By what every joint supplies,

During our Wednesday evening studies we have returned to mine the depths of several well known passages to find (as we always do) more priceless gems. Recently, we have considered verses 11-16 in the fourth chapter of Paul's letter to the Ephesians. In this portion of the letter Paul says that Christ has given apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastor-teachers to the church in order to build up the church to full spiritual maturity. Given this fact, we must infer that no Christian can ever reach full spiritual maturity if they neglect the Lord's specific provision given for that purpose. In other words, no Christian can reach full maturity unless they are connected to the sources through which God works to develop spiritual maturity. This, of course, does not preclude an individual's personal responsibility (cf. 2 Timothy 2:15, 3:14-17). But, it is certain that without the regular ministry of those whom Christ has called and gifted for the welfare of the church, few Christians will progress in the faith as they ought.

Reformed Christians ofter refer to the means of grace, by this is understood the God-given specific ways by which a Christian is to live and grow in the Lord. These means include reading and obeying the Scriptures, prayer, observing the ordinances of the church, fellowship and service in the church, and gospel ministry to the world. When a Christian's life is ordered along these God-given ways, the result is spiritual maturity. When a Christian neglects these ways the result is spiritual retardation (cf. 1 Cor. 3:1-3; Hebrews 5:12-6:3). Neglect also opens a Christian up to the many false doctrines and practices that attack the church (Acts 20: 28-32; Eph. 4:14; 2 Tim. 3:13; 2 Pet. 2:1-3). Neglect always results in a weak faith.

But, it is not just the neglectful Christian who is weakened, the whole church suffers to some extent – the degree to which is determined by the number of those in the church who are not pursuing spiritual maturity in accord with the means of grace. God has designed the church in such a way that it functions best when all the individual parts are working as they ought (Eph. 4:16, cf. 1 Cor. 12). We all know the difference a tune- up makes to the car we drive and how secure it feels with a new set of well-balanced tires and good brakes. Like the family car, the church family needs to be kept in top running order. The family car cannot function at peak efficiency if only a few of the cylinders are firing and the church family will not reach its full potential if all the work is done by half the members.

Church membership (and all that that implies) is not a matter of personal convenience, it is a God-given duty, it is a tremendous privilege, it is the means of grace. Every member needs the church, and the church needs every member to be growing in spiritual maturity into the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ – by what every joint supplies.

For the kingdom,

Pastor Ron