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Love

Teaching Text: Ephesians 4: 11-16

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Themes

Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:

Spiritual Parenting

Formation

Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:

Who has been a parental figure in your life for whom you are very grateful?
What did they do that impacted you?

Lent: Historically, the season of Lent in the church year is a time of preparation, repentance, and renewal. We remember and mark Jesus’ time of fasting and temptation in the wilderness. We ask God to help remove our sin and anything that has entangled us or is keeping us from experiencing our union with Jesus.

We have looked at the ecosystem of our various relationships during lent. Jesus says that people will recognize us as those who are becoming like Him - by noticing the way we love.

Today, we are looking at spiritual parenting.

Spiritual parenting: This journey of helping one another from infancy to maturity.

I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me. 17 For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

– 1 CORINTHIANS 4 v 14-17

Paul as a spiritual father cares about their future!

Who has been involved in your life that really cared about your future? Send them a text of gratitude.

There are many tutors… with their own agenda and their own ministry.

A father or a mother is different

There is a powerful combination of invitations in what is described here in Spiritual Parenting.

Imitate me
See the integrity between my words and actions

If God’s world is a relational world and the Kingdom of God moves along relational lines then YOUR INFLUENCE IS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL GIFTS YOU CAN GIVE

Can you recognize when someone is exerting their influence for their own benefit instead of for the benefit of those being influenced?

What a privilege:

That someone would know God’s love from your life
That someone would know the good news of Jesus from you. That they can know forgiveness and union with God
That someone could be rooted in their true identity as deeply loved by God because of you
That someone could see an aspect of how to follow Jesus from your life
That you walk with someone in how to endure grief without giving in to bitterness
How to experience free from crippling addiction
How to navigate treacherous career waters with grace and trust in the Holy Spirit
Someone learns how to pray from praying with you

“It may be possible for each to think too much of his own potential glory hereafter; it is hardly possible for him to think too often or too deeply about that of his neighbor. The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor’s glory should be laid daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations....

There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.”

– C.S. LEWIS

YOUR INFLUENCE IS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL GIFTS YOU CAN GIVE

The gifts of the spirit:

They are ways God helps us to love one another.

Apostles: Often carry a burden and spiritual responsibility to take new ground. To establish new works. To build the church where it hasn’t been. To expand the community of Jesus into new places.

This could be thought of like spiritual entrepreneurship. They often are strong at carrying and creating a certain type of culture.
My friend Jon Tyson who helped start the first Trinity Grace’s in Manhattan is one of the most apostolically gifted people I have ever been around.

Prophets: A prophet is gifted with hearing and longing to hear God. They keep asking

What is God saying? What has God said?

They want to speak the words of God to the people of God.
A prophet helps a community continually align itself around the world of God.
Where have we drifted from the heart of God?

Evangelists: someone gifted with communicating the good news of Jesus.

Someone who might say I love the new ground we have taken, I love that we are listening for the Lord, but are we welcoming in the outsider?
Is our church aware of those around us who need to experience the love of God?
Do we have the courage to be honest about the hope with have in Christ?

Pastors: these are shepherds of the soul. They are gifted with caring for people

Are people being loved well or forgotten?
A community may be growing and doing new things and sharing faith but are people falling through the cracks, getting trampled by busyness
Are we healthy in our souls?

Teachers: They help take the mysteries of God and give us access points

They help teach us how to read, hear, understand and hear God’s word
They may take something that feels inaccessible or confusing and break us off nourishing morsel
Our city last year mourned the loss of Tim Keller who was certainly an evangelist, but one of the greatest teachers of the Scriptures of his generation.

As we look at these things, we can start to see the brilliance of God.

Not only should we ask “Which can i identify with (there may be more than one)?”
We should also celebrate the diversity and difference that others represent!

GOD HAS GIVEN THEM ALL TO THE CHURCH - and in concert they help us move from infancy to maturity.

We are “given to one another” and can appreciate and show gratitude for one another.

There’s a picture of spiritual parenting in this passage.

the word equip here is a rich word with many uses in the ancient world.
if you’ve been at TGC for a while you will have heard these uses before.

EQUIP

To reset a broken bone
To pack a ship with the supplies it will need for a journey
To restore something that has been damaged to its original condition
To train a soldier to fight

We need healing

When we parent well - we help offer healing for wounds the world gives us

We need to be made ready for what is ahead

When we parent well - we help supply someone with what they will need for their journey

We need reminders of our identity

When we parent well we help remind each other of who God says we are - apart from any sin or failure

We need help (skills and tools) for the struggle of life

When we parent well we help prepare each other for the fight of keep faith, hope, and love

When we parent well we remind people who they are in God:

WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST | The Identity of a Christian

John 1:12 I am God's child.

John 15:15 As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:1 I have been justified.

1 Corinthians 6:17 I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 I have been bought with a price and I belong to God.

1 Corinthians 12:27 I am a member of Christ's body.

Ephesians 1:3-8 I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.

Colossians 1:13-14 I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.

Colossians 2:9-10 I am complete in Christ.

Hebrews 4:14-16 I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:1-2 I am free from condemnation.

Romans 8:28 I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances. Romans 8:31-39 I am free from any condemnation brought against me and I cannot be separated from the love of God.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 I have been established, anointed and sealed by God.

Colossians 3:1-4 I am hidden with Christ in God.

Philippians 1:6 I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in me.

Philippians 3:20 I am a citizen of heaven.

2 Timothy 1:7 I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.

1 John 5:18 I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.

John 15:5 I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life.

John 15:16 I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.

1 Corinthians 3:16 I am God's temple.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 I am a minister of reconciliation for God.

Ephesians 2:6 I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm.

Ephesians 2:10 I am God's workmanship.