Immanuel Baptist Church

Ephesians 4:15-16

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This sermon was preached by Rev. Chris Roberts during the morning service on Sunday, October 18, 2009.

Ephesians 4:15-16

We have talked a lot about the church and the unity of the body over the last few weeks. But what is the purpose of the church? What is God seeking to do with his body? And what does our passage tell us about the body? As I considered how to answer this question I had an image of a race of men striving together. This was a new race, neither Jew nor Gentile, a third race, something only God could do. This race, though united, was formed of all sorts of people. And this race displayed an amazing organization. The individuals had their own tasks, their own jobs, and they went about their work with a focused determination. They were building something. At times it seemed I could tell what they were building. At times the image was obscured. But they kept working. Perhaps the most amazing thing about this race is what they used for material. They did not work with brick or mortar or steel or wood. They worked with themselves, forming the image with their own lives. They were shaping and molding with tools I could not quite discern, as though some other hand was guiding them in their work.

As work progressed the wolves came howling, prancing about this people, lunging and biting. What a wonder I saw that when the attack of the wolves was fiercest, the image being formed shone brightest and they seemed all the more dedicated, committed to their work.

Finally, at the end of time, their work was at an end. All of the building, striving, growing, shaping, molding reached its final conclusion as each individual of this race took on a new appearance and together the whole body of them shone with one resounding image. I saw through them one who looked like a lamb that had been slain from before the foundation of the world. I saw the Son of God. He was brilliant and I could only stand awe-struck in the gaze of his holiness. This race, this body, this church fully reflected the glory of the living God. At last her ages-long struggle had been brought to completion, the work of God finished, and the body of Christ now fully the image of Christ and God was glorified.

Christian, member of the body of Christ, here is our purpose, here is what God is doing with his church.

Throughout chapter 4 of Ephesians we have seen several teachings about the unity and growth of the body. Early in the chapter Paul called on us to walk worthy of our calling. We are called to reflect Christ – walk worthy of him! Walk in humility and gentleness and patience and love and unity and peace. We need to celebrate the work God has done for us and is now doing through us. He has saved us by his grace and is now shaping us into the likeness of Christ so that as he is holy we too might be holy. He has given gifts to his body so that we all have something to do, a way to contribute to his work. And he has given gifted people to his body, first the apostles and prophets to establish his church and to give the words of Scripture, then he gave the evangelists to spread the gospel across the earth, then he gave the pastors and teachers to continually deliver to people the pure meat of the Word of God, to equip the body of Christ so that believers will be able to do the work of building the body, shaping the body into the likeness of Christ. By that grounding in the Word, we will become mature, unified in our faith and knowledge of God, taking on the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. And becoming like Christ, we will not be like children who are easily tossed by the wind and waves of doubt or deceit, led about by the crafty cunning of scheming men.

If maturity leads us away from instability, what does it lead us to? The answer is in Ephesians 4:15-16. Simply put, maturity leads to Christ.

Paul begins this passage by saying that the mature believer will speak the truth in love. Do not miss all that this implies. There are many wolves today who would throw truth to the wind and let it drift about like a worthless trinket. In the name of humility they proclaim their own subjective feelings to be more important than the objective truth given by God.

In our vision earlier of the third race, if the builders had been the sort that did not love the truth there would have been no image formed by their work. Christ would never have been displayed for none of them would have had any idea what he really looked like! They might say he had a face and a nose and maybe eyes but the color and shade and intensity and shape would have been distorted beyond recognition. To be formed into the image of Christ we must know who he is and knowing who he is means holding to his truth. We are able to know the truth because it was delivered to us by the one who defined it to begin with.

As we live in fellowship with one another and as we reach out to the world we are to share the truth from God. You cannot keep it to yourself, you must be about the business of sharing with others this grand vision of the goodness and glory of God, the sinfulness of man, salvation from Christ. And as you share your attitude should be like that of Christ himself. Paul tells us specifically to speak the truth in love. The in love is important here. It is not enough to scream truth at people, it must be delivered from a loving heart. Christian, we must speak truth! And we must do so in love. More than just speak it, we must live it out! Let people see it through our actions! And by our actions, they see our love! How are we as individuals and as a church showing the world both the truth of God and the goodness of his love?

Paul goes on to say that as we speak the truth in love we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ. Here we see the goal of our growth. You are not a Christian in order to magnify yourself, you are a Christian to show Christ. This is what you were created for, this is what you were saved for! Christian, do you want to know real delight in this world? It does not come by pampering yourself. The world offers us countless ways to pamper ourselves and sooner or later we start to believe this is what life is all about and even God becomes just another way for us to be pampered. You were created for his glory and were saved to reflect him before all creation.

This growth should touch every aspect of our lives. Paul does not say we are to partly grow into Christ, he says we are to grow up in every way… into Christ. Take all that you are and hand it over to God and say, “Here, Lord, do with this what you will. Make me to reflect you fully.” We saw this just a few verses back, in verse 13 where Paul says the mature believer will attain the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. You can’t have just some of him. You cannot pick and choose the bits you life. You grow into him in every way, you receive his full stature, or you get none of him. The hope and promise for believers is that one day this work will be completed.

In verse 16 Paul continues his description of Christ and his relationship to the body: 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.

In this verse we see four things about Christ and his body. First, just as we saw that Christ is the goal of growth, we also see that Christ is the source of growth. We see this from the very start of the verse where Paul says that from whom – that is, from him – the joining and holding and equipping and growth come. Be sure you keep in mind the goal of growth. Paul is not talking about numbers, he is talking about Christlikeness. Individuals within the body and the body itself experiences true growth when its members become more like Christ. When we find ourselves becoming more like Christ we must not imagine that we cause our own growth. There is work we must do but the church does not grow because believers labor for growth. Believers labor because Christ is at work in them. Paul describes the source of growth in 1 Cor 3:7 where he says, So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The work is the Lord’s. As we continue to labor as a church to help each member and each visitor grow in the likeness of Christ we need not seek the latest fad or gimmick of the Christian world. Our greatest tools are Scripture and prayer. We immerse our church in prayers to our Lord as we build Christians into Christ through the giving of his word. Christians then become like Christ as Jesus works his Word in them so that in all they do they are living out the truth with a loving heart.

The second thing we see about Christ and his body is that Christ holds his body together.. The body, Paul says, is joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, and this joining, holding, and equipping comes from Jesus. We already saw back in verse 11 that Christ gives to his church those who will equip the church. Christ did not draw us together only to have us fragment and split into uselessness. We must see in the work of the church and in the work of those called to lead the church this heart for the growth and unity of the body. God did not give preachers to build small empires to themselves but to help people grow in him.

Third, each part of the body is expected to be working together as each part has been equipped. We see this most clearly in 1 Corinthians 12 where Paul has much to say about spiritual gifts in the body of Christ. God has given each Christian – including you – gifts and abilities to use for the good of the church. Too often we ignore the significance of what we have been given. Whether our abilities seem great or small to us, they are all necessary for the church. Listen to how Paul describes the importance of our work: when each part is working properly, makes the body grow… The body grows when each part is working properly. If we hold back, if we fail to serve, if we make excuses, finding ways to justify our sinful neglect of Christ’s body, we harm ourselves and we harm the church. This is selfishness and this is disobedience. God has called you and saved you and equipped you and united you to himself, joining you with a host of believers and if you would be obedient to him you must be active in his body, using your gift for the good of others and the glory of God. The good news is that Christ’s work to bring us growth does not ultimately depend on our present willingness or faithfulness. We know of many who claim the name of Christ but are willfully disobedient to carry out this command of work within the body. But God will accomplish his work. All will be joined together and shaped into the image of Christ. And the day will come, on the other side of eternity, when Christ’s body will work together exactly as she should.

The fourth point about Christ and his body is that when the parts of the body work together, the body will grow and be built up in love. This little passage, verses 15-16, ends where it began: in love. The love of God is not the love of the world, a romantic, often shallow thing, tossed about with the winds of emotion. We mentioned that 1 Corinthians 12 contains great instruction about spiritual gifts. 1 Corinthians 13 contains great instruction about love. Listen to verses 4-7: Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it his not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Christian, this is to be your way with one another and with the world.

Having seen all these things, it should be clear to us that the body of Christ is important to God. This is his vehicle to make us more like Christ. It is through the church that Christians grow and are nourished and guided and shepherded. It is through the church that believers minister and serve, exercising their gifts and organizing to spread the gospel to the world. Participation in the body of believers is not an option, an accessory for your life. It is vital. There are those who for matters of health cannot regularly participate. Many others choose not to. Make it your commitment to be regularly and active among the people of God. That includes participation in the worship life of the church as we gather on Sundays and Wednesdays but it is not limited to these times. The church today knows so little of the community of the early church. We need more of the community found in Acts 2:42-47 where the believers lived life together. We need to share our struggles with each other. We need to share our joys. We need to be filled with Christ and help one another grow in our faith and love and good works and the fullness of Christ among us.

Through these things the body grows, we become like Christ, and God is glorified. Without these things we shrivel and die. Faithfulness may not lead to numeric growth but it will lead to a vibrant life of the body. Looking at the church in America today, we do not see this vibrant life. Let us commit to being a true church of Jesus Christ, a true body of believers, painting the picture we looked at earlier in the service, a picture of the glory and the splendor of Christ.

There will be a special discussion on the state of the church during our monthly business meeting on Wednesday, October 21. All members are encouraged to be present for this important discussion.

A speaker from the Gideon’s will be with us during the morning service on Sunday, October 18th.

On Sunday, October 25th the Brotherhood of Immanuel will sponsor a pancake supper to benefit world hunger. Come ready to give to help feed those around the world who do not have enough food. The pancake supper will begin at 7:00, following the evening service.

The 75th annual meeting of the Northwest Coast Baptist Association will take place on Thursday, October 15th, at First Baptist, Panama City. First session begins at 4:30 with a meal at 6:00 and the second session at 7:00.

The following is our menu for the Wednesday evening fellowship meal on October 21st.

Roast beef
Rice
Green lima beans
Corn
Rolls
Dessert

The meal will begin at 5:30 in the fellowship hall. Those unable to attend can still come at 6:15 for the prayer time and Bible study.

Cost for meals is $5.00 per adult or $3.00 per child.

As I write this message 20 of us are looking forward to our trip to Orlando for the Senior Adult Celebration. And, as you read this message, we are back and ready to tell you all about our experience. Because of past years I know we came back spirit-filled.

Now for more details about our trip in November to Brundidge. The $25.00 for dinner & show tickets is due now. The balance of trip to include motel and transportation is $49.00 due by November 1st. We will leave on November 13th and return November 14th. We will attend the dinner & show on Friday night and on Saturday we will have lunch in Abbeville at Huggin’ Molly. There are 20 planning to make this trip.

Stay involved – We meet for our regular November luncheon on Tuesday, November 10th.

Martha

Toward the end of the kingdom of Israel, the people faced coming judgment. God was bringing the Assyrians against them because of their many sins. As the people of Israel saw the threat grow, they pursued various means to protect themselves, each of their means following the ways of the world. Never did they turn back to the Lord in faithfulness.

King Hoshea paid tribute to the Assyrians to pacify them while also negotiating with the Egyptians, working to convince them to bring up their army against the Assyrians. When the Assyrian king learned of this plot he invaded Israel and carried the people into exile.

King Hoshea’s actions were carried out against the command of God. In Isaiah 31:1 God speaks through the prophet, Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord!

In Psalm 146:3 we receive another reminder not to put our hope for deliverance in men: Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. Then in verse 5: Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God.

Christian, put your trust in God for all things. We must live in the world until God calls us home but our hope is not in the world and its ways, our hope is in the God if Jacob, the holy one of Israel, the Lord our Savior and Redeemer, our good shepherd, our creator, our provider, our sustainer. Oh people of God, put your trust in the Lord!

Ezra, Nehemiah

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This sermon was preached by Rev. Chris Roberts during the evening service on October 11, 2009.

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Presentation notes

Ephesians 4:11-14

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This sermon was preached by Rev. Chris Roberts during the morning service on Sunday, October 11, 2009.

Our text this morning is Ephesians 4:11-14 which fits into the broader context of Ephesians 4:1-16 and the immediate context of verses 11-16. I want us to start by reading this immediate context, Ephesians 4:11-16.

A few weeks ago we took a look at verses 9-12 which describe God’s gift to the church, men who will shepherd and teach and guide the people of God. We noted from this passage that the work of pastoral ministry is to equip the saints so that all the saints of God would be equipped and working to carry out the ministry of Christ. We are all called to be ministers. The pastor’s calling is not to do the ministry of the church but to help all the saints effectively carry out the ministry of the church. This work is accomplished primarily through delivering, instructing, and growing people in the knowledge and application of the Word of God.

Verses 13-16 describe something of what equipped Christians should and should not look like. It gives the traits of the mature believer. So in verse 11 we see the gift God has given to the church, preachers of the Word of truth. In verses 12-13 we see what Christians should become, what we are growing into. Verse 14 tells us what our growth is leading us to avoid – what we are growing away from. And verses 15-16 tells us what we are to embrace, what our growth is leading us into.

So in verse 11 we see the giving of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. The work of these is described in verse 12 as to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. Three weeks ago, along with looking at the giving of the men called in verse 11, we looked at what is meant by the work in verse 12 so we will not spend much time here this morning. Briefly, we recall, as we have said, that all Christians are being built up for ministry. We call the pastor a minister. The worship leader is a minister. Missionaries are ministers. And we often forget that in fact every Christian is a minister. We are all called to do the work of the Lord.

As we labor for the Lord, the church will be built up. This building up can take place in two ways: numerically, and spiritually. We are often discontent when growth does not take the form of numbers. “Well, no one has joined in a while, so the church is not growing.” But what does the Lord see? Are numbers his only concern for growth? Or does he want his people to grow, to strengthen, to become more like Christ? In fact, this passage before us focuses on the growth of believers not in numbers but in spiritual maturity. As the people of God are faithful to carry out the ministry of God, the body of Christ grows in its maturity and faithfulness.

So Paul gives us in verse 13 three traits of the mature believer: 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.

The first of these, the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, may look like two items but Paul refers to one unity that is accomplished by faith and by knowledge. Throughout his letters Paul is clear on the importance, no, the necessity of both faith and knowledge. Over and over he is calling on believers to rest in Christ by faith and his letters are absolutely saturated with rich, deep, faithful knowledge about God and his work among men. Paul does not want ignorant Christians. He wants Christians rooted in the truth.

But when we look at the church around the world we wonder how such unity could ever take place. So many “types” of believers with such a variety of beliefs and practices. We exercise our faith in different ways and express different ideas about God, different claims to knowledge. But Paul calls for unity in our faith and knowledge of the Son of God. And note the first word in verse 13: until. Until we attain to all three of the things he calls for in verse 13. Not if, but until. God has given shepherds to oversee his church until the church becomes what God wants it to be.

This means these descriptions are not possibilities but promises of things to come. Can there ever be unity in a body that seems so divided? Yes! By the grace of God we will one day be brought to full conformity to the image of Christ.

Today such variety exists because of the limitations of sinful men. No one has ever been able to see the whole picture, and ever since the Fall, sin has been clouding what bits and pieces we were able to see. There are things in the Bible that can be hard to understand. There are cultural and ethnic biases that influence our thinking. And there is a great distance between us and the events of Scripture, adding to our difficulty. But we rest in the assurance that God wants us to know him and the truth he has given to us. He did not give us the Bible to leave us in confusion, he gave us the Bible to clear away the mist. The day will come when this is all fulfilled. The day is described by John in 1 John 3:2: …we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. The cloud of sin will be swept away and we will see him and we will know him truly, without error. Until that day, God will continue to send pastors and teachers to guide the teaching and work of the church, working for the day of the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God.

The second trait of the mature believer is mature manhood. Literally this reads a full-grown man. This contrasts with what Paul tells us not to be in verse 14: so that we may no longer be children. It has been rightly said that it is one thing to have the faith of a child, it is another to simply be childish. There are far too many childish Christians. Paul wants believers to strive for maturity, to be full-grown in the faith. We will see more about this as we look at verse 14.

The third trait is that believers attain the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. What this mouthful essentially means is Paul wants us to accomplish what he says down in verse 15: we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ. In every way we are to be like Christ. We cannot hoard any part of our life and say, “Christ can have the others, but this part I will keep for myself to sin as I wish.” And as we saw before, we know that one way or another Christ will accomplish this work in the lives of all who are his. If you are not his, you will not become like him. If you are not becoming like him, you should stop and consider your relationship with him. Growth is not an option in the Christian life. How can you claim to be his if you are not becoming like him?

Paul says we are to attain to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. The measure indicates how much of the fullness of Christ we are to have. Filled to the measure. All the way to the top. Another drop and we would overflow. If you could measure all of Christ’s dimensions, all of his character, all of his holiness and righteousness, this is what you are to be.

Stature would be strength, maturity. We are to reach the full measure of the strength, the edification, the solidity of Christ. This becomes important in verse 14. Too many Christians are tossed about by the winds. But when you grow into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, nothing can move you. Not because you are immovable but because Christ who fills you will not allow anything to shake you.

As we grow in his stature we are filled with his fullness. This is what Paul prayed for back in Eph 3:19: that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. You will have his presence within you. His Spirit will guide you, his glory will shine through you, Christ will be displayed by you. When the world sees you, they see Him.

But then we come to verse 14 and the reminder that not all Christians are were they ought to be. In fact, we know that no Christian this side of Heaven has grown to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. But some Christians are so far from maturity that Paul warns us against being like them 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.

We live in the age of the superficial, immature Christian. All around are believers who are content with a shriveled shell of faith and weak, atrophied bones and empty minds filled with the slop and mush of the world. The age of trends, fads for Christ. Popular movements and preachers come and go and believers flock to the latest Christian self-help book, seeking pop psychiatry disguised as Christian truth.

Believers, be grounded in the Word of God. Know the Scriptures. Seek a deeper faith and stronger knowledge of God. There are too many Christians who do not concern themselves with the things of Scripture. God has not given us his Word so that we can look at it and say of this or that passage, “Well, I don’t think I really need to know what that means. I have faith! I don’t have to concern myself with that passage.”

Such Christians tend to be children, tossed about by every wave and carried by every wind of doctrine. They have never tied off on the moorings of Scripture so they are carried off by every clever sounding con-man.

Believers, we live in a world hostile to our faith and not all who claim the name of Christ speak faithfully for him. We noted back in verses 11-12 that the work of the pastor teacher is to ground his people in Scripture. Why is this so important? Why is it not more important for the pastor to socialize, build relationships, be a community mover and shaker? These things can be useful in pastoral work, but why are they not primary? Why does Scripture come first?

Because we are not born mature in the faith. We are born spiritual infants but God would not have us stay that way. He would have us grow in maturity and depth. But there are a host of forces out there opposed to the truth of Scripture. One way or another, they muddy the waters, trying to cause doubt or trying to lead believers away from absolute trust and reliance on the Word of God.

Listen again to how Paul describes such men: carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. These men know how to deceive people. They have cunning, craftiness, deceit. They are skilled at leading sheep astray. Your defense against them is knowledge of the Word of God. Do not be a wave-tossed, wind-carried child. Be a mature Christian, grounded firmly in the word of God, growing in faith and knowledge of the Son of God, gaining maturity, transforming into the measure of the stature of the fullness of God.