maturity and discipline

Maturity of the Body of Christ; Discipline
8/4/06
In order to reach maturity, we need to partake of training, nourishment, and discipline. This works inwardly to the point that the mature person seeks to be trained and follows the rigors of accomplishing goals to meet a standard. He or she maintains a steady flow of input which nourishes those goals. And the discipline of those more knowledgeable eventually becomes self-discipline. For example, in 2 Cor 10:6 we read that the person who has been successful in causing his thoughts to submit to the Holy Spirit will “punish every act of disobedience once (his) obedience is complete”.

What does it take for the body of Christ to reach maturity? We read that the 5-fold ministry is to bring the church into maturity (Eph 4;11-13). But it takes more than men and women walking in the offices mentioned here to bring the body of believers into maturity. It takes them faithfully nurturing, training, and disciplining the members of the body. In Matt 24:45,46 we read that the faithful servant gives his fellow servants their portion at the proper time. Good food, in a timely manner. We are trained and exercised by obeying the Word of God, which in turn helps us to distinguish between good and evil (Heb 5:14). And then there is discipline. We read that God disciplines us for our good so that we might partake of His holiness; His separateness (Heb 12:10). By the time we are fed, trained, and disciplined, we should be prepared for any work God has for us to do.

One of the problems which causes lack of preparedness personally for the Christian and for the Church as a whole is the hesitancy to discipline known sins. Though we know that we sin, and others have sinned against us, we are far more likely to repent of our own offense than talk to our brother about his, though Jesus admonishes us to be reconciled to one another (Mt 5:23). It may be our concept of the scriptures themselves which hinder the process of settling our issues of right and wrong between members of the body of Christ. Three scriptures come to mind as most quoted on this subject; “Judge not lest ye be judged” (Mt 7:1,2), “you who are not guilty cast the first stone” (Jn 8:7), and “first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Mt 7:3-5) . These scriptures tie our hands for a) we do not want to be judged, b) we are not guiltless, and c) we are not confident that our own personal sin hasn’t blinded us, there being a whole plank in our eye. But God determined to glorify Himself by wisdom through His church (Gal 3:10), so there is surely a provision for solving problems and confronting sin amongst the brethren.

First, there is reason to speak to our brother who is in sin. In Jude 22,23 we read that we should “Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear – hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh”. The reason to speak is to save him from hell.

Second, our enemy would like us to be quiet. He twists scripture to show us our sins and make us feel disqualified to minister or entreat. The difference between the devil and the Holy Spirit is that the Lord does not expose our own personal sin just so that we will live with sin in others. It is the Lord’s plan that we would receive grace and forgiveness for our sins so that we become more like Jesus through the change which His Spirit works in us. But accusation, which is from the devil, will not change us. Satan’s accusations about our inadequacies and weaknesses will frustrate our efforts to work out issues which may be damning our brother, our self, and our church. The enemy has set his standard of accusation so that there would be no one who could be considered “spiritual”, who could bring restoration to the brother who sins (Gal 6:1).

God’s provision for our forgiveness is the first step we take to be reconciled to God and man. The next step is a step of faith in which we overcome satan by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. When we daily come before the throne of grace to ask for forgiveness for our sins, we believe that they are put them under Jesus’ blood. Satan wants us to take them out and handle them again, as if Jesus’ blood was not strong enough, and His sacrifice not good enough to purchase our daily pardon. The word of our testimony is the word we have stood on though trials and testings. We have believed God to be faithful and persevered. These two applications of our faith, putting sin under Jesus’ blood, and confessing God’s word as our own, enable us to stand in righteousness. We can come stand before God’s throne unafraid.

If we can come boldly before His throne, we can also come to our brethren with a petition for repentance. We also can come before the church with a petition for wisdom instead of folly, and truth instead of error. God is light, and that light is in us. We have shed darkness through the act of repentance, and through obedience to the truth. Anything that causes us to hide our light is against the purpose of that light; to expose evil (Eph 5:11).

Some let the light shine on their own sin, but feel uncomfortable when they notice the sins of others. We do not presume to judge our brethren for every sin and weakness for the Holy Spirit was sent to expose the contents of our hearts to us Himself. But there is a need for the body to discern itself. In Mal 3:18 we read about those who will be able to “see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not”. Some say we are given discernment so that we know how to pray for our brethren in their darkness. I do not find any scripture to support this. Rather, if we are to walk in the Holy Spirit, we will eventually find ourselves disciplined by both the Lord and by our own efforts, pressing forward to meet the goal of righteousness. The body itself, when it begins to mature, will also press forward to meet this goal, growing up into the Head, Jesus Christ (Eph 4;15). When confronted with the sins of others, the question to ask is, “Have I sinned?” If yes, then “Have I repented?” If yes, then we are in right-standing with the Father, to offer priestly prayers for those who sin and to speak His Words of Life to restore those He brings to us. It is what Jesus would do.