… so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.
Summary: In this passage, Paul introduces a perspective on Christ that we don’t always see spelled out so clearly.
Have you ever wondered what the goal of Christianity is? Why, for example, do we bother to go to church? Is there a reason we read the Bible and go to Bible studies? Don’t pastors and others in the church have better things to do than to worry about me?
Let’s look at the entire verse:
He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.
He, Christ, is the one we proclaim to everyone we know.
We, the ones who are proclaiming Christ, teach everyone with all wisdom,
So that …
We may present everyone fully mature in Christ.
Imagine, for a moment, that you are Paul. One day, you are walking along the road to Damascus on your way to harass, arrest, and jail people who believe in this troublemaker called Jesus. Then, in a blinding flash, you are thrown to the ground before the unbearable light of God. Jesus himself speaks to you and gives you a commission (Acts 9, Galatians 1:15-16).
What do you do?
Faced with the ultimate power of the universe calling you out, you do your very best. All doubt is now gone. You KNOW what is on the other side when we pass through the curtain of death.
Paul’s mission is not only to proclaim Christ but to teach new believers about God’s ways so that they mature in Christ.
Why?
The Bible often uses seeds as a metaphor for faith (See Matthew 13:1-43). If the seeds are not growing, something bad usually happens. They get taken away, choked out, or burned up in the heat of day. Paul understands that faith is more than just checking a box and saying, “I believe.”
In his letter to the “twelve tribes” of Israel, James writes at length about the importance of deeds that result from faith (James 2:14-26). “Faith without deeds,” he says, “is dead.”
Paul wants to present the fruit of his work to Jesus. He wants that fruit to be alive and well. To ensure that happens, we nurture our faith with the Word and the Spirit. One day, if all goes well, we, too, will find ourselves in heaven, “fully mature in Christ.”
Application: Keep faith alive and well!
Food for Thought: What are the signs that someone is fully mature in Christ?
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