5 Smooth Stones

we will miss the Lord and what He intends for us. Ma tt hew 23:39 “for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!'" In conclusion, just as those stones that David picked from the brook had been created by God, and had been polished through the tumbling and turbulent fl ow, and were ready for ba tt le, so the fi vefold ministry gifts of God are given by Him to equip the saints into their fullness, to round o ff the rough edges and prepare us for spiritual ba tt le. These fi vefold ministry gifts work together to help the saints to come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, perfected, and increasing in measure to the stature of Christ; so the saints are not immature and tossed around by winds of doctrine, not easily tricked by men. The bible has presented the necessary instructions to prepare us to avoid the pitfalls and to strengthen the gift ministries in order to strengthen the Church. And so the believer, having walked with, learned from, and matured into God’s calling through the gift ministries that God has pro vided, is “able to speak the truth in love, and growing up into the head of the church, Christ, helping to join and knit together every part of the body of Christ, according as every part does its share, and causing the growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:13-16).

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