It's Time to God-Man Up

"When are you gonna grow up?!?"  Can't tell you how many times my parents, teachers, coaches and other adults (including my lovely bride) inquired about the rate of maturity.  They certainly had reason to ask the question.  Most of my life has been spent out on the playground.  Instead of accepting any responsibility, I lived much of my life at recess.  But eventually it was time for me to man up.

Paul pleads for his Ephesian friends to grow up.  He reminds them that Jesus sent personal trainers in God's Word to pump up His people and prepare them for ministry (Eph 4:11-12).  The result of this is a strong and healthy body of Christ.  We are to build up each other "until we all attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (v13).  The goal is for the local church to mature.  Grow up.  Man up.  Or should I say, God-Man up.

Paul pleads for the Ephesians to be united.  That's how he began this section.  Unity in the church is one of the results of walking worthy of Jesus' calling (Eph 4:4).  We fight for unity by being humble, not throwing our weight around and being patient with other believers.  This starts when we all have the same foundational beliefs about who Jesus is, what He's done and His Word.  Sure there are going to be issues that we don't agree on.  Let's face facts.  There are HUGE differences among the various churches over key stuff like the baptism and the Lord's Supper.  There's a Grand Canyon of disagreement over whether we choose Jesus (Arminianism) or He chooses us (Calvinism).  

Mark Driscoll talks about "open handed" and "close handed" issues.  "Open handed" issues are certainly worth discussing but not worth fighting over.  "Close handed" issues make up the foundation of our faith that cannot be compromised in any way.  Each church needs to determine what's worth fighting for.  Paul's call for Ephesian unity is urgent and necessary.  Not more than 100 miles away, a group of spiritual hucksters have caused a lot of pain and anguish.  They've duped followers of Jesus in places like Colossae, Hierapolis and Laodicea into believing a heresy.  The lie: Jesus is good but not God.  He might be able to save you, but it's up to you to stay saved.  Just before he wrote this note to Ephesus, he fired off a letter called the Colossians to stop the madness over there.  He let people know that Jesus is not only God (Col 2:9), but He's more God than we can wrap our brains around (Col 1:15-20).  Paul knows that "the unity of the faith" (v13) in Ephesus is the only way to keep folks from falling for the same counterfeit gospel that trashed the Colossians.

So what should we believe in order to have this unity?  I'm so very glad you asked.  First of all, it's NOT trusting in our own efforts to save ourselves.  We can't start it.  We can't finish it.  It's only by placing our trust in what Jesus has done that we could NEVER do.  He lived the perfect, sinless life that we failed to live.  He died the brutal death as punishment for our sin that we should have died.  He rose to a spectacular new life that we certainly do not deserve.  We can't do it.  He did it perfectly and completely.  We trust in who He is and what He's done.  We can't add anything to what Jesus has done.  That's why Christ cried out from the cross, "It is finished!!!" (Jn 19:30).  Let's be unified in Jesus.  When we set our eyes on Him and head toward Him, we'll end up going in the same direction no matter where we are.  Let's "all attain to the unity of the faith" (v13).

We're unified when we grow up.  We’re unified when we God-Man up.

From the big house in Rome, Paul knows the importance of "the knowledge of the Son of God" (v13).  He's NOT talking about simply acknowledging the existence of the Carpenter from Nazareth.  Being able to answer a few questions on the final about the radical and risen Rabbi won't get you into heaven.  The apostle knows that a real and personal relationship with Jesus is essential.  Not long after this note to his Ephesian friends, he wrote to folks in Philippi about the importance of really knowing Christ.  He chucks everything else in the dumpster compared to "surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" (Phil 3:8).  He goes so far as to say that anything other than his relationship with Jesus is a big steaming pile.  Yeah, the Greek REALLY says that!!!  The more we apply His Word to our lives and obey His truth, the deeper our relationship with Jesus.

We're mature when we grow up.  We’re mature when we God-Man up.

Paul then uses a very interesting phrase that most translators scratch their heads over: "to mature manhood" (v13).  He literally writes that the goal of each believer is maturity "to a full-grown man."  God's goal is for each one of us to grow up.  To man up.  We're all in process.  God's process.  He started it.  And He promises to finish it (Phil 1:6).  He's given us folks like the apostles, prophets, evangelists and shepherd/teachers to play a big part in growing us up.  When we stand unified in our trust in Jesus and in a personal relationship with Him, we grow up.

Man up.  God-Man up.

While it's important for each one of us to have that personal relationship with Christ, Paul's point here is that the local church be unified and mature.  That only happens together.  That only happens because we need each other.  Remember that the bulk of the apostle's letters are written to churches, not individuals.  Following Jesus is a team sport.  From the very beginning, God talked about the importance of community and our need for each other (Gen 2:16).  We're only united in community.  We're only mature in community.  Only when the different parts of Christ's body come together to support each other and function as a unit do we have any chance of God-Manning up into the image of Jesus (Rom 12:3-4; 1Cor 12:14-27; Phil 2:1-11).

Man up.  God-Man up.

Here's the whacky paradox of spiritual maturity.  We grow up not by learning to rely on God less and less but by realizing that we really need Him more and more.  I man up when I raise the God-Man up.  I mature when I realize that in Christ I already have absolutely everything I'll ever want or need.  

So what do I do with all this?  How do I apply this?  How do I God-Man up?  First of all, am I united with the other members of my church?  Am I fighting for the unity?  Do I stand up for my brothers and sisters when they come under attack?  Am I willing to take one for the team?  Do I submit myself to the teaching of the pastors and leaders of our church as they seek to unify us as one?  Am I involved in the ministry of my church by using the gifts and skill set that Jesus has blessed me with?  

It's time to man up.  It's time to God-Man up.