Paul's Epistles - Ephesians - Part 8:
Unity & Maturity
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org
SERMON INTRODUCTION
In Paul’s 35 years of ministry, since his
conversion in Damascus, we have recorded in the Holy Bible many of his
epistles, or letters.
Paul’s first journey took place from 33AD
(the year of his conversion), through 46AD, leaving Damascus in 38AD.
Paul’s 2nd journey began in
50AD, four years later; during this time he wrote 1st and 2nd
Thessalonians, and Galatians, with his second journey ending in 54AD.
Paul’s 3rd journey began in
55AD and lasted until 58AD where he found himself imprisoned in Judea from
58-60AD. During his 3rd journey Paul wrote 1st and 2nd
Corinthians, and Romans. We have no record of writings from Paul during his
prison time between 58-60AD in Judea.
After his release from Judea, Paul
traveled on his voyage to Rome from 60-61AD, writing Ephesians, Philippians,
Colossians and Philemon, and finding himself in a Roman prison in 63AD.
Released soon after his incarceration,
Paul then writes the epistles Hebrews, 1st Timothy, Titus and his
final letter before his death 2 Timothy, which was written from a Roman prison
he was placed in during 66-68AD.
Though the bible does not tell us when or
how Paul died, it is believed by scholars that he was beheaded in 68AD in May
or June.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE Ephesians 4:1-16
4 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you
to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be
patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond
of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one
hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all
and in all.
7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says:
“When he ascended on high,
he took many captives
and gave gifts to his people.”
he took many captives
and gave gifts to his people.”
9 (What does “he ascended” mean
except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions[c]? 10 He who descended is the very one who
ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to
fill the whole universe.) 11 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.
Paul explains the Body of
Believer’s MUST be in UNITY and MATURITY
The
message of this epistle to the church is “The Church, The Body of Christ”.
I. LIVE A
LIFE WORTHY OF THE CALLING YOU HAVE RECEIVED
a. Be completely
humble
i. Gentle
ii. Patient
iii. Bearing with one another in love
iv. The love of I
Corinthians 13
b. Make every
effort to keep unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace
c. There is one
body
i. One Spirit
ii. Just as you were called to one Hope
iii. One Lord
iv. One Faith
v. One baptism
vi. One God
vii. And one Father of all, who is
1. Over all
2. Through all
3. And in all
II. ASCENDED
IMPLIES THROUGH REASON HE FIRST DESCENDED
a. Vs. 7-8
i. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says: “When
he ascended on high, he
took many captives and
gave gifts to his people.”
b. He ascended higher than the
heavens (ouranos) or “the starry region”
i. In
order to fill the whole universe
1. “fill” (playro’o) meaning literally to Satisfy
c. So Christ gave Apostles,
Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers
i. To
equip His people (the Church or Body of Christ) for service
ii. So that
the Body of Christ may be BUILT UP…not tore down
d. Until we all reach unity in
faith and knowledge of the Son of God
i. Becoming
mature attaining the whole fullness of Christ
III. THEN WE
WILL NO LONGER BE INFANTS
a. Tossed back and
forth by the waves
b. Blown here and
there by every wind of teaching
i. By cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming
c. Instead, we who
are mature will
i. Speak the Truth in Love
ii. Be joined and held together by every supporting
ligament (other mature believers)
iii. And grow and build the Body of Christ up in love
1. As each part does its work
CONCLUSION – FROM HIM, THE WHOLE BODY IS JOINED
Held together by every supporting ligament, grows
and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
If you are living a life WORTHY of being called a
Christian, you will be;
·
Completely
humble, gentle, patient and bearing with one another in the love described in I Corinthians 13
·
You will be
making EVERY effort to keep unity of the Body of Christ through the bond of
peace
·
You will no
longer act as immature; the reason Paul uses the term infant, is because he is
saying those who are immature spiritually are being babies in the Lord!
o
Spiritual
immature infants are self-centered
o
They cry a lot,
especially when they don’t think their needs are being met
o
They are messy,
causing messes and not cleaning them up
o
They are
impatient, they want what they want and they want it five minutes ago
o
They do not
cooperate, cannot submit to others, understand deep things, are unable to
apologize and resist sharing
o
They are
explosive and can “go off” at anything
o
And spiritual
infants are irresponsible; they’re great at expecting a lot from others and nothing from
themselves. They always know who is to blame for all that’s wrong
It’s the nature of the immature to be childish. It’s the natural order
of things for babies to be infantile. We’re not saying otherwise. We love
babies.
Babies can love and laugh and add a great deal to any gathering. The
biggest huggers in any church and the ones most likely to call out a hearty
‘amen’ to the sermon are the newer members, those “fresh in from the cold.”
They add a lot to the church.
But we don’t want to keep our children as toddlers forever. They should
grow.
We’re not against spiritual babies; we just say don’t turn over the
church to them and that everyone goes through that developmental stage.
But to remain a baby forever is unnatural.
Growing
into maturity is the natural order of things. “By this time you ought to be teachers,”
the writer of Hebrews said to some unnamed disciples. “But you need to return
to the first grade and start over with the basic truths of the kingdom” (Hebrews 5:12; paraphrase).
We
don’t tell our babies to grow. It’s the natural order. If we feed and nurture
them, protect and care for them, they will grow. In the Kingdom of God,
Spiritual Growth is a CHOICE, and we ALL must choose to if a Body of Christ is
going to survive.
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