Unity For The Mature

For Mature Only

All of us who are mature should take such a view of things.
Philippians 3:15

Not maturity of years.

Not maturity of Bible studies.

Not maturity of church attendance.

Maturity from the Full Message gospel obedience.

Maturity gained from depth of rebukes, corrections, and instructions learned.

Maturity from sharpness gained through disciplining others, opposition, and persecution.

Maturity only because of a well laid foundation of righteousness and self-discipline through the perseverance of Christ.

Promise To Make Clear

Peter should know as he followed hard and long after Jesus.

Peter knows that it is by claiming the promises, the “precious promises” of God, that we escape the evil of various opinions and divisions.

Do you see the promise?

That if you allow Jesus to mature you by way of the crucified life that perfect unity among brothers will become a full reality and joy in Jesus?

If you see it, then why so slow to give up self to be crucified? The joy awaits. The joy of God’s loving unity that the world, and the worldly, will persecute – but hey – so what!

Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. (2 Peter 1:4)

The promise is that God will clear up any differences in opinion.

Any opinion, Bible opinion, life opinion, secular opinion, or religious opinion God will clear up the differences and produce perfect unity on the issues is the promise. Trouble is only the mature can claim such a promise.

The promise is for honest disciples obeying the Full Gospel message of the cross unto maturity. All others are left to their ugly divisions and fault-finding-pointing-finger-discernment-unlove.

And if on some point you think differently that too God will make clear to you. (Philippians 3:15)

Good news, God “will make clear” any matter if we disagree. Anything and everything will be made clear all that is required is we claim the promise and wait upon God.

No matter the issue, doctrinal or personal situations, all can be placed on the back burner while the mature run the good race of righteousness in Jesus.

God will, as any good father instructs his children, bring brothers and sisters together in perfect unity. Not just unity of mind, but of heart, soul, and spirit.

Like the example of the first church at Pentecost the love of Jesus will so fill everyone that All the believers were one in heart and mind. (Acts 4:32)

The 1st church of Pentecost had perfect unity in heart and mind because Peter was obedient to stand up and clearly preach the “full message” of Jesus.

If the foundation of this full message is not in your life or church then you cannot claim the promise that God will make all things clear. Unity is not possible until a good foundation has been solidly laid. One must be an expert builder of the message of the cross before the grand promise of waiting upon God to make all things clear can be claimed. In short, get your church or group of believers grounded in the full message before ever daring to claim a promise that is only for the mature. To do otherwise will end in great travesty.

Paul warns: By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. (1 Corinthians 3:10)

Do not be a foolish builder who thinks he can pick and choose sections of the full gospel message and expect God to bless with His unity.

Only those mature in the message of the cross will have the faith from God to crucify opinion and make clear what should be done unto perfect unity.

Only The Mature

Only the mature that have a solid foundation in the full gospel message can claim and know the power of the promise that God will “make clear” everything in all matters. After all, Jesus is Lord of everything, great and small.

Best to admit you are not ready for unity than as a child play make-believe with God’s holy things.

Those who have experienced receiving all things through the mercy and power of God know good-and-well that if God was able to enlighten on the beginning things of Jesus, He will most assuredly correct and enlighten on any matters in the future. Most would rather remain babies in Jesus so they never have to grow up in the sufferings of Christ. This is why Paul wrote to a church: I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. (1 Corinthians 3:2)

What rest and peace those who are mature have in Jesus! Any issue, whether of Bible doctrine or a step into God’s will, if there be any difference, it is not a problem because God will make it clear. I am free to be at peace, to love my brother knowing God will take care of the issue under consideration. With those not mature in Jesus this luxury is not possible, indeed, it is dangerous to themselves and others.

This is not a peace thinking in my pride that I will be proven correct. Such a thought is a thousand times “no” to that. Pride and self are dying, having felt the death blows of the cross to petty things like ego and winning arguments as a thing of the past. Aw, blessed maturity that can wait upon the Father to correct both sons if need be. The last thing I desire is to merely win an argument! No, no, no …let every man be a liar, including myself, and God be true. Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge. (Romans 3:4)

All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. (Philippians 3:15-16)

God only can make clear to those who are obeying out of maturity. Only by maintaining what aspects of the crucified life we have attained can we expect God to mature us unto perfect unity in heart, mind, and the love of Jesus. It is a grand hope to have and very precious promise to claim that is well worth the suffering against sin and pride. Amen?

Those who are doing the Full Message of the cross, who have attained a mature status in the message of obedience when it comes to the full gospel message, can rest in the peace knowing God will make all things clear. If this is not a reality, that like a child in the second grade, who thinks he knows everything, nothing new can ever be learned.

Admit Your Age

So many think they are something in Jesus when they are nothing but spoiled brats that have never humbled themselves. Even at best all the humble can relate to the fact that as they grew up they always thought they knew more than they did. Every toddler, every elementary school individual, and especially every teenager always thinks they know more than they do. This is why it takes strong parenting and leadership to crucify such pride.

Like the 2nd grader who thinks he knows something he is unteachable at every level. How many there are who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior then behave as know-it-alls. They are not more mature than they were when they first came to Jesus because they refused to be corrected as the book of Proverbs talks about corrections. They refused to be called “Satan” by Jesus and so never grew up.

This will sound pretentious, but it always does to prideful children.

This will sound pretentious, but it always does to prideful children. You will not be able to learn anything from this site until you are willing to admit what your grade level is and what kind of attitude you sit at your desk with.

No one has to fellowship with me, but if you choose to benefit from my errors and maturity in the offensive message of the cross, then best to clothe yourself with sober judgment. Paul puts it best: For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. (Romans 12:3)

If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. (Galatians 6:3)

Those who have been walking the crucified walk for decades have much to teach those who are just starting such a journey. Only the foolish refuse such help. Such individuals, if they ever mature up, often do so only by falling into great sin and troubles.

Such rebellious children want to be taught on their terms, when they want to be taught, and to learn only what they desire to understand. These religious Christians are in the way of Jesus and will always be tossed back and forth by every wind of teaching.

Tossed Around

One reason the church is so weak in the presentation of the full gospel is because they have not grown up into the head of Jesus.

Such growing up into the head of Jesus takes time and crucifixion of self which most hotly refuse. To be blunt, it is my “job” to prepare all for works of service by them being able to hear and recognize God’s voice. It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, (Ephesians). To be blunt still further, you can spare yourself a lot of stupid mistakes and dangers if you listen to what I am teaching. You can benefit from the decades of walking the crucified walk and the many mistakes I made on that road.

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s 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 men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into 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. (Ephesians 4:11-16)

Those who oppose either by their lives or teaching the full gospel are very cunning and crafty. Full of false humility and ready to fault-find in order to win others over to their self-interested “ministry.”

It is easy for these windy teachers to manipulate infant, toddler, and especially teenage Christians. The only security is to become mature in the message of the cross as quickly as possible. Being sober about this issue because even after years of following Jesus, Peter had to be rebuked to his face by Paul for being led astray by a wind of teaching that was contrary to Jesus. Paul recounts the incident in Galatians 2: When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. (Galatians 2:11-12)

Admit you are a religious infant in Jesus and the message of the cross and you may eventually become mature not tossed back and forth by every wind of teaching. After all it is not I who am deceiving but those who slander and short-change the full gospel message that are eager for you to join their cause. Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them. (Galatians 4:17)

Set out in the Lord for God to work His perfect unity and you are can be sure that the Devil will seek in everyway to alienate you from each other. You have been warned and I have seen it thousands of times.

Only Goal

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into 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. (Ephesians)

The Lord assigned me be a preacher of holiness, which means there is only one goal for every person. That they grow up fully, totally, and completely into the Head, Jesus Christ.

That only goal is that they fully grow up becoming so mature in Jesus that they do not need me.

That only goal is that they fully grow up becoming so mature in Jesus that they do not need me. Indeed, the workers are few and the sooner a person can be sent on their way fully trained and prepared in the Lord the more individuals can be blessed in Jesus. I am not building a church, ministry, or even a following but seek only to prepare God’s people for works of service – His service.

As Paul wrote in Ephesians, to prepare God’s people for works of service. Expect there to be hard work unto maturity and then harder work after maturity. For as Jesus said, From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. (Luke 12:48)

It is no easy thing to pray for maturity and labor unto perfect unity through Jesus. Much will be demanded of those who put their hands to that plow!

T. Williams
If anyone does not love the Lord–a curse be on him.
Come, O Lord! (1 Corinthians 16:22)

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