Become

Ephesians 4:1, 11-13:

Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ

4 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

¹¹ 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.  

 

Ephesians 4:14-16 (v15):
¹⁴ Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶ From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.


*full grown/mature Christians = Jesus
*Truth- no one can become Jesus
*What its trying to say is to grow up in salvation
*We are given out identity by Christ, and no one can take that away from you

Why do we have to grow up in our salvation if we already have a secured identity?

1. Our experience with Jesus grows (more intimate)

As we grow, our status with the Lord increases

2. We experience, feel, taste him in new ways

3. It helps us to serve others

We have a role in our kingdom

When we grow, we can grow other people, having them see Christ in a whole new way

What do we have to do to make us grow?

*We must hear and develop our growth

*Provide the right environment

*Our intentions do not really matter but the actions we take

*The bible tells us how
*When we become Christians we have to accept God's grace
*His plan for our lives to serve Him

1. Acceptance 

- Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers
-Accept his commands (We do have free will but we need commands to grow us)

- Be influenced by people who will grow us

- We need that maturity to understand and accept the orders God gives us to give us a good outcome

*Engaging in the Bible

2. Nourishment

-but whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on his law day and night
-Just like the word, we need to cut it up and digest it slowly
-It is a gradual process

3. Exchange

-That person is like a tree planted by streams of water which yields its Fruit (of the spirit) in season and whose leaf does not wither- whatever they do prosper
-live in community with others

*We grow into Jesus

John Newton
1 John 2:

2 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ² He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Love and Hatred for Fellow Believers

³ We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. ⁴ Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. ⁵ But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: ⁶ Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
⁷ Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. ⁸ Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.
⁹ Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. ¹⁰ Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. ¹¹ But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

Breaks stages of life in stages of growth

1. Infants

1 John 2:12:

-I am writing to you dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account on his name

*Like infants, we have short attention span and are unstable
*Most are psychologically self-centered as well
*We are all like that as young Christians
*We sin, we feel guilty, re repent and rededicate and repeat the whole cycle
*We need to know that we are forgiven
*We question whether we are even the Christian we are suppose to be
*We need parenting

*We can't leave young Christians on their own- need to shepherd them

*Older Christians know the principle

2. Young people

 *Does not mean we do not need God

*I am writing to you young men, because you have overcome the evil one
*We have to acknowledge our sin- not what we do, but what we are
*He loves me because of that
*We may be angry or bitter- we need to realize and become aware of our emotions

*We are more depended on him than our feelings towards him

3. Fathers and mothers

1 John 2:13: ¹³ I am writing to you, fathers,
    because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
    because you have overcome the evil one. 


*I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning
*They grow deeper in the word and growth of the Lord

*they trust and have faith in the Lord

*Peace that surpasses understanding

*Deep yearning and passion for the Lord

*We need to accept, nourish things for ourself

*We can do that by listening to sermon
*Purpose to grab whole of it
*Status of God has not changed- he still loves us no matter what
*Even if were feeling mocked or guilty, we repent but always remember that He still loves us


**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**