In our passage (4:11-16), the Apostle Paul is explaining to us what the purpose of the resurrection power of Jesus Christ is, what the purpose of the engifting of the ascended Christ is for the church. Paul focuses on how those with leadership gifts are to equip the saints for the work of service, so that the body will grow to unity, maturity, and Christ-likeness. The various members of the body have different gifts in order to help the Church body grow in maturity and strength, as we serve each other in order to extend His kingdom. Our study will follow the outline below:  

1. God Given Gifts (v. 11-12)
2. The Goal of the Gifts (v. 13-14)
3. The Game Plan (v. 15-16)

If verse 11 exhorts us to listen up to the teachers that God has given to the church, verse 12 tells us the goal of listening up: that the church might be built up. God has given these teachers to the church “for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”

Christ intends for his people to use their individual gifts to create an integrated body; he gives leaders so that each believer increases in the “knowledge of the Son of God” (4:13). An assembly that grows is no longer “children,” subject to deceptive teachings (4:14). Christlike maturity is characterised by discernment (cf. Hebrews 5:12–14).

We are not only to be established in truth, but we are also to be growing in love. The church grows in maturity by being established in truth and love (4:15-16).  

Getting Started                          

1. Are there any sports or activities that you enjoy watching but are not good at? Or are there sports or activities that you are good at but do not enjoy watching on television. Why? Share your story.

• Read Ephesians 4:11-16

2. What insight, principle, or observation from Sunday’s sermon did you find to be the most helpful, eye-opening, or troubling?

 Digging Deeper

3. If the proclamation of the gospel (the teaching of God’s Word) is a primary emphasis of the spiritual gifts, as we see in verse 11, what are the implications? 

4. Paul has told us in verses 11-12 about the work that the gifts are to do. In verses 13-14 he tells us what the goal of Christ's giving us those gifts is. What are the three points he makes in verse 13? 

5. How does “speaking the truth in love” (4:15) toward brothers and sisters facilitate growing up into the head of the body? 

The Heart of the Matter

6. We are told in verse 11 & 12 that the church has been given gifted teachers to help equip the saints for the work of ministry. But where is the balance between feeling “adequate for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:17) and feeling inadequate (2 Cor. 2:16; 3:5)? 

7. Verse 15 tells us we are to “grow up in all aspects into Christ.” This means bringing every area of our lives under Christ’s lordship as commanded in His Word. This includes, our thought life, our emotional life, our relationships, how we use our time, money and possessions, how we use our body, including eating, exercise, rest, modest clothing, and moral purity should grow up into Christ. Which of these areas in your own life, do you think you need to grow in? Why?  

8. Verse 16 goes full circle back to verse 7, where Paul emphasized that each of us has been given a gracious spiritual gift to use in service to one another. What do you think is your spiritual gift and how do you think it could be used best to serve the body of Christ?