Walking toward Maturity
Walking toward Maturity
Ephesians 4:7-16
Leonard Ravenhill tells the story of some tourists who were visiting a quaint village in the British Isles. An old man was sitting next to a fence. As the tourists passed by, one of them asked in a patronizing manner, “Were there ever any great men born in this village?” The man quickly replied, “Nope. Only babies.”
We are all born as babies. Then we grow progressively into adulthood. The same is true spiritually. We begin our spiritual lives as babies. But there is a natural expectation that we will not remain babies. There is a reasonable expectation that we will progressively grow to be mature followers of Christ. This expectation of maturity is realistic. It is not wrong for the church to have an expectation that its members will be moving toward the goal of maturity in Christ. In fact, it is God’s established pattern.
We are dealing with a section of the letter to the Ephesians that focuses on a worthy walk – a life that corresponds to our calling in Christ. Last week we noted that the worthy walk is a walk in unity. As we continue our study of this section, we see that a worthy walk is a walk toward maturity. God has a goal for your life as a Christian. It is to become a mature, Christ-like person.
Now, I fully realize that in this audience there are people at differing stages of spiritual growth. There are some people in spiritual infancy or childhood here because you just recently became a follower of Jesus. Others are at the opposite end of the spectrum. You have known Christ for many years and have grown to be strong, steady spiritual adults, mature in your faith. Others are at all points between those poles. Regardless of where you are today, God expects you to grow. God’s plan for your life is one of progressive growth in spiritual maturity. So, if you are a Christian who is still breathing, this expectation applies to you.
In this text, we will see how God equips us to walk toward maturity. We will then see some qualities of spiritual maturity. Finally, we will notice the result of this walk toward maturity.
I. Christ equips us to walk toward maturity (vv. 7-12).
A. Christ equips us by giving us gifts (v. 7).
1. To each one = every believer.
2. Grace in this context is a reference to our gifts for
service in the body of Christ.
a. It is the giving of gifts to men in view here.
b. It is the grace/gift of Christ which allows each
member of the body to do its proper work
(v. 16).
c. The term charismata used by Paul in 1 Cor. is
similar to the word charis (grace) used here in
v. 7. The gifts are grace gifts. Their source is
the grace of Christ.
3. Christ apportions the gifts as He sees fit. Each Xn
has gifts given by Christ as He wills.
4. These gifts come to us from the Exalted Christ.
a. Paul quotes Ps. 68 here which is an ascension
Psalm about God ascending in victory to His
Throne in Zion.
b. Paul applies this to Christ who ascended in
victory to His heavenly throne.
c. The humiliation of Christ in his incarnation is
seen in his descending to the earth.
d. The exaltation of Christ in his ascension is
seen in him ascending above all things.
e. So, Christ is seen as the One who came in
humility and won his victory and then was
exalted to the place of authority. As the
exalted Lord of the church, He distributes
His gifts.
B. Christ equips us by giving equipping leaders to the church
(vv. 11-12).
1. He (Christ) gave some as apostles and prophets.
a. An apostle in the strictest sense refers to the
select group of men chosen and authorized by
Jesus to be founders of His church and the
instruments of His revelation. Thus, when
they died, this office died with them.
b. In the same way, prophets were also a select
group who heard directly from God and were
His spokesmen. They were instruments of
direct revelation. Thus, their role was limited
to the first century.
c. The Bible speaks of apostles and prophets as
the foundation of the church (2:20). Once this
foundational work was complete, the offices
ceased to be necessary.
d. There may be some lesser senses in which a
believer may be referred to as an apostle or a
prophet.
1) Apostle – missionary/church planter
as “one who is sent.”
2) Prophet – one who brings the Word of
God to bear on a specific situation.
2. He gave some as evangelists.
a. The word evangel or gospel is the root of the
word evangelist. An evangelist is one who
communicates the gospel to the lost.
b. Every Xn is supposed to evangelize. Yet,
evangelists are given to the church for the
primary purpose of reaching the unsaved and
planting churches in unreached areas.
3. He gave some as pastors and teachers.
a. Some people see this as one office of pastor-
teacher since there is only one definite article
in the Greek. Others view these as related but
separate functions in the church.
b. 1 Timothy makes it clear that pastors are
teachers. However, it is also clear that there
are teachers who are not pastors (1 Cor.
12:28).
c. Pastors refers to the role of shepherding the
people of God. Nurture, feeding, protection
of the flock are in view. Teachers refers to
the role of teaching the people God’s Word,
explaining it and making application to life.
APPLICATION: If the two or three primary equipping leaders in the church today are evangelists and pastors and teachers, what does that tell us about the ministry of the church. We are to be evangelizing people, shepherding them, and teaching them. Now there are all sorts of gifts that contribute to that process. But if you boil it down to some basic things, that is what a church is all about. We must win people to Christ, teach them, and shepherd them.
4. The goal of Christ in giving these gifted leaders to
the church is that of equipping for ministry (v. 12).
a. For the equipping of the saints for ministry.
1) Equip is from a verb meaning to
Repair, restore, complete. It is to
Prepare people to fill their roles.
2) This equipping preparation is for
the saints – i.e. all believers.
3) The equipping prepares us for the
work of service. This is the service
that each believer does in the body.
b. To the building up of the body of Christ.
1) The word building refers to growth.
It is primarily a focus on the spiritual
Growth of the body as each person
Serves Christ and each other.
2) The expectation is again highlighted
that movement toward growth is the
normal pattern for the Christian both
individually and together in church.
Now, let’s step back for a minute and get the big picture. This passage so far has given us a definite pattern for what Christ desires to do in His church.
The exalted Christ has given gifts to every member of His body. He has also given gifted leaders to His church for the purpose of preparing all His people for service. As the leaders equip the members of Christ’s body and those members serve, the body is then built up and grows.
Let’s think for a few minutes about what is necessary for us to be obedient to Christ’s model for a church which pursuing maturity.
- Understand the role of leaders in the church. Leaders are to be primarily equippers. They are like coaches. The coach cannot play all the positions on the team. His job is to plan, strategize, teach, motivate, and oversee. He trains the players and helps them find the right place to utilize their specific gifts and abilities. So, to implement Christ’s model, both the leaders and the congregation must embrace the proper role for leadership in the church. I ask myself and the other leaders in our church, “Are we properly equipping believers for service?”
- Value the giftedness of every member of the body. Christ has given gifts to each one. There is no such thing as a believer without a gift. These gifts are very different. Christ has given them according to His plan. We must learn to value the fact that every member of the body has a role to play, something to contribute that is necessary for the health of the body.
- Realize that the ministry of the body cannot be confined to what happens on Sunday and Wednesday. I love corporate worship. It is essential for the health of the church. But if we expect that the pattern given here in Ephesians can be fulfilled by what happens in the stated corporate gatherings, we are mistaken. Some of this is going to happen in Spangles over a hamburger and a coke. Some of it is going to happen in a fellowship group where members of the body encourage one another and pray for one another specifically. Some of it is going to happen by people crying together in their homes. Some of it is going to happen in a hospital room where one member of the body ministers to another. Do you get the point.
- Accept personal responsibility for your part in ministering to the body. Attendance is a poor substitute for participation. We must get beyond the idea that coming to church is the fulfillment of our contribution to the body. Of course attendance is commanded by God and important to your spiritual health. But Christ expects more than attendance. He expects participation. Whose life are you involved in? How are you using what God has given you to grace the life of another person? Are you participating or just attending?
CONCLUSION:
The amazing thing about all this is that what Jesus expects us to do, He equips us to do. He didn’t just give us a blueprint and say, “Do your best to build it right.” No. He does give us a blueprint. But He also equips us with the building materials. He gifted each of us. He gave leaders to equip us. He gave each believer the Holy Spirit to empower us and guide us.
Our responsibility is to use the gifts Jesus has entrusted to us to grow toward maturity. Personal maturity. Corporate maturity. This is His plan. How are we doing?