May 27, 2018 · Ephesians 4:13–15

Maturity and Self-Control

“We still need to remember that we live under God's grace. We still need to learn to live a life transformed by the Holy Spirit. We still need to give whole areas of our lives over to control of the Holy Spirit. … Outrageous. God wants us to become mature. He wants us to grow up. He wants us to have self-control — to train ourselves to see the difference between good and evil. Jesus wants us to focus on allowing God to grow us wiser over time, as we begin to reflect Christ in our lives. As Christians, we want our lives to be like Jesus. And guess what? Jesus matured quite quickly. Here's a verse that describes what's happening with him at the age of twelve: "And Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and man." (Luke 2:52 NIV 1984) If you remember this verse in Luke, it's actually in the context of him going to the temple of God at the age of twelve, and, like, schooling the pastors. … So if we are to reflect perfection, may we become like that twelve-year-old boy? … Jesus wants us to be like him. He wants us to become mature in the gospel. My prayer is that we grow up — that we grow up in God. We truly reflect the perfection of Jesus. We need to become mature in the gospel — to grow and mature in the stature of the one whose name that we claim.”