"Jesus Changes Our Spiritual Maturation (Ephesians 4:11-16)", Will DuVal | 10/20/24
Ephesians 4:11-16 | 10/20/24 | Will DuVal
As most of you know, I’ve got 3 kids: 8, 4 and 2. What is appropriate, even CUTE, for one of them, at one age… not so much for another. It’s still funny when BO, the 23 month old, takes off his clothes and goes streaking through the front yard. But if ELIJAH did it, not so much. Elijah still sucks his thumb; he’s starting to push the limits of CUTENESS on that; if ELLERY was still sucking her thumb, at 8… not cute.
Babies are cute, toddlers are cute, kids are cute. But a toddler who ACTS like a baby, a kid who ACTS like a toddler, an adolescent who ACTS like a kid, a TEENAGER… you get the point: NOT CUTE. Because God MADE us to… GROW UP!
And that is the central theme of Ephesians 4, vv7-16 for this morning. The apostle Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is going to encourage us - EXHORT us - to GROW UP… spiritually. “Grow up… to mature [spiritual] manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (vv13,15).
How do we DO that? 5 WAYS, according to Ephesians ch4. 5 means of growth; we might consider these the 5 spiritual “growth hormones” that Christ has left his Church, for the sake of building her up. And that description, that metaphor, really is in keeping with the imagery that PAUL uses here for the Church, as Christ’s BODY. So I’m gonna run with it!
If you want to “build up”, to “grow up” your PHYSICAL body, you go to the… [GYM!]
This MORNING, Paul’s gonna take us on a TOUR of the SPIRITUAL gym that Christ appointed for “building up the body” to “mature manhood”. Elsewhere Paul exhorts us to “train yourself [the Greek word is GYMNAZO, get in the spiritual GYMNASIUM] for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” (1 Tim 4:7-8)
So let’s familiarize ourselves with the gym now, WHILE WORKING UP, I hope, a nice spiritual sweat this morning.
Before we read them, let me remind you of the CONTEXT of these verses. Last week, Paul made the turn from “What God did for us in CHRIST” to “How we ought to now RESPOND to God’s grace”... “Here’s how God CALLS US to live, as his saved, sanctified people”: #1- He called us to HOLINESS (vv1-3); #2- He called us to UNITY (vv4-6); and now in vv7-16, God’s gonna call us to MATURITY. But God NEVER calls us to something without giving us the spiritual RESOURCES for the job. So how do we MATURE, spiritually? Let’s find out…
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Would you STAND… Ephesians 4:7-16. Hear the word…
“But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore it says,
“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.”9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)
11 And he gave the apopstles, 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 the word of the Lord… Seated…]
Alright, let’s tour the gym. First thing Paul mentions is…
1) The EQUIPMENT for our spiritual growth: Christ’s GIFTS. (vv7-10)
Paul exhorted us to HOLINESS back in vv1-3, “walk in a manner worthy of [your] calling… with humility, gentleness, patience, love” and UNITY. And then, whether Paul thought unity was the HARDEST, or the most IMPORTANT, or BOTH, we’re not sure, but in ANY case, Paul zoomed in on UNITY in particular in vv4-6, and reminded us of the “one BODY” to which we all belong, in “one SPIRIT”... sharing “one HOPE”, “one LORD, one FAITH, one BAPTISM… one God and Father of all”. Unity, unity, UNITY!
But NOW, Paul opens v7 with the word “BUT”. “ON THE OTHER HAND”, the Greek could be translated. Because Paul’s gonna transition now from celebrating the beauty of the UNITY of the church, to celebrating the beauty of DIVERSITY within the church. UNITY, corporately, but UNIQUENESS, individually - and BOTH are to be celebrated.
So he says, “BUT… grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.”
Paul’s talking about SPIRITUAL GIFTS here. As he does elsewhere, most extensively in 1 Corinthians ch12: “Now concerning spiritual gifts… there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit… the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge… to another faith… healing… prophecy… tongues… All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills” (vv1-11). And then Paul builds out his BODY metaphor: “For just as the body is one but has many members… so it is with Christ…” - he gave some to be HANDS, others to be FEET, some EARS, others EYES, but ALL the parts are IMPORTANT - “indispensable” (v22) even, Paul says - and we must learn to work TOGETHER, for the sake of the well-being and well-FUNCTIONING of the body as a whole.
Now, returning to Ephesians 4:7, we notice three things specifically about the spiritual gifts that we learn here:
First of all, they are just THAT: they are GIFTS, from CHRIST. Paul says, “grace was given… according to… Christ's gift.” Obviously the GREATEST gift Christ has given us is SALVATION, eternal LIFE. But Paul makes it clear in v11 that is NOT the gift he has in mind here; Jesus didn’t STOP with salvation; he’s the gift that keeps on giving! He gave us the HOLY SPIRIT, as the PROMISE of our inheritance in the life to come. And when the Spirit COMES to dwell in our hearts through faith, he brings WITH him even MORE gifts! “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”... in increasing measure. And then a whole host of OTHERS that we call the “spiritual gifts”, which are LISTED in 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, 1 Peter 4, and here in Ephesians 4. And all the lists are DIFFERENT. Because they’re not intended to be comprehensive; rather, they are REPRESENTATIVE of the types of gifts God that empowers us with, through His Spirit.
And the SECOND thing to note about them in v7, is that EVERYONE - every true believer in Christ, indwelt by the Spirit - has been GIVEN a gift, for the purpose of serving the Lord, and edifying (BLESSING) the Church.
Paul says: “grace was given to each ONE of us”. 1 Peter 4: “As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace” (v10).
There are some gifts, some “GRACES” that we share in common: like SALVATION. But then there are OTHERS that are “varied”: some gifted to be “hands”; others to be “feet”. But EVERYONE’s got a part to play.
Thirdly, just as we’ve all received different gifts, we’ve also received different APPORTIONMENTS, different CAPACITIES, different “MEASURES” (is the word Paul uses here), of giftedness. John Piper and I may BOTH have the gift of teaching, but I can ASSURE you that God did not give it in the same “MEASURE”, and that’s alright. To some, God gave 10 talents, to others 5, to others just ONE; what is important is not how much you’ve been given, but what you DO with it. Are you USING your gifts, however big or small, to BLESS the church and EXPAND the Kingdom.
Paul says, “If God gifted you to be the FOOT, don’t complain that you’re not the HAND. If you’re the LEFT foot, don’t complain that you’re not the STRONGER, dominant foot.” Again, we’ve all got our part to play.
Or to return to our GYM metaphor: if you were taking the free tour, and the gym was one giant room with 40 bench presses only… or 40 treadmills only… are you joining that gym? We all know that one guy, who does nothing but BICEP curls, 6 days a week, with his cartoon arms and his chicken legs - we LAUGH at him (once he leaves; I’m not laughing to his FACE - he can still CRUSH me, with just his biceps…). But he looks RIDICULOUS. You need lots of different equipment, for a healthy, well-proportioned body.
Now, vv8-10 explain how Christ GAVE us these gifts, our spiritual “equipment”. Paul quotes Psalm 68, v18 here, which John MacArthur notes, is (1692): “a victory hymn composed by David to celebrate God’s conquest of the Jebusite city of Jerusalem and the triumphant ascent of God up to Mount Zion. After such a triumph, the king would bring home the spoils and the prisoners. Here Paul depicts Christ returning from His battle on earth back into the glory of the heavenly city with the trophies of His great victory on Calvary.”
But Paul DOES so in a really interesting way; he writes in v8:
“Therefore it [the SCRIPTURE] says,
“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.””Two really fascinating observations about that:
First, don’t overlook the word “THEREFORE”. Paul doesn’t say “Christ gave us gifts… AS it says in the Hebrew Scriptures”. He could’ve used words like “AS it says,” or “in ACCORDANCE with the OT Scriptures”. But he says, “THEREFORE it says, in the Old Testament…”
In other words, the reason that God had King DAVID write v18 of Psalm 68 - a THOUSAND YEARS before Jesus was even born… before Jesus HAD “descended to the earth” or “ascended” back into glory, bearing gifts in tow for his PEOPLE, the CHURCH; 1,000 years prior, God inspired David to pen these words.
And Paul says: “THIS - this New Testament REALITY, the spiritual GIFTS that Christ has now given us - it’s the very REASON that David WROTE that, 1,000 years ago. Church: this ought to DRAMATICALLY revolutionize our reading of the Old Testament. It means, FIRST of all, that we MUST read it. Because it’s ALL “God-breathed and profitable for teaching… and training in righteousness, that we may be COMPLETE”. In other words, if you ONLY study the New Testament, you’re gonna end up like cartoon biceps guy. “Leg day” might not be your FAVORITE; the OT can be a SLOG; listen: I’m a pastor, and even I will admit it. My D group just got done with JEREMIAH - longest book of the Bible; and I can summarize it for you in a single sentence: It’s God telling Israel, “Y’all are TERRIBLE, so I’m gonna PUNISH you, but then I’m gonna RESTORE you, because UNLIKE you, I am still FAITHFUL”... over and over again, for 52 LOOOOONG chapters. That’s LEG day. But it’s IMPORTANT. It’s GOOD for us, to read, to MEDITATE on, regularly.
But as you do, remember this: you’ll never UNDERSTAND it, without understanding the GOSPEL. Without understanding the OT’s FULFILLMENT in the NT and specifically, in CHRIST. Paul says, “THEREFORE” here because the OLD Testament only makes sense in light of the NEW.
SECOND observation about v8: if you flip back to Psalm 68 and read v18 in its original context, you’re gonna find something perhaps a bit unsettling - PROBLEMATIC - NAMELY, that Paul changes one fairly important WORD in his citation of Psalm 68: Paul writes, “He ascended and GAVE gifts to men”; what does Psalm 68 say? “You ascended and RECEIVED gifts from men”.
Now IF Paul is right, and this is a messianic psalm, pointing us ahead to Jesus and specifically, to his resurrection and ascension back into Glory, then which is TRUE: did Christ RECEIVE gifts, or did he GIVE them? And hopefully as soon as I ask that question, most of us realize: it’s BOTH. Paul is fleshing this prophecy out to its ultimate fulfillment: YES, Jesus RECEIVED gifts - tribute, BOOTY - as the spoils of war when he conquered Sin and Hell and death on the cross and in his resurrection; the Bible says Christ received the KEYS to Hell and death (Rev 1:18), VICTORY over sin, but it ALSO says that he then GAVE those gifts… to US! The CHURCH! “I give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven”, Jesus said (Matt 16:19), “thanks be to God, who gives us the victory [over sin and death] through our Lord Jesus Christ,” 1 Corinthians 15:57 declares.
At his resurrection, Jesus declared, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”; I’ve RECEIVED it (Matt 28:18). But what’s the very NEXT thing he says? “YOU go, therefore, [IN my authority, WITH my authority] and make disciples of all nations”. “you will receive [my] power [for the JOB,] when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:8).
Jesus RECEIVES authority; he GIVES US authority.
He RECEIVES all power; he gives US power, His SPIRIT.
THUSLY, Paul reasons, Christ gives us spiritual GIFTS as well.
Now, for sake of time, I’m gonna mostly skip over vv9 & 10, Paul’s parenthetical reminder that Christ “DESCENDED into the lower regions” before “ASCENDING far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things”. These verses ought to spark lots of interesting questions from the MATURE believer; for instance: “My Bible has a footnote with an alternate reading that “Christ descended into the lower parts of the earth?” So does “lower regions” refer TO the earth - Christ’s incarnation - or is this a reference to Christ’s descent even BELOW the earth - to HELL, as the Apostle’s Creed states?” Good question.
“How do you ascend “far ABOVE the heavens” - what’s higher than HEAVEN?! And above “ALL the heavens?” How many ARE there? Paul mentions at least THREE in 2 Corinthians 12. THAT’s interesting. And what does it mean, look like, for Christ to “fill all things”?
All good questions! And I’d be happy to answer any and all of them on our “After the Sermon” podcast tomorrow, if anyone but me is asking. 🙂
But for sake of time, I wanna move on… AFTER making one final - PRACTICAL exhortation here under point #1: At last count, we had 169 members - out of 247 total - who are regularly serving in one or more of our ministries here at the church. That’s 68%, ⅔ of the church. And we praise GOD for you! It goes without SAYING that we simply could not DO everything that we DO here without you. Years ago, the church staff used to host a “Volunteer Appreciation Dinner” every year, and one year we filmed a funny video, imagining what it would BE like around here, if we had NO VOLUNTEERS serving, just us 4 or 5 STAFF members doing all the ministry. By the way, we’re gonna look at this in just a moment in v11: the church’s leaders don’t DO the ministry; we’re here to equip Y’ALL to do it! But in the video, we had Pastor Gary, my predecessor, the old Boomer, back in the A/V booth, trying to figure out what all these knobs and flashing lights mean… we had ALLY up here on stage, leading worship way off pitch… I was back in the nursery trying to change 3 diapers at once…
You get the point. It takes a VILLAGE. And praise God: he has PROVIDED one here. I thank GOD for those of you who are faithfully “stewarding” the “varied gifts” God has blessed YOU with, in order to bless US, the Church. Musically, technologically, pedagogically, evangelistically, prayerfully, hospitably, the list goes on. Did you know Carol told me one of the things that really ATTRACTED her to West Hills and the position here was our WOMEN’S ministry. She’s been attending a church TWICE our size, with NO women’s ministry. We’ve got a THRIVING, and GROWING women’s ministry here, and none of it is led by paid staff; it’s Nikki Yessa, and 4 or 5 other core leaders who step up and serve.
All that to say: THANK YOU, to ALL of our servant leaders - from the lay elders giving 10+ hours a week often, to the gal making coffee for us once a month, half an hour; it’s that’s all you can give - praise GOD for you, and your coffee.
But listen: that means there are ALSO 78 of our 247 members who are not serving regularly in any ministry here. ⅓ of the church, who are violating the covenant commitment you made to this church back when you joined, and more importantly, living in disobedience to God’s WORD, that COMMANDS you “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace” (1 Pet 4:10).
But you can REPENT and CHANGE that this morning. I told you this was “Celebration Sunday”, but it’s also “SIGN UP Sunday” - I’m gonna CELEBRATE, when Ally tells me tomorrow that she’s got 5 new volunteers for kids min, when Andrew & Cassidy tell me they had TEN new people approach them today about serving on the Welcome team, as a Greeter.
And here’s the thing: the “spiritual gifts” lists in the NT aren’t comprehensive, and neither are our existing ministries here at West Hills. We didn’t have a “kids choir” ministry until Gary and Patrice approached us about it. We didn’t HAVE a “strategic communications” team until Brian Moncey and Jason Bahnak approached me and said, “Look, we can make the coffee if you want, but also, we both run our own digital marketing firms, and we’d LOVE to use our unique giftings and experience to help improve West Hill’s ONLINE presence.”
Others of you have approached me about starting a “Divorce Care” ministry… a FITNESS ministry… a sexual integrity ministry - the possibilities are ENDLESS, because the spiritual gifts and passions are endless.
You CAN serve somewhere; you MUST serve somewhere. Even our Senior Saints, I encourage them: join the PRAYER team. Can you PRAY?! Then you can SERVE!
If you CAN’T - or let’s call it what it is: you WON’T - then if I may be so BOLD… we don’t have enough PARKING spots for you. There are churches down the road with a VERY different philosophy of ministry than ours - than GOD’S; than Ephesians 4:11’s - where the “professionals” do all the ministry, and you just get to watch, CONSUME; that’s not us. Go there and give your parking spot to someone ready to serve. I’m not talking to the folks who’ve been here for 3 months… 6 months; I’m talking to the folks who’ve been here for YEARS, consuming, not contributing: “GROW UP!” You are not a spiritual BABY anymore. I know some of the churches you CAME from infantilized you; that is NOT the way we’re running things in THIS church family. My 2 year old can pick up his own toys, my 4 year old can load his plate in the dishwasher, my 8 year old can cook me breakfast. I think you can stand there and hand out BULLETINS once a month. My kids GET it: belonging to a family means PITCHING in, pulling your weight. Yes, there are exceptions. Carol Chisholm is in a memory care facility. She’s exempt. Dale’s exempt. He visits her every day to take care of her. That is his gift, his service. And there are others. But not 78 others. Brothers, sisters: Obey God’s word; Step up, sign up, and SERVE.
SECONDLY, now: Christ gives His body the EQUIPPERS of our spiritual growth: Church LEADERS. (vv11-12)
If spiritual gifts were the EQUIPMENT for growth - the bench press, the treadmill - church LEADERS now, the EQUIPPERS, are like spiritual TRAINERS, who teach you how to USE the equipment properly, they help you develop a more comprehensive, well-rounded workout plan. And then they put you to WORK!
“[Christ] gave [them] to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ”.
We touched on this already; there are basically 2 models of ministry out there in the Church world today: the “Enabling” model (“Why don’t you leave the work of ministry to US, the professionals) OR, there’s the BIBLE’s “Equipping” model (“Let me teach YOU, show YOU, empower YOU to minister to others.)
Pastors are like PARENTS: our job, to a LARGE extent at least, is to put ourselves OUT of a job. A good parent is gonna make sure their kids don’t REALLY “need” them, 18 years from now. Now, if they’re GOOD, you’ll still WANT them. You’ll TRUST them - their wisdom, their advice. You may even still voluntarily submit to their godly authority. But if they’re good, they will have “trained you up in the way you should go”, such that by the time you’re OLD enough, to choose the path for YOURSELF, you won’t DEPART from it, the way of LIFE. (Prov 22:6) And that’s what SPIRITUAL parents - the church’s leaders - do as well. “Train ‘em up, and turn ‘em LOSE!”
Now, who ARE these “equippers”, these spiritual “TRAINERS”?
Paul lists 4 types of equippers for us here:
First, the “APOSTLES”. Apostles ESTABLISH churches. The word “apostolos” literally means “sent one”; someone who has been specially commissioned and sent out by God for the purpose of establishing the gospel somewhere it has not yet gone.
In this way, Paul told us back in ch2 of Ephesians that the church is “built on the foundation of the apostles”.
Now, for this REASON, some Christians today believe that the role of “apostles” is no longer NEEDED or even EXISTENT, because, they reason, the FOUNDATION of the church has already BEEN established, by “apostles” like PAUL here. PETER. James. John. And the most important way in which THOSE apostles - the original 12 disciples who Jesus commissioned and sent out… minus Judas, plus Matthias… and then later plus PAUL; 13 in total - the way in which they laid the foundation of the Church was by co-authoring the NT Scriptures (with the Holy Spirit) for us. And now the BIBLE is the Church’s foundation, and unless you want heretics like Joseph Smith and Mary Baker Eddy and Charles Taze Russell to keep cropping up and trying to ADD to and IMPROVE on the Bible with the Book of Mormon, or Science and Health, or The New World Translation, then we need to be CLEAR that the foundation has been once and for all LAID, and therefore apostles are no longer NEEDED - WELCOMED! - in the Church.
And to be sure, God did appoint what we might call the “capital A” Apostles - the 12 plus Paul - to establish the capital “C” Church in a completely UNIQUE and CRUCIAL way, when no church existed ANYWHERE, and they DID it, by proclaiming the gospel (with preaching), validating the gospel (with miracles), and recording the gospel (with SCRIPTURE), such that NOW, the “capital C” Church HAS been established - praise God! - Christianity is STILL the largest religion worldwide, with approx. 2.4 BILLION self-identifying believers anyway, who at least CLAIM the faith. So those capital “A” Apostles are no longer needed.
But the question still remains: does God still raise up little “a” apostles who he sends out to establish little “c” churches - congregations - specifically, in places where the gospel is foreign and even hostile. And MY answer to that question is unequivocally YES!
I GET that the title “apostle” makes some of us uncomfortable, because the only people still CLAIMING it for themselves these days are WEIRD. Or WORSE: they are Wolves in sheep’s clothing, who claim that THEIR church, the one THEY established, is the ONLY true church. But WE know the only true Church is the one CHRIST established through his capital “A” Apostles… but is he STILL establishing it through others today?
YES! We call them… [MISSIONARIES!] Missionaries are today’s “SENT ones”, commissioned by Christ to GO into all the world (“panta ta ethne”, ALL the nations), bringing the gospel, establishing churches, and grounding these brand new believers in the common faith. Whether or not we call them “little a” apostles, that’s what they ARE.And we actually find these kinds of apostles in Scripture itself. OTHER early church leaders, beyond the 12 + Paul, claiming “apostleship” - Barnabas (Ac 14:4), Silas (1Ths 2:6), Timothy (1 Ths 2:6), Epaphroditus (Ph2:25), and MORE (Rom 16:7). So there is no good biblical basis for claiming that apostleship was limited to the original 13, and doing so has no doubt contributed to the GROWING problem - even 2,000 years later - of unreached people groups: 7,220 still today; 42.6% of the world’s population, with little to NO access to the gospel. Because “how can they BELIEVE without HEARING, and how will they HEAR without someone PREACHING, and how can we PREACH if we’re not SENT” (Rom 10:14-17). We need more apostles, more “SENT ONES”.
Second, Christ gave the PROPHETS. If apostles establish churches, prophets educate them, guide them, help them know and follow God’s WILL. That has ALWAYS been the primary job description of a prophet. We sometimes associate them with “predicting the future”. But biblically, prophecy is really more about conveying a message from God to His people.
Now once again, some folks are gonna say that the Bible is God’s FINAL message to his people - no more messages needed! - and therefore the role of prophet has ALSO ceased today.
And to be sure, once again, we DO need to differentiate between the “capital P” Prophets who received and recorded God’s authoritative self-revelation of the SCRIPTURES… and “little p” prophets who speak LESS authoritatively.
And once AGAIN, this is another TITLE that has been all but RUINED by CHARLATANS. If you walk in a church today and the bulletin announces that “Prophet RON” will be bringing you the word today - RUN!
But does that mean that God is DONE with prophecy today, that he categorically NEVER speaks to His people THROUGH his people today?
Once again, I don’t believe there’s any GOOD biblical evidence to suggest that. Moreover, I think there IS good EXPERIENTIAL evidence to believe that God still DOES speak to us in this way. We’ve got just a FEW folks here at West Hills - not MANY cuz unfortunately you “cessationists” tend to run ‘em off - but a FEW who I believe have the gift of prophecy. And every now and again one of them will tell me something like, “I was praying for you the other day, and God put this word on my heart, to share with you…” And I LISTEN; I don’t stone them as a heretic. I don’t REPRIMAND them for trying to “add to God’s written word, the BIBLE” - they’re not claiming that this word from God is on the same authoritative par with Scripture. The Bible says we’ve got to “test the spirits” (1 Jn 4:1); Paul exhorts us in 1 Thess 5:21 “Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good.”
So we TEST, but we do not DESPISE prophecies.
Third, Christ gave the EVANGELISTS. If apostles establish and prophets educate, evangelists EXPAND churches, by spreading the GOSPEL, the “euangelion”, the “good news” - Christ crucified and resurrected for the forgiveness of sins.
The NT often depicts the church as a flock of SHEEP. Apostles GATHER the sheep INTO the flock. Prophets GUIDE the sheep (“See that green pasture over there? I think God wants to lead us THAT way…”). And EVANGELISTS help GROW the flock - as we’re HEADED toward the pasture, the evangelists are the ones recruiting OTHER sheep into the flock.
Gather… Guide… GROW.
Now, this is a good time to pause and point out: we are ALL called to evangelize. And that’s true of ALL these spiritual gifts and offices, really: we are ALL “sent ones”, ambassadors of Christ. Paul exhorts us ALL to “earnestly desire the gifts, ESPECIALLY that you may prophecy” (1 Cor 14:1). And we are ALL called to “go into ALL the world and proclaim the gospel” (Mk 16:15). But God DOES raise up certain believers who are just more naturally - or should we say SUPER-naturally skilled at it. And SPECIFICALLY, at training OTHERS for evangelism. Remember: THAT is what ALL these leaders do - they EQUIP the SAINTS for the work.
Lastly, Shepherd-Teachers EMPOWER the church, by LEADING and FEEDING the flock.
Shepherd-Teacher is just ONE role; the Greek makes that clear. And what IS that role? To LEAD and to FEED, by faithfully teaching the word of God, and training God’s people for OBEDIENCE.
So ALL of these church leaders, then - apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherd-teachers - they work TOGETHER for TWO purposes: to EQUIP and to EDIFY.
“to equip the saints for the work of ministry, [and to] build up [to EDIFY] the body of Christ”.And when is their work FINISHED? When is ALL our work - remember: we’ve ALL got a role to play - for how long?
What is the END of our spiritual growth? Christ’s FULLNESS. (v13) [“goal”]
I like the word “end” here, in Greek it’s the word “telos”, because it can mean “FINISH LINE” but it can also mean “GOAL”. And BOTH are true: the end GOAL of our spiritual maturity - think back to the GYM again: you need a GOAL, don’t you? “I wanna lose 20 pounds”, “I wanna be able to bench 200 pounds again” - what is our SPIRITUAL goal, according to v13? COMPLETE CHRISTLIKENESS - “until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,[e] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” - and Church, we can STOP at nothing LESS! The work of equipping and edifying… of growing and maturing… is not done until we have ALL achieved TOTAL unity with one another, total knowledge of Christ himself… until we COLLECTIVELY, together, as his body have reached the full “measure of the stature of the FULLNESS” of CHRIST!
In other words, we’ll NEVER be done, this side of eternity. There will ALWAYS be more growth, more maturing needed, for YOU, individually, and for US, collectively, as a church. That’s good job security for us pastors. 🙂
And what is the EFFECT of our growth? MATURITY. PROGRESS. We should see spiritual PROGRESS in our lives, over time. The Bible calls this SANCTIFICATION. (vv14-15) [“weigh ins”]
We “GROW UP” in the faith, “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, deceitful schemes.”
SPEAKING of charlatans, false prophets and apostles… we went down to Branson with the GOOCHES, for a couple days for fall break this past week. And we were coming back from Dogwood Canyon and looking for lunch and everything’s closed on Mondays, so we go to the only restaurant open, this little Mexican joint located inside a gated, RETIREMENT community, that is ALSO like the set of some TV show? There’s a big STAGE and expensive CAMERAS - the whole thing was BIZARRE (delicious food though). But as we wander and explore, we come to the GIFT shop, and we realize: this is the center of JIM BAKKER’S ministry. I don’t know if you remember Jim Bakker, the disgraced televangelist who served decades in prison for FRAUD; today’s he’s out and back to selling “Rapture Ready”, end-times survival kits to folks in their 80s and 90s who are apparently still SPIRITUALLY as immature as NEWBORN BABIES.
Paul says: don’t be LIKE that. Don’t fall for the charlatans, because you don’t know WHAT to believe. No, I want you to GROW UP!
SAPLINGS get blown about in the storm, but not MATURE OAKS. Their roots go DEEP; Paul says: “I want you to be an OAK. Grow UP!”
And how do we DO it? V15: “speaking the truth in love, we grow up in every way into… Christ”. You grow by being REPROVED. By surrounding yourself with folks who LOVE you enough to tell you the TRUTH: “I don’t think that thing you just said… that thing you just did… I don’t think THIS area of your life is very HONORING to Christ.”
Brother, sister: if you are too INSECURE… too FRAGILE… too CHILDISH, frankly, to be able to HEAR, and RECEIVE, and learn and GROW from that kind of “truth in love” shared with you by others in your life, others here in the body of Christ, you’re gonna be DOOMED to spiritual INFANCY, spiritual retardation, stunted growth in your spiritual life.
Some of us need to grow UP, and it starts by LISTENING in HUMILITY - that’s where Paul STARTED, in v2: “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which [Christ] called you [HOW??] with all humility”.
Lastly, #5- Who is The EFFECTUATOR of our spiritual growth? In a word: CHRIST; v16: “Christ, from whom the whole body [is] joined and held together ” → Jesus is the church body’s connective tissue!
But more specifically it is Christ’s LOVE that actually “effectuates” or CAUSES our spiritual growth. His love is like the “growth hormone” that is required for ANY maturity to take place. You can go to the gym all you WANT, utilize EVERY piece of equipment, consult with all the best TRAINERS, refuse to QUIT until you reach the “stature of the fullness of Christ” - until you’re as spiritually JACKED and JESUS - but as Paul says elsewhere, “if you don’t have LOVE, you got NOTHING” (1 Cor 13:3). You won’t grow at ALL - Christ’s LOVE causes the growth.
And Paul actually CONCLUDES in v16 with a pretty STARTLING truth: that when everything’s functioning the way it’s supposed to - “when each part is [DOING its part…] working properly” - Paul says, “Christ makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
WE - the members of the body - are actually charged with building the body up; the body “builds ITSELF up” - but it must be Christ’s LOVE working THROUGH us.
We grow BY Christ working THROUGH each one of us to edify his body IN love.
Church: may we DO so. May we grow up in EVERY way to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Amen?
Let’s pray…