“8 Therefore it says,
“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.”
9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."
Ephesians 4:8-16
Our final consideration in this notable passage must be to look at the things which prevent or impair the growth of the believer in maturity. We should note in 15 that Paul uses the phrase 'grow up into Him in all things', indicating balanced, all-round growth, emotional, intellectual, moral and spiritual and that in 14 he mentions childishness, inconstancy, shallowness, lack of discernment as indicating a lack of preparedness, not to say unfitness and disqualification for service. What are the marks of childishness in Christian life? We speak of people behaving like spoiled children, sulking in a corner when they do not get their own way. And there are Christian fellowships where half the problems and difficulties are caused by Christians who behave in such a fashion. And those who are inconstant, tossed to and fro by periodic enthusiasms, superficial and undiscerning, persisting in living in spiritual shallows, instead of launching out into the deep, are a liability, not an asset to the gospel. What has been called 'the cult of frivolity', the lightsome, frolicsome, superficial Christianity, whose appeal is the appeal of entertainment not of worship, bidding fair to be called 'the new worldliness', is very far removed from the pattern of the Acts of the Apostles. The fire that burned there, in the early Church was of a different order, indeed, and the manifestations of the Spirit's presence there were very different from those that are made to do duty today.