We all know that a newborn baby can’t hold its head up on its own. The primary reason for that is that a newborn’s head is very large in proportion to the rest of the body. While the adult human skull is about 1/8 of the total body length, the newborn’s head is about 1/4 of its total body length. So, especially early in life, the body has to grow much more rapidly than the head so that they reach the proper proportions as an adult. In fact, by the time we reach 5 years old, our heads are approximately the same size that they will be when we reach adulthood, but our bodies still continue to grow significantly for another 15 years or so.
It seems that Paul may have had that picture in mind as he continues to describe how the body of Christ is to mature in the first half of Ephesians 4. Let’s read our passage out loud together.
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Ephesians 4:15, 16 (NIV)
The idea of the need for the body of Christ to mature is so important that Paul has been stressing that idea continually, beginning in verse 7. There he began to describe this process where Jesus receives certain of His followers unto Himself so that He can give special gifts of ministry to them and then he turns around and gives them back to the church. He does that so that these gifted people can equip all of God’s people to carry out the work of ministry. Jesus’ purpose is that the entire body might mature and become more like Him. Then in verse 14, Paul takes one of his frequent side trips to show the distinct contrast between His followers who are maturing in their faith and those spiritual infants who are unstable and easily deceived. But now, as Paul often does, he returns to his original premise in order to stress once again the need for the body to mature.
And the picture Paul uses here is the need for the body to grow up into the Head. Just as our human bodies need to grow in order to “catch up” to our heads, those who are spiritually immature also need to grow up in order to match up with the head of the body, Jesus Christ. And in order for that growth to occur, there is both a horizontal and vertical dimension that must be nurtured. Without both our connection to the Head, our vertical relationship with Jesus, and our connection with other believers, the horizontal relationship, we will not be able to grow up into the Head.
HOW TO GROW INTO THE HEAD:
1. The vertical connection – our relationship with Jesus
The first thing we observe in this passage is how crucial our relationship with Jesus is in the process of growth. He is both the goal of our growth and the source of that growth.
• Jesus is the goal of our growth
...we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ...
As we saw in our passage last week and again this morning, the goal of our growth is to become like the Head, Jesus Christ. He is the only standard by which we are to measure our growth. And we are to grow to be like Him, to attain to the measure of His fullness in all things.
It seems that Paul is setting the table here for what he is going to write in the rest of his letter beginning in verse 17 of chapter 4. The “all things” he writes about in our passage includes every area of our lives, and Paul is going to address many of those areas in the rest of his letter:
o Our thought life
o The way we speak to others
o The way we treat others
o Our family life
o Our work life
o Dealing with Satan and his attacks
In every one of those areas of our lives, Jesus is to be the standard by which we measure our maturity. He is the goal of our growth. But at the same time...
• Jesus is the source of our growth
...speaking the truth in love...
This is another Scripture that seems to be taken out of context, and therefore misused, quite often. How many times have you heard someone use this phrase to justify being critical of others? I think the writer of one blog really hit the nail on the head when he wrote:
As a matter of fact, most often when I hear someone saying, "I’m just speaking the truth in love" I can be fairly sure it’s not about love or truth. It is frequently about manipulation, control, or some distorted, ego-centric ideal of truth, which isn’t really truth.
When Paul uses that phrase here, he is not dealing so much with how we speak to others, but rather he is making a contrast with what he had just written about in verse 14 where he described the spiritual infants who had been deceived by teaching that was clearly not the truth. His point is that it is truth that keeps us from being deceived and remaining spiritual infants.
In fact, it is more than just speaking the truth that Paul has in mind here. The word he uses could literally be translated “truthing”. The picture this word gives is of a person who continually and consistently not only speaks the truth, but also lives the truth. But what is the truth Paul is writing about here? That’s not hard to figure out. All we have to do is to go back to an earlier part of Paul’s letter:
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation...
Ephesians 1:13 (NIV)
The truth that Paul is writing about here in Chapter 4 is the very same truth He described in Chapter 1. It is the gospel of our salvation. And that gospel is clearly centered in Jesus Christ. It is only in Christ that we can find the truth. That’s why Jesus described Himself as “the truth” when he responded to Thomas in John 14:6. Paul makes this same point again a little later in this chapter:
Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.
Ephesians 4:21 (NIV)
So speaking the truth in love is merely another way of Paul describing the importance of making Jesus Christ, the truth, the very center and focus of everything we do. And just in case we miss that point, Paul describes this principle for us one more time in this passage:
...From him the whole body...grows and builds itself up in love...
In our human bodies, it is our head, the brain in particular, which is the source of growth. The pituitary gland, a pea size gland at the base of the brain, releases growth hormones that cause our bodies to grow and mature.
In the church, it is the Head, Jesus Christ, who is clearly not only the goal of our growth, but also the source of that growth. But our relationship with Jesus is not sufficient, in and of itself, for the body to grow properly. In order for that to occur, we must also develop...
2. The horizontal connection – our relationship with others
...the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament...
This phrase is rather difficult to translate in to English, which is why you will find that the various English translations differ somewhat on how they render this passage. But regardless of the translation, Paul seems to be emphasizing once again the importance of believers being connected to one another within the body.
The word translated “ligament” in the NIV is translated “joint” in many other translations. The Greek word comes from a word that means to connect and it was used to describe those places in our bodies where one body part connects to another. That certainly describes our joints, but I think the word “ligament” is actually a better translation here because it is the ligaments that actually make the connections.
Paul describes the importance of these connections within the body in his letter to the Colossians:
Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
Colossians 2:18, 19 (NIV)
In fact, in that passage, Paul once again emphasizes the importance of both the vertical and horizontal connections. Those with unspiritual minds had lost there connection to the Head, Jesus and their connections to other members of the body.
Just ask Whitney Dosty how important the ligaments are. Earlier this year she injured the ligaments in her knee and she has missed the entire season for the U of A volleyball team. She needs to have surgery to repair the ligaments in that knee so her knee will function properly and she can play again next year.
That’s exactly what happens in the body of Christ when we lose our connections with others. The body can no longer function properly and the body is unable to grow and mature as Jesus intends. So how do we make sure that we maintain those connections within the body? Paul answers that in the last part of our passage:
...as each part does its work...
We’ve spent the last two weeks talking about the importance of every member being a minister. We all should know by now that Christianity is not a spectator sport. But Paul carries that idea one step further here. He is emphasizing that the body can only grow as God intended for it to grow when each part effectively carries out the purpose for which it was created. In other words, there is an emphasis here on the quality of our ministry. But that quality is not measured against other people, but rather it is determined by how we use the gifts which God has given to each of us.
In the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, the master did not expect each of the three servants to produce the same, but he did expect them to bear fruit in proportion to what they had been given. The man who had effectively put his two talents to work and earned two more received the exact same commendation from the master as the man who had been given five talents and earned five more. The man who had been given one talent was only condemned because he hadn’t even attempted to use what he had been given, not because he had not earned what the others had.
Jesus also made the same point on one other occasion as He taught his disciples:
...From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
Luke 12:48 (NIV)
Jesus has entrusted some of you in this body with five talents and some of you with two talents and some with only one. And what He asks is that you be faithful with whatever he has given you. He will never compare you to someone else. His only measuring stick will be what you did with what he entrusted to you.
This whole idea of everyone doing there part is nothing new. In fact, there are numerous examples of every member doing its part throughout the Old Testament as well. Here are just a few:
• The building of the Tabernacle (Exodus 35-36) – Everyone brought what they had and offered the skills and the time that they had. But what would have happened had some people been selfish and not given what they had. Or what if the craftsmen would have refused to put their own work on the back burner while they worked on the Tabernacle?
• The taking of Jericho (Joshua 6) – Every man marched, every man shouted and when the walls fell, every man charged into the city. What if some had decided it wouldn’t be convenient for them to march that day? What if some had decided they really weren’t into shouting? Or what if some had waited to charge into the city until they could see how things were going?
• The rebuilding of the walls in Nehemiah 3 and 4. Each family was given the responsibility of rebuilding a different section of the wall. And because of the threats from their enemies, some built, some stood guard and one person stood with Nehemiah, ready to blow the trumpet in case of an attack. But what if they had merely stood around and argued how to build the wall or who would build what section, or who would build and who would stand guard?
The key to maintaining our horizontal relationships with others is to make sure that each one of us does our part according to what Jesus has given to us.
This week, the Colorado Rockies will begin play in the World Series. Several weeks ago, before the playoffs began, the players voted to decide how to allocate their share of any playoff earnings. The players decided to award a full share to Amanda Coolbaugh, the widow of Mike Coolbaugh. Mike was the first base coach of the Tulsa Drillers, the AA farm team for the Rockies, who was killed when he was hit in the head by a foul ball earlier this year. In effect, the players voted to take money out of their pockets to give to Amanda Coolbaugh. And this is not just pocket change. Last year a full share for the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals was worth over $300,000.
This was certainly a class act of compassion on the part of the Rockies players. But it was also an acknowledgement that the contributions of a minor league coach, who had once coached some of these Rockies players, was just as important to the success of the team as what each player does on the field. He had done his part with what had been given to him.
3. When we take care of the vertical and the horizontal relationships, growth is automatic.
...grows and builds itself up in love...
When babies are born, they don’t have to make any effort to grow. As long as they eat when they are fed and they don’t have any illness or deformity, growth occurs naturally. As we’ve seen, the pituitary gland releases growth hormones that cause the body to grow.
A very similar process occurs in the church. When we’re properly connected to the Head, Jesus, and when we maintain our connections with others in the body by doing our part, then growth naturally occurs. Conversely, however, if we’re not properly connected to the Head, or if we don’t maintain the connections with others by doing our part, then there is absolutely nothing we can do that will produce growth. There is no program, no plan, no ministry, nor any book that can produce growth and maturity when those connections are broken.
If we’re going to grow into the Head, then we have to do it together. We need each other and we’re only going to be able to grow and mature like Jesus wants us to if we all do our part. So this morning, as we come to our response time, I want to challenge all of us.
• There may be some of you this morning who have never connected to the Head, Jesus Christ. You have never responded to the truth that he is the only way to God and you have never placed your faith in Him alone as your Forgiver and made Him the Master of your life. Please don’t leave here today until you’ve made that commitment. In just a moment, I’m going to lead you in a prayer that will be the first step in that lifetime commitment.
• There are some of you who have been coming here for some time, but you have never made the commitment to become a member of this church. That’s really the first step in doing your part within this local body. On the flap of your bulletin, there is a section labeled “My Decision Today” and one of the options there is “I want to become a member of Thornydale Family Church”. I want to ask you today to fill in the information on that tear-off flap, check that box and turn that in this morning. If you’ve already attended our Discovering Thornydale class, we’ll set up a time to meet with our Elders and if you haven’t, we’ll schedule a class at your convenience so that you can begin that process.
• There are some of you who are already members here at Thornydale, but if you make an honest assessment of your life in the body, you have to admit that you haven’t been doing your part. You haven’t been using what Jesus has given to you effectively and you realize that He has a place of ministry for you in this church. For you, I want to ask you to do one of two things. First, in the “My Decision Today” section on the bulletin flap, there is a place that you can check “Other”, and then indicate how you think God wants to use you for ministry within this body. Or you can pick up one of the green forms at the Visitor Center and complete it to indicate which ministry that you are willing to commit to being a part of.
So right now, I want to ask everyone to take out your bulletin and tear off the flap. Then I want you to at least fill out your name on the front part of that form. And then, in just a moment, as we have a time to respond to God, I want you to pray and ask God how He wants you to respond to Him today.
And then, if God leads you to respond to Him in some way this morning, I want you to check the appropriate box or boxes under “My Decision Today”. We’re going to take our offering in a little different way today. As Steve plays in just a moment during our response time, I want you to use that time to allow God to speak to you. We will not be passing the offering plates during that time because I don’t want anything to distract you from your time with God. Then the offering plates will be up here at the front while we sing our closing song and during that time, we invite you to come and bring an offering to God. That offering might be a financial offering, but it might also be an offering of your life – your time, your talents and your gifts – that is represented by what you checked off on the form in the bulletin.
Right now I want everyone to bow their heads and close their eyes. Right now I want to invite anyone who has never committed your life to Jesus Christ to do that. And I want to ask the rest of you who have already made that decision to be praying for those who are considering that decision right now.
If you would like to connect with God this morning through faith in Jesus Christ, then I’m going to lead you in a brief prayer. You can just silently repeat the words of the prayer after me. The words of this prayer are not magic, but if you mean them from your heart, then God has promised that He will make you part of His family.
Dear God:
I admit to you that I am a sinner and that my life doesn’t measure up to your holy perfection. I am sorry for my sin and I want to turn my life around. I am trusting that the death and resurrection of your Son, Jesus, is the only satisfactory payment for my sin. Based only on what He has done for me, I ask that He would be my Forgiver, and I commit to make Him the Master of my life. Thank you for adopting me into your family.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
