We are to grow up in all aspects into Him

Ephesians 4 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, ³ being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

⁷ But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸ Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men.” ⁹ (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) ¹¹ And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of 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 a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. ¹⁴ As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; ¹⁵ but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

There is a misconception in much of the church and among many believers that the responsibility to evangelize and preach the gospel to the world is delegated and relegated to the church. This misconception has led to much of the church in this country being a consumer church, a place where people come to be entertained; to be ministered to and served, rather than ministering and serving. In Matthew 28:18-20 says:  Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  Mark 16:15-18 says:  He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.  He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.  These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues;  they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”  In Acts 1:7-8 it says: He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;  but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” The them, that Jesus spoke to in all these passages, are the disciples, the followers of Christ.   Jesus commission and His call to preach, to evangelize and be a witness for Christ was given to the disciples, not to the church.

Today’s text from Ephesians 4, is perhaps one on the best descriptions of the call and commission; the mission of the church. It says: He gave some  apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.  The church is to equip the saints for the work of service; to build up the body of Christ.  It is not the church that is to preach and evangelize. It is not the church that is to serve in the mission field, but the believers who have been built up, trained up and equipped in the church. Paul says:  we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ   Unfortunately, far too often there is not enough growing up that happens in the church. Instead people are allowed to remain comfortable and stay as they are. Perhaps they hear a good message on Sunday, but by Monday the words are far from them.  It might also be because there is far too often not enough speaking the truth in love. In 2 Timothy 4:1-4 Paul says:  I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:  preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.  In order to grow, people need to hear the truth, even when it is not pleasant. They need to be reproved, rebuked and exhorted by the truth of the word.  Growing requires changing; leaving old things behind, which can be painful and unpleasant, but the truth is we are either growing or dying. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says:  If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 

The mission of the church is to train, equip and prepare believers to fulfill the commission of Christ; that they would be witnesses, that they would preach the gospel and make disciples; that signs and wonders would follow them to confirm the Word, as Jesus works with them.  In Matthew 16:18-19 Jesus says:  “Upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”  If the church is going to stand against the gates of Hell, if it is going to have the authority to bind and loose in heaven and on earth, the disciples, the believers and the followers of Christ need to grow up. They need to have the truth spoken in love by apostles, and prophets, by evangelists, pastors and teachers. So that:  We all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming.

If the church will fulfill its mission, believers will be prepared to fulfill Christ’s commission. To Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. To Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation, and to receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. 

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit, that You have called each of us for Your purpose. Thank You that You are building Your church and that You have given us apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, so that we can grow up into all that You have called us to be. That we all attain the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ and become the church that You are building to change the world; to fulfill the prayer of Jesus, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.