Growing Up in Christ - Ephesians 4:11–16
During January, we’re taking a break from our verse-by-verse exposition of Matthew to revisit the mission and vision of our church. The mission is why God established us. The vision is how we fulfill the mission. The first season of Good Shepherd was very much about getting started; we joined God as He planted a church and cultivated a community among us that would minister to the people of the Florence area in a vital way, in a necessary way.
[Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties we were unable to record the sermon.]
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Now, it’s time to look toward the next phase of this in the life of our church. It’s a new time, one in which we need to take a closer look at what it means for us to be and produce mature, equipped followers of Jesus. Do you ever wonder, “What is the will of God for my life?” Well, it is God’s will that His people be mature, equipped followers of Jesus, and that His church produce more and more of them for His glory and our joy.
That is the mission of Jesus’ church. So we need to fine tune and expand our vision to fulfill that mission. Last Sunday, we considered what it means to be followers of Jesus. And today we’re going to look at Ephesians 4 in the New Testament, verses 11-16, to think about what it means to be mature and equipped followers. So I invite you to follow along in your Bible, on your electronic device, or in the Worship Guide on page 6. Follow along with me now, starting with verse 11.
[11] And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, [12] to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, [13] 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, [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.
[15] Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, [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.
This is God’s Word, and may He write His eternal truth on each of our hearts today.
What does it mean to follow Jesus? We saw last Sunday that true followers accept the destination and the route that Jesus chooses for our lives. The life of the apostle Peter shows us that Jesus’ people sometimes fail to follow, but Jesus gives us grace and again says, “Follow me.” Jesus gave Peter another chance to be His disciple: one who learns from Jesus and obeys Him.
Jesus demands more than our one-time repentance and your verbal profession of faith. He demands our whole lives, our goals, hopes, and dreams. Surrendering those things to Jesus is what it means to follow Him.
After more than three years back in Florence planting this church, I have found that there are many people here who would say they are Christians, but not as many who actively pursue the life of a disciple surrendered to Jesus. But the mission of Jesus’ church is not just to produce folks who say they believe. In Matthew 28, Jesus tells his followers, “Go...and make disciples of all nations.” Go and make devoted, surrendered followers.
Like I said, we are revisiting our mission statement and fine-tuning our mission as a church. You can see the statement printed on page 6 of the WG. Why does Good Shepherd exist? To join God on mission. Our role on mission with God is to make surrendered followers of Jesus.
Even though there are various opinions about the mission of Jesus’ church and why He established it church, the mission is to produce devoted disciples. To produce more and more of people who give their whole lives to Jesus and see their time on earth as their opportunity to follow Him.
Why don’t more professing Christians live this way? Well, what we see in these verses of Ephesians today is that there is a maturing that must happen; there is an equipping that must take place. True followers must grow up in Christ.
But how does it happen? You can see a couple points in the WG. To grow to maturity as His followers, we must be transformed through the Word of Jesus and alongside the people of Jesus. You cannot grow to maturity in Christ apart from those two things. That is an inescapable truth.
I believe the Lord has positioned us for our next phase as a church because He has firmly established those two things here. Notice verse 11 and 12 again: Jesus “gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, [12] to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”
The preceding verses in Ephesians say that Jesus established his church by giving his people various gifts, like a king who conquers a land and shares the spoils of victory with his people. To the victor go the spoils. So the king comes back, passing out this newly-won wealth to his subjects. What Jesus conquered were sinful men, whom he redeemed and enabled to bring His Word to the masses.
King Jesus gave to His subjects “the apostles and prophets:” those who preached and taught His Word, but who also wrote it down for future generations. This is why, a couple chapters earlier, Paul says the church is founded on the apostles and prophets. Founded, yes, on their earthly ministries, but also, on the holy Scripture given to the church by Jesus through them. Also, many were evangelists especially gifted with the ability to proclaim the gospel to the lost world.
And also, he redeemed some to be shepherds and teachers. Do we teachers? There is a verse in Jeremiah 31, in which Jeremiah quoted the LORD as saying, [34] And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD.” What does this mean? Do we no longer need teachers? What about preachers?
In Ephesians, Paul says shepherds and teachers are essential. What does this mean? Bible scholar Guy “Ree-shard” explains the passage this way: In the NT church, “all...have access to what only the privileged few had access to before. In the new covenant, teachers will have more in common with guides than with prophets or priests. They will take others by the hand and lead them to the Lord so that they might be taught by Him. They will help others understand God’s revealed will for themselves, but they will no longer be responsible for revealing God’s will to them. All will access to it for themselves.”
Jesus reveals to us God’s holy will through His Word written down by the apostles and prophets, who were also gifted evangelists. If we grow to maturity as followers of Jesus, we must be transformed through His Word. Not just acquiring the information, but allowing it to work into us, as pastor Randy Pope puts it, “massaging God’s truth until it becomes understandable and usable. Not only does a person need to hear and learn truth, but he or she must also be shown how to use and apply the truth.”
In other words, the people of God, often called “saints” of God, must be, as verse 12 says,“equipped for the work of ministry.” It is essential for what we see in those next verses, “for building up the body of Christ, [13] 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.”
Isn’t it fun to see where a child’s height has been periodically marked on a wall to track his or her growth? Fascinating to see. But you won’t see much change in 2 days. Probably not a lot in 2 weeks. But what about two years? I’m amazed at the changes in my own children in just the past two years.
Growth to maturity in Christ is similar. It takes time, with a steady diet of Jesus’ Word. The Word preached, the Word read, the Word sung, the Word prayed, the Word visibly seen in the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. And you see here in verse 13 also our goal in maturity - our example, the one whom we look up to is Jesus. “Mature” could also be read as “complete.” And “measure of the stature of the fullness” means that our stature at any given time is compared to Jesus.
Can we ever be perfect in this life? No, we still carry a sinful nature. In Romans 7, the apostle Paul laments that even though he’s grown so much in Christ, he still struggles against sin. This is why in Philippians 3, Paul refers to maturity in Christ this way: [12] Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
How do we become mature in Christ? Well, a big part of maturity is “want to.” Do you want to follow Jesus in this way? Do you want to grow? Do you want to not only know what God says, but to do what He says? What kind of Savior and Lord would Jesus have been if he spouted all this knowledge but didn’t practice it himself? He did practice it, and He proved his merit as Savior.
If you don’t strive to practice what Jesus says, what assures you that you are truly saved? If you have fallen into sin, do you, right now, at the very least, desire to follow Jesus again? His mercies toward you are new again today. In Jesus, every day is a clean slate.
But the other big part of growth to maturity is “know how.” Do you know how to follow Jesus? Do you know how to hear from Him and be led by Him? If you would follow Jesus, you must want to and know how, otherwise, look at your fate in verse [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.
Without maturity, you’re like a boat lost on stormy seas. Tossed all around. Unstable. Troubled. Up and down, up and down. Devastated by whatever comes along next, whether it be temptation, a selfish desire, or an attack from the enemy. The mission of the church - the mission of this church - is to help you grow to maturity. To help you be complete in Christ. But interestingly, Jesus’ plan does not only involve His Word. We must also be transformed alongside the people of Jesus to grow to maturity. Notice verse [15] Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, [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.
Disciples of Jesus are in union with Him; and therefore also in union with each other. And so, we need each other. Simply put, the church needs you and you need the church if you are to grow up in Christ. You need the local church, with the leadership and structure that Jesus established. While it is true that you are in union with believers in China, those believers will not sharpen you each week through personal relationships.
And while, in Christ, you are in union with pastors and teachers in China, or even another cities or states, they will not know you personally or pray for you diligently and preach and teach the Word of God to you in the same as your local pastors and teachers. This is why Paul told Titus that everywhere they started a church, they needed to appoint elders and deacons in those places. And in each place, there was a local congregation ministering to each other. Through those relationships and conversations, the truth was getting worked deeply into the people.
Rather than bouncing from place to place locally, you need to be committed to other believers in a local congregation. You need the consistency. You need to be fully known by some. You need the leadership. You need folks who “speak the truth in love” verse 15 says. In other words, you need people who are lovingly honest with you about your sin, who will level with you. You need a developing history with a congregation. We were each given gifts through which we bless and build up each other. You need to use your gifts so others in the local church can grow and you can grow. You need to reap the benefits of others’ gifts so that you can grow and they can grow.
How many places do you go to get your groceries? One, maybe two, maybe three places? Which is fine, but wouldn’t you like the perfect one-stop shop for all your grocery needs? The local church, when it operates according to God’s mission and with health vision, is the one-stop shop for your growth to maturity in Christ. Certainly, you need to be out in the world living your life and ministering to others, and that’s God’s plan for you.
But growth begins within the body of Christ. Maturity and equipping begins at the place Jesus established to persevere until He returns. Each disciple needs the Scriptures taught and preached, each disciple needs guidance from God’s shepherds - the session or elders of the local church. Each disciple needs others disciples, and needs to contribute to the growth of other disciples.
I said before that many in Florence say they are Christians but don’t appear to follow Jesus. A person can say, “I’m a Christian,” and check that box, so to speak, and they don’t need Jesus’ Word or His people to do that. But they won’t mature and equipped followers of Jesus. And then on the last day, they may find that they never truly believed.
Jesus warned people that there will be many who think they know Him, but on the last day, he will say, “I never knew you.” What does it cost you to follow Jesus? What is the cross you pick up every day to follow Him? What have you laid down, given up, forsaken to follow Jesus?
Where is the evidence that you have determined to give yourself to His Word and His people that you might be a mature and equipped follower? Are you so deep in your own plans that you aren’t really sure how to surrender them to Jesus?
Well, if you want to follow Jesus wholeheartedly, and grow up in Christ, you can. You can begin today. You can determine live a life characterized by worship. You can pursue purity at the next turn. You can pray for those around you and talk to them about Jesus. You don’t have to know a lot; just do the best you can. You can make every effort to bless the local church with your personal abilities and experience.
You can be faithful to obey Jesus every Lord’s Day - Sunday - the day of worship and rest, and you can strive to obey Him every single day, both for yourself and for those whom you love and care for. But let me tell you where you must always begin. For a true follower, no matter how long you’ve been following, it all begins with the finished work of Jesus Christ. His perfect life, his sacrificial death, and His glorious resurrection.
To grow to maturity, you must continually hear and increasingly understand what Paul says in Galatians 2. Following Jesus starts with knowing this: I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Let’s bow together in prayer.