Ephesians
4:15a
"But
speaking the truth in love, may grow up..."
Growing
up is exactly what it says. We were talking previously about babes
who had to start with the milk of the Word as we all start out in the
first estate, if you will, by God's design. But just like a child in
ordinary physical life, you do not want him to stay a two or even a three year old
forever. Oh they are sweet back there at two and three, but you still would
not want them to stay there as a two or three year old, you want them to
grow up. And it is the same way spiritually, God intends that
babes in Christ begin the growth process and mature and grow up into
Him, as He grows within us to where we are totally dependent on Him,
and what are the next three words in that verse?
Ephesians
4:15b
"...in
all things,..."
You
know most believers think that this is just for Sunday, as the Hebrews thought it is just a Sabbath thing, but it is
not! This is for twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week, three hundred sixty-four days
a year, this is for every circumstance of life. Our Christian
experience is part and parcel of our everyday walk, a walk governed
by Truth and Love in Grace. Whether it is in ourselves or out in the
boondocks in Southeastern Tennessee, among the mountains and rivers,
or whether it is in a big office full of computers, or whether you
are a professional person, that does not make any difference. We are
to be constantly growing up, in Christ, and letting Him permeate into
every aspect of life, and we are to grow up into Him. We are to learn
of Him by way of His yoke and burden which is light though not always
easy.
Ephesians
4:15b
"...
which is the head, even Christ."
Spot here moment, because the word "even" is in italic and in a light gray so it has been added by the translators. Let's read it without "even", "which is the head, Christ". Christ is our head, He is the family Head, is He your LORD? He is the Church Head and is to be the all in All.
Again
we must be careful that we do not walk into a buzz saw of
opposition, so we are not going to set this in concrete. But have
you ever realized that Paul never refers to us as sheep? Have you
ever thought of that? Paul never refers to us believers as sheep or
Christ as the shepherd. Because that is a purely Hebraism, a Jewish thing and it must remain there! In it's proper place and usage. There is a pliable reason, there is an
old book written which is no longer in our Bibles which makes
straight the mysteries. In it, men are of three classes, white
cows-righteous ones, red cows-carnal non-spiritual and black
cows-carnal, earthy doomed to destruction, and these are all governed
by way of personal choice. Now from the white cows came sheep and
from the sheep came goats. We know that Israel had both sheep and
goats. That was not the case with the nation of Israel. Israel always
had that analogy of the shepherd (God, King, Master) and His sheep. Psalm chapter 23,
everyone knows that. Then you get into John’s synoptic gospel,
chapter 10, and what have you got? The good shepherd chapter.
But
you see, Paul never uses that terminology, and we think you can see
why. Instead, Paul uses the analogy of Christ is the Head, and we
are the Body, a family unite. Look at the difference between a
shepherd and his sheep, and the head with all it’s central nervous
system with the brain, and mind, and the body. What a difference!
This is what Paul is driving home to us, that we are not just like
a bunch of sheep, but rather we are an intricate part of the Head,
even thou He is in heaven. This is true because the one who wrote
the little books which were put together to make one book then
sealed. Wrote what he saw in a heavenly vision almost 5000 years ago
and those visions and the writings agree with what we see. That is
why God is just as anxious for us to get up there with Him, as we are
to go. And we are finding that believers today are getting more
anxious all the time to get out of here. The world is going to say,
"good riddance." But oh my, we are anxious to get out of
here, and He is anxious for us to leave here and return home. Yes,
return home, for this is where Genesis 1:26-28 started, for this is
where God created man in His image and likeness, created He them,
male and female, created He them. For God is Spirit and His realm is
in the Heavens. The Son's realm is earth and has been since Genesis 1:1, now I know in advance that many self made theologians and even those who have been schooled will disagree with that but truth is truth and we are to walk in truth and love at all costs.
Remember
we pointed that out back in Ephesians chapter 1, that we are the
complement which is the same word that was used back in
Genesis when God brought Eve to Adam. She was to be his complement. In Genesis 2:18 God used the phrase "help meet", one who is along side of, or in the ancient walked behind to render aid. In other words Adam was never complete until Eve was at his side.
Well the Bible gives the same inclination of Christ toward us, the
Body, that He does not even consider Himself complete until He has
the complement in His presence, so everything is moving in that
direction. Here is the tough one, back to Genesis 1:27-28 a heavenly creature set above the angels and all of His creation, to rule with Him as One Unite. Where the nation of Israel will rule the new earth, God's sons will rule with Him as a Unite of ONE!
Ephesians
4:15b
"...which
is the head, even Christ:"
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