Ephesians 4: Gathered to Grow in Christ

Introduction

It is the fourth day of a week of fasting and prayer at Église Évangélique Paris Métropole. Every morning, members from the different campuses meet online for a morning devotion. Some are already on public transport. Tiredness may be setting in, but the church gives thanks to God for his faithfulness.

The theme of the day: "gathered to grow in Christ." The preacher starts from Ephesians 4:15-16, where the body "builds itself up in love." For him, these morning meetings, the Sunday and Tuesday gatherings and the home groups are already part of this growth.

His conviction fits in one sentence: "God gathers us to make us grow." He develops it in two points. I gather to grow in Christ. I gather to help others grow. And he asks us to hold on to this: "growth is passed on."

Outline of the Message

1. We Are Not a Crowd, We Are a Body

The moment looks like a crowd movement, "but we are not just a crowd." On the subway or the commuter train, you are not necessarily connected to the person sitting right next to you.
In a body, everything is connected: the eyes to the head, the hand to the arm. When one member suffers, the whole body feels it.
A member does not grow alone while the others stay small: "all the members of the body will grow together." God placed each member in one and the same body so that they grow step by step, together.
The Christian faith involves a personal relationship with God, but also a relationship with his people. We receive from others and we contribute to their growth.

2. Christ, the Source and the Goal of Growth

We talk about growth, but "this growth comes from Christ, who is the source." The church is the body of Christ, his bride: we are the body, he is the head.
The end point is to become like Christ. Christ is love: I grow in my love for others. Christ obeyed the Father: I grow in obedience. Christ served: I grow in service, and also in discernment.
Growing in the knowledge of the Word means growing in the knowledge of the truth, and "the truth is Jesus." Everything is connected.
The preacher does the math: 52 Sundays in the year, so 52 sermons, not counting those on Tuesdays, those on social media ("even if you have to filter carefully") and what the Lord says in personal devotion. "We have received so much."
"It is one thing to receive, but it is another thing to live it out and apply it." Maturity shows in the way we live what we have received.

3. I Gather to Grow: Accepting to Be Guided

Gathering with others means accepting to be guided and accepting that others take care of me, according to the level of maturity I am at.
Am I willing to receive correction? The preacher specifies: correction given with kindness, which puts us back on the right path. Am I willing to forgive, even when it costs my pride and my ego?
Samuel had to answer God personally and learn to discern his voice, but this came through Eli's guidance (1 Samuel 3:7-10). "Someone can help me recognize what I do not yet discern."
Elisha learns by walking and serving alongside Elijah. The disciples stayed with Jesus and received his teaching before being sent out. "Before being sent, you have to receive."
Learning to receive a word of encouragement, to ask for help when we do not understand, to let others intercede for us. Where two or three are gathered, Jesus is among them (Matthew 18:20).
The prayer that follows: "Lord, give me a teachable heart. I want to grow."

4. I Gather to Help Others Grow

"I take my part in the body of Christ." The priority now also lies in the fruit to bear for others: helping someone move forward with Christ, get back on their feet, come out of their suffering.
Each person must find their place in the house of God, just as the hand, the feet, the heart or the lungs each have theirs, for the harmony of the body.
Ephesians 4 reminds us: God appointed ministries to equip believers so that they take part in God's work (Ephesians 4:11-12).
Apollos was eloquent, learned in the Scriptures, fervent. Yet his understanding needed to be completed. Priscilla and Aquila took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately to him (Acts 18:24-26).
"You can be zealous, you can be eloquent, you can receive a calling, but how do you find your way toward that calling?" We need others. Even Paul, at the beginning of his ministry, needed to be encouraged and supported.

5. Growth Is Passed On

"This morning, I really would like you to hold on to this sentence: growth is passed on." We benefit from the experience of the men and women of God who went before us.
Paul entrusts to Timothy what he has received, and Timothy is to entrust it to faithful people who will be able to teach others (2 Timothy 2:2). But before taking up the baton, Timothy had to receive.
Moses prepared Joshua to take over. He encouraged and strengthened him. Eli, for his part, helped Samuel step into his prophetic ministry.
"What I have received can help someone go further." In practical terms: listening to someone who is discouraged, praying with them, sharing a Scripture that fits their situation, helping a new believer, correcting gently, supporting someone as they get back on their feet, sharing a skill, preparing someone for a responsibility.
In the church's departments and ministries, the question arises: are we helping others discover and exercise the gifts they carry within them?

6. Growing Step by Step, Day by Day

"God rejoices when he sees us grow." The goal is to reach the full stature of Christ (Ephesians 4:13), step by step, day by day, week by week.
At the new birth, we did not know everything about the Word. "Even when we are pastors today, we do not yet know everything."
The preacher suggests a prayer to start the day, in which each person can put their own name: not wanting to resemble who they were yesterday, because "every day, I want to look even more like Christ."
This prayer extends to loved ones: helping a teenage child, or a spouse who does not yet know the Lord, to know him and to go further with him.
The prayer topics that follow extend the message: a humble and teachable heart, eyes open to discouraged and isolated people, like the good Samaritan, leaders equipped to equip others, "because we can only give what we have received."

Key Takeaways

The church is not a crowd but a body: every member is connected to the others and to Christ, the head.
Christ is the source of growth, and the goal is to become like him in love, obedience, discernment and service.
Maturity is not measured by what we receive, but by how we live out what we have received.
Gathering means accepting to be guided with a teachable heart, and taking our part in helping others grow.
Growth is passed on: what you have received can help someone go further.

Personal Application

Do you experience the church as a crowd where people just pass each other, or as a body you are connected to?
Of everything you have received in recent months, what have you actually put into practice?
Are you willing to receive kind correction, even when it costs your pride?
Who helped you grow in faith, and to whom can you in turn pass on what you have received?
Whom can you encourage, strengthen or walk alongside today, through a prayer, a word, a listening ear or a gesture?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a crowd and a body in the church?

In a crowd, like on the subway, you are not connected to the person sitting next to you. In a body, every member is connected to the others and to the head, who is Christ: when one member suffers, the whole body feels it, and all the members grow together (Ephesians 4:15-16).

What does it mean to grow in Christ?

Growing means becoming like Christ: growing in love for others, in obedience to God, in discernment and in service. For the preacher, maturity is measured not by what we have received, but by how we live out and apply what we have received.

How can I help someone else grow in faith?

Growth is passed on. In practical terms, you can listen to someone who is discouraged, pray with them, share a fitting word from Scripture, help a new believer, correct gently, support someone as they get back on their feet, share a skill or prepare someone for a responsibility, as Priscilla and Aquila did for Apollos (Acts 18:24-26).