Walking in Unity and Maturity as Believers

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So as Paul now enters into this portion of the book he's going to be dealing with the walk of the believer and the first thing he exhorts is that we walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we were called. What have we been called? We've been called to be saints. We've been called to be the children of God through faith. We've been called to be the heirs of salvation. So walk worthy as a child of God, as an heir of God, as a saint of God. Walk worthy of the calling wherewith you've been called. [00:01:17]

There is really no place for pride in the Christian walk. In fact, a person who is proud is a person who has not yet met the Lord. They may know about the Lord, they may profess knowing the Lord, but you cannot have a true encounter with God and remain a proud person. When Isaiah had an encounter with God, chapter 6, I saw the Lord high and lifted up, his train filled the temple. Then said I, woe is me for I am a man of unclean lips. [00:02:14]

Endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. Now Satan wants to cause division within the body of Christ and he has done a pretty good job. We look at how the body of Christ has been divided and fractured, but we should endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. So when Paul tells us to walk worthy, this is how we are to walk, endeavoring to keep this unity that we have in Christ. [00:05:07]

And God began to open his eyes to realize that there are other people who loved the Lord who weren't a member of their 35, and as God began to open up his eyes to the truth of the grace of God, it was like a revelation to him, and so he finally started a Calvary Chapel there in Arlington, Texas, and God has been blessing him and his ministry. But it is sad that there are so many segments and divisions within the body of Christ. [00:06:43]

But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Oh how I love this passage of scripture. God has given to each one of us grace, his unmerited favor according to the measure of the gift of Christ. To the church in Rome Paul wrote in chapter 8 that what shall we say to these things, if God before us who can be against us? [00:14:33]

For the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry, the purpose of the church is for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry. You see, God has called all of you to serve him, to serve him in some capacity or another. We have been called of God to serve. The purpose of the church is to perfect you for that place of service that you might fulfill the ministry that God has called you to fulfill. [00:26:21]

The goal of our faith journey is to reach unity in faith and maturity, reflecting the fullness of Christ. This involves growing in our understanding of who Christ is and what He has done for us, allowing His Spirit to transform us into His image. We long for that full maturity, that we not be babes but we grow up and become mature unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. [00:31:47]

And so Paul is talking here of coming into full maturity, and Jesus is the measure. He is the model that God is using as he is forming and shaping your life. Sometimes we wonder, God just what are you doing, as he begins to chip away at some of the old nature and Lord what are you doing? Well, he's making you into the image of Jesus and he's knocking off the rough edges. [00:33:09]

Throughout the church there are many winds of doctrine that blow over the church. They are spiritual fads, and people follow after them, they chase after them. They're the latest spiritual fad or the latest spiritual craze and people begin to chase after these spiritual fads as they're looking for some kind of exotic spiritual experience, and they're carried about with every wind of doctrine, vacillating, unstable. [00:36:08]

But in contrast to this we should speak the truth in love, that we might grow up into him in all things. And so often I feel like just saying to people, grow up man, you know they come and they tell us some exotic meeting that they've been in and usually they're sort of new believers and someone has invited them to some meeting where things are and they come and they're all oh my you know. [00:40:18]

We are fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, every part working effectually, every part doing its part and being strengthened and being directed by the head even as our bodies are being directed by the brain. And the brain marvelously directs the functions of the body so that we move and we can walk and we can reach things and we can do so many things. [00:42:18]

And so Paul goes on to say let him that stole steal no more. That's good, that's negative though if you have been a thief don't be a thief anymore if you've stolen don't steal anymore, that's fine but Paul goes on to the positive, you know that's the old man who steals gets by with what he can, but rather rather than stealing, rather let him labor working with his hands the thing which is good, that he might have to give to those who are in need. [00:49:33]

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