Ephesians - Part 7

  

     This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on 9th August 2026, by Colin. For the audio , please click here.  For the worship, please click here.

Living Worthy of Your Calling: Unity, Maturity, and Purpose in Christ

"Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received." — Ephesians 4:1

As we begin the fourth chapter of Ephesians, the apostle Paul makes a remarkable transition. The first three chapters are filled with the incredible blessings God has freely given us in Christ—our identity, salvation, adoption, redemption, and every spiritual blessing. But chapter four shifts the focus from what God has done for us to how we should now live in response.

Grace is never meant to leave us unchanged. Those who have been called by God are invited to live lives that reflect the greatness of that calling.

Walk Worthy of Your Calling

Paul urges believers to "walk worthy" of the calling they have received. The word worthy carries the idea of balance or equal weight. God has lavished immeasurable blessings upon us through Christ, and our lives should now reflect the weight of those blessings.

Imagine a child who has been rescued from poverty, adopted into a loving family, clothed, fed, educated, and given an inheritance—yet continues to live like a beggar on the streets. That would contradict his new identity.

In the same way, God has brought us into His family and given us a new identity. We are no longer defined by our old life. We are called to live as sons and daughters of God.

Unity Is the Mark of the Church

Modern culture celebrates individuality and personal choice. While choice itself is not wrong, it often makes it difficult to think beyond ourselves. Yet God's design for the Church is very different.

Paul repeatedly emphasizes unity. We are one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all.

This unity is not something we create—it is something God has already given us through the Holy Spirit. Our responsibility is to protect and preserve it.

Paul tells us that unity is maintained through four Christ-like attitudes:

• Humility that places others before ourselves.
• Gentleness that exercises strength under control.
• Patience that is slow to anger and quick to extend grace.
• Bearing with one another in love despite each other's imperfections.

Every church family consists of imperfect people. Unity doesn't come from everyone being alike; it comes from everyone choosing love over preference and grace over pride.

Sometimes unity is expressed in simple acts of participation—praying together, fasting together, serving together, or standing together as one body. God delights in a people who pursue unity because where His people dwell together in unity, He commands His blessing.

Unity Without Compromising Truth

Biblical unity does not mean ignoring truth.

Paul reminds us that there are foundational truths that unite every believer: Jesus Christ is Lord, salvation is found in Him alone, His death and resurrection are central to our faith, and we belong to one body.

On these essential truths, there can be no compromise.

At the same time, believers may hold different opinions on secondary matters. In those areas, we extend liberty and charity while remaining united in Christ.

True unity is built on truth and sustained by love.

Christ Has Given Every Believer a Gift

Paul goes on to explain that every believer has received grace according to Christ's measure.

No Christian is giftless.

When Christ ascended in victory, He distributed gifts to His people. Among these are leadership gifts—apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers—not so they can do all the ministry themselves, but so they can equip God's people for ministry.

This is one of the beautiful truths about the Church: ministry is not reserved for a few leaders. Every believer has a role to play.

The purpose of spiritual leadership is to prepare the entire body of Christ to serve.

Growing Toward Spiritual Maturity

As believers are equipped and actively serve, something wonderful happens.

They grow.

Paul describes this growth as increasing in the knowledge of Christ and becoming mature—measuring up to the fullness of Christ Himself.

Spiritual maturity isn't simply gaining more information. It involves putting God's Word into practice through daily obedience.

Jesus Himself modeled this life. Though He was the Son of God, He humbled Himself and learned obedience. As we follow His example, our lives are transformed, and we become more like Him.

Mature believers are also stable believers.

Instead of being tossed around by every new teaching or deceptive idea, they are firmly rooted in God's truth. They can discern error because they know Christ and His Word.

Every Part Matters

Paul concludes with a beautiful picture of the Church as a human body.

Every part has a purpose.

Every member contributes to the health of the whole.

When each person faithfully serves using the gifts God has given, the Church grows stronger, healthier, and more loving.

But when someone refuses to use the gifts God has entrusted to them, the body suffers. Just as a physical body struggles when one part is unable to function, the Church is hindered when believers choose not to serve.

This raises two important questions for each of us:

• Do I know the gifts God has given me?
• Am I faithfully using them to build up the body of Christ?

God has uniquely designed every believer for a purpose. Your contribution matters more than you may realize.

Looking Ahead with Hope

As believers, we have a glorious future.

One day we will receive new bodies. There will be no more pain, sickness, sorrow, or death. We will live forever in the presence of Christ.

But until that day arrives, God has given us a mission.

He calls us to protect the unity He has established, grow in faith and maturity, discover and use our spiritual gifts, and faithfully serve one another in love.

Final Thoughts

The Christian life is not merely about receiving God's blessings—it is about responding to them.

Because Christ has called us, we should walk worthy of that calling.

Because He has united us, we should preserve that unity.

Because He has gifted us, we should serve faithfully.

And because He is transforming us, we should continually grow into His likeness until the day we see Him face to face.

May we live lives that truly reflect the incredible calling we have received in Christ.

 Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English-speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org. 

Ephesians - Part 6

 

     This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on 2ns August 2026, by Andrew. For the audio , please click here.  For the worship, please click here.  

A Prayer That Changes Us from the Inside Out

Lessons from Ephesians 3:14–21

When we think about prayer, our minds often go to asking God for help—healing, provision, guidance, or solutions to life's challenges. While these are good and necessary prayers, the Apostle Paul gives us a glimpse into something even deeper in Ephesians 3:14–21.

His prayer isn't primarily about changing circumstances. It's about God transforming people.

A Prayer Rooted in the Gospel

Paul begins by saying,

"For this reason I kneel before the Father..."

What is "this reason"?

It's everything Paul has been building up throughout the first three chapters of Ephesians. Through Jesus' death and resurrection, those who were once far from God have been brought near. Jews and Gentiles have become one family. The same resurrection power that raised Christ from the dead is now at work bringing people into God's family.

Our confidence in prayer doesn't come from using the right words or having a particular style of praying. It comes from knowing who our Father is—a loving Father who knows what's best, hears His children, corrects them wisely, and provides generously.

Paul's First Request: Strength for the Inner Person

Paul's first petition is surprising:

"I pray that... He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being."

Why does Paul pray for power?

Not for influence.
Not for recognition.
Not even for miraculous abilities.

The purpose is much greater:

"...so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith."

The greatest display of God's power is not simply changing our external circumstances but transforming our hearts.

Strength That Doesn't Fade

Our physical bodies grow weaker with time. No matter how fit or healthy we are today, our bodies have limits.

But Paul reminds us that our inner being can continually grow stronger.

The Holy Spirit renews us day by day, producing a faith that matures regardless of age or circumstance.

Perhaps our prayers should increasingly sound like this:

"Lord, strengthen me inwardly so I remain faithful, whatever happens around me."

Rooted in a Love Beyond Understanding

Paul then moves to his second prayer:

"...that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power... to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ."

This raises another question:

Why do we need God's power just to understand His love?

Because God's love is not merely an idea to study.

It is a reality to experience.

Knowledge alone cannot heal deep wounds. Only God's love revealed by the Holy Spirit can restore what years of pain have broken.

Many people carry invisible scars from rejection, loss, disappointment, or broken relationships. The Father's love reaches places that human words cannot.

His love doesn't simply inform us.

It transforms us.

Knowledge and Experience Go Together

Christian maturity isn't built on emotional experiences alone.

Neither is it built on knowledge alone.

Paul points us toward both.

We need to know God's Word.

We also need to encounter the God of the Word.

As we grow in both truth and relationship, we become spiritually mature—stable, loving, generous, united, and resilient believers who reflect Christ.

A Bigger View of God

Paul concludes with one of the Bible's most powerful declarations:

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine..."

How often do we limit God with our expectations?

Sometimes unanswered prayers tempt us to believe that God isn't powerful enough—or perhaps not generous enough.

Paul reminds us that neither is true.

God's resources are limitless.

His wisdom is perfect.

His power has already been demonstrated through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The same power is still at work today.

Let Christ Make Himself at Home

One beautiful picture helps us understand Paul's prayer.

Imagine buying an old house that needs renovation. The walls need painting, the flooring needs replacing, and every room requires attention.

Before moving in, everything is slowly restored.

That's exactly what Christ does when He dwells in us.

He doesn't merely visit.

He takes up residence.

Room by room, He transforms our lives.

Over time, what once looked broken begins to resemble the character of Christ.

Spiritual growth is often gradual, but it is real.

The longer Christ dwells within us, the more our lives reflect Him.

A Prayer Worth Praying

Paul's prayer challenges us to pray differently.

Yes, we can continue bringing our needs before God.

But alongside those requests, may we also pray:

• Lord, strengthen my inner being.
• Let Christ dwell fully in my heart.
• Help me experience the immeasurable depth of Your love.
• Make me spiritually mature.
• Shape me to look more like Jesus.
• May my life bring glory to You.

Ultimately, Paul's prayer isn't centered on our comfort.

It's centered on God's glory.

And when God transforms us from the inside out, His glory shines through His people and His Church for generations to come.

 Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English-speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org. 

Maturing on the Move: From Shallow Faith to Deep Roots

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on October 12th 2025 by Lasya. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here. 

Maturing on the Move: From Shallow Faith to Deep Roots

A Journalist goes to this famous hospital and asks - are there any big men who were born here? And the nurse answers, no sir, only babies are born here.

We all come into the kingdom born again as babies, regardless of age. And just as in the natural, we go through the stages of growth -

1. Infants: 1 Peter 2:2 “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation”

2. Children: Eph 4:14 “so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and from by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes”

3. Young men and women 1 John 2: 14 “I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.”

4. Mature manhood / womanhood - Hebrews 5:13 “But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” Maturity is the ability to prioritize values over impulses.” Stephen Covey. 

Just as in the natural, no stage is bad and everyone’s journey is different. But the will of God for us is that we are moving towards maturity. If we want to say like Paul did, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.(2 Tim 4:7), we need a mature faith. 

What does it mean to mature? It is not a measure of age/ success/ position/ stature… Eph 4:13 “become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Maturity means to look like Jesus. 

How do we do that? 

Hebrews 12: 

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

1. Perspective - “since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses” The Big picture! We are not alone. God, in eternity past, created us to look like him - made us in his image. But the fall separates us when we are out of relationship with God, we have a distorted image of who we are to become. And since then he has been choosing for himself, who can display God to the world. These are the carriers of God’s presence and by faith they have inherited these promises of God from one generation to the next. You and I are Abraham’s promised children, Jacob’s holy nation, Moses’ redeemed people.

The word witnesses here does not mean spectators in a race; it comes from the root word martyrs and it means those who have borne testimony with their blood. So we see their lives of faith and their testimony as an encouragement for our race. illustration: Copernicus discovering that the sun is the center of the galaxy. We are not the superstars that they've come to cheer for. They have passed on something of great value, that they paid with their lives of faith, and we receive and run with it in humility.

Application: Study the scriptures, study their walk of faith. 

Its great to have all these online resources, but what we need is not more guides, we need fathers and mothers. Find faithful fathers and mothers in your own life whose walk you can emulate. Phil 3: 17 “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us”. Do you have anyone in your life that walks according to the example of scripture that you can emulate. Can you give yourself to be mentored by them? For those of us who are older, can we look out for someone to pass on our faith to? 

2. Preparation: Any athlete prepares before running the race. The preparation for us is let us also lay aside / throw off: 

1. Every weight/ encumbrance: They are simply things you and I are not meant to carry. They are doctrines, patterns of thinking and belief systems that we are not meant to carry. This was Jesus’ problem with the Pharisees. They placed a yoke on people which is more than what the law required. Weights I’ve had to throw off - perfectionism, acceptance based on performance, my past sinful self. These are dead weights that get heavy the longer you carry them. Trekking with rocks in the backpack. But Jesus promises that His yoke is easy, his burden is light. How do we identify what is a weight in our life? The word of God, with the help of the Holy Spirit. Application: What are some weights in your life? What is in your backpack that needs to be thrown out. (get with the Holy Spirit and ask to identify and replace them with the truth that sets us free)

2. and sin which clings so closely - Some sins have a short rope - addiction to drugs, alcohol, pornography. Get it out now or you won't be able to run. Some sins have a long, long rope… means it’ll let us run for a while before it trips us up - pride, arrogance, a grumbling heart. Some sins are generational - they are long enough to bind generations of people, and unless you deal with them through spiritual deliverance, you will simply pass them on to the next gen. Sins are chains, because they enslave us to the enemy. Grace helps us say no to sin. How do we throw off sin? We pray and fast and replace it with healthy practices. Application: What sins is the Holy Spirit bringing up in your heart. Don't push it aside, deal with it.  

3. Participation: Let’s run the race marked out for us! If we stopped with preparation, Christianity is no different from a spiritual self-help group. 

1. Run…difference between the athlete and the audience. It means obeying God and doing the good works that have been set aside for us. When Jesus called his disciples, he did not gather them to set up a study circle and teach about the kingdom of God… he taught on the go. Illustration: internship vs. classroom teaching. If you are a follower, an intern, an apprentice of Jesus, you are to move with him from day 1. Has Jesus retired? No he is alive and active - he is saving, healing, delivering, setting free… What are we doing? Are you too young to run? Look at the disciples - teenagers who were sent out to heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead. Be strong and courageous! Are you too old? Reignite your first love… do the things you did at first. 

2. the race marked out for you: there is a path of obedience for you and I to walk today. There is a space for you to show up as your authentic self and use your specific set of gifts God has given you. Running someone else’s race leads to unhealthy competition. Application: Do you know what your race is? What is your race to run today? 

4. Perseverance: not only do we need to enter the race, but endure it. Passion alone will burn us out. We run with endurance - we need endurance because there are trials. James 1:2-4 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything”  We are handed trials as per our capacity. When we go directly for the big weights, 2 things can happen - we get injured or we develop a bad posture. What is the posture of your heart when you go through hard things? Maturity is not measured by position but by fruit. Gal 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” When you bear fruit in this season, you are ready for the next. Have we proven ourselves trustworthy? Can we obey god where we are? Step up in the things we’ve already been entrusted with. It is not grabbing for a rank or position. Promotion comes from God… But our job is to endure, build strength, stability, get grounded in the word, bear fruit in and out of season… it is laying your life down… what if your promotion comes and its not a step up but down? What if leadership is not speaking in front of 100s of people but washing 100s of feet. Can you endure it? 

5. Perfection: Looking to Jesus!!!! the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. That is where we want to be looking. There is only one perfect lamb of God who serves as an example for us all. God’s biggest move was from heaven to earth, glory to dirt, the almighty to a baby, crowns to a cross. The way to stay the course, to run the race and to finish well, is to look to Jesus. What we behold we become. 2 Cor 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 

We are living in the time of renewal of all things and God is moving in us and through us. He put these treasures in jars of clay because the surpassing worth belongs to him… but there is one more move left… when Jesus will come back… not as gentle and mild, but in glory, he will come back for a mature bride, so we need to make ourselves\ ready with courage in our hearts and oil in our lamps.

 Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English-speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.