In Ephesians 4:11-16 Paul says,
“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
Christ gave the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher to equip his people for works of service. It’s in this equipping, that the body of Christ is able to build itself up to reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Paul said, “From him (Jesus) the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” The body is built up as each part does it’s work. That “work” is the work Paul talked about in chapter 2, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things (good works) he planned for us long ago.”
The more we understand who we are in Christ (who we are, being our identity), the more we understand where we are (that is seated with Christ in heavenly places). From our union with Christ, seated with him where he is, we are able to see things the way he sees things. We are able to see ourselves from the lens that he sees us. We are able to see the world how he sees it. We are able to see not only the problems but equally as important the solution. From this perspective we begin to see the gift God has given us and the work that this gift gives us the ability to accomplish.
The more we understand Identity, Purpose and Vision the more we walk in conformity to those realities. The more we learn, understand and take action the stronger, more confident, more driven, more skilled and more aware we become. The byproduct of us individually getting stronger causes us to build those around us up. “From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
The body is built up by each part doing its work. In order for you to do your work you must understand who you really are in Christ. It’s only from this perspective that we will truly become strong and mature. The byproduct of maturity is stability.
“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”