The Letter to the Ephesians   Message nineteen 

    C.  The Preparation of believers to serve the Lord. 

Which we learned of last week –

        (1).  The responsibility of the office holders – Evangelist, Pastors and Teachers.

“…For the perfecting of the saints,…”

How?  By the preaching and teaching of God’s Word!

John 15:11  These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

            (a).  The revelation from the Lord

            (b).  The reason for the revelation from the Lord Read John 15:11

            (c).  The results of the revelation from the Lord Read 1 John 1:1-4, 2 John 4

        (2).  The responsibility of the church members.

“…for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:”

We must note that the gifts given by the Lord to the church were certainly the leaders, but also extend to the members as the member’s service is a direct result of the service rendered by the Apostles, Prophets, Evangelist, and Pastors and teachers…”

Today we begin with –

    4.  The Purpose   What is the Lord looking for as the final result?

Ephesians 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Colossians 1:28  Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

Do you understand the purpose of your position in the church, the place where God has placed you?

We are being equipped and should be equipping others that the world may know that Jesus is Lord.

  D.  The Committed Church serving and growing together.       Ephesians 3:13-16

God has revealed –

    1.  The Characteristics to be desired.  (The complete body)  

(Remember Paul compared the church to a human body)

When we think of a complete person, we are thinking of the person that has everything.  God is supplying everything that we need with the intention that we use all that we have for His glory!

 Ephesians 4:13   Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

In order to accomplish God’s purpose, we must want to be what He will have us to be!

      a.  Unity

      b.  Knowledge

      c.  Maturity 

      d.  Image

           Boys often want to ‘measure up’ to the height of their fathers. When they are teenagers, they want to stand back to back to see if they have reached their goal, or they challenge him to an ‘arm wrestling’ contest to measure their strength.

God desires that a likeness, which cannot be physical, but of character and holiness would be manifested in our lives. His desire as stated  Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…. His character revealed through a holy life.

We should all want to measure up, testing our stature and our strength that we have in and through Him.

It is God’s purpose that we individually and collectively grow into the image of His Son –

Romans 8:29  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

As adult believers, we are expected to have been changed from the way we lived when under condemnation, lost and in bondage to sin –

2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

No doubt, but we are also expected to have changed from the way we lived as babe and little children when we were first born into the family of God.

We are commanded to grow up to maturity –

    2.  The Childish attitudes are to be discarded.

         We all begin as ‘babes in Christ’.

4:14-16.  That we henceforth be no more children, (without understanding, changeable…) –

….That we henceforth be no more children….

From now on not to be what we were – a change should have taken place –

      a.  We are to anticipate normal growth –

1 Peter 2:1-2  Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

1 Corinthians 13:11  When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

Consider this – I would like to read a book about travel and adventure

Jane said, “Look, look. I see a big yellow ear. See the yellow car go.” Sally said, “I see it. I see the big yellow car. I want to go away in it. I want to go away, away.

Dick said, “Look up, Sally. You can see something. It is red and yellow. It can go up, up, up. It can go away.” Sally said, “I want to go up. I want to go up in it. I want to go up, up, up. I want to go up and away.”

(excerpt from the Dick and Jane series readers)

Consider – Is this how God sees us – you?

We are equipped with all that we need to grow – ‘milk, childish things’.

Provided for our good and our growth.

Parents anticipating growth – shoes before you could walk, tricycle when you could walk,

But the time comes that we grow past these things and we put them away.  We apply ourselves to continue growing!

2 Timothy 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Too many believers display No growth in their lives.  They are as those challenged by Paul –

Hebrews 5:12-14  For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Attitudes and actions of those who never mature were condemned by the Lord –

Matthew 11:16-19  But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children (a little boy) sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children. (natural born child of its parents)

The phrase so often repeated by children and young people – “Why can’t I have this, all of the others have them”? 

The decisions are often based on peer pressure instead of careful consideration of the facts.  If a teacher can present a course of action based on what the majority of others seem to be doing, he can convince many to follow him without considering the reasons for their decisions.  A Biblical example of adults acting like children, participating in an action that they do not understand is recorded in –

Acts 19:25-32  Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth. Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth. And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre. And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not. And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the theatre. Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.

They have the same desire as Peter Pan and the Lost Boys….

To never grow up, just continually live out the fantasies of their imaginations –

Expect reward without responsibility.

Expect to receive without giving – not sharing

Defiant instead of dependent

Seek to break down instead of build.

They are –

Ephesians 4:14b  – tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

The next message will give us the answer to the Lord’s command to grow up –

    3.  The challenge to the childlike believer –

 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Are you K4, Primary 5, Secondary 3, university? 

If you are supposed to be k4, great but if you should be Secondary and are still in k4, that is a problem, but it is a problem that you can solve by deciding to grow up in the Lord as He desires you to. 

What is your decision this morning?