| Isaiah 48:12-50:11; Ephesians 4:17-32; Psalm 69:1-18; Proverbs 24:5-6
“And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness. Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head – Christ. From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.
Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their thoughts. They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts…But that is not how you learned about the Messiah, assuming you heard Him and were taught by Him, because the truth is in Jesus: you took off your former way of life, the old man that is corrupted by deceitful desires; you are being renewed in the spirit of your minds; you put on the new man, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.” (Ephesians 4:11-18, 20-24)
God’s desire is that we all grow up in unity, faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ, taking a true measure of our progress against Jesus, not others. As we grow, we won’t be freaking out on every new thing that comes along or deceived by people who act like they know something. God has given us people in the fivefold ministry to bring us to this place of maturity. As we grow, we are to teach others what we know and in so doing we are helping to expand the body of Christ with solid, healthy people.
Paul was trying to bring the Ephesians up another level by compelling them to think beyond their natural mind-set. He told them that’s how people are led prior to meeting Christ. Our tendency is to be led by our reasoning which is in direct correlation to the way our heart (emotional center) has perceived circumstances we’ve endured and are not necessarily in line with what God requires. God calls us to move past our “feelings” and “logic” to a spacious new area in Him.
As we grow as Christians, knowing Him more intimately, then we should begin to handle things differently. Instead of allowing anger to grip us to the point of sin, allowing it to become a grudge, we allow ourselves to feel what we feel for a moment, asking God to forgive us and the offender and then we move forward. But if we choose to hold onto our old thought processes, we will never be free to enjoy the liberty we have in Christ.
How can we accomplish this new way of life. The apostle tells us that we can find the truth in Jesus. In other words, what would Jesus do? After becoming born again, we are to “take off our former way of life, the old man.” How? By renewing our minds according to the Word of God and the character of Jesus. In this way we are “putting on the new man” that walks in truth and righteousness.
Big question? Does that mean that we will be perfect, never sin or have problems again? Not at all. It simply means that in order to live out a higher calling God is empowering you and giving you the tools and people to instruct you. It is still going to be a growing process. We will have to make choices concerning which way we will behave and respond to the Lord in everyday life.
As we mature, our decisions will come more in line with Christ if we choose to actively renew our thinking patterns and line them up with the Word. Being human, we will still periodically mess up along the way, the key is quick repentance and submission to the Lord. God is so patient and good, let’s be that way with each other. Verse 32 “And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another just as God also forgave you in Christ.”
PRAYER:
Lord, I pray for more knowledge of You. I want to mirror You. Thank You for awakening my spirit and giving me an opportunity to know You. I choose to be faithful in church attendance, prayer and Bible study, not as duties, but out of my love and desire to know more about You. Asking You to make me all You have called and created me to be. I’m yielded. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. |
