I’d like to ask you to turn to Romans 8. I think by now you know these verses. We’ll begin in Romans 8:28 and read through verse 30.
And we know that all things work together for good
to those who love God,
to those who are called according to His purpose.For whom He foreknew,
He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son,
so that He should be the firstborn among many brethren.But whom He predestinated, these also He called;
and whom He called, these also He justified;
but whom He justified, these also He glorified.
Now turn with me to Ephesians 4. We’ll read the first sixteen verses.
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthy of the calling wherewith you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, using diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace.
There is one body, and one Spirit, as ye have also been 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 us all.
But to each one of us has been given grace according to the measure of the gift of the Christ.
Wherefore He says, Having ascended up on high,
He has led captivity captive,
and has given gifts to men.But that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same Who also ascended up above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.
And He has given some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some shepherds and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, with a view to the work of the ministry, with a view to the edifying of the body of Christ, until we all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, at the full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ.
In order that we may be no longer babes, tossed and carried about by every wind of that teaching, which is in the sleight of men, in unprincipled cunning, with a view to systematized error; but, holding the truth in love, we may grow up to Him in all things, Who is the Head, the Christ, from Whom the whole body, fitted together and connected by every joint of supply, according to the working in its measure of each one part, works for itself the increase of the body to itself building up in love.
And finally, 1 John 3:1-3.
See what love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. For this reason the world knows us not, because it knew Him not.
Beloved, now are we children of God, and what we shall be has not yet been manifested. We know that if it is manifested, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
Everyone that has this hope in Him purifies himself, even as He is pure.
Let’s just pray.
Lord, we thank You for Your Word, that we can open Your Word and read Your Word. But, Lord, if that is all we do and it stops there, it is not enough. We need You to breathe upon Your Word.
We say, like Peter said long ago, “Thou hast the words of eternal life. To whom shall we go?”
Once again, we are appealing to You that the Holy Spirit would open to us, in a living way, the Word of God; that we may see the Lord with fresh revelation; and that, by that seeing, we may be carried right through to the end and conformed to the image of God’s only Son. For we ask this in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.
Well, we started some time ago looking at this subject: conformed to the image of God’s Son.
We said that behind everything is a very great purpose. That is what Romans 8 tells us. Behind all things, there is a very great purpose.
Now, I know some of you are not too different from me, and you have probably used those verses we read, which are so familiar to us in Romans 8:28-30, as some sort of general encouragement. We have often gone to those in need and said, “Brother, sister, don’t you know all things work together for good?”
Now, that is not a bad thing, because I think it is great encouragement. But it is far beyond just general encouragement. It says all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to His purpose.
We have to see that behind the all things is a very great purpose. If we do not, we miss the point. If all we get in this Christian life is some sort of general encouragement to live out our days with a hope of heaven at the end, we miss the whole point of the Word of God.
From the very beginning right through to the very end, there is a very great purpose that is controlling all things, as the phrase says. And it goes on to explain that purpose in Romans 8:29. It says, “Because.”
You know, children always say, “Why do I have to do this?” The parent’s favorite answer is, “Because.” Not too much explanation beyond that. But you have to do it just because.
This is a big “because” here. This big “because” is the cause of everything. Listen to it:
Because whom He has foreknown,
He has also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son,
so that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
That is the because. That is the reason. That is the purpose behind all things.
Simply, we see that God has a purpose. It has everything to do with His Son. It is centered in His Son. He wants His Son to fill all things.
I do not know if you have picked up on it yet through the years with me, but I love that phrase, “all things.” It always seems to be connected to the Lord Jesus: that He wants Him to fill all things; that He wants Him to have the first place in all things, as we see in Colossians 1:19; that He wants Him to be before all things, and by Him all things consist.
Everything is because of the Lord Jesus. That is the purpose. I think we have heard that quite a few times.
But, brothers and sisters, here is a glorious thing that we see in these verses: not only does that great purpose center in the Lord Jesus as everything, but it includes us. And that ought to give us very great hope.
Somehow, in the counsel of God, in eternity past, He determined that man would have a special place in His economy—not some passing footnote in eternal history.
You know, you read books, and once in a while you get some obscure footnote down at the bottom that says, “Oh yes, so-and-so did this,” and then it is gone. That is not the intention of God for man.
The intention of God for man is so important that He determined that man, whom He made, would be in His image and in His likeness, as we read from the very beginning of Genesis. And in the end, His determined purpose is that man would be conformed to the image of God’s Son.
Can you imagine? It seems almost too high—the privilege we have, what we are called to, this high calling, this great calling. It seems too high.
I remember telling people, angels do not have that privilege. They will never be conformed to the image of God’s Son. Animals do not have that privilege either. You can love your animal. I think animals are beautiful. My granddaughter thinks animals are the most wonderful thing on the earth. But animals do not have that privilege.
God is looking for one who, in the end, is like Him; in the end, answers to His heart; in the end, is bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh; in the end, He says, “It is like Me.” That is what this section of verses so clearly describes.
Well, we looked at some different messages. In the first message, we looked at likeness purposed, and we saw how it was God’s purpose from the very beginning in Genesis.
One of the things I touched on—I do not know if you remember so well—was called the divine law. I think people read the story of Genesis, wrestle over Genesis, wonder whether it is literal days or ages, get hung up between verse 1 and verse 2, and all these things happen. But, dear brothers and sisters, that is not the point.
If you look over and over, the point is that there is a divine law where the Lord Himself creates life, and then that life produces life just like itself.
Now, you can get all hung up about the creation story if you want, but I believe if we center and focus on that one thing, we will have agreement.
And in the end, when He brought all those animals before Adam, Adam was looking. He was looking for something prepared for Adam that was just like him.
So He put him to sleep, took out that rib, fashioned it, and made one just like him. That is the divine law.
In the second message, we looked at likeness produced. Not only does God purpose something, but He intends to produce something. He intends for it to come true.
Now, I purpose a lot of things. I do not know about you, but I always have purposes. But, quite honestly, you can just ask Linda: I do not always produce what I have purposed.
But God, in Himself and in His great mercy, has determined that this great high calling and purpose would be fulfilled. He has even gone to the point that He will make sure that it is produced. To me, that is great, great encouragement.
We looked at Jeremiah 18, the story of the potter. It says in Jeremiah 18:1-4 that he wrought a work upon the wheel. Now, I think precisely that is what God is doing when He is conforming us to the image of His Son. We are a work upon the wheel.
I think there are three things in that story. One is that outward hand conforming that clay pot to its determined purpose and shape. I believe we are conformed by outward circumstances. God uses everything in our life to make us into the image of His beloved Son.
I love Oswald Chambers. I have these quote books on Oswald Chambers, and over and over he says, “Our circumstances are engineered to conform us to the image of Christ.” It is that loving outward hand of pressure, making that vessel into what it should be.
But there is another hand. There is a hand inside the vessel. It is the internal hand. It is holding the shape. It is making from the inside out, and I believe we are conformed from the inside out, from glory to glory, by the Holy Spirit.
Corporations today like to outsource work. God did not outsource this conforming work. He gave God the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit’s full-time job to be that inward hand of pressure, conforming us to the image of His beloved Son.
Then we looked at that story, the sad part where we read how the clay marred in His hands. Well, I think often we are in His hands, and in the midst of that conforming work we refuse to yield. We refuse to give Him His place. We mar in His hand.
The good news is that He did not give up. He remade it as He liked. Brothers and sisters, that is great encouragement.
Now, I believe—and I thought about that, meditated about it, and considered it—I thought, what does this mean? It seems to me that unless we yield ourselves to the Lord, unless we voluntarily submit to the cross, unless we allow the Lord to do that work, we will, in fact, mar in His hand.
I believe we are conformed by the cross. And without the cross, you will never be conformed to the image of God’s Son.
Now, I know there are people who believe in a crossless Christianity, but let me tell you this: their coming into being conformed to the image of God’s Son will be limited by that very fact.
The Lord Jesus said, “If you want to be My disciple.” And what is a disciple? It is one who is like his master. He is no different from his master. Over time, he lives with the master; the master trains him; and in the end, he is an exact replica of the master.
“If you want to be My disciple, take up your cross, follow Me.” That is what I believe that means.
Then we began—and we will finish today—this last message on Ephesians 4. We talked about likeness perfected.
Now, I think that word scares us. When you say, “Likeness perfected,” we think, “That is impossible.” Most of us think it is sort of like Don Quixote, the impossible dream. How can me—you know me, you have known me many years—how can I be conformed to the image of God’s Son?
You look at it and say perfection is impossible. But I believe it is because we have a wrong understanding of perfection. Only the Lord Jesus is sinlessly perfect.
When this section in Ephesians deals with perfection, and uses that word “perfection” for the perfecting of the saints, and in the King James Version, “unto a perfect man,” it is speaking of maturity. It is not speaking of sinless perfection.
So we get all hung up on this word because we do not understand what it means. And I believe if we did, it would make such an enormous difference.
Let me read Ephesians 4:13 from the Authorized Version:
Till we all come to the unity of the faith,
and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a perfect man,
unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
Darby says, “At the full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the Christ.”
Brothers and sisters, that is perfection. It is being made into His image. It is being conformed into His image. It is the Head, that glorious Head, the Lord Jesus, and that body joined together, those in union coming into oneness. That is the perfect man.
It does not have anything to do with sinless perfection when it comes to us. It has everything to do with the maturing of sons. And I believe if we understood that, we would not think it so impossible.
There is, in Darby’s version, that definite article: the Christ. I believe this is important, because in God’s purpose, the Christ has meaning. It is not only the Head—that would be enough. It is not only the Son of God—that would seem to be enough. But it includes the body.
We read in 1 Corinthians 12:12:
For even as the body is one,
and has many members,
but all the members of the body, being many, are one body,
so also is the Christ.
This is the perfect man. This is the full-grown man. This is the end of everything: Head and body joined, a testimony of the Lord Jesus and all that He is expressed in Himself through a body.
We looked at a word of exhortation when we considered this. Turn back to Ephesians 4. It starts, “I exhort you therefore to walk worthy.” It is a word of exhortation.
The Christian life is a walk, but it is not an aimless walk. It is a walk with an end in view. It is a walk that is based on calling.
When we come later to verse 13, we discover what the end is: “Until we all arrive at the unity of the faith and at the knowledge of the Son of God.”
I remember recently—I thought I was going to get arrested. I hate to tell you that, but I was reported to the VCU police.
The report came in that there was this old white homeless man—they were talking about me, by the way—with a camera and a clipboard walking aimlessly around the parking deck.
Well, I did not get offended except for the old part. But the police walked up and said, “What on earth are you doing? You are walking back and forth.”
I would walk down here, take a picture at the ground; some young students saw me and thought I was absolutely bonkers. I would walk here, look up, take a picture at this, wander to the other side, back and forth. They thought I was inebriated.
They said, “Sir, why are you walking aimlessly?” I was not walking aimlessly.
Those who are called to walk according to His purpose are not walking aimlessly. The end is that we be conformed to the image of God’s Son. Until we arrive—that is the end. It is walking with a purpose.
Then we looked at what a great word of encouragement this is. I think we do think it is impossible, but the Lord makes every provision here.
First of all, grace is given to each one. Can you imagine? Grace is given to each one, it says in Ephesians 4:7, according to the measure of the gift of the Christ.
Now, can you imagine grace like that? That is measureless. When you read the rest of Ephesians, you discover how measureless it is. You read in Ephesians 1:7, “the riches of His grace.” You read in Ephesians 2:7, “the surpassing riches of His grace.” You read in Ephesians 3:8, “the unsearchable riches of Christ.”
To each has been given grace according to the measure of the gift of the Christ. What encouragement—a word of encouragement.
Then we see that He not only did this: He led captivity captive and gave gifts to men.
I hear people all the time saying, “I have this bondage, and I have that bondage. If only I were delivered from this bondage and that bondage, I would be whole.” But the Word of God is more precious than that. He did not just take care of your bondage. He took captivity itself captive. Do you see the difference?
He did not say, “Well, I am just going to deal with this problem or that problem.” He who ascended is the same as He who descended. He went into the depths, and He wrested away captivity itself. He set us free.
The Word of God says, “He who is free is free indeed.” Those of us in Christ Jesus, brothers and sisters, that is a word of encouragement.
Then it goes on to say that He gave special gifts to men. We often talk about the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers, but this is out of the love of God for His church, and it is for a single purpose.
It is not that these men might be gifted to display something of themselves, be put on a pedestal, and do everything while the rest of us are spectators. It tells us that these men are for the perfecting of the saints, with a view to the ministry.
I will never forget our brother Stephen said years ago, when he spoke on this—it stuck with me, and not everything sticks with me, by the way. But this stuck. He said, “We make these special gifts the minister. It is with a view to the ministry, to the functioning of the body of Christ.”
These gifts are out of the heart of love of the Savior. As He wrested away captivity and ascended to the Father, He said, “Would You give them gifts to train them? Would You help them so that, in the end, we may be assured that they will be conformed to My image?” This is what He did for the perfecting of the saints.
Well, I hope you see from those words that every provision has been made.
Now there is another thing I want us to consider. There is a word of warning given to us.
Not only is this a word of exhortation—walk worthy of your calling. Not only is it a word of encouragement—that He has made every provision for us to be conformed. It is a word of warning.
I think most of you who have walked with the Lord for any time will agree with me on this: wherever the Lord is working, the enemy is always working.
Wherever the Lord is working out His purpose, the flesh always tries to intrude, and man always tries to take the place of what He alone deserves.
This is unmistakably clear. When the Lord Jesus spoke to Peter about the revelation he had received from the Father, He said in Matthew 16:18, “I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
Now, why did the Lord mention that? Because it was a word of warning. The gates of hell will try to prevail against the church.
But praise the Lord, in that greatest of all encouragement, the Lord Jesus, before He ever died for our sins and before He was ever raised for that perfecting work in us, said, “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
To me, that is great encouragement. It reminds me of Hebrews, where it talks about strong encouragement—that it is impossible for God to lie, that we might receive strong encouragement.
You remember the apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 16:9, “For a great door and an effectual one is open to me.” Then he did not just say that; he said, “And adversaries many.”
Now, brothers and sisters, this tells me something. As dull as I can be, this tells me something. In these two instances, and throughout the Word of God, wherever He is working His purpose, the enemy and the flesh are against it.
Do not ever be discouraged by resistance. As a matter of fact, I often tell people: be discouraged if there is no resistance. If all you encounter is smooth sailing and a wind at your back right through, something must be wrong—because the Lord Jesus said the gates of hell were involved.
Well, that is a word of warning. I want us to read Ephesians 4:14:
In order that we may be no longer babes, tossed and carried about by every wind of that teaching, which is in the sleight of men, in unprincipled cunning, with a view to systematized error.
This is sort of a nautical picture for those of you who like sailing. It talks about those who are the opposite of mature. What are those? This is not a hard test. They are babies.
Now, is that not the polar opposite of mature? They are cute little things, but they do not have much discernment. They are naïve. They are trusting to a fault, until we get them trained a little bit.
We say, “Well, you just cannot do that.” Then the question is, “Why?” And then the answer is, “Because.” You get that; you will remember that.
Trusting to a fault, naïve at the core, not discerning the great error—they are babes. They are tossed to and fro by the wind. Darby says, “that wind of teaching.” I think it is a disrespectful term: that teaching.
Brothers and sisters, I cannot help but think that many of us are still babes. You may not think it is a pretty sight, and it is not a pretty sight to be looking at a fifty-eight-year-old baby.
Can you imagine if I were in diapers up here? You do not—I know that is an image you do not want to carry with you the rest of the day. Can you imagine if Jerry was walking around with a pacifier all day? It would be an ugly sight.
But often believers of some years lack discernment. They are babes. How we need to see this.
Let me turn to Hebrews 5. This is a verse that some of you know: Hebrews 5:12-14.
For when for the time ye ought to be teachers,
ye have need again that one should teach you what are the elements of the beginning of the oracles of God;
and are become such as have need of milk, and not of solid food.For everyone that partakes of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.
But solid food belongs to full-grown men, who, on account of habit, have their senses exercised for distinguishing both good and evil.
Notice that same phrase that is in Ephesians 4: “full-grown men.” And notice also that they have their senses exercised.
Our beloved brother Stephen has been sharing his heart on this matter of spiritual exercise. He told us in private that he sees it as the need of the church.
It seems to me that what we need in order to grow up from babes to full-grown men is to be spiritually exercised, who by habit have their senses exercised by reason of the Word of God.
Dear saints, too often we are babies, and as babes we are easily deceived. We are accepting of everything. I have heard people say, “Well, what is the problem? It is Christian.” I have heard people tell me that over and over: “What is the issue with you? It is Christian.”
We need to have this word of warning spoken directly to us.
Then we read about those who deceive. Listen to the very strong words: “Every wind of that teaching, which is in the sleight of men, in unprincipled cunning, with a view to systematized error.”
We move from the nautical picture of deceived ones, blown to and fro and tossed on every wave by that teaching, to the deceivers. It deals with both the deceived and the deceivers.
The flavor of this word is magical art. It looks so good, it must be real. It is by the sleight of men.
Some of you may not know this, but before I was saved, I thought magic was the coolest thing. I remember when I was young and in school, however many eons ago that was, writing a term paper on Houdini. I thought Houdini was fantastic.
Once I was saved, I realized how dark it was. But magical arts look so real. You say, “How did he do that? How did he do that?” It is sleight of hand. It is so quick you cannot even tell it. It is imperceptible. It is with cunning skill.
You need to understand that. If someone walked up to you with a big red hat that said, “I am a deceiver,” and a T-shirt to match, you would get the point. You would say, “I got it,” and walk away.
It never happens that way. It is with the sleight of men. It is with unprincipled cunning.
I have had people say, “But it sounded so good. They explained the whole thing from the beginning to the end. They had the whole thing systematized.” Good grief. Has no one ever read Ephesians 4:14? Systematized error.
Brothers and sisters, we need to grow up. We need to be given discernment. We need to see how easy it is to become deceived.
I have known people, and I will tell you this from experience: I would have never thought it, but in a matter of months I have seen whole personalities changed. Are we aware of the danger? We need to be awake and aware.
I want to read to you 2 Peter 2. Some may say, “Brother, you are straining this.” But I love 2 Peter 2. It is a word of warning we need to hear.
But there were false prophets also among the people,
as there shall also be among you false teachers,
who shall bring in by the by destructive heresies,
and deny the Master that bought them,
bringing upon themselves swift destruction.And many shall follow their dissolute ways,
through whom the way of the truth shall be blasphemed.And through covetousness, with well-turned words,
they will make merchandise of you.
I remember years ago when that verse came alive to me: “Well-turned words.” You know, Jim is here. That is like a lathe. Have you ever turned anything on a lathe? He turns the most fine things—these little, bitty, finely turned things, wobblers, I think he calls them. It is amazing.
That is a finely turned word. Down to this almost—you could not believe a piece of wood could ever be turned to that point—but that is finely turned. Well-turned words, and they will make merchandise of you.
I think this is a word of warning. In particular, I believe that in this pressing on to the full-grown man, this growing into full stature, we need to be brought from being babes to being mature. We need to be aware of the danger of deception and deceivers.
I was saved in the charismatic movement, but I remember listening to those who were pushing the prosperity gospel, and I thought, what well-turned words. What merchandise they are making of saints. What covetousness is involved.
Often what I saw was that the ones who were the teachers were the ones who were prospering. Brothers and sisters, we need to be awake—awake to the danger, so that we might be conformed to His image.
1 John 4:1 tells us, “Believe not every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God.” I think of error like this: error is an infection that can take you out.
You may not believe it. I am forbidden to speak of those close to me, so I will speak in general terms. I have been with those who have had infections that, on several occasions, almost took them out. They were at death’s door, and but by the grace of God, they would have died—taken out.
I believe there is an antidote to this error. Thank God, in the case I am alluding to, there was an antibiotic that was able to take this massive infection and turn it from certain destruction.
Brothers and sisters, what is that antibiotic that we have? If you look in Ephesians 4, you begin to understand that antibiotic. The only solution to this error is the truth.
It is not just the truth in the way of doctrine, but it is knowing the Lord Jesus Himself as the truth. You remember the Lord Jesus said in John 14:6:
I am the way,
the truth,
and the life.
He is the truth. You remember in His high-priestly prayer in John 17:17, the Lord Jesus said to the Father, “Thy Word is truth.” How we need the truth.
We are given an antibiotic in this chapter. It says in Ephesians 4:15, “But holding the truth in love, we may grow up to Him in all things, Who is the Head, Christ.”
This is the secret. Sometimes our way is to ignore everything, to be naïve about everything, to accept everything, to embrace everything. But the secret is to know the truth, to hold on to the truth, and to speak the truth.
As we know the truth, then indeed we are set free. I think this is a secret.
Paul, if you read the letters, the epistles in the New Testament, gave extraordinary attention to this matter of error.
We often, in our sort of vanilla Christianity, say, “Well, that would not be loving if we dealt with anything. It just would not be loving.” I remember when we went through the epistles of John, how much help that fellowship was on Friday night. We have a wrong understanding of love.
Our view of God’s love is that it accepts everything, embraces everything, and does not correct anything. It is just love. That is not the view.
The apostle Paul was the most unloving man that ever lived, if that is your definition. You remember when he went to Peter and rebuked him to the face because he dissembled. When he was with the Gentiles, Peter ate with the Gentiles and had fellowship with them. But when those came from James, from Jerusalem, he drew back and would have nothing to do with the Gentiles.
Paul rebuked him to the face. He dealt with him.
I think of Galatians. I am always amazed at this because of our distorted view of love. The apostle Paul said the most unlikely Christian thing in Galatians. When he spoke of those who were pushing circumcision on them, he said, “I would that they would be cut off, they that trouble you.”
Now, I do not want to be too graphic, but if you look at the footnote in my Bible, it means mutilate themselves. What an unkind thing to say.
Brothers and sisters, we need to be able to deal with error, and it is by the truth. Notice that word: “holding.” My version says, “But holding the truth in love.”
There are two things that are in absolutely perfect balance. These are scales that are in perfect balance: truth and love.
Now, I have been told this, so it is no secret. People have told me, “You are too hard.” Other people have told me, “You are too soft.” So I am just confused. I am going to tell you that straight up: I am just confused.
But the Lord Jesus was never confused. He knew when He went into that temple and purged that temple, He did it out of love. It was the truth: God’s house shall be a house of prayer for all nations.
He did not just stand by and say, “Oh well, I mean, you know, they are doing their best with what they see.”
Then there is love. The Lord Jesus, in perfect love—the Pharisees said, “Stone this woman. She was caught in adultery. Look at her. Does not the law require that we stone her?”
The Lord Jesus, in the greatest of mercy, knelt down and wrote with His finger in the sand. Then, in divine wisdom, He looked up and, with the simplest words, said, “He who is without sin, cast the first stone.”
They all disappeared. The Lord Jesus, Who could cast the stone, refused to. There is perfect law. There is perfect truth. And there is perfect love.
What we need to do, brothers and sisters, is to be aware of the truth and stand in love. That is how we are built up into Him Who is the Head in all things. That is the secret.
How we need to do this and learn. I believe if all we do is speak the truth, it can be a sledgehammer.
I remember when we were young believers down in the Fan District years ago. I was twenty years old, and this was one of our favorite verses: “Speak the truth in love.”
We would always speak the truth. I do not know what verses we seemed to be attracted to, but we felt permission to correct anybody for anything, at any time, on any matter.
We would always end it in such a loving way: “Well, brother, I am just speaking the truth in love,” as we left them in a heap of ashes.
I like the rendering in Darby: “Holding the truth in love.” Now, I am not discounting speaking it; it is true, the Greek is speaking of that also. But we need to hold the truth.
We need to be aware of the danger. We need to stand against what is wrong and embrace one another in the love of God, in perfect balance. That is the secret. This is the word of warning.
Finally, when you come to the last verse, we see a word in Ephesians 4:16. Let me read this:
From Whom the whole body, fitted together and connected by every joint of supply, according to the working in its measure of each one part, works for itself the increase of the body to itself building up in love.
When I thought about this, it seemed to me that this is a word about corporate exercise. This whole section has to do with a corporate body, and this is a word about corporate exercise: how we function together in the church.
Now, I believe spiritual exercise, which our brother has been sharing on, is absolutely essential. I have heard brothers and sisters say, “These messages have transformed my whole Christian life.”
Without spiritual exercise, you will never be conformed to the image of Christ. But, brothers and sisters, without corporate exercise, you will never become part of that full-grown man, unto full stature, that perfect man.
You will never be together conformed to His image without corporate exercise. I believe this is very clear from this verse.
People say, “Well, brother, how do you untangle the individual from the corporate?” I know people whose whole emphasis is the individual Christian life, and I have heard people whose whole emphasis is the corporate life. There needs to be a perfect balance, just like truth and love.
This helped me. I was with Dana in New York some years ago, waiting before the Lord on what I should share. This was the sense of what I should say: I was supposed to clarify this thing, if I could.
What the Lord seemed to show me was this: without the individual Christian life, Christianity is impossible. And what the Lord seemed to show me and impress upon my spirit was this: without the corporate Christian life, Christianity is incomplete.
How often we miss that perfect balance. We need to be exercised as individual believers in the Lord. Through that spiritual exercise, we will be conformed to the image of God’s Son.
But we need also to be exercised in the church. As we do that, in that corporate exercise, we read in Ephesians 4:16 that there is the increase and building up of the body in love. That is what we need.
One person I discovered said it this way:
Exercise is the soul of power.
It is both the condition of health
and of usefulness.
It is required
that they all are regularly and faithfully exercised.
Exercise is fine—individual, cool. This last year I have been trying to get in shape, dragging my fifty-eight-year-old body kicking and screaming.
I have discovered there is some benefit to physical exercise. Numbers have dropped. My doctor took away my French fries. I want you to know, he said, “No more French fries.”
I teased him. I said, “Okay, doctor, I took your advice. Now I only eat onion rings.” He was so mad at me.
But now I try to exercise, and I see the benefit. Brothers and sisters, exercise is not always easy.
I was following Mari the other day, and he fooled me. I want you to know, this brother—this is corporate correction—fooled me. He was laying low and saying how poor a shape he was in and how he could not run. All I saw was his backside as he took off in front of me.
It was not like the glory of God that Moses saw.
Spiritual exercise is the most important. As our brother has said, it has value for this life and that life to come.
Corporate exercise is vital if we are going to be conformed to the image of God’s Son, as that corporate man, as that full-grown man.
I think so many people do not understand this need of corporate exercise. We need a greater body consciousness.
Now, do not get me wrong. When you say that in this modern era, people get all aflutter; they are thinking of the wrong thing. That is not how your nose looks, by the way. That is not what we are talking about.
What we are talking about is a greater understanding that you are in the body of Christ, that you are a vital member of that body of Christ, and that you have been provided a measure of grace—grace according to the measure of the gift of the Christ.
You are in that body. I think the problem we have today in the United States is that we are too independent in our thinking.
I love that explanation given to me by a brother years ago. He came back from England and discovered that not only could he not live without the Lord, and the Lord could not live without him, but he discovered he could not live without his brothers and sisters. And they could not live without him.
Have you made that discovery? I believe this is what we are called to.
There are two words in Ephesians 4:16. One is “fitted together.” Notice that word. The Holy Spirit is precise with His words. We are fitted together.
For those of you who do not get what that means, that means in very close proximity. I hear people say, “Well, you know, I ran into a Christian. That is my fellowship. If I meet them sometime in this place, that is my fellowship.”
Well, I do not think that is what Ephesians 4:16 means. It says fitted together. It is like a glove that fits on a hand. They are fitted together in close proximity.
Not only that, the second word is that they are connected together. Now, are we connected together? Is there any commitment? Is there any connection? I wonder.
Sometimes, if there is a connection, it is a pretty loose connection. This is the secret of the body building itself up in love. This is the secret of that corporate man. This is the secret of being conformed to the image of God’s Son.
They are fitted together, and they are connected together. Brothers and sisters, this would solve so much of the problem, I think, if we really had an understanding of this.
But we seem to have sort of this congregational mentality still, even those of us who have seen something of church life. We do not have a corporate mentality. We do not have a body consciousness.
We still have a congregational mentality where we are spectators, and a few—maybe the gifted ones who have a greater measure of grace—do everything, and the rest of us just receive. I do not think that is what Ephesians 4 is talking about.
There are two other words. It talks about “every joint of supply,” and it talks about “the working of each one part.”
Here is the question I have for you this year: are you a joint of supply? Are you? Am I? This is the question I ask myself: “Lord, am I really a joint of supply?”
Now, that means you have something. And that something you have to supply is not you; it is the Lord Jesus. But unless you are a joint of supply in the house of God, the body will not build itself up in love with the increase of God. That is as sure as it is.
Then it says, “the working of each one part.” This is the second question: are you a working part?
That is not a trick question, but every Christian is to be, in the body of Christ, a working part—not a spectator.
Somehow, half of us at least have become spectators. But we are to be for the building up of this full-grown man unto full stature, conformed to the image of Christ: likeness perfected, a working part.
There is no other part. As we are that joint of supply and that working part, then the body is built up in love.
Now, I think many of us, like me, are one-gifted saints, one-talent saints, and we leave things up to others to do everything.
One brother I was reading said, “We bury”—well, you know the parable—“we bury our gift in the napkin, and we let the others merchandise. We let the others work.”
This is the challenge in corporate exercise: are you a joint of supply, and are you a working part? That is the secret.
You might say, “Brother, I do not know what to do.” I believe the Word is very clear. It starts with he who is faithful in small things.
It was just announced about a workday. I want to say something, and I hope you do not take it as a mean-spirited thing. I do not mean it that way.
Several years ago, we had a workday and five people showed up. May the Lord help us.
In this corporate life, we are fitted together, we are connected together, and we need that sense we had from the beginning: that we are inseparably linked together, and that we are to be a joint of supply and a working part.
You may still think, after hearing all of this, that it is impossible. But the Lord is very encouraging in His Word. Turn back to Romans 8.
He will complete that which He intends to do. It is a word of completion. Listen to Romans 8:29:
Because whom He has foreknown,
He has also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son.
Look at that word: whom He has foreknown, He has predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son. This is what He has done.
Brothers and sisters, this is a word of completion. He has determined, He has purposed it, and He has predestinated.
If that were not enough, He says, read on from that verse: “So that He should be the firstborn among many brethren.” Then, beginning in verse 30: “But whom He has predestinated, these also He has called.”
Not only has He predestinated us, but He has called us. And if that were not enough, it goes on: “Whom He has called, these also He has justified.” Every provision has been made that we might be justified.
If that is not enough, He goes on and says, “Whom He has justified, these also He has glorified.”
To me, that tells me that He who started the work will complete the work. It is a word of completion, and it is a very encouraging word.
2 Corinthians 3:18 explains glory in this way:
But we all, looking on the glory of the Lord with unveiled face,
are transformed according to the same image,
from glory to glory,
even as by the Lord Spirit.
This is the Word. I think the Bible, from the beginning to the end, is filled with stories of ordinary people like you and me who are transformed and conformed to His glory. That is the hope we have.
Jerry has been talking about Abraham—an unlikely candidate, an idol worshiper. In the end, he is transformed and conformed.
You can think of Jacob in the Old Testament: a swindler, an unlikely candidate, an ordinary human being. Yet he saw the face of God, and he was forever changed.
In the last view we have of Jacob in Hebrews, he was worshiping as he blessed the sons of Joseph, leaning upon his staff.
You think of, in the New Testament, Peter. I cannot think of anyone we can more relate to than Peter. I love that there is a Peter in the Bible and not just a John.
Peter is perfect for me. He is impetuous. He is self-willed. He is always putting his foot in his mouth. He is always saying the wrong thing, and he seems always to be corrected.
But I believe, in the end, the hope is that this ordinary human being was transformed and conformed to the image of God’s Son.
You remember in the beginning, when the Lord called him by the sea. In Matthew 4:19, He said, “Come, follow Me, and I will make you.”
Stop right there. I think that is the encouraging word.
You remember after Peter failed and failed again and again, we come to John 21. The Lord was on the seashore at the end, and Peter, in his shame, came to the Lord. He said, “Do you love Me?”
All Peter could say was, “Lord, I am attached to You.”
But in the end, the Lord said again that same call as at the beginning: “Come, follow Me.”
What I think of this life is simple: it is two calls and a making process all the way between. That is what is happening to us.
You have been called according to purpose. In the end, He will call you home to Himself. He will meet you and call you home to Himself. But in between, there is a making process, and He is making you into His image.
Ordinary people transformed. That gives me hope.
I think of the Song of Solomon. That maiden in Solomon’s song—we call it a song of love, but I think it is more than that. It is a song of transformation.
We see in the beginning that maiden, and she is so self-interested. She says, “My beloved is mine.” That is her whole perspective: my.
The Lord works on her, and that phrase changes throughout the book. At the end, she says, “I am my beloved’s, and His desire is toward me.”
That is conformity.
It is interesting: she is never identified. There has been speculation, but in Song of Solomon 6:13, she is given a name: “Return, return, O Shulamite.” That is all she is ever called.
Now, do you know what Shulamite means? It means Solomon.
That is what happens to this ordinary maiden. She is transformed from the beginning to the end, and in the end all that can be said of her is that she is like her beloved husband.
May the Lord help us in this matter. I hope in some way you are encouraged: what He has purposed, He will do.
I hope in some way you are challenged: we need to be awakened to the great dangers.
I hope in other ways you are confronted with your need in the house of God to be a joint of supply, to be connected, to be fitted together.
I hope, in the end, the body builds itself up in love. But until and unless He finds those who say, “Lord, I am willing. Make me in Your own image,” He will not be able to.
Let’s pray.
Lord, we commit these sharings to You, that You, in Your mercy, will speak to us.
I am so encouraged by these thoughts that we can come to You, even when we are not willing, and say, “Lord, do not let us go till we are willing.”
We want to be like Peter and be caught so much that when many from that day turned back from following You—many of the disciples—we want to respond like Peter did and say, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You alone have the words of eternal life.”
Capture us. And do more than capture us: conform us to the image of the Son of God’s love, that in the end all that might be said of us is that we are Christlike. That will be enough.
We are so encouraged by the way the Word of God says that when we see Him, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
In Jesus’ precious name. Amen.