6/08/03 Pentecost INI Eph. 4:11-16

Are you good at remembering birthdays? Do yo remember the birthday of the New Testament Christian Church in its outward, visible form? It's today, Pentecost. Nearly 2,000 years ago today 3,000 souls were converted to Christ in Jerusalem by the Holy Spirit. Since then, the Spirit of God has brought countless thousands of sinners to find their salvation in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit's work was not finished when the N.T. Christian Church was born, however.

THE SPIRIT OF LIFE WORKS GROWTH IN THE CHURCH.

Makes sense, doesn't it? If the Spirit of God works spiritual rebirth in sinners, as Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3, then he must also want that life to grow. Where there's life, there's growth. That the difference between a tree and a post.

That's also the difference between a body and a building. A building doesn't live, and therefore cannot grow (except by the Spirit of the living God -- Eph. 2:20); but the human body that lives also grows. When most people think of the church, they think of a building, an organization. But our text speaks of the Church as "the body of Christ" in v. 12. In v. 15 we are told that Christ is the "Head" of this spiritual body.

Now, look at v. 16. Here we see that the family of believers is viewed by the apostle as a whole human body, normal and well-proportioned. It's a spiritual body where each member is alive. Each member draws strength and guidance from Christ, and each member "does its share" to assist every other member. What a beautiful picture Paul presents of the Christian Church as a living organism.

We should not think of ourselves, then, as so many separate people tied to Jesus by separate strings, like apples hanging from a tree. No! We are united much more closely than that; we are as the members of a human body.

Especially when Christians are joined together in a local congregation like Holy Trinity, we have duties and responsibilities not only to Christ, but also to one another. If you fall and hurt your ankle, your head knows it first. But your hands soothe and wrap the injured ankle, and your other leg and ankle go to work to support your body. So also when we fall into sin, or are hurting in some other way, Christ our Head knows it first. But He sends the message to other members of our spiritual body to come to our aid.

Therefore, what we do or refuse to do in our lives is not only between us and Christ, but also between us and the other believing members of the Church. If some of you become aware of a sin that I had committed and spoke with me about it, how should I respond to you? I would not dare to say that "What I do, right or wrong ,s is between Christ and me, and none of your business." Neither should any of you say that to me or to one another. Can you imagine the injured ankle daring to say to the hands, "Hands off! This is between me and my head"?

And what will happen if the eyes of the body refuse to see? The body may stumble and fall with the result that many other members become hurt and suffer. Oh yes! The Church of Christ is a living organism; every true believer is a member of every other believer, united by the Holy Spirit in the living, spiritual body of Christ.

This spiritual body is to grow. In passages such as Ephesians 2:19-22, and I Peter 2:5, the Church of Christ is compared to a building. But this spiritual building is said to grow because of the activity of the Holy Spirit. In our text, where the Church is compared to a human body, the idea of growth is especially emphasized. The Spirit wants growth from the life He has created in the believer.

The expressions used in verses 12 and following speak of growth. Paul speaks of "equipping the saints" for the work of ministry and for the "edifying" (upbuilding) of the body of Christ. This equipping and building up of the body of Christ is to continue "till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." Not everyone in a Christian congregation reaches the same level of spiritual maturity. Some mature quickly, some lag behind, and others seem to want to remain in the baby and childhood stages. But every Christian is to have the same goal for himself and for the other members of the body: that all may receive all the saving truth that is in Christ by faith.

We are to receive Christ's teaching fully so that we may become even more united. All of us here today know "something," or perhaps many "somethings" about Christ. But this is not enough. This is not full-grown manhood. We must hear and receive ALL that our Spirit-worked faith can hold concerning Christ and His saving Word.

Paul speaks of "unity" on the basis of Bible truth. The result of such growth in unity on the teachings of Holy Scripture is that we will "no longer be children tossed back and forth, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery and cunning craftiness of men!" (V. 14)

Error is always an "expert" in its tricky use of Bible passages and human reason. And the children who are carried away by religious and moral error are not always the very young in the congregation, Sometimes those get carried away by religious and moral error who think they are strong and do not seek the fulness of Christ by continuing to receive His Word.

On the other hand, only by "speaking the truth in love" can the members of Christ's body "grow up in all things into him who is the Head -- Christ." (V. 15) We are all to speak the whole truth -- the whole doctrine and confession of the Christian faith. In the body of Christ, the truth is never to be spoken without love. In the body of Christ, love must never surrender the truth as it teaches, corrects, or comforts, otherwise it is not love at all.

You see, dear Friends in Christ, the Holy Spirit desires that WE -- the spiritual body of Christ -- may "grow UP in all things" so that we match, measure up to, and correspond to our Head, which is Christ. When an infant is born, its body is disproportionately small compared to its head. The body must grow until it corresponds to the persons' head. Christ is the Head of our spiritual body. He does not grow; but we, the members of His body have a lot of growing to do!

You heard last Sunday that this growth is accomplished through the ministry of the Holy Spirit's word. When our Savior "ascended far above the heavens" (Eph. 4:10), "He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers" to equip the saints so that all would be able to build up the body of Christ. (V. 11)

All these servants, your pastors and teachers, are "gifts" from Christ to His Church, His Body, to you. Jesus says in John 6:63: "The words that I speak, they are spirit and they are life!" That means the Holy Spirit is active through the words of Jesus brought to you by your pastors and teachers. As they preach, teach, and counsel with the Law and Gospel, the various members of the body are kept spiritually alive and nourished so that we grow in the unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God.

Those, on the other hand, who rarely attend worship services and Bible classes frustrate the Holy Spirit in His saving work. We might as well boast: "I rarely eat, but I'm just as strong as people who eat three meals a day;" or "I seldom read, but I can read as well as people who often read."

Are we growing spiritually? And are we doing everything we can to help one another grow spiritually by our prayers and by speaking the truth in love? Like other churches, we would like to see our congregation grow in numbers. But all growth must be ONLY the work of the Holy Spirit through the ministry of His Word. As He helps us all to speak the whole truth of Christ in love to one another and to all people, we will grow inwardly in understanding faith, unity and love. And our God will take care of the outward growth. Amen.