Ephesians 4: 1-13
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.
This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.”
What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly REGIONS? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
We want to achieve this sense of unity among Christians, and draw others into the joy and comfort we have in Christ. We don’t do it by browbeating people into submission or promising earthly prosperity and bliss, but by showing that Christ is the source of all peace and happiness, and every obstacle life may put before us is merely an opportunity to grow our faith.
We are all servants of God in Christ; our purpose is to glorify God in all we do and in the process gain the spiritual maturity to accept and understand what this all means.