So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed to and fro by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined
and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Ephesians 4:11-16 NIVUK
One year my in-laws in the Philippines had visitors. It was their first time to come to the Philippines. Some parts of it – like the awesome hospitality and warmth of the people – they loved. Some parts of it – like the heat, humidity and eating rice three times a day – caused them to struggle a bit. Some things just took them by surprise.
One thing that really shocked them was the scaffolding.
Lots of building work was taking place in the city of Cebu at the tine and many tall buildings were clad in scaffolding. And much of that scaffolding was not made of steel, like in the UK.
No, it was made from bamboo.
Before my non-Asian readers balk completely at that, you have to remember that steel is expensive, bamboo is plentiful and very cheap, not to mention very strong. It stands to reason that Asian builders will use it.
Paul here states three pillars that support the growth of the Church – the greatest building of all time. These are: unity, knowledge and maturity.
The first of these pillars is unity, and unity in the faith in particular.
That is, when we hear the Biblical teaching and admonishment from those with the gifts outlined in verse 11, and are actively involved in God’s work as per verse 12, it should lead to a closer unity with those who are in the faith.
We see this in the famous verses in Hebrews 10:
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:19-25 NIVUK
So we see that as we draw close to God and cling tightly to our hope, then we are involved in a work of encouraging each other that will inevitably produce unity.
I’ve lived in decades where Christians delighted in division: where they openly mocked those of other confessions and excommunicated those who disagreed with them.
That is simply wrong. Worse, it is thoroughly un-Christ-like. When we have a fall-out with our brother or sister, the best outcome doesn’t depend on who is right and who is wrong. The reality is that if we divide the church into factions then we are both wrong.
No, the best outcome is whatever glorifies God, not us. The best outcome is a resolution governed by love, not intellectual correctness. And in some cases, this will either lead to amicable disagreement or a compromise – of course, not when the fundamentals of the Gospel are concerned (but in disagreements between Christians, they rarely are).
We saw earlier that the whole point of the Body of Christ is that it serves Christ, not us; it fulfils His vision, not ours; it glorifies Him, not us. And that means that instead of seeking to get our own way like spoiled children, we should seek to do what’s good for the Body of Christ, not necessarily us. As Paul states in Romans:
Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
Romans 14:19 NIVUK
Jesus, on His way to the cross, prayed for us to be united twice, and on one of those occasions, for us to be as united as He is with the Father (John 17:20-23), and that when that unity exists, then people will realise that He is sent from the Father.
Do you understand what He is saying?
The unity of God’s varied people in one Body is the greatest evangelistic tool we have. There is nothing like it. Undermine it, and we undermine our own message. Weaken it and we weaken a key pillar on which our church is built. And then we can have no-one else to blame but ourselves when it crashes down around us.
Strengthen it, and we have a strong, unspoken testimony of our love for God, each other and ourselves that communicates the Gospel even before we open our mouths. And let me tell you, in a world that craves community and acceptance and love, there are few things more powerful.
Secondly, we see that knowledge is also a key pillar. But this is not just intellectual, ‘head’ knowledge. This is not just theory. The word used in the Greek – epignosis – means ‘perfect’ or ‘complete’ knowledge. In other words, we know God completely.
It isn’t hard to see that this verse follows a list of gifts that are predominantly about teaching. In other words, these people teach us how to know God – from the youngest to the oldest.
Their ministry is absolutely essential. It is the lifeblood of the church. Without it our spirituality wilts and our walk with God is so much weaker. And this is why it is essential for a Christian to go to church to be taught about God.
But it’s a little like a gardener with a plant or a tree. A gardener will often plant their plant with a cane or a support in the ground to help the plant grow big and tall. Teaching from other, more mature, better qualified Christians is vital for our Christian walk to grow strong and tall.
However, we cannot rely on them to produce our spiritual food for us. We must seek God and get to know Him for ourselves. As Jeremiah prophesied:
‘This is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel after that time,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbour, or say to one another, “Know the Lord,” because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,’ declares the Lord. ‘For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’
Jeremiah 31:33-34 NIVUK
How does this happen? When we make a commitment on our own to seek Him our for ourselves. When we decide that He is worth is knowing.
It is this knowledge on an individual level that helps the church to grow together corporately.
So apart from unity and knowledge, the third pillar is maturity.
Paul is careful to tell us what maturity is:
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed to and fro by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Ephesians 4:11-16 NIVUK
I have met Christians with some very strange ideas on what a mature Christian looks like.
They equate maturity with age. However, there are many better qualified people than me who disagree with this entirely. In fact, some have proposed the idea that maturity can be trended with age on a bell curve: when people are younger, they gradually become more mature, until they reach a certain age, and then they gradually become more immature.
As someone in their middle age, it’s not for me to say if that’s true or not.
Other people say maturity comes with longevity – with the length of time you have been a Christian. That is not necessarily true either. I have met Christians who are like great oak and palm trees: whose faith has grown big and strong. But I've also met Bonsai Christians, whose faith has never been allowed to grow because they have never stepped out of their comfort zone and allowed it to grow.
I’ve also met Christians who believe that maturity comes with seriousness. They permanently look like they are on their way to a funeral. Their morose Christianity is singularly unappealing. But, of course, the decline of their churches is never their fault.
That is not maturity.
Paul equates maturity with four entirely different characteristics:
Fullness – a word which was used when a ship was laden with sailors of merchandise. Maturity is when we are full of Jesus Christ; when every area of our life is clearly taken over by Him and it shows.
Awareness – in that we will know when something is right and true and holy and when it is not, and we will not be fooled. Paul uses two pictures of this: an infant, who believes everything their parent tells them without the ability to discern whether something is true or false, and a piece of flotsam, tossed around the sea without any anchor. A mature Christian is neither of these. A mature Christian uses the Word of God to discern whether something is true or false and stands on it.
Truthfulness in love. We will know the truth. We will believe the truth. We will live the truth. We will share the truth. And our driving principle for doing these will be love for God, each other and ourselves. That will govern not just what we say, but how and when we say it. We will be sensitive to the needs of others and will share our truth in such a way that gets the best outcome, not just to selfishly ‘get it off our chest’. No Christian is ever ‘just saying’ something. We speak the truth in love.
Effectiveness – a mature Christian is an active and effective Christian. Not a pew-sitter. Not a bench-warmer. Not an armchair critic. Not a spectator. A mature Christian must be involved in the building up of the Body of Christ as this is a measure of their maturity.
Sometimes, when we hear that the church should grow, we are tempted to put the blame on our pastors and leaders if it does not. And yes, some of it does lie on their shoulders. But the church was never created to be a one man band. We are not meant to be chauffeur-driven into eternity. Every Christian has a part to play.
It’s time to dispense with the idea that the pastor and his fellow leaders do all the work while the rest of us watch and applaud (or criticise). That is not a Biblical model for church at all.
The Endgame for the church is for it to grow into maturity, and every one of us has a part to play in it.
Questions
What are the three pillars of a growing church? How can you strengthen them in your life?
The three pictures people often have of a mature Christian are age, longevity and seriousness. Why are these often wrong?
What are the four characteristics of maturity? According to this standard, how mature are you? How could you become more mature?
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