Fully Formed Followers (3)

We will become fully formed followers of Jesus who live intentionally seeking to share Jesus and invite others to join us in becoming fully formed followers of Jesus.

Churches of Fully Formed Followers

Last week we looked at the final transformation - that of a transformed purpose. We read Jesus’ words in Luke 24 and examined how the indwelling Holy Spirit aligns our life’s purpose with the eternal purpose of God.

In reviewing the endings of the four gospels - particularly Matthew and Luke with Jesus’ assignment to make disciples as we go about our lives, one author notes:

This is not a task assigned to isolated individuals; it is an identity given to a community.

Michael W. Goheen, A Light to the Nations: The Missional Church and the Biblical Story (Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Academics, 2011), 115.

Paul, one of the most prolific follower of Jesus wrote nearly half of the documents in our New Testament. Everywhere Paul traveled he shared the gospel. Everywhere he shared to gospel he left a gathering of men and women who were Jesus followers, being transformed into fully formed followers.

These gatherings, modeled on the practice of the first generation of believers who responded on the Day of Pentecost, are called ‘churches.’

Everyone of Paul’s letters were addressed to specific gatherings of believers in specific locations.

In one of those letters we read a detailed statement regarding how a ‘church’ is to partner with God in growing fully formed believers.

Ephesians 4:11–16 HCSB

And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness. Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head —Christ. From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.

Every phrase in this passage is important and deserves careful examination. But for the interests of time today we will zoom in on a couple of the phrases Paul uses to describe the process and purpose that guide churches in their efforts to partner with God in making disciples.

THE PROCESS

Ever since childhood I’ve been reminded that though I enjoy sausage I should never look into the process by which sausage is made.

For a few years our daughter worked in state and federal political offices. You and I experience the effects of the policies enacted into law, but as my daughter will affirm, you probably don’t want to look too deeply into the process!

As God’s people, with the assignment inviting others to join us in following Jesus, together we are not accountable for the outcome. We are however accountable for the process.

In vs 12 Paul identifies several ‘gifts’ that are given by Jesus to the church. We don’t have time to define these offices and functions this morning - but when I return to the series of message in 1 Corinthians in a few weeks we will dig into a similar list.

Today let’s focus on what the gifts are given for -

Ephesians 4:12–13 HCSB

for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.

Process # 1: training/equipping of the saints

The Greek word translated “‘equipping’ means ‘to complete’, ‘to restore’, and ‘to prepare.’”

Andrew T. Lincoln, Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 42 Ephesians Gen. Ed’s. David A. Hubbard, Glenn W . Baker, New Testament Ed. Ralph P. Martin (Dallas, TX.: Word Books, Publisher, 1990), 254.

The gifts mentioned in vs 11 are to discern, discover, and fit for service those who are followers of Jesus.

Process # 2: Do the ministry/service

The gifts and offices identified in vs 11 are not the service/activity of a church. Followers of Jesus are to be equipped by those functions to serve.

This is not meant to be a way for pastors, teachers, and others gifted to escape serving one another.

As Paul writes to believers gathered in Corinth he defines a ‘church’ as a body - using the human body as an analogy.

In that passage and here Paul expects every part of the body to do what it is gifted and equipped to do.

Training is required. Serving one another is not our natural inclination. As God transforms our lives the church is gifted with those identified in vs 11 to equip them to do.

Process # 3: Building up the body of Christ

Building up as it is used here points to the task of the offices and functions identified in vs 11 to integrate all believers into the overall purpose of carrying the presence of God into all the world as we proclaim Jesus, inviting others to join us in following Him.

The Purpose of the Body of Believers

Ephesians 4:13 HCSB

until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.

Paul shares three aims for the process of inviting others to join us in becoming fully formed followers:

A. A unity of faith and knowledge of God’s Son

In the past few decades many authors have written books and presented on-line lectures seeking to demonstrate that science - i.e. all that we know about life, the world, the universe and so on - have made religious belief obsolete.

As evidence, Richard Dawkins notes that

“only about 7 percent of American scientists in the National Academy of Sciences believe in a personal God.”

Quoted by Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an age of Skepticism (New York, N.Y.: Dutton, 2008), 84.

Miracles, according to Dawkins and a multitude of other writers, are simply events explainable by other causes. According to these authors, God does not intervene in the natural order of affairs, because He doesn’t exist!

An important goal of the process those gifted are to aim at: unity of belief and knowledge regarding the nature and identity of Jesus Christ.

Having knowledge without faith and faith without knowledge is absurd.

Both are essential to our growth.

‘Unity’ as used in the NT never means ‘uniformity.’ Unity as used in God’s Word refers to

God’s purpose is to bring together and reconcile to himself the whole of creation. This desire for unity is a reflection of the unity within the Godhead; it is expressed in marriage, and demonstrated in the fellowship of the church

Martin H. Manser, Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies (London: Martin Manser, 2009).

B. Growing toward maturity

Some translations use the word ‘perfect’ in place of mature. As applied to men and women, saints, perfect simply means living for the design for which God created the individual.

It is not sinlessness - which is impossible this side of eternity.

Part of the task of those gifts and offices in vs 11 is to create and maintain an atmosphere where all God’s people can grow into all God has for them.

C. The stature of the fullness of Christ

This rather awkward phrase has a parallel earlier in Paul’s letter to these believers:

Ephesians 2:14–15 HCSB

For He is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In His flesh, He made of no effect the law consisting of commands and expressed in regulations, so that He might create in Himself one new man from the two, resulting in peace.

As the world around us views believers what do they see?

Too often they see a fractured and divided people - people arguing about issues that are at best secondary to the message Jesus has given His followers to share.

As those gifted believers in vs 11 exercise their gifts and assignments what should become visible - even to the antagonistic, atheist, and agnostic people around us - is that in Jesus Christ we are one.

Making the Impossible Possible

Those men and women listening to Jesus prior to His ascension as He asks them to go into all the world must have been stunned.

Former fishermen, former tax-collectors, former challengers to the status quo - these were the people Jesus expected to go and reproduce themselves?

Impossible.

Yet the fact we are gathered here today thousands of miles from the spot Jesus called those followers to engage in His assignment is evidence it is not impossible.

That which appears impossible is possible because:

- As we grow/mature Jesus Christ is enough

He is the head, He is the vital center, He is the life, the way, and the truth.

Dallas Willard writes:

our “objective is to bring apprentices [his term for followers of Jesus] to the point where they dearly love and constantly delight in that ‘heavenly Father’ made real to earth in Jesus and are quite certain that there is no ‘catch,’ no limit, to the goodness of [God’s] intentions or to his power to carry them out.

Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God (San Francisco, CA.: Harper San Francisco, 1998), 321.

What more do we need?

NOTHING.

As we grow/mature Jesus knits us together for the purpose of taking His presence to the ends of the earth.

120 people gathered in an upper room between the ascension of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Those 120 - filled with the Spirit - proclaimed Jesus to thousands gathered from all over the world. Some 3,000 responded.

Reading the book of Acts you can see that those 3,000 plus would have been content to stay in Jerusalem.

Doing so would have been in direct disobedience to Jesus’ command!

Jesus did not intend people to come to Jerusalem to experience His saving power and presence...

He empowers His followers to go to the nations…to expand His saving power and presence till every person has had an opportunity to hear and respond.

REFLECT AND RESPOND: