, becoming one in the body of Jesus Christ. That is, all kinds of spiritual blessings can only be found within the body of Jesus Christ; they cannot be found outside.

Then, Ephesians Chapter 2 speaks of the hope of the Gentiles in Jesus Christ. As written in the book of Genesis, God initially chose the Jews; this was God's promise to Abraham. And the Gentiles, through Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, enter into the promise of Abraham, becoming a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit, so that the two become one (here, the two refer to Jews and Gentiles, i.e., non-Jews), together becoming a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit.

From this, we can vaguely see the mystery of God's creation. The person God created has a body, and there is a spirit dwelling in the body. That is to say, a person is composed of spirit, soul, and body. What is God going to build? God is going to build a body to become the dwelling place of God's Spirit. Isaiah says that God's tabernacle is among humanity, meaning that God's Spirit will dwell among us, that is, the body of Christ will become the dwelling place of God's Spirit. Just as Paul speaks of the mystery, Jews and Gentiles will together build the dwelling place of God's Spirit—the church.

Ephesians Chapter 3 speaks of how the true church is a place where God's love and power are manifested; it is real. A true church should have two characteristics: one is love, and the other is power. The church must have love, because love is the foundation for building up the church. Note that the love here refers to heavenly love. The other is that the church must have power. In fact, regarding the characteristics of the church, Paul has already spoken very clearly in Ephesians.

So, what does Ephesians Chapter 4 speak about? It speaks about the specific details of church building. This involves two levels: the level of individual life and the level of church building. The church is a community. Here, God reveals another mystery, which is that building God's church and perfecting life are the same thing, two levels for fulfilling God's will.

This is truly God's love. God is not just building the church without regard for anything else, but rather, in the process of building the church, He wants the lives of our brothers and sisters to be perfected. Here, our life being perfected refers to the realization of God's purpose in creating man. If we make a mobile phone that cannot make calls, or can make calls but no one uses it, such a mobile phone is useless and cannot be perfected. People cannot live for themselves; they must live within the function for which God created them to be happy. Therefore, if we were to give Chapter 4 a theme, it would be: building the church perfects our lives.

The Unity of the Church

Here, Paul elaborates on several details for building up the church. The first is that the church must be a unified church. A disunited church will not have the Spirit of God dwelling within it. How to build a unified church? A unified church requires brothers and sisters to be humble, gentle, and patient in all things, forbearing one another in love. Without these, it is difficult to achieve unity.

If brothers and sisters can build a church to become the dwelling place of God's Holy Spirit, everyone will be blessed. Of course, this requires us to let go of some of the concepts we strongly believe in. In Paul's values, for the Lord, for perfecting your own life, you must be humble, gentle, and patient in all things, forbearing one another in love. Since we are called by God, we should have such qualities. With these qualities, we can build a unified church. Do not think that you will suffer a loss by letting go of some things; you will not suffer a loss.

If you let go for the unity of the church, such letting go is very valuable, and letting go itself is perfecting your own life. Some things, such as bitterness and resentment, have no use if you keep them and will only corrupt your life. The most critical thing Paul speaks of regarding unity is unity in the Holy Spirit. It is not that several brothers and sisters have the same views; that is useless. Rather, it means that everyone has the same views as the Holy Spirit, which is useful. When we build the church, we must strive to maintain unity in the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, we encourage brothers and sisters to pray often in the Holy Spirit. We know that some families still have challenges. For example, if there are two tigers in a family, tearing each other apart, both will be injured. But if there is Jesus Christ in this family, two sheep, it will be easy. No one needs to bite anyone; everyone has grass to eat and water to drink, and this family will have God's abundance. The church that God wants to build requires people to have such basic qualities. Here, unity in the Holy Spirit, do not think it is your job. No, it is actually the work of the Holy Spirit. But you also need to do some things to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. This is the first thing.

The Perfection of Individual Life is Through Gifts

So, what does Paul mention as the second thing? The perfection of individual life is through gifts. Everyone has a function, but some people do not know what their function is. They will say that my function is to work every day, make money, eat, and then make money again and eat again. This is not called a function. A function refers to the function of building up the church. Brothers and sisters, I encourage you to discover your function in the church. If you cannot find it, you need to reflect carefully.

Of course, for brothers and sisters who have just believed in the Lord, we do not blame you if you have not yet found your function. But for those who have believed in the Lord for some time, you must know where your gifts lie. It is not that the church asks you to pray for your spiritual gifts; you just pray rigidly, and if you do not feel anything, you just give up. Rather, you pray and begin to discover that you have some gifts and are willing to start doing things in a certain area, and gradually you will find that your gifts will emerge more and more.

For example, although the brothers and sisters in the church have different backgrounds, some have engineering backgrounds, some have computer backgrounds, and some have art backgrounds, they can cooperate with each other to complete various ministries in the church. Also, in the process of serving, brothers and sisters will show very obvious gifts of pastoring, prophetic gifts, and words of wisdom and knowledge. Gifts require you to do and discover.

Recently, what has been surprising in our church is that some brothers and sisters who have just believed in the Lord also have gifts, such as being able to see visions as soon as they pray. Although we also need to discern some of them, it at least shows that they have some experience in the Holy Spirit. Gifts are very important. In Paul's eyes, gifts can be divided into five categories: apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and evangelists. You basically need to discover your gifts in these areas, because these are all for building up the church. This is the second thing.

Our Spiritual Life Must Grow

Third, our life must grow. This growth process itself is a kind of completion. We cannot always remain children; failure to grow indicates a spiritual malady. If one has been a believer for twenty years, yet their spiritual life remains at the level of one or two months, this is a grave matter. Today, we encourage everyone to grow gradually through Bible reading, prayer, attending meetings, and partaking of spiritual nourishment. Brothers and sisters grow as they cooperate in building the church. This growth is a gradual process, not an instantaneous one.

Consider an apple tree: one day, the branches are bare, and the next, an apple appears. If you see an apple that springs up overnight, be cautious. Do not eat it, for it may be lethal – likely made of plastic. We understand that apples require gradual growth, and so does our spiritual life. Do not assume that attending Wednesday's meeting will immediately alleviate Thursday's neck pain. It will likely persist because life needs to gradually grow to overcome the powers of darkness. That is to say, we must shed the notion that idol worship, incense burning, or making a wish can instantly alter circumstances. This change must be real!

Our life grows gradually. You study a passage of scripture today, another tomorrow, and another the day after. Over a year, you will find that your life is transformed. No parent measures their child's height daily, dismayed that it remains unchanged. Such thinking is foolish.

We know that people grow gradually. Gradual growth and gradual decay are opposites. A person does not suddenly become exceptionally wicked overnight. Deterioration occurs gradually, often unnoticed. Those who are deteriorating usually believe they are normal. Thus, gradualness is a remarkable process. Gradual growth means you are unaware of your progress until you realize you have grown in retrospect. Gradual decay is similar. In the process of gradual growth, we must address the issues in our minds.

Renewing Our Minds

This is the fourth point: renew your minds. Growth originates in the mind, as does decay. A person's mind is of great importance. As your mind is, so are you. As your mind is, so is your destiny. The Bible says that if you have heard of Him, received His teaching, and learned His truth, you must put off the old self. In the church, prayer, Bible reading, and listening to sermons are key to life's growth. When you receive God's teaching, you must make a decision, and this decision is crucial. Bitterness is detrimental, so you must reject it; unforgiveness is harmful, so you must reject it; holding onto anger until sunset is wrong, so you must reject it. We must all learn this lesson. Understanding but not doing is different from understanding but being unable to do.

If you understand but are unable to do, you can overcome it through the prayers of brothers and sisters. That is to say, having learned, we must make a decision. God will strengthen your resolve and make your decision a reality. This will imbue a person with righteousness and holiness rooted in truth. Having righteousness and holiness rooted in truth is not a matter of a day or two; it requires gradual growth. Here, you need to confront certain issues, which leads to the fifth point.

Continually Addressing Life's Problems

What problems need addressing? Lies, laziness, corrupting talk, bitterness, rage, brawling, slander, malice, and all forms of unforgiveness. A Christian's life involves several tasks. Here, we focus on unforgiveness. Forgiveness here means, first, forgiving yourself; second, forgiving others; and third, forgiving God. Some individuals must reject the notion of hating God. Resentment towards others must also be rejected. Self-resentment must also be rejected. These are the problems we speak of.

In dealing with these issues, beware of deviating from important principles. Paul is not saying that you should deal with issues like an ascetic. Paul says that dealing with your problems depends on the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul's theological view is clear: nothing can be achieved through the flesh; only through the power of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ can the evil desires of the flesh be put to death.

That is, only by the power of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ can the evil desires of the flesh be put to death, and life can grow. There are two aspects to the growth of life: one is growth in the process of dealing with one's own problems, and the other is the increase of all kinds of good things in the aspects of God. Corrupt things decrease little by little, and good things increase little by little, and people's life becomes healthier and more abundant.