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,
Truth to Learn
False teaching appears deceptively easy and attractive.
Behind the Words
Nēpios is the Greek word translated “children.” It is made up of nē, meaning “not” and epos, meaning “a word.” Thus, nēpios literally means “on who can’t speak.” By application it refers to a baby but metaphorically it means “one who is extremely immature or unlearned.”
“Tossed to and fro” is from kludōnidzomai, which means “to surge” or “to fluctuate back and forth.”
The words “carried about” are translated from the verb peripherō, which is made up of peri, meaning “around” and pherō, meaning “to bear” or “to carry.” Thus, literally it means “to carry around.” It is expressed here in the passive participle. It could be translated “being carried around.”
“Wind” is the proper translation of the Greek word anemos. Metaphorically it is often used as an indication of instability.
“Doctrine” is from didaskalia, meaning “that which is taught.”
The word “trickery” is translated from kubeia, a form of kubos (from which we get our English word cube) referring to one of a pair of dice. Kubeia is often used to imply “deception.”
“Cunning craftiness” is from panourgia, from pas (all) and ergon (work). It refers to “the use of all means necessary (often deceptive) to realize an end.”
Planē is the word translated “deceitful.” It refers to “a wandering out of the right way.”
The word “plotting” is from methodeia, from which we get our English word “method,” referring to “an orderly procedure.”
Meaning Explained
As we can see from his vividly descriptive words, Paul feels strongly about this. He has been telling us why it is important for all of us to be at work in the church using the gifts that God has given us to build-up the body of Christ. In yesterday’s verse he told us we all work to gain a full knowledge of Jesus Christ, to be full grown, mature Christians.
The reason that we need to be spiritually mature and have full knowledge of our Lord and Savior is so that we won’t be misled by those who teach false doctrine. Unfortunately, there are those in our churches today who want to teach their truth rather than God’s truth. These men (and women) use subtle trickery to persuade others to believe their false teaching. They often have a “method” which is carefully thought out but which does not ultimately lead to knowledge of the truth.
Those who are taught to detect counterfeit money don’t study all the tricks of counterfeiting. Instead, they are taught in detail how to recognize the real thing. In order for us to recognize false teaching, we need learn good, Bible-based teaching.
Application
If the preaching you listen to is not encouraging you to seek out the truth from what the Bible says, then it may be deceptive teaching. Becoming a mature Christian is hard work. You don’t get there by just going through the motions. If what you hear about being a Christian sounds easy, it’s probably a lie. Find out for yourself – study your Bible to protect yourself.
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2011 Will Krause. All rights reserved.