In our growth in life, we the believers also grow unto a full-grown man (Eph. 4:13b). We should not remain as infants or merely as adolescents in the divine life; we must grow unto a full-grown man. This is the issue of our growth in life.
The believers also grow unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13c). The fullness of Christ here denotes the expression of Christ, and the expression of Christ is just the Body of Christ. Like a man's physical body, the Body of Christ has a stature, and this stature has a measure. We all need to grow unto the proper measurement of the stature of the Body of Christ, which is actually the stature of Christ.
In our growth in life we the believers also grow unto the building up of the Body (Eph. 4:12b, 16c). The building up of the Body of Christ is entirely a matter of our growth. If we do not grow, there can be no building. If we all grow, there will be much building.
We grow unto the building up of the Body by being perfected (Eph. 4:12a). This is why we need to have the small group meetings: to carry out the mutual perfecting of all the saints as members of Christ's Body.
We grow unto the building up of the Body also by being joined together and knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part (Eph. 4:16). The word joined implies the thought of being joined by fitting, and the word knit implies the thought of interweaving. In the Body we are not only joined together but also knit together. The Body is built up through the rich supply of every joint and through the operation in the measure of each one part. The joints are the specially gifted members of the Body, such as the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers (v. 11). The parts are all the members of the Body. Through these two kinds of members the entire Body is joined together and knit together for the building.