Pillar Church Podcast

In Ephesians 4:1–6, Paul called us to walk worthy of our calling by maintaining the unity of the Spirit — through humility, gentleness, and bearing with one another in love. That’s how we protect unity as individuals. But in verse 7, Paul turns to how we maintain it together as a church.

And it starts with a gift.

In “Your Gift Isn’t for You | How Spiritual Gifts Build The Church,” we walk through Ephesians 4:7–16 and the grace Christ has given to each one of us. This isn’t only saving grace — it’s enabling grace, a spiritual gift that empowers us to do what we could never do on our own. And Paul makes clear that these gifts were never meant to be kept to ourselves. They were given to build up the body.

In this sermon, you’ll discover:
Why Christ has given a grace gift to every believer
The difference between unity and uniformity
Why fear, comparison, and jealousy keep us from using our gift
What Psalm 68:18 reveals about the gifts Christ won for us
How Christ equips the church for the work of ministry
Why using our gifts helps us grow into maturity and unity
What it means for each part of the body to work properly

Unity has never meant sameness. Like different voices singing in harmony, our different stories and gifts come together into something more beautiful than any of us alone. Every part is needed — if we don’t use the gift God gave us, what He gave it for won’t get done.

So why do we hold back? Sometimes it’s fear. Sometimes we think our gift isn’t valuable. Sometimes we’re jealous of someone else’s. But none of us earned our gift. It belongs to Him, and we are simply stewards of it.

Paul draws on Psalm 68:18 — the picture of a conquering king handing out the spoils. Christ has defeated sin and death, and our gifts are the spoils of His victory. Every time we use them, we declare that the enemy could not hold us.

Your gift isn’t for you.

It’s for the people around you — and their gifts are for you. As each part works properly, we grow up into Christ, no longer tossed around by every wind of doctrine, and the whole body is built up in love.

Because the unity Christ created becomes visible when every gift is in play.

The question isn’t whether you have a gift. The question is: Are you using it to build up the body?

In Ephesians 4:1–6, Paul called us to walk worthy of our calling by maintaining the unity of the Spirit — through humility, gentleness, and bearing with one another in love. That’s how we protect unity as individuals. But in verse 7, Paul turns to how we maintain it together as a church.

And it starts with a gift.

In “Your Gift Isn’t for You | How Spiritual Gifts Build The Church,” we walk through Ephesians 4:7–16 and the grace Christ has given to each one of us. This isn’t only saving grace — it’s enabling grace, a spiritual gift that empowers us to do what we could never do on our own. And Paul makes clear that these gifts were never meant to be kept to ourselves. They were given to build up the body.

In this sermon, you’ll discover:
Why Christ has given a grace gift to every believer
The difference between unity and uniformity
Why fear, comparison, and jealousy keep us from using our gift
What Psalm 68:18 reveals about the gifts Christ won for us
How Christ equips the church for the work of ministry
Why using our gifts helps us grow into maturity and unity
What it means for each part of the body to work properly

Unity has never meant sameness. Like different voices singing in harmony, our different stories and gifts come together into something more beautiful than any of us alone. Every part is needed — if we don’t use the gift God gave us, what He gave it for won’t get done.

So why do we hold back? Sometimes it’s fear. Sometimes we think our gift isn’t valuable. Sometimes we’re jealous of someone else’s. But none of us earned our gift. It belongs to Him, and we are simply stewards of it.

Paul draws on Psalm 68:18 — the picture of a conquering king handing out the spoils. Christ has defeated sin and death, and our gifts are the spoils of His victory. Every time we use them, we declare that the enemy could not hold us.

Your gift isn’t for you.

It’s for the people around you — and their gifts are for you. As each part works properly, we grow up into Christ, no longer tossed around by every wind of doctrine, and the whole body is built up in love.

Because the unity Christ created becomes visible when every gift is in play.

The question isn’t whether you have a gift. The question is: Are you using it to build up the body?

For the first three chapters of Ephesians, Paul has been showing us who we are in Christ, what we have received through Him, and what His grace has accomplished on our behalf. But when chapter 4 begins, the focus shifts. Paul moves from what we believe to how those beliefs should actually shape the way we live.

And the first thing he addresses is unity.

In “Do You Really Understand Unity? | Learning to Walk Worthy of Our Calling,” we look at Ephesians 4:1–6 and what it means to live in a way that reflects the calling we have already received. Paul doesn't tell believers to create unity. The Holy Spirit has already done that work. Our responsibility is to recognize its value, protect it, and live in a way that makes that unity visible.

In this sermon, you'll discover:
Why Ephesians 4 marks a major shift from belief to everyday practice
Why unity is one of the first characteristics of a life worthy of our calling
The difference between unity and uniformity
Why biblical unity is something the Holy Spirit creates, not something we manufacture
How preference, obligation, and agreement fall short of Spirit-created unity
Why humility, gentleness, patience, and bearing with one another in love are essential to protecting unity
What it means for our conduct to actually match the calling we have received

The unity Paul describes is deeper than having the same preferences, personality, convictions, or background. We are united because we are found in Christ. That means our relationships with one another cannot be built only on how easy someone is to love, how much we agree, or how closely their preferences match our own.

God has already created something stronger.

Paul calls us to bear with one another in the unconditional love we ourselves have received from Jesus, to walk humbly enough that self is no longer at the center, and to yield to the Holy Spirit who enables us to live differently.

Knowing the truth is only part of the Christian life. Eventually, what we believe should begin showing up in our relationships, our choices, our conversations, and the way we respond to people who are difficult for us.

Paul calls this walking worthy of our calling.

Not earning the calling. Not proving ourselves worthy of grace. But allowing the way we live to increasingly reflect the grace we have already received.

If we really understand what Jesus has done for us, it should become visible in the way we walk with Him and with one another.

For the first three chapters of Ephesians, Paul has been showing us who we are in Christ, what we have received through Him, and what His grace has accomplished on our behalf. But when chapter 4 begins, the focus shifts. Paul moves from what we believe to how those beliefs should actually shape the way we live.

And the first thing he addresses is unity.

In “Do You Really Understand Unity? | Learning to Walk Worthy of Our Calling,” we look at Ephesians 4:1–6 and what it means to live in a way that reflects the calling we have already received. Paul doesn't tell believers to create unity. The Holy Spirit has already done that work. Our responsibility is to recognize its value, protect it, and live in a way that makes that unity visible.

In this sermon, you'll discover:
Why Ephesians 4 marks a major shift from belief to everyday practice
Why unity is one of the first characteristics of a life worthy of our calling
The difference between unity and uniformity
Why biblical unity is something the Holy Spirit creates, not something we manufacture
How preference, obligation, and agreement fall short of Spirit-created unity
Why humility, gentleness, patience, and bearing with one another in love are essential to protecting unity
What it means for our conduct to actually match the calling we have received

The unity Paul describes is deeper than having the same preferences, personality, convictions, or background. We are united because we are found in Christ. That means our relationships with one another cannot be built only on how easy someone is to love, how much we agree, or how closely their preferences match our own.

God has already created something stronger.

Paul calls us to bear with one another in the unconditional love we ourselves have received from Jesus, to walk humbly enough that self is no longer at the center, and to yield to the Holy Spirit who enables us to live differently.

Knowing the truth is only part of the Christian life. Eventually, what we believe should begin showing up in our relationships, our choices, our conversations, and the way we respond to people who are difficult for us.

Paul calls this walking worthy of our calling.

Not earning the calling. Not proving ourselves worthy of grace. But allowing the way we live to increasingly reflect the grace we have already received.

If we really understand what Jesus has done for us, it should become visible in the way we walk with Him and with one another.

What do you pray when life gets hard?

For most of us, the instinct is understandable: God, change this. Fix this. Get me out of this. But in Ephesians 3, Paul shows us another way to pray.

In “The Prayer You’re Not Praying | Learning To Pray For What Matters Most,” we look at Ephesians 3:14–21 and one of Paul's most powerful prayers for the Church. Writing from prison, Paul doesn't pray for his chains to fall off or his circumstances to change. Instead, he prays that believers would be strengthened by the Holy Spirit in their inner being, rooted and established in the love of Christ, and filled with the fullness of God.

In this sermon, you'll discover:
What Paul's posture teaches us about approaching God in prayer
Why difficult circumstances should never keep us from praying
What Paul didn't pray for—and what that reveals about spiritual maturity
Why strengthening your inner life matters when life's battles come
The difference between Christ being present, prominent, and preeminent in your life
How deeply knowing God helps us understand the depth of His love
What it looks like to pray for God's will and glory above our own

Paul's prayer challenges us to look beyond what is happening around us and pay attention to what God is developing within us.

Because sometimes the prayer we need most isn't, “God, change my circumstances.”

It's, “God, strengthen me in the middle of them.”

There will be moments when life feels overwhelming. That's why our inner life with Jesus matters. We strengthen ourselves in the Lord through His presence and His Word, allowing Christ to become more than simply present or even prominent in our lives. We surrender until He becomes preeminent—the One around whom everything else is ordered.

And the more deeply we know Him, the more we begin to understand a love that Paul says surpasses knowledge—a love wider, longer, higher, and deeper than we could ever fully comprehend.

Paul ends his prayer by turning his attention completely toward God's glory: to the One who is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine.

So maybe the prayer isn't only, “God, get me out of this.”

Maybe it's also:
Strengthen me here.
Become preeminent in me.
Let Your will be done.
And be glorified through my life.