Latest / Accidental Bible Scholar / Eph 4:1-16
Transcript
- Jeff Ward: Hello, welcome back to the Accidental Bible, Bible Scholar podcast. We're glad you're listening. You can help by hitting subscribe or like or making comments. Those are all welcome. We probably won't do too much responding to comments. If you do want a response from us or you have comment or something constructive or criticism, whatever you've if you email us at contact ⁓ at accidental Bible scholar podcast, then we will reply to that and we'll hear it. We're Amazon Music, in addition what you've seen before, and iHeartRadio. Those two new ⁓ places our podcast at. So we've been through Ephesians 3. We start Ephesians 4 today. This will be two podcasts, I would expect, on Ephesians 4. And then we move on to 5 and 6. Obviously some good stuff coming up with marriage, parenting, and then spiritual warfare in chapter six. Those are going to be very good. Okay. Without further ado. All right. Ephesians chapter four. So, so far in the first three chapters, they're both, we've really looked at the things that Christ has accomplished for us. The attributes that are now ours, like being blessed with every spiritual blessing. being holy, being lavished grace upon us, seated at the right hand of the Father, and that whole list that we've talked about a couple of times. So now we're going to kind of come to what most people might call this the practical part of it. And I understand that terminology, I don't like that terminology just because it's still not about us. It's still about Christ. So this is now what I would call kind of our assignment. some of our assignments that we have and some of the tools the Lord has given us to come to those assignments. And then another thing, this is some of the fruit or the fruit of the reality and the truth about us in the first three chapters. Now it'll show itself as fruit in the last three chapters, whether it's being a parent, whether it's being a spouse, whether it's being a boss or a employee. And in this case, a churchmen or just how we relate to each other and then how we conduct spiritual warfare. So this is more of what we'll see what the fruit of what Christ has accomplished for us. it's the reason I like to call it practical in that, okay, now you go do this. It's not okay, now you go do this. It's okay. Now as you surrender to Christ, this is what he's gonna do through you. And as you're following him, this is where he will take you and how that should look if anybody's looking on. That's a different take on things. That's a non, hopefully a non-religious take on it. That's a grace-based, new covenant-based take on it. So anyway, that'll come to light as we go here, but let's just do... The First three verses there, chapter four, you don't mind. Okay. I therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, putting up with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. Okay, so coming out of all the first three chapters specifically, this comes right on the end of I pray. these things that you understand God's love, that you have a spirit of wisdom and knowledge and revelation, and that you'd understand the mystery of the gospel, that that would be worked out in your life. Now he's now going to show us, okay, I therefore, the prisoner of Lord, urge you to live wordily of your calling with which you have been called. So go do what you've been called and then do it with all these attributes, humility, gentleness, patience, love, unity, and and peace. So now this is the part of, but this is the part that I was kind of talking about in the intro. Don't hear this ⁓ Don't hear this as God saves me from hell. He provides for me and my family. He helps make the circumstances in my life not quite as bad as they would be without him. And therefore I'm going to do my part and this is my part. That's not what it is. It's, coming out of these other things that we just talked about, it's easy for our flesh and our... our ⁓ mind, if you will, if we don't fully grasp the things that we just talked about to enter into this transactional thought process. And that's that's what the flesh by itself, left unchecked, would gravitate toward. But what this is, is I'm seated the right hand of the Father. I am loved perfectly. I am blessed with every spiritual blessing. My cup runs over and everybody around me and my cup running over with this love and blessing now looks like this. That's what it is. It's not a transactional thing. now I got to do my part. No, this is what the things in first three chapters of Ephesians overflows ⁓ the world and just the unseen world, but flows out ⁓ of ⁓ ⁓ This is what it looks like. And that's what we're going to do for the next three chapters. So we'll try to keep that in mind. Remember, we have a calling. All of us have a calling. We're all gifted for that calling. And saying, as you live worthily of your calling, that it'll look like humility, gentleness, patience, love, unity, and the bond of peace. And I'd like to also remind us that, again, these are attributes produced or as fruit of righteousness, fruit of holiness, fruit of what it is like to have Christ living within us. I want to take a quick aside just to go to a different, almost the same thing in Colossians. Let's go read that real quick. Colossians 3, 12 through 15. If you want to read it when you get to it, that'd be great. Sure. 12 through 15? Yeah, 12 through 15. Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility. gentleness and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving each other, forgiving one another. If someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else, just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others. And to all these virtues add love, which is the perfect bond. Let the peace of Christ be in control of your heart, where you were in fact called as one body to this peace and be thankful. Okay. I want to step through this actually, cause this This captures a little bit of a nuance that Ephesians also captures, over a longer period of verses. This says, therefore, in light these facts, so in light of the facts that you are the elect of God, you're chosen of God, you are holy, holy means being you've been set apart to God and for his purposes, and you are dearly loved. So that's the facts that, verse 12, chosen, holy, dearly loved. Based on those facts, here's the fruit. results of those facts are you're clothed yourselves in a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another, forgiving one another, forgiving one another, just as the Lord has forgiven you. So that's the thing I want to bring and we're going to eventually get in next week, Ephesians 432 and 313, Colossians 313 and Ephesians 432 are the two ⁓ I memorized that says we forgive others because we are forgiven. So forgive others just as Christ, he forgave us. So in other words, since I am forgiven, I can forgive. Since I am loved, those who are loved much can love much. That's another Jesus, one of his, that's a paraphrase of a quote of his, but those who loved, those who are loved much can and will therefore love much. Same thing, forgiven. I've been forgiven far more than I need to forgive anybody has done to me to need forgiveness. So I can. overflow forgiveness out of me, out of my into them. And that's what those, those saying. I'm just pointing out some of the parallels here between Colossians three, but, and Ephesians four, but I just turned to here because it, it ⁓ states we're we're holy, we're dearly loved. And therefore here's point of that. Verse 15, I like this because it goes to what we've been explaining a little bit too. Let the peace of Christ be in control in your heart. See, if I have peace within, then I can have peace without. So. I don't have to to someone's behavior might be offensive to me had I not have this inner peace that controls my heart. goes, that's a different way saying what I've already been trying to say is that if I am fully loved, I don't need love from you, therefore I am unoffendable by you. And I am free to love you. This is saying, kind of something similar except it's not using the piece if i have peace with christ then my piece is based on him my piece is based on his work on the cross and what he did on behalf of me and the gifts that he's given me the grace that he has shown me therefore i don't i don't need to get been out of shape when somebody else is know saying something they shouldn't to me or or about me or i see you know something whatever If you are offended, or if we are offended, if we are agitated even, we're agitated or offended to the point that we have not denied ourselves, taken up our cross daily and followed Christ. So if we have no kidding, deny self-centeredness, put our sinteredness on Christ and let that overflow to others, then would be impossible for you to emotionally abuse me, it'd be impossible for you to offend me. Because you just can't. I just don't need that from you. So therefore you can't. I'm not vulnerable in that area. to the degree that you were offended by people, to the degree that you feel vulnerable to people, that is the degree that you have not surrendered yourself to Christ. That's a great barometer for us to use in our day to day life. So anyway, that's kind of the intro to chapter four. And then he's going, I mean, this First three verses, talk about Causton, just kind of repeat there. Let's keep going in verse four, five and six. Four, five and six. There is one body and one spirit, just as you two were called to the one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Okay, that wraps this up in complete unity. way, one hope, one church, one body. That to me would tell me that denominations are man-made. made by the Lord because we are to be totally one. There's a unity. Unity, if read this, ⁓ unity is something that we do. In other words, it's not something that we go out and make happen and work out. It is something that the Lord Jesus has already done. And we join in that unity. We may not all think the same. We may not all read our Bible the same. We may not all think, interpret every scripture the same, but we still are united in gospel of Jesus Christ, what he has done for us, what that means for us. God on a cross, resurrected, raised seated. That's who we are. He is the son of God, the way, truth and life. And a lot of the other stuff that people argue about. and create denominations over. saw my pastor at church tell me there were 30,000 denominations in the world. I was like, ⁓ my goodness. I was going say, we don't do this very well. 30,000. No, we don't. people who should and have the best chance to do this unity don't seem to do it very well. And Christ prayed in John 17 for our unity. It is a prayer request of Jesus Christ. The unity in the church is supposed to be miraculous to some degree. You know, the sad part or the, it will be unified one day. My guess is it'll be unified as a result of massive persecution and. You know, and other thing I would say, most of our theological ideas come from our tiny mind and not from our spirit of understanding the infinite, but from our mind. we just go, you know, I just can't hold enough things in tension. In other words, this verse and this verse don't seem to line up. they're wrong. I to pick this verse and diminish that verse. And then somebody on the other side of town does exactly the opposite. So therefore we can't worship together. but we are one. just don't act like it sometimes. But this is what Jesus prayed for. And here's the thing, we're not unified because we all think the same. That would be no miracle, right? There would be no supernatural power. There would be no need for Jesus to pray that. No, if got a hundred of us together and we all thought the same, we all had the same background, we all came from the same culture, we all voted the same, thought the same, shopped in the same place, wore the same thing. that's unity. ⁓ that wouldn't be a unity, But when bring in cultures from all over the world, different languages, different thought processes, different ways that we read the Bible, and if we can bring unity out of that, that's what Jesus prayed for in John 17 and what Paul is talking about here. So that's us as a unity. Now he's gonna talk about each one. He's gonna use the word but to each one. So. Can I say one more thing about the unity? Yeah. That is a indication to the world that we're the real deal. Yeah. And that what Jesus said in John 17, right? That they may know, that others may know. Yeah. Let them be in unity so everybody else knows this is the real deal. Yeah. Interesting. That makes it even sadder to know that disunity shows the world. That's not the real, it's just a club. Yeah. It's just an organization that I don't feel like I want to be a part of. There's no eternal value. It's not the real. That's what disunity shows the world because unity shows the world that it's a real deal. Yeah. Yeah. What you just said was, is, as I know, you know, is a John 17 prayer. Yep. Let them be one. that the world will go. Yeah. Okay. Good point. So donate there, young man. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says when he ascended on high, he captured captives. He gave gifts to the men or two men. Okay, to each one. So all believers individually have been given a given gift or gifts. it was by grace they were given. In other words, they're gifts. unearned, undeserved, not our choice, not our plan, but He has created us, designed us, and then supernaturally gifted us. And then He's going to, we'll look in a minute, but He's placed us in a church, in a position to then minister to those in and outside the church both. And puts here the measure, the gift according to the measure of the gift of Christ. So there is a measure of the gift. Notice this is the measure of the gift. ⁓ people may be given the same gift or same combination of gifts, but some are in different measures. So somebody may be gifted more so in one area than somebody else, but that same person may also be gifted in another area that this person is not. So there's a giftedness that fits everything together. He uses the picture of a temple, building a box cut and size just right or the picture of a body where each organ and each digit has a different function. Each limb functions differently, has different characteristics. As a quick aside, find it going off notes here, we're just saying about find it interesting. 1 Corinthians 14, 1, 1 Corinthians 12, 13, 14 talk about gifts. 1 Corinthians 14, 1, says we are to earnestly pursue the gifts, especially that you may prophesy. It's interesting that this says in other places that is a gifts are grace or gifts of grace, yet we are to earnestly pursue gifts. I don't have any words to fully reconcile those except for we are to be to graciously receive and then I think steward well, like we already talked about a couple of weeks ago, steward well those gifts while also pursuing Other gifts. So there is something about pursuing that the Lord then gifts us there where he wouldn't or he would not have said. Ernst and pursue love and the gifts, especially that you may prophesy. So many makes this quote from Psalm 68 that talks about he ascended on high captured captives, he gave gifts to the men. Yeah, gives to the minute ⁓ so. He ascended, we know he ascended to the right hand of the Father. He is above all, he's ahead of all there. And we're seated, we know from Ephesians two, we just studied that we're seated with him at that right hand. We are also in a position of authority. And he uses the word captives, captured captives. I think it's little bit of a play on word from 61 and Luke four. Luke four, Jesus is quoting Isaiah. ⁓ 61 he's saying the spirit of the Lord is upon me and he lists several things one of the things he lists is to set the captives free and and the prisoners free Here he's kind of using that same language only now. He's the one that's captivating or capturing nails, but it's not a It's like a rescue more than a captivating Yeah, because he's freed the captives in the prison captives now is somebody who's in bondage because of some then somebody else has done prisoners are there because of what they've done. And it's interesting that he freed both of us. He freed the ones that, and I'll be honest, we all earned it, right? I we should all be prisoners in a cell somewhere based on the sin we've committed. But he's freed us and he's freed also the captives. And this is kind of different as he's ascended, he's captured the captives as he's hunted us all down, like we've talked about in earlier sessions. right, let's go on next. What is... Yeah, nine to 10, please. Now, what is the meaning of he ascended, except that he also descended to the lower regions, namely the earth. He, the very one who descended, is also the one who ascended above all the heavens in order to fill all things. Okay, so he's ascended and he's descended. What's interesting, if you go read, I think it's John chapter three, he's talking as if while he was on earth, he was already ascending and descending. I don't know exactly what that means. It may mean to the point that he is seated or that he is, he's talking about his presence before the Lord and his presence on earth simultaneously. We are in the same boat as we are in Christ and Christ is in us So, and he's descended. His descendant is for what? To hunt us down. His mission is to seek and to save, to come and rescue us. Past tense, we have been delivered to the Father unblemished by cross. Present tense, he is still drawing us close to him. He is still teaching and training, discipling each of us. And now a little part there, Christ is above all, Christ is in all, and he is God. Flip over to Colossians 1, 15 through 20. Colossians 2, 9 and 10, I was gonna have you read that, but I'll just say that. It says that we've... talked about that a couple of sessions ago, but it says that Christ is a fullness of deity in bodily form and we have been filled in him who is the head over all. That's who he is, in all, for all, all is for him and Christ in all things. Very cautious one, 15 to 20, kind of a big segment, but go ahead. Okay. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. for all things in heaven and on earth were created in him. All things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers, all things were created through him and for him. He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him. He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in his son and through him to reconcile all things to himself. by making peace to the blood of his cross through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven. One thing that'd be interesting to do if you would print that out and just highlight all the words, things. And it's talking about it's over and over and over. Christ is all, Christ is in all. Christ holds all things together by his command. He is God himself that was. made a man and won back our rightful standing before the Lord. And then again in Colossians 2 he's the fullness of deity in bodily form. It's just this is Paul here and Paul in Colossians just iterating his greatness and who he really is while a man also God himself. see. Anything else on that before we go on? No. All right, let's go on to verses 11 through 13. And himself gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as and some as pastors and teachers to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, that is to build up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith. and of the knowledge of the Son of God, a mature person, attaining to the measure of Christ's full stature. Okay, a lot to be said there that I don't know how to put it all in language, first of all, he who gave a list five offices, five ministry positions within the church, it's apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. There's other places and we'll talk about a little bit that those are iterated in different forms and we'll go look at some of those here in just a second. I'm of the opinion that this is true as written. There's some and okay, they're differently. I got it. We can still be united. Think that apostles are gone. Think that prophets are gone. I happen to think that Jesus gave all five of these and I would think, and I think he still does. There's nowhere in place where what they needed to do is no longer needed. or that there's no place in scripture that says he doesn't do this anymore. is written to the church in Ephesus. It's one of Paul's last letters. Right. had started by certain by now. He doesn't say we're winding a few of these down. Somebody's you're going away. Yeah. And so I again, the best of my ability, just go with what the word says. If it conflicts with something else, that's fine. We'll just hold to. different ideas and intention, not that this conflicts with anything else, but some of the arguments I've seen against it are, to me, don't really hold water. For instance, let's just talk about apostles. Apostles is the biggest one. I would say that's the one that compared to prophets anyway, although it's usually the same theology that would say neither one exists. they said, well, we only have 12 and we only need 12 and the are used to write scripture and since scripture is done being written. The New Testament is finished being written. We don't need apostles anymore. So they went away. Well, I'm like, well, first of all, let's just take a look at that. If you just go through the New Testament, I count somewhere in the mid 20s of people that are called apostles. So it's not just the 12. Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ himself in Hebrews is said to be an apostle. So Jesus is an apostle. There are 12. We know of 13 because In Acts chapter 1, before the Holy Spirit came, they elected Matthias as an apostle. Well, then Paul was chosen by God on the road to Damascus to be an apostle, or by the church later on, depending on how you read that. I think he was probably both. And so is he the 12th one or is Matthias the 12th of those 12. It'll be interesting because we'll know because there's 12 thrones in heaven that had the apostles on them. So we'll know just, Matthias show up there is the apostle. Also their names are on the 12 gates of the new Jerusalem. Their names is on 12 different layers that the boundary fence is built on in the new Jerusalem. So those 12 names are, know, are 12 names. We know 11 of them. I think we're pretty sure. think it's Paul's the 12th one. So there is there, but then what about all the others that were listed? And all of that has already happened well past when Ephesians was written. So he's talking about that. But again, I count, I think James, his brother was an apostle. know, when Paul will write letters with two or three guys, he and Silas wrote a couple of letters. and Timothy wrote a letter. Some of them, there's three of them together where you count, but he uses the word a. apostles plural as those writing that letter. So at least two of the three on place of three. So that's where I get into the variations of how you count them. Yeah, I've heard somebody say 26. I've never gotten to 26 by counting them, but it's much more than 12 apostles in our New Testament. So you can't say what's just 12. Nothing they say, but we don't need it since we have scripture written. Well, this wasn't put together anywhere close to when this was written. And most of the apostles did not write scripture. Very few of them did. And you didn't have to have an apostle, be an apostle, to write scripture. Luke, as examples. So that to me, that doesn't really hold water. Same thing, quick side note, same thing with the prophets. The prophets are said, we don't need them prophets anymore since we have scripture. Well, the overwhelming majority of prophets, we don't even know their name. And they didn't write scripture. You know, Elijah, the last day before he went up to be with the Lord, he went around to, think, five different schools that had like 50 prophets in each. So I don't know, 200, 250, I some on the order of 100 prophets. We don't know any of their names. They even prophesied to him that day, to Elisha anyway, about Elijah. And we don't know their names and they didn't write any scripture. So anyway. I don't really find that. Barnabas, Paul and Barnabas in different place scripture are listed to three of these five. They, are apostles, evangelists not evangelists, apostles, prophets and teachers. You can find them listed the way. So we do know that you can be more than one of these five. It's not just one. anyway, don't want to spend too much time on that, but can you define an apostle? Yes. prophet. Yeah, an apostle is, apostle literally means sent one. So to me, and I think I'm gonna cover this later, but I'll just come right now and I'll look at my notes and brush them up later if I forget something, but means sent one. What is that for us today? Well, think sent one, the apostles are the entrepreneurs of the church. They're the ones that can go into a new area where the gospel's never been and they can operate and set up a church and preach the gospel. and disciple people and when they leave that area there's a church there that's fully functional. Gotcha. That's kind of the scent ones to me. think they're the entrepreneurs in that they don't they don't aren't able to work. They aren't able to tap back into their church necessarily. They have to be kind of on their own and be able to operate biblically like that. I think our missionaries today would be could be ⁓ seen as apostles and they certainly fulfill some of these roles. So I think they would be that. think church planners would be very similar to an apostle and probably is an apostle in fulfilling the functions of apostle. I think it's important that we call them apostles? No, not necessarily. But these are five offices and five functions that happen. Prophets, prophet is, that's why I first Corinthians 14, one of the branches it says, not only are we to earnestly pursue love and the gifts, but also especially that you may prophesy. then the rest of chapter 14 talks about how prophecy and tongues fit into the church. And to prophesy means to speak God's word. So when you are, like we talked about last session, praying God's word speaking God's word, you are essentially prophesying. So a prophet would be somebody that speaks God's word. And we certainly need people to speak God's word in the church, still today. And somebody said, yeah, but they don't need to write. Well, most prophets in the Old Testament didn't write. Most prophets that I know of in the New Testament didn't write. mean, there are four young ladies in Acts that are said to be prophets. They didn't write any scripture. There's multiple prophets in Acts that Paul runs onto, or Peter runs on, Paul runs onto anyway that prophesied about them or different things. They didn't. We don't even know their names, I don't think. I know the four ladies, we don't know their names, or four daughters. We don't know their names. They didn't write any scripture. anyway, and then the pastor teachers, the it's written, people get interested in about that. There's a couple of places where I think it's first Corinthians 12 is where the four listed without pastors. it's apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers, and then miracles. and go healings and it goes, goes into more stuff there. But I read this as pastors and teachers as separate. I think all pastors are teachers, but I don't think all teachers would be pastors. So there is some overlap, but not, yeah, but they're different. And now come really probably the next important point is verse 12. Why do these exist? To equip saints for the work of the ministry to build up the body of Christ. go. So how do we normally see the church? We would see pastors and evangelists and teachers as people. We would say they do the work of the ministry. That's not what this is. This says these five offices equip the church members or the saints, the holy ones to do the work of the ministry. So the church is to do the work of the ministry and these five offices equip them, build them up. Equip means to make right. these five offices make the church right, then they go do ministry. It means to mend a net or it's used of a setting of a bone, to set the bone. So that's what these five offices do is to make right, to set, to mend. people's understanding so that the people of the church go do the ministry there. I put in why to equip, to what end to work the ministry, we already talked about that, to build up, to unity of faith of the knowledge of Christ, and then a mature Christian attaining to the measure of Christ's full stature. Again, this is God's word. It is written, I think this is what we are to grow up into. We'll talk about it in minute, up into the head, the full measure of Jesus Christ. This is the full measure of his stature. Most people ⁓ would, they of Christ-like, they think of just being moral and kind, right? This would tell us much more to walk in or to be in, to attain to the full stature of Jesus Christ. What does that mean? The reality of... of being in the full stature of Christ would be loving sacrificially. What I've described love at last couple of sessions. Where I love others to quote Jesus, love others as I have loved you. That's the Saint Grace commandment in the New Testament. Love others as I have loved you. So love sacrificially. would be one indication of somebody who's grown up into the full measure. That person would be somebody that loves without reservation. I think another one would be John 14, 12 through 14, doing the miraculous deeds and having your prayers answered in such a way that you, when you grow up in the hill, your mind's been renewed, in relation to 12-2, enrollment is 12-2, we can now understand God's will. We can test and approve God's will. We know what God's will is. And then we put John 14, 12 through 14, the action where that's requesting prayers or whether that's doing miraculous deeds. And then Matthew 10, seven, eight would be another one. Preach the kingdom of God is near, cast out demons, heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers. Those are five instructions, five commands that Jesus gave to his disciples. And then Matthew 28, he says, go into all the world making disciples, making sure that teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Matthew 10, seven through eight is one of those commands. We sell ourselves way short when we don't understand where Christ is wanting to take us and to go. And then we are set free to pursue that in the power of Holy Spirit. In this regard, let's go read, if you don't mind flipping over to 1 Peter 4, 10 through 11. So 1 Peter 4, 10 through 11. Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of the very grace of God. Whoever speaks, let it be with God's words. serves, do so with the strength that God supplies. Just are so that in everything God will be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever, amen. So we're to take these gifts, the gifts and use them for the benefit of others. The gifts. are for not for me, gifts are not for me, my gifts are for those around me. Your gifts are not for you though, for those around you. That's why he says also. We're to speak God's word. Isn't that interesting? We just had that discussion a little while ago in another session. We're to speak God's word. That's what 1 Peter 4, 10 through 11 says. So these gifts are given and they're given for others. Okay. We won't go there, but I'll mention a couple things. 1 Corinthians 12, 27 through 29 is another area talking about gifts and offices. Romans 12, four through eight is another. Those are not all inclusive. But those some other areas to give you. areas to work on or to look at, know, confirms apostles in there confirms prophets that's mentioning them. Okay. think that's all I'll go over there. Anything else? Nope. Okay. mean, yeah. Nope. Nothing else. It goes on. Keeps going. First 14 if you're, when you can get back there. Okay. Just 14? Yeah. So we are no longer to be children tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who craftily carry out their deceitful schemes. Okay. First of all, we're to grow up. Just grow Literally. Let's grow up. Yeah, let's just grow up. We are to grow up into Christ. Walking in the full stature. We're to be mature people. because there are treacherous, tricky, crafty people out there with deceitful schemes. That's one thing we take, that's just a fact. Paul says it. And so we're not supposed to be tossed back and forth by waves or carried along by stupid schemes the devil that have convinced people to speak dumb stuff out. So a grown up here or a mature person is not able to be tricked. They know what the doctrine is. They know what the word of God says and they just hold fast to it. In the end of, we don't go there, but in end of Hebrews chapter five and the first part, Hebrews chapter six is a section on mature. And it talks about some of the doctrines that are baby that are milk and some of the doctrines, I then the other doctrines you go on passage. says, let's go on passage. And he lists several things that are just basic that many of our churches spend all their time on because they got a congregation that won't grow up. They got a congregation that won't take their word and start and understand how to to consume it themselves. They want to be handed stuff. That's what a baby had to get. Baby gets handed a bottle. A bottle is full of milk. Milk is something that's already been processed by someone else. You know, meat is is food. It's food that you cut up and you feed yourself. And that's what grownups do. They open the Word of God and they, and they do the power of the Holy Spirit, the Word and the Spirit mixes as they, as they sit here, that very Word in the same, the same Word in the same Spirit that created in Genesis 1. It's talked about Psalm 33, 6, and of course, every place. It's the Word and the Spirit. that's what, that's grownups do. and they're not able to be true. tell you another thing as we're going back to these apostles back and the prophets and I'm just going to tell you what the Bible says. I don't want to argue about it. Romans 14, 1, Romans 14, 4, Romans 14, 22, 1 Timothy 6, 14, plus or minus a Timothy or two. Then there's a couple other places in 2 Timothy. They just say, don't argue about useless stuff. So I don't want to argue about anybody about this stuff. But Jesus said that a matter is established by two or three witnesses. I use that for the Bible too. What I mean by that is I don't I don't know that the Bible, since it's God's word, really requires two or three witnesses to establish a matter, but it almost always does. And for me, I'm not going to teach it unless I can see it taught or written and talked about in at least two places in the Bible. If it's only one place, I might use that. I might think through that, through the Holy Spirit, He may confirm that. so far anyway, I've never seen a need to teach any of that or even talk to it. Apostles and prophets in the church today are talked about in at least two places. That's why I gave it those other, 1 Corinthians 12 as an example. So for to ⁓ say, hey, two don't exist anymore based on some obscure verse somewhere, and it's the I've seen, obscure and you've got to read a bunch into those verses to come up with that. I'm just like, you know, you know, it's witnessed two places in scripture plus two places plus. So going to need two to three witnesses to go. that was then. This is now. Now it's different. Right. You just don't find that anywhere in scripture. Yeah. And so let's just be careful about dumbing down scripture, about canceling out scripture, about letting our pride get in the way of somebody that says they're an apostle or says they're filling the role of apostle. Let's just, let's just back off love as he loved, as we are loved, let's love. Now sound rocked, I'm not saying that, but this is the doctrine. And if it's in here, it is the word of God. anyway, that was kind of my last thing there, unless I bring it up again. But anyway, for now, that's my last thing. All right, let's read 15 and 16, then we'll stop there, 15 and 16. But practicing the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head. From him the whole body grows, fitted and held together through every supporting ligament. As each one does its part, the body builds itself up in love. Okay. Okay, not tossed back and forth as children, but practicing the truth in love. So this the contrast from what he's talking about of being children that just go with every breath of wind and follow every doctrine without understanding whether it's true or not and being now we're subject to trick trickery and deceit he's saying but practicing the truth in love notice it's truth in love it's not just truth if you're really in the truth it will produce love because the truth is you are fully loved i am fully loved that's the truth and that truth alone has fruit And if you're not loving others, then you haven't settled the truth of are you loved. Yeah. Okay. And result of that is what? We will in all things grow up into Christ. So exercising or practicing truth and love is the mechanism by which we grow up into Christ. Who is the head? ⁓ thing. Earlier we talked about being in the full stature. This is talking about growing up into Christ. First John will talk about walking in light as he is in light, walking pure as he is pure. being holy as he is holy. He's calling us to a level that most of us would say we can't reach. You're right on your own. So this, I'm a sinner, always a sinner, I'll never be a sinner, I'm probably a sinner right now, I don't even know it, come on. That's not what the word says. It says we can, by truth and love, practicing truth and love, grow up into Christ. We can walk pure as he is pure. There's only one kind of pure. not like an almost pure. And he's calling us to go there. There's There's nothing as in almost holy. Right. Or almost in the light. No. Walk in the light as he is in the light. Walk in holy as he is holy. Walk pure as he is pure. That's what we're called to. Grow up into Christ. And with that comes the power that we've already talked about in chapter three. Love is primary. It's the way we handle people. Believers first, then unbelievers. put here the church is a living organism that has Christ as its head and believers are the body. We are by nature being his body, we execute Christ the third authority on the earth as it is in heaven by speaking, praying and doing these things.