5/21/11
Greetings,
Jesus is returning for a glorious church without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.
“That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5:27)
What does it mean to be a glorious church? In Ephesians chapter four we find God’s purpose for instituting the five-fold ministry (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers). God wants to use the five-fold ministry to get the church to this glorious state. The five-fold ministry is given until certain things are true of the corporate body of Christ. When these things are true of us, we will be the “glorious church” that the Apostle Paul says will be presented to Jesus at His coming. Consider the follow Scripture:
“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:” (Ephesians 4:11-13)
Notice that this passage lists several qualities that constitute the fulfillment of the mission for the five-fold ministry. Let’s break down the qualities and provide some working definitions:
Ø Unity of the Faith: This will occur when the church believes the same thing about God that He believes about Himself, the same thing about ourselves that God believes, and when we understand the Bible to say what God intended to communicate. This is a place of doctrinal and operational unity based on fully revealed truth. Does this sound impossible? Sure, but that doesn’t mean that it is. Until people have united around fully revealed truth as opposed to their denominational handbooks of doctrine, this will not be true, and Jesus cannot return. Where is this principle found? In Daniel 12:4 the prophet is told to seal the book until the time of the end. This means that there will be certain things that God will not even reveal to His people regarding His Word until the last days. These unsealed truths will need to be received and understood in unity as part of coming to the “unity of the faith.”
Ø Knowledge of the Son of God: The word used for knowledge is the Greek word epiginosko, which means know, acknowledge, perceive, take knowledge of, have knowledge of, or know well. This type of knowledge involves a degree of intimacy with the object (or person) that is being known. In this case, it requires intimacy with the Savior of our souls. This goes beyond anything you can get from going to church on a regular basis, serving on the local PTA (Parent Teacher’s Association), volunteering at the soup kitchen or teaching a Bible study. This is a walk with God that can be described with one simple word—romance. You can’t fake this. Before a bride is given away in marriage to the groom, she is (or at least she should be!) head over heels in love with him. This is different than reading His bio and hearing others talk about His qualities. We must corporately come to a place of intimate knowledge of the Son of God.
Ø Unto a Perfect Man: The word translated perfect is the Greek word teleios and can also be understood as coming of full age. When we are born again, we are born spiritual infants. Our spirit needs to grow and develop just like our natural bodies will grow and develop. There are four stages according to the apostle John (1 John 2:12-14). He first uses the Greek term teknion in verse 12 which refers to infants or new Christian converts. This is translated as “little children” in the KJV. Then in verse 13 he uses the term paidon which is also translated “little children” in the KJV. However, paidon refers to young children or immature believers that have been converted for some time. John then uses the term neaniskos which is translated as young men. These are maturing Christians that are moving towards manhood in the faith. Lastly he uses the term patēr which means father. These are mature Christians. This does not mean that they have been warming the pew for 40 years. This has nothing to do with involvement in their local church or the number of literal children they have conceived. This has to do with true spiritual maturity. They have had Christ formed in them (Galatians 4:19) and like Jesus, they will fully complete the course given to them by God (2 Timothy 4:7, John 17:4). Paul said that in the first church there were not many fathers (1 Corinthians 4:15), but in the last generation God is going to change this.
Ø Unto the Measure of the Stature of the fullness of Christ: This is a place where it becomes difficult to tell the difference between the church and the God of the church, Jesus Christ. In the book of Revelation chapter 1 John sees a vision of Jesus in the midst of the seven lamp stands. The seven lamp stands are the seven churches. With Jesus in their midst this illustrates a fusion, and this fusion goes far beyond the spiritual fusion between us and the Holy Spirit when we are saved (1 Corinthians 6:17). This means that the body of Christ will look like, act like, and function like Jesus. In the same way that Jesus had control over His physical body when He lived on earth, He intends to have control over His body of believers prior to His return. He is the head, we are the body.
From my perspective Ephesians chapter four is the heart cry of Jesus for His church. It also provides His strategy for seeing His people come to our appointed destination. Next week we are going to continue talking about this chapter.
Discussion
1. What is the unity of the faith?
2. What is the knowledge of the son of God?
3. What does it mean to come to a “perfect” man?
4. What does it mean to come to the measure of the statures of the fullness of Christ?
5. What role will unity play in fulfilling the mission of the five-fold ministry?
