Mark 4:26-32; Eph 4:4-6, 11-18
SS Lesson for 02/01/2026
Devotional Scriptures: Acts 2:41-47
Jesus and the people of his time and place did not have corn as we have it today. But they had other plants that grew rapidly in the fertile and well-watered fields of the Galilee region. Jesus told many parables involving farming and sowing seeds. This lesson reveals one reason why. Jesus is known for his use of parables when teaching. While Jesus’ parables are unique, this teaching method was well-known in the ancient world. For Jesus, a parable is usually an illustration that compares something well-known in the experience of the hearers to less understood spiritual truths. His illustrations were drawn from the everyday lives of his audience. Many parables teach about the “kingdom of God” (in Matthew, “kingdom of heaven”). We see their comparative nature in their introduction, “The kingdom of heaven is like …” (example: Matthew 13:24). Some parables are narratives, telling a little story (example: Luke 15:4-7). Others are observational, giving spiritual application to an easily pictured scenario (example: 6:39). The kingdom parables often have applications regarding Jesus’ intentions for the church. This lesson looks at two such parables in Mark.
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head, Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
(Scriptural Text from the New King James Version; cross-references from the NIV)
26 And He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground,
27 and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.
28 For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.
29 But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."
30 Then He said, "To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it?
31 It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth;
32 but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade."
2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage, with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
22 The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the Lord; in its time I will do this swiftly."
21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."
2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head, Christ,
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,
18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;
5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.
27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel
2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.
47 "That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows.
48 But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us: "'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'"
15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions, it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.
24 The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. 25 In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden.
There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
The unity of which Paul speaks is not that which we should strive to create, but rather than which we should strive to preserve.64 The unity is one that exists by divine design and by divine creation. It is that unity of which Paul has already spoken in chapter 2:
For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:14-22).
There is “one body,” the body of Christ, the church. It is in this “one new man” that all who are saved, Jew or Gentile, are reconciled to God and to each other. There is “one Spirit,” the Holy Spirit, who has sealed us (Ephesians 1:13) and who enables us to grasp the hope of His calling, the riches of the glory of His inheritance, and the surpassing greatness of His power (1:17-19). It is through the Spirit that the church is made the dwelling place of God (2:22).
We all share a common (one) hope, the hope of His calling (1:18), the full enjoyment of the blessings which God has brought about in Christ (1:3). We have one Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, who redeemed us by His blood and who is the head of the church (1:7, 22). We all share a common faith, all of us being saved in exactly the same way (see Romans 3:19-30; 4:1-16; Galatians 2:16). We all, whether Jews or Gentiles have but one baptism (1 Corinthians 12:13; see Romans 6:1-11). And as such, we all have one God and Father, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. With so much in common, we can see why Paul would speak of something which already exists in fact, and which needs to be preserved and promoted. The unity which we share in terms of our position, is also to be shown in our practice.
But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men.” (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
The “But” of verse 7 seems to indicate some kind of change of subject. Verses 1-6 speak of what all Christians possess in common, which is the basis of their unity. Verses 7-16 speak of that which Christians individually possess uniquely, which is another contributing factor to Christian unity.
How can diversity contribute to unity? Let me turn your attention to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. In what way would Adam and Eve better become one flesh, by being created exactly alike, or by being made very different from each other, but in a way they caused them to correspond to each other? The answer is obvious, isn’t it? The differences between Adam and Eve were by divine design, so that their unity would be complete. Apart from each other, they were not complete. This is why God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable [literally, corresponding to] for him” (Genesis 2:18).
The same is true of the unity which God has purposed for His body, the church. We share in common all of the things mentioned in verses 4-6. Nevertheless, we also are distinct in that God has given each one of us different spiritual gifts and different spheres of service. But when each believer finds his place of service and plays out his or her part, the whole body grows and fulfills its mission and ministry (4:16).
There are other texts which also teach us about spiritual gifts (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12-14; 1 Peter 4:10-11). Our text in Ephesians 4 has some unique areas of emphasis. Let me identity these for your consideration.
First, The emphasis in our text is not on the Holy Spirit, who is the means by which Spiritual gifts are given and employed (see 1 Corinthians 12:1-11), but rather on the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the giver of these gifts. Spiritual gifts are gifts “of the Spirit,” but they are also gifts “from Christ.” It is as a result of our Lord’s victory, climaxing in His ascension (see 1:20-21), that spiritual gifts are bestowed upon believers. He, as the victor, has gotten the spoils of war. He, as the head of the church, distributes these “spoils” (gifts) to His body for the on-going ministry of the church.
Second, Paul here links spiritual gifts with the descent and ascension of our Lord. It is not easy to see how Paul’s use of some of the words of Psalm 68:18 here squares with the meaning of the psalm itself. We will not attempt to solve this problem. What we will do is to concentrate on why Paul uses these words.
In the context, Paul has been speaking of the attitudes which reflect Christ, and which facilitate Christian unity. The fundamental attitude is that of humility. I believe that Paul’s reference to Psalm 68 has a two-fold purpose. The first purpose is to show that spiritual gifts have their origin in the victory of Christ over the death, the grave, and His enemies. The second purpose is to demonstrate that spiritual gifts are intimately related to humility.
Did Christ give spiritual gifts to His church because of His ascension? Yes, He did. And how, Paul challenges us, did Jesus come to ascend? He ascended only because He first descended. Without His descension (so to speak) His ascension would have been impossible. I believe that this link between ascension and decension is the point of Paul’s words in verses 9 and 10. What Paul is showing us is that even in our Lord’s life and ministry the way “up” was “down.” Christ descended in order to ascend. So, too, as our Lord taught His disciples, the way to greatness is through service. If we are to employ spiritual gifts in a way that is consistent with the way our Lord obtained them for us we must humble ourselves as He humbled Himself.
Third, the gifts which are named are a small and distinct group. This list of spiritual gifts is very different from any other list. I believe that other lists encompass a broad variety of gifts, while this list of four or five gifts65 encompasses just one category of gift. All of the gifts Paul names here are what we might call “foundational gifts.” These gifts are those which are necessary and essential for all other gifts and ministries. The apostles and prophets have laid the foundation for the church and ministry by inscripturating the teaching and doctrine of our Lord (see Ephesians 2:20; 3:5). Evangelists proclaim the gospel defined by the apostles and prophets. They are the obstetricians of the faith. And pastor-teachers are the pediatricians. All Christian ministry is dependent upon the operation of these gifts. The first two gifts I would understand to have been fulfilled by the apostles and prophets of the New Testament era. The latter two gifts continue to function in the church today.
Fourth, the spiritual gifts are viewed as given to the whole church, not just to one local church.66 This realization has come to me slowly in the case of the last gift(s) mentioned, that of pastor-teacher. Usually, we think of this gift as functioning in the context of a particular local church. Usually, we would hope to find a pastor-teacher on the staff of a local church.
I am now beginning to wonder why pastor-teachers should not be considered a gift given to the church at large, and not just to one local church alone. We do not usually expect evangelists to restrict their ministry to one local church. Why, then, do we expect pastor-teachers to do so exclusively? I am inclined to think that each of the four gifts named in verse 11 are given to the church at large, and not just to a particular local church, which possesses them in a manner of speaking.
If you look at the Book of Acts and the epistles of the New Testament, you will find that teachers were not limited to one place of service, where they stayed for a long period of time. Paul sent Timothy to Ephesus, and to many other cities as well. Apollos also traveled from one place to another (see Acts 18:24-28), as did Paul. Never do you see a teacher in the New Testament staying on permanently in a local church as its pastor. This is an office which the Scriptures do not teach or require.
I think I am beginning to understand myself better as a result of my study of this text in Ephesians. I enjoy ministry in my local church, but I also find a strong inclination to exercise my gift of teaching in other contexts, outside the church. And so I minister in prisons, and have had the opportunity to teach overseas as well.
A few years ago, a godly Christian leader from India, Theo Williams, visited with the elders of our church. The elders asked him why it was worth the expense to send me all that distance to teach in India when they had godly Indian teachers there already. He responded that Christians in the West have certain strengths and perspectives which are needed by the church in India. He also quickly added that Indian saints have some perspectives very much needed in the West.67 The ministry of pastor-teachers ought not to be hoarded, but should be shared in such a way as to benefit the body of Christ at large.
The epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, and especially his teaching here in chapter 4, raise some real questions about the doctrine of the “autonomy of the local church.” In the past I have been associated with churches and denominations which hold to the “autonomy of the local church” as one of the fundamental tenants of their doctrine. And yet, having heard this said repeatedly, I cannot think of a single biblical text which teaches this at all, let alone repeatedly or emphatically.
I suspect that this “doctrine” is a leftover reaction from the reformers to the abuses of the Catholic Church. If we mean by this that no man or no body is able to dictate truth and divine directives to the church at large, then I agree. But when we use this teaching to justify the independence of individual churches, rather than inter-dependence, we have gone too far. We have too little communion and cooperation among and between individual “autonomous” local churches. Paul’s teaching on the church should challenge our thinking about the church and about our practice as a local church.
I think that the term “church” is used more broadly in the New Testament than it is understood by Christians today. We generally think of the church in one of two ways: (1) the church universal—all believers of all the ages, living and dead; and (2) the church local—the believers who gather in a particular local church. Paul seemed to think more broadly. The “church” at Ephesus or at Philippi or Rome was not just one local congregation but all of the saints in that particular city. We should be thinking not only of our church, but of all the saints, in our city, in our nation, in the world. It was with this broader view that the predominantly Gentile saints in the newly born church at Antioch took up a collection for the needy Jewish saints in Judea (Acts 11:27-30). Let us think beyond our own individual growth and well-being, and even beyond that of our local church, but of the growth and maturity of the church at large, around the world.
One final comment about the larger dimensions of the church, as Paul speaks of it. We often agonize when someone leaves “our church” to go to another. There are times when we should be concerned. We should be concerned if we have failed as a church. We should be concerned if our church has failed to live up to its calling, and especially up to the Scriptures. We should be concerned if people have left for the wrong reasons, or have gone to a church that departs from sound doctrine and practice. But we should not agonize over everyone who leaves our church to serve elsewhere. The “church” is bigger than “our church” and God may wish to use the gifts of some of our former members there. They have not deserted Christ who have left our congregation to serve Christ in another.
Fifth, the emphasis falls not on knowing your gift, but on finding your place of service. From Romans 12:3-8 and 1 Peter 4:10-11 is seems impossible for one to be a good steward of the grace of God without knowing what his or her spiritual gift is. Having said this, I see many Christians waiting to serve until they have discovered their gift. This text in Ephesians chapter 4 may provide a happy solution. In this text Paul does not urge the saints to “discover their gift,” but rather to find their place of service in the body of Christ. I believe that as we seek to find a place of service we will also discover the gift or gifts which God has given to us.
Finding our place of service is not really that difficult, as I understand the Scriptures. The first thing we must know is what it is that God has commanded us to do. We are, for example, to minister to the orphans and the widows (James 1:27). We are to “contribute to the needs of the saints” and “practice hospitality” (Romans 12:13). We are to “admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, and help the weak” (1 Thessalonians 5:14). All we need to do is to look around us for those things which need to be done, which our Lord has commanded us to do. We should give a higher priority to those things which we do best, as good stewards of the grace of God. In so doing, we will discover not only our place of service, but those gifts which God has given us to enable us to serve. This is the emphasis which is evident in Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 4.
Sixth, the focus here is not on the individual, but on the contribution which the individual makes to the corporate body of Christ. Even though individual saints are addressed here, and each has his or her unique blending of gifts, the emphasis falls on the church. Often I hear the subject of spiritual gifts taught in such a way as to place the gifted individual in the place of prominence. Status is attached to the gift, and if not, then people are told that knowing and exercising their gift will give them a feeling of significance and fulfillment. This may well be true, but the focus is wrong. Spiritual gifts are not given to us for our benefit as much as they are given for the building up of the body of Christ.
Spiritual gifts, according to Paul’s words in verses 12-16, are given for the edification of the body, and to facilitate the ministry of the church as the body of Christ. Christ indwells the church corporately (2:21-22) and the church corporately ministers on Christ’s behalf. The church is the visible manifestation of Christ on the earth. Christ not only dwells in it, it visibly manifests Christ to the world.
So often, when the saints go to church, the go to be ministered to, not to minister. They go in order to be blessed, not in order to be a blessing. They leave, not asking whether Christ was exalted and whether others were edified, but whether or not they were blessed. Our text tells us that we are given gifts so that we may contribute something to the body of Christ, so that we may fulfill our mission to the church and through it.
Seventh, spiritual gifts are given to members of the church until that time when the church has finally reached the goal of Christlikeness (see verse 13). There are some who teach that spiritual gifts existed only in the early church of the New Testament, and that gifts are no longer needed or present in the church today. While this may be a quick and easy way to handle some of the more controversial gifts, it is throwing the baby out with the bath water. In the light of Paul’s teaching here, how can we possibly conclude that spiritual gifts no longer exist? According to Paul, spiritual gifts cease will only when the entire church has matured and has become fully like Christ. Spiritual gifts cease only when that which is perfect has come, and this will take place only when our Lord returns.68
Eighth, while every spiritual gift has its own particular function, Paul sets forth the goal of every gift functioning in the body for the corporate ministry and maturity of the body of Christ. By each and every member of the body of Christ ministering to the body of Christ, the church is built up toward the goal of Christlikeness.
Ninth, in this passage, Paul contrasts maturity and immaturity as it pertains to the church. Immaturity is to no longer be “like children” (verse 14). The early church did pass through its stage of infancy. As individual churches are established, they also must begin at the “child” state and grow to maturity. The same is true of individual believers. Children begin life totally dependent on their mother. Their identity is linked with their mother. And then (almost too quickly, it would seem), the child begins to gain his own identity, his own individuality. Now the child is only aware of himself, of his own wants and needs. But as a child grows older, he not only becomes more independent, he also becomes more able to serve others.
While this kind of child development is readily evident to us, this is not what Paul chose to emphasize. He focused on the instability and the vulnerability of children. Young children have a short attention span. They flit about, from one activity to another. They are gullible and they believe nearly anything that someone tells them. Doctrinally, an immature church is unstable, changing its doctrinal views as often as some self-serving religious huckster comes to the church.
This is not the goal Paul holds out for the church. His goal is that due to the active involvement and ministry of every member, the church will grow up to maturity. It will be marked by doctrinal purity and stability. It will discern those who hold to a different doctrine and refuse to be turned away from the truth. The mature church will be growing in Christ-likeness, never arriving at it in this life and never being content with how far it has grown. The mature church is committed to the truth of God’s revealed Word and ever seeking to be more closely conformed to Christ, its Head.
The mature church, Paul says, is “growing up into Him who is the head” (verse 15). On the face of it, this statement seems difficult to understand. How can the body grow up into its head? We are not growing up into the Head, we are growing up to be more and more like the Head, Jesus Christ.
Let me try to illustrate what I think Paul means. Christ is the “Head” of the body in several ways. He is also the one who provides for the needs of the body, and He also guides and directs the body. He is the One who is to be preeminent in the church, to receive the glory and honor. He is also the one who created the church, who brought it into existence by His incarnation, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. In this last sense, our Lord begat the church with the “imperishable seed,” through the Word of God (1 Peter 1:23).
Maturity is becoming more Christ-like as we become more obedient to the Word of God, and as we become more like our Father. Just as a child is born with all kinds of genetic potentialities, which become more and more evident as it grows up, so we become more like we were destined to be as we grow up into Christ.
(Adapted from URL:https://bible.org/seriespage/11-calling-and-conduct-christian-ephesians-41-16)
The parables Jesus told give the impression of rapid growth of the kingdom of God. As with seeds to mature plants, this may seem mysterious to us at times. Astounding church growth may be happening in places we don’t expect. May we rejoice whenever we hear stories of unbelievers coming to faith in Christ! But the numerical growth of people brings growth in the number of opinions and interpretations. This can lead to divisions (compare 1 Corinthians 1:10-17; 3:1-9; 11:17-22). The solution is found in the “seven ones” of Ephesians 4:4-6. These still define the basis for church unity.