Sermon Tone Analysis
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*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
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