Walking toward Maturity part 2

Walking toward Maturity (Part two)

Ephesians 4:13-16

With the runaway success of the Church Growth Movement, I fear that a whole generation of churches and church leaders is in danger of forgetting the difference between growth and maturity. As one man said, “Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.” Or, as Dr. Al Mohler puts it, “A crowd does not equal a church.”

This is a critical distinction for us to understand. We began last week looking at the idea that a worthy walk is a walk toward maturity. In this passage, the Apostle Paul is describing for us a model for the ministry of the church. We learned that Christ has gifted all believers and given gifted leaders to the church so that the church might be equipped to do the work of service. This, in turn, leads to the building up of the body. There is an obvious element of growth in that picture.

As we continue looking at this passage from vv. 13-16, we see that the trajectory of the growth is toward maturity. It is not aimless growth. It is not malignant growth. It is growth, building up, toward maturity. The biblical picture of a growing church is not measured by mere attendance statistics, the footprint of the facility, or the giving trends. It is not based on how polished the preacher is, how slick the promotional materials, or how often they get mentioned in the press. The biblical measure of growth is whether people are moving toward maturity in Christ.

Of course, this forces us to ask some questions. If maturity is the mark of true growth…

• What are the marks of maturity?
• What are the marks of immaturity?
• What instruments or processes does God use to move us toward maturity?

As we make our way through vv. 13-16, we will seek to answer these questions and get a feel for what it means to walk toward maturity.

I. A Pattern for Walking toward Maturity

            A. Marks of Spiritual Maturity.

                        1. Unity of the faith = not the subjective act of belief,

                            but the objective content of what is believed. In other

                            words unity in the faith means agreement on the

                            essential truths that define Christianity, unity in the

                            gospel.

                        2. Unity in the knowledge of the Son of God = like faith

                            just mentioned, unity in the knowledge of the Son of

                            God also marks the move toward maturity. The idea

                            of knowledge here is best understood again in an

                            objective sense. In other words, learning more about

                            Christ. It is unity in our understanding of Christ.

                        3. Christlikeness = To the fullness of Christ = spiritual

adulthood or Maturity that is marked by being like        

Christ. The  idea of fullness implies a life that is a

reflection of Jesus Christ. So, it is not simply

intellectual unity or factual unity. It is putting that

knowledge to work so that our lives begin looking

more and more like Him.

                        4. Loving service = it is clear from verse 16 that another

                            mark of spiritual maturity in the church is when all

                            believers are serving one another in love by using the

                            gifts Christ has given them to build up the body.

            B. Marks of Spiritual Immaturity.

                        1. Note the contrast in v. 14 between adulthood and

                            childhood. There are marks of immaturity as well.

                        2. Doctrinal instability = the picture is that of a boat

                            being tossed around by a storm at sea. It is carried

                            here and there by every new blast of wind. In this

                            case, it is every new gust of teaching that comes

                            along.

                        3. Spiritual gullibility = the word trickery literally

                            means “dice playing.” The picture painted in v.14

                            is one in which gullible people are manipulated by

                            schemers who employ deceptive methods to take

                            advantage of others. (reminds me of the shell games

                            I used to see in downtown Dallas).

APPLICATION/ILLUSTRATION:

Beloved, we are living in a time when doctrinal instability and spiritual gullibility characterizes much of the church. Consider the evidence.

• Long held doctrines which have historically defined evangelicalism are now routinely questioned or flatly denied.
• Justification by faith through the imputation of Christ’s righteousness (NT Wright and others with New Perspective theology)
• The complete foreknowledge of God of all things has been denied by Open Theists.
• The substitutionary atonement of Christ on the cross has been denied by some in the Emerging Church. Steve Chalke called it “cosmic child abuse.”
• The Emerging Church movement has called into question whether there is such a thing as objective, absolute truth. A paper by Tony Jones of Emergent Village says that orthodoxy is an event, defined by the community, not an objective doctrinal standard established by the Bible.

• Doctrinal instability and spiritual gullibility have made many Christians and churches subject to fad-driven faith.
• Books and products with little or no foundation in biblical study or theology become bestsellers. Has anyone forgotten the Prayer of Jabez?
• Authors and preachers who deny essential Christian truth are touted as visionaries and leaders. T. D. Jakes is a good example. He denies the doctrine of the Trinity. Yet, he ends up speaking in nationally known venues Ed Young Jr.’s Creative Church Conference as a model for other pastors and churches to follow.
• A band-wagon mentality exists in which many churches are looking for the next magic bullet to help them “grow” so they uncritically adopt the latest program from the latest mega-pastor and implement it.
• Churches have adopted worldly models from Fortune 500 corporations as their model for pastoral ministry.

Dear people, these are signs of spiritual immaturity. We must be careful that we do not trade our birthright of true spiritual maturity for a bowl of the porridge of worldly success. There is a difference between growth and maturity. I offer these examples today to help you be discerning.

TS – There is a pattern of walking toward maturity. This text also gives us….

II. The Process of Walking toward Maturity.

            A. We must realize it is a process. It is progressive.

                        1. Note the connection in v. 12-13. Leaders are to equip

                            the church until…It is ongoing and moving toward

                            the goal of maturity.

                        2. Note the description in v. 15. We grow up in all

                            aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ.

                        3. V. 16 also reminds us that it is progressive. It speaks

                            of the growth of the body building itself up in love.

The question is not are you fully grown? None of us are. The question is are you growing up into Christ? Do you see progress toward maturity or are you stagnant and static in your growth?

            B. The process of growth is marked by two essential things.

                        1. The teaching and learning of the Word of God.

                                    a. This is indicated first by the nature of the

                                        equipping leaders in v. 11. Each of these

                                        functions are connected to the Word.

                                    b. This is also indicated by the contrast between

                                         vv. 14-15. The immature are carried about by

                                         every wind of teaching. The opposite of this

                                         is “speaking the truth in love.” I believe this

                                         indicates that the speaking of truth here is not

                                         a general truthfulness in your speech. It is the

                                         speaking of God’s truth in contrast to the

                                         winds of false teaching in v. 14.

Now keep in mind here that the focus is on the content of what is being taught, not just the act of teaching. There is a great deal of “teaching” in the church today which has little or no connection to the Scriptures. It is the teaching of the truth of God’s Word that nourishes the lives of believers and moves them toward Christlikeness. Teaching that is not anchored in and saturated with the Scriptures is counterproductive. It will not lead to mature believers.

ILLUSTRATION: Back in 1995, park rangers in Grand Canyon National Park had to kill two dozen mule deer because they got hooked on junk food. They got so used to eating potato chips and candy left behind by tourists that they had no taste for their natural food. They lost the ability to digest vegetation and starved. Park rangers referred to the junk food as the “crack cocaine of the deer world.”

In the same way, some Christians are starved and stunted spiritually because they are hooked on junk food. What we need is the Word of God. What kind of books are you reading? I mean Christian books? Are they biblically sound and rooted in the explanation of the Scriptures? Are you reading the Bible regularly? Are you meditating on it? Do you attend Bible study regularly? You cannot move toward maturity without the Word of God.

                        2. Second we need to use our spiritual gifts in service.

                                    a. Remember that the saints are equipped to

                                        serve in v. 12.

                                    b. In v. 16 the body grows as every part does its

                                        work. Service in love to others is essential for

                                        spiritual maturity.

ILLUSTRATION: The “church growth” environment that has contributed to the lack of spiritual discernment sometimes contributes to the lack of spiritual activity. It is a consumeristic environment where people look at the church through the eyes of consumers rather than servants. It is a “what can the gospel and the church do for me” mentality instead of a “how can I serve Christ through the church” mentality.

Babies don’t put on the apron and serve the food. They sit in the chair and demand the food. It is essential for us to break free from the gravitational pull of selfishness if we want to be mature. We must develop a servant’s heart and learn to serve others in love. This is part of the process of maturing.

How are you serving others in the body of Christ? It doesn’t require any official position. Find someone who has a need and do something. Love someone. Encourage someone. Help someone. Get involved in the lives of others and serve them.

CONCLUSION

Dear people, think about this powerful word picture in these verses. Think of a church that is….

• Being equipped by leaders for service.
• Unified in the doctrinal essentials of the faith.
• Stabilized against the influences of false teaching.
• Consistently teaching and learning the Scriptures.
• Saturated with servants who use their gifts in love for each other.
• Growing progressively to look more and more like Jesus.

That is what Christ wants for His church – not just the church over there or down the street. He wants this for our church and every church. This is His pattern and His process for moving us toward maturity.

By the grace of God, we can be that church. Are we ready to embrace this model? It will mean that we have to change. It will mean that we have to think and act differently in some areas of our lives. But it will also mean that we are pleasing Christ by conforming our lives to His stated purpose for the church.