Growing in Maturity and Fellowship in Christ
January 16, 2025 | by: Adam Troy | 0 Comments
Posted in: Guest Writers
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
Philippians 2:3-11
As a member of the Men’s ministry leadership team, I want to see my brothers grow to maturity in Christ. How can I stir up my brothers and sisters to love and good works? (Heb 11:24-25) How can I pray about this as part of the men’s ministry? As part of the larger church body? At Oak Hills, as the visible body of Christ, how can the men grow in fellowship? Why must we grow in fellowship? How may this year’s men’s ministry impact the Oak Hills congregation—men, women and children? How can we reach the lost for God’s Kingdom?
God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, are called to put to death what is worldly in us, and to put on the new self which is from Christ our Lord. As we have been called to Christ Jesus we are to forgive one another, bear with one another, have compassion, show kindness and seek humility. (Col. 3) In Christ we receive these gifts and by the gift of grace we must be driven by grace.
In Romans 12:3-8 Paul explains that grace brings forth humility. He draws a picture of a Christian who is serving the body of Christ with teaching, exhortation, generosity, leading one another, not thinking of himself more highly than he ought, and one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness and sober judgment. When the people of God grow together in fellowship, and are driven by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, these gifts of renewal and transformation bring the love of God to their community and glory to God!
How do we know who God chooses for his holy service? At Paul’s conversion in Acts 9, Ananias is called to minister to Saul, and out of fear, Ananias was hesitant to hear that Paul was God’s chosen instrument. In this example we can see that God is sovereign and has a plan for us and our ministry to another, and that God has a unique plan for every one of his chosen people. To seek our usefulness in this world and in our church is to seek after and serve Christ! There is no reason for fear—the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ can transform our hearts, and sometimes we may be the unexpected instrument to carry out his work. We see this with Paul, a new man, who ‘put on the new self’ by the gift of grace. Paul goes on to minister to other men—Timothy, Barnabas, Titus and others—while sharing the Gospel throughout his missions and converting the lost in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
In Romans 12:9-21, after this miraculous work done in Paul by Jesus Christ, we see Paul return with his own experience to tell of what the marks of a true Christian are: the Christian loves one another with brotherly affection and outdoes one another in showing of honor; the Christian serves the Lord, rejoices in hope, and is patient in tribulation and constant in prayer; the Christian contributes to the needs of the saints and seeks to show hospitality; the Christian is called to leave vengeance up to God, to feed his enemy with food and drink, and not to be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good; the Christian is called to minister to all—friend, foe, family, and brothers and sisters in Christ. I can only imagine that Aninias and the ministry of disciples in Acts 9 had to have made a lasting impact on him.
What a perfect example for Oak Hills to follow, that we might make lasting friendships so that our fellowship might have ripple effects for the glory of God. I pray that this will be a reality in each of our lives in the coming year. Amen!
—Adam Troy
