Our Mission: Part 3 - The Process

Who am I?

Why do we exist?

What are we to do?

People: Equippers & Servers

Goal: Maturity

The Process of the Mission

Introduction

Well-oiled machine

My shoulder

Every member of the church needs to function properly in order to fulfill Christ’s mission for His church.

BUT

FCF: many members of many churches do not serve the body of Christ with their Christ-given gifts for Christ’s glory

Ephesians 4:11–16 ESV

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 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, 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. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 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.

The body of Christ is served when its members serve the body for the glory of Christ.

What must the members of the body of Christ do to serve the body for Christ’s glory?

Yield ourselves to Christ as the source of our growth

Matthew 16:18 ESV

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

What does Christ do to build His church

He makes His people into a collective whole

“from whom” reference to Christ from v. 15

“whole body”: not individuals but all members as members of a singular body

“joined”: participle that describes what Christ does in making His people a collective whole.

join or fastening in the construction or for the shoulder joint.

This particular word is used in one other place in the NT:

Ephesians 2:21 ESV

in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

The people of God are no longer strangers and aliens, but are fellow citizens, and Jesus made that happen. He’s the cornerstone of the church… He’s the head of the body

He fits every member of the church together to form His body.

Mention names

But Christ not only makes us into a collective whole

He provides harmony to His people

“held”: another participles describing what Christ does in making His people a collective whole.

similar to join, but one nuance here is that of proving. Putting together facts in the course of an argument or a course of teaching. Paul use this word this way in

1 Corinthians 2:16 ESV

“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

So the idea of instruction here is part of what Christ does to make His people one body.

As noted before: we’re different in many ways

Paul wrote what he wrote here in v. 16 in his letter to Collosae as well. He just left out the word “join”.

Colossians 2:18–19 ESV

Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

Paul is instructing the church in Collosae to not allow people to suggest you don’t belong to Christ because of an unwillingness to participate in unbiblical worship practices.

And what are these false teachers guilty of? Not holding fast to the Head. Not yielding to Christ. Not recognizing Christ for who He is. He’s the head. he’s the cornerstone. He’s the one who is the source of our growth.

We, the members of New Life Bible Fellowship Church, must yield ourselves to Jesus. He’s the head of the church. He is the source of our growth. And he grows His church through biblical unity, making us a collective whole and providing harmony to us.

Something else we must do to serve the body for Christ’s glory

Embrace the Christ-centeredness of our gifts

Flow of the argument here so far:

Jesus connects us to each other and instructs us so we are united on the truth and not error.

And how does this kind of unity unfold?

By every join with which it (the body) is equipped

What does this mean? Lit it says through every joint of supply But still, what is Paul saying here?

From whole body to every joint and each part

Remember: every member has a role to play

But again, what does Paul mean when he says that Christ equips the whole body by every joint with which it is equipped?

Well, first, I think Paul means for us to understand that

We are stewards of our gifts

the members of the church are the joints, and he joints are supplied for the body.

We are who we are for the good of Christ’s body, and when we live that way, Christ is glorified.

The gifts we possess, the wisdom and insight he have, talents, abilities were given to us. Music, money, teaching, empathy, discernment… all gifts from Christ

Stewards: House sitting for my Aunt Ruth & Uncle Bob

The Christ-centeredness of our gifts makes clear we are stewards of the gifts He has given us

The Christ-centeredness of our gifts also makes clear

Our gifts are to be used to build up the body of Christ

Stating the obvious?

Note the condition stated for this building up to take place: when each part (each member) is working properly THEN makes the body grow

Properly? We’re in trouble. No, we’re not.

The language is tricky here

another way to say when each part is working properly is according to action in measurement each one makes the increase.

In other words, each member of NLBFC has been given a measurement of gifting from Christ that when used for His glory, causes the church to grow. Spiritual growth, yes. Numerical growth, likely over time.

You have been given a measure of gifting, and when you use that gifting as it should be used, you are doing your God-given part to build up the body of Christ.

Do you see here how Christ has ordered His church? He is fitting us together into a collective whole, but that process involves using each one of us.

This is part of why we cannot be content when some of our members are not operating as part of the machine, because then the machine is not well-oiled.

The body of Christ is served when its members serve the body for Christ’s glory.

A final step to take to serve the body of Christ for His glory

Pursue fruitfulness that is qualified by love

This little phrase has been used throughout Eph. in love

In what ways does the quality of love impact the fruitfulness of ministry

Our being

Who we have been transformed to be

Ephesians 1:4 ESV

even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

Ephesians 3:17 ESV

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

Our speaking

Ephesians 4:15 ESV

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

Our doing

our building up each other is to be done in love as seen here in v. 16

Ephesians 5:2 ESV

And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Conclusion

The body of Christ is served when its members serve the body for the glory of Christ.

Consider our mission statement again:

To build up the body of Christ through biblical maturity

Very specific and focused

The people are the members of local churches, and members occupy roles that center either on equipping or serving

The goal of this mission is unity among the body is maturity.

Ephesians 4:13 ESV

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,

The process is recognizing Christ is the source of our growth, and that he has gifted each person of His body to build up one another, and the dominant quality of the fruit of our efforts in building each other up is to be love.... the love of Christ.

But we need to have the right context for this kind of community to function and grow. The context is comprised of what we are committed to. Our convictions. Sometimes referred to as core values. This addresses the question:

What is important to us?

That’s what we move to next. Building the body of Christ up through biblical maturity requires we are clear on what specifically is important, as outlined in God’s word. Committing ourselves to these things will provide fertile ground for the building up of the body of Christ to flourish.