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Christ as the Head and Spiritual Maturity

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“To the degree that you hold purpose and principles in common among you, you can dispense with command and control. People will know how to behave in accordance with them, and they’ll do it in thousands of unimaginable, creative ways. The organization will become a vital, living set of beliefs.”

from http://www.fastcompany.com/27677/dee-hock-organizations quoted by Alan Hirsch in Forgotten Ways.

The cool thing about this is how it points to all of us who are in Christ functioning as we are connected directly to Christ Himself. Not how we are connected to our visionary leader, or our such and such coordinator. Not how we are connected to our pastor, who can fail ethically and morally and shipwreck us all. We are connected to Christ. He joins us, He communicates with us, and He coordinates us.

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

When we are lead by laws and shoulds, we are depending on command and control. Granted, the unspiritual man LOVES command and control, both to have it and to be lazy in it, but being led by the spirit is joy and peace, because IT IS REAL LIFE.

When my son is in my house, and I make decisions for him such as “It’s time to go to bed. It’s time now to do your homework.” I am controlling things that he is not mature enough to do himself. My goal in his life, however, is to be able to send him over to a friend’s house and let him be led himself to say “We should quit playing video games and get some sleep.”

That is maturity in life. That is how spiritual maturity looks too.

Ephesians 4:14-16

14As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Work It

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Ephesians 2 gives a great balance to some order that a lot of people have screwed up.

Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Let’s take it bit by bit.

Ephesians 2:8-9 NET

For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast.

There was a time when people asked Jesus, “What is the work that God requires?” and Jesus’ answer was almost too simple: “Believe in the One that He sent.” Faith is the closest we come to salvation by works. Faith that God did what He said He did is all that is required of us to be saved. In Romans 10:9, Paul says “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” So there is no work on our part to get ourselves saved.

Ephesians 2:10 NET

For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.

If I make something beautiful–if I brew up for you the best cup of coffee you’ve ever tasted, who gets the credit? Does the coffee get the credit for tasting good? NO‽ I get the credit because A.) I made great coffee and B.) I gave you some.

It is the same way with Christians and God. He saved us by grace SO THAT we could work for Him and bring Him honor, glory, attention, fame, etc. Our works are a result of our salvation, not the road to salvation.

BUT our salvation isn’t just a happy face and a get out of Hell free card. Our salvation is a commissioning. Our salvation is an inauguration.

We are saved in order to do the works that God wants to do! Not that He needs us, but that He wants to share in the action with us.

That is the double extra grace of it all. Not only do we get be with God, but we join Him in His glorious work!