… to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up …
Summary: Why does God provide leaders for the body of Christ? The answer is simple; to build up the body of Christ. The surprising part is that he needs us to help.
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers …
Summary: The one thing all of the people Paul mentions have in common is leadership. Leaders, regardless of their specialty, share certain traits. Our meditation today is all about leadership.
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.
Summary: Words are important. The wrong word can lead us to the wrong understanding. In this mediation, we look at the word “apportioned” and examine how this word can affect our happiness in God.
… together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
Summary: Continuing on with Paul’s metaphor, we explore what it means to be rooted in love and discover that being fed on God’s love is the key to understanding.
And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Summary: Following Paul through the twists and turns of his metaphor can be exhausting. With his building metaphor Christ is the reason for the building, the cornerstone of the building, and the place where the building resides.
Zechariah’s prophecy about Jesus and his son, John, comes to a close with this amazing stanza:
…By which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.
Luke 1: 78b-79
The imagery here is powerful. The “rising sun” coming to us from heaven is visual imagery for the coming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
The light from this sun shines on those here on earth living in darkness. The darkness is caused by the shadow of death. Anyone who has lost a loved one to death knows what that feels like.