Gathering pt6

What does a healthy church look like? What does it value? What is it producing?

As we have talked about the church over the last few weeks, I hope you have had a renewed passion for the church, for the things of God, and most of all for Jesus. That often happens to us when we are reminded of things we once thought important, or when we are confronted with something lacking in our lives, or when we discover a new and powerful truth that causes us to rejoice or repent.

But what comes after that?

Today, I want to look at the product of a healthy church. How do we know if a church is healthy? What is the result of a healthy church.

Turn with me to Ephesians 4:11-16.

So the first thing I want you to notice is there is not ONE person who is responsible for the work and growth and development of the church. It’s a list. And it is an extensive and diverse one. In fact, in some ways, that list encompasses most people in the church. When you look at the description of these designations in the NT, most people in a church fit one of them. You may not be a prophet, but you may well be a shepherd. You may not be an apostle, but you may be a teacher.

Whether you can see yourself in one of those roles today or not, what you DO need to know is that there is no singular person the church rises and falls on. That’s unbiblical. There is only one great necessity in the life of the Church. His name is Jesus.

But all of us have ONE goal- to equip the church for the work of the ministry.

Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians & Colossians B. The Cultivation of Unity (vv. 7–16)

It is not the task of these gifted people to do all the work of the ministry. Their task is to prepare God’s people for works of service. When believers are equipped and people accept the adventure of ministering to others, then the whole body is built up, matured, strengthened, and flourishes

What is the work of the ministry?

Well Paul has a multi level answer for that. And that is how we see how healthy we are as a church. And where we need to focus to strengthen and where we can CELEBRATE how God has grown us (plug for Oct 30th)

So here are what we can see are the priorities:

building up the Body of Christ- how do you build? you start with a foundation and construct a healthy building on it- but it starts with the foundation- the Gospel- the Church is heathy when people are being saved

unity of the faith- we are all connected and in one accord, not due to equality of lifestyle or economics or race or gender or any other factor, but due to our faith in Jesus…that’s why he says “of the knowledge of the Son of God…that is what we all HAVE to know…otherwise we will become divided and deluded...

Ephesians The Purpose for the Gifts (4:12–16)

Christians are not called to maintain unity with those who do not hold to the faith, which is, in all the New Testament and early church confessions, linked with the person and work of Christ. But we are called to transcend noncrucial differences (such as mode of baptism, kind of ministry, style of worship) for the sake of unity.

to mature adulthood…the fullness of Christ- and this is growth is ongoing- a body never stops growing until it dies…growth, even at the cellular level never ends…and the picture we have here is the same…we are not done until we attain the fullness of Christ and that occurs when we die and meet Jesus…so until then we are growing toward that…together...

Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians & Colossians B. The Cultivation of Unity (vv. 7–16)

The church’s goal is that each member and thus the entire church will show to the world all the attributes and qualities of Christ. Then the church will truly be the one body of Christ

Why does all of this need to happen for the church to be healthy? Because of verse 14- the alternative to maturity is permanent childhood and permanent childhood is UNSTABLE! (monsters in the closet)

Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians & Colossians B. The Cultivation of Unity (vv. 7–16)

believers are not to be like children, easily persuaded and confused, jumping from one opinion or belief to the next, like waves on the sea being driven by gusting winds of false teaching

We see examples of that all over the place in the Church…people turning the church into something it is not…connecting the Church to things not of Christ…adding extrabiblical doctrines to the Gospel…using the Gospel to advocate for things that have nothing to do with Jesus...

Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians & Colossians B. The Cultivation of Unity (vv. 7–16)

False teachers showed no love or care for the members; they simply wanted to get their own way. Mature believers search for the truth as a united body, loving and caring for the needs of each member. Such loving, caring search for truth allows them to grow as members of the body whose head is Christ, for Christ is the truth

And when the winds of whatever we have attached the Church to change all of a sudden the basis of the faith has changed…and that is NOT in keeping with God’s nature (Malachi 3:6a- I the Lord do not change..)

(illustration from Orwell’s 1984- the Ministry of “Truth”)

So HOW do we do this? Look at verses 15-16

We speak truth in love

Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians & Colossians B. The Cultivation of Unity (vv. 7–16)

Speaking the truth in love is a mark of maturity, which will enable us to grow up spiritually. Immature people often fall into one of two opposite errors. They speak the truth, but without love, or they love without speaking the truth. When we do the first, we often brutalize others, pounding them with truth but doing it in an unloving way. When we do the second, we don’t tell others the truth, thinking that by shielding them from the truth we are sparing them from pain

Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians & Colossians B. The Cultivation of Unity (vv. 7–16)

We must recognize that we belong to one another, we need one another, no matter how insignificant we think our contribution is. There are no little people in the kingdom of God, as Francis Shaeffer used to say, and there are no little jobs. Just as a physical body needs red corpuscles and livers more than it needs a handsome face or beautiful hair, so we all belong; we are all necessary. We all can contribute, and when we do, we all grow to maturity in Christ.

We grow INTO Christ…not away from Him, not beside Him, not apart from Him…into Him- we are more and more united to Him so that we look more like Him because we are within Him

We learn to work “properly”- as we were created to function

Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians & Colossians B. The Cultivation of Unity (vv. 7–16)

The head allows each part of the body to mature and grow, not concentrating on special knowledge and growth for a favored few. Each of the parts of the body is needed to hold the whole body together in unity. The body is truly a maturing, loving body only as each part is encouraged to grow and do its part of the work

And the entire Church grows as a result

Where are you this morning? Are you needing to know Jesus?

Are you needing to be reconciled to the Body?

Are you needing to begin to mature?

Are you needing to go to work?

No matter where you are, the good news is God is not done with you! You are still drawing breath…God is still ready to work with you!