In verse 15, Paul says that we should hold to truth in love. This is the love of Christ in us, by which we love Christ and the fellow-members of His Body. The love here is not our love, but the love of God with which He first loved us. Now with the very love with which God has loved us, we love the Lord and one another. It is in such a love that we hold to the truth, that is, to Christ with His Body.
If we speak about things other than Christ and the church, we are not acting in love. We may not only waste time, but also bring in elements that are foreign to the Body. If we truly love others, we shall be exercised to hold the truth and speak concerning Christ and the church. Instead of being influenced by the winds of teaching, we shall hold to Christ and the church in love.
By holding to truth in love we grow up into Christ in all things. To be no longer babes (v. 14) we need to grow up into Christ. This is to have Christ increase in us in all things until we attain to a full-grown man (v. 13). The word Head here in verse 14 indicates that our growth in life with Christ should be the growth of the members in the Body under the Head.
The fact that we grow in Christ by holding to truth in love proves that holding to truth involves more than not telling lies. Do you believe that you can grow in Christ simply by telling the truth instead of lies? This is not what enables us to grow in Christ. There are a good number of unbelievers who are honest and who do not tell lies. Nevertheless, their speaking of the truth does not cause them to grow up in Christ.
To grow up into the Head means that we care only for Christ and the church. We grow by caring only for Christ and the church, that is, by handling truth in love. We do not grow by some kind of honesty or sincerity related to ethical behavior.
In this verse the matter of growth is specifically related to growing up into Christ, the Head, in all things. Verses 13 and 14 both point to the need for growth. If we would be a full-grown man, we need to grow. Likewise, if we would be no longer babes tossed to and fro and carried about, we also need to grow. But we should grow up into Christ, not up into ourselves or into something else apart from Christ.
Paul clearly says that we are to grow up into the One who is the Head. This indicates that our growth must be in the Body. In order to grow into the Head, we must surely be in the Body. Many Christians are apparently growing spiritually; however, their supposed growth is not in the Body. I have known some Christians who have actually become more dissenting as they have had this kind of growth. It seems that the more they grow, the more critical they become. When they have relatively little growth, they are no problem in the church life. But as they grow, they become troublesome. This is an indication that their growth is not growth into the Head. As long as anyone’s growth is not into the Head, it is not growth in the Body.
It is of great importance that Paul does not tell us to grow up into the Savior, into the Master, or into the Lord. He says specifically that we are to grow up into the Head. This can take place only in the Body. If you do not remain in the Body, you may have a certain kind of growth, but it will not be the growth into the Head.
In verse 15 Paul tells us that we must grow up into the Head in all things. In certain aspects you have grown up into the Head, but in other aspects you probably have not. According to my experience, the most difficult matter in which to grow up into Christ, the Head, is in our talking. Psalm 141:3 says, “Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.” Because it is so hard for us to control our speaking, we should make this our prayer also. Whether you are young or old, a brother or a sister, this is an area in which all of us desperately need to grow up into Christ as the Head.
If we bring to the Lord this matter of growing up into Him in all things, we shall see that there are many small things in which we have not yet grown up into the Head. How much we still need to grow up into Christ! May this need for growth touch our heart and turn us afresh to the Lord.