Sermon Notes: The Full Stature of Christ: We Get There Together!

The Full Stature of Christ: We Get There Together!

Ephesians 4.1-16

Introduction

1.      Series: What does God want? And how does He get it? If God is the fount of blessing, the life-giver, the source of all that is good and perfect, then the most important question is not what we want and how can God get it for us, but rather, what does God want. This is the core of what it means to be a disciple: “Your will be done!”

2.      Review:

	James 1.2-5	Psalm 1
Goal	Single-minded faithfulness to God; maturity	Flourishing, blessed, prosperous humans
Gift	Wisdom to discern how to be faithful to God in the midst of testing	Delight in God’s Law; His instructions
Response	Ask God (in faith) for wisdom	Meditate on God’s instructions

3.      See if you can find these three elements, goal, gift, and response) in Ephesians 4.1-16.

Analysis

1.      The Goal:

a.      Described in four ways (4.13): unity of faith, knowledge of the Son of God, mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of Christ

                                                              i.      Unity of faith: (a) unity produced by the doctrine of the church (b) unity produced by faithfulness (Jesus and the church)

                                                            ii.      All become who they are intended to be when they know Jesus as the Son of God, the world’s true king!

                                                          iii.      Mature manhood: a new corporate identity; defined principally by Jesus Christ; the church is its true self as a corporate whole, not as a bunch of disparate individuals

                                                           iv.      The stature of the measure of the fullness of Christ: that the church would be the full expression of Christ

2.      The Gift

a.      4.11-12 God gave the church apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastor-teachers

                                                              i.      Ascension Day reminds us that Christ continues God’s restoration program through the agency of the Spirit, who empowers the church to bear witness and to embody the truth of the gospel. This is what  Ephesians is all about.

                                                            ii.      For what: to equip the saints for the building up of the church!

b.      4.7: Grace was given to each of according to the measure of Christ’s gift

3.      The Response

a.      4.15-16: How are we to grow up—to become what we are?

                                                              i.      We are equipped when each part is working properly!

                                                            ii.      Ask not what your church can do for you, but what you can do for your church!

                                                          iii.      Other Passages: 1 Peter 4.10-11; Romans 12.3-8; 1 Cor 12.4-31

Exhortation

1.      Tim Keel illustration: The best years are not behind us! The Christian life is meant to be lived in community.

a.      Do you feel like you are always practicing for a game that you never actually play in?

2.      What are ways that you can contribute to the life and mission of the church? How has God equipped you to build up His body?

a.      We are working at creating spaces for this kind of body life to happen.

b.      June 6: we will begin exploring together (1) ways in which we can engage our community and build up the body of Christ and (2) ways in which God has uniquely gifted you to do your part in the building up of the body.

3.      The building up of Christ’s body has two elements: (a) strengthening those who have aligned their lives with Jesus; (b) inviting those who are separated from Jesus to join the family!

a.      We are never fully human until we know the Son of God, our end, or goal.