attain

 This week we celebrate Assension Sunday and begin worship with:

Ephesians 4:11–13

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 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.

We often confuse "faith" (pistis) and "knowledge" (epignōsis).  Knowledge is what we know about something.  Faith is what we trust about something.  

It has been said that faith starts where knowledge ends, but that divides the two. Instead, I would offer that faith is knowledge acted upon.  One may be taught that ropes used by rock climbers can lift a car, it is another thing to rappel down a sheer cliff!

So then, faith and knowledge represent two parts of the job of any leader.  They should teach their witnessed and tested knowledge to those that have yet to experience it.  But then they must also encourage them to act upon it.

For to achieve "mature manhood" (teleios anēr) one must leave the bench at the altar-call (Harry Krien encouraged me), take one's place in the family of God (George Coonrod encouraged me) and begin a family of your own (Norm Ducharme encouraged me).

I have taught rappelling, and have seen many a boy start with timid steps and grimaced faces as they go over the edge, but finish their decent bounding down the cliff with broad smiles.  I would have failed as a teacher had I not encouraged them over the edge.

Paul wrote the entire book of Romans to get us over the edge.  That is to sacrifice ourselves.  Take an opportunity to read three of the last chapters of the book (Romans 12-15) and go find a cliff.