Ephesians 4:11-19
April 23, 2006
4:11 It was he who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 4:12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ, 4:13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God–a mature person, attaining to the measure of Christ’s full stature. 4:14 So we are no longer to be children, tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes. 4:15 But practicing the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head. 4:16 From him the whole body grows, fitted and held together through every supporting ligament. As each one does its part, the body grows in love.
When a group of believers and seekers band together to worship God and grow as followers of Christ, they call themselves a church and turn to this passage of Paul’s for direction. There is little disagreement about the plain meaning of his words; no special discernment is required. It is an easily understood picture of people of different gifts joining together to help each other mature in their faith and to serve each other and the larger community. They seek blessings from God in order to be a blessing to others.
In the churches I have known, we are too often children, “carried about by every wind of teaching,” to the detriment of the goal Paul so plainly sets before us. But if I look a little closer, it usually isn’t hard to find the saints who are quietly doing the work of the church. Perhaps the glass is half full, not half empty. God will one day sort us all out. -sdg-
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