Purpose of the Christian

By Nick Bibile

 

13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

 

Today we are going to continue where we stopped last time. The topic that I will give is the purpose of the Christian. I am not talking of purpose of all men, the book of Paul is writing this letter to the saints, to the believer’s means to the Christians. The purpose of the Christian has to do with the question, “For what purpose did God save me?”

 

Last time on verse 12, we saw he is going to equip the Christian for the ministry so the Christian can in turn edify the others. Let’s see the next verse.

 

13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

 

Till we all come in the unity of the faith.

There are false teachings that teach that one day all the churches will come together in unity in the faith. There are some who ask why can’t all Christian churches be united? May be this scripture supports that one day it will happen.  God does not look the way man looks, man looks outside and see there are many denominations and many churches but God looks and see there is one body, one church.  From the perspective of God he sees the church as true believers scattered all over the earth but they are all in Christ Jesus baptized into his body the church.

 

The head of the body or the head of the church is not the pope.  If pope is the head of the church we are in trouble as now the pope is dead and they are still waiting to appoint a pope and we have a church without a head, a body without a head but praise be to God that  the Lord Jesus Christ is the head, he governs the church and as he is perfect he expect the church to grow in perfection. Christ Jesus is the Savior and he is the Lord, it was he who came to this earth from heaven and taught the disciples and it was God who spoke the word through the prophets of the Old Testament and we are built not on the foundation of the corrupt Roman Catholic church, no the Church is not built on the foundation of a man not on Peter but on Christ and the apostles and the prophets so will grow not in the doctrines of men but in Christ and we will continue of the gospel ministry of the church until all the elect of God added to the church and all the elect are brought to Christ.

 

Eph 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

 

We are not speaking of many different Lords, different faiths no the true believers who are all one in Christ. The unity of the faith is our identity as worshippers who worship the true and the living God in Christ Jesus our identity in the only one God, one Savior, one gospel and one body/Church. Therefore we are God centered, Christ Centered, Bible centered, Grace centered.

 

13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

 

And of the knowledge of the Son of God.

Here we see the nature of the true faith. The Greek word for knowledge here is epignosis means a knowledge directed towards a particular object and participating. The Greek word epignosis comes from the Greek word ginosko means I know and come to know and realize.

 

Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

 

Jesus is the truth.

 

Now when we talk of knowledge usually we gain by going to school, studying books and we get knowledge by someone’s teachings.  But here, the biblical knowledge is based not only upon the teachings but upon the teacher.

 

The true knowledge is not only to have this knowledge but to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Because he is the key to knowledge.

 

Lu 11:52 Woe unto you, lawyers! For ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in you hindered.

 

Knowledge does not come from Roman Catholic church or from any man but from the Lord Jesus Christ. The church is built on Jesus and he is the head of the church and he is the one who died for the believers and made them new creatures and we go to heaven because of Jesus and he is coming back in glory to the church but judgment to those who oppose him.

 

Jesus is the center of the Bible.

 

Joh 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

 

Once we come to the knowledge of Jesus we will know him. For the Jehovah’s Witness Jesus is an angel, a created person by Jehovah God. To the Mormons Jesus is the brother of Lucifer/Satan. If you ask the man on the street, Jesus is a religious leader. Many will say they know Jesus. If I ask you do you know the President of the United States? You may say, yes. I have seen his photos, seen him on T.V listened to his speeches. But do you really know him? Do you know him intimately? Have you talked to him; be with him, have a relationship and many would say, no.

 

It is the same with Jesus, many say they know him but they do not have an intimate fellowship, relationship with him.

 

Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 

 

13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

 

Unto a perfect man.

When you read this scripture it does look like when you have the knowledge of the Son of God we are going to be a perfect man.  But how many perfect men are there today who are filled with the knowledge of God? No, there is none. This is where the Greek word comes so useful. The word perfect here in Greek is teleio. Anyone has heard the word teleology? It means doctrine of final causes. It comes from the Greek word teleos means end or final. So the Greek word for perfect teleio is not fully flawless but growing to the end, finishing to the end, growing and maturing to that goal of perfection.

 

Let me explain the process of Christian maturity. Before you were dead in sins, spiritually you were dead.

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.

 

When someone witnessed and spoke the word of God, “bang” the lights came and you begin to see. Now you are

 

Before you were dead in sin as sin had dominion over you dead to God  but now you are dead to sin and alive to God.

 

Ro 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

You begin to know Jesus as a baby. Look at infant. In the beginning the infant cannot speak, cry a lot, as a toddler try to walk and falls down, get hurt.  It is the same way when you become a Christian.  You begin with milk of the word.

 

1Pe 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.

 

When you are a new born Christian you will drink the milk of the word and you may not be able to behave and act like a mature Christian, you may fall, get hurt but by the grace of God get up, study more of the word and you will grow as a mature Christian in his word. So when Apostle Paul said, knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man it means you will grow in Christ maturing in him to that goal of perfection.

 

2Pe 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

 

We will never be perfect in this life but will grow in perfection.

 

Php 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

 15  Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

 

Click to see the growth Chart

 

Unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

 

When we grow till the end to the perfection of Christ. That means you are not an infant anymore. We cannot grow in perfect unless God gives us the knowledge. Everything what we get from this world is limited. If you are poor you get little and if you are rich you get more, but if you are in Christ Jesus you can be filled with his knowledge without measure as his knowledge, wisdom, love and holiness cannot be measured.

 

Ro 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

 

The psalmist found an end to the things that are human, but he could never find an end to what is contained in the Word of God:

Psa. 119:96, “I have seen an end to all perfection; but thy command is exceeding broad.”

 

There is a great spiritual fountain opened for the believing Christian in Christ Jesus.

 

Joh 7:37  In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

 

Eph 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.

 

The goal of the Christian is to become spiritually matured in Christ. All the fullness is found in him.

 

Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

 

All the fullness of God is in Christ and we must look only to Christ alone as he is perfect without sin, became the perfect sacrifice and in his perfection we become perfect. In his righteousness we become righteous. Look only to Christ, he is to be adored and gloried; he is our Master, Savior and Lord, our High Priest, our Redeemer. When we die we shall be perfect as he is perfect.

 

1Jo 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

 

Perfection is found only in Christ.

 

Isa 34:16 Seek ye out of the book of the LORD.

 

 

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