Every morning we share on the matter of spiritual maturity. We repeat it again and again: to be spiritually mature is God’s will.
If our seeking to grow spiritually is not really for the Lord and for His will, then such a pursuit can become very dangerous. In this matter, we need God’s light to enlighten us.
The reason we pursue spiritual maturity is for God’s will. The Lord’s purpose is not for us to remain merely children. Thank God, at one time we were children, but He does not want us to remain there. He wants us to grow into maturity, to become full of His measure and stature, so that His will can be done in us.
God never wants us to remain carnal; He wants us to be spiritual. In the past sessions, we shared that we must seek to grow mature in the will of God. We also saw that carnality is abnormal. We need to be delivered from carnality and seek the Lord to bring us into spiritual reality so that we may be mature.
In the past, the emphasis was more upon the individual: how individually we ought to seek to grow spiritually mature. We need to grow from being children to being sons. Strictly speaking, however, God’s ultimate purpose is not merely individual.
What God intends to obtain in the end is something corporate. Only through the corporate life can we enter into and express that fulness.
All the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Christ Jesus. Our Christ is so full and so complete. No individual can enjoy or contain the fulness of Christ, and no individual can express the glory of God.
Even though we individually seek growth, we can enjoy a little of His fulness and express something of His fulness. But no matter how much we may have, it is still very limited.
Let us assume that a brother is indeed mature and glorifies God. God’s glory may be manifested through that person. Yet no matter how much we grow or mature individually, and no matter how much we think we know the fulness of Christ, we all come short of His glory.
We cannot enter individually into the unsearchable and unfathomable glory of God. God’s purpose is corporate, and He calls us into this corporate life.
As far as truth and God’s revelation are concerned, Ephesians is at the apex. In this revelation we see that God’s calling is corporate, so that we may be the Body of Christ.
God does not want us to be Christians merely as individuals. If we are only individual Christians, that is very small. We can never contain all the fulness of Christ, and we have no adequate way to express His glory.
Each of us is but a member of the one Body. All the members are fitted together, and then you see the Body. It is the Body that can contain the fulness of the Head. It is the Body that is capable of expressing the glory of heaven.
This morning we are sharing concerning the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. This is beyond the individual. It is the Body—the church as the Body of Christ.
In this Body there is the measure and stature of the fulness of Christ. Since this is the ultimate will of God, let us begin with Ephesians 1.
Ephesians 1:22 tells us:
And He put all things in subjection under His feet,
and gave Him to be head over all things to the church.
Before eternity, God had a purpose in His heart—the highest purpose, according to His own good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself. That purpose is that His Son, Christ, must be Head over all things. His Son is to inherit all things, and through Him all things will be summed up. That is God’s highest purpose.
For the accomplishment of this will, God sent His Son to the earth. The Son went the way of the cross and accomplished the work of redemption. God raised Him from the dead, exalted Him to the highest place, seated Him at His right hand, and subjected all things under His feet.
This is the reality; this is the fact. All things are subject under His feet. This is not surprising. This is what ought to be, because all things were created for Him. It is God’s will that He should inherit all things.
But what surprises us is the following phrase: “gave Him to be head over all things to the church.” This is a most surprising statement.
Sometimes translations give the sense that Christ is Head over all things for the church, as though God put all things under His feet because of the church. This can give the impression that the church is the center and that Christ is for the church.
It is true that the church has a very high place in God’s purpose, but it cannot be higher than Christ. Christ being Head over all things is God’s will, whether there is a church or not. All things being subject to Him is what ought to be.
Yet because He loves the church, He became Head over all things to the church. In other words, He wants the church to experience what He is. As far as He is concerned, all things are already subject under His feet. He wants the church to be like Himself, so that all things also may be subject to the church, because the church is His Body.
The Head is Head over all things, and the Body and the Head are one. Therefore, what belongs to Him belongs to us. This is a marvelous grace of God: we can be so joined to Him that Head and Body are one.
The church is His Body, the fulness of Him who fills all in all.
Ephesians 1 through 3 shows us what is in Christ—the reality and facts that are in Christ. Truth is eternal. Ephesians is often divided into two parts: chapters 1 through 3, which speak of what God has accomplished in Christ; and chapters 4 through 6, which speak of our experience and walk in Christ.
In Ephesians 1 through 3 we see a glorious fact: not only has the Lord Jesus Christ risen from the dead and ascended to heaven, but He is above all things, all things are subject under His feet, and He is Head over all things.
The church also has been raised with Him and is seated with Him in the heavenly places. The church, in God’s fact, is also above all things.
This is why Paul prayed that the Ephesians would receive the spirit of wisdom and revelation. We need revelation. Revelation allows us to see the facts of truth that are in God Himself.
God delights to reveal His Son in our hearts. Through revelation we know that Christ is not only our Savior who came to earth and died for us on the cross. We know that He is the risen One, the ascended One, seated in heaven, with all things subject under His feet.
Without revelation, a believer may know only Christ crucified and may not know Christ as the risen One. Even though sins are forgiven, such a believer may have no power to overcome sin and may not live in resurrection life.
But if we see Him as the risen One, and hear Him say, “I am the resurrection and the life,” then we enter into resurrection life. Likewise, unless the Lord’s ascension is revealed to us, we may live as though the Lord were still merely on earth, rather than knowing Him as the One above all things.
The kingly life is already there, but without revelation people do not know how to live it. What God has accomplished in Christ is all fact; it is all real; it is already accomplished.
Today, if God gives us wisdom and revelation, then we truly know Him. The church is already a finished fact in God’s sight. The Body is already there, and it is the fulness of Him who fills all things.
The church is a glorious Body fitted to a glorious Head. As the Head is Head over all things, so it is with the church. As all things are in subjection under His feet, so it is with the church. The church is a victorious church.
Yet we have to confess that we often have not seen this. We see a divided church. We see problems in the church, and because we see these things, we become discouraged. We question and ask, “Where is that church which the Lord longs for? Where is that Body?”
A church cannot be Head over all things when it becomes subject to all things and cannot overcome the things of this world. We lack revelation; therefore, we do not know how to go on.
In God’s sight, He has already obtained the church He desires. He already sees that Body of Christ. It is the fulness of Him who fills all things. It is an ascended church, a risen church, a church above all things.
Brothers and sisters, we need revelation to see this. We need to come before the Lord and pray, “God, be merciful to us. Give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation to see the church that is already in glory.”
With God there is no past and no future; God has only now. In God’s sight the church is already completed. It is already full of the measure of the stature of Christ, and it is already with Christ in glory. This is an eternal fact.
Because this eternal fact exists, we see the work of the Holy Spirit on earth. Ephesians 1:22–23 is a revelation and a fact that is already there. What we need is to see it with spiritual eyes.
But when we come to Ephesians 4:13, we read:
Until we all attain unto the unity of the faith,
and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a full-grown man,
unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
Through this verse we discover that, as far as our experience on earth and in time is concerned, the church has not yet attained the full measure and stature that belongs to Christ. There is something we need to attain, and we need the continuing work of the Holy Spirit to work that reality, already in God, into us.
Thus revelation and vocation are linked together. In God’s eternal fact, the church is complete. In our experience, it still lies before us, and we need to arrive there.
How can the church arrive at the full measure and stature of the fulness that belongs to Christ? God’s desire is that the church should arrive there.
God not only wants us individually to be conformed to the image of His Son. Romans 8:29 tells us that Christ is to be the firstborn among many brethren. Hebrews tells us that God is bringing many sons to glory. These passages emphasize individual maturity.
But when we come to Ephesians, maturity is corporate. How are we, as the church corporately, to arrive at maturity? Let us turn to 1 Corinthians 12:12.
For as the body is one, and hath many members,
and all the members of the body, being many, are one body;
so also is Christ.
This is a marvelous verse. The body is one, yet it has many members. Even though there are many members, the body is one. Then Paul says, “So also is Christ.”
According to our natural thinking, the verse should conclude, “So also is the church.” But the Holy Spirit says, “So also is Christ.” Here we see what the church truly is: the church is Christ Himself.
The church is not merely Christ in Peter, Christ in James, and Christ in John—with each person living according to his natural self. If Peter, James, and John lived in the flesh, there would be many problems, because each one would want to be the head.
What is the church? It is Christ as in Peter, minus Peter; Christ as in John, minus John; Christ as in James, minus James. That is Christ. That is the church.
Strictly speaking, the true church is not simply you and me together in our natural life. The church is Christ Himself. We need the dealing of the cross. Some people say that the church is the extension of Christ. This is a helpful expression.
The church is one, but it has many members. If the church is to grow, the individuals in that Body must grow. If the Body wants to grow but the members do not want to grow, how can the Body grow?
Therefore, how we grow individually is most vital. God has placed each of us in the Body of Christ. Not only for God’s will, but also for the church’s sake, we need to grow.
If we do not grow, the church cannot be mature. It is a loss to us, a loss to the Lord, and a great loss to the church. Each of us must seek to grow spiritually—not for ourselves, but for His church.
We cannot be self-satisfied, saying, “Let them grow,” while we remain babes or children. This affects the growth of the church.
The church today grows very slowly. It is as though something is hindering its growth. This hindrance is among the members of the Body. If we refuse to grow, if we want to remain children and want others to feed and nourish us, if we do not want responsibility, we affect the growth of the church.
Individually, we all bear responsibility. I hope this morning every one of us sees our individual responsibility. For the church to arrive at the full measure and stature of the fulness of Christ, the individual members must grow.
Though there are many members, the Body is one. In the first phrase of 1 Corinthians 12:12, the emphasis is upon the members: there is one Body, but many members. All the members have responsibility.
In the next phrase, “though there are many members, [they] are one body,” the emphasis is upon the Body. The Lord wants us to know and see the Body.
We must realize that we are but members. We may seek to grow, but we are only members. If we do not see the Body, we will have difficulty with our growth. We will not grow normally, and our growth will be limited.
When we seek to grow spiritually, we must be delivered from individualism. This is especially important for those who sincerely seek spiritual maturity and to whom the Lord has given grace.
It is very easy to develop the concept, “It is only the Lord and me. I do not need my brothers.” When you hear this, it may sound very spiritual. Some say, “I have nothing to do with my brothers and sisters. The Lord Himself is enough.”
But God’s purpose is not for a person merely to be an individual member. It is not for him to be an independent member. God’s purpose is for him to be fitted into the Body with other members.
All the members of the Body are properly fitted together. Once we realize our own limitation, we become conscious that we belong to the Body. Spiritually, we cannot remain individuals.
Individualism needs to be dealt with by the cross. Because we are so individualistic and have not been dealt with by the cross, those who think they are spiritual are often unable to be fitted with other brothers and sisters. This is abnormal development.
We must recognize that we are but members, yet we belong to the Body. We need to be fitly related to other members. We receive ministry and supply from other members, and we also supply other members in the Body.
The purpose is not our own individual development or personal spirituality. The purpose is for the Body to be edified.
For the Body to arrive at the full measure and stature that belongs to Christ, we need to hold fast to the Head. Colossians 2 speaks of:
Holding fast the Head,
from whom all the body, being supplied and knit together
through the joints and bands,
increaseth with the increase of God.
If the Body is to grow and arrive at the full measure and stature that belongs to Christ, there is one very important matter: individually, we must hold fast to the Head.
The Head refers to Christ. Peter is not the head. Apollos is not the head. Paul is not the head. There is only one Head: Christ.
We all need to hold fast to the Head and submit under His headship. Then we will be properly fitted together, and there will be the supply through every joint.
Often, when we speak of the oneness of the Body, we forget the Head. How can I be joined to my brothers and sisters? We know that we cannot live individually, but how are we to be joined together?
Is it that I join you and you join me? Is our oneness merely horizontal? This is a problem among God’s people today. When they talk about unity, there are many opinions. The unity becomes based on temperament, preference, culture, food, or natural taste.
Such a unity is natural and artificial. It divides God’s people. But the oneness of the Body is vertical.
We need to hold fast to the Head individually. Under His headship, we become one. From Him the Body is joined and grows together.
You hold fast to the Head, and I hold fast to the Head. You allow Christ to be your Head; you are not the head. I allow the Lord to be my Head, and I let go of my own concepts. In Him, we are one.
We are not only held together; we also support and help one another. In our service, if we are not holding fast to the Head, we cannot be fitted together. Each person will want to serve in his own way, and we will be unable to support one another mutually.
Therefore, we need to hold fast to the Head and diligently keep the unity of the Spirit.
If the Body is to grow, the most fundamental matter is that every member must belong to the Body. If a body were scattered, with one part lying in one place and another part elsewhere, it would be a terrible sight. For the church to have normal growth, there must be the unity of the members.
When Paul speaks concerning how this glorious church is built in experience, he says that we need to be diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit.
Praise God, the unity has already been given to us by the Holy Spirit. We do not need to invent a method to bring ourselves into this unity.
Today there are many ways and methods that attempt to bring God’s people together. But through God’s work, the unity of the Spirit has already been given to us. What we need is to diligently keep it.
You cannot keep what you do not have. If what you have is something ordinary, you do not need to keep it diligently. If you have only two pennies in your pocket, you may not be concerned about them. But if you have a great sum of money in your pocket, your hand will be touching that pocket all the time. You will diligently keep it.
What is more precious than unity? The gift of the unity in the Spirit is most precious. Whether the Body can arrive at the full measure and stature of Christ rests greatly upon this matter.
Thank God, this unity is already given to us. We already possess it. First, God is our Father. We call God our Father. There is an intimacy: we are His children, and He is our Father.
Second, when we meet another believer, there is a spiritual intimacy. It is like Elizabeth and Mary: when Mary greeted Elizabeth, the babe leaped in Elizabeth’s womb. Deep calls unto deep.
Once we see another brother or sister, there is a real inward affinity. We are in the same Body. This is something many believers experience.
Ephesians 4 explains the unity of the Spirit through seven “ones”:
There is one body, and one Spirit,
even as also ye were called in one hope of your calling;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
one God and Father of all,
who is over all, and through all, and in all.
There is one Body, one Spirit, and one hope of our calling. These three are in the Spirit.
By one Spirit we were baptized into one Body. The Holy Spirit not only gives us spiritual life; at the same time, He baptizes us into the Body of Christ. We were not baptized into many bodies. There is one Body.
There is also one hope of our calling. What is that hope? Today we are the Body of Christ. When this Body is fully mature, the Bridegroom will come and take the church as His bride.
The church cannot remain a child. Christ cannot marry a child. The church must grow into the same measure and stature as Christ, and Christ must be formed in the church. Then He can claim her as His bride.
If the church does not grow, this is one reason for the delay in His coming. It is not that He does not want to come. He desires to come, but He cannot embrace a child and marry a child.
There are three further ones: one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. These are found in God the Son.
There is only one Lord: Jesus Christ. Apart from Him, there is no other Lord. There is one faith, the fundamental faith that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Without this faith, we cannot be saved.
Because we believe in Him and are baptized into Him, we belong to Him. Baptism is an open testimony that we belong to Christ.
Your Lord is my Lord. Your faith is my faith. Your baptism is my baptism. We have been baptized into Christ; therefore, we are one.
Lastly, there is one God and Father of all. This God is the Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all.
The true oneness is within the Triune God Himself. As the Triune God is one in Himself, so in Him we are also one.
How wonderful and precious this oneness is. Therefore, we must keep it diligently, because it is easy to lose it in experience.
If we do not abide in the Spirit, if we do not see the Lord Jesus, or if we seek other things rather than God Himself, then we lose the practical enjoyment of this unity.
We need to stand in the oneness that is already ours in the Spirit. No matter how different our backgrounds may be, how different our methods of meeting may be, how different our experiences may be, or how differently we may interpret Scripture, at least in the seven ones we are one.
Therefore, we ought to receive one another as Christ has received us. We are all brothers and sisters. We need to learn to love one another.
This does not mean that we have already arrived at the unity of the faith in every matter. One faith is the basic and fundamental faith: Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God—His person and His work. Every believer in the Lord believes this.
Yet there is also “the faith” in the fuller sense: the whole body of truth revealed in Scripture. This is the faith for which we must contend and which we must defend.
Today we have not yet arrived at the unity of the faith because we have differing interpretations. Some interpret one way and others another way. Among God’s people there are many interpretations, though they all love the Lord.
A brother once went to Peru and travelled along the Amazon River with missionary workers. Before leaving, there was a gathering of native brothers and sisters who had come from many villages through the forest.
A missionary from England attended the gathering and questioned the brother concerning various doctrinal matters. Finally, he asked, “What is your view on the rapture? Is it pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, or post-tribulation?”
The brother answered honestly, “Brother, that is the way I look at the rapture.” The missionary accused him of not believing the Bible. The brother replied, “My brother, I believe the Bible just as much as you believe the Bible. But the way we interpret the Bible, we do not see quite the same way.”
He continued, “If the Lord gives me light and I discover that what I know is wrong, I am willing to adjust. But do not say that I do not believe the Bible.”
Later the missionary said, “If you share tonight, I will not preach.” The visiting brother did not want to create a problem for the local believers, so he withdrew and allowed the missionary to speak.
This illustrates one thing: we have not yet arrived at the unity of the faith. This is reality. Even in our knowledge of the Son of God, we have not yet arrived. Not only do we differ in interpretation; we also differ in experience.
What we already have, we must keep diligently. What we do not yet have, we need to pursue.
In Ephesians 4, unity is mentioned twice: first, the unity of the Spirit; then, the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. Actually, there are not two separate unities. They are two ends of one unity.
From one end of unity, we arrive at the other end. The beginning of this unity is the work of the Holy Spirit. The unity given to us in the Spirit is already ours. We must begin there and keep it.
No matter how we differ in interpreting God’s Word or in our experiences, we all belong to Christ. Therefore, we are one. We begin there.
We fellowship. I share the Christ I know, and you share the Christ you know. You share the truth you know, and I share the truth I know. Gradually, we will arrive at the unity of the faith.
We must not insist, “Because I see it this way, you must agree with me.” If we insist that there can be no fellowship unless everyone sees exactly as we do, we will never arrive at the unity of the faith.
We must be humble. We need to receive one another, bring matters before the Lord, seek Him, and discern what we should receive. This is the way by which we can arrive at the unity of the faith.
Unfortunately, we often reverse these two ends of unity. When we meet another believer, we may first ask whether he is a believer, but then immediately ask questions about modes of baptism, speaking in tongues, prophetic interpretation, or other matters.
When we see that another believer differs from us, we may feel that there can be no fellowship. But if we do this, we will never arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.
For the Body to grow and mature, we must diligently keep the unity of the Spirit and move toward the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God. We need to receive one another. We do not need to fight.
We also need to receive the ministries God has given to the church. Ephesians 4 tells us that the risen Lord loves the church and desires the church to grow. Therefore, He gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers.
Shepherds and teachers are one class of people. These four classes of gifts are given by God to the church. They all have a ministry of the Word.
What edifies the church is God’s word of grace. These gifts minister God’s Word to the church for the equipping of the saints.
The word equipping has two aspects. In relation to life, it means perfecting or maturing the saints. In relation to work, it means equipping them for service.
No ministry is complete in itself. The Lord has given different ministries to the church, and the church needs to receive all the gifts God has given. Then the Body can grow normally.
If the church receives only one particular kind of ministry, this is abnormal growth. It cannot grow in a balanced way. One of the important factors for the church’s maturity is the receiving of the various ministries God has given.
Today the church often cannot grow properly because we choose one ministry and reject another. Some say, “I belong to Paul,” while others say, “I belong to Apollos.” But Paul, Apollos, and Cephas are all ours. We are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
The work of these ministries is not to build the church directly. Their ministry is to cause the saints to grow in life and to equip them.
Ephesians 4:12 says:
For the perfecting of the saints,
unto the work of ministering,
unto the building up of the body of Christ.
The work of ministry here is the ministry of the Body. It is not something that comes from outside into the church. It arises and grows within the church.
Every member becomes a joint of supply. Every functioning member must function. As every member grows and is equipped, each one fulfills his place in the Body. This is the ministry of the Body.
Only this Body ministry directly builds up the church. We often rely on the ministry of the Word to build up the Body while the rest of the Body does not function. This shows that the Body is not growing properly.
When every member—whether great or small—rises up and functions, then the Body builds itself up in love. Then it grows toward the full measure and stature that belongs to Christ.
In God’s revelation, the church has already arrived at this glorious place. In experience, however, we need to move in that direction. We need to return to the original revelation.
Sometimes it appears that we are moving in the opposite direction. Instead of moving toward the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, we see the ruins of the church. We see the church in the condition of Laodicea.
When can the church arrive at the full measure and stature that belongs to Christ? A brother once asked T. Austin-Sparks which chapter of Scripture was most difficult to see fulfilled. He answered, “Ephesians 4.”
He had read the passage many times, yet he was anxious when he considered it. When can God’s people arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God? When will the church arrive at the full measure and stature that belongs to Christ?
With men it is not possible. How can this be fulfilled? If it is not fulfilled, how can our Lord return? This is a solemn question.
In my early days, I asked a brother about Ephesians 5. Christ loved the church and gave Himself for the church. He sanctifies and cleanses her by the washing of water with the Word, that He may present the church to Himself glorious, without spot or wrinkle.
I asked, “How can this passage be fulfilled?” When I looked at the condition of the church, it seemed impossible. The more I looked, the less I saw a glorious church. I saw many spots, much blame, and little holiness.
The brother replied, “You see, that is the principle of the overcomers.” Because of the difficulties of this age, many of God’s children do not move forward but move backward. The way of the Lord seems too difficult.
Many disciples left the Lord, but Peter answered:
Lord, to whom shall we go?
Thou hast the words of eternal life.
And we have believed and know
that Thou art the Holy One of God.
The fulfilment of Ephesians 4 and 5 lies in this principle. We cannot expect all God’s children to rise to such a place. But we hope that there will be a small group who refuse to remain children.
Because they sympathize with what is in God’s heart, they will grow to be sons. For the church’s sake, they will grow. They will be willing to pay the cost and to follow the Lamb wherever He goes.
One day there will be a voice from heaven:
The marriage of the Lamb is come,
and His wife hath made herself ready.
Revelation mentions the wife of the Lamb twice: once in Revelation 19 and again in Revelation 21. In Revelation 19, at the end of this age, there is a voice from heaven declaring that the marriage of the Lamb has come.
The bride has prepared herself and has put on her glorious garment of fine linen, which is the righteous acts of the saints. Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
When John heard this, the news was so wonderful that he fell down to worship the angel. But the angel said, “See thou do it not. I am a fellow servant with thee. Worship God.”
The news was too good for John. Perhaps the question in John’s heart was the same as the question in ours: How can Ephesians 4 and 5 be fulfilled? How can there be a marriage feast of the Lamb? When will the bride make herself ready?
But then comes the voice from heaven: “The time has come. The bride has made herself ready.” This is at the beginning of the millennial age, at the end of this present age.
I believe that the wife of the Lamb in Revelation 19 represents the overcomers, the firstfruits who represent the whole church.
Then, in Revelation 21, after the end of the thousand years and at the beginning of the eternal age, John is shown the wife of the Lamb. He sees the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, full of glory.
Again John falls down to worship the angel because the vision is too glorious. But the angel says, “We are all servants of God. Worship God.” At that moment, the whole church becomes the wife of the Lamb.
The eternal purpose is accomplished. In Revelation, it is already accomplished in God’s view.
May God give us faith. We need to seek diligently. With men it is not possible, but with God all things are possible.
May we all rise up, seek diligently, grow, and hold fast to the Head. May we hasten the coming of the Lord.
Lord, we feel ashamed within, because it is we who are delaying Your return. Encourage our hearts once more that we may rise up and seek You.
Lord, have mercy. We long to see Your church grow up to be full of the measure and stature that belongs to You, that You may receive the reward of Your labor. Amen.