11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Apostles- Those who were with and taught by Christ
Prophets-Those in the early church who would reveal Gods will to them before the Bible was finished
Evangelists-Those who spread the gospel to the lost
Pastors and Teachers- These are listed together in the Greek. Comforting and guiding and instructing. This implies a settled congregation unlike the others mentioned.
Vs 12
Why we have the gifts, 2 reasons the ministry and the church
Vs 13 as the gifts are used
The church enjoys unity
The church perfect man (mature man) (spiritual mature)
The Church enjoyed all the fullness of Christ.
longer be children- easily confused
by the trickery of men-False teachers
truth in love- Vs 1-3
the head—Christ-He gives the ability to grow and also is the goal of the body
every part does its share-For this to work we all need to do our part
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
no longer be children- This is where we start as children but we should grow, and we do so by using our spiritual gifts.
every wind of doctrine- The idea here is that children are carried away by any kind of teachings. The idea is one who has no control of where they go.
trickery of men, cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting- The way cheaters gamble
speaking the truth in love- Speaking is better understood as following and holding. We follow the truth of God but we do so in the light of love. Without sacrificing love.
grow up- move from being children to adults.
whole body- The Church
every joint supplies- Everything working together
effective working by which every part-Everything in working order, by the grace God gave us.
the fingers, the hand, the elbow, the mouth, the teeth, the jaw, the throat, the stomach.
growth of the body- We grow when we work together using our gifts.
edifying of itself in love – This is how we grow, in love, Love is the application of the knowledge of God, by the using of our gifts.
17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
Therefore- The use of our gifts, the growing in love all for unity, looking back at vs 1-3
testify in the Lord- Declare, proclaim
no longer walk- This points to the fact that we did walk in these ways before but now we do not.
futility of their mind- wasting our minds on worthlessness
understanding darkened- This is better understood as there perceptions are darkened… Think about evolution
alienated from the life of God-Because they are wasting there minds and are darkened in there understanding
ignorance that is in them- Lack of knowledge of God
blindness of their heart- Because they reject God
being past feeling-Sensitive to the things of God
given themselves over to lewdness- give over totally to sexual lust, no standards
look at the world today
all uncleanness with greediness- There sin grows with no stopping it
First Baptist Church Delmar 