The organic building up of the Body of Christ is also through the saints being perfected, equipped, by the gifts, the gifted persons (Eph. 4:11-12). If we are being perfected by the gifted persons—the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the shepherds and teachers—we will grow. Through our growth we will arrive at three things: at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a fullgrown man, and at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13). To arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God is to arrive at the oneness of truth and of life.
Apparently we are one, but actually there are many different views, opinions, and ideas among us. When the church life is so peaceful, it seems that everything is okay. But when a storm comes into the churches, all the opinions come out. The saints may even begin to fight for their views, ideas, and opinions. This is strong proof that we are still babyish and that we need the growth in life. All these different views, ideas, and opinions are “toys” for children. An older person does not need toys, but young children will fight over toys. The younger you are, the more toys you will like. We may be peaceful in the churches, but when a storm comes, one saint will have his toy, and another saint will have another toy. These toys are the different ideas, views, and opinions. Therefore, we all need to grow. When young children are fighting for toys, they make a lot of noise. There is also a lot of “noise” in the churches when the saints are fighting and disputing over their views, opinions, and ideas. The more we grow, the more toys we will drop. Then we will arrive at the oneness of the faith, which is concerning the truth, and at the full knowledge of the Son of God, which is concerning life. If we are mature in truth and in life, there will be no problems.
We also need to arrive at a full-grown man. We may be mature, but not full-grown. All of us need the growth in the divine life to arrive at a full-grown man. Finally, we need to arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Christ has a fullness, and this fullness is His Body. This Body has a stature, and this stature has a measure. The church as the Body of Christ has a stature, but this stature may be very short, so the measure is not that high. Therefore, the church has to grow. That means the church has to be organically built up, and this organic building up will result in our arriving at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, which is His Body.
Christ is the One who fills all in all. He is the unlimited One, and His measurements are the measurements of the universe. He is the real length, the real breadth, the real height, and the real depth (Eph. 3:18). Can anyone tell how long, how broad, how high, or how deep the universe is? It is immeasurable. Christ’s measurements are the measurements of the entire universe. How can we know such a One in full? This is why the Lord said that no one can know the Son unless the Father reveals Him to them (Matt. 16:17). The Son is unlimited and immeasurable.
The fullness of Christ is the expression of Christ. When a cup is only half filled with water, we cannot see the expression of the water. But when the cup is filled with water to such an extent that it overflows with water, this overflow of water is the fullness of the water, the expression of the water. The measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ is the measure of the stature of the expression of Christ, the Body of Christ.
Christ has two kinds of bodies. One is His physical body, the body which was crucified on the cross. His physical body was limited. When the Lord Jesus set up His table, He told the disciples to eat the bread, and He said that this was His body which He gave for us (Luke 22:19). The bread of the Lord’s table is a symbol signifying the Lord’s body broken for us on the cross to release His life that we may participate in it. There is also the mystical Body of Christ. Romans 12:5 says that though we are many, we are one Body in Christ. This is not the Lord’s physical body, but the mystical Body of Christ. All the genuine believers are members of the mystical Body of Christ. This mystical, unlimited Body expresses the One who fills all in all.
Ephesians 1 reveals that whatever Christ is and has attained is to the church. This is a kind of transmission or infusion. Then Ephesians 1 tells us that the church is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all (vv. 22-23). Thus, the mystical Body of Christ is the fullness of Christ. The immeasurable, unlimited fullness is the expression of the One that fills all in all. The measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ is the measure of the stature of the mystical Body of Christ. We need to arrive at the measure of the stature of the unlimited fullness of Christ, of the mystical Body of Christ, who is the One who fills all in all.
Ephesians 4:14 tells us that by arriving at these three things, we will “be no longer babes tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching in the sleight of men, in craftiness with a view to a system of error.” If we are still carried about by the winds of teaching, that is a sign that we are babes. All the winds of teaching are in the sleight of men. There are always lies and dishonest words in the different winds of teaching. These winds of teaching are in craftiness with a view to a system of error. In order to get a deeper explanation of Ephesians 4:14, it will be a help to read the notes in the Recovery Version on this verse. The system of error is the system of Satan.
The winds of teaching are apparently teachings according to the Bible. Actually, these teachings are in the satanic system of error to make divisions and to cause trouble. We have to be cautious concerning the winds of teaching, but only to be cautious is not adequate. As we pointed out, younger children like to play with toys. An older person, on the other hand, does not care for toys regardless of how much you encourage him to play with them. A person who is mature in life will not like any wind of teaching, because he does not care for toys. We need to grow in life so that we will no longer be babes who can be carried about by every wind of teaching. The perfecting of the saints by the gifts issues in their growth in life, and this growth in life is the organic building up of the Body of Christ.