J. Deering, AncientPath.net

REVIEW
Our Condensed Outline to date:
GOD’S SPECIAL SECRET

I. CHAPTER 1 – The Church AS The Body of Christ
II. CHAPTER 2 – The Church AS The Temple of Christ
III. CHAPTER 3 - The Church AS God's Top Secret
IV. CHAPTER 4 – The Church As The New Mankind
    A. The Coordination of the Church 4:1-6
        1. The Problem of a Godly Walk 4:1
        2. The Problem of a Godly Love 4:2
        3. The Problem of the Unity of the Spirit 4:3
        4. The Provisions for Coordination 4:4-6
    B. The Corporateness of the New Mankind 4:7-11
        1. The Rightful Giver 4:7-10
        2. The Right Gifts 4:11


It’s All about Jesus Christ!

We started off last time looking at the “corporate” look of this new administration called the Church. First, we found that God administered His Grace through the ministry of the Life, Death, Resurrection, and ascension of His Son Jesus. This “gift” was, and is, administered to each and every believer in a measured amount that matched each person’s ministry and life experience. We took a few moments to look at 2 Corinthians 12:9 where Paul tells his readers that Christ had said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” Indeed, a powerful statement for us to consider.

We found that through Christ’s ministry at the post death/pre-resurrection ministry brought great freedom to previous, now dead, believers. And of great importance is the knowledge that through His death and resurrection, “He gave gifts to men.” Those gifts would be for the growth of this new body of believers that would grow exponentially into the 2.4 billion “Christians” alive today. We also remarked that not all who call themselves Christian truly are believers, but even still, the truth is still a strikingly large number.

In verse 9 Paul makes sure that His audience understands that Christ came down from Heaven (as the child Jesus), with a great mission to accomplish, and it was Him who ascended back through the clouds to His Father in heaven to His awaiting heavenly Father, to His Father’s Glory. In Christ’s honor, He would now be placed into the place of absolute authority over creation, the Earth, and mankind – Such a great Honor.

In that corporateness of this new body of believers, now unified as men and women, no longer Jew or Gentile, Jesus revealed the long-term plan for the establishment of this new “Body of Christ,” The Church. Over the previous centuries Christ gave certain people groups certain information, revelation, and power for the establishing of this new administration of believers. Using the Temple as His imagery, He built a foundation for this new living Temple. That foundation was laid upon the Apostles and Prophets of the Old Testament – remembering that the Gospels are technically part of the Old Testament Covenant. The New Testament Church isn't established until after Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension – at Pentecost. Upon Pentecost this new body now has Evangelists for the acquiring of new members, and Pastor/Teachers for the shepherding and training of those called by God in this new ministry.

So next we move into the how this new body of believers will function together for safety and growth.

THE STUDY, 4:12-16, The Introduction
GOD’S SPECIAL SECRET

OUR OUTLINE FOR THE LESSON:
I. CHAPTER 1 – The Church AS The Body of Christ
II. CHAPTER 2 – The Church AS The Temple of Christ
III. CHAPTER 3 - The Church AS God's Top Secret
IV. CHAPTER 4 – The Church As The New Mankind
    A. The Coordination of the Church 4:1-6
    B. The Corporateness of the New Mankind 4:7-11
    C. The Church’s Given Goals 4:12-16
        1. Goal One: Teaching The Team To Serve 4:12-13
            a) The Body of Christ Is To Be Built Up Through Service 4:12
            b) Till a Set End – Achieving Experiential Unity, Knowledge, A Complete and Full Fullness 4:13
        2. Goal Two: Training The Team For Stature 4:14-15
            a) Training the Team for a Negative Environment 4:14
            b) Training the Team for a Positive Environment 4:15
        3. Goal Three: Toning Up The Team For Spirituality 4:16
            a) Training the Team in Godly Love 4:16

THE STUDY, 4:12-13, The Introduction

Teaching the Team to Serve
GOD’S SPECIAL SECRET

OUR OUTLINE FOR THE LESSON:
I. CHAPTER 1 – The Church AS The Body of Christ
II. CHAPTER 2 – The Church AS The Temple of Christ
III. CHAPTER 3 - The Church AS God's Top Secret
IV. CHAPTER 4 – The Church As The New Mankind
    A. The Coordination of the Church 4:1-6
    B. The Corporateness of the New Mankind 4:7-11
    C. The Church’s Given Goals 4:12-16
        1. Goal One: Teaching The Team To Serve 4:12-13
            a) The Body of Christ Is To Be Built Up Through Service 4:12
            b) Till a Set End – Achieving Experiential Unity, Knowledge, A Complete and Full Fullness 4:13

4:12 [Mac]
12 The first purpose of this is to equip those who are set apart to do the work of serving, with the building up of the Body of Christ as the goal.

4:12 [NASB]
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;



4:13 [Mac]
13 This is to go on until we all arrive experientially: first, at the unity produced by the faith and at a thorough experiential knowledge of the Son of God; second, at a complete mankind; third, at our proportion to the stature of Christ's fullness.

4:13 [NASB]
13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

THE COMMENTARY

About 3028 years ago King David wrote about the following revelation: Today we could title this Psalm as: The Complete Plan of God for a complete mankind. Just remember while you consider this Psalm – that it is about the Glory and Majesty of God… not man.

PSALM 8
O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
2 From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength
Because of Your adversaries,
To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.

3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
4 What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field,
8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!

The establishment of what we now call The Church is the key to the completion of what Psalm 8 speaks of. Verses 12 and 13 teach us what the Gifts that Jesus gave to the Church (Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, and Pastor/Teachers) are all put into place to, as the outline says, “Teaching the Team to Serve.” We may have come to the conclusion that all this was about the making of great numbers of believers, but we would be wrong about that. Yes, the numbers have grown remarkably, but the purpose of our given leadership is that we would be learn TO BE HUMBLE AND SERVE CHRIST! MacCorkle speaks of “building up the Body of Christ as the goal.” But we must not interpret the “building up” as just increasing numbers. He means it as a weightlifter builds up his body through discipline.

Paul says right off in verse 12, “The first purpose of this (apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastor/teachers) is to equip those who are set apart to do the work of serving.” Serving each other within the body and serving those around us – for the Glory of God. The Prophets who have set the Word of God in place. The Apostles who have personally witnessed the Lord Jesus Christ and recorded His ministry and began the process of enlarging this new Body of Christ. The Evangelists who have gone out into the world to bring that world to Christ, and the Pastor/Teachers who have stayed home to teach and equip believers for ministry.

These ministries will continue until the establishment of a complete mankind – in Christ, and that new mankind is led and taught into the fullness of the stature of Jesus Christ – to the Glory of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. “The goal at any particular moment is the unity of the body produced through faith and an experiential knowledge of the Son of God.”

THE STUDY, Ephesians 4:14-15
Training The Team For Stature - a negative environment
GOD’S SPECIAL SECRET

I. CHAPTER 1 – The Church AS The Body of Christ
II. CHAPTER 2 – The Church AS The Temple of Christ
III. CHAPTER 3 - The Church AS God's Top Secret
IV. CHAPTER 4 – The Church As The New Mankind
A. The Coordination of the Church 4:1-6
B. The Corporateness of the New Mankind 4:7-11
C. The Church’s Given Goals 4:12-16
1. Goal One: Teaching The Team To Serve 4:12-13
a) The Body of Christ Is To Be Built Up Through Service 4:12
b) Till a Set End – Achieving Experiential Unity, Knowledge, A Complete and Full Fullness 4:13
2. Goal Two: Training The Team For Stature 4:14-15
a) Training the Team for a Negative Environment 4:14
b) Training the Team for a Positive Environment 4:15


4:14 [Mac]
The ultimate purpose is that we may no longer be mere babes, constantly storm-tossed and borne about by every wind of teaching perpetrated by the trickery of men using this cleverness to further the teaching techniques of error.

4:14 [NASB]
As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;

 
4:15 [Mac]
Instead, dealing truthfully in godly love, grow up into Him Who is the Head, namely Christ.

4:15 [NASB]
but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,

THE COMMENTARY

Here, midway through the fourth chapter Paul finally sounds mad at the local Ephesian church. “The ultimate purpose is that we may no longer be mere babes.” There’s Paul, hundreds of miles away, in prison for his faith, hearing of the activities in these local churches out there, far away, in the pagan lands. And what has he been hearing? It would seem from what he says here, is that these young Christian churches are suffering from immaturity. At the beginning of his letter, he commends them for their faith and love. But deep down, in the background, they are suffering from the human condition – as we are in our local church. Oh, how we all need to hear what Paul has to say. We need to stop being children being blown around in the winds of doctrine and the deceitful scheming of the world around us – just peruse the internet if you doubt of the worldwide mess out there.

Verse 15 is really great advice, “dealing truthfully in godly love, Grow Up! How, “into Him who is the Head, namely Christ.”

MacCorkle says, “This is to go on until we all arrive experientially:
First, at the unity produced by the faith and at a thorough experiential knowledge of the Son of God; Second, at a complete mankind; and third, at our proportion to the stature of Christ’s fullness. This is to go on until we all arrive experientially at the unity produced by the faith.”

THE STUDY, Ephesians 4:16

Training The Team For Stature - a positive environment

GOD'S SPECIAL SECRET 

I. CHAPTER 1 – The Church AS The Body of Christ
II. CHAPTER 2 – The Church AS The Temple of Christ
III. CHAPTER 3 - The Church AS God's Top Secret
IV. CHAPTER 4 – The Church As The New Mankind
    A. The Coordination of the Church 4:1-6
    B. The Corporateness of the New Mankind 4:7-11
    C. The Church’s Given Goals 4:12-16
        1. Goal One: Teaching The Team To Serve 4:12-13
            a) The Body of Christ Is To Be Built Up Through Service 4:12
            b) Till a Set End – Achieving Experiential Unity, Knowledge, A Complete and Full Fullness 4:13
        2. Goal Two: Training The Team For Stature 4:14-15
            a) Training the Team for a Negative Environment 4:14
            b) Training the Team for a Positive Environment 4:15
        3. Goal Three: Toning Up The Team For Spirituality 4:16
            a) Training the Team in Godly Love 4:16


4:16 [Mac]
The whole Body causes its own maturing by His means with the purpose of building itself up in godly love, because it is harmoniously framed together and held together by means of the rich provision from every joint in keeping with the proportionate operation of each individual part.


4:16 [NASB]
from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Verses 14 and 15 teach us that the local church needs to be trained to survive in a negative environment – the outside pagan world. We need to focus on retaining proper biblical doctrine and teaching it with our whole hearts. We need to be constantly aware of evil forces which aim their resources toward Christians. Our Elders and Deacons need to be alert and focused, making sure that error is not introduced into the body.

As we move into verse 16, we begin to see another side of Paul’s concern. The local church team must be trained for its positive environment – The clear teaching of God’s Word that educates, teaches, and grows us up from mere spiritual babes to mature spiritual adults.

How is this accomplished? By focusing on Centering on Jesus Christ and building the body up on love and service to each other. Paul uses the bones and joints of the human body as his example. The strength of the human body comes through the joints. He sees the “bones” as the clear teaching of Biblical doctrine, and He sees the “joints” as the people within the body who connect the “bones” through Godly love for the teachings and for the people involved.

Look at the question and ignore the answer. Then study the answer!

4:12 [Mac]
The first purpose of this is to equip those who are set apart to do the work of serving, with the building up of the Body of Christ as the goal.

1)  The Phrase, "The first purpose of this..." What is the "THIS?"

The overall title for Chapter 4 is "The Church As the New Mankind," The Father has designed and coordinated it's building, and He has purposefully design this new body like a great and mighty corporation. So our answer is that the "THIS" is  the coordination and corporation of this new body. Included in that is the revelation that the “Church” structure is founded and built upon the teaching of the Apostles and the Prophets.

2) What are the two steps in this verse leading the “goal?”
Step-1 is to recognize that the teachings of the Prophets and Apostles is the key to equipping the church’s leadership. Step-1 is to recognize these teachings of the Prophets and Apostles, if properly done, will result in the building up of the Body of Christ.
 

3)  Then what is this new venture set up to do?

This new Body of Christ, made up of all possible people of the earth, is designed and coordinated by the Father God in order to SERVE this world, bringing new believing new members into the body and building up all the members in knowledge, belief, grace, and faith in Jesus Christ.

4:13 [Mac]

This is to go on until we all arrive experientially: first, at the unity produced by the faith and at a thorough experiential knowledge of the Son of God; second, at a complete mankind; third, at our proportion to the stature of Christ's fullness.

1)  What is the importance of the word "experientially" in these three goals?

Head knowledge is not the aim. God the Father wants each an every one who is a believer to experience Unity in the body of Christ, a knowledge of and in Jesus Christ that is experienced, not just head knowledge, and that each and every believer experiences the "fullness" of the power  of God's Love and Grace as found only in the "Fullness" experienced through Jesus Christ.

4:14 [Mac]

The first purpose of this is to equip those who are set apart to do the work of serving, with the building up of the Body of Christ as the goal.

1)  Who are those who have been "set apart" to do the work of serving?

Specifically, Evangelists and Pastor/teachers. But the work of service to the Body of Christ is not limited to these alone. Every member of the body is to serve his/her brother/sister and son/daughter (Brothers and Sisters in-the-Lord). Not a single believer is to be left out of service for Our Lord.

4:15 [Mac]
Instead, (you) dealing truthfully in godly love, grow up into Him Who is the Head, namely Christ.

Just a comment here. Paul sums up his statements about the Body Of Christ in this very important way. He uses the plural "you" so that every member of the Body should understand. You are to GROW UP INTO JESUS CHRIST in every way - you are to become like Him.

4:16 [Mac]

The whole Body causes its own maturing by His means with the purpose of building itself up in godly love, because it is harmoniously framed together and held together by means of the rich provision from every joint in keeping with the proportionate operation of each individual part.

Here is the best news of all... He is going to do this in you. He will see to it that ever member of the body works together to the building up of itself in GODLY LOVE! This will be accomplished as each individual grows up in the Love of God and the love of each and every member of the body.

Decode this verse please:

2025-04-04 update