Christian Maturity
Christian Maturity
Ephesians 4:1-16 (TNIV)
1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8This is why it says:
“When he ascended on high,
he took many captives
and gave gifts to his people.”
9(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
New Mirrors
Aging and Maturity don’t always go hand in hand.
When I was young I knew everything and had experienced nothing.
Now I have many experiences under my belt but am less sure of the advice I give.
Sometimes what seemed like pearls of wisdom at the time appear quite foolish in retrospect.
A closed mouth gathers no feet.
What does a mature Christian look like?
You will never see a mature Christian.
1 Corinthians 13:11 (TNIV)
11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.
James 1:4 (TNIV)
4Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
How to live worthy of your calling
As a prisoner of Christ and for Christ he reminds us of our calling:
Grace and unity
Humble—pride is the greatest enemy to the church and of your heart (David and Nathan)
Gentle—unity is impossible without a commitment to gentleness
Patient—unity does not happen over night
Bearing with one another (Forgiving)— the outworking of grace, without forgiveness unity is impossible
Love—everything above is hard, difficult, sometimes even impossible. But with love it becomes easier.
One Lord, one faith, one baptism
Catholic, Anglican, Baptist
Baptism was not meant to divide us but to unify us all of them baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
7But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8This is why it says:
“When he ascended on high,
he took many captives
and gave gifts to his people.”
9(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12to equip his people for works of service
Our gifts are a product of His grace
They are by right his gifts, his spoils of war, that he has distributed to us.
Apostle—one who is sent, missionary, establishing and leading the church in wisdom
Prophet—speaking for God admonishing the people
Evangelist—spreading the good new outreach instead of indrag gossiping the good news
Pastor—shepherd, comforter, nurturer
Teacher—disciple, train, mentor,
so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Christian Maturity does not happen in a vacuum
Maturity—something we don’t attain on our own. We grow mature together because we need each other’s gifts.
Proverbs 27:17 (TNIV)
17As iron sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens another.
Without each other we are infants tossed about on a stormy sea.
Swimming in Tel Aviv – which way is up?
An infant
Self absorption
Self promotion
Self pity
Mature believer
Focuses on grace and unity
Builds, supports, forgives, encourages, guides and learns in humility from others
A sign of maturity in our world is detachment and independence
To be adult is to be alone. —Jean Rostand, A Biologist’s Thoughts
Sign of spiritual maturity is unity and interdependence.
“It’s attitude, not arteries, that determines the vitality of our maturing year,” said J. Oswald Sanders.
John 21:18 (TNIV)
18Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”
How do we grow up?
How do we attain perfection? Fullness? Maturity?
As individuals it is very hard to look like Christ. But as a body committed to unity, loving and forgiving one another with the very grace we have received from God. We can spur one another on, sharpen each other as iron sharpens iron until we grow up and resemble in our unified entirety—Christ who is the head.
I began by saying:
What does a mature Christian look like?
You will never see a mature Christian—because a truly mature Christian never stands on his own.
What you can see is mature Christians standing together, interlinked as inseparable as parts of a body—together and only together reflecting the perfection of Christ.