Sermons from the Moorpark Presbyterian Church

Growing Together

Ephesians 1:15-17, 4:13-15

June 28, 1998

by Dave Wilkiinson

A dignified old clergyman owned a parrot of which he was very fond. But the bird had picked up an appalling vocabulary of swear words from a previous owner -- a computer engineer. After a series of particularly embarrassing episodes, the clergymen decided he would have to have his parrot "put to sleep." But a lady in his congregation suggested a remedy. She said, "I have a female parrot. She is an absolute saint. She sits quietly on her perch and says nothing except, "let us pray." Why don't you bring your bird over and see if my own bird's good influence doesn't reform him?"

The pastor said it was worth a try, and the next night he arrived with his pet. His bird took one look at the lady parrot and squawked, "Hey baby! How about a little kiss?" The lady parrot responded, "my prayers have been answered."

Answers to prayer come in many forms. It all depends on what you’re looking for. On this 10th anniversary Sunday, it is appropriate for us to focus on God’s gift of the church through the Book of Ephesians, Paul’s great letter of the church.

Paul tells the Ephesians that his prayers will be answered when the believers who, lived in Ephesus and the believers gathered here today demonstrate in their lives a working that comes from the ministry of God's Holy Spirit.

When you enter the kitchens and bathrooms of American homes with small children, and you look closely at the door frames you will notice marks at intervals. Those marks indicate the height of the children at various ages.

In my childhood home we used the door frame between the kitchen and the back porch. Often I would back up to the door frame with a book to lay atop my head and so to mark my height -- checking to see if I had grown. 5'4" was a plateau that was endless. Would I ever grow taller than my mother? When I began to climb off that plateau, I shot past my father.

We have a natural desire to grow. This is also true psychologically and, I hope, spiritually.

God’s word is the door frame against which we can measure our maturity. Paul's letter to the Ephesians concerns spiritual maturity. This central theme of maturity is the core of three organizing ideas:

Maturity in Christ is God’s purpose for us

Maturity through the church is God's instrument

And maturity in relationships is God's expression

Listen to two passages from Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians:

Ephesians 1:15-17, 4:13-15

A book, The Authentic Witness, tells of a stray cat who wandered into the area where an Indian guru and his disciples sat meditating. The cat took a liking to the guru and began rubbing herself against his back--purring all the while. After a while the guru became tired of the distraction, So, taking a piece of twine, he found a stick and tied the cat to it. After meditation, by way of apology, the holy man fed the cat which -- of course -- became a permanent member of the ashram. To be like their master each disciple also found a cat, and soon tying cats to sticks before mediation became a ritual.

This society took the guru's name and continued in existence for many generations after his death. But the character of the society changed. Over the years it became known as a society for the prevention of cruelty to cats.

Of course there was still a daily meditation period. The philosophy of the founder continued to be the standard of right thought. But it had lost its true character.

This story is a parable of the way an organization can drift. Functions or beliefs that were once peripheral or incidental assume a greater and greater importance. Finally they take center stage. This also happens in the church. Church history shows us this. Through a slow warping, God’s word is replaced by human words.

This anniversary morning, we need to recognize that there is a tendency to settle down once the initial excitement of any experience has worn thin. We have a hard time living on the heights for very long. Paul is aware of this in the lives of those whom he has won for Christ. His prayer illustrates his concern. He hears nothing but good news out of Ephesus. That is why he wants to pray. He is so grateful for what is going on that he wants to ensure that the momentum is maintained and the progress continued.

Both of our texts are about going forward. In Ephesians 4:12, Paul writes that the purpose of God giving us gifts is for the "building up of the body of Christ." Now, beginning with verse 13, Paul outlines the goals of this building up. He gives us the architect's plans to show us what the body ought to look like when it is finished.

The first feature of this finished body is what Paul calls "the unity of the faith. This "unity of the faith" is produced by a sharing of what Paul calls "the knowledge of the Son of God." Each individual Christian ought to grow up to spiritual maturity. But spiritual maturity in individual Christians is not enough. There must also be growing spiritual maturity in the corporate personality of our congregation.

A friend of mine wrote in his church newsletter:

"'Hello pastor. It was a lovely service and we’re glad we came. But we’re only church shopping. We’ll let you know what we decide.'" That so many normal, intelligent, well-informed Christian people have so much trouble finding a congregation they like is truly tragic.

"One well-known fundamentalist Bible teacher, A. W. Pink, reached the point in his church shopping where he wrote: 'If there are any 'Churches' which are scriptural in their membership, in their maintenance of discipline, in their preaching, and in all that concerns their public services, we do not know where to find them. We have traveled completely around the world -- but there is no church known to us in which we could hold membership. Following the logic of his indictment to its conclusion, Pink and his wife stayed home Sunday mornings for the last thirty years of their lives.

Pink's attitude is not an option for maturing Christians. It can lead only to sterile, ingrown, bitter isolation. It is true that there is no perfect church -- including this one. But there is the Church of Jesus Christ and we are called to keep as a goal working toward the unity of the faith. And that kind of building can only be done down in the relationship trenches where you are liable to get your ego mussed and your toes stepped on. It is a risk we have to take if we are to grow in maturity.

Maturity is the key. It is my prayer that everything I say from this pulpit contributes to our growing up into Christ -- to your individual maturity and to our corporate maturity as a body. My purpose in preaching this sermon -- or any sermon -- is to cause you to want a maturing relationship with Jesus Christ and with your fellow believers badly enough so that you will put in the time and effort you need to develop it.

Paul writes of attaining to the "unity of the faith." Then he turns and speaks of attaining the "knowledge of the Son of God."

There is a New Yorker cartoon where two men are talking over lunch and one says to the other. "I've learned a lot in 63 years but unfortunately, most of it's about aluminum."

God calls us to a lot more than 63 years worth of knowledge about aluminum, silicone, or of anything else that is less than the "knowledge of the Son of God -- knowledge that makes a difference both in our heads and in our hearts.

One result of maturity is stability. Paul writes beginning in verse 14: "As a result, we are no longer to be children."

Jesus said that we must become like children if we are to enter the Kingdom of God. He was speaking of the innocent trust of which children are capable. But one of the less attractive characteristics of children is their brief attention span -- their craving for novelty at the expense of stable commitment. Children are prey to their own emotions and are often victims of the last opinion they have heard expressed.

Paul speaks of this as being "tossed to and fro -- like a ship in a storm." The word he uses is the same word as was used for the raging of the waters of the sea of Galilee in Luke 8. Paul writes that we are no longer to be children in the sense of instability -- the prey of various doctrines and standards of life. We are, instead, to become firmly grounded in Jesus Christ and grow to maturity in Him until we reach the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ,"

It is not just an accident that the number one recruiting ground for cults is young Christians. Their lack of maturity makes them vulnerable to all sorts of heretical teaching. Martin Marty in The Fire We Can Light tells of a young woman he met on a plane. She announced herself to be a Christian who was also "into" Zen Buddhism and Yoga, was most intrigued with Christianity because of the concept of a physical resurrection but also believed in reincarnation and was convinced she could fly through astral projection

In the face of this kind of thing, Paul writes that we are no longer to be. "Carried about by every wind of doctrine," The Greek word he uses, peripero, carries the idea of such violent swinging about as make a person dizzy.

In the church of Jesus Christ today are people who are the victims of the last book they have read and pastors who are forever imprisoned inside whatever the "fad" theology happened to be at the time they entered seminary. Forty years from now there will still be pulpits filled with people trained only as liberation theologians or in feminist theology long after the church and the seminaries and the professors and the world have moved into new causes.

But we are not to be that way. We are to be firmly rooted in Christ so we can stand in the face of what Paul calls, "the trickery of men." The word translated the trickery of men in Ephesians is actually a word used to refer to exciting the gambling spirit. Paul is describing those who practice a "spiritual shell game" and speaks of their "craftiness in deceitful wiles."

We are to make it our business to challenge falsehood wherever it may be found. But gospel truth is never unaccompanied by love, Paul stresses in chapter 4 verse 15 that we are to "speak the truth in love." Just as we are to challenge falsehood in the world, we are to challenge Lovelessness in ourselves. In contrast to the people Paul spoke of in verse 14 who dealt with falsehood in deceit, we are to "speak the truth in love."

John Stott writes: "Thank God there are those in the contemporary church who are determined at all costs to defend and uphold God's revealed truth. But sometimes they are conspicuously lacking in love. When they think they smell heresy their nose begins to twitch, their muscles ripple and the light of battle enters their eyes. They seem to enjoy nothing more than a fight. Others make the opposite mistake. They are determined at all costs to maintain and exhibit brotherly love, but in order to do so, are prepared to sacrifice even the central truths of God’s revelation. Both these tendencies are unbalanced and unbiblical. Truth becomes hard if it is not softened by love. Love becomes mushy if it is not strengthened by truth. The Apostle calls us to hold the two together which should not be difficult for spirit-filled believers -- since the Holy Spirit is himself 'the Spirit of truth and His first fruit is love. There is no other route than this to a fully mature Christian unity."

Paul writes in chapter 1 verses 15 and 16: "For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ which exists among you, and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you while making mention of you in my prayers."

This is very instructive. Paul hears in Rome about the faith of these Christians. He hears that they have confessed Christ and turned from their idols. They have publicly acknowledged that Jesus Christ is Lord. But what convinces Paul that their faith is genuine is their love. Because love is evident among them, Paul knows that the faith they profess is the real thing.

If your faith has not resulted in your becoming a more loving person--at least in growth in this direction--then it is not genuine faith. It is merely an intellectual acceptance which means little. Remember how James stresses this. He writes of how the demons also have intellectual awareness that Jesus Christ is lord--and how this knowledge only causes them to tremble in fear. Remember how James also says that faith is revealed by the love it awakens. He says in effect, "show me your love and I'll see your faith--but don't talk to me about faith unless love is present." And Paul agrees. He hears of their love, and so he knows that their faith is genuine.

Now notice something interesting here. Paul writes that the love the Ephesians are showing is love for "all the saints." It is not just love for some saints. Some Christians are easy to love. Some are beautiful people - -joyful and happy -- and everyone likes to be around them. But Paul is struck by the fact that these Christians love all the saints, and therefore their love is not based on people's looks, personalities or wealth. Rather it is because they are saints--they belong to the Lord Jesus and are members of the family. One of the unmistakable signs of faith in a person's life is that he or she loves anyone who loves Jesus.

This is a point that challenges us to interact. We cannot keep it "out there." It demands to be brought "in here." As I have grappled with this passage, I have reflected on what my ability to love says about my faith. And to be honest, I do not love all of the saints equally. There are some Christians who drive me right up the wall-- none in this congregation of course. I find it much easier to focus my time and attention on the ones whose vibrations agree with my vibrations--those who are "simpatico" to use the Spanish phrase. And yet I am learning. I feel that I'm growing. This growth is coming from the knowledge that my love for a believer does not have to grow out of my gut reaction but out of Christ's gut reaction. This is perhaps what Paul is alluding to in Philippians where he writes of loving them with the guts -- the "splachna" -- of Christ Jesus. That's what the word translated "affection" in the Revised Standard Version literally means.

There is a scene in the movie "Chariots of Fire" where a character says to Eric Liddle, one of the two "heros," "What this age calls for is a "muscular Christian." That is what every age calls for including our own. God wants you to be a believer whose moral reflexes are developed--who can recognize and choose the good and, beyond the good, the excellent. God wants you to grow past the stage where you are tossed about by, as Paul puts it, every wind of doctrine -- every popular opinion--every fad. God wants you to develop the caring love that can give a person what he or she needs--whether or not that is what he or she wants. True Christian love is not easy come, easy go acceptance. It seeks, instead, always, the growth in God for others and for self. This is what Paul is modeling in this prayer. This is why this passage is so appropriate for us. The Ephesians are doing well. Paul recognizes that and then calls them onto the next stage in their growth as a community of faith.

There is a story about a noted astronomer who found himself seated in an airliner next to an Episcopal bishop. The astronomer observed, "I never had much interest in theology. My religion can be summed up: "do unto others what you would have them do unto you." The bishop responded, "well I've never had time for astronomy either. My views are summed up in, "twinkle, twinkle, little star."

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" is, of course, a good rule to live by. But if that is the sum total of our faith then we are living at the level of twinkle, twinkle little star. There is so much more that God has for us.

Paul writes that we are to "grow up in all aspects into him who is the head --, even Christ." A baby's head is very large in proportion to Its body. As that body develops it is really growing up more and more Into a due proportion with the head. Christ is our head. Our responsibility is to grow into proportion to who He is -- until we reach the "measure of the stature" of the fulness which belongs to Christ.