Ephesians 4:13

“... until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

The ministry or ascension gifts have been given to prepare God's people 4 works of service and to build up the Body of Christ (v. 12).

The end goal of these gifts is:

1. We all reach unity in the faith

2. we all reach unity in the knowledge of the Son of God.

3. we all become mature.

4. we attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

if anyone believes that the ministry gifts (particularly apostles and prophets) have been done away with, this verse should dispel that notion.

Christ's desire is that the church should be “a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish but holy and blameless” (Ephesians 6:27). The ministry gifts are a part of this process of the church becoming all that God wants it to be.

the unity in the faith that is God's heart for the church is not about a denominational structure that involves all Christians under one Pope. This is a unity that understands all christians share the same Saviour. We belong to the same family.

this is organic unity that allows differences in practice, in worship style, and in doctrinal emphasis, but brings a unified approach to ministry, mission, and oversight.

in the past (and in the present, too), the church has allowed doctrine to become a point of division. Denominations and movements have broken away because of convictions about beliefs. These have been understandable, but if “unity in the faith” means anything it must mean that God wants us to belong together even when we disagree.

Unity in the faith happens when congregations share together regardless of denominations. It happens when pastors meet together, pray together, and worship together.

at the local level, unity in the faith means recognising that there is one church in the town, that we are partners together in the gospel, and that God loves all of His people equally. It means that pastors and other ministers recognise the primacy of the local network over denominational loyalties and structures.

Unity in the knowledge of the Son of God is a growth in intimacy with the Saviour. The word for knowledge here suggests a process of growing into certainty.

this is not about doctrines so much as about relationship. As individuals grow in their knowledge of Christ (not knowledge about Christ), they will recognise that same perspective in others.

Those who know Jesus do not make judgements about appearances or denominational affiliation. The important thing is that we love each other because we love the Lord.

as we grow in the Lord, our love for Him increases our love for other believers .

this knowledge means we also know the ways of the Lord Jesus. As disciples, our aim should be to become more like Jesus. How can we do that unless we know him? How can we know him unless we give our lives to him as a living sacrifice? How can we know him unless we take up our cross and follow him?

as we join the fellowship of cross-carrying living sacrifices, we discover that all of our reasons for judging others fall away, and our reasons to encourage others become predominant.

The ministry gifts are to make us mature. There is a process of growth which is often misunderstood in the church.

some believers think that once you say the prayer, you've got to the place of maturity. This is the starting point of discipleship, not the endpoint. Some think the baptism in the Holy Spirit is the goal, but again, this is just a start in our relationship with the Holy Spirit.

in our biological development, maturity is a moving goal and is multifaceted. We may marvel at the maturity of a 15 year old, but if she is still the same at 45 years, we may wonder why there are no emotional, social, or physical changes.

We seem to tolerate a very low level of spiritual maturity in the church. Often there is no encouragement to grow in prayer, in the use of spiritual gifts, in knowledge of the Bible and so on. Yet the purpose of the ministry gifts is to bring all believers to this place of maturity.

a mature believer is a person who is becoming increasingly like Jesus. He or she will be a person who has the combination of both love for God and people, together with holiness. The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) develops in us the character of Christ, while the gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:7-10) give us the ability to minister as Christ did.

a mature believer is someone who is growing in love for God. A significant portion of their time is spent in prayer, reading scriptures, worship, and service.

the final goal of the ministry gifts is that we all attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. This means that we recognise that Christ is all and that He is in all things. It means that we put Christ at the centre of all we do, of every relationship, of our work, of our family, of our church.

the fullness of Christ is not a measurement of a quantity, but a posture of the heart. In this place, I recognise that I am a child of God, a bond-servant of Christ, and that everything I do is for Him and to Him. I have dedicated my life to Him and now I live only for Him. I have died to myself and I am living to Him.

this does not mean that we are absolved of all the normal duties of living in a community. We still have family duties, but this is for Christ. We still serve in the church, but this is for Christ. We still work, but this is for Christ. We still eat and drink, but all of this is for Christ.

the goal of Christ is that we all move forward together. Not everyone will be at the same place of maturity or unity in faith, so in that sense the work of ministry never finishes.

key points in this verse:

• ministry gifts are to bring all the church to maturity which includes unity and knowledge of Christ.

• unity in the Faith is an organic unity, not a structural unity.

• god wants us to be united in our knowledge of the Son of God.

• Maturity comes as we seek to put the Lord at the centre of all we do.

• the measure of the fullness of Christ mean that Christ is everything to us.