I was studying Romans 15 and something one of my favorite expositors (John Philips) wrote really hit home. It spoke to the issue that is at the heart of Walk With God Ministries… the maturity of the bride of Christ.
John wrote about the anthozoa jellyfish (flower animal) that lives on a rock from which it never moves named. It feeds on a kind of seaweed which grows in the decayed tissues of its own organism. As a result, it does not have to search for food. It has become the ultimate creature of comfort, but it is also one of the lowest forms of life. Its extreme form of comfort is its degraded position in life.
Rom 15:14 And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
Paul was writing to the church about gifted members who were equipped to stir up the saints concerning their responsibilities. Paul said of them that they were able also to admonish one another. This is a challenge that needs to be heeded by the bride of Christ today.
The tendency for Christians to settle down in creature comforts stunts their growth in Christ. That is why the ministry of exhortation and admonishment is so desperately needed today. We cannot afford to settle down to a comfortable existence in the body of Christ. Our Christian life is a race we need to run daily as there are battles to be fought along the way. That is why we need to admonish one anotherto be about the business of the Kingdom; to take up our assigned position and utilize our gifts for the betterment of the bride. We need to be disciplined and determined in our drive to achieve spiritual maturity. If we are, then the bride will be healthy and accomplish everything that is set before her in service of her bridegroom.
A jellyfish feeding and slowly rotting on a rock at the bottom of the ocean is not a very pretty picture. Neither is a member of the bride of Christ who only comes to sit in the pew and be fed once a week. That will lead to spiritual decay that will affect the bride. We need each other and we need to admonish one another to grow deeper in our relationship with Jesus. That is a key expression of the love of Christ.
One of the biggest challenges facing the church today are all the Christians stuck at the cross. Yes, it all begins at the cross, but the cross is now empty, the price has been paid. We, as Jesus’ bride, need to move on to Spiritual Maturity under the leading of the Holy Spirit … that is what Paul meant when he challenged us to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling.” To work out what our salvation has given us … the life of Jesus Christs that we need to be living.