Ephesians 4:11–16 · WEB Classic
11 He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and teachers; 12 for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of serving, to the building up of the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 that we may no longer be children, tossed back and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error;
15 but speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him who is the head, Christ, 16 from whom all the body, being fitted and knit together through that which every joint supplies, according to the working in measure of each individual part, makes the body increase to the building up of itself in love.
Christ gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. The gifts identify people whose ministries serve the church through the communication and care Christ provides. Apostles and prophets have already been identified with the church’s foundation (2:20) and the revelation of the mystery (3:5). Evangelistic proclamation, shepherding, and teaching build upon the truth given through that foundational witness.
The shepherding and teaching functions are closely connected in Paul’s wording. Care for Christ’s people cannot be separated from the truth by which they are fed and guarded. A person may be warm, confident, and organizationally effective while still failing to shepherd faithfully if he does not teach what Christ has given.
The purpose is to equip the saints for the work of serving and for building up the body of Christ. The saints are being prepared to serve. Paul does not picture a permanent division between a small class doing ministry and a large audience watching it happen. The teacher’s work should increase the competence of the people being taught.
Hebrews 5:11–14 describes the opposite condition. People who ought by that time to be teachers still need the elementary matters explained again. The writer compares them to infants needing milk and associates maturity with faculties trained through practice to distinguish good and evil. Time spent listening has not automatically produced the ability to use what they heard.
We understand the distinction when teaching almost anything else. If a man has watched a mechanic for five years but still cannot identify a tool or carry out a basic repair, something has gone wrong with the learning. He may admire the mechanic enormously. Admiration does not repair the car. Christian teaching likewise aims at understanding that becomes usable in service, judgment, and obedience.
A ministry can become popular while failing this purpose. If people remain unable to understand Scripture, recognize a false argument, or explain the gospel without repeating the leader’s favorite phrases, dependence has increased while maturity has stalled. A teacher should be pleased when someone he has taught can examine his own teaching. The point is to make people useful in Christ’s service, not indispensable to his personal following.
Growing beyond childhood
The goal is unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, mature humanity, and the measure of the stature of Christ’s fullness. Christ supplies the standard. A congregation does not become mature merely by surviving long enough, owning property, or learning how to run a schedule without visible confusion.
The “until” describes the goal toward which these ministries serve. It does not by itself require every foundational office to recur in every generation until the goal is complete. The apostolic and prophetic witness continues to equip the church through the revelation entrusted to it. The foundation can remain effective without being laid repeatedly.
The unity of the faith involves shared understanding of the truth through which Christ has made us one. Chapter 4:3 calls believers to preserve a unity the Spirit has already given, while verse 13 speaks of the fuller unity toward which they grow. The realities belong together. We are already members of one body, and we still need to become more consistent in our knowledge, judgment, and life as that body.
The knowledge of the Son concerns the Lord himself. Maturity is more than the ability to win an argument about a doctrine we have memorized. We increasingly understand Christ’s character, saving work, authority, and love, and we learn to trust him in circumstances where obedience costs something. The informed believer who remains habitually cruel has not reached Paul’s standard because he can quote the appropriate references.
The singular mature man also belongs with the one new man of 2:15. The church grows together into the humanity Christ has created. Individual growth matters, but it serves a corporate purpose. A collection of highly knowledgeable people who cannot treat one another with patience can still be an immature body. The measure is the fullness of Christ expressed in a people whose understanding and love are developing together.
Children are tossed back and forth and carried around by every wind of teaching through human trickery and deceptive schemes. The problem is instability. People who cannot evaluate teaching become easy targets for someone who knows how to manipulate them. Intensity can feel persuasive when understanding is weak.
Paul’s solution is growth in the knowledge of Christ. The church needs people who can follow an argument, test a claim against Scripture, and recognize when a speaker has changed subjects before establishing his point. Stability develops as they become familiar with the Lord’s truth and practice using it. They can then recognize error without needing to panic each time an unfamiliar claim arrives.
Truth spoken in love
Speaking truth in love, believers grow into Christ, the head. Love does not require abandoning truth, and truth does not excuse contempt. A correct statement delivered for the pleasure of humiliating someone has failed the purpose of building the body. A comforting statement that conceals destructive error fails it too.
From Christ the whole body is joined and held together, with every part working according to its measure. Growth occurs through the contribution of the members, and the body builds itself up in love. The leader cannot replace the body’s participation with an increasingly impressive performance.
“Every part” includes people whose contribution cannot be measured by public speaking. Some teach, some provide practical care, some encourage the discouraged, and some bring the steadiness of an honest example into relationships that need it. Each contribution must remain connected to the head and directed toward the body’s good. A gift exercised for personal attention can be active without being healthy.
The body image also makes dependence upon one another part of maturity. Becoming capable of understanding Scripture does not mean becoming unwilling to receive correction or help. A grown member serves and receives service. We should develop enough judgment to recognize error and enough humility to recognize when a brother has seen something we missed. Independence from a controlling personality is healthy; independence from the body Christ supplies is not Paul’s goal.
That gives ordinary faithfulness a place in Christian maturity. Someone explaining Scripture to his children, correcting a brother patiently, or caring for a struggling member contributes to the body’s growth. Christ’s provision reaches its purpose as the equipped people actually serve. The healthiest teacher can look across the room and see people becoming capable of doing what he has taught them to do.