Ephesians 4:12,13 - To equip His people for works of service

4:12

“To equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (NIV). The purpose is so important. Any position or ministry that we might have is ours in order to serve others and to build up the body of Christ. It most definitely is not ours in order to pet our egos. Remember that in 2:10 Paul says that we were created in Christ to do good works. So the various ministries are there to equip His people for these works of service. Note that the people are above all else “His people”, they belong to Christ before they are “our people”. And it is the body of Christ that is to be built up, not any little empire of ours.

4:13

This will continue until we all reach unity in faith. So we see again the emphasis on unity, and that we move towards greater unity by growing in Christ, and in our knowledge and understanding of Him. Unity is very important, but we must not make an idol out of it. This happens when we are prepared to go against God’s clear commands for the sake of “unity”. The goal is that we become mature, and attain the “whole measure of the fullness of Christ”. Again, there is no lack of ambition on Paul’s part, nor should there be on ours either.