Ephesians 4:11-13
“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature (teleios) manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
The teleios way requires disciplines that must be learned and developed. A theme that I repeat in the devotionals is that these disciplines are not given to you automatically when you are saved. If you don’t intentionally and purposefully build teleios disciplines into your life, then your effectiveness at work and at home will be diminished.
You can be saved, but not mature.
The focus of Paul’s ministry was helping the followers of Jesus grow to maturity, to grow in teleios. He makes this crystal clear in Colossians 1:28-29.
“Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature (teleios) in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all the energy that he mightily inspires within me.”
The word that Paul uses for “toil” is kopio, which means “to labor or strive.” The word he uses for “struggle” is agonizomai, which carries the idea of “laboring or striving with relentless effort.” The use of both these words communicates with exceptional clarity the importance of relentless effort in the process of spiritual growth.
However, note also that Paul says the power and energy for the relentless effort required for spiritual growth comes from the Lord. It is not something that can be done by means of purely human strength. God’s power is a prerequisite.
The Lord wants us to trust him and do the work to grow to maturity. He wants us be teleios Christians.
