God Uses Members as Instruments to Grow Up His Children
FOCUS TEXT: Ephesians 4:11-16 & Hebrews 5:11-14
Sunday, as a part of our “We Are Family” series, we discovered that members of God’s family are to be instruments in growing up God’s children. From our focus texts we learned that spiritual maturity can be measured by a person’s spiritual investment in others. In our Hebrews text we heard the author say: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers…” From this we conclude that the best measure of spiritual growth is greater ownership for the spiritual lives of other members in God’s family.
Then in our Ephesians text we heard that God “gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints…” There are two primary interpretations of this verse. Some see this as a list of roles in the Church, but roles are not specifically addressed in this text. Instead, a better interpretation is to embrace this verse as a list of gifts or various ways that the Holy Spirit speaks through disciple makers into the lives of disciples for the sake of their spiritual growth. The text seems to imply that the family of God needs disciple makers who inspire vision (apostolic), point out blind spots (prophetic), cultivate gospel sharing (evangelistic), speak into struggle (shepherding), and instruct in the way of Christ (teaching).
I believe Christ exemplified each of these gifts perfectly throughout His life in relationship with His disciples. I also believe that mature believers, including Elders and Deacons, will grow in their ability to speak in these various ways to others. But generally I believe that God gifts members of God’s family to use their gifts to teach other disciples and help them grow up into Christ.
What does Ephesians 4:15 mean when it says: “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ?” In other words, what should disciple makers teach other disciples? From our focus texts we discover disciple makers should teach other disciples:
To humbly submit to Christ as the head.
To grow in wisdom and spiritual discernment.
To give of themselves in works of ministry.
To become like Jesus in character, actions, and mission.
To become one in Christ. And…
To speak truth in love to others in the family.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
Read Hebrews 5:11-14. What do you think “dull of hearing” means? How might someone sharpen their spiritual hearing?
Leaning into the mediator of milk and solid food, what do you think “unskilled in the word of righteousness” and “trained by constant practice” means?
What steps might you need to take to be better equipped to invest in others?
PRAYER RESPONSE
Ask the Lord to help you to embrace a regular pattern of receiving and applying the Word. Ask Him to shape and transform you, making you an effective disciple maker.
MEMORY VERSE: Hebrews 5:14
