C.I.A.

Church Statistics

4,000 new churches begin each year and 7,000 churches close.

Over 1,500 pastors left the ministry every month last year.

Over 1,300 pastors were terminated by the local church each month, many without cause.

Over 3,500 people a day left the church last year.

Pew Research

Currently, 64% of Americans identify as Christian.

Nearly 50% of people attended church weekly as a child, only 20% attend weekly as adults.

28 percent are being discipled, but are not helping others grow closer to Christ, and a very small percentage (5%) is only discipling others.

Fewer than 2 in 10 Americans (16%) say religion is the most important thing in their lives, compared to 20% in 2013. Nearly 1 in 3 Americans (29%) say religion is not as important, while in 2013 less than 1 in 5 (19%)

39% of Millennials report attending church weekly, up from 21% in 2019

Ephesians 4 is broken into 3 sections which I have labeled the C.I.A.

Let’s look at the C in CIA

Ephesians 4:1–6 (NASB95)

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,

with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

C - stands for Called

Called or calling is used 4x in these six verses.

Ephesians 4:1 (NASB95)

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,

Ephesians 4:4 (NASB95)

There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;

Other areas in Scripture we a “Called”

1 Corinthians 1:2 (NASB95)

To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

1 Peter 1:15–16 (NASB95)

but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Called - to be or become subject to an authoritative demand for one’s presence or participation.

Calling - an authoritative summons (spoken or written) to participate or be present or take part in something; especially a summons to the hope of salvation in Jesus.

Paul spends the first 3 chapters of Ephesians to help us get our minds right.

He reminds us...

We were chosen in Christ before the foundations of the World

Salvation is through Christ alone and not of Works

We are sealed eternally and kept by the Holy Spirit

We are adopted sons/daughters and can have a intimate relationship with the Father

We are all a part of one body and need to live in unity

Paul is trying to get us to understand that “Right thinking comes before right living”, or put another way we might say, “Our mindset has to change before our conduct will follow.”

When our Minds are right, there is tremendous freedom in the Christian life. This is the maturity Paul is imploring us to have.

We can and should live like who we are! What do I mean by that?

As believers, our hope not only for our eternal security, but our hope for right living is found in the person of Jesus Christ.

I - Stands for Instruction

Ephesians 4:11–16 (NASB95)

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;

but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,

from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

There are so many false teachings available today… and we must be careful what we listen too or watch on TV and or online.

Just this week I was listening to a guy who was highly intelligent and very convincing talk about the Trinity being false, he also had a follow up video of how the crucifixion was false. He has a ton of followers and people buying in to his false teaching.

Just as dangerous and maybe not in your face like this guy, there is a lot of worldly philosophies and ideologies being taught instead of Godly philosophies…

Verse 11 gives a list of 5 different individuals.

While there is some theological debates on Apostles and Prophet for today… I want to focus on the last three this morning.

Evangelist - were those who were gifted specifically with the ability of spreading the gospel.

Think of…

In the book of Acts 21:8 we have “Philip the evangelist,” who would go from place to place person to person spreading the gospel.

In 2 Timothy 4:5 Timothy is told by Paul to “do the work of an evangelist.”

*Note: this is not a pass for those of us who may not be gifted as evangelist to not share the gospel… we are all responsible to share Christ with those who are lost.

Pastors - The word pastor stems from the metaphor of shepherd as a leader. Meaning pastors are to not only lead, but also protect.

1 Peter 5:2 (NASB95)

shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness;

Acts 20:28 (NASB95)

“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

Teachers - are those who have the ability to explain God’s truths to believers and lead them into a deep understanding and maturity in Christ.

2 Timothy 2:2 (NASB95)

The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

It is important to understand that teachers and pastors are tightly woven together, but they are not always the same person. Teachers are not always good pastors, but a good pastor must always be a teacher also.

Why are there Pastors and Teachers?

The Purpose!

Ephesians 4:12–13 (NASB95)

for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

The Result!

Ephesians 4:14–16 (NASB95)

As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;

but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,

from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Paul is urging us to stop being spiritual children who are easily confused and lead astray, but to be mature spiritual adults.

*Notice - v 16, “from whom the whole body”

We each have a responsibility to each other in the body of Christ! If only one part of body is working and the other parts are not, we are not functioning the way we were designed to be.

I believe this is in reference not only to the global body of Christ but also the local assembly.

If all we had was Buildings and Grounds crew we would have a wonderful facility here, but there would be no teaching, there would be no administration, there would be no food, etc…

So, what are we saying… If you are on the bench, get off the bench! Find out what gifts and talents you can lend to the body of Christ, for it takes all of us to function as an effective unit.

When our mind is right and we understand our Calling, when we have sat under good teaching and have been pastored by good men, then… we are set to apply properly the mature walk Christ wants us to walk!

A - Stands for Application

Ephesians 4:22–24 (NASB95)

that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,

and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

I want you to notice something about these verses. They are verses of action…

V.22 “Lay aside the old self”

V.24 “Put on the new self”

We have each been given a choice. God is not going to force you to do the right things. We are not robots. He wants us to follow Him and obey Him out of love.

So, you can hang on to old habits, old ways, and continue to struggle spiritually, or you can put on the new self, and grow up spiritually. Choosing to do things the way God designed us to be.

Paul gives a list in the following verses… and I believe that you and I could personalize our own according to our own struggles and areas where we need to grow up spiritually.

But I would say this… if we would follow verses 31 and 32, it would go a long way in yours and my spiritual growth and it would breed unity and ones in the body of Christ!

Ephesians 4:31–32 (NASB95)

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

In Closing… I need to ask, how are we doing this morning?

C alled - Get Your Mind Right

(Are we seeing ourselves like Christ sees us? Do we understand who we are in Christ?)

I nstruction - Learn and Mature

(Are we taking advantage of what is offered by way of teaching in our church, and are we maturing?)

A pplication - Put on the New Self

(We have a lot of head knowledge, but are we applying these truths to our lives in active everyday living?)

Only you know the answer to these questions… but I would encourage you to do a deep dive into your heart and mind. If the answer is no to any of the three, then may I suggest you consider a change.