Ephesians 4:14-16 Podcast
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We continue in Ephesians 4 where the Apostle Paul is teaching us about how God has called the church to do His work on the earth. Before we can minister to others, we must first be ministered to, ourselves. The key phrase in our text today is found in v.15: "Speaking the truth in love." This is HOW we build the body up.
In v.14 we learn we are not to be babies who are blown around by every wind of doctrine. The issue is stability in knowing the Lord for ourselves, so that we will not be deceived by false teaching.
The apostle uses a word here in v.16 which is used twice in the New Testament. It is this word that is translated "fitted and held together." He is saying that one of the factors that makes us grow is the fact that everyone is gifted and every gift is useful to our holding togetherness. It is the word of God that glues us. You will remember that in Genesis, God spoke the word and everything came into perfect being. Such is the nature of the word of God as we choose to be defined by Him.
"Fitted and held together" comes from three different Greek words that are brought together here by Paul. The apostle actually coins a word here. He takes a word which means "a joint," then he uses the word "with"; and then he uses the word "to choose." "to choose with a joint."
In other words, it's God's choice that has put us in the body of Christ, among the Christians He wants us to be with, exercising our gifts and benefitting one from another.
As we walk with the Lord, He speaks truth to us. It might be painful (I've had Him tell me MANY times that He does not need me), but it is His truth that fits us and holds us together. It is out of this posture that we deal with one another. The result is spiritual maturity in Christ. A friend who I attended college with always went about misquoting that verse in John 8, "and you shall know the truth", he would say, and then he would say, "and the truth shall make you mad."
Finally, notice the key to it all: LOVE. Paul mentions love throughout Ephesians 4 (v.2, v.15, v.16). This “love” is agape love, a self-sacrificial love that works for the benefit of the loved one. This is the type of love that will love another with no expectations of being loved in return. And, as we speak the truth in love, we will build one another up. When we are being defined by God and His word, we lose sight of self and we find great joy in ministering to others. Let me encourage you to find creative ways to love others in the body of Christ.
To invest in BYM, click here
We continue in Ephesians 4 where the Apostle Paul is teaching us about how God has called the church to do His work on the earth. Before we can minister to others, we must first be ministered to, ourselves. The key phrase in our text today is found in v.15: "Speaking the truth in love." This is HOW we build the body up.
In v.14 we learn we are not to be babies who are blown around by every wind of doctrine. The issue is stability in knowing the Lord for ourselves, so that we will not be deceived by false teaching.
The apostle uses a word here in v.16 which is used twice in the New Testament. It is this word that is translated "fitted and held together." He is saying that one of the factors that makes us grow is the fact that everyone is gifted and every gift is useful to our holding togetherness. It is the word of God that glues us. You will remember that in Genesis, God spoke the word and everything came into perfect being. Such is the nature of the word of God as we choose to be defined by Him.
"Fitted and held together" comes from three different Greek words that are brought together here by Paul. The apostle actually coins a word here. He takes a word which means "a joint," then he uses the word "with"; and then he uses the word "to choose." "to choose with a joint."
In other words, it's God's choice that has put us in the body of Christ, among the Christians He wants us to be with, exercising our gifts and benefitting one from another.
As we walk with the Lord, He speaks truth to us. It might be painful (I've had Him tell me MANY times that He does not need me), but it is His truth that fits us and holds us together. It is out of this posture that we deal with one another. The result is spiritual maturity in Christ. A friend who I attended college with always went about misquoting that verse in John 8, "and you shall know the truth", he would say, and then he would say, "and the truth shall make you mad."
Finally, notice the key to it all: LOVE. Paul mentions love throughout Ephesians 4 (v.2, v.15, v.16). This “love” is agape love, a self-sacrificial love that works for the benefit of the loved one. This is the type of love that will love another with no expectations of being loved in return. And, as we speak the truth in love, we will build one another up. When we are being defined by God and His word, we lose sight of self and we find great joy in ministering to others. Let me encourage you to find creative ways to love others in the body of Christ.
