Ephesians 4:14-15

4:14

Then – As a result of (1) unity; (2) maturity; and (3) fullness of Christ…

we – Not an individualistic achievement but collective, group, the Body of Christ

will no longer be – This condition prevailed in the past, and perhaps still did at the time of Paul’s writing. But we can grow spiritually so that we move beyond the condition described.

infants – dependant on others, focused on self, not contributing to group growth, but only consuming

tossed back and forth – I picture a tiny boat on a stormy sea, its mast is gone or useless and it just drifts along wherever the wind and waves take it.

by the waves – popular fads, whether in social styles or in ideologies

and blown – some other force directing one’s course

here and there – aimlessly wandering, looking for truth or purpose in all the wrong places

by every wind of teaching – I remember a popular comedian some years ago saying that he had found a religion where he felt comfortable. Even as a child, I thought, “I want and need a religion that spurs me to grow; not one that makes me feel comfortable.” But more and more of us today run here and there looking for just enough religion to feel comfortable. Then as soon as this “faith” gets boring or another “ism” becomes popular, many run over to that one to get comfortable there. And this running from one ism to another can very easily take place under the umbrellas of Christian ministries, or ones that claim the name of Christ. Meanwhile, the crowd running here and there is actually infants, being pulled and tossed and blown back and forth. The infant is at the mercy of those who are stronger. And the spiritual infant remains at the mercy of others as well. And if the leadership gifts fail to train and build up, then other forces—those not loyal to Christ but more loyal to self [and therefore knowingly or unknowingly loyal to Satan]—will toss and blow the spiritual infant. Either the leaders train the infants or others will take advantage of them.

and by – two elements blow the infants: (1) every wind of teaching (above) and (2) cunning and craftiness of men (below)

the cunning and craftiness – ulterior motives, hidden agenda, say nice words we like to hear while actually working for different—self-serving—goals, gaining our confidence while taking advantage

of men – or women; people incurably selfish apart from Christ

in their deceitful scheming – redundant on purpose, another instance of repeating synonyms to achieve a superlative comparison. Paul uses four synonyms to stress the deceit, intentional scheming, of people who seek to toss and blow immature believers away from Christ.

4:15

Instead – contrast. Previous picture focused on instability of immature believers. Now Paul moves to the opposite.

speaking the truth – contrast with cunning, crafty, deceit and scheming

in love – love guides which truths need to be spoken; when and how to speak those truths. If love involves acting for the welfare or benefit of others, then that could certainly guide my speaking the truth. The welfare of others will direct who, what, when, where and how I will speak. Perhaps most important, the benefit of others will compel the why behind my speaking. As I move toward greater transparency, I ask You to guide my speech with Your love.

we will – future attainment

in all things – I think I can honestly claim that I have grown like Christ in some ways. But in others areas I still lag far behind. This phrase prods me to give more attention to those other areas. Having laid a foundation of Christlikeness in certain areas, I must build on that beginning to allow His image to shine in all things of my life.

grow up – contrast to infants in v. 14. In January, I will reach the 46th anniversary of asking God to forgive my sins and live in and through me. I still have the choice of being a 46-year-old infant or growing up. In the past, I have wallowed through phases of reverting to infancy. But increasingly, by His grace, I have chosen to grow up. And today again, I choose to grow up: To accept responsibility for my choices and my actions; to accept the challenge of becoming more like Christ; and to decide and act based on long-range, eternal values.

into him [NLT: more and more like Christ] – The fact that I will never fully attain His likeness should not deter me from the goal.

who is the head – decision-maker, control center, the Leader, CEO, authority

that is, Christ – Anointed One, Promised One, God in the flesh