Paul explained it this way: "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 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).
Here's what a mature Bride will be like:
- United in faith--not split into competing, contradictory factions.
- Intimately involved in an experiential knowledge of Jesus--not stuck in a text-book knowledge of a distant, uninvolved deity.
- Full of Jesus' life and character--not living daily lives that contradict the words you teach about Him.
- Stable--not chasing after spiritual fads, as if they held real answers.
- Honest, forthright, bold, and loving, "up close and personal" each day--not sitting passively back, watching while her members flirt with spiritual destruction.
- Joined and held together--all of her members woven into an interlocking fabric of deep, truth-based, servant-hearted relationships.
- Hard working--not divided into a clergy-laity system, but expecting, allowing, and equipping each member to work.
If that's a mature Bride--and by God's own word, it is--then you really must ask yourself, dear Lady: are you actually more mature now than you were 1900 years ago, or less mature? Are you more ready now, or less? Could it be that Jesus' return, linked as it is with the maturity of your crop, has actually slipped farther away than it was then?