“Full Rights as Sons”

(part 2)

“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s 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. Then 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 in their deceitful scheming.”
Ephesians 4:11-14

Ephesians 4 tells us that God gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to prepare God’s people for works of service, foster unity and to mature the Body. It appears, however, that there was a tendency in the early church to stagnate. People either through ignorance or choice were not “progressing spiritually” neither individually or as a body. After what was considered a reasonable amount of time, many believers had not progressed beyond the elementary teachings:

“We have so much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
Hebrews 5:11-14

Upon reading Hebrews 5, we are left with the impression, that the early church was simply re-hashing the same foundational teachings concerning repentance from acts that lead to death, faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.

They were living on milk (like an infant) and not acquainting themselves with the meat of God’s Word. It is the meat of God’s Word that keeps us from being tossed about by every wind of teaching. It is the meat of God’s Word that teaches us to distinguish between good and evil. It is the meat of God’s Word that enables us to escape the corruption in world caused by evil desires:

“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our KNOWLEDGE of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises , so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”
1 Peter 1:3-4
In order to attain life and godliness we must learn to possess “knowledge” of Christ in increasing measure. By maturing in our knowledge of Christ we can avoid becoming ineffective and unproductive:

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
2 Peter 1:5-8

By maturing in our faith, growing in our knowledge of Christ, and possessing godliness we demonstrate our commitment to spiritual growth and position ourselves to enjoy “full rights as sons.”







Pastor Scott Burr http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com