Ephesians 4:16 often gets rephrased as saying that the Church is, "joined and knit together by what every member supplies." But.. that's not what the verse says.

In nearly every translation, and even in the original Greek, the word Paul uses is "joint."

Maybe this doesn't seem like a big deal but "joints" and "members" are fundamentally different elements to a physical body and the same hold true for the Spiritual body. In fact, to misunderstand this verse is to potentially cause great harm to a Church.

To misunderstand this verse can (and does) often lead to pride, self-esteem issues, and wrong judgment of others because it elevates the INDIVIDUAL instead of elevating RELATIONSHIPS.

The reality is, our strengths, gifts, and efforts are only worth ANYTHING in the context of one another. If I have a gift for speaking but I have no connection to my Church - my gift is wasted. If I have a gift of hospitality but I have harmed my connection points to the Church - my gift is wasted.

No matter WHAT we have to offer the body, if we have undervalued connection TO the body, that gift lies stagnant.

Hopefully, over the course of this episode, we'll reexamine the connection points in the Church - our relationships with others - and esteem them as the pivotal building blocks to the Church that they are.

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Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly