David desired to build a temple for the Lord, and God was pleased (2 Chronicles 6:7-8).  Today the the temple of the Lord is his church (the people, not the buildings).  Do we desire to build up his church?  Not just attend services.  Not just come to be fed.  But do we desire to build up Christ’s church?

Jesus loved the church so much he gave his life for her (Ephesians 5:25).  He clearly cares about the church.  Do we?  Enough to do our part to build it up?  The Old Testament temple was built of stone and mortar.  How do we build up the church today?  We find the answer in Ephesians 4.

First, we strive for unity.  That is the first six verses.  Nothing can tear a church down faster than division and strife.  And nothing builds it up like peace, unity, oneness.  Indeed in Christ we are one – so we must strive to live out this oneness.  Humility (v2) is key.  We need humility to agree to disagree on minor doctrinal or interpretation issues.  We need humility to agree to disagree on matters of opinion and preference.  No, not everything will happen in our churches like we think it should.  And we will never find a church that will do things exactly like we want.  So we stay.  We practice some humility, and support our churches anyway.  We need humility and patience to bear with one another in love (also v2).  Put any two people together for a length of time and they will offend one another.  Can we bear with each other’s offenses, forgiving when needed.  Being offended is not a reason to leave; it is an opportunity to practice humility, forgiveness, and reconciliation.  God calls us to peace.  Strive for unity to build up the church.

Second, serve in ministry.  The pastor’s job is to equip the people to do ministry so that together the body might build itself up (v11-16).  God has given each person gifts of ministry (see Romans 12:6-8) to use to build up the church.  I once heard Warren Wiersbe say there are two types of Christians – the caterpillars who walk in before the service and out after the service, and the pillars who serve in the church.  Don’t be a caterpillar – be a pillar.  Serve in ministry to build up the church.

Jesus cares about his church.  Do we?  If so let us strive for unity and serve in ministry that his church might be built up.