And He Himself (Christ) gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some shepherds, and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Yes, that is a very long sentence in the Scriptures that consumes six verses. But it is a very important sentence that contains many keys to the positive growth of the Church, which is the Body of Christ. Let us take just a moment to observe a few.
Christ gave structure to His Church so that it might be perpetually edified…does the congregation you attend follow His structure, or do they think they know a better structure than Christ?
Christ wants His Church to contain two key elements: truth and love. One without the other is dangerous! Very loving people can be on a path to damnation because they are not following the path of truth; “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” And people holding firmly and accurately to the truth but not practicing love (which incidentally is part of practicing the truth) will be cold and not welcoming to those outside the Body who need to be led into the Light of God’s Truth. Are you speaking the truth in love? Do you have both truth and love?
Christ wants His Church to be a working Church in which every part of the Body is doing its part to further the work of the Kingdom. For the Body to grow, its current members need to be active in pursuing the good works of the Lord, which will edify the current members and foster the evangelism of those not yet members. Are you doing your share?
Our Lord and Savior who died to purchase His Church had His own vision of what it should be, what it should look like. He knew how to structure it so that it would be safe from error and a source of edification for its members. Christ wants us to follow His truth and strive for perfection as it is expressed in God’s Word. He wants us to be people of both truth and love and know that you cannot truly have one without the other. Jesus accomplished a great work when He secured the means for our freedom from the bondage of sin through His sacrifice on the cross. He desires each member of His Body, His Church, to also be of a mind to do the work of the Church that needs to be done…the work that grows the Body that He birthed into existence by His death on the cross.
In past articles we determined the fact that there is only one Church one Ekklesia which is comprised at the local levels by numerous congregation all truly belonging to the one Church that Jesus died for. Passages such as this one in Ephesians 4:11-16 reminds us of what Christ’s Church should look and feel like. If the congregation you find yourself in does not look and feel like the Church clearly displayed in Scripture, then is it truly part of the Church? If it is not, can it be fixed so that it does resemble that found in God’s Word, both in truth and in love? If you do not feel that it can, or at least you can’t, affect the needed change, then consider finding a congregation that looks and feels right with the scripture. One where you are edified and built up in the truth and love of God’s Word.
(Carl Hartman is the Minister at Main Street Church of Christ in Lockney)
