Hope for the Church (4)
Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave … 1 Corinthians 16.13Babes in Christ
The believers in Corinth in the days of the apostle Paul were not acting like mature adults in the Lord. Rather, they were acting like children, like “babes in Christ” (1 Cor. 3.1).
They weren’t growing, and they weren’t acting like responsible followers of Christ, able to deal with their problems by standing fast in the faith of Jesus. They seemed to be content to be baby birds who just kept fluttering around in their nest, waiting for the next meal. Paul chided the Corinthians as “babes in Christ” who hadn’t matured in the Lord one whit since his visit. His exasperation with them is palpable as you read through this epistle.
By the time he wrote his letter, Paul reasoned that the Corinthians should have been showing more marks of maturity—zeal for Christ and His Word, holiness, purity, generosity, forbearance, active witness-bearing, and dignity in worship. Instead, they were acting like a bunch of middle-schoolers with the teacher out of the room. The word translated, “be brave”, in our text actually means to “act like a man”, to “be mature” or “act responsibly.”
None of which the Corinthians were doing, even though they’d had plenty of time and opportunity.
In the same way, the Church in America could hardly be described as a mature community, one that stands fast in the Word like a grown and dignified adult, pursuing the Lord’s work diligently and making a solid impact for the Lord. Susie’s beloved Bible teacher Pat Hunter used to moan over the vast majority of Christians who, she insisted, “will arrive in heaven in the same receiving blanket in which they were born again.” If, that is, they arrive at all (Heb. 6.9-12). The same could be said about many of our churches.
What are the marks of a church that is growing in maturity in the Lord?
Unity
Paul wrote to the Ephesians about the true character of a healthy, growing church. He said nothing about numbers of people, size of budget, variety of programs and facilities, or whether or not it had a great worship band. He emphasized two characteristics—unity and maturity—which are in short supply in America’s churches today (Eph. 4.11-16).
By unity Paul meant real oneness, visible oneness, oneness that takes the form of joining with all the Body of Christ in a community for worship and ministry and sharing resources readily and generously to meet needs everywhere. Jesus taught us that such unity is essential to a believable witness (Jn. 17.21), and Paul cautioned us that we’ll have to work hard to attain and keep it (Eph. 4.3).
Today little unity is visible among the churches in any community anywhere, and lots of division characterizes individual congregations, just as it did in Corinth. And this situation doesn’t seem to trouble anyone, I guess, except Jesus.
Mature believers and congregations link arms in ministry, join together in worship and prayer, use their tongues for mutual edification and prophetic witness, and share freely and happily of their resources to help churches and people in need. In their community they are seen to be the Body of Christ, because they work together to be more like Jesus and do the works He did (Jn. 14.12).
This vision of unity in the Lord should give us hope that it can happen, and encourage us to work hard at attaining it by every means available to us.
Maturity
Mature churches, Paul wrote, are impervious to the changing winds of doctrine and culture. They are communities with real discernment where every member understands he or she has something to contribute to the growth and wellbeing of the whole. Ministry is every believer’s calling, and in mature churches pastors and teachers equip church members to live the serving life of Christ in their own Personal Mission Fields, and to take their place in the work of building-up the Body of Christ.
Moreover, mature churches reflect growth in love for God and neighbors, increasingly richer and more consistent manifestations of the resurrection life of Christ.
Finally, churches that are growing into the full measure of the mature stature of Christ, as His Body, will lay aside the trappings of adolescence and the preferences of the secular world to enter more richly and fully together into the upward call to the goal and the prize of God in Christ Jesus.
Many churches today have become overrun with the kudzu of programs shaped more by pop culture than the plain teaching of Scripture. All their worthwhile activities have to be above all “fun” for everyone involved. They work to create a “brand” in the community and market that brand by every available means. They have turned their worship services over to bands, vocal groups, klieg lights, drama, and comic-pastors who work as hard to entertain as to instruct. Meanwhile, spiritual adolescents of every age pew-up for a junk-food gospel each week, rather than the firm teaching and sound doctrine that fill, guide, and empower mature believers.
We are babes and adolescents as churches, when the times in which we live demand brave and responsible followers of Christ. It’s time to reflect deeply on Paul’s charge to act like men, not babes or adolescents, in our practice of the faith. It’s time to grow up, and Paul gives us hope that we can.
For reflection or discussion
1. What would a church look like in its community if it was “acting like a man”?
2. Why do you think the unity that matters so much to Jesus and Paul matters so little to us?
3. Is it reasonable to expect that a church should be always maturing in the Lord? What would that look like?
Next steps—Transformation: In prayer, wait on the Lord to show you any areas of your life where you need to focus more on maturing in Him. For each area, jot down one “next step” that you will begin taking.
T. M. Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
A good supplement to this ongoing study on the Church is our free PDF book, Pray for Your Church. Download your copy from The Ailbe Bookstore by clicking here. Also, we encourage you to visit our ReThinking Church page, where you’ll see a variety of free resources to help you church.
This week: Our Read Moore podcast continues an extensive look at the Kingdom of God from our book, The Kingdom Turn. In our Crosfigell teaching letter, we are looking at the state of pastors and churches during the period of the Celtic Revival, using contemporary witnesses. And in our Scriptorium column we are studying the Gospel of Matthew. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
