How People Change Part 7

We are continuing a topical series of messages that we began at the beginning of 2016 titled “How People Change.”

Along with the main question of the series, we are also asking “why people don’t change.” Sanctification, which is Christian experiential growth in putting off sin and becoming more like Jesus, is the ongoing process after our justification. We see in the New Testament that one of the key elements of a growing Christian life is right relationships with the people of God. That is, redemptive relationships.

In this message, we will look at Ephesians 4:11-16. We will see that change doesn’t just happen in community, but change happens as a community. Westerners tend to think atomistically, that is, we think of ourselves as individuals first and part of a community second. The New Testament brings individual versus community into perfect balance. We aren’t just individuals, although we must individually repent and believe, but the one and the many are equally important. We see that in the Trinity: God exists in community, yet each Person is distinct. God wants the whole Body of Christ to be conformed to the image of His Son.