by Tom Wacaster
The late Gus Nichols
once shared the following humorous illustration with his readers: “If a
man were given a mule, a goat, a bee, and a skunk and assigned the task of
making a working combination of them in order to accomplish a given work he
would throw up his hands in disgust and say, 'That is impossible.' Yet, in
almost every church there is a kicker, a butter, a stinger, and a stinker, and
the elders have the task of trying to make all of these a united working group
with the faithful of God's children" (Words of Truth,
12-10-1976). Making the members of a local congregation work together
sometimes presents a formidable task to even the wisest of godly
elders. I preached on this passage a number of years ago under the
heading of "Let's Learn to Knit,” from Ephesians 4:16 where Paul mentions
that the “the whole body [is] framed and knit together." The
connotation in this word “knit” suggests the idea of closeness, beauty, and
harmony. Such should be the goal of every member of a local
congregation. Think with me about the growth and work of the local church
and at least some of the elements mentioned in Ephesians chapter four that lead
to the accomplishment of spiritual maturity. What are some of the
essentials of growing in Christ?
First, we must have
Christ as our head (Eph. 4:15b). There are other passages in this epistle
that express the same thought. God “gave him to be head over all
the church” (Eph. 1:22). “For the husband is the head of the wife, as
Christ also is the head of the church, being
himself the saviour of the body” (Eph. 5:23). There should be no difficulty
in understanding the implications of someone being the head of any
organization. In our work place we have our “boss”; in sports teams
have a “head coach”; and in the military there are generals and captains from
whom the orders are passed along to the enlisted personal. A
congregation will only function and grow to the extent that its members
recognize that Christ is the head of the church.
Second, we must have
growth as our goal. A goal is defined thus: "to increase in size,
amount, or degree." Growth is more than “swelling the ranks.” A
congregation can grow in number and never mature or increase in the grace and
knowledge of Christ. Nor is growth an increase in “frenzied
activities.” Many a congregation is involved in work, but little of that
work accomplishes the purpose for which Christ set us in the church in the
first place. Some years ago I read of a congregation of the Lord’s
church that hosted a two day “seminar” offering classes on everything from
financial guidance to home cooking. No, growth is not an increase in
frenzied activities. Finally, growth is not simply chalking up an
impressive attendance record, or impressive figures regarding the
contribution. In his second letter to the church at Thessalonica
the apostle Paul had these words: “We are bound to give thanks to God
always to you, brethren, even as it is meet, for that your faith growth
exceedingly, and the love of each one of you all toward one another aboundeth;
so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and
faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which ye endure; which is a manifest token of the righteous
judgment of God; to the end that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of
God, for which ye also suffer (2 Thess. 1:3-5). There are some words
worth examination in these three verses. The first of these is the Greek
word ‘huper-auxano’
and is translated “your faith growth exceedingly.” It is not just an
increase, but an increase beyond or in great measure. The second word is ‘pleo-nadzo’ and
is translated “abounded.” It simply means an unusual amount, or that which
abounds. The difference between these two words (huper-auxano’ and
‘pleo-nadzo’)
is this: while ‘huper-auxano' is internal, as the organic growth
of a tree, 'pleo-nadzo' is expansive, as a flood would irrigate the
farmland. The third word is ‘oiki-do-meo’ and
is most commonly translated “edify” or “build up.” It is used twenty
times in the New Testament and is one of the most often used words to refer to
growth, both of individuals and congregations. Here is the point: there
are some things that simply do not edify: strife about foods and dietary
habits, endless questionings about fables, and so forth. On the
other hand, those things that do edify would include preaching the whole
counsel of God, following the authority of the apostles, Christian duty
motivated by love, etc.
Third, to attain unto
growth we must have truth as our basis. Two major threats to the growth
of the church are false teachers who hesitate not to use unscrupulous means in
order to corrupt the truth, and unstable disciples who can be tossed to and fro
with every wind of doctrine. This is why our Lord warned of false
teachers and described them as “ravenous wolves” (Matt. 7:15). This is
why Paul warned of false teachers (Romans 16:17-18), as well as Peter (2 Peter
2:1 ff).
Fourth, we are have love
as our motive. Actually truth and love are co-joined in the chapter in
that we are to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). Neither is
complete without the other. But when we speak the truth, it is to
be in love of what? At least three things come to mind: love
of the Lord (John 14:15), love of the recipients of our message (Gal. 4:16),
and love for the word of God itself. Our relativistic age with its
political correctness and post- modern mentality has somehow concluded that
disagreement is unloving and intolerable. The late R.L.Whiteside wrote:
Much is said about
preaching the truth in love, and so it should be preached…The preacher should
so love the truth that he will not sacrifice any of it nor pervert it, and he
should so love people that he will not withhold from them even one unpleasant truth.
He that does either of these things loves neither the truth nor the people. We
frequently fool ourselves; we think we do thus, and so to spare the feelings of
others, when it is our own feelings that prompt us.
Beloved, if we are going
to grow a congregation, it will take Christ as our head, growth as our goal,
truth as our basis, and love as our motive. Any of these elements lacking
will wreck havoc in the congregation, weakness in the child of God, and an
utter failure in our attempt to grow in Christ.