November 20, 2022; Sunday School

Order of Service

• Prayer Requests and Pastoral Prayer
• Sermon

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Sermon Title: Growing to Maturity on the Pilgrim Way

Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-16

I. The Goal of Maturity in the Christian Life

A. Sinclair Ferguson's question: What are the most important lessons the New Testament teaches about being a Christian?

1. Responses: John 6:33, holiness, repentance, suffering, the two great commandments, obedience
2. Ferguson adds: the New Testament writers had a deep concern to see Christians grow to spiritual maturity

B. Paul's own goal in ministry: presenting everyone mature in Christ

1. Colossians 1:28-29 — "Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ"
2. Maturity is the central goal of Paul's labors in preaching and teaching

C. The image of the tree as a picture of maturity

1. A sapling must be supported until its roots go deep enough to stand on its own
2. Deep roots allow the tree to weather storms; shallow roots cause even large trees to fall
3. The goal is Deep Roots, strong branches, and fruitfulness — a picture of the spiritually mature believer

II. Defining Maturity — The Greek Word Teleos

A. The word teleos (τέλειος) and its family convey the idea of wholeness, completeness, perfection

1. Sometimes translated "perfect" — Matthew 5:48: "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect"
2. Could describe a sacrifice without blemish, something complete with nothing lacking, a finished product of high quality, or a mature and well-rounded character
3. In ordinary usage, teleos denoted adult behavior — maturity as opposed to childishness

B. Distinction between childishness and childlikeness

1. 1 Corinthians 14:20 — "Brothers, do not be children in your thinking… in your thinking be mature"

III. Maturity as Described in Ephesians 4

A. Foundation: Ephesians 3:17-19 — being rooted and grounded in love, comprehending the breadth, length, height, and depth of Christ's love

B. The gift of church officers — Ephesians 4:11-13

1. Christ gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers
2. Their common purpose: a word ministry — to equip the saints for the work of ministry and the building up of the body of Christ
3. The goal: "until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ"
4. Unity of faith and knowledge — faith requires knowledge; knowledge of the Son of God (who he is and what he has done) fills up and grounds faith
5. "Stature" can also be rendered "age" — the measure of the full age of Christ; believers are to be conformed to the image of Christ as he grew in knowledge and stature before God and man

C. The contrast: immature children — Ephesians 4:14

1. Children tossed to and fro by waves, carried about by every wind of doctrine, human cunning, and deceitful schemes
2. They lack stability, an anchor, deep roots
3. The mature believer can recognize and cling to truth and is not swept away by new or false teaching

IV. Another Path to Maturity — Trials

A. James 1:2-4 — "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness… that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing"

1. Word ministry operates among those facing trials and sufferings
2. Trials work together with word ministry to build faith and produce maturity

V. What Makes Growing in Maturity Difficult

A. Lack of discipline — our natural self resists discipline and change

B. The distractions of the present age

1. Smartphones and constant connectivity have diminished the capacity for deep concentration and slow, sustained thought
2. A microwave, instant-gratification culture works against the slow growth that maturity requires
3. Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death — the medium of television (and by extension, screens generally) is not conducive to the word-centered, listening-oriented nature of Christian discipleship

C. Poorly trained or poorly gifted shepherds in the broader church — bad word ministry leaves people vulnerable to being tossed about by false doctrine

D. Application: cultivate slow-burning disciplines

1. Turn off screens; read books; write; practice sustained attention
2. Be mindful of what makes maturity difficult and work intentionally against those obstacles

VI. Summary and Application

A. One of the chief goals of the pilgrim life is growing in maturity — wholeness and completeness in Christ

B. Maturity comes through the ministry of the word, through capable shepherds, and through trials

C. The destination of this growth is conformity to the image of Christ — pilgrims who are whole and complete on the long road home