Title: The Road to a Perfect Man
Contents
♡♥♡ The way to the perfect person / Ephesians 4:11-16
*** Introduction
The evening text teaches the purpose of gifts and offices. Spiritual gifts and offices are not given for personal gain, but to perfect the saints, to do the work of service, and to build up the body of Christ, the church. By faithfully and faithfully carrying out the gifts and duties given to them, each member helps and connects with each other to form the body of Christ. In this time, among the many gifts and offices, I would like to think about the special teaching gift and the duties that the office must fulfill.
Everyone will admit that teaching, that is, education, is important. In particular, teaching God, not the worldly science, and teaching the spiritual life and way of life are the most important and valuable things in the world. This valuable and true education is Christian education. The purpose of this Christian education is to make you a whole person. Verse 13 says, “And we will all become one in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, until we become a perfect man, even to the stature of the stature of the stature of Christ.” In other words, believing in Jesus Christ is entirely by the grace of God. Man himself can never find or believe in Jesus Christ. However, this way of faith and the knowledge of God are achieved through 'teaching'. Let's look at Romans 10:17. “Therefore faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
For this important Christian education, God has given the gift of the Holy Spirit and has established officers. Romans 12:7. “If it is service, then it is service; if it is teaching, it is teaching.” 1 Corinthians 12:8 says, “To some the words of wisdom through the Holy Spirit, and to another the words of knowledge according to the same Spirit.” . This is the gift of teaching. And in verse 11, the teaching office is recorded.
In order to teach things of the spirit like this, special gifts are required, and there must be an official who has received such gifts. It is different from teaching the knowledge of the world. What should God do for those who have given us the knowledge and wisdom to know God, and the heart to teach well, so that those who have been appointed as officers should do? It is to make the saints become perfect people.
1. Then, how can you become a perfect person?
Let's look at verse 13. “Let us all become one in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God.” In other words, the way to become a perfect person is to achieve the unity of faith and knowledge toward Jesus Christ. It is a combination of two important factors. One is ‘faith’ that God gives, and the other is ‘spiritual knowledge’ that is matured through teaching. These two elements need to grow as one, rather than work in isolation.
A person who has only faith in Jesus Christ can be zealous because his heart is burning, but he can easily fall into heresy. In fact, there are many cases where the pursuit of mystical beliefs leads to heresy. On the other hand, those who have only a lot of knowledge of God are savvy in theory and try to question everything. Like a Pharisee or a lawyer, you know a lot, but if you do not put it into practice, you will be rebuked by Jesus as a hypocrite. Therefore, faith in Jesus Christ and the knowledge of God must become one, not two. In other words, faith acting according to God's will is the way to become a perfect man.
There was a woman who was longing for a young man. The young man had been courting for several months, but he was still suffering because he was rejected every time. Still, the courtship continued. “There is no tree that cannot be cut down ten times,” said the woman, and then the woman calmed down. At some point and somewhere, I got a call asking to meet.
The young man sat down next to the woman he had longed for so much with a pounding heart. The young man took a pile of letters from his pocket and laid them out in front of the woman. These were the passionate love letters I had written over the past few months that I couldn't deliver. The young man began to read the letter to the woman. It was about how much he yearned for you, wanted to meet you, and did not know how much he loved you. Time passed, but the young man read and read again. Finally, the woman said.
“Hey, you’ll see all sorts of stupid guys. Isn't that letter saying that everyone is longing for me? But look. Now here I am with you And yet, you are still reading the letter, so what the heck!” Then he went away with ease?! What was the young man's mind?
We have learned about God through numerous sermons and Bible studies. So, to some extent, we know what God wants from us. This is spiritual knowledge. And yet, he still continues to roll his head, ponder, and speak only with his mouth. To such a person, the Lord will say:
“Son, am I not here with you? Yet you keep thinking about me with your head, talking about me with your lips, and reading about me in books. When will you quietly trust me and taste me?”
A perfect person is a person who shows what he knows about God through an act of faith. That's why James 3:2 says, "We all make many mistakes, and if there is no error in what we say, we are a perfect man. I am able to bridle even my whole body.” In other words, a person who does not make mistakes in saying things they do not know or not putting into practice what they have said is said to be a perfect person. Therefore, you can never be a perfect person without a perfect teaching.
2. Then, which teaching is the complete teaching?
The first element of complete teaching is ‘right teaching’. The Bible expresses the importance of sound teaching in this way. Galatians 1:8 says, “But let us, or even angels from heaven, be accursed if they preach any gospel other than the one we preached to you.” In 1 Timothy 6:3, “If anyone If you teach precepts and do not devote yourself to sound words, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the teachings of godliness”, Titus 2:1 says, “Only you speak what is in harmony with sound doctrine.” I am commanding you to work hard.
The content of sound teaching is Jesus Christ. It is to teach what the Lord has done and what he will accomplish in the future, and it is to teach God who is still working and providing. The right teaching makes the saints not to be swayed by the winds of the world and not to be tainted by the world.
The second element of the whole teaching is the ‘Teaching of True Love’. The Lord spoke of ‘love’ as a fundamental attitude that believers should have when they do everything in the world. In 1 Corinthians 13, the chapter of love says that all gifts, devotion, and zeal without love are all in vain. No matter how much work, power, or service you do in the church, it is of no use unless you do it in the love of Jesus.
The third element of the whole teaching is the 'consistent teaching'. One of the things Jesus emphasized in the New Testament is 'oneness'. The Triune God is one, and the saints called in Christ are one in the Holy Spirit. Division is never God's will. In John 17:22, the Lord said, “I have given them the glory that was given to me, that they may be one, even as we are one.” Esau says, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, in the same way you were called in one hope of your calling.”
It is God's command that both you and I must be perfect people. In Leviticus 19:2, God says, “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, you are holy I, the Lord your God, am holy.” And in Matthew 5:48, he said, “Therefore, be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” In the name of the Lord, I pray that through correct teaching and correct learning, we will not only fulfill our responsibilities, but also become perfect people before God.