Grace Changes Everything

Ephesians 4:11-16 So Christ Himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in 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.  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. From Him  the  whole  body,  joined and held together  by  every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

• Maturity takes intentionality; it doesn’t just happen. Christ’s work on His body (the church) is a continual process. We may not be all that we should be but we are far from who we were. Grace is not finished with us at salvation  but  continues to work  on  and in us  to conform us into the likeness  of  Christ.    God’s plan  is  to  fit  the Body of Christ together in unity and love.
• The text tells us to speak truth in love. That does not mean correction but revealing deception and teachings that do not line up with God’s Word.

The natural man  wants  to  add to grace  but it is solely God’s sovereign work. Grace changes everything.  Grace provides full freedom.  Graces will change our desires and priorities.   Grace changes how we see people and causes us to love them as God loves all people.  Grace changes our work ethic, and what we do with our time and money. Grace gives spiritual life, a life lived by the Spirit. Truly grace changes everything!