No Longer Children (Ephesians 4:13-16)
In Ephesians 4, we have an interesting dynamic. Paul says that for the church to glorify God, we have to have unity. We have to join together and stop acting like we have nothing in common. We have the most critical things in common. Chapters 1-3 have made it clear that God has blessed us beyond what we deserve. He had given us a relationship with him through Jesus, making peace when there was no peace. He has also joined us to one another so that we could be his temple. But, even though we are united and share seven elements in common, we are also different. So Paul effectively says, "We are all the same, and we are all different" in the same section of the book.
He wants us to embrace our differences, but he wants us to use them in harmony to accomplish our mission. This takes humility, gentleness, love, and patience toward one another. It also takes a lot of studies and works with one another. We must be built up by the word of God as evangelists, shepherds, and teachers guide us in the way we should minister to others and help us conform to the image of Christ.
Being the body of Christ is a lofty goal, but one worthy of our devotion. It's worthy of the pain and suffering of working with people who are different from us. This morning, we are going to talk a bit about the growth process. Being a working member of the body is not something that happens overnight. We need to understand that there is a growth process.
No Longer Children
Ephesians 4:14 (ESV) --- 14 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.
The first thing that Paul says is that we are equipping each other to grow to mature manhood. This implies that there is a point in the future where we become mature enough to do the work that God has given us to do. But, for some reason, many remain children for far too long.
I joke with my kids that I don't want them to grow up. I think they are at a perfect age right now. Growing up is going to be tough, and I'm not looking forward to the growing pains. But if I could keep them at the age, they are at right now for the next twenty years. We would all know that's not right. No one wants to see a thirty-year-old who looks and acts like a seven-year-old. We expect there to be growth and development, and we hope for the growth to be in a positive direction.
In the same way, there is something wrong when a Christian has not grown beyond the early stages of maturity. We all start as children and babes. We all start out making all kinds of mistakes and causing all kinds of problems, but that's not supposed to continue. Evangelists, shepherds, and teachers are supposed to stimulate spiritual growth by teaching and living out the word to the point where everyone reaches adulthood. Some might say, the evangelists, shepherds, and teachers have failed me.
I have been a part of a church that did not grow spiritually. The members were all over the map on their beliefs and practices. The shepherds spent all their time putting out fires, and they never had a chance to equip. The evangelist was lousy at equipping. It just didn't work. If people grew past childhood, it was because they wanted to, and a few members tried to help them. I have seen the elders and evangelists fail to equip. I don't want that to be the case here. But maybe the children are too busy playing to learn anything. Both sides have to be seeking the same goal. If we have shepherds, evangelists, and teachers working to equip us, it's our responsibility to work toward being equipped. We can tell the difference between those who want to be equipped and those who don't. There is a hunger inside of them to know more.
Children have an innocence that I enjoy and love to be around, but they also have an immaturity and foolishness that needs correcting. They lack the wisdom needed to take the right path. They constantly get into trouble and require much time and effort to train toward maturity.
This is what Paul wants the Ephesians to do. He wants them to grow spiritually mature. To motivate them, he points out that remaining children leads to all kinds of problems. Children are inclined to believe every teaching they hear. If something sounds good, they believe it. We must not believe every doctrine (teaching) we hear. Men use human cunning to convince others of their beliefs. I have listened to many sermons from denominational preachers. They claim to care about scriptures, but they twist them to match their church's denominational beliefs. I am not a "church of Christ" preacher. My goal is not to spread the "church of Christ" doctrines or teachings of men. When we feel that is okay, we will use human cunning and deceitful schemes to win people to our division of Christ just like we see happening in Corinth (1 Cor 1:10-13).
Our world is all about deception and manipulation. Facebook appears to be free when it is designed to suck you in so they can make advertisement money. It costs us time, not money. Every company is following that path and trying to suck all of the time out of our days. Paul wants us to seek truth and grow to the point where we can tell the difference between what is true and man-made. Can we do that? Have we studied our Bibles enough to see the difference? The world can be very tricky, and some things are more challenging to understand than others. We need to help each other develop a firm understanding of truth.
The Way Of Spiritual Growth
Ephesians 4:15 (ESV) --- 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
Paul describes what has to happen in this verse. There must be an honest conversation. We have to talk about what we understand or don't understand so that we can grow together. If I am saying things that don't line up with what you understand, text me or call me and let's get together. I need people to be honest with me about where they differ to grow closer to the truth. I can be wrong, and that's okay with me. We may disagree, but understanding your perspective will probably help me develop my point of view. Hiding the truth won't help anyone.
But Paul also tells us how to have that conversation. We need to speak the truth in love. This is not easy. When we get passionate about our convictions and beliefs, we get defensive. Sometimes we stop caring about what other people think. We speak out of our emotions instead of controlling our emotions and trying to discern what is true and loving toward others. This is probably the biggest challenge for many of us. We like to point the finger at people who have been harsh toward us, but we don't recognize that we can be just as harsh toward others.
Paul says, "We are to grow up in every way into him." Stop and think about what that means. We need to talk and act like Jesus. But notice the way this is stated. We need to grow up "into him." We need hearts and minds that think, feel, and desire what Jesus does. We need to grow up in our understanding of the truth and our ability to love so that we are one with Jesus. That's the only way we can correctly represent him on earth. If we stay children, we will bite and devour one another over things that aren't even true so that we can protect our honor. The immature cannot love as they ought because they aren't one with Christ. I look at myself and realize that I'm not even close to that level of immaturity. Will you help me and let me help you?
We might be tempted to think, "You can't help me." That's probably true. By myself, I couldn't help anyone. Think about what he says in verse 16.
Ephesians 4:16 (ESV) --- 16 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.
His first words are "From whom the whole body." We would expect an end to that phrase like, "From whom the whole body receives strength." We remember that in 1 Corinthians, Paul says that he planted, Apollos watered, and God provides the increase. Notice in this text he doesn't just focus on the work of the members of the body. He doesn't say, "We are to grow up in every way into him who is head, into Christ. When the body is joined and held together by every joint and each part is working properly, it grows so that it builds itself up in love." Do you see how that would be a very self-focused description of how spiritual growth occurs? First, he says, "From whom the whole body." This indicates that the source of the body's strength and ability comes from Jesus. Paul said that earlier. Jesus gave gifts to men and women. The ultimate source of unity and growth is not you or me. It's Jesus. Then, he points out that the body is joined and held together by every joint "with which it is equipped." Jesus is giving us the parts. Our mission is to join them together so that each part can work properly. Then, notice the last phrase. He says, "Makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love." What makes the body grow? Jesus working with us creates spiritual growth.
What Does This Mean?
This whole section is full of odd terminology, but if I could break it down, I would say, "Our mission is to show Jesus to the world, and we do that by using the gifts he's given us to use. Jesus helps us and we are trying to help one another with love and truth from scriptures."
Are you a part of the body of Christ at Saraland? Do you want to help those who need it? Get connected. There is nothing stopping someone from starting up their own Bible Study group. If the times given don't work for you, take the lead on starting up a new one. If you wonder about what is being done for the sick, start trying to help the sick, and you will find yourself connected to the group that works to help the sick. If you want to help out with visitors and evangelism, start trying to help out, and you will find the group of us working toward that goal. Could you work with us? Be the glue that holds us together. We have some tremendous workers here, but we need more. Go for the lowest job. The job that no one wants to do. Be a servant and show love, knowing that God sees you and will reward you. But also, know that Jesus is using your gift to strengthen and build up his body so that we can accomplish more work than you have ever imagined.
If you are still a child, waves of doctrine easily toss you around. You need to be here on Sunday mornings over the next three months. We are going to devote ourselves to foundational studies about the doctrines of Christ and his apostles. Our goal will be to understand and explain the foundational teachings about salvation, the Holy Spirit, God's will, what it means to be a Christian, what it means to bear fruit for God, what it means to glorify God, a summary of the Bible, and much more. We will go through everything I would teach someone new to the faith. If you have been a Christian for a long time, maybe these classes will help you teach others. If you know some stuff, learn more. We will also be studying some of these topics as we continue through the book of Ephesians on Sunday nights going forward.
Maturity is not about memorizing Bible verses and knowing all the Bible stories, though those things are essential. Maturity is about developing a mind and heart that is entirely in line with God's will. That means that I don't lie, no matter how much it might hurt my cause, because I know that God doesn't want me to lie. That means I don't get angry even though everything inside me is saying that this anger is justified. My anger does not produce the righteousness of God. That transformed mind and heart should result in a transformed behavior. But that transformation is a lifelong process. We have to tell ourselves the truth about where we are at and keep working toward the goal. It may be that we look at ourselves honestly and see how far short we have fallen, but our goal should be to work together and grow to greater maturity in the future. Don't give up! Please keep pushing and working toward that goal, and we will do our best to work with you.