And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…
– Eph 4:11–13 (ESV)
Early in my Christian walk there were some crystal clear (even “tangible”) truths to which I was immediately enlightened, such as the necessity of the universe having been created by a powerful God, this God as purposeful and loving Father, the reality of Christ as both the son of God and real historical person, and the contrast between God’s holiness and man’s sinfulness, etc. However, there are other truths that have much more slowly unfolded. In particular, the person and work of the Holy Spirit initially seemed very mysterious—even the term “Holy Spirit” was completely strange and mystical to my naturalistic ears. Of course, Scripture is clear on many aspects of the essential nature and work of the Spirit in and for the believer. (To name a few: salvation, John 3:5-6; preservation, Eph. 1:13-14; illumination, 1 Cor. 2:10-14; production of good fruit, Gal. 5:22-23; daily communion with God, Rom. 8:26).
However, just this week I heard a pastor who made the casual observation that John the Baptist, in expounding on the attributes of the Christ (recorded in John 3:31-36) stated that Jesus was given the Spirit “without measure.” At that moment, I was struck by a profound realization of my individual limitation to become fully Christ-like, if I were to attempt it alone (even with the in-dwelling Spirit!). As brother George Moore has reminded me, likely when I have overstated my giftedness somehow: while God has given all Christians spiritual gifts, He has given no Christian all gifts. Incredibly, however, although no one has the full measure of the Spirit except Christ himself, as a Christian body we collectively share one Spirit with Christ for the common good (1 Cor. 12:7-13) and together we have the goal of each attaining the “unity of the faith” unto the “measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13, above).
What a profound and amazing promise we have as a collective body of believers! And, although we generally have no problem ascribing to the Holy Spirit our spiritual growth and good works, we also must acknowledge that, even with the measure of the Holy Spirit we have been given, we cannot attain our true spiritual potential without the measure of the Spirit given to the others of our fellowship. So, brothers and sisters, be encouraged by the differing spiritual gifts among our body and revel in the promise that it is precisely through these differences that we have the hope of attaining to our destined fullness of Christ.
Looking forward to worshiping differently,
Pastor Aaron
