Ephesians 4:14-16

¹⁴Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Starting with the word, “then,” Paul is speaking of what the resurrection power of Jesus (the Holy Spirit) can and will do when He brings believers to maturity in the fullness of Christ. He’s speaking of what happens when the prayer he issued in Ephesians 1:18-20 is answered. What is the power of God at work in us supposed to accomplish? What does the resurrection power of Christ look like when it is flowing in us? The simple answer is sanctification unto glorification through a maturing unity with Christ and one another. Vincent Cheung says, “Besides telling us that Christian unity is doctrinal unity (v13), [Paul] also teaches that Christian maturity is doctrinal maturity.” So what Christian unity and maturity looks like is this: a firm establishment in the truth for the body as a whole and of course for the individual parts of the body; a solid pattern of growth in love for the body as a whole, and of course for the individual parts of the body; and a maturing unity throughout the body.

First, in v14, Paul talks about our establishment in the truth in negative terms. He gives us four images to consider that reveal the result of lacking that deep-rooted establishment in the truth. He says that as a result of the ascension of Christ, as a result of His engifting of the church, as a result of His resurrection power, we will no longer be infants (1 Corinthians 14:20). We must grow to maturity in terms of discernment, so that no fine-sounding argument can lead us astray. We will no longer be tossed back and forth by the waves. Having understanding, we will stand firm in the faith. We will no longer be blown here and there by every wind of teaching. We won’t be deceived by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. False teachers, wolves in sheep’s clothing, will not be able to lure us from our shepherd. According to Calvin, Satan cannot rest without striving to darken the pure doctrine of Christ by his lies; he added, “It is the will of God that these struggles should be the trial of our faith.” So when false teachers come, though they are trying to darken the truth of God by their lies, God is testing us to establish us in the truth. And He does it by the resurrection power of Jesus Christ at work in us.

Second, in v15, Paul speaks of establishment in the truth in positive terms, with the result being growth in love. Truth and love are not opponents; they are comrades in the great work of Christian maturity. Only after one is established in the truth, can grow in love occur on the right foundation. Many Christians are overly concerned about love. You end up with people like Bono who try to love everybody, but they lack the foundation of truth. Proper love must be grounded in truth (Titus 1:9, 13-14). The purpose of truth is love, but not a wishy-washy 1960’s kind of feel-good love. Paul has in mind “tough love,” loving someone enough to do something that’s not very pleasant for either party. Tough love requires truth and a genuine concern for the well-being of another person, however costly. That’s real Christian love, strong love, heroic love, self-sacrificial love – that’s what the resurrection power of Jesus Christ is to produce in us.

Third, in v16, we notice corporate maturity as another accomplishment of Jesus’ resurrection power in us. By mentioning the “whole body,” Paul is saying that the donations of Jesus to us aren’t for private benefit. Calvin says, “This means that no increase is of use which does not correspond to the whole body. That man is mistaken who desires his own separate growth.” Maturity doesn’t come in isolation; there is a level of knowledge of Christ unattainable apart from all believers reaching maturity, which again comes from the resurrection power of Jesus at work in us. Then and only then will we all see clearly, face to face, instead of as through a foggy glass (1 Corinthians 13:12). And so our prayer ought to be like this:

“Lord, grow me in grace for the benefit of the whole body, because You have not empowered me so that I can be more well off or have it easier, or be more successful; You have empowered me in order to be a blessing to the whole body. Lord God, You have lived, died, risen, and ascended and poured out gifts on Your church, and You’ve poured out gifts on me, not so that I can bless myself, but so that I can bless others. Lord God, everything that You have given and done, You have given and done so that I would turn from looking out for myself, and give myself away in self-sacrificing, self-denying, self-giving love. So establish me alongside all of Your people in the truth; grow me alongside all of Your people in love for one another; and bring us all to maturity in the fullness of Christ, for Your glory. Amen.”