Growing Up Into Christ

Open/Recap:

Read Ephesians 4:12 “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,”

Some people only attend church for their own benefit. But that’s not what being a church member should look like; that called being a leech. God saved you and equipped you for the work of ministry, the work of service. Why? To build up the body.

To understand the church, all you have to do is understand your body. It’s a living organism, composed of many parts working in harmony to contribute to the whole. Paul say’s the church is Christ’s body. The church will only grow and mature when all parts operate in harmony-in unity. If you have a lone ranger personality, you will be a feeble saint-and the body will suffer for it. Our relationship to the corporate body is crucial to our own spiritual development and the development of the church.

Read Ephesians 4:13 “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,”

1: The Goal of Unity is Maturity.

The ultimate goal our destination for us the church is maturity. Reaching the full stature of Christ-rather than just unity alone. Whole unity is essential and it acts as the “DNA” or foundation for the body of Christ, it is a process that leads to deeper, mature Christ-likeness. The word “until” indicates that the process described in 4:12 must continue until a certain end is achieved. When all believers come to unity in faith. While unity of the Spirit must be maintained like Paul talked about in Ephesians 4:3 “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Unity in faith must be attained. While the unity of the Spirit is the foundation, the unity of the faith represents the maturing result of that unity. The unity of faith means a unity of belief in Christ himself and this belief relates to a knowledge of Him. The goal is for us to make a united effort to live out and proclaim this faith.

Unity in our knowledge refers to a fuller and more complete experiential knowledge. We must have a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus. We don’t just know about Him, we need to know Him! Paul called Him God’s Son, showing that this knowledge includes an appropriate understanding of the new relationship with the Father that has been provided by the Son. Romans 8:16–17 “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

United, we are called to be mature and fully grown. We are to measure up to the full stature of Christ. The focus in verse 13 is on “we”. We meaning everyone here is part of the entire body. This metaphor means that the church, as Christ’s body, must match the Head (Christ) in growth and maturity. It isn’t speaking of perfection which is impossible in this life, but of growth such as children growing into adults. Philippians 3:10–14 “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Even Paul knew that he wasn’t perfect but we need to press towards growth and maturity and when we get to heaven we will be complete.

Read Ephesians 4:14 “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.”

2: Dangers of Immaturity

Because we are called to maturity in the faith we must no longer be children or like helpless infants. In Matthew 19:14 “but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus wants us to humble ourselves like a little child to come to Him as our Savior. Paul though is picturing children who are easily led astray. The thumb story. We can’t be led astray. People who are children in their faith and knowledge must grow up and mature. If we don’t mature we’ll be like children, unstable in our thinking, and easily tossed to and fro. We need the right theological and spiritual foundation to keep from being blown around by every wind of teaching by human manipulation. We need to be stabilized by maturity and maturity only comes when we are connected to each other. False teaching was a major problem in the early church and it is today! 1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” Hebrews 5:13–14 “for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Something is wrong if a thirty-year old is still eating baby food. Knowing the ABCs and 123s of the Bible is crucial, but there comes a time to build on this foundation with further understanding and growth. Any believer who fails to move on from milk to solid food— “milk” being the content of God’s word, while “solid food” is the spiritual application and use of God’s word in life—has some developmental issues and becomes stagnant in Spiritual development. If you chew your food but don’t swallow, you will starve. You have to internalize and put God’s word into practice. Then you will be equipped to make mature word-driven decisions other than immature circumstance-driven decisions.

Read Ephesians 4:15 “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,”

3. Speak the Truth in Love.

John R.W. Stott wrote, “Truth becomes hard if not softened by love; love becomes soft if it is not strengthened by truth. Paul calls us to hold the two together.”

As Christians we don’t have to manipulate like the world. We speak truth. We point people to the truth (Jesus). John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” We are strengthened by the Spirit who guides the church, the Spirit of truth. John 16:13 “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” Satan by contrast is the father of lies. John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” We must be committed to the truth. Our words should be honest and reflect Christ’s integrity. Speaking the truth in love isn’t always easy, convenient, or pleasant, but it is necessary for us to do the work of Christ in the world.

Speaking the truth in love sounds simple, but it seems so hard for us to do. Some of us are good at speaking the truth, but forget to be loving. We call ourselves prophets and others call us jerks or something less flattering. Some of us are good at being loving, but we don’t have it in us to level with others if the truth is painful. We call ourselves Christlike and others call us wimps or worse. We should do both. Speak the truth, but do it in a loving manner. Think of the trouble we would spare ourselves if we followed this practice. When you have a problem with someone, don’t go to someone else with it. Go directly to that person and speak the truth in love.

4. Read Ephesians 4:16 “from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

A Healthy Body Grows together.

Christ is the head of the body and its source. Without Him there would be no body, no church. From Him the body grows and builds itself up in love. How do we grow up in Christ. Christ forms us into a body— a group of individuals who are united in our purpose and our love for one another and the Lord. If one of us stumbles the rest of us need to pick that person up and help him or her walk with God again. If a person sins, they should find restoration through the church. Galatians 6:1 “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.” As part of Christ’s body do we reflect Christ’s character and carry out our each special role in His work?

Growing and building doesn’t refer to size here, but it is referring to increased faith and spiritual strength. The increase can occur because Christ, as the head, supplies all the needs of the body. The body grows with the proper working of each individual part, when it is fitted and knit together. Christ holds the church together. It’s not me or you or someone else, it is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords! He delivers us from our sins and gives you a new identity and puts us together as body as brothers and sisters to further His kingdom. As we do our part together we get stronger and stronger. California has some of the largest trees on earth. They are redwood trees. They grow massive in size and ancient in age. The secret to their stability and growth is that their roots intertwine. Underground they’re all interconnected. You can’t mess with one without messing with the whole grove. When fierce winds blow, their connectedness allows them to borrow from one another and grow strong. So it is with the body of Christ.

We receive gifts not for our own prestige or acclaim but to help build up other believers in the church. Living the Christian life is a process. Although we have a new nature, we don’t automatically think all good thoughts and express all the right attitudes. If we keep listening to God, He will keep changing us. We must trust Him to change us on the inside-our character, values, attitudes, prospective and motives.

Books have been written on the church’s mission but the most comprehensive summary of our calling is the text commonly known as The Great Commission. Matthew 28:19–20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

These are the last words spoken by Jesus before His ascension to heaven, which I believe makes them pretty crucial. They contain His final instructions to His church, which is to “make disciples of all nations.”

There is more to discipleship than the personal dimension of a believers growth in grace. Discipleship is the development process of the local church by which Christians are brought from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity so that they can reproduce the process with others which the Bible calls being conformed to the image of God’s Son. Romans 8:29 “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.” Our goal is to become like Jesus so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

The process of discipleship that leads to believers becoming Christlike is designed to be repeated until Jesus has many siblings who look like Him! You and I can’t grow in this way if we are living as isolated Christians. I’ve heard it said that Christianity was never meant to be Jesus and me, under a tree. God has placed us in a body of people called the church so that we together can accomplish the mission. The church is God’s place to produce disciples who think, talk and act so much like Jesus that the world can look and say; “ This must be what Jesus is like!” Matthew 10:25 “It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.” Jesus said “ It is enough for a disciple to become like his teacher.” The primary goal of the church is to provide an environment in which authentic discipleship can occur.

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