Maturity Beyond Imagination

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that I was a rather lanky kid all through my growing up years.

I often tell people that I was bullied throughout elementary school because my ears were the same size they are now, only on a much smaller head.

You don’t believe me, let me prove it to you: [SHOW PICTURE].

By the time I got to 9th grade, I had grown into my ears at least a little bit more… but I was 6ft tall and 100lbs soaking wet...

and let’s just say tripped over my own feet and stubbed my toes a lot and had a lot of growing pains...

My body parts didn’t all grow into maturity and didn’t start working together properly until I was a full grown adult...

This is a pretty common experience for a lot of teenage boys… but it is a good picture of something that must happen in a church too…

Our church body must grow into what it really is… the body of Christ.

It must grow to maturity.

As we study through the book of Ephesians, Paul has laid out this big, cosmic vision of what Christ’s church is...

He’s shown us that God has made dead people alive and brought hostile people together in his church...

And God wants to fill his church with all of his glory so that his wisdom in salvation would be seen to the furthest stretches of the heavenly places...

So that the demonic forces, even, would be forced to see their inevitable defeat.

But if we’re honest, when we look at the church, what we SEE doesn’t always appear that glorious.

Just like my adult-sized ears on my 7-year-old head, the church can look kind of strange.

Just like my lanky bodily frame when I was in 9th grade, it can seem awkward… like some parts of the body is not working quite right.

We may even have some parts of our body that are unwell or diseased and need treated or nursed back to health.

And the reality is that while we are fully Christ’s body, we need to grow into all that means.

Our muscles of faith need strengthened…

Our joints need to learn how to work together…

Our bodies need to fill out...

Our sick parts need to be restored to health.

And all the parts are there… but we need to grow into the fullness of all that they are.

THAT’S what Paul is revealing in the second half of Ephesians… he is showing us how to grow into the glorious truths that we have already studied in the first half.

He is making this turn from the big and cosmic vision... to how that plays out in the seemingly small and tedious interactions we have on a regular basis in the church.

And Paul wants us to know that we EACH have a part to play.

We each MUST play our part for Christ’s glory to be evident in his church.

Here’s our big idea for today:

Big Idea: Play your part in our church as we grow together into full Christlike maturity.

READ Eph 4:7-16.

Last week, David preached the transitional passage between the main theological section of the book to the main application section of the book...

By the way, in saying that, I’m NOT saying that chapters 1-3 don’t contain any application or that chapters 4-6 don’t contain any doctrine… don’t press that distinction too far because the whole book is meant to work together where part 1 lays out the theology and part 2 applies it.

But chapter 4 verses 1-6 serve as a transition between writing that is MOSTLY theological explanation to writing that is now MOSTLY practical application...

And all that goes before runs like a current that powers all that lies ahead.

So Paul starts chapter 4 by saying “I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you’ve been called...”

In other words, you’ve been called into this great heavenly reality of new relationship with God and new relationship with God’s people… now live it out.

Live consistent with your spiritual reality.

And that starts with pursuing unity beyond imagination like David so wonderfully preached last week.

Paul points to the ONENESS of our confession that leads to the ONENESS of Christ’s church...

And we need to FIGHT to maintain unity.

But then in verses 7-16, Paul goes from very broad… ONE UNIVERSAL, GLOBAL, INVISIBLE CHURCH… to very narrow… EACH ONE OF US.

Look at verse 7 again: “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”

EACH ONE… every true believer in Jesus Christ has a part to play...

BECAUSE “Grace was GIVEN… according to the measure of Christ’s gift...”

If you are going to play your part in our church as we grow together into full Christlike maturity, you must first...

1) Look to the Source of Maturity: The Ascended Christ (4:7-10)

Explain: In verses 7-10, Paul is emphasizing that the ascended Christ is the SOURCE of our spiritual gifts.

Now you might think, “Wait a minute, I thought the Holy Spirit gave spiritual gifts?”

And you would not be wrong. 1 Corinthians describes spiritual gifting in that way.

But in the oneness of our Triune God… and because Christ is described in the scriptures as SENDING the Spirit… it is also accurate to say that CHRIST gives the spiritual gifts.

He gives them to EACH ONE… every believer is equipped with a spiritual gift… And he gives them according to the MEASURE of his gift.

The measure of his gift is referring to the fullness of himself that he gives to the whole church… and each one of us is given a measure of the whole.

It’s sort of like if I’m using a measuring cup to complete a recipe…

If I’m making a pie like I did yesterday with my boys, and I need 2 cups of flour, I would have to measure out 2, 1-cup portions...

OR I could measure out 4 half-cup portions...

OR I could measure out 1 cup and then four quarter cup portions...

It would be MY CHOICE… but the FULL MEASURE would be 2 cups when it is all put together...

And the same is true of Christ’s body...

We grow into FULL maturity together as Christ gives the FULL measure of himself in divided portions among EACH PART of his body...

The parts TOGETHER make up the whole… and each part needs the others to grow to maturity.

That’s the point of Spiritual Gifts.

That’s very important and you will see it as we unfold this passage.

Now, Paul wants to make sure that we understand how important these gifts are to God’s overarching plan...

So he reaches back into the Old Testament to reveal how these gifts within the church are part of the mystery that was once hidden but now he is bringing to light.

And to be honest, these next verses (8-10) are kind of confusing…

and even people who study the Bible for a living find them them confusing and there’s a lot of debate over them.

But there is some really rich stuff here if we take the time… and I want to encourage you to take the time on your own… hopefully you did that as part of the reading plan this week.

We’ll take some time here now to mine these verses for their rich truth.

Paul references Psalm 68:18 saying… “Therefore it says, ‘When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.’”

The only problem is that when you go back to Psalm 68:18, it actually says, “You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and RECEIVING gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.”

Do you see the difference? Paul seems to change the quote from “you” to “he”...

and even more, from “receiving gifts among men”... to “giving gifts TO men.”

What’s up with that? Is Paul allowed to do that?

And WHY did he do that to prove his point here?

Well first, Paul never says he is directly quoting the verse.

He is generally referencing the verse.

And when he references it, it seems as if he is doing so in a way that summarizes the whole Psalm.

Psalm 68 is all about the YHWH having victory over his enemies.

And so he rides out from Mount Sinai where he first gave Moses the law and made Israel a people… and he rides through the desert in his chariot like a great warrior King.

He conquers his enemies at Bashan, which was considered THE stronghold of the demonic heavenly beings… the rulers over the nations...

He plunders their spoil, and then parades them through the streets on his way to Mt. Zion, the Holy City of Jerusalem.

And when he gets there, he sets up a dwelling place for himself among his people.

And all along the way, Psalm 68 describes God leading his people (those who were formerly prisoners of his enemy) into prosperity.

It describes him as dividing the spoil of his victory with the widows.

It describes him as giving power to his people.

And so Paul summarizes Psalm 68 by saying, “Yes, God in the flesh… YHWH… Jesus Christ... plundered his enemies and paraded them in open shame as he ascended to the right hand of the Father… AND he didn’t just take their spoil for himself…

No, he LAVISHED his own people… who were formerly prisoners of his enemies… with RICH, gracious, empowering gifts.

And isn’t that a beautiful picture of the gospel: Christ rode out of heaven… came to earth… defeated the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places by DYING on a cross for our sin and canceling the record of our debt...

And he rose again, parading his victory, which is now made known through those who believe… through the church.

Remember back in chapter 3, the CHURCH is the evidence of Christ’s victory to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places… Satan and his demons.

And the church is now how Christ is storming the gates of Hell and crushing the final acts of rebellion as we advance the gospel forward.

And when Christ empowers us through his grace according to the measure of his gift… when he gives us SPIRITUAL GIFTS… it’s all part of him proving his victory and demonstrating his wisdom THROUGH THE CHURCH.

I want you to understand: THAT is what is at stake in you using your spiritual gifts to build up the body or choosing not to.

If you don’t exercise your spiritual gifts in the church, it’s not just that some work doesn’t get done... or some ministry needs don’t get fulfilled… or certain people have to do more work...

It’s that the VICTORY OF CHRIST in your life is not displayed as it ought to be.

If you aren’t using your spiritual gifts, you are not reflecting the POWER AUTHORITY of Christ in your life.

If you don’t build up the body with your spiritual gift, you STIFLE the evidence of Christ’s victory in our whole church body… even to the furthest reaches of the cosmos.

That’s what’s at stake here.

And when you DO use your Spiritual gifts, you reveal and reflect the SOURCE of the gifts: Jesus in all his authority over the heavenly places.

That’s why Paul goes on to explain in verses 9-10 - “(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)”

And we are like, “Paul… WHAT are you TALKING about...” and then we typically just move on to verse 11...

But this is important… I want you to see that Paul again is showing how our USE of our spiritual gifts is tied to Christ’s authority in the gospel…

He explains Psalm 68 by showing that if the Anointed One ASCENDED, then he must have first DESCENDED by implication...

Christ is the Son of God come from heaven.

And because he descended into the lower regions, that is the earth (or it could be the grave… emphasizing the gospel even more)… he therefore ASCENDED to the highest place.

This should make us think of Eph. 1:20-21

“[God] raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” (Eph. 1:21)

To say that Christ ASCENDED far above all the heavens is to say that he has ULTIMATE AUTHORITY because he accomplished the ULTIMATE VICTORY.

Apply: Here’s what this means for you...

If you have NOT put your faith in Jesus Christ, then you are still a prisoner of the Adversary, consigned to do his work…

And you will lose against Christ’s victory in the end…

Jesus said that if you are not FOR him, you are against him.

Turn to Jesus in repentance and faith today… experience his freedom and victory over the enemy of your soul.

And if you have put your faith in the gospel: You have been given spiritual gifts as an evidence of Christ’s victory in your life.

Your gift is about him and his ability and authority in your life… it’s not about you. You must look to him as the source of your spiritual gift.

And then you must USE your spiritual gift to build up Christ’s body...

Christ doesn’t gift his church GENERALLY… he gifts each one SPECIFICALLY... Romans 12 teaches that we are given specific spiritual gifts and so we must USE them.

And I would encourage you this week… if you don’t know what your spiritual gifts are… go to Romans 12 (which is a list of spiritual gifts that are for all believers) and read that list and ask, “Which of these gifts best describes the Spirit-empowered motivation of my heart?”

And at the same time, if you aren’t already, start serving others here at Oak Hill to build up the body of Christ.

This might be in a specific ministry role that we have identified where we need people to serve...

This might be through other interpersonal relationships in our church…

hopefully you are finding ways to serve others in your Gospel Community...

But anywhere you serve… as you become familiar with the Spiritual gifts… you will recognize how the Spirit supernaturally motivates you.

And you will begin to offer a unique contribution to Christ’s church that he has prepared specifically for you to fulfill…

Good works that he prepared before the foundation of the world specifically for you to walk in...

And that unique contribution will give glory to CHRIST… not you… (if it starts bringing glory to you, it’s not a spiritual gift)...

And as you serve, you will give evidence that you are IN HIM… part of his body… experiencing his victory...

THAT’S how our church will be able to grow into full maturity in Christ… when EACH ONE uses their spiritual gifts to give glory to the ascended Christ.

Now gifts are given to EACH ONE… but God specifically gifts certain LEADERS in the church to shape and direct the ministry of the WHOLE CHURCH so that they work together for the maturity of the whole.

So we are going to see in these next verses a list of gifts that are given to particular individuals in the church… that direct us in the agenda of Christ.

Look at verses 11-12 “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry...

If we are going to play our part as we grow together into full Christlike maturity, we must...

2) Learn the Scope of Maturity: The Agenda of Christ (4:11-13)

Paul describes 5 types of gifts here… I want us to note just a couple things before we dig into the list:

First: These are gifts, NOT offices.

He never uses the word “office” in this passage and he never equates the gift with a particular OFFICE (such as elder) in the church..

To equate these gifts with certain offices is to impose something upon the text that is not there.

That means that we must not assume that these 5 gifts are always expressed within the elders of the church...

They MIGHT be… but some might come from the outside of the elders… whether it’s someone else in the church or it’s someone outside of the church benefiting us with their gift.

We also don’t assume that we should have the OFFICE of Apostle or Evangelist or Prophet in our churches…

the OFFICES have ceased to exist, but the need for some of the gifts and functions still remain...

Second: Because they are not offices, they are not limited by gender.

When Paul quotes Psalm 68 and says that the gifts were given to “men,” it’s clear from the context of Psalm 68 that women are included too.

There may be spiritually gifted women who have these ministry gifts… who are shepherds or teachers…

and they won’t hold a certain office that is biblically restricted to men, such as elder or pastor, but they will still need to exercise that gift in biblically guided ways.

Third: These five gifts are NOT the gifts given to EACH ONE… though every person in the church benefits from them.

Instead, these are the spiritually gifted people who organize and mobilize the rest of the members of the body in the use of their gifts.

They are like leaders in Christ’s army helping the whole battalion wage war against the powers of darkness...

And let me be clear… as Paul says later… our battle is not against flesh and blood…

When I use military language here, I’m not talking about taking down PEOPLE per se...

Our battle is against the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places like we just talked about....

And these gifted ministry leaders mobilize the church in that battle to advance Christ’s victory over the demonic rulers of the nations.

And so I would suggest that these descriptions describe 5 types of gifts… active today… given to specific people in the church… to equip the whole body in the full scope of Christ’s ministry…

They equip each part to use their gifts in the FULL AGENDA of Christ… so that we would attain full maturity in Christ.

So let’s dig into the list:

1) Apostles - Mission

The word “apostle” Literally means “sent one”...

Paul uses the word apostle to describe people like Barnabas, Apollos, James (Jesus’ brother), Silvanus, Titus, Epaphroditus, and possibly Andronicus and Junia.

So it’s not just limited to the OFFICE of Apostle held by the original 12 and Paul.

It appears, as you study these people, that the gift of the apostle empowered these people to mobilize and expand ministry into new areas.

These are church planters and members of church planting teams…

And Apostles had a unique heart and gifting to help the local church see beyond themselves to the purpose and cause of reaching the nations...

We NEED people like this to keep us on track in our Oak Hill Family Value of Strategic church planting...

Gifted apostles (with a small a) are great at mobilizing the church to that end...

If we think about this in terms of God’s battle against his enemies, these people are Spiritually gifted to create the battle strategy to take new ground and storm the gates of Hell.

And Apostles are often described alongside of the...

2) Prophets - Purity

Prophets take the revelation of God (now found in the scriptures) and they hold it up as the standard.

The key refrain of the prophets throughout the scriptures were “Thus saith the Lord, REPENT.”

It’s less about FORETELLING (like telling the future) and more about “FORTHTELLING” (this is what God says will happen to those who do not repent and to those who do repent… so… repent).

Prophets equip the church to grow into the purity of Christ who saved them and clothed them in his righteousness.

If we think about this in terms of Christ’s agenda to overcome the rulers and authorities, these people are Spiritually gifted to make sure the church stays in formation... and that they see the final vision of what they are fighting for… and that they follow the Rules of Engagement.

So you have the Apostles, prophets… and then Paul adds a gift that he doesn’t really mention as a gift anywhere else...

3) Evangelists - Multiplication

Evangelism is simply proclaiming the good news of Jesus…

And evangelists have a PASSION for evangelism.

They have a burden for the lost souls around them.

They have a longing for Christ to be praised by more and more people.

And they share that longing and burden and passion with the others in the church.

They are not the only people who proclaim the gospel… and proclaiming the gospel outward is not all that they do:

They equip the saints for the work of the ministry, particularly in the area of evangelism.

They are the ones who are like, “Hey, I have this burden for this lost person… would you come with me and share the gospel with me… and learn how to do that yourself?”

That’s the purpose of the GIFT of the evangelist.

If we think about the Evangelists in Christ’s battle plan, I had a hard time deciding between two jobs:

Recruiting agents… they are calling new people into Christ’s army...

Or the other job that they might fulfill is the Munitions Specialist - they supply ammunition for the weapons… they make sure the gospel is clear and ready to shoot.

But you don’t just need Apostles, Prophets, and Evangelists…

4) Shepherds - Care

Shepherds are given to nurture and protect the flock of God.

They give attention to the spiritual, physical, and emotional needs of the people of Christ’s church.

And they do not try to do all the nurture and care themselves…

They are given to equip the saints for the work of shepherding… to help mobilize the gifts within the body so that people are caring for one another and protecting one another.

Shepherds are like the medics… training everyone in basic first aid, and able to apply more advanced care for the badly wounded. They also inspect the whole unit to make sure they are healthy and ready to go.

But it’s not just about mission and purity and clarity and care… it’s also about… understanding.

5) Teachers - Understanding

Teachers clarify and communicate truth, showing how all of God’s word is fulfilled in Jesus and how it all applies to our lives.

Ultimately, they equip the rest of the church to “speak the TRUTH in love” like we are talking about in just a minute.

Teachers are like the ones who brief the troops before the battle... they explain what’s at stake in the battle, what to expect from the enemy, what the battle plan is…

They make sure everyone is on the same page.

Again, ALL of these are given to EQUIP the saints for the work of the ministry...

It’s not just teachers that do the equipping like we sometimes think in our Western “classroom-based” discipleship mindset...

But the saints are equipped by people who are gifted with the apostolic gift as they mobilize the church beyond themselves...

The Saints are equipped by people who are gifted as prophets and evangelists and shepherds...

We need to be equipped by ALL of the gifts because, together, these 5 gifts reflect the full agenda of Christ.

The scope of what Christ is accomplishing in his church is MASSIVE… and no one of us have it all.

Maturity is not just being a Christian for a long time… it’s not just knowing a lot of Bible facts… or being really on top of your spiritual disciplines...

It’s about participating in the full scope of Christ’s agenda.

The church is not just about our pet projects or our little preferences about music or preaching or the programs we offer...

Christ has a MUCH BIGGER SCOPE to his agenda.

He wants to proclaim his victory over all the earth… and to the furthest reaches of the heavenly places.

And a mature church is one that is equipped and moving together in all five of these directions at once.

So you might gravitate to one of those five parts of Christ’s agenda that I just mentioned...

You might get fired up about the purity of the church or the teaching of the scriptures...

You might even BE one of those gifted people...

But we need ALL the ministry gifts... equipping ALL of the saints... to exercise their gifts... for the ENTIRE work of the ministry.

THAT’S how we grow mature in Christ as a church... When we all learn our part in his full agenda.

Notice verse 12-13 again - “[all five of these gifts are given] 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,”

Gifted leaders equip the saints for the work of the ministry… and notice Paul specifically defines as the building up of the body of Christ…

Don’t use that word "ministry” for just anything… it’s those activities that particularly build up the church… either through evangelism or edification...

Gifted leaders equip the saints for the work of the ministry… the building up of the body of Christ… and they don’t stop UNTIL we all attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the son of God.

That’s a TALL ORDER! The scope of the knowledge of the Son of God is MASSIVE! His agenda is EXPANSIVE!

Complete unity around our faith in Jesus Christ… That’s what David was preaching about last week...

That we would all know God so much… that we would all be so defined by him… that we move together in ALL of his concerns.

By the way, if the Evangelists are doing their job, and we keep having new believers come to Christ, that maturity won’t come until Christ returns… and that’s GREAT!

God KEEPS gifting his church until the final outcome of is produced: a church that is filled with all the fullness of God… a church that has grown into the full maturity of Christ.

Apply: So here’s what that means for you: you need to learn the full scope of Christ’s agenda.

You need to be fully equipped in these five parts of Christ’s work in his church.

If you don’t understand church planting and why that’s one of our Oak Hill family values, LEARN.

Find someone who really seems to care about that and learn from them!

I have articles and resources from our church planting network, the Great Commission Collective that will help you understand more and see where you fit.

I personally am happy to have that conversation with you.

If you don’t have a burden for evangelism, find someone in our church who does!

Get around them and start seeing what makes the tick.

And if you DO have a burden for evangelism, maybe God is calling you to help our church mobilize in that area.

Bring others with you as you reach out to the lost.

If we are going to grow together into full Christlike maturity, we must get united around Christ's agenda.

And as we do, that will produce a stability in our church for the growth to continue… look at verses 14-16:

“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.”

To play our part in our church as we grow together into full Christlike maturity, we must...

Look to the source...

Learn the scope of maturity...

3) Lean into the Stability of Maturity: The Accountability of Christ (v. 14-16)

Explain: Paul says, “SO THAT”… every time you read “so that” in your Bible, you should think, “OK GOOD… here’s the PURPOSE… here’s WHY he is telling us to do this...”

And Paul describes the “so that” of growing into maturity with a negative purpose and a positive purpose: What DOESN’T happen and what DOES happen.

First, the Negative: So that we may no Longer tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind...

Living in this world as a believer is like sailing in a small ship on the high seas...

And swirling all around us are winds of different doctrines...

False beliefs that carry us here and carry us there...

Do you know what you believe?

Are you sure in it?

That’s why we do things like the New City Catechism… so that you would know and remember and believe SOUND DOCTRINE.

Swirling all around us is human cunning...

False teachers who will draw us in and make their lies sound reasonable so that they can steal glory from God and take it for themselves.

Swirling all around us is craftiness in deceitful schemes...

Ways that the enemy of our soul would want us to think...

Bitterness and divisions that he would put between us in the church...

Ways that he would tempt us to gratify the desires of our flesh.

And Paul says that as we grow into maturity in Christ TOGETHER… those things won’t wreck our ship.

We will stay above the waves because the integrity of the vessel is sound.

That’s looking at it from a negative pespective… what DOESN’T happen… Here’s what DOES happen...

From a Positive Perspective:

We actually grow up in every way into the head, who is Christ.

We actually begin to allow the life of Christ to flow through us...

We actually make his agenda our agenda... and his thoughts our thoughts...

He guides every part of our body as the head.

That happens as every part is working properly...

When every part is equipped...

When every part is contributing their unique gifts, causing all the other parts to grow.

In your body, if your liver is healthy, the whole body benefits...

If your liver has cancer, your whole body suffers...

And the same is true of the church...

If you refuse to grow in your walk with Christ...

If you refuse to get equipped in the agenda of Christ...

If you refuse to use your spiritual gift to build up the body of Christ...

The whole body suffers.

The people sitting around you right now suffer.

But the more you play your part… the more the whole body grows… and the more we display Christ’s authority and victory through the gospel.

It’s that simple.

Your spiritual growth is not personal to you. It affects all of us.

We are members of the same body!

By the way, I’d love to explore that concept with you more… being members of one another...

I’m teaching a membership class directly after this service, and it would be a GREAT next step in applying today’s sermon.

Because I say this all the time: your spiritual growth is not just about you. It’s about the whole body.

Which means that we take responsibility for one aother… Paul calls this: Speaking the truth in love.

This is what we mean when we say, “Accountability.”

If you ever hear that word thrown around here at Oak Hill, get this verse in your mind: Accountability = speaking the truth in love.

It’s not, “Punching someone in the face with a fact or opinion and then saying “I love you” at the end.

“Your ugly. I’m just telling you because I love you!”

Speaking the truth in love is allowing our words and our actions to be saturated by the love of Christ revealed in his gospel...

It’s constantly applying the truth of the gospel to one another’s life.

It’s calling out sin and celebrating victories and encouraging the fainthearted… and all of those things… by pointing one another to Christ.

Playing your part… exercising your spiritual gift to fulfill Christ’s agenda… will always involve speaking the truth in love.

Which means that being the body of Christ always involves relationships.

There’s just no way to avoid it.

Being part of the body means we must SPEAK…

we must open our mouths and say something...

And not just any something: We must speak THE TRUTH.

The full truth of God… the full revelation of who he is… ultimately, this is truth that will reflect the gospel, which is the ultimate truth.

And it’s not just truth… it’s truth enveloped… saturated… motivated... in love.

Love is how the body grows.

Love is the ultimate picture of mature spiritual health.

Because LOVE is the heart of our Savior.

Not love as the world defines it… but love as God defines it...

Love that is the overflow of his nature.

Love as expressed in the gospel...

And that means that we actually need to love people enough to be in close relationship with them.

We need to prioritizing BEING with other believers… prioritize meeting with your gospel community… prioritize being in person with our church family.

While it’s good to have our church service broadcast online… especially for those who are home sick or who are serving or working that weekend… it’s VERY MUCH second rate to the real thing…

We can’t really speak the truth in love to one another sitting on our couch at home.

And so we need to prioritize in-person physical gathering.

This is truth for our gospel communities too...

We can’t get to the depth of speaking in truth in love to one another if we only talk to each other twice a month or even less...

Priorizie meaningful interaction with your Gospel Community at the scheduled times at a bare minimum… AND THEN MAKE EFFORT OUTSIDE the scheduled times to develop that even deeper.

It will be impossible to apply much of the rest of this book without that kind of regular life-on-life interaction.

So are you REGULARLY involved in the lives of others in our church?

Are you speaking the truth in love to them as you exercise your spiritual gifts?

I hope that you are tangibly doing that as part of one of our gospel communities...

I hope that you are doing that by serving others in ministry...

I hope that you are doing that as you deepen relationships beyond typically lobby conversations about the weather or sports or hunting or whatever it is.

Speak the truth of God in the love of God. That’s your part.

And use your particular spiritual gift… your Spirit-empowered motivation... to shape how you do that. That’s your part.

And all the while, look to the source.

I want you to know that playing your part as a member of the body is not something where you to figure out how to muster up the ideas and the strength to please God...

No, instead it’s responding to the head like your lungs naturally respond to your brain when it tells them to take a breath.

It’s responding to the head like your hands respond to your mind telling you to pick up your Bible.

We are just the parts… Jesus is the head.

Look to the source. Learn the scope of his agenda. Lean into the stability he provides.

Play your part in our church as we grow together into full Christlike maturity.

Adore:

Christ, you have ascended far above the heavens, and therefore, you are far above...

Align:

Lord, I feel weak in [mission, purity, multiplication, care, and/or understanding]. Equip me in these areas.

Ask:

Give me an opportunity to speak the truth in love to _______________ this week in order to build up the body of Christ.

Acknowledge:

Cause us to stand firm this week when we face... [false doctrines, human cunning, deceitful schemes]