Maturity

Text: Eph. 4:14-16
More Lessons: 2 Pet.3:18
Bible Reading in One Year: Judges 16-18

Maturity has remained a crucial matter for the body of Christ. Most of the traits the church exhibits like selfishness, instability, gullibility, being tossed to and fro by new teachings come out of immaturity.

The following are a few of the essentials the church needs to grow to maturity,
1. Growth and maturity come by nutrition and not just by addition. The church body matures from within when we feed on the Word of God. God's truth ministered in love provides spiritual nutrition to the body. However, when the church is faced with the famine of the word it becomes an entertainment centre. Pastors and Sunday school teachers need to realize how great a responsibility it is to teach the Word of truth.

2. The church matures in an atmosphere of love. Apostle Paul in Eph. 4:15 said truth and love must go together; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. He meant, “saying” the truth and “doing” the truth. Truth is objective; love is subjective, and we must have both. The preacher must preach the truth in love; we must apply the truth in love. Love without truth is hypocrisy and truth without love is brutality. Once truth starts to vanish, no amount of love will compensate for it. At the same time, when love vanishes truth becomes hard and brittle.

3. The body matures as each of the fivefold ministries goes to work. It is good to know that each of us has a ministry to fulfil in building the body of Christ. We must ensure we do our part because nobody else can do it. And if we don't, we miss the blessing and rob the church of growth. We need to fellowship with the local church to grow and to serve. We can help people grow through our prayers (I Thess. 3:10). Because God perfects and equips us through suffering (I Pet. 5:10), if we allow Him in our sufferings we will grow and mature.

4. The body matures to a predetermined image. God wants His people and His church collectively to become like the Lord Jesus Christ. We are not to become like our preacher or minister whom we greatly admire (Eph. 4:13); 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 effectiveness of the local church should not be based on annual or quarterly report but it is measured by the changes that take place in the lives of people as they serve one another and become more like the Son of God.

Prayer/Action
* Pray for all round maturity in your life.
* Ask God to make you an agent of maturity to all the church.
* Ask God to cause you to grow in grace and knowledge of Him.

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