Pursuing Maturity in an Immature Culture

1:18This is God's Word. You may be seated. Before we get started, we should rejoice this morning. We had a couple of births this week. Pastor Derek and Callie. Had their son Liam three days ago, and so we can rejoice with our brother and sister in Christ and celebrate that with them. And then just a couple days ago, Ryan and Sarah Price, Ryan is our deacon of worship here at New Life, they had their baby girl, and so they added a girl to that family of three boys, and they're rejoicing and excited, and so we can rejoice with them. So, just something that we can all celebrate together, church, and just encourage them in any way you can. I just encourage you to pray for them during this time of transition as well.

2:02When does a child become an adult? It's a relevant question with respect to thinking about new births and new life in our congregation. When does a child become an adult? Well, legally, they become an adult at 18. I mean, after all, that's when you can vote. That's when you'll be tried as an adult in a court of law. It's when you can join the military. But not everyone becomes an adult at age 18, apparently, because you can't buy alcohol at 18, you can't rent a car, can't run for elected office in most cases at that age. So maybe there's more to it than that. So, when is it? When do you become an adult?

2:46Is it when you become financially independent? When you get married, when you buy a house, when you have children, I think we all would agree that while those things are often common marks, Markers of adulthood, many people achieve those markers without actually attaining adulthood's truly defining characteristic, which is maturity. Look on the screen at 1 Corinthians 13, verse 11. Paul says, When I was a child, I spoke like a child. I thought like a child. I reasoned like a child.

3:25When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. You see, the key difference between a child and an adult isn't whether one is financially independent, whether you're married, whether you own a home or have children. The key difference is maturity. And the telltale sign of maturity is responsibility. Taking responsibility for yourself and others. But unfortunately, we live in an immature culture. A culture that's made up of men and women who are increasingly unwilling to take responsibility for themselves or for others. And sadly, that immaturity, that unwillingness to take responsibility for ourselves or others, has crept into the church as well.

4:20And the result is that we have a whole generation of professing Christians who don't know how to feed themselves spiritually, who are dependent upon. Famous authors and podcast preachers for their spiritual nourishment and who don't take responsibility for the spiritual well-being of other Christians in their lives. Along with Cain, we ask, Am I my brother's keeper? We refuse to take responsibility for one another, and the result is, in many cases, an immature church with stunted spiritual growth and an uncompelling witness to the lost world around us.

5:02And so, friends, as we look at Ephesians 4, verses 11 through 16, we're going to meditate on the fact that we are called by God to pursue maturity in an immature culture for our own good, for the good of other believers around us, and yes, for the good of the lost world as well. And so, what we're going to learn today through this passage is that when every member ministers, the body of Christ matures. So, let's look at the text together, starting in verse 11.

5:35And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers. Before Jesus ascended into heaven after his resurrection from the dead, he promised that he would not leave us alone, but that he would send us a helper, the Holy Spirit, who would teach us and encourage us, and who would also give us spirituality. Spiritual gifts that would empower us for ministry. And some of these gifts also came with what we could call an office, a particular role in the church body.

6:13And in this passage, Paul mentions four offices that Christ gave to the church. He mentions, first, apostles. That word means one commissioned, in the sense of one that's been sent with a message. The original apostles, the 11 disciples, plus Matthias and Paul, were eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ and were commissioned directly by God to spread the gospel and plant churches. And so in this particular case, we can distinguish between the office and the gifting. Many people today have the gift of apostleship, the gift of being sent out with the message to start new works, to start new churches, to start new missionary endeavors across the world. But the office of apostle is closed.

7:03There are no more eyewitnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ who have been directly commissioned by God to go out with that message. Secondly, he mentions prophets, the office of prophet, one who delivers the word of God, almost always calling people to repentance, faith, or both. And so, again, with this particular gifting, we can distinguish. Between the gift and the office. I believe there are many people who are gifted, as Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 12 or Romans 12, with the gift of prophecy, with declaring the Word of God in power.

7:45But the office of prophet, of course, is closed. If the office of prophet were still open, then every time someone spoke, we would have to add their words along with the word of God, the scriptures. It would be binding upon every single believer at all places and all times, just like the word of God in the scriptures. And so we see that he's given prophets to the church. Thirdly, he mentions evangelists. This Greek word comes from the word meaning the good news.

8:18And so an evangelist is literally one who announces the good news, one who goes about talking of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, calling people to repentance and faith, sometimes in areas where the gospel has never been preached before, sometimes in places where the gospel has been preached. And then you have shepherds and teachers, or this can be translated shepherd teachers. Paul may have one office or two offices in mind here. It's important to note the definite article, the word the, does not appear before the word teachers.

8:55So you have the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and then the shepherds. Shepherds and teachers, which is why most students of the word believe that this is referring to one office, two gifts, but one office, the shepherd-teacher. And of course, this is in line with what we find everywhere that Paul and others talk about elders in the New Testament. What is their work? The work of an elder or pastor in the church is to shepherd the flock, is to care for them, to watch over them. And they do this primarily through teaching, through preaching and teaching the Word of God.

9:33Shepherds and teachers are given to the body as well. And so, what do you notice about these four offices? What is similar in each one of these offices that Paul names? All of them are carrying out word-centered ministry. And that makes sense because Christianity is a word-centered faith. God spoke the world into existence with only his word. We see that God calls his people to himself by his word, sometimes directly, as in the case of Moses, as in the case of some of the prophets, sometimes indirectly through evangelists, through apostles, through others. But God calls his people to himself by his word. Then in the New Testament, we Read about Jesus of Nazareth, we see that Jesus came to fulfill all the words that God had spoken about the promised Messiah. His life and death and resurrection for his people were the fulfillment of all the words that God had spoken, saying that the promised Messiah would come.

10:49And then God reveals his will to his people through pastor-teachers who open up the word of God and help us to understand it and apply it. And so, friends, Christianity is a word-centered faith, and therefore, our primary task as believers, as men and women of God, is to listen to the word of God, and then, after we've listened to it, to speak it, to speak that word to others. And so, we see that Jesus has called certain believers to fill these roles in the church, to be in these positions of spiritual leadership. But every one of us is called to word-centered ministry, as we'll see soon in the text.

11:38Now, we're going to ask the question: why did Jesus give these gifted people to the church? So, look with me at verse 12. Paul says that he gave these people to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. Now, this is a real challenge to most modern thinking. But then again, it's a challenge to most of the thinking that has prevailed in the church for 2,000 years. You notice here in verse 12, God did not call these spiritual leaders to do the work of ministry for the saints. These people are not called to do the work of ministry for the saints, but to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.

12:34This word equip means to make someone completely adequate or sufficient for something. It is, in other words, to give them the training and the tools that they need to complete a task. My grandfather was a carpenter in the greater Houston area. He framed homes in the mid-20th century. And he learned his trade almost a hundred years ago in the same way that carpenters learn the trade today. You apprentice with a master carpenter who shows you how to use the tools, who gives you the training that you need to complete any task in building.

13:22So once an apprentice has learned all of the tools and has had all of the training that he or she needs, then that person becomes a carpenter. One who is fully equipped for the task of building. And in the same way, God gave his church spiritual leaders to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to give us the training and the tools that we all need to do the task of building up the body of Christ.

13:53The church is often described in the New Testament as the body of Christ. And that metaphor makes plenty of sense when you understand why God calls us that. Look on the screen at 1 Corinthians 12. Paul writes, The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable. And on those parts of the body that we think less honorable, we bestow the greater honor. And on our unpresentable parts, we are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together. If one member is honored, all rejoice together.

15:02We know that our human bodies are made up of individual parts. Some of those parts are external and obvious. Some of those parts are internal and not obvious. Some of them play a larger role in our body. Some of them play a smaller role. But every part of our body is important. And in the same way, some members of the church play roles that are larger, and some play roles that are smaller. Some play roles that are out front and obvious, and others play roles that are more behind the scenes. But in every single case, every single member of the body is important.

15:43That's why spiritual leaders must equip all the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. And that's why every single one of us must do our job to do the work of building up the body of Christ. When this is not happening, the body of Christ gets lopsided, like a minion who always skips leg day. You have a situation where spiritual leaders are not equipping the body of Christ or some part of the body of Christ. Or the body of Christ actually is equipped, but the members are not doing the work that they've been called to do in the scripture.

16:30The New Testament is clear. Every single Christian has been called and gifted by the Holy Spirit to do the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ. And my concern is that it's becoming more and more common in America for professing Christians to come and sit and watch gifted people do the work of ministry. There are many people out there asking the question: is the megachurch dying? Is the megachurch going away? No. The megachurch is the fastest-growing segment in American Christianity.

17:13And in many cases, large churches are doing outstanding work for the gospel, for the kingdom of God. But in some cases, people are flocking to megachurches so they can sit and watch ministry be done. So they can sit under the most gifted preacher or the most gifted worship team and watch being spectators sitting on the bench as ministry is done for them. But friends, the scripture is so clear that you and I are called to do the work of the ministry. You and I are called to build up the body of Christ.

18:00Not called to simply be spectators who watch other gifted men and women do the work of ministry. Paul wants us to understand that spiritual leaders were given to equip the saints for the work of ministry, but that the work of ministry belongs to every member of the body of Christ. And in verses 13 and 14, Paul is going to share with us God's end goal, the purpose for building up the body. Look at verse 13 now.

18:32Until 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, 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. How long are spiritual leaders to equip the saints for the work of ministry? And how long are the saints to go on building up the body of Christ?

19:14Paul says, until we all attain the unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God, until we have reached full maturity, looking like Jesus Christ in every way. So in the church, job security is not a problem for any one of us. Every one of us has an important job to do as long as the body of Christ is not fully unified in the knowledge of the Son of God, as long as the body of Christ has not reached full maturity, looking just like Jesus, every one of us has work to do.

19:56If you've read chapters 2 and 3 in the book of Ephesians before, you know that a central theme of those chapters is Christian unity. Paul is making the point that through faith in Christ, both Jews and Gentiles have been reconciled to God. You see, so often in the American church and in the West in general, we think only in individualistic terms that God came and sent his Son Jesus to reconcile us individually to him. Well, that is certainly true. I mean, Paul, after all, says in Galatians 2.20 that Christ loved me and gave himself for me.

20:37So yes, it is true that Jesus came for you and for me individually. But it is just as true, and it is even more important, I think, for us to understand that Jesus' life, death, and resurrection did not just achieve unity with God for us individually, it achieved unity with one another, horizontally. Horizontally. He came to unify us, to reconcile us not just to himself, but to one another. Jew and Gentile, slave and free, man and woman, rich and poor, all of us, through faith in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, have been unified to God together and have been unified with one another as well.

21:25The issue, of course, is that this is a declared reality. What I mean by that is that God states: through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you all are unified. This is a declared reality. It's similar to justification that we learn about in the scripture. When we place our faith in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, we are declared righteous by God. We're not actually made righteous in that moment. All of us know we continue to struggle with sin, continue to struggle with temptation.

22:04But we are declared righteous the moment that we place our faith in Jesus. We will be made righteous at a later time. When Jesus returns, we will all be glorified. For now we are declared righteous. And in the same way, he declares us to be unified right now. But look on the screen at Ephesians 4, the beginning of the chapter. Paul writes this: I, therefore, a prisoner for The Lord urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Did you see what he said there? Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. So, in other words, through faith in Christ, we have been unified. That's a declared reality, but it's a reality that has to be maintained. And as we saw in the scripture that we're looking at, verses 11 through 16, it's something that has to be attained as well.

23:14You see a picture of this in marriage. We have gone to several weddings this summer. And what happens in a wedding ceremony is that when the couple say their vows aloud before God and to one another, and the officiant pronounces them husband and wife, in that moment, the two have been declared one. There is unity from the moment that they say, I do. But as any married person will tell you, it takes time and patience and effort to attain and maintain that unity that is a declared. Reality.

24:03Just because a husband and wife are declared to be one doesn't mean that they will always act that way. And in the same way, the church, we have been declared one in Christ Jesus, but we have to work to attain and maintain that unity that we have. And so spiritual leaders are to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until the body is fully mature. Until we all look more and more and then finally fully like Jesus. Now, friends, this task has always been difficult. 2,000 years of Christian history, this has always been hard, but it's even harder today.

24:46And it's harder today because you and I are called to pursue maturity in an immature culture. God calls us to put away childish things and to take responsibility for ourselves and for others. But in our culture, freedom from responsibility is idolized. I just read recently that 46% of video game players are over the age of 36. 46% of video game players are over the age of 36. They are old enough to run for President of the United States.

25:36One-third of video game sales are of games that are rated M for mature. That means they are intended for an audience that is 17 or older. And this is not to say that playing video games is evil or sinful, simply to point out the reality that our culture idolizes freedom from responsibility. And the number of adult men in particular that spend hours per day playing video games is symptomatic of that reality. God calls us to honor and respect our elders, but in our culture, youth is idolized.

26:21Instead of honoring older men and women regarding their wisdom and experience, we push them aside. We push them out of careers in the business world. We push them out of politics. We push them out of our homes. We even push them out of the church. We live in a culture where youth is idolized. God calls us to be self-controlled, especially with our words. But in our culture, freedom of expression is idolized. We live in a culture where grown men and women believe it is not only their right to vent about whatever they want. To on social media, but almost that it's their responsibility to do so. As though the rest of the world wants and needs to know what we think about every single thing.

27:14So much of it qualifies biblically as slander. You look up slander, do a study on what that is in Scripture, and you read the posts on social media, that's what you've got. Men and women posting content that is specifically designed not to build up, but to tear down. Paul says that our words should give grace to those who hear. That's the opposite of what we see on social media. God calls us to unity in the midst of diversity. But in our culture, unanimity is idolized.

27:55And so the message that we hear in our culture is: you either agree with me or you're on the wrong side of history. If you won't change your mind, you have to be silenced. If you won't be silenced, you have to be shamed. If you won't be shamed, you have to be fined or jailed. That's the progression that you see in our culture. And all of these things are pointing to a culture that is increasingly immature. A culture filled with metaphorical children who are tossed to and fro by the waves, blown. About by every wind of doctrine, whether theological or otherwise.

28:36And you and I, as those who profess faith in Jesus, are called to pursue maturity in the midst of this immature culture. This immature culture that has infiltrated, in many cases, the local church. Friends, we're called to take responsibility first for ourselves and then for others around us that God has placed in our lives through the local church. Paul's words to the Romans 2,000 years ago are as relevant today as they were then. Look at Romans 12:2 on the screen. Paul says, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

29:28Church, we must not be conformed to this world. A world that idolizes freedom from responsibility, a world that idolizes youth, a world that idolizes freedom of expression, a world that idolizes unanimity. We must not be conformed to this world. We must press on, as Paul will say in other scriptures, toward maturity, so that we, the plural, we, may present everyone mature in Christ as He. Says in Colossians 1 that we read earlier today. That's the goal. We must work together to build up the body of Christ until we are fully mature. But Paul doesn't just stop at the exhortation. He tells us how we're supposed to do this in verses 15 and 16. Look there with me.

30:23Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, 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. So in this section, Paul answers the question, how? How exactly are we to build up the body of Christ so that we all become mature in faith?

31:00And Paul's answer is, by speaking the truth in love. That's the method God has given to us to ensure that we all grow up in every way into Christ. We're called to speak the truth in love. Notice that both truth and love are necessary. Neither truth nor love is sufficient on its own. But we have to speak the truth in love. Non-Christians need the truth of the gospel in order to be saved. And Christians need the truth of the gospel in order to mature in Christ. Both of us need the truth and we need it spoken in love.

31:45Look on the screen at this familiar passage, 1 Corinthians 13, 1 through 7. And before I read this, let me note, this is not in a section of the Bible entitled Wedding Ceremony Readings. That does not exist. It is noteworthy that this passage that many of us are very familiar with, even if this is your first Sunday in a worship service ever, you've probably heard some of these words before. We're so familiar with this, it occurs in a context of three chapters where Paul is talking about nothing else than using our spiritual gifts to build up the body of Christ.

32:20So it's not that I don't think it has relevance for marriage. It certainly does. It's just that in context, it's talking about how we are to use our spiritual gifts to build each other up. So listen now to Paul's words. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

32:58If I give away all I have, And if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast. It is 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. Now let me ask you, when you think about these words in the context of the local church, doesn't that transform how you think about them?

33:45It's a lot less when Harry met Sally or the notebook and a lot more, oh, you mean toward that guy or that girl that I avoid because I have a hard time loving them. You mean that person that just kind of grates on me that I see in the hallways on Sunday? Yes, yes, that's who Paul has in mind. He says we are to speak the truth in love. And we see again Paul's emphasis on word-centered ministry and specifically the word-centered ministry of. All Christians. That's who he's talking to. When we speak the truth in love to one another, Paul says we will grow up in every way into Christ. He says that when each part is working properly, when every person is doing his or her job in the local church, the body will grow so that it builds itself up in love.

34:55Our pastors right now are reading a book called The Vine Project. It's the sequel to The Trellis and the Vine that we read a few years back, and we're really enjoying this read. I want to share a quote with you from this book, The Vine Project. Here it is on the screen. The authors say, There is ample and strong evidence that speaking the word of God to others for their salvation and encouragement is an expected and necessary component of the normal Christian life. Correspondingly, a healthy church culture is one in which a wide variety of word ministries are exercised by a constantly growing proportion of the membership.

35:41In other words, when every member ministers, the body of Christ matures. And so, friends, understand, there are many, many ways to serve inside the church here at New Life. In just a few weeks, we'll have a ministry fair on the 20th. 27th of August, you can go and learn about how you can get more connected to serving in the church. But I think oftentimes we think a mature Christian is one who volunteers in many different ways in the church body.

36:14Well, yes, but we need to clarify what we mean by that. Because if Christianity is a word-centered faith and you and I are called to word-centered ministry, then ultimately what we're called to do is to serve one another primarily by speaking the truth in love to each other. So every single ministry here is about that. The folks who serve in the preschool, which I hope you will volunteer to do, they are serving in the preschool with the purpose of speaking the truth in love to one another and to those children that are in their care. They are volunteering in the preschool so that moms and dads can hear the word of truth spoken in love.

37:06Those who are outside during the school year parking cars when we have two services, they're doing that so that others can hear the word of God spoken in truth and in love. Every single ministry that we have, this is the goal, to put you in position either to hear the word spoken in truth and in love, or to put you in position to speak. The truth and love to one another. That's the big goal. Spiritual leaders are called by God to equip the saints for the work of ministry. Our job is to equip you to build up the body of Christ so that we all together become fully mature. And the method that God gives us for building up the body is speaking the truth and love to one another.

37:55Most of you know, especially and hopefully if you're members here, our mission statement. Our mission statement is to preserve and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to make mature disciples of all nations for the glory of God. We say that everything we do, preserving and proclaiming the gospel, is with that end goal of making mature disciples of all nations, starting here in College Station. And so all of our programming is set up and structured to make mature disciples.

38:35So Sunday morning worship is structured so that we read and sing and pray the Word of God. So that pastor teachers can step forward and help us understand and then apply God's Word so that we are all equipped for the work of ministry. Sunday evening discipleship, which will kick back off again in two weeks on the 27th. Sunday evening discipleship is structured to help both children and adults develop a biblical worldview. So we know what the Bible teaches when we are confronted with ideas and situations that challenge a biblical worldview. That's true of our men's and women's ministries as well. Some who were equipped for the work of ministry lead in these areas on Sunday night. They're the ones speaking the truth in love. And then for others, it's an additional time for training and equipping to give you the tools that you need to do the work of ministry.

39:35And then our life groups. Most of you have attended a life group before or a part of a life group. Our life groups are structured to put you in meaningful relationships with other believers where we can speak the truth in love to one another. I've had people say through the years, we've been a local church now for going on nine years. I've had people say to me several times over the years, yeah, I went to a life group, but I just didn't get much out of it.

40:08And on the one hand, I'm sorry to hear that, but you're going to be mad at your blender if you want it to make you a cup of coffee. That's not what it's for. Life group is not primarily so that we can go and get something out of it. Life group is primarily to get out of the city. To put you in meaningful relationships with others so that you can speak the truth in love to other believers, or so that you can speak the truth in love to non-Christians who have joined the gathering that night. It's to give you an opportunity to take responsibility for other Christians in your life and to help them mature. That's the purpose of Life Group.

40:56And so, friends, in God's wisdom, the way that we make mature disciples can't be boiled down to taking a few classes or participating in a certain process. In God's wisdom, making mature disciples is the result of spiritual leaders equipping the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. And then, when those saints go and speak the truth in love to one another, I love processes, I love systems and structures, I love A plus B equals C outcomes, I love all of those things.

41:39But, friends, the process of becoming a mature disciple cannot be boiled down to something like that. It isn't a clean and linear and straightforward process. The process of becoming a mature disciple is non-linear. The process of becoming a mature disciple is messy if you. Read the New Testament, the disciples did not go on a linear path from meeting Jesus to becoming a mature disciple. In God's wisdom, the way that mature disciples are made is when you and I take responsibility for each other and speak the truth in love.

42:20When every member ministers, the body of Christ matures. Let's pray.