Ephesians 4:12 speaks of the perfecting of the saints. To perfect the saints is not mainly to teach them; it is to minister Christ to them. What the saints need is not the knowledge of doctrine, but the ministering of Christ. Whenever someone ministers Christ to us, we spontaneously have the sense that we are fed and nourished, that we have received Christ as our food supply. Through this supply we are strengthened and enlightened.
However, it is altogether different when someone comes to us with enticing questions. When the serpent contacted Eve in the garden, he asked, “Has God said?” In like manner, negative ones often raise tempting questions. We need to realize immediately that such questions do not come from the Lord. Those who contact us in this way do not minister Christ. They do not supply us with food, they do not water us, and they do not strengthen, enlighten, or equip us. The effect of their questions is darkness and death. As soon as we are aware of this kind of speaking, we must close ourselves to it and refuse to take it in.
What the saints need is to have Christ ministered into them. This is necessary for the church life. In all our contact with the saints there should be the ministry of Christ as the life supply. The leading gifts are to perfect the saints through such a ministry of Christ. The more the saints are supplied with the living Christ, the more they are perfected.
As the saints are perfected through the ministry of Christ, they will grow up into Christ. We have Christ within us, but in many matters we are still in the self. Hence, we need the growth that will bring us out of ourselves and into Christ. Teaching cannot do this. This can be done only through the ministry of Christ as food and nourishment.
The growth into Christ in 4:15 is equal to the putting on of the new man in verse 24. The only way to put on the new man is to grow up into Christ. The more we grow into Christ, the more we put on the new man. To put on the new man is to be in the proper church life. We cannot be in the church life if we do not grow into Christ. We need to grow up into Christ in all the details of our daily living, for example, in shopping and in talking. Often our talk is natural and devoid of Christ. The only way to be free from such a natural way of speaking is to grow out of it by growing up into Christ. If we grow in Christ in the matter of talking, our talk will eventually be in Christ. By growing up into Christ in this particular matter, we spontaneously put on more of the new man.
In some localities the saints love the Lord very much; however, they are quite natural. Nearly everything about them—their behavior, their virtues, their way of speaking—is natural. With them there is no sign of having grown up into Christ. This is disturbing to the indwelling Spirit, who longs for the church to be realized as the new man. In order to put on the church life as the expression of the one new man, we need to grow out of everything natural by growing up into Christ. If we have the perfection with the growth spoken of in 4:13 and 15, surely we shall put on the new man.
As we grow into Christ, we shall also put off the old man, especially regarding the former manner of life. The manner of life of the old man is the old social life, the old community life. By creation, every human being needs a community life. Before we were saved, we had a certain kind of social life. Now that we are saved our social life needs a change. This means that we need a change of community. The church life is the best “social life.” We can testify that in the church life our former social life has been exchanged for the best community life. Praise the Lord for the “social life” in the church!
However, if we proclaim that the church is our community life but we do not grow into Christ, we shall not be stable in the church life. Some say that they are for the church life. However, when they are disappointed with something in the church, they leave. This indicates that they have not truly put on the church life by growing up into Christ. The only way to put on the church life is to grow up into Christ in all things. Suppose a sister does not grow up into Christ in her shopping. As long as she lacks growth in this matter, her church life will not be altogether secure. The security of our church life depends upon our growing up into Christ in particular matters. If we do not grow up into Christ, we may be in the church life one day and gone the next. For a steady church life, we need to grow up into Christ in particular ways. Once again we see that to put on the new man is to grow.
What we need is not growth in a general way, but in particular ways. For example, a brother may need to grow up into Christ in the way he cuts his hair or in the way he deals with his wife. If we do not show any growth in such aspects of our daily life, others may rightfully question the security of our life in the church. Only by growing in particular things will our church life become steady, stable, and secure. The more we grow in Christ, the more of the church life we put on.
The church life is not a matter of good character or good works. It is altogether a matter of growth into Christ in particular things. By growing day by day in Christ, we gradually put off the old social life and put on the church the new man as the new community life. As we grow, we take Christ both as our life and as our person. Growth depends upon Christ making His home in our hearts. If we do not give Christ the opportunity to make His home in us, we can neither take Him as our person nor have the genuine growth in Christ. We grow in Christ only by taking Him as our person. The more we take Christ as our person, the more we grow up into Christ in particular things. The result is that we put on more of the church life.
It is possible to be in the church life merely in an outward way. However, if we do not grow in Christ by taking Him as our person, we are not in the church life in reality. The reality and practicality of the church life consists in growing up into Christ, which in turn is based upon taking Christ as our person in particular matters. As we take Christ as our person and grow up into Him, the church life is constituted into our being, and we become part of the church. This is the proper church life.