Mature in Christ

It's common to hear Christians diminishing the importance of certain doctrines and saying we should not be discussing certain matters because they're not issues related to salvation. But it comes from a very truncated understanding of what salvation is.

Salvation, according to the Bible is not just about having your sin paid for and not going to hell, but it's about through the payment of your sin being reconciled to God to finally fill up the purpose for which you were created.

We were created to bear God's image, to glorify Him, and to fill the earth with his glory. And we fulfill this purpose of glorifying God by living our lives in relationship and faithful service to Him.

However, our salvation is a salvation for holiness. And if we want to align our service to God with His eternal redemptive plan, we need to desire first to be holy ourselves and then second to see our brothers and sisters walking in holiness - fully mature in Christ.

Let me quickly walk you through some text to show you how that's the Trinity's purpose with salvation and how it became the apostle's purpose, and it ought to be ours too.

God, The Father

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him." - Ephesians 1:3-4

We were chosen by God the Father before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before Him.

God, the Son

"And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he [Jesus] has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him [God, the Father]" - Colossians 1:21-22

Jesus died on that cross to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before the Father.

God, the Spirit

"But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." - 1 Cor 6:11

It's through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, that we have our justification applied to our lives, and we are washed and sanctified.

The Apostles

"Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ." - Colossians 1:28

The purpose of Paul's ministry was not just to make converts to Christianity but to present everyone mature in Christ - which is congruent with the purpose of the Trinity, as I briefly presented. And the same can be said about the ministry of all other apostles.

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That being said, the salvation we received is a salvation for holiness. As the Apostle Peter says, "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy.'"

Every doctrine is important because sound doctrine will lead to sound living, which is the goal behind God's redemptive plan for us.

May God create in us a passion for sound doctrine and energize us through His Spirit to live according to it.

Grace and Peace!

Nino Marques