Growing Up: Becoming Mature in the Body of Christ

Devotional

Day 1: Growing Up: From Knowledge to Obedient Surrender

It’s time to grow up in Christ—not by collecting more facts, but by surrendering to the truth you already know. Information without submission leaves you tossed by the latest trends and clever talk. When you yield to Jesus’ authority, your life comes into rhythm and the noise turns to music. Love tells the truth, and love also acts on it. Choose one clear step of obedience today and take it with Him. Do the next right thing you know to do, and trust Him with the rest [02:18]

Ephesians 4:14–16: We must stop being spiritual toddlers, easily rocked by waves of new ideas or slick deception. As we speak the truth with love, we grow up in every way into Christ, our Head. From Him the whole body is knit together and supported, and as each part does its God-given work, the body grows strong, built up in love.

Reflection: What specific truth from Scripture do you already know but haven’t acted on, and what concrete step will you take before the day ends to live it out?

Day 2: One Body: Shared Identity, Shared Responsibility

You didn’t join a club; you were joined to a body. In Christ, your identity is shared—you belong to Him and therefore to each other. No member can say “I don’t need you,” and no part thrives alone. When one part aches, the whole body feels it; when one part grows, everyone is strengthened. Honor the quiet, unseen parts, and carry the weight together. Let your words, steps, and choices today help the whole body move in the same direction [03:06]

1 Corinthians 12:21–26: The eye can’t dismiss the hand, and the head can’t tell the feet they’re unnecessary. Parts that seem weaker are actually essential, and God gives special honor so that no division remains. If one member suffers, all suffer; if one is honored, all share the joy.

Reflection: Who in your church family is carrying pain or pressure right now, and what small, concrete act will you do this week to support them?

Day 3: One Spirit: The Breath That Animates Us

The same Holy Spirit lives in every believer; He is the breath that makes you alive. Like a glove animated by a hand, your life moves with power when you surrender. Resistance—the crumpled paper stuffed in the finger—keeps parts of you limp and joyless. You don’t lose by yielding; God replaces what you release with something better. Ask Him to fill every “finger” today. Invite His life to flow through all of you without resistance [02:47]

Ephesians 1:13–14: When you heard the good news and trusted Christ, God marked you as His own with the promised Holy Spirit. The Spirit is God’s pledge that you belong to Him and that your full inheritance is coming, until the day He completes the redemption of His people.

Reflection: What “crumpled paper in the glove” is blocking the Spirit’s movement in your life, and how will you lay it before the Lord today?

Day 4: Sanctification: Progress Now, Perfection Later

Sanctification is a process—real progress now, perfection later. God’s Spirit gives victory step by step, and when you wander, a loving Father brings correction, not condemnation. His discipline shows that you belong to Him and shapes you to share His holiness. This is not a license to drift; it is an invitation to walk closely. Name one habit He’s touching, and respond today with trust and action. Let today’s small obedience be another step toward Christlike maturity [03:22]

Hebrews 12:5–11: Don’t brush off the Lord’s discipline or lose heart when He corrects you, because His training springs from love. Earthly fathers disciplined as seemed best, but God trains us for our good, so we grow in His holiness. It feels painful in the moment, yet later it produces a peaceful harvest of right living in those who accept it.

Reflection: Where have you sensed the Lord’s loving correction recently, and what is one practical way you can cooperate with Him this week?

Day 5: God Lives In Us: A Holy People

In the Old Testament, God’s presence was seen in cloud and fire; now He dwells within His people. You carry a treasure in a clay jar—the living God taking up residence in you. His breath defines your identity and powers your calling. Because He is in you, unity and holiness are not distant ideals but daily possibilities. Breathe deep, remember whose you are, and walk with confidence. Let your indwelling Lord be the reason and the rhythm of your day [02:59]

1 Corinthians 3:16: Don’t you realize that you together are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit has taken up residence among you?

Reflection: What simple practice will help you stay aware that God dwells in you today (for example, a breath prayer, a Scripture reminder, or a moment of quiet), and when will you do it?

Sermon Summary

Paul wrote from prison to a young church in Ephesus and said plainly: it’s time to grow up. Not grow older, but grow into Christ—into unity, stability, and love. There is one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith. That means we don’t get to live as a cluster of isolated committees or private projects. We belong to each other. When one part aches, the whole body feels it. No member can say, “I don’t need you,” and no member thrives alone. We are called to speak the truth in love and to mature together into the fullness of Christ.

I used the story of an orchestra where every section was a beat and a half behind. Their problem wasn’t skill; it was submission. That’s us when we stockpile Bible facts but refuse to come under the baton of Jesus. Our issue is rarely ignorance; it’s resistance. The Spirit has been given to all of us—the same Spirit—to animate our lives like a hand in a glove. If there’s “paper” stuffed in the finger of the glove, the problem isn’t power; it’s blockage. Surrender clears the glove so the life of God can move freely.

That same Spirit seals and secures, and He also sanctifies. Sanctification isn’t instant perfection; it’s a real, daily work where God wins ground in us. I told you how the Lord had to retrain my mouth after I was saved. He disciplined me, and I learned to cry out for help. If you belong to Him, He will correct you, not to crush you, but to claim you more fully.

So let’s stop waiting for a chest full of knowledge before we serve. Teenager, adult, new believer, seasoned saint—use what you know now. Christ has given gifts—apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers—not to do the work for us but to equip us for it, so the whole body is built up. And if you’ve only gone through the motions—walked an aisle, signed a card, got wet—but never met Jesus, don’t settle for religion. God’s presence is no longer a cloud out there; He breathes His life into us. Today is a good day to stop resisting, to trust Him, and to grow up into Christ.

Key Takeaways

1. Maturity means growing into Christ. Growing up isn’t about collecting spiritual trivia; it’s becoming more like Jesus in real choices and habits. Christ is both the model and the measure—His fullness is the target. Ask where your reactions, words, and priorities still look unlike Him, and aim there first.
2. Knowledge without submission stalls growth. Information is good, but without surrender it turns into spiritual clutter. The orchestra had skill but no alignment; that’s what happens when we admire the score and ignore the conductor. Real growth happens when truth leads to yielded steps.
3. We are one interdependent body. Your private health affects our public witness; your wounds and wins touch us all. Refuse the lie of self-sufficiency and the shame of isolation. Bring your gifts, confess your needs, and let the body function as God designed.
4. Remove resistance to the Spirit. The Spirit already indwells; the question is access. Identify the “paper in the glove”—habits, fears, hidden loyalties—that limit His movement. Repent specifically, surrender honestly, and watch how power returns where resistance is removed.
5. Sanctification is real, daily work. God’s discipline is proof of sonship, not a denial of it. Progress often looks like small obediences repeated until they become new reflexes. Keep short accounts with God, celebrate His wins in you, and don’t confuse struggle with failure.

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
Ephesians 4:14–16 (read aloud together)
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning

Sermon Quotes

The problem is not your ability. The problem is not what you don't know. The problem is your lack of submission.

The key is not continuous learning. The key is when you learn something, use it. Use the next thing you learn.

You don't find your identity in who you are. We find our identity in who He is, because that is who we are supposed to be becoming like.

You didn't join the church. You didn't just become a member of a church. No, you became a part of a local body.

You're not alive today because of you. You were dead in trespasses and sin. But God animated you through the Holy Spirit, as the glove is animated by my hand.

We all have the very self-same Holy Spirit living in us. You have no more than I have, and I have no more than you do. The difference is how much of Him are we willing to surrender to?

There's nothing worth holding on to that keeps you from having the joy of the Lord. Nothing. It's better on this side of the fence than it was on that side of the fence.

God lives in you now. We have this treasure in these bodies of flesh and blood, in vessels made of clay. The same God that lives in me lives in you if you know Jesus as your Savior.

I believe if you're saved, you're safe. Nothing can pluck you out of his hand. But you need to understand, that's not a license to sin.

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