Why Christ Gifts His Church (Eph. 4:12–16)

Series: Ephesians: Building the ChurchText: Ephesians 4:12–16

By: Shaun Marksbury Date: March 26, 2023

Venue: Living Water Baptist ChurchOccasion: PM Service

Introduction

What do we get out of church? Many people have a very pragmatic approach to church attendance, looking for programs and felt needs. It’s sad to watch this transpire, as some Christians will leave a good church for a poor one that has, say, a vibrant children’s program. While this is a deficient approach to church attendance, there is something we see in this passage about what we get out of church.

Remember that Christ is the head of the church. A few weeks ago, we studied how Christ can give gifts to the church — He is victorious over sin, the powers of darkness, death, all resulting in His glorious ascension, and can therefore take the spoils of His spiritual warfare and gift His church. He gave specific gifts to keep us on track, the what of which we studied last week, establishing the church in His Word. Today, our passage is on the why, the cause of Christ gave these gifts.

In doing so, Paul returns to v. 7; he says Christ has given gifts, and now he explains why — what these gifts do for the members in the church. We can sum his thoughts into two, main points: Christ gifts His church to equip it (v. 12) and to mature it (vv. 13–16). As His gifts are properly active in church, we can each expect to receive more spiritual equipment and maturation in our lives, so let’s consider each of these.

First, Christ Gifts His Church to Equip It (v. 12)

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

Our passage begins with the preposition “for” (followed by two more of prepositions), so we must back up for a moment and consider this verse with v. 11. We read that Christ gave gifts, men including apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors/teachers. To read these verses together, we could read this verse, “He gave [these gifts] for a, for b, and for c.”

The first of these is “for the equipping of the saints,” which can also mean “perfecting.” Church development tops Paul’s list of reasons for the gifts. Think about it: he is suggesting that Christians are somehow immature and incomplete, in need equipping. Another way of thinking of this is restoration or completion; it can refer to mending nets (Matt. 4:21) or restoring an errant brother (Gal. 6:1). We are all in need of growth, correction, and training, which is what we see here.

The question is how these men who Christ gifts to the church can so equip it. Consider 2 Timothy 3:16–17, which says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” We already began to see that last week — it begins with the revelation of the apostles and prophets, which is the Word of God. Evangelists should give a biblical gospel message, and pastors should teach the meaning of Holy Scripture. So, this comes back to God’s Word.

As God’s people receive God’s Word, equipping or perfecting occurs. The equipment of the church has a purpose: “for the work of service.” This term for service could refer to the deaconate — not simply in the official sense but ministry in general. Pastors are deacons too; though they may delegate the task to those more gifted, they still oversee the work. Similarly, we saw that evangelists are to engage in pastoral ministry for a time, and pastors are doubtlessly to engage in evangelism.

In fact, all Christians are to engage in “the work of the Lord” (cf. 1 Cor. 15:58). Remember that Paul said in v. 7, “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” As such, it’s wrong to think that the pastors (for instance) are the only ones to do the work of ministry, but they should be educating and training people in the Scripture so others can, in turn, engage in service.

It starts with these individuals leading in these areas. When all is operating as Christ directs, then it leads “to the building up of the body of Christ.” Again, the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 1:23) requires further development, just as any lifeform needs to move from infancy into maturity. Don’t be confused, though — it’s God’s grace that builds it up, not human efforts (cf. Acts 20:32), which is why we’re emphasizing the means of grace such as Holy Scripture. As such, when you are absent from church, you cut yourself off from the ordinary way God equips you for life.

Now, there is a terminus in mind for the apostle. This equipping is to continue until the church matures. We see this starting in the next verse.

Second, Christ Gifts His Church to Mature It (vv. 13–16)

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.

The maturity here in v. 13 has three infinitives to mark it: “to the unity of the faith… to a mature man, to the measure of the stature….” Are these even attainable goals in this life? On the one hand, we could rightly answer in the negative, because it’s only when we’re finally glorified and free from sin that we will be fully mature. Still, there seems to be no point of us reading about this if this isn’t something that God expects us to strive for today — we can grow in unity, maturity, and measure today. The question is what a mature body looks like, biblically.

A Mature Body Has Three Markers

First, a mature body attains “to the unity of faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God.” Of course, this doesn’t mean unity for unity’s sake, because Paul introduced the grounds for unity in 4:3 and defined the terms of unity in vv. 4–6. Here, we see that the unity includes the knowledge of Christ.

In other words, God’s Word through the apostle sets the boundaries of unity. This means that those denying, for instance, that there is one Lord or one faith have no true unity in the Christian church. True unity only exists around correct, biblical beliefs.

This correct faith includes “knowledge of the Son of God,” or the “true knowledge” of Christ (cf. John 6:69; Eph. 1:17; Phil. 3:10). All believers have knowledge of Christ but can and should grow in it (Col. 1:9, 10). One can’t be said to have faith without a knowledge of Jesus Christ. Moreover, the goal of catechesis and liturgy in the church is not simple building of knowledge, which would lead to a dead orthodoxy, but in knowing our Lord more. Everything we do as a body should support the head, our Lord Jesus.

Second, a mature body attains “to a mature man.” We are individually called to maturity (1 Cor. 14:20; Col 1:28; Hb 5:14). Even so, the overall point is that the whole church should seek maturity. We should be a place where the fruit of the spirit is known to grow, in season and out of season — a place of fellowship and knowledge in Scripture. Other churches put on shows and lack maturity, like the one pastor who brought a super-soaker-style water gun with him into the pulpit and joked about “baptizing” people. That should not be the way of true Christian churches.

Third, a mature body attains “to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” His fullness referenced in 1:23, and the church is to measure up to His fullness, by God’s grace. This should be our ambition on earth and will be our lot in heaven.

This kind of maturity will have effects in the lives of believers and the life of the church! Paul gives us these effects through a negative illustration and then a positive one. Let’s consider the first of these.

A Mature Body is No Longer Childlike (v. 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;

We’ve already began considering this point, but the Apostle Paul gives this in illustration. We must become like children according to the world’s standards to enter the kingdom, laying aside our pride, but that doesn’t mean we should act immature. God calls us to have mature thinking, not childish thinking (1 Cor. 14:20).

What’s wrong with remaining child-like in the faith? As one study explains, “Children are gullible, vulnerable, and easily victimized. The church needs to work diligently at moving babes in Christ on to maturity (see 1 Pet. 2:2).” Consider that childlike vulnerability against a backdrop of the life-threatening and real elements of nature. Another commentary draws a parallel between this and Paul’s shipwreck.

Paul uses nautical figures, probably based on his vivid memory of his calamitous voyage on the Mediterranean, with the eventual shipwreck on the island of Malta (Acts 27:1–28:1). The Greek is very graphic: kludōnizomai (to be tossed about by the violent waves of the storm) and peripheromai (to be blown about by extremely strong winds of sea storms). In Acts 27:14, a wind of hurricane force, called the northeaster, swept down from the island.

Metaphorical wind and waves wreak havoc on souls, young or old, threatening shipwreck at any moment. Elsewhere, we read that having sinful doubts can toss us (James 1:6), as can false teachers (Jude 12). Indeed, yielding to waves of emotions is a mark of childhood (and sadly, isn’t something that adults always grow out of). However, in contrast to a childish faith, a mature faith is one safely moored in harbor and can weather the storm. Paul here identifies three elementals that toss an undeveloped faith.

First, a childish faith is carried about by every wind of doctrine. The problem here isn’t doctrine per se, especially considering that Paul devoted the first three chapters of Ephesians to it (and much of this chapter). No, the problem is being un-catechized; those lacking a framework for their belief will find their faith tested by every idea about theology, right or wrong. A mature faith isn’t one that’s unnecessarily open, on the other hand — it has its sails trimmed and isn’t going to be moved by every breeze.

Second, a childish faith is carried about by the trickery of men. Before, the idea was of errant doctrine driving us off course, but here, the apostle brings us to something more dangerous. People can be crafty just as the serpent was (2 Cor. 4:2; 11:3). Someone said that the people of this world are playing us with loaded dice. Christians must be on the alert because wolves want to drag away believers (Acts 20:30–31).

Third, a childish faith is carried about by craftiness in deceitful scheming. Here, we have the gathering clouds of the truly sinister. We read later that the devil is full of schemes (Eph. 6:11). Christians are therefore called to practice examination and discernment (1 Thess. 5:21–22).

Again, this is why the equipping of the saints in the Word of God is so important. One commentary notes, “Within the context of vv. 7–16, the dangers presented here only serve to highlight the importance of the ascended Christ giving ministers of his word to his people. They are to be firmly grounded in the apostolic teaching so that they may leave behind all immaturity and instability.” We need all of God’s gifts and grace to grow. This thought leads to the next verse.

A Mature Body Serves in Truth and Loves (vv. 15–16)

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

These verses demonstrate the goal of v. 13 in a positive way, contrasting the childishness of the previous verse. Verse 15 includes a clear call for maturity in the church. In fact, note the present nature of the command. Paul already said that we are growing (Eph. 2:21), with Christ as the goal, and we are to grow into Him in every way. He’s the head of the church (Eph. 1:22), its Leader.

We are to be mature, meaning that we must be truthful and loving at the same time. Whether we are expressing our confession of faith or speaking on some other area that requires truth-telling, we must do so and do so with love. As one commentator notes, “This can be accomplished only by the spiritually mature believer who is thoroughly equipped in sound doctrine. Without maturity, the truth can be cold and love little more than sentimentality.” Our truthfulness can’t be disconnected from the love of Christ and others.

Paul switches to body imagery here in v. 16. One commentary notes, “Note that Luke the physician was with Paul at Rome when he wrote Ephesians as well as Colossians (Col. 4:14), and he could have provided Paul with this apt medical analogy.” The body parts fit together by the providential will of the Lord. These would be where the individual members of the church come together.

Perhaps, then, the ligaments or joints are the gifts that Christ provides His church. The evangelists and pastors provide instruction a part of the greater body — how to move, and when. That’s only possible at the joint level. However, we shouldn’t take this analogy too far, for in this image, bones eventually become and replace joints!

The point is that everyone, whether minister or member, has a part in this body for specific roles and specific periods of time. Remember that Christ gives the measure to each (v. 7), or here, “according to the proper working [or measure] of each individual part.” Our Lord is sovereign over the placement, and we must strive to grow in our current roles with the understanding that we may have new ones later.

Conclusion

To wrap this up, let’s consider the remaining words of v. 16 — “the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” If we are operating correctly as a church, regulated by the biblical principles of worship and order, then we not only be a maturing church, we will be a loving one. We will be loving one another as Christ loves us, praying for each other and bearing one another’s burdens. We will hold to truth and love in a way that the Ephesians eventually failed to do (Rev. 2:4).

Some of you don’t have a mature faith; yours is more storm-tossed. That may simply mean that you need to grow, so please make sure to get into the Word more and read our recommended resources. Speak to one of our pastors to be discipled in the faith.

It may also be indicative of a lack of faith— you’re storm-tossed because you aren’t moored. Perhaps you’ve been visiting a number of unfriendly harbors, to continue the analogy. Even so, Jesus Christ is able to grant you the stability that you so need and desire in your life. Repent of all these sinful efforts and ways, turning now to trust in His gift of salvation.