“Spiritual maturity is not reached by the passing of the years, but by obedience to the will of God.” Oswald Chambers

Ephesians 4: 7-16 The Mature Church

7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.”

The Mature Church 9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)

The Mature Church 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

The Mature Church 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

The Mature Church 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 and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.

The Mature Church 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

The Mature Church 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4: 7-16

The Marks of a Mature Church  Demonstrates the fruit of the Spirit

The Marks of a Mature Church Demonstrates the fruit of the Spirit v.2 – “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” v attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

The Marks of a Mature Church Do you know what the measure of spiritual maturity is in the Scriptures? It is not the display of spiritual emotion, or even the display of spiritual gifts, but the manifestation of spiritual fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control. Gregory Koukl

The Marks of a Mature Church  Demonstrates the fruit of the Spirit  Manifests gifts from Christ

The Marks of a Mature Church  Demonstrates the fruit of the Spirit  Manifests gifts from Christ  Is equipped to serve

The Marks of a Mature Church  Demonstrates the fruit of the Spirit  Manifests gifts from Christ  Is equipped to serve  Discerns the truth

The Marks of a Mature Church The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection. And we must not select a few favorite passages to the exclusion of others. Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian. A.W. Tozer

The Marks of a Mature Church The supreme test for [many people about whether a church is good] is if they have found the hour in church enjoyable, whether the music being good, the singing hearty, the decorations no offense to the eye, the curtains the right shade, the building beautiful, they come away "feeling" better. The sense that truth, saving truth, the truth that liberates, is at once infinitely valuable and infinitely difficult to come by is almost completely absent. Herbert Farmer

The Marks of a Mature Church  Demonstrates the fruit of the Spirit  Manifests gifts from Christ  Is equipped to serve  Discerns the truth

The Marks of a Mature Church  Demonstrates the fruit of the Spirit  Manifests gifts from Christ  Is equipped to serve  Discerns the truth  Relies on Christ

The Marks of a Mature Church 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

The Marks of a Mature Church What I am anxious to see in Christian believers is a beautiful paradox. I want to see in them the joy of finding God while at the same time they are blessedly pursuing Him. I want to see in them the great joy of having God yet always wanting Him. Tozer

The Marks of a Mature Church  Demonstrates the fruit of the Spirit  Manifests gifts from Christ  Is equipped to serve  Discerns the truth  Relies on Christ