The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro, and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.
Reflection
If someone told you they were going to speak the truth in love to you, how would you react? Would you prick up your ears in expectation of a helpful insight, or would you brace yourself for something undermining, dressed in false piety? I suspect it would depend on your relationship with the person, and what your previous experience of their feedback was.
This image of the Church being a body made up of members with different functions, is also used in 1 Corinthians 12, and that passage may be more familiar to some of us. However, in Ephesians we not only encounter a body where the members complement each other, but also an idea that there may be creative tensions between them, knitted together as they are by ligaments. My knowledge of anatomy is limited to some GCSE science many years ago, but I remember that ‘antagonistic pairs’ are a key part of how the body functions – you tighten your bicep to pull your forearm up, and then you tighten your triceps to straighten your arm out again.
Many of us dislike conflict, and may have had traumatic experiences in the past of division in churches. But failing to have honest discussions is also harmful – nodding through a budget that seems to prioritise the wrong things – or be predicated on unrealistic income expectations, or sitting quietly when an aspect of a church’s ministry seems in danger of going off the rails is irresponsible. Let us seek to speak the truth in love, not weaponising scripture to hurt each other, but really developing trusting relationships where we can ask questions, make suggestions and hear feedback, secure that our interlocutor is talking to us in good faith.
Prayer
Lord,
We confess that sometimes we can only bear so much truth.
That our cares may absorb all our energy,
such that we don’t want to be questioned.
When this is so, open our ears and unlock our hearts.
We confess that sometimes we are clumsy when we speak to each other.
That sometimes we duck a conversation we really ought to have.
When this is so, give us courage and grace to be both honest and kind.
We confess that sometimes we don’t know each other as well as we should.
That we have not invested in building trust with our neighbour.
When this is so, help us take time to listen and care for each other.
By this, may we build your people as a body truly knitted together in love.
