Jesus gives every believer a role in building His church, and spiritual maturity happens as every part does its work.
Unity does not mean uniformity. Having emphasized what believers share in common, Paul immediately celebrates the different gifts Christ has given His people.
Christ gives leaders to His church not to perform all the ministry themselves, but “to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.”
And Paul tells us where all of this is headed: maturity.
A healthy church is not dependent upon a few gifted personalities. It is a body of believers increasingly grounded in truth, becoming like Jesus, serving one another, speaking truth in love, and contributing their part to the health of the whole body.
