untill we all may come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
Truth to Learn
Christians should all be working for each other.
Behind the Words
The word “until” is from mecri, which marks an endpoint in place or time. There is a similar Greek word, achri, which focuses on the whole duration up to the endpoint. Mecri, however, focuses on the endpoint itself.
“May come to” is the translation of the Greek word katantaō, meaning “to arrive somewhere” or “to attain something.” It is expressed here in the subjunctive mood, indicating the possibility or probability of the occurrence.
“Unity” is from enotēta. This word is derived from heis, meaning one. Enotēta means “unity” or “oneness.”
The word translated “knowledge” is the Greek word epignosis, which means more than simply knowing something. It means “to recognize and understand something,” that is, “to have complete, in-depth knowledge of someone or something.”
“Full grown man” is from the Greek words andra teleion. Andra, a form of anēr refers to “a man,” although as it is used here, it refers to “a person.” Teleion, a form of teleios, means “complete” or “of full age.” Thus, together these two words refer to “a fully grown person.”
The word “measure” is translated from metron, meaning “a measure of length or capacity.”
“Stature” is from hēlikia, meaning “maturity, in age or size.”
Meaning Explained
In today’s verse, Paul tells us some of the reasons that God gave us spiritual gifts. In the opening verses of this chapter, he told us that we are to be humbly and patiently bearing with each other, being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit, being bound to one another by peace. In the following verses he talked about why unity is a defining characteristic of the Christian faith. He also told us how Christ came to present gifts to each one of us when He arrived home after His victory over Satan and death. As we learned in yesterday’s verse, these spiritual gifts are given to every believer, and we are to use our gifts to minister to members of the church and, thereby, to build-up the body of Christ.
The first objective of our ministering to each other and building up each other is two-fold. It is to reach that unity Paul talked about in verse three, and it is so that each of us might come to a full knowledge of the Son of God. Here he calls that unity “the unity of the faith.” Even though there have been splits in the Christian church throughout the centuries, and it sometimes seems that every church is going off in its own direction, there are two unifying factors. One is our common faith in what Jesus Christ has done for us. The other is the complete in-depth, experiential knowledge of who Jesus is.
Another objective of our using our spiritual gifts within the church is so that we might become fully grown Christians. And, in using our spiritual gifts in the church, we help each other mature in our relationship with God. This is why the writer of Hebrews said:
And let us consider one another to provoke to love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
Application
It is quite apparent that we are in the last days and that Christ could return any day now. Instead of living for ourselves in these last days, let us use our gifts to strengthen each other and to prepare ourselves for our heavenly reunion with the Savior.
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2015 Will Krause. All rights reserved