Infant or Adult? Isn’t It time To GROW UP?
Purpose of the five fold according to Ephesians 4:12-16 ….. “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. Instead speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into 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."
Infants or adults in Christ: I Corinthians 1:10-13 ….. “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some of Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided?”
Infants or adults in Christ: I Corinthians 1:1-9 ….. “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly – mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there are jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, ‘I follow Paul,’ and another, ‘I follow Apollos,’ are you not mere men? What after all, is Apollos? What is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe – as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field. God’s building.”
Church, we need “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.” We need “in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is Christ.” How long are we going to 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? Instead speaking the truth in love”? “Is Christ divided?” How long will we be a divided church, “For since there are jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?”
Why does the Church need the five fold? To GROW UP! To train, equip, prepare the saints so that “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.” To bring unity instead of being tossed by “every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming?”
Paul address the Christians at Corinth as “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly – mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there are jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?” Would he say the same to our churches today? Unfortunately, I would think he would. The mentality of Christian churches today only brings divisions not unity, church splits instead of growth, doctrinal and theological debate rather than unity of the message of good news, the gospel. What applied in Paul’s day, still applies to the Church today. Isn’t it time to “GROW UP”?
Let’s allow believers to grow up through acknowledging the five fold among us, encouraging one another, nurturing one enough, being accountable to one another, serving one another, laying down our lives for each other, equipping and preparing one another, and releasing one another for works of service. That is a totally different mentality and attitude than the church currently embraces.
The scriptures above speak for themselves. How do we as individual Christians and corporately as the body of Christ respond to them? How long must the Holy Spirit treat us as infants before we are willing to eat meat. Must we be enabled like the Children of Disobedience in the wilderness after leaving Egypt where they only had manna to eat. We can feast at the Lord’s table because of Jesus. So much more is available to us if we only grow up!
Isn’t it time to “GROW UP”?