I’ve been away for a month, now am back into my routine and ready to dig into the Word.

Ephesians 4:15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

We’re in the middle of a rather long sentence. Paul is saying that Jesus gave leaders to the church so that saints could be equipped for ministry. That ministry is to the end that the body of Christ would be built up until we attain to unity of the faith, to a mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. This is to take place with the goal in mind that we would no longer be children, tossed around by all the many doctrines that come sweeping through.

The result of avoiding the disaster of people being carried around by various winds of doctrine is the subject of verse 15.

Rather than the previous outcome, there should be an ongoing speaking the truth in a loving way to one another. We live in an age when even the definition of truth isn’t clear. Many people believe that whatever they think or feel is true. But the source of truth, especially in the context of the Christian life is the Word of God, the Bible. Church leaders and teachers have been given to us so that we might understand and accurately apply the Word of God to our lives and the life of our church gathering.

Paul wrote the Colossian Christians that the goal is that we might present every man perfect in Christ (Colossians 1:28).

This is Paul’s focus in Ephesians 4:15. He finishes the verse by saying we are to grow up in every way. Every way! The life of Christ in the believer and the life of the body in fellowship with one another work together to help us grow in every way, or in everything, every area of life, into Christ.

This is the reason church-life is so important. It is not which building you go to. And it is not showing up for the Sunday morning “show.” It is the working out of the “one anothers” of the Christian life. If you only show up on Sunday morning, but you have no regular contact in any meaningful way with many of the others in the body, you are not really connected in any significant way. And that will stunt your growth.

In the next few verses, Paul is going to continue explaining how this life together works.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 9:53 AM March 8, 2021.