Stability in Christ

until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Ephesians 4:13-14

Over 20 years ago, I was a college student in Oxford, Mississippi when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Now, for context, Oxford is about 300 miles from the coast. But, in all respects, the experience of the storm making its way north was indelible. The physical event was wild: incredible flooding, trees uprooted, power outages, and roofs ripped off homes. We were 300 miles away from the storm’s landfall and it was still declared a federal disaster area by FEMA. 

Much more impactful, however, was watching my many friends from the Gulf Coast and New Orleans weeping at the destruction they experienced in their hearts. I had encountered a natural disaster, and it was powerful in physical form, but the emotional damage I witnessed in my friends’ lives was staggering. Many of my friends lost loved ones, and for what seemed like actual years, delayed funerals scattered our collective calendars. It was awful. 

Storms have a way of exposing that which is secure, and that which is not. Wind moves whatever is not firmly anchored. The Apostle Paul knew something of the power of wind and waves himself, having been shipwrecked during a storm off the coast of Malta a few years before penning his letter to the church in Ephesus. Led by the Holy Spirit and with that force in mind, I think his metaphor warns us against the power of false doctrine, human cunning, and deceitful schemes. Physical storms resemble things that are equally true in our spiritual lives. 

How, then, are we to spot these things Paul warns us about? How are we to know the difference between good and ‘almost good’? Throughout Paul’s epistles, he uses a very familiar manner of instructing us—he gives us an indicative, followed by its imperatives. A sort of “if this, then that.” In Ephesians, the first three chapters are the indicative reminder of the gifts we have received in Christ, of our spiritual blessings received by grace through faith. And he develops this Good News, in all its glory, for us to understand our blessing more deeply and to press it into our hearts. What follows in Chapter 4 and onward is the imperative—if we have received Christ, what then are we to do about it? How are we to go on living our lives? Paul’s contention nearly 2000 years ago is just as applicable to us today—that as a result of this life-changing Good News, we cannot possibly be the same, much less live the same. If we have been justified (Ephesians 2:8-10), then we must now be sanctified. 

Paul is unpacking the doctrine of sanctification by demonstrating its effects corporately and personally. He pushes us towards the inevitability of the “unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God” by showing us our role in it—our own spiritual maturity, our pursuit of holiness. He relates to our own physical and mental development from children to adults, urging us to grow up, as it were. 

What is the opposite of being children? To grow up. To advance, and to develop and to go on. It is something that is emphasized everywhere in the scriptures. As Christians… there should be evidence of maturity and development and growth in us, and those who know us can see it in us. It is a very sad thing when Christians do not grow… The growth of the Christian must be in all things- it is to be symmetrical. Not only in your mind and your understanding, but your heart and your feeling and your sensibility. Let us test ourselves in those things intellectually. Do we understand the Scriptures better? Have we got more knowledge of the truth than we had a year ago? Diagnostic questions can be so telling.¹  

Notice that Paul does not tell every one of us to go to seminary or study apologetics—though some will, and praise the Lord for that. Instead, he urges us towards what we are all called to: maturity in Christ and a path of discipleship. His letter to the Ephesians is showing us that stability for Christians comes through knowing Christ and maturing in Him. Paul carries his message from verses 13-14 to the remainder of the letter, giving us an instruction manual towards putting on our “new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (v.24) 

Because we are sanctified in Christ Jesus, fellowship with Him is a primary goal of the gospel. Said differently, holiness is not only a task but also a gift. It is not only a calling but also a reality evoked by God’s declaration. It is not only the vocation of the Christian, but it is also integral to the inheritance enjoyed in Christ. Holiness is an expectation from us as well as a startling result of God’s election of us.² 

Growing up into holiness is a cooperative work between the Lord and us. By His grace, He has given us much to aid in our task—certainly Scripture and prayer, but also our brothers and sisters in Christ. He has also given us the church! Paul never imagines believers maturing in isolation. The very gifts Christ has given to us also exist for the building up of the body. As Paul develops his instructions, he gives all in the context of unity in the church. We have our church family to walk alongside us, to build us up, to guard us, and to love us. As our Pastor Rob Rucker preached recently, “The question is not if we belong to each other—we clearly do—but rather, will we live like we do?”

The Epistles of the New Testament are filled with warnings against false teaching and how we combat it through spiritual growth. Storms will always come, and deceptive winds will continue to blow. But believers who are anchored deep in Christ, nourished by His Word and strengthened within His Church, need not fear being swept away. 

 

 

END NOTES:

1. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “Growing Up”, Ephesians 4; originally preached Jan 12, 1958, Westminster Chapel. Mljtrust.org, Sermon #4118.

2. Michael Allen, Sanctification, New Studies in Dogmatics (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2017), 29, 34.