Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: Ephesians 4:1-16

In Ephesians 4, the apostle Paul upholds God’s own vision of a perfectly healthy “Body of Christ” (the Church). In that perfect Body, every member lives in a healthy, mature relationship of Christ-centred union with every other member. Through that union, every member is brought into a perfect internal experience of the indwelling fullness of Christ’s presence and power. And, through that union and this common individual experience of Christ’s fullness, the perfect Body is itself perfectly filled with the fullness of Christ, as a Body.

That’s God’s grand and glorious ideal for the global Church, but His ideal first has to find expression in every local church – and, within every church it has to find expression in every home group, every circle of friends, every ministry team, and every family unit within that church.

Our role in attaining this ideal is also clearly spelled out in Ephesians 4. Some contribute to this vision through leadership, others through prophecy, evangelism, teaching, or pastoring. But all of us contribute to attaining this vision of the perfect Body by living our lives in community with one another and serving one another, in a way that is worthy of the name “Christian.” Central to that worthiness of life is “speaking the truth in love” (v.15). It is impossible to build towards God’s vision of a perfect Body without every member making “every effort” (v.3) to contribute to that perfection through abandoning all prideful and self-centered speculation, cunning, craftiness, deceit, scheming, and manipulation (v.14); and instead living and speaking the Truth in every possible way, in an absolute spirit of agape-love for one another (v.15), in humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearance (v.2).

At the centre of God’s vision of the Perfect Body we find those twin values of love and truth. Today, let us pray for the grace and power of the Spirit to grant us the capacity to live this day in perfect truth and love. Amen!