“The Just Shall Live By Faith”
New King James Version Written by: David Hicks
Romans 1:17 “ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."
Galatians 3:11 “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith."
Hebrews 10:38 “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."
“Articles of Faith”
The Church of Christ
(A Study in Ephesians)
Lesson 16 - The Goal and Production of the Work:
Just as there are specific tools given the church, there is also a specific work that is to be achieved. We discussed the parameters of this work in our last lesson. In this lesson we want to look at the goal of our efforts and exactly how the work is to be achieved.
Text:
Ephesians 4:12-16
“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.”
Note: Verse 13 begins with a preposition (till) and denotes the termination of something. It simply means that some of the things that have been given to the church as tools are temporary until the accomplishment of the things mentioned in this verse. This was the same preposition that was used to denote that Mary did not know Joseph ‘till' after Jesus was born ( Matthew 1:25 ). When something was complete, things changed!
This is a direct reflection on the spiritual gifts, the office of the Apostles, and the work of the prophets. As we already studied, Spiritual gifts were temporary until the written word was complete. The work of the Apostles was provisional as was the work of the prophets as it was culminated into the written word. This is why the written word is so vital to man today. It is the conclusion of the work of the Apostles and prophets in bringing us to a complete creature; note:
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete , thoroughly equipped for every good work .”
2 Timothy 2:1-2 “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also .”
2 Timothy 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth .”
The sum of completeness in spiritual advancement, wisdom, and knowledge has been perfected in the written word. It leaves nothing out; there is no need for any further revelation, all has been delivered that righteousness may be achieved by the man of God!
Four Things:
I. The Unity of the Faith.
In verse 5 , Paul declared that there is one faith (as a fact of unity); therefore it is always a unit. It is the product of the Gospel's message ( Romans 1:5; 10:17 ). The thought is that all professed disciples would come to or embrace that unity.
II. Knowledge of the Son of God.
Since all kinds of knowledge are desirable, Paul is specifying the kind that is desired by those who are interested in the goals set by their King. Knowledge of the Son of God is to understand the authority that God has given Him over the church and to humble ourselves to His will.
III. A Perfect Man.
This is a figure of speech verses actual perfection. It has reference to full-grown, mature, or complete. It is in direct contrast to that of a child, which is the designation given those directed by spiritual gifts. It is given specifically to denote the difference between the time of spiritual gifts and that of the complete word (the same designation as we read in II Timothy 3:16-17 , in terms of what the God breathed scriptures would do for the man of God and the church).
IV. Stature of the fullness of Christ.
Stature refers to both age and size of a person, it is therefore a fitting illustration of the subject at hand. Fullness of Christ denotes that completeness of spiritual advancement that Christ has made possible through the complete New Testament.
• These four things are the desired goal of the work of the church. In them we see everything that we are attempting to achieve as citizens of the kingdom of heaven. Note that these are spiritual goals and that it has not been given to the church a goal of incorporation, world benevolence, or secular government.
Verse 14-15 : These two verses are given to advance the understanding of the benefit of written word verses spiritual gifts. ‘No longer', denotes a change of status and ability that the written word would give to those who advance by the knowledge therein. The written word would allow us to grow up into Christ. Note that this also tells us the desire of Christ that all those who are of His body are expected to use the word and grow thereby.
Production: So how does the church accomplish all that has been given it? How does it achieve maturity? The last verse of our text is probably one of the most informative verses given in Apostolic teaching. So let's analyze it very carefully!
‘ From Whom ' means from Christ who was named in the preceding verse as the head of the body.
‘ The whole body ', denotes that if any part of the body is removed from the head, a state of ill health or death will develop. The rest of the body thus is animated by the head to act in the direction given.
‘ Knit together ', means that all the members have been properly placed together by Christ. This is the same thing that Paul said to the church at Corinth , note:
1 Corinthians 12:18 “But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.”
It is also a continuous process as we discussed in the work of the church from verse 12 (perfecting of the saints).
‘ Every joint supplies '; the joints are the members of the body, and the phrase clearly teaches that each member of the church is expected to contribute something toward the edification of the body. Any member that fails to contribute whatever they can toward the advancement of the church is a dead joint and that is a detriment to the production of the body of Christ.
‘ Effective working ' shows that a successful body is working together (all the parts), according to the ability of each of the parts. Notice that the joints are not just working, but effectively working. This would indicate that they are educated joints and work more efficiently because they know exactly what is expected of them. In addition they have seen the needs of the body and have trained themselves to achieve what is needed.
Many teach to just do what you can, and although eventually that is all you can do, however, it gives the impression that you cannot be trained to do more. You must consider that maybe you do not know yet all that you can do. Thus, it is vital that you train yourself in every aspect of the needs of the body (teachers, preachers, pastors, deacons, worship leaders, examples, benevolence, etc…). It is so vital that all the members of the body reach maturity and fulfill all the needs of the body so that it may grow in edification, and love.
‘ Causes Growth '; when all of this process is observed, it will result in the increase of growth of the body, and it will be edified or built up in love for the Head and for each other as members of the same body.
Next: “ Put on the New Man ”