Today we consider verse 13 and one of the goals of “doing church.”

11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,

12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;

15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,

16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Doing Church Is All About Accomplishing Certain Goals

The apostle Paul tells us at the beginning of verse 13 that there are goals involved in saints being equipped for the ministry of edification. He begins by saying that the preparation of believers for building up one another, which is supposed to be what the teaching of God’s word is all about (vv. 11-12), is all about accomplishing certain goals. He writes, “until we all attain…” The sense of this word “attain” is “to reach a condition or goal.” In other words, the teaching of God’s word to God’s people always has this state of being in mind.

It’s not teaching for the sake of teaching. It’s teaching that seeks to equip those who hear the teaching to arrive at a certain state of life as believers.

These are the biblical goals for every church in its local expressions that in turn will be evidenced in its worldwide state.

The Goal of Doing Church Is Unity in Doctrine

The first goal of teaching God’s word for equipping saints to do ministry work is arriving at unity in doctrine. Paul writes, “until we all attain to the unity of the faith.”

We normally, and rightly, think about “faith” as the response of human beings to the promises of God. In other words, faith is taking God at His word, the act of believing what He says.

But here Paul is not speaking of human response to God. Instead he is referring to what is believed. The faith in the New Testament consistently refers to the doctrine or teaching of the Bible. In other words, the Bible’s teaching about who Jesus is and what Jesus has done is one part of the faith. Another way to say it is sound doctrine.

When we consider what Paul says about how unity in sound doctrine is arrived at, we need to look back to verses 11 and 12. In verse 11 our exalted Savior gives gifts to His church in the form of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers. Their main function is revealing (in the case of apostles and prophets [see Eph 2:20; 3:3-10]) and teaching (evangelists and pastor-teachers) God’s word. They are to fulfill their function for as long as they are given to the church by Christ (In the case of apostles and prophets, Jesus, in His wisdom, is not giving these gifts anymore as the foundation of God’s temple has already been laid [see Eph 2:20-22], meaning God is not giving any new revelation today that needs to be added to the Bible [compare Eph 3:3-10]. If God has anything new to reveal to the church or to Israel, He will give these gifts again [but see Rev 22:10, 18-19].)

For evangelists (which, by the way, is not as straight-forward a term as one might expect; it seems to mean something like what we call a “church planter” more than simply one who shares the gospel well) and especially pastor-teachers, fulfilling their function in the church means constantly and consistently teaching and apply God’s word, both corporately to the gathered church and to the unique circumstances of individual believers.

Verse 12 tells us that this ministry of the word by Christ’s gifts to the church are purposeful: constantly and consistently teach so that believers will be prepared for mutual edification. This is why unity in the faith, sound doctrine, is so important: because if doctrine is left to each one’s own opinion, then we will not edify one another in the way that Ephesians 4 says we will.

So, how is unity in the faith arrived at? Through the constant and consistent teaching of God’s word by Christ’s servants who are His gifts to His church. If you’ve ever wondered why there is always teaching going on in the life of our church, it’s for this reason: teaching God’s word, in a variety of situations and circumstances, is God’s pathway for the edification and growth of God’s church.

In the next post, we consider more about the importance of faithful teaching in the life of the church.

Today we consider a final goal of “doing church” from verse 13.

11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,

12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;

15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,

16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

The Goal of Doing Church Is Spiritual Maturity

Along with the goals of unity in sound doctrine and knowing Christ, there is a third goal of doing church. It is spiritual maturity. Paul writes in verse 13: “until we all attain… to a complete man, to the measure of maturity which is the fullness of Christ.”

In this final part of verse 13, Paul uses a few words that are near synonyms. These words are, first, complete or mature. Second, maturity or stature, which refers to a stage of life we would call adulthood. The third word is fullness or completion. These three words all refer to the same concept: spiritual maturity.

It’s difficult to draw the line between what spiritual maturity is, on one hand, and what sound doctrine and knowing Christ are, on the other hand. If there is a way to distinguish them, it may be that spiritual maturity is the overall outcome of sound doctrine and knowing Christ. Regardless, this close connection tells us that the three goals are interdependent. In other words, the three goals work together.

The standard for measuring spiritual maturity is Christ Himself. This is what God is primarily about when it comes to our lives. His purpose is to conform us to Christ’s life.

In Ephesians 4 this purpose of conformity to Christ is accomplished through sound doctrine and sound living. Colossians 1:28-29 has the same idea in mind. But a passage like Romans 8 offers another perspective on how God accomplishes His purpose, namely, through suffering and affliction.

However, the overall purpose remains the same: conformity to Christ. In other words, to think like Christ and to live like Christ.

One example of how the Bible takes conformity to Christ and works it out in practice is in 1 Peter 2:21-25.

21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, 22 who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; 23 and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. 25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

Here Peter bases his command for servants to obey their masters, even if that means they suffer in their obedience, by saying this is what Jesus Himself did. Why does it matter what Jesus did? Peter writes, “Because you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.”

Overall, what Peter teaches here is the basic motivation for discipleship (see also Matt 10:38; 16:24; Mark 8:34, 35; Luke 9:23–25; 14:26, 27; John 16:33; Acts 9:16; 14:22; 1 Th. 3:3, 4; 2 Tim 3:12).

If God’s purpose for us is to be conformed to Christ, then this should be a primary goal for “doing church.”

Concluding Thoughts on the Goals of Doing Church

This means we must regularly evaluate what we do as a church along the lines of these goals: sound doctrine that helps us know Christ, which serves to fulfill God’s purpose of conforming us to Christ.

Is what we do in our time together facilitating the pursuit of these goals, whether in the service or small groups or mid-week activities and Bible studies or one-on-one discipleship relationships?

Furthermore, is this your personal purpose for your life and you personal goal for the lives of others in our church?

How is that reflected in how you spend your time that’s not already devoted to other responsibilities that the Lord has given you as a stewardship?

These are questions we regularly need to return to. And God is faithful to lead us to the right answers. He is with us and He is for us. And He will accomplish His purposes for us. In His power and ability we can be supremely confident!

Today we consider another goal of “doing church” from verse 13.

11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,

12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;

15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,

16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

The Goal of Doing Church Is Unity in Knowing Christ

In verse 13, the apostle Paul writes, “until we all attain to the unity…of the knowledge of the Son of God.” This is a parallel goal to being unified in sound doctrine. It also clarifies what Paul means by sound doctrine. Unity in sound doctrine is doctrine that promotes knowing Christ. Holding to and teaching sound doctrine is nothing if it does not help us know and live for Christ.

Later in chapter 4 Paul works through what life without Christ looks like from a Gentile perspective. In Eph 4:17-20 Paul writes, “Therefore this I say, and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the Gentiles walk: in the futility of their minds, being darkened in understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their hearts, and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way.”

After working through that spiritual resume in verses 17-19, we might expect Paul to say something like this: but you did not learn the truth or right doctrine in this way. But Paul writes: you did not learn Christ in this way.

This tells us something important about the goal of the life of the church.

The church is not first and foremost about having its doctrinal ducks in a row, as if that were the primary goal. Instead, sound doctrine is God’s ordained method for knowing Christ rightly. Sound doctrine serves something like guardrails for mountain pass road. They are there for protection, but they are not the road. Sound doctrine helps us enjoy and worship the Lord Jesus whom God has revealed to us in His word.

But it goes one step further: sound doctrine leads to sound living. And this sound living is modeled after and conformed to Christ Himself. This is where Paul goes in verses 23 and 24: “that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, which, after God’s pattern, has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”

Here we learn that knowing Christ first involves how we think about Christ and His word, which is immediately followed by how we live. In other words, if we don’t think rightly about Christ, then we won’t live rightly for Christ. And, in much the same way that Proverbs 1:7 teaches us, the beginning and foundation of living rightly is in knowing Christ.

So, in “doing church” the end result is to live for Christ. How we live for Christ only comes by knowing Christ. How we know Christ only comes by knowing His word according to how He has revealed it. And how we know His word is through the faithful teaching of His word matched with the humble reception of His word.

In the next post we will consider still another goal for “doing church.”

In this post we consider Ephesians 4:14 and what we’re seeking to avoid in “doing church.”

11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,

12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;

15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,

16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

As he exercises his apostolic gift (v. 11) Paul teaches believers in verse 14 that the purpose of “Doing Church” is to avoid a certain spiritual state.

Doing Church is about Avoiding Being Spiritual Infants

First, notice what Paul writes: as a result, we are no longer to be children.

Paul indicates that the result or the purpose of the goals of teaching in the church (sound doctrine, knowing Christ, spiritual maturity) is what the NASB translates as “no longer being children.” The word “children” refers to very young children or infants. This means that teaching which pursues sound doctrine, knowing Christ, and spiritual maturity also has the intended result of believers no longer being like infants.

What does Paul have in mind when he thinks of a spiritual infant? He explains himself in his following words: helplessness at sea, proneness to submit to false teaching, and proneness to following pragmatism.

Spiritual Infants are Like Drifters at Sea

Consider Paul’s next words: tossed here and there by waves. James writes something similar: …the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind (James 1:6). The picture painted here is that much like something caught in the sea, there is no stability to life. The last time I swam in the ocean, I spent time simply bobbing up and down. There was another group of people close to me and every few minutes I noticed that they were getting further and further away from me. Eventually, they were probably fifty or sixty yards away. I thought, “Wow, they drifted a lot!” Then I looked at the beach behind me where I expected to see the rest of my family. It turns out, they were down by the other group! It wasn’t they who had drifted. It was me!

The parallel to Paul’s explanation is clear. It’s not only that when we’re not tethered to sound teaching we can drift from Christ. It’s that we do drift and we don’t even realize it! This is part of what Paul means by being a spiritual infant.

Spiritual Infants are Prone to Falling for False Teaching

Paul takes this imagery of drifting into the next image of spiritual infancy: carried about by every wind of doctrine.

The Greek word for this image is vivid. It can be translated in a woodenly literal way carried around or borne around. The sense is that you’re at the mercy of the one carrying you. This kind of thing happens to us every time we get in a car but we’re not the driver. We are being carried along according to the intention of the driver.

Paul says this carrying around is by every wind of doctrine. Here Paul picks up the same imagery that Jesus uses in John 3 to talk about the mysterious regenerating ministry of the Holy Spirit, except Paul uses it with a negative implications. The wind Paul speaks of is the wind of false teaching. Just as a plastic bag is driven about by the wind, going wherever the wind takes it, so also spiritual infants are prone to the whims and purposes of false teaching.

Why is this true of spiritual infants? It is because they are not grounded in sound doctrine and so growing in spiritual maturity in conformity to Christ. Instead, they are subject to where false teaching and false teachers want to take them.

In his following words, Paul provides a basic outline of what characterizes false teaching: it is trickery according to a “whatever works” mentality and calculated to deceive people.

We’ll look at this in the next post.

In Ephesians 4:14 Paul writes, As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming.

We seek to avoid remaining spiritual infants by growing to spiritual maturity that is the product of sound doctrine and knowing Christ. Spiritual infants are prone to being tossed around like waves on the sea and carried around by the latest fad in doctrine and ministry.

Today we continue to look at what Paul says characterizes false teaching and false teachers.

False Teaching is Trickery in Action

Paul first characterizes false teaching this way: carried about… by the trickery of men.

The word Paul uses for trickery is literally “dice-playing.” In the language of Paul’s day, it was used as an idiom for “playing with loaded dice.” In other words, false teaching, which spiritual infants are frighteningly easy to submit to, is like playing with loaded dice. For the false teachers, their desired outcome is secure. All they need to do is follow the proven formula, and they will successfully accomplish their goals.

Paul further identifies the formula of false teachers in the next phrase.

False Teaching Operates according to a “Whatever Works” Mentality

Next, Paul writes: carried about… by craftiness or readiness to do anything.

The word here is a little used word that combines two Greek that are roughly translated every and work. In other words, the standard for false teachers is “whatever works.” They are pragmatic in their approach. So, they will say whatever they need to say and do whatever they need to do to accomplish their goals.

Our Lord experienced this kind of thing in Luke 20:20-26 when the religious authorities in Jerusalem sent spies amongst the disciples with the goal of trying to get Jesus to say something that would indict Him. So they tried to flatter Jesus before asking a question about paying taxes to Rome. But Luke notes in verse 23 that Jesus saw through their craftiness. In other words, Jesus perceived that these men were in pragmatism mode. Whatever ethical principles that may have governed them in other circumstances, these men had shed those in order to accomplish their goal of arresting Jesus with His own words.

This is the kind of conduct that false teachers regularly practice.

Alternatively, faithful teachers abhor and reject this kind of mentality in favor of clearly and accurately presenting the truth. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:2, but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

Spiritual infants are in danger of being taken in by the flattery and fluidity of pragmatism because they lack solid biblical footing. Only by pursuing growth in sound doctrine for the purpose of knowing Christ can these infants be protected from false teaching.

Paul has more to say on this point of false teaching as he gets to the heart of the matter in the final phrase of verse 14. But we will save that for the next post.

In Ephesians 4:14 Paul writes, As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming.

We seek to avoid remaining spiritual infants by growing to spiritual maturity, which is the product of sound doctrine and knowing Christ. Verse 14 tells us that spiritual infants are prone to being tossed around like waves on the sea and carried around by the latest fad in doctrine and ministry.

In part 7, we learned how False Teaching is Trickery in Action and Operates according to a “Whatever Works” Mentality. Today we continue to look at what Paul says characterizes false teaching and false teachers, according to Ephesians 4:14.

False Teaching is Calculated to Deceive

The NASB translates Paul’s final phrase in verse 14 this way: carried about… in deceitful scheming.

This is a difficult phrase to translate in part because the word translated scheming is used in the New Testament only here. The word itself is like our word method. However, Paul clearly intends for us to take it in a negative sense, which is why scheming or crafty is a good translation.

But that’s not the only reason this verse is difficult to translate. Paul also uses a preposition that normally expresses a sense of direction. In this case, however, Paul uses it with the sense of accomplishing a goal.

So the sense of the phrase is something like this: to accomplish the goals of deceptive schemes.

This is ultimately the heart of false teaching: accomplishing a goal by way of deceptive methods. False teachers will say anything to get you on their side so that they will ultimately have their way with you. They often appear sincere and use buzz words that they know will pass the litmus tests of most evangelicals. But if you listen for the substance of what they mean by these words, it will always be squishy and trivial.

According to the apostle Paul, helping believers avoid the dangers of false teachers is a major element to “doing church.” This will only happen through consistent and sound teaching that promotes spiritual growth and conformity to Christ.

How does this happen practically? Answering this question goes back to what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:2. But we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

Teaching God’s word in such a way that helps believers grow in spiritual maturity so that we avoid the deception of false teaching requires the clear manifestation of the truth. In other words, we need to be clear about what God says in His word. Many times that means that our toes will be stepped on and false perceptions of God and life will be exposed and require repentance. But the outcome will be what God intends: spiritually mature believers in the Lord Jesus who think and live just like Him!

11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,

12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;

15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,

16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

If verse 14 is about what we seek to avoid (remaining in spiritual infancy), then verses 15 and 16 are about what we seek to promote. But before he tells us what it is, Paul tells us how it happens.

Spiritual Growth by Words

He begins: speaking the truth in love. These words are the circumstances of spiritual growth. In other words, whatever progress is made in growing in spiritual maturity, Paul says it’s goin to happen through words.

If we’ve been following along so far, this makes sense, because the gifts Jesus gives to the church carry out their function through words and speaking. Saints are equipped for the work of the ministry by these words. Saints are directed through these words to spiritual maturity by means of sound doctrine and knowing Christ. And saints are protected from remaining in spiritual infancy and being subject to the dangers of false teaching through these words.

So, it’s clear that speaking the truth is necessary for spiritual growth and maturity. And it’s clear that the truth Paul has in mind is not merely a general honesty, although that is important. What Paul has in mind is truth that is in accord with the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God (verse 13).

Speaking the truth was a centerpiece in Paul’s own ministry. Note what he said to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:20, “I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable.” And also in verse 27, “I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.”

This point is important when we think about “doing church.” It means that spiritual growth and maturity in a church is a product of exposure to the truth of God’s word. Just as a plant needs sunlight and water for growth, so also a church needs nourishment from God’s word for growth.

This also means that spiritual growth won’t happen apart from exposure to the truth. So the regular diet of the church’s teaching needs to be one where the truth of God’s word is put on our plates at every meal.

However, should we understand what Paul writes in verse 15 to be only about teaching? Not at all!

Remember what verse 12 says: for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, to the building up of the body of Christ.

In other words, it’s not just those who teach publicly who have the responsibility to speak the truth in accord with God’s word. The responsibility is for all of us. Whether it’s in the building on a Sunday morning, or over a meal during the week, or an unexpected interaction at the grocery store, spiritual growth and church edification is the result of countless discussions in innumerable contexts.

This is why the content of what we hear as a church is so important. The consistent teaching of God’s word, over time, has the encouraging effect on how we think about the truth and how we speak to one another and to our neighbors.

In God’s wisdom, He has put in place a ministry model that covers all the bases. The Son of God gives gifts to His church, who in turn teach His people so that they grow in spiritual maturity through the teaching of His word, and that teaching spreads out to the people that His people meet every day.

In other words, the teaching of God’s word to God’s people does not remain a mere “in house” discussion. It spreads out into the world through His people!

However, how we talk about the truth is just as important as the truth we speak. That will be the focus of our next post.

Ephesians 4:15 begins:

but speaking the truth in love…

Being Clear about the Truth is an Act of Love

How Paul lays out speaking the truth in love is in contrast to how false teachers speak. In reference to these false teachers Paul writes in verse 14: by craftiness in deceitful scheming. As we saw in part 7, these false teachers are ready to do anything according to a “whatever works” standard. But Paul teaches a different framework for speaking. Not only is it speaking the truth, which counters the deceitfulness and scheming of the false teachers, but it also counters how they speak. They speak according to a whatever works mentality that’s grounded in deceit and trickery. Christians are to speak the truth according to a mentality of love.

So the point here is that the methods of the false teachers, designed to keep believers locked in a perpetual state of spiritual infancy, are completely at odds with these divinely instituted methods that Paul lays out for churches to practice in order to grow in spiritual maturity.

What we should understand about how to speak the truth is that being clear about the truth is an act of love. To be clear, this is not simply hammering people over the head with biblical truth. Instead this addresses our motivations.

How Did Paul Practice Speaking the Truth in Love?

One example of how this works in practice is found in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians. What we know about Paul’s relationship with the Corinthians reveals difficulty and hardship. He experienced many trials with them, even going so far that someone openly insulted him during his “sorrowful visit” (2 Cor 2:1, 5)!

However, the way that he treated them in return was to speak the truth in love. He wrote a letter to them (2 Col 2:3) writing with tears about how they wronged him but that he still loved them (2 Col 2:4). And what follows over the next 5 chapters is how Paul explains that claim. The short of his explanation is that his new covenant ministry, grounded in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, and fueled by the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in peoples’ lives results in transformed people through straightforward clarity about the truth.

So, 2 Corinthians is an extended example of Paul’s application of Ephesians 4:15. We speak the truth in love because that is the nature of the ministry we’ve received.

Of course, how we do this requires wisdom beyond us, but not beyond God’s wisdom! But practicing speaking the truth in love always takes into account two people. First, there is the person we’re talking to. Speaking the truth in love means listening to that person attentively and patiently walking him or her through how the truth of God’s word connects the issue under discussion.

Second, there is God, whose truth we are speaking to one another. Speaking God’s truth in love needs to be considered an act of love for God. This means that we don’t edit God. We may not say everything that could be said from God’s word in a given conversation. But if we love God, we won’t misdirect people because we prefer a certain perspective of God over another, or because we don’t think that truth about God will be receive by this person.

Speaking the truth in love is one of the perquisites for a church that is growing in spiritual maturity. In the next post we’ll consider how Ephesians 4:11-16 works together to bring about the “body life” that Paul envisions for every church.

Of course, doing church involves more detail than this picture, which is why the letter to the Ephesians doesn’t end at verse 16 and that Ephesians is not the only book in the New Testament on the church! For example, another passage that is similar to Ephesians 4:11-16, but considers it in a larger space is Romans 12-15. However, there are not many passages in the Bible that teach what life in the church is all about quite like this passage does in just six verses.

So, what is life in the church all about, according to what Paul writes in this passage?

Let’s review.

In verse 11, Paul continues a thought he began in verse 7, which itself is built on the beginning of chapter 4. Chapter 4 begins the second section of Ephesians with the theme of “Living a Life Worthy of the Blessing of God.” The first stop for Paul on living this kind of life is unity in the church (vv. 2-6). The next stop is verses 7-16, where Paul teaches us how diversity in the church fosters unity in the church. In verse 7, Paul says that to each one a grace-gift was given by Jesus Himself. In verses 8-10 Paul explains where these gifts came from: Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension.

So verse 11 is a continuation of Paul’s thought from verse 7. In verse 11, Paul identifies certain diverse gifts that foster unity in the church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherd-teachers. These gifts, who are given to the church by Jesus, are for pursuing certain goals for the church.

Verse 12 tells us what the overall goal of these gifts is: to equip the saints for the work of ministry, which Paul further identifies as building up the church body.

Verse 13 tells us what the accomplishment of that goal looks like: all the saints being sound in the faith and in knowing Christ. Another way to say this is what Paul writes in the rest of the verse: spiritual maturity after the pattern of Christ Himself.

Verse 14 begins to tell us the purpose of these goals. First, Paul states it negatively: to not be subject to the whims of false teachers and their methods.

Then in verse 15, before stating the purpose positively, Paul tells us the prerequisite of this positive purpose. It can only be done by speaking the truth in love.

Finally, Paul states the positive purpose of the goals of life in the church. The body is to be equipped for the work of ministry so that we would grow up in Christ. Look at how he puts it:

15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,

16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Let’s break this down in this way: grow up to be like Christ, Christ provides what we need in order to be like Christ, and what Christ provides for us is you and me.

Grow Up to Be Like Christ

When Paul writes we are to grow up, he is continuing his purpose statement that he began in verse 14. So, the goals of church life, which the particular gifts in verse 11 are given to pursue, are for this positive purpose: growing to be like Christ.

Notice also that Paul says that growing to be like Christ knows no boundaries or limitations: in all aspects or in all things. Therefore, Jesus is not only interested in His people understanding and believing sound doctrine (which He certainly is), He is also interested in His people connecting the dots between sound doctrine and sound living (which is what the rest of Ephesians is all about!). In other words, Paul is telling us that a life that pleases God is lived upon the foundation of doctrine that God has revealed.

And this all results in being more and more like Christ Himself.

Christ Provides What We Need in order to Be Like Christ

Next, Paul puts this pursuit of growth in terms of how a body works. The head is Christ Himself. The body is the church. The individual members of the church are the individual members of the body.

Paul actually began this metaphor in verse 13 and continued it in verse 14. In verse 13 he writes that a goal of church life is “unto a mature man.” In verse 14, he writes that church life is intended to prevent people from remaining “infants.”

Consider how Paul puts the metaphor in verse 16: “from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”

Think for a moment about what an infant looks like. Usually, an infant’s head is out of proportion to the rest of the body. An adult’s head is usually in proportion to the body. This is the picture Paul paints. He doesn’t want the body to look like an infant. He wants the body to grow up to be an adult.

And here is the great news! Jesus, as the body’s head, provides what the body needs in order to grow into proportion to the head!

How does He do that? At least in this passage, Paul has in mind the gifts listed in verse 11, which leads to equipping the body, which leads to the body doing the work of ministry, which is the building up of the church!

So, Jesus provides what the church needs to grow up.

But what is it that He provides?

What Christ Provides for Us is You and Me

Look again at verse 16: “from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”

This is a long and fairly complicated verse that completes the sentence begun in verse 15. But the point is clear: Jesus provides you and me for the growth of the whole body.

In other words, how the head provides for the growth of the body is each member of the body.

This means that the gifts specified in verse 11 are only a part of the provision. The bulk of Jesus’ provision for spiritual growth in the church is how each person in the church promotes the growth of the whole!

What does this mean? This means that your personal spiritual growth is intended to help others grow. And the spiritual growth of others is intended to help you grow.

This means that everything you do and experience as a person who belongs to Jesus is intended by Jesus to help others grow to be more like Jesus!

And this means that everything you do and experience in the big picture of Jesus’ intention for the church matters.

As a believer in Jesus, He intends your personal growth to be a vital contributor to the growth of the church.

So, whether it happens on a Sunday morning or a Thursday afternoon or a Tuesday night, doing church is about being more like Jesus in our believing, thinking, and living… and helping one another do the same.

That question is usually intended as a simple question to produce a simple answer. “We emphasize community service.” “We focus on families.” “We’re all about evangelism.” “We want people to feel good about themselves.”

This question is really loaded with significance, but biblically the answer is still simple.

The question is loaded because it reveals what we think church is all about. Is what we do in the church all about us? Or a specific group of people in the church? Or who we want to belong to the church?

But the biblical answer to the question is simple: To do church is to help one another be more and more like Jesus.

Ephesians 4:11-16 clearly teaches us this biblical answer.

Over the next several posts we are going to explore this passage and what it teaches us about “doing church.”

11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,

12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;

15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,

16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

“Doing Church” Revolves around the Teaching of God’s Word (vv. 11-12)

The first part of this passage tells us of how Jesus Himself promotes the right direction of ministry in the church.

In the lead up to verse 11, Paul says that Jesus’ ministry on earth ended in victory with His death, resurrection, and ascension. This victory is especially evident in the gifts that He’s given to people. And verse 11 lists out particular gifts that Jesus has given. Paul writes in verse 11, “He gave, on the one hand, apostles, and on the other prophets, also evangelists, also shepherds and teachers” (likely teaching shepherds).

In verse 12 Paul says these gifts are given for these purposes or to accomplish this goal: equipping the saints. Equipping the saints has the sense of preparing those who belong to Jesus to accomplish certain tasks.

What are those tasks? Paul tells us: the work of “service” (better translated as “ministry”) and the building up of the body of Christ. Jesus gives these gifts so that all believers would do the work of ministry, which is further identified as edification or building up the church.

What does this tell us?

This tells us that the individuals who are the gifts Jesus gives to the church have as their primary task teaching believers so that they in turn would be prepared to do upbuilding ministry. In other words, practical life in the church revolves around the teaching of God’s word to God’s people.

Therefore, if we ever wonder how we can pray for your elders at Girard Bible Church, these two verses tell us to pray that they would faithfully equip and prepare us for the building work we have to do.

And if we ever wonder how we can serve GBC (or whatever local body you belong to), these two verses tell us that our overall task is doing ministry, which is building up other believers.

In the coming posts we’ll explore what building up other believers is looks like.