Ephesians 4:11-16

The Growth of Unity

Open your Bible to…

Psa. 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

Pray

Intro

√ The growth of unity

You’ll recall that the theme of chapter 4 is our walk of unity.

That is, in view of all that God has done for us Paul calls us to practice what we preach by working to build and maintain the unity of the Church.

Remember, in chapter 3 Paul tells us that Jesus broke down the wall that separated us, let’s not put it back up!

So, each have a duty to help develop unity in the Church by our attitudes toward one another, our behavior toward one another, and the use of our gifts to minister to one another.

In this final section on unity Paul talks about the growth of unity…

The equipping of the saints for grown in unity

The evidence of unity in the lives of the saints

It’s an important section because it gives us the practical tools to we need to grow in unity, and the means to evaluate our own lives to ensure that we are growing in unity.

Ap. It’s all about you!

That is, the focus in these last three chapters in on personal application…

What are you doing to help promote, or to destroy the unity of the church?

It’s not about what the person across the isle is or isn’t doing, the Holy Spirit wants to talk to you this morning about your part in building, maintaining and restoring when it’s broken, the unity of the church.

Equipping for Growth (vs. 11-12)

Eph. 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.

Eph. 4:12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,

√ Equipping for growth

In our last study we found in vs. 11 that Jesus has given the Church gifted-people to help Christians grow to maturity in their faith.

As we pick up vs. 12 we discover that the primary purpose for which Jesus gave us these gifted-people is to…

…equip the saints for the work of the ministry.

That is, the primary job of the leaders in the church isn’t to do ministry, his primary duty is to equip the saints in a local church to do ministry!

If you’re new to Calvary that’s a radical concept!

You may be from a church or denomination whose practice is to hire a pastor to do all of the ministry!

But, the reality is that the Biblical model is that the pastor/leaders of a local church didn’t do all of the ministry…

…rather, they did their part to teach and equip the rest of the church to do the work of the ministry so as to build the unity of the church as each member uses their God-given gift to bless the church.

Ex. The first Church

As you follow the growth and development of the very first church in Jerusalem we find that it didn’t take long before the unity of the church was threatened.

Acts 6:1 Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution.

The “Hebrews” were the Jewish believers from Jerusalem who were very strict in their adherence to the Law.

Dressed like Jews, ate according to the Law of Moses, worshipped on the Sabbath, spoke Aramaic and Hebrew.

The “Hellenists” were the Jewish believers from other parts of the Roman Empire who were not so strict in their adherence to the Law.

Dressed like Greeks or Romans, didn’t follow the Sabbath traditions, spoke Greek or Latin.

As you might imagine there was friction between these groups and it showed up in the form of prejudicial treatment of the widows in the church.

The Hebrew widows got fed.

The Hellenist widows got nothing.

That prejudice threatened to destroy the beautiful unity of the church that we saw in Acts 2-5.

√ The work of the ministry

The solution to this threat to unity was that the leaders of the church, the apostles, appointed other saints to do the work of fairly distributing food to all of the widows.

Acts 6:2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables.

Acts 6:3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business;

Acts 6:4 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

Acts 6:5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch,

The point is that the apostles rightly discerned that if they tried to do all the ministry of the church then they would not be able to do what Jesus called them to do…

…pray and teach God’s word!

So, through sharing the burden of the ministry with others the work of the ministry was more effective as each person used their gift to restore the unity of the church.

Back to Ephesians 4:11-12 that’s Paul’s point! The leaders of the church have a job and that job is to teach the word of God so that the saints are equipped to do the work of the ministry.

Ex. The testimony of unity

In our example from the first church we see that the believers responded to the threat to their unity by putting a plan together to address the complaint and at the same time testify of their desire for unity.

They chose Hellenists to oversee the food distribution!

Look at the list of names in Acts 6:5 and you’ll find that the church in Jerusalem, the majority of which were Hebrew believers…

…chose men who were Hellenists to restore the unity of the believers!

By so doing they proved their love for each other and demonstrated their trust in one another believing that these Hellenists would not only make sure the Greek-speaking widows got their food…

…but trusting them to treat the Hebrew widows equally!

That’s a great testimony of unity!

Ap. Teaching

Paul’s exhortation in vs. 11-12 (along with many other scriptures) is the reason that we devote so much time to line-by-line teaching of God’s Word.

We’re convinced that God’s word contains all that the saints need for life and godliness (ref. 2 Peter 1:3).

That by the preaching and teaching of His Word faith is imparted into the lives of the saints (ref. Romans 10:17).

The spiritual needs of God’s people are fed by the Word of God…

Not by fancy presentations, or slick musical productions, or even through the activities of the Church.

All of those things are fine, but they must never be a substitute for teaching the word of God.

God’s people grow when they study, learn, and apply God’s word to their lives and use their gifts to build and maintain unity in the church.

Evidence of Growth (vs. 12-16)

Eph. 4:13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

Eph. 4:14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,

Eph. 4:15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—

Eph. 4:16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

√ Evidence of Growth ~ that promotes unity

Believers grow by feeding on God’s word as they are taught by the pastor, and as they use their gifts to minister to one another.

The evidence of their growth is seen in their Christ-like behavior, their knowledge of the truth, the manifestation of love toward others, and their cooperation with one another.

Paul’s purpose in listing these evidences of spiritual growth is that we might evaluate our own lives to see whether or not we’re growing…

…the evidence is demonstrated by a sincere effort to promote unity in the church.

1. Christ-like ~ vs. 13

The first evidence of spiritual growth in our lives is the transformation of our old nature into the new nature of Christ…

“till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;”

That is, when people look at how we live our lives, how we behave, speak and treat others they ought to see the image of Jesus in us!

Don’t let the word “perfect” throw you off!

You might read this verse to mean that we’re supposed to be a perfect reflection of Jesus!

That isn’t what Paul was communicating, nor is it possible this side of eternity!

We won’t reach perfection until Jesus gives us our new eternal bodies.

Rather, the word “perfect” literally means…“complete”, as in a full-grown man.

The word pictures a person who has reached maturity physically, emotionally and socially and who is a responsible active member of a community.

The spiritual application is that the primary evidence of spiritual growth is that a person is mature in their faith, in doctrine and practice, and have taken up their role as a responsible member of their church community.

They know their gifting and use it to benefit the Church.

They are active in their local church where they help to promote and maintain unity among believers.

Their lives are characterized by an other-centeredness.

They look for opportunities to serve others, rather than seeking to be the center of attention.

They are problem solvers rather than complainers and problem makers!

In short, they act like Jesus!

Ap. We need mature Christians!

Over the last 25 years or so we’ve seen a real decline in the spiritual maturity of Christians in America prompting observers to characterize American Christianity as…

“Christianity light”

The problem is that a few churches found that they could grow numerically if they dumb down the message they were preaching.

Keep the sermon short.

Avoid words that make people uncomfortable (hell, sin, etc.).

Use lots of fast moving video, music and drama to keep the TV generation interested in the message.

Don’t present the Gospel as an exclusive way to heaven.

The idea was to get the lost whom they coined “seekers” into the building, and then once they got hooked on the program the theory was that the seeker would be open to the Gospel.

The tragedy is that this model has been replicated in thousands of churches where it has produced consumers…

…rather than disciples.

Pastors like myself have been saying that for years, and for the most part falling on deaf ears…

..until last year when the folks who first designed that method published the results of their study on the people in their church and found that we were right!

Ex. The Willow Creek Seeker model

One of the most influential churches in America over the last 30 years and those who coined the phrase “seeker sensitive”, focused their attention on getting people into the church through programs and a non-confrontational message.

They recently released the results of studying the people at their church in a book titled, “Reveal: Where Are You?” co-authored by Greg Hawkins, executive pastor of Willow Creek.

Here’ what they found…

While they were able to build a mega church with thousands of people they found they weren’t growing spiritually mature believers!

They flat out admit that they made a mistake!

They found that programs that are heavy on entertainment, and light on God’s word didn’t produce mature believers ~ people who are Christ-like!

So, they’re re-thinking and redesigning their whole approach to ministry to be more deliberate about teaching God’s word to the people and teaching them how to feed on His word between Sundays.

Bottom line is that Christians grow into maturity when they feed on God’s Word.

So, the first evidence of spiritual growth is a mature Christ-like life, ask the Lord if you’re life is a mature reflection of Jesus.

2. Discerning ~ vs. 14

The second evidence of spiritual growth is discernment…

“that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,”

That is, the mature believer is he/she who has a solid working knowledge of what the Bible teaches so that they are able to discern between truth and error.

It’s more than just knowing chapter and verse…

…it’s knowing what the Bible actually teaches!

That’s an important distinction because you’ll find all through the Bible, and in our own generation, people who know the words written in the Bible…

…but have come to very ungodly and unbiblical interpretations of it.

Ex. The religious leaders in Jesus’ day

They knew the words, but they didn’t know the meaning of the words!

Thus we find Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount repeatedly saying, “you’ve heard that it’s been said, but I say…”

…then He points out that the religious leaders knew the letter of the Law, but missed the spirit of the Law!

The same is true in our own day, there’s no shortage of false teaching and false teachers, cults, and weird religions!

Ap. Know what the Bible teaches!

The sad truth is that the majority of converts to cults are immature Christians!

They don’t know their Bible well enough to know a lie when they hear one!

They can’t refute false doctrine.

They get swept up by the friendly cult members at their door and leave their faith in Christ to embrace “another Jesus” (ref. 2 Cor. 11:14).

Guard yourself and those you love by building a solid foundation of Biblical truth.

Ex. Study and discuss

Get yourself a copy of “Know what you believe”, by Paul Little, study it with your Bible open, discuss it with mature believers, and make sure that you know what the Bible teaches and why you believe it!

It is especially critical for you to have a mature understanding of the foundational doctrines of the Bible as we live in the last days…

…a time according to the Bible when false teaching and false teachers would increase and deceive many!

(ref. 1 Tim. 4:1)

So, the second evidence of spiritual growth is that a believer is discerning.

3) Loving ~ vs. 15

The third evidence of spiritual growth, and the most important is that a mature believer is loving!

“but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—“

Notice that Paul follows up on the need for discernment in our lives, that is, knowing the truth…

…with the exhortation that we must speak that truth in love!

The reason of course is that in general people will not listen to someone who is hateful, arrogant, or self-righteous!

The point is that it’s not enough to just speak the truth, because if we don’t communicate it with love then the truth we speak won’t benefit the people we’re talking to!

It’s been well said that…

“Truth without love is dogma that does not touch the heart. Love without truth is sentimentalism that does not challenge the will. When truth is spoken with love, God’s Spirit can use it to change another’s mind.”

The ability to speak God’s truth in love is a sure sign of a mature believer!

4) Cooperation ~ vs. 16

The forth evidence of spiritual growth is cooperation…

“from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”

Cooperation is as Paul explains it the Christ-like ability to work together for the common benefit of the Body of Christ.

The cooperative saint is the person who is willing to lay aside their personal convictions regarding the non-essentials of the faith so as to advance the cause of Christ.

The cooperative person is willing to put aside their personal agendas so as not to divide the church or create conflicts.

The cooperative person respects and is supportive of the leadership in the church and joyfully submits to his/her leadership.

The cooperative person looks for opportunities to use their gifts in harmony with others rather than looking to promote themselves.

While cooperation is something we teach our children the sad truth is that many people reach adulthood without learning how do it!

Ex. The disciples

Follow the disciples through the Gospels and you’ll find that Jesus constantly had to address this issue and to encourage them to cooperate with one another for the good of the Kingdom because…

They argued about who would be the greatest.

They plotted and positioned themselves for the thrones on the left and right hand of Jesus.

They were so self-absorbed that none of them noticed that Jesus hadn’t had His feet washed before the Passover meal.

The disciples had to learn that if they were going to faithfully complete the mission that Jesus gave them that they could not do it alone…

…they needed one another and that meant they had to learn to cooperate with each other rather than fight and argue with one another!

Ap. Cooperation demonstrates love for others

Whenever you find a person who is uncooperative you’ll find that the root cause is that they love themselves more than others.

They are so egocentric that they really believe their ideas are always the best ideas.

They can’t conceive in their mind that anyone else might have something of value to add.

When they don’t get their way they see themselves as a victim and that everyone else is against them.

In short, they act like 3 year olds!

That’s probably their spiritual maturity level!

If you find yourself always in confrontations with others it’s a sure sign that you’re not cooperative and that you have some growing to do!

Close

√ The growth of unity

Remember, the Bible says that you are responsible for helping to create and maintain unity within the Church, both in the local assembly and the universal Body of Christ.

Unity is grown through the work of mature Christians who endeavor (work hard) for unity.

Paul’s given us a list to evaluate our own lives and test to see whether or not we’re growing spiritually and in unity.

So, ask the Lord to help you honestly look at your life and see to what degree your life manifests the evidences of spiritual maturity…

Christ-like

Discerning

Loving

Cooperative

Let’s work together for the cause of Christ!