THE K ING ’S BUSINESS
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o f us then will dare say, “I am already full grown?” But we shall be _full grown in ks various forms is to make us so. Con- some day, and the purpose o f the ministry trasted with the “ full grown man” in verse 1,3 we have in "verse 14 “ children (more exactly, babes), tossed to and fro and car ried about with every wind o f doctrine, by the sleight o f men in craftiness,, after the wiles o f error.” The words “tossed to and fro” are a figure o f speech taken from the wind driven waves o f the sea (cf. Jas. 1 : 6 ). The Greek word translated “tossed to and E o ’ has for its root the word meaning “waves.” The figure is still further carried out in the words,, “ carried about with every - wind o f doctrine.” This is a very graphic picture o f many in our churches /today. The word translated “sleight” means liter ally, “ dice playing,” and refers to the gambler’s tricks. The word translated craftiness” means “low cunning.” The preposition translated “after” in the clause, “after the wiles, o f error” means rather, “with a view' to” than “after.” The word translated “ wiles” means “methodized sys tem.” In fact, it is the word from which our English word “method” is derived, and is almost literatim “method.”-/E r ro r is the same in our day as in Paul’s, it is full o f cunning and artfulness,, and trickery and subtlety and devices o f error. It is never open and above board. Monday, July 29 . Eph. 4 : 15 , 16 . In cqntrast to the cunning and artfulness and trickery and subtlety and devices of error described in verse 14, we should “ speak the truth in love.” The word trans lated “ speaking truth” means much more than that.. Literally translated the words would be, “truthing it in love,” i. e., loving the truth, seeking the truth, living the truth, discerning the truth (so as not to be car ried about with every breath o f error), and doing all this “ in love.” How many there are who are valiant for the truth, but not “ in love.” The result/ o f thus “truthing it in lpve” -will be, that we will “grow up in all things unto Him, which is the head, even
Christ.” Every day as we truth it in love ,we Will come into a deeper and ever deeper union with Christ. Christ is the “head.” From Christ as the head o f the body o f which every believer is a member, “all the body fitly framed and knit together (the thought contained in the Greek construc tion is, “being all the time fitly joined together and compacted—the words trans lated “ fitly framed” and “knit together” are both present participles) through that which every joint supplieth (literally, through every joint o f the supply), accord ing to the working in due measure o f each several part,” the. body makes increase. No smallest or most insignificant member o f the body o f Christ or the church is without l*is use and importance. The growth and solidifying o f the body is dependent upon each most insignificant member o f the church. Love is the condition o f growth : the body builds itself up “ in love.” Tuesday, July 30 . . Eph. 4 : 17 - 19 . Paul now draws another practical con-, elusion from thè great truths regarding the believer’s calling contained in chapters 1 to 3, and also from the truths o f verses 11 to 16, because o f the great truths set forth the believer should not “walk as the Gen tiles (people who "know not God) walk,” The saints in Ephesus had been Gentiles , before their conversion, but were now mem bers o f the church, the body o f Christ ; so they should not and could not longer walk as they had in the old Gentile times. The description o f the walk o f the Gentiles that Paul now gives is dark indeed, but it was true o f the Gentiles o f his; day, and it is true also o f the Gentiles o f our day, and o f those men and women in so-called Chris tian nations who have not accepted Christ. Each item in Paul’s description o f Gentiles and their walk should be carefully" noted : (1) They “walk in the vanity . ( i . ‘e., the emptiness and illusion) o f their minds.” Unregenerate men and women are always chasing delusive hopes. (2) They are “ darkened in their understanding.” The thought is that sin has thrown a pall of
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