The Outcome of Attaining

12.04.11

Ephesians 4.13 13 …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. NIV

If I’ve ever seen a purpose statement, the above is one! I hear Ephesians 4.11-12 quoted all the time: 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… This is usually quoted as a motivation to help church goers to understand that the work of the ministry is to be carried out by Christ’s people and not just the leadership of the denominations or the local clergy. But why serve anyway?  So, 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. What would our churches look like if that was the accepted goal of everyone who came there?

Many see the local Church for its social merits: to them it’s almost like a club (except without the bar… they’ll go there later). They go because it’s an opportunity to interact regularly with others and get caught up on what’s happening in each other’s lives. Others see the church as some sort of academy where they are taught about Christianity and how Christians are supposed to behave. Some see the local church as an ad hoc political force, helping to change the hearts and minds of the local residents to accept the Religious Right’s agenda.

But what if… what if we saw the church and our faith as a way of life until we all reach unity in the faith (not uniformity) and in the knowledge of the Son of God and [became] mature attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ? You see, the social club, academy, and political force are only ways of getting people to think – attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ is a way of life! Much of our problem in the modern church is that we don’t understand what we’re called to: attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ!

The outcome of this “attaining” is this: 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 people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of 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. (Ephesians 4.14-16 NIV)Who wouldn’t want to be part of a church like that!? Only those who misunderstand the purpose of the church…

The call on the modern church is to grow up! The call on the modern church is to forsake infancy and embrace maturity; and this is only accomplished through opportunities of serving one another in love. When we begin to value one another at a higher level and seek to really serve and help one another, then the complexion of the church becomes less complex and people are truly led into following Christ with the specific goal of attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ: so full of Jesus that change in the world truly begins to take place.

This is where we’re to go and we’ve much to go through to get there, but watch out if we ever do!