Christ Gifts the Church

When God in his grace saves us he doesn't leave us as isolated individuals perpetuating our loneliness in the society. When were told that 7/10 people don't even know their own neighbors. When God saves us because many remarkable things and one of the things he does. He gives us a new family, a new society that is called the church and it is in the church that all human barriers are transcended, we think of all is going on in her crazy world and of the barriers of prejudice and of bias and that we wondered as Americans. Why can't we do better wind turned out politicians I get together and deal with some of the pressing problems that surround us, and we realize these are very, very difficult things that we all look at life somewhat differently, but it is in the church instituted by God himself that all of the barrios and all of the prejudices are to go and are to be transcended and it is in the church that we begin to form these meaningful and lasting and indeed eternal relationships and so this is our commitment as brothers and sisters at Calvary that we are committed to the church. The church as we saw last week is the very body of Christ and if you love Christ you will love his body.

Can you love Christ, and not love your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Jesus said that this would be the outstanding characteristic to the world that people would know that we are his followers. When we love one another in this churches and as brothers and sisters in Christ, we have to confess that sometimes were not very loving one another, but that is what Christ tells us in John the apostle of love tells us in first John three verse 18 that this love is not just to be in words very easy to say I love you very easy to shake someone by the handle to give them a hug and say I love you, but John's is I don't want you just are.

Love in word and talk with us to be translated into action. Indeed, and in truth. And so here we are in the church of Jesus Christ. Calvary churches, the local body of Christ, displaying the love of God to our site world and the subject this morning I think is a fascinating one, and it is that Christ gives the church and were going to read about that and I want you to stand and read with me from Ephesians chapter 4 verses seven through eight and then verses 11 through 16.

So let's read this together. Here is the word of God to us this morning. Paul is writing he saying to the church at Ephesus and bring with me, but grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore, it says when he ascended on high, he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry