Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
Ephesians 4:13 – 16
A lot of people equate spiritual gifts to spiritual maturity, nothing can be further from the truth than that. Gifts are just what they are, gifts. They are never a sign of spiritual maturity. Gifts are given both to children and adults alike in the physical and so it is also in the spiritual. Often, the immature believes that how much of spiritual gifts you exercise determines how mature you are; that is not true. It is the fruits you exhibit, the dealings you have had in your journey of faith and how ardently you have followed JESUS that determines how matured you are in the faith.
Who is a disciple of JESUS Christ? He is one who hates father, mother, brother, sister and even his own life compared to his love for JESUS, this definition is according to Scriptures. A disciple of JESUS is someone who lives for Christ and if need be, is willing to die for Him. For a disciple, Christ is all there is. For a disciple, his value for anything or anyone stops where his value for Christ begins. They are obsessed by Him, they have a strong and vibrant relationship with JESUS. Many people have different dreams, goals and heights they want to attain, but for a disciple, becoming like JESUS is their ultimate achievement.
Spiritual immaturity is the reason behind all the rivalry, unhealthy competition and disunity we have today in the body of Christ. Unity happens in the body of Christ when we all have the same standard, we are looking at the same vision, we have the same obsession, we want to become like one man and that is Christ. Unity happens by default when we grow into Him – Christ, in all things.
1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN
OLD TESTAMENT: 2 CHRONICLES 1 – 3
NEW TESTAMENT: ACTS 13
