Every Evangelical Christian agrees that God is working in our lives to make us more like Jesus. We claim His promise in Philippians 1:6 that the work He started in us He is faithful to complete. Still, we fail to realize that the most important way God does this work is through fellow believers. In Ephesians 4, Paul highlights the importance of these relationships. He begins by drawing attention to the pastors and teachers, but he doesn’t end there. Pastors and teachers are important to our spiritual growth, but others exceed them in importance. The pastors’ and teachers’ role in the church is to equip the saints to minister to each other. Only then will the church grow into her head, Christ. Brothers and sisters in Christ build each other up, speak the truth in love, and provide what is lacking. And God uses all of this to grow all of us to maturity and Christlikeness. It is astounding to consider that God could use me to help grow my brothers and sisters, but this is His plan. He takes each one of us, from the greatest to the least, to supply what only we can supply for the growth of the body. Then, as each one of us works properly, the body grows and builds itself up in love. It is that last little phrase, in love, that we often miss. This happens not when our relationships suffer from bitterness, rivalry, and envy. It happens when we work together in love. And that love isn’t self-interested good feelings, but a self-less giving up of our rights and time to serve others. This is the heart of edifying relationships. Relationships are so important, that we have dedicated an entire weekend to growing them. We must not neglect this important aspect of who God created us to be. We do so at our peril and at the peril of our assembly. God has a plan to make us like Jesus, and He’s achieving it through each other. Let’s be faithful to pursue the unity of the faith so we can grow up to match the stature of Jesus and glorify God. –Pastor Rory
Sunday at Liberty
9AM: Jeff Newman–Edifying Relationships Forged in Trials
10AM: Jeff Newman–Relationships Fostered by Communication–James 3 (sermon notes)
6PM: Jeff Newman–Relationships Threatened by Conflict
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