Here is my commentary on Ephesians 4:15. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 4:15

“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we shall in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is Christ.”

Instead of being immature children blown away by every wind of doctrine and the schemes of deceitful people, we are to grow up in love and into the Head of the Body, that is Christ.

“Speaking the truth in love” should not be seen as an excuse for gossip or for confrontations based on self-righteousness, as some suppose. It is not the biblical equivalent of “tough love” which gives us an excuse to tell people exactly what we think of them “in love.”

The phrase “in love” occurs repeatedly in Ephesians as a kind of refrain. In fact, Paul uses it in the very next verse when talking about how the body of Christ grows, with every part building itself in love.

We should note that the phrase “in love” has nothing to do with romance. The word for love is again agape which refers to the love that comes from God.

To speak the truth in love means that love is our motivation before we even speak. The love of God should so constrain us that we seek to build one another up always. Mostly this will involve listening and acting for one another. Sometimes, it may involve speaking words of edification, comfort, and exhortation.

Speaking in love means that we use our words to build up, not to tear down. The world is full of destructive and critical words, and the church does not need to add to them.

That does not mean that we never speak the truth. Speaking the truth in love Is In distinct opposition to “the cunning and craftiness of men and in their deceitful scheming” in the previous verse.

There will be times when we have to speak uncomfortable truth to those who are deceitful or deceived. Those who seek to use the church to further their own personal agendas must be called to account. Even then, we must ensure that we do this in love.

Church discipline is a process of drawing an offender back into the grace of Christ. The love of God must always be the dominant feature of such processes.

The requirement to speak the truth in love applies to those who proclaim the gospel and to those who teach the church. It is possible to preach truth in such a way that it leaves the hearers condemned and further from God than before we started. We must preach the truth of God’s word always in the context of the love of God.

As we speak the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ.

Christ is the perfect example of love and truth dwelling together without contradiction. As we learn to both love and proclaim truth we will grow into Him.

This is a truth for individuals, but also for the church. The congregation of Gods people, the ekklesia, models Christ when it lives both truthfully and lovingly. We love one another and speak words of truth to one another. Christ will mature us as we grow in both love and truth.

To grow up into Christ means that we become like Him in all things. This Is what It means to be a follower or a disciple of Jesus. We walk behind Him, we imitate Him, and we become like Him or grow up into Him .

This has to be in “all things”, otherwise we become lopsided. Jesus, the Son of Man, was perfect in all that He did. To follow Jesus means that we imitate Him in all things. Although our natural temperament makes it easier to imitate Jesus in some ways more than others, to be like Jesus we must mature in all things .

The discipline of the Lord, the study of the Word, prayer, and the fellowship of the church, all help to correct us in the parts of our lives that are out of divine order.

The church needs the ministry of the five- fold gifts to nurture this maturity in all things. The offices of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher bring different perspectives so that the church may grow in all things.

The church has the responsibility to both hear the ministry gifts, and to ensure that others with these gifts are nurtured and matured. In this way it grows in all things into its head, that is Christ.

Key points in this verse:

• Rather than being tossed about by the schemes of deceitful people, we must speak the truth in love
• This is not a licence to say anything we think.
• Love is the dominant motif in the church, even when confronting deceitful and deceived people.
• We must grow up in all things.
• The ministry gifts give us a balanced perspective on growing in Christ.

Here is my commentary on Ephesians 4:14. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 4:14

Then we will no longer be infants tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching, and by the cunning and craftIness of men in their deceitful scheming .

When we, the church, are mature and attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ, then we will not be easily moved from our faith in Christ. This is talking about the state of the church rather than specific individuals, although it is obviously as true of individuals as it is of the Body of Christ.

This state of maturity brings with it a measure of strength and stability. The winds and storms of life do not sway an adult as they might do a small child. We have strength, experience and resources that a child left alone would not have.

The church is surrounded by enemies who seek to destroy her. The only way to survive is to grow strong in the Lord, to become mature under the tutelage of the five- fold ministry gifts.

In the Bible waves often refer to the constant stirring and restlessness of humanity without God; in other words, a godless culture.

These waves batter the church. Popular opinion is always opposed to the church, because God’s perspective is opposed to human opinion. Society wants to go its own way in respect to sexuality, abortion, families, marriage, euthanasia, and so on. These are the core issues of any society, and western culture is rapidly accelerating away from biblical values on these and other issues.

There is constant pressure on the church to modify its teachings, to modernise its beliefs. The world wants the church to endorse its sinful desires rather than to condemn them.

When the church is mature, it resists these waves that come against it. It refuses to be pushed around by popular opinion and stands firm. Churches that are not mature find themselves compromising and ultimately overwhelmed by the waves so that they lose their distinctiveness and ultimately die.

The church should be directed by the wind of the Holy Spirit. It can be instead “blown here and there by every wind of teaching.”

There are many false teachers in the church. To be a false teacher does not mean that a teacher is wrong at every point. No, they are often right at most points, but they overemphasise a particular doctrine.

Prosperity teaching is one such doctrine. God wants to prosper us, but that means He wants us to live good and virtuous lives in fellowship with Him. Prosperity in God’s ways comes from living generously and faithfully within the means that He gives us. Prosperity teaching twists this to say that God wants all of his disciples to be wealthy by the world’s standards.

“New” teachings seem to arise several times a year. it can be tiring just keeping up with the latest fashions. These teachings are like competing winds that blow the church in all directions.

God has called the church to be faithful and patient, to walk in humble obedience to him. New teachings might seem exciting, but they distract us from our purpose.

Another way that the church is buffeted about is the cunning and craftines of men in their deceitful scheming.

There are people, both men and women, who seek to use the church as their personal domain of power. Some are pastors, but many are not. They want to use the church as a means to exercise control over other people.

In the 1990’s, there was a movement in the church called “Shepherding.” Under this teaching, people were taught that they were not to make any decision unless it was first submitted to the pastor. This was totally unbiblical and served as a means for pastors to control their parishioners.

Many churches have been destroyed by people insinuating themselves into a position of power and undermining the legitimate authority of the pastor or other ministers.

These crafty and deceitful schemes of people will cause an immature church to fall apart. The need is for those churches to be mature so that they have discernment in seeing the true motives those who would come into steal and destroy .

The encouraging word in this verse is that when we are mature we can withstand these enemies.

Over many years I have seen people try to established churches on poor teaching, or on the sheer strength of their personality. But these things have no foundation. The pastor or church planter has no real relationship with Christ, so how can they build anything for Him?

The church needs to be led by genuine men and women of God, the five-f old ministers placed by God, not by the appointment of human structures.

Key points in this verse

• The church has many enemies who try to overcome it
• We must be mature in the faith to withstand opposition
• False teaching will blow the church in every wrong direction
• We must be wary of the craftinessof people and their deceptive schemes.

Here is my commentary on Ephesians 4:13. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 4:13

“… until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

The ministry or ascension gifts have been given to prepare God’s people 4 works of service and to build up the Body of Christ (v. 12).

The end goal of these gifts is:

1. We all reach unity in the faith
2. We all reach unity in the knowledge of the Son of God.
3. We all become mature.
4. We attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

If anyone believes that the ministry gifts (particularly apostles and prophets) have been done away with, this verse should dispel that notion.

Christ’s desire is that the church should be “a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish but holy and blameless” (Ephesians 6:27). The ministry gifts are a part of this process of the church becoming all that God wants it to be.

The unity in the faith that is God’s heart for the church is not about a denominational structure that involves all Christians under one Pope. This is a unity that understands all christians share the same Saviour. We belong to the same family.

This is organic unity that allows differences in practice, in worship style, and in doctrinal emphasis, but brings a unified approach to ministry, mission, and oversight.

In the past (and in the present, too), the church has allowed doctrine to become a point of division. Denominations and movements have broken away because of convictions about beliefs. These have been understandable, but if “unity in the faith” means anything it must mean that God wants us to belong together even when we disagree.

Unity in the faith happens when congregations share together regardless of denominations. It happens when pastors meet together, pray together, and worship together.

At the local level, unity in the faith means recognising that there is one church in the town, that we are partners together in the gospel, and that God loves all of His people equally. It means that pastors and other ministers recognise the primacy of the local network over denominational loyalties and structures.

Unity in the knowledge of the Son of God is a growth in intimacy with the Saviour. The word for knowledge here suggests a process of growing into certainty.

This is not about doctrines so much as about relationship. As individuals grow in their knowledge of Christ (not knowledge about Christ), they will recognise that same perspective in others.

Those who know Jesus do not make judgements about appearances or denominational affiliation. The important thing is that we love each other because we love the Lord.

As we grow in the Lord, our love for Him increases our love for other believers .

This knowledge means we also know the ways of the Lord Jesus. As disciples, our aim should be to become more like Jesus. How can we do that unless we know him? How can we know him unless we give our lives to him as a living sacrifice? How can we know him unless we take up our cross and follow him?

As we join the fellowship of cross-carrying living sacrifices, we discover that all of our reasons for judging others fall away, and our reasons to encourage others become predominant.

The ministry gifts are to make us mature. There is a process of growth which is often misunderstood in the church.

Some believers think that once you say the prayer, you’ve got to the place of maturity. This is the starting point of discipleship, not the endpoint. Some think the baptism in the Holy Spirit is the goal, but again, this is just a start in our relationship with the Holy Spirit.

In our biological development, maturity is a moving goal and is multifaceted. We may marvel at the maturity of a 15 year old, but if she is still the same at 45 years, we may wonder why there are no emotional, social, or physical changes.

We seem to tolerate a very low level of spiritual maturity in the church. Often there is no encouragement to grow in prayer, in the use of spiritual gifts, in knowledge of the Bible and so on. Yet the purpose of the ministry gifts is to bring all believers to this place of maturity.

A mature believer is a person who is becoming increasingly like Jesus. He or she will be a person who has the combination of both love for God and people, together with holiness. The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) develops in us the character of Christ, while the gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:7-10) give us the ability to minister as Christ did.

A mature believer is someone who is growing in love for God. A significant portion of their time is spent in prayer, reading scriptures, worship, and service.

The final goal of the ministry gifts is that we all attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. This means that we recognise that Christ is all and that He is in all things. It means that we put Christ at the centre of all we do, of every relationship, of our work, of our family, of our church.

The fullness of Christ is not a measurement of a quantity, but a posture of the heart. In this place, I recognise that I am a child of God, a bond-servant of Christ, and that everything I do is for Him and to Him. I have dedicated my life to Him and now I live only for Him. I have died to myself and I am living to Him.

This does not mean that we are absolved of all the normal duties of living in a community. We still have family duties, but this is for Christ. We still serve in the church, but this is for Christ. We still work, but this is for Christ. We still eat and drink, but all of this is for Christ.

The goal of Christ is that we all move forward together. Not everyone will be at the same place of maturity or unity in faith, so in that sense the work of ministry never finishes.

Key points in this verse:

• Ministry gifts are to bring all the church to maturity which includes unity and knowledge of Christ.
• Unity in the Faith is an organic unity, not a structural unity.
• God wants us to be united in our knowledge of the Son of God.
• Maturity comes as we seek to put the Lord at the centre of all we do.
• The measure of the fullness of Christ mean that Christ is everything to us.

Here is my commentary on Ephesians 4:12. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 4:12

“… To prepare God’s people for works of ministry so that the Body of Christ may be built-up.”

The ministry gifts have a dual purpose- to equip the saints for ministry, and to build up the church, the Body of Christ.

There is an attitude amongst some Christians that the pastor is responsible for every ministry that happens in the church. As we stated in the previous verse, no one person can contain every ministry gift, let alone do everything that is needed to be done.

Pastors have responsibility for oversight, to give directions and set parameters for ministry in the congregation.

Pastors and the other five-fold ministers are to equip the saints, God’s people, for works of ministry. They are not responsible for doing all the ministry.

The way it should happen is that they first demonstrate the ministry. Then the disciples practice the ministry with supervision. Finally, they are declared to be competent ministers of the gospel .

The rabbinical model was for disciples to literally follow the Rabbi around everyday, observing and sometimes participating in the ministry. This was the model followed by Jesus and the Twelve.

So apostles should mentor future apostles, evangelists should mentor future evangelists, and so on. Because we are meant to be fathers to sons, the desire of the minister should be that the son should rise to greater levels of success in the Lord than he himself did. Any minister who is not seeking to raise up or to equip the saints is falling down on their job.

The expectation is not that every member of the body becomes a five-fold minister. The expectation is that every believer has the opportunity to participate in the ministry of the church and to do the works of ministry .

When this process is happening, the church becomes mature. Every christian should be taught how to share the gospel with unbelievers, how to pray for the sick, how to encourage the downhearted, and how to hear the Lord. These things flow from the hearts of the five fold ministers, and should flow to the hearts of the saints.

The second purpose of the five fold ministry gifts is to build up the Body of Christ.

The church needs strengthening to do its tasks, and the ministers are like coaches showing the body how to develop its gifts and become stronger in Christ. As different parts of the body learn to minister, the body as a whole is built up.

It is built up numerically through the witness of its members under the encouragement of the evangelists.

It is built up in purpose under the grace of the apostles and prophets, and it senses its purpose and direction as people learn their giftedness.

Pastors and teachers keep the body strong and on the right tracks. As the members of the body grow in understanding, they ensure at the whole body stays close to the Lord.

So the church is built up in every way through the correct operation of the ministry gifts of the Holy Spirit .

Key points in this verse:

• The ministry gifts are given to equip the people of God.
• It is not God’s intention for the gifted ones to do all the ministry.
• Mentoring of rising ministers and equipping all the people are the focus of the five-fold ministries
• As God’s people are equipped to do the works of ministry, the whole body is strengthened and built up.