The Messy Local Church And Why It's Worth Joining (In Search Of Truth, Ephesians 4:14-16)

(Ephesians 4:14-16, ESV)
14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.


In light of the fact that believers, despite their extreme differences, are forgiven and adopted into the same family through belief in the rescuing work of Jesus, Paul urges his readers, who come from very different social backgrounds, to live and serve together in a manner worthy of the hope we have because of how God called each of us to himself. (4:1-6)

As we pursue living life in a way that is worthy of that hope, Jesus has equipped men and women with specific roles with which to serve and lead in both the local and worldwide church. (4:7-11)

The purpose of this distribution of gifts is to help us all mature in wisdom, spiritual discipline, holiness (or "set-apart-ness for God"), and contentment, with the aim of being unified in what we believe and trust about Jesus, engaging in all that he has purposed for us in this life. (4:12-13)


v. 14, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

This maturity we are meant to grow in will increasingly prevent us from being "tossed by waves", an expression used metaphorically in Greek to refer to being troubled or nervous. The source of this agitation might be linked to being "carried about by every wind of doctrine", which in the literal Greek expresses the idea of being "swung around". It was an expression used of spinning tops and feeling dizzy, which makes sense given the confused and dizzying effect that popular false teaching brings into our lives.

Both from outside the church and from within, we witness popular philosophical movements come and go. This can include trends in corporate worship or even changes in how we fundamentally read and interpret the Bible. A growing maturity as we walk with Christ protects us from the anxiety and confusion that can accompany mental confrontations with persuasive yet false thinking.

The sources of false doctrine are identified as:

1."human cunning". The word for "cunning" here in the Greek literally means "dice playing", and was a metaphor of the day used to describe deceivers, since dice players often deceived those they played with. (Similar to how we can describe manipulative people as "used car salesmen".)

2. "craftiness in deceitful schemes". The Greek word for "craftiness" here describes a cunning without moral limitations. Someone with a single focus on their agenda without concern for anything else.


v. 15, Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

Instead of adopting false teaching, we promote maturity and unity between ourselves and other Christians by:

1."speaking the truth in love". It's easy (and wrong) to think of speaking truth and speaking in love as mutually exclusive traits, as though one compromises the other. There is actually a lot of overlap between the two.

The Greek compound word for "speaking the truth" here more strictly translates to "doing the truth". If we only verbally teach or proclaim truth, we are missing the mark intended here. As Zondervan Publishing's "Expositor's Bible Commentary" clarifies regarding this phrase: "'Truthing it in love' involves not only declaring and defending the faith with charitable words but also matching such words with compatible attitudes and actions."

The Greek word for "love" here is "agape", which we've looked at before. Agape is a love that both prioritizes others above oneself AND serves others in the way that is best for them, not always in the way they would prefer. So there is potential for agape to be "tough love", but not to the exclusion of genuine heartfelt concern and compassion.

2."grow[ing] up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ". The metaphor isn't crystal clear here, but whether we are growing to become like Christ or growing "toward" a deep connection and partnership with him (as the body is to a head), Christ himself is the standard. He is the first of a new kind of human that God is developing us into for an eternal future with him and for eternal community with others.


v. 16, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

The last part of that sentence is the culmination of chapter 4, the final aim of what Christians are meant to be: A unified community that builds itself up in love. We're not primarily built-up by knowledge or self-discipline, but by love. The other things are important, but love is essential for those other things to be effective.

According to Thayer's Greek Lexicon, the Greek word for "working" in the phrase "when each part is working properly" is only used in the New Testament to describe supernatural power, not simply human effort. For the church to thrive, we have to approach it depending ultimately and genuinely on God's empowering involvement, not just our determination or force of will.

Christ enables this growth of the church body, and then individuals choose to cooperate in maturing together. The maturing of the community as a whole depends on each individual:

1. Choosing to help hold the community together
2. Functioning in intentional partnership with the Holy Spirit


SO WHAT'S IN ALL THIS FOR GEEKS?

Maybe I'm just feeling especially anti-social right now, but I don't like a lot of what these verses are telling me.

I don't like the idea that in order to safeguard against bad thinking and false ideas I need to be invested in local church community, submitting to local church leadership. I pridefully think of myself as pretty darn discerning.

I like being spoken to in truth and love... except when someone wants to tell me I'm wrong about something. I hate that and wish they would go away. I also hate having to gear myself up to speak loving truth to someone else. Because between my shortcomings and their defensiveness, they won't see it as loving or as truthful. It will get heated and messy and they probably won't change their mind anyway. So what's the point?

I don't like the idea that I can't truly mature in the way God intends without intentionally engaging in the local church, being a part of the solution, helping it remain unified and trusting that God will supply power as I take on what look like hopeless, pointless tasks.

I don't like any of that. And yet I can't make it not exist. The words are there. They are true. So how do I even begin to get over those issues?

I think backtracking to verse 2 of this chapter is a start. The first word Paul uses to describe what this walk with Christ looks like in community with others? Humility. A right understanding of where I'm really at. A willingness to acknowledge my weakness and deal with my mess. And with the tireless patience and forgiveness of Jesus I can begin to move in that direction, because my weakness and failure does not disqualify me as a functioning member of the body. My flaws do not rob me of significance or value in the church. So in light of grace, I can more easily look at my sin and see truth about myself.

The truth is that, despite feeling like I discern pretty well, I've adopted false ideas into my thinking numerous times throughout my life. And even now I find myself thinking the way the world thinks about happiness, significance and a handful of other vital issues. And I've been corrected from those modes of thinking by other believers, sometimes directly and other times just by something I heard them say in passing while we were hanging out and talking about life.

In isolation I can cherry pick which books and thinkers I give attention to, my course can remain unchallenged. I can then wander into false and harmful thinking, totally convinced I know truth that most other people haven't figured out yet, when in reality I'm sinking deeper into falsehood.

I need the local church.

And for the local church to be what it is, it needs me.

I've got my mess, but I have some strengths in the mix, too. And even though I'll stumble in trying to put those strengths into action, I'll grow and learn, and ask forgiveness and still benefit others along the way. Because when the Holy Spirit is involved, when we willingly partner with him, he can reduce or heal the damage caused by our sin and amplify the effectiveness of our service. As we serve and invest in the local church, we are not committing ourselves to pointless, hopeless tasks unless we are depending on our own strengths to make it all happen. Instead, all things become possible when we willingly partner with the Holy Spirit, seeking his direction and power to bring about God's will in our communities.




Resources typically used to prepare this study include:
"Expositor's Bible Commentary", Frank E. Gaebelein General Editor (Zondervan Publishing House)
"The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament", by Dr. John H. Walton, Dr. Victor H. Matthews & Dr. Mark W. Chavalas (InterVarsity Press)
"The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament", by Dr. Craig S. Keener (InterVarsity Press)
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Blueletterbible.org (primarily for search functionality)