Ephesians chapter 4, and we'll read from verse 1 in this chapter. Ephesians chapter 4, reading at verse number 1. Let us hear God's Word. I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore, he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men, that he ascended, what is it, but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth. He that descended is the same also that ascended up for above all heavens that he might fill all things. And he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of man and coming craftiness whereby they lie and wait to deceive. But speaking the truth in love may grow up into him in all things, which is the head even Christ, from whom the whole body fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." And we know that God will bless this reading of His own infallible truth And we come today to verse 12 of this chapter. So let's just open the Bible there. Let's just bow for a moment's prayer, seeking the Lord's help and blessing as we come to His own Word. O God, our Father, we pray that Thou wilt meet with us and bless us here as we come to the message that Thou hast given for this time. May the Holy Spirit Himself draw near And, O Lord, may our hearts be blessed and indeed edified as we consider that very subject. We pray, Lord, for help from Thee, and may Christ be magnified, we pray in His name and for His eternal praise. Amen. Ephesians 4 and the verse number 12. We are, of course, breaking into a sentence there, and it reads, For the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ. Paul's favorite description of the Christian church is this metaphor of the body. In the verses that I read with you today, you will find that it is used four times altogether. And as we have noticed in recent messages, this term, the body, used of the church of Jesus Christ, is employed quite frequently. in the writings of the Apostle Paul. Now, it's very easy to notice the relevance and the wisdom of the Apostle's use of this metaphor in connection with his teaching on the headship of Jesus Christ with regard to his church. Christ is the head of all things in the entire sense, but he is the head of the church in a special sense. He is her head as her mediator and her Savior. He acts on her behalf in the entire work and scope of His redemption that was accomplished for her sake. And therefore, as her mediatorial head, it is fitting that the church should be called His body. Because as the head, the mediatorial head, The Lord must have a body. The whole theme, the whole idea of redemption would be meaningless unless this figure is carried through the whole way. And that is, since Christ is called the head, then there has to be a body. There has to be that company whom He redeems and whom He rules over and therefore who are called His body and are treated by Him in the way that that very term signifies. Our study on this idea or this truth of the church being the body of Christ brought us to see that the church is described as His fullness in that sense of being His body. We saw that at the end of Ephesians chapter 1, where you read these words, the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him, that filleth all in all. Now, the word fullness simply indicates that the church is the complement of Jesus Christ. The church, as His body, completes Him in a very real sense. The church, you see, is the special object of His love. She is His instrument in this world for the execution of His purposes. and his plans for the ingathering of all his people. And therefore, he, the head, and the church, the body, are joined together as one, with all believers being the members of that mystical and that spiritual body, which is characterized, as we saw, by two features, unity and diversity. One body many members, each with his own position and each with his own ability, functioning then within the body, carrying out the will of the Lord, doing what he wants, and seeing his will brought to fruition for his glory. and for his honour. These are some of the things that we have covered already in this particular study. Now, as we come today to the verses that we have read together, we must realise, and it is emphasised for us here, that in order for the body to function as it should under these features of European diversity, there must be the edifying of that body. And that is essentially the theme that is set before us in our text and indeed in the entire passage that we read together. Notice in verse 12 those words, the edifying of the body of Christ. The word edifying literally means to build a house. But in the sense that it is used here, and also in other texts of the same kind, it is pointing to the spiritual growth, the spiritual development of character, that is, spiritual character, of course, among God's people. And, of course, when spiritual character there will be the building of character altogether in those who are the object of the Saviour's love and the grace of God. So the edification of the body of Christ is the whole company of believers growing and maturing and developing in things that have to do with spiritual life and godliness and the things of Christ as a whole. Now this reference here in verse 12, to the edifying of the body lies against the backdrop of Paul's reference to Christ as the head of the church, having accomplished redemption, and then having ascended up on high, at the thought of which he then gives gifts unto his people. Look at verse 8, and it's stated there, wherefore he saith, when he ascended up on high, and those words signify that His work is done. And therefore, since His work is done on earth, He went up to heaven. He ascended up on high. But here's the reason why. To give gifts unto men. Not to men in general, of course, but unto His own people. And then the connecting verse is verse 11. And He gives some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers. For what purpose? For the edifying of the body. So the Lord Jesus died, He arose from the dead, He ascended to heaven, He's seated at the right hand of God, He's there continually bestowing gifts upon His church for this very purpose of heredification. Now some of those gifts mentioned in verse 11 are temporary, some are permanent. I want just to comment on that in passing. And indeed may I also say that this is not an exhaustive list. of all the gifts that the Lord has given His church, or all the abilities that He has bestowed upon the members of the body. It is not exhaustive. It mentions here just some, and as I say, they are divided into two groups. It mentions the apostles and the prophets. They were temporary offices. They no longer exist in the church of Jesus Christ. They were given, you see, in that early era, in the first century, for the purpose of bringing divine revelation to a close in the form of the New Testament. And when the New Testament was complete, and therefore the canon of Scripture was closed, there was no more need for the apostle or the prophet than it mentions the evangelist in this 11th verse. Acts 21 verse 8, for example, refers to Philip, the evangelist. The evangelist in the early church was a special office as well. He, that is, the one who was an evangelist, was one who actually accompanied the apostle. who served along with them in the great work of spreading the Gospel and developing the New Testament church by way of planting it in various places. And Philip stands out as an example. And remember this, of course, that that Philip whom I mention, or is referred to in Acts 21, verse 8, is not Philip the Apostle whom you read about in the Gospels. There are two Philips in the New Testament. There was Philip the Apostle and then there's Philip the Evangelist, specifically called that to indicate that particular ministry of pioneering, planting churches, working along with the Apostles. But then you see in 2 Timothy 4 verse 5, where Paul addresses a pastor, that is, Timothy, as a gospel minister who was laboring in the one place. He said to Timothy, do the work of an evangelist. What does that mean? It means that Timothy, as a minister of the gospel, who was of course to teach God's people and build up the flock, was also to be an evangelist. That's very important because that means that while there was this special evangelist in the early church days, like Philip, involved in the spread and development of the New Testament church in those times, there is the constant office of the evangelist incorporated right into the gospel ministry, the pastor of the congregation. He is to be an evangelist. Every minister who is worthy of that title or that Office is a man who not only teaches the sense of God, the things of God, but who from his pulpit will seek to win the loss for Christ and evangelize in his ministry. It was the opinion of Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, and I believe rightly so, that one of every two services on the Sabbath day should be evangelistic. and should have that emphasis in order to reach the unregenerate who come in under the sound of the Word of God. And that, of course, is in keeping with Paul's admonition to Timothy. Preach the Word. There's the teaching of the saints. Do the work of an evangelist. There is the evangelizing of the lost. And then you come here to that term at the end of verse 11, pastors and teachers. I don't want to get technical at all here, I'll simply state it. In the original language, it is clearly shown that the reference there is not to two offices, but to one. It reads essentially this way, the pastor-teacher. And it's emphasizing that here is the permanent office, the office of the ministry, the pastor-teacher of the congregation. The one who is also referred to in 1 Timothy 5 and verse 17, where Timothy refers to all the ruling elders, but goes on to say, especially they who labour in the Word and in doctrine. And therefore within the one office of the eldership, the New Testament eldership, there is a distinction between elders. There are the ruling elders, such as we have in this congregation. And there is therefore also the teaching elder, the one who is called here the pastor-teacher in this particular verse. And the outcome of all this is the edifying of the body of Christ. Going there to verse 12 now, it says, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Here's the vital matter we are focusing on today and perhaps again next week, and that is that these offices, whether the temporary ones so long ago or the permanent office of the ministry, they are all in order to the spiritual edification of the body, the church of Jesus Christ. And that's essentially what verse 12 is saying. All these terms are really dealing with the same thing. The perfecting of the saints, the work of the ministry, the edifying of the body of Christ. Dr. Charles Hodge, who wrote a commentary on Ephesians, a very valuable commentary, said this. He summed up this verse in this way, for the sake of the perfecting of the saints, Christ appointed these officers to the work of the ministry, to the edifying of His body. And what he's really saying is that the entire scope of ministry here has one particular goal, and that is the edifying of the body of Christ. And that brings us to our subject, therefore, the edifying of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, the spiritual body, the company of believers, The main focus here is on that, so that the body of the Lord Jesus, His church, will be equipped and will be fitted in order to function as she should, to His glory and to His praise and to His honor. Now, there are three simple thoughts I want to bring from these verses. that lie before us today, taking verse 12 really as a kind of a springboard to look at the whole passage. There are three points to look at here. I trust that the Lord will help us as we consider them. And may I say right now at the very beginning, as I set out to deal with these points, you need to follow carefully, very carefully, because this is not an easy passage of Scripture. to understand. So keep your Bible open and look with me as we come to these points. First of all, notice that the source of the edification is Christ Himself. Now I want you to go right down to verse 15 and connect the closing words of verse 15 with verse 16. The closing words of verse 15 are there. The head even Christ. Here's the Lord again in His role as the head of the body, the head even Christ. Now listen, from whom, those are the pivotal words, from whom the whole body. Then go right through the verse to the end of it, onto the edifying of itself in love. So you'll notice here, It's plainly seen that the Lord is the source of this edification that the body requires and that the body must receive. From Christ the head, the whole body, as it puts it there, receives the edification that she needs in order to her spiritual growth and her spiritual development. Verse 16, therefore, is actually describing the edifying of the body. Let's read verse 16. from whom the whole body, fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." May I say this right here, not for the purpose of putting you off, but for the purpose of explanation. This is one of the most complex statements that Paul ever wrote. But remember, it was written by inspiration of the Holy Ghost. And remember, while it's complex, it is essential that you and I understand it, because it is telling us of the source of our edification, that Christ Himself, from Him, the whole body is edified. He is the spring. He is the source. of this edification. This is what this verse is teaching. It's a difficult verse. If you read it over and over again, it begins to become more clear. I want to break it down into parts. and in that way try to help you to understand the verse and see how the Lord Himself is the source of our edification. Notice here that there is the spiritual life itself in view, the life that actually edifies us. Notice how the verse runs toward the center of the verse almost. Notice those words, that which. Every joint supply. Do you see those words, that which? Every joint supply of the words, that which, refer to what comes from Christ. It's a reference, therefore, to the actual spiritual life that comes from Jesus Christ, as a result of which there is this edifying of the body. Here is this spiritual life, and it's a parallel verse. I want you to turn to right now. That's Colossians 2 and verse 19. Colossians 2, 19. Look at that verse. Again, we're breaking into a sentence. We haven't time to read any other surrounding verses. We're just breaking into verse 19. Look at it. I'm not holding the head. Now, just start there with me. Colossians 2, 19. The head. There's Christ. From which? All the body, there's a whole body, there's a whole church, by joints and bands, listen, having nourishment ministered. So you keep that verse in mind as you read Ephesians 4.16, because this verse helps us to understand Ephesians 4.16. It helps us to see that not only is the Lord the source of our edification, but it helps us to see that this edification is really spiritual life coming into all the body and being dispensed to all the body. Notice the word that's used here in Colossians 2.19, the word nourishment. Isn't that a good word? nourishment ministered or nourishment supplied? Isn't it nourishment that the physical body needs? And here's the Lord taking that kind of language, using it of spiritual things, showing in this way that the spiritual life that's supplied by Christ is actually the nourishing of the entire body of believers. And my friend, very simply, and it is simple in the end of the day, this spiritual life, this nourishment, is the life of the Spirit of God. It is not some mystical, mysterious thing. No, not at all. It is simply saying that from Christ there is ministered or dispensed to the entire body the Holy Ghost. And He is the life of this people, of God's people. He is the spiritual life that is in view in our text and in the surrounding verses back in Ephesians 4. Look at Galatians 3 verse 5. Galatians 3 verse 5. Notice the words there. He that ministereth to you, the Spirit. You see the word ministereth there? It is the very same word as we are looking at in all of these other verses. where it refers to that which is supplied. It is the same word. And it talks here about the Spirit being supplied. Or if you want to look at another verse that helps us here, Philippians 1, verse 19, where it talks about the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. And again, it's the same word. So if you read Ephesians 4, verse 16, it talks about that which every joint supplieth. And the idea there is, of course, the union between the Lord and His people, the joint, and all the different forms of that union. And through all of that, that which we need is ministered, supplied, and it's nothing more, my friend, than the life of the Spirit, the Holy Ghost. being supplied to the entire body of believers. That takes me to say this. Go back to Ephesians 4.16, as we deal with Christ the source, the life itself is the Holy Spirit. And then look at this and notice that every part of the body receives this spiritual life. It goes on to say, look at the verse again, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part. Now just let us break up that little part of the verse, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part. Every part, that's every member of the body, every Christian is in view there. Then it says, the measure of every part. And the word measure contains the idea of capacity. In other words, what the Lord has planned for you to be in the body. We saw last week, we saw the previous week, something of this. In the body there are many members. Each member has his or her own ability or gift. There's something for every Christian to be and to do in the body of our Lord. Every part. And every part has its own measure. My dear friend, the capacity, the measure that the Lord gave to the elders in this church, He didn't give to everyone. You see the point that I make? Every Christian has a measure or a capacity given by Christ. That's what this means. So there's every part, and then there is the capacity of every part or member. And then it talks about the effectual working, according to the effectual working. And that simply refers to the life of the Spirit that operates in every part according to what God intends that part to be. You know, at the end of the day, it's really simple. You start to break it down. There is the spiritual life itself, that which is ministered and supplied according to the effectual working in the measure of every part. And then the third thing breaking down this 16th verse is this, that this supply of spiritual life to every part unifies the whole body. Look at how the verse begins almost. The whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplyeth." Now, take those terms. Fitly joined together. There is the truth of all the members of the Lord's body being fitted together, joined together. They are actually in one another. Isn't it true of the human body? Can I put it out? I think it was last week or the week before, your hand is not stuck on to the end of your arm. Your hand is part of your arm, and your arm is part of your shoulder, and your shoulder is part of your whole frame. We're fearfully and wonderfully made. And the same is true with the body of Christ. Dear Christians, see this. You're not a number tagged on. You're not an unknown entity merely added to a list. As a child of God, You are a living member and part of the whole body. And look at it, fitly, as it says, fitly joined together, oh, just as in the human body, all believers connected and joined in a marvelous union. That's the idea of the term. And then the word compacted. And this simply Adding to what the term fitly joined together means, because the word compacted means this, closely knit, brought together and held together. Now what's in view there? There's this, my friend, as the life of Christ, the Holy Ghost, coming from Christ, goes to every part according to its measure, according to what it needs, then the whole body is unified and knit together and compacted. The marvellous unity of the body of Jesus Christ, the body of the saints, is what happens here. Now, do you notice these terms? And then you see, as this life is supplied to all the parts of the body, and they're all knit together by it, it results in edification. The final words then of verse 16, and they say this, "...maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." And that statement at the end of verse 16 refers right back to what we see in verse 12, the edifying of the body of Christ. And here in verse 16, Paul in larger than this, he shows us the source. The source is Christ. The life is the life of the Spirit. Every part is every Christian with his or her place and capacity of need and measure. And then the life comes and unifies the whole body, and thereby the whole body grows and develops and is knit together and taken on and led forward by the marvelous work of the Holy Spirit. Now, what does all of that say to us? Because what I've been doing here, my friend, the whole way through already, is explaining what's the application. The application is very obvious, isn't it? We need to see how dependent we really are on the Lord Jesus Christ as the Head and on the supply of the Spirit that He gives. And not only are we to see how dependent we are on that, that should impel us to pray, Lord, The body, the church, can only be edified by the life of the Spirit. Therefore, Lord, give us Thy Spirit in greater measure and in greater abundance than we have ever known before. That's certainly one outcome, isn't it? For God's people here today to get before the Lord on a Monday night, for example, and begin to plead, O Lord, give us a fresh effusion of the Spirit. that the edifying of the body might go on and progress and develop, that from Christ the Head, from He who is the Source, there will be this tremendous supply of the Spirit of God. And I say we not only need to pray that this will be more and more so, but furthermore, we need to be very careful that we grieve not the Holy Spirit, and that we quench not the Holy Spirit, How can this body of believers here today be edified if we as God's people are not living as we should, not conducting ourselves as we should, not behaving toward each other as we should, not seeking to help each other as we should? How can we expect the Holy Ghost? to come with great power, increased power, building us up, fortifying us, edifying us, if we are saying and doing those things that grieve Him and that quench Him. The application is very clear. Christ is the source of the zedification by His Spirit to every part, therefore let us depend entirely on the head and the Spirit. Let us pray for this. Now, that takes us then to see this. Notice the signs of this edification. Because when the church or the body of Christ is enjoying edification, there will be particular signs, evidence of it. Furthermore, those signs of edification are actually set before us in this passage. And now, look with me and you will see some of the signs. Number one, conformity to the image or the likeness of Christ. Look at verse 15, and it says this, Speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things which is the head, even Christ. There is conformity to the image of Christ, growing up into Him in all things. The body developing in a spiritual way in such a fashion that throughout the entire body, men and women, young people as believers, they are becoming more and more like the Lord. They are growing into Him. They are becoming more like Him. Now my friend, that conformity to the image of Christ is the will of God for you as a Christian. Romans 8.29, whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of Christ. Dear believer, is that your thought? Is that your focus every day? God intended you from all eternity to be like the Saviour. to be conformed to His image, it's the will of God for His people. And furthermore, it's going to come to pass in all its fullness and in all its wonderful outcome. One day, in soul and in body, the child of God is going to be fully conformed to the image of Christ. We will have souls made perfect in holiness. We will have bodies conformed to the image of Christ's blessed body. We are therefore to see that this is the will of God and it will take place for every true believer. I emphasize that. But the point is this. This conformity to the Lord's image begins here in time. And it continues on as a result of the new birth and the whole work of grace and sanctification. That's how it operates. That's how it comes to pass. 2 Corinthians 3.18, we with open face beholding as in a glass. That's the Word of God. The glory of the Lord. What happens? We are changed into the same image. My dear friends, are you being changed into the image of Christ? A very searching thing, because those who are the Lord's people, this change, this conformity is going on all the time in their hearts and in their lives. As they are made more like the Savior, they are changed into His image. There is conformity. We grow up into Him in all things, it says here in Ephesians 4 verse 15. Now go back to that verse and look at it with me carefully, because my friend, the conformity in view here is especially to Christ as our Head. Look at it. We grew up unto Him in all things which is the Head, even Christ. What Paul is saying here is very clear. Every member of the body, while we should be growing in likeness to Christ generally speaking, there is one area here in which we should be more and more like our Saviour. And it is that we should correspond to the pattern and to the standard of Christ as our Head. Now, what does that mean? Well, my friend, what is the whole purpose of Christ the Head? It is to bring about control within the body. He is the Head, is the ruler of all, That's why he's called the head of the church. Christ is in charge. Christ rules over all his people. Therefore, there's control there, there's government there, there's order there. There is not confusion, but rather there's order and there's control. And here we're being shown that if you and I are truly being edified, we're going to be more and more like the Lord in the area of control in our own lives. And what that translates into is simply this. that in the believer there is to be a life that is marked by control and order just as you see that in the head. As you see that in Jesus Christ. And we're not to clash with the head. There's to be no lack of correspondence with the head. My friend, the Lord Jesus Christ as your head is in perfect control of all things. And the question is this. Is that reflected in your life? Is there control? Is there order? I ask that question because obviously, in many, many cases among God's people, it is just not there. Here in Ephesians, look at chapter 5 and verse 18. Chapter 5, 18. Very important verse. Be not drunk with wine wherein is access. but be filled with the spirit." And that verse is speaking of control. Isn't it interesting that the apostle says, don't be drunk with wine? What is the outstanding feature of a drunk man? It's simply this, the drink controls him. It controls how he walks, how he speaks, how he acts. He's not in control of himself. In other words, the drink controls him. And Paul takes that very vivid thing. A drunk man under the control of alcohol. And he says, just as a drunk man is under its control, so God's people are to be controlled by the Spirit. So here is the element of control coming out. Here's the particular matter of conformity to the image of Christ that we see in our text and its context today. Here, my friend, is one of the signs of this edification. If you are being edified, if you are growing spiritually, if you are being built up, then more and more your life is under the control of the Spirit of God, not under the control of the flesh. under the control of the Holy Ghost. That's searching, isn't it? Let me say it to you this way. When you and I lose our tempers, we most certainly are not under the control of the Spirit. At that moment, the flesh is controlling. When you and I speak reproachfully and unjustly of another brother or sister in the Lord, right there and then we most certainly are not under control. We are not like Christ. Because the Lord the Head is always in control and He never speaks unadvisedly. He never does anything that is contrary to His own nature or will. But you see how often we are like that and therefore how we should hang our heads in shame. and repent of these things, these sins that so often are overlooked. And people say, well, you know, I couldn't help it. And all the rest of it is passed by and ignored in our own lives. And we do not realize we are grieving the Holy Ghost and we are acting contrary to the Spirit of God. And therefore, we are not being edified and we are edifying nobody else. We are going to edify others the more we are like the Savior in the area of control. So there's conformity here. And then there's maturity. Again, verse 15, it talks about growing up into Him in all things. Notice those words. Growing up. Have you ever read that verse before and never noticed those words? Growing up. Don't we often say to people, sometimes very rashly, I wish you would grow up? Well, here's the Holy Spirit coming to us, not rashly, but very gently. And He's saying to the Christian, you need to grow up. You need to mature spiritually. You need to start to develop more and more in this sense of maturity. And may I say this to you today, here I believe once more is the thought of balance in the Christian life. Growing up into Christ, notice, in all things, that's maturity in balance. There is the believer, you put it this way, growing symmetrically. As it were, the leg not going out and the arm not growing. That's not what's in view, but the whole of the believer growing and developing in every part, in every quality, in every grace. Look quickly at 2 Thessalonians 1, 3 and 4. 2 Thessalonians 1, verse 3. And notice what the apostle says there. He says to these Thessalonians, We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith, listen, groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth. The word charity means love. And go on down to verse 4. Verse 4, "...so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience." Do you see what's going on in these Thessalonians? They are growing a lot. They are growing up in faith. They're growing up in love. They're growing up in patience. Now, my friend, do you sense that you're growing in those qualities? Let me ask you those questions. Do you believe more? Do you love more? Do you understand more than at any time in the past as a Christian? Because I tell you something, if you're not believing more, if your faith is not stronger and your love is not increasing and so on and so forth, then edification is not taking place. You're not developing spiritually. This maturity doesn't mark you. Look at a couple of verses that really help us to see this. 1 Corinthians 14. And Paul here speaks very, very straightforwardly. 1 Corinthians chapter 14, verse 20. And he's talking here to these Corinthians where there was such confusion and immaturity. And he says this in verse 20, Brethren, be not children in understanding, Howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men." Isn't that very striking? What's Paul saying there? He's saying that malice, take that sin, maliciousness. I once heard of a man who said this. Just to illustrate what malice is, this man was a professing Christian. He said this, certain person did this to me, I waited twenty years to get my own back. My friend, that is the most wicked attitude that any professing Christian could ever display. That's what the malice is. Backbiting, saying, I'm going to get my own back, an unforgiving spirit, a heart that is bitter and hard, Instead of going with what the Bible says and getting it right. That's what Paul is saying here. He says, "...in malice be children." What does he mean? When he says over against that, "...in understanding be men." What he is saying is this, my friend. Grow up. Mature. Be a man. That is, Get to the level of maturity more and more with regard to those things that are good and wholesome. And the sins, the malice, leave them behind you. They are of the childhood. They are wicked. They are sin. As Paul says, when I became a man, I put away childish things. And all of us today as Christians have an awful lot yet to put away. Some believers, oh, how easily hurt we are. Isn't that right? You hardly look sideways and somebody is annoyed. This is the way we are. And my friend, it is because we are sinners yet. And yet it is wrong. We need to put it away. We need to deal with it. So there is maturity. Another verse is Romans 16, verse 19. Look at this verse. Romans 16, verse 19. The end of the verse. I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil. Romans 16, 19, wise unto that which is good, simple concerning evil. What does he mean by that, simple concerning evil? He says, I wish that God's people were just like children when it comes to evil. And what he's saying is this, you take a little child, a little boy or girl, two, three years old, brought up in a godly home, for example, not exposed to the filth and the wickedness of this world. And that little child hasn't got a clue about the evil that's all around. That little child is simple concerning evil. There's an innocence there. And that's how God wants His children to be. That's what Paul means when he says in Ephesians 5, where he speaks there of certain things that shouldn't even be named among the saints. And he's talking there about immorality and all of that. He says that shouldn't even be named among God's people. And yet, there are so many professing believers and every day they get together in their workplace, wherever they are, and they either listen to the smutty joke or they even join in perhaps, and my friend, that is not being simple concerning evil. That is to pollute your mind and pollute your soul. God says here, be wise concerning that which is good, and be a child concerning that which is evil. In other words, let's grow up, let's develop. Then quickly, Ephesians 4, notice stability, verse 14, of that passage we are looking at today. And notice what it says, verse 14 of Ephesians 4, that we henceforth be no more children. The word for children there means infants. And Paul obviously there is talking about the beginning, isn't he? You see, there was a day when you were saved and you were just an infant. And there are some of this very gathering today and you are maybe still in that stage or not long out of it. But this is what the apostle says, be no more children. We have got to leave that stage behind. And here he is focusing on the matter of being stable as you are edified and you grow. Because he says this, that we be no more children, tossed to and fro, carried about with every wind of doctrine, the sleight of men, cunning craftiness, whereby they lie and wait to deceive. You see, there's a great deal of instability among so many believers for this reason that edification is not progressing. Many are tossed to and fro, as it says here. The imagery is that of a ball on the ocean with the huge waves taking the ball and throwing it where they want to take it. And then, blown about with every wind of doctrine. Isn't it amazing that the latest novelty that comes down the theological road, that utter heresy. So many believers are so, so interested at least, isn't this wonderful? Listen to what he has said, or what he has written, or maybe even she, instead of saying to themselves, what does the book say? What did our forefathers write in that subject? Let's get out the confession of faith. Not that it's infallible, but it is a compendium of biblical doctrine. And my dear friend, you should always have at your fingertips what the Word says and what mighty men of God had to say, where there is the consensus of belief on these subjects. But you see, Paul here is telling us about a situation that's in the church. He wouldn't have written these things if they were not true of the Ephesians. There were Ephesians who were being tossed about like a ball in the ocean. There were Ephesian Christians who were listening to every silly notion that came along. And not only silly, but heretical. false teaching, cunning, the sleight of man, as it says here, those who lie in wait to deceive. Dear believer, you are surrounded by it all, and what you need is stability. Those are the signs of edification. Conformity, maturity, stability. And then this, as I close, the sequel to this edification, verse 13, It says, till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Now, what is that? That verse, while it lies almost at the beginning of the passage that we're dealing with today, is actually describing the ultimate outcome of the edifying of the body of Christ, and that is that the church is going to be one day brought to her state of perfection and full likeness to the Son of God. You only have to look at chapter 5 again, verse 25. Christ loved the church. gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but it should be holy and without blemish." My friend, that verse describes something that will never be seen in this world, only in the world to come as far as the church is concerned. Without spot, without blemish, without wrinkle, There is the sequel of this edification. God's people coming, going back to verse 13 of Ephesians 4, we come to the unity of the faith, the knowledge of the Son of God. Listen, a perfect man, the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. What amazing terms Paul ties one upon the other. Here is the sequel to the edifying of the body of Christ. Oh yes, one day the Lord will smooth out all the wrinkles, and all the spots will be cleansed away, and all the blemishes will be healed up, and the church will be like this, the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. As I say, that will only be seen in the world to come. Therefore, since this is the sequel to the edifying of the body of Christ, then it presupposes, you see, that there should be a diligent use of the means of grace that the Lord has provided in order for His church to come to this perfect stature. And what are the means of grace? the Word, the sacraments, and prayer. What I've been doing today, really, has still been part of setting up this whole series. And what we are now going to launch into – not today, by the way, let me assure you – is begin to look at the means of grace. Here's the sequel of the edification of the church. perfection and glory. For that to happen, the church on earth is to employ the means to that end. The Word, the sacraments, prayer. Are you neglecting the Word in your own life? My friends, you need to attend to the Word. Have you ever been baptized? as a Christian, as one who loves the Lord, have you? Because if you haven't, you're disobedient. How often do you come to the Lord's table? Is it years since you were there? You see what I'm saying? How can you expect to be growing and maturing as a Christian if all you are, my friend, is a kind of a spectator? And yet you claim to be a child of God. You're not growing. I don't say that in any censorious way. I'm simply stating to you what has to be reality. Because you can't grow and you won't grow unless you are employing the means that the Lord has provided. And I will deal with that by the Lord's help. Let us bow together in prayer. Our gracious God and our Father, we bow before Thee. We wait in Thy presence, deeply conscious of our need for the Spirit's help and the life of the Holy Ghost to course right through our hearts and this particular part of the body of Christ. O Lord, come and visit us, we pray. Deal with our souls. Be with Thy work there. Convict us of our sins. Convict us, Lord, of those things for which we need to repent. Convict us, Lord, of our unlikeness to Christ, our immaturity, our instability. Convict us, Lord, of our failure to use what Thy has provided for our growth. And, O Lord, in these days move upon us with power. Bring reformation into our lives. Bring that kind of reviving that is so important. O Lord, bless our witness. Bless our lives. And now as we part, take us to our homes in safety. Give traveling mercies on the roads. Bring us back this evening to worship God. Help us to do the work of the evangelist. sea of precious souls, bring in the lost. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Spirit be with every believer both today and forever. Amen.