Discipleship Essentials*
Thursday, October 14, 2004
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, Thank You for making me a unique part of the body of Your Son, Jesus Christ! I thank You that You formed me in my mother’s womb and that You made me special in Your own sight. I pray that I may live this day as the unique part of Jesus’ body that You made me. I also pray that I will take my orders for every moment from my “Head,” Jesus. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit that I may live in the joy of Your salvation, and that I may serve in the fullness of that joy. Glorify Yourself in me today and always. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God’s Word Today
Ephesians 4:11-16
11He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, 13until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ.
14Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth. 15Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16Under his direction, the whole body is fitted 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.
Background on the Text – Who Wrote It? Why Was It Written? Who Was the Audience?
The Apostle Paul loved the image of the “body of Jesus Christ.” In fact, he used it when writing to the Corinthian, Colossian, Roman and Ephesian Christians. Why would such an image be so appealing? It’s likely that the image is so appealing because it demonstrates the LIFE that is in those who follow Jesus and the INTEGRAL relationships between each and every person. The key component of the body is the HEAD, that is Jesus! Without Jesus we would die—physically and spiritually. After all, He is the one who created us and redeemed us from our sins. The truth of the body image that we may not see is that while the body will not “die” without us being part of it or doing our part, it will certainly function at less than the optimum capacity. Remember the next time you are down on yourself for not being everything that you could be, that God made you a unique and vital part of the only ETERNAL organism in the universe—the Body of Jesus Christ!
Observation – What Does the Text Say?
Interpretation – What Does the Text Mean?
Application – How Can I Respond to the Text’s Insights and Teachings?
Each Week’s Check List.
After reading and studying this text, reflect on the following discipleship growth points:
Growth Point |
How |
Encouraged and strengthened me by |
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Fallen short areas |
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What will I do with these insights? |
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What did God say to me today? |
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Share insights and growth points |
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Changed/transformed how? |
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Thoughts...Jesus Christ, the "Head" of the Body...
I have always loved the Apostle Paul’s image of the church as the Body of Jesus Christ. The analogy is so easy to consider and understand, since we all have bodies, and since we have all been the victim of parts of our bodies not functioning to their optimums as well as experiencing times when they have! The analogy also draws me to it, because of the clear identification of who’s in charge, who’s in control—Jesus. We’ve all heard of freak accidents where folks have lost an arm or a leg and survived, but everyone knows that a person cannot lose her head—literally—and live. The head contains the brain, the “control center” of life. In the same way, the church exists because of our HEAD, Jesus Christ. He is the “control center” of our lives. Every problem, sin, and disappointment in our lives comes, because we don’t trust the “head” to make the right decision or to act in our best interest. Jesus always knows what is best for us individually and collectively, and yet so often we think we know best. We want to take over the controls. That’s a familiar flaw in humans and it goes all the way back to the first two! The reality is when we let Jesus, the HEAD, give the directions, the body functions optimally. As we go about this day, let’s let the head make the decisions and just do what we were created to do. As we do, we’ll be amazed at how much better it goes!