Ephesians 4 - 4.21.23
Scripture
Ephesians 4:11-13
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.
Observation
God gave various kinds of leaders to the church with a single purpose in mind: that we ALL become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. The word “mature” in the original Greek is the word teleios and it refers to completeness, the end goal, the final product. And “attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” could be summed up as “perfectly Christ-like.”
The point is that God’s goal is that every believer – whether apostle or accountant, pastor or plumber, teacher or technician – would be equal in spiritual maturity. The goal is that every one of us reaches the end goal of being exactly like Jesus in thought, character, purpose, pursuit, etc.
I imagine each of us as an old classic car. Extremely valuable, yet damaged and worn out and barely running because of sin. Rescued from the junkyard, God purchases us as his own by the blood of Jesus and begins restoring us to our original design and perfection. God isn’t like the guy in our neighborhood who has a car sitting in his driveway on jacks for years waiting to be restored. He doesn’t abandon the project halfway. But like Philippians 1:6 says, he carries on to completion the work he started in each of us. God’s desire for every person he’s purchased is that they become completely restored and finished. And he pulls us, his sons and daughters, into the garage with him and hands us wrenches and paint sprayers and invites us to partner with him in the restoration process.
Application
- Pray today for every person in our church to become mature and move toward complete Christlikeness.
- Ask God for wisdom and favor in equipping and helping people become more like Jesus.
Prayer
God, thank you for all those you have placed in leadership at Desert Streams. I’m asking that you help us to equip every person you bring to us for works of service and to build them up so that we can become fully mature and Christlike. May we each grow as we also help each other grow. We want to be like you Jesus. Transform us by the power of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, amen.
-Levi Thompson