Children No More | Ephesians 4:13-14

Spiritual Maturity and Unity in Ephesians 4

Well, thank you so much for joining us this morning as we continue our preaching series through the book of Ephesians. And so we've titled this ongoing series in Christ because ultimately everything is pointing back to King Jesus.

We looked at the opening three chapters as Paul is developing these deep theological truths how Christ. The the second person of the Trinity God the Father and the Holy Spirit. This is a work of the triune God in salvation and all things working out all things ultimately after the counsel of his will and we see that all history is unfolding in this great drama of Redemption and so for those of us that have seen and tasted that the Lord is good.

This is a work of the Holy Spirit at work in us. And so Paul has been pointing us back to these wonderful truths and in chapter four We get to see the application start pouring out and saying these are the reasons why we stand unified together as a church body.

So I'd like to invite you to turn with me and your copy of God's Word to Ephesians chapter 4. We're gonna pick back up on this series of being in Christ and how we are to strive together in great unity.

So look with me starting in verse 1 so we can develop the context together. Paul says. I therefore a prisoner of the Lord urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called with all humility and Gentleness with patience bearing with one another in love.

Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit just as you were you were called to one Hope that belongs to your call one Lord one faith one baptism. One God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says when he ascended on high he led a host of captives and he gave gifts to men in saying he ascended. What does it mean?

But that he also descended into the lower regions the earth. He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens that he might fulfill all things. And he gave the Apostles the prophets the evangelists the shepherds and teachers.

To equip the Saints for the good for the work of ministry for the building up the body of Christ. Until we all attain the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God. To mature manhood to the measure of the stature the fullness of Christ.

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 and deceitful schemes. Rather speaking the truth in love.

We are to grow up in every way into him who is the head into Christ. 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.

Let's pray this morning Heavenly Father we thank you so much for this time to worship together With the Saints. God to sing praises to your holy name father. I pray that you bless our time as we delve deep into your word that you would send your spirit to illuminate our hearts and Our minds.

God I pray that this morning that we would be equipped to stand firm in your truth Against all the schemes of the enemy that hurls attacks against us. God, I pray to that you would help us to see our need to grow in Spiritual maturity.

Lord, we love you and pray all these things in your name Jesus. Amen. So look with me at verse 14. This will be our primary passage this morning where Paul says so that we may no longer be Children and that's when I pause there because one might say isn't being childlike sometimes a good thing.

Didn't Jesus say truly I say to you unless you turn and become like children. You will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Well context is King right because Jesus in the gospel accounts He is telling us that we must humble ourselves be like a little child in a lowly position.

Because children they have no achievements no accomplishment accomplishments to offer. They have no resources a child is helpless. They are completely dependent on someone else. And so Jesus in the gospels is saying this is a beautiful picture of saving faith.

We are to look to Jesus to be dependent on him and him alone and his finished work. Okay, so that's a context and being childlike is a good thing. But the Apostle Paul is telling us something much different.

He's telling Christians that we are to grow into Maturity and so he gives the negative command here in verse 14 so that we may no longer be Children look with me in verse 13 where he gives the positive command.

We are to strive for the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood. Okay, so when we think about growing and being mature. Biologically right when we when we when we take in food when we sleep we get good rest we biologically and naturally grow.

Right we do it in our sleep, but spiritually it's something much different. This is something that is to be intentionally sought after. This must be something that is done together with the body of the Saints.

Okay, so I want us to be thinking about what does spiritual maturity look like. This begins when a person is born again. They are a spiritual babe in Christ. And so the the reality is that someone when that's truly born again and a babe in Christ.

They could potentially go decades the rest of their life and still be spiritually immature. This is not something that just organically happens on its own now. It is the Holy Spirit in us and through us but from our perspective.

We must intentionally engage with the Word of God first. Peter chapter 2 says as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word that by it you may grow up into Salvation if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

This is such a good illustration talking about someone who's new to the faith. They are like a spiritual infant. And so when we think about physical babies, right? They only know how to do just a couple things.

They know how to cry. They know how to fill up a diaper. I've learned that in recent times and they long for their mother's milk this is how they grow and spiritual babes in Christ long for the milk of the Word of God because they've Tasted of the goodness of God and his promises and they desire to grow and walk in relationship with him.

It is the Word of God that grows us into salvation in this context. It means our Sanctification right if we want to think about this Regeneration is the rebirth. Sanctification is the ongoing growth. Jesus said in John 17 17 Father sanctified them in the truth.

Your word is truth. The Word of God is our spiritual food. The Apostle Paul said to the Ephesian elders now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace. Which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified and so here in Ephesians.

Look with me back at verse 13 because Paul is telling the Ephesians to grow and to be mature until we attain The the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood. Right. We see this principle of him calling us to spiritual maturity and that is the thing to mature manhood.

Being contrasted with no longer being little children in verse 14. So I want us to ask the question how does a Christian mature spiritually right this unity. Paul is bringing into focus on this phrase by the knowledge of the Son of God.

That is what brings us to mature adulthood in the faith. And so I want to give us three bullet points to kind of hang our hats on number one. We we mature spiritually by gaining knowledge. Okay, because this is centering in around this phrase the knowledge of the Son of God.

Pastor Nathan pointed out that this word knowledge is Epigenosis, this has a deep meaning of knowledge that is correct and accurate. It is full of discernment. And so it's to take in theological information and as we're going to see it's a whole lot more than that as well.

But it is not less than that. This goes back to taking in the Word of God which renews our heart and our mind. This is our spiritual food that grows us. And so I'd like to invite you to turn with me briefly to 1st John chapter 2.

In 1st John chapter 2, I believe the Apostle John shows us progressive stages of spiritual maturity and we see stages of children young men and fathers and they're Growing in their knowledge. And so starting in verse 12 John says I'm writing to you little children because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake.

I'm writing to you fathers because you know Him who is from the beginning. I'm writing to you young men because you have overcome the evil one. I write to You children because you know the Father. I write to you fathers because you know Him who is from the beginning I write to you young men Because you are strong and the Word of God abides in you and you have overcome the evil one.

And so look back with me at verse 12. Notice the little children, right? These are babes in Christ. They are born again, and they know one thing. They know that their sins are forgiven for his name's sake.

You may be a babe in Christ, but you are justified. You are righteous in the sight of God because of your faith in King Jesus. Perhaps someone who is a new Christian, all they know is, I love Jesus. He is my Savior.

I want to follow him, and I want to be around other Christians. And what a wonderful starting point, right? And by God's grace, they will continue to grow in spiritual maturity. Look with me at the second sentence in verse 14.

We see spiritual development here. He says, I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the Word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. So we see a slight change here. We're no longer talking about children, but young men, and they are strong.

How? Well, we see that it's the Word of God abiding in them. They have theological information. They understand sound doctrine, guarding their heart from the enemy. They know the truths that we have already won because we are in Christ.

And we see the example of Jesus when he contended with Satan. It is written. It is written. And not only did Jesus know the Scripture, he knew the meaning of Scripture, because guess what? The enemy knows Scripture, too.

So it's not just enough to know the Word, but to know its meaning. And so we see this with young men in the faith. They still have a lot more maturing to do, but they understand the value of abiding in the Word of God, hiding God's Word in your heart so you may not sin against God.

And so that's one of the aims here at 12 .5 Church. We believe in the value of studying to show yourself approved, being equipped with systematic theology. And so on Wednesday nights, our adults are going through Everyone's a Theologian, written by R .C. Sproul.

This is an introduction to systematic theology. And this is because 12 .5, we want our church to be one of gospel culture. Yes, we love the fellowship. We want to flourish in our walk with King Jesus and with one another, but we must understand deep theological truths about Jesus.

Why? Because there's spiritual warfare. As we're going to see, there are false teachers trying to deceive us at every point and turn. And so we must be intentional. Like John says here, young men who are strong in the faith.

And so someone may be tempted to say, that's a babe in Christ. Well, don't give me theology, give me Jesus. And I love what Pastor Nathan said, I believe it was last week. He says, which Jesus? And they say, oh well, Jesus is the Son of God who died for my sin, right?

The babe in Christ. And as Pastor Nathan said, that's a great theological answer. And so the point is, you cannot escape being a theologian. Everyone has an opinion about who God is and who we are in this world.

The question is, are you a good theologian or are you a bad one? Okay? And so we don't want to say that theology and sound doctrine isn't necessary. This is what renews our heart and our mind and equips us for spiritual warfare.

And so I believe another temptation that immature Christians, babes in Christ, are tempted to say, well does that mean I have to learn all the theological terminology, all the fancy Christianese? Well, if we are going to grow in the knowledge of the Son of God, then the answer is yes.

Remember, little children, in the faith, they are spiritually immature, but they know one thing is that their sins are forgiven, and that is a beautiful truth. And so I have been tasked with the responsibility of leading Bible study with the youth here at 12 .5, and it is such a wonderful time.

They understand that this isn't the Jeremiah show, but this is the time to open up God's Word, and we are in awe. We give reverence, we give respect to God and his truth. And so we talk about these terms, ask the youth of 12 .5.

We talk about propitiation, the Trinity, the incarnation, penal substitutionary atonement, and justification by faith alone. Why? Because doctrine matters. Theology matters. Studying and understanding the whole counsel of God matters in the life of a Christian.

We must grow into spiritual maturity. And so this first major point is gaining theological knowledge, insights from Scripture, learning more about our gracious God and how we can glorify him with our lives.

Amen? And so as we learn more of these theological truths, we will be victorious in spiritual warfare. Once again, the young person who has matured spiritually is abiding in the Word of God and is strong.

And John says, you have overcome the evil one. And so yes, there's much more maturing that needs to take place. Look with me at verse 13 in 1 John chapter 2. John says, I am writing to you fathers because you know him who is from the beginning.

Okay? This is a father, this is someone that is more mature, no longer a young man, and has a deep knowledge of the eternal God. The principle of spiritual maturity is to know God in his fullness. This deep knowledge of God would include having a deep, loving relationship with the triune God.

And so this brings us to our second major point. Remember, point major point number one was gaining knowledge. Number two is relational knowledge. And so if you would, turn back with me to Ephesians chapter 4.

Look with me at verse 13. We're asking the question, how does a Christian mature spiritually? Like we pointed out, gaining knowledge, learning sound doctrine and theology, abiding in the Word of God like these young men in 1 John 2, but this also must be relational knowledge.

God forbid that it just reach our heads and his head knowledge and intellectual facts, but it never goes to the heart. Okay? We are called to know the Son of God, both that involves theological information, but this is a means of how we have deep relationship with him.

Verse 13 in the context says that this unity is based on the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood. And so notice the word knowledge does not stand alone. Paul specifically says the knowledge of the Son of God.

And so like we're pointing out, this knowledge of the Son of God means that you must believe the right Jesus. You must understand theologically that the Son of God is face-to-face, has a face-to-face relationship with God the Father, and there was no beginning point.

This was from eternity past, and this relationship has been eternal. This is the essence of love and is in perfect harmonious relationship between Father, Son, and Spirit. Yes, we must understand this theologically, but this knowledge of the Son of God includes knowing him relationally from our perspective.

Jesus said in John 17 3, and this is eternal life, that they may know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. And so eternal life, knowing God, does not just start after we pass from this life to the next.

This starts here and now, the moment that you put your faith in Jesus. You can know him relationally. How? Well, he speaks to us through his living and breathing word, and we speak back to him in prayer.

And I can honestly say when my view of Scripture changed and I understood the Bible as the living voice of God, I had to know more. I no longer viewed Scripture as ink on a page within a cold, dead, ancient book.

No, no, no. These are the words of God. They are spirit and life, and my desire is to meditate on his word day and night. I need more. I've tasted and seen that the Lord is gracious. So I want to know God's Word.

I want to obey what my Lord has commanded. I want to live my life to his glory. And I pray that that is your heart's desire as well. And so this is how we grow into spiritual maturity. Number one, we gain knowledge, theological information from God's truth.

Number two, relational knowledge. That knowledge that is impressed in our heart means that we have a loving relationship, a two-way street, right? God speaks to us really and truly through his word, and we speak back to him in prayer.

And number three, this knowledge is corporate. Corporate knowledge. Our relationship with God is to be shared with the saints. And so that's the whole context of Ephesians. This is talking about the church that's being built upon the apostles, the prophets, and Jesus being the cornerstone.

But verse 13, we see the plurality, right? Until we attain unity of the faith. Verse 14, so that we may no longer be children. Verse 15, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head into Christ.

What is vital to our spiritual maturity is living our Christian faith with other saints in the church body, right? Christ is gracious. He has given us the gifts of the apostles' teachings, prophets, evangelists, and the pastors to teach and equip the saints for the work of ministry.

And so oftentimes the way that we learn information, gain knowledge, is by seeing others example, right? Isn't that true here at 12 .5? We watch the life of Pastor Nathan, how he loves his family and loves the people of God, right?

That's contagious. It rubs off on us. This is what Paul told Timothy, set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Practice these things and immerse yourself in them so that all may see your progress.

And keep a close watch on yourselves on the teaching. Persist in this, for by doing so you will save both yourself and your hearers. And so we are human beings, we are relational, we are called to walk together with one another as we walk one-on-one with Jesus.

And so we strive, verse 13 again, to attain 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. And so I want us to take these principles of maturing spiritually back with us to verse 14, which Paul once again says, so that we may no longer be children.

But Paul, it seems like it would be a lot easier just to remain a child in the faith, where I can take time church-hopping with no real covenant commitment to a body of believers, no real depth of study in the truth that would challenge me and sharpen me with other believers.

Well there's a problem with this mentality because, verse 14, Paul warns us of the dangers of not maturing in the faith. A baby Christian who's not in a healthy fellowship with other Christians, a baby Christian who is not striving towards the knowledge of the Son of God, will be absolutely crushed by the attacks of the enemy.

Look with me at verse 14 again, 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. And so it's interesting that Paul uses the analogy of an inexperienced sailor who's on a boat or a ship but is out at sea and is getting tossed around in every direction by the waves and the wind.

This inexperienced sailor is ignorant. He is defenseless, gullible, and is in danger of being shipwrecked very, very soon. And so this is the picture of the baby Christian, is susceptible to being led astray by false teachers.

He says tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine. And so doctrine is not a bad word. Doctrine simply means teaching, to be able to receive instruction. We learn from particular doctrines that will inform us how we should live and how we interact with one another.

And so for Christians, our doctrine is the Word of God. That is the foundation. This instructs us in the truth and how we are to glorify God with our lives. Back in verse 11, we read that this is the heart of the shepherds.

These are pastors of the church. They are firstly teachers. They are feeding the flock of God with truth, and they are to guard the people of God from false teaching. Titus 1 .9 says, he, a pastor, must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine, and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

Oh goodness, we're actually going to rebuke those that contradict God's Word? Yes. There's an apologetics nature involved with being a pastor. Apologetics means to give a defense, and guess what? This is meant to be for all Christians.

There are gonna be times where we have to guard the hope that lies within us, and then Jude, verse 3, tells us that we are going to contend for the faith, but we do so in love. And so what's very imperative for the Christian flourishing in their spiritual walk is being in a healthy church where the leaders are on guard.

They are shepherds that not only care for, but guard them from those that are trying to creep in. Ravenous wolves, okay? And so that's what Jesus warned us about in the Sermon on the Mount. He says that there will be many that come to you in sheep's clothing, but are inwardly ravenous wolves.

Scripture goes on to say, these fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock, and among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away disciples after them. If a church does not stand firm on truth, if the leaders do not boldly proclaim the whole counsel of God and guard it with care, then it is only a matter of time until those baby Christians will be absolutely defenseless to the destructive attacks of the enemy.

So in verse 14, I believe Paul gives us these three methods that the enemy attempts to use to shipwreck young believers. And so that is number one, by human cunning. Number two, by craftiness. And number three, in deceitful schemes.

And so number one, by human cunning. This could also be translated the trickery of men. And actually, I really like how the King James renders the sleight of men, right? It's almost like sleight of hand, a sleight of hand magic trick.

And so the term cunning derives its meaning from the Greek word cubos, right? Where we get the word cube. And so this means rolling of the dice, playing dice. And so these men with the sleight of hand, they oftentimes had loaded dice.

And so they would perceive themselves, or before others, as professional gamblers, but they were going to pull a fast one, right? They were going to use sleight of hand, and so dice players, cubos, this became always known as dishonest trickery.

And so Paul is describing false teachers as those who come with great plausibility to the young Christian. They seem to be experts, like professional dice players, but really they know how to manipulate.

They are quick, they are subtle, and while you're not watching carefully, they will deceive you and mislead you. They will distort the truth, and it will be hard to detect. And please hear me, the greatest lie contains the most amount of truth in it, okay?

That's what false teachers are aiming to do, and many of these false teachers, they do so fully aware of what they're doing, right? Fueled by their own lust and their own greed, but there are also many false teachers that will deceive you with deception that they themselves believe to be true.

That's because this trickery is of a supernatural origin. Back in Ephesians chapter 2, we read that the course of this world is following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience.

And so this human cunning, number one, originates from the kingdom of darkness and maligns and manipulates the truth, okay? So we have to be on guard. We have to be watchful. And so number two, we read, by craftiness.

This is so similar to the word cunning, carrying the idea of clever manipulation of error made to look like truth. This has been Satan's pattern of deception all the way since the beginning. In 2nd Corinthians chapter 11, the Apostle said to the believers at Corinth, but I'm afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, and the word here is craftiness, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaim, or if you received a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

You can almost hear Paul's heartache towards the believers at Corinth, how they are so immature, they are allowing Satan's craftiness to come in their midst and wreak havoc. Paul goes on to say in verse 13 in that epistle, he says, "...for such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.

And no wonder, even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.". So what we have to understand is, Satan isn't just going to say, hey I'm an evil demon-looking creature with horns and a pitchfork, right?

He's so much more crafty and deceitful than that. The craftiness of Satan, he works through false teachers that have an appearance of godliness that appeals to the desires of our flesh, the desires of our eyes, and the pride of life.

Nothing is new under the sun. These are the same tactics that he did with Eve in the garden and with Adam there present as well. And so Satan continues to use these methods today to assault new believers.

And like I said, number one, by human cunning, two, by craftiness, and three, in deceitful schemes. So deceitful schemes could be rendered deceitful plotting or lying in wait to deceive. And so the imagery is like a predator waiting to trap its prey.

This is a careful method of planning and patiently waiting to pounce at the right moment. This is exactly what the Apostle Peter used to describe Satan. He says to Christians, be sober-minded and watchful for your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking to devour whomever he can.

And so Paul uses the word schemes here, to lie in wait, and this word is only used one other time in all of the New Testament, and it shows up again in Ephesians chapter 6. So if you would please turn with me there to Ephesians chapter 6 starting in verse 10.

The Apostle Paul says, finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. There it is, right?

The schemes of the devil. And just as we pointed out earlier, we must be on high alert for false teachers because their deception is of a supernatural origin. The source of their craftiness comes from the prince of darkness.

So Paul continues this point in verse 12. He says, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

The battle for truth is a spiritual battle, and Satan is much more crafty and cunning than we could ever imagine, and guess what? He does not fight fair. We do not stand a chance. Listen, when we stand in the power of our own might.

Paul began by saying, finally be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might. Well Jeremiah, how do I do that? How am I to stand firm in the strength of the Lord's might? How can I be mature from being a child in the faith?

We must prepare for war, right? This is a spiritual warfare. This is something that we must be cognizant every day, waking up, putting on the whole body armor of God. The battle for truth is a spiritual battle.

Look with me at verse 13. Paul says, therefore take up the whole body armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, having done all to stand firm. Stand, therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and as for your shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying in all times in the Spirit, and in all prayer and supplication to that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.

Do you hear the urgency in Paul's voice? It's because we must make war. Little children don't do that. They can't. They don't know to. That's why we are called to mature in the faith and put on the body armor of God.

All of this is imagery for abiding in the Word of God, knowing Him relationally, taking in these theological truths that will guard your mind and in your heart. Did you catch the breastplate of righteousness there?

When you are resting in Jesus and His righteousness, that covers your heart. When you are trusting in Jesus, taking up that shield of faith, Satan can't touch that, because you're trusting in the promises of the God who cannot lie.

Now check this out. When you're not just a lone soldier, but you have an army, what can Satan do? That is the church, and so we must prepare for war. In closing, as Paul tells us that we must no longer be children, he is exhorting us to spiritual maturity, and I know that Paul must be saying this from a place of love.

He has the heart of a pastor. He cares for the people of God, and he knows that if a person is truly a child of the faith, then nothing that Satan can do will ever change that status. And you say, oh, praise God.

And I want us to understand, yes, if you are truly a child in Christ, if you are born again, nothing in all of creation can separate you from the love of King Jesus. But if we remain spiritually immature, then we are susceptible to his attacks when we don't put on the body armor of God, and we can be ineffective for the kingdom.