Grow Stronger in Every Way


One of the most popular fish for aquariums is the shark. Not great whites, but smaller sharks. Apparently if you confine a small baby shark in a tank, it will stay a proportionate size to the aquarium. Sharks can be 6” long yet fully mature. In other words, you can force a shark to live a stunted life, but if you turn them loose in the ocean they will grow to their normal length of about 8 feet.
 
Today we are going to take a look at what Ephesians teaches us about growing stronger in every way…and why that is important.
 
4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope at your calling— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)
 
Grow Stronger in Our Heart
As a follower of Jesus, we should recognize that the heart of our relationship with God is faith. It is through our faith that we trust, that we have a hope for eternity with God, that we believe the Word of Jesus, that we join together as a church. Faith calls us, draws us, binds us, unites us, encourages us, and compels us.
 
If we want to be stronger in heart, we must work on growing our faith. The good news is that it is very easy to see our faith grow. As we exercise our faith, we will see a resulting growth in what the Bible refers to as the fruits of the spirit.
 
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. —Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)
 
Some of the same things that Paul just instructed us to work on last week.
 
7 Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of the Messiah’s gift. 8 For it says:
When He ascended on high,
He took prisoners into captivity;
He gave gifts to people.
9 But what does “He ascended” mean except that He descended to the lower parts of the earth? 10 The One who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things. (Ephesians 4:7-10)
 
Grow Stronger in Our Mind
God created us to be people that think for ourselves. God did not want a bunch of robots that did only what we were programmed to do. God wanted us to have the ability to use our brains. Sadly, we too often leave all the thinking up to others and just follow a group mindset. 
 
I love reading the writings of great thinkers that revolutionized what the world believed. Men like Leonardo Da Vinci who believed men could fly long before the Wright brothers, Melitta Bentz who found a better way to make coffee when she invented the coffee filter system and enslaved millions to the savory taste of dripped coffee, Martin Luther who refused to just accept what the Catholic Church had to say about salvation choosing instead to study the book of Romans for himself, C.S. Lewis who strove to disprove Christianity and discovered faith in Jesus instead.
 
Thinkers are almost always pushing against the status flow. They investigate and learn and in turn grow stronger in their minds. God expects us to grow in our knowledge of Him daily. We do this by reading the Bible, attending Bible studies, spending time in prayer. Then we will grow strong in our minds.
 
11 And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness. (Ephesians 4:11-13)
 
Grow Stronger in Our Body
God gives us specific callings as followers of His. He does this so that the church, the body of Christ, may be grow stronger. He called some to be pastors or teachers to help train others to grow their hearts and minds. He called some to work in ministry areas, such as with children, worship, fellowship meals, community outreach, etc. Every person has a purpose in the church and when we fulfill our purposes we strengthen the body.
 
God wants the very best for His church. He loves the church, which are the followers of Jesus. He sent His Son to die for each of us so that we could be with Him for all of eternity. Because of that, He wants the church body to work together, to stay focused on our individual callings, to serve and teach and preach and proclaim and evangelize so that we can grow stronger.
 
14 Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. 15 But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head—Christ. 16 From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part. (Ephesians 4:14-16)
 
Grow Stronger in Our Soul
Most of the analogies in the Bible that are used to express the growth of our soul compare that process to eating. When a baby first eats, it is limited to milk. Then as the baby grows, it can begin to eat soft foods. Eventually the baby will be able to eat meats. The baby progresses in this way so that it will be healthy.
 
As followers of Jesus, we are to grow spiritually so that our soul is healthy. We do this by learning how to discern truth, not like little children that may easily believe anything we tell them. I remember joking around with a teenager many years ago trying to convince her that the bumps alongside roadways were so that blind people could drive by braille. She believed me and told that to her mom, who in turn got angry with me for lying to her ‘impressionable” daughter.
 
As adults we should have enough experience not to believe every teaching that just blows in on the wind. We should have enough wisdom to discern the truth. God desires for us to have strong souls so that we can be spiritual leaders that help others grow in their walk with Jesus.
 
Remember our stunted sharks? Experts say that it is not good to force a shark to live a stunted life by placing them in small tanks. Doing so will cause them to have serious health issues it will shorten their lifespan. Stunted followers of Jesus are also at risk of serious problems in their life.
 
God calls us to be stronger. To live our lives by faith, to learn daily more about God, to build each other up so that the church can thrive, and to be spiritual mature so that we can help others to do the same.

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