Sola Scriptura Ministries

29

The Growth of Unity

(How To Build A Church – Part II)

(Eph. 4:12-16)

For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Till we all come in 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 fulness of Christ:

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

In the last chapter we examined the Gifts for unity in verses 7-11. We now turn to the Growth of unity in verses 14-16. In doing so, we also continue to examine God’s four-fold method for building and growing a Church:

·           The Foundation of Building — Leadership (vs. 7-11)

·           The Approach to Building — Discipleship (v. 12)

·           The Purpose of Building — Maturity (vs. 13-14)

·           The Material for Building — Truth (vs. 15-16)

II. The Approach to Building — Discipleship (v. 12)

For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

“Discipleship” is a term we hear used often these days but one that few people define. What exactly does “discipleship” or “discipling” mean? The clearest text about this is Matt 28:19-20:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

The word “teaching” in verse 20 is the familiar Greek word didasko, which speaks of systematic teaching. The word “teach” in verse 19, however, is matheteuo, which “means not only to learn, but to become attached to one’s teacher and to become his follower in doctrine and conduct of life.”[i] It’s stronger than the similar word manthano (Matt. 11:29; I Tim. 5:4; II Tim. 3:14; etc), which means simply to learn without any attachment to the teacher. Matheteuo appears, for example, in Acts 14:21 in reference to Paul’s ministry in Derbe: “And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch.” This shows that evangelism is more than just preaching the Gospel; it is “making disciples,” that is, making followers of Christ who are attached to Him and so obey him in doctrine and conduct. Much “evangelism” today is just getting someone to repeat a prayer or “make a profession,” but Biblical evangelism is making committed followers of Christ. One writer describes a disciple of Christ as “one who 1. believes His doctrine, 2. rests on His sacrifice, 3. imbibes His spirit, and 4. imitates His example.”[ii]

So, while Paul doesn’t use the word matheteuo in our text, he most certainly outlines what is involved in making disciples. He gives us three principles of discipleship: equipping, serving, and building, each of which builds on the others.

Equipping

The word perfecting translates katartismos, which is used only here in the New Testament. The root artismos comes from the related word artios, which is where we get our English word “artist” and which means suitable, complete, capable, sound. So, with the intensifying prefix kata (“according to”) the meaning of katartismos is very instructive: “to put in order, restore, furnish, prepare, equip.”[iii] In ancient Greek the verb form (katartizo) was used in a medical sense to refer to setting a broken limb or putting a joint back into its place. It was also used in politics for bringing together opposing factions so that government could continue.[iv] A New Testament example of the verb, which appears thirteen times, is in reference to repairing fishing nets (Matt. 4:21; Mk. 1:19).

So, it was the responsibility of the Apostle and prophet, and it is today the responsibility of the evangelist and pastor-teacher, to put in order, restore, furnish, prepare, and equip the saints. As we discovered way back in 1:2, Paul refers to believers as saints nine times in Ephesians (1:1, 15, 18; 2:19; 3:8, 18: 4:12; 5:3; 6:18), and in each instance it refers to all Christians, not some special group that have been canonized by the Church. Every Christian, every individual who has trusted Christ as Saviour is a saint because he has been “set apart” (hagios) from sin and unto God. Paul now tells us that it is, therefore, the responsibility of the Church leadership to equip these saints.

In many Christian circles this has been totally turned around. Many today believe, “The pastor’s job is to ‘win souls’ and build the church; he should spend most of his time calling on people and knocking on doors.” But this is not the New Testament precedent. Many go to the phrase “house to house” (Acts 2:46; 20:20) to teach this. But in each case the context makes it clear that the teaching of believers is in view.

The New Testament makes it clear that the pastor’s duty is to train believers who then go out as the outreach. The shepherd/sheep analogy makes this obvious. The Shepherd feeds and nurtures the sheep so that they are healthy and capable of reproducing. We will come back to this in a moment, but may we put the matter simply: the pastor’s first concern is to be for the occupied seats, not the empty ones.

To go one step deeper, we see that all the meanings of katartismos are to be performed by the evangelist (Church planter) and pastor-teacher. First, they are “to put in order,” to organize God’s work according to Biblical guidelines. Second, they “restore,” set things right when they are out of sorts and take care of problems. Third, they “furnish, prepare, and equip” by giving believers the tools to do the job that lies ahead.

How does a pastor go about all this? There can be only one answer: all this is done by the teaching of the Word of God. Many today are trying to do it through programs, promotional gimmicks, and marketing strategies. But a truth we need to realize is that when God’s people fail in service, it is not because of weak programs, but because of weak teaching.

An incident that occurred during the Arab–Israeli war of 1967 serves to illustrate this principle. While flying over the Sinai Desert, an American reporter and an Israeli officer spotted some 50,000 stranded Egyptian soldiers who obviously were dying of thirst. They reported their sighting, but each time a plan to aid the stranded soldiers was recommended, some military, diplomatic, or bureaucratic barrier prevented its implementation. By the time help arrived, it was too late for thousands of the soldiers.[v]

That is the situation in the Church today. All kinds of programs, committees, focus groups, and other suggestions for “reaching out” are made, when what is really needed is simply the water of the Word of God. While many today think that the Church should be addressing “felt needs,” the real need is God’s Truth.

Serving

The second thing involved in discipleship is service. This is the second step in the progression: The evangelist and pastor-teacher are to give Christians the tools with which they can do the work of the ministry, so they can serve God. Work is ergon, which means the result or object of employment, something to be done; so what these men are called to do is train God’s people for carrying on the task of ministry.

This, however, brings up a question that is not asked often enough: “What exactly is the work of the ministry? What is service?” We hear a lot about ministry and “service” these days, but let us get to the heart of what it is. Consider first I Corinthians 12:5, which literally says, “There are varieties of ministries, but one Lord.” The word ministry is the Greek diakonia which speaks of labor and service and originally spoke of serving tables. It is similar, of course, to diakonos from which is derived the word “deacon.” So, as there are many members of the body (as the context clearly shows), all members, therefore, serve the body.

May we also consider Acts 1:8, which is truly the most vital verse to church outreach, the verse which speaks of the commission given to every believer: “But ye shall receive power, after [i.e. when] the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me.” This truly is “the great commission.” It is tragic that many missionary speakers misuse Matthew 28:19-20 (“Go ye therefore. . .”). Many erroneously preach a whole sermon that this is God’s command and pressure young people to become missionaries. But the verb tense and mood used here do not show a command. The tense here is an Aorist Participle and would be better translated, “having gone.” This is not a command, rather a statement of what has already taken place. In other words, God is not commanding any of us to go; He is saying that we are already there! It’s not that we should each “go to the mission field,” rather that we are already in the field. This is exactly what we see in Acts 1:8; we are already witnesses, already on the “mission field.” Yes, God calls certain people to go certain fields, but each of us are already on a field no matter were we are. We note again the word “teaching” (v. 20), “make disciples of.” This is far more than what is true in many of the so-called “soul-winning techniques” of today. Making a disciple is more than bringing someone to the Lord; it also involves helping them get started in Christian growth. The best way to do this is to help them find a local church in which they can be fed the Word of God.

So bringing all this together, ministry means service and service means witnessing. The true essence of service is being a witness for Christ. This is the responsibility of every Christian. The local church is not responsible for “programs of evangelism” or “evangelistic campaigns.” All this is a total turn-around from the New Testament. Individual believers are to be the outreach!

To illustrate, we see today multi-million dollar public schools with huge gymnasiums, Olympic swimming pools, state of the art science labs, cutting edge computer technology, and ultra-competitive athletic programs. Billions of dollars are thrown at public education, but study after study shows that the quality of education continues to decline. Why? Because we have forgotten what education is. As one unknown sage has put it: “a school is a log with a teacher on one end and a student on the other.”

Likewise, is evangelism built on a multi-million dollar facility, the latest marketing technique, or some spiel we recite to manipulate someone to “believe in Jesus?” No, Biblical evangelism is one person telling another person about the only Person. True evangelism (euangellion) is telling people through our lips and life about the Lord Jesus Christ.

What then is the purpose of the local church? The local church is the training ground. This principle is one I have emphasized over and over to the folks in the church I pastor. The local church is where Christians are to be trained so they are equipped to serve, to be successful witnesses. There are pastors who emphasize witnessing, but the problem is they do not train God’s people adequately. They do not preach Scriptural depth that will properly equip.

With all this in mind, may we see that any “ministry” must point to the one true essence of Christian service—witnessing. We also add here that as we’ll see later in this study, a “ministry” must meet another requirement—it must be based in and through a local church.

Building

The third thing involved in discipleship is building, which in turn completes the progression. Proper equipping by the evangelist and pastor-teacher provides believers with the tools to serve God, which then results in the edifying (building up) of the body of Christ. The Greek for edifying is oikodome, which refers literally to the building of a house. There are two things in view in this building process.

First, this equipping and serving builds the body internally. This was, in fact, the very point Paul made in his farewell message to the Ephesian elders in Miletus: “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up” (Acts 20:32). Paul gave this challenging counsel because it is only the Word of God that can make the body strong internally. How tragic that many today strive for a big church externally before the church is strong internally. Internal growth must always come first or the work will eventually collapse of its own weight. Without a good foundation, any building will fall.

Second, this equipping and serving builds the body externally. We should not over-emphasize this lest we fall into the trap of the “numbers game,” which is so prevalent today. But neither should we under-emphasize this lest we fall into the trap of isolation and eventual stagnation. What then is the balance? As Christians are given the tools for service, others are going to be brought to Christ as a result. To further explain, we do not produce results; rather we expect results through the Holy Spirit. We can put this another way: we do not rely on results to measure success, rather we rejoice in the results God gives. Many today gauge the success of their church by results of their ministry philosophy (e.g., “seeker sensitivity”), by the outcome of some campaign, or by comparison with totals from previous years. How humanistic! God never said he would bless us according to results; He said He would bless us according to faithfulness.

Our Lord didn’t leave church growth to our devices, rather He said, “I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18). Yes, we will plant, we will water, but He will give the increase (I Cor. 3:6-7). We are to preach the Word and be witnesses of Christ, and God will give the increase according to His sovereign will. Human reason wants to build the church like a corporation and run it like a business. That’s not God’s way, because His Church is a Body; it will grow as we feed it Truth.

May we reiterate the three things involved in edification: equipping, serving, and building. Proper equipping by the evangelist (church planter) and pastor-teacher gives believers the tools to serve God, which results in the building up of the body of Christ both internally and externally.

III. The Purpose of Building — Maturity (vs. 13-14)

Till we all come in 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 fulness of Christ:

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

When a builder starts constructing a house, his goal is to get it completed, to have a finished product. Likewise, the purpose of building Christians is a finished product. That doesn’t mean literal perfection, that without error—no house is perfect—but it does mean complete in the sense of maturity. There will always be maintenance, but the basic structure is sound, solid, and secure.

As we’ll see in detail, in this context the word perfect means “a complete mature adult.” What, then, does spiritual maturity involve? What constitutes a mature Christian? Paul provides us with three characteristics of spiritual maturity: unity, knowledge, and discernment.

The Unity Of The Faith (v. 13a)

Till we all come in the unity of the faith,

We cannot help but believe that the order in which these characteristics are listed is significant. Since unity is the subject of the entire context (vs. 1-16), it is, therefore, listed first. But unity of what?—unity of the faith. We studied “one faith” back in verse 5. The word faith is not used there, or here, as a verb but a noun and pictures “a system of truth.” More specifically, “the faith” and “one faith” refer to “the body of revealed truth which makes us Historical, Evangelical Christianity” (Jude 3). So, this tells us that God’s truth is unified; it is not fragmented or divided; it is one complete system. Moreover, since this is listed first, God wants this to be the number one concern of the Church; our concern must be the unity of the Body around the unity of the faith.

The application of all this is clear. Unity among God’s people is the number one goal of edification, the number one goal of the building process. We are told by some Christian leaders that the number one goal is to “get big,” to add more people to the membership. But what good is a big body if it is not unified? Indeed, we want to see the body get larger, and it will do that as we are faithful, but the first goal is to see the existing body in a constant state of unity. Why do we build up one another? So there will be unity and sweet fellowship among all members of Christ’s body. How do we go about this? By practicing the three principles we examined in verse 12: equipping, serving, and building. This leads to the second characteristic of maturity.

The Knowledge Of Christ (v. 13b)

and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Why are we building the body of Christ? First, so we will be unified, and, second, so we can increase in our knowledge of Christ.

Some commentators insist that knowledge is only added to explain “faith,” and offer a translation such as this: “Till we all come into the unity of the faith, that is, the knowledge of the Son of God.” In that view, faith leads to knowledge or is even synonymous with knowledge. While in a way that is true, it is not what Paul is saying here. With the word and (kai) Paul clearly shows that knowledge is something additional in Christian experience. Yes, we unify around “the faith,” but our knowledge of that faith is ever going in fulness.

How vitally important knowledge is in the Christian life! The word knowledge is the Greek epignosis. We examined this word way back in Ephesians 1:17 where Paul prayed that Christians would truly know God. The full meaning of this word is a personal knowledge that is full, thorough, precise, and correct. Why is knowledge so important? Because we need to know God fully and intimately. No, we will never know everything, but our knowledge is to be “full” in the sense of knowing what is necessary for Christian living, which is really an enormous amount of knowledge. Of, course, there is only one way of acquiring such knowledge and that is by a constant involvement with the Word of God. In that way our knowledge continues to grow. In other words, our knowledge can be full from moment to moment; we can right now know what God wants us to know, but tomorrow we will know more; so, each moment we are living in the full potential of our present knowledge.

This was, more than anything else, the desire of the Apostle Paul. Back in our study of Ephesians 1:17 we referred to Philippians 3:7-10 and encouraged the reader to read that passage. We again refer to it, but I would like to quote Tyndale’s literal and powerful translation from 1534 (adding verse 11):

But the things that were vantage unto me I counted loss for Christ’s sake. Yea I think all things but loss for that excellent knowledge’s sake of Christ Jesus my Lord. For whom I have counted all things loss, and do judge them but dung, that I might win Christ, and might be found in him, not having mine own righteousness which is of the law: But that which springeth of the faith which is in Christ. I mean the righteousness which cometh of God thorough faith in knowing him, and the virtue of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his passions, that I might be conformable unto his death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection from death.

What a thought! No matter what “[ad]vantages” we might have, in comparison with knowing Christ, it is all just “dung,” not “refuse” as in modern translations, but the excrement of animals (skubalon).

And what is the goal of this ever-advancing knowledge? It is unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. As one writer explains about the word perfect, it

is a bone of contention in ecclesiastical circles. At the one extreme are those who bristle at the very mention of the term in a religious connection. At the other extreme are those who when they see the word “perfect” or “perfection” immediately assume that it refers to the crisis experience of entire sanctification. Both attitudes are mistaken.[vi]

The Greek is teleios, which is derived from telos, which in turn “originally meant the turning point, hinge, the culminating point at which one stage ends and another begins; later, the goal, the end.” Several things were looked upon as being an end, or a goal, such as marriage, physical and intellectual knowledge, and, of course, death. So, anything that has reached its telos, its goal or end, is teleios, that is, “complete.”[vii] So, within the context of the following verse, where there is a direct contrast with being “children, tossed to and fro,” the clear idea of perfect is “a complete mature adult.”

This is further shown by the Greek behind man. As we saw back in 2:15, where Christ has made Jew and Gentile a new man, the Greek is aner, “a male person,” rather anthropos, the word that speaks of man as a “species,”[viii] man as a race. Here, however, it’s just the opposite. Paul doesn’t speak of mankind (anthropos), rather aner. In ancient Greek, it spoke of an adult man, a bridegroom, a warrior, and manliness.[ix] Paul’s meaning is clear: we are adults and should, therefore, act like it. As commentator Albert Barnes ably puts it:

Unto a complete man. This figure is obvious. The apostle compares their condition then to a state of childhood. The perfect man here refers to the man grown up—the man of mature life. He says that Christ had appointed pastors and teachers that the infant church might be conducted to maturity, or become strong—like a man. He does not refer to the doctrine of sinless perfection, but to the state of manhood as compared with that of childhood-a state of strength, vigour, wisdom, when the full growth should be attained.

What, then, does “mature” mean? What is maturity? We hear the term often. We tell children to “act more mature,” pastors tell Christians that they need to be mature in their Christian walk, and so forth. But what is maturity? Our English word “mature” comes from the Latin maturus, ripe, mature, timely, and seasonable, so our English word means “having completed natural growth and development, full development.” As the old Latin expression puts it, mens sana in copore sano, “a sound mind in a sound body.” Our thoughts, attitudes, actions, speech, and all else are that of a mature adult.

So what is spiritual maturity? It is to be fully developed in Christ, that is, as our text puts it, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. The Greek behind stature (helikia) originally spoke of age, life-span, height, and even size of body. It is used, for example, to describe Zacchaeus, who was “little of stature” (Luke 19:3). Used metaphorically, as it is here, and combined with the words measure and fulness, the idea is “the measure of maturity in Christ, the measure of being dominated by Him and possessing Christ-likeness of character.” We are to measure ourselves not by the yardstick of society, or the ruler of some legalistic list of “do’s and don’ts.” Rather we are to measure ourselves according to the gauge of the stature of Christ. In short, spiritual maturity is Christ-likeness of character. God wants the Church to be built in the image of Christ, according to His stature.

The application of this principle will embarrass us often. The next time we react wrongly in a situation, say something we shouldn’t, do something we know we ought not, may we immediately be reminded to ask, “Is that how my Lord would react? Is that what He would say? Is that what he would do? Am I really being mature here?” Our answer will reveal whether or not we have grown to His stature. Again, we will never measure up perfectly in this life, but out failures will become fewer as we continue to grow.

Oh, may we listen to the Apostle Paul! If this is not the Christian’s desire, then his (or her) existence is truly meaningless. That might seem to be a strong statement, but the fact remains that nothing has any meaning whatsoever without the knowledge of Christ. This knowledge must be ever-continuing, ever-progressing. Spiritual maturity, Christ-likeness of character, must ever be our end, our goal. This leads right to a third principle.

Discernment (vs. 14)

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

To introduce the principle of discernment, think about this little story. The great Napoleon often told the tale of when he was visiting a certain province and came upon an old soldier with one severed arm. On his uniform he displayed the coveted Legion of Honor. “Where did you lose your arm?” Napoleon asked. “At Austerlitz, Sire,” came the soldier’s brisk reply. “And for that you received the Legion of Honor?” “Yes, Sire. It is but a small token to pay for the decoration.” Then the emperor said, “You must be the kind of man who regrets he did not lose both arms for his country.” “What then would have been my reward?” asked the one-armed man. “Then,” Napoleon replied, “I would have awarded you a double Legion of Honor.” With that the proud, old fighter drew his sword and immediately cut off his other arm. The story was circulated for years, until one day someone asked, “How?”[x]

Ponder further, sometimes we accept sayings simply because they are pithy, such as the Earl of Kent’s remark in Shakespeare’s King Lear, “The stars above us govern our conditions.”[xi] This is just one of many references to that day’s common belief in Astrology. Other times we accept a proverb because it matches our own philosophy, such as Vince Lombardi’s famous declaration, “Winning’s not everything; it’s the only thing.”

People accept such ideas and uncounted others simply because they lack discernment, a word from the Latin discernere, which is comprised of dis, “apart,” and cernere, “to sift.” As we will see in detail, the Bible constantly, over and over again, emphasizes this principle, to separate and distinguish between in order to see and understand the difference. But far worse is how the lack of discernment has marched into the church like a plague of Driver Ants consuming everything in its path. Lost in the Church today is the ability to discern, to see the difference between truth and error. And the few who do dare to discern are labeled “unloving,” “divisive,” and “intolerant.” So what does Scripture say about discernment?

Note first our text: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. Here is probably the most graphic description in Scripture of the immature, unguided, undiscerning Christian. As the words henceforth be no more indicate, they obviously had previously been children, so the first thing Paul says is that this must cease. There are several characteristics of children that apply to the spiritually immature Christian.

First, children are ignorant. The Greek for children is nepios, which is a combination of ne (“not”) and epos (“word”), so the literal idea is “one who cannot speak, that is, an infant.” Metaphorically, it pictures one who is “unlearned, unenlightened, simple, innocent,”[xii] and even “foolish;” when the ancient Greek philosophers wished to dismiss someone who was foolish in his views, they would use nepios with biting sarcasm.[xiii] Writing to Christians in Greek society, Paul challenged the Corinthians, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things” (I Cor. 13:11).

This point is, indeed, profound. After becoming a father, I often found myself thinking, “This child ought to know something, but he doesn’t; we’ve got to teach him everything.” And children will believe anything. They’ll believe there is a Santa Clause because we tell them there is (which really doesn’t say much for us, does it?). They’ll also try anything. They’ll try to see what small objects will fit into an electrical outlet, they’ll run into the street, they’ll eat the family dog’s food, and other things we wouldn’t believe unless we saw them. And that is precisely Paul’s point. The immature Christian knows either nothing at all or so little that he constantly gets himself into trouble.

Second, children are impulsive, they are tossed to and fro. This phrase is a singe word in the Greek, kludonizomai, an old nautical term “meaning to be tossed by the waves.”[xiv] Children have a short attention span. They bounce from one thing to another. Babies will be drawn to a moving object one moment and a shiny one the next. Toddlers will play with a toy one moment and the box it came in the next. Immature Christians are the same, bouncing from one opinion to another, one teaching to another, with no discernment of which is better or even right. They’ll just grab onto anything and run with it. This leads to another characteristic.

Third, children are impressionable, they are carried about with every wind of doctrine. Carried about is periphero, which pictures being carried around in circles, that is, being directionless, just driven here and there with no guidance. As Greek expositor John Eadie puts it, “The billow does not swell and fall on the same spot, but it is carried about by the wind, driven hither and thither before it—the sport of the tempest.”[xv] It’s also significant that the definite article (“the”) appears before doctrine in the Greek (tes didaskalias)—“every wind of the doctrine”—showing that false teachers are very deliberate; they don’t have a general doctrine, rather a definite, calculated, and well formulated doctrine to teach. Most cults illustrate this vividly; as wrong as the doctrine is, it is nonetheless systemized, organized, and well devised. As a result, whatever the false teacher’s doctrine is, the immature, undiscerning Christian is just carried along by it until the next teaching blows in and carries him somewhere else. One pastor boldly asserts the habits of the spiritually immature Christian when he writes:

There is a flightiness and instability to their lives . . . They dash in a dither toward every new religious fad, they seem more excited about the latest religious book than about the one Great Book, they rush from seminar to conference, hanging on to the words of the latest Christian guru, they change their spiritual and doctrinal mindset as often as they change their socks. With them, prophecy becomes a hobby, and spirituality becomes the latest craze.[xvi]

How true! From the days of Bill Gothard’s “Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts” decades ago to Rick Warren’s “Purpose Driven Life” today, it’s been this fad, that book, and this other movement, one after the other, year after year. The picture painted by wind is also graphic. Just as the wind surrounds us when it blows, so all kinds of teaching surround us. This demands, therefore, that we discern its direction—we must examine where it comes from, what it carries, and where it’s headed.

Another pastor, theologian, and professor tells of being at a denominational meeting one day when a pastor rose and shared his heart about the evil results of para-ecclesiastical movements. As is frequently true, parishioners, who often know little of God’s truth, go to some large popular meeting, learn something new and exciting, and return to their church and boldly announce that the pastor is not doing things right. After all, the popular speaker has a huge following, and the pastor only a little one. As this writer rightly observes, “These popular movements violate every principle of church organization.”[xvii] Far worse, however, these tear down the Local Church and undermine the leadership of such faithful shepherds.

Fourth and finally, children are indulgent. If there is one thing that characterizes a child more than anything else, it’s that he wants to play, he wants to be entertained, he wants to have fun, he is self-absorbed. And that is not only true of the immature Christian today but most of the Church as a whole. The seeker-sensitive movement has inevitably led to entertainment as the driving forced of Church “ministry.” This started decades with just children and youth ministries that kept the kids entertain, but now it defines the whole Church. There is literally every form of entertainment in the Church today that is found in the world: all genres of music concerts, dramas, movies, standup comedy, dances, sports, and even—I’m not making this up—gambling and strippers.

To raise money, one church in Surrey, England sponsored “Rodent Roulette,” in which they put a mouse in a box that has several holes in the sides of it, put a cup over the mouse, spin the box around a few times, take bets on which the hole the mouse will use to exit the box, and then release it.

Christianity Today once reported of an incident that took place in Richardson, Texas. On one Sunday, Pastor William Nichols of the First Unitarian Church invited Diana King, a Unitarian from Fort Worth, to take part in the service. She did, and when she was through, all that she was wearing was a G-string. The congregation of 200 adults and children watched in fascinated silence as Miss King—an exotic dancer at a Dallas nightspot—shed her clothes in time with recorded music. The pastor said that the dance fit “very well into our service” and nobody complained. He also said he didn’t think anyone was aroused, “but I don’t consider the erotic aspect of the dance wrong. After all, that’s the way we were conceived.” Miss King said it was something she wanted to do for a long time, and she would like to conduct classes for women church members. She commented, “I would like to do a sermon using the exotic dance, and members of the congregation could join me if they liked.”

At this point, many would say, “Oh, those are just isolated incidents in liberal churches.” Really? Consider Glide Memorial Methodist Church in San Francisco, a church that once preached the Gospel and was soundly evangelistic. Today it has this Call to Worship in its printed bulletin on Sunday and recited by the leader: “We are all of us Christians—Jews, liberals, Bolsheviks, anarchists, socialists, Communists, Keynesians, Democrats, Civil Righters, Beatniks, ministers, moderate Republicans, pacifists, teach-inners, doctors, scientists, professors, Latin Americans, New Africans, Common Marketers, even Mao Tse-Tung. Doubtless. From Lyndon Johnson to Mao Tse-Tung, we are all Christians.” Its services are performed in the mode of the modern dance. Participants gyrate suggestively, and the church has become a haven for dope addicts, homosexuals, and sex-pots.

Or how about one great New York City church that was originally built in honor of the great missionary to Burma, Adoniram Judson, but apostasy has closed in on this church, and from what goes on there it has no right to be called a church. They put on a show one Flag Day, a show supposedly “dedicated to the stars and stripes.” There were depraved and obscene exhibits, defiling the flag, and according to Max Geldman in the conservative political publication National Review, there were exhibits that were “simply unquotable.” The show was so offensive that the police closed it. On another occasion, the pews were removed to make room for dancing and the people sat in circles of folding chairs. The pulpit had been removed for a presentation of “Winnie the Pooh” and had not been replaced. The place where the choir used to be is vacant. On one Sunday a nude couple danced there during the service.

[xviii]

Yes, I freely admit that those are extreme examples, but I also submit that philosophically they are no different than any church today that resorts to entertainment in any form. So-called “ministry” today is built on “giving people what they want,” “appealing to felt-needs,” and “user-friendliness.” It is specifically geared to the flesh and thrives in an atmosphere of spiritual immaturity.

But Paul is not done yet! He adds that such false doctrine comes in three ways.

First, by the sleight of men. Here is a fascinating term. The word sleight is by far the best translation of the Greek kubeia, from kubos (English “cube”) and appears only here in the New Testament. The Greek literally means “playing dice” and the translation sleight graphically pictures the implication of the gambling, trickery, and fraud that is involved. We can picture this easily by thinking of how many people throw away billions of dollars on gambling. In 1946 the gangster Ben “Bugsy” Siegel opened the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, which was at first a disaster—nobody came to a hotel/casino in the middle of nowhere. The price tag that began at two million dollars swelled to six, for which Siegel was eventually murdered by his associates because they figured he was skimming money. The casino turned around, however, and made four million dollars in its first year, which grew to tens of billions to the present day, and all of it by kubos. The house edge in Roulette, for example, is 2.7% for single zero and 5.26% for double zero. The edge is even worse for other games, such as 4.5% for Sportsbook Betting, 3.9% to 15.2% for various slot machines, and an unbelievable 25% for Keno.

I was also reminded of the old scam, Three-Card Monte, in which the expert scam artist lays three cards on the table, one of which is a queen, shuffles them back and forth, and then asks you to “find the lady.” You’ll win at first, but when the bet increases, you will lose because of a sleight of hand trick. The dealer picks up two cards with his right hand, the upper card between his thumb and his forefinger and the lower card between his thumb and his middle finger, with a small gap between both cards. According to common sense, and, is in fact, what he did before, the dealer should drop the lower card first, but this time his forefinger smoothly and slyly ejects the upper card first, which causes you to lose track of the queen. This is especially difficult to see if the dealer’s hand makes a sweeping move from his left side to his right side while he drops the cards. The moral of the story is, you are going to lose.

That is the false teacher. By “slight of mouth” he tricks the unwary without their even knowing it because they are gullible and over-confident in their knowledge. Pride gets the Three Card Monte” victim every time; he’s confident he can follow the Queen, but he can’t because of the sleight of hand—the hand is quicker than the eye. Likewise, immature Christians are over-confident in their supposed knowledge and are easy prey for false teacher. This is precisely why Paul warned the Ephesian elders in Miletus that “grievous wolves [will] enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:29-30).

Second, false doctrine comes by cunning craftiness, which is one word in the Greek, panourgia, a compound word from two roots, pan (“all”) and erg (“work”), yielding the meaning “capable of all work,” or as Aristotle viewed it, “an unprincipled [capability] to do anything.”[xix] That is the false teacher. He will do anything, stoop to any level needed to manipulate error, to make something look like truth and thereby lead others away from truth. Paul also uses this word in II Corinthians 2:2, where believers should “[renounce] the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” From the Jehovah’s Witness—who deceitfully alters John 1:1 to read, “In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god”[xx]—to books like The Prayer of Jabez, which are based on a misrepresentation of Scripture, men will do anything to make their teaching look like truth when it is the very opposite.

Third, false doctrine comes by delusion and deception (they lie in wait to deceive). The Greek behind lie in wait methododeia (English “method”) does not appear in Greek literature prior to the New Testament,[xxi] where it means “to investigate by settled plan” or “a deliberate planning or system.” [xxii] There is, therefore, a settled plan, an elaborate system, a deliberate scheme behind those who teach false doctrine. Their desire to is to deceive, Paul says, which translates plane, “a wandering out of the right way” and, therefore, figuratively delusion and error. I Thessalonians 2:10-11 speak of the lost multitude that will believe the Antichrist, and for that very reason God will “send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” While that day is not yet here, delusion, error, and seduction are everywhere.

What is even more tragic is how many true believers there are who are gullible and will believe virtually anything and follow almost anybody. Even with our unequaled education, freedom, sophistication, access to God’s Word, Christian books, and a multitude of Bible translations (which I am convinced is actually part of the problem), it seems that anybody, no matter what he teaches, can get a following and even financial support from not only individual Christians entire Local Churches and even whole denominations, associations, and fellowships. Like little children, they are captivated by something new: a new interpretation, a new idea, a new catchy phrase or term, a new method of “ministry,” and countless other things.

What, then, is the key to discernment? There is only a single principle: what does the Word of God say? It doesn’t matter if some new idea or teaching “sounds good,” but whether or not it’s right according to Scripture. At the very heart of the Reformation was Sola Scriptura, that it is “Scripture Alone” that dictates all we believe and practice, not Church Tradition, human opinion, or anything else. For centuries Roman Catholicism has been adding its traditions to Scripture, and even incorporating pagan practices (and even gods) into its system, but Evangelicalism is not much better as it also adds men’s teachings, methods, and ministries to Scripture. How we need a new Reformation today!

Let’s practice our discernment skills for a few moments. One popular speaker, for example, gives this description of one whose “felt need” should be addressed:

You have a guy sitting in church and he’s figuring out, “Okay, how am I going to make payroll? how am I going to finance my lifestyle? I’ve got these two kids that are rebellious; they’re caught up in this lack of authority thing. My emotional connection with my wife is really running dry. I’m sitting with three strangers next to me listening to this sermon. I need some help for my life right now.” I believe that’s the way Jesus taught. I mean Jesus started at the point of the real and felt need that a person would have.

That certainly sounds good, noble, and caring, but is it right according to Scripture? No, it is not. The Lord Jesus simply did not start with a person’s “felt need,” which has become a term on which many churches are built today. In His dealing with the woman at the well (Jn. 4:1-26), he very specifically confronted her with her sin and then even taught her some doctrine on worship. He most certainly did not start with a “felt need,” rather real sin.

Another popular voice boldly says this:

People are always telling me that we should go back to the New Testament church where they were pure. Are you crazy? Where they loved each other. You’re out of your mind. Where they joined hands and walked off into the sunset together. That’s not the way it was. You haven’t taken the time to read the Bible. They were as bad as we are, and sometimes they were worse. And I get along better with people at the seminary than Paul got along with Barnabus.

This sounds authoritative coming from the mouth of a well-know Bible teacher, but is it right? No, it is not. In fact, it borderlines on blasphemy. It is that man who has “not read the Bible,” for Luke records that the early church

continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:42-47).

Were their controversies and problems as the Church continued? Of course, there were, as in Acts 6 and 15, as well as other mentions of doctrinal and practical issues, as in most of I Corinthians. But these were exceptions to the general rule. This man’s comment clearly implies that he knows a better way, that we can actually improve on the Biblical record, and that is heresy.

Here is another quote, which is, in fact, one of the most common teachings of our day: “The unity of the faith is more important than doctrinal opinion.” Again, this sounds loving, but is it right? No, it is not. As Paul told Titus, a pastor of local church, the pastor has been entrusted with God’s word and is, therefore, required to, “[Hold] fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers [i.e., refute those who oppose that doctrine]” (Tit. 1:7a, 9). Unity is most certainly not more important than correct doctrine, no matter who says anything to the contrary.

Another speaker, who was shouting in a hateful tone, said this:

I refuse to argue any longer with any of you out there. Don’t even call me if you want to argue doctrine, if you want to straighten somebody out . . . Get out of my life. I don’t want to even talk to you or even hear you. I don’t want to see your ugly face. I say get out of God’s way, quit blocking God’s bridges. Or God’s going to shoot you if I don’t. Let Him sort out all this doctrinal doodoo. I don’t care about it.

Even if we ignore the ranting and raving, is such teaching about doctrine right? No, it is not. I Timothy 4:16 could not be clearer: “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” Neither could Proverbs 30:5-6, “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.”

Still another speaker explained doctrine this way:

I want you to know the word doctrine. Circle it. It happens to be the matter of, if you’re taking notes, the how you do the what you do. That’s what it means—doctrine, the way you do the what you do. Yea, there’s a certain way I get dressed, there’s a certain way you get dressed. Men, you put your socks on first and then your pants or you put your pants on first and then your socks. So, let me tell you something, depending upon how you dress, that happens to be your doctrine. The way you brush your teeth—do you squeeze the tube from the bottom, from the top, do you roll it? That would happen to be a matter of doctrine. You see, doctrine is just a word that describes your daily routine.

We shouldn’t even have to ask if such a notion is Biblical because it is so foolish, so childish, so contrary to even the simplest dictionary definition of “doctrine” that it’s unbelievable that anyone would listen to man like that.

Another well-known speaker counsels Christians with these sage words:

If you’re sure that you’re right, for God’s sake don’t correct those who are wrong. If you’re sure that you’re pure, for God’s sake don’t correct those who aren’t. If you’re sure that you’re got it together, for God’s sake don’t try to fix somebody who isn’t. From your position of righteousness and purity and balance, you’ll kill the church.

Yes, this sounds loving and unifying, but is it true Biblically? No, it is not. As Paul declared to the Corinthians: “Do not ye judge them that are within [the church]? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves [i.e., the church] that wicked person” (I Cor. 5:12-13). And as he likewise commanded Pastor Timothy, “As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine” (I Tim. 1:3). He goes on to state in v. 5 that the goal of such action is true, Biblical love.

To illustrate, if I knew that a flashflood had washed out a bridge, would it be loving and compassionate for me to stand by the railroad tracks smiling and waving at the passengers on an Amtrak train as it hurtled toward the chasm? Of course not. True love desires to warn people of coming doom.

Paul even goes so far to mention by name those who were teaching false doctrine in verses 18-20 (“Hymenaeus and Alexander”). Today such an act is considered unloving and divisive, even if what they are teaching is hurting people and destroying Biblical truth. Commenting on Paul’s challenge to Timothy in his second letter to “preach the Word” and “reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (II Tim. 4:2), theologian Gordon Clark writes:

Paul denounced heretics publicly by name. It is not enough to give diplomatic, spineless, uninformative warnings against unidentified errors. They must be clearly explained and clearly refuted. Some in the congregation may think refutation is useless and tedious. But Paul commands the preachers to persevere in their instruction with all patience.[xxiii]

In spite of that absolutely crystal clear truth, the Senior Pastor of a mega-church in California writes: “How tragic it is when we become more concerned with being ‘right’ than being ‘loving.’ I would rather have the wrong facts and a right attitude, than right facts and a wrong attitude.” That is not only childishly foolish, but it contradicts Ephesians 4:15, where as we’ll study in depth, Paul says we do BOTH: we speak the truth and we do so in love. One without the other will always bring heresy.

Still another teacher authoritatively declares:

[One] big lie is that God only wants three things from us; he wants “the three G’s:” He wants groveling, groaning, and He wants grieving; He wants us to cry and grieve over our sin. What a big lie.

While that might certainly liberate us in our way of living our lives, is it Biblically true? No, it is not. As God declares in James 4:9-10, “Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up,” and in Isaiah 66:2, “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.”

Another teacher characterizes God this way:

God is a God of grace. You can curse Him and disobey Him and spit in His face and reject Him, and you can do it over and over and over again, and He keeps coming back for more.[xxiv]

Is such a characterization of God biblical? No, it is not. It flies in the face of the Truth that “the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man” (Gen. 3:6) and that “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:18). But even more profound are God’s words in Hebrews 10:26-31:

For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Another vivid example of the gullibility and undiscerning nature of Christianity today is the virtual cult that has arisen around the hugely popular book The Prayer of Jabez. As mentioned way back in our study of 1:3, one author’s indictment is right on the mark, calling this book “the most mesmerizing deception to be launched on American Christianity in the modern era.”[xxv] Why? Because the basic, underlying error of the book is “that the repetition of a prayer, any prayer, even a Biblical prayer, unlocks the power of God in our lives.”[xxvi] The whole thrust of the book is that by repeating this obscure Old Testament prayer (a clear violation of the prohibition of “vain repletion” in Matt. 6:8), the Christian can unlock blessing and miracles. All it boils down to be is old prosperity teaching in a new wrapper, and to be blunt once more, it’s heresy plain and simple. Over and over again (ad infinitum, ad nauseam) the author promises prosperity and miracles with such statements as the following:

·           “God wants [us] to be ‘selfish’ in [our] prayers. To ask for more and—and more again—from our Lord . . . [and is] exactly the kind of request our Father longs to hear” (although Scripture nowhere says any of that).

·           “A guaranteed by-product” of saying the Jabez prayer will be that “your life will become marked by miracles” (but again, that’s not promised either in the so-called “Jabez Prayer” or anywhere else in Scripture).

·           “Seeking God’s blessing is our ultimate act of worship” (but not one verse of Scripture says that; it is totally the author’s conjecture).[xxvii]

And on we could go. While this book is filled with warm anecdotes, personal experience, and boundless conjecture, totally absent are solid theology, Scripture exposition, and Divine Truth.

I also never cease to be amazed at how something novel, clever, pithy, and even shocking is received with glorious excitement by the Church today. An example of this is contained in another popular book, Desiring God, written by John Piper. While he does say some good things, his entire premise is based on his absolutely ridiculous term “Christian Hedonism.” What he means by this term is a call to abandon the short-term, low-yield pleasures of the world for the magnificent joys of knowing God in whom is fullness of joy, but to use the term “hedonism” is ludicrous. In Classical Greek, the term hedone (from which hedonism is derived) ultimately came to refer “to the pleasure of the senses, of sex, and then the unrestricted passions.” This meaning is clearly carried over into the New Testament, where the term appears only five times, all in “later books,” and always with “a bad connotation.”[xxviii] The point here is why invent a term that you then have to spend several pages (or even a whole book) defending and explaining? Why not write a book on a Biblical term, such as the word JOY (chara)? Piper could have written his entire book based on that Biblical word and done it much more easily. Why not do so? Why pick a provocative and contradictory term that has nothing whatsoever to do with real joy? Is the reason simply cleverness and marketability or is it a misunderstanding of language? In either case, it misses the Truth.

It is because of such shallowness and faddishness in the Church today that I read far more of the older, tried and tested expositors than I do contemporary writers, though there are, of course, some good authors today. In this case, for example, the reader would be much better off reading 17^th Century Puritan Stephen Charnock’s classic, The Existence and Attributes of God, which provides a lifetime of meditation.

Let me share one more discernment test. A well-known husband and wife team, whose desire is to reach millions for Christ, claim that an angel appeared to the woman and told her how to get instant decisions for Christ. For example, if you are talking to a waitress, you should ask her, “Do you know that there are two kinds of beautiful waitresses?” “Really?” she would probably respond. “Yes, those who are saved and those who are about to be. Which one are you?” I she says anything except, “I am saved,” then say, “Repeat this after me, ‘Father forgive me of my sins. Jesus come into my heart. Maker me the kind of person You want me to be. Than You for saving me’” Now ask the waitress, “Where is Jesus right now?” If she answers, “In my heart,” say, “Congratulations on being a child of God!” If her answer is anything else, have her repeat the prayer after you again. This couple also insists, “When you talk to someone, use the same words the angel said. It works! If you change the words, it does not work.”[xxix] This approach and ones similar to it and common place. While some teachers would never say that an angel revealed their new method to them, they might as well because they think they can improve on God’s method of confronting the sin with sinner with His sin, showing him God’s demand for repentance or eternity in Hell, and then sharing with Him God’s gracious provision in Christ.

All these examples, and a myriad of others, demonstrate how completely undiscerning the Church has become. Now, we could understand this if the Bible only mentioned discernment once or twice, but the fact is that the discerning of truth from error is a recurring theme throughout Scripture.

When God asked Solomon what he wanted most, Solomon answered, “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?” (I Kings 3:9). We, too, have access to such discernment. As we’ll come back to in a moment, Hebrews 4:12 declares that God’s Word is the “discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” As is the pastor’s responsibility today, one of the chief duties of the priests was to “teach [God’s] people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean” (Ezek. 44:23).

Most people are aware of the old adage, “Red sky in morning, sailors take warning; red sky at night, sailor’s delight,” which is based on Matthew 16:2-3. The occasion was when the Pharisees tempted Jesus to perform a sign from heaven. But He turned it around on them and said, “O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” In other words, they could discern a simple natural phenomenon, but they had no spiritual discernment of Who Jesus really was. The Greek for “discern” is diakrino, one of several similar words that speak of judgment and discernment. It literally means “to make a distinction,” something the Pharisees could not do and something many Christians today will not do.

A graphic picture of discernment appears in Acts 17:11. After leaving Thessalonica because of much bitter treatment from Jews there, Paul and Silas headed for Berea, about forty-five miles away. Upon entering the synagogue, they found a group of new believers who “were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” While many in Thessalonica had “received the word of God which [they] heard” (I Thes. 2:13), the Bereans were totally dedicated to the study of Scripture to see if what Paul said was true. That is discernment.

Paul also declared to the Corinthians, who were anything but mature, discerning, or spiritual, “He that is spiritual judgeth all things” (I Cor. 2:15). “Spiritual” is pneumatikos, which means “non-carnal”[xxx] or “dominated by the Spirit, in contrast to [the] natural.”[xxxi] To really be spiritual, then, means that we are characterized not by our natural instincts or opinions but by the Holy Spirit. This is why Paul further says that the spiritual person “judgeth all things.” Here is crucial principle. “Judgeth” is the same word translated “discerned” in the previous verse: “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” The Greek for “discerned” here is anakrino. From about 400 B.C onwards, it expressed “the questioning process which leads to a judgement: to examine, cross-examine, interrogate, enquire, and investigate. Other concepts in the word scrutinize and sift.[xxxii] To discern something means that we don’t say, “Well, as long as that Bible teacher talks about God or Jesus, then he’s okay.” True spirituality and maturity means that we examine everything, that we investigate, question, scrutinize, and sift through every aspect of what is being taught and practiced, not from the perspective of the flesh, natural inclination, or personal opinion, but by the domination of the Holy Spirit and God’s Word. Most people are, just like the Corinthians, anything but spiritual; they are, in fact, the very opposite, looking at everything from their perspective not God’s. The truly spiritual person does not accept everything that comes along; rather he or she first examines it Biblically to see if it’s right or wrong.

Paul likewise wrote the Thessalonians, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil” (I Thes. 5:21-22). “Prove” is dokimazo, which means “test, pronounce good, establish by trial.” A related word, dokimos, was originally used as a technical term for coins that were genuine.[xxxiii] So Paul is saying, “Examine everything, put everything to the test, verify each item to see if it is genuine or if it is a fake.” If it’s good, seize it and hold on to it. If not, however, we are to withdraw from it. As John Gill writes:

Abstain from all appearance of evil, of doctrinal evil. Not only open error and heresy are to be avoided, but what has any show of it, or looks like it, or carries in it a suspicion of it, or may be an occasion thereof, or lead unto it; wherefore all new words and phrases of this kind should be shunned, and the form of sound words held fast.

The Apostle John echoes Paul’s mandate to discernment by also using dokimazo: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (I Jn. 4:1, emphasis added). How much clearer could Scripture be?—Don’t believe every spirit. There are several teachers today we could list who can say anything and people will believe it. The are never questioned. Likewise, there are countless claims to spiritual authority today, innumerable assertions that “this is what the Bible says,” but every single one of these is to be examined, tested, and verified.

As I shared this with the sheep under my care, I told them that even I must be tested and verified. This is one reason I stick with the Scripture alone, just expositing It. I don’t want anything new or novel; I don’t want new terms or new philosophies. I want only what the text says. As I stick with the Scripture alone, this leaves little room for error.

Finally, Hebrews 4:12 is among the strongest New Testament statements about discernment: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” The Greek for “discerner” is kritikos, which appears only here in the New Testament and which from Plato’s day onward referred to “a competent, experienced judge.”[xxxiv] What a perfect description of the Word of God!—The Discerner, The Judge of men’s thoughts and even their “intents,” that is, intentions, ideas, notions, and purposes (Greek, ennoia).

Now, before we go on, we should also address one other verse that always arises with this issue, Matthew 7:1: “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” This is used by most people to say, “See there, Jesus says we are not supposed to be critical of anyone; we should not criticize what they believe or say.” That is always the cry of tolerance: “Just leave me alone; don’t judge what I say don’t ask any questions; just let things be.” But is that what the verse says? Of course not. If it did, Paul contradicted the Lord Jesus many times. What such people fail to do is read the context (vs. 2-5):

For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

What Jesus is very clearly saying is that we are not to judge and discern hypocritically or judge someone’s motives and attitudes, which have nothing to do with what someone teaches. They might have the purest motive and sweetest attitude, but that is not the issue; the issue is what they teach. We are all tempted to hold others to a higher standard than we hold ourselves, which is hypocrisy, so we must first make sure of our own life, make sure our standard is consistent, and then discern actions. In fact, that is exactly what Jesus says: “First, get the log out of your own eye and then you can remove the splinter that’s in your brother’s eye.” Our Lord did not say, “Leave the splinter where it is.” He said, “Deal with the error in your life first and then address the error in your brother.”

As we saw back in our study of the preaching ministry in 3:8b-12, Paul’s command to Timothy to “preach the Word” in II Timothy 4:2-4 also included the result of not doing so. As we recall, when people willingly “turn away their ears from the truth,” they unwillingly are “turned unto fables.” That is why we have mentioned so many errors here. Because so many have turned away from the Truth, they have in turn been deceived into countless false teachings, and there is virtually no discernment left in the Church today.

I doubt that anyone in our day has said it better than John MacArthur: “A half truth presented as if it were a whole truth is an untruth.” To apply that, think of a courtroom setting. A witness swears to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” If that witness does not tell the whole truth, if he leaves something out, or if he omits something to try hide what really happened, he is, therefore, lying. To withhold the truth is a lie. Likewise, if men today are not preaching all of God’s truth, that is, “all the counsel of God,” they are committing a sin of omission and, therefore, are in the final analysis preaching a lie.

Paul warned of the subtle danger of satanic lies, describing their sources as

false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works (II Cor. 11:13–15).

The word “transforming” is an interesting one. Follow this carefully. The Greek is metaschematizo, to change the outward form or appearance of something. It’s actually best understood by contrasting it with metamorphoo (English “metamorphosis”), which we find in Romans 12:2 (“transformed by the renewing of our minds”). One Greek scholar puts it this way:

If one were to change a Japanese garden into an Italian one, this would be metaschematizo. But if someone were to transform a garden into something wholly different, as a baseball field, it is metamorphoo. It is possible for Satan to metaschematizo, transform himself into an angel of light . . . that is, change his whole outward [appearance]. But it would be impossible to apply metamorphoo to any such change, for this would imply an internal change, which lies beyond his power.[xxxv]

While Satan can’t change his nature, he can change his appearance. He appears as something different that he really is. I was immediately reminded here of how the word “virtual” is used in computer technology today, such as “Virtual Reality,” which is technology that enables us to be “near reality.” We can totally design a house, for example, with so much detail and realism that we can “walk around inside it” and take a “virtual tour.” That is exactly what Satan does—he creates virtual light. It’s so near the real light that the majority of people think it is real. It therefore takes careful discernment by Christians to see that the virtual light is really darkness. The prophet Isaiah’s first test of any teacher was, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Is. 8:20). If men do not preach the Scripture alone, there is no light in them, and we shouldn’t even listen to them.

Besides all these, Scripture over, and over, and over again emphasizes discernment and the dangers of false doctrine. Let us quote just a few:

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits . . . (Matt. 7:15-16).

Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not (Matt. 24:23-26)

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. (Acts 20:28-31).

But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ . . . For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light (II Cor. 11:3, 13-14).

O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith (I Tim. 6:20-21).

Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision [katatome, a mutilation, a butchering] (Phil. 3:2).

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ (Col. 2:8).

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of (II Pet. 2:1-2).

Never before has the Church been in such a need of discernment and pure doctrine as it is today. One of the best statements on place of doctrine in the Church was written back in 1983 by pastor and theologian Gordon Clark. Commenting on I Timothy 6:1—“ Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed.—he writes:

What the speed reader is apt to miss in this verse is the repetition of the importance of doctrine. Doctrine and the name of God, that is, God Himself and His truth, must not blasphemed. Today liberals, humanists, behaviorists, and the neo-orthodox attack doctrine; but what is worse, those who think of themselves as devout evangelicals strongly insisting on the inerrancy of Scripture, ignore doctrine. They favor pastoral counseling, they prate about four spiritual laws, sing Gospel dance tunes, testify to their happiness, even read some of the Bible, but they read it without trying to understand it. Nor is the major blame to be put on the congregation; most of whom know no Greek; the major blame lies on ministers who know no Greek and not much theology. They do not speak evil of God’s work: they simply do not speak. A friend of mine, who did his best to preach the whole counsel of God, had a conversation with a very popular preacher and author. Said the popular idol to my friend, “I believe the same doctrines you do.” Said my friend, “I am delighted, I wouldn’t have known it, if you hadn’t told me.”[xxxvi]

Indeed, in many circles today, doctrine is avoided at all costs. What folly this is! Doctrine is the foundation on which we stand, and we must discern it carefully.

IV. The Material for Building — Truth (vs. 15-16)

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

A building is only as good as the materials used to construct it. There was a time, for example, that houses were wired with aluminum wire because of how much cheaper it was than copper. But because aluminum expands and contracts much more than copper, this gradually worked connections loose on switches and receptacles. So, because loose connections cause heat and heat causes fire, many houses were burning down. Eventually aluminum wire was outlawed for branch circuit wiring.

Perhaps you remember the infamous fire at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas in 1980, which killed 85 people and injured 500 more. The fire started at a short circuit in improperly installed wiring behind a refrigerated pastry display case. It then spread undetected in its early stages, thanks in part to poor construction work and in part to holes that were made in existing firewalls after the building went into service to accommodate new ductwork and wiring.

You might also remember a year later when two suspended walkways in the atrium of the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel collapsed, resulting in the death of 114 people. It was caused not only by a serious error in the original design of the connections between the hanger rods and the main-carrying box beams of the walkways, but also a change in the hanger rod arrangement during construction, which doubled the load on the connections.

I also recently read of a building collapse in Hobe Sound, Florida that officials believed was at least partly caused by an improper mix of concrete on a lower level, which then gave way when upper levels were poured.

I also recently caught part of a fascinating documentary series on the History Channel called “Engineering Disasters,” in which a major emphasis was made on the fact that rarely, if ever, does a disaster occur because of a single factor, rather a combination of two or three.

All this vividly illustrates that as engineering and building materials are crucial in a physical structure, they are even more critical in a spiritual one. Tragically, however, the trend in the Church today is poor engineering and inferior building materials. In fact, if we built our buildings the way we build churches, none of us would dare live in one because its collapse would be inevitable. Most churches are engineered according to the philosophies of Relativism and Pragmatism[xxxvii] and the materials used to build are entertainment and emotional appeals to “felt-needs.”

In stark contrast, Paul declares that we must engineer and build God’s work based on one ingredient—truth. Let us notice three principles: the command, the control, and the consequences.

The Command (v. 15a)

But speaking the truth

Speaking the truth is not optional, not just “one approach to ministry among many.” It is rather the single mandated method to building and maintaining a Church. Way back in 1:13 we carefully examined the principle of truth, the Greek aletheia, that which is real, what really is, what is factual. It’s not opinion, conjecture, hypothesis, or theory. Rather, it is, like the old expression, “telling it like it is.” If something is true, it is absolutely reliable, incontrovertible, irrefutable, incontestable, unarguable, and unchanging. It cannot change because to do so would mean it’s not true, not reliable. It is always true and can never be untrue, no matter what the circumstances.

The Greek in our text, however, is the verb form aletheuo, which actually translates all three words, speaking the truth. Some expositors view this word as hard or even “almost impossible to express satisfactorily in English.”[xxxviii] There are others who agree and translate it in various ways: “grow up in the truth,” “followers of truth,” “holding or following the truth,” “professing the truth,” and even “adhere to the truth, that is, practice integrity.”[xxxix] Some modern Bible translations also get it wrong, as does the New Living Translation: “hold to the truth.” Any such translation, however, is wrong for three basic reasons.

First, one expositor who writes that this word is “not normally translated ‘speaking’” is in error because that is precisely how it is usually translated. As one Greek authority, based upon Classical Greek usage, writes:

The verb aletheuo usually means simply to speak the truth. For example, Plato argues that he who commends justice speaks the truth (aletheuei), and this is parallel to his earlier statement that such a man speaks truly , whilst he who commends injustice speaks falsely (pseudoito, The Republic, 589c).[xl]

With that in mind, the same authority adds later that here Paul “insists that the Christian speaks the truth in love.”[xli] Specifically, the form of the verb here is aletheuontes (a nominative plural masculine present participle), which in English is like adding “ing” to a Present Tense verb. Paul is, therefore, clearly saying we are to be “continually speaking the truth.”

Second, such alternative translations ignore the context in which this statement appears. Paul has been discussing the speaking gifts and now makes the obvious assertion that the men called to those offices are to speak the truth.

Third, such alternative translations also ignore the interpretation principle analogia scripturae (“the analogy of Scripture”), which we mentioned back in 3:2. This means we compare Scripture with Scripture and allow It to interpret Itself. When we apply that principle here, it takes us to the only other instance of aletheuo in the New Testament, Galatians 4:16: “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” The Greek here is another present participle (aletheuon, nominative singular masculine), yielding the idea, “Have I become your enemy because I am continually telling you the truth?”[xlii] Of course the answer is a resounding “yes.” Most people do not wish to be told the truth at all, much less continually.

So, what are we to be speaking? The TRUTH, that which is reliable and unchanging. Commentator Albert Barnes makes this excellent statement, which includes not only preachers but all true Christians:

The truth is to be spoken—the simple, unvarnished truth. This is the way to avoid error, and this is the way to preserve others from error. In opposition to all trick, and art, and cunning, and fraud, and deception, Christians are to speak the simple truth, and nothing but the truth. Every statement which they make should be unvarnished truth; every promise which they make should be true; every representation which they make of the sentiments of others should be simple truth. Truth is the representation of things as they are; and there is no virtue that is more valuable in a Christian than the love of simple truth.

But that is anything but the norm today. The vocabulary of much of the Church today is politically correct catch-phrases, sentimental expressions, and psycho-babble. Instead of confronting false teachers with their error, we embrace them with such schmaltziness as, “Our brother brings up an intriguing, thought-provoking point,” or “Our brother is entitled to his own ideas, to which we should be open.” No, we are supposed to speak the truth.

What is so difficult about this principle? Why do so many people avoid, redefine, or ignore the truth? The answer is simple: knowing the truth makes us responsible. As long as we don’t know the truth, we don’t have to do anything with it, we don’t have to act accordingly. Most people today do not want to hear the truth because they are comfortable in their own ideas and philosophy and want to continue in them without challenge.

Once again, we see that true doctrine is essential in the face of “every wind of [false] doctrine” mentioned in verse 14. Speaking on the importance of doctrinal preaching, one writer comments: “If you take away the doctrine you have taken away the backbone of the manhood of Christianity—its sinew, muscle, strength, and glory.” He goes on to illustrate that those who wish to abandon doctrine can be compared to sailors who would go to sea without charts:

. . . “Burn the charts; what is the use of charts? What we want is a powerful engine, a good A-1 copper-bottomed ship, an experienced captain, and strong, able-bodied mariners. Charts! ridiculous nonsense—antiquated things—we want no charts, destroy every one of them. Our fathers used to navigate the sea by them, but we are wiser than they were. We have pilots who know every sand and sunken rock, who can smell them beneath the water—or by some means find them out.” So they put out to sea without charts; and, looking across the waters, we may expect to witness the shipwreck of those who thought themselves so wise, and fear sometimes lest we should hear their last gasp as they sink and perish. Professing themselves to be wise, they become fools.[xliii]

What a perfect picture of our day! Wanted today are showy churches and glitzy ministries, but shunned is the preaching of Truth. Many Christian leaders think they know more than God, more than the inspired Apostle Paul, more than many great leaders in Church History who came later. What arrogance! As a result we are already seeing the shipwrecks that are left behind.

The Control (v. 15b)

in love,

Lest our speaking be harsh, mean spirited, insensitive, or arrogant, Paul adds a principle that will control our speaking—love. While Paul wrote many strong, sometime even scathing, rebukes to the believers in Corinth, for example, no one there could have accused him of being unkind or unloving. Likewise, to keep us from speaking rudely, unkindly, arrogantly, or overbearingly when we speak the truth, Paul puts a control on it—we are always to speak the truth in love. A pastor must never “brow beat” God’s people; neither should any believer be arrogant, overbearing, or use “high pressure techniques” in personal witnessing. Our goal is to humbly and lovingly point people to the Lord. Further, love is the balancing agent of conviction and courage. When the child of God has convictions and courageously stands on them, he will be called “closed minded,” “intolerant,” “hard-nosed,” and many other things, but when love is the balancing agent, people will take notice.

One commentator ably demonstrates the comparison of love and “truth” by pointing out that speaking the truth without love makes us ungracious, while speaking only love with no truth makes us unfaithful.[xliv] In other words, “raw truth” can alienate the people we are trying to reach, while “uncontrolled love” can suppress the very truth we need to share.

To illustrate, a certain skilful physician, having to treat an abscess but finding the person to be afraid of lancing, privately wrapped up his knife in a sponge and then while gently smoothing the affected area, lanced it. Likewise, when we encounter an offender, “we must not openly carry the dagger in our hand, but with words of sweetness administer our reproof, and so effect the cure.”

Another story is told by the famous early 19^th Century missionary to China and translator Robert Morrison. When he was a young student, perhaps about sixteen years of age, he once ate breakfast with Caesar Malan, a Swiss Reformed preacher in Geneva. Upon discovering that Morrison was a young student of divinity, he said, “Well, my young friend, see that you hold up the lamp of truth to let the people see. Hold it up, hold it up, and trim it well. But remember this: you must not dash the lamp in people’s faces; that would not help them to see.” Morrison adds that he remembered those words often throughout his life.[xlv]

Before leaving this principle, may we again note that this love does not constitute some syrupy sentimentality that sets aside doctrine for the sake of unity. This is the common notion and practice in our day, when love is viewed as supreme over all else. But that is not what Paul is saying in this phrase or the context. Such a view makes a mockery of verse 14. This challenge from Martyn Lloyd-Jones, preached several decades ago, should be heeded by every evangelical of our day:

To put life or “spirit,” or niceness, or anything else, before truth is to deny essential New Testament teaching ; and in addition is to contradict directly the Apostle’s solemn warning in verse 14. It is to set up ourselves, and the modern world, and the 20^th-century man, as the authority rather than the “called apostle” Paul and all others whom the Lord has set in the Church to warn us against, and to save us from, this attitude which dislikes discrimination and judgment. Never was it more important to assert that friendliness or niceness or sentimental notions of brotherliness do not constitute Christianity. You can have all such qualities without and apart from Christianity, and even in men who deny it, but you cannot have Christianity without “truth.” So that, whatever else it may mean, “holding the truth in love” does not mean a vague, flabby, sentimental notion of niceness and fellowship and brotherhood.[xlvi]

Later Lloyd-Jones touches on another matter that is very common in our day and is one of my own “pet peeves” about modern ministry:

Obviously we must know exactly what the truth is. We are not to spend the whole of our time arguing about preliminaries and presuppositions; we are to start with the revealed truth and expound it. Every one of us is to understand, to believe, and the “hold the truth,” not to speculate philosophically about life and its meaning and its problems. It is not for any preacher to stand in a pulpit and say, “I think this,” or “I have come to this conclusion,” but rather “Thus saith the Lord.”[xlvii]

Oh, how true this is today! “Preaching” is filled with opinion and psycho-babble, but Truth is absent.

May we never hesitate to speak the Truth, but may we never fail to speak it in love. To reverse the emphasis, may we always be loving, but may we never compromise the Truth.

The Consequences (vs. 15c-16)

may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

As a result of “speaking the truth in love,” Paul tells us that this will produce three results: individual growth, unity of the body, growth of the body.

Spiritual Growth In Individual Christians

May grow up is one word in the Greek, auxano, which we first saw back in 2:21—“In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord.” As we saw there, it means “to grow or increase, of the growth of that which lives, naturally or spiritually.”[xlviii] While there it spoke of the entire Body of Christ as a living, growing entity, it speaks here of the individual Believer. This is proven by the verb tense (auxesomen), which is first person plural and, therefore, can be translated “we may grow up.” Into Him in all things, then, means that each of us is ever growing in Christ in every way, more and more growing in Christlikeness of character, progressively conforming to He Who is the sovereign and controlling Head. The Christian life is a life of continuing growth, constant development, progressing maturity.

Several years ago the police department of Houston, Texas issued a leaflet listing rules for raising delinquent children. Those rules have some striking spiritual applications.

First, “beginning in infancy, give the child everything he wants; this way he will grow up to believe the world owes him a living.” Spiritually, many churches are built on that very philosophy, giving people what they want, entertaining and coddling them so they will forever expect their “felt needs” to be met. As a result, they stay infants, if not spiritual delinquents, for the rest of their lives.

Second, “never give him any spiritual training; wait until he is 21 and then let him ‘decide for himself.’” Many parents today say, “Oh, I want to be open minded; I want to expose my children to many views and then let them decide for themselves.” How foolish! To be consistent, they should also expose them to drug abuse, illicit sex, and all other “alternate lifestyles” and then let them choose one. No, a parent’s responsibility is to train their children in what is right. We see the same problem in the Church. “Relativism” allows people to define their salvation in any terms they choose, never gives them absolutes, and just allows them to “do as they please” and “live as they feel.”

Third, “avoid using the word ‘wrong;’ this might give him a guilt complex and will condition him to believe later, when he’s arrested for stealing a car, that society is against him and he is being persecuted.” This pictures the tolerance that rules in our day. We mustn’t call any behavior, teaching, doctrine, opinion, or anything else “wrong,” rather call it “another viewpoint,” “another perspective, “another interpretation.”

Fourth, “let him read any printed matter he can get his hands on; be careful that the silverware and drinking glasses are sterilized, but let his mind feast on garbage.” Spiritually, much of what is called “Christian literature” today is not worth the price of the ink to print it. A good pastor will encourage his people to read good, solid, doctrinally correct books, to read that which will feed the mind and heart.

Fifth, “pick up everything he leaves lying around—books, shoes, and clothes; do everything for him so that he will be experienced in throwing all responsibility on others.” Spiritually, God’s people should be taught not only to fulfill their own responsibilities, but then to minister to others. This leads to another point

.

Sixth, “give a child all the spending money he wants; never let him earn his own. Why should he have things as tough as you had them?” We’ve all heard the statement? “I don’t my kids to have it as tough as I did?” But may we ask, “Why not? Don’t you think it helped build your character?” Likewise, indulgence is a synonym for “ministry” today. The so-called “old ways” of worship, when the singing of hymns and the preaching of doctrine ruled, must give way to the new methods of repetitive praise choruses and “sharing times.”

Seventh, “when he picks up bad words, laugh at him; this will make him think he’s cute; it will also encourage him to pick up ‘cuter’ phrases that will blow off the top of your head later.” Spiritually, while our vocabulary will not include profanity, today’s emphasis on “Christian comedy,” as well as what is taught by many false teachers, is no less offensive and blasphemous.

Eighth and finally, “quarrel frequently in the presence of your children; this way they will not be too shocked when the home is broken up later.” Likewise, immature leadership and Church members are at the very root of church quarrels and splits.

May we all set our minds on spiritual growth.

Unity Of The Body

Paul once again returns to his favorite metaphor for the Church—a body—and so uses several graphic expressions.

First, he uses the metaphor fitly joined together. The Greek here (sunarmologeo) means “to join closely together.” Paul used it back in Ephesians 2:21 where it pictures proper masonry construction. As we saw there, when the three parts of this compound word are put together, the literal idea is “together-joint-choose,”[xlix] as the mason methodically fits each stone into the structure. Likewise, the building of the Church is an ongoing process in which each believer is being properly and uniquely cut and trimmed to be useful to the Building. Conversely, if each of us is not allowing God to work in us (2:10), we will weaken or disfigure the building. Would that each of us rise each morning and say, “I wonder how God will work on me today so that I better fit into the Body.”

Second, Paul uses the expression compacted. The Greek sumbibazo (or sunbibazo) literally means “to join or knit together.” It is used of the physical body, which is held together by each joint and ligament and controlled by the Head, which is Christ.

To correlate these two expressions, the Church is framed together as a building and joined together as a body. Further, while fitly joined together seems to picture a physical idea, compacted shows more of a mental and spiritual oneness. Both are also present participles and, therefore, speak of a continuing process. We each are continually being fitted and joined to the Body. As the physical body is ever-growing in one way or another, the spiritually body, the body of Christ, and each individual believer, is also continuously growing. Such unity brings incredible strength and effectiveness.

To illustrate, at a county fair, the townspeople held a horse-pulling contest. The first place horse ended up moving a sled weighing 4,500 pounds, while the second place finisher pulled 4,000 pounds. The owners of the two horses decided to see what these horses could pull together. They hitched them up and found that the team could move 12,000 pounds! By working separately, the two horses were good for only 8,500 pounds, but when coupled together, their synergism produced an added 3,500 pounds. Teamwork divides the effort and multiplies the effect.[l] Unity in the Body of Christ will accomplish the same thing spiritually. More members divides the effort among many and multiplies the effect, makes it more of a blessing because it was done together.

Third, Paul uses still another expression, by that which every joint supplieth. In other words, the power for unity is actually channeled through the believer. God doesn’t throw down His power like a lighting bolt; rather He channels his power through us as electricity is channeled through wires.

This thought takes us back to verse 7 where we learned that every believer has at least one spiritual gift, which God gives for spiritual ministry. And for what are these gifts given?—for the edifying (building up) of the Body. How important it is that each and every member of the Body be doing its job! We know how true this is of our physical body. If one part is not doing its job, then the entire body is impaired. Likewise, each of us must do our job as a body part. If we fail to do so, this effects the entire Body, as Paul made clear to the Corinthian believers (see I Corinthians 12:26 and context).

Fourth, Paul adds one other expression: according to the effectual working in the measure of every part. Effectual working is one word in the Greek, energeia. We saw this word back in 2:19 and it speaks of power in operation or power in action; in other words, it pictures something going on, a force that is actively working. The exciting truth Paul that Paul is conveying, then, is that every part of the Body is doing something. No part of the Body is idle; each every one is active in one measure, that is, to one extent, or another. While one member might contribute more, all contribute something and are valuable. None is either overworked or undervalued. None is of less value than any other. No part of the Body is useless. What a comfort!

Because of his medical training, Martyn Lloyd-Jones is especially in his element when he exposits this passage; before being called to preach, he had a lucrative career as one of the physicians to the Royal Family in Wales. He writes here:

The Apostle, writing over 1900 hears ago, seems to have anticipated modern physiology sufficiently to use this particulate illustration. In the human body the head contains the brain’ and the whole nervous system of the body comes originally from the brain and is connected ot it. The smallest never of nerve tendril in the tip of your finder can be traced back to the brain. It foes back first into the spinal cord, which in turn is connected by strands of nerves to the brain . . . the nervous system links the whole body together and keeps it together, and makes of it an organic unity in a manner which ligaments and joints cannot do.

The same thing, of course, can be said of the blood system, the vascular system. This again combines everything together, centering everything in the heart. The result is that the smallest venule in your fingertip can be traced right back to the heart, and the blood which courses through it goes everywhere . . .

That is the kind of idea which the Apostle has here; and his picture is a perfect one. What he is saying is that the supply, the origin of the life and energy and power and substance and all we need as Christians, is in the Heard, which is Christ Himself. It passes from Him to every part of the body.

On the other hand, if one member is “out of sorts,” he effects the whole body. As Lloyd-Jones goes on to illustrate:

If you should suddenly develop an acute infection in the tip of your little finger as a result of a slight prick from a blackthorn or rose bush, you soon find that it begin to throb and to give terrible pain; but not only so, you yourself become ill; you develop a severe headache and may become delirious and incapable of using your brain. The disease in the little finger produces poisoning and a paralysis, as it were, of the head and the whole body.[li]

This is precisely what Christians forget when they fuss and squabble and cause disunity in the Church. They can damage other parts of the Body and then actually paralyze the whole Body and destroy its capability to accomplish anything. One commentator puts it very well:

There is no member so obscure and feeble that he may not contribute something to the welfare of the whole; and no one is required to labour beyond his strength in order to secure the great object. Each one in his place, and labouring as he should there, will contribute to the general strength and welfare; out of his place . . . he will only embarrass the whole, and disarrange the harmony of the system.[lii]

Oh, may we realize how central the metaphor of the Body is to Christian teaching! Every member is essential to the whole, and one member “out of sorts” can destroy the whole.

Before leaving this subject of unity, may we all be challenged to do our job as a member of the Body and strive for unity in the Body. I came upon a wonderful illustration of this that occurred in July, 1903 when American theologian Augustus Strong, a Baptist by conviction, preached a message on unity before the Baptist World Congress in London. In it he challenged:

Cooperation with Christ involves the spiritual unity not only of all Baptists with one another, but of all Baptists with the whole company of true believers of every name. We cannot, indeed, be true to our convictions without organizing into one those who agree with us in our interpretation of the Scriptures. Our denominational divisions are at present necessities of nature. But we regret these divisions, and, as we grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth, we strive, at least in spirit, to rise above them.

Are denominations necessary? Tragically, yes. Doctrinal purity must be maintained. But unity is our desire, not unity apart from Truth but unity of Truth. Strong then offers a wonderful picture of how this cross-denominational unity can work:

In America our farms are separated from one another by fences, and in the springtime, when the wheat and barley are just emerging form the earth, these fences are very distinguishable and unpleasing features of the landscape. But later in the season, when the corn has grown and the time of harvest is near, the grain is so tall that the fences are entirely hidden, and for miles together you seem to see only a single field.

Strong concludes with this marvelous application:

It is surely our duty to confess everywhere and always that we are first Christians and secondly Baptists. The tie which binds us to Christ is more important in our eyes than that which binds us to those of the same faith and order. We live in hope that the Spirit of Christ is un, and in all other Christian bodies, may induce such growth of mind and heart that the sense of unity may not only overtop and hide the fences of division, but may ultimately do away with these fences altogether.[liii]

As we have seen, Biblical unity is the unanimous agreement concerning the unique revelation of God through and in Jesus Christ, and the seven doctrinal unities of 4:4-6 are the toot of this. When we can agree on those, whether we be Baptist, Methodist, Reformed, or whatever, may we not be able to see the fences.

Growth Of The Body

As Paul closes this passage, He speaks of the growth of the Body. The ultimate consequence of “speaking the truth in love,” the ultimate goal of building a church God’s way, is the growth of the Body. This growth is on two levels: the Universal Church and the Local Church.

First, Paul speaks of the Universal Church: maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. The word increase (auxesis) is in the Present Tense and, of course, shows a continuous, progressive growth. But more important than this is the fact that this verb is in the Middle Voice. The Active Voice means the subject is doing the action and the Passive Voice means the subject is being acted upon. The Middle Voice, however, means the subject is acting in some way that concerns itself or the subject is receiving the benefit of the action. This voice is used in Ephesians 6 for putting on the armor of God; we do this because we receive the benefit of doing putting on the armor. The Middle Voice is used here in our text to show that the Body produces its own growth, it is benefiting itself, edifying itself. Just as the physical body grows of itself through food, the spiritual Body of Christ grows and increases of itself through the nourishment of the word of God. John Eadie says it well:

[The body’s] various members are not in mere juxtaposition, like the several pieces of a marble statue. No portion is superfluous; none could be altered without positive injury . . . It is a mechanism in which all is so finely adjusted, that every part helps and is helped, strengthens and is strengthened, the invisible action of the pores being as indispensable as the mass of the brain and pulsations of the heart . . . While Joshua fought, Moses prayed. The snuffers and trays were as necessary as the magnificent lamp-stand. The rustic style of Amos the herdsman has its place in Scripture, as well as the polished paragraphs of the royal preacher. The widow’s mite was commended by Him who sat over against the treasury. Solomon built a temple. Joseph provided a tomb. Mary the mother gave birth to the child, and the other Maries wrapt the corpse in spices. Lydia entertained the apostle, and Phoebe carried an epistle.[liv]

Every member of the body contributes to the welfare and growth of the whole. Each member is edifying, increasing, and building the Body.

Further, what is the “grace” of all this? What is the element that gives growth beauty? What is the specific motivation force?—love. It’s extremely significant that Paul not only began his dissertation on unity with a focus on love, but he now ends the same way. In other words, he brackets his entire discussion on unity within the confines of love. Without loving one another, we can never have true unity. May we never forget the grace of unity—love, the love of Christ for His Church and the love of believers for Him and one another. If we really love each other, we will work and get along as do the members of our physical body.

Second, Paul also speaks of the Local Church. The “office gifts” spoken of in verse 11 were given to equip individual believers so they can go out and do the work of building the Body both internally and externally. This leads us to the all-important question: Where is this equipping to take place? Where is the equipping of the saints to occur? Where do the office gifts operate? Can this equipping be done anywhere, by anyone or by any organization? May we say plainly: This equipping of the saints is to be done in the Local Church. The men spoken of in verse 11 are in the Local Church, for the local church is the training ground for ministry. Again, not only is the Universal Church in view here, but the Local Church is as well. It follows of necessity. Himself a pastor for may year, Warren Wiersbe comments on our text:

Paul was looking at the Church on two levels in this section. He saw the body of Christ, made up of all true believers, growing gradually until it reaches spiritual maturity . . . But he also saw the local body of believers ministering to each other, growing together and thereby experiencing spiritual unity.[lv]

One noted theologian, Dr. Henry Thiessen, puts the matter this way:

Clearly [this passage] means the indoctrination of the members of the church, in order to their standing against the heresies around them . . . The public church service is intended to do this . . .[lvi]

Tragically, however, the Local Church is increasingly de-emphasized today, often being relegated to the past and accused of being “outdated,” “narrow,” “limited,” and “old fashioned.” Many advocate a freedom to “minister as they see fit”, without being “confined or shackled to any one church.” But we here submit that this is unscriptural. Why? The reason is, and please get this, God has created a physical entity to deal with a physical world. You see, God chose to create something physical to deal with something physical. This in not because God is limited but because man is limited; God knew that He had to come down to our level with something physical.

To illustrate, I greatly appreciated reading about an incident told by Warren Wiersbe. He tells of a free-lance missionary who visited a pastor friend of his asking for financial support. He asked the missionary what group he was associated with. His answer was, “I belong to the invisible church.” The pastor then asked, “Well, what church are you a member of.” He again received the answer, “I belong to the invisible church!” By this time the pastor was getting somewhat suspicious and asked, “When does this invisible church meet? Who pastors it?” At this point the missionary became incensed and said, “Well, your church isn’t the true church. I belong to the invisible church.” The pastor’s response, which may we add was based on Biblical principle, “Well, here’s some invisible money to help you minister to the invisible church.” This incident again shows that there is a physical entity with which God is dealing with a physical world. In other words, the Universal Church ministers through the Local Church. Even a casual reading of the New Testament show this to the clear precedent.

Consider another passage that shows the primacy of the Local Church:

But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth (I Tim. 3:15; note also the surrounding context).

We examined this verse our study of Truth way back in 1:13. Many try to tell us that this verse speaks of the Universal Church, but this does great violence, not only to the verse itself, but to the surrounding context. The letter of I Timothy was written to a pastor to instruct him on how the Local Church is to be run. Using a picture of the Temple of Diana in Ephesus, with its 127 pillars, Paul says the Local Church is the “pillar” of the Truth; it is to hold up the Truth as a pillar holds up the building. Further, it is also the “ground” of the Truth. The Greek is hedraioma, “a stay, a prop, a support,” and is used only here in the New Testament. Think of it! The Local Church is the prop, that which supports the Truth of the Word of God. Why isn’t the Universal Church this pillar and ground? Because it is not a physical entity. “Pillar” and “ground” are physical. God ordained a physical entity to hold up His Truth.

How vital it is today that we recognized that the Local Church is the functioning organization of the Universal Church. In fact, the Universal Church cannot even function properly without the Local Church, for the local church has been ordained of God to carry on earthly ministry. That is why the Apostle Paul founded local churches throughout the known world of his day. To deny the primacy of the Local Church is to deny the very foundation of New Testament ministry. With that in mind, we submit three applications.

1. It Is Through The Local Church That God Wants To Do His Work. This does not necessarily mean that the Local Church has been given the commission for outreach, that it is, for example, “the arm of evangelism.” Many who view the church as the place for evangelism, that Christians are to bring the lost to church so the pastor can preach salvation. But that is not the New Testament precedent. As we have studied already, the pastor trains believers to be the outreach. His responsibility is to teach the Word so God’s people are equipped for witness. May we repeat often, the church is the training ground for ministry.

2. Any Work (or Ministry) That God Wants Done Can Be Accomplished Through The Local Church. There are many today who scoff at this principle; they object by stating that some areas of ministry require a separate organization that is apart from the Local Church.

But may we submit that such statements are an attack upon the authority and sufficiency of Scripture; they are saying that God can’t accomplish His work through the very method He established. Are we to conclude that God couldn’t look 2,000 years into the future and see that His method would eventually be inadequate and therefore make provision for it?

May we also ask, are we certain that the areas of “ministry” that we think are important are ones that God wants done? We have many “ministries” today that are questionable at best? Are we sure that God doesn’t want this work done in some other way that can be accomplished through the Local Church?

We need to recognize the fact that God’s desire for “missions” is church-planting. We have many “ministries” and “missionaries” today where this is not the goal. We have everything from doctors to janitors, from school teachers to translators, from bush pilots to nannies on mission support. But there is plainly no Biblical precedent for this. The point of “missions” (which is actually not a Biblical term) is church-planting, and our support should go either directly or indirectly to that. When we first plant a local church, then individual believers, through their witness, can take care of the various applications of outreach. Let it be clearly understood that every work done in the New Testament was done through a Local Church, and every person who did a work was sponsored by a Local Church. This leads to one other application.

3. Any So-Called “Ministry” Outside The Local Church is Not Scripturally Valid. Here is a very unpopular statement, but to put the matter bluntly, I am burdened and sickened beyond description at how the Local Church is maligned and attacked. I for one am deeply saddened that the very organization that was established by our dear Savior is today looked upon as an unnecessary entity. We are being told that we need something newer and more alive than the Local Church, when in all reality, there is nothing more alive than a growing Local Church.

There is a great problem today with an almost countless number of what are called “Parachurch Organizations.” The prefix para means “along side of,” so these organizations are spoken of as ones which work along side of the church and claim to support it and help it. A portion of the mission statement of one such well-known organization, for example, states, “The aim of staff in this ministry is to work with pastors and church leaders, developing special tools to help them and their local congregations become dynamic, disciple-making church communities.” While that sounds noble, is it Biblical? Nowhere does Scripture even imply that a separate entity apart from the Local church must or even should exist to “help” the Local Church. Why? Because when the Local Church is run properly, it doesn’t need any help; it is God’s way of working in the world. Why don’t the people in such organizations just work within their own churches?

Further, other such organizations are in reality far from supportive; some of them discount the local church and stay as far from it as possible. I encountered one such “Youth for Christ” worker several years ago when I was in a traveling ministry. He wanted nothing to do with any Local Church, arrogantly maintaining that his ministry could do a better job of reaching teenagers in that city than could local churches. It was also significant that he rebuked me for preaching expositorily to those young people, in spite of the fact that many of them came to me and said how much they were learning and appreciating the preaching. That man, and many like him, are a disgrace because they think they can do it better than God.

Now, to be fair in this matter, some of these organizations have filled a void over the years; many of them have come about because local churches were failing to do the job. But in the long run, these really hinder more than they help.

One objection to my last statement is, “But the church isn’t doing the job, so these other organizations are needed.” In some instances this might be true. But may we point out, God did not sanction a separate organization to go out and reach certain groups as these organizations do. What God wants is to have people going out from a Local Church and reaching others for Christ. If the ones who started these organizations would have just worked through a local church to start with, God would have blessed even more. May we also point out that this objection is very weak because these organizations would not now dissolve even if the Local Church did begin dealing with the area that is being addressed by a the organization. I once asked a man from one such organization, “If our church would address the ministry that you address in this city, would you dissolve your organization?” His answer was, “Well, no, because we think our ministry is valid.” That’s the point—men think they can do it better than God.

Another objection, perhaps the most common of all, goes, “But look how effective that organization has been.” First, that is Pragmatism, which says, “If it works, if must be right.” But may we ask, even if does work, how much more effective would the workers in that organization have been if they had done things God’s way—through a Local Church? A serious misconception today is that success is synonymous with blessing. Many think that just because a Christian organization is “successful,” then this means that God is blessing it. This is absolutely false. God will always bless His Word, not necessarily some organization. As Isaiah declares, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Is. 55:11). May we say, thank God for the faithful, committed, passionate workers in these organizations, but may we add that God will bless them much more if they do things His way.

Another serious problem with many Parachurch Organizations is their weak doctrine. Most of them are very general so they can appeal to a huge diversity of denominations, some of which are even liberal. I read the doctrinal statement of one international evangelical organization, for example, that had not a single word on their position on the Scriptures.

We add one other thought. These numerous groups take much financial support from the Local Church. There are countless Christians who are giving money to these organizations while their Local Church is in financial need. The Christian’s money belongs in the Local Church so that ministry can be carried on in that Local Church and community.

In closing, the Local Church is the training ground, training Christians to be witnesses of Christ. This truly is the beginning of what is commonly called “church outreach.” Dear Christian, YOU are the outreach. The Local Church has been ordained by God for this task of training Christians for ministry. No other organization is allowed by Scripture. Why? Because they are man-made, not God-ordained. By instituting all these organizations, man is actually saying that he can improve on what God has ordained. God knew what He was doing when He ordained the Local Church, and if we would just do things according to this institution, we would see God’s abundant blessing. May every believer be committed to a local church for growth, training, and ministry, and may every preacher be committed to training those believers. In this way we will build and maintain our churches Biblically and will experience true edification and real unity.

As I closed this study from the pulpit one Lord’s Day morning, I encouraged the sheep under my care to pray for three things to be true of our Local Church.

First, pray that God would raise up and make known to us church-planters whom we can support both financially and through prayer. Whether they are planting churches here or abroad, our desire should be to support such men who are committed to Biblical missions.

Second, pray that our Local church will one day be able to train men for ministry. As Paul trained Timothy and then told him to train others (II Tim. 2:2), and as Charles Spurgeon trained hundreds of men through his “Pastor’s College,” may we pray that one day we will be able to do the same.

Third, may each of us be praying for other pastors and churches across this country and around the world that they would commit their ministries to Biblical standards and methods alone.

[i] Zodhiates, p. 936.

[ii] Easton’s Revised Bible Dictionary.

[iii] Brown, Vol. III, pp. 349-351.

[iv] Barclay.

[v] Cited in MacArthur.

[vi] Earle, pp. 312-3.

[vii] Brown, Vol. 2, p.59.

[viii] Kittle, p. 59.

[ix] Brown, Vol. 2, p.562.

[x] Cited in Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illustrations, (Garland, Texas: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996).

[xi] IV.iii.32–33.

[xii] Zodhiates, p. 1009-10.

[xiii] Brown, Vol. 1, p. 281.

[xiv] Wuest. (Eadie: “tossed about as a surge,” p. 315).

[xv] Eadie, p. 315.

[xvi] Stedman, p. 229.

[xvii] Gordon Clark, Ephesians, p. 141.

[xviii] Four preceding illustrations in Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illustrations, (Garland, Texas: Bible Communications, Inc.) 1996

[xix] Brown, Vol. 1, p. 412.

[xx] Where does The New World Translation” get this rendering? Supposedly, it is based on the “oldest manuscripts,” which is patently and easily shown to be false. Also, it was translated thusly by from the German by Johannes Greber in 1937, a former Catholic priest turned spiritist who claimed the translation came from God’s spirits.

[xxi] Brown, Vol. 3, p. 943.

[xxii] Thayer and Wuest respectively.

[xxiii] Gordon Clark, The Pastoral Epistles (Jefferson, MD: The Tinity Foundation, 1983), p. 188.

[xxiv] The seven preceding examples taken from actual radio and TV broadcasts of either interviews, sermons, or other public presentations by nationally known Bible teachers and authors.

[xxv] Steve Hopkins, The Cult of Jabez (Bethal Press, 2002).

[xxvi] Gary E. Gilley, “I Just Wanted More Land” —Jabez (Xulon Press, 2001).

[xxvii] Bruce Wilkinson, The Prayer of Jabez (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2000), pp. 19, 24-25, 49.

[xxviii] Brown, Vol. 1, pp. 458-9.

[xxix] Cited in Kirk Cameron and Ron Comfort, The Way of the Master (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2002) p. 87.

[xxx] Augustus Strong.

[xxxi] Zodhiates, p. 1185.

[xxxii] Brown, Vol. 2, p. 362.

[xxxiii] Brown, Vol. 3, p. 808.

[xxxiv] Brown, Vol. 2, p. 362.

[xxxv] Zodhiates, p. 973.

[xxxvi] The Pastoral Epistles, p. 106-107.

[xxxvii] See the exposition of 1:13a (“The Truth About the Truth”) for an examination of these terms.

[xxxviii] Expositor’s Greek Testament in Wuest.

[xxxix] Respectively” Calvin; Expositor’s in Wuest; Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown; Lloyd-Jones; and Hendrickson.

[xl] Brown, Vol. 3, p. 877. The remainder of the quotation is: “However, sometimes aletheuo means to prove true; or in the passive, to be fulfilled (Xenophon, Institutio Cyri 4, 6-10).” But neither of these meanings would make sense in the context.

[xli] Brown, p. 886.

[xlii] R. Bultmann in Kittle totally misses with this contradictory statement: “In Gal. 4:16 this may mean ‘speak the truth’ but more probably means ‘preach the truth.’ In Eph. 4:15 (with love) it means ‘be sincere in love,’ or perhaps ‘live by true faith in love.’”

[xliii] Attributed to Spurgeon in The Biblical Illustrator, but that could not be confirmed.

[xliv] Phillips.

[xlv] Both stories cited in The Biblical Illustrator.

[xlvi] Christian Unity, p. 244. We do disagree, however, with “holding,” as explained earlier in the text.

[xlvii] Ibid, p. 249.

[xlviii] Vine.

[xlix] As Lloyd-Jones puts it (God’s Way of Reconciliation, p. 362).

[l] Our Daily Bread, Special Edition, Day 15.

[li] Christian Unity, pp. 262-3.

[lii] Barnes (emphasis in the original).

[liii] Strong, Systematic Theology, p. 914.

[liv] Eadie, pp. 324-6.

[lv] Wiersbe, pp. 102-103.

[lvi] Thiessen, p. 433.