Are You As Tall As Jesus?

Ephesians 4:13–15 (NKJV)
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ.

Some of you have young children at home. Maybe you have a measuring place somewhere in a closet where you're tracking the height of your children, and the older child is a little taller than the younger one, and they're competing with each other, which is a fun little game until mom or dad shows up. Compared to the adult, the children are so short, so small.

When we compare ourselves to one another, we say, "Well, I'm more spiritual than that person," or "I'm closer to Jesus than that person." Yeah, but are you as tall as Jesus? He says to the full stature of Christ, the stature of the fullness of Christ.

Christians should never be content with their spiritual growth until they are on the level of Jesus, which they will never attain in this life. Philippians 1:6 says "being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." His work is not going to stop until you look like Jesus. Romans 8:29 says, "For those whom He did foreknow, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son." Every person who has given their life to Christ: the purpose of your life is to look more and more like Jesus Christ.

Sometimes we think the more spiritual person is the one who is more gifted. But here Paul is connecting spiritual growth not to spiritual gifts. He's just saying we are all to grow so that we can stop being children tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine.

Think about the cults, groups like Mormonism and the Jehovah's Witnesses. They use terms similar to our Christian faith, but all they're doing is siphoning Christians away from real, authentic, orthodox Christianity. They're deceiving people who do not know the Bible. They're adding to the Scriptures. They come knocking on someone's door, using Christian terms like "Jehovah" or "Elohim", but they have altered the Bible and are not representing Jesus, God, or the Bible rightly. The person who has not taken time to learn what the Bible actually teaches can be taken captive by these deceitful groups.

Remember, the way to spot a counterfeit dollar bill is not by studying all the counterfeits. All you have to do is study the real, and then all the counterfeits will reveal themselves. We ground ourselves in good, sound, Biblical doctrine, and then when somebody comes knocking on our door, we recognize the counterfeit right away: "No, that's not the teaching of the Bible. That's an error." But you have to grow up spiritually to get there, so that you're not tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting described in verse 14.

Another evidence of this maturity is "speaking the truth in love" (verse 15). Children, and maybe even some teenagers, might know the truth but communicate it harshly to others. But spiritual maturity means speaking the truth in love. Jesus came full of truth, but He also came full of grace. Look at the woman caught in adultery in the Gospel of John. The religious leaders say to Jesus, "She's caught in adultery. Our law says she's supposed to be stoned to death." And Jesus says, "He who is without sin, cast the first stone." One by one, they drop their stones and walk away. Jesus looks at the woman and says, "Where are your accusers?" They're gone. "Neither do I condemn you."

You might say, "That's full of grace. That's what we should do." But don't stop there. He finishes by saying, "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more." He calls what she did sin. That is speaking the truth in love. Sometimes the most loving thing you can do is share the truth with an individual in the right spirit and with a loving disposition.

Finally, we mature by growing in our dependence on one another. Paul describes us as a whole body in Ephesians 4:16, "joined and knit together by what every joint supplies." There is an interdependence in the body of Christ that we should grow to appreciate. When you're an infant, you are totally dependent on someone else. The adults have everything you need, and they have to take care of you. Then you enter that time period of teenage life, maybe early twenties, and what do you get? Independence. You think, "I don't need anybody. I can make something happen all on my own." But then as you mature into adulthood, you realize it's not total dependency, and it's not total independence. It's interdependency. We do need one another. I'm strong when you're weak. You're strong when I'm weak. We lean on one another, and we become the body of Christ that Jesus wants us to be.

So, are you as tall as Jesus? How content are you in your spiritual walk? Are you maturing as a child of God? Do you look more like Jesus this year than you did last year? Are you more patient? More faithful? Can you be counted on more for the cause of Christ this year than last year? These are the evidences of spiritual growth.

Dear Heavenly Father, I confess that I have been too easily satisfied with where I am spiritually. Forgive me for comparing myself to others instead of measuring myself against the stature of Christ. Ground me in Your Word so that I am not deceived or shaken. Teach me to speak the truth in love, the way Jesus did. And help me to embrace the people You have placed around me, knowing I need them, and they need me. Thank You for conforming me into the image of Christ, day by day. In Jesus' Name, amen.

Check out the sermon "Our Part in God's Plan" (Ephesians 4:7-16):  https://www.joshfranklin.org/media/fpz7c66/15-our-part-in-god-s-plan-eph-4-7-16