The full stature of Christ
The measure of maturity
Paul names the standard of Christian maturity, and it is breathtakingly high: until we all attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. The goal is not merely to become a better person, or even a good Christian by some modest standard. The measure is Christ himself — his full stature, his fullness.
This sets the bar where it belongs and keeps us from settling too low. We are tempted to measure our maturity against other people, or against our own past, or against the surrounding culture's low expectations — and by those comparisons we can feel quite mature. Paul shifts the standard entirely: the measure is the fullness of Christ. Against that, we all have immeasurably far to grow, and none of us has arrived.
This is humbling and clarifying at once. It humbles us, because next to the full stature of Christ our progress looks small. But it also clarifies the direction and dignifies the goal: we are growing up into Christ, aiming at nothing less than his own fullness reproduced in us. Paul labors toward exactly this — to present everyone mature in Christ. Do not measure your maturity by the people around you or the low bar of the culture. Measure it by Christ, and keep growing toward his full stature.
“Until we all attain to the knowledge of the Son of God, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
— Paul, to the Ephesians — Ephesians 4:13 (WEB)
Measure your maturity by the full stature of Christ, not by other people or the culture's low bar — and keep growing toward his fullness.
“Whom we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ.”
We grade ourselves on a generous curve — against other people, our own past, the low bar of the age — and the flattering comparison lets us feel we have arrived. The interior work is to throw out every one of those yardsticks for the single towering one, the full stature of Christ, and to let it do its double work: humbling us with how far there is still to grow, and dignifying the goal as nothing less than his own fullness taking shape in us. Measured against him, none of us has finished — and that is exactly the mercy.
This week, stop measuring yourself by the people around you, and measure by Christ instead: in an area where you feel mature, hold it up against the character of Jesus, and let the gap rekindle your growth toward his full stature.
The spirit of the age is happy to let you measure by the people beside you and the culture's modest expectations, so you feel mature while standing far from Christ. But a soul that keeps his fullness as the standard never settles for the curve; it keeps growing toward a stature the low comparisons could never have shown it.
We measure our maturity by the wrong yardsticks — against other people, against our own past, against the low expectations of the surrounding culture — and by such comparisons we can feel we have come quite far. Paul replaces every one of those measures with a single, towering standard: the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. We are growing up into Christ himself, and nothing less is the goal.
This both humbles and clarifies. It humbles us, because next to the full stature of Christ even our real progress looks small, and none of us has arrived. But it also dignifies the goal and sets the right direction: we aim at Christ's own fullness reproduced in us, not at being slightly better than average. So stop grading yourself on the curve of the people around you or the low bar of the age. Measure your maturity by Christ, and keep growing toward his full stature, however far it remains.
- By what yardstick do I measure my maturity?
- Do I grade myself against people, or against the fullness of Christ?
- Where has measuring by the culture's low bar let me settle too soon?
Lord, I measure my maturity against others and the low bar of the age, and feel I have arrived. But the measure is the full stature of Christ. Humble me with how far I have to grow, and keep me growing up into you, toward your fullness. Amen.