Ephesians 4:11-13 “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 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.”
The pursuit to attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ is part of our spiritual maturity. Our spiritual journey with never fully come to completion on earth, but it is God’s desire that His children work towards that goal, while striving and thriving along the path of righteousness as they grow in spiritual maturity. We are to work towards being more like Christ, because in doing so we become more spiritually mature. Keep the eternal perspective and never give up on your spiritual walk in the ministry of knowing God and making God known. Even though we may not arrive at full spiritual maturity in the fullness of Christ, the more mature that we get, then the close we get to being all that God intends for us to be.
What breaks my heart is to look around and see all of the Christians that want to settle with just getting by, lukewarm and not growing. Some people do not want to do the hard work that is needed to get on the journey to spiritual maturity. The Christian life is a continual learning experience being deep rooted in the most abundant living available in Christ, yet unless we have someone come alongside us to encourage us and keep us focused on the path of faith-building and service, then we tend to dwindle and fade away by distractions and the cares of this world. That is why it is important to be together in the family of God at church on Sunday, in personal devotion time, in prayer groups, in Small Group Bible Studies, in congregational care, in community outreach and in witnessing the Gospel to others.
So many people could have the fullness of God in their stage of life, but they settle for the cheap imitations, thinking that we are barely getting by. If that is the case, who really is Lord and who am I really following? Where are we trying to get to and by what means? Our vehicle to experientially knowing the love of Christ is the grasping the four dimensions of how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, knowing that this love surpasses all our finite and limited knowledge. The way that we get closer to our spiritual maturity is by grasping the fact that God loves us so much; with agape love. John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him. The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already.”
The Bible tells us that all mankind has sinned multiple times in their life deserving the wrath of God, and (whether we admit it or not) have been judged and destined to Hell and eternal damnation already as our just and deserved punishment. But, our loving and merciful Creator God provided a way out by sending a Savior in His Son Jesus Christ to those who repent, believe and receive Him; through saving faith obtain the perfect atoning work of redemption on the Cross in our place to pay the price and giving eternal life in Heaven. Is this because we deserved salvation? No, Romans 5:8 tells us, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” That is the Gospel.
Let's continue Pastor Herk's message on the fullness of God's love in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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