Bk – Building Up the Body of Messiah 4: 12-16

Building Up the Body of Messiah
4: 12-16

Building the Body of Messiah DIG: How is Messiah the “head” of the Church? What are the three parts of God’s plan to build up the Body? What are five results of following God’s pattern for building up the Body? What are some other ways of illustrating Paul’s point?

REFLECT: What keeps believers from exhibiting humility, gentleness, and patience with one another and becoming one as Paul instructs in this passage? What are the four tools for your spiritual growth? Are you using all your tools? Are you growing in your faith with Yeshua?

Love is the main building block of the Body of Messiah.

The gift of shepherd/teacher (to see link click Bj – Shepherds and Teachers) is so important that Rabbi Sha’ul gives more details of their job description. Most shepherds/teachers do a large part of the work of ministry, but that is actually not their top priority. Their time is used much more efficiently when he equips his congregation to use their spiritual gifts and perform the details of the ministry. This is a profound thought and a principle taught to Moshe long ago (see the commentary on Exodus Cw – Moses and Jethro). When acted upon, it will save the shepherd/teacher from burn out. The results of this balanced philosophy of ministry will be that all the members of the Body of Messiah will grow in faith and become mature ministers in His holy work.¹⁶⁵

Equipping: The task of a shepherd/teacher (see Bj – Shepherds and Teachers) is to equip God’s people (4:12a). The first task within God’s design is for the evangelists and shepherd/teachers to be properly equipping believers. The evangelist’s work is to bring men and women to understanding of the Gospel of salvation, to lead them to receive Yeshua Messiah as Lord and Savior and thereby become children in His spiritual family and citizens of His divine Kingdom. The shepherd/teacher’s subsequent work, then, is to provide leadership and spiritual resources to cause believers to be conformed to the likeness of their Lord through continual obedience to His Word and to provide a pattern, or an example, of godliness (First Thessalonians 1:2-7; First Peter 5:3).

ADONAI has given four basic tools, as it were, for the equipping of believers. The most important is His Word, the Bible (Second Timothy 3:16-17; John 15:3). The second tool is prayer. The shepherd/teacher is responsible to prepare himself and to lead his people to prepare themselves in prayer (Colossians 4:12-13). The third tool of equipping is testing and the fourth is suffering. These are primary experiences by which the believer is refined to greater holiness (James 1:2-4; First Peter 5:10; Philippians 3:10; Second Corinthians 1:4-5).¹⁶⁶

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You so much for your wonderful gift of prayer! Thank You that You are never too busy to listen to my needs. How awesome that You desire to live with me and to never leave me. For God Himself has said: I will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5c). To have You by my side to help and to guide me is such a great privilege.

Prayer is so helpful during the trials of life. How encouraging it is that You are always there to guide and to comfort. I never go thru a trial alone, for You are there with me. I praise You for being omniscient, knowing all including what will happen in the future (Daniel 2 and 7). That means that when I need to know what path to take, or what to do in a difficult situation, You know both the hearts of all those involved and you also know what will happen in the future. When I listen and follow Your advice in Your Word I know that I am following the wisest path. There will still be problems and pains in this life, but as I focus on spending all eternity with You – I rest easy! For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18).

Making time to praise You is such a wise use of time, for praising both pleases You and encourages our own heart. Praise to You for You are Holy, Almighty, All-powerful, All-wise, our Forgiving Savior and Loving Father! I love You and rejoice in following You in all I do. In Messiah Yeshua’s holy Name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Service: The second part of God’s plan to build up the Body of Messiah is the work of service (4:12b). No shepherd, or even a large group of gifted leaders, can do everything a Messianic congregation or church needs to do. No matter how gifted, talented, and dedicated a shepherd may be, the work to be done where he is called to minister will always greatly exceed his time and abilities. His purpose in God’s plan is not to try to meet all those needs (see 4:16a below). Obviously the leaders share in serving, and many of the congregation share in equipping, but God’s basic design for the Church is the equipping done so that the believers can serve each other effectively. The entire congregation is to be aggressively involved in the work of the Lord (First Corinthians 15:58; First Peter 2:5, 9, and 4:10-11; and contrast Second Thessalonians 3:11). When leadership is faithful in prayer and in the teaching of the Word, the people will be properly equipped and rightly motivated to do the work of service. This is the work of every believer. Attendance is a poor substitute for participation in ministry.

Building up: The third element and immediate goal of the Body of Messiah is it being built up (4:12c). Building up (Greek: oikodome), literally refers to the building of a house, and was used figuratively. Of any sort of construction. It is the spiritual edification and development of the Ephesian church of which Paul was speaking here. The Body is built up externally through evangelism as more believers are added, but the emphasis here is on its being built up internally and spiritually as all believers are nurtured to fruitful service through the Word. Rabbi Sha’ul’s encouragement to the Ephesian elders emphasizes this process: I commend you to God and to the Word . . . which is able to build you up (Acts 20:32). The maturation of the congregation is tied to learning of, and obedience to, the Scriptures. Just as newborn babies desire physical milk, so should believers desire the spiritual nourishment of the Word of God. Be like newborn babies, thirsty for the pure milk of the Word (First Peter 2:2).¹⁶⁷ There are five results of following God’s pattern for building up the Body of Messiah.

Unity of faith: As the Church is built up, it is unified. Until we all arrive at the unity implied by faith (4:13a). The ultimate spiritual target for the church begins with the unity of faith. Faith here does not refer to the act of salvation or of obedience, but sound biblical doctrine (see below). Faith is the content of the Gospel in its most complete form. As the church at Corinth so clearly illustrates, disunity in the church comes from doctrinal ignorance and spiritual immaturity. When believers are properly taught and when they use their spiritual gifts and serve faithfully, unity of faith is the inevitable result. Only a biblically equipped, faithfully serving, and spiritually mature church can arrive at the unity of faith. There can never be any unity in the church apart from doctrinal truth.

Knowledge of Messiah: The second result of following God’s pattern for building up the Body of Messiah is knowing the Son of God (4:13b). Paul is not talking about salvation knowledge, but about the deep knowledge (Greek: epignosis, meaning a full knowledge that is correct and accurate) through a relationship with Messiah that comes only through prayer and faithful study of, and obedience to, God’s Word (Philippians 3:8-10 and 12). Growing deeper in knowing the Son of God is the process of sanctification and takes a lifetime. It will not be complete until we see our Lord face-to-face (John 10:27).

Spiritual maturity: The third result of following God’s pattern for building up the Body of Messiah is spiritual maturity, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Messiah (4:13c ESV). ADONAI’s great desire for His Body is that every believer, without exception, be conformed into the likeness of His Son (Romans 8:29), reflecting the full and complete standard of Messiah. Therefore, we are called to walk in the same manner as He walked (First John 2:6; Colossians 4:12), and He walked in complete and continual fellowship with, and obedience to, the Father (Second Corinthians 3:18).¹⁶⁷ But because of our sin nature (Romans 3:23), spiritual maturity is neither instant nor automatic; it is a gradual, progressive, life-long process. The Bible says that when we are finally able to see Yeshua perfectly, we will become perfectly like Him (First John 3:2 NLT). We were created to be like Messiah.¹⁶⁹

Sound doctrine: The fourth result of following God’s pattern for building up the Body of Messiah is sound doctrine. Part of maturity is being able to evaluate different claims about truth, and to reject those that are unworthy of the Gospel, and to embrace those of God’s truth. We will then no longer be infants (4:14a). Building up the Body of Messiah means growing into maturity, a progressive development out of the condition of being spiritual children. Here Paul makes an analogy between physical development and spiritual development. As with one’s physical birth, there needs to be a spiritual birth. This was the point that Yeshua discussed with another famous rabbi of the first century (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Bv – Jesus Teaches Nicodemus). After one’s birth, there is the time to grow. An infant moves from the crib, crawling, then to toddling, as he begins walking. It is this analogy that Rabbi Sha’ul brings in his word of encouragement. The Ephesian believers, both Jewish and Gentile, had been born of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, but the time had come for them to move on beyond spiritual infancy. It is understandable for a baby to throw some of his food off of his plate, but it’s totally shocking to see a grown man do the same thing. Yet, there are believers who never grow beyond their infant stage. Paul wants them to know they should grow up. Do not be tossed about by the waves and blown along by every wind of teaching, at the mercy of people clever in devising ways to deceive (4:14b). There is a bit of irony in the Rabbi’s encouragement here. He had just highlighted the importance of good shepherds and good teaching to the Ephesians above. But evidently some of them were all too willing to accept some counterfeit teaching that was not correct. They are said to have opened themselves up to some clever people who were skilled at deceiving the ignorant. As a result of not listening to sound doctrine, they found themselves blown along by every wind, like a rudderless ship in a storm. The waves were causing them to be tossed about as if they lacked the foundation of good biblical teaching from the Scriptures.¹⁷⁰

Speaking the truth in love: The fifth and final feature that is primarily a requirement, and yet also a result of following God’s pattern for His Body will be in direct opposition to being tossed, carried away, tricked, and deceived by the schemes of the Adversary, namely, speaking the truth in love. Much of our growth as believers doesn’t come from sitting in a classroom, but from experiences where we see mature believers speaking the truth in love. We will in every respect grow up into Him who is the head, the Messiah (4:15). In contrast to the deceptive message of false teachers, the Ephesians were encouraged to live in the truth of Yeshua and the purity of the Good News. This truth was not only good for their own spiritual life but it would also have a positive impact with those around them.

What is the basis of this truth? A rabbinic midrash illustrates it well where it is pointed out that the word truth (Hebrew: emet) comes from the letters and are first, middle, and last in the Hebrew alphabet (alef, mem, and tav). This is said to be a reminder that all truth comes from God, the first, middle, and last things (Genesis Rabba 81.2). Yes, we must communicate the truth of ADONAI, but we must do it in a loving manner. It does no good to berate people with the truth. We might drive them away further. But our calling is not to compromise the truth of God as we let it shine through our loving spirit. We need both elements in balance: truth and love. By doing so, the Apostle says that we will grow up in Messiah.¹⁷¹

In our physical health, we understand how important wholeness is. Problems in one part of the body affect other parts. Likewise, under ADONAI’s control, the whole Body is being fitted and held together by the support of every joint, with each part working to fulfill its function (4:16a). The spiritual Body of Messiah is fitted together in such a way as to be beneficial to us and to bring glory to YHVH. He is the one who gives the required gifts (see Bf – The Gifts of Messiah to His Church) and holds us all together. He even provides the nutrients for the healthy movement of His Body, down to the very joints of the skeleton. We do things God’s way, Sha’ul says that each part will fulfill its intended function, resulting in a strong spiritual body.

As if to emphasize the point, the Rabbi asserts that love is the main building block for the Body of Yeshua. This is how the Body grows and builds itself up in love (4:16b). This was just as important a word for the first century Messianic believers of Ephesus, as it is for us today. Am I growing in my faith in Yeshua? Have I discovered my spiritual gift(s), and am I using them within a local Messianic congregation or church? May we, like the Ephesians, receive the teaching of Rabbi Sha’ul and apply it in a dynamic way as we press on in Messiah.¹⁷²