JFC "Mature in The Lord"

Last month, we made it through the first three verses of chapter four and the theme was to “Walk Worthy of Your Calling”.

Mark 8:34 “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.”

1a) Walking worthy means that we give up our own way

We must be willing to allow God to direct the course of our life

b) Take up your cross

The cross is an instrument of death and we must be willing to crucify the desires of the flesh

Galatians 5:24 “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.”

c) Follow Jesus daily

No vacation days, no cheat days

2a) In 4:2, Paul reminds us that our character plays an important role in walking worthy of our calling

As we continue in chapter four Paul is urging us to continue to mature in the faith.

It should be our desire to continue to grow up strong in the Lord

1. (V4-6) We are One / No division

a) In context, remember, Paul is dealing with two groups of people (Jew / Gentile) with many years of division and animosity towards each other

b) Paul is reminding the church that we are one in Christ

Six times the word One is used from V4-6

1 Corinthians 12:12 “The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ.”

A body should not be divided against itself

c) We have unity because of what we share in common.

2. (V7-10) The giving of spiritual gifts to the church

a) Each have been given gifts

1 Corinthians 12:11 “It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.”

b) Gifts are through the generosity of Christ

John 16:7 As Jesus said, It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you

Jesus had to depart to leave us with the helper

As you reflect upon the early life of the Apostles, you will find Jesus often rebukes their lack of faith and their understanding

Acts 2 The Holy Spirit comes on the day of Pentecost

After receiving the Holy Spirit they began to grow in their understanding and their effectiveness

Zechariah 4:6 “It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

2.2) (V9) WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH:

This giving happened (as described prophetically in Psalm 68:18) when Jesus ascended to heaven. This was evidence of His triumph over every foe (the leading of captivity captive).

a) Victory came as Christ was raised from the dead

No longer captive / We no longer belong to world, no longer a slave to sin

3. (V11) The gifts Christ gave to to the church

a) The Apostles: The word apostle means “one who is sent out.” In the New Testament, there are two primary usages of the word apostle.

The first is in specifically referring to the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ.

The second is in generically referring to other individuals who are sent out to be messengers/ambassadors of Jesus Christ.

b) Prophet: Is someone who speak forth words from God in complete consistency with the foundation of the Old and New Testaments. Sometimes they speak in a predictive sense, but not necessarily so, and they are always subject to the discernment and judgment of the church leadership (1 Corinthians 14:29). As with the apostles, modern prophets do not speak in the same authority as the first century prophets who brought God’s foundational word (Ephesians 2:20).

Everything spoken must be compared to the word of God

1 John 4:1 “Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.”

c) Evangelists: Someone who is specifically gifted to preach the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.

d) Pastor / Teacher: A pastor is someone who teaches and shepherds the flock of God

4. (V12) Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do His work

a) Church leadership has a duty and responsibility of equipping God’s people to do the work of the ministry

b) The word Equipping also has the idea of “to put right.” This ancient Greek word was used to describe setting broken bones or mending nets. These ministries work together to produce strong, mended, fit Christians.

The main way this takes place in the church today is through accurate teaching of the Word of God

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”

c) The preaching and teaching of the Word of God builds ups the Church

The word Edify, which is used in the NKJV means to build up and make strong

5. (V13) Unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature

Come to unity of the faith through the knowledge of God’s son should produce maturity in the Lord

If not, there’s a problem

Head knowledge of the Bible is wonderful, but if it hasn’t changed your life what good is it?