Ephesians 4
Therefore I, the prisoner united with the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
Always be humble, gentle and patient, bearing with one another in love, and making every effort to preserve the unity the Spirit gives through the binding power of shalom. There is one body and one Spirit, just as when you were called you were called to one hope. And there is one Lord, one trust, one immersion, and one God, the Father of all, who rules over all, works through all and is in all.
Each one of us, however, has been given grace to be measured by the Messiah’s bounty. 8This is why it says,
“After he went up into the heights,
he led captivity captive
and he gave gifts to mankind.”
Now this phrase, “he went up,” what can it mean if not that he first went down into the lower parts, that is, the earth? The one who went down is himself the one who also went up, far above all of heaven, in order to fill all things. Furthermore, he gave some people as emissaries, some as prophets, some as proclaimers of the Good News, and some as shepherds and teachers. Their task is to equip God’s people for the work of service that builds the body of the Messiah, until we all arrive at the unity implied by trusting and knowing the Son of God, at full manhood, at the standard of maturity set by the Messiah’s perfection.
We will then no longer be infants tossed about by the waves and blown along by every wind of teaching, at the mercy of people clever in devising ways to deceive. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in every respect grow up into him who is the head, the Messiah. 16 Under his control, the whole body is being fitted and held together by the support of every joint, with each part working to fulfill its function; this is how the body grows and builds itself up in love.
Therefore I say this — indeed, in union with the Lord I insist on it: do not live any longer as the pagans live, with their sterile ways of thinking. Their intelligence has been shrouded in darkness, and they are estranged from the life of God, because of the ignorance in them, which in turn comes from resisting God’s will. They have lost all feeling, so they have abandoned themselves to sensuality, practicing any kind of impurity and always greedy for more. But this is not the lesson you learned from the Messiah! If you really listened to him and were instructed about him, then you learned that since what is in Yeshua is truth, then, so far as your former way of life is concerned, you must strip off your old nature, because your old nature is thoroughly rotted by its deceptive desires; and you must let your spirits and minds keep being renewed, and clothe yourselves with the new nature created to be godly, which expresses itself in the righteousness and holiness that flow from the truth.
Therefore, stripping off falsehood, let everyone speak truth with his neighbor, because we are intimately related to each other as parts of a body. Be angry, but don’t sin — don’t let the sun go down before you have dealt with the cause of your anger; otherwise you leave room for the Adversary.
The thief must stop stealing; instead, he should make an honest living by his own efforts. This way he will be able to share with those in need.
Let no harmful language come from your mouth, only good words that are helpful in meeting the need, words that will benefit those who hear them.
Don’t cause grief to God’s Ruach HaKodesh, for he has stamped you as his property until the day of final redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, violent assertiveness and slander, along with all spitefulness.
Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted; and forgive each other, just as in the Messiah God has also forgiven you.
God’s Masterpiece
I like you because together we are ~ who I am meant to be
Each one of us together ~ not separately
Becomes God’s Masterpiece of Art
When we stand as one
The Body of Messiah
God’s Own Son
I like you because you are meek and mild
And you because you are tender as a child
I like you because you are bold and courageous
And you because your faith is contagious
I like you because you never give up, never let go
And you because of the mercy you show
I like you because you are a true peace maker
And you because you are a giver not a taker
I like you for your engineering mind
And you for your ability to get things done on time
I like you for the way you love others
And you for the way you look out for your brothers
I like you for the justice you show
And you for all of the times you just “let it go”
I like you because you always find time for the Lord
And you because you’re always so busy serving others you never get bored
I like you because of the joy you have exploding inside
And you because your heart is so tender you always cry
I like you because of your sense of humor, so rare
And you, I like you because of how deeply you care
I like you because of your quiet gentle spirit
And you because whenever God speaks you always hear it
I like you because of your love for the poor
And you for always wanting to give more
I like you for the way you respect God’s word
And you for putting into practice what you’ve heard
I like you because you preach the good news over seas
And you because you stayed here to minister to people like me
I like you because of the way you share you faith
And you because of the way you trust God day to day
I like each and every one of you ~ so special you are to me
Because when I look inside of you, Yeshua is what I see
So I like you because of everything that you are that I am not
And all that I am in Messiah through you and with you because ~
Together ~ not separately we are
God’s Masterpiece of Art
When we stand as one
The Body of Messiah
God’s Own Son
copyright © Amy Colleen Klapp
