Date:   05/21/06   

Text:   Ephesians 4:11-16

Title:   Growing in a Community

Theme: Since God has called us to be a part of his people, therefore our spiritual growth are to take place in a Christian community.

Introduction:

  While I was in Norway over 13 years ago, I learned something about the Norwegians from a book, “How to understand and use an Norwegian.”. For 8000 years, every single Norwegian lived in his very own cave, by his own fjord or on his very own mountain, surrounded only by his closest family. In other words: for 8000 years the Norwegian had no one to talk to apart from members of his closest family. And besides, what does one talk with them about? After 8000 years, the Norwegian saw other people for the first time, but from a very great distance---on the other mountain, or on the other side of the fjord. So he began to communicate with them, but it was also very brief: Go Away. Ah, I said to myself, I like this place.

  Don't we sometimes feel this way? We want to be left alone. Yet when we are actually alone, we can't stand it and want to be with people again. In our penal system, one of the severest punishments is to lock a person in that Supermax prison in Colorado . Moussauoi is imprisoned there for life. He will spend 24 hours a day, with the exception of some exercise, with no contact with anyone.

  Human beings are not meant to live alone. In the very beginning of creation, God saw that it was not good for man to live alone, so he created Eve. This morning we want to see how the Christian community relates to our Christian growth. We want to look at a simple truth that Christian growth takes place in the community of believers.

I.   God brings His children into the community of believers.

  No matter what city we go in the world, wherever there are Christians, we can always find a Christian community. In larger cities, there are the visible or underground churches. In small cities, we find Bible study groups or church(s) with 15 to 20 people. In Titus 2:14, “ 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” What is one objective of God's redemptive work? To purify a group of people, a community that belongs to him. Eph 4:11-16 is about spiritual gifts. However, what is the context of these spiritual gifts? “body of Christ….we all…we may no longer be children……we are to grow…..the whole body…..makes the body grow….” It is about the growth of a group of people, the church, and not just individuals.

  God works in individuals so he/she can grow into maturity. God also works in individuals so the community of believers can grow. When I grow into Christ-likeness, because of my sinful nature, I can only reflect a portion of Christ's beauty in me. The same is true with you. You can only reflect a portion of Christ-likeness. However, when this Christian community, this church grows into spiritual maturity, then as a community, a greater portion of Christ's fullness will be seen among us.

  Therefore when we think of spiritual growth, we're to remember that it takes place in a Christian community. From time to time I heard people saying that so and so after he/she was baptized, stopped coming to the fellowship or even to the church. This is not right, because after baptism, we are to grow with other believers in the Christian community. How does this happen?

II.   God gives Spiritual Gifts to the community of believers.

  Ephesians 4:11-16 is a familiar passage on spiritual gifts. We learned that God has given different spiritual gifts to his church. So what are gifts for?

    1.   Spiritual gifts are given for service. In vs.11-13, “ 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, ..” We learn that God has given the church certain gifts. These gifts are given to equip the saints so the body, the church can grow into maturity. Gifts are given to serve others, that they can grow into maturity. Do we remember on the night Jesus was betrayed, what did he do? Of all the things he could have done, he humbled himself and washed his disciples' feet. He served them. He wanted to set an example for the 12, that they are to serve one another. God has given us spiritual gifts to serve others. Some of us may possess some of the leadership gifts, it is important to remember that such gifts are not to be used to lord over others, to make them listen and obey us. The leadership and other gifts are used to serve, to be servants.

    2.   Spiritual gifts point to the central gift: Word. In verse 11 we are given the names of some spiritual gifts that God has given to the church: Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. What do they do? The apostles proclaim God's word. The Prophets apply God's word to present situations, Evangelists bring the Word to individuals, cities and other parts of the world. They are gifted in such a way that they are effective in bringing others to faith in God. Pastors and teachers explain and apply the word to God's people. What do we see here? The work of apostles, prophets, evangelist, pastors and teachers have one thing in common. There ministries center on God's Word. God's Word is the central gift that God has given to His church.

  Other gifts cannot be separated from this central gift. The gift of wisdom and knowledge is based on the Word; the supernatural gifts of tongues, miracles and healings are all tested by the Word. These gifts also serve as pointers to the truth and power of God's word.

  God has given the church His word. All other spiritual gifts are given to help individuals to hear and understand the Word and come to know Christ. After coming to Christ, these various gifts will continue to help the believers to grow into Christ's fullness. Some times we see a sad phenomena in the Christian churches. When there is an issue about the manifestation or use of some of the supernatural gifts, such as tongues and healings, it often leads to disputes and arguments, resulting in division within the church. Spiritual gifts are not meant to cause confusion and the splitting of churches; instead, it is to help individuals to understand the Word and come to Christ and grow in him. Therefore whenever there is disharmony and division in the Christian church because of spiritual gifts, then something is wrong. We need to go back to the scriptures and see what they teaches.

III. God gives Spiritual Gifts to help the believers to grow in Christ.

  In this passage we have learned that God gives different spiritual gifts to the church. The purpose of these gifts is to apply the central gift: His Word, to the body of Christ, so that individuals and the community can grow into the fullness of Christ, being Christ-like. Now, let's take a look at how this grow happens. There are two aspects of this growth: one is negative, and the other positive.

    1.   The negative aspect of Christian growth. Vs.14, “ 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” We're no longer children. Or in 1 Corinth 13:11, “ 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.” To grow spiritually means that we no longer be like children. What is a child like? A child usually is rather self-centered, expecting others to cater to his/her needs. A child usually has little self control, easily getting into a temper tantrum. A child can also lack information or knowledge on many subjects, including matters of life. A child has difficulty to distinguish the real from the false, right from wrong. A child is easily persuaded by others and is very vulnerable to being misled. For this reason, parents tell their children not to listen to any strangers. Don't take anything from strangers.

  Spiritual growth is like this. When we first come to know Christ, we are like a child. We expect other to cater to our needs. We are easily influenced by different kinds of teachings. Some of the teachings are good and solid, others very questionable. We have a hard time distinguishing style from content. If we like that particular style, such as being very relational, dynamic, positive, then we ignore the content of the message and take it in as the gospel truth.

  Several weeks ago, in a Christian magazine, I read a statement made by a pastor. “Please write a book about how Christians should look at the Da Vinci Code. Hurry up. One of my members after reading the book has lost his faith.” A child's faith can easily be affected by not only the Da Vinci Code, but also by the Gospel of Judas. How are we going to respond if one day in the future a document was found written by Paul and it was his grocery list? Will it affect our faith in this Bible? Why are we so easily influenced? Because there is not sufficient understanding of the Word and about the Word. This is what Paul means, “…… tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”

  So, how can we not be like children? How can we grow out of this childish state? 1 Peter 2:2, “ 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation..” God's word is the spiritual milk that will enable us to grow spiritually.

  I think of individuals with leadership and service gifts will help initiate, arrange and organize different workshops, seminars, conferences and SS. Those with the gift of teaching will explain and apply God's word to the believers. This is how different gifts are used to help us grow in the Lord so that we are no longer children.

    2.   The positive aspect of growth. If we are no longer children, what are we? Vs.15-16, “ 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

  We often use v15, “Rather, speaking the truth in love…” in the area of relationship and communication. I have also used it this way in many different occasions. Paul is saying that instead of being influenced by different teachings, being unstable and self-centered like a child, we must have love among us. Yes, when the spiritual gifts are used to facilitate the power of God's word, there is truth among us. For God's word is truth. But there must also be love. Truth and love cannot be separated. Over 45 years ago, Francis Schaeffer said that the purpose of the L'Abri fellowship is love, to manifest the existence of God. In other words, we are to show forth the truth with love.

  About once a year, I have to trim some of the branches in my front and back yard. Cutting them down is easy. The challenging part is how to bring them to the curbside to be picked up. The easiest way is to tie the branches with a string or rope. This is what vs.15 means. In the community of the redeemed, we are to be tied together, bonded together with Love. Love means caring and accepting people around us unconditionally. When there is love, there is also the confession of our sins when we have hurt others; and offer forgiveness when we are offended.

  When we look at this body of Christ, HCC, we see a ministry that is cross generational and cross cultural. Even though most of us are ethnically Chinese, we are as different as day and night. Besides our age differences, we are also different in the ways we look at life. We have the WW2 generation who values tradition and stability. There are the baby boomers who challenge any kind of tradition, the generation X will reject authority except their own. There is also the post modern generation with the focus on their feelings. Just when we begin to understand postmodernism, we are told that we are in the post postmodern society. We have also come from all parts of the world. I often jokingly tell people that we don't need to go overseas for mission work. HCC itself is a cross cultural ministry. What brings us together? Yes, we have the word taught and applied here. What is equally important is that there must be love. Love brings us together; Love ties us together so we grow into Christ's image.

  On Easter Sunday, several fellowship groups sponsored a special lunch program for the Seniors among us. Seeing how the seniors are being served and cared for brings to me a sense of joy and satisfaction. Bring to my mind this passage, “… makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

  You see, God has given us His Word. He also gives us different spiritual gifts so that we can use and apply his word to make this into a community, a fellowship of love. These gifts are given so that we can serve and care for one another. These gifts are given so we can also be a witness for him in this world.

Conclusion:

  Some of you get energized when you are with a crowd. The more people, the better it is. I am just the opposite. I get energized when I am alone. This is my source of strength. So, from time to time, I would go to a place by a very quiet lake, where I can focus on God, do some readings and prepare for next year's sermon and ministry. I always look forward to this time of solitude. I fantasize how much I will accomplish during that week or more. However, after I get there, the first two days are great, but then I start thinking of home and starting counting how many more days I have to endure. And I look forward to coming home and the church.

  You see, we are not meant to live alone. For a little while it is ok, but not for long. God wants us to be in a community of believers. He has given His Word to this community. And then he also gives different spiritual gifts to his church so that we can help each other hear, understand and apply His Word to our daily living. This is how we grow in a Christian community.

Major Reference: Growing in Grace by Sinclair Ferguson