Ephesians 4:13-15

August 8, 2012 We walk in unity because theres only one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father. But being one doesnt mean we arent also many. Its one body, but theres many parts. And so, Christ has given us gifts (apostles, prophets, etc.) for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ (4:12). He does this,
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we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of

God, Hes doing His work until we all come in the unity (1) of the faith and (2) of the knowledge of the Son of God. Two things I see here: first, this work has a definite and limited time. Think of II Peter 3:8-9. When the time is full, then the work is done. Second, the body is unified in faith and knowledge. Jude :3It was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. What were talking about here is the system of belief that holds us together: If ye love me, keep my commandments (Jn. 14:15). This system is based on true knowledge of the Son of God. Its not just a simple knowing; its experiential knowledgeits firsthand. Think of Romans 10:2For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. Were united by the Holy Spirit, under Jesus Christ, in faith and knowledge: unto a perfect Finished, complete, man, The Greek word for man isnt

(anthropos), and the analogy were seeing is important. When it says were being built up into a man, the word is
(aner) which is more like an adult male. Hes someone whos of age (Jn. 9:23) that we henceforth be no more children. This body made up of so many parts is maturing to be more like the Head. Its, unto the measure

Measure is due.

(metron) which means a required measure or an amount

of the stature This word means age or time of life or height. Again, the idea is full maturity, of the fulness of Christ: If you think of the time right now as being a shadow of whats to come, then you can see that the fullness is the completion of whats started. A little boy grows into a man. Think of a ship filled with cargo or a basket full of food (Mk. 8:20). Right now were looking through a glass darkly (I Cor. 13:12), were being filled and maturing as a body. But this is only until we all come in the unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man. Then well be filled to the measure of the stature of His fullness: His strength in us; His victory over sin and death; our love for Him. Were not going to be like we are now:
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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; Children are easily tricked; Ive got four of them, and I can tell you I have a good time exploiting that fact. But when we speak about spiritual things we have to remember that there are men whom the Bible calls wolves, serpents, and angels of light who want to trick us. Were in a spiritual war! Theres only one faith and one Lord and one baptism, but these men creep in to introduce doctrines of demons, and they make the faith seem plural. Sometimes their trickery is so convincing that we believe their lies. And so, Christ has given us these gifts to see us through this time until we have His fullness. Were not to be children tossed to and fro,
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speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: Now lets talk for a minute about doctrine and the reason for our meeting together. The passage tells us that theres only one faith; certain men want to corrupt the one faith, but we speak the truth in love. Ive heard people say, Well, all we need is Jesus. We dont want to get bogged down by too much doctrine. But you cant make a distinction between Jesus and doctrine. If you talk about Jesus, youre talking

doctrine. Its what we believe about Him; there are many who say Lord who will be sent away (Mt. 7:22) and there are many zealots without knowledge (Rom. 10:2). This is why the scriptures put such an emphasis on teaching and learning and meditating and knowing. If we take doctrine out of the book, we take Jesus out with it, and then theres no knowing Him at all. So Hes given us these gifts to lovingly reveal doctrinal truth to us. And that is the reason for our meeting: that we we may grow up into Him in all things. Somehow churches of our day have been convinced that their purpose is to grow in number. It sounds nobleWe want to grow the kingdom and see more people saved, and there are plenty of verses that show how God added to the number of believers. But those verses arent there to prove that God wants us to fill the pews. The gifts are given to build the body until we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God. Churches grow in number because there are lost sheep saved through the preaching of the gospel, but more generally churches grow up into him in all things. Focusing on numeric growth distracts from true growth. What do the Scriptures say? Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them (Mt. 18:20). I dont think God is the least bit impressed by mega-churches. I dont think He cares even the slightest whether the group of believers meeting in His name is 2 or 7 or 400 or 1 million. The fact is that Hes the one who gathers the lost sheep and brings them into the sheepfold. He does it through us, but its all His work. And the same is true for the general growth of the body into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ. http://newgracebaptist.blogspot.com/