Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter 4:
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
What it the primary purpose of a fruit tree? Is it to consume water and nutrients? Is it simply to provide shade? No, it is to produce good fruit to be consumed and promote life. This is a picture of our purpose here on earth. FATHER gave us the five-fold ministry for the purpose of bringing each of us into full maturity so that we can produce effective results for the Kingdom.
I have no issue with people attending church but attending church day in and day out is like becoming a professional student, never really becoming a productive member of society. If you stay in school forever then what is the point of your education? A fruit tree is called to be fruitful, not just take up space and suck the life out of the soil with no tangible result. The intent of the church should be to mature the saints so they can become productive members of the Kingdom and spread the Gospel in some fashion with Love as the intent.
To edify means to build up and cause to grow. If the church is not promoting growth and spiritual maturity then what is the point of opening the doors each week? Each of us should be coming into full maturity in Christ so that we too will allow the Gospel of the Kingdom to flow not only to us from Above but through us to others. We are called to become spiritually mature and fruitful else we are simply taking up space.
Children are tossed to and fro because their minds are not spiritually mature enough to stay the course. Each week they need a new spiritual “high” and have developed little or no patience for the Word to take effect in their lives. They are impatient for results. They end of producing no fruit of any value. The fruit they do produce is not enough for others to be supplied for these little ones tend to consume all the fruit they produce on themselves. They are self-serving.
A fully matured believer will produce healthy, mature fruit day in and day out. You can trust their continuous production of fruit for they have proven themselves over time. They are faithful to their calling and are open to the deeper aspects of the Kingdom. Their reliance is on FATHER rather than on man. They consider what others are saying as possible revelation but weigh their words as possibilities until FATHER confirms the Word. They don’t look for signs to confirm a word but instead signs follow them as they walk out HIS Word. They know FATHER’S Character and ways rather than just HIS acts.
They become sensitive to the needs of others so they can minister and supply needs as FATHER directs. They promote unity rather than division but they are uncompromising when it comes to those who come forth in cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. They are unwilling to compromise the Word and will not condone those who do. They are able to inspect the fruit coming forth to discern whether the fruit is good or bad.
The Body of Christ is to become mature without spot or wrinkle. Each member must mature into their particular calling so that the entire body will not be lacking in any aspect. We must focus on being givers not takers. Let our resources be for HIS use and purpose as we supply every joint. Let nothing prevent us from achieving full maturity.