Christ Like Behavior

How is it we know we have matured as a human?

Do we ever regress and act immature? Child like?

Are we disciplined in our actions, in our studies, in our life? Do we have direction in our life?

Donald Whitney makes the statement “Discipline without direction is drudgery” in his book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life.

Often times we see a problem, we address the problem, and we go on to the next problem which easily causes us to become overwhelmed and burn out quickly. We need direction...what is the end goal? The same thing can happen in our spiritual life, we are busy doing all the “Christian” things, but we can get so caught up in everything that needs to be done and we forget the direction - where we need to end up - conforming/looking more like Christ each day.

In Peter Steinke’s book “How Your Church Family Works” he states:

Automatic behavior is the hallmark of immature people bent on survival, they accept few challenges and experience little growth. Immature people react with a small part of themselves to a small part of the world. They limit themselves by paying attention only to what is close-up, by focusing on the moment, and by posturing in defense. Essentially they let the things around them in form and shape their lives.

Maturity increases survival. For the long haul, reflection and resilience are needed. Mature people respond with a large part of themselves to a large part of the world. They move beyond limiting conditions by seeing what might yet be, by allowing time for things to process, and by responding with self-control and poise. They have a greater capacity to modify and shape their environment.

So for us to survive as a Christian in today’s world, should we not evaluate our own Christian walk, our Christian life, and see if we are maturing - focusing on the big picture, reflecting on our own image and Christ likeness, and how we are modified by Christ to conform more to His image and likeness.

When we look in the mirror, do we see Christ?

A better question might be, when OTHERS look at us, do they see Christ?

The Apostle Paul really focuses on helping the Christians in the church of Ephesus learn what it meant to mature in their Christian walk and become a Christian more in the image of Christ.

Ephesians 4:10–15 ESV

10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

Leading up to these verses we are reminded the church is one body, and every member is to try their best to keep the oneness and unity of the spirit. Sometimes this can be difficult as we are all not the same, there are differences between believers, and those differences must be identified so we can plug ourselves into the place God has called us to be in His ministry. We all have been given gifts (spiritual gifts) so that we can strengthen believers and reach a lost and dying world with the Gospel. But, for us to accomplish this, we must be Christ-centered in all aspects of of our lives.

We can do this because of the great cost Jesus paid for us as believers. Jesus Christ had to die and experience hell for men in order to gain the right to gift men. That is the enormous price our gifts cost. If He had not died, then we could not be saved or gifted with spiritual gifts. There would be no purpose or significance to life—not beyond a few short years upon this earth. All we would have to look forward to would be death. But Christ has died, and He has conquered all the enemies of man—conquered them in order to gain the right to save and gift us.

The great value of what Christ did is glorious. He died that He might ascend above the heavens and fill all things, that is, fill the whole universe with His presence. Jesus Christ is the Sovereign Majesty of the universe. He is seated at the right hand of God the Father, and He rules and reigns over all. He is now able to save and gift men. But remember: it is because He paid the greatest price possible. He died for us—died to gain the right to pour His grace and gifts out upon us.

Each of us, then, have been given gifts from Jesus.

Note the words, “He gave.” It is Christ and Christ alone who gives spiritual gifts to men. Men cannot work up the gifts, nor give the gifts to other men. Christ alone possesses the spiritual gifts to give to men. Five gifts are mentioned here.

a. The gift of an apostle. The word apostle (apostolos) means to send out. An apostle is a representative, an ambassador, a person who is sent out into one country to represent another country.

The gift of a prophet. This is the gift of speaking under the inspiration of God’s Spirit. It includes both prediction and proclamation, and neither one should be minimized despite the abuse of the gift.

There is no question, the gift to predict events has been abused to the point of the ridiculous. However, the abuse of a gift does not eliminate the fact that the Spirit of God sometimes gives believers a glimpse into coming events in order to prepare and strengthen them to face the events.

The gift of an evangelist. This is the gift of carrying the gospel all over the world. It is the gift that specializes in proclaiming the gospel to the lost of the world. It would include both what we call the evangelist and the missionary. We are all called to evangelize the Gospel in our own towns, but some are called to bigger purposes.

The gift of a pastor (poimenas). This word means shepherd. A.T. Robertson points out that the Lord Jesus told Peter to shepherd His sheep (Jn. 21:16), that Peter told other ministers to shepherd the flock of God (1 Pe. 5:2), and that Paul told the elders (ministers) of Ephesus to shepherd the church of God for which Christ had died (Ac. 20:28) (Word Pictures in the New Testament, Vol. 4, p. 53.) The traits of a shepherd can be seen by looking at the references to Christ as the shepherd of believers. The pastor is an under-shepherd to the Chief Shepherd, Christ Jesus our Lord.

The gift of a teacher. Some commentators consider teaching to be part of the gift of the pastor, that is, the pastor is the pastor-teacher. The function of the teacher is the gift to instruct believers in the truth of God and His Word. It is the gift to root and ground people in doctrine, reproof, correction, and righteousness. Teaching is a high calling, one of the greatest of callings. Teaching is ranked second only to the spiritual gifts of apostle and prophet (Ac. 13:1; 1 Co. 12:28; Ep. 4:11). Every apostle, prophet, and pastor has the gift of teaching, but every teacher is not an apostle or prophet or pastor. The gift of teaching bears one of the largest responsibilities given by God; therefore, the teacher will be required to give a strict account to God for his faithfulness in using his gift (see note, Teacher—Js. 3:1).

The spiritual gift of teaching is the gift of understanding and communicating the Word of God, of edifying believers in the truths of God’s Word. It involves understanding, interpreting, arranging, and communicating the Word of God. The gift of teaching is given to the believer who commits his life to the Word of God, to sharing its glorious truths with God’s people.

There is an immediate purpose for the professional or office-bearing gifts in the church and among God’s people. It is to equip believers to do the work of the ministry. The word perfecting means to equip for service and ministry. This is critical to see, for the office bearer in the church is not to be the only one who goes about doing the work of the ministry. In fact, his primary task is to be an equipper, a person who makes disciples and prepares others to serve Christ

The very purpose for equipping laymen is so that the body of Christ, the church, may be built up. This is a significant point, for it means that the church cannot be built up without the members themselves doing the work of the ministry. All believers within a church must be involved in the work of the ministry.

If the work of the ministry was left up to the professional ministers, the task would never get done, for there are too few official ministers. Lay persons must be equipped to reach the lost and to minister to the needs of a world reeling under the weight of evil and suffering and death.

By equipping the saints, by reaching the lost, we then fulfill one of our callings and we can no longer be immature and child like. We must mature in our Christian walk so we can stand up against the evil in our world, against false doctrine, and false teaching, and stand for the Word of God. We MUST do our part in building up the church. Note that every joint or every believer “supplies” something to the body of Christ (the church). And what every joint or believer supplies is very significant to the other parts relying on it.

What more could be said about the contribution made by every believer? What greater challenge could be given to a believer? We must give all we are and have to get the job done. Much is at stake for each of us. An eternal weight of responsibility rests upon every single believer, for each one is responsible for reaching people and building them up. Some people will never be reached and ministered to if a single one of us comes up short. For this reason, everyone of us is gifted by Christ Jesus our Lord.

Closing

Romans 8:29 ESV

29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

God has determined to fulfill His purpose for the believer. God knows the suffering that believers go through daily. God “did foreknow” even before the foundation of the world.

But no matter how great the suffering, no matter how great the opposition, no matter how great the struggle, God is going to complete His purpose for believers. God has “predestinated [believers] to be conformed to the image of His Son,” and absolutely nothing can change that.

God’s eternal plan ensures that every Christian will ultimately conform to Christlikeness.

Conformed (summorphous) means the very same form or likeness as Christ. Within our nature—our being, our person—we shall be made just like Christ. As He is perfect and eternal—without disease and pain, sin and death—so we shall be perfected just like Him. We shall be transformed into His very likeness.

Image (eikonos) means a derived or a given likeness. The image of Christ is not something which believers merit or for which they work; it is not an image that comes from their own nature or character. No man can earn or produce the perfection and eternal life possessed by Christ. The image of Christ, His perfection and life, is a gift of God.

Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 1996. Romans. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.