Grow Up - 1
Epistle to the Ephesians
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 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.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth 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. 15 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. 16 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
If we look at the life of Paul, we can extrapolate that he may have lived to be in his sixties. His Damascus Road experience occurred while he was a young man, even early thirties. We know he died before Nero died, since Nero killed him. We do know that Nero died in 68 A.D. So consider this letter, which was written during Paul’s last prison confinement, to have been written before his death in the 60 A.D. plus or minus period. That means Paul was in his sixties when he wrote this letter.
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.
I facilitate a Sunday School class of adults ages sixty plus. I come away from class, so often, thinking about the wise things that are said during our discussion and wish that young adults were participating with us and could hear these things too. Paul is part of a wise group of apostles who have aged and yet, still trying to prepare younger believers to carry on the responsibilities of the church. He wants them to grow up and mature. He desires that they would know the secrets of growth so they can teach newer believers.
We would never expect a baby to thrive if we brought him home from the hospital to a well-prepared nursery, laid him down on the beautiful linens of a fine crib, and just left him there alone. We could tell him, “Grow now and become the person God wants you to be.” If we just left him there, he would not thrive, he would die alone and uncared for no matter how beautifully decorated the room was. God gives newborns parents to nurture them and help them grow.
God gives apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to newborn believers to help them grow. This is the church, equipped to build up the body of Christ. Equipped believers grow beyond infancy. Equipped believers grow spiritually so that every new (or old) idea that comes along can be examined for truth as found in scripture. Equipped believers are not tossed back and forth and blown in every direction by deceitful scheming or deceitful teaching. Equipped believers build up the church in unity and love. They attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Without this maturity, Christians are very vulnerable to deceitful teaching and scheming. They will end up exactly where they don’t want to be.4
As a young family we found ourselves living thousands of miles away from my family. My husband and I, and my parents established a routine of calling each other every Sunday afternoon. There were many times when something had come up where we would ask them what they thought about a particular situation, or about a particular teaching we had heard that we felt was off but couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong. They helped give us clarity.
Paul wants these believers to teach each other, talk to each other, seek help and clarity from each other. He wants them to grow up and become the mature Christians that a younger generation would seek answers from. He wants them to become supporting ligaments growing from one generation to the next and to the next so that unity with Christ and maturity in Christ would be fully supported.
These thoughts leave me with questions. How do I support other believers? Where is it that I still need to “grow up?” How do I help others mature in Christ? Am I, or am I becoming a supporting ligament?
Christ wants us to grow up. We need to utilize the resources he has given us, and we need to be the resources he wants us to be.