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"Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."

Text: Ephesians 4:13

THE GOAL OF EQUIPPING THE SAINTS

The goal of the work of equipping the saints is indeed a complex concept. Paul divided this goal into four aspects:-

1. The unity of the faith

The faith (“tes pisteos”) had both subjective and objective elements:-

a) The subjective element

This involves the individual being able to speak of having personal faith in Jesus as his Lord and Saviour.

b) The objective element

This involves believing, among others things, the following:

i) In God as Father.

ii) In Jesus as His beloved Son whom He sent as Redeemer.

iii) In the Holy Spirit who is our Seal and Guarantee.

iv) In the Scriptures revealed to us through His apostles and prophets.

v) In the Church as the Body of Christ.

2. The knowledge of the Son of God

This was singled out because of Paul’s very strong Christological theology.

i) He is the One who has brought about full reconciliation to God.

ii) He is the Head of the Body, the Church of God.

iii) He is Lord.

3. To a perfect man

This idea needed to be given full attention for obvious reasons:-

i) Every believer must be further instructed.

ii) All believers must seek personal spiritual maturity.

iii) All believers are capable of tremendous spiritual potential at maturity.

4. To the measure of the fullness of Christ

Once again, we have the Lord Jesus as the model:-

i) Christ was meant to be the perfect model of the believer.

ii) His growth pattern was meant for all believers (Cf Luke 2:40,52).

iii) His relationship with the Father.

iv) His way of serving the Father in public ministry.

v) His humility and obedience.

vi) His absolute trust in the Father, even in suffering and death.

A LOFTY GOAL INDEED

This high and lofty goal must be borne in mind at all times!