The Fullness of Christ
What it is and isn't according to Ephesians 4
"until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ," (Ephesians 4:13 ESV)
Any discussion about leadership functions in the church will likely include some attention given to this portion of Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus. With this passage all sorts of strange and harmful traditions like the "5-fold ministry" pattern and the hierarchal leadership structure are defended. I intend to show that these traditions must be read into the texts and are not ideas that come from the text themselves. Furthermore, I intend to show that these particular ideas ("5-fold ministry" and hierarchy) are the opposite of what Paul is teaching in this letter. As the contextually clear teaching of the text is revealed, the phrase "fullness of Christ" will be understood as a reference to a fully functioning body of believers and not to an individuals perfection in glory. The phrase "fullness of Christ" is how Paul describes the goal of having the entire body of Christ, in other words every member of the church, participating in the gathering so that the whole body builds itself up.
Let's begin by reading the passage within its surrounding context.
In the past when I read this passage I overlooked a small but very important word; until.>>> I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says,
“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.”
(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.<<< (Ephesians 4:1-16 ESV)
"UNTIL we all attain the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,"
The reason this word is so important is that it represents a finish line for the previous statement. The words that follow the word "until" are the goal of the words that came before it.
"And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, UNTIL.."
This is why a proper understanding of what "the fullness of Christ" means is so important. It is the key to understanding the entire passage. "The fullness of Christ" is the goal of the equipping of the saints through apostles, evangelists, prophets, pastors, and teachers. Yet, many erroneously believe that the fullness of Christ is about our final glorification in heaven after we are either dead or caught up in the air to be with Christ. This false teaching gives a foundation for the leadership and organizational structures that we see in the church today. Other practices/traditions that have no basis in the revelation of Christ through the new testament but are wrongly understood as being "biblical" practices are professional preachers, titled positions of authority, salaried staff, the special "calling" of a pastor, and the sermon centered liturgy.
How can I make such confident claims? I let the text speak for itself. I do not start with the traditions and then try to justify them using the Bible. I let the Bible speak to me about all things concerning faith and practice. In this case I let the words of Paul say what he intended them to say. Paul could not have been talking about the saints' perfection in heaven because he explicitly says that the "fullness of Christ" is "so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes." Are these merely things that we need to be concerned with in heaven after we enter the "sweet by and by"? NO!
Then Paul writes "Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love." Does this sound like it is happening only in some heavenly afterlife? NO!
Paul is teaching the church how to live in unity with each other by building each other up in love while we are alive here on earth. This is not some "pie in the sky" ideological utopian dream that can only be known once we are free from these decaying bodies of flesh. These are among Christ's commands to the church through his apostle.
Edify one another
Love one another
Live in unity with one another
Bear with one another
These "one anothers" can only happen if the body of Christ is being equipped to minister. They cannot happen if the ministry is something perpetually set aside for the chosen few. Part of the equipping process is the expectation that those who are being equipped will use their equipment in the gathering of the saints. All too often leaders in the church talk as if it is their job to teach the church while she is gathered so that they can scatter and spread that teaching throughout their spheres of influence. That is good but that is not all and that is certainly not what Paul is writing about to the church in Ephesus. Paul explicitly mentions "the body of Christ", "we", "the whole body", "builds itself". This is not a passage about merely equipping saints for evangelism although that is part of it. This passage is about equipping the saints for the work of the ministry so that the church can build itself up. It is about the 5 gifted workers mentioned eventually working themselves out of a job.
"until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ...speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."
This is a description of the bride of Christ in the earth. Isn't she beautiful?
This is a description of a fully grown body of a man will all his hands, feet, eyes, ears, fingers, lips, nose, knees, etc. functioning in their respective ways and working together as one complete person to manifest the inner life of the Head in a way that the outside world can see and interact with. Isn't Christ's body magnificent?
This is a description of a family with one Father, one Lord, all sharing in one Spirit, humbly counting our brothers and sisters as more important than ourselves yet equals in our Father's eyes. Isn't that the ideal family?
If our answers are "YES" then we have to get rid of the idea that there is a special class of people in the church who are entrusted to have the authority over the rest of the body. We have to begin by allowing and expecting the various members of the body of Christ to function as the Spirit has equipped each member to function when the church gathers. Since there are no holy days, holy buildings, or holy men in authority on whom, in whom, or by whom the saints are required to subject ourselves to then any and every gathering of the saints in Christ is one that every member is welcome to participate as the Spirit leads and animates the body of Christ.
The fullness of Christ is the entirety of Christ's body, every member, working to build itself up in love. This is a maturity that is available to every gathering of believers who is willing to trade in their traditions for the leadership of Christ as head. When we submit to the leading of the Spirit of Christ He will lead every gathering as He sees fit.
May the house of God in the earth, the gathering of the saints, cast off every hindrance that prohibits coming to full maturity and may every member know their place and importance in the body of Christ. May every mind be renewed so that the crippling effect of the false teachings that perpetuate hierarchal authority among brothers and sisters in Christ be rejected and the bride of Christ be seen as the peerless object of Christ's affection that she is.
