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The Church: Equipped, Matured, and Built Up (Ephesians 4:11-16) - 9/14/25

  • Tabernacle Baptist Church
  • Sep 13
  • 2 min read

INTRO

  • Last week, in Colossians 1:28–29, we saw the pattern of the church we it takes the ministry of the Word seriously…: We Serve Christ, Proclaim His Word, Rely on His Spirit.

  • Today, in Ephesians 4, Paul shows us the goal of this ministry… church where every believer is equipped, growing in maturity, and building one another up.

  • The public ministry of the Word (preaching and teaching) is vital. But it is not meant to stop there. It is meant to flow into the personal ministry of the Word, the “one another” ministry of believers doing church life TOGETHER.

  • Paul gives us a picture of what happens when the whole church takes this seriously.

The Church Is Equipped – vv. 11–12

  • Christ Himself gave leaders as gifts to the church. For a purpose. Redemptive purpose. Different gifts, but same goal.

  • Equip – restoring, mending, preparing, supplying what is lacking. It was used for mending nets (Matt. 4:21) and setting broken bones… making fit for use.

  • Ministry is not for spectators… it is for every saint.

  • Saved to serve. Saved and Sent.

The purpose of leaders is not to do all the ministry, but to train God’s people to minister.

The Church Is Matured – vv. 13–15

  • The goal of equipping is maturity in Christ, not busyness in activity.

  • Mature – full-grown, complete, reaching the intended goal.

  • Immature believers are like children…unstable, gullible, easily deceived by false teaching and cultural lies.

  • Mature believers are steady, grounded in truth, unified in Christ.

  • Growth happens together…truthing in love.

  • Speaking the truth in love is the means by which we grow into Christ.

  • WE ARE TO GROW UP… WE… ALL

The Church Is Built Up – v. 16

  • Join and held together. Christ the master builder. Keeps and Sustains.

  • The church grows not by a few doing much, but by every part working properly.

  • Priscilla and Aquila with Apollos (Acts 18:26): they took him aside, explained the Word more accurately, and helped him grow.

  • Everyone. Active verse Non-Active

  • Built up – strengthened, edified, made solid like a well-constructed building. STABLE, STEADY. ENDURANCE

  • Contrast… not tossed about (v. 14), but builds itself up in love.

  • Ask yourself… WHAT AM I DOING TO SEE MY LIFE BE USED OF GOD TO IMPACT OTHERS.

The What Now

God’s Desire for His Church is clear:

  • The Church Is Equipped — every believer prepared for ministry.

  • The Church Is Matured — every believer growing in Christlikeness.

  • The Church Is Built Up — Stable, Ready. Set for the future

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