A few days ago several of the verses in this section of Ephesians 4, struck a chord and I posted a portion of the following on Facebook. I found verses 14 and 15 particularly applicable to where the world is today. Hence, where the church is as well, allowing all types of activity and mindsets to infiltrate the purity and meaning of the Word. Quite frankly, as much as I appreciate and feel many pastors are anointed, I have issues with what they use as examples in their sermons, which to me only furthers the enemy’s ability to steal their sheep!
“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.“(Ephesians 4:11-16)
Let’s lump some of this together and some will remain independent. Beginning with verse 11: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting* of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” The Lord is kind enough to gift us with a purpose upon accepting His sweet invitation to join the Kingdom of God. This is solely in order to 1) teach us how to serve Him 2) to further the kingdom and 3) give God the glory. This is a divine appointment. (*Some translations say ‘equipping’ but I believe it’s perfecting [in the Greek, it translates to perfecting as well] for a reason, which is outlined in later verses in this chapter.)
For verse 13 I like the English Standard Version (ESV) translation for it help to explain it better: “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,” This verse is one of which is why I suspect “perfection” is correct in verse 11, we are to attain to oneness of faith, which is like striving toward the perfect example of Christ’s ministry. He was showing his disciples the way. We were to understand that this was His life from birth to manhood, to the cross and ascension.
Verses fourteen and fifteen are the subject of my commentary below, which was posted on my personal Facebook wall: “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:”
“Lately, the world has become more blinded by deception. For those whom are called to serve the Lord, we must be aware, but most of all we need to understand how we are called to appear: as Truth and Love. People often lack the reasoning that being told the Truth of a thing, by another, is Love. (Instead of hearing, some get offended or become willful.) However, God doesn’t hide the truth of a matter from us – quite the opposite – He pulls back the covers, sometimes gently and others hard and quick like a band-aid, and lets us see things from His perspective. Sometimes, He uses those around us for the task; other times, He lets his presence be known.
In addition, if people are not sound in the doctrine of the LORD God, they are more apt to believe, and grab onto, anything that makes “sense” or “appeases” them. When we comprehend what God truly wants, what he expects – and we live by that – we are less likely to be duped by the enemy of man, Satan, and his lies. Less likely to be lured by our fleeting, fickle emotions and flesh, instead adopting a Christ-like ability to discern what is truly His way. Therefore, walking more uprightly and closer at His side, and no longer ‘taken’ with things that look “beautiful” and “enlightened” from the outside, but are actually like wolves in sheep’s clothing; full of evil doings in the end.”
Verse sixteen swings into the notion that when we are fully functioning in our gifts and in the fullness of Christ, we (the church) should resemble a body working in unison (knit together), to edify one another, further the Kingdom; glorify God and resemble Christ to the world, in love (agape) for the world, and one another. “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted (Gr. συμβιβάζο sumbizazo, knit together) by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.”
So as you can see, Paul is directing Believers how to start living a life in Christ by understanding what it means to accept the Lord, adhere to the Lord and what becoming part of the family of God, should resemble. Amen? Amen!