One Goal and Focus (Ephesians 4:13)

There is one goal and focus for the Church—Jesus Christ Himself!

In Ephesians 4:13, Paul describes the goal in three ways, but the focus is the same.

In this study, Nathan Johnson dives into the passage and talks about Paul’s heart and desire for the body of Christ and how we as the Church are to be unified in the faith and grow in the full knowledge of Jesus, mature unto the perfect man, and be measured according to the stature of the fullness of Christ.

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Key Passage: Ephesians 4:13

… until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ …
– Ephesians 4:1–3

The ascended and exalted Jesus gave …

• Ephesians 4:7 – But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
• Ephesians 4:11– And He Himself gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers …

Why?

• Ephesians 4:12 – … for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ …
  • Equip the saints – to make ready for use … restore to usefulness … putting a thing into the condition in which it ought to be … to set a broken bone … to prepare fully
  • Edify the body of Christ – build up, strengthen, promote growth in the Christian life (from Gk idea to build a house)

How Long?

• 4:13 is answering an unasked (but assumed) question: How long will the growth process continue?
• Ephesians 4:13– … until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ …
  • Attain/Come (katantaō) – arrive at, reach, come to; to reach a point in time, or a certain state or level
    • Used in Acts of travelers arriving at their destinations
  • To (eis) – to/into … used 3x in this verse
  • to the unity of the faith and the full knowledge of the Son of God
  • to a mature man
  • to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ
  • 3 aspects of one goal

The Standard (Measurement) of the Christian Life

• Jesus, the perfect man!
• The FULLNESS of Jesus is the stature (qualification, expectation, that which is to be recognized) in us as believers
• Jesus is the standard of measurement for the Christian life
• Ephesians 4:15– … we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is Christ …

Unity of the Faith

• Ephesians 4:13– … until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ …
• UNITY (henotēs) – unity, oneness, unison, agreement; the quality of being united into one … similar to the idea of “bound together”
  • Ephesians 4:3 – … being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
  • that which binds together those who share the common faith in Christ ⁽¹⁾
• God’s heart is not a divided church until we reach heaven … but “one body” (Ephesians 4:2) this side of eternity
  • No denominations, no Jew or Gentile
  • Ephesians 2:14–16 – For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups one and broke down the dividing wall of the partition by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might create the two into one new man, making peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having in Himself put to death the enmity.

Unity in the faith

• It is not unity for unity’s sake but unity of the body based upon truth (“of the faith”)
• FAITH (pistis) – faith, faithfulness, assurance
  • Complete trust or confidence as demonstrated through the action of belief and obedience
  • Believe (verb), Faith (noun) – more than mental ascent (airplane illustration)
    • we are called the people of faith … believers
• Not about an amount of faith
  • Luke 17:5–6 – And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you have faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you.”
    • Also see Matthew 17:20
  • The question is not “do you have faith” but “in what do you place your faith”??
• Faith is about dependence upon our God
  • Faith: invoking the activity of the second party
  • Not about self-reliance, effort, or wisdom
• Faith is the only means by which we can live the Christian life
  • Hebrews 11:1– Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
  • Hebrews 11:1 (AMP) – Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].
  • Hebrews 11:6 – And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who draws near to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
  • Romans 1:17 – For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS WILL LIVE BY FAITH.” (quoting Habakkuk 2:4)
  • Romans 4:9 – “FAITH WAS COUNTED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (quoting Genesis 15:6)
    • Abraham was considered righteous (godly) because he lived continually believing, obeying, and trusting God (lived by faith)
  • 2 Corinthians 5:7– … for we walk by faith, not by sight …
• Faith is not just about an active trust and belief but about the content of the faith
  • Content of our faith
  • 1 Corinthians 1:23, 2:2 – … but we preach Christ crucified … For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
  • Colossians 1:22–23– … but now He reconciled you in the body of His flesh through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach— if indeed you continue in the faith firmly grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.
  • Colossians 2:6–7 – Therefore as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and being built up in Him, and having been established in your faith—just as you were instructed—and abounding with thanksgiving.

Are we people full of faith?

• Acts 6:5, 8 – And this word pleased the whole congregation, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit … And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.
• Hebrews 11 List
• What about me?

Full knowledge of the Son of God

• Ephesians 4:13– … until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ …
• FULL KNOWLEDGE (epignōsis) – precise and correct knowledge; knowledge that derives from experience, relationship, and/or intimacy … the noun form of the word ginōskō.
  • Simple overview of knowing through experience, relationship, intimacy
    • Chocolate cake, ocean, riding a bike
  • Richard Chenevix Trench – It is bringing me better acquainted with a thing I knew before; a more exact viewing of an object that I saw before afar off. That little portion of knowledge which we had here shall be much improved, our eye shall be raised to see the same things more strongly and clearly. … a deeper and more intimate knowledge and acquaintance. ⁽²⁾

One Goal

• Ephesians 4:13 – … until we all attain 
  • to the unity of the faith, and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, 
  • to a mature [perfect] man, 
  • to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ …
• Ephesians 4:15 – … we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is Christ …

• Is Jesus truly preeminent (first place) in your life?
  • Colossians 1:18– … so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
• Are you guarding the purity and simplicity of your devotion to Christ? Or are you distracted?
  • 2 Corinthians 11:3 – But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be corrupted from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
• Are you steadfast and immovable in your faith in Jesus? Do you trust Him implicitly? Do you live out your faith by your obedience?
  • 1 Corinthians 16:13–14– Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.
• Is your knowledge of Jesus full and increasing?
  • Philippians 3:8, 10 – More than that, I count all things to be loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ … [my passion, desire, and longing is] that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death …
  • Ephesians 3:19 – … and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

FOOTNOTES

(1) The unity of the faith is effectively the same as the unity of the Spirit which the readers have earlier been exhorted to preserve; it is the unity which binds together those who share the common faith in Christ. // F. F. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1984), 350.
(2) Richard Chenevix Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament (London: Macmillan and Co., 1880), 285.
Photo Credit: Paul Skorupskas

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In Our Next Study Together …

I invite you to join me on this journey from the book of Ephesians to discover God’s eternal purpose, His plan for your life, and learn how to practically live out an abundant and fruitful Christian life. 

• The focus of our next study: Ephesians 4:14–15
  • We are going to discuss Paul’s warning to believers that they should not be immature, unstable, or gullible.
  • I encourage you to read through Ephesians a couple of times this week and focus specifically on Ephesians 4.