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Welcome to our look at verses 13 to 16 of Ephesians chapter 4, day 3 of our look
at this chapter. We've been talking about the things that build unity between us
as believers, which is really one of the most vital things about our walk in
Christ. I'm going to walk well as a believer, walk in faith, and I need to walk
in unity with other believers because that's where I get the strength from.

These last couple days we've talked about the need to have the attitudes of
humility and gentleness and patience. We've talked about giving it your all to
trust in the Spirit's unity. We've talked about appreciating unity through
diversity.

We've talked about respect for God-given leaders. And then there's one final
thing we want to focus on. You want unity?

Remember yesterday we talked about that the leaders in the church are given to
prepare God's people for works of service so that the body of Christ might be
built up. So that the body of Christ might be built up. When we get to verse 16,
we're going to read that the body is built up as each part does its work.

There is no unity without service. Serving with one another and serving one
another is what builds our unity with one another. Unity is not found in just
sitting in a room and talking about love.

It's found in taking our God-given gifts and using them in concert with each
other to serve Jesus in this world, to serve Jesus in the church. That's why God
has given us spiritual gifts, to build each other up with. Warren Wiersbie has
said spiritual gifts are not toys to play with.

They're not weapons to fight one another with, they're tools to build with. We
build God's church with these tools of the gifts he's given us. Why does God
give us spiritual gifts?

There's a lot of ideas out there. Some people think it's for proof of
spirituality, and that's not so. Or for some personal ecstasy, like it makes me
feel good about myself.

Or even others think I get this gift as a reward. If I do this, I'm going to get
that gift and I'm going to look better than you. No, that's not what it's about
at all.

Gifts are God-given abilities of service. Servanthood is the purpose of
spiritual gifts. And God's goal in all of this is unity.

He sums up what we've been talking about in verse 13, Ephesians 4. 13. He does
this 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.

You see, we've come full circle. Our unity is built on our individual gifts. And
here, our individual gifts grow back into our unity until you reach unity, until
you become mature, until you attain to the whole measure of the fullness of
Christ.

Now that phrase, the whole measure, it's not about us measuring up. It's about
Christ doing the full measure of his work in us. Our growth is not just a
continuing process.

It will be that all the time we're on this earth, the continuing process of
growth. But the Bible teaches that it's also to be a completed project. When
will it be finished?

It will be finished when we see Jesus together in heaven. It's a lifetime
project, but it's a worthwhile lifetime project, the unity of God's church. In
fact, the picture here is, it's the fullness of Christ.

What's that mean until we reach the whole measure of the fullness of Christ?
That phrase, the fullness of Christ, means the church. It's the honor of the
church.

We've been talking together about unity and the importance of the church. And as
Paul has talked about this, at the end of talking about the ways that you and I
can build the church, he paints a picture of the difference that unity makes. He
shows us what an immature church looks like, and then he contrasts that with the
picture of a mature church.

The picture of an immature church is in Ephesians 4. 14. Then he says, "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 men and their
deceitful scheming.

" He says here that immature churches and immature people are controlled by
three things. Circumstances, new ideas, selfish people. Circumstances, they're
tossed back and forth by the waves.

Every circumstance that comes into the church changes the direction of the
church and the hope and the faith of the church. Immature churches and people
are also controlled by new ideas. Every wind of teaching.

Jesus described his teaching as a rock that you could stand on. Paul here
describes false teaching as a wind. And you never know exactly which way the
wind's going to be blowing.

Might be interesting, but it's nothing you can stand on. And he also says a
picture of an immature church is that it's controlled not just by circumstances
and quote unquote new ideas, it's also controlled by selfish people. The cunning
and craftiness of men.

When a selfish person finds an immature church, they'll use that church to try
to get what they want. That word craftiness, it's interesting. It comes from the
Greek word koubia, which literally means skill and manipulating the dice,
cheating the game.

And there are people who are looking for immature churches so they can cheat and
get what they want out of the church rather than serve and do what God wants in
the church. That's the picture of an immature church. That's not the only
picture in these verses.

There's also the picture of a mature church, Ephesians 4, 15 and 16. Instead, he
says, instead of that other picture, speaking the truth in love, we will in all
things grow up into him who is the head that is Christ. 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.

Immature churches are controlled by the three things we just talked about.
Mature churches give control to Christ in three areas that we see in these
verses. Now notice the difference between being controlled by something or
giving control to someone.

You can't control your own destiny, but we do get to choose who will control our
destiny. We can give it up to false teachers or we can let Christ control. And
mature churches, mature people give control to Christ in three areas.

Our communication, the way that we talk to each other, our direction, the way we
make decisions, and our service, the way that we serve each other. Notice he
says speaking the truth in love. That's our communication.

False teachers don't speak the truth in love. They tell you what you want to
hear, not what you need to hear. That's why false teaching can be so attractive.

But Paul says here, when a church becomes mature, they're not chasing after
false teachers anymore. They're speaking the truth in love. That's a sign of
maturity.

You can also see it not just in our communication, but in our direction, the way
that we make decisions. We grow up into him who is the head. We make decisions
looking to him who is the head.

Jesus Christ is a part of the decisions in my life. I don't just make them on my
own anymore. I look to him.

We look to him. A mature church realizes that Jesus Christ is the head of the
church and looks to him as we make decisions together. If Jesus is the head,
that means I've got to look to him in the decisions of the church.

And then we also are mature in our service, our communication, our direction in
our service, the way we serve together. The whole body joined together by every
joint and ligament growing and building itself up in love. Remember, the picture
of a church is a body, and this is a strong picture of the body of Christ.

What would an organizational chart of the church look like? It would be the
picture of a body. And look at how the body serves together in these verses.

It's joined and held together by every supporting ligament in love as each part
does its work. That's how we work together in Christ. And we've walked through
these verses fairly quickly in Ephesians chapter four, one of my favorite
chapters in all the Bible.

And you may need to listen to one or two of these again because I know I've
rushed through some very important points. But as we come to this end of a look
at what it means to be a mature church, a growing church, a church that is
unified together in Christ, I'd like to do something a little different for our
prayer time today. We have a membership covenant here at Saddleback that's based
on the New Testament call of every believer.

And I'd like to walk through that with you in our prayer time and just let you
ask before the Lord or maybe even recommit before the Lord your decision to be a
part of a great church, your decision to make the commitments and to do the
things that make a church great because a church is nothing but the members that
are in it. So as I read this membership covenant and you pray together, just say
to Jesus Christ, Lord, I will protect the unity of my church by acting in love
towards other members, by refusing to gossip, by following the leaders, I'll
protect the unity. Lord, I will share the responsibility of my church.

By praying for its growth, by inviting the unchurched to attend, by warmly
welcoming those who visit, I'll share the responsibility to reach out. Lord, I
will serve in the ministry of my church by discovering my gifts and talents, by
being equipped to serve by my pastors and leaders and God, by developing a
servant's heart. And Lord, I recommit to you today that I will support the
testimony of my church by attending faithfully to be with other believers, not
forsaking our gathering together, by living a godly life, by giving regularly to
you.

I'll support what you're doing in your body, your church. Jesus Christ, it is
your church. You are the head of the church.

And I recommit myself to you to follow you together with other believers. In
your name, Jesus, amen. Well, join us tomorrow as we begin to look at Ephesians
4, 17.

We're going to be looking at the incredible ways that God works change into our
lives as believers.