Akron FBC

Ephesians 4:11-14 - "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;"

I was unable to release a Bible Study episode for Thursday, so instead, here is an excerpt from a sermon I preached at the North Central Church Planter's Conference. 

II Timothy 4:7 - "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:"

Study in Ephesians continues tomorrow! 

Ephesians 4:11-12– ““And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

God gave the local church pastors – to lead and equip the saints for the work of the ministry and for building up the body of Christ.

Ephesians 4:4-6– “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

If you read the book of Jonah you discover that the essence of the story is not about a great fish, but about a great God!

From beginning to end, this book feature’s what every other book in the Bible seems to highlight.

That’s the fact that - 

The Bible has one author – It’s God. 

The Bible has one theme – It’s redemption. 

The Bible is all about one person – It’s Jesus.

It’s all connected.

There are six necessary Christian graces to experience unity. (Ephesians 4:1-3)

1. Lowliness

2. Meekness

3. Longsuffering 

4. Forbearance 

5. Endeavor

6. Peace 

Ephesians 4:3– “Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

There are six necessary Christian graces to experience unity.

The first four are mentioned in Ephesians 4:2 - "With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;"

Today we will look at the fourth Christians grace - "forbearance."

In order to dwell in unity longsuferring is a key attitude we need. 

Ephesians 4:2 – “…with longsuffering…”

This is a Holy Spirit developed quality of endurance that patiently waits without becoming angry or frustrated.

There are six necessary Christian graces to experience unity. 

The first is lowliness and the second is meekness. 

Ephesians 4:2 - "With all lowliness and meekness..."

Meekness is not weakness! Meekness is power under control.