Growth
Commentary
Church growth has been a topic of concern for some time. Usually the term refers to increase in the membership of the churches or worry about the lack of it. The matter deserves all the serious consideration and hard work that is required in order to reach people with the gospel. We may properly hope for crowds like those that followed Jesus, but we will also desire better understanding of Jesus and his intentions than was shown by the crowd in this week's story from John's gospel.
It is this more profound growth that receives attention in the passage from Ephesians. No deriding of numerical growth is intended. In fact, the spread of Christianity had been so great as to create the need for careful attention to additional concerns in the life of the church.
Having shown the cosmic scope of Christian unity, combined with practical aspects that included the diversity of offices, the author turned to goals (vv. 12-16). The offices existed to "equip" the people of the church "for the work of ministry." We dare not stop there, for we have only an intermediate or instrumental goal, essential and noble though it be.
A further step seeks the "building up of the body of Christ," a familiar term for referring to the church. The "building up" refers specifically to "faith and knowledge of the Son of God." The two are so closely related as to suggest a formal tabulation of doctrine that has become important for the church's unity and strength. Developing the metaphor of the body, the goal is stated as attaining the "maturity" of a full grown adult and the "full stature of Christ."
Although the author usually described the church as made up of children in the family of God (1:5; 5:1), the dangers of "trickery" by crafty, deceitful, scheming teachers required the ability to withstand tides and winds of evil influence.
Growth must move unwaveringly toward Christ, the head of the body. Not only is Christ the object of growth, however, but also the source of growth, "from whom the whole body ... promotes the body's growth." It is as though the author knew of the crucial role of the central nervous system for making every part function properly and grow. With Christ as the head, the church grows like a body, in this case distinctively building itself up in love.
In summary, the substance of the growth is two-fold, truth and love (4:14). Christ is at the center of both true doctrine and relationships of love.
OUTLINE I
Generosity, human and divine
2 Kings 4:42-44
Many scholars believe that the author of John's gospel knew this story and that it helped the evangelist with literary details for his account of Jesus feeding the multitude.
A. v. 42. An anonymous character is remembered for his generosity. Although it was a time of famine (v. 38), a man shared with the prophet grain from the very first cutting of his harvest. Such an offering was required by the Law to be brought to the sanctuary (Exodus 23:19), but this man remembered the prophet as well. "Loaves of barley" is a detail included in John's narrative, but not in the other gospels (Matthew 14:13-21; 15:32-38; Mark 6:30-44; 8:1-10; Luke 9:10-17).
B. v. 43. The prophet matched the generosity of the initial donor. He did not keep the gift for himself even when he was faced with a practical argument for doing so. He trusted God to bless generosity. It was a matter of giving what he had to help those who had nothing. The term for referring to the servant in the Greek Septuagint version of the account is the same as for the boy in John's story.
C. v. 44. The people were fed and there was food left over, just as in the various gospel narratives. The explanation lay in God's generosity. God had given the harvest, then the trust and generosity for the prophet's word, and finally the abundance. Human generosity would have been inadequate without God. It is easy to see why the people in John's story would equate Jesus with such a prophet.
OUTLINE II
Called to grow up
Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-16
A. vv. 1-3. As was said in so many ways in 1:3-11, God's purpose and call is basic. And as indicated there, so here the life of the church is characterized by love, peace and especially unity.
B. vv. 4-6. After an allusion to v. 3, the church's unity receives elaboration in seven expressions: (1) the church's visibly human body, as in 2:16, (2) its invisible divine vitality from the Spirit, as in 2:18, (3) hope as described in 1:14, (4) the Lord Christ who rules all things and the church according to 2:22, (5) faith which is a personal relationship with Christ in 1:15 and 3:11-12, (6) baptism as in 1:13, (7) God who is all encompassing according to 1:10 and 3:14-15.
C. vv. 7 and 11. Unity is not uniformity. There is a diversity of gifts, here meaning offices in the church. Apostles and prophets were the original recipients of God's revelation (3:5) and are referred to as the foundation (2:20). Evangelists are probably itinerant preachers. Pastors and teachers refer to two aspects of one resident ministry in congregations.
D. vv. 12-16. There is purpose in all this. The clue is in the little Greek word eis, which occurs seven times, but is translated with different English words: "for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ," "to the unity of the faith..., to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ," "grow up in every way into him who is the head," "promotes the body growth in building itself up in love."
OUTLINE III
Purpose, mundane and transcendent
John 6:1-15
A. vv. 1-4. The reference to "signs" reminds us of the distinctive terms used by John to indicate the purpose of Jesus' wonderful deeds, namely, to testify to his unique nature and his intent to bring people a new life with God.
B. vv. 5-7. Jesus immediately assumed responsibility for feeding the crowd that followed him. Such a mundane purpose was not contradictory or inferior to the transcendent purpose of a sign. John made it clear that Jesus had the transcendent purpose in mind when he queried Philip. Philip's answer showed the insuperable dimension of the need.
C. vv. 8-11. Andrew agreed with the size of the task and did not intimate that he expected anything abnormal from Jesus. Consequently, he was apologetic when he called attention to a small contribution that was available. Both the mundane purpose and the transcendent were served by a boy who was ready to share what he had. With this meager but sacrificial offering, Jesus did wonders and everyone was fed.
D. vv. 12-13. Conversation of the leftovers was a proper conclusion for the mundane concerns, but it also, once again, emphasized the superhuman accomplishment of Jesus.
E. vv. 14-15. The sign almost served its transcendent purpose. The people began to identify Jesus with their traditional expectations of a returned prophet -- Moses, Elijah or some other. The Messianic king came to mind too, but Jesus wanted to reinterpret that hope.
It is this more profound growth that receives attention in the passage from Ephesians. No deriding of numerical growth is intended. In fact, the spread of Christianity had been so great as to create the need for careful attention to additional concerns in the life of the church.
Having shown the cosmic scope of Christian unity, combined with practical aspects that included the diversity of offices, the author turned to goals (vv. 12-16). The offices existed to "equip" the people of the church "for the work of ministry." We dare not stop there, for we have only an intermediate or instrumental goal, essential and noble though it be.
A further step seeks the "building up of the body of Christ," a familiar term for referring to the church. The "building up" refers specifically to "faith and knowledge of the Son of God." The two are so closely related as to suggest a formal tabulation of doctrine that has become important for the church's unity and strength. Developing the metaphor of the body, the goal is stated as attaining the "maturity" of a full grown adult and the "full stature of Christ."
Although the author usually described the church as made up of children in the family of God (1:5; 5:1), the dangers of "trickery" by crafty, deceitful, scheming teachers required the ability to withstand tides and winds of evil influence.
Growth must move unwaveringly toward Christ, the head of the body. Not only is Christ the object of growth, however, but also the source of growth, "from whom the whole body ... promotes the body's growth." It is as though the author knew of the crucial role of the central nervous system for making every part function properly and grow. With Christ as the head, the church grows like a body, in this case distinctively building itself up in love.
In summary, the substance of the growth is two-fold, truth and love (4:14). Christ is at the center of both true doctrine and relationships of love.
OUTLINE I
Generosity, human and divine
2 Kings 4:42-44
Many scholars believe that the author of John's gospel knew this story and that it helped the evangelist with literary details for his account of Jesus feeding the multitude.
A. v. 42. An anonymous character is remembered for his generosity. Although it was a time of famine (v. 38), a man shared with the prophet grain from the very first cutting of his harvest. Such an offering was required by the Law to be brought to the sanctuary (Exodus 23:19), but this man remembered the prophet as well. "Loaves of barley" is a detail included in John's narrative, but not in the other gospels (Matthew 14:13-21; 15:32-38; Mark 6:30-44; 8:1-10; Luke 9:10-17).
B. v. 43. The prophet matched the generosity of the initial donor. He did not keep the gift for himself even when he was faced with a practical argument for doing so. He trusted God to bless generosity. It was a matter of giving what he had to help those who had nothing. The term for referring to the servant in the Greek Septuagint version of the account is the same as for the boy in John's story.
C. v. 44. The people were fed and there was food left over, just as in the various gospel narratives. The explanation lay in God's generosity. God had given the harvest, then the trust and generosity for the prophet's word, and finally the abundance. Human generosity would have been inadequate without God. It is easy to see why the people in John's story would equate Jesus with such a prophet.
OUTLINE II
Called to grow up
Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-16
A. vv. 1-3. As was said in so many ways in 1:3-11, God's purpose and call is basic. And as indicated there, so here the life of the church is characterized by love, peace and especially unity.
B. vv. 4-6. After an allusion to v. 3, the church's unity receives elaboration in seven expressions: (1) the church's visibly human body, as in 2:16, (2) its invisible divine vitality from the Spirit, as in 2:18, (3) hope as described in 1:14, (4) the Lord Christ who rules all things and the church according to 2:22, (5) faith which is a personal relationship with Christ in 1:15 and 3:11-12, (6) baptism as in 1:13, (7) God who is all encompassing according to 1:10 and 3:14-15.
C. vv. 7 and 11. Unity is not uniformity. There is a diversity of gifts, here meaning offices in the church. Apostles and prophets were the original recipients of God's revelation (3:5) and are referred to as the foundation (2:20). Evangelists are probably itinerant preachers. Pastors and teachers refer to two aspects of one resident ministry in congregations.
D. vv. 12-16. There is purpose in all this. The clue is in the little Greek word eis, which occurs seven times, but is translated with different English words: "for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ," "to the unity of the faith..., to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ," "grow up in every way into him who is the head," "promotes the body growth in building itself up in love."
OUTLINE III
Purpose, mundane and transcendent
John 6:1-15
A. vv. 1-4. The reference to "signs" reminds us of the distinctive terms used by John to indicate the purpose of Jesus' wonderful deeds, namely, to testify to his unique nature and his intent to bring people a new life with God.
B. vv. 5-7. Jesus immediately assumed responsibility for feeding the crowd that followed him. Such a mundane purpose was not contradictory or inferior to the transcendent purpose of a sign. John made it clear that Jesus had the transcendent purpose in mind when he queried Philip. Philip's answer showed the insuperable dimension of the need.
C. vv. 8-11. Andrew agreed with the size of the task and did not intimate that he expected anything abnormal from Jesus. Consequently, he was apologetic when he called attention to a small contribution that was available. Both the mundane purpose and the transcendent were served by a boy who was ready to share what he had. With this meager but sacrificial offering, Jesus did wonders and everyone was fed.
D. vv. 12-13. Conversation of the leftovers was a proper conclusion for the mundane concerns, but it also, once again, emphasized the superhuman accomplishment of Jesus.
E. vv. 14-15. The sign almost served its transcendent purpose. The people began to identify Jesus with their traditional expectations of a returned prophet -- Moses, Elijah or some other. The Messianic king came to mind too, but Jesus wanted to reinterpret that hope.
