No Longer Children – Ephesians 4.11-16 Pt. 6

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love (Ephesians 4.11-16, ESV).[1]
 
Memory Verse – Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ – Ephesians 4.15

      As we grow into a mature believer, we can no longer be children in the Faith. This might seem like a given, but many times we still continue to act like and wander around in our faith as if we are children.
      The real problem with continuing to act like children, even though we are adults spiritually, is we are allowing ourselves to be influenced by anything and everything. In other words, we do not have any focus or our focus is not on the right things.
      In the movie Call of the Wild, (Spoiler Alert), a dog named Buck who thinks everything revolves around him, that he is the master of the house, finds himself unable to obey when he sees food, or even a rabbit. Because of this he is kidnapped and taken to Alaska where they are in need of sled dogs. Buck is a very large dog and the mail carrier buys Buck and places him at the back of the line, to learn how to be a sled dog. The only problem is even though Buck is big and looks mature on the outside he is not. On the inside he is still acting like a child, and as they begin to pull the sled, he sees a rabbit and runs off after it. Yep, pulling the entire sled and team with him.
      This is very similar to us, we can look mature on the outside, even talk like it, but in reality we are still very much like children. We do not know much of the Word of God, we cannot tell the difference between the truth and a lie, we do not know right doctrine from false doctrine and so on.
      Paul says, we cannot be children any more so we are not thrown around by the waves and carried by every wind of doctrine, by what people say, or how they scheme against us, with half-truths and falsehoods about Jesus Christ (vs.14). We must be on guard, always looking to our Savior for guidance and direction or we can drown in the sea of life.
      Our focus must be on the Lord Jesus if we are going to continue to grow and move forward for the cause of Christ. The best way to not be children and get caught up in all the things around us is to maintain this focus. It is understandable that from time to time we will lose focus, but what happens when we do?
      In Matthew the disciples were out and crossed over the sea of Galilee as Jesus had gone off to pray. A storm came up and they looked out into the sea and saw Him coming on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear.  “But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid” (Matthew 14.27, NRSV).[2] Of course, Peter the loud mouth says, “Lord if it is really You tell me to come and walk on the water” (vs.28). So Jesus, says, “Come” and Peter gets out of the boat and begins to walk on the water in the mist of this storm. Until he starts looking at the storm, “he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14.30-31, NRSV).[3]
      See Peter’s problem was not getting out of the boat, nor walking of water (ever tired it, it is hard), his problem was focus. He began to look at the problems, the situations around him and not on His Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, the One Who controlled all the elements.
      When we are not anchored in the correct truth, then we can be turned to just about anything that might come our way. Paul questioned the church at Galatia, “I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him! As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!” (Galatians 1.6-9, CSB).[4]
      When we do not remain focused on Jesus Christ we can be led astray. The Church of Galatia, allowed some to come into their midst and cause trouble, to teach incorrect things, pulling people away from the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, how do we make sure we do not become children who are tossed about, and lose focus like Peter and the church at Galatia?
      Simply put, stay in the Word of God and rely on Him for all our needs. As Solomon said to his son, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil” (Proverbs 3.5-7, NIV).[5]
      Our trust must be in the Lord and only Him, if we start to trust in other things, they will only let us down, disappoint us and cause us to lose faith and hope. Christ will never leave us, forsake us, nor fail us (Deuteronomy 31.6-8, Joshua 1.5-9, Hebrews 13.5). He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, we can and must trust Him with everything and anything we have (John 14.6).    
 
Application
 

1. On a scale of 1-10 where would you rank your childish level? 1-Not Childish – 10 – Completely Childish. (Think about how much you are affected by others and other ideas which are contrary to God’s Word) Why did you give yourself this ranking and what is keeping you from moving forward?
2. As you think about your childish level how can you improve? In other words what can you do to become more personally spiritual mature or less spiritually childish?
3. Deeper Thinking: Read Deuteronomy 31.1-8– As you read this passage, what do you see to encourage or discourage you to NOT be childish? Who is to be your leader? What is your function in life? (This answer might be only one Word). You can use scripture or other illustrations to back up your discussion.
4. Commit to learning Ephesians 4.15 and Witnessing to someone about what God has done for you.

 
Prayer
 
      God of Heaven and Earth, thank You for Your love and compassion. You never give up on me and may I never give up on You. Give me an opportunity to share Your gospel and to have confidence along with a fearless heart to be a leader so others will hear and know who You are. This I pray in Jesus Christ’s Name, Amen.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Eph 4:11–16). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[2] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (1989). (Mt 14:27). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
[3] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (1989). (Mt 14:30–31). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
[4] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ga 1:6–9). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] The New International Version. (2011). (Pr 3:5–7). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

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