Churches grow when they understand that they have to serve people.

Of course, to get to that point, the Church has to lay down the foundation first, and which implies the following: prayer, the Word (Scripture), and committed leaders.  

I will be using Ephesians 4: 10-16 from the New International Version. 

 

Serving is about Jesus Christ, not us.

 

Take a look at verses 9 and 10, 

What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.

Everything Jesus came to do was for only one purpose: to fill the whole universe. 

Let’s say we want to fill a container with something. We will first make sure it’s empty. Won’t we? If the container is not empty, we will empty it of what we don’t need in it. 

The same applies to us all. [bctt tweet=”God created the universe to reflect God’s glory and power. God created humans in God’s image. ” username=“”]

Both the universe and people have lost God’s glory, power, and image. 

 

Serving is giving God back God’s place in the universe and our hearts. 

 

Only when we do so, God builds us up as Christ’s Body! 

That means when we serve, we’re allowing God to build the Body of Christ up (see verse 12). 

 

Serving means living as a part of the Body of Christ. 

 

Read verse 15, 

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.

Every time we serve, we should understand that it’s all about the Body of Christ. 

In this Body, 

• • • We join together. 
    • We each work properly. 
    • We grow together as one body. (See verse 16). 

In other words, when you serve, you reconnect more with the other members of the Body. You reconnect with Christ, the head of the Body (the Church). 

Read on your own Matthew 25: 31-46. There, you’ll discover that everything we do for each other, we do it for Jesus Christ.

That also means when we serve one another, we’re serving Christ, the head of the Body!

Only when we know that serving is about Christ and not about us, and we serve because we are members of Christ’s Body, the Spirit empowers to build community. 

It’s a community where everyone else would want to belong. 

And, that is for several reasons, which I list below. 

 

Through serving, we equip each other for the work of ministry. 

 

Read verse 12, 

to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.

It’s the goal we should keep in mind every time we have an opportunity to serve. Sometimes, before lining up a serving opportunity for ourselves or others, let’s ask this question: “how will this service equip for the work of ministry?” 

 

Through serving, we attain unity as a community. 

 

Read verse 13, 

until we all reach unity in the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Paul is talking about unity at two levels: 

• • • Faith. 
    • Knowledge of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 

[bctt tweet=”Faith is the understanding of and belief in God’s power, glory, and redemptive work, which is still at work today. ” username=””]

I’m not just talking about a mere and passive belief in what God can do. 

It should be something that propels us to prayer, searching of the Word (Scripture), and the understanding that God has called us to be Christian leaders in our communities. 

Growing in prayer life and Scripture enables us to know more who Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is. 

 

Through serving, we mature to the fullness of Christ.

 

Read verses 13 and 14, 

until we all reach unity in the faith and 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.

Maturity comes out of growing in faith and knowledge of Christ. We can’t skip those two steps. 

It’s when we mature we can experience the full measure of the fullness of Christ. 

Spiritual maturity is significant. It helps us with no longer give in: 

• • • Every kind of false doctrine.
    • Human persuasions. 
    • Human craftiness in deceitful schemes. 

Maturity also means we have the armor of the Spirit to resist evil and all the above works of darkness (read Ephesians 6: 11). 

 

Part of serving is that we learn how to speak the truth in love.

 

Read verse 15, 

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.

The way we talk to each other matters. How we should speak should be with words of: 

• • • Blessings. 
    • Encouragement. 
    • Healing. 
    • Victory. 
    • Inspiration. 

 

Your Turn Now

Every time you see someone in need, starting in your Church that may mean God’s calling you to do something about it. Start every day with a prayer, asking God to show you how you can serve daily because not every good work means God’s will. That’s why you need to ask God to help you listen to God and God’s Word. Above all, always remember, as you serve somebody, it’s all about Christ, and the glory goes back to God alone!