Ephesians 4

Now Paul gets down to advice. Unity is the key to God's power. Satan loves quarreling Christians because they rob each other of power. Unity demands humility (not thinking to much of ourselves or too little of others) and a gentle hand. "Oneness" is a sign of people responding to God and the prerequisite for power.

 

Note in verses 11-13 that Paul says the work of the pastor/teacher is to train, equip and deploy the people of the church so that they become mature, even Christ-like. The pastor has no other job greater.

 

Paul goes on (verses 14-16.)  Grow up! Truth-telling and sharing the work of ministry aids this maturity immensely.

 

Unity, humility, and maturity take a change of mind. We cannot go on "autopilot" and expect the power of the Gospel to break into our lives. Our old ways hold many traps and detours that keep us down. Anger, cultivated as a lifestyle, is one big obstacle to a change of mind. Consistently angry people break unity and have closed minds. Instead make every word count and us them to build up others.