My little grandson, Ian, is just 5 weeks old, at this point his tiny, immature body, and all its systems are still developing. He is very susceptible to common illnesses that barely affect his older siblings. As “infant” Christians, we too can fall victim to spiritual “diseases“. These maladies include falling back on our old sinful natures, or being tricked into believing false teachings. As a baby must be cared for, fed, and clothed by his parents, we too need to grow under the equipping influence of the Church.
Christ instituted ministries within the church family to assist in our maturation process. “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” Ephesians 4:11-16.
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