Be No More Children, But Grow Up into Christ

By Pastor Matt Black

11 November 2007
Lord's Day morning
Ephesians 4:11-14

 

Introduction: Let’s stand and read Ephesians 4:11-16, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man [mature manhood], unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14  That we henceforth be no more children, 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; 15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16  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 [causes growth]  of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.”

 

But first, let me say that the New Testament gives no encouragement to those who want to remain in childhood.  The children of God are to grow.  They are to be fruitful and productive Christians.  Babies consume.  Adults provide and produce.  Adults who act like babies are abnormal.  There is no place for stunted growth in the Bible.  If a baby has his growth stunted and remains a dwarf, something is wrong!

 

God’s plan for you this morning is spiritual maturity!!!

We are talking about spiritual maturity this morning.  This book began with Paul in chapter 1, verse 1 talking to a group of people he calls the “saints” and “faithful”.  The message of Ephesians is how we go from being “dead in trespasses and sins” (2:1) to being fully mature “saints”.  Imagine the people of Ephesus.  Some of them had been idol worshippers.  Some were temple prostitutes in the Diana cult.  Some of them were idol makers.  They were all first century pagans that knew almost nothing about that deep love relationship with God.  But there was an amazing transformation!

 

How did this transformation happen? 

 

I.     The Ultimate Blueprint for Maturity.

I want to show you the model for how this happens in two important passages.  We are going to look in Ephesians 4:12, and then in Acts 19 that tells us of Paul’s actual ministry to the Ephesians. 

 

A.    Ephesians 4:12—Here is a page from Paul’s instruction manual.  Here’s the blueprint for maturity.  Paul says that pastors teach the Word of God “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ”. 

 

So maybe you want to know today: how can I be transformed?  Here is Paul’s own owner’s manual for the church.  Here is his formula for transformation…

 

1.    You need to be learning the Word of God under the teaching and shepherding of a local church.  This is the preparation.   You as a saint are perfected or grown up through the teaching and application of the word by the pastor.  This training in the Word prepares you for FRIUTFULNESS and production, “for the work of the ministry” (verse 12). 

 

2.    Second, you need to be serving and INVOLVEMENT with the church to the world.  This is the production.  This is nothing different than what Jesus said in John 15.  Turn over there.  Look at John 15:3, “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”  Now skip to verse 7, “If ye abide in me, and…” what does it say?  “my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8  Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.”

 

God’s word will mature you, perfect you, grow you up!  And this results in a fruitful life.  Ministry!  Fruit bearing! So you need to be learning under the Word of God in a local church setting if you want to have a transformed life. 

 

You prepare by learning and then you go out and apply what you’ve learned by being a producer.  What is the result?  “the edifying of the body of Christ”. 

 

3.    You need to be edifying the body—meeting each others’ needs and caring for one another.  This is the paycheck (if you are into alliteration) or the result. 

 

Ø  Are you preparing?

Ø  Are you producing?

Ø  Are you seeing results in other people’s lives?

 

So this is what Paul says in Ephesians 4:12—you need to be drinking in the word for your own maturity.  “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ”.  So this is what Paul says to do.  Saints need to be learning under the Word of God, serving in the ministry, and building up the body!  But how did Paul do it?  That brings us to Acts 19.  Turn there if would.

 

B.    Acts 19:1-20—Here we find a page from the history of Paul’s biography.  This is the part where Paul’s in Ephesus actually planting and pasturing the Ephesian church.  How did he do it?

 

Let’s turn over to Acts 19:1 and see how Paul actually lived out Ephesians 4:12 in Ephesus.  How did Paul “equip the saints for the work of the ministry”?  We read “And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus” and they found 12 disciples of John the Baptist.  Verse 8 says that from there “he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. 9  But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. 10  And this continued by the space of two years”. 

 

1.    The environment.

Paul would have been teaching during the Roman siesta.  People would work from early morning to 11am.  Then from 11am to 4 pm, people would be off work.  This was their siesta.  So it was during these FIVE hours, Paul would have been teaching.  It says in verse 9 that he was “disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus”.  When things got difficult teaching in the synagogue, Paul began to rent a lecture hall owned by a local professor named Tyrannus.  Daily from 11am to 4pm Paul rented this lecture hall.  Paul was their pastor and teacher.  Little work was done during this time of day, so Paul would teach while people would mill in and out of that room.

 

2.    The effect.  Verse 20 gives the result of all this “So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.” 

 

We found out that this group of believers had an effect on the city of Ephesus.  So much so that verse 19 says they began to reach the worst elements of society.  The witches and warlocks of Ephesus brought their books of incantations and spells into the town square.  They did it publicly.  Books were very, very expensive in these days.  Verse 19 says that “many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver”.  The body was so strong and mature at Ephesus.  It came through the faithful teaching of the Word of God. It came from these Ephesian believers getting involved!!  They were teaching to unbelievers what Paul was teaching at Tyrannus’s lecture hall. 

 

True believers crave the meat of Word and the fellowship of the local church body.  So here in this passage in verse 12 you’ve got teaching pastors who are “perfecting the saints” through sound Biblical verse by verse teaching, so that they may minister and serve.  A mature church is a church strong in the Word and serving in the World!  My goal in every message is to bring you to a stronger, healthier relationship with Christ so that you may be used of God to build up your brethren and reach the world.

 

The pastor must build up the saints.  The pastor is not to do it all.  Paul didn’t reach all those people in the Ephesian church.  He reached a few through the teaching of the Word, but those mature Ephesian believers reached others who in turn reached others.

 

So we’ve seen the Blueprint and model of a healthy mature church.  But what is the ultimate goal?

 

II.   The Ultimate Goal of Maturity: Christ formed in you!  Verse 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”.  The Holy Spirit’s goal in drawing you to Christ and converting your heart is to achieve “the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” in you!

 

The goal of the preacher and the goal of the Holy Spirit who is speaking through the preacher is that Christ would be formed in you.  Paul put it this way in Galatians 4:19, “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,”  You mothers can appreciate the picture Paul uses.  The great burden and agony in Paul’s soul was to see people know Christ.  Verse 15 he says the same thing—that God’s people “may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ”. 

 

A.    Christ formed through faith.  Verse 13 says, “Till we all come in the unity of the faith”.   This faith is described in Hebrews 11:1.  Turn over there if you would.  We read, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  We are all here in the unity of our faith.  We follow in the footsteps of many pilgrims.  Look at all the people named in Hebrews 11.  It’s a living faith that affects generations!  We learn about Able and Enoch and Noah!  We learn about Abraham and Sara believing that God would give them a baby at a hundred years old!  It is a faith that believes that God can do the impossible.  A faith that believes that God can change and transform anybody!  We are all coming to this “unity of the faith”.  We are all on this same journey. 

 

Look down at verse 33.  We have a summary this unity of the faith.  What does it look like?   Well, it’s not something you can learn in the classroom.  It’s a real, life and death thing.   Verse 33, “[T]hrough faith [God’s people] subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34  Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35  Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 36  And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 37  They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; 38  (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39  And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40  God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” Now chapter 12, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith”. 

 

B.    Christ is also formed through knowledge.  Look back at Ephesians 4.  Paul says you are to be under the teaching ministry of Christ’s pastors and teachers… so that you can grow and mature and get involved and build up Christ’s body.  Verse 13, “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of” what?  “and of the knowledge of the Son of God…”

 

So your faith in Christ is linked with your knowledge of Christ.  You believe Christ and act out your belief in this life because you know Him!  That personal, intimate knowledge of Christ is what drives you to maturity.

 

Ø  Paul said in Philippians 3:10, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death”.  How much has Christ permeated every area of your life? 

 

Ø  Colossians 1:27 tells us of the mystery of God’s glory among the Gentiles.  What was transforming all these Gentiles and bringing God glory?  Verse 27, “Christ in you, the hope of glory”.  

 

Ø  John 14:20, Jesus said, “I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you”. 

 

Ø  Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

 

Ø  Jesus said in John 15, “Abide in me and I in you”.  Are you experiencing the living Christ right now?  Jesus said in Hebrews 13:5, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee”.  “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). 

 

Do you have an active faith?

Are you abiding in Christ?

 

So we see the Ultimate Goal of Maturity: Christ formed in you!  Verse 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”. 

 

Thirdly, we come to the main part of the message.  We’ve seen Paul’s model of Christian maturity—it takes place in under the teaching of a local church—there is service and fruitfulness.  Then the goal of maturity is that Christ would be formed in you. 

 

III.  Now we come to the Enemy of Christian maturity.  Childishness.  Paul names the goal in verse 15: Christians are to “grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ”.  Well, the opposite of that goal is to remain a child.  And this warning against childishness is found in verse 14, “That we henceforth be no more children, 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; 15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ”. 

 

Here we see there are four examples from verse 14 of spiritual immaturity: An example from the home, from the sea, from the wind, and from the casino. 

 

  1. An example from the home “we henceforth be no more children”.

 

Do you want to be mature?  How can you tell if you are a spiritual baby or a spiritual provider?  We’re going to find out.  But first, let me say that the New Testament gives no encouragement to those who want to remain in childhood.  The children of God are to grow.  They are to be fruitful and productive Christians.  Babies consume.  Adults provide and produce.  You can tell if you are a baby Christian or an adult Christian by your role in the church and your role in other people’s lives.  Are you teaching what you are learning to others?

 

1.    A warning from Hebrews 5.  Turn over to Hebrews 5.  The writer of Hebrews gives this same warning in Hebrews 5:12, “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.  13  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14  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.”

 

We do not expect adults to be kept in the nursery.  I’m sure that a baby finds that sucking his thumb is very comforting.  But there’s something wrong when a thirteen year old sucks his thumb. Adults who act like babies are abnormal.  There is no place for stunted growth in the Bible.  If a baby has his growth stunted and remains a dwarf, something is wrong!  Baby Christians are the life of the church when they are first born into God’s family.  But if you stay a baby Christian, you are a handicap to God’s church.   Babies are to grow up into the “first principles” of knowing Christ.  In school we have reading, writing, and arithmetic.  Christian babies also grow by doing the basics.  The Christian baby needs Bible reading, praying, and evangelism.  Read your Bible, spend lots of time in your prayer closet, and share your faith everywhere you go.  You don’t need a class for that.  It’s milk.  It’s easy.  You can do that today. 

 

Some churches are nothing more than nurseries.  Instead of every one finding their place of usefulness, there are fits and tantrums.  The pastor doesn’t have time for the meat of the Word because he’s too busy changing diapers.  Dear saints of God, the pastor’s job is not to make you comfortable and happy, but it is to get you off the bottle and out of diapers.  It is to get you to take the strong meat of the Word of God and a deep and satisfying relationship with Christ.

Text Box: Number One Growth Sapper: Television, Internet, Media We have a generation of spiritual babies in the church today who would rather watch television than read the Word of God. I was at a pastor’s conference this week. The theme was “knowing Christ”. The question was asked, “What is the greatest enemy of Christian growth in the church?” Answer: the television. Why? Because for the most part, on channel 5 you’ve got the counsel of the ungodly. On channel 7 you can observe as the fool, the scorner, and the simple have a debate. I really don’t care who wins that debate! If you turn the channel to the religious programming, you have false teachers and those who peddle the Word for filthy lucre. Most TV will stunt your spiritual growth. An adult Christian doesn’t have time for most of what the media has to offer. We are not told in the Bible to meditate on CNN, Fox, and NBC. We are told that the blessed man flees the counsel of the ungodly, and he has not time for standing in the way of sinners or sitting in the seat of the scornful. His delight is in the Law of the Lord, not in Law and Order! “His delight is in the Law of the Lord, and in His law doth he meditate day and night” (Psalm 1:2). It is then that he shall be “like a tree planted by the rivers of water, bringing forth fruit” (Psalm 1:3). It is then that growth takes place. Most television watching is sinful. It is a waste of God’s time. It is mind numbing and useless. And the vast majority of it is blatantly sinful. Why should we go to a broken cistern? Proverbs 5:15, “Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.” Christ is the “fountain” of living water that never runs dry. He says “I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely” (Revelation 21:6). Folks we are to take in the Scripture, not Survivor. We need to drink in the Word, not American Idol. It doesn’t matter who killed John. He comes back in the next episode anyway.

 

The goal of the Christian life is not to be entertained.  Entertainment is primarily self-centered.  Paul names the goal in verse 15: Christians are to “grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ”. 

 

2.    A Reflection from Psalm 92:5. You may have many years in the faith, but what have you done with those years?  Are you bringing others along in the faith?  Are you a producer Christian?  If you’ve had many years in the faith, you are not to be old and feeble and infirm.  The Bible says that the righteous are to bear fruit in your old age.  Psalm 92:14 says that old Christians are to be “fat and flourishing”.  The church’s nurseries need to be emptied.  We need to train all spiritual babies to be servants of Christ and send them forth as laborers—to be trained, prepared, equipped for the work of the ministry.  Spiritual adults are to be loosed on the world! 

 

3.    A Difference between Childishness and Childlikeness.  Now don’t get me wrong.  Though we are commanded here in this text to “be no more children”, the word of God is filled with admonitions for us to be like children. 

 

The New Testament commands childlikeness.  But the New Testament condemns and forbids childishness.  What is the difference? 

 

Childishness -- when an adult acts like a child in bad ways
Childlikeness -- when an adult acts like a child in good ways

 

We need to put away childish things.  Childishness is condemned if you should be an adult.  But growing up in childlikeness is commended: it is simplicity, innocence, a hunger to learn!

 

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.”

 

a.    Childlikeness is commended in the Scriptures.

Luke 9:46-48, “Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest. 47  And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him, 48  And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.”

 

Matthew 18:3, “And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”  Trust in the Lord with all thine heart.  Lean not to thine own understanding…

 

They say what’s on their mind in unique ways that brings God glory.  Because of this, the child is one of God’s greatest preachers.  “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise” (Matthew 21:16).

 

1 Peter 1:14, “As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance”.    You see the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”. 

 

b.    Childishness Condemned

The writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 5:12, “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.  13  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14  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.”

 

Look at the traits of the spiritual child:

 

What makes a spiritual child grow? 

 

The most powerful description of childishness is found in our text.  Ephesians 4:14-15, “That we henceforth be no more children, 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; 15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ”. 

 

So we see the example from the home… then we see…

 

  1. An example from the sea.  Spiritual children are like a wave tossed passenger “tossed to and fro” on a ship.  Spiritual children are not established in the truth.  I remember when I lived in Louisiana, I visited a friend off of Lake Ponchatrain.  Now the people who live there use a boat to even get to school.  One day we traveled around to see friends around the Lake.  It was windy and the waves were higher.  That was the first time I was introduced to motion sickness.   You get off that boat and you don’t know if you are standing on the ceiling or on the floor.  Even when you are motionless everything is moving.  It’s an awful experience.  And the Apostle Paul is saying that’s the picture of what happens to someone not rooted and established in truth. I want you to be grounded so you can’t be tossed about by those waves.

 

  1. An example from the wind “carried about with every wind of doctrine”.  Have you ever dropped a piece of paper on a windy day? And you’re trying to chase it down and get it back...you need that sheet of paper.  Ladies, you’ve seen that lady in Jewel parking lot who drops that long grocery list, and it’s carried by the wind.  She’s got to get that list!  Chasing after it!  Maybe that’s happened to you.  That’s what Paul says about spiritual babies.  They are not established in the truth. They don’t know what they believe.

 

  1. Finally, he gives an example from the casino, speaking of the “the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive”.  Spiritual children are easily deceived by false teachers.  In other words, children are easily manipulated, like a wave on the sea, like a piece of paper in the wind, it goes on to give an example from the gambling house: spiritually immature people are manipulated “by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive”. 

 

The word “sleight” literally means “a cube” and refers to dice.  There are those out there that would like to gamble with your soul.  Avoid them!  Avoid the TV preachers.  I heard of one false teacher that said, “Ye must be born again” refers to incarnation. 

 

The word “cunning craftiness” is also translated “subtlety” in 2 Cor. 11:3, “The serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty.  They “they lie in wait to deceive”.

 

But if you will be mature, you will not ultimately rely on men to guide you.  You will rely on God.  You will serve God for His sake. 

 

Conclusion:  Are you a mature Christian?

 

Closing Hymn: