Jesus Loves Me (Ephesians 4:9-16)

SCRIPTURE

Ephesians 4:9-16

(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 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. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 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.

COMMENT

(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)

I believe that Paul, being led by the Spirit, is making a clarifying statement here. There were those who did not believe in the humanity of Jesus, or the fact that Jesus came from heaven to earth. But how could Jesus return to heaven, unless He had first came down to earth, and how could He return, unless He was here?

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ

Jesus did not leave us alone once He returned to heaven. He gave us the equipment needed to be able to mature. Apostles, evangelists, shepherds, teachers all helped fulfill that need. Eventually the New Testament would be added to that list. 

But not all prophets, evangelists, etc. are genuine. I believe that is where Scripture comes in. It is the measure against deception and the deceptive practices of Satan. Problem is, how many people really know enough about the Scriptures to use them as a basis for deception prevention? Scripture even speaks of those who only hear what their itching ears want to hear. Therefore, the blame lies with both the speaker and the audience. 

until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 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

See, there is the element of "human cunning" that we must be aware of. The immature will not only believe such people, they will pursue them. 

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

Love, the L word. I think that many have misinterpreted this word. Some think it means giving only good things. But parents who only give good things, and never discipline their children, those children do not grow up to be the kind of people that others want to be with. No one likes to hang around with spoiled, selfish people. Speaking the truth in love sometimes means saying things that others might not want to hear. But if it is done in love, it is not done to harm them, but rather for their good. Telling someone that they are saved when they are not is probably one of the cruelest things a person could do. Just look at how the body grows and develops. If all you ever did was feed a body, and did not ever let that body experience exercise or work of any kind, it would not be a very strong body. If we want to grow into Christ, we need food, but also exercise. We need the love of a parent who awakens their child and sends them off to school, not the false love of one who lets the child go back to bed because they don't like school. We need to teach and be aware of that kind of love.