Ephesians: Adulting

The Living Church

¹¹ So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

¹⁴ Then 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 people in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶ From 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.

Ephesians 4:11-16 (NIV)

This passage continues a letter that Paul wrote, likely to be circulated among several churches in Asia Minor. These were congregations made up of both Jews and Gentiles who were new believers in Jesus the Messiah. This letter was likely written in 60-62 AD. The whole Christian movement was developing, and basing its doctrine on the Jewish scriptures, the teaching of the apostles, and letters and visits from the second generation of teachers. They did not have what is now called the New Testament as scripture. When Paul’s words were read to them they would have heard his telling them they needed to grow up, and fast. They would have been hearing from a lot of teachers, many good, but many who were simply out to gain personally from spreading misinformation. Paul encourages them to stop being taken in by every schemer passing by with a clever message.

There has always only been one way to know what is true, and that is to listen to the source of all truth–Jesus Christ. God’s people have always been told to come to him for true wisdom. The Psalms are full of prayers seeking God’s guidance and wisdom.

We are prone to fall for a false message that reinforces our preferred beliefs. It is easier than ever before to seek out someone who will tell us what we want to hear. The principle underlying Paul’s words applies to us as well as it did to the early Christians. We need to grow up and stop being sucked into believing the latest popular post on social media. We need to “attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”