Anchored in Truth: Growing Together in Christ (Eph 4:14–16)

Good morning, and welcome to the preaching ministry of Dillingham Moravian Church.

My name is Pastor Simon, and we have the immense joy to hear from God's Word

today so that we can learn in growing to serve the Lord together.

Please turn with me today to Ephesians 4, verse 14 to 16,

Ephesians 4:14–16

where Paul wrote, As a result, we are no longer to be children,

tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine,

by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming.

But speaking the truth in love, we were to grow up in all aspects into him who is the head,

even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what

every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part,

causes the growth of the body for the building up itself in love.

Let's pray. Father God, we come before you We praise you that we have this wonderful

opportunity to hear from your word To be able to discern by your spirit what

your word is teaching us So Lord,

as we go to your word today Speak to us,

teach us your word Illuminate our hearts and minds So that we can apply your

word And live it out in our lives Thank you, Father.

Use us and we praise you. In your precious Son's name, Jesus Christ,

we pray. In the power of the Spirit. Amen.

Here at Dillingham Moravian Church, we have been studying through Paul's letter to the Ephesians.

The focus of Paul's letter is the unity of God displayed through the church of Jesus Christ.

In Ephesians chapter 4, where we've been studying, Paul taught the Ephesian

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

believers in Christ and us that the unity or oneness of Christ's church is based

upon and based in the oneness of God.

Last week we learned that God had given offices to the church Apostles, prophets,

evangelists, pastors, and teachers To equip Christ's

body for the work of service to Christ Until

all Christ's church reaches oneness in

Christ As we trust in Christ together We also learned that the purpose for being

equipped to serve Christ Is so that we can know Christ and experience a relationship

with Him filled with power and the life of the Son of God in us.

Moreover, God is equipping us as part of Christ's body to do the service of

ministry and to reach to the level of maturity of one who is full of Christ.

And today we're going to study in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 14 to 16.

Ephesians 4:14–16

And there are three major biblical principles that I want to draw your attention to.

The first principle is that as Christians, we are not to be children tossed

and carried away by winds of false doctrine.

One year, when coming back from

hunting up the Nushkak River in our friend Skiff, we were hit by a storm.

The winds were high, the rain was pouring down, and the waves were pounding our little boat.

My friend, who was piloting our boat, was expertly driving us towards Dillingham.

Yet the waves were really high, and we were getting tossed around by the wind and the waves.

Finally, we got to the relative safety of the Dillingham Boat Harbor.

I'm sharing this story with you to illustrate that similar to a boat being tossed

back and forth by the wind and the waves, so also we as believers, if we're not careful,

can also be tossed back and forth by the winds and waves of false doctrine and

not get to the safe ground of God's word.

Paul wrote in verse 14, As a result, we are no longer to be children,

tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine,

by the trickery of men, by craftiness and deceitful scheming.

As we start studying this passage, I want you to see that Paul began verse 14 with as a result.

Why Paul wrote as a result was that because of something in the previous verses,

we as Christians are no longer children who are tossed by every wind and wave of doctrine.

What then was it that made us not spiritual children anymore?

To understand what is in verse 14, we need to go back to Ephesians chapter 4, verse 11 to 13,

Ephesians 4:11–13

where Paul wrote, he gave some as apostles, some as prophets,

some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers for the equipping of the

saints, for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ,

until we attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of

God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

And so what Paul was teaching the Ephesians was that God had given offices to the church,

to apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, to equip Christ's

body for the work of service to Christ until all Christ's church reaches the

oneness of knowing Christ as we grow in being mature and full of Christ.

And thus Paul was saying to the Ephesians that you have and are being trained in right doctrine.

You've been trained in disciple-making and service by your pastors,

elders, Bible teachers, by Paul himself as apostle to the Gentiles,

possibly other apostles, evangelists, and prophets who came through.

And thus they, as Christ followers, have the equipping and teaching not to fall

prey to the trickery and deceit of false teachers.

But I also want you to notice that Paul equated those who get deceived by false

teaching as like children who are tossed from one false doctrine to another

like a boat in the sea being tossed by the waves.

Now, for today's cultural perspective, people do not like to be told they are wrong.

Thus, this is a very hard warning that Paul gives.

One of the wonderful things about children is that they are much easier to mold

and teach to become Christ followers than adults.

And one of the reasons for this is because children are so open to new ideas

and trusting that they are so open to new ideas and trusting.

Of those who are teaching them. And yet at the same time, it's also dangerous

for children because they do not know yet what to believe and they take in new ideas so rapidly.

This is one of the reasons why I only let my boys watch shows or YouTube that

I have approved of because they are so susceptible to new ideologies and they

don't realize that they're being deceived.

They just spout what they heard or saw like it is fact.

I often have to counteract ideas from a TV show or from school or help them

think through what was being taught them according to the truths of the Bible.

And one of the sneaky beliefs that has snuck into children's programming is

evolution, especially cartoons or shows about dinosaurs, which both my boys love.

Paul was warning the Ephesians, and I want you to see that Paul includes himself in this one,

that if we are not careful to keep the true teaching of Scripture that we were

taught and equipped by those in church office over us and keep the humble desire

to serve the Lord and those around us,

then any believer can potentially be swept away by the occurrence of false teaching.

There are two truths that we can learn from verse 14.

The first truth that we can learn is that as Christ followers,

we are to cultivate sound biblical worldview and doctrine based on the word

of God that hopefully our Bible teachers and pastors have taught us.

False teaching is deceptive and tricky because it has some truth in it.

And the social atmosphere is often one of a lot of enthusiasm with appearance of love and unity.

Yet false teachers often target people who are grieving over a loss of loved

ones, or they've gone through a difficult time and circumstance in their lives,

and they're emotionally struggling.

Yet Paul is warning all of us who believe in Christ, because at times we could

believe that we're more mature in Christ and we have a stable understanding of the Bible.

And that is when Satan is going to get us.

The reason why I say this is because temptation can reach any believer who is

not constantly vigilant in studying the scriptures and who is not intentionally

seeking to know Christ always.

And this leads us to the second way that we can apply verse 14 to ourselves.

We as Christ's disciples are to cultivate knowing Christ by abiding in his love,

and in Christ's love, obey Christ by serving others with the love of God.

This is so essential because many believers can stay vigilant in sound doctrine,

but without abiding in Christ, they're not cultivating Christ's servant love

for others, and pride can set in.

They may not be led away by false teachers, but a Christian can still be led

astray and be immature without practicing and reaching out with the love of Christ.

So far, we've learned that Paul was warning all Christians that if believers

are not careful to keep the true teaching of Scripture that they are equipped

with by those in the church offices over them, and to keep the humble desire

to serve the Lord and those around them,

then any believer can potentially be swept away by the currents of false teaching.

The second principle that I want you to see in our passage today is that as

Christians, we are to speak the truth in love and grow up in Christ our head.

When my son Jonathan was four months old, Abigail and I and Jonathan were eating

at the old Racks restaurant in Dillingham.

And up to that point, Jonathan was only nursing for food.

At the Racks, Jonathan was sitting in my arms while we were eating our meal.

Now, the whole time, Jonathan was eyeing my food, watching it like a hawk.

And then suddenly he reached over and grabbed a handful of mashed potatoes and

stuffed it into his mouth.

Obviously, Jonathan was ready to start eating solid food.

Now at eight years old, Jonathan is physically growing up so fast,

the size 10 clothes that we just bought him in Anchorage are fitting and he's

going to grow out of them really soon.

My point with these stories is that the Lord through Paul was teaching that

Christians are to grow up in the Lord.

I'll continue on in chapter 4, verse 15 of Ephesians.

But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into him who

is the head, even Christ.

Now, I want you to remember that Paul was teaching the Ephesians that God had

given the church offices to the church to equip Christ's body for the work

the service until all Christ's church reached the oneness of knowing Christ

as we grew and we grow into being mature, filled with Christ.

A huge part of the maturing process of Christ believers is to be equipped with

the knowledge of right doctrine,

to be equipped to know how to serve Christ by serving others,

and most importantly, to know Christ experientially in an abiding relationship with him.

A Christ follower who is growing in the right understanding of Scripture,

cultivating Jesus' servant heart in themselves and abiding in Christ,

is one who is growing and maturing in the Lord and is not a child to be led

astray by false doctrine.

Yet false doctrine is always trying to infiltrate God's church to destroy it from the inside.

And thus Paul was instructing the elders, the church leaders,

the congregation to speak the truth of God's word and love to each other.

And as a result of God's word lovingly spoken, God's people will grow more and more to be like Christ.

You see, God's purpose for Christ's church is to be complete or mature in Christ.

And the more we grow in Christ-like maturity, the more we obey the Lord morally

and in making disciples for the glory of God.

But also, the more we mature in Christ, the more we live in unity with each other in Christ.

And I want to show you two scriptures that speak to this principle.

The author of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews chapter 5, verse 12 to 14,

Hebrews 5:12–14

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need again for someone

to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God.

And you have come to need milk and not solid food.

For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness,

for he is an infant. but solid food is for the mature, who because of practice

have their senses trained to discern both good and evil.

Paul in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 1-3 stated, And I, brothers, was not able to

1 Corinthians 3:1–3

speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to fleshly men, as to infants in Christ.

I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you were not yet able to receive it.

Indeed, even now you are still not able, for you are still fleshly.

For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly?

Are you not walking like mere men?

When Paul and the writer of Hebrews were writing about milk to drink,

they were referring to the basic tenets of salvation, that we have all sinned

and we've all fallen short of God's glory and all need the salvation of Christ.

That Christ, with his death, paid the blood debt that we owe so that we could

be forgiven by God of our sins.

And we receive salvation through faith in Christ Jesus alone.

That Christ, with his resurrection, overcame the power of death so that this

life is no longer the end.

And we get to be with God forever, together with all the saints.

Now, there may be a little more to it, but this is the basic gospel of Jesus

Christ in a nutshell. out.

And it's absolutely essential. Don't get me wrong.

Yet this is not all by far. The scripture teaches about Christ's second coming

and judgment, about how to grow in righteousness or right thinking and right action.

The Bible teaches how to love and disciple others for Christ.

The Bible instructs us how to set up God's church in local areas and how to

revitalize it when it starts to wane.

Scripture also instructs us how to reach out to our neighbors and communities

with the gospel and how to interact with authorities.

Most importantly, the Bible teaches us about God himself, his character,

who he is, and that he desires to live in oneness with his people now and forever.

What Paul and the author of Hebrews were saying was that if believers are not

being equipped with the full word of God, they are not being fed well enough,

and they cannot spiritually grow up in Christ.

And since they were immature, they would easily get caught up in jealousy and

strife, and they would not be able to tell what is right from wrong.

This was like what Paul was instructing about the Ephesians 4,

in Ephesians 4, to the Ephesians, that they were to speak the truth of God's

word to each other, so that they could grow into the maturity of Christ.

The key takeaway from this verse is that the truth of God's word must be taught

and spoken to each other in our local congregations so that we can grow to become like Christ.

As Jesus in John 8, verse 31 to 32 promised, If you abide in my word,

John 8:31–32

then you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth,

and the truth will set you free.

There is a direct relationship between the spiritual maturity of a congregation

and the amount and depth that God's Word is taught.

We cannot change the minds and hearts of the people in our local churches, but God can.

God's Word is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword.

Encourage each other with Scripture, and when needed, lovingly correct and restore

using the truths of God's Word.

The last principle I want to show you in this passage Is that for Christ's body

to grow Each part must work together properly in love We have this dishwasher

at our house While it cleans the dishes, the pump is broken,

That means that the pump being broken, we have to load the water from the sink

and into the washer manually.

Thankfully, we just received the parts from Amazon to fix the dishwasher.

And I bring this illustration up to reinforce the need for all the parts of

the machine to work in order to operate effectively.

For the body of Christ to operate the way that God has designed it to,

all parts of Christ's church in Christ's strength must serve the way God has made us to.

Paul went on in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 15 to 16.

Ephesians 4:15–16

But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into him who

is the head, even Christ. And here's where we are now in verse 16.

From whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by whatever rejoint supplies,

according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of

the body to the building up of itself in love.

What Paul was teaching the Ephesians was that Christ is the source of the body's spiritual growth.

So that when the whole body is fitted and held together, as each body part works

together with the gifts God gives them, then Christ's body grows and is built up in love.

It's crucial to understand that while Christ gives us the power and strength

to spiritually grow, we as Christians must take the grace and gift that God has given us.

And we need to use them in the love of God.

And as we do so, our unity is strengthened. Christ's church grows both in spiritual

maturity and physical numbers. Why?

Because as part of Christ's body, every part is needed.

Needed to operate as it has been designed to by God.

And I want you to focus on two words from verse 16 that I think is important to point out.

The first word was the word that Paul used for proper or measure,

quantity, meaning how much there is or how many there are of something that you can quantify.

The working meant operation or the process or manner of functioning,

operating, meaning that there is a proper way that God has designed the body

of Christ to operate, and that includes each of us.

God is measuring to quantify or find out how well each of us are operating in

Christ's body so that we can operate according to his design.

All believers have been commanded in Matthew 28 to make disciples using the

gifts and skills that God has given us within the situations that God has put us.

When every believer is using their gifts with joyful servant hearts,

More non-believers are discipled.

More are being saved. More new believers are being discipled and quit.

More growing believers are strengthened and sent out into their neighborhoods,

communities, and in the world for Christ.

And the more the church is unified.

Yet Paul also wrote that we must operate in the church with love.

Love is what keeps the whole body unified and working.

Love from Christ and love to each other is like the fuel that keeps us operating

and our joints lubricated.

What can we as Christ followers learn from verse 16?

Using the grace we receive from Christ, our head,

we as Christians must take the gifts that God has given us and use them to love

God and others so that Christ will grow up and build up the church, his body.

I want to give you courage today by saying to every one of you who are here

or listening, that you have been given gifts by God to serve his church.

Step out in faith today, even if you do not know your gifts,

and serve your fellow disciples in your church and others in your community with the love of Christ.

I also want to make note here that Christ-like love is essential.

Our church can be doing wonderful work discipling new believers,

sending out missions teams with great music and preaching in our services.

But if we do not have love for each other, then Dillingham and Alaska and the

world around us will not know that we are Christ's disciples.

Paul also wrote that without love, we are nothing.

There are three foundation truths that God has taught us through Paul today.

The first truth we have learned is that all believers are to be careful to keep

the true teaching of Scripture that we have been equipped with by those in church offices over us.

We are to keep the humble desire to serve the Lord and those around us so that

we are not swept away by the currents of false teaching.

Secondly, the truth of God's word must be taught and it must be spoken to each

other in our local congregation so that we can grow up to become like Christ.

And lastly, using the grace we've received from Christ our head,

we as Christians must take the gifts that God has graciously given us and use

them in the love of God so that Christ's body will grow and be built up.

I want to encourage you today that if you are a believer in Christ,

study and learn the word of God so that you can discern the truth rightly,

that you can continue to encourage and build each other up in the Lord and use

the gifts that God has given you so that you and I,

all believers, can serve the Lord together.

Let's pray. Father, we are so grateful.

We're grateful that you've given gifts to us so that your body of Christ,

the local churches that we are in can be built up and edified,

but also so that believers can go out and share the good news of the gospel

to their neighbors and friends and those that especially do not know Christ.

Thank you, Lord. Thank you for loving us so much that you sent your son,

Jesus Christ, to die on the cross. We are so blessed by you.

Use us, Lord, and may you apply what has been taught us.

And we are grateful. In your precious Son's name, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

I'll leave you with this ending benediction here.

Romans chapter 15, verse 5 through 6. May the God of endurance and encouragement

Romans 15:5–6

grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,

that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Have a wonderful Sunday and may the Lord bless you.