As Paul the
apostle continued to share the benefit of having “ministers” such
as “apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastor teachers”
in the church, he share how they were provided “For the
perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ:”. In chapter four and verse
thirteen of his letter, Paul told the Ephesian church members these
offices were necessary for “the unity of the faith and the
knowledge of the Son of God” where we read:
till we
all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of
God,
unto a
perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of
Christ;
The
verse begins, “till we all come to the unity of the faith
and of the knowledge of the Son of God,...” Paul
began with the phrase, “till we all come”
or “until each, every, any, all, the whole and everyone
arrives and attains” “to
the unity” which means
“unanimity and agreement” “of the faith”
or “the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of
all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through
Christ and a strong and welcomed conviction or belief that Jesus is
the Messiah through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom
of God” “and of the knowledge” which
means “precise recognition, full discernment and acknowledgement”
“of the Son” which
refers to Jesus Christ “of God”
which refers to “the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised
of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit”. Ministers
within the church were positioned therein to “unify” people
within the “faith” and “knowledge” of Jesus Christ.
The
verse goes on to say, “ to a perfect man, to the measure of the
stature of the fullness of Christ;” Paul added, “unto a
perfect” which means “brought to its end, finished, wanting
nothing necessary to completeness and fully mature” “man”
or “mankind whether male or female”, “unto the measure”
which means “an instrument for measuring the determined extent,
portion, limit, due or fit” “of the stature” or “time
or length of life, maturity, attained state, height or comeliness”
“of the fullness” which means “completeness, abundance,
fulfilling and keeping” “of Christ” who is “the
anointed One, the Messiah and the Son of God”. These “officials”
within the church were to bring parishioners to “maturity” in the
faith according to the same “completeness” which is found in
Jesus.
When
we meditate upon these words of Paul, we understand the ultimate goal
of the previously mentioned offices in the church. God wants a
“unified” church that is based upon “the faith”
and “the knowledge” of Him and His Son Jesus. Christians
are to be inspired to “mature” until they “measure” as
according to “the completeness of Jesus Christ”. Though the
standard is higher than we can obtain on our own, it is nonetheless
the standard. May the Lord Jesus through His Holy Spirit and the
ministers within the church help us to obtain full maturity until we
“awake in His likeness”.
Next
time Paul shares about “no longer” being
“children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every
wind of doctrine”, so read
ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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