Ephesians 4:13 says, “Until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” This verse is the direct continuation of verses 11 and 12, which say that the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers have been given for the perfecting of the saints unto the work of ministry. We have pointed out that the gifted ones in verse 11 perfect the saints to do the same things that they themselves do. We all can be sent out and we all can speak for the Lord as prophets, preach the gospel as evangelists, and shepherd others and teach them as shepherds and teachers. If we love the Lord, we shall speak for Him as His witnesses. Furthermore, we need to preach the gospel, whether in season or out of season. This is not only the task of the leading evangelists, but of all the saints. Furthermore, we daily need to shepherd others and to teach them. The leading ones set the pattern for these functions, and we follow their example. Hence, all the saints can do the work of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers.
The saints need to be perfected unto the work of ministry. In the New Testament there is a unique ministry: the dispensing of Christ into others for the building up of the Body. In order to carry on the work of ministry, the saints need to be perfected.
The building up of the Body of Christ is not accomplished directly by the leading ones. The direct work of building is carried out by the saints who have been perfected. How different this is from the situation in today’s Christianity! The proper way is for the leading ones to set up a pattern and then train the saints to do what they do. After the saints have been perfected, the leading ones should step aside and allow the saints to do the direct work of building. Every leading one must learn when and how to step aside. Firstly, the leading ones must learn how to perfect others. After this work of perfecting has been accomplished, the leading ones must leave the direct work of building in the hands of all the members of the Body.
In verse 13 Paul did not say, “until you all arrive”; he said, “until we all arrive.” This indicates that Paul included himself with all the saints. It is not good for a few to arrive at the destination and to leave so many others behind. On the contrary, we all should arrive together. Arriving at the three things spoken of in verse 13 is not a matter of a race; it is a matter of all arriving at the destination at the same time.
The Greek word rendered arrive in verse 13 may also be rendered attain to. This indicates that a process is required for us to attain to or arrive at the practical oneness.
The oneness of the Spirit in verse 3 is the oneness of the divine life in reality, whereas the oneness in verse 13 is the oneness of our living in practicality. We already have the oneness of the divine life in reality. We only need to keep it. But we need to go on until we arrive at the oneness of our living in practicality. This aspect of oneness is of two things: the faith and the full knowledge of the Son of God. The faith does not refer to the act of our believing, but refers to what we believe in, such as the divine Person of Christ and His redemptive work for our salvation. The faith is used in this sense in Jude 3, 2 Timothy 4:7, and 1 Timothy 6:21.
The full knowledge of the Son of God is the realization of the revelation concerning the Son of God for our experience. The Son of God refers to the Lord’s Person as life to us, whereas Christ refers to His commission to minister life to us that we, as members of His Body, may have gifts for function. The more we grow in life, the more we shall cleave to the faith and to the realization of Christ and the more we shall drop all the concepts concerning minor doctrines which cause divisions. Then we shall arrive at or attain to the practical oneness; that is to say, we shall arrive at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
Many Christians do not know the difference between the oneness of the Spirit and the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God. The first is the oneness of reality, and the second is the oneness of practicality. Because the Spirit is the reality of our oneness, the oneness of the Spirit is the oneness of reality. Oneness is nothing less than the Spirit Himself. If there were no Spirit, then there would be no oneness. Although we have the oneness in reality, there is still the need for the oneness of practicality. This means that the oneness of reality must be practiced; that is, it must become the oneness in practice. Hence, in verse 13 Paul speaks of the oneness of practicality.
Between the oneness of reality and the oneness of practicality there is a distance. For this reason, there is the need to “arrive at” the oneness of practicality. The oneness of the Spirit is the beginning, whereas the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God is the destination. This indicates that we must journey from the oneness of the Spirit to the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God. In other words, we must travel from the oneness of reality until we arrive at the oneness of practicality.
As believers, we already have the oneness of reality. But we need to keep it. The best way to keep the oneness of reality is to go on, to proceed, toward the oneness of practicality.
We have pointed out that the faith in verse 13 does not refer to our act of believing, but refers to the object in which we believe. Every believer in Christ accepts this faith. When we first believed in the Lord Jesus, we were very simple. All we had was the faith. But afterward we became quite complicated by taking in various doctrines, teachings, and concepts, nearly all of which are divisive.
Several young men may be saved at the same time, through the preaching of the same evangelist. On the day they are saved, they all accept the faith. Afterward, however, they take in different doctrinal concepts. These concepts cause them to be divided from one another. In order for these believers to arrive at the oneness of the faith, they need to be perfected through the work of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. This work of perfecting will cause them to care for the oneness of the Spirit and to lay aside the divisive doctrines. As they arrive at the oneness of the faith, they no longer care for the various divisive doctrines, but care only for the unique faith concerning Christ and His redemptive work. By the perfecting work they also arrive experientially at the full knowledge of the Son of God. They do not pay attention to divisive doctrines or practices, but care only for Christ as the Son of God. They care for the full knowledge of the Son of God as life experientially. They desire more and more to experience Christ in their daily life. By arriving at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, these believers have not only the oneness of reality, but also the oneness of practicality. Now they are able to come together without division and to enjoy oneness in a practical way.
The oneness in the Lord’s recovery is such a practical oneness. Our oneness is the oneness of our unique faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God in our daily experience of Him as our life. I believe that most of us in the Lord’s recovery have arrived at the oneness of practicality. Therefore, we are one both in reality and in practicality.
Today many Christians who love the Lord, including a good number of pastors and ministers, have not seen the oneness of practicality. However, they do have the oneness of reality, which is the oneness of the Spirit. Many of these Christians say that as long as we are genuine believers in Christ and have the indwelling of the Spirit, we all can be one. In a sense, this is true. But this oneness is not yet the oneness of practicality. It is real, but it is not practical. Therefore, such Christians need to journey the distance between the oneness of reality and the oneness of practicality. I praise the Lord that so many of us have traveled from the beginning, the oneness of the Spirit, to the destination, the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God. We have made the journey from the oneness of reality to the oneness of practicality.
Verse 13 also says that we need to arrive at a full-grown man. A full-grown man is a mature man. Through regeneration the saints have become babes in Christ (1 Cor. 3:1). Now the saints need to grow into maturity (1 Cor. 3:6, Gk.; Heb. 6:1). Such maturity in life is needed for the practical oneness.
If we are still divided by doctrinal differences, it is an indication that we are childish. Such divisive doctrines are “toys.” During the early stages of our Christian life, we may be fond of playing with such “toys.” The more childish the saints are, the more “toys” they have. But as children grow up, they gradually lay aside their toys. When people become fully matured, they have no toys at all. In the first few years of my Christian life I dearly loved my doctrinal “toys.” Because these “toys” meant so much to me, it took me a rather long time to drop them. But today I have no “toys.” I have only Christ and the church.
In 1 Corinthians 13:11 Paul said, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” Here Paul indicates that certain things may be “toys.” As the believers grow, they will drop these “toys.” Eventually, by being perfected, they will all arrive at a full-grown man.
According to verse 13, we also are to arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. The fullness of Christ is the Body of Christ (1:23), which has a stature with a measure. To arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ is also a necessity for the practical oneness. Hence, to go from the oneness of reality to the oneness of practicality we need to press onward until we arrive at the three things mentioned in this verse.
The fullness of Christ is simply the expression of Christ. As Christ’s fullness, the Body is Christ’s expression. Christ’s fullness, the Body, has a stature, and with this stature there is a certain measure. Hence, verse 13 speaks of the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
To arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ is to arrive at the full building up of the Body of Christ. It is to arrive at the full completion of the building up of the Body.
We have seen that we need to arrive at the practical oneness, at the full growth, and at the complete building up of the Body. If we would arrive at these three things, we need to do the work of ministry. As verse 12 indicates, the work of ministry is equal to building up the Body of Christ. Among us there is just one ministry. Although thousands of us may participate in the work of ministry, the ministry itself is unique. This ministry is strictly for the building up of the Body of Christ. No matter who we may be, leaders or followers, we all are working to carry out the ministry in the New Testament economy to build up the Body of Christ. We are not here to go on alone, but to go on with others, even to bring others on. As we ourselves go on, we need to bring others on. We take others on by speaking for Christ, by teaching, and by shepherding.
Once again I wish to point out the need in all the churches for some kind of practical training. We need to be trained in the matters of teaching, shepherding, and preaching the gospel. Through this training the saints will learn how to function as apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. As we function in all these ways, we have one goal: the building up of the Body of Christ. As we participate in the work of ministry for the building up of the Body, we arrive at the practical oneness, at full growth, and at the completion of the building up of the Body of Christ.
If our only goal is the building up of the Body, we shall spontaneously be regulated. As we carry on a particular work, it will be with the consciousness that this work is for the building up of the Body. Formerly, we may have preached the gospel without realizing that gospel preaching must be for the building up of the Body. Now we see that whatever we may do as apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers must be for the unique goal of building up Christ’s Body. If we have seen the goal, then we shall be burdened to help others arrive with us at the practical oneness, at the full growth, and at the full building up of the Body. If we are clear about this, then the Lord will have a way to come back, for He will have a way to obtain the Bride He desires.
The Lord’s way to do this is found in three crucial verses — in Ephesians 4:11-13. These verses reveal that all those who have been captured by the Lord have been presented to the Body as gifts for the perfecting of the saints, so that the work of ministry may be carried out and that the building up of the Body of Christ may be accomplished. Then we shall all arrive together at our destination — at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, and at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. This is our goal, and we must diligently press toward it until we all reach it together.
